Chapter 64: Three into the Lair—Three Will Surely Pull It Off

In the room the Gene Thief Zhezhu Sect had arranged for Zhou Yun and the others,

Mongge stared at Zhou Yun with a look as though his mother had just died,

while Reina stared at Zhou Yun with a look as though her father had just died,

anyone who didn't know better might have thought Zhou Yun had done something unspeakable to their parents.

Zhou Yun's gaze fell on Reina, his eyes signaling her to use her precognitive ability.

Reina withdrew her resentful gaze; in her hazy, fawn-like eyes, many scenes seemed to be reflected,

a fine sheen of sweat broke out on her forehead, and her face grew more weary.

"You fooled them."

Reina said softly:

"No one is eavesdropping."

"Or maybe they don't care whether anyone eavesdrops or not."

Zhou Yun said, glancing around the room, which wasn't all that spacious.

The furnishings inside were simple and plain—only two makeshift beds propped up on iron frames, a chair, and a table,

with purified water and some food set out on the table.

The Bishenhuang Sect had gathered all the believers about to head to the First District inside the buildings under its control,

and come morning, they would be sent to the First District en masse.

"After all, once the Gene Thieves' corrupting genes are injected into you, you're forced into loyalty."

Zhou Yun had noticed the moment he entered the room—Gene Thief guards were hidden in the shadows near the entrances and exits of the surrounding buildings,

clearly posted to stop believers from changing their minds and fleeing. Why did the Gene Thieves need to recruit so many people?

Zhou Yun's eyes were full of confusion; he looked at Reina, pinning his hopes on her precognition.

But this time Reina merely shook her head wearily,

"I can't see clearly—shadows of hunger shroud the Gene Thief patriarch, I can't make out anything."

"If I could get closer, I should be able to see clearly."

So they really did have to get into the First District, didn't they?

Zhou Yun mused, stroking his chin.

"You two, I've got an idea!"

Before Zhou Yun could sort out his thoughts, Mongge suddenly spoke up.

He chuckled, a confident smile curling at the corner of his mouth:

"I've got a brilliant idea."

"That Gene Thief patriarch is going to inject us with alien genes himself, right?"

Zhou Yun nodded, looking at Mongge with a strange expression,

what good idea could a Caigouxie Sect cultist possibly come up with?

"Why should only they be allowed to corrupt us? We can turn the tables and corrode them right back!"

Saying so, Mongge pulled open the clothing on his chest, peeled off a bit of body clay, and exposed his chest,

his blackish-red flesh was covered in fissures, blood constantly welling up from within, the blood mingled with tiny parasites resembling slender slugs.

These slug-like parasites writhed in his filthy blood, opening hideous mouthparts and squeaking shrilly—utterly horrifying.

Reina scrunched her face in disgust and stepped back, ducking behind Zhou Yun,

while Zhou Yun watched the terrifying corruption marks on Mongge's chest with keen interest.

"Mortal flesh can't resist their corruption at the genetic level, but I'm different—I'm not the only one who's mastered this art."

Mongge said in a low voice, a downright cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth:

"When it comes to life and genes, the benevolent Father God we worship is the true master of this domain."

"I coexist with these parasites in symbiosis; even fragments of their genes have been integrated into me."

"The Gene Thief patriarch can inject alien genes into me, and I can turn around and inject parasites into him, corroding his genetic sequence."

You're seriously planning to go toe-to-toe with the Gene Thief patriarch in a genetic corruption contest?

Zhou Yun stared at Mongge, his scalp going numb,

and this was just a Nurgling Chosen—did he really think he could corrupt the Great Devourer's proxy on this planet?

Zhou Yun still remembered that Mongge's blood had barely been enough to give someone a stomachache.

"Don't look at me like that—the blessings I'm bearing now are far stronger than before."

Mongge caught the thick disdain in Zhou Yun's eyes:

"Remember that trident sword? A sliver of our Father God's great power dwells within it; my brother and I drew stronger blessings from it."

Zhou Yun frowned,

he looked closely, and there seemed to be a sword scar at the center of Mongge's chest,

he must have driven that trident sword into his own chest to draw greater blessings,

and this blessing did not come directly from the Warp,

but from the power the old Eighth District Corpse Guild had channeled into the trident sword through sacrifice,

a terrifying holy relic born from the death, plague, and disease of an entire district—the power within was naturally formidable.

It wasn't as if there were no cases of the cunning being corrupted in turn,

if the Nurgle blessing inside Mongge was strong enough, then in theory this plan was indeed viable.

Mongge really did look like he'd cooked up a pretty good idea.

Zhou Yun's eyes still held a thick current of doubt.

"As a team, can you have a little faith in me?"

Mong couldn't stand Zhou Yun and Reina's gazes any longer and couldn't help saying:

"Our nest-bottom trio will definitely pull it off!"

"We're actually a team?" Zhou Yun and Reina said in unison, surprise in their tones.

"..." In an instant, Mong felt a sense of being isolated.

He sat down on the edge of the bed in some dejection and roughly rubbed his own horns:

"Even if I fail, you won't lose anything."

"At the very least, I can make the Gene-Stealer Chieftain fall into a period of weakness."

"When the time comes, whatever you take the chance to do will be far easier."

Zhou Yun had to admit, Mong's words were right,

because if they wanted to enter the administration building of Sector One to find the subspace engine, they would have to operate right under the Gene-Stealer Chieftain's nose no matter what,

and that thing was a monster who could go toe-to-toe with an entire squad of Sanguinary Guard and Death Company Dreadnoughts,

Zhou Yun might be able to match or even suppress it in raw strength thanks to the superhuman gloves, but in other respects this human body of Zhou Yun's simply couldn't keep up,

let alone that there were also massive numbers of Genestealers nearby,

and on Zhou Yun's side...

Reina's combat power was practically decorative unless Hua Di Huang himself could possess her body.

Mong's combat power was passable, but he was by no means a match for the Gene-Stealer Chieftain either.

If Mong really could make the Gene-Stealer Chieftain fall into weakness, acting would indeed be much easier.

Zhou Yun rubbed his chin, and an idea popped into his head,

one that had already sprouted back at the mutant settlement.

"I need to make a trip back to your settlement, to see your brother."

Zhou Yun said, looking at Mong.

Mong was taken aback,

because with the ability to change his appearance and build, and that wall-piercing ring, Zhou Yun sneaking out for a night was indeed no difficult feat.

"What do you need to see my brother for?" Mong said, frowning. "Unless we can break through or bypass the tech-barrier wall, they won't be much help."

"You have your ideas, and I have mine."

Zhou Yun chuckled lightly, took the Ring of Unmaking from his pocket and placed it against the wall, and his figure vanished into it.

Push push push

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(End of chapter)