Chapter 39: The Mathematician

That was an old woman.

Zhou Yun couldn't judge how old she was, but it was definitely an age that couldn't be reached in the Underhive.

The woman's silver-gray hair was meticulously coiled into a vortex and climbed into a circle behind her head.

Her eyes didn't carry the turbidity and stupidity common in old people, but instead carried a constantly changing spirituality.

Her figure was a bit hunched, but it was cleverly hidden under a light blue robe.

In the hand extending from under the robe, she clutched a cheap notebook with a black hardboard cover.

On the cover of the notebook, a complex nine-digit number was written in gray-white ink: 387, 420, 489.

These numbers were arranged in a spiral on the notebook, as if they were constantly turning like a vortex.

But Zhou Yun really didn't see any pattern in these numbers.

"Is this the actuary and mathematician you mentioned?" Zhou Yun looked at Xiang Xiang Leina and asked.

Xiang Xiang Leina's eyes were a bit trance-like.

She muttered: "Mrs. Nama is so old... Her husband died early. I don't know how she lives alone..."

Xiang Xiang Leina straightened her mind, looked at Zhou Yun, and said:

"This is Mrs. Nama Kark. Her family has a long history and has served as an actuary for a noble's factory for generations."

"She has a good personality, is gentle and interesting to others, and usually likes to study mathematics for fun."

"Her husband died early, she didn't have a second marriage, and she didn't have children... but she likes children very much and often teaches mathematics to the children of neighbors."

"She is a very good person. The only problem is that she often forgets to pray to the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang because of studying mathematics."

"Mom has talked to her many times about this..."

Xiang Xiang Leina's words were almost muttering, with nostalgia that couldn't be hidden in her eyes.

"Is the information channel you mentioned yourself?" Zhou Yun raised his eyebrows and asked.

Xiang Xiang Leina nodded gently.

She looked at the street in front of her with undisguised nostalgia.

"I used to live here, in District 9 of the Upper Hive."

"Our family was Mrs. Nama's neighbor, devout followers of the State Church, and my parents served a noble's interstellar trade..."

"Later, I awakened psychic powers, and the Black Ship was about to visit Ashford... My mother let me go, from the hands of the Governor's troops collecting the psyker tithe..."

Xiang Xiang Leina's eyes became more and more complex.

After a moment of silence, she suddenly raised her head and looked at Zhou Yun: "My mother was a devout follower of the State Church. Her letting me go was not an act of rebellion..."

"... She knew that I had received the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang's revelation, she knew my mission... She, she did it to let me realize the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang's will..."

"Are you sure it wasn't out of pure maternal love?" Zhou Yun stared at Xiang Xiang Leina and suddenly said.

Xiang Xiang Leina stood there, as if she had never thought about this question.

"Can maternal love be greater than faith?" Xiang Xiang Leina stared back at Zhou Yun and asked: "How can faith be subject to narrow..."

Xiang Xiang Leina's tone became sharp, as if Zhou Yun's words were insulting her, insulting her mother.

"I don't know."

Zhou Yun shook his head and replied:

"But can paternal love be greater than love for humanity?"

Xiang Xiang Leina blinked, as if she didn't understand what Zhou Yun was talking about.

In the field of vision that only Zhou Yun could see, the winged figure in the white light sighed bitterly.

"Does He love us? Love me and all my brothers?"

The winged figure in the white light said with some sourness in his tone:

"Even if He loves, He is busy loving humanity and has no time to love His children."

Zhou Yun glanced at him and faintly felt a near-shattered humanity in his words.

But does this humanity belong to the Archangel? Zhou Yun couldn't judge.

He turned his head and looked at Xiang Xiang Leina, who was a little angry: "So, what's the plan?"

"I don't want to hurt Mrs. Nama, nor do I want to attract too much attention."

Xiang Xiang Leina looked at Zhou Yun and said:

"Since she is still in this district, it means she hasn't moved."

"To be safe, let's follow her to confirm, and by the way, observe her trajectory."

Xiang Xiang Leina looked at Nama Kark, who was walking towards a building in the distance.

"Find a time when she is not there, and sneak into her house..."

"If my memory is correct, there should be a safe in her house, and the record we are looking for is in the safe."

Xiang Xiang Leina looked at Zhou Yun and blinked: "You can handle it, right?"

"Simple," Zhou Yun said easily.

Sneaking into the house of an ordinary Hive City resident and taking a record from a safe, this job couldn't be easier.

However, the caution in Zhou Yun's heart was still reminding him.

"387, 420, 489..."

Zhou Yun muttered the complex number on Nama Kark's notebook.

These numbers really seem to have no pattern. Do they need to be brought into some complex mathematical formula to show their meaning?

"What?" Xiang Xiang Leina was stunned for a moment, then asked.

"This string of numbers, the number written on the cover of Nama Kark's notebook, what does it mean?" Zhou Yun glanced at Xiang Xiang Leina and asked.

Xiang Xiang Leina frowned: "I didn't even remember that string of numbers. You have a good memory."

Zhou Yun shrugged. His memory is still outstanding.

What really worries Zhou Yun is whether this string of numbers has any meaning in "numerology".

It has nine digits, and the ending digit is also nine.

But there are many nine-digit numbers, and there are even more numbers ending in nine. It's impossible that all these numbers are related to that Changer of Ways, right?

But even if it couldn't be used as evidence, Zhou Yun still felt vigilant in his heart.

"Are you sure there is no problem with this woman?" Zhou Yun asked Xiang Xiang Leina in a low voice.

If this woman is really a believer of the Changer of Ways, Zhou Yun doesn't mind killing her on the street.

After all, he still has an appointment with the Governor, and he won't care about small things like killing.

"My family are all devout believers. If Mrs. Nama had a problem back then, she would have been reported long ago."

Xiang Xiang Leina shook her head firmly and said.

But her tone changed slightly:

"It's just that I'm not sure if she has been corrupted in the past few years."

"You don't intend to kill Mrs. Nama directly, do you? Just based on a string of numbers..."

Xiang Xiang Leina looked at Zhou Yun with some horror:

"You seem a bit too extreme. At least you should find more reliable clues."

Xiang Xiang Leina's words made sense, but Zhou Yun's alarm bells kept ringing in his heart. He felt more and more that something was wrong.

But if he ignored the problem and turned around and left, he might fall into the plan of the Changer of Ways instead...

He considered observing this woman first and meeting the Governor before taking action.

If she really has a problem, he would report it directly to Governor Augustus Flax.

Although the Governor doesn't care about government affairs, he will never allow a Tzeentch believer to exist at his doorstep, threatening his safety.

In Zhou Yun's memory, although the Governor was a bastard and corrupt,

He had never been corrupted by Chaos.

"387, 420, 489..." Zhou Yun couldn't help but mutter the string of numbers again, trying to find some pattern.

(End of chapter)