Chapter 51: 0051 All the Heroes of the World Are Like River Crossings

“Who I am doesn’t matter—it’s the Other that matters.”

“I am merely a vessel for His will.”

The Other? Will? Vessel?

My subspace alarm just went off!

Zhou Yun stared at the girl, silent.

The girl blinked, returning his gaze.

“Thank you for believing in me, I am here to—huh?”

Before she could finish, she froze in place.

Her precognition told her Zhou Yun was about to punch her.

“Wait, don’t come closer! Let me finish first!”

The girl hastily raised her hands.

But Zhou Yun gave her no chance.

Having been tricked before by overthinking, Zhou Yun now chose to abandon thought entirely.

He lunged forward, his fist clad in superhuman gloves slamming toward her.

The girl dodged using her precognition.

The fist crashed into the garbage mountain behind her, shaking the entire pile.

The girl’s eyes widened.

Zhou Yun was curious about her identity, curious about who “the Other” was.

Was it an illusion? Khorne? Slaanesh? Nurgle? Or some lesser deity dwelling in the Warp?

Or perhaps that corpse on the Throne?

But before curiosity, he’d knock her out, take her back, and interrogate her slowly.

This garbage mountain was too close to the Underhive and the Hive Periphery.

The frequency of cultists, gene-thieves, mutants, and wasteland raiders here far exceeded other lower hive zones.

And the location had been chosen by her—Zhou Yun felt uneasy.

“I’ll listen—but first, let me punch you.”

“Don’t worry, one hit and you’ll pass out.”

Zhou Yun said it with perfect seriousness.

The girl glanced at his fist, then at the garbage mountain still trembling from his blow, and shook her head frantically.

She tried to bolt toward the nearby piles of refuse.

“Leina!”

Zhou Yun shook his head and shouted into the darkness around the garbage mountain.

In that instant, the girl froze.

She’d seen the future—just a few seconds ahead—but now she doubted her precognition.

She saw:

Footsteps erupted from the darkness; members of the Ark Gang emerged from every shadowed corner, swarming in numbers.

They held the Agrippina Mk. III automatic rifles Zhou Yun had brought from Sector Eight, surrounding her completely.

Leina stepped forward, arms crossed:

“Hot Thief, you’re surrounded, you know that, right?”

The girl’s body locked in place.

She knew this man’s fate was tangled beyond her sight.

All she could do was pick the most probable outcomes from the chaos.

She’d guessed he’d bring people, that he’d break the meeting, that he’d come with Leina.

But she never imagined he’d bring two hundred gang members to corner her.

This… this was excessive.

“I-I mean no harm. I’m not a follower of the Chaos Gods.”

The girl’s face turned pale as she raised her hands weakly.

“Do followers of the Chaos Gods ever admit it?”

Zhou Yun’s expression didn’t change.

Even if you’re a saint of that corpse on the Throne, you’re coming back with me.

“Good girl. Let me punch you once—I’ll knock you out and take you back. We’ll talk slowly.”

“Can’t I just come with you?”

The moment she spoke, her precognition showed her his answer: no.

“What if I just run into a wall and knock myself out?”

Zhou Yun twisted his wrist without expression. “What if you’re faking?”

“Don’t worry—my punch is strong. One hit and you’ll pass out.”

In the chaotic future, the girl saw herself knocked unconscious by his fist.

It was only unconsciousness—he’d held back, didn’t break her spine.

But seeing the garbage mountain still trembling from his blow, she felt genuine terror.

Worst of all, her precognition told her she couldn’t dodge this punch.

“Can you go easy?”

“Don’t worry.” Zhou Yun, expressionless, punched her nape.

Crack. The girl collapsed, unconscious.

“Weird. Seriously weird.”

Leina walked out of the cell holding Hot Thief, frowning.

She sat across from Zhou Yun, who was flipping through the flight log.

“Hot Thief—that girl won’t talk to me at all.”

Leina sighed.

She’d hoped to recover her old savings from Hot Thief.

“What about your psychic power? Read her mind!”

“.She resists psychic mind-reading,” Leina said bitterly.

Her once-unfailingly effective Mindwhisper and psychic reading had failed again.

“All she keeps saying is she wants to speak with you.”

Leina rubbed her temples, pointing at the door.

“You try?”

“.I’ll see what she wants to say.” Zhou Yun nodded slightly and stepped into the cell holding Hot Thief.

The girl, with dry hair and a simple, pleasant face, was bound in restraints in the corner.

She looked weak, but seemed unalarmed by her situation.

She raised her deer-like eyes, blinking at Zhou Yun.

“What’s your name?”

Zhou Yun asked.

“.My name doesn’t matter.”

The girl shook her head, as before.

“What matters is the Other.”

Zhou Yun cut her off. “Before I learn about your Other, I want to know who you are.”

“.Jeanne. He gave me this name.”

The girl lowered her head, whispering.

“Jeanne?”

Zhou Yun’s gaze grew strange.

Jeanne—that was Joan of Arc, burned alive at Orléans in Terra’s history.

Who the hell named her Jeanne and made her call herself “Orléans Roast Wing”?

Too hellish. Too cruel.

“Then, Jeanne—who is this Other you speak of?”

“What does He want?”

Zhou Yun fixed his gaze on the girl calling herself Jeanne.

“He seeks only salvation—for everyone.”

Jeanne lowered her head.

“He granted me precognition, so I may see the future.”

“I must find someone to walk with me, to fulfill His mission.”

“I’m sorry I entered your home—but I needed one of your garments to strengthen my vision of you, to confirm you’re the one I seek.”

Jeanne whispered.

“You are the one. In the future He showed me, it was you too.”

“He is. He is the Emperor.”

Listening to Leina’s words,

Zhou Yun found it utterly unsurprising,

and even silently marveled that today’s Asford was still so brimming with talent.

(End of Chapter)