Qin Yun is 21 years old, a university graduate.
When he was thirteen, his parents divorced due to marital problems.
Not long after, both parents started their own new families.
Unwelcome in either new household, he lived alone from then on.
After graduation, unable to find a suitable job, he chose to deliver food as a temporary measure.
On Valentine's Day, after delivering an order of contraceptives and a small toy to a hotel, he planned to call it a day and return to his rented room.
At that moment, the dispatch app assigned him an order for a location outside the city.
Qin Yun initially didn't want to take it, but the customer added a 45-yuan tip.
The total delivery fee of 56.4 yuan tempted Qin Yun, who was so broke he wished he could split every penny in two.
He accepted the order, picked up the items from the merchant, and set off following the navigation.
After entering a dimly lit tunnel, a blinding light suddenly flashed ahead, forcing Qin Yun to instinctively close his eyes.
When he opened them again, he found himself inside a Luna-class cruiser that was tearing through the Warp, returning to realspace.
Realizing he had crossed worlds, Qin Yun felt like ten thousand horses were stampeding through his heart.
This situation was truly 'absurdity opening the door for absurdity to absurdity to the max!!'
Folks, who can understand this! Delivering a takeaway order and ending up delivering myself across worlds!!
So, that 56.4 yuan delivery fee wasn't for the takeaway, but for delivering him, a living person.
Crossing worlds wasn't even the worst part.
The worst part was, right after crossing, he saw dozens of ferocious, green-eyed mutants.
They loitered in the wide corridors under flickering red lights, wandering aimlessly.
Qin Yun's arrival alerted them. They turned their heads one by one, their gazes deeply unsettling.
"Big brothers, I'm just passing through. You carry on, do whatever you need to do, no need to mind me."
The mutants clearly didn't understand him. Howling, they lunged at him.
Qin Yun didn't even have time to scream before they gutted him, tearing him into pieces.
In his dying moment, only one thought remained in his mind.
"What the hell kind of alternate world is this!! Dismembered right after arriving?"
He thought death would be the end of it.
But Qin Yun soon discovered he had been too optimistic.
His soul was dragged into a storm-ravaged, blood-red sea.
Colossal, exceptionally turbulent, blood-colored waves swept across the sky; any single wave was tens of thousands of meters high.
Countless souls floated, sank, and screamed within the sea.
Terrifying, bizarre laughter echoed from the depths of the ocean, rumbling loudly.
Qin Yun was utterly stunned.
He thought his life had already hit rock bottom, but who knew it could go even lower.
'What kind of hell is this!!'
Just as Qin Yun was lamenting his wretched life, a golden figure appeared and pulled him out of the blood-red sea.
"Are you here to save me?" Qin Yun asked hopefully.
The figure's tone was full of authority. "No, I am here to have you return and continue fulfilling your duties."
"Wait, brother, I was torn to shreds by those monsters, and you still want to send me back? Can you not be so cruel?"
The other party ignored Qin Yun's complaint.
The next second, a golden light materialized, enveloping Qin Yun and swallowing his soul.
When he woke up again, he found himself lying in front of a shrine.
His body, which had been literally heartless and gutless, was restored to its original state, showing no signs of ever being injured.
"Who am I?"
"Where am I?"
"What happened?"
Qin Yun was completely bewildered, unable to grasp the situation.
Once he regained some strength, he got up and surveyed his surroundings.
What met his eyes scared him out of his wits!
He briefly wondered if he had entered the set of a horror movie.
On the altar before the shrine lay several polished human skulls.
Desiccated, grotesque human heads, connected by metal cables, were immersed in green fluid, linked to complex mechanical equipment.
Against the wall, recessed apparatuses held, bound or impaled by cables, a number of malformed human bodies, so heavily modified they were unrecognizable.
Just looking at them was enough to make one's scalp crawl.
A veritable horror movie set.
Suppressing his fear, Qin Yun continued checking other areas.
He saw a hanging double-headed eagle banner on the wall.
The emblem of a skull embedded in a gear was present on the large door and on the mechanical equipment.
There was also a large window on one wall.
Through it, he could see the starry sky outside, asteroids, and the vast, boundless void.
Qin Yun also realized he was inside a giant metal warship.
On the flank, there were golden double-headed eagle reliefs and the muzzles of broadside cannons of exaggerated caliber.
Qin Yun also saw strange, glowing rifts in the void.
These cracks spread across the entire starry sky, dividing the stars.
One of these rifts was particularly staggering, splitting the entire galaxy in two.
These things led to an unpleasant suspicion in Qin Yun's mind.
He seemed to have crossed into a terrifying place.
The crossover's forbidden zone, ranked alongside Cthulhu and the SCP Foundation – the Warhammer 40k universe.
And moreover, humanity's darkest, most desperate era: the Time of Ending.
The 13th Black Crusade launched by the Despoiler, Abaddon, destroyed the fortress world of Cadia, causing the Eye of Terror to expand and tear the galaxy asunder.
The forces of the Warp gained the upper hand, and the Imperium of Man was on the brink of destruction.
The red sea he saw after death was likely the chaotic, disordered Warp.
And that golden figure, Qin Yun guessed, was the Emperor.
"How did I end up in this damned place!! Is it because I played Space Marine 2?"
"But those EULA were just for fun, right!"
