After the Players cleaned out the Mutants in other areas, they turned their attention to the lower deck.
Seeing how enthusiastic the Players were, Alex was very supportive.
He gave the password to open the lower deck's blast doors to Zigman and Little Fatty, letting them arrange things themselves.
Zigman and Little Fatty, along with the Players who wanted to farm monsters on the lower deck, discussed tactics and then set out.
After entering the password on the metal verification plate and getting approval, the sound of gears turning and servo motors humming came from behind the blast door.
As the blast door opened, the red alarm lights above the passageway rotated and flashed.
The crimson glow illuminated the dim lower cargo hold.
The first thing to enter the Players' view was a woman holding a girl.
Their flesh had already merged, turning them into a terrifying Mutant.
The woman was wearing tattered clothes with the Cadia emblem.
An aquila pendant hung from her neck.
The woman turned around blankly, letting the Players see her grotesque and terrifying face.
Several eyes embedded in her twisted face blinked constantly, examining the fully armed Players.
Her strange mouth opened and closed, making a sound.
"Has the Emperor come to save us?"
The woman's voice was hoarse, but filled with joy.
She didn't know what she had become.
She only remembered the Emperor, and the soldiers wearing the double-headed eagle emblem, as people she could trust.
"Has our suffering ended?"
The woman stumbled towards the Players, a chilling smile appearing on her twisted face.
She reached out a hand towards the Players, just like a desperate person falling into darkness longs for light.
The woman had forgotten many things.
But she still remembered the scene when she parted with her husband at the surface airport of Cadia.
Her unromantic husband kissed her forehead while gently telling her, "Ainasha, go, take the child and board the ship. When the war here ends, I will come find you."
And so, she took her daughter and boarded this battleship, evacuating with the soldiers.
She stayed in the kilometers-long lower deck.
She and the other refugees huddled together, helping each other.
The conditions here were terrible.
Every cargo hold had putrid standing water, or toxic coolant leaking from the huge copper pipes overhead.
Food and pure water were extremely precious, with only a small ration each day, barely enough to sustain life.
But such a difficult life did not break the woman.
Whenever she saw her daughter in her arms, she would think of her husband.
She thought that she must persevere, bring her daughter to a new home, and wait for her husband to return.
That way, their family of three could be reunited again.
"The Emperor, the Emperor has come to save us."
The woman walked towards the Players.
Her grotesque appearance was terrifying, but there was no malice in her voice.
"Grant you mercy, may you rest in peace."
Zigman, standing at the front, raised his laser gun and pulled the trigger.
The laser instantly pierced the woman's head.
She collapsed.
A faint whimper came from the mass of flesh clinging to her, vaguely sounding like a lovely child.
"May you rest in peace, may you return to the Throne, may you be embraced by the God-Emperor."
Scalp walked over, reciting an elegy, and shot the child as well.
At this moment, the roar of Mutants echoed from the depths of the dim lower deck.
The first Mutant appeared, followed by the second, and then hundreds, thousands, densely packed, like a tide.
The Mutants, filled with hatred, roared and charged at the Players.
"Fire!" Little Fatty shouted, "Full suppression!"
Dense laser flashes streaked through the air, emitting a piercing shriek.
The Mutants at the very front instantly fell like mown wheat.
In just a few minutes, the passageway was filled with severed limbs, without a single complete corpse, like minced meat rolling out of a grinder.
The dense charge of the Mutants was quickly disintegrated by heavy firepower.
Scattered stragglers were also shot dead by Players with laser guns.
The Imperial Glory took many refugees when it evacuated from the Cadia battlefield.
Those refugees were placed on the lower deck and, after encountering the Warp crisis, were transformed into Mutants.
Their numbers were enormous, but no terrifying mutated species appeared.
Relying on tactical cooperation and ample ammunition, the Players advanced orderly, steadily clearing the lower deck.
With the last Mutant on the lower deck eliminated, the Imperial Glory was declared reclaimed.
Alex, who was checking messages in the Strategic Room, suddenly received a golden pop-up indicating task completion.
"Task: Clear the enemies of the Imperial Glory (Completed) Gained 5000 Faith Points Other rewards have been distributed, can be claimed at the Praying Sanctuary"
Alex got up and went to the Praying Sanctuary, performing an aquila salute and praying before the Emperor's statue.
A light portal appeared out of thin air, and the Cherub, whom he had seen twice before, flew out of it carrying a large package.
At this time, two Players came online.
They were Tenjiro and Twisted person, who had died fighting the Chaos Beast.
"Holy crap, this little guy is quite unique, could it be a Cherub?"
Tenjiro, who had just revived, curiously examined the Cherub.
"I think this thing is creepy," Twisted person said, frowning at the Cherub, feeling uneasy all over.
No wonder Guilliman disliked this thing.
What kind of normal human aesthetic could accept this?!
The Cherub flew in front of Alex and put down the package.
