Chapter 47

“That is your warp essence.”

On the streets of the Lower Nest, Zhou Yun and Leina walked together.

District Nine has been corrupted by Tzeentch, and there may still be a significant number of the corrupted within that district.

Now, the PDF has sealed off the entire district and, alongside the Ecclesiarchy’s priests, begun purification—rumors even say the Sisters of Battle will intervene.

But before the Sisters of Battle entered District Nine, Zhou Yun and Leina used the pass provided by Augustus Flax to return to the Lower Nest.

Leina clutched the flight log in her arms, her eyes brimming with impatient excitement.

Zhou Yun’s attention, however, was drawn elsewhere.

When he was corrupted by Tzeentch, he had faintly seen his reflection in the warp.

It was a blurry, round, blue figure, seemingly without ears.

Even after he sold the black book through his fourth-dimensional pocket, severing the corruption entirely,

Zhou Yun could still see that round blue figure.

Through glass reflections, burning flames, or hazy twilight—he saw it everywhere.

The figure seemed like his own reflection.

The winged figure in the white light said it was Zhou Yun’s warp essence.

“I’m not a Primarch,” Zhou Yun replied, shaking his head.

Zhou Yun roughly understood what warp essence was.

Warp essence was the true warp form hidden behind the Primarchs’ humanity.

Some speculated the Primarchs’ essence were warp-subdeities implanted by the Emperor into human bodies.

Awakening one’s warp essence meant becoming a subdeity once more.

Korvax, the Raven King, awakened his warp essence and gained power sufficient to crush Lorgar.

Zhou Yun didn’t know if this claim was true, but he wasn’t a Primarch, nor a warp subdeity.

“Don’t be as stubborn as Guilliman.”

The winged figure in the white light sighed:

“You saw it yourself—your reflection in the warp is not human.”

That was true.

Zhou Yun rubbed his chin, recalling his warp reflection.

Blue, round, earless.

Familiar. Extremely familiar.

Isn’t this Doraemon?

Could my warp essence be Doraemon?

A cat-shaped childcare robot from the twenty-second century?

Zhou Yun said with a strange expression: “I think I know what my warp reflection looks like.”

“But I haven’t awakened any warp essence.”

He spread his hands.

The Raven King awakened his warp essence and immediately gained power to crush Lorgar.

Why haven’t I changed at all?

“Knowing and awakening are two different things.”

The winged figure in the white light shook its head:

“Even if you grabbed Guilliman by the ears and shouted, ‘Your essence in the warp is that of a true demigod,’”

“Guilliman still wouldn’t awaken his warp essence.”

Zhou Yun nodded, half-understanding.

“The key lies in your self-perception—you must find your place in the warp.”

The winged figure in the white light continued:

“Tzeentch’s corruption triggered your self-preservation instinct, making you vaguely aware of your warp essence’s existence.”

“It’s a blessing in disguise. Logically, you should now have gained some abilities you never had before.”

Zhou Yun’s expression grew stranger: “Abilities? What kind of abilities?”

“Uh, maybe flight, sensing others’ emotions, spatial teleportation, being handsome, innate knowledge, numerology, turning into a raven, slipping into darkness, foreseeing the future, psychic talent, that sort of thing.”

The winged figure in the white light spoke vaguely.

Zhou Yun frowned as he listened.

“How do you know so much?” Zhou Yun couldn’t help asking.

This figure seemed to know far too much about the warp.

Did Sanguinius have this knowledge? Could he be some one-eyed, sunburnt Ork in disguise?

“I was among the first of the Primarch brothers to realize I wasn’t purely a product of the material world, and thus vaguely recognized my warp essence.”

The winged figure in the white light spoke softly:

“I didn’t need Father’s superhuman intellect—I realized it through common sense alone.”

“These wings on my back are aerodynamically impossible to fly with—they must rely on warp power.”

Hearing this, Zhou Yun let out a quiet laugh.

“Next, you must find your new abilities and use them to further understand your warp essence,” said the winged figure in the white light.

“I feel I haven’t gained any abilities,” Zhou Yun shook his head.

His fourth-dimensional pocket was a power he had since his transmigration—it clearly wasn’t from his warp essence.

He had no clue about the new abilities the winged figure mentioned.

Zhou Yun shrugged and temporarily pushed the complicated matters out of his mind.

He was just tired and wanted to get home and sleep.

Speaking of home—

“Big Dummy Leina, did you handle the task I entrusted you with before going to the Upper Nest?”

Zhou Yun asked Leina.

!.read

Before going to the Upper Nest, his home had been visited by the Hotcut Thief. Though Zhou Yun had spotted and driven him off, there was no guarantee the Hotcut Thief wouldn’t return.

So Zhou Yun had entrusted Leina to pay some credits and arrange for Ark Gang members to patrol nearby,

lest his home be robbed while he was away—even though most of his wealth was in his fourth-dimensional pocket, and his house held only a few spare clothes and daily necessities.

“Don’t worry, I’ve arranged everything.”

Leina patted her chest.

“Wait, what did you just call me?”

“Want some sunflower seeds, Your Highness?” Zhou Yun chuckled as he passed under the archway forged from scrap metal.

Leina huffed in annoyance, then couldn’t help asking:

“What exactly did you do that night? I only saw you take the book and shove it into your clothes.”

Recalling that night, Leina’s eyes were full of confusion.

“Just think of it as me using some magical tool,” Zhou Yun smiled.

He passed through the scrap-metal archway, squeezed through a crowd, and would soon reach home.

“You’re trying to fool me again,” Leina frowned.

“I—?”

Before Zhou Yun could retort, he froze in place.

Standing beside the street not far from his home, he stared blankly at his front door and said:

“I think you’re the one fooling me.”

Zhou Yun pointed at the iron door of his house.

A smooth, perfectly round hole had been cut into it by the Hotcut Thief.

Solidified, cooled iron dripped down the hole like twisted vines.

Less than two centimeters from the hole was the lock core.

The lock core itself showed not a single scratch.

Zhou Yun could only marvel at the Hotcut Thief’s exquisite skill.

Leina stared dumbfounded at the hole in Zhou Yun’s door: “This—”

Had the Hotcut Thief broken into Zhou Yun’s house?

She had arranged patrols right outside his door!

Then where were the patrolmen? Why were they gone?

“If you don’t explain this to me tonight, I’ll use your illegal psyker steel plate to plug the hole.”

Zhou Yun’s eye twitched uncontrollably.

“Wait, let me check who was on duty today—”

“Where are they?!”

Leina frowned, pulled out a small notebook from her pocket, and flipped through it frantically.

“.Oh!”

Leina’s eyes lit up with sudden understanding:

“So it’s Lag’s shift today!”

Hearing this, Zhou Yun also showed a look of sudden realization:

“It’s Lag! No wonder this guy is pulling another trick on me!”

(End of Chapter)