190: Chapter 190 Painting

Lin Li was sitting on the command chair, closely monitoring the subtle movements of the Tyranids vanguard fleet on the holographic star map with Iron Man 73.

Commander Ushtan strode onto the bridge and reported with a somewhat strange expression:

"My Lord, the defense battle on the surface of the agricultural planet is going very smoothly. That Tyranid frigate that attempted a disguised landing to spawn troops on the spot has been successfully surrounded by the clone legion, but..."

At this point, Ushtan paused, seemingly organizing his words.

Lin Li raised an eyebrow: "Speak directly, what kind of trouble are they causing now?"

Ushtan sighed and reported truthfully:

"However, the clones stopped the Central Legion from completely destroying the frigate with heavy artillery. They claimed they wanted to drag this living spaceship back to the base as a sample for research."

"Not only that, the ground troops reported back... those clones said they sensed the extreme hunger that the frigate was experiencing due to being unable to hunt, and now they are queuing up to feed corpses into the biological spaceship's digestive sac."

After hearing this, the corners of Lin Li's mouth twitched uncontrollably:

"Forget it, forget it. As long as they don't cause any major disasters, let them be!"

"Also, how is our Central Legion performing in actual combat?"

Ushtan cleared his throat and gave a very objective evaluation:

"To be honest, their performance is very average."

"Although they have the foundation of genetically enhanced bodies and the best equipment, when facing the charge of the pure-blood swarm, their formation maneuvering is rigid, their firepower distribution is uneven, and a large amount of rookie behavior occurred during the battle. If this were on a cruel battlefield without the cover of the clones, they wouldn't last long."

Lin Li stroked his chin:

"Do you have any suggestions?"

"I suggest that for the next ground clearing battle, we transfer Carmen to serve as their frontline Commander."

Carmen is also a battle-hardened Thunder Warriors.

"Using the veteran-leading-newcomer model, having him personally teach them blood-and-fire experience on the front line will allow them to transform into a true iron-blooded legion as quickly as possible."

"Alright, let's do as you say."

Lin Li made a decisive decision.

"It just so happens that the Genestealer Cult on this agricultural planet hasn't been completely wiped out yet. Have Carmen take a batch of heavy firepower supplies down there. Let the players assist from the sidelines to control the field, and leave all those mutant rebels for the Central Legion to practice with."

"Yes! My Lord."

Ushtan took the order and retreated to arrange the airdrop.

Lin Li had some free time and casually opened the PV device on his wrist.

He clicked on the public chat channel, wanting to see what those silly players were doing.

Messages in the channel were scrolling by rapidly.

[I, Lu Bu, a Loyal Minister of the Han]: Brothers! I just captured a lone Termagant in the trench! The little thing isn't big, and it's quite cute. What should I do now?

[Void Terror]: Holy crap! Alive? My kid is crying with envy! Big brother, sell it to me, please! I'll pay a high price!

[Playing Valorant Is Too Noisy]: How did you manage to catch it alive? These bugs have brains full of programmed killing instructions. I caught a few on my side, and they would rather bite off their own chins than be locked in a cage.

[I, Lu Bu, a Loyal Minister of the Han]: Hehe, the mountain man has his own clever plan. I found a few brothers to pin it down and took pliers to pull out all its bone sickle claws and fangs! To prevent it from self-harming. Don't say it, without teeth and claws, this little thing looks a lot more pleasing to the eye, all smooth and bare!

[Void Terror]: Such kindness! You deserve to be one of the top ten figures of Warhammer! So, can you sell it to me after pulling its teeth?

[Makabazi]: Brothers, stop worrying about the little bug for a second, come and give a hand! Our Baldy Qiang's engine thrust isn't enough; we can't pull this captured living frigate!

[Makabazi]: But I just sent a message to Big Sister Hong, and she said that as long as we pull off all the thick bulletproof carapace on the outer layer of this frigate, we can reduce at least three-fifths of the dead weight! Then our ship will be able to tow it back to the Prison Planet!

[Five A-Rank Combos]: Awesome, Old Niu! That means, after this ship is towed back and we modify it, we players might have our own pure biological spaceships to fly in the future?!

[Makabazi]: YES! All-natural, pollution-free, runs on blood!

Watching the subtitles in the channel, Lin Li rubbed his temples helplessly.

"So these guys are planning to use biological warships as mounts. If we can really produce cheap mass-produced biological ships, it would be a good thing for the Spark Alliance."

