Chapter 36: The Fiery Thief?

According to standard time, it was already the deep night.

But in the hive, there was no such thing as night or day.

Deep beneath the surface, away from the outer hive districts and abandoned zones, Asford’s twin poison stars were utterly invisible.

Here, night and day were merely artificial constructs to mark worker shifts.

Workers heading toward residential zones carried heavy exhaustion, briefly freed from the day’s labor.

Those heading toward the factories had barely recovered from their last shift, stumbling toward the next.

Zhou Yun watched the flow of people through the night until the lights of the hive’s residential zones flickered out one by one, briefly surrendering all things to darkness.

Workers either entered factories to labor through the night or returned home for fleeting rest.

The hive’s streets grew momentarily empty.

Zhou Yun walked along the narrow alleys of the hive, heading toward home.

His gaze swept past the shadowed side alleys.

Occasionally, screams echoed from those alleys; occasionally, members of the Ark Gang hurried past.

He even spotted members of other major districts infiltrating local gangs.

This brief night belonged to the gangs—they would wage bloody battles in the dark alleys.

Chaos with a touch of order: tradition and unspoken agreement among the gangs.

But Zhou Yun noticed that nighttime vendettas and fights had become less bloody and violent than before.

Screams from the alleys ended after only a few cries.

Members of other gangs sprinting through the streets were dragged into side alleys in the blink of an eye.

All nighttime violence proceeded with orderly precision.

Though Leina possessed a touch of genius, the gang she built was undeniably efficient.

While other gangs still clung to primitive, crude wolf-culture, she had already instituted religious faith.

Nothing united people better than religion—the Empire itself had been held together by it.

“If Horus saw this now, how he’d mock us.”

Zhou Yun muttered under his breath.

He recalled how the Warmaster had once accused the Emperor of driving all humanity into the abyss of religion and superstition.

The Four Gods showed Horus the true future of the Empire.

Horus could not accept that future—but the Four Gods had lied with truth.

It was because of his rebellion that the Empire became what it is today.

“Good intentions—many of the galaxy’s worst paths were paved with them.”

The winged figure within the white light trembled slightly, echoing Zhou Yun’s earlier point:

“I cannot imagine how despairing Guilliman would be if he woke to see this sight.”

“Yet I still hope to restore a little hope to this galaxy.”

The winged figure within the white light flapped its wings, its form seeming clearer before Zhou Yun.

“Go to Baal, friend.”

“Find my children. Tell them you come at my command. Let them take you to my remains—”

“Stop!” Zhou Yun waved his hand, swiftly rejecting the winged figure’s tempting proposal.

“You just said many terrible paths were paved with good intentions.”

“Even if I could resurrect you—though I can’t now—would it truly be Sanguinius who returned?”

“Wouldn’t it be the Four Gods crafting a corrupted version of Sanguinius—their hands hold his soul fragments.”

“Could it be Horus, possessing Sanguinius’s corpse to return?”

“Could it be some warp entity using this to manifest?”

Zhou Yun fired a rapid barrage of questions at the winged figure in the white light.

The winged figure in the white light fell silent.

“And are your prophecies reliable? Even if I went to Baal now, I have no way to resurrect Sanguinius.”

Zhou Yun glanced at the winged figure in the white light.

Most importantly, he couldn’t get to Baal yet.

Even if he somehow smuggled himself there, he’d still be unable to escape the Swarm’s claws.

He needed to find a way to gather the funds for a teleporter here in Asford.

“Perhaps… maybe… it’s accurate.”

The winged figure in the white light whispered:

“Your future is too chaotic—like three fates woven together.”

“I’ve seen you and the Emperor board the Vengeful Spirit, then moments later, you and the Emperor board the Glory of Macragge.”

“Perhaps, as you say, my resurrection must wait for a more distant time.”

Watching the silent winged figure in the white light, Zhou Yun did not press further.

He turned a corner, passed under an archway made of scrap metal, and headed toward his home—

Zhou Yun saw light.

A blinding, searing light that burned his eyes.

The light erupted before his heavy iron door; molten iron dripped slowly down its surface.

“What the hell?!”

Zhou Yun’s eyes widened.

He saw a small figure in a cloak, wielding a plasma cutter, slicing through a steel door.

That looked like… his own door.

Zhou Yun blinked, and suddenly remembered what Old One-Eye and Leina had both mentioned—the Fiery Thief.

A thief who used plasma cutters to slice through doors or walls, stealing inside, never caught.

“Damn it, stealing from me now?”

Zhou Yun’s eye twitched. Without a word, he pulled the psychic cap from his pocket and placed it on his head.

He focused his mind on the cloaked figure.

A powerful telekinetic force, like an invisible hammer, slammed into the Fiery Thief.

Yet the Fiery Thief had stopped the plasma cutter the instant before Zhou Yun moved.

As if he’d anticipated it, he spun and fled, evading Zhou Yun’s telekinesis.

“Think you can run?”

Zhou Yun blurred into a trail of afterimages, vanishing from his spot and reappearing behind the Fiery Thief.

“All evil shall be brought to justice!”

“This is illegal! Come with me—turn yourself in.”

Zhou Yun reached for the back of the Fiery Thief’s neck.

But the Fiery Thief slipped like an eel, sliding instantly from Zhou Yun’s grasp.

Zhou Yun caught only a glimpse: beneath the cloak, a pair of black eyes flecked with gold.

The Fiery Thief twisted past Zhou Yun’s arm.

He vanished like smoke into the dark alley. Zhou Yun darted after him.

But the Fiery Thief’s form disappeared in an instant amid the labyrinthine, chaotic alleys.

Zhou Yun stared at his empty hand, then at the direction where the Fiery Thief had vanished.

He remembered Leina’s words: the Fiery Thief seemed to possess some form of precognition.

“Damn it, Asford’s talent pool seems suspiciously large.”

"This isn't another big shot's alternate account, is it?"

(End of Chapter)