It was right at mealtime. The barbecue restaurant was packed, with people filling every seat. Everyone was consciously keeping their voices down as they talked with the people next to them.
Compared to the lively atmosphere everywhere else, Zero's table was way too quiet.
The moment the kid heard that Zero hadn't brought patrol beacons, they panicked. While putting down their chopsticks, they tried really hard to keep their expression under control.
Just like a kid who's had a fight with their parents and deliberately slams the door loud enough to shake the house, determined to make sure the adults know they're upset.
Like they've sworn to become a heartless study machine from now on, just so their parents will regret everything.
Unfortunately, that kind of disguise is completely obvious to adults.
The kid was trying to hide their panic, but Zero saw through it at a glance.
Toward the heir he had chosen, he showed a rare bit of patience.
Zero tried to put himself in the kid's shoes.
If he were walking down the street and suddenly ran into someone who started praising him as smart and dragged him into a barbecue shop to eat grilled meat…
And then, halfway through the meal, that person said they hadn't brought any money.
Zero, "..."
What mental hospital did this lunatic escape from?
Zero's expression slowly stiffened.
If it were him… the next step would probably be to look for a chance to call the Cloud Knights, right?
If he, the Xianzhou Marshal, got arrested by the Cloud Knights on his own turf…
Forget Aha, who loved watching chaos, even the Strategist, who was on bad terms with him and was now on the brink of death, would probably climb out of his sickbed just to laugh at him.
Zero lowered his head and looked at the kid beside him, who looked calm on the surface but was actually panicking.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again.
How was someone who had fallen into mara supposed to prove to others that he wasn't crazy?
Zero couldn't think of an answer, so he simply kept his head down and went on grilling meat.
In a public place like this, there was no way he could lay a hand on the kid.
If his heir was smart enough, they wouldn't take the risk of provoking a crazy person by asking strangers for help. They would just wait for a chance to act.
As for the patrol beacons… Zero trusted his subordinates and the guards they had chosen for him.
With more than ten people, surely they'd find him.
Just as the atmosphere between the two of them froze, a server hurried over and set down a bottle of alcohol before turning to leave.
Reality proved that Zero had overestimated his heir.
He had ignored the kid's age and their mental resilience.
Right in front of Zero's eyes, the kid suddenly stepped up onto the seat, instantly drawing the attention of some of the people around them.
Pointing at Zero, the kid shouted, "Uncle, call the Cloud Knights for me, he's a human trafficker!"
The moment people heard that, they all looked over.
Zero kept an awkward but polite smile on his face and looked back at everyone.
He thought, this was on him.
No matter how amazing his heir's stats were… they were still just a kid.
The server who had brought the alcohol stopped, then came back to their table.
With a grin, the server said, "So… you had a fight with your dad?"
The kid frantically waved their hands, denying any relationship between them. "He's not my dad, he's a trafficker."
Zero, right on cue, showed a helpless expression with a hint of bitterness.
Seeing this, the Yaoging locals beside them believed the server's guess even more.
They didn't take it seriously.
Come on, this is the Xianzhou! This is Yaoging.
Who would dare to traffic kids here?
Aren't they afraid they'll go to the Ten Lords Commission and never come out?
Because the one saying it was a child, they had to be patient.
Some people followed the kid's words and tried to comfort them, "Hey, this is the Xianzhou, this is Yaoging. How could there be bad people here?"
Others started giving earnest advice, "Even if you argued, you can't call your dad a trafficker. How hurt he'd be..."
Hearing this, Zero frowned, looked at the kid, and let out a deep sigh.
The kid stared at Zero in disbelief.
Everyone around them chimed in.
"Don't worry, if he really is a trafficker, the Cloud Knights will come get him in a bit!"
"Our Xianzhou is very safe."
"Yeah, and besides, what kind of trafficker would take a kid out for barbecue?"
Kid, "..."
Seeing that no one believed them, the kid could only keep a stiff face and sit back down.
The server smiled and walked away.
With a look like they were watching their last lifeline, the kid watched the server leave. After pulling their gaze back, they asked in a serious voice, "Why did you even order alcohol?"
This bad guy was really strange… didn't bring patrol beacons, and still ordered alcohol?
But that was fine. When they got detained later, at least they wouldn't be trafficked to some remote planet.
Zero had no idea what the kid was thinking.
How would he know he hadn't brought patrol beacons?
Oh, right, these days the Xianzhou supported paying with jade communicators. And facial recognition, too.
But unfortunately, Zero had neither a jade communicator nor a usable face.
