Zero, expressionless, managed to fool Tengxiao into leaving, then turned back to the book archive. The many officials had already finished their work and returned to their desks, looking busy and full of energy.
But for Zero, a habitual slacker… with one glance he saw through the truth.
It was really just "no work, so they're pretending to find some." If General weren't still around, this bunch would probably have already started slacking off.
Zero held the book with the explosive title, skillfully picked a desk in a corner, and then…
He began staring blankly at the book title.
Zero didn't dare open this book at all. He kept having the illusion that with just one glance, he'd step onto a road of no return…
He took a deep breath and decided to first open the table of contents, to check along the timeline the memories he still vaguely remembered.
With his scalp tight, Zero forced himself to read, deliberately ignoring the overblown rhetoric, working hard to extract key points from a pile of clichés.
Thanks to thousands of years of work experience, this kind of thing was honestly no difficulty at all for him.
He predicted in advance that the machine lifeforms would cause trouble and start the "Emperor War"…
'Mm, fake.'
One fundamental truth was that machine lifeforms were destined to become one of the three great calamities of the universe.
Just like the most basic math problem, "one plus one equals two," it was a destined problem the entire universe had to face.
And another fundamental truth was that on his very first day of employment, the Jinren clan stirred up trouble.
As for fighting the insect plague, same logic as "one plus one." Just like a "scripted death" in a game, fight it sooner or later, fight it you must.
As for the "Propagation" Aeon that caused these disasters…
When he played through the game's story, he even killed off a Aeon in passing, didn't he?
For the sake of giving the Xianzhou Alliance greater deterrence, ignoring the small fry and instead researching how to fight high-level NPCs, that was perfectly reasonable, right?
Zero figured he himself would only put energy into improving residents' satisfaction and deterrence power. Reputation or public opinion, whatever. If his name could at least be used to "stop children from crying at night," that'd be even better.
And that weapon, the "Heavenly Fangs," which could resurrect…
His past self definitely wouldn't have wanted to let that item just sit there gathering dust.
He would have tried to be a "compassionate" good person. As for whether he succeeded or not… he didn't know.
———
Flipping through the book, Zero accidentally came across the star-destroying weapon, the Colossus.
He thought about how the Xianzhou Alliance now had only the last few planets left, and gradually understood everything.
After all, he already had Neutron Anhilation. Of course the use of the Colossus would be reduced.
And with subordinates getting into trouble one after another, he would only take back the usage permissions.
If a subordinate wanted to use the Colossus, the standards must have been stricter than ever before. Only when conditions were met would Zero have granted permission.
Besides, the Colossus had extremely obvious flaws.
Its speed and defense couldn't compare to Neutron Anhilation at all.
If described using MOBA game positions, the Colossus was like a marksman especially prone to sudden death.
To use it, it had to be paired with support, that is, a fleet to protect it.
As for Neutron Anhilation… mm, almost no weaknesses.
The destructive power was immense, and it didn't require wasting resources on protection. It could also boost the Xianzhou Alliance's deterrence.
When it shot a planet destroyed by Abundance spawn, nothing would be left. Not even minerals could be used.
…Case closed. No wonder the Xianzhou Alliance only had the last few planets left.
Zero thought his early style of doing things could already be considered "living hell incarnate"…
So Neutron Anhilation was, "blue is born from indigo but better than indigo"?
His mood was complicated. Holding his thermos, he took a sip of water and glanced at the colleagues nearby.
Some had already ordered takeout, ready to eat during work hours.
Some had left and never returned, and the others weren't surprised, probably assuming the person went home early.
'Mm, way too free.'
'This place really was the right choice.'
Zero picked up the jade tablet beside him to check the time. Seeing it was still early before the Cloud Knights got off work, he decided to ask Hua about Tengxiao's situation.
'What was going on? Why did Tengxiao sweat buckets the moment he saw me? Poor mental toughness, huh.'
But before Zero could ask, Hua came over to reprimand him.
[Hua: Stop teasing him already]
[Zero: ?]
[Hua: You scared him again]
Zero was instantly shaken.
How could he not keep up with the youngsters' way of thinking? He hadn't said anything just now, right?
It gave him a feeling of being behind the times.
Like an old man who doesn't know how to use a smartphone, stepping out the front door is already a struggle, and when he finally waits for his child to return to ask how to use it, the child is impatient and dismissive…
Tengxiao wasn't a bug born from the "Propagation" Aeon, nor a machine lifeform incited by "Rubert." So why would he be afraid of him?
Zero thought long and hard and finally found a reasonable guess.
That was, Tengxiao was a subordinate, so he feared him.
In a way, serving as his subordinate… really did count as a high-risk occupation.
Of course, the superior himself could also get into trouble while facing off against a high-level NPC.
Zero, "..."
'What kind of hellish joke was this, not funny at all.'
[Zero: Oh, then never mind]
After sending that message, Zero tried struggling a bit.
[Zero: Don't you guys feel that Neutron Anhilation fights spawn even fiercer than I did before?]
[Hua: ...]
[Zero: Got it, this is what they mean by 'a kind person gets bullied.']
[Hua: ...Are you about to fall into the Mara state already?]
Zero felt a bit emotional. Back then so many people cursed him behind his back, just relying on the fact that he was a person and not a Aeon…
Looking back now, the past really was full of hardship, every step like walking on thin ice.
[Zero: Aha too, always messing with my mentality, wanting to drive me crazy, make me kill myself, destroy Yaoqing and an entire galaxy. Yet no one dared curse him, while I could only trail along accompanying him everywhere to look for fun]
[Hua: ...Wasn't it because you yourself were also enjoying it?]
After messing with someone else's mindset, Zero felt much better, so he got up and left work early, heading toward the Cloud Knights' camp.
On the way, he also bought three drinks, two of them for Jingliu and possibly Jing Yuan, whom he might run into.
When Zero was about ten steps from the camp gate, his gaze was instantly caught by the white-haired man with an explosion of hair at the gate, and the black-haired man with dragon horns.
It was Jing Yuan and Lord Dan Feng.
Zero raised his hand to greet the two.
The two didn't seem surprised by his arrival.
Jing Yuan pulled out a smile that looked completely unwilling and waved toward Zero.
Dan Feng folded his arms and gave him a slight nod of acknowledgment.
The Dragon Lord seemed in a very good mood, actively asking about Zero's health and stating that he had dealt with the dragon monks and their subordinates, altogether around a dozen people.
Before Zero could say anything, Jing Yuan couldn't hold back and cut in, asking why Dan Feng would appear here.
The Dragon Lord pondered for a moment, then righteously said, "To watch the fun."
Zero, "..."
He really hadn't expected that the seemingly cold Lord Dan Feng would actually be someone who loved watching fun.
It's just, what fun could the Cloud Knights possibly have to watch?
Jing Yuan, "..."
'Dan Feng you brat, trying to watch your master's fun, huh!'
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