On Perditia, the piercing alarm finally ceased.
The cultists entrenched in the ruins of the hive city retreated from the main Astra Militarum positions once again, like a receding tide, leaving behind a mess and twisted corpses. The people of the Lower Hive had once again bought themselves a brief respite, but no one knew when the next wave would come, or how ferocious it would be.
During this brief lull, a small group of cultists, seemingly unwilling to remain idle, launched a probing attack on the Chemical Refinery that had just changed hands. However, they faced a group of Helldivers who had long since made death an everyday affair.
The engagement barely qualified as a battle.
Even the most seasoned game dev, at most, had only fought three decent campaigns, but the lessons learned from countless deaths had clearly taught them how to fight in a hail of bullets. Perhaps they still couldn't compare to the battle-hardened, steel-willed Astra Militarum veterans, but they were at least much stronger than the Perditia PDF, who were always looking to flee and had fragile morale.
What's more, reality was cruel. On Perditia today, truly experienced Astra Militarum veterans were few and far between.
Shortly after the battle ended, Commissar Walter personally led a team to the Chemical Refinery. By then, the players had already conscientiously lined up in the factory's open space, awaiting orders.
Commissar Walter's gaze swept with a complex expression over these soldiers, whose faces were filled with confidence, even a hint of ease. They seemed to have just completed an easy hunt, showing no signs of the fatigue or fear from a bloody battle. He took a deep breath, suddenly straightened his chest, and shouted with all his might:
"Salute to the heroes! The Emperor's light shines upon your victory!"
Immediately, he and the Astra Militarum behind him, covered in gunpowder and with solemn expressions, all performed a standard aquila salute to the players.
Before the players could react, Walter had already finished his salute, returning to his stern demeanor, and said crisply, "Dismissed."
He waved his hand, instructing his Astra Militarum to bring a group of civilian workers to formally move in and take over the operation of the Chemical Refinery.
The players, having received their orders, naturally broke formation without a care in the world. This time, however, they didn't split into small groups; instead, most of them gathered together excitedly.
It turned out that the player who had drawn the rulebook really had started a D&D campaign in the corner of the factory, and had successfully found over a dozen participants, instantly attracting almost all the idle players to watch.
The reason it was "almost" was because there were always a few unlucky souls who drew lots to be sentries after the battle.
Robert didn't go to watch the fun; he walked up to Commissar Walter. Walter didn't say much, only pointed to the newly arrived workers: "I still need your soldiers to help these workers familiarize themselves with the environment here."
Robert nodded: "That's part of our duty, Commissar, you don't need to worry."
However, Walter's words also made Robert turn his attention to the group of workers. He hadn't noticed before, but upon seeing them, Robert was startled. Among this group of so-called "workers," there were almost no young adult males.
"Why are they all women and children?"
Commissar Walter's tone was understated: "The young adults are needed for defensive line construction."
Robert naturally understood the subtext of that statement—it meant that all men capable of holding a gun were being pulled to fill the front lines.
His heart sank: "Emperor above, has the situation… come to this point?"
Walter only sighed deeply, saying nothing more, but the heavy sigh explained everything. Robert also felt extremely heavy-hearted; he said nothing further, only called over a few players and had them lead the way.
Three players who had drawn the unlucky lot were leading a team of female workers and a small boy, clearly still a child, towards Sector C-1. This was where high explosives were produced.
One of the players grumbled, "Damn it, why did we get this assignment? So unlucky."
"Stop complaining, finish quickly, and let's go back to watch the tabletop game," another urged.
"Ugh, I don't know what 'Uther' is being such a coward about. He's already TPK'd the party, just go up and use a Holy Smite, and it's over! So wishy-washy!" He was clearly already mentally at the D&D table.
Upon arriving at Sector C-1, the players hastily pointed out the various areas to the female workers and briefly explained the precautions.
"See that? This spot was hit by a lasgun, that machine might be unstable, it's best to check it before dismantling."
"There might be lurking heretics in the corner, pay attention while you work. If there's anything unusual, immediately shout for help and report it!"
The female workers nodded timidly, their faces filled with fear and obedience, eagerly scrambling to assure the "gentlemen" of their absolute compliance. The players, however, didn't pay much attention to their reactions, simply treating them as low-intelligence NPCs with simple AI logic, which the game dev hadn't put much thought into.
One of the three players, with the ID "Joker," did notice the out-of-place child among the female workers. He walked over, and the surrounding female workers immediately made way as if to avoid him.
Joker squatted in front of him, a playful smile on his face. He ruffled the kid's hair : "Oh, whose child is this? The production area is very dangerous, why bring a child here?"
To his surprise, the child was not timid at all; instead, he puffed out his thin chest and loudly replied: "Sir, I am not a child, I am a pipe cleaner!"
The smile on Joker's face instantly vanished. The other two players, still discussing their tabletop game, also looked over.
"...What did you say? Say it again?"
The child, thinking this Astra Militarum officer was worried he couldn't handle the job, quickly patted his chest and assured him: "Don't worry, Sir! Although I am only four years old, I already have one year of work experience; I am a veteran!"
After speaking, the child seemed a little embarrassed, scratching his messy back of the head, and added: "I originally had two three-year-old apprentices, but unfortunately, they both accidentally fell to their deaths before."
"...Damn."
"Oh Emperor..."
The irritable guy who had been cursing earlier about his bad luck now growled in a tone a hundred times angrier than before: "What the hell is this?! Where are your adults?!"
The child was startled by his sudden outburst of anger, his body trembled, and he stammered: "I... I don't know."
"Alright," Joker stood up, stopping the player who was still trying to speak, "don't scare him."
He turned his head and said coldly to the group of new workers, who were silent with fear: "In short, these are the main points; this place will be handed over to you now."
After speaking, he turned and left without looking back, and the other two followed him. Behind them, the female workers' voices could be heard, hurriedly bowing and thanking them.
As soon as they walked out of the gate of Sector C-1, the player could no longer hold back, slamming his fist against the nearby wall and cursing furiously: "This is absolutely ridiculous! Who the hell is the villain here?!"
"You can't expect the populace under an empire that is feudal, theocratic, dictatorial, tribalistic ,xenophobic and superstitious, that has inconvenient transportation, closed information, hoards technology, and is constantly in the quagmire of endless war, to have very comfortable living conditions," the third player sighed.
"Even so, this is too much!" The player was still furious. "We need to do something!"
Joker interrupted their conversation: "We can't change these things now; winning the war is the only thing we can do."
He paused, looking in the direction from which faint cheers were coming.
"Now, let's hurry and see how that tabletop game is going."
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TL Note: Emperor above is what Walter hears with the filter on, however Robert actually could have said, my God, or Oh Jesus Christ hope that explains it.