Warhammer 40k: Melee Warriors

“Your reorganized battalion only needs to win battles. As for the management of order in the city, I don’t think it’s your place to interfere.” Another bailiff spoke bluntly and harshly. “The situation in Grace City is very complicated. Although the black market is ridiculously expensive, it still supports a lot of people. If you brutally eradicate it, you will only let more people starve to death.”

Koji remained noncommittal, shrugging innocently before flashing a greedy, hungry smile and cursing, "What are you bunch of bastards thinking? I'm just tired of the food in the army and want something better."

Then he leaned forward, looking mysterious, and made the bailiffs gather around to listen to his whispers.

"Furthermore, I want to take the food from the army and sell it on the black market. That's sure to make a fortune. I won't lie to you, we're about to win a battle at the front. Once our reorganized battalion pushes forward, all the orcs will be wiped out. I don't want to be penniless when peace comes!"

"Aren't you from the reorganized battalion? When peace comes, you'll definitely enjoy the same treatment as soldiers, right? It's much better than us working ourselves to the bone for the company and ending up with a mountain of debt."

Koji waved his hand, denying the bailiff's opinion, and continued, "You don't understand. Our reorganized battalion was set up temporarily. After the war, it's like toilet paper that's been used to wipe your butt. We're afraid we won't get rid of it quickly enough. In the end, all of us soldiers who have fought for the throne until now will be sent down to continue mining for the masters."

As Komi spoke, he showed off his perpetually dark skin.

These words struck the bailiffs as thoughtful. They nodded, undoubtedly recalling the recent repeal of the Conscription Law.

He sighed and cursed, "Sigh... They recruit you when they need you, and you're not allowed to refuse. When they don't need you, they discard you and even hold you accountable. I think it would be better to let the orcs win. At least those beasts don't care if you're a noble or not. They shouldn't live! Killing them all would be a good thing!"

“Sigh, watch your words, you can’t say things like that. You don’t want to live anymore, we haven’t had enough fun yet! Your life is much worse than those beggars on the street. I saw it, two days ago the eldest and youngest daughters of the Tos family both came into your room! You’re a real beast, that youngest daughter is definitely not an adult.”

"How dare you say that? I think you just want my contact information. You're not an honest guy."

So, is it moisturizing or not?

"It's so moisturizing, haha!"

The bailiff chuckled, and seeing that the conversation was about to veer towards pornography, Gu Jian quickly interrupted them, asking, "So you guys left some space so I could go over and check things out, and then I'll give you some benefits too."

"No rush, no rush. We've taken plenty of food from you. Maybe when you become successful, we'll even be hoping to borrow money from you to pay off our debts."

Komi and the bailiffs appeared to be getting along well, like old friends, but in reality, they were just making deals that neither side would lose out.

If Gu Jian hadn't been disguised as a member of the Reorganized Battalion, these bailiffs wouldn't have bothered with him. They would have quickly convicted him, pulled out stun guns, and started hitting him on the head, stripping him naked.

For these people, the difference between a bailiff and a bandit is just a matter of a single thought.

After leaving the bailiff's residence, Komi wandered around and eventually found Mi Yang and Shi Tou waiting for news in a slum. The two were in trouble, with several beggars lying at their feet who were trying to rob them.

Gu Jian kicked these unlucky guys up, yelled at them to get lost, and then told Mi Yang that he had obtained the black market location in Grace City.

"Why are you so interested in the black market? Although this place is indeed a shadow under the imperial order, what necessary connection does that have with us finding unstable factors? There's a black market in Kadia too, and the big shots there just turn a blind eye." Miyan said this not because she didn't believe Gu Jian's decision, but because she wanted to understand how Gu Jian made his judgment.

Komi raised an eyebrow. How did he come to that conclusion?

How else could I make this judgment? Of course, it's based on the official novels I read before I transmigrated. In those books, the black market is always a frequent visitor to pull off big things.

Who knows, beneath those unseen tents might lie several unknown shrines of chaos being worshipped.

Those clients who wear long cannons to cover their faces, if you peel off their clothes, you'll probably find their flesh covered in blasphemous runes left by knives and branding irons.

These words couldn't be said to Mi Yang, so Komi explained forcefully and irresponsibly, "I think there's something wrong with the black market, it's that simple, do you have any other questions?"

Mi Yang sighed, rubbing her forehead with her hand. She didn't comment on Gu Jian's intuition, but simply said helplessly, "Then lead the way. I hope your intuition will be as accurate as ever."

Chapter 53: Pay Attention to Food Safety

The black market in Grace City is not a single location; in fact, each small square filled with tents and makeshift sheds is itself a black market.