The reason was simple, the Yaoging people who used to recognize his face and bring him all kinds of snacks had long since died.
And now, his appearance was top-level classified information of the Xianzhou Alliance, so of course it couldn't be entered into the system.
As for the alcohol the kid mentioned… well, he had just ordered it along with the food.
Zero took the cup by the kid's hand, poured a bit of alcohol into it, and put it back.
The kid's expression went from panic to shock. They stared at the cup for a long time without saying anything.
Zero immediately understood.
From that look… they probably had never drunk alcohol before.
No problem. Under his guidance, this kid would learn how to drink today.
Zero didn't think there was anything wrong with that idea at all.
Very considerately, he took a clean pair of chopsticks, dipped them in the alcohol, and then put them into the kid's hand.
Holding the chopsticks, the kid said something completely unrelated, "The barbecue's going to burn."
Zero assumed the kid just wanted to eat, so he immediately turned to the grill and flipped all the meat one by one. When he turned back, the kid was pretending to be calm, gripping the barbecue scissors tightly with both hands, silently staring at him.
Zero, "..."
This kid… weren't they afraid he'd hurt them with a sharp tool?
So they grabbed it first? So they could fight back later?
Zero couldn't help questioning his life.
Did he really look like a bad guy?
No... The kids in Yaoging used to like him a lot.
Fine. If he fed them a few more times, they'd relax, right?
Oh, and he also had to get rid of their worries, so they wouldn't think he and the barbecue shop owner were working together to poison them.
Zero picked up his chopsticks and put a piece of meat into his mouth.
This time, when he fed the kid, they didn't resist.
Zero never expected to get along peacefully with his heir.
SSR characters were rare. Just running into this kid on the street was already lucky.
Even parents and children didn't always get along, let alone him and a kid with no blood relation.
If they didn't get along, that was fine. As long as the handover went smoothly in the end.
Thinking of the heir's feelings, Zero deliberately left the barbecue that needed scissors for last.
He put an entire strip of pork belly on the grill. When it was almost done, he put it straight onto the kid's plate.
The kid and Zero stared at each other. Extremely carefully, the kid switched the scissors to the hand farthest from Zero, picked up their chopsticks, took a bite of the meat, then slowly put the chopsticks down.
The kid said concisely, "Not cooked."
Zero said "Oh," and put the meat back on the grill.
The two of them stared intently at the meat.
Not long after, a group of people entered the restaurant. Their expressions were serious as they looked around. When their eyes fell on Zero, their bodies immediately relaxed.
They knew the Marshal well and knew he liked peace and quiet, so each of them had been assigned different time slots.
They exchanged glances. After shooting a look at the colleague who was scheduled to make contact with the Marshal today, they spread out in an orderly way, some went to the counter to pay, others went to talk to the owner.
One of them quickened his steps and came to their table. "Mar..."
The subordinate abruptly stopped and changed his words midway, lowering his voice.
"My lord, if you don't want us following you, at least bring your jade communicator…"
Zero smiled and softly comforted him.
"Alright, just this once, okay?"
Hearing that tone, like someone coaxing a child, the subordinate's face instantly flushed. He didn't say anything, just lowered his head and tried hard to keep his expression under control.
Zero reminded him, "This is Yaoging. Just delete the footage. There's no need to smash patrol beacons to silence anyone."
The subordinate nodded. When he looked at the table, he subconsciously frowned.
Every ingredient delivered to the Marshal's residence was top-grade.
Whether poultry or vegetables, they were all raised and grown by dedicated specialists.
The subordinate quickly said, "If you want barbecue, you just have to say so..."
Zero shook his head. "No need to go to that much trouble."
He tilted his chin slightly toward the kid.
"Picked this one up on the road. Check on them and help find their parents."
If their parents couldn't be found… then the kid would be his.
Looking at the meat still left on the grill, Zero turned to the kid, who was on full alert, and said, "We'll pack it up later and eat it tomorrow."
Since he was going to raise a qualified heir, he had to start with small, ordinary things.
He couldn't raise some useless person who said, "Why not just eat meat porridge?"
Seeing the kid's expression, the subordinate knew that their Marshal had been misunderstood again.
The Marshal was actually very nice, but there was always a small group of people who were biased against him.
The subordinate gently coaxed the kid, and even showed his ID. Only then did the kid slowly relax and let go of the scissors.
While listening to the two of them talk, Zero idly observed the kid.
At some point, the kid's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and they kept pressing a hand to their stomach.
