In Warhammer, please don’t mix Doraemon with the Omnissiah.

"Bastard!"

Rena hurled the notebook right at Rag's face.

She was furious, truly furious this time. Even though she'd ordered twenty-four-hour patrols to cut down on the Eager Thief's activity — and it had worked somewhat — it seemed whenever Rag was on duty, the thief struck. Wherever Rag was stationed, the thief appeared. Rena even suspected him of being an inside man.

But after subjecting Rag to her beguiling voice, forcibly searching his memories with her psychic powers, she confirmed he really had nothing to do with the thief. He was just… lazy. Every time he was supposed to be on patrol, he slipped into a bar to drink. Even when he did patrol, he carried a bottle in hand, steering clear of anywhere that looked remotely dangerous. He'd even seen the thief's cutter at work once — and had bolted in the opposite direction.

No wonder the Eager Thief only worked on Rag's watch. He wasn't even seen as a threat.

Seeing the full scope of Rag's patrols in his memories made Rena's blood boil. She pinched her philtrum hard, worried she might just lose control and blow him to pieces.

"Get out! Get out of my sight!" she barked. "Every credit of everyone's losses is coming out of your pay!"

"Don't, boss, please! I'll starve!" Rag wailed.

"And you're off patrol! You're doing hard labor now!"

Her hand trembled as she jabbed a finger at him. "Even if you die, I'll pay to have you made into a servitor to work it off!"

Just then the door opened, and Zhou Yun poked his head in. "You done yelling? I need you for something."

He waved a letter in his hand.

Rag, seeing Zhou Yun, ran to him like he was the Emperor incarnate. "Brother Zhou Yun! Save me! She's gonna kill me!"

Before he could say more, Zhou Yun booted him clean out of the room and shut the door.

With Rag gone, Rena's expression softened slightly. She rubbed her philtrum and muttered prayers under her breath to calm down.

Zhou Yun noticed the ancient starship logbook still on her desk. "Anything interesting in there?" he asked, sitting across from her.

Rena rubbed her brow, then flipped it open. "Here," she said, pointing. "This marks where the original colony ship crash-landed on Ashford. Most of the hull was stripped to build the first settlement. The warp drive was left in place — buried underground as the hive grew. It should still be somewhere in the underhive, but the exact spot isn't clear."

So it was real.

Zhou Yun rubbed his chin. A whole warp engine buried down there… definitely worth a trip. He also had Governor Augustus' commission to investigate the Genestealer Cult. And he still needed to figure out how much time they really had before Hive Fleet Leviathan arrived.

He only had about 3.35 million saved up — still short of his goal for an Anywhere Door. He needed more money, and fast. If worse came to worst, he'd need a Plan B.

Besides, he had some good gear now — he was confident he could make it through the underhive. And there were Mong and Markit down there as well, worth meeting.

"You said you needed me for something?" Rena finally asked.

"Yeah. Take a look at this," Zhou Yun said, handing her the letter — completely ignoring the note written on it: Do not share with others.

Rena looked it over. "The Eager Thief wrote this? In High Gothic?!"

She sounded surprised. Even topside there weren't many who could read High Gothic. "Orleans Wing? That's her alias?"

She scoffed. "Sounds… tasty."

Her reading was halting, but she managed to get through it. "She wants to meet you? In the scrapyard near District 13?"

Her brows furrowed. "Be careful. That scrapyard's right by the underhive entrance. No telling what dangers are lurking there."

"That's why I came to you," Zhou Yun said with a shrug.

"…Huh? I thought you wanted me to translate it?"

"I can read High Gothic just fine," Zhou Yun said, face completely straight.

Out here, your identity was what you made it. He ignored the look the winged figure in the corner was giving him.

"Impressive," Rena said. "Who are you really? Some noble slumming it down here?"

Zhou Yun just smiled. If only you knew the governor himself owes me a favor.

"I'm just a regular trash picker," he said earnestly. "But I do need a favor. Lend me some people."

"People? You really think a few men will catch her? With her foresight?"

"Worth a try. Her foresight doesn't seem as effective against things I'm involved in," Zhou Yun said, rubbing his chin.

Rena gave him an odd look. "How many do you need?"

"Oh, not many. Two hundred. All armed with Agripinaa Mk III auto-rifles."

"…How many?!"

(End of Chapter)

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