Shots rang out one after another until finally silence fell.
One fighter vomited – the heavy smell of blood and shit turned his stomach inside out. Li Qingyu shook his head.
This wouldn't do. With such a stomach, you couldn't fight the "Fertilizers."
He thought and said:
"A few of you – stay and collect the trophies. Anything valuable you find on the corpses – it's yours."
After that, he headed for the second exit.
The fighters exchanged glances. The cold bodies suddenly became a source of loot – killing no longer seemed so disgusting.
After walking about three hundred meters down the tunnel, Li Qingyu reached the opposite post. Knife and Key were on duty there. The floor was littered with shell casings.
"Problems?" Li Qingyu asked.
Knife stood up:
"None, boss. All dead. With three machine guns, not even a mouse could get through here."
Li Qingyu shone his flashlight – and here too, piles of corpses.
"If we go straight, it's the 'Fertilizers'' territory. Think the rats are their work?"
"Most likely," Knife nodded. "They're nearby and sharpening their teeth. They sent a crowd to probe us. If we hadn't handled it – they would have come themselves."
Li Qingyu gave a cold smile.
"Well, a debt must be paid. We'll pay a courtesy visit."
He decided to act first.
"Knife, hold the defense. I'll be back shortly."
"Where, boss?"
"I'll get the armored vehicle. And yes, how quickly can these corpses be removed? They'll start stinking tomorrow."
"Don't worry, boss. Don't shoot – the rats will clean it up themselves. In a couple of days, there won't even be stains left."
Nodding, Li Qingyu returned to the shelter, contacted Rudouson, got into a repair buggy, and exited through the ventilation to the PDF camp.
There, they had already brought him a huge repair and evacuation vehicle. Sergeant Major Nie Guojin and his assistant were smoking, sitting on the armor.
Li Qingyu drove up, took out two thousand, and slipped it to the sergeant:
"Let's go, time is pressing."
The sergeant whistled, hid the bills, and jumped into the cabin. The tiny buggy and the huge tractor set off.
They drove through the neutral zone, past wastelands, avoiding roads.
A forest appeared on the horizon. Li Qingyu, steering with one hand, waved a rag with the other.
Rebel sentries emerged from the thicket – they recognized him and let him pass.
He threw them a couple of cans of stew and led the convoy straight to the camp.
Seeing the 'Chimera,' Nie Guojin immediately brought up the tractor and, with his assistant, got to work.
Li Qingyu stayed to chat with Parson, who approached him.
Parson led him to a freshly plowed area:
"Sir, here are your grapes. Everything has been transplanted."
Li Qingyu inspected the plantation – the vines had taken root and looked vigorous. The soil was black from the ash solution – homemade fertilizer.
"We're preparing another plot," Parson informed him. "But this crop consumes fertilizer, especially during fruiting. In a month, it will need top dressing, otherwise the berries will rot."
The space grape, having undergone thousands of genetic modifications, yielded an excellent harvest but was capricious – it wouldn't survive long on wild soil.
"Don't worry, there will be plenty of fertilizer soon. Plant more," Li Qingyu replied.
Returning to the 'Chimera,' he asked the technicians:
"Well, will it come back to life?"
Nie Guojin climbed out of the engine:
"Merciful Emperor! I feel the rage of this little one! What did you do to her, you monster? When I fix her, she'll crush everything!"
Li Qingyu scratched his head:
"Nothing special... Will you fix it?"
The sergeant sized him up and dived back into the compartment.
"The damage isn't serious, the engine is just clogged with ceramic dust. It will have to be flushed."
He jumped to the ground, pulled hoses from his machine, and connected them to the 'Chimera.'
He flipped a switch – the pump hummed.
"I'm pouring in a cleaning solution, then I'll flush it under pressure."
After half an hour, Nie Guojin drained the dirt, replaced a torn track, charged the batteries, and filled it with fuel. He was already reaching to close the tank.
"Wait!" Li Qingyu jumped up and poured a bottle of holy oil into the tank.
"Done," the sergeant got into the cabin. "Starting up."
Li Qingyu backed away behind the stern – who knew what these Machine Spirits were capable of, maybe they'd start shooting?
The engine roared – the 'Chimera' came to life.
Rebels gathered around, pointing their fingers.
Nie Guojin touched the gas slightly – he wanted to move out of the trench.
But instead, the 'Chimera' lurched backward – straight at Li Qingyu.
"Your mother!!"
He yelled and jumped into the forest, but the APC, as if gone mad, accelerated and chased him backward.
"Sergeant!! Nie Guojin!! What are you doing?!" Li Qingyu screamed.
The hatch was open – the sergeant could hear. Sweat poured down his face – he was spinning the steering wheel, but the machine wasn't listening.
"Easy, girl, easy!!"
He tried in vain to shift into forward gear – the 'Chimera' resisted, as if an enraged Machine Spirit had decided to crush its boss specifically.
CRACK! CRUNCH!
Trees fell like matchsticks – the APC chased with manic persistence.
"Turn off the engine!! You'll kill me!" Li Qingyu yelled.
"It won't turn off!!" the sergeant yelled back. "She's like a woman on her period!!"
"Do something!!"
"Comrade! How do you calm yours down during those days?!"
"Damn it, Nie Guojin! You're not a sergeant – you're a saboteur!!"