March and Stelle were both wearing shocked expressions.
Before leaving the train, Dan Heng had specifically emphasized the various rules of the Xianzhou Alliance.
When mentioning the beliefs of the Xianzhou people, one must not directly call the Aeon of the Hunt or Marshal Zero by name.
Otherwise, there was a high chance that someone would report them to the Cloud Knights and the Ten-Lords Commission under the pretext of "five hundred thousand Patrol Arrows."
'What is Victor doing...?!'
Dan Heng subconsciously looked toward Daiyang.
As one of the few people present who knew the truth, Daiyang said nothing.
She had wanted to imitate the storybooks and put on a satisfying scene where the truth was revealed, her real identity exposed, and she walked away amid everyone's astonished cries.
Unfortunately, her father was unwilling.
Daiyang lightly glanced at the Dragon Master.
What could she do? She could only wait until tonight to talk about it.
The Dragon Master blew out his beard and glared, his hands trembling as he kept feeling around his body, seemingly trying to find his jade sign to contact the Cloud Knights.
Seeing this, Dan Heng hurried forward and stopped the Dragon Master's movements.
"...All right, all right, don't say anything."
His gaze turned toward Zero. The other party had a slight frown on his face, staring intently at the statues in the inner courtyard as if he had encountered some incomprehensible problem.
"Without approval from the Xianzhou, you are not allowed to erect a statue for someone on your own. What are you doing? Ignoring Xianzhou law?", The Dragon Master snorted coldly.
"What is this place?"
"The residence of the 'Imbibitor Lunae.'"
"It is the private property of our Vidyadhara High Elder."
"Could it be that every blade of grass and every tree placed here needs permission from the Xianzhou?"
Zero, "..."
That made so much sense that he actually had no way to refute it.
Seeing that Zero had nothing to say, the Dragon Master raised his chin even higher.
"He wants to commemorate the alliance between the Vidyadhara and the Xianzhou Alliance, and commemorate the friendship between the High Elders and the 'Father of the Xianzhou.' Is there a problem with that? No problem!"
"Forget statues. We even have murals inside!"
Zero, "..."
He opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.
It was rare for Dan Heng to see Zero at a loss for words, so he could not help looking at him a few more times.
The other party noticed his gaze and looked over. Without changing his expression, he turned his head to the side and urged the Dragon Master to lead the way.
Dan Heng thought to himself, as expected of Dan Feng.
The textbooks praised Dan Feng to the skies, saying that he was a brave and skilled warrior and an outstanding leader who knew how to command his subordinates.
Dan Heng, however, had always been very resistant to this leader.
He did not like the curriculum and future that the other party had mapped out for him.
Until now...
Dan Heng finally had a real sense of Dan Feng's abilities.
After several hundred years, the other party could actually still help him get back at Zero.
'Zero, so you have this day too!'
Dan Heng quickened his pace and walked alongside the Dragon Master, leaving Zero and Daiyang far behind.
Once he was sure the two could not hear them, Dan Heng lowered his voice and said to the Dragon Master, "Turn this place into a tourist attraction."
The Dragon Master understood immediately and patted his chest, making a solemn promise, "Leave it to me. You can rest assured..."
Daiyang fell a little behind and ended up at the back.
Zero suddenly realized something and turned his head toward Daiyang.
"Could it be... you had something like this custom-made too?"
Daiyang deliberately looked surprised, widening her eyes as she quickly came to Zero's side, her tone utterly innocent, "How could that be? I've never violated Xianzhou law."
Zero was completely unmoved by this act.
Daiyang did not argue. Instead, she emphasized that she had not broken the law.
She only dated a young man who was twenty years old. Was that against the law? No.
She had custom-made ornaments before the law was implemented. Was that against the law? Still no.
After suffering Dan Feng's backstab, Zero was even less inclined to directly point out what Daiyang meant by those words.
'Forget it.'
'Out of sight, out of mind.'
The two quickened their pace and caught up with the group.
When they reached a pavilion, Daiyang took the initiative to suggest splitting up, with one side continuing forward and the other staying behind to rest.
Two days might not even be enough to finish touring this property belonging to the High Elder.
Her father definitely could not be bothered to walk around.
Zero sat down beside the stone table without hesitation.
To everyone's surprise, Stelle raised one hand and stayed behind as well.
Daiyang narrowed her eyes slightly and continued following the others.
Without drawing attention to herself, she shifted her steps until she came alongside Dan Heng.
"What's that girl's background?"
"Don't worry, nothing will happen." Dan Heng pressed his lips together and spoke quietly on behalf of the Dragon Master. "The ignorant are innocent. Could you..."
Daiyang raised an eyebrow and smiled boldly.
"Seeing that face of yours plead with me."
"What a pleasure to look at."
"But... your sincerity isn't enough."
Dan Heng thought about it from every angle before asking, "How many Patrol Arrows?"
