Psykers.
Hearing Old One-Eye's words, Zhou Yun could not help looking at him with curiosity.
In the underhive, psykers were more or less the urban legends passed around on the streets.
They were terrifying tales that could scare children into silence at night, ghosts and monsters that might lurk in the depths of the hive, ominous curses people dared not speak of.
Everyone hated psykers as though they were demons from legend, yet who had ever actually seen one?
But Old One-Eye spoke as if he had seen psykers before.
"You know what psykers are, right?"
Old One-Eye put down the rag he had been using to wipe cups and pulled over a stool to sit across from Zhou Yun.
"You know far more than most underhive folk."
Zhou Yun gave a slight nod.
Of course he knew what psykers were.
Most psykers were actually just a pitiful lot.
They were born connected to the Warp and could wield the power of the Empyrean.
But in turn, their souls shone like torches in the Warp, vulnerable to corruption at any moment.
In the end, they could become gateways through which daemons invaded the physical universe.
For that reason, the Imperium strictly managed and controlled psykers.
Those psykers who might lose control often ended up as fuel for the Astronomican.
But the Imperium was vast. There were always fish that slipped through the net and hid in the shadows, surviving as illegal psykers.
If Old One-Eye was right,
then the leader of the Ark Gang really could have been an illegal psyker.
Or perhaps...
Zhou Yun's eyes shifted slightly.
Within the Genestealers' organizational structure, beneath the right claw of a Genestealer Patriarch, there existed beings known as "Genestealer Magi."
Genestealer Magi were powerful psykers who looked almost identical to humans.
He was the Patriarch's agent and the manager of his brood, using impressive eloquence and rhetorical skill to deceive humans and discover, expand, and strengthen the cult.
Zhou Yun strongly suspected that the so-called Ark Gang leader was one of those things.
A powerful Chicken Thief psyker.
"Someone came asking about you this morning. I fobbed him off."
Old One-Eye suddenly spoke, interrupting Zhou Yun's thoughts.
"Asking about me?"
A trace of wariness rose in Zhou Yun's heart.
"What is there to ask about me?"
Unless the Genestealers had discovered that he had killed those hybrid new believers.
But... that should not have been possible.
He had cleaned up every trace on the ground, and he had used an Air Gun Potion without psychic power.
Even the Sanctus assassins among the Genestealers should not have been able to track him down.
"It was the Ark Gang. Guys in flax-colored robes with stupid fucking spaceships painted on their faces."
Old One-Eye poured himself a cup of Scarlet Wine and said,
"Did you offend them?"
Zhou Yun raised a finger and shook it, indicating that he had nothing to do with them.
Unless they really were a Genestealer Cult, Zhou Yun silently added in his heart.
"Could it be because I sold weapons to the local gangs, and they bear a grudge against me?" Zhou Yun asked half-jokingly.
"Hard to say. Psykers are all a little mentally unwell." Old One-Eye shook his head seriously.
"Tell me, what exactly happened last night?" Zhou Yun probed.
"The Ark Gang launched a surprise attack on our district last night. The local gangs were caught off guard and lost nearly half their territory right away."
Old One-Eye poured the Scarlet Wine down his swollen throat, wet his throat, and said,
"But the local gangs were not all cowards. Relying on their familiarity with the streets, they soon held the line."
"Then some bastard saw things going badly and defected to the Ark Gang, leading them around the back for a sneak attack."
"The Ark Gang tore through them like bamboo, all the way to the doorstep of the local gangs' stronghold."
Old One-Eye smacked his lips, poured himself another drink, and continued.
"The rest was just what you heard earlier."
"With the weapons you provided, the local gangs had originally managed to hold out."
"Then that Ark Gang leader stood alone before their gun barrels, reciting the Scripture of the Word."
"The local gangs froze as if possessed. At the woman's command, they all obediently laid down their weapons."
As he spoke, Old One-Eye lowered his voice and looked at Zhou Yun.
"The Ark Gang leader said she had come on The Emperor's orders to redeem all the people of Ashford."
"She also said she would build a massive ark to carry every Ashford citizen who joined the Ark Gang up among the stars, away from the claws of the daemons between worlds."
Hearing Old One-Eye's words, Zhou Yun's mouth twitched. "Then the whole city must be grateful beyond measure."
But Old One-Eye firmly shook his head. "But The Emperor taught us that psykers are shameless witches and blasphemous corruption."
Zhou Yun could not help rubbing his chin.
The more he heard about this Ark Gang, the more it sounded like Chicken Thieves. Could those Chicken Thieves really have traced things back to him?
Yet an odd feeling rose in Zhou Yun's heart.
If the Ark Gang really was a Genestealer tendril, and they had confirmed that Zhou Yun had taken out those Chicken Thieves in the abandoned district,
then a Sanctus should have assassinated Zhou Yun last night and brought down the Four-Armed Emperor's judgment upon him.
By now, Zhou Yun should have returned in soul to the Golden Throne, the Brass Throne, Slaanesh's Sixth Ring, Nurgle's Garden... somewhere like that.
Noticing Zhou Yun's expression, Old One-Eye raised an eyebrow.
He tapped the table and asked,
"You don't really have a grudge against the Ark Gang, do you? Need to run? I can arrange it for you."
"Other gangs' turf or the underhive, either works. I've got a few connections."
He looked at Zhou Yun and said,
"Of course, it costs money. The underhive is cheaper; other gangs' territory costs more."
As he spoke, Old One-Eye took an lho-stick from his pocket and lit it.
He also pulled out one for Zhou Yun, looking every bit the businessman.
"I don't smoke." Zhou Yun held out a hand to refuse it. "As for running..."
The mutant faces of Monger and Malkit appeared in Zhou Yun's mind.
"Let's wait a little longer. There are a few things I want to confirm."
"You really don't smoke?" Old One-Eye waved the lho-stick in his hand. "My mother said only idiots, babies, and Sanguinius don't smoke lho-sticks."
"You're obviously not an idiot, and you don't look like a baby. Could you be Sanguinius?"
"Hahahaha!"
Old One-Eye seemed amused by his own joke.
"Sure. Maybe I'm an angel walking the world, Sanguinius himself, here to test your loyalty." Zhou Yun shook his head with a smile.
"I really don't smoke." The winged figure in the white light shrugged. "I don't smoke regular cigarettes either."
"Khan did smoke a kind of hookah, though. Russ even fought to have a try."
"Shut up, birdman." Zhou Yun glanced at the winged figure in the white light, smiling. "Show some respect when speaking to Sanguinius himself!"
"How the tables have turned." The winged figure in the white light said in an exaggerated tone.
Just then, the tavern door behind Zhou Yun was pushed open.
"Finally found you, Brother Zhou Yun!"
A familiar voice rang out.
"You had old Rugg searching for you for ages!"
Before you continue