"Do I need to reach level 10 before I can implant the gene-seed?"
Alex looked at the prompt, deep in thought.
A level 10 Player's physique far surpassed that of an ordinary person.
In Holy Terra (Earth/Reality), they would be considered one in a million tough guys.
But in the Warhammer Universe, such tough guys barely met the basic requirements for promotion to Astartes.
"I still need to accumulate more Faith Points to exchange for gene-seeds."
After checking the requirements for promotion to Astartes, Alex then checked the time-limited missions.
[Time-limited Mission: Assist Belisarius Cawl in traveling to Macragge.
Cadia Fortress has fallen, the End Times have arrived, and humanity is plunged into its greatest crisis in history, yet a glimmer of hope remains amidst the despair.
After ten millennia of arduous work, Belisarius Cawl has created a mysterious armor capable of resurrecting a Primarch.
Unfortunately, the Great Raider Abaddon has also learned of this news.
He has dispatched his most capable subordinates to prevent the Primarch's resurrection.
Phase One: Assist Belisarius Cawl in escaping Cadia (Mission expired, invalid)
Phase Two: Assist Belisarius Cawl in evading Abaddon's pursuers and traveling to Macragge (In progress, can be accepted)
]
[Time-limited Mission: Assist the Blood Angels Chapter in resisting the Leviathan Fleet.
The Hive Mind covets the Blood Angels, who possess a special gene sequence.
It has dispatched the Leviathan Fleet with the intent of destroying the Blood Angels' homeworld to acquire this special gene sequence.
Phase One: Assist the Blood Angels Chapter Master Dante in defending the Pluto System (Mission expired, invalid)
Phase Two: Assist the fleet in delaying the Tyranids fleet in the void (Mission expired, invalid)
Phase Three: Assist the Blood Angels and numerous successor Chapters in resisting the Tyranids on Baal (In progress, can be accepted)
Friendly Reminder: The mission location is in a Warp anomaly zone. The time flow in this area differs from other areas. Please consider carefully.
]
[.]
"Archmagos Belisarius Cawl is heading to Macragge! This means Guilliman hasn't been resurrected yet."
Due to the Warp, time varies across different star sectors.
After the Great Rift expanded, time in various regions became even more chaotic.
For example, in the Battle of Baal, the Blood Angels and the Tyranids only fought for a few months, but decades passed outside.
All along, Alex only knew he was in the End Times, but he didn't know the specific situation of the galaxy.
From the descriptions of the time-limited missions, he finally understood the current timeline.
Guilliman's un-resurrection meant that events like the Battle of Lion Gate, the Indomitus Crusade, and the Plague War had not yet occurred.
"With my current strength, even if I rushed over, I wouldn't be much help!"
"It's better to quickly increase my strength first, then participate in the Battle of Macragge to gain the Primarch's support and trust."
Guilliman was the Regent of the Imperium and, for a long time, the only loyal Primarch to awaken.
His power was astonishingly vast.
He could mobilize all the manpower and resources of the entire Imperium.
If he could gain his support, many troubles would cease to be troubles.
Alex had died once and personally experienced the horror of the Warp.
He knew very well that without the Emperor's protection, his end would surely be bleak.
With the Great Rift open, the Chaos God and the Emperor would personally descend, and a victor would surely be decided.
If the Imperium lost, the Chaos God would, as prophesied, devour the entire galaxy.
As for other factions, if humanity lost, they would probably be finished too.
The Eldar were now in decline.
The Necrons were single-mindedly trying to resurrect the Necrons to deal with Slaanesh.
But one of the Crone Swords needed to resurrect the Necrons was in Slaanesh's hands.
The Orks didn't care what the galaxy became.
They just wanted to WAAAGH.
The Necrons had slept for sixty million years, their minds were addled.
Though their technology was advanced, their entire race was fragmented and disorganized.
As for the T'au Empire, Alex could only scoff.
As for the Tyranids, he would be thankful if he wasn't eaten by them.
Alex had no choice but to tie himself and the Imperium to the same war chariot as the Emperor.
Helping the Imperium and humanity achieve victory was the only option.
If all else failed, getting Guilliman to agree to build thrusters on Holy Terra (Earth/Reality) would be good too.
At that time, if things went south, he could still run away.
Taking the Emperor on a Warhammer 40K version of "The Wandering Earth."
The battle to reclaim Lykard Space Station was in full swing.
Most Players were diligently earning Faith Points and Contribution Points to level up.
But there were also some Players who disliked combat and preferred to tinker with all sorts of odd things.
For example, Dora (Dora is the Lord of Myriad Machines), whose profession in Holy Terra (Earth/Reality) was researching intelligent algorithms and robots.
After entering the game, he initially followed other Players to kill zombies and Cultists.
As he fought, another idea came to him.
Warhammer OL was a 100% realistic game.
One could repair reactors and pilot warships.
Even real-world knowledge and professional skills could be used here.
So why not do what he liked in the game?
No sooner said than done.
He gathered a few Players and established the Dora Workshop.
The Dora Workshop's first goal was to build low-cost exoskeletons.
