Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 304 The Sea Hare's Determination

"If you're not comfortable, you don't have to go anymore," Chen Xi said gently, looking at Hai Tu's pale face and slightly trembling hands.

He handed the sea hare a cup of hot tea, watching as the other mechanically took the cup, yet even the movement of bringing it to his lips seemed so stiff.

Chen Xi completely understood her friend's feelings.

As a doctor from the peaceful 21st century, the sea hare's living environment made it difficult for him to adapt to the naked cruelty of the 40K universe.

Thinking of this, Chen Xi couldn't help but smile bitterly.

This reminded him of those jokes online about traveling to the Warhammer universe: those Warhammer fans who shout "For the Emperor" all day long would probably cry like a jerk who'd had his toes stepped on if they actually traveled to this universe.

Ironically, there are even jokes circulating online that say, "The system has detected that you have traveled to Warhammer 40 and is automatically uninstalling."

These dark jokes all reveal the essence of this universe—a desperate abyss where even darkness is too bright.

What the sea hare saw wasn't actually that cruel, not even worthy of being called mental pollution. If Chaos were to invade, everything that came into view would be far more terrifying and repulsive than the execution of a few deserters, and what the Khorne cult loved most was cutting off people's heads.

The atrocities committed by the Khorne followers have long surpassed mere killing. During the rebellion in the Mariupol sector, the Blood God followers transformed the entire cathedral into an altar of the Blood God.

Thousands of civilians were hung upside down from the Gothic vaults, their throats slit, their blood flowing down the stained glass and pooling on the ground in the shape of an eight-pointed star.

Pyramids made of skulls were piled up in the streets, each skull's face frozen in extreme pain.

Even a glimpse of such a scene is enough to inflict permanent psychological trauma on any mentally sound person.

However, compared to the revelry of Slaanesh's followers, Khorne's atrocities seemed "pure" and "direct."

In one of the horror movies from Chen Xi's childhood memories, there was a scene that left a very deep impression on him: a gambling addict lost a bet with a ghost, and then ground his hands on the table incessantly until his body was ground into a pile of minced meat.

However, to the followers of the Dark Prince, it was nothing more than a beginner's pastime.

True Slaanesh rituals aim for the ultimate distortion of the senses: living sculptures are transformed into "resonators" capable of simultaneously experiencing all known pain; the victim's brain is implanted with pleasure chips, gradually dissolving in perpetual pleasure...

Not to mention those "works of art" sculpted from human flesh and blood, each one challenging the boundaries set by the Creator.

Most chillingly, these victims often derive a twisted pleasure from the endless torment, becoming active participants in this depraved feast.

The plague of Nurgle presents a different kind of terror.

On the plague planet, the internal organs of living people spontaneously transform into wriggling parasites that crawl out of the seven orifices; the entire city melts into a bubbling soup under the blessing of the benevolent father, yet the inhabitants remain conscious.

Tzeentch's schemes are often the most insidious and deadly—the inhabitants of a certain planet may have unknowingly lived the same life hundreds of times, each cycle a cruel experiment meticulously designed by the dark gods.

Compared to these, the scene of the judges executing deserters seemed like child's play.

The shocks experienced by the sea slug are merely the surface darkness of the Warhammer universe. True chaos corruption erodes the sanity of the viewer, causing even the most steadfast warriors to crumble in an instant.

Battlefields contaminated by chaos often require months of cleansing by fire purification units—not because of physical contamination, but because the sights themselves spread madness.

Chen Xi frowned involuntarily as he looked at Hai Tu's pale face and slightly trembling fingers.

He knew his friend too well—how could a doctor who saves lives suddenly adapt to the brutal world of 40K where flesh and blood fly?

Even Chen Xi himself had to go through various experiences to adapt to the cruelty of 40k. How could Hai Tu endure the massive death scenes of the expeditionary war right from the start?

"Listen to me, this isn't the time to be reckless." Chen Xi put down his cola, his voice unusually serious. "Look at your reaction! This is just witnessing an execution; what if we really encountered a Chaos invasion..."

Sea Hare took a deep breath and clenched her fists, as if trying to stop the damn trembling.

“I understand your concerns, but this isn’t a question of whether we can withstand it.” Hai Tu’s voice was much calmer than expected. He slowly raised his head, and his eyes, which usually carried a gentle smile, now shone with a firm light that Chen Xi had never seen before: “Those wounded soldiers need doctors. Every minute and every second, people are dying because they don’t receive timely treatment.”

"I'm happy to help! I can't just run away after seeing a few heads fall, can I?"

At this point, the sea hare suddenly paused, her Adam's apple bobbing up and down, as if swallowing some indescribable emotion.

He took a deep breath and continued, "If even those of us who know what a better world should be like choose to back down, then who can change that hell?"

Chen Xi sighed deeply, shook his head helplessly, and forced a bitter smile: "Should I call you naive? Or should I call you great? You actually think about changing that cesspool of 40k! Even Emperors couldn't do it, and you actually..."

His voice gradually lowered, but he quickly raised his head again, his eyes becoming serious: "But you're right, if none of us are willing to change, how can things possibly get better?"

At this point, Chen Xi suddenly turned and walked towards her bedroom.

The room was filled with the sound of rummaging through drawers and cabinets. A moment later, he came out carrying a metal box with a red cross printed on it.

“These are some medications for treating post-traumatic stress disorder,” he said, handing the box to Hai Tu with a hint of concern in his voice, “I don’t know if you’ll need them…”

The sea hare took the box and gently opened the lid.

When he saw what was inside, his brows furrowed involuntarily, and a complex expression appeared on his face.

“These are all controlled substances!” He looked up, his eyes questioning, “Where did you get them?”

"Don't worry about that." Chen Xi grinned and patted Hai Tu on the shoulder: "I have my own connections, you can use them if you need them."

His expression immediately turned serious, and his voice deepened: "Remember, if you can't handle it, don't force yourself. It's okay to come back, rest, and then set off again."

(End of this chapter)