"We were just playing around, how could the Emperor take it seriously!!"
Having figured out where he was, Qin Yun felt so frustrated that he wanted to vomit blood.
He made the sign of the aquila before the shrine and prayed to the Emperor.
"Big brother, stop messing with me, I can't handle this damned place!!"
Perhaps a perk of being a crossover.
Right after his prayer, Qin Yun received a response.
A glowing golden aperture materialized above the shrine.
A child-like Cherub flew out from within.
In a mechanical voice, it explained the entire sequence of events to Qin Yun.
Qin Yun couldn't go back.
Due to certain special reasons, he was chosen by the Emperor and became a Living Saint.
Now, his duty was to scam players from Earth into coming to this universe to work for the Emperor.
The current Imperium had lost its vitality, becoming a bloated corpse on the verge of death.
It needed an infusion of fresh blood to revitalize it.
And humans from the early third millennium were the group with the most curiosity and the strongest ability to adapt.
As for the warship Qin Yun had crossed into, it was named the Imperial Glory.
It belonged to the Solar Fleet under the Imperial Navy.
It was ordered to support the planet Cadia and stop the Despoiler's 13th Black Crusade.
Cadia fell, the Eye of Terror expanded.
Realizing their defeat, the Imperial forces withdrew from the Cadia battlefield.
The Imperial Glory was also ordered to retreat, returning to the Solar System's domain.
During its Warp travel, an accident occurred, damaging the Geller Field.
The crew was exposed directly to the Warp, corrupted by Chaos powers.
They all turned into mutant monsters who had lost their reason, knowing only slaughter and consumption.
The strategic planning room was the only place on the ship not corrupted by Chaos and free of monsters.
After being killed by those mutants, Qin Yun resurrected in the strategic planning room.
"Good grief, is the Emperor planning to mass-produce E-demons??"
Qin Yun's eyes widened as he muttered to himself.
From any angle, the player demographic seemed like a higher version of Warp demons.
After explaining everything, the Cherub also gave Qin Yun a task.
[Task: Summon Companions.
Alone, you stand no chance against so many enemies. You need enough companions.
Requirement: Persuade five or more players to pre-register and enter the game.
Reward: 500 Faith Points, Basic Combat Equipment.]
Through inquiry, Qin Yun learned from the Cherub the uses of Faith Points.
Faith Points could be used at the shrine to learn special skills.
Exchange for Gene Seed, mechanical implants to become an Astartes or a Tech-Priest.
Exchange for or draw bound weapons and equipment, speed up resurrection.
They could also be consumed to temporarily gain a portion of the Emperor's power.
Simply put, Faith Points were the currency for players, allowing them to exchange for all sorts of good things from the Emperor.
After issuing the task, the Cherub left, leaving Qin Yun alone.
Whether it was a manifestation of the Emperor's power or a special ability he himself possessed, when using the control console in the strategic planning room, he discovered the Thinker system could connect to Earth's internet.
Using the network, Qin Yun talked a group of Warhammer enthusiasts into forming the 'Warhammer Corporate Slaves' group, leading to the scene at the beginning.
Boom!
The sound of impact on the blast door rang out again, making Qin Yun's heart tighten.
Holding the gun with both hands, he slowly walked over and pressed his ear against the door.
The blast door, made of plasteel, was thick, but he could faintly hear many footsteps and shouts outside.
Those monsters were prowling outside.
Clearly, they knew he was here.
At that moment, the light screen appeared again.
[Task 1: The login devices for the fifteen players who pre-registered for the game have been deployed. Get the players to log into this universe as much as possible.
Reward: 200 Faith Points and a small amount of experience for each new player who logs in.]
[Task 2: Clear the enemies from the Imperial Glory.
The Imperial Glory is a valuable asset of the Imperium. It must not be allowed to fall into the hands of Chaos minions.
Kill the monsters transformed from the crew, seize control of the ship.
Reward: 20 Faith Points and a small amount of experience for each enemy defeated.
An epic-grade equipment piece and a large amount of experience upon reclaiming the Imperial Glory.]
"200 Faith Points for just one player logging in!"
Qin Yun's eyes went straight.
At this stage, the most important thing for him was Faith Points.
This stuff was key to improving his strength.
He had five hundred Faith Points on hand. If ten players logged in, he could earn two thousand Faith Points.
He could use these points to upgrade his Firearms Proficiency and Close Quarters Combat skills.
Enhancing his survivability.
Coupled with the auto pistol in his hand.
Dealing with those mutants outside shouldn't be a big problem.
Just then, Qin Yun's stomach growled.
"I'm a Living Saint, why do I still need to eat!!"
Qin Yun patted his stomach and sighed softly.
Glancing at the blast door, he walked towards a cabinet against the wall.
Opening it, he found a few nutrient bars and purified water inside.
Tearing open the packaging and stuffing one into his mouth, Qin Yun made a pained expression.
The nutrient bar had a texture like starch mixed with lard, greasy and difficult to swallow.
If not for the purified water to wash it down, he wouldn't have been able to eat it at all.
Boom
Another impact sound came from outside.
The force was strong enough to make the blast door shudder slightly.
"Hurry up and log in... If I stay alone any longer, I'll go crazy myself.."
Qin Yun muttered to himself between bites of the nutrient bar.