After three shots, Li Qingyu sat on the steps at the entrance to the hydro-monitoring station and calmly waited, while picking and throwing away the poisonous plate from his teeth.
Soon, the roar of an engine was heard – Lieutenant Rudoson with his soldiers rolled out onto the clearing.
The lieutenant was on guard: the turret of the BMP "Chimera" was scanning from side to side, the soldiers held their weapons at the ready, aiming at all suspicious bushes.
They feared that a psyker would jump out from somewhere and finish them off with some vile sorcery.
Li Qingyu waved to Rudoson.
"Don't tremble, the psyker is gone. He won't come back here. Now this place is yours – heroically captured by you, Lieutenant Rudoson."
With these words, Li Qingyu led him to the forest and pointed to the scattered bodies of the rebels.
"And here are the fierce heretics, fallen by the hand of the valiant lieutenant. All glory to you!"
The corpses had already begun to decompose – and any experienced veteran would have understood at first glance that this was a fake and an attribution of someone else's merits.
But no one cared. Discipline in the local Public Safety Service was limping on both legs, so no one would dig deeper.
Besides, the regimental commander was related to Rudoson. The guy wasn't promoted only because he had recently received a new rank, and repeating it would be unsightly, but for "combat merits" they would gladly put a mark.
And, look, there's a lot of homemade weapons lying around. Bringing these guns to the base is more convincing than the heads of the rebels.
The rebels' industry is on its last legs, people there are cheaper than weapons. Sometimes three or four fighters are assigned to one weapon.
Rudoson briefly examined the bodies and waved his hand. The soldiers opened fire on the forest, and the "Chimera's" autocannon added a couple of bursts for credibility.
After making enough noise and creating the illusion of a fierce battle, Rudoson ordered the soldiers to go out onto the "battlefield" and collect the trophy weapons to present to their superiors.
The corpses were piled up and burned. Now this victory belonged to him alone.
Then the lieutenant ordered them to secure the station to prevent a possible enemy counterattack.
He offered Li Qingyu a cigarette.
"I'm in your debt again. There's nothing to say. If you need anything, ask. I'll do everything I can, if it doesn't cause me serious problems."
As soon as he finished speaking, the System sent a notification: "Relations with Lieutenant Rudoson have been raised from level 1 to level 2. New items unlocked."
Combat grenade — 300 talons. Flashbang grenade — 200 talons. Armor-piercing rounds — 50 talons each. Remote explosives — 2000 talons. Optical sight 2–7x — 5000 talons. Light armored suit (class 4, limit 1/1) — 10,000 talons. Ceramic helmet (class 4, limit 1/1) — 5000 talons. Active headphones — 1000 talons.
The increase in reputation opened access to a lot of high-class army equipment. But the good news didn't end there.
"And here's another thing," Rudoson added. "If you see our company's transport outside the base, you can stop them, they'll give you a ride. I'll warn the personnel."
Li Qingyu whistled. This greatly simplified evacuation. If he was lucky enough to stumble upon Rudoson's company vehicle – he could just whistle, and they'd give him and his loot a ride straight to the Hive. Great!
Rudoson ordered heavy weapons to be installed, fortifications to be organized, and got into a truck – to return to camp with a report of victory.
On the way, Li Qingyu suddenly asked what had been on his mind for a long time: "Do you have a way to get me Middle Hive citizenship?"
He had long wanted to unlock access to the Middle Hive – he felt that new contacts and necessary upgrades for the sanctuary awaited him there.
The System claimed that Rudoson had connections, but the price was 100,000 talons in bribes.
Li Qingyu wanted to clarify the details. He had almost saved up the required amount and was planning to open a new location soon.
Rudoson replied casually: "I have a relative in the genetic data archive. You need to pay 100,000 talons to grease the wheels, then give blood and enter your genotype into the database. After that, you can go to the Middle Hive freely."
"And no catch?" Li Qingyu clarified. "Won't it come back to haunt me later?"
Rudoson snorted.
"A catch? There's no catch here. The gentlemen from the Upper Hive are happy when there are more citizens in the Middle Hive – more taxes. If you have a hundred thousand for citizenship, it means you have something to pay with. As long as you pay and don't break the law – or at least don't get caught by the Arbiters – no one cares about you."
Li Qingyu clicked his tongue. Warhammer 40k in all its glory – corruption is the supporting structure here.
"What," Rudoson squinted, "has our free scavenger decided to become a law-abiding citizen?"
Li Qingyu shook his head.
"Not exactly. I just want to be able to enter and exit freely, to conduct business without unnecessary hassle."
He fell silent, blowing smoke from his mouth and looking out the window. The truck bumped along the potholes, approaching the Public Safety Service camp.
Rudoson secretly glanced at him. Indecision flickered across his face, until he finally decided:
"Listen... If you help me with one thing, I'll get you citizenship for free."
Li Qingyu perked up – this was a quest! Free citizenship instead of a hundred thousand – a real treat.
"Let's do it!" he exclaimed. "What needs to be done? Who needs to be eliminated? Name them – I'll even kill your colonel!"
Rudoson shot him a grim look and grumbled:
"No need to kill anyone. It's about Little Joel."
"Joel?" Li Qingyu was surprised. "The one who was paralyzed?"
Rudoson sighed heavily – pain flickered in his eyes.
