Chapter 23: We

“How did you get so weak, Zhou Yun?”

Luo Ge laughed as he slung Zhou Yun over his shoulder and carried him to the entrance of Zhou Yun’s house.

Zhou Yun leaned against the outer wall, rubbing his temples as the dizziness and nausea slowly faded.

“You look better. Let’s go have a drink.”

Noticing Zhou Yun’s complexion had improved, Luo Ge urged:

“Tomorrow we’re going to fight the Ark Gang to the death. Have a drink with your brother.”

“You might not see me again next time.”

Luo Ge’s tone was full of sincerity, as if he were already dead tomorrow.

“I’ve heard that line at least seven or eight times,” Zhou Yun said, shaking his head slightly as the dizziness eased.

This guy was a veteran—amid a gang where the average age didn’t exceed thirty, he’d somehow managed to become an old relic.

No matter how deadly the gang war, he always came back unscathed.

Zhou Yun often suspected the guy had been blessed by some warp deity—how was he so hard to kill?

“Wait, you said the Ark Gang is going to fight you to the death?” Zhou Yun raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, before you left, our territories already clashed.”

Luo Grinned and patted the Agrippina Model 3 automatic rifle hanging at his waist—

clearly stolen from the weapons delivered to the gang.

Zhou Yun fell silent. That old bastard.

But it didn’t matter—the gang had already paid him. Even if Luo Ge stole three hundred rifles, it was none of his concern.

“Is the Ark Gang really in such a hurry to expand?” Zhou Yun frowned tightly.

“I heard they’re building some kind of ark—they need a lot of supplies and manpower,” Luo Ge mused.

“An ark? They want to fly into the sky and become Eldar?” Zhou Yun muttered.

The Ark Gang grew stranger by the moment.

Their doctrines and actions seemed closely tied to Gene-Stealers.

Could they really be part of the Gene-Stealer cult?

But such blatant behavior didn’t fit the Gene-Stealers’ usual style.

Zhou Yun felt a flicker of confusion.

He’d need to find time to investigate the Ark Gang’s background.

If they truly were Gene-Stealers, it would be a major problem.

But there was no chance today.

Zhou Yun rubbed his still-throbbing temples.

After returning from the Ruin District, he’d gone straight to Old District Eight—back-to-back work had left his body weary.

Zhou Yun waved Luo Ge away, pushed open his door, and collapsed onto the small bed.

The mattress wasn’t soft, but the moment he lay down, his fatigue lessened considerably.

He kicked the door shut against the wall, rubbed his temples, then turned his gaze to his fourth-dimensional pocket.

His trip to Old District Eight had yielded plenty.

Aside from the weapons retrieved from the PDF warehouse, Zhou Yun had also acquired Ignis Kalkas’s notebook and the safe that held it.

That notebook—

Zhou Yun’s eye twitched just thinking about it.

He’d assumed it was just a poetry collection; he never expected it to be Ignis Kalkas’s diary.

The blasphemous incantations recorded inside had been thoroughly destroyed by Zhou Yun.

But even so—

Zhou Yun rubbed his temples.

The notebook contained numerous records from the Great Crusade era, primarily about Horus, Deven, Erebus, the Sons of Horus, and First Captain Abaddon.

It even included plenty of complaints about the Astartes and speculations about the Warrior Societies.

The contents of this book were the Empire’s most forbidden secrets, the deepest taboos.

Some histories, many Imperial institutions wished to be buried forever.

As long as these records remained in Zhou Yun’s hands, they were safe—but if they fell into the hands of some noble and drew the attention of certain Imperial agencies,

anyone who had seen this book might be forced into loyalty, traced back like vines.

Zhou Yun made his decision immediately: this thing must never reach Old One-Eye.

What should be buried must stay buried.

Unfortunately, the fourth-dimensional pocket paid poorly for textual content.

Zhou Yun shook his head and tossed the notebook deep into the pocket.

Then he recycled most of the weapons and gear he’d found in Old District Eight, along with the stasis-field safe.

!.Read

One million three hundred thousand instantly credited.

He did not recycle the fifty Cattle M36 laser rifles,

because they were genuinely effective—no wonder they were called the Astra Militarum’s good wife, no wonder they were the standard issue for Cadian Shock Troops.

He could now mentally control twelve at once—though it drained considerable energy and each volley had a few-second delay—but who in the Underhive wouldn’t be disoriented by a dozen focused beams slamming into their face?

With training, Zhou Yun might one day control fifty laser rifles simultaneously.

He kept a few of each of the other three weapon types, just in case they’d be useful later.

Altogether, he recycled one million three hundred thousand.

“Zhou Yun, we’re rich now,” the winged figure in Bai Guang sighed.

“Who’s ‘we’?” Zhou Yun glanced at him.

Though he felt a pang of regret, Zhou Yun opened the Future Department Store’s shopping interface.

He needed to buy more gear.

If the Ark Gang truly was a Gene-Stealer cult, the equipment Zhou Yun currently had wouldn’t be enough.

The Gene-Stealer chieftain beneath Asford was a six-meter-tall monster with diamond-hard carapace and terrifying psychic power.

Moreover, due to its host’s bloodline, this Gene-Stealer could partially resist the control of the Great Devourer.

Because of all this, it could even trade blows with the Death Company’s Dreadnought—yes, the Death Company’s Dreadnought.

Zhou Yun needed to acquire some more powerful weapons.

[Item Name: Pocket Tornado]

[Origin: 22nd Century Earth—Future Department Store]

[Manufacture Date: 277.m2]

[Function: Appears as a gourd; removing the stopper releases a tornado capable of reaching typhoon intensity, powerful enough to destroy a small town in moments.]

“Price: 560,000”

Capable of unleashing typhoon-force winds, instantly obliterating a small town.

When Zhou Yun read this description, his eyes brightened slightly.

At only 560,000, it wasn’t too expensive.

But soon he understood why such a devastating item was so cheap—

this thing’s winds didn’t distinguish friend from foe; if Zhou Yun unleashed a typhoon-level storm, he’d be sucked into it too.

But if he scaled it down slightly, using the instant-movement ability granted by his Superpower Hat—

Zhou Yun’s eyes brightened again.

Launch a hurricane into the enemy’s face, then teleport away—he loved that tactic.

Zhou Yun reached out and purchased the item.

“The Ark Gang bastards are launching a surprise attack!”

Before Zhou Yun could pull the item from his pack, he heard commotion outside his door.

“Ark Gang, spawn of mutants! Fire, brothers!”

Gunfire and curses intertwined, echoing through the night.

(End of Chapter)