Chapter 48: Signed: Orleans Roasted Wings

"Where the hell did that bastard Lagre go slacking off!"

Xiang Leina muttered curses as she walked away,

saying Zhou Yun should calculate the losses himself; all compensation would be deducted from that bastard Lagre's wages.

If the money wasn't enough, she would take a loss and send Lagre to the Upper Hive to be forcibly modified into a servitor to repay Zhou Yun's debt.

Zhou Yun stated he definitely wanted the money, but a servitor would be unnecessary,

because Lagre was too ugly; he was afraid he wouldn't be able to sleep at night if he saw him.

Zhou Yun pushed open the iron door with its grotesque hole and entered his house,

then he paused slightly in surprise,

everything in the house was neat as before; the bed showed no signs of being rummaged, and the items on the small table remained exactly as they were before Zhou Yun left.

Zhou Yun opened the wardrobe; the clothes inside had been moved, and one form-fitting short shirt was missing, but the rest of the items were completely intact.

What struck Zhou Yun as most strange was that he saw a letter placed by his bedside.

Strange, too strange,

Zhou Yun's eyebrows immediately furrowed tightly.

He reached out, picked up the letter, and after tearing it open, discovered

that he simply couldn't understand it at all.

This letter was written in quite beautiful cursive script, appearing elaborate and exquisite,

every letter neatly arranged on the yellowed paper; if not for the visible traces of ink writing, Zhou Yun would have suspected the letter was printed.

Zhou Yun squinted, barely managing to distinguish a few words from it, words similar to the Low Gothic used locally in Asford,

but for most of the words, he couldn't understand them at all, feeling only the elaborateness and exquisiteness of this language.

Compared to this language, Asford Low Gothic seemed like a hybrid language used by barbarians.

But strangely, as Zhou Yun looked at this language, it felt somewhat familiar,

these words and letters looked somewhat like 3K-era English, only more elaborate and complex.

But unfortunately, Zhou Yun's English wasn't very good when he was in school,

and so many years had passed that he was limited to the level of nodding yes and shaking no.

"This is High Gothic," the winged figure within the white light said softly.

"... Ah?"

Zhou Yun's face showed strangeness.

High Gothic is an official language of the Empire, originating from Terra America and the Pan-Pacific region during the Dark Age of Technology,

in other words, it is an elaborated and improved version of the English from before Zhou Yun's transmigration.

In the Old Night era, North America became a conglomerate of hive cities, where nobles favored elaborate and useless rituals; High Gothic was likely born from this.

Precisely because of this, for the vast majority of Imperial citizens, this language is extremely obscure and difficult to understand,

used only by members of the Ecclesiarchy, high-level Imperial institutions, and some nobles who are overly pedantic.

Most people use Low Gothic, which has been hybridized across different planets.

However...

"You mean to say a petty thief from the Underhive left me a letter written in High Gothic?"

"How did he think I could understand it? He's overestimating me too much..."

Zhou Yun couldn't help but shake his head.

Let alone the complicated High Gothic; even if he wrote it in English, Zhou Yun wouldn't understand it.

Xiang Leina seemed to know a bit,

her family used to be devout Ecclesiarchy believers, and many of the Ecclesiarchy's scriptures were originally written in High Gothic.

"Shall I read it to you?"

the winged figure within the white light said with a light laugh:

"Although I was born on Baal and am a Primarch, I also received education in High Gothic."

"I'm curious if Angron knows it," Zhou Yun asked curiously.

"This..." the winged figure within the white light was momentarily speechless: "Your demands on him are too harsh."

"In terms of the brain, my brother is biologically disabled." "Didn't Kharn try to teach his father a little? His father also had to participate in military council meetings during the Great Crusade."

"Your demands on Kharn are also too harsh; if you want him dead, just say so," the winged figure within the white light shook his head.

Speaking thus, the winged figure within the white light looked at the letter in Zhou Yun's hand.

"I apologize for visiting your house in a violent manner. I believe your income matches your contribution, so I did not visit your house for the purpose of theft."

the winged figure within the white light softly read out the letter written in High Gothic:

"Attached to this letter is a blood coin to compensate for your door."

"I have a job that can contribute to the Empire and the Emperor, and offers substantial income, which I hope to offer to you."

"If you wish to discuss the details, I will wait for you tomorrow night at the eastern garbage dump in Sector 13 of the Underhive."

"For safety's sake, I wrote this letter in High Gothic, believing you can read this ancient language."

"Also for safety's sake, please do not reveal the contents of this letter to others."

!. Read

"Signed: Orleans Roasted Wings."

"... Ah?" Zhou Yun tilted his head in confusion: "Orleans Roasted Wings?"

A moment later, he realized,

Orleans Roasted Wings was the self-designation of the Passionate Thief.

What kind of ridiculous self-styled name is that?

Terra's chickens are already extinct — how is there still someone calling themselves "Orleans Fried Wings"?

Also, if you weren't here to steal, why were you so eager to knock on my door?

Zhou Yun stared with a strange expression at the few blood-credits peeking out from inside the envelope,

and even thoughtfully included the repair fee for the door.

There were simply too many things to complain about in this letter; the more Zhou Yun read, the more bizarre his expression became.

What struck Zhou Yun as most bizarre was

how this eager burglar could possibly think he could read High Gothic.

"He seems to possess some kind of precognitive ability — perhaps, like me, he used it to notice what makes you unique."

the winged figure within the white light said:

"But as I said before, your fate is woven in three overlapping threads, blurred and unclear — he may not be able to see it truly either."

"You know, High Gothic is basically just the ancient Terra version of English with extra fuss — by all rights you should be able to read it roughly."

"It's been years since I graduated," Zhou Yun said, frowning as he complained.

Zhou Yun was now growing more and more suspicious of this eager burglar's identity —

"Orleans Fried Wings" really didn't look like a term some 40k underhive petty thief would know,

the underhive doesn't even have Crazy Thursday.

Oh god — could it be Tzeentch coming to get revenge on him? That fast?

Zhou Yun looked at the letter in his hand and couldn't help shaking his head.

Whether it was Tzeentch's corruption or not,

he wasn't going to go meet this self-styled "Orleans Fried Wings" eager burglar alone —

he'd need to bring at least two or three hundred people along.

Zhou Yun thought for a moment, then stuffed the letter into his four-dimensional pocket,

【Item: High Gothic Letter】

【Origin: Shield of Hades System — Ashford Star — Underhive of Fordia City】

【Evaluation: A letter written in High Gothic; the signature "Orleans Fried Wings" calls to mind the deliciousness of Crazy Thursday.】

【Production Date: 998. M41】

【Status: Opened Only】

【Value: 0.001 yuan】

No corruption at all.

Zhou Yun had taken inspiration from the previous incident —

any item entering the four-dimensional pocket would display its relevant information,

so if an item was corrupted, Zhou Yun would be able to know through this.

Still not entirely at ease, Zhou Yun checked every single item in his little shack one more time before finally relaxing a little.

He found a piece of composite wooden board, plugged the hole in the iron door with it, and lay down on the bed —

0.3 seconds later, Zhou Yun was fast asleep.

In Warhammer, the old Americans (not necessarily the original canon, but in the novel Horus still calls them America) actually survived all the way to the Unification Wars of Terra, turning into a union of noble-ruled hive cities — truly the legendary immortal kings.

(End of Chapter)