Daiyang was quite surprised and casually named a number.
Dan Heng hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth.
"All right, I agree."
Daiyang covered her lips and chuckled softly.
The "Imbibitor Lunae" had offered up Patrol Arrows of his own accord to save the Dragon Master's life.
'If the other "Imbibitor Lunaes" found out about this...'
'Wow, that would be too entertaining.'
She really... could not refuse.
She would decide after the train left.
If she was in a good mood, she did not mind sparing the Dragon Master's life.
Daiyang said with a smile, "All right, deal."
At the pavilion more than ten meters away, the attendants brought drinks and snacks.
Stelle stared fixedly at the face of the person opposite her.
"Victor, how's your luck?"
The other person's expression became subtle.
"...It's all right."
Stelle took out the long-distance remote and tried to recommend a game to Victor.
"Then do you want to try this game?"
Zero lowered his head. Five large words were written on the screen, "Empire Simulator."
Stelle stood up, sat down beside him, and continued, "After seeing you, I just feel like you'd definitely be good at this game..."
Under her gaze, Victor pressed the Start Game button.
At the beginning of the game, there were dozens of races for the player to choose from.
In reality, only humans could survive.
Without hesitation, Victor selected humans at a glance from among the many options.
Next came the distribution of seventy attribute points.
Victor divided the attribute points evenly among appearance, intelligence, physique, and family background.
He tapped the screen again, and his expression turned surprised.
"Hm? You get a ten-pull right at the start?"
[Obtained ten chances to draw talents]
Stelle rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
"Wait... let me take a screenshot first..."
Victor was very cooperative and handed over the long-distance remote. He even said to her, "You draw."
Stelle thought about it and decided to draw only five times, leaving the other five for Victor.
Perhaps the previous SSR had used up all her luck, because the five draws yielded nothing.
Stelle handed the long-distance remote to Victor.
He pressed the draw button.
[Talent, Good People Get Jealousy from Dogs]
]Chance of being envied by others +50%]
Stelle, "..."
Victor, "..."
He drew again.
[Talent, Good People Get Jealousy from Dogs]
[Chance of being envied by others +50%]
The two stared at each other.
Victor was silent for a moment before standing up.
"Wait a moment. I'm going to wash my hands."
When he returned, the two of them looked at the screen together.
[Talent, You're Too Naive]
[Chance of being taken advantage of by people around you +50%]
Victor refused to believe it.
[Talent, You're Too Blinding]
[Chance of being backstabbed by people around you +100%]
Victor looked puzzled.
"This is a talent?"
Stelle's mood was incredibly complicated.
"Getting backstabbed by the people around you one hundred percent of the time... I guess that counts as a kind of talent."
Victor sighed.
"There is one last chance. You do it."
Stelle shook her head.
"It's fine. It's just a game. You draw."
Victor pressed the draw button as instructed.
[Talent, UR]
[Distributable attribute points +70]
[Note, Cannot stack with SSR. After being drawn, SSR will be automatically destroyed]
Stelle's eyes widened, and she cried out, "Wow! It's a UR..."
Victor considerately asked, "Do you want to take a screenshot?"
Stelle nodded repeatedly. After she finished taking the screenshot, he asked again, "Then let's start another round and distribute the points again."
"Mm-hm." Stelle reminded him, "Victor, make sure you remember to save later."
Victor agreed.
The game officially began.
———
Age 0, you were born.
A disaster struck a neighboring star system. Fortunately, it did not affect you or your family.
You had witnessed the cruelty of war with your own eyes.
When you were five, the Empire came to the star system where you lived.
[Age 5, you and your mother followed everyone to pay your respects to the Empire's people who had rescued you.
The man surrounded by the Empire's people came before you.
His eyes were filled with pity as he gently stroked the top of your head.
"Poor child."
"From today onward, I am your father."
"You will inherit my empire."
———
Stelle, "???"
'Just by seeing you once, you were chosen by the Emperor to be the crown prince?'
Then what did she and Dan Heng work themselves to death and repeatedly reload previous rounds for?
Did that count as their effort?
Stelle thought about it and realized that she had found the right person.
Victor looked like her close friend, and he was lucky too.
Stelle looked at Victor expectantly.
For some reason, the other party was not emotionally affected by the direction of the plot. His expression had become even more subtle.
———
After exchanging glances, the Empire's people spoke up one after another to stop him.
"What?"
"What about the First Prince?"
"Your Majesty, please think this through!"
"First Prince, say something..."
You were burning with rage and were about to charge toward the culprit who had offended your mother when she wrapped her trembling arms tightly around you.
The First Prince everyone was talking about came before you.
"He doesn't mean anything else. He just... thinks highly of your child."
Your mother said in a trembling voice, "It is his honor."
[Talent activated, Good People Get Jealousy from Dogs ×2, You're Too Blinding, You're Too Naive.]
