In the basement of the apartment, the banging and roaring of an electric drill echoed off concrete walls.
Despite it being the weekend, Nolan had chosen to wake early and continue fortifying his safe house. He worked methodically, drilling holes for new support beams, bolting steel plates to the walls, reinforcing the ceiling.
But every few minutes, he paused his work to check the simulator interface, watching the cooldown timer tick downward with agonizing slowness.
Time crawled forward. The safe house gradually took shape, transforming from a bare basement into something resembling a proper bunker.
Finally, the cooldown reached zero.
Nolan wiped dust from his hands and rubbed them together eagerly, immediately starting a new simulation.
[Simulation starting...]
[Current identity: Catachan recruit]
[Do you want to descend as this identity?]
[If you refuse, the simulator will choose a random descent.]
Nolan's eyebrows rose. A new mode?
He licked his lips, considering the options. After a moment's thought, he chose to conduct this simulation as a recruit. Better to use what he'd already learned than risk spawning as something completely unfamiliar.
[You have arrived in the Warhammer universe]
[Location: Unknown]
[You have become a Catachan recruit. You are still young and eager to prove your loyalty to the Emperor.]
[You are recruited by the Imperium and become a member of a Catachan regiment.]
[You set foot on the planet's surface. Your competence and sharp instincts earn you the attention of Colonel Ironhand.]
[You are assigned to a veteran patrol team. You will conduct reconnaissance and assault missions behind enemy lines alongside four Catachan veterans.]
[You receive basic Catachan recruit equipment: one lasgun and four frag grenades.]
[You attempt to learn battlefield survival skills from the Catachan veterans. They sneer at your eagerness but eventually share their knowledge. You successfully integrate into the team.]
[Day One: You conduct your first patrol under veteran supervision. You gradually familiarize yourself with the planet's geography.]
[This is a barren, desolate death world with extremely poor visibility. You can only distinguish friend from foe at close range. The patrol team faces constant danger.]
[Day Two: You and the veterans receive orders from Colonel Ironhand. You will travel to an unknown location to gather intelligence for the Imperium's offensive plans.]
[You are granted authorization to requisition additional weapons.]
[Remembering the veterans' teachings, you select only one lasgun, ten frag grenades, and the traditional Catachan red bandana.]
[The veterans praise your restraint. You continue adapting to this harsh reality.]
[Day Three: You follow the veterans into unfamiliar territory, moving with extreme caution to avoid alerting unknown enemies. Tonight passes safely. You survive.]
[Day Four: You and the veterans encounter reconnaissance scouts from a xenos civilization. They are green-skinned orks wearing blue scrap armor and carrying crude shoota weapons!]
[The Catachan veterans react instantly, launching a surprise attack before the greenskins can respond. You and the veterans annihilate every ork.]
[You survive unscathed and help clean the battlefield.]
[A veteran familiar with xenos identifies the greenskins as members of the Deathskull Clan.]
[This is a cunning greenskin tribe skilled at scavenging and constructing war machines.]
[For a reconnaissance mission, this is not good news.]
[The greenskins on this planet may possess the terrifying ability to manufacture heavy weapons and vehicles.]
[Day Five: You encounter more greenskins. They charge toward you screaming their battle cry: WAAAGH!]
[The blue armor on these orks is more refined. Their weapons are more powerful. A brave Catachan veteran is surrounded by countless greenskins and killed.]
[Before you can mourn, an ork boy bites off one of your arms. You endure the excruciating pain and obliterate its head with a frag grenade.]
[Massive blood loss weakens you severely.]
[Day Six: Your team has entered the heart of greenskin-controlled territory. More orks attack, launching WAAAGH! to halt your advance.]
[A grievously wounded Catachan veteran volunteers to cover the rear, carving a bloody path for the patrol to escape.]
[After several fierce battles, your injuries don't worsen. Instead, they begin healing. The two remaining Catachan veterans agree this is the Emperor's blessing. You share their faith.]
[Day Seven: You and two veterans pass through Deathskull Clan territory. In a location called 'Widow's Valley,' you discover a Gargant scrap factory!]
[This is a mobile fortress belonging to the greenskin orks. A battle mecha of devastating power.]
[You and the Catachan veterans agree the greenskins cannot be allowed time to complete their war machine.]
[You transmit coordinate signals and launch a suicidal assault to destroy the entire factory.]
[The three of you gradually fall into an encirclement of greenskin hordes. Another Catachan veteran is killed. The attack fails. The mission is terminated.]
[You choose to live and die alongside the last surviving veteran.]
[Together, you pull the pins on all remaining frag grenades, scream "For the Emperor!" and charge into the greenskin tide.]
[Your body is torn to pieces by flames and shockwaves.]
[You are dead.]
[This simulation ended after seven days.]
[This simulation has retainable options:]
[1. Frag Grenades (10 pieces)]
[2. Catachan Fang: Night Harvester (Master-crafted)]
[3. Catachan Veteran's Red Bandana (Pristine)]
[This simulation time has exceeded 24 hours. Simulator loss has not been exempted.]
[Cooldown time: seven hours.]
[Please invest resources to reduce cooldown time (currently holding no resources)]
Nolan's eyes scanned the reward options, then suddenly brightened.
Although the rewards still didn't include the Imperial firearms he'd been hoping for, a master-crafted Catachan Fang was undoubtedly more precious than standard equipment.
Without hesitation, Nolan selected the second option.
Instantly, weight materialized in his palm.
A massive blade, as long as an adult's forearm, appeared before him. Compared to ordinary Catachan Fangs, the Night Harvester's overall profile was narrower and longer. The blade utilized a three-edged design, perfectly suited for causing deep bleeding and slashing throats. The triangular wounds it created would be difficult to heal, tearing flesh tissue in ways that resisted clotting.
The entire blade was coated in matte black paint, eliminating light reflection and making it ideal for stealth assassination operations.
Nolan gripped the master-crafted Night Harvester tightly, turning it over in his hands, testing its balance. The smile on his face never fully faded. The weapon felt perfect, like an extension of his arm.
"Party rock is in the house tonight... Everybody just have a good time"
At that moment, a familiar ringtone chimed from Nolan's pocket.
He answered the phone without thinking.
But after hearing just a few words, a surge of rage exploded in his chest like a tidal wave.