Just then, a few long texts popped up on the channel.

[Nikon Da Niao]: Brothers, stop for a second! Listen to me about a serious matter!

[Nikon Da Niao]: I strongly suggest! Let's hurry up and remodel the appearance of our Flesh Mecha made from bug genes! Or weld more steel armor plates on the outside!

[Nikon Da Niao]: The NPCs in this game are all stubborn. Just now at the command post, I was almost shot as a heretic by an Arbiter from the Adeptus Arbites! Luckily, I was quick-witted and stubbornly argued that these big bugs were flesh servo-relics created by the Adeptus Mechanicus, and that's how I barely managed to get away with it!

[Makabazi]: Paitu-lao makes sense. Later, when our faction grows, we will definitely deal with other Imperial defense zones or Space Marines. If we go out driving mechas with pure bug shells and accidentally get focused by the Empire's loyalist army as Chaos heretics, that won't be fun at all.

[Makabazi]: Does anyone have any good ideas for camouflage?

[Paratrooper One]: That's easy, didn't Paitu-lao just point out the direction? We can drive steel nails into the flesh shell, stick on some armor plates, or mount some mechanical pipelines. Not only can it strengthen physical defense, but it also looks more punk. Most importantly, find a spray paint can and spray the double-headed eagle and gear symbols all over the armor, isn't that it?

[Is This Melon Ripe]: That's a bit small-minded, isn't it? I think we can start directly from the genetic level! Force mutate those purple-black carapaces into gold! Just like the color scheme of Bumblebee's mecha; it looks righteous!

[Is This Melon Ripe]: Then add a mini gothic cathedral on the wide armor on the back! Get a sculpture of His Majesty the God-Emperor to worship on it, and cover the surroundings with parchment holy words! Just like the Cho'Gath skin in LOL, the 'Death Blossom' one! Focus on religious sanctity! You know what I mean?

[Paratrooper One]: Too flashy. I think it's better to go the heavy metal mechanized modification route. Wasteland style is a man's romance.

[Makabazi]: Stop, stop, stop! Don't argue! Adults make choices; children want everything! Our legion will be divided into two batches; we will do both styles at the same time!

Lin Li put away the PV device, looked at the starry sky outside the porthole, and fell into deep thought.

Nikon Da Niao's encounter in the channel rang an alarm for him.

In the eyes of The Fourth Calamity, driving bug mechas, raising Tyranid pets, and stitching machines and flesh together is just the most normal operation in the game to become stronger.

However!

In this dark, closed, extremely xenophobic, and religiously fanatical warhammer 40,000 universe.

This is definitely not a good thing!

As long as any faction dares to touch aliens or Chaos, the Inquisition of the Empire will definitely hunt them down endlessly.

In the future, players will inevitably walk out of this remote star system to contact the broader territory of the Empire and those rigid Space Marines and Inquisitors.

If we don't put a layer of legitimate camouflage on these players before then, the Spark Alliance will sooner or later become the public enemy of all loyalists in the galaxy.

Giving them a layer of religious belief or Adeptus Mechanicus insurance paint is a good thing after all.

After thinking for a while.

Lin Li picked up the PV again and entered the editing page of the backend system.

Following the players' thoughts just now, he started drafting a brand new guidance announcement.

A few minutes later, a striking update post was pinned directly to the official game forum of warhammer 40,000.

[warhammer 40,000: Spark V0.47 Version Update Announcement]

"Dear The Fourth Calamity, the small version non-stop update is online. The update instructions are as follows:

Open more Tyranid mutation DIY model skeletons.

Add more Golden Age manufacturing blueprints.

Optimize some combat experiences such as Flesh Mecha neural links.

Open more exploration scenes such as the underground of the agricultural planet.

[Key Point] Officially launch the [Equipment/Vehicle Painting Design Aesthetic Ranking]!

This list is divided into three core style elements:

A: Emperor's Faith (Holy, Scripture, Gothic Style),

B: Machine Spirit (Gears, Mechanical, Punk Style),

C: Torchlight (Alliance Red Base, Passing the Torch).

Please, players, feel free to modify your personal equipment or Flesh Mecha according to the above three elements!

After the work is listed, not only can you get massive Core Points rewards, but you also have the chance to obtain server-wide limited titles, as well as the honor of official permanent inclusion of the painting in the mall!

Hurry up and unleash your misplaced creativity!

