One day, while training in the sanctuary, Li Qingyu received a message over the "unfortunate lovers" radio channel. Lieutenant Rudolfson informed him that the soldier who, in a drunken state, had blown himself up on a mine and lost his legs, had been exiled. His family was descending to the Underhive the next day on the great lift – Li Qingyu was tasked with meeting them.
In the morning, he gathered a few strong guys, ordered them to put on armor and take their weapons, and together they set off for the safe zone.
Five fighters – in full sets of painted armor, helmets, with assault rifles – looked like a cleanup squad. All the local rats scattered in fear.
But the effect was temporary. As soon as the great lift descended, the crowd would rush back – the lift was a feeding trough for them.
Li Qingyu remembered the lesson with Mad Rat during the rescue of Little Joel's family. Therefore, when the lift was preparing to ascend, he left Little Joel and three fighters at the entrance, and he himself put on a hood, hid his weapon, and went upstairs.
In the Hive, weapons were allowed. No one restricted firearm ownership here – Warhammer 40k is no place for pacifism: today it's peaceful, and tomorrow xenos fall from the sky. Therefore, the concept of "gun control" is meaningless.
But such freedom had its downsides – gangs, Chaos cults, rebellions. Li Qingyu didn't want to attract attention, so he didn't show his gun.
When the lift reached the Middle Hive, bored security personnel went outside, and arbiters herded the exiles inside.
A crowd of condemned people shouted, cried, cursed, but in response received only blows from shock batons.
About a thousand people were crammed onto the platform. The doors closed, and the lift began its descent. Arbiters with weapons stood along the walls, maintaining order.
Li Qingyu scanned the crowd and found the ones he needed – a cripple in a wheelchair, his aging parents, and his younger brother.
He stood up and waved his hand: "Cousin Kate! Cousin Kate!"
Kate – the legless soldier – heard the voice and turned.
Li Qingyu waved until he was sure he had been recognized, then lowered his hand and looked at the arbiters.
Two enforcers became alert, raised their batons, and gave him a menacing look.
But he stood calmly and quickly fell silent, so they didn't attack, limiting themselves to a warning.
Li Qingyu's plan was simple: bribe the guards and take Kate's family with him. When the lift arrived in the Underhive, they would exit together with the staff, bypassing the crowd of marauding rats.
However, one of the arbiters had already activated his baton, and a threatening crackle could be heard from it. If Li Qingyu took a step – he would get a shock.
But he knew how to act. He sat on the floor, crossed his legs, took a can of canned meat from his backpack, and placed it on a spirit stove.
After a couple of minutes, the fat began to bubble, and a thick aroma wafted through the lift, reminiscent of spicy Chongqing hot pot – oil, spices, meat. All heads turned in his direction.
Li Qingyu took out a fork, speared a juicy piece of meat, twirled it in front of the enforcers' noses, and ate it.
You could hear the arbiters swallow. Even for them, with their salaries, meat was a rarity now – they all ate corpse starch.
The smell of real food – fatty, salty, spicy – was maddening.
Li Qingyu calmly finished the can and licked the spoon. Then he stood up, wiped his lips, and, ignoring the enforcers' stares, shouted to Kate's family:
"Cousin Kate! When we arrive, stay close to me! I'll take you home!"
One arbiter wanted to shout, but the captain stopped him.
The captain looked at the four cans next to Li Qingyu, then at the cripple. He fell silent, swallowed, and said something to his subordinate.
The latter frowned at first, then understood and nodded.
When the lift descended, the arbiters began to drive people out. Usually – roughly: they removed shackles, shocked them with electricity, and kicked them out. But Kate's family was treated differently – they were simply nudged and let go to Li Qingyu.
They understood that they were lucky and silently followed him into the service passage.
Little Joel and the others breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the boss had brought the people out without problems.
Although they were ready for a fight, the crowd of exiles inspired fear.
Everything went smoothly: weapons were put away, they switched to "Plan B" and headed for the Water Guild's territory.
Soon they rejoined the cover group and, while the rats were gnawing at the new exiles, quickly returned to the distillery.
The lift doors slowly closed, separating the upper world from the Underhive. Several dozen arbiters converged around the four cans left by Li Qingyu.
The captain picked them up, weighed them in his hand, and grinned. He hid one can inside his jacket, and threw the rest to his fighters.
"Sell them and share. And if you meet this rat again and he offers something – let him take whoever he wants. Don't interfere."