Then, it flapped its wings and flew back into the light portal, disappearing.
"Is it delivering something to the Guide?"
"What is it?"
Tenjiro and Twisted person curiously crowded over.
Alex ignored the two lively characters and began to examine the reward on his own.
After opening the package, inside was a cold metal box.
The silver box had dark silver electromagnetic patterns on its surface.
Alex placed his hand on it, and the dark silver patterns glowed briefly before fading.
Then, the lock clicked, and the box opened automatically.
Thick white mist flowed out, spreading across the metal floor.
A Power Sword appeared before Alex.
The hilt was wrapped with cloth to prevent slipping, and the end was decorated with a double-headed eagle emblem.
Cold, dormant energy circuits spread along the broad blade, forming complex geometric patterns.
"Is it a two-handed sword?"
"What a cool sword!"
Tenjiro and Twisted person looked at the Power Sword in the box with infatuated expressions.
Under their gaze, Alex reached out and picked up the Power Sword.
A golden pop-up, visible only to him, appeared.
"Name: Holy Judgement Blade (Epic) Type: Power Sword Description: Forged a thousand years ago by an Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus using ancient technology, it has been used by various heroes. Their faith has fused with the sword's machine spirit, giving it unique damage bonuses against Warp Daemons. "Using this to hack at daemons will give you unexpected surprises."
A two-handed sword was much heavier than a one-handed sword.
If Alex hadn't leveled up to seven and had his physical stats enhanced, he probably wouldn't even be able to wield this sword.
"Congratulations, you have learned the skill: Two-Handed Sword (Beginner)."
"It looks like I'll have to make time to practice sword fighting."
In the Warhammer Universe, anyone with a bit of fame had their martial arts skill maxed out.
Even the famous straight man, Commissar Cain, had a record of banishing Great Daemons with a sword.
If you don't hone your martial arts, you'll definitely get thrashed in a fight.
Alex gestured with the Holy Judgement Blade, then holstered it into the weapon rack on his Power Backpack.
The adamantium-made latch automatically locked.
This was a standard Power Armor design, allowing the user to switch weapons for combat.
A one-handed sword and a two-handed sword complemented each other perfectly.
"Guide is so handsome, when can I have equipment like that?"
Twisted person's eyes were practically sparkling.
Tenjiro next to him was the same, looking eagerly at Alex.
At this moment, a flash of light appeared again from the shrine.
Old Bird came online.
"Guide."
Old Bird walked over to greet him.
"Welcome back." Alex nodded, "How did the task I assigned you yesterday turn out?"
"I discussed it with colleagues today and have some ideas for completing the task," Old Bird replied.
"But it still needs to be attempted, and there's a certain risk."
Alex nodded, "Go ahead and do it. Things won't get much worse than they already are. Tell me anything you need, and I will have all the Players cooperate with you."
"As long as you can restart the reactor, you will be the Imperial Glory's Chief Technical Officer."
Tenjiro and Twisted person's eyes widened.
Another hidden gameplay element had been unlocked!
Merit?
Position?
Now he's Chief Technical Officer, and when he gets in touch with the Adeptus Mechanicus later, won't he be able to become an Archmagos?
Then he'll control several Forge Worlds, build warships, build titans, build Dyson spheres.
He's definitely going to take off.
"Respected Guide, I will do my utmost, to the best of my ability, to ensure the reactor is restarted."
Old Bird was flushed with excitement.
"Can you tell me what you plan to do next?" Alex asked.
Old Bird straightened his back, performed an aquila salute, and began to report.
According to him, after talking with his colleagues yesterday, he went to understand the procedures for reactors in Holy Terra (Earth/Reality).
The Imperial Glory uses a plasma reactor.
In terms of setting, the technology is more advanced, but the basic principles haven't changed.
It just uses a gravity field instead of magnetic confinement, allowing the reactor to achieve fusion reaction without such high temperatures and pressures.
"The first step is to inject a small amount of fuel, try to ignite it, see where the problem is, and then solve it bit by bit."
"Once it ignites successfully, we'll increase the fuel injection, adjust the output and input power to form a positive cycle."
Alex fully supported Old Bird, "As a servant of the Emperor, you are excellent. Go ahead and do it boldly according to your ideas."
Tenjiro and Twisted person watched enviously.
The Guide's tone was different now.
Has his favorability been maxed out?!
With Alex's support, Old Bird was even more motivated.
He went back to the reactor chamber and reread the instruction manual, finding the section related to restarting.
After carefully reading it, he had Zack, Maverick, and other Players prepare to assist him in restarting the reactor.
Zack and Maverick, along with several other Players, visibly tensed up.
Because this game was too realistic.
Once something went wrong, who knew what the consequences would be.
Old Bird, worried they would make mistakes due to nervousness, offered comfort.
"You don't need to be too scared. Even if it explodes, it doesn't matter, it's just a game."
Alex, standing nearby: "…"
You can't say that!