To this day, Caiaphas still often tells me the story of his first meeting with Li Feng. At that time, he was a young Commissar who had just graduated from the Schola Progenium, and Li Feng appeared like a wild man on his first patrol route. Every time Caiaphas would tell me: 'I saw him smash an Ork Nob's head to pieces with a crowbar, and he seemed to have mistaken me for a regimental commander.' No matter how Caiaphas recalls that time, he must admit that he never expected the person he picked up after shaving his beard would change his already extraordinary life, a life as an imperial hero.
--- From 'For the Emperor's Service: The Life of a Commissar' Edited by Inquisitor Amberly Vail, Ordo Xenos
Dislathia,
Time 919.M41,
12th Valhalla Field Artillery Regiment Garrison.
This was Commissar Caiaphas Cain's third day with the 12th Valhalla Field Artillery Regiment, as a rookie Commissar fresh out of the Schola Progenium. If asked what he was best at, he would probably answer social graces and self-preservation.
He won the transfer order for this regiment's Commissar position by playing cards against a Department of Military Affairs official who wasn't very good at it. Compared to high-risk frontline positions like infantry regiments and mechanized regiments, Cain liked the artillery regiment. After all, the front line was several kilometers away, and his daily routine of supervising Soldiers maintaining the big guns made for a rather comfortable life.
As soon as Cain stepped off the transport, he knew from the people waiting to greet him on the ground that his card-playing skills honed at the Schola Progenium hadn't been wasted.
If Cain had stepped off the transport to find people with joyful expressions on their faces... Alas! That would have been the end of it! That would have proven that this place desperately needed him as a Commissar.
But at the 12th Valhalla Field Artillery Regiment, the person who met him was just a big gunner, with hardly any expression on his face. This gunner was named Yugen, and for some reason, Yugen always seemed a bit off. He would occasionally emit an unpleasant odor, and he also suffered from chronic psoriasis, which made people 'keep their distance.'
At this point, Cain knew he had come to the right place, because this place didn't need him, so he could slack off and do nothing to his heart's content.
Today was the third day of familiarizing himself with the work, and he needed to lead a reconnaissance team to check the area around the artillery regiment for Ork infiltration.
For his first field assignment, Cain woke up early, washed his face, shaved his beard, and polished his weapon until it gleamed! Although he was here to slack off, he absolutely couldn't let others know he was doing so.
So Cain arrived early at the salamander reconnaissance vehicle. Several patrol Soldiers looked sleepy-eyed; clearly, getting up so early to patrol was not a pleasant task.
At this time, Yugen, the gunner, had already polished the vehicle and started the engine with the driver, waiting for the order to depart. Cain watched the busy Yugen. His interactions with Yugen over the past few days had taught Cain that while Yugen was always polite to people, he didn't like to interact with them.
Yugen was diligent in his work and kind to others... He should have been very popular in all aspects, but because of his skin condition and the strange odor he emitted, everyone still chose to keep their distance from Yugen.
As everyone boarded the vehicle, they didn't sit inside the salamander's cabin, but instead all sat on top of the salamander, squeezed together with Commissar Cain.
This wasn't because they liked the Commissar so much, but because Yugen was operating the turret inside the cabin, and the enclosed cabin was already filled with Yugen's body odor, so they preferred to sit on the bumpy roof and enjoy the fresh air outside.
Cain also understood their behavior. The salamander then drove away from the garrison and began patrolling around the perimeter according to the map markings... Just as Cain's convoy reached a dirt slope, everyone heard several gunshots from afar. No matter who fired the shots, it could only mean there was a firefight nearby.
Estimating the location of the gunshots, it was on the outskirts of their patrol area, theoretically not under their jurisdiction. At this moment, the driver poked his head out, took several deep breaths of fresh air, and said to Cain:
"Commissar, should we go take a look?"
Cain thought at this moment that it was better to avoid trouble. Matters outside their jurisdiction should be left to other units. Thinking this, he was about to tell the driver they could return the way they came and ignore it.
