Leaving the black merchant, Li Qingyu ran to the end of the tunnel. Countdown, descent to the map, Northern Trenches. Deployment was successful. Time: 22:00.
He pressed "M" to open the map, and, checking it, determined the direction. Then he ran towards Lieutenant Rudolf's camp.
This time, the drop point was not far – only five kilometers away. After draining a bottle of high-energy drink, he reached the location in fifteen minutes.
As always, he began to wait on the outer perimeter of the defense. Soon, Lieutenant Rudolf personally came to pick him up in a "Chimera" armored personnel carrier.
The hatch of the "Chimera's" troop compartment opened, and Li Qingyu climbed inside. The vehicle turned around and drove back.
"Did you find out the situation at the Hydroponics Station?" Lieutenant Rudolf asked.
Li Qingyu nodded.
"Yes, the situation is damn complicated. Find a quiet place, we need to talk."
The driver of the "Chimera" stopped the vehicle in the middle of the camp, turned off the engine, and, saying, "I'll go smoke," got out, closing the hatch behind him. The guy was clearly understanding.
"Can you talk now?"
Li Qingyu nodded. They offered each other cigarettes, lit them, and, after taking a puff, began to talk.
"Do you know who psykers are?" Li Qingyu asked.
Lieutenant Rudolf's body instantly tensed, and cold sweat appeared. Obviously, he knew what it was.
"Are you saying there's a psyker there?"
Li Qingyu nodded, and a strange smirk appeared on his face.
"Brother, we've known each other for more than a day. I want to give you a chance, the question is, will you dare to accept it?"
Lieutenant Rudolf asked warily:
"You're not suggesting I hunt a psyker, are you? I'm telling you right away, these monsters are incredibly strong, I would never risk it! I'll report to the commander, let him send specialists."
Li Qingyu immediately hugged his neck and whispered:
"What are you saying, where are you rushing to? I haven't finished talking yet. Luck is coming to you, and you're dodging it? Do you want to spend your whole life as a lieutenant and company commander?"
Lieutenant Rudolf frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Li Qingyu chuckled:
"I have compromising material on this psyker. He has a bad relationship with the rebels, they constantly send squads to destroy him. He has already killed several hundred people, their bodies are lying around the Hydroponics Station."
"My idea is this: you take your soldiers, go to the Hydroponics Station, fire a couple of shots, explode a cannon a couple of times. And then go to your commander and report that you've killed a bunch of rebels and successfully captured the Hydroponics Station. And all the glory will be yours!"
Lieutenant Rudolf swallowed, the idea seemed tempting.
After being promoted to lieutenant, he hadn't distinguished himself in anything yet. But in their regiment, one of the battalion commanders made a mistake, and he might be removed from his position soon.
Rudolf was distantly related to the regimental commander, and he was looking for ways to promote him. The only problem was that Rudolf had only recently become a company commander, and a new promotion would seem unjustified.
But if he could capture the Hydroponics Station, with such merit, the regimental commander would have a reason to skip him a rank!
"And this psyker… will he listen to you and give up the Hydroponics Station? This place is very important. If I report that I captured it, the battalion headquarters will surely want to establish a command post there."
"Don't worry," Li Qingyu stated confidently. "I'll make this psyker leave. How I do it is not your concern. You just need to figure out how to digest this merit."
Lieutenant Rudolf scratched his head, hesitating. There was a risk. This reeked of deceiving superiors, and an illegal psyker was involved – one mistake, and he could lose not only his career but also his life.
Seeing his doubts, Li Qingyu said drawling:
"Ruleka, ah… How high do you have to rise to be content? You walk on thin ice your whole life, but can you reach the shore? Will you be satisfied being a petty company commander? A real man should be second only to the very top! If you don't strive to be first after the Emperor, can you be satisfied with yourself? The Emperor sits on the Golden Throne, and you, Rudolf…"
"Hey-hey-hey! I'll go, I'll go, just shut up!"
Rudolf, realizing that the conversation was entering dangerous territory, hurried to interrupt his interlocutor. If someone heard such words, his political life – and biological too – would be over!
Li Qingyu slapped Lieutenant Rudolf on the shoulder.
"Well done, Battalion Commander Rudolf! Shall we prepare and set out right now, Regimental Commander Rudolf? And when you become a division commander, don't forget the brother who gave you this future, Marshal Rudolf!!"
Two hours later, Lieutenant Rudolf reported to his superiors that he was moving out to fight rebels and led a detachment: about 120 infantrymen, one "Chimera" armored personnel carrier, and five military trucks. The column headed towards the Hydroponics Station.
Inside the "Chimera," Rudolf looked at Li Qingyu and asked:
"Why are you helping me?"
Li Qingyu waved his hand.
"We're all our own people. When you become a big shot, won't you take care of your brother?"
He put his arm around Rudolf's shoulders and whispered:
"I have some ideas for business in the Lower Hive, we can make a lot of money, but I don't have connections. If you can break into high society and sit at the same table with them, we can do business together, earn together, and become stronger together!"
Lieutenant Rudolf rolled his eyes.
"To sit at the table with high society, you need to be at least a battalion commander. In our regiment, there might be a combat commander position opening up soon, but at least nine company commanders are vying for it."
Li Qingyu pointed at Rudolf with an expression of deep sympathy on his face.
"Look at yourself, your words reek of defeatism! What do you mean 'nine company commanders are vying'? Why are you afraid to compete with them? If it's really impossible, get me a sniper rifle, and I'll shoot your competitors!"
Li Qingyu said this as a joke, but Lieutenant Rudolf's heart skipped a beat, and he remembered these words.
As they drove, Li Qingyu chatted with the lieutenant and asked:
"And where is Little Joel? I didn't see him when you were gathering troops."
Li Qingyu remembered Little Joel, who had seen him off to the Lower Hive last time. Why wasn't he there?
Sadness flashed in Lieutenant Rudolf's eyes.
"His spine… was broken a few days ago by a bullet from a rebel's homemade rifle. Paralysis below the waist. He was forcibly demobilized."
Li Qingyu clicked his tongue, lamenting the vagaries of fate. He liked this young man, a bit foolish, but with a clear gaze, which was rare in the cruel world of Warhammer 40k. A pity.
The column drove a little further and stopped five kilometers from the Hydroponics Station. Li Qingyu told them to wait and got out of the vehicle alone.
Standing by the armored personnel carrier, he said to Lieutenant Rudolf:
"This psyker is a bit off his rocker. I'll go talk to him first. Wait here. If I don't give a signal in an hour, turn back – it means the negotiations failed."
"What signal? And what will you do if they fail? Maybe I should cover you?" Rudolf asked.
Li Qingyu took out a small-caliber pistol.
"If I reach an agreement, I'll fire three shots into the air from this pistol. Then you drive up and fire control shots at the rebel corpses, as if you killed them. If it doesn't work out, I'll figure out how to get out myself."
He had formed a final opinion of Rudolf: a useless officer, but a loyal comrade.
Having finished speaking, he waved his hand and strode into the darkness.