Father Tina had a few sets of exoskeletons for sale, but they were expensive.
A set of industrial exoskeletons for repair work cost five hundred thousand Contribution Points.
Players at this stage were pitifully poor.
After implanting prosthetics or undergoing body enhancements, they had very few Contribution Points left and simply couldn't afford exoskeletons.
Yet, the improvement in combat power provided by exoskeletons was obvious.
No Player could refuse an exoskeleton armor that could turn them into a walking arsenal.
Dora saw this market and prepared for a big venture.
If successful, he would not only make a fortune but also realize his dream.
Humanity's technological level was not bad.
In some areas, it was even superior to the Necrons and Eldar.
But due to the conservatism and ossification of the Adeptus Mechanicus, products could only be manufactured if they had a corresponding STC.
Otherwise, they would be deemed heretical and wiped out by punitive fleets dispatched by the Adeptus Mechanicus.
However, for Players like Dora, the Adeptus Mechanicus's rules and threats were less than a piece of scrap paper.
Could Players who didn't stir things up still be called Players?
The Dora Workshop quickly assembled its first product using existing materials—the Tomorrow I Type Exoskeleton.
As for why it was called that, it was because they directly copied the exoskeleton design from "The Tomorrow War."
As for the cost of a Tomorrow I Type Exoskeleton, it was infinitely close to zero.
Because there were few people, many warehouses and factories were unguarded, and materials were not inventoried.
The Players of Dora Workshop directly used parts from warehouses and factory equipment, incurring no cost whatsoever.
The Warmaster and his group, having rested, were preparing to set out on a mission.
Dora mysteriously approached them.
"Hey, brothers, want some gear?"
"What gear?" The Warmaster looked at him, puzzled.
"Exoskeleton armor."
The Warmaster's eyes widened, "You're privately reselling equipment??"
"Not reselling, we made it ourselves," Dora said.
The Warmaster looked confused, "You made it?"
"That's right, Dora Workshop products are always Boutique. Come on, just take a look even if you don't buy."
Dora pulled the Warmaster into a room.
There were a few other Players inside.
As soon as they saw the Warmaster and his group enter, they quickly stepped aside.
The Warmaster and his group saw an exoskeleton armor placed in the middle of the room.
"The Tomorrow I Type Exoskeleton Armor can carry five hundred kilograms, is equipped with 24 servo motors, has muscle-sensing drive, millisecond response time, 24-hour battery life, and is armed with two heavy machine guns. It's a proper heavy firepower platform!"
Dora introduced the exoskeleton armor's specifications to the Warmaster and his group.
"You made this?" Tenjiro looked at Dora.
"Yes, we made it," Dora said proudly.
"Interesting. How much are you planning to sell it for?"
The Warmaster examined the exoskeleton armor before him, showing an interested expression.
"Fifty thousand." Dora held up a hand, "That's just a fraction of the price at Father Tina's shop."
"No deal." The Warmaster turned to leave.
"Don't rush, the price is negotiable, the price is negotiable."
"Twenty thousand."
"Let's meet halfway, forty-five thousand."
"Eighteen thousand."
"Hey, no, why are you still cutting it down?"
"Sixteen thousand. If you sell it for that, we'll take five sets. Otherwise, your stuff is so crudely made, who can guarantee the quality? What if it blows up halfway?"
"I really can't sell it at this price, I won't even recover the cost. For five sets, I'll give it to you for one hundred and fifty thousand."
"Too expensive."
"Then what's your price?"
"At most one hundred and twenty thousand, not a single penny more."
"Okay, deal."
Dora slapped his thigh, "I'll take a loss today just to make a sale."
After happily taking one hundred and twenty thousand Contribution Points, Dora had people bring over five Tomorrow I Type Exoskeleton Armors for delivery.
The five Players from the Warmaster's squad put on their exoskeleton armor and went to complete the mission.
Although exoskeleton power armor couldn't compare to power armor, the increase in combat power for Players was still exaggerated.
The two heavy autocannons on their shoulders and the carrying capacity of up to five hundred kilograms turned them into mobile heavy firepower units.
Wherever they went, the tide of corpses was swept away, clearing monsters much faster than others.
In no time, the Dora Workshop gained a reputation for good quality and low prices.
Many Players sought them out to buy exoskeleton armor, and business boomed for a while.
Even the Imperial soldiers looked on with burning desire, wishing they could have a set themselves.
Alex soon learned about the Players secretly building exoskeleton equipment.
He knew this day would come sooner or later.
If the Fourth Scourge didn't pull off some crazy stunts, what would it even be called the Fourth Scourge for?
This was also why he breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Tina came from a Forge World on the edge of the galaxy.
If it had been those old conservatives from Mars, they would probably have shouted that the ancestral laws must not be changed, and then ordered their servitors to gun down the Players.
"This kind of thing should be encouraged and supported. Give them an interest-free loan."
Alex originally wanted to directly give rewards.
But he thought that if Players had too many Contribution Points, it might not be conducive to their efforts.
So he decisively chose another way of support.
Give them interest-free loans, let them hire people, improve products, and expand production scale.
The industrial surge of troops would depend on the Players.