Zero, for once, actually listened to the Strategist's words. He left slowly, turning to step onto the streets of Yaoqing, a place he hadn't properly looked at in a long time.
Before, whenever he and his subordinates walked this road, the warm-hearted Yaoqing people would always stop him, stuffing all sorts of little gifts into the pockets of his clothes.
Fortunately, Zero had deleted all personal information from the textbooks ahead of time. Now, no one remembered him. Other than his subordinates, no one could recognize who he was.
Soon, dark clouds gathered together. Heavy raindrops began to fall one by one, and passersby quickened their pace to avoid the downpour.
Rain gradually dampened Zero's hair.
He only realized after a moment, it was the day Yaoqing was supposed to rain.
Looking around, Zero saw a pavilion not far away. Just as he was about to turn toward it, a small child with short gray-blue hair appeared in his line of sight.
As if compelled by some unseen force, Zero's gaze locked on the child's dazzling blue eyes.
He thought, Found it.
He had found someone who could use the Dust of Rebirth, someone who could take his place.
Maybe it was because the child's hair and eyes resembled a certain person from his broken memories too much.
So Zero was utterly convinced that the child could wield Dust of Rebirth.
Even though this guess had no basis at all, and didn't fit his usual logical style, he couldn't tear his eyes away, watching as the child ran all the way to the pavilion.
Suppressing the joy rising in his chest, Zero opened the child's profile. He saw that, apart from scientific research, every other stat was nearly identical to an SSR.
At that moment, he couldn't hold back his expression anymore. He followed along, running toward the child.
The heir was still young, so there was plenty of room for growth.
Zero didn't know what to say. Out of nowhere, he blurted, "It's raining and you actually know to hide? You're so smart!"
The moment he said that, he realized how exaggerated his tone sounded, like an actor performing in an opera.
As expected, this child, his promising future successor, did not lower their guard.
The child's expression was full of pity, as if he were looking at a lunatic.
Zero didn't mind. He took a few quick steps forward, closing the distance before the child could react. One hand grabbed the back of the kid's collar, the other pulled out his jade terminal.
[Picked up a kid, she want to come home with me]
Before he could finish, a sharp pain shot through his chest and neck.
———
[Back to the Current Time]
It felt as if something heavy was pressing on his chest, and a blade had sliced through the skin of his neck.
He struggled to lift his hand and touched his neck, expecting to feel hot, sticky blood, but instead he felt soft fur. Pinching again, it was thick flesh.
In a daze, Zero looked down into the eyes of the "heavy object."
It let out a high-pitched meow.
A cat.
Jade.
Zero pushed against the half-ton beast on his chest. "...Ancestor, get off, you're about to crush my ribs!"
After a long shove, the fat cat finally got off him slowly.
Zero tugged open the collar of his robe and looked down. Sure enough, four paw marks were stamped across his chest.
He reached up to touch his neck, where he had felt the sting earlier, and saw blood.
Irritated, he grabbed the cat by the scruff. He had wanted to lift it up, but considering its weight, far beyond that of any normal cat, he gave up.
He decided to dock Pig Meow's entire monthly ration of canned food.
Getting up, Zero went to the bathroom, rinsing the bleeding scratch under cold water. After a while, the bleeding finally stopped.
As for whether he needed a shot... it was a house cat. Not a big deal. No need to make a fuss.
He forcibly dragged himself out of those earlier memories.
Opening his jade terminal, he checked both Jingliu's messages and the work group, no new updates.
He couldn't help himself and opened the chat with the current Luofu general, skipping past Tengxiao's emotional essays and scrolling straight to his own obituary.
The date was too close to the Charmony Festival.
'So... that was why they chose to die?'
He kept reading, reaching a report from the Laboratory.
It included a list of the researchers who had left on the same day.
The list wasn't alphabetized by name, but ranked from the highest to lowest positions.
So the first name Zero saw, was Marty.
