The sky gradually darkened; night was fast approaching.
Hans knelt on the ground, adjusting a device.
David saw that Hans had salvaged this from a dead soldier; it looked like a radio.
"Acknowledge, please reply, acknowledge, please reply, this is Hans, identification code..."
Hans knelt on one knee, holding the radio transmitter in one hand while carefully adjusting the knob with the other.
Intermittent static crackled from the radio.
Under Hans's adjustments, a distorted voice came through:
"Static... This is... the 101st Regiment."
There was a reply. Hans stopped turning and moved the knob back to the position where he had just captured the signal.
David was also drawn in and squatted nearby.
The blurry voice was intermittent.
"I am stationed at... Colonel Benedict, heading to Tyrok Bastion. Soldier, why are you..."
The radio died at the most critical moment, and apart from the noisy static, there was silence.
"Damn it!" Hans slammed his fist onto the ground, and David was greatly disappointed.
"What kind of place is Tyrok Bastion exactly?" David asked, having heard the name several times.
Hans straightened up and recalled, "It is a miracle, an indestructible fortress."
He paused. "In Tyrock, you won't see ordinary streets. Instead, there are maze-like tunnels."
"On both sides of the tunnels are residences for the citizens. Calling them houses, well, they are actually small bunkers, with long, narrow slit windows and machine guns mounted on the balconies."
"If war breaks out, the Kasrkin can be stationed here, using the favorable terrain to kill any enemy attempting to approach."
David imagined the scene, but his focus was different; he was concerned about the residents' living conditions.
A family crammed into a dark, damp room, constantly on guard—wasn't this just living like "cavemen"?
David empathized deeply. When he was still a Minecraft noob, he usually found a hill, hollowed it out, and used it as his home.
It was ugly and uncomfortable, not to mention stifling... the matchbox was still a bit better.
"It must be pretty uncomfortable living in there," David said.
Hans was visibly stunned. He was silent for a long time before replying softly, "It's just a necessary sacrifice."
He chose not to continue the topic and began wiping down the laser gun in his hand.
David felt a ripple of excitement; he had long been curious about this iconic standard weapon of the Warhammer Universe.
"Can I try it out?" he asked.
A clear trace of hesitation flashed across Hans's face. A gun was a soldier's second life.
But the person standing before him had just granted him a second life.
He looked at the laser gun in his hand, then looked up at David, solemnly holding the laser gun with both hands and handing it over.
"It's called 'Peak Hum.' It's been with me for four years."
The gun body showed obvious signs of use; the grip was wrapped in cloth, and clear manual modifications could be seen.
"My father once taught me some forging knowledge, ranging from casting iron swords to modifying firearms," Hans explained.
No wonder your profession is Weapon Smith, David thought as he took the weapon.
Disappointingly, no text popped up in the chat window.
David achieved his goal, played with it for a while, and returned the laser gun to Hans.
Hans took the gun, slung it over his back, glanced at the sky, and reminded him:
"We need to find a safe place to spend the night before dark. There are many nocturnal predators native to Cadia, and with the Chaos Forces infiltrating everywhere now, the night is much more dangerous than before."
Night? A safe place? This is nostalgic...
David immediately switched out a stone shovel.
"Leave it to me." The shovel swung rapidly in David's hands.
Hans gradually grew accustomed to David's endless array of methods and stood aside.
The stone shovel cut into the ground. As the digging deepened, David sank underground until only a square hole remained on the surface.
Hans peered down into the hole.
David dug down seven or eight meters. Once the depth was sufficient, he began expanding the space horizontally on both sides.
Destruction and placement. I've never seen a psychic like this, Hans muttered to himself. Also, this looks exactly like a coffin.
"Finished!"
David's voice came from below.
David stuck torches into the ground, looked at the underground matchbox he had built, and clapped his hands in satisfaction.
He then made several wooden ladders connecting to the surface and brought Otis underground as well.
"Where I come from, we usually dig three blocks down and fill one back in at night. This here counts as the luxury version."
Hans looked around. As a native of the fortress world of Cadia, his professional instinct still compelled him to speak.
He squatted down and rubbed the soil on the wall with his fingers. "The walls are too loose and lack reinforcement. We usually apply a mixture of shaping clay and limestone powder. Once dry, it's very hard and resistant to moisture."
He stood up and tapped the ground with his foot. "Drainage ditches are also essential to guard against poison gas or corrosive liquids that the enemy might use."
When Hans talked about these things, his eyes changed completely.
Cadia, as the most important fortress world on the Imperial front line, was constantly at war, making the construction of fortifications survival knowledge ingrained in the locals.
David listened, utterly bewildered, while new text appeared in the chat window in the lower left corner of his vision.
[Hans is imparting basic fort construction experience to you]
[Blueprint: Cadian Underground Bunker, collected]
The architectural blueprint of Mechanical Power is a must-have artifact for the lazy; as long as all required materials are provided, a specific building can be generated instantly.
The manufacturing method is also simple: a piece of paper plus blue dye, a literal "blueprint".
In fact, the greatest use of this blueprint is to facilitate the popularization of automation.
Generally, when Redstone or technology experts build a complex device, they can upload that device directly to the blueprint. When building it again, they save most of the effort.
Right now, Hans had finished explaining all the key points of the underground bunker.
David sat cross-legged, his posture proper. "Um, Hans, could you go into a little more detail?"
"More details?" Hans was taken aback by the sudden title, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across his face.
"I'm hardly a professional. This is all the most basic knowledge taught in the Cadian Recruit camp."
Hans cleared his throat, squatted down, picked up a piece of rubble casually, and began sketching on the dirt floor.
"Regarding the underground bunker..."
Outside the hole, Cadia's dark night had already descended.
There were no stars, no moonlight. Occasionally, one or two glimmers flashed in the darkness—the eyes of some predator.
As Hans continued speaking, his voice grew softer and softer until his head leaned against the wall, and he fell into a deep sleep.
David quietly digested the newly unlocked blueprint information in his mind.
[Blueprint: Cadian Above-Ground Bunker, collected]
[Blueprint: Standard Trench, collected]
The former is a ground firing position constructed using terrain and materials, while the latter is an earthwork fortification.