Zero's wording was very official. Even the most famous schools in the sea of stars could not compare with Zandar.
He stared at the message on the jade terminal and recalled that fable in the system backpack where "fish" was the main character.
There was one sentence in it, it went through many hardships and finally found a place to settle on this tree.
At this moment, Zero finally had a real feeling for the four words "went through many hardships."
He was robbed on the street three times in one month.
From Zandar's description, what the robbers took were expensive electronic devices.
And at that time, he himself was not even willing to let Zandar spend too much money, so he specially chose a school that did not require tuition.
Presumably, when he had lost all his money and was in a very miserable state, he would not have asked the other party for help either.
Zero did not remember when he came here, but from Zandar's words, it could be inferred that he was still very young then.
His gaze moved downward and landed on the message about "gang firefights."
At that time, he even mistook gunshots for firecrackers.
In another world, where would firecrackers come from?
Soon, Zero received a new message.
Zandar directly stated how old he had been at that time.
[But thinking about it, that makes sense. A kid who hasn't even finished high school, how mature can he be?]
Zero stared blankly at this message.
No wonder, no wonder he had been robbed three times in one month.
Back then, he had not even graduated from high school…
He was not even a college student with clear yet foolish eyes.
Just an underage, ordinary high school student.
Zero tried to put himself in that position.
A student who grew up in a peaceful era, empty-headed, suddenly came to another world, met a very famous scholar, and learned from him about all kinds of rules of this world.
Maybe he was too young, or maybe Zandar did not want to spend too much effort on him, so he suggested that he enter a university to study.
Zero knew very well they had only met by chance. Zandar had no obligation to help him.
The other party chatting with him for a few sentences, giving suggestions, helping him, a person from another world, solve his identity problem and arrange his enrollment, was already more than kind enough.
So Zero did not refuse. He came to a strange planet, a strange country, and entered university to study.
But he was used to a comfortable and peaceful environment. Without any guard, he ran into robbers and got caught in gunfights.
Zero's feelings were mixed.
He opened the star network and searched for the school Zandar mentioned. When he saw their cafeteria food, which was almost no different from kitchen garbage, he instantly fell silent.
If he had studied abroad, when he felt homesick he could at least invite a few friends to eat hometown food.
Or he could run to the embassy entrance, look at faces similar to his, and count down the days until returning home.
But he came to another world. Where would friends come from? Where would an embassy come from?
Forget delayed graduation, it was already good enough that he stayed alive.
Zero switched back to the chat interface and kept probing for more information.
Zandar clearly understood this, yet still followed his train of thought and talked about a past he himself did not know.
For example, Zero's teacher was a bad-tempered old man with a gun permit.
Another example, Zero's neighbors were either wanted criminals or reserve wanted criminals.
Zandar sent messages in an extremely relaxed tone.
[My student failed two courses, but it wasn't his fault. The subway station facilities there were not good enough and delayed his exams]
[One time someone lay on the tracks. Another time someone fired a gun randomly and detonated a bomb, blowing up the entire subway station]
Zero, "..."
Luckily Zandar took him to withdraw from school.
Zandar kept sending messages unhurriedly.
[Of course, none of that is the key point. What my student couldn't accept the most was the cafeteria food]
[I don't understand why he doesn't like eating raw button mushrooms. And what's wrong with pomegranate fried rice? Are blueberry-filled dumplings really that bad?]
Zero, "..."
His first round really was a week in deep trouble.
With one hand he held down the puppy trying to cause trouble, and with the other he typed on the jade terminal.
'Where did these weird people even come from! Why eat mushrooms raw! And who on earth thought pomegranate fried rice and blueberry dumplings were a good combination?!'
With a cold face, he argued with Zandar on the jade terminal.
The two argued based on reason. Neither convinced the other. In the end, Zandar suggested a ceasefire first, and only then did they end the conversation.
Zero put down the jade terminal and started staring blankly at the Labrador lying on his thigh.
After who knew how long, he heard footsteps. When he looked up, it was Marty.
Marty was not a long-lived species. His appearance would not stop aging like the Xianzhou people after adulthood, so he could only use his own way to extend his lifespan.
Maybe to fit into the Xianzhou, his appearance was no different from theirs and looked especially young.
Their eyes met for a moment, and tears suddenly streamed out of Marty's eyes.
Holding the puppy, Zero stood up and slowly walked to Marty's side.
'The last time Marty cried… when was it?'
Zero's expression froze for a moment. A rare trace of helplessness rose in his heart.
He opened his mouth and deliberately softened his tone. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Marty only shook his head without speaking.
The Marshal would not let him use his own patrol funds as experimental expenses…
If the chief strategist had not told him the truth, he might still be kept in the dark now, using the Marshal's patrol funds…
Obviously he himself was very rich. There was absolutely no need for the Marshal to go this far.
Thinking of this, Marty started crying again.
Zero fell silent for a moment, then stuffed the puppy in his hands into Marty's arms.
Marty's expression changed abruptly. Flustered, he tried to comfort the energetic puppy.
Seeing Marty still unwilling to speak, Zero waited quietly.
If it were official business, Marty would have told him immediately.
So this time it was not official business, but a personal matter.
After waiting a while until his subordinate stopped crying, Zero softly asked, "Feeling a bit better now?"
Marty and the Labrador in his arms both looked up at the same time, their expressions blank.
He quickly shook his head. "Not in a bad mood… I'm very happy…"
Zero pondered.
'Marty is very happy, so why is he still crying?'
A guess quickly formed in Zero's mind.
He stared steadily at Marty, expression half smiling, tone casual like chatting.
"Did someone tell you something?"
Marty's eyes widened instinctively. He looked at him in disbelief.
Zero could not hold back and laughed out loud.
"Go on. Who was it?"
Marty stiffly changed the topic and started reporting the lab's recent research results.
Usually Zero would cooperate very well. This time, he acted as if he did not hear and asked on his own, "The chief strategist?"
Marty first fell silent, then spoke weakly. "Please don't ask…"
Zero understood, held back his laughter, and nodded.
"Alright, I won't ask."
Marty braced himself and continued the report. Midway he could not help asking Zero, "How did you figure it out?"
Zero smiled. "All your thoughts are written on your face."
Marty frowned and let out a deep sigh, seemingly quite troubled by this.
After thinking for a moment, Zero suggested, "If you don't want people to see your real thoughts, you can try changing your expression."
Marty hesitated. "You mean, keep a cold face?"
Zero shook his head. He glanced at the Labrador whose expression looked exactly like Marty's and joked, "With your personality, how could you keep a cold face all the time? I mean smile more. A smile can also make people unable to guess your mood."
Marty suddenly understood.
Using a smile to hide real emotions, wasn't that exactly the Marshal?
When the Marshal faced outsiders, his whole face was smiling, only his eyes had no smile at all.
There was no desire or emotion in his eyes. It seemed he had no interest in anything.
Only when his gaze fell on subordinates did it carry a bit of warmth.
Marty thought, the chief strategist was right. He really was the Marshal's most favored subordinate. The Marshal even taught him this kind of trick.
Full of joy, he chatted with the Marshal.
While Zero chatted with Marty, it reached the time Hua finished school, and he casually said, "Speaking of which, you haven't met that child yet, right?"
Marty's smile gradually disappeared.
'That child… did he mean the child he specially sought out Zandar to teach?'
[T/N: 🫡Try the new fanfic "Naruto: Starting With Killing Ishhiki". I will really appreciate it.]"