A hideout is a PMC's sanctuary, a task force member's comfort zone, and an operative's beloved home.
In the 'Search, Strike, and Retreat' game, the hideout is where the player's character rests. Here, one can stockpile supplies, upgrade equipment to craft advanced items like firearms, armor, and ammunition, and also concoct food, drinks, and various injectables.
The higher the hideout's level, the more advanced items can be crafted. In Warhammer 40k, a hideout can also produce localized high-tier items such as power armor, power swords, and boltguns.
However, these require the hideout to be upgraded to a very high level. Currently, Li Qinwu's hideout is just a dilapidated room in the Underhive.
The hideout itself is quite spacious, possibly a former warehouse, spanning over 500 square meters. Its walls, floor, and ceiling are constructed from black steel and ceramite.
The air here is stale, with a smell of rust. The only light comes from a few bubble lamps, casting a dim glow. There's no electricity or running water, making for a terrible living environment.
But this is Li Qinwu's home, an absolutely safe space located in the Underhive, with a large, locked iron door completely separating the inside from the outside!
Once in the safe zone, Li Qinwu suddenly felt utterly exhausted. He had been running around outside all day, pulling an all-nighter.
He tossed his backpack and the guns he'd scavenged into a corner, then lay down on the synthetic fleece mat and fell asleep.
He slept a deep, dreamless sleep, only waking when his stomach protested.
He clutched his aching lower back and sighed.
"If I keep sleeping on this mat, my back's going to break."
He got up and walked to a corner of the room, opening a plastic bucket to relieve himself.
"Ugh, I need to figure out how to install a toilet, otherwise the whole room will reek of urine."
Afterward, he ate some biscuits and drank some water, then went to where the guns were, picked one up, and moved under a bubble lamp.
This bubble lamp is actually a regional status light for the hive city. Green indicates that the area is functioning normally; if it turns red, it means there's a problem in the area that needs repair.
Under the bubble lamp, Li Qinwu set up a metal workbench. On it were various tools he had gathered recently. This was a workbench certified by the 'Search, Strike, and Retreat' system, capable of crafting certain items.
Li Qinwu sat down at the workbench, placed the automatic gun on it, fixed the gun body with pliers, and then began filing off the gun's serial number and the Imperial Aquila mark with a file.
Level 1 Workbench, manual operation.
Input: PDF standard automatic gun × 1, file × 1.
Output: Unmarked black market gun (automatic gun) × 1.
Crafting time: 10 minutes.
Li Qinwu sat on the workbench chair, filing away at the gun, the hideout filled with the grating sound of metal friction.
Ten minutes later, the file broke. The gun's serial number and the Imperial Aquila mark were gone, leaving ugly friction marks in their place. A pristine black market gun, ready to circulate among the Underhive gangs, was born.
If the markings on the gun weren't removed, it would only sell for half the price at a black market dealer.
The officials in the Upper Hive occasionally send people to inspect the Underhive, and black market dealers, being businessmen, don't want trouble, hence this rule.
For this reason, Li Qinwu bought a file from a black market dealer, processed the gun himself, and then sold it.
However, the materials in the Warhammer world were too strong. For a few small markings, he had to file for 10 minutes, which was too strenuous. He needed to upgrade his tools to improve efficiency.
"Hmm, it's about time to upgrade the workbench to Level 2."
Li Qinwu got up, wrapped the black market gun in cloth, hoisted it onto his shoulder, pulled a small-caliber pistol from under his pillow and tucked it into his waistband, then pushed open the iron door and stepped out.
This iron door could also be upgraded to increase the hideout's security level. For now, it was just a thick steel door with a rotary mechanical lock, the password known only to him.
Outside the door was a pitch-black steel corridor. To the left was the way down the map, leading to the surface via ventilation shafts.
To the right was the path to the deeper levels of the hive city, where many Underhive residents were active.
A hive city is a colossal urban sprawl, its peak piercing the atmosphere, its base delving deep underground.
The officials reside in the upper levels, enjoying their atmospheric gardens.
The middle levels are where the respectable people of the hive city operate, including merchants, soldiers, and workers. They are the planet's backbone and generally live well.
As for the lower levels, this is where all manner of unsavory characters reside: the dregs of society, pitiable individuals who have fallen from the upper levels, criminals, mutants, psykers, and possibly even warp-spawned entities like demons.
In short, the Underhive is teeming with all sorts of people and is truly a lawless land.
Li Qinwu walked with a flashlight into the depths of the corridor for over 30 minutes. Slowly, light appeared ahead, revealing a large open space.
This was an activity area for Underhive residents, featuring a fertilizer factory. Gang-controlled slaves synthesized fertilizer here, which the gangs then handed over to officials. The officials, in turn, provided the gangs with resources, establishing a cooperative relationship.
Li Qinwu ignored the pungent smell of fertilizer in the air and walked into the vast space. He was then stopped by two gang members wielding homemade shotguns.
"Hold it! What are you doing here?!"
Li Qinwu pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, offering one to each of them. The two men took the cigarettes, their expressions softening slightly.
He lit one for himself with a flip-top lighter, then lit theirs. The three of them began to puff away.
Li Qinwu said, "I'm looking for the black market dealer Nepal to offload some good stuff."
He gestured with the cloth-wrapped gun on his shoulder.
Upon hearing the name Nepal, the two gang members immediately stepped aside.
"Go on in, but don't cause any trouble."
Li Qinwu tossed the entire pack of cigarettes to the two of them, waved his hand, and walked in.
It was quite easy to get tobacco on an agricultural world. He heard that ordinary people in the neighboring industrial world couldn't even smoke plant-based tobacco, but instead smoked a byproduct of waste gas from steelmaking.
Li Qinwu entered the gang-controlled area and headed directly for a unique shop built into the steel and ceramite structure.
Calling it a shop was a stretch; it looked more like a junkyard, filled with electronic parts, metal fertilizers, and chemical cans. You could find almost anything you wanted here, though the quality wasn't high.
The black market dealer Nepal was a gloomy, gaunt man. He offered a fake smile when he saw Li Qinwu arrive.
"My good customer, buying or selling?"
Li Qinwu opened the cloth package and placed the gun on the table.
"Sell first, then buy!"
Upon seeing the gun, the black market dealer Nepal licked his dry lips.
His somewhat withered hands picked up the gun, disassembling it into parts in a few swift movements, then carefully inspecting each component.
He peered into the barrel, confirming the rifling was intact, then the black market dealer Nepal named his price.
"PDF standard automatic gun, 80% new, markings filed off. I'll offer 2700 fertilizer coupons."
Li Qinwu placed a fully loaded 30-round magazine on the table.
"Add this, and I also want to buy some things. How about 3400 for everything?"
The black market dealer Nepal considered it briefly, then said, "3200, and you spend all the money in my shop."
Li Qinwu nodded.
"Deal!"
The black market dealer Nepal had his subordinate take the gun away and asked, "What do you want to buy?"
Li Qinwu began rattling off a list.
"One promethium cell, two 30-meter-long electrical wires, one motor, one angle grinder, 10 light bulbs, 50 sets of screws and nuts, four 1-meter-long steel pipes, one standard toolkit, and four electrical switches."
Yes, these are all materials needed to upgrade the hideout.