[Key Point] Officially launch the [Legion Unified Visual Painting Design Ranking]!

As an elite legion, how can you not have your own uniform?

Please, major legion Commanders, integrate the above three elements to design a unified visual style for your legion!

Including war flags, Power Armor paintings, mecha shells, and other derivatives.

After the design is completed, it will be personally evaluated by the supreme Administrator.

Once selected, it will be designated as the official visual version of the legion, enjoying the legion camp morale bonus!"

Lin Li checked the text from beginning to end, confirmed that there were no omissions, and closed the interface with satisfaction.

"With this announcement with a reward mechanism, these players will definitely weld armor and paint gold for their big bugs or whatever other ghosts they have."

Lin Li leaned back in his chair.

"As long as the appearance looks like a product of the Empire or the Adeptus Mechanicus, even if it's wrapped in bug meat inside, those stubborn Inquisitors won't be able to pick any major faults.

This can be considered as trying our best to protect these lunatics within the setting framework."

Just as Lin Li finished handling the internal affairs.

Commander Ushtan walked onto the bridge again with a heavy expression.

"My Lord."

Ushtan pulled up a frontline battle report that had just been transmitted back.

"Just now, we had three more battalions of clones forcefully board using rocket pods and completely destroyed a biological frigate on the periphery of the Tyranids hive fleet from the inside!"

"However, the situation this time has changed significantly."

"Inside the hull of this destroyed ship, the number of low-level cannon fodder creatures like Termagants and Hormagaunts has dropped by nearly 70%! Replacing them are Tyranid Tyrant variants with stronger combat power and more flexible and strange body types!"

"There even appeared an elite command variant suspected to be Tyranids — the Hive Tyrant!"

Lin Li stared at the terrifying aliens on the screen holding multiple deadly bone swords.

"The reaction is quite fast."

Lin Li said coldly.

"It seems that the local Hive Mind has also analyzed the data. It knows that relying on those low-level Termagant cannon fodder seas cannot effectively consume our players, who have high individual quality and are not afraid of death."

"So, it decisively cut off the incubation nutrient supply for the cannon fodder and turned to concentrate all biomass to mass-produce these elite units."

In the evolutionary lineage of Tyranids, although biological units are varied and diverse in form.

But generally speaking, on the conventional battlefield, the Tyrant and its variant Hive Tyrant, as node Commanders, are already the ceiling level of infantry combat power.

Of course, above them, there are even more terrifying strategic-level existences.

For example, the kind of killing machine whose size is comparable to an Imperial Knight Titan, known as the Norn Emissary.

That thing not only possesses the firepower of heavy armor and a crushing body size but also combines the terrifying melee strangling ability of a Tyrant. The key is that the movement speed is ridiculously fast!

In short, the Norn Emissary is the perfect hexagonal warrior on the battlefield and a true infantry meat grinder.

But fortunately, this level of ultimate monster must be hatched in the depths of the mothership by a Norn Queen with extremely high intelligence at the cost of massive resources.

The swarm currently invading is just a scouting vanguard fleet, without even a shadow of a Norn Queen, so naturally, there cannot be such strategic-level units.

Lin Li's brain was running at high speed.

"Since the players' current maximum combat power is enough to form a formation to deal with elite creatures of the Hive Tyrant level, then our tactics should also enter the final stage!"

Lin Li turned to look at Iron Man 73 on the side.

"Number 73, has the batch of new assault ships specifically targeting the Tyranids hive mothership that I asked you to work overtime to rush out, and that large-yield nuclear weapon, been built?"

The blue light in 73's eyes flickered, and it reported:

"Creator, three hundred new assault ships are currently being arranged for the player ships rotating down from the front line to refit. As for that large-yield thermonuclear bomb, it has been packaged and can be mounted at any time."

The so-called new assault ships are actually a type of super-large manned boarding torpedo that Lin Li ordered 73 to specially rush out based on the players' previous reverse boarding experience.

Its front end is not only wrapped with heavy adamantium but also installed with a power disintegration field ram.

And the tail is a full-power propulsion engine.

This thing doesn't consider returning at all; it's a purely suicidal vehicle!

It can rely on terrifying physical impact to firmly drive the ram into the thick chitin shell of the Tyranid ship.

Then, the tip of the ram can expand and spread out like a bug's tentacles, directly providing a spacious and safe landing passage for the players inside.

This move can be said to have fully understood the essence of bug boarding.