But just as Cain was about to speak, a sharp pain shot through his palm. Palm pain was an old problem for Cain; every time he faced a major decision, his palm would tingle, but this time the pain was so severe that Cain almost cried out.
If I screamed in pain in front of so many Soldiers, my life as a Commissar would be over, wouldn't it? Cain thought, gritting his teeth and saying:
"Alright."
The driver asked, confused, "So we're going?"
"No, we..." Cain was about to say return the way they came, but the stinging in his palm intensified. Cain stomped his foot in pain, making the metal floor of the cabin clang loudly, while his exposed upper body maintained a calm demeanor, as if nothing had happened.
At this point, the driver was confused: "Commissar, are we going or not? Give me an answer!"
"Go! We'll go take a look..." Cain endured the pain and gritted his teeth to say these words. Only after the engine started again and they drove towards the sound of gunfire did the pain in Cain's palm subside slightly.
The salamander arrived at a desolate canyon, and Cain and several Soldiers stood on top of the vehicle, pulling out their binoculars to observe the situation. They then saw a human next to a derelict Imperial Army truck, stabbing wildly at an Ork Nob.
"Commissar! What do we do!"
"Charge! We have a vehicle! The advantage is ours!"
Cain smiled. He now had a salamander. Although the salamander was just a regular light vehicle, it was equipped with a large-caliber autocannon and a heavy bolter on the front of the hull. It was more than enough to take on a Nob!
Nob! Just you wait! My first combat achievement in life! Please don't die!
Cain thought this, and at the same time sighed for the young man currently wrestling with the greenskin. Alas... Don't worry, I will bury you; I definitely won't let you become corpse starch... But as the salamander got closer, Cain was dumbfounded. He saw the young man in strange clothes bludgeon the Nob to death with a crowbar!
"My kill..." Cain muttered under his breath, and he noticed the young man was still desecrating the corpse, so he jumped off the salamander.
This child must have been very scared, but... to be able to kill a Nob and two small greenskins with no armor, relying only on those items, he's quite a character... "I don't know who that regimental commander is. I am Commissar Caiaphas Cain of the 12th Valhalla Field Artillery Regiment."
Li Feng heard the name, and his thoughts, along with the gradually steadying blood in his head, began to clear.
"You are Commissar Cain!"
Cain raised an eyebrow: "You know me?"
Li Feng smiled: "Who doesn't know the great name of Commissar Cain!"
Cain also noticed the clothes the young man was wearing. Although his upper body was covered in green blood, the hooded garment felt definitely like pure cotton. And the yellow leather boots (Timberland Martens) on his feet were clearly genuine, high-quality leather.
Cain now had a guess about the young man's identity. This was probably a child from a Hive City noble family who, after hearing adventure stories, secretly ran away from home and ventured into this dangerous battlefield, only to be attacked.
Cain patted Li Feng's shoulder and took the crowbar, covered in green blood, from his hand: "Young man, where is your home? I'll contact the fleet and have your family come pick you up."
Li Feng's eyes darted around. He now confirmed that he was indeed in the warhammer universe. If he had encountered Cain, who was currently with the 12th Artillery Regiment, it was probably around the 41st Millennium.
He needed to return to the Imperial Palace now and have that woman... man? Whatever, quickly send him back! His brothers were waiting for him to play games tonight! September 9th, remember battle brothers!
"My home is on Terra, Holy Terra! I need to go back quickly!"
Hearing Li Feng's words, Commissar Cain's hand on Li Feng's shoulder almost made him stumble. Good heavens! I, Cain, originally thought you were just the child of a minor noble! I didn't expect you to be a 'capital lord' from Holy Terra!
Cain immediately put his hands behind his back and coughed twice, hoping that his previous actions wouldn't cause this child to complain to his parents and pull strings to make trouble for him after returning to Terra.
"Um, young master, what is your name?"
"My name is Li Feng."
After hearing Li Feng's name, Cain immediately shouted to the Soldiers in the vehicle: "You guys, check if there's any spare armor and helmets in the cabin. Give them to this child; at least it'll offer some protection."