He kept reading. Some names were familiar, others weren't. The familiar ones, those researchers had all graduated from schools built with Xianzhou aid.
Other than Marty, Zero hadn't interacted with most of them.
According to the timeline, they had probably, like Marty, chosen mechanical ascension, transferring their consciousness, continuing their long lives. Even if Zero had known them, in their long timeline, he only occupied a small part.
Why did he leave on the day his obituary was released?
He suspected it wasn't just because of him.
Could it be... that Hua was right? That he really was just the last straw that broke the camel's back?
That shouldn't be. He'd left them letters. As long as he read those letters, he'd never have chosen death.
His gaze lingered on Marty's name. He didn't know how to describe his feelings.
A steadfast materialist, wavered, even for a moment.
Marty, martyr.
Their names, so inauspicious.
Then Hua's name... also not too auspicious, right? All he wanted now was to slack off, not be called back into service.
Zero's heart was a mess of emotions.
In the memories he'd forgotten, he and his subordinates had met for the first time, and reunited.
That was a past he couldn't change.
'Wait... not completely unchangeable.'
He remembered his special constitution, High-Dimensional Invader.
He could not only break the "immortality" curse but even kill Aeons.
Of course, only if he could reach their true forms. Killing avatars was boring.
If he wanted to rewind time, the simplest way was to stab his best friend, Fuli.
Unfortunately, now that he had regained these memories, that friend would never come find him again.
He sighed with regret.
Then he recalled what Lan had said before knocking him out, "You didn't fail. You succeeded."
So, what did Lan mean? That he'd succeeded in killing the Aeons, or in uplifting the Xianzhou people?
Zero knew that whether he asked Lan or Aha, neither would give him an answer.
His eyes fell again on Marty's name.
He remembered Marty excitedly explaining their ideas to him, from the jade terminal capable of detecting Mara-struck, to the neutron cannon that could indiscriminately erase intelligent life...
Marty had never disappointed his expectations.
Oh, and that special consciousness-transfer technology too.
So maybe Marty hadn't really died? Maybe their consciousness was stored somewhere?
He thought about it endlessly, but soon dismissed the idea.
Since Hua had already investigated, he chose to trust Hua's ability and judgment.
Finally, he recalled their discussion about the massive computer, one capable of controlling stellar destroyers and colossi across galaxies with immense computing power.
In his memory, that computer hadn't yet been built, Marty was still overcoming technical hurdles.
But Zero believed in Marty's skill. Surely he'd succeeded. That computer must now be in Hua's hands.
As for a machine uprising? Impossible.
He and the Xianzhou had fought countless mechanical intelligences bent on eradicating organic life, he'd made his stance on that very clear.
Marty, his SSR, would've known that well.
To such a computer, the command "obey the Xianzhou Marshal" would outweigh all others.
He trusted Marty. he would never allow a rebellion.
Back then, he didn't have those resources, just endless 007 workdays. Hua's job now must be so much easier.
Speaking of which... what name would Marty have given the computer?
Holding the jade terminal, Zero remembered his SSR's terrible naming sense. Instinctively, he muttered, "Don't tell me he called it Jade Terminal?"
He thought for a bit. Maybe he was the one who named it.
If it were him...
"I'd probably name it Marty, huh?"
Then he quickly dismissed the idea.
He'd once tried to use Marty's name to build schools and charities across other planets, and Marty had rejected it every time.
After thinking it over, remembering that "flag-filled" name, he murmured, "Surely he didn't call it 'Martyr,' right?"
As soon as he finished, the jade terminal in his hand vibrated, and a genderless electronic voice spoke, "Marshal, long time no see."
There was only him and one fat cat in the house, a cat capable of killing Abundance spawn with a single swipe, so hearing a voice suddenly made him jump. His hand trembled; he almost dropped the jade terminal.
The voice, still monotone, continued, "At last, we meet again in the future."
