Of course, if someone of that level wanted to take his life, there was no way an ordinary man like him could escape.
It would definitely be written off as an "unexplained accident."
Besides, they were on the Luofu right now, this "God of Slaughter" had home-field advantage.
The bearded man was in utter agony.
His heart was pounding like crazy as he forced himself to look up into those warm-colored eyes that somehow still sent chills down his spine.
Zero poured a glass of water for Jingliu, glanced at the company executive across the table who was sweating buckets, and smiled at him.
"Nothing serious," Zero said lightly. "I just want to buy something."
The bearded man, "..."
'Buy what? My life, maybe? That wasn't worth paying for!'
His facial muscles kept twitching. In a flash, he rewrote his response seven or eight times in his head before settling on something safe.
Taking a deep breath, he asked cautiously, "What… exactly do you want to buy?"
Zero felt speechless.
This man's expression and tone were full of holes, if Jingliu and Baiheng looked any closer, they'd definitely sense something was off.
So Zero put on a friendlier expression, deliberately softened his tone, and said again, "I told you, no need for formalities. Why are you looking at me like I'm some kind of monster?"
Both Baiheng and Jingliu looked up at that.
The fox woman blinked, glancing from Zero to the trembling executive, then smiled. "Yeah, don't be so nervous. Zero's really nice…"
But as Baiheng kept talking, her tone suddenly shifted. "Jingliu's always praising you, saying you're great at understanding others, and that you're especially good at taking care of people…"
At those words, the executive quickly snatched up his water glass and used it to hide his face, which was about to crack.
Baiheng, who are you talking about? This man? The one who's "great at understanding others"? "Takes care of people"?
Well… when it came to taking care of people, she wasn't wrong.
At least, his subordinates had only good things to say about his conduct.
Even the women who had met him couldn't stop praising him.
Anyone who had ever worked under the former Marshal never wanted to leave, retire, or transfer. They just wanted to keep serving loyally until the day they died.
But that was if you counted as "a person" in the former Marshal's eyes. The swarm and Mara-strucks didn't qualify.
The executive sighed inwardly. As expected of Baiheng, he thought. No wonder all her colleagues speak so highly of her. I'm convinced.
He took a small sip of water, but hadn't swallowed yet, when the living hell god across from him suddenly changed his tone.
Zero rested his chin in his hand, tilted his head toward Jingliu, and said in a soft, teasing voice, "Really? I didn't know that. Mind saying it to my face?"
The executive choked on his water. His face flushed bright red as he clutched his mouth and coughed violently.
The fox woman immediately dug through her bag for tissues and handed them to him.
Jingliu, "..."
Didn't know? She definitely had praised him before.
When it was just the two of them, she'd mentioned his good qualities.
But saying it in front of friends and outsiders? She couldn't.
Jingliu felt utterly helpless. She avoided his gaze.
She didn't even need to look to know that those amber-clear eyes of his were probably curved in amusement right now.
He looked a bit like the cat Jing Yuan often mentioned, the kind that deliberately knocked over a water cup just to test its owner's patience, and when it finally pushed too far, it would turn around and look innocent.
It seemed that ever since that night, he'd changed.
He'd started to show a mischievous side, teasing her on purpose, calling her "big sister."
'So annoying.'
'…But also, kind of adorable.'
This was a side of Zero she'd never seen before.
The old Zero had always been gentlemanly, composed, attentive to detail, considerate of every woman he met.
Even to her, the Swordmaster herself, he'd shown special concern for her safety and her feelings.
As if, in his eyes, nothing that happened could ever really be a big deal.
What had he gone through?
Jingliu didn't know. She had no idea what hardships had shaped that calm, grounded personality of his.
She didn't know why he always put himself down.
She didn't know why, when he realized her feelings, he'd hinted that she shouldn't like him, that she deserved better, and that he wanted to push her away.
Jingliu couldn't understand. But as the Swordmaster, patience was one thing she had in abundance.
Years of training, countless battles with abominations, she had long learned to wait. Her willpower far surpassed that of ordinary people.
If he didn't want to talk, that was fine. She could wait.
Wait until he was ready to open up to her.
That's what she told herself.
She pulled her thoughts back when the waiter arrived with their food, used the moment to change the subject, and picked up a piece of meat for Zero. "Come on, eat."
Zero sighed a little, disappointed, then picked up his chopsticks and took a bite.
Once the executive had recovered from nearly choking to death, Zero said, "I just want to buy some stones I like."
The bearded man echoed dumbly, "Stones you like?"
And then his brain went into overdrive.
Even after being dead for centuries, the former Marshal still had fanatically loyal subordinates who worshiped him like a god. Some had stayed in the Xianzhou; others had become Cloud Knights.
Forget about "stones you like", if he wanted his old marshal's position back, all it would take was a single word.
So why would he need to come to him, an ordinary salaryman, through Baiheng, of all people?
What had the former Marshal liked again? Oh, right, blowing up planets and messing with people's minds.
So "stones he likes"… could that mean debris from those planets? Mineral fragments?
But the Xianzhou Alliance had used up all the ore from those explosions. None of it ever hit the open market.
'Wait, did that mean someone in the Alliance had been skimming off the top? Selling the ore for private profit?'
'And this living hell god had found out?!'
That couldn't be right. If something like that had really happened, those mad-dog subordinates of his would've already taken care of it.
Then why involve the Interstellar Peace Corporation? Was the company part of his next grand scheme?
He must be plotting some enormous move. A galaxy-level chess game.
But the executive wanted no part of it. He didn't want to die a pawn.
Zero watched him, his face shifting like a stage mask, thoughtful one moment, enlightened the next, then terrified again.
Zero, "..."
Where had his brain wandered off to now?
Since he didn't get it, Zero clarified again. "Pretty stones. That's all."
The bearded executive thought and thought, but no matter what, he couldn't out-think this devil.
If the man wanted to trick him, he'd probably help count the money after getting sold off.
Whether the company got dragged in or not was above his pay grade anyway, so he decided to just go along.
"Pretty stones, right?" he said quickly.
"As it happens, the company's holding an auction soon. If you're interested, I can give you the contact for the person in charge. They'll send you an invitation."
The man's brain was about to melt down.
If this living devil really planned to start with their company, he could only cooperate and follow protocol.
Logically speaking, someone of his rank shouldn't have to go through a company auction at all.
After all, this was the former Marshal that upper management had drilled into their memories.
Not only terrifying in deeds, but with a face that had won over countless female shareholders.
If he hadn't been too proud to use marriage alliances as a tactic, the company would've been under Xianzhou control by now.
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