Meanwhile, Akivili stormed back to Zero's residence and ran into an attendant head-on.
The Aeon suppressed the emotions in Their heart and asked, "Where's Zero? Where is he?"
"Sir has gone out," the attendant said with a smile. "He asked us to tell you that you don't need to wait for him. Please have your meal first."
Akivili's expression eased slightly.
As the attendant led the Aeon back to Their courtyard, he said, "Sir said he's been very busy lately. If we've failed to entertain you properly, he asks for your understanding."
"When you go out, please take us with you."
Akivili thought, 'Are they afraid I'll get lost?'
"Please watch the step," the attendant reminded Them thoughtfully before continuing, "If you'd like to pick out some Xianzhou specialties for your companions, you can come to me. I know a few good shops."
Hearing that, Akivili finally realized what the other party was getting at.
They understood his intention.
Specifically asking Them to take them along when going out, then bringing up companions and local specialties...
He wanted to pay for Them.
Zero was always thoughtful. Naturally, he had considered Akivili's food, clothing, lodging, travel, and Their current situation.
Out in the universe, They were still the long-fallen Aeon of Trailblaze.
If They used Their old social accounts and bank accounts... the Conductor would definitely be furious.
As for coming back from the dead...
It would be better to tell Pom-Pom after meeting them.
Zero had obviously guessed Their plan and generously covered all of Their expenses on the Xianzhou.
Of course, that guy definitely hadn't put it so tactfully. He'd most likely told the attendants, "Put it on my tab."
The Aeon and the attendant returned to the courtyard and entered the dining room, where the others served the meal.
By the time Akivili was halfway through the meal, more than half of Their anger had faded.
Once They finished eating, the attendants quickly cleared away the dishes.
Akivili returned to the bedroom. The jade abacus in Their pocket vibrated.
They opened it and found that General Jing Yuan of the Luofu had sent twelve files.
Ten were files on women.
The remaining two were files on Zero's classmates.
After careful consideration, They selected five of the women's files and forwarded them to Aha.
The other side replied almost immediately.
[Huh? They're all women?]
Akivili instinctively felt something was wrong.
They stared at the "Typing..." indicator above and waited.
Soon, Aha sent another message.
[If some rumors accidentally spread... will his wife give him a beating?]
Akivili: "..."
'I specifically found files on women, and instead I gave Aha a new idea?'
'If they were men, you wouldn't cause trouble?'
'So you actually do care about gender!'
'No, you don't even care about species, so why do you care about gender?!'
'Then what exactly am I doing?'
'Helping Aha ruin my best friend's reputation?!'
Akivili sat on the edge of the bed with Their head in Their hands.
After a long while, They switched back to the chat with Jing Yuan.
There were still two files on men.
Should They send them?
Could those two files stop Aha from causing trouble?
'Maybe... possibly... perhaps...'
There was no way They could stop him.
They couldn't keep lying to Themselves anymore.
Akivili gave up struggling.
They had already given Aha a new idea. If They sent more...
'Wouldn't that just be adding fuel to the fire?'
When They left the General's residence, They had even declared that They were going to teach Zero a lesson.
By the time it was over, who would be teaching whom a lesson was anyone's guess.
The Aeon looked up at the ceiling and couldn't help sighing.
'My friend... you'll understand me, right?'
'Compared to being a scumbag who sleeps with anyone regardless of gender, you'd rather be known as a charming playboy, wouldn't you?'
Just as They were thinking that, the jade abacus vibrated again.
Akivili had no desire to check the messages and continued staring blankly at the ceiling.
The other side refused to stop, sending one message after another. The constant vibrations made Akivili frown, and a wave of irritation rose in Their heart.
Then They caught sight of the message on the screen.
Their frown disappeared, and Their emotions settled at once.
[Zero shared a document with you]
———
[Zero shared a document with you]
[After receiving the dividends, the Astral Express has continuously made donations across the universe in the names of the Nameless and the Galaxy Rangers]
Akivili opened one of the documents.
It contained detailed records of where every donation had gone.
Every expense was recorded down to two decimal places.
There were schools.
There were libraries.
But even more... Were roads.
Akivili froze.
They continued reading and saw more roads named after Them, the Nameless, and the Galaxy Rangers.
Countless dusty, rugged dirt roads had become broad, level roads.
Low walls and houses built from dirt and stones had gradually been replaced with taller, sturdier, and more beautiful buildings.
The fate of those barren lands had been changed.
Akivili's eyes flickered as Their gaze settled on one of the photographs.
The children were neatly dressed, their cheeks rosy.
Standing in front of a library, they grinned at the camera.
The god lowered Their eyes and lightly touched the screen, as though trying to gently pinch the cheeks of those children countless light-years away with Their fingertips, then stand beside the locals and look together toward the broad road ahead of them.
Another message popped up on the jade abacus.
[Good thing there are star rails connecting the star systems...]
Akivili thought, 'Yeah.'
Good thing there are star rails between the star systems.
Their best friend was telling Them: "Akivili, you didn't start a war."
Akivili slowly put down the jade abacus and buried Their face in the pillow.
Just moments ago, They had been talking about teaching Their friend a lesson...
They suddenly slammed Their fist against the bed.
Only one thought remained in Their mind.
'I really deserve to die!'
———
In the main building, dozens of meters away, Zero sat in the study and took off the gold-rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose.
He stared at the screen for a moment, then deleted the text that he hadn't sent yet.
This was enough.
Anything more would be inappropriate.
At the same time, in the Marshal's Office of Xuling, a group of strategists handed a document to the Chief Strategist.
The document was first placed on Hua's desk before finally reaching Zero.
After obtaining information from the parallel world, the Marshal's Office had worked overtime to produce this document.
Zero casually opened it and skimmed through it.
The strategists believed that this information had no reference value whatsoever.
Zero had expected that.
The information he had brought back was all public knowledge throughout the universe.
Then there was himself, an unexpected variable.
There were also Zandar's research results accumulated over countless cycles and preserved by the system, along with the many geniuses Zandar had gathered...
Compared to all that, the information naturally had little value.
Zero chatted with Hua for a while about the contents of the document, then casually brought up other parallel worlds.
[Hua: Is it possible that, in another parallel world, I served as Marshal for less than a hundred years before the Xianzhou produced a normal person who was accomplished in both civil and military affairs, resourceful, good at managing subordinates, cared for the people like their own children, wholeheartedly wanted to become my successor, and take over my position?]
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