The gang member in the lead stared blankly at the rusty red dagger pressed against his throat.
The dagger was not particularly sharp, but it was covered in dark red bloodstains. Its rune-like rust and streaks of corrosion gave off an eerie, sinister air.
Combined with what the man who had suddenly appeared behind him had said—
It was coated in lethal corruption venom. Even the slightest scratch or touch would turn someone into a puddle of pus; even their soul would be corrupted, unable to return to the Golden Throne.
The lead gang member could not help swallowing, then turned tremblingly to look at the man behind him.
Then his pupils suddenly constricted, and his legs began to shake uncontrollably.
What a terrifying face it was—owl eyes and a tiger's jaws, so grim it looked as if it had been carved from igneous rock in the deepest, darkest pit, like a lion lurking in the shadows.
The lead gang member suspected that if he made even the slightest move against the man before him, he would be stabbed into a puddle of pus by that dagger and fall into the realm of demons.
It was not just the lead gang member. The nearby gang members and hive workers were frightened as well.
He had appeared like a ghost, claimed that the dagger in his hand possessed blasphemous powers, and had a cold, horrifying face that made their legs go weak.
A cultist! He's a cultist!
The gang members immediately felt their legs weaken.
In the hive city, the most dangerous things were never the various criminal gangs, but those blasphemous cultists.
The lead gang member panted heavily, stared at the dagger against his throat, and hurriedly said in a trembling voice,
"Please don't rush, please don't rush. Whatever it is, we can talk it out."
Seeing the gang members and hive workers frozen with fright, Zhou Yun was briefly at a loss too.
He had merely intended to take the lead gang member hostage and use the opportunity to enter the PDF base through the Ring of Passage.
But judging by this, the effect had been a little too good.
Zhou Yun noticed that the looks directed at him were clearly the looks people gave a cultist.
"Don't be afraid. I'm not some cultist."
Zhou Yun said gently,
"I only want to enter the PDF base. I hope you won't stop me."
"Look at this face of mine, so full of righteous spirit. Could I possibly be disloyal?"
As he spoke, Zhou Yun moved his face closer to the lead gang member.
The lead gang member's expression scrunched up, and his legs would not stop trembling.
Right, right, right, sir, you're not a cultist.
How could someone who appeared like a ghost be a cultist? How could a non-cultist carry a dagger coated in poison that could corrupt souls?
The lead gang member glanced at the Scarlet Dagger pressed to his throat. After a moment of silence, he nodded fiercely and said,
"Yes, yes, yes. You're right."
"You can tell at a glance that you're not a cultist. Your face is plainly full of righteousness and loyalty to the Emperor."
"Look at that face. That lion-like face is full of sincerity. There isn't a single secret on it."
Zhou Yun nodded in deep agreement.
After all, he had modeled this face after the primarch Lion El'Jonson. No matter how one looked at it, it was the face of loyalty.
"I'm very pleased that you can cooperate."
Zhou Yun patted the lead gang member's shoulder approvingly, then waved toward the shadows in the distance.
Monger and Malkit, both draped in brown robes that concealed their faces, stepped out from them.
The surrounding gang members hurriedly made way for the two of them.
Monger walked up beside Zhou Yun and gave him a stiff nod.
Zhou Yun gestured for Monger to take the dagger and help hold the lead gang member hostage, then led him and Malkit to the foot of the mountain of rubble.
He reached into his clothes and, concealed by the fabric, took the Ring of Passage from the Fourth-Dimensional Pocket and pressed it against the mountain of rubble.
"Go through it," Zhou Yun instructed Monger and Malkit.
"Go through it?" Monger said blankly, looking dazed.
Ever since earlier, he had been unable to follow Zhou Yun's train of thought. Everything had happened so suddenly—Zhou Yun had taken the lead gang member hostage and brought them to the foot of the mountain of rubble.
Then, from who knew where, he had produced a golden ring as tall as a man and fastened it to the wall. A pitch-black hole appeared within the ring.
"Going through it will take us to the PDF base." With that, Zhou Yun went through first.
Malkit followed after him. Monger hesitated for a moment, shoved the lead gang member away, and went through as well.
Then he felt the scene before his eyes twist and shift. By the time his head emerged from the ring, he was already in a wide-open clearing.
He blinked before realizing that he had passed through the mountain of rubble and arrived outside the PDF base.
Before him stood a dilapidated PDF camp, its walls painted with the crest of the Governor Flax family.
Still somewhat dazed, Monger watched Zhou Yun stuff the golden ring back into his clothes.
He fell silent for a moment and slowly processed what had just happened before he could not help saying,
"You're not actually a cultist, are you?"
Zhou Yun shot Monger a disdainful look. "You're a cultist yourself, and you still have the nerve to call me one."
"Forget it. With your level of competence, calling you a cultist would be a compliment."
Zhou Yun shook his head, never having expected that one day he would be called a cultist by cultists.
He might not possess any heartfelt loyalty or faith in the Emperor, but at least he had not gone and worshipped those freaks and monsters of the Warp, had he?
Those two followers of Nurgle actually had the gall to condemn him as a cultist.
"Guys, who gets this? What a pathetic cultist," Zhou Yun muttered in a heavily sarcastic tone.
Monger shook his head. "My brother and I aren't cultists. We came for all of Ashford."
"Heretics never think they're heretics." Zhou Yun shrugged.
"Aren't you the same?" Monger mocked in return.
"Enough, Monger. If it weren't for Leman Russ's help, we wouldn't have gotten in so easily," Malkit said, trying to smooth things over.
When he said the name Leman Russ, there was still a trace of awkwardness in his voice.
Zhou Yun gave him a slight nod. "My target is the weapons in the warehouse. If you want to perform any blasphemous rituals or whatever, wait until I'm done moving them."
"You're moving all the weapons in the warehouse by yourself?" Monger asked in surprise. "Don't tell me you're planning some blasphemous ritual?"
"Sigh, you misunderstand us. We only came here to find a few documents," Malkit said, shaking his head.
Hearing that, Zhou Yun nodded. "Fine. If you're looking through the archives, see if you can find me a map of Old Sector Eight while you're at it."
"Of course." Malkit smiled and nodded.
With that, the three of them headed together toward the entrance of the PDF base.
Just before entering the base, Malkit slowed slightly, allowing himself to fall half a step behind Monger and Zhou Yun.
Then, in an extremely soft voice, he recited a seven-syllable incantation.
Before you continue