Without someone familiar with the area to guide you, most people would have absolutely no way of distinguishing the differences between these dilapidated tents.

Some shacks were steaming, and two burly men with bare, tattooed shoulders and gleaming machetes hanging from their waists stood at the door, looking like they were not easy to get along with.

These shacks sell in-demand items, mostly food: soups and porridges made from nutrient bars, small animals that have been skinned and roasted, and even fungi growing at the base of the walls and beetles whose names are unknown.

Komi walked ahead and circled around, searching for the tip the bailiff had given him. Finally, he found a narrow, towering house in the northeast corner of this place called Kuishi Square.

The house itself was a disguise, hidden within a more conspicuous building. Once you passed through the doorway and around the screen that blocked your view, the situation behind it was quite different.

The atmosphere inside was somber and quiet. The Shangchao people, who were dressed reasonably well, held their rice bowls and ate heartily, not even bothering to make slurping noises for others, burying all their hunger deep inside their bowls.

As the three of them stood at the door, someone came to greet them. Several gruff-voiced, dark-skinned lower-nest people, who appeared to be deserters from the mobilization corps, quietly surrounded the three of them. The person in charge of managing them was a white-skinned upper-nest person.

Judging from his demeanor, he should be a nobleman, but he did not wear any coat of arms to prove his family identity, nor was he dressed in overly gorgeous and luxurious clothes.

"Are you here for dinner?" the man asked, his arrogance towards them, the guests, making Gu Jian very unhappy.

He suppressed his anger and said to the man in a somewhat ingratiating tone, "We want to eat something, some real food! We really don't want to eat those barbecued meats and soups outside that we don't know what they're made of."

"Oh, we have a custom here of paying first, then serving the food. Please take out your money now."

"I have no money..." Koji said with a bitter face, but the man had no sympathy for him.

Those eyes immediately turned cold, and the corners of his mouth sneered as he said, "Do you think this place is a place of charity? If you want to freeload, go to the church district! Men, break the limbs of these brainless idiots, cut out their tongues, and throw them into the back alley!"

Komi hurriedly waved his hand, indicating that although he had no money, he had something even better than money.

He reached his hands into his large, dirty robe, and when he pulled them out, he had several boxes filled with gleaming yellow bullets.

"Where did you get these bullets from...?" The man was surprised by the bullets; in this Graceful City, bullets were indeed more practical than money.

Without asking any questions, the man ordered his bodyguard to take all the bullet boxes. After checking the number of bullets, he snorted and said, "Go, sit in that empty seat over there, keep quiet, and get out of here after you finish eating."

Such terrible service would have bankrupted them if they opened a shop elsewhere, but they were born in a time of war and chaos, and had several nobles backing them up.

Gu Jian, along with Mi Yang and Shi Tou, sat obediently on the uncomfortable stools. There was no menu here; whatever was served depended entirely on what the kitchen had left over to cobble together a dish.

A dozen minutes later, a stew was served. The portion was only enough for each person to have a small half bowl. The ingredients were not very fresh and tasted rather mushy.

But the salt was added just right, and it tasted quite good with rice.

Mi Yang and Shi Tou would never refuse hot food; like other diners, they quietly and quickly devoured the food in front of them.

While eating, Komi observed the shady restaurant to see if there was anything unusual about it.

The first bite... well, it was a bit too salty, and the texture was a bit mushy, but the taste was alright.

Isn't that painting a bit too dirty? Is it dust? Or cooking fumes?

After the second bite, the flavor became a bit bland, and his mouth felt greasy and nauseous. Gu Jian didn't dare to stir it around with his tongue and swallowed it hastily.

Are those bodyguards sick? Why are they constantly sniffling? Ugh... did they swallow the snot they just snorted out of their noses?

The third bite...

Komi couldn't eat the third bite no matter what, because a stench was hitting him. He looked closely and saw that the stewed dish was so mushy that it was not something a human should eat.

A thick, broken layer of oil floated on the surface of the thin, mushy broth, and chunks of vegetables inside turned into sections of intestines and rotten meat where flies had laid eggs as they tumbled around.

Several live maggots were vomited out of the soup, and the stench, accompanied by the sound, entered through his nose and lingered in Komi's brain for a long time.

"Come and eat me...come and eat me...hungry children..."

Komi immediately dropped his spoon and vomited, but he didn't forget to save his two comrades across from him who were enjoying their meal.

He quickly raised his foot and kicked powerfully, and the two men were so struck that their faces contorted and they vomited.

The silence in the shady restaurant was broken, immediately attracting the attention of the bodyguards and the manager.

