Chapter 58: The Merciful Father of All Beings

“The angels showed us the future of Asford.”

In a shack outside the mutant settlement, Monge lit a lho cigarette and leaned back in a chair made of discarded composite wood.

“Monge.”

Malkiet reached out, snatched the lho cigarette from Monge’s mouth, and crushed the ember between his fingers.

Before Monge could speak, Malkiet glanced at Jeanne beside Zhou Yun and said:

“There’s a child here. A child’s life is precious—don’t poison them with lho cigarettes.”

Faced with Malkiet’s gentle gaze hidden behind his tangled horns, Jeanne shrank back, hiding behind Zhou Yun as if repulsed.

Malkiet assumed the child feared his mutant appearance.

“Is this your daughter? You’ve got a daughter now? Where’s the mother?” Monge chewed his lips, trying to savor the lingering taste of the lho cigarette.

“I picked her up from the junkyard,” Zhou Yun said, patting Jeanne’s dry hair.

She really was picked up from the junkyard—just with a bit of violence.

“The child doesn’t look healthy at all. She’s accumulated a lot of fatigue. You’re failing as a father!”

Malkiet looked at Jeanne and shook his head solemnly:

“Being a good father is very important.”

“I wholeheartedly agree,” Zhou Yun nodded in approval.

Malkiet gave a slight nod: “I won’t meddle in your family affairs, but if this child falls ill, come to me. I know some medicine.”

Jeanne trembled in fear.

Medicine that lets humans and viruses coexist? The Nurglish medicine?

Zhou Yun mentally scoffed, then shook his head.

Malkiet sighed and dropped the matter: “Let’s talk about serious business.”

“You said you don’t worship the Emperor. So let’s be open with each other.”

Malkiet spread his arms, revealing his upper body covered in rot, ulcers, and pustules.

These disgusting disease marks formed three interwoven rings on his body, resembling a massive fly-like boil.

Larvae, toxic mites, and maggots within the three rings continuously spawned, died, rotted, and spawned again, repeating the endless cycle of life.

“Ah!”

Jeanne, as if witnessing something profoundly repulsive, let out a piercing cry and buried herself completely behind Zhou Yun.

“Don’t be afraid!”

Malkiet said in a low, gentle voice:

“I serve a merciful god—a deity far more merciful than the Emperor.”

“He has none of the Emperor’s cruelty or prejudice. He loves all life equally and mercifully, seeking symbiosis and coexistence among all beings.”

“He is the Father of Life, the Lord of Healing, the Divine Sovereign of Comfort, Compassion, Happiness, and Care. He has blessed me!”

“Rotting fat bastard, disgusting virus cluster, addicted old man,” Jeanne whispered behind Zhou Yun.

No one knew who had taught her these words.

Zhou Yun merely nodded at Malkiet: “Impressive.”

Malkiet lowered his head and said softly: “We are all His children. All living beings are our brothers.”

“I think you’ve guessed already—my angels are not the Archangel of Baal.”

“My angels are the messengers of the Father God, holy spirits forever joyful. They showed me the future of Asford.”

“Wait.” Zhou Yun raised his hand to interrupt Malkiet.

He said calmly: “Aren’t you about to say—”

“.that you saw a horde of worm-like monsters falling from the stars, devouring all of Asford?”

Malkiet froze. Monge beside him couldn’t help blinking.

“How do you know all this?”

Monge said warily:

“The angels warned us to be wary of those who know too much—and even more wary of blue things, things related to nine, and feathered creatures. You—”

Monge scanned Zhou Yun up and down, as if searching for blue, the number nine, or feathers.

Zhou Yun’s lip twitched.

How do I know? Isn’t this just a Taolu ?

He now suspected whether every Asfordian knew the Tyranid Hive Fleet was coming.

“Don’t worry. The blue-feathered bird you mentioned has already been dealt with,” Zhou Yun waved his hand.

“Dealt with?” Monge raised an eyebrow beneath his horns.

“I sold it,” Zhou Yun said with a light laugh.

“Sold it?” Monge’s eyes narrowed with suspicion, but Zhou Yun only gave a vague smile.

He found nothing suspicious on Zhou Yun and withdrew his wary gaze.

“Since you know those soulless beasts are about to descend, you must also know the pitiful creatures they control, right?”

Malkiet nodded slightly and asked Zhou Yun:

“Gene-thieves, the Four-Armed God-Emperor Cult, correct?” Zhou Yun countered.

“It seems we share the same enemy.”

A look of relief crossed Malkiet’s face; the worms in his rotting flesh wriggled as if delighted.

“And you? What’s your goal? Are you here to help us fight the Four-Armed God-Emperor Cult?” Monge asked Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun yanked Jeanne out from behind him and met Monge’s gaze: “Where’s my map?”

“Here.”

Monge pulled a crude scroll made of some creature’s hide from his pocket.

Unrolled on the table, it was a hand-drawn map—roughly drawn but detailed enough to show the layout of the Undercity.

The entire Undercity was built atop the abandoned pipelines of the Hive City’s early days—complex, narrow, labyrinthine, occupying most of the Undercity.

No one knew how many hidden passages and secret zones the Undercity contained.

This map only marked the areas Monge’s group had already explored.

Near the center of the map, however, there was a large, unusually neat and open area, like a cleared patch amid tangled lines.

Zhou Yun patted Jeanne’s head, signaling her to use her precognitive ability to locate the warp engine.

Jeanne’s hazy, deer-like eyes fixed on the map.

Tiny sparks seemed to flicker in her gaze.

Monge’s throat moved nervously—he looked uneasy.

The worms on Malkiet’s body also seemed to sense fear, curling up within his flesh.

The two exchanged a glance of confusion and astonishment.

“Here.”

Jeanne pointed to the wide area near the map’s center—and precisely to a building within it.

“A precognitive ability?” Malkiet stared at Jeanne, slightly astonished.

“Where is this?” Zhou Yun patted Jeanne’s head with one hand and pulled another giant sunflower seed from his fourth-dimensional pocket, handing it to her.

This time, he cracked it open for her.

Jeanne scurried behind Zhou Yun like a hamster and quietly nibbled the seed.

Monge looked at the map, then at Zhou Yun:

“.This is Zone One—the first human settlement in Asford.”

(End of Chapter)