Chapter 34: You

“I hope she’s not studying numerology.” Zhou Yun blurted out instinctively.

Leina blinked, taken aback, then asked: “What’s numerology?”

“Uh…”

Zhou Yun blinked, momentarily at a loss for words.

Should he tell Leina:

that Numerology was a brand-new open-world adventure game Zizhuyanfa by Mortarion, set in a fantasy world called the “Astral Plane”?

That stubborn little Primarch Mortarion had clearly inherited the Emperor’s stubbornness,

having already pledged himself to Chaos, standing right before Nurgle and a host of Great Unclean Ones, yet still trying to explain the Astral Plane with this “scientific” thing called Numerology,

even accusing others of superstition.

I use Numerology; you use superstitious witchcraft!

“It’s a profound discipline that explains the Astral Plane through mathematical logic,” Zhou Yun said after a deep breath.

Leina frowned slightly and whispered: “Sounds like something blasphemous.”

“The mathematician I’m referring to doesn’t study such unorthodox nonsense.”

Leina explained:

“She’s an accountant in the Upper Spire, helping noble factories with their ledgers, and studies mathematics in her spare time.”

“How could an accountant and mathematician help you locate the Astral Engine?”

Zhou Yun’s eye twitched slightly; a bad premonition stirred in his chest.

A mathematician studying mathematics in this galaxy? That’s not a safe profession.

“Could it be she calculated its location through rigorous mathematical computation?”

Could it be she was corrupted by Tzeentch, receiving revelations from numbers?

Zhou Yun didn’t voice his thoughts.

“Why do you always think such blasphemous thoughts?” Leina’s face showed alarm,

and she quickly bowed her head, murmuring a quick prayer for the Emperor to forgive her for hearing such blasphemous words.

“Her ancestor was the navigator who recorded the course of Asford’s first colonial vessel, and she possesses an ancient navigation archive passed down for over ten thousand years.”

Leina told Zhou Yun:

“If we obtain that archive, we can determine the approximate landing site of the old Asford colony ship—and whether the Astral Engine was removed.”

“How do you know the accountant and navigator still has that archive?”

Zhou Yun’s brow furrowed deeper:

“Don’t tell me it’s another Emperor’s revelation?”

Leina’s eyes flickered slightly at Zhou Yun’s words: “No, it’s not.”

Zhou Yun’s suspicion deepened.

“I have a reliable source,” Leina said with full confidence.

Noticing Zhou Yun’s lingering doubt, Leina placed her finger on the sacred inscription on her cheek:

“I swear by the Emperor that my source is absolutely trustworthy, and not derived from revelation, prophecy, or Astral Plane hallucinations.”

Zhou Yun withdrew his skeptical gaze, but his doubts didn’t lessen at all.

“So what do you want me to do?” Zhou Yun asked Leina.

Leina smiled: “I originally only wanted to hire you to go to the Lower Spire and retrieve the Astral Engine.”

“After all, you seem to have some ability to transport large objects… Don’t deny it—the pile of automatic rifles was heavy and bulky.”

I didn’t deny it, Zhou Yun mentally grumbled.

“But now that I’ve seen your abilities, I want you to come with me to the Upper Spire and steal that archive,” Leina said.

“You… and I go to the Upper Spire together?”

Zhou Yun’s lip twitched.

This Ark Sect leader always managed to pack countless points of complaint into a single sentence.

“First question: Why me?”

“Second question: How do you plan to get to the Upper Spire?”

Zhou Yun fixed his gaze on Leina.

Between the Upper and Lower Spires, PDF troops are stationed.

True, both Leina and Zhou Yun have some strength, and Leina’s persuasive words might give her an edge against organized forces,

but… an illegal psyker forcing their way through the checkpoint between Upper and Lower Spires—

what’s the difference from open rebellion? Are you trying to get a Cadian Shock Trooper’s fist in your face?

The Imperial Guard stationed near Asford are the famed Cadian Shock Troopers,

and not even Leina, an illegal psyker, could stand against them—let alone a Chaos Daemon; those Cadian super-soldiers would charge even a Greater Daemon.

“Why me? Because only I know where the archive is.”

Leina replied, but hesitated when faced with the second question.

“I’m working on securing a route—results may come soon.”

Unreliable. This woman is utterly unreliable.

Zhou Yun quickly judged:

Her “route” is almost certainly a smuggling path into the Upper Spire,

and they’re going there to steal—Upper Spire security is nothing like the Lower Spire’s,

and if she’s caught and her illegal psyker status exposed,

Cadian Shock Trooper warning!

“I’ll raise the price!” Seeing Zhou Yun’s expression, Leina said without hesitation.

Anticipating Zhou Yun’s refusal, Leina chose to simply raise the payment—

according to her experience, enough money always found someone willing to take the risk.

“You really…” Zhou Yun paused. “...have terrible judgment.”

Leina froze, embarrassed.

Zhou Yun stared at her with a calm expression.

Raise the price? His goal in earning money was survival!

He rubbed his chin, a thought quietly forming in his mind.

He had found a safe, legal way to enter the Upper Spire.

“I’ll consider it,” Zhou Yun suddenly said, changing his tone.

Leaving the Ark Sect’s hideout, Zhou Yun walked through the crowded streets of the hive, lost in thought.

“You seem troubled. Would you like me to use the Emperor’s Tarot to divine it?”

As he spoke, the winged figure in white light pulled out a set of cards glowing with white radiance.

Zhou Yun glanced at him, then asked: “Is there truly no trace of Chaos corruption on that woman?”

“None. But her psychic signature is strange,” the winged figure in white light replied.

“Strange?” Zhou Yun raised an eyebrow.

“Yes… her psychic potential doesn’t seem entirely innate—it appears to have been deliberately triggered.”

Listening to the winged figure’s words, Zhou Yun fell into brief thought.

The winged figure in white light gently fluttered his wings and asked the thinking Zhou Yun:

“What’s your thought? The girl isn’t corrupted by Chaos, but she is… unusual.”

“Me?”

Hearing the winged figure’s words, Zhou Yun’s lips curled into a bright smile.

“I’m going to learn from Lagg.” He answered with amusement.

“Lagg… that hive gang member?” The winged figure blinked. “What do you mean by learning from him?”

“Being a middleman!”

Zhou Yun chuckled, stopping his steps before the grand statue of Saint Guilliman,

precisely, before the entrance of the Spear Inn.

(End of Chapter)