Lan said that Zero doted too much on his group of subordinates.
Aside from Lan, the chief strategist had also said similar things before, saying that sooner or later they would cause trouble.
Zero didn't agree with the view of one god and one man.
Could that really be called spoiling them? It was just giving each of them a few planet-destroying warships and a few vacation planets. How could that possibly count as spoiling?
Taking ten thousand steps back, even if he was spoiling them, what was wrong with that? Those were subordinates who had diligently followed him for thousands of years. Weren't they worth being spoiled?
Therefore, when he learned that they had acted on their own and taken down the entire Xianzhou, forcing him to be promoted from Yaoguang's general to the Xianzhou Marshal, Zero didn't say much.
When he learned that they had wiped out nine generations of noble families and blown up planets with colossi, he still didn't say much.
Nobles who preyed on the people deserved to die. As for pretending to comply while secretly turning around and blowing up planets, if the conditions allowed it, why not do it?
Looking back, Zero rarely got angry over any decision made by his subordinates. That held true until today, until he learned from Lan that they had made the same choice as him, and his mind instantly froze.
The emotional side of Zero urged him to give up thinking and directly seek confirmation from Lan, but the rational side had already recalled the choice he himself had made.
Erase his achievements, head toward death.
Zero didn't regret making those two choices, but if they were applied to his subordinates… no matter which one it was, he couldn't accept it.
Just like he had envisioned before, his subordinates should have lived free of illness and disaster, died of old age, and then been buried in the Forest of Ultimate Loyalty, receiving incense and reverence from later generations.
Zero didn't want to think too deeply. While struggling to control his emotions, he sought confirmation from Lan. After learning of his subordinates' choices, he couldn't even describe what he was feeling.
That feeling wasn't shock, and it wasn't anger. It was more like… being at a loss.
So Zero decisively began shooing the god away, forcing himself to think about things unrelated to his subordinates. But no matter how much he tried to divert his attention, he still had to face reality.
He couldn't help but wonder, should he blame himself?
Of course not. This was the most correct decision based on the situation at the time.
Then should he blame his subordinates?
For a moment, Zero couldn't even think of who to blame, let alone how to vent these emotions.
Uncontrollably, he began to doubt Lan's words, to doubt the true cause of death of those hundred-plus researchers.
His death… was it really, as Hua said, the last straw that broke the camel's back?
Thinking of this, Zero began to doubt Hua.
He tried to put himself in her shoes. If he were Hua, and he ran into a guardian and former superior whose mental state was extremely unstable… then he would definitely hide the truth, so as not to upset the other party.
After thinking it over, Zero took out his jade communicator and sent Hua a message.
[Zero: How are you planning to handle Daiyang's matter]
Zero's wording was very vague, but if it was his successor… she would probably use her authority to investigate his recent situation as soon as she learned he was meeting with Lan, and quickly sort everything out.
Just as Zero expected, Hua soon replied.
[Hua: There is complete, unaltered data in Xuling. It can be swapped in at any time]
[Zero: Fix all those incorrect records of theirs]
[Hua: What about your data? Not changing it?]
Zero's expression instantly froze, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
It was bad enough that Lan didn't read his suicide note, how could Hua read it and still not remember?
Zero erased his own existence for two reasons.
One was to prevent more people from following in his footsteps and dying, and at the same time pave the way for Hua, so his achievements wouldn't put too much pressure on his successor.
The other was to bait the hook, to draw aggro for Lan and increase His strength.
Wait… could it be that Hua didn't read his suicide note either? Or did he not write one for Hua? That shouldn't be the case, right?
Right after that, Hua sent another message.
[Hua: Personally, I believe the Xianzhou already possesses the power to kill an Aeon. There's no need to place all our hopes on the "Reignbow Arbiter"]
When Zero saw the words "kill an Aeon," he immediately felt relieved.
This was clearly someone he had trained.
Since she was trained by him, she definitely wouldn't disobey his orders.
[Zero: It's already deleted. Let's wait until our "Reignbow Arbiter" finds a new target]
Just as Zero was about to ask again, Hua seemed to know what he was thinking and proactively brought up Marty.
[Hua: You mentioning Daiyang reminded me of that researcher named Marty. Before you left the Xianzhou, you once had a disagreement with him on the topic of the essence of the universe]
[Hua: I don't know what world-shattering truth they discovered that led them to make such a regrettable decision… Considering how special this matter is, I instructed my subordinates to investigate in secret and ultimately only released a polished report to the public]
[Hua: This is another version of the report from Cangcheng]
After sending these messages, Hua sent Zero a document.
The jade communicator automatically downloaded it, but he didn't open it. His gaze remained fixed on the four words "essence of the universe."
Zero took several deep breaths, raised his hand, picked up the decanter, and poured himself a glass of red wine.
Right after that, Hua added another line.
[Hua: Believe me, you really were just the last straw that broke the camel's back]
Zero, "..."
The oppressive feeling that had arisen in his heart instantly dissipated when he saw that sentence.
'Hua, you really are just like Lan!'
The corner of Zero's mouth twitched as he typed a reply.
[Zero: You are the successor I chose. Of course I believe you]
On the other end of the jade communicator, when Hua saw the message, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
This move was risky, but it worked very well on the guardian.
If she deliberately avoided the issue, it would only make him suspicious.
She had instructed her subordinates to reinvestigate the Cangcheng incident, but there had been no results for a long time.
Hua suspected that Marty had not died, but in the end, it was only a suspicion.
Before finding any trace of Marty, she had no intention of telling the guardian about this.
Otherwise, if her guess was wrong, wouldn't that just give him false hope?
For now, all she could do was place her hopes in this fabricated report and in her subordinates.
She hoped that her subordinates could find Marty's whereabouts before the guardian recovered his full memories.
She looked at the message on the jade communicator, stared at the two words "believe you," and couldn't help but complain inwardly.
'Believe me? If you really believed me, that would be strange. You'd definitely flip through the report three or four times, carefully looking for loopholes, right?'
Still, this fabricated report could be said to be flawless. She had her subordinates who were skilled in psychology write it, and after reading it five or six times herself and repeatedly scrutinizing it to confirm there were no issues, she finalized the draft.
The chief strategist, who had watched the whole process from the side, looked at Hua, then at the message on the jade communicator. He hesitated for a long time, then finally couldn't hold back and asked uncertainly,
"…Should I call the Alchemy Commission over to take a look at you?"
Hua could completely understand what that person was thinking. Her state really did look worrying.
Hua, "..."