Zero hesitated. "Does something hurt?"
It wasn't because they ate his grilled meat, was it?
The kid didn't look at Zero. They looked at his subordinate and said to him, "My stomach hurts…"
Zero hesitated. "How about… I carry you to the Alchemy Commission?"
The kid covered their stomach and shook their head weakly, refusing Zero.
The subordinate immediately stood up. "How could we trouble you? I'll carry her!"
This time, the kid didn't refuse.
The server quickly packed up the food. As Zero took the takeout bags, he thought, this brat just has a bias against him, doesn't she?
He followed behind the subordinate all the way to the Alchemy Commission.
The Head Alchemist had already gotten the message and was waiting in the ward. After seeing the patient, he quickly came to a conclusion.
With confidence, the Head Alchemist said, "Marshal, rest assured. This child is fine, they just ate something wrong. If you're worried, you can let the child stay at the Alchemy Commission for a few days."
Zero almost couldn't keep a straight face.
So it really was his grilled meat.
Since he didn't understand medicine, he naturally followed the Head Alchemist's suggestion.
"Then let them stay here for now."
After that, Zero turned to the kid and asked, "Are you a boy or a girl?"
The kid just looked at him and didn't speak.
Zero was already used to it.
Since he didn't know the kid's gender, he had to be careful.
Zero told the Head Alchemist, who hadn't left yet, "Find a female doctor."
Doctors didn't distinguish between genders when treating patients, but men and women were still different.
Especially for kids of eight or nine, they needed to have some awareness of that.
After dealing with the kid's situation, Zero left the ward.
The subordinate who had gone to talk to the shop owner and delete the footage was waiting in the hallway.
He stepped forward and said quietly, "Marshal, we checked. There's no information at all on that child."
Zero paused, then asked, "Nothing on the Xianzhou? What about other planets?"
The subordinate shook his head. "Nothing."
"It's like she appeared out of nowhere. No traces, no records."
Zero smiled and said, "That's fine. From today on, I'm this child's guardian."
Since the brat didn't want to call him Dad… he didn't want to call her his kid either.
Once he raised this brat to twenty, he'd finally be free.
Zero was full of anticipation and didn't care at all about her origins.
Whether she had come because of a starquake, crossed through time, or been sent by an Aeon, either way, this heir position… belonged to this brat.
Oh, and "Feather-Transcending Dust," too.
The Strategist desperately needed to extend his life, but he couldn't let a kid who knew nothing practice on him.
After thinking it over, Zero told the subordinate, "Pick a few death-row prisoners from the Ten Lords Commission in advance. They'll be useful later."
The subordinate nodded and left.
The female doctor Zero had asked the Head Alchemist to find also helped the kid change into more comfortable clothes and learned her name.
When the doctor left the ward, she immediately told Zero the child's name and gender.
The kid's name was Hua. She was ten years old, a little girl.
Zero hesitated inside.
A little girl…
He really didn't have much experience with that.
How was he supposed to raise a little girl?
He sat on a bench in the hallway of the Alchemy Commission. Only after the doctors urged him several times did he move to Hua's ward.
There were two beds in the ward. Zero deliberately kept his distance from Hua and found himself a stool.
Sitting there, he opened his jade communicator and asked the most reliable close friend on his list, Akivili.
[Akivili: How about giving her more picture books? That way you can build her values from a young age.]
Zero found that very useful and immediately searched for picture books on the star net.
'Hmm, Teaching Children to Express Love, that looks very helpful.'
Zero bought more than ten picture books in one go, then spent the entire night cramming parenting knowledge. It wasn't until dawn was breaking that he realized what he'd been doing.
Wait, wasn't he just trying to find someone to take over? Why was he studying parenting?
With a complicated expression, Zero put down the jade communicator and happened to meet Hua's eyes.
After seeing him, Hua's expression shifted slightly. She didn't look as resistant as before.
Seeing that, Zero deliberately softened his tone and asked, "Feeling better?"
Hua clutched the blanket tightly with both hands and nodded.
Zero's tone was extremely light and cheerful. "That's good. Let's go."
He stood up quickly. Before Hua could react, he lifted her onto his shoulder with one hand.
Zero didn't notice at all that his shoulder was pressing into Hua's stomach.
For someone who had just recovered, this was like adding insult to injury.
After only a few steps, the kid on his shoulder dry-heaved a few times, then threw up all over him.
Zero froze in place, still holding the same position.
There was only one thought in his mind.
'I really want to throw this brat down right now, ahhh!'