Chapter 55: The Heartless Capitalist, Old Man Huang

One reason Zhou Yun agreed to bring Leina to the Lower Nest was because he was drawn to her nearly godlike precognitive ability.

She promised to locate the subspace engine for Zhou Yun using her precognitive power.

“This path will encounter severely mutated hybrid gene thieves who wait to capture those who stray into this corridor.”

Leina pointed to one of the corridors,

her doe-like hazy eyes seemingly reflecting countless different scenes.

“This one leads deeper into the Nest’s pipe system, where ancient viruses still linger, and many infected plague zombies wander.”

“This corridor leads to the final stronghold of the Pleasure Seekers, where endless feasts are held; intruders become tools of their indulgence.”

“This one leads to an abandoned arena deep in the Lower Nest—only by spilling enough blood, or making others spill it, can you escape.”

“This one… doesn’t lead anywhere. The corridor itself is the Trickster God’s prank—enter, and it becomes an ever-extending labyrinth, trapping you in eternal wandering.”

“This one… uh, this one ends where a group of Greenskins who infiltrated the Nest are trapped, cursed by the Trickster God’s spell and lost.”

“And this one… ends in a few hidden strongholds of Dark Eldar. Though abandoned, they remain dangerous.”

Dude, aren’t you being a bit too much?

As Zhou Yun listened to Leina predict each corridor, his scalp prickled with unease.

Gene thieves, ancient plague zombies, eternal feasts, blood-sacrifice arenas, the Trickster God’s labyrinthine pipes, Greenskins lost in the Lower Nest, Dark Eldar hideouts—

Asford’s Lower Nest has truly accumulated a mountain of horrors over ten thousand years.

Most of what Leina foretold were merely remnants left behind by various cults and aberrations that passed through over these millennia.

“Is there any path that’s safer, with fewer horrors?” Zhou Yun rubbed his temples and asked.

“Hmm, this one leads to the gene thieves’ next stronghold.”

“This one leads to the mutants’ stronghold… along the way, a group of Filthblood Mutants will capture passersby as test subjects for their toxins.”

Filthblood Mutants… mutants… toxins.

Sounds just like Mong and Malkit’s gang.

Before Leina could describe the next corridor, Zhou Yun patted her dry, brittle head and pointed to the corridor guarded by mutants:

“This one.”

“Huh?” Leina blinked, her hazy eyes confused: “But—”

“I should still be able to find a safer route.”

Leina’s voice grew quieter; a fine sheen of sweat coated her forehead, and exhaustion glimmered in her eyes.

Clearly, using her precognitive ability drained her spirit severely.

“This one’s fine,” Zhou Yun patted her head and walked toward the mutant-guarded corridor.

Leina followed behind him, her hazy eyes casting a glimmer of gratitude toward him.

“I am the Emperor’s tool. You need not care for my strength—so long as I fulfill His will.”

Leina whispered obediently.

Zhou Yun’s eyebrow twitched slightly—he had already guessed Leina’s misunderstanding.

He chose this path solely to make contact with Mong and Malkit, the two brothers.

They seemed to have some influence in the Lower Nest and were in conflict with the gene thief cult—connecting with them would make things far easier.

As for Leina—

Zhou Yun always followed the principle of maximizing utility: if something works, use it hard, and ensure every teammate contributes their full value.

For example, Leina’s wallet—Zhou Yun never missed a chance to swindle… oh no, earn money from it.

With Leina’s precognitive ability being so useful, Zhou Yun had no intention of letting it go unused.

What? Child labor exploitation?

That’s what the heartless capitalist Huang Lao Han started—what’s it got to do with me, Zhou Yun?

Glancing at Leina, who was panting slightly behind him, Zhou Yun shook his head slightly.

He reached into his fourth-dimensional pocket and pulled out a bag of giant sunflower seeds he’d bought from the Upper Nest and stored there, handing them to Leina.

“What’s this?” Leina stared at the giant seeds—bigger than her palm—helplessly.

“Sunflower seeds. Crack them open and eat.”

Saying this, Zhou Yun picked up one seed and cracked it open with his teeth to demonstrate:

“It’s a traditional delicacy from our homeland, given to comrades. Eat.”

Leina murmured her thanks and tried to crack the seed open with her front teeth.

“You’ve got a surprisingly kind heart,” said the winged figure within the white light.

“Making the horse run without giving it grass—that’s the kind of cruel trick only the Emperor could pull off,” Zhou Yun glanced at him and replied.

Using faith to exploit labor—turns out even the Emperor was a hypocrite.

“If you have complaints about my father, why not come with me to Terra and voice them directly before the Throne?”

“Complaints? The Empire becoming this mess—yes, he bears responsibility.”

Zhou Yun shook his head:

“But without him, the Empire wouldn’t even have had the chance to become this mess.”

“Your view is surprisingly close to the Khan’s.”

The winged figure in the white light flapped his wings and said:

“Because of similar cultural circles?”

“In our cultural circle, a Khan like that is called a ‘ghost-fire kid’—someone destined for great fortune.”

After Zhou Yun made his remark, he glanced back at Leina and saw she was still struggling to crack the seed with her teeth.

Zhou Yun couldn’t help but shake his head again.

Just as he was about to say she could give up if she couldn’t crack it, a flurry of footsteps echoed around them.

Around the pipe’s bend, five or six mutants surged out, blocking Zhou Yun’s path.

They held crude weapons, their faces or bodies tattooed with a fly symbol; each showed some mutation, their appearances grotesquely abstract.

Mutants. Finally.

“You’re here? Take me to your boss.”

Zhou Yun calmly pulled on his Superman gloves from his fourth-dimensional pocket.

The mutants were momentarily stunned, exchanged glances, then a three-eyed mutant stepped forward.

He held a crude weapon and tapped the ground:

“Fine. You’ll meet the boss… as one of his test subjects.”

“Malkit uses me as a test subject? Do they even need to test their pathetic blood toxicity?”

“I bet if I just burped twice, I could say: ‘Clean and hygienic!’”

Zhou Yun chuckled and shook his head.

The mutants exchanged uneasy glances, confirming Zhou Yun’s guess.

These mutants were indeed under Mong and Malkit’s control.

Zhou Yun slowly extended his hand and tapped the thick iron pipe wall.

BOOM!!!!

The entire pipe shuddered; a one-meter-high dent appeared in the low-grade ceramic-steel wall.

The mutants froze in terror; the three-eyed leader dropped to his knees instantly:

“My dear father, what are your orders?”

(End of Chapter)