59: Chapter 59 Nighttime Visit to the Mountain Stronghold, Unfathomable Ramblings

When the Slaanesh-following Cheng Yus Clones were tearing Khorne warriors to shreds on outer planets.

Iron Fist Cheng Yu was dining at a high-end tea restaurant, where a new type of Tyranids / Tyranid food had recently started being sold in the market.

This thing looked like a crab and tasted like a crab, but it had more legs than a normal hairy crab—sixteen of them—so it was more troublesome to eat.

The price wasn't expensive, but the ordinary Cheng Yus Clones were busy making a living all day and didn't have the "Terra time" to enjoy this dish.

"Greetings, my lord." Cheng Yu, leaning on a cane, put down his briefcase. "Th-thank you for your generosity, my lord."

"From now on, we'll meet here. The new Hive City Security Forces system has been implemented, and you can't go to that old tea stall anymore."

Iron Fist Cheng Yu had tasted the benefits of previous intelligence trades, having avoided several pitfalls in administrative processing and received praise from the Emperor, so he was now addicted to this kind of transaction.

"Un-understood."

Cheng Yu didn't stand on ceremony; he snapped his fingers at the waiter, one of the Cheng Yus Clones, and ordered a pot of Tieguanyin.

"Wh-what would you like to know this time, my lord?"

"The wedding of Governor Ducalia and his wife, and Lady Istvaan's Millennium Festival. I want to know what gifts the other families are preparing, mainly the value of the gifts."

Iron Fist Cheng Yu had finished an entire Tyranids / Tyranid crab and was currently trying to piece the empty shell back together. "Can... can you get this information?"

"You are a cautious person. Wh-why else would you be a Duke?"

Cheng Yu had, of course, already figured out Iron Fist Cheng Yu's identity; that was how he made his living, after all.

Iron Fist Cheng Yu needed to know the value of the gifts others were sending so that he wouldn't offend anyone by sending a gift that was too cheap, nor would he displease the Emperor by sending a gift that was too extravagant.

"Fi-first, let me give you one... Governor Ducalia and his wife are preparing to give a... to the Imperial Concubine."

Cheng Yu drew a simple shape on the table with tea.

"Sending an Aeldari cruiser?" Iron Fist Cheng Yu sighed. "It really is good to have a fiefdom. So rich—I don't have that kind of financial power."

"Mo-money is a bastard; what comes together must disperse."

Cheng Yu took a big gulp of Tieguanyin. "I-I still need to gather information on the other families. Same time tomorrow, see... see you again!"

"Not staying for a bite?" Iron Fist Cheng Yu said politely, while internally estimating the price of this transaction.

"No, not eating. Go-gotta go make money."

Cheng Yu leaned on his cane and tucked his briefcase under his arm.

"What's the price this time?"

Iron Fist Cheng Yu finally pieced the crab back together... Damn it, this didn't seem to be the same crab; the parallel left and right legs weren't the same size. These profiteering Cheng Yus Clones!

"St-still one hundred thousand."

"You can make a profit at that price?"

"I-I do this, no-not for the money, but... but for..."

"For what?"

"A sense of achievement!" Cheng Yu grinned, showing his big white teeth.

...

Cheng Yu was very wealthy; his savings were enough to buy an entire Hive City.

Yet he still rented a room in the Underhive. During the day, he liked to "stuff his skin with water," which meant chugging Tieguanyin; at night, he liked to "soak his skin in water," which meant soaking in a bathhouse.

His favorite thing to do was chat with strangers and then be a quiet listener.

Actively spying for information was a low-end operation. Did he really think others were idiots who wouldn't know he had ulterior motives?

If one sentence was said wrong, the... the muzzle of a gun would be pressed against his forehead.

But Cheng Yu always waited for others to come to him to confide.

He returned to the storefront he rented and casually wiped the "Lost and Found Service Department" sign on the facade until it was sparkling clean.

As for the gift information Iron Fist Duke wanted, it had long been collected, and several copies had already been sold; he would just go and complete the job tomorrow as usual.

Not making money... who are you kidding? The intelligence business is the most profitable thing, damn it!

"Hello, are you the boss?"

Seraphie walked in alone. Her steps were still a bit unsteady, but she seemed to have recovered well; at least she could walk normally now.

"I-I am the server here to serve you. Pl-please sit. Would you like something to drink? Te-tea or coffee?"

"No drink. I'll just get straight to the point."

Seraphie poured out her situation like dumping dumplings, but her memory was completely scrambled, so it sounded incoherent and illogical.

An ordinary person certainly wouldn't be able to listen to this "the torque of an excavator will affect the meeting of Welcon and penguins in Antarctica," but Cheng Yu could listen to it.

Not only could he listen, but he could also understand it.

"U-understood. You... you must have suffered some kind of mental shock and lost your memory, so... so now you want to recover your memory, but... but you have no idea where to start."

Cheng Yu summarized.

"Yes, you're so smart... If only I were as smart as you, my apprentice wouldn't have to suffer so much."

Seraphie was currently in a state of being unable to work.

The pressure of living in the Cheng Yu Empire was high. Overachiever Cheng Yu was barely able to support himself, and now that he had to support two people, he had to work four jobs a day, spinning like a top.

"I-I look at your features, you sh-should have been a smart person in the past."

Cheng Yu simply estimated the price and then wrote a number on a piece of cardboard.

It didn't matter what the number was; Seraphie would never be able to afford it anyway.

"You... you can also exchange it with other information."

Although Cheng Yu didn't know who she was, Seraphie, as a former Senior Assistant to the Grand Inquisitor of the Corpse Emperor Empire, had many distinctive features.

For example, her posture was incredibly domineering; those who knew would see her as a client coming to purchase intelligence services, but those who didn't... might think Cheng Yu's business had been exposed and this was the head of the Security Forces coming to execute him.

And there was the concave callus at the end of her right index finger, which was formed from twirling prayer beads; no other situation would cause a callus of that shape.

He would take this deal!

"Sorry, I don't have any information to exchange. Sorry to bother you."

"St-stay!"

Cheng Yu crossed out the number on the cardboard. "Th-this order is on the house."

"What do you want?" Seraphie's instinctual vigilance flared up. "I have nothing to give you."

"I... I want you to owe me a favor. It m-might never be needed, b-but when I do need to use it, I h-hope you won't refuse me."

"..."

...

The Imperial Palace, Hall of Diligent Governance.

Main Body was receiving the leaders of some small surrounding factions one by one.

Some of them feared the Empire's might and came to defect voluntarily.

Some had been beaten into stray dogs by the Chaos Warband and had no choice but to flee here.

Others were natural adventurers who wanted to get a slice of the pie during the rise of the new power.

Except for a few arrogant individuals who provoked the Emperor and were cooked and killed on the spot, Cheng Yu approved the entry of most of the factions into the Empire.