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

At the Spear Tavern, at the bar counter—

"You actually ran into the Eager Thief at your door last night?"

Old One-Eye looked genuinely surprised.

"Yeah. That little bastard was slipperier than an eel, slipped right through my fingers," Zhou Yun said sullenly, drinking down his scarlet liquor.

The fact that a mere hive thief had managed to get away from him didn't sit well.

Rena might be crazy, but her psychic abilities were still decent. Zhou Yun could fight her evenly—yet he couldn't catch a thief. The underhive of Asford really was too competitive these days.

"I'm more surprised you actually caught them in the act," Old One-Eye said, still astonished. "Some say the Eager Thief has a kind of precognition. Knows when victims come home, when it's safe to strike. No one's ever actually seen them in the act before—just the molten holes in their doors afterward."

Zhou Yun frowned. Precognition. That did sound powerful—more reliable than Rena's erratic prophetic dreams.

He glanced at the winged figure in white light by his side. "Oi, buddy. Anything to say? Chaos corruption?"

"…I can't be sure," the figure admitted sheepishly.

Zhou Yun rubbed his chin and put it out of his mind for now. He didn't feel like playing cat and mouse all night.

Instead, he looked to Old One-Eye. "What did your boss say about the papers?"

"They're doable," Old One-Eye replied. Before Zhou Yun could ask about price, the man continued, "My boss will authorize two permits to the upper hive. These aren't fakes. They'll work. The PDF at the checkpoint will hand them to you directly."

Zhou Yun raised an eyebrow. The PDF themselves? Old One-Eye's boss clearly had serious connections. Zhou Yun thought of a certain possibility but kept it to himself.

"And his condition?" he asked, tapping the counter.

"He wants to meet you—in the upper hive," Old One-Eye said calmly.

Zhou Yun chuckled. "Not afraid I'm working for the Underworld Worm?"

At that name, Old One-Eye stiffened slightly, as if it carried a curse. He drew in a breath before speaking quietly, "You even know that name… Don't say it so loudly. The Worm can hear."

Zhou Yun's eyes narrowed. So his guess was right. Old One-Eye worked for Governor Augustus.

"I thought you might be an Inquisitorial agent, but turns out you're just a lackey of the Governor," Zhou Yun said.

"…I was. I used to be a palace guard in the governor's spire," Old One-Eye said, gently touching his ruined eye. "We tried to kill the Worm. Back then it was still young, but even then we all felt its monstrous malice. We froze. In that one instant of hesitation, it ripped my eye out and escaped into the underhive. Everything since then has been my failure. The governor gave us a chance to atone by hunting it. Most of us are dead now. I'm one of the last."

He fell silent for a long moment, haunted by the memory.

Finally, he met Zhou Yun's gaze and smiled faintly. "You and the Worm already have your own conflict, don't you? That's enough. We can cooperate. The governor wants to speak with you. This permit is just the beginning."

"How much for the two permits?" Zhou Yun said casually.

Old One-Eye blinked. "…The governor doesn't care about money."

"That won't do. Quote me a price!" Zhou Yun shot back without hesitation.

Old One-Eye hesitated, then named a figure.

"Not enough! Make it higher!" Zhou Yun demanded righteously. "Two legal upper-hive permits! You can't just give them away cheap."

After another moment, Old One-Eye reluctantly named a higher price.

Zhou Yun later quoted Rena a figure—double what Old One-Eye had told him.

Rena stared at him, incredulous at the number. "Two upper-hive permits… and they're legal and official?"

She seemed almost unable to believe it. "But this price…"

"Relax," Zhou Yun said warmly. "I haggled hard for you. This is the family discount."

Inwardly, though, he felt a twinge of doubt. He actually didn't know what upper-hive permits were really worth. Doubling the price for a 100% profit—was that too much?

"You're really good at bargaining!" Rena said, impressed. "Even the smugglers charge more than this. And these are legit?"

Hearing her words, Zhou Yun's eye twitched and he silently cursed himself. Damn, I should've asked for more!

He coughed lightly to cover his reaction. "Oh—I meant per permit. We're two people. So double that."

Rena's doubts vanished instantly and she grinned. "Now that's more like it."

(End of Chapter)

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