"Yes. His spine was broken. The pension from the Planetary Governor won't be enough for them even until the end of the month. Without his salary, the family won't be able to pay taxes – they'll be thrown out into the Lower Hive."
Li Qingyu understood where he was going.
"You want me to look after them down there?"
"Not just his family – all the wounded who find themselves in the same situation. These soldiers have lost their ability to work, and they face the same fate – exile down below with their families."
Li Qingyu frowned. Being a nanny for invalids and the elderly was not his thing.
Life in the Lower Hive is a complete meat grinder. Invalids, women, children, the elderly barely get off the great elevator – and the countdown begins immediately. Even healthy men die there like flies.
He considered himself a tough guy, but taking care of a poorhouse was too much.
And his living space wasn't infinite. His sanctuary was a home, not a shelter.
He could ask the Black Merchant to house them for a while, but that would only be a postponement.
They couldn't just sit on his neck. They had to do something – without work, they wouldn't survive down there.
Li Qingyu fell silent, and Rudoson's face darkened. Did he also not want to help?
The lieutenant knew what awaited his soldiers below, and found no way out. What could a simple company commander do?
When Li Qingyu didn't answer, Rudoson almost despairingly lowered his head.
If even this beast couldn't protect them... then their fate was sealed.
They drove in silence for five minutes. Then Li Qingyu reluctantly spoke:
"I'm afraid you don't quite understand what the Lower Hive is."
He explained that less than ten percent of the criminals thrown there survive. About the wild war between the Chemists and the Fertilizers. About the law of the jungle.
Rudoson listened, growing gloomier with each minute. At first, he thought it was a refusal, but Li Qingyu suddenly continued:
"What I mean is, if you hand over your men to me – I'll try to keep my word and protect them. But I give no guarantees. In the Lower Hive, I'm a loner. I don't have a faction, I have connections, but I don't control a district. If you're willing to accept the risk that I might fail and they might die... then fine. I'll take them. In the worst case, if they start to be tormented or humiliated – I'll put a bullet in their head myself, so they die with dignity. Deal?"
Li Qingyu calculated: a couple more mouths to feed – not a big deal.
He was just thinking about creating a small faction – people for grunt work wouldn't hurt.
Rudoson listened to these terrible conditions, grasping the main point – agreement.
He himself had never descended into the Lower Hive, but he had heard enough. People get killed there just for being in the way.
He didn't expect the guys to live in paradise. He just needed a crumb of hope. And here it was.
"Thank you. On behalf of the guys – thank you. And even if everything goes to hell, a quick death is better than slow torment. I will remember your kindness."
They drove the rest of the way in oppressive silence. The truck entered the Public Safety Service base.
Rudoson called a medic, who took a vial of blood from Li Qingyu, and the lieutenant slipped it into his pocket.
"Stay at the camp for a couple of days, don't leave. I'll handle the paperwork. It'll be ready by tomorrow evening."
Li Qingyu nodded. Rudoson left, and the scavenger was left wandering around the base.
Observing the order, he was once again convinced – discipline in the Public Safety Service was completely absent. The sentries on the towers were sleeping, the gunner at the stubber was playing cards instead of on watch.
If the rebels weren't the same rabble, the Hive would have fallen long ago.
"In the world of Warhammer 40k, the one who makes fewer mistakes wins," Li Qingyu philosophically noted, shook his head, lay down in Rudoson's tent, and instantly fell asleep.
He was woken at dawn. Rudoson stood over him with a grim face.
"Your citizenship is ready. You can freely visit the Middle Hive. And now – quickly! Let's go!"
Without letting him wake up properly, he pulled Li Qingyu off the cot, dragged him into the jeep, and ordered the driver to drive to the Hive.
Seeing such haste, Li Qingyu frowned:
"What happened?"
"Little Joel's family couldn't pay the medical bills. They owed the Two Serpents school. Yesterday, the Arbiters arrested them. Today, they're being sent on the first flight to the Lower Hive along with convicts. You have to intercept them – otherwise, they're doomed!"
Li Qingyu just threw out, "Let my things stay with you for now," and fell silent.
The jeep sped to the station. Li Qingyu jumped out on the move, grabbing the driver's rifle.
"Hey, that's my gun!" the driver protested.
But Rudoson cut off the complaint. He pulled three magazines from the soldier's loadout, shoved them into Li Qingyu's hands, then, hesitating, added his personal pistol, tucking it into the scavenger's belt.
"Take care of Joel. His back was broken when he covered his comrades from the rebels' fire."
Li Qingyu checked the bolts on both barrels and stepped into the train car. Rudoson followed him.
"Don't worry. Scavenger Li Qingyu keeps his word. Joel's family is under my protection."
The doors slammed shut, and the train rushed them deep into the Hive.
When they got out, they were already inside. Thanks to the officer's uniform, no one even thought to stop them.
The genetic scanner didn't trigger an alarm – citizenship was already in the database. The duty Arbiter merely glanced at them.
They rushed to the great elevator. Rudoson kept checking his watch, noticeably nervous.
Finally, the elevator shaft appeared ahead. The huge gates opened – and the first batch of convicts began to slowly enter. They made it.
Rudoson's eyes were diamonds – he immediately noticed Joel's family in the crowd of thousands of prisoners.
"Faster! There they are! The life of his family is now in your hands!"