[Chance of being envied by others +100%, chance of being backstabbed +100%, chance of being taken advantage of +50%]
———
Victor looked surprised. Pointing at the bonus effect of Good People Get Jealousy from Dogs, he asked, "Why can the same talent stack?"
"I don't know..." Stelle had never drawn the same talent before, so she could not answer his question. She only said, "Save the game first."
———
[The Emperor intends to establish you as the crown prince.]
[You refused.]
———
Stelle could not understand.
'Why refuse?'
'At least give the player an option so they could accept it on your behalf!'
———
The Emperor gave the character a degree of favoritism that had never existed in previous playthroughs, placing the character and their family in the palace closest to him. It only took ten minutes of walking to reach his palace.
The character possessed the highest authority in the entire empire and could freely enter and leave the Emperor's residence.
The other party was completely undefended. If the game had provided an assassination option, the Emperor would probably have died tens of thousands of times already.
Age 6, you encounter at least three assassination attempts every day.
Fortunately, you are perceptive enough and successfully survive.
Age 7, you discover that there is not a single normal person in the Empire.
The Emperor can always express his thoughts in the most ambiguous way possible.
Age 8, you find the only normal person in the Empire, the First Prince.
The Emperor suggests naming the Empire after you, and the First Prince speaks up to stop him.
Just as you are about to be sent to a neighboring country to attend an event in the Emperor's place, the First Prince stops everyone.
Age 9, retract the previous statement. The First Prince isn't normal either.
He always uses the Emperor's way of speaking, trying to get you to let go of your hatred.
Age 10, after you remind him, the Emperor realizes that you are only a ten-year-old child who needs to go to school.
He crouches down to meet your eyes and apologizes, saying that he failed to guide you properly and hopes you won't be angry.
You, '...'
He actually apologizes to you?
All right, he seems to have become a little more normal.
———
Victor stopped what he was doing.
"Sorry, I need to take care of something."
"Hm?" Stelle scratched her head. "Then I'll wait for you to come back before continuing?"
Without Victor's help, with all those negative bonuses stacked on her... she would definitely be killed by the Empire's higher-ups!
Victor shook his head.
"It's fine. You play first."
He stood up and walked out of the pavilion, arriving at the covered walkway beside the pond.
One minute earlier, Akivili opposite them had not made a sound.
With three Aeons personally stationed here, there was naturally no chance of letting the Heliobi escape.
Considering the destructive power of the Aeon of the Hunt in the parallel world, Zero was somewhat uneasy.
He opened the voice button and asked softly,
"What happened? Akivili?"
In another cave-heaven, Akivili opened the voice button and lightly tapped his earpiece.
This was the signal they had agreed upon beforehand, representing that everything was going smoothly.
After transmitting the signal, Akivili hurriedly turned off the voice function.
The other side said, "That's good."
Akivili could not help sighing.
Their original plan had been going very smoothly.
He had thought that even if he could not hold out for half an hour, he would at least last ten minutes.
But what happened?
Aha insisted on finding some fun.
Knowing perfectly well that the Zero being played by Akivili was a descendant of the "Father of the Xianzhou," Aha still insisted on steering the conversation toward Akivili's mother, vaguely implying that after going to some place, that person had encountered the "Father of the Xianzhou."
Akivili was quite shocked when he first heard Aha's remarks.
His close friend explained the whole story to him, and only then did he understand Aha's true intention.
It was clearly just to find some fun... To ruin his close friend's reputation.
Lan knew nothing about this.
When he heard Aha spreading rumors based on that elegiac couplet, he instantly could not take it anymore and immediately rolled up his sleeves.
"What are you talking about?"
Akivili cursed Aha in his heart.
'Thousands of years had passed! How was Aha still playing with this old joke?'
Akivili tried to mediate the conflict between the two Aeons.
"Oh, come on, listen to me. It's all a misunderstanding..."
Lan gave a cold laugh.
"Heh, a misunderstanding? What kind of misunderstanding could make him ruin his reputation at his funeral?"
Akivili froze.
How could Aha find amusement at his close friend's funeral?
Akivili silently glanced at the time.
Exactly ten minutes.
Things had come to this, so they could only end the plan early.
He sighed and stepped forward to grab the Heliobi, who was wearing a face full of suspicion and was about to leave.
He made a hand signal, and the Cloud Knights, who had been waiting for a long time, stepped forward one after another.
Akivili turned around and looked at the two Aeons, whose conflict was on the verge of erupting.
Aha was still fanning the flames, fiddling with his handkerchief with both hands.
"What misunderstanding? Everything I said was true."
Lan replied without hesitation, "He couldn't possibly have gone to that kind of place."
"For these five thousand years, he has always kept himself clean. He has never done anything like that."
Aha was silent for a moment before unable to hold back his question, "Is that really something worth mentioning?"
"Being single for five thousand years, no, being single your whole life, what's there to talk about? Don't some humans find that embarrassing?"o