Having sorted out all the affairs, Li Qingyu dismissed the people – each to their own tasks – and then, grabbing Knife by the sleeve, said:
"Go, haul a hundred crates of canned meat. Let them cook a big stew for the workers."
"I see a coup has happened here – so a new order should have new scope. Let them have a real meal for once."
Knife obeyed: he got into the cart, and it rolled towards the distillery, its wheels clattering.
And Li Qingyu remained in the Electronic Eye's room and began a predatory inventory of his riches.
This guy had a hut of about two hundred square meters – spacious, with expensive furniture and comfort, and a dozen women crowded nearby.
Upon seeing the change of power, they were not at all embarrassed: swaying their hips and arching their backs, they clung to the new master as if inviting him to feel at home.
But Li Qingyu had no intention of becoming like the Electronic Eye, and he decidedly disliked the appearance of the ladies.
In short – they looked like in-game nuns from Warhammer miniatures: all sorts of women with stone faces.
Seeing these "beauties" in the Warhammer style, Li Qingyu felt his subordinate instinctively want to hide deeper. He decided not to torture himself – he kicked the women out and sent them to haul fertilizer.
When no one was left in the room, he began to search. He found a lot of alcohol, expensive food, and toiletries, which were rare even for the Middle or Lower Hive. All of this was worth about ten thousand fertilizer coupons.
However, he found something better – a spring-loaded bed frame. It turned out to be an upgrade for the bed in the Sanctuary: it reduced the respawn time.
Li Qingyu removed the mattress and sheets – he decided to take them with him when Knife returned.
After rummaging a bit more – and a black safe, half a meter tall, caught his eye.
It had a combination of mechanical and code locks: to open it, a key was needed to turn the cipher wheel.
Li Qingyu examined the entire room – no key. Suddenly it dawned on him: had it remained with the Electronic Eye?
He rushed outside. Zhuangsen had already gathered the workers to remove the corpses. They had piled up a whole mountain of bodies, preparing to throw them away.
Li Qingyu started searching and soon found the headless body of the Electronic Eye. He searched it – and indeed, he pulled a metal key from its pocket.
He returned to the room, inserted the key into the lock, and turned it. A clear "click" sounded.
Li Qingyu exhaled happily: the key fit. But now the problem – what was the code? Break it by force? But if the durability of things in this world is like in Warhammer 40k, then he would have to open the safe with explosives. And what would happen to the contents then?
He pondered for a long time and finally decided to use psionics.
He had been practicing it for a long time: he could lift an object up to ten kilograms.
As soon as he touched an object – if there was even the slightest gap, a short psychic tentacle could be extended there.
He decided to act. He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and placed his palm on the lock dial.
The next moment, an invisible psychic tentacle slid into the gap between the discs. Li Qingyu's gaze shifted deep into the mechanism – he saw the internals of the safe from the inside.
Gears were spinning behind the dial: if the correct combination was set, several latches should have engaged.
Now everything was visible right before his eyes – where what was rotating, where it was catching.
He carefully turned the dial with his other hand, making a dozen rotations in a row, and then, with a pleasant "clack-clack," the latches snapped into place.
Li Qingyu opened his eyes, grabbed the safe handle, turned it – "click," the lid yielded, and a blinding shine almost burned his vision.
Fertilizer coupons. Piles and piles of coupons! The safe was half the height of a person, packed to the brim with them – three million, if not four million!
Li Qingyu whistled: damn it, he was now rich, true financial freedom!
And indeed – you can't earn much through honest work, you can only get truly rich by robbing someone.
He dug into the safe again: among the coupons, he found four gold bars, two kilograms each.
Gold, of course, is not rare in the Galaxy, but human culture still attaches value to it, so this is also considerable wealth.
Next, he discovered a green card with the inscription: "District G, House 13, Apartment 4123."
"Hmm… a key card?"
Li Qingyu twirled it in his hands, wondering what it was for.
He had heard that the Electronic Eye was some kind of cog in the machine for an aristocrat from the Upper Hive. And there, anyone with Upper Hive status, even a cleaner, was considered a peerless aristocrat and had housing on the upper levels.
So, does this key card belong to the Electronic Eye's apartment in the Upper Hive?
Li Qingyu thought and slipped the card into his pocket: he would figure it out later.
When he got Upper Hive status himself – he would visit there, maybe find something else valuable.
The work was just finished, and at that moment Knife returned with the cart. The workers had already started unloading the canned goods.
Upon learning that the meat was intended for them, the people erupted in jubilation.
Li Qingyu came out of the room – cheers with his name echoed around; the crowd welcomed the new leader.
He smiled and said to the workers:
"Work honestly. Maybe someday we'll have a meat lunch every month – who knows?"
The crowd buzzed with delight again. If loyalty were measured in numbers, it would probably reach ninety-nine plus now.
Then Li Qingyu loaded the frame and the looted riches into the cart and headed back to the distillery. Upon reaching the Sanctuary, he locked the door and began the upgrade.
He threw out the old broken bed, installed the spring frame, laid boards on top, and threw on a blanket.
Bed Lv.1 upgraded to Lv.2. Effect: respawn time after death reduced to seven hours, Spirit recovery speed slightly increased.
After finishing with the bed, Li Qingyu went to the workbench, turned on the grinding wheel, and ground the four gold bars into gold dust.
Then he approached the Emperor's Sanctuary. He smeared the wooden statue with glue and carefully sprinkled it with powder, then compacted it, beat it with a hammer, and shaped it.
It took half a day of work – and now a dazzling gilded statue of the Emperor stood before him.
Li Qingyu placed it directly in the center, lit a candle, and said:
"Grandfather Emperor, here it is – I've cast you a golden body. Take care of your subordinate!"
Emperor's Sanctuary Lv.1 upgraded to Lv.2. Effect:
There are now three altars for offerings instead of one.
Holy Patronage: The Emperor's power surrounds your Sanctuary, spreading blessings outward.
Favor of the Clergy: Devoted servants of the God-Emperor feel natural sympathy towards you.