Hua couldn't help but laugh. "It's not that bad, right? Isn't he usually very tolerant toward women and children?"
"The prerequisite for his tolerance toward women," the Chief Strategist said with a cold sneer, "is that they don't confess to him."
"You haven't seen what he's like when he loses his humanity. Every girl who's confessed to him ended up crying from anger. And in the end, I had to be the one to apologize for him."
Who would understand this, having a boss who's barely human was already bad enough, but having to comfort his heartbroken admirers on top of that?
Fortunately, his boss only overworks himself and not his subordinates, even offering benefits far beyond normal, one day on, one day off. Otherwise, he would've quit long ago.
After reading the latest updates from the Interstellar Peace Corporation, the Chief Strategist continued silently sorting through things. Suddenly, he paused mid-motion and asked, "Does that girl have the ability to protect herself?"
Hua sighed helplessly. "She's the Sword Champion of the Luofu. At this point, he might not even be able to beat her."
The Chief Strategist was relieved and went back to helping Hua organize the items.
To be precise, they were organizing the former General's… belongings.
After properly arranging everything for the Xianzhou Alliance, that man had left together with the Aeon of Trailblaze, his departure clean and decisive.
When the news of his death reached the Xianzhou, his subordinates were stunned.
Thankfully, before leaving, he had already made backup arrangements, appeasing those lunatics in time, preventing them from causing chaos.
Compared to those subordinates wailing and mourning, the Chief Strategist felt not even the faintest ripple in his heart.
He had long foreseen that man's choice, and was even glad to hear the news of his death.
That person who had been forcing himself to endure for thousands of years… had finally found release, fulfilling his wish to embrace death.
But he never expected, that man could actually come back to life.
And even more absurd, he'd actually flowered after death, going as far as to find a girl to torment.
The Chief Strategist, full of suspicion, said to Hua, "Maybe we shouldn't send him those supplies anymore. We can't let him bring misfortune to that girl."
Hua fell silent for a moment. Seeing the Chief Strategist wouldn't back down, he could only nod reluctantly.
The two continued quietly packing up the things to be sent to Zero.
———
Zero, meanwhile, knew nothing about any of this.
When he saw that Hua hadn't sent him any new messages, he deleted his post from the forum and started searching the internet for similar cases.
He saved a lot of templates for rejecting confessions, tapping and typing carefully into his notes app, seriously thinking over every word.
He had once promised Jingliu they would have three meals together at the Cloud Knights' cafeteria.
Now, after only one meal, he had to figure out how to politely refuse the next two.
Before Zero could come up with the right words to decline, the abominations began causing trouble again.
Tengxiao led a large group of Cloud Knights to the front lines, with no set return date.
The news came suddenly. Jingliu hurriedly sent Zero a few messages.
[Jingliu: Take your medicine properly. I'll remember to bring you a souvenir.]
[Jingliu: (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧]
Zero replied with a similar emoji as well.
He could only hope that this time, she wouldn't bring back any "abundance" abomination parts.
He stared at her messages, thinking that to himself.
All six departments were mobilized. Even the usually quiet Divination Department library was running nonstop.
Zero, too, was temporarily assigned to assist other divisions with divinations.
The war dragged on for a long time.
Even the Cloud Knights, who usually went completely silent once the fighting started, were occasionally able to send short messages to their family and friends through their jade messengers.
Jingliu would sometimes send Zero messages too, sharing some lighthearted anecdotes unrelated to the war, along with photos she had taken.
Sometimes they were stories she heard from her comrades.
In return, Zero shared bits of Luofu news and funny happenings she had missed.
And sometimes… she sent photos of abomination remains.
Zero, "…"
He really didn't know what to say.
Working in the Divination Department, he had no access to anything comparable to those creatures, so all he could do was reply with a shocked cat emoji.
Perhaps sensing that he didn't like abominations, Jingliu gradually switched to sharing other kinds of pictures.
She took many photos, of the starlit sea from the ship, of the planets her team reached, and of everything she saw and felt worth sharing.
Among them, one photo stood out the most, a peach blossom tree in full bloom, growing on a desolate planet.
This tree had not been touched by the power of the Aeon of Abundance. Its branches stretched gracefully, its blossoms in full bloom. Scattered petals were swept away by the wind, drifting to the ground.
Jingliu seemed to like the peach blossoms very much, she had taken quite a few pictures of them.
Zero was equally surprised.
Most of the battlefields reached by the Cloud Knights were barren wastelands, empty except for the abominations waiting to be cleared.
Yet this tree had somehow avoided all the chaos of war, hidden away in a corner, blooming quietly on its own.
[Zero: Rare to see flowers that can survive on a battlefield.]
[Jingliu: Mm. Very rare.]
After sending that message, Jingliu went silent again.
As the Sword Champion with exceptional swordsmanship, few could match her in combat. Naturally, she was entrusted with heavy responsibilities, constantly being summoned by her superiors.
Their conversation continued intermittently, like messages cast into a drifting bottle across a sea.
Zero couldn't help feeling wistful. Then, unable to resist, he took out his ancient coins and drew a divination for this campaign.
Seeing that the omens were favorable, he pushed the matter from his mind.
The war lasted for a long, long time, long enough for Zero to believe that time could wear away all affection.
Until one day, Zero ran into Jingliu near the Divination Department.
Her usual composure was gone.
The face that had always been cold and untouchable now showed traces of exhaustion. When she saw Zero, she froze for a moment.
Zero was shocked. "Jingliu?"
He had only recently heard that the Cloud Knights had won their battle, he hadn't known they'd returned to the Luofu so soon.
Jingliu handed him the wooden box she was carrying. Opening the lid, she revealed what was inside.
It was a single flower.
To be precise, a perfectly preserved blossom plucked from a tree.
A few petals still held dew. Some blooms were open, revealing their stamens; others were still closed buds.
It was the flower Jingliu had brought him back from the battlefield.
'When had she picked it? How had she taken such care to preserve it all this time?'
Zero didn't know.
But he did know, Jingliu must have gone to great lengths for it.
He couldn't help but raise his gaze, meeting hers.
Jiers' feelings…'
'Something is wrong. Very wrong.'
Looks like the iron tree was finally blooming.
The Strategist frowned tightly, turned around, and picked up the jade.
"In that case, I'd better check on the Interstellar Peace Corporation's operations. Maybe it's time they shut down too."
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