"I am honored to have the chance to serve by your side once more."
Before Zero could even process that, the voice dropped another bombshell that made his mind go blank.
"Marshal, you possess the highest clearance in the entire Xianzhou Alliance. You may, for instance, activate the Aether Resonance Engine, or deploy weapons such as the Burning Heaven Arsenal or Colossi."
"Would you like to activate the Aether Resonance Engine?"
Zero was speechless, stunned by the impact of those words.
When he didn't respond, the voice repeated, "Would you like to activate the Aether Resonance Engine? Considering your current location in Luofu, if you wish to deploy Burning Heaven weapons or Colossi from other Xianzhou fleets, the delay will be approximately twenty-four system hours."
After a pause, Zero asked, "How... did you do this?"
The electronic voice began to explain the remote command technology in painstaking technical detail.
Zero, 'Thanks, I understood none of that.'
Typical Marty handiwork, just like Marty himself. Once he started talking tech, he never stopped.
He forced himself to listen for a while, his head spinning with jargon, like he was back in school struggling through a math lecture.
The voice, apparently smarter than he expected, soon ended its explanation on its own and asked again if he wanted to start the engine.
Zero had no intention of rebooting anything and declined without hesitation.
Besides, if he really wanted to "restart," he could just go find Fuli. One swing of the blade would be faster than any engine.
After his refusal, the voice spoke again, answering his earlier question, saying it had found him through voiceprint comparison.
Zero didn't ask why it had only activated now.
He knew himself well, if he could treat Lan's arrows as an annoyance, there was no way he'd trust some mysterious voice from his jade terminal.
He just hadn't expected that the voice would know him so well.
He guessed, "Seems like we spent a long time together once."
The voice replied, "Yes, Marshal."
His memories only went up to the moment he met Hua. He couldn't help but ask, "So... how did you get along with Hua?"
The voice fell silent.
Zero hesitated, then rephrased, "How did you get along with the current Marshal?"
This time, the jade terminal made no sound at all.
Zero, "???"
Confused, he stared at it for a long while. Still no response.
At that moment, Jade circled his legs, meowing in a sweet tone to demand attention.
Hearing that particular meow, Zero immediately knew, the cat was hungry.
Only when it was hungry did Jade sound like that. Any other time, it just howled like a broken drum.
He shoved the jade terminal into his robe pocket and walked toward the courtyard, where the cat's bowls and toys were kept.
When he reached the courtyard, he immediately saw a blue-haired, black-eyed young man sitting at the stone table.
Lan looked up and nodded. "Long time no see."
Zero nodded back, then filled the food bowl, holding it in one arm along with the cat as he walked over.
After sitting down, he set both the cat and the bowl on the table.
He thought of those days long ago, how he and other students, born under the gaze of "Reignbow Arbiter," had been expected to achieve greatness, drowning in endless homework. He couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.
So, when he'd made Lan do homework before, that had been wrong? When he'd tried to build Lan's reputation, that had been wrong too?
'So this was revenge, huh?'
Zero smiled gently. "So this is your 'Hunt'?"
Lan, face still expressionless, shook his head. "…No. It's because of the contract."
He meant, 'the promise between us.'
Zero blinked. "You mean, you found me through the contract?"
Lan nodded.
Hearing that, Zero frowned. He hadn't expected that kind of effect from their contract.
While stroking the cat's head, he asked, "Did you read the letter I had the Strategist give you?"
Lan froze for a moment, not replying.
Zero didn't mind. After all, Lan wasn't human, doing weird things was normal.
Besides, their contract stated that as long as the Xianzhou needed it, Lan would act.
That was enough to put him at ease. He continued, "How did you get along with her?"
Both of them knew "her" referred to the current Marshal of the Xianzhou.
At that, Lan didn't hesitate and said flatly, "Hua is different from you. She's very good."
Zero, "…"
Expressionless, he said, "Say that again."
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