Li Qingyu darted up and down, while the Chimera APC relentlessly pursued him, as if it had a death grip.
By all technical laws, a vehicle moving in reverse shouldn't have such power, nor should trees be able to stop it. But this Chimera stubbornly pushed through the thicket, snapping trunks, without slowing down, as if possessed, giving Li Qingyu no chance at all.
He realized: the Machine Spirit had gone out of control. Running, Li shouted:
"Hey, Sergeant Major Ni Guojin! Tell this stubborn girl to cool down! I'll pour her the best oil every day, I swear!"
Inside the vehicle, Ni Guojin muttered softly:
"Hey, good girl, he says he'll treat you to the tastiest oil every day. Well, shall we forgive him this time?"
He lightly touched the brake – but the vehicle didn't even flinch. The engine roared louder, as if from rage.
"Buddy, that won't work! You've touched her too deeply!" Ni Guojin shouted.
"Then I'll add deep maintenance once a week!" Li shouted back, drowning out the roar. "Thorough polishing and lubrication of the gears, with a massage!"
"Come on, come on, girl," the sergeant coaxed again. "I think the conditions are simply fabulous. I don't even show my Natasha so much tenderness."
He pressed the brake pedal again – to no avail. The vehicle only growled in response.
"Ah, buddy," Ni Guojin drawled. "You'll have to sweat before she forgives you."
Li Qingyu jumped over a bush and dived away from a falling tree that had almost crushed him.
"We're going to crush everything," he yelled, "and we'll keep crushing everything!"
"I'll show her rivers of blood, let her taste battle! Her autocannon will tear bodies to shreds, her tracks will grind enemy skulls! Let everyone die with a scream under her weight!!"
A roar thundered, and suddenly the Chimera froze in place. The engine died down, its fury extinguished. The steel behemoth stood motionless in the forest, as if asleep.
Inside the cabin, Ni Guojin listened to the quieted Machine Spirit, raised an eyebrow, and grinned.
"Oh, wow... Girl, you're a real Valkyrie!"
…
A day later, in the distillery, dishes were piled high along a long row of wooden tables. Meat, vegetables, fruits – everything that would be considered a luxury on the Upper Hive was here in abundance.
But no one at the tables touched the food. People's gazes were fixed on Li Qingyu, who had risen from the table. Expectation, a hot gleam, and anxiety mingled in their eyes.
He first looked at the thirteen SIT soldiers, those who operated the Chimera and two autocannons.
"Brothers from SIT," Li said, "we agreed before we started: for today's operation, each of you gets fifty thousand coupons for fertilizer."
"I have the money." He took out a bag, which thudded dully on the table in front of them. "Take it."
The thirteen soldiers exchanged glances, someone whistled. Greed flashed in their eyes – fifty thousand, almost a year and a half of their salary. With such a sum, their families could survive even a storm.
"If someone dies," Li Qingyu continued, "their families will receive another fifty thousand. And I'll make sure no one harms them. If the worst happens, and your loved ones end up in the Lower Hive, I'll shelter them with me. Not a single soul will be left out in the open."
"Well, you've really said everything that can be said," Ni Guojin drawled, tapping his finger on the table. "You can't fault that, ha!"
Li Qingyu nodded at them and shifted his gaze to the three rebels.
"If you die, your families will be under my protection. Every month, they will be delivered a can of canned meat, medicine, and everything necessary – as long as they live."
The three rebels straightened their shoulders.
"Don't worry, boss!" one replied. "Our lives are yours already! We won't let you down!"
Li clapped each of them on the shoulder, then went to his key subordinates. He surveyed the team, clicked his tongue.
"Lao Qiao," he addressed him, looking at the elder of the Little Joel family, "after this business, I need someone to manage a potential workshop in the Middle Hive. What do you say, will you take it?"
Lao Qiao froze, his heart pounding. Was the boss really going to give him the right to live in the Middle Hive again?
Then Li approached Kai's family, looking first at Kai Sr. – that same legless, downtrodden guy.
"Have you been listening lately? Not drinking?"
Kai Sr. nodded weakly, avoiding his gaze.
"Well, not bad." Li turned to his brothers. "I'll talk to someone, maybe we can get you a mechanical leg."
Kai Sr. raised his eyes, not believing what he heard. Kai's father and Kai Jr. inhaled sharply. If the elder brother could walk again – their family would return to the ranks of the combat-ready, and no one would dare touch them anymore!
Finally, Li looked at the young recruits.
"The outcome of this battle will determine your fates. Whoever is daring, obedient, and proves himself – will receive rewards and a chance for promotion. Whoever abandons a comrade or runs – will die. And his family will be kicked out of here.
"Two roads lie before you. Choose yourselves."
He returned to his place, raised his cup.
"Friends! To the bottom! To breaking through and forging a bright future for ourselves!"
…
The Fertilizer Gang owned four huge tank reactors, many chemical complexes, and even one low-level laboratory. Fifteen hundred workers toiled here. Their homes, welded from scrap metal, clung around the reactors, warming themselves from their residual heat.
Dozens of paths and pipelines led to the block. Most of them the Fertilizers had blocked with synth-steel and scrap, leaving only those with checkpoints and large iron gates.
Armed guards of the gang crowded near these posts, idly chatting.
Suddenly, a hum came from the depths of one pipe.
"Hey, did you hear that? What is that sound?"
"Sounds like an engine. A cart? But there were no transports scheduled today..."
"Damn it, raise the alarm! Looks like we have guests with guns!"
The guards bustled, pulling in reinforcements.
A minute later, about seventy fighters, armed with whatever they could find, stood at the gates, aiming at the black maw of the tunnel.
The hum intensified. Many felt uneasy – the sound was clearly not from a cart.
One of the shooters turned on a spotlight. The beam of light latched onto the darkness… and froze on a massive silhouette.
An Armored transport stood in the passage, threatening with its barrels. Behind it swarmed many armed figures.
"This is... it can't be!" one of the soldiers muttered, rubbing his eyes.
He looked forward again – and at that moment, a blinding stream of fire erupted from the gun port.