Chapter 50

Night deepened beside the garbage mountain in Zone Thirteen.

This garbage mountain had formed over ten thousand years from countless wastes dumped below, rising and expanding daily, growing ever more chaotic and disordered.

In the dim light of the Undernest, the mountain looked like a twisted god crouching in darkness, grotesquely eroding everything around it.

Among the dark clusters of garbage, shadowy figures moved, occasional roars echoed, and strange whispers rose.

This was not only the convergence point for all the nest’s waste, but also the mandatory route from the Undernest to the Nest Suburbs and the Bottom Nest.

Residents from the irradiated lands beyond, and mutants from the darkness of the Bottom Nest, occasionally appeared here.

That eager thief had actually arranged to meet Zhou Yun here.

Zhou Yun threaded through the pitch-black garbage mountain, thinking.

Through his orange-yellow gloves, he carefully touched the pouch tornado hanging at his waist and the pale golden short sword on the other side.

On his head sat the Psychic Cap, and in the darkness, eighteen Carter M36 laser rifles hovered under his telekinetic control.

With these tools, he felt slightly more at ease.

These laser rifles were standard issue for the Cadian Shock Troopers, dug up by Zhou Yun from an old warehouse in Zone Eight.

At first, he could barely control twelve at once; as his telekinesis grew more refined, he now controlled eighteen.

Moreover, his teleportation ability had improved—he once managed only seven or eight meters, now exceeding fifteen.

Voiceprint Candy and Body Clay concealed his identity for infiltration; Airgun Elixir was for ambushes.

He still lacked close-combat weapons.

In this galaxy, many foes were immune to ranged weapons—only melee could inflict damage.

Zhou Yun reached toward his other hip, where a short sword, no longer than his forearm, hung.

Name Blade: Electric Light Wan , price: 200,000.

Its flaws were great, but its effect was phenomenal.

This weapon was among the cheapest of the conceptual-grade items.

Its effect: as long as electricity remained, the user gained extraordinary swordsmanship and could never lose in close-combat duels.

Its flaw: electricity drained rapidly; according to Zhou Yun’s tests, the fiercer the battle, the faster the drain.

Moreover, its effect applied only to close-combat—no defeat, but no victory either.

If the opponent sprayed bullets from a machine gun, the blade could barely block them.

Nor could it resist psychic attacks.

And the blade itself inflicted no damage—it merely maintained a stalemate.

But in any close-combat duel, even against a Chaos God of Khorne, Electric Light Wan would force a draw.

A weapon with many flaws and a very high ceiling.

Finally, there was another item, with a lower ceiling than Electric Light Wan but stable output.

Zhou Yun looked at the dark red gloves on his hands.

[Item Name: Super Gloves]

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

[Manufacture Date: 261.M3]

[Function: Appears as ordinary gloves; when worn, grants strength far beyond human limits—single hand can halt a hundred-ton monarch, but control is difficult.]

[Price: 950,000]

Nine hundred fifty thousand—ridiculously expensive.

But the boost was unmistakable.

A single punch could launch a hundred-ton truck—even against Space Marines, in raw strength, he matched them.

The flaw: control was poor; wearing the gloves made using weapons or handling small objects nearly impossible.

Suddenly, Zhou Yun spotted a flash of searing firelight in the dark.

It was the glow of the Eager Machine.

Zhou Yun’s eyes flickered; he circled a low garbage mound and headed toward the fire.

From afar, he saw the hooded figure.

The self-proclaimed “Orange Chicken” Eager Thief.

He was short, even smaller than Lag, yet carried a flame-cutter as tall as his shoulders.

A cold wind howled from the Nest Suburbs, sweeping through the garbage mountains, striking him.

His cloak billowed, accentuating the frail frame beneath.

Zhou Yun estimated the Eager Thief stood no more than one meter forty.

Below average even in the Undernest.

Or perhaps the Eager Thief was simply young?

Having lived in the Undernest so long, Zhou Yun had learned never to judge by appearance.

A ten-year-old child might be a seasoned pickpocket.

The Eager Thief seemed to notice Zhou Yun—he turned his head, eyes hidden beneath the hood fixed on Zhou Yun.

Was it his imagination?

He felt the darkness around the Eager Thief was slightly lighter.

As if the thief emitted a faint, barely perceptible glow.

Glowing? That was a serious mutation, Zhou Yun thought silently.

He even considered firing a laser remotely to snipe him.

Disable one or two legs first—render him immobile.

But he feared triggering the thief’s precognition.

Though Zhou Yun could resist precognition to some degree, direct attacks would still be detected.

And

The Eager Thief was silently watching him.

Zhou Yun lowered his head, confirming that Leina and the Ark Gang members were in position.

He walked forward at a steady pace toward the Eager Thief.

“I’m here.”

Zhou Yun faced the Eager Thief directly:

“What do you want to discuss with me? Who are you? Who’s behind you?”

In response to Zhou Yun’s rapid questions, the hooded Eager Thief took only one step forward.

Then she reached up and removed her hood, revealing hair like sun-dried hay—golden, thick, braided down her back to her waist.

Her face bore faint freckles—pleasant, but far less striking than Leina, merely unadorned beauty.

Above the freckles, her eyes were deep blue, nearly black, like a lost fawn’s—clear, watery, and rare in the Undernest.

In appearance, she seemed no more than a teenage girl.

But Zhou Yun sensed that within her slender, plain frame pulsed something far greater.

She bowed to Zhou Yun with a flawless Eagle Salute.

“My name is meaningless.”

Her voice was clear and youthful, like a summer rain-washed sky—startling.

“Who I am doesn’t matter. Only He does.”

“I am merely His vessel.”

(End of Chapter)

(End of Chapter)