Alex Emry was panicking—not because he feared death. If he died, he would simply resurrect in his hideout. What he feared was not being able to bring the automatic rifle back with him.
The footsteps from both sides were getting closer. Alex paced like an ant on a hot pan.
Then he noticed the crater left by the artillery shell—and the mangled flesh inside it.
A flash of inspiration struck.
He jumped straight into the crater and lay flat. From the corpse on his left, he "borrowed" an arm and draped it across his chest. From the one on his right, he pulled out a loop of intestines and laid it over his abdomen.
He smeared blood and gore across his face, tilted his head to one side, stuck out his tongue—
—and merged perfectly with the dead.
Just as he finished hiding, both forces reached the edge of the trench and spotted each other at the same time.
There was no hesitation.
They raised their weapons and opened fire.
The PDF squad leader was especially deadly. Unlike most PDF troops, he carried a lasgun, rare but devastating at close range. A single beam punched a fist-sized hole through the chest of the lead rebel, flash-cooking his organs and killing him instantly.
However, only the squad leader had a lasgun. The rest of the PDF were armed with autoguns firing solid rounds, which were far less effective—many shots were stopped by the rebels' crude bio-organic armour.
The rebels wielded a chaotic mix of weapons: automatic rifles, bolt-action guns, shotguns, and all manner of scrap-built arms. Their equipment was inferior, but they had numbers.
Gunfire and screams filled the air.
Alex lay motionless in the middle of the corpse pile, not daring to breathe.
Fifteen minutes later, a grenade detonated.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
Alex waited another five minutes. No sound.
Did they wipe each other out?
He slowly opened his eyes and scanned the trench. Bodies were everywhere—grey-clad rebel corpses mixed with PDF soldiers in green helmets.
"🎵 It's lootin' time~ 🎵"
Alex let out a delighted whoop, pushed the gore off his body, and began cleaning the battlefield.
He ignored the rebels entirely and dove straight for the PDF dead.
He grabbed a helmet and put it on.
Item: PDF Ballistic HelmetEstimated Value: 500 Fertiliser TokensArmour Rating: IIIRicochet Chance: MediumDurability: 30 / 30Material: Ceramite compositeWeight: 2.2 kg
Next, he stripped a relatively intact suit of armour from a corpse and wore it.
Item: PDF Light Flak ArmourEstimated Value: 1,500 Fertiliser TokensArmour Rating: IIIDurability: 45 / 50Material: Ceramite compositeWeight: 6.2 kg
Then he picked up a fallen PDF soldier's rifle.
Item: PDF Standard-Issue AutogunEstimated Value: ~3,500 Fertiliser TokensWeight: 4.5 kg
Vertical Recoil Control: 68
Horizontal Recoil Control: 52
Ergonomics: 52
Weapon Stability: 53
Accuracy: 60
Hip-Fire Stability: 72
Effective Range: 600 m
Muzzle Velocity: 1050 m/s
Fire Modes: Full-auto / Semi-auto
Rate of Fire: 750 RPM
Calibre: 8.9×55mm
Damage Rating: High
Just one standard autogun was worth 3,500 tokens.
Alex was ecstatic.
He dumped all his miscellaneous junk and focused entirely on collecting rifles.
One.Two.Three.Four.
He slung four rifles around his neck. The combined weight—over twenty kilograms—made his breathing heavy.
But he could still carry more.
Crawling to extraction while overloaded is a core loot-extraction experience!
"🎵 Today's a good day~ 🎵"
From the arms of a PDF trooper who'd been shot through the head, Alex pulled out a fifth autogun and strapped it to his chest.
Then a thought struck him.
Didn't the squad leader have a lasgun?
Lasguns were often mocked as flashlights—but that was only because the Warhammer 40,000 galaxy was full of horrors. On a normal battlefield, a lasgun was terrifying.
A single power pack allowed 200 shots. Each beam could punch a fist-sized hole through a human body and even penetrate 20mm of steel—something that would've required a heavy machine gun back in the Third Millennium.
And here, it was a standard infantry weapon.
Alex searched frantically for the squad leader's body. He'd been in this world for over three months and had never touched a lasgun.
What tier would lasgun shots even be? Tier IV?
He found nothing.
Then he heard a noise behind him.
Alex turned—and locked eyes with a pair of vicious, bloodshot eyes.
"WHAT—You're still alive?!"
The PDF squad leader, slumped against the trench wall, soaked in blood, was aiming a lasgun straight at him.
Fear flooded Alex's mind.
No! Please no! I don't want to lose my gear!
"Don't shoot! I'm not a reb—"
The shot was fired before he could finish.
A searing beam slammed into Alex's chest.
Heat. Emptiness.
He thought he was about to respawn.
But he didn't lose consciousness. He felt no pain—only the smell of scorched metal.
He looked down.
The lasgun blast had obliterated the five rifles hanging on his chest, bleeding off most of its energy. What remained struck the flak armour he'd just looted—and was stopped.
"YOU BASTARD!"
Alex exploded with rage.
He charged forward, kicked the squad leader square in the chest, knocking him flat, then stomped hard on the hand holding the lasgun, drawing a scream.
The squad leader had already been mortally wounded earlier. At close range, he had no chance.
Alex beat him down, ripped the bayonet from his belt, confirmed he was no longer a threat, then slung the lasgun over his back.
He pressed his knife to the man's throat, ready to kill him.
Why not use the lasgun?
Because Alex didn't know whether it had a gene-lock.
Imperial technology varied wildly between worlds. Some lasguns could be fired by anyone; others were keyed to their owner's genetic signature.
Just as Alex prepared to finish him—
The loot-and-extraction system chimed.
Ding! Emergency Mission Unlocked
Objective: Rescue Sergeant Rudason
Sergeant Rudason was a highly experienced PDF veteran, valued by his superiors.
He had been promised a promotion to Second Lieutenant and platoon command if he successfully led his squad to recapture Trench 2563.
Clearly, things had gone very wrong.
Mission Objective:Escort Sergeant Rudason back to the PDF defensive line.
Rewards:
Unlock Rudason Extraction Route — You may extract through his sector. You saved his life; special treatment is only natural.
Unlock Contact: Rudason — Sell and purchase specialised items, accept exclusive missions.
PDF Faction Reputation +10