Guanliang held back his laughter.
'This guy... has completely forgotten.'
Forgotten that he was the one who got tricked into marriage.
Instead, he followed their train of thought and started thinking about the wedding...
As he thought this, Guanliang's expression froze for a moment.
While replaying the earlier conversation in his head, he continued speaking, "Sure, this is your wedding with Jingliu..."
Zandar continued, "But both sides should sit down and discuss it properly."
After speaking, he looked at Guanliang, then at the jade abacus beside him.
Guanliang understood immediately. Under Zero's gaze, he picked up the jade abacus and said with a smile, "No time like the present. Let's do it today. I'll message Hua right now..."
He realized a problem.
Zandar had controlled the pace from beginning to end.
Even Zero had been led along by him.
Zero hadn't even questioned why the two of them were together in the same place.
A faint light flashed in Guanliang's eyes. After sending the message, he set down the jade abacus and glanced at the password case beside him containing Zero's blood samples.
When it came to intelligence, he knew he couldn't compare to Zandar.
It was better to work backward from the result.
After the three of them talked, Zero started considering the wedding.
That was the result.
Which meant their goals were aligned.
Guanliang quickly made a decision.
Trust Zandar. When necessary, he would cooperate with him.
When he looked up again, Zero was staring at him expressionlessly.
Guanliang accepted this calmly.
Control freaks were all like this.
Zero was used to the entire world, the entire universe revolving around him.
Once something went out of control, someone would solve the unstable factor for him.
But this time, could Zero solve it? No, he couldn't.
Guanliang suddenly realized why Zero deliberately hid his abilities.
Rich people spent credits recklessly in entertainment venues looking for excitement, or indulged themselves in beauty.
Yet the money and power they pursued were things that came easily to Zero as the Marshal of the Xianzhou.
The emptiness after having every desire fulfilled made him unwilling to stay in a high position, unwilling to become the center of attention again.
Because of that, he deliberately hid his abilities and kept living a plain life.
Guanliang withdrew his thoughts. The two people across from him had already changed topics again.
They started talking about Cangcheng, the project the Xianzhou had been forced to shelve a thousand years ago.
Zandar looked as though he was recalling something.
"I remember back then you wanted to deal with what the Aeon of Abundance left behind?"
"You might as well use that money to rebuild a giant ship instead."
Zero replied, "I know."
"That depends on Matthias's wishes."
He paused briefly before continuing,
"After that, it'll be decided by the Xianzhou Marshal."
Zandar nodded, then suddenly changed the subject again.
"Oh, speaking of the Genius Society..."
"One of its members was dealt with by the Galaxy Rangers."
Guanliang said nothing.
Who told that member to break the law and use humans as experimental subjects?
What? Was Zandar trying to pressure the Xianzhou over this?
Before Guanliang could figure it out, the topic between the two changed again.
Their thoughts jumped from the Genius Society member who deserved death to the unwritten internal rules of the IPC.
Guanliang focused hard, trying to keep up with their train of thought, but the topics changed too quickly. In the end, he had no choice but to give up.
He barely managed to remember a small portion.
Like how the IPC favored followers of Preservation.
Of course, even if the company suppressed employees who once believed in other Aeons, they wouldn't make it obvious.
The two talked about everything under the sky. Their conversation involved the state of the galaxy and civilizations across star systems.
Zandar even brought up gossip about famous people.
And now, they were discussing a certain famous cuisine from the galaxy.
Zandar especially liked this cuisine, while Zero strongly disliked it.
Zero frowned slightly. "Spending three or four hours on one meal? Waste of time."
Zandar smiled helplessly. "You should try enjoying life."
After saying that, he still wore a smile as he wrapped an arm around Zero's shoulders and softly asked, "Who else knows your secret?"
Zero froze for a moment.
He reacted quickly and returned the smile, "Don't worry, they're all our own people."
Zandar chuckled softly. "All your own people? Sounds like quite a few."
Zero showed nothing on his face, but he kept carefully choosing his words in his head.
Unexpectedly, Zandar simply smiled at him and said nothing more.
It looked like the matter had passed.
Suspicion rose in Zero's heart. He deliberately softened his tone.
"Teacher Zandar..."
Zandar stared at him steadily, then withdrew the arm around his shoulders and shook his head with a sigh.
"You only call me teacher when you want something from me, or when you feel guilty."
Zero, "..."
Zandar turned his head and held out a hand toward Guanliang.
Zero looked at the two of them.
Only then did he realize a problem.
He had come to find Zandar... so why was Guanliang here too?
Guanliang took a deep breath. Under the scrutinizing gaze of his former boss, he carefully placed the password case beside him flat onto the dining table.
He tightly gripped the handle of the case with no intention of letting go.
Zero already had a vague guess in his heart.
Inside the case... was his blood.
Zandar spoke earnestly, "Your subordinate didn't investigate your whereabouts."
"I invited him here."
"All of this is for..."
Zandar paused briefly, then slowly added the second half sentence by sentence.
"For the Xianzhou."
Zero hesitated inwardly.
'For the Xianzhou? Did Zandar mean he supported using my blood to solve mara-struck?'
But from his tone... it didn't sound like that.
The corner of Guanliang's mouth twitched.
'Don't say things like that in a tone that sounds like "Why aren't all the Xianzhou people dead yet"!'
Zandar seemed to realize it too and added, "This is also for you and your parents, Eric."
Zero suddenly remembered a certain technology Zandar had mentioned before.
Using blood to reproduce offspring.
Uncertainly, he asked, "Zandar, you're not planning to use this blood to..."
"Exactly." Zandar smiled and interrupted him. "You're different from them."
"You need at least one child to inherit the family business."
Guanliang thought to himself, 'What era is this?'
'Does Zero's family have a throne to inherit or something?'
'Wait, doesn't the position of Marshal count as a throne?'
Guanliang was genuinely curious about the two godlike people who raised Zero, so he carefully probed, "Family business? Like earning eight figures a year?"
Zandar shrugged, "Then Eric's family would already be bankrupt."
Guanliang, "..."
'Eight figures a year counts as bankrupt?! Zero's family really does have a throne to inherit?!'
Zandar smiled brightly. "Eric, do you like boys or girls? I don't think children should be raised in too large a number. Just raise a dozen or so with personalities similar to yours."
Guanliang, "..."
'This is hell, right?'