"Brother Zhou Yun, why did you hit me?"
Rag frowned with a face so ugly it made Zhou Yun lose his appetite for drinking and spoke in aggrieved tones.
Several streaks of blood flowed from between the creases in his wrinkled face.
Seeing that human blood was flowing from Rag's face, along with his utterly bewildered expression, Zhou Yun shook his head.
It seemed this old bastard had nothing to do with the Genestealers.
The abandoned district he had sold Zhou Yun just happened to be a place where Genestealers were active.
At that thought, Zhou Yun could not hold back and punched him in the face again.
Rag wrinkled that ugly face of his and put on a wronged expression. He reached up to wipe the blood off his face, then sat at the bar as if nothing had happened.
"Two bowls of liquor and a plate of synthetic protein blocks."
Old One-Eye shot him a glance, took out some blackened protein blocks from the cabinet, and tossed them in front of Rag.
"Brother Zhou Yun, do you know there are four ways to prepare these synthetic protein blocks?" Rag said with a grin.
"Do you know there are four ways to write the character 'hui'?" Zhou Yun asked as he drank.
"I can't write even one."
Rag picked up a protein block and stuffed it into his mouth. The sticky lump slid back and forth between his thick teeth.
"But I know your chance to get rich is coming."
Zhou Yun's brows furrowed slightly at that. "Get rich? Your boss has work for me?"
"A big job." Rag chuckled and lifted his cup, pouring the Scarlet Wine into his mouth.
He drained the cup in one gulp and smacked his lips.
"Old One-Eye's craftsmanship is getting better and better. Even Amasec liquor can't compare!"
"What are you bragging about? You've even had Amasec?" Old One-Eye gave him a disdainful look.
"I'll get to drink it someday." Rag grinned and looked at Zhou Yun. "The boss wants a batch of weapons."
"Fine. What kind?"
Zhou Yun had long ago exchanged for the Ring of Passage, an item that allowed him to pass through walls and move freely through the buried ancient abandoned districts.
Combined with the nearly limitless capacity of the Fourth-Dimensional Pocket, he had moved out many of the weapons and machines buried inside.
Those weapons were naturally in greatest demand among the gangs, and the weapons Zhou Yun dug up had been manufactured in ancient times. Their quality far surpassed the homemade junk from the lower hive.
Before long, Zhou Yun had made something of a name for himself among the lower hive gangs.
"The boss wants a batch of Agrippina Pattern Autoguns. Let's start with two hundred." Rag grinned.
".Fine."
Zhou Yun froze for a moment at Rag's words, then nodded solemnly.
"How about I get you another five hundred sets of Ironclad Terminator Power Armour?"
"You can get your hands on that stuff too?" Rag gaped at Zhou Yun in shock.
One look into his eyes told Zhou Yun that he had no idea what Zhou Yun was talking about. He just thought it sounded impressive.
"That's not all. I can even get you power spears used by the Archangel." Zhou Yun said with complete sincerity.
".Brother, you're joking, right?" Rag blinked.
"You actually know I'm joking?" Zhou Yun said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
The Agrippina Pattern Autogun was an infantry autogun manufactured on the famous forge world of Agrippina.
Not even the Astartes cared much for it. Even the Astra Militarum did not think highly of it. It was mainly used by some second- and third-rate Planetary Defense Forces.
But even a Planetary Defense Force was not something a gang crawling through the gutters of the lower hive could compare itself to.
Could a gang even make use of such high-end gear?
"Are you planning to storm the Upper Hive with two hundred guns and give our esteemed governor a piece of your mind?"
Zhou Yun shook his head.
"Just get some homemade rifles. If you want those things, you can only rob a PDF warehouse."
"You got it exactly right, old man. A PDF warehouse." Rag grinned.
At those words, not only did Zhou Yun's eye twitch, but even Old One-Eye, who was drinking behind the bar, nearly spat out his liquor.
Robbing the PDF—robbing the warehouse of the Planetary Defense Force. This was no longer a matter of having guts or not.
This was digging dirt on the governor's head and shitting in front of the Ordinatus.
No matter how uninvolved that governor might be, he could not possibly turn a blind eye to something like this.
"Wait." Old One-Eye looked up at Rag. "You know about Old Sector Eight?"
"Old Sector Eight?" Zhou Yun raised a brow. He remembered Old One-Eye mentioning it earlier.
"Old Sector Eight was an old district from more than a hundred years ago, up in the Upper Hive. There was an outbreak there back then, and a lot of people died."
"The governor at the time feared the outbreak would spread to the spire, so he blew up the entire district."
"The whole of Old Sector Eight fell from the Upper Hive and plunged deep into the lower hive."
Old One-Eye shook his head.
"The patients, residents, and the PDF sent to suppress the riots were all buried down there."
"Logically speaking, there should still be a PDF garrison inside. Right, our planet's Planetary Defense Force is equipped with Agrippina Pattern Autoguns."
Zhou Yun frowned at Old One-Eye's words.
"You want me to dig those weapons out of Old Sector Eight for you?"
"So that's what you're after. But the outbreak..."
Words like crucible, garden, virus, and Grandfather surfaced in his mind.
And that district was actually called Old Sector Eight. Hiss.
"It's been over a hundred years. Everyone's long dead. What outbreak could there still be?" Rag waved a hand.
"The scavenger who found the entrance to Old Sector Eight is still alive and well. Other people have gone in to explore too."
"It would be impossible to say there's no risk at all, but the boss is paying plenty for this job, Old Zhou."
As he spoke, Rag held up a number to Zhou Yun with his fingers.
Listening to Rag, Zhou Yun hesitated slightly.
In his memories, although Ashford and the Stygian System had suffered Genestealers, Orks, and even Necrons...
There did not seem to have ever been a Warp invasion? Perhaps this so-called Old Sector Eight really had nothing to do with that god stirring the crucible in the Warp?
Besides, the gang behind Rag only wanted two hundred rifles, while the PDF garrison might contain far more weapons than that.
All of those could be exchanged for currency in the Fourth-Dimensional Pocket. Even after the gang paid him, he could exchange the money for supplies and sell those to the Fourth-Dimensional Pocket again.
The Chicken Thief he had encountered in the abandoned district, the expanding Ark Gang, and that white figure calling himself "Sanguinius" had all claimed that the swarm was coming.
Zhou Yun needed to get the Anywhere Door as soon as possible.
With that in mind, Zhou Yun nodded slightly. "I'll take the job."
At those words, not only did Rag look delighted, but a flash of joy also passed through Old One-Eye's sole remaining eye.
Old One-Eye waved a hand at Rag. "Rag, piss off to the side. I need to talk to Zhou Yun."
"Huh? Sure." Rag carried his plate of synthetic protein blocks and Scarlet Wine and slipped into a corner of the bar.
"I have a job for you." Old One-Eye looked at Zhou Yun.
"Why does everyone have work for me?" Zhou Yun could not help saying.
"The capable work harder. The Emperor taught us to be diligent."
Old One-Eye grinned and stared at Zhou Yun.
"Do you know Ignace Karkas?"
"Of course. A poet from the Great Crusade Era, a remembrancer who followed the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet," Zhou Yun answered immediately.
Old One-Eye nodded. "It would be normal if you didn't know. Only the lords of the Upper Hive would—"
".Wait, you know?"
Before you continue