Outside the hive city, yellow sand filled the sky, and the endless desolate Gobi Desert was scorched by the hot sun. A small squad of Astra Militarum soldiers and a small figure in a red robe were gathered around a Chimera APC.
The Astra Militarum soldiers leaned idly against the vehicle, occasionally kicking at the sand beneath their feet, while the small figure in the red robe was hunched over the open engine hood, his biological detector on his forehead flashing red intermittently as he diligently repaired the engine.
"I say, Archer, how much longer are you going to keep fixing it?" Garry leaned weakly against the chimera's tracks, chewing on some dry rations he'd found somewhere.
"They said Tech-Priests are all so amazing, so why are you fixing a broken engine like you're constipated?"
"First, I'm not a Tech-Priest yet, just an apprentice. I estimate it'll take me another ten years of hard work to become a full-fledged Priest." Archer looked up and glared at Garry. "Secondly, it's almost done."
"How many times have you said 'almost done' now?" Garry grumbled. "And ten years? Who plays a game and spends ten years as an NPC's apprentice first?"
Archer said grimly, "I have my own reasons."
"So," Name interrupted their bickering, "does anyone know the current time? How much longer do we have to stay in this place with nothing?"
"Another two terran hours," Archer answered this question. He had a built-in timer. "If we haven't found any trace of the orks within two terran hours, we'll return to the hive city."
Garry asked, "So why don't we use a Valkyrie for reconnaissance? It's faster and more convenient."
"A Valkyrie isn't a reconnaissance plane, it makes too much noise, you idiot! I haven't even complained, so you shouldn't either," Archer grumbled again. "At least you guys can reset your physical state by committing suicide. I can't afford to die even once, otherwise I'll lose my apprentice status!"
"I say," AlphaBravo sighed, her gaze sweeping across the vast, boundless yellow sand, "can the three of you consider something serious?"
"Serious?" The other three asked in unison, their tones filled with confusion.
"For example..." AlphaBravo withdrew her gaze and looked at them. "How are we going to fight millions of greenskins in this open terrain..."
At these words, the three people present felt a suffocating sensation. Once they entered such a wilderness, facing a massive number of orks, it would be hellish difficulty.
"Uh..." Garry was the first to speak. "Perhaps we should wait until the open beta, when there are more players, before attempting a dungeon of this level?"
"On the contrary, I think the decision to send people to scout now is correct," AlphaBravo said. "After all, the greenskins are there whether you're scared or not; that's a fact that can't be denied."
He pointed into the distance: "Given that, it's best to always keep track of their movements. Otherwise, if they launch a surprise attack on the hive city during this period of 'large-scale production recovery,' things will really become difficult."
"OK, fixed it!" Archer slammed the engine hood shut with a crisp 'click'. "Omnissiah preserve us, that was truly a troublesome matter."
"Speaking of which, do you truly believe in the Omnissiah now?" AlphaBravo asked curiously as he prepared to get into the vehicle.
"Ha!" Archer let out a dry laugh. "My faith in the Omnissiah is like a high school student who can't solve a difficult math problem during an exam and then prays to God, the Three Pure Ones, Buddha, and Allah... it's very pious!"
Just then, Garry suddenly pointed in one direction: "Isn't something off over there?"
The other three instinctively turned their heads to look in the direction Garry was pointing, and indeed, they saw some unusually rising dust.
"Maybe it's a sandstorm?" AlphaBravo speculated. "Then we'd better get in the vehicle and evacuate quickly."
"No, that's not right..." Archer's mechanical eyes saw further than the other three. He was the first to spot a Chimera APC at the edge of the horizon. "It's from Third Company, Second Squad, the same batch as us sent out to scout."
"Oh?" Name asked. "Are they being chased by a sandstorm?"
"No, that doesn't seem to be a sandstorm..." Archer's expression grew increasingly grim (don't ask where a person with extensive mechanical modifications gets an expression). "It's greenskins! Thousands upon thousands of greenskins are chasing them!"
Archer abruptly turned around: "We need to quickly..."
Then he saw that the other three had already gotten into the chimera's compartment at some point. AlphaBravo, in the co-driver's seat, poked his head out and urged, "What are you standing around for? Get in the car and let's go!"
Meanwhile, the situation for Third Company, Second Squad, was far more perilous than for AlphaBravo and his companions.
"RNGesus!" Pyro, who was manning the promethium flamethrower at the rear of the vehicle, ready to incinerate any greenskins that charged, cursed loudly. "I told you not to roll your damn dice, and even if you did, you rolled a 3! And after rolling a 3, you still dared to accept a reconnaissance mission! Look, we're screwed now!"