They quickly surrounded the three men, weapons in hand. Although their eyes were extremely gloomy, they did not actually kill the three who were disgusted and nauseous.

"What's wrong, guest?" the man asked dangerously. If Komi's answer was even slightly off, he would ruthlessly chop off Komi's head.

They can't reveal themselves yet; many preparations aren't complete, it's too early...

Koji waved his hand, seemingly asking for help because he felt nauseous, but in reality, this gesture was telling Ishi and Miyan on the other side not to make any rash moves and to wait for his instructions.

Komi, her voice trembling with emotion, said, “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry… I haven’t had such delicious food in so long. My unfortunate stomach isn’t used to it. I swear to the Emperor, I will never waste this food. Please don’t send me away.”

As he spoke, Komi grabbed the disgusting food with his hand, making a gesture as if he was about to stuff it into his mouth.

The man's tension eased considerably upon seeing this. He patted Komi's shoulder in a very kind and polite manner and said, "If that's the case, then that's wonderful. You must make sure to eat it all up, even licking the food under the table clean."

"Mmm..." Komi mumbled in response, seemingly unable to speak because he had too much disgusting food in his mouth.

The next second, Komi suddenly sprang to his feet, immediately turned around and threw the disgusting thing he was holding at the bodyguards around him, and also took out the fighting dagger he had hidden inside his cloak.

He grabbed the man's hands that were on his shoulders and plunged the dagger into his throat, killing him instantly.

Chapter 54: Destroying the Dirty Den

The sudden turn of events left the bodyguard somewhat bewildered, but Mi Yangshi, who had received Gu Jian's signal in advance and had caught his breath, did not hesitate.

The two men pulled out their concealed weapons and attacked the surrounding bodyguards, quickly turning them into a group of bloodied corpses lying on the ground.

Gu Jian tore the weapons off the bodyguards and threw them to Mi Yang and Shi Tou. The three of them only carried light weapons and did not even bring their handy axe.

Despite the deaths and the commotion, the diners in the restaurant remained calm, engrossed in their rice bowls.

"See, I told you, you can always find some interesting stuff on the black market." Koji unloaded the magazine, made sure the automatic guns the bodyguards were using weren't just for show, then released the safety and opened fire on the diners.

Hmm... missed again...

Koji threw the gun in his hand, and the thick butt of the gun hit a diner on the back of the head, burying his face in the bowl and leaving him motionless.

Mi Yang once again gave Gu Jian's intuition a thumbs up. Together with Shi Tou, she mercilessly shot and killed every abnormal diner here.

The sounds of gunfire rang out continuously. People in the back of the restaurant, realizing the situation was dire, rushed out. The main door, which allowed the three of them to walk side by side, was completely blocked by Mi Yang's firepower.

Koji trusted her marksmanship. He leaned against the wall, took the guns from the bodyguards one by one, loaded the bullets, and handed them to Mi Yang.

Mi Yang fired one shot after another, the combined fire of several automatic guns creating a machine gun-like suppressive force that kept the enemies emerging from deeper within the restaurant from even daring to peek out, fearing that they would be blown to bits if they did.

With no other option, the enemy could only expose their gun barrels and fire wildly at Mi Yang's approximate location. Mi Yang, however, used precise shots to hit these exposed weapons, rendering them unable to continue their work.

The situation in the entire hotel was getting worse and worse, and Komi felt that the once relatively clean environment was deteriorating into something even more filthy.

The spoon that Komi had tossed aside was covered in a greenish-blue rust, the dry floor was oozing a wet, slimy substance, and a few stinky mushrooms were squeezing out of the cracks in the wall, spewing spores.

This powerful blasphemy against reality is undoubtedly that of the Negro cult.

Koji shook his head. He really didn't want to get involved with this disgusting and corrupt god. If he had a choice, he would rather go toe-to-toe with Khorne's berserkers.

At least those guys who only think about killing won't try to disgust him or cause him serious physical and psychological harm.

"Can Stone contact Commissar Tran? Tell them we've discovered a cult's hideout in this Stone Square, and that nobles are involved among those supporting these cultists," Komi urged while loading the bullet.

At this moment, Shi Tou had also realized his dream of becoming a communications soldier, holding a walkie-talkie and sending messages to the reorganized battalion according to the memorized procedure.

I called out several times but got no response, only a buzzing noise.

Well, supernatural fluctuations in subspace are disrupting communication quality.

But it's alright, at least Stone didn't hear any demonic whispers from the channel, which means the situation is still under control.

Komi leaned against the wall, warily observing his surroundings, while Miyan killed all the enemies rushing in from the deep entrance of the hotel before running out of bullets.