Chapter 32: Astonishing Wisdom!

In a small room on the third floor of the Ark Guild’s stronghold.

“So you’re not the insect assassin sent to kill me,” said Leina, the Ark Guild’s High Priestess, frowning.

“So you’re not the High Bishop of the Gene Thieves either?” Zhou Yun raised an eyebrow at Leina.

Leina, High Priestess of the Ark Guild, an illegal psyker,

sat across from Zhou Yun, whom he observed closely,

her face bearing no signs of madness or mutation, her eyes tinged blue shimmering with reason,

on her cheeks, faint gold ink inscribed a passage:

“Rejoice, for I have brought you the glorious gospel,”

“The God walks among us.”

Zhou Yun knew these words came from the Sacred Texts of Luo Jia, the first two sentences of the entire book.

This book, written by the rebel Primogenitor, detailed the worship of the Emperor and His divinity—the foundation of the entire Imperial Cult.

Zhou Yun had confirmed with X-ray vision: this High Priestess of the Ark Guild was indeed a pure human, not the High Bishop of the Chicken Cult.

She truly was an illegal psyker who had slipped away from the Black Ships,

but.

She seemed to have some awareness of the Tyranid Hive Fleets and the Gene Thieves.

“Gene Thieves.”

Leina’s gaze flickered slightly:

“A fitting name—perfect for describing them. Is that the official Imperial term?”

Zhou Yun gave a slight nod in response to Leina’s question.

“And what about those that fell from the star-space? Those that descended from living star-ships aboard spore-capsules?” Leina asked Zhou Yun.

“Tyranids—the Tyranid Leviathan Fleet. They are predators from beyond the galaxy, seeking to consume all they see.”

“.They’re coming soon.” Leina whispered, her voice trembling slightly.

A silence filled the small room as the two stared at each other.

Zhou Yun studied Leina from head to toe, his eyes filled with confusion:

“You knew about the Gene Thieves, but how do you know the Tyranids are about to descend on Asi?”

“I saw it,” Leina said, her fingertip brushing lightly over the Sacred Texts tattoo on her cheek.

Psychic prophecy? Zhou Yun blinked.

Many psykers possessed some degree of prophetic ability, glimpsing fragmented visions of the future,

though what they saw was not necessarily true,

for in the Warp dwelt one known as the Lord of Change, who delighted in twisting half-truths into prophecies, luring mortals into the most treacherous corners of fate.

Leina noticed Zhou Yun’s gaze,

placed her hand on her flat chest, and raised her head proudly:

“I, Leina, have been revealed by the God-Emperor.”

“He showed me visions of the future, and commanded me to save more people of Asi!”

“.” Zhou Yun stared fixedly at Leina.

How many now?

Counting himself—the one “Saint Guilliman” had visited in a dream,

the Gene Thieves’ leader, the Great Devourer’s vanguard,

plus Mong and Malkit, who seemed blessed by the Nurglite,

and now Leina, claiming to be revealed by the God-Emperor—this was the fifth,

were there too many Chosen of Asi? Were the great ones planning a proxy war in this tiny hive-city?

“I truly have been enlightened by the God-Emperor!”

Leina, seeing Zhou Yun’s skeptical gaze, widened her eyes:

“I am a devout believer of the Emperor—my mother and father were too. I was not deceived by any Warp specter!”

“Each time I see a vision, I pray devoutly to the Emperor, asking Him to protect my mind.”

As she spoke, Leina wore a pious expression, chanting the Emperor’s divinity:

“I pray to the Emperor, that He shield my soul from harm in the tides of the Highest Heaven.”

“Then you must be a legally certified Imperial psyker?” Zhou Yun tapped the table.

The small room fell into heavy silence.

“.I was guided by the Emperor to save more people of Asi. I cannot leave with the Black Ships,” Leina firmly shook her head.

“Then if the God-Emperor enlightened you, can you hear His voice?” Zhou Yun asked again.

“.Enlightenment means hearing voices?” Leina blinked, bewildered.

“Are you one chosen by the Emperor?” Zhou Yun asked, his lip twitching.

“I think I am!” Leina straightened her back, speaking with firm conviction.

“.There are no traces of Chaos corruption on her,” whispered the winged figure in Zhou Yun’s peripheral vision, glowing white.

Zhou Yun glanced at him and shook his head.

Either Leina had merely glimpsed a prophecy from the Warp,

or she and the glowing white figure at his eye were both part of Tzeentch’s grand scheme.

“What about you—what are you really?”

Leina suddenly raised her voice, using her hypnotic tone to question Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun showed no reaction.

“I’m immune to that trick,” he said flatly.

The faint will she projected into his mind was negligible compared to the brilliant, radiant winged figure,

and the moment it entered his psyche, it was diluted into the blinding white light.

Leina deflated instantly, slumping back in her chair, muttering:

“I thought if I unleashed my full psychic will while you were off-guard, the hypnotic tone might work.”

“Who are you? Why are you disguised as Luo Ge, sneaking into my side, and suddenly attacking me?”

“I suddenly attacked you?” Zhou Yun raised an eyebrow. “Who screamed at the top of their lungs first?”

“I thought you were a Gene Thief assassin—I’ve been targeted by them several times already,” Leina snorted.

“You thought. Are you an Ork? You just ‘thought’?”

“I thought you were the Gene Thief High Bishop too—your whole propaganda style matches theirs, and you suddenly sent someone to find me.”

“Sent someone to find you?” Leina paused, blinked.

Then she suddenly understood, slapped her forehead:

“You’re. Zhou Yun, right?”

“You aaaaaaah!”

Leina roughly ruffled her own hair:

“It’s you! I was looking for you, and it had nothing to do with the Gene Thieves!”

“Luo Ge told me you’re good at exploring the ruins, and you needed work lately.”

“He said if there was any job involving ruin exploration, I should find you.”

“I happened to have one, so I had him fetch you.”

“Luo Ge told me you wanted to find me,” Zhou Yun’s eye twitched slightly.

Clearly Luo Ge had been playing both sides—he probably wanted to profit from the middle.

“That damn Luo Ge,” Zhou Yun rubbed his temples, exasperated.

Zhou Yun even suspected Luo Ge had been corrupted by Tzeentch.

But that didn’t make sense—Tzeentch required intelligence to corrupt,

the Lord of Change would rather corrupt an Ogrun who can only count to ten than Luo Ge.

“Damn it, dock his pay,” Leina also slammed the table in anger.

“So why did you want me?” Zhou Yun leaned back in his chair, looking at Leina.

“The Tyranids are coming. I have a plan to save more people.”

Leina stared seriously at Zhou Yun:

“I’m going to build a ship, load as many people as possible, and escape ahead of time.”

“.”

Zhou Yun was too stunned to speak.

He now confirmed:

Leina might have been deceived by Tzeentch, but she was certainly not corrupted by him.

With this astonishing wisdom, even Nurgling would shake his head, and Magnus would raise a thumb and call her an expert.

(End of Chapter)