"Pyro, you need to look at things from a positive perspective," the player 'RNGesus' in the driver's seat tried to argue... oh no, explain. "Look, haven't we completed the reconnaissance mission now? This progress is dozens of times ahead of other players, and most of the merit for this mission will probably be ours!"
"Positive my ass!" Pyro stomped his foot in anger. "You have nothing, so dying doesn't matter to you, but I'm carrying my promethium flamethrower! My heart and joy!"
"Ummies up ahead, no running!" The largest ork, riding the fastest bike among them and always at the forefront, roared, "Stop and fight me!"
"Fight your mom!" Pyro retorted, not to be outdone. He was already used to exchanging trash talk with these greenskins. "There are so many of you, do you take us for two idiots?"
"Come fight!" The ork persisted.
"Fight your mom!"
"Come fight!"
"Fight..."
"Alright, alright, that's enough!" RNGesus, in the driver's seat, said, losing his patience. "Why are you two so childish? Are you elementary schoolers?! Next, are we going to have 'No U', 'No U no U', and 'I No U your No U no U'?"
"Uh..." Pyro was speechless after RNGesus's words.
"Running like this isn't a solution," RNGesus said, changing the subject after rendering Pyro speechless. "You tell that ork boss that we can stop and fight him, but it has to be a one-on-one duel, and if I win, he has to let us go."
"A one-on-one duel with a greenskin leading ten thousand boyz?" Pyro asked, surprised.
"What?" RNGesus said irritably. "Do you think I can't beat him?"
'Bro you a 3, did you forget.'
Pyro said nothing, but his expression said it all.
"Hmph," RNGesus snorted coldly, saying smugly, "To tell you the truth, just now, my god dice's cooldown ended..."
As RNGesus spoke, he took out a dice carved with complex patterns. The number "3" was prominently displayed, emitting a faint glow.
"I've rolled hundreds of times, and this is the first time I've rolled a 3!" He held his head high. "Just relax and watch how your Brother RNGesus stylishly abuses the greenskins!"
"RNGesus!" Pyro, who was manning the promethium flamethrower at the rear of the vehicle, ready to incinerate any greenskins that charged, cursed loudly. "I told you not to roll your damn dice, and even if you did, you rolled a 3! And after rolling a 3, you still dared to accept a reconnaissance mission! Look, we're screwed now!"
"Pyro, you need to look at things from a positive perspective," the player 'RNGesus' in the driver's seat tried to argue... oh no, explain. "Look, haven't we completed the reconnaissance mission now? This progress is dozens of times ahead of other players, and most of the merit for this mission will probably be ours!"
"Positive your grandmother!" Pyro stomped his foot in anger. "You have nothing, so dying doesn't matter to you, but I'm carrying my promethium flamethrower!"
"Shrimp up ahead, no running!" The largest ork, riding the fastest bike among them and always at the forefront, roared, "Stop and fight me!"
"Fight your mom!" Pyro retorted, not to be outdone. He was already used to exchanging trash talk with these greenskins. "There are so many of you, do you take us for two idiots?"
"Come fight!" The ork persisted.
"Fight your mom!"
"Come fight!"
"Fight..."
"Alright, alright, that's enough!" RNGesus, in the driver's seat, said, losing his patience. "Why are you two so childish? Are you elementary schoolers?! Next, are we going to have 'No U', 'No U no U', and 'I No U your No U no U'?"
"Uh..." Pyro was speechless after RNGesus's words.
"Running like this isn't a solution," RNGesus said, changing the subject after rendering Pyro speechless. "You tell that ork Sir that we can stop and fight him, but it has to be a one-on-one duel, and if I win, he has to let us go."
"A one-on-one duel with a greenskin leading ten thousand boys?" Pyro asked, surprised.
"What?" RNGesus said irritably. "Do you think I can't beat him?"
Pyro said nothing, but his expression said it all.
"Hmph," RNGesus snorted coldly, saying smugly, "To tell you the truth, just now, my god dice's cooldown ended..."
As RNGesus spoke, he took out a dice carved with complex patterns. The number "42" was prominently displayed, emitting a faint glow. It was his first time rolling such a high number on this 50 sided dice.
"I've rolled hundreds of times, and this is the first time I've rolled a 42!" He held his head high. "Just relax and watch how RNGesus the Great stylishly abuses the greenskins!"