Zero kept the posture of gripping his subordinate's neck. He first stayed silent, then, for the first time ever, apologized to Guanliang.
He said, "Sorry, I can't think of a better way."
Guanliang raised his eyes and looked at his superior.
After seeing those eyes without any ripples, his helplessness and anger instantly faded.
Only a feeling of powerlessness remained in his heart.
The Marshal did not want, after his death, to leave only Guanliang and Chanzhen behind.
But the Marshal's own flesh and blood could break the "undying" curse… could solve the "demon-shadow body"…
With that being the case, how could Guanliang possibly say it out loud?
Like this, death became a problem he and Chanzhen had no choice but to face.
Honestly speaking, over these thousands of years, the Marshal had never issued any wrong decision.
If one really had to nitpick and find faults… it would be that he spoiled the Xianzhou people too much.
The Marshal spoiled them too much and granted whatever they asked for.
He fulfilled the wishes of generations of Xianzhou people and let them gain "long life".
It was just that, at that time, no one knew the price behind it.
And for Guanliang and Chanzhen, who first ate the fruit of the "Abundance" Aeon, what they got was not long life, but ageless immortality.
Did Guanliang ever, at some moment, hate the willful, self-centered, arbitrary Marshal?
By now, he no longer remembered.
Unlike his superior, Guanliang, in common values, was a rare normal person among the Xianzhou.
Whether physically or mentally, he was a normal adult.
He believed everyone should pay the price for the choices they made and bear the consequences.
Whether the result was good or bad, it was something they should endure.
Only, the Marshal was not a normal person.
At the beginning, the other side never truly faced the sacrifices of his subordinates. The way he looked at them was not like looking at people with their own will, more like looking at pets he could easily handle and control.
Would an owner care about a pet's thoughts? Would they respect a pet's wishes?
Luckily, the superior had enough pets, and luckily they were obedient enough not to fight just to gain their owner's attention.
Precisely because the subordinates never went beyond the Marshal's control, that frightening desire to control, which shocked Guanliang, never showed itself openly.
Of course, even if the subordinates knew, they would probably willingly put on shackles and let the Marshal control them.
Thankfully the Marshal did not rule the whole universe… Xianzhou people would not kill their own, but others might not be the same.
If the superior accidentally raised a few mad dogs again… the consequences would be unimaginable.
Judging by how inhuman the Marshal looked back then, even if subordinates tripped each other up and caused deaths, he probably would not react much.
Just like fish raised in a pond. If you raise only one fish, once it floats belly-up, the owner quickly notices.
But if hundreds of fish are raised in the pond… whichever dies, the owner would not notice.
Fortunately, as time passed, the Marshal gained a bit of humanity and gradually began to face the subordinates' efforts and respect their choices.
Thinking back now, Guanliang would rather his superior not be human.
At least… a superior without humanity would not cut off his own flesh and blood for the sake of pets.
The Marshal came to him, preferring to personally kill Guanliang rather than let them, after his death… unable to live yet unable to die.
Guanliang closed his eyes.
This time, he did not refuse his superior and let him keep gripping his neck.
Guanliang said calmly, "This isn't your fault. You don't need to apologize to me."
He took the initiative to bring up the other person the Marshal worried about and comforted him.
"Even Chanzhen would give the same answer. For her, dying together with you is an honor."
Zero froze for a moment. He slowly withdrew his hand, then showed a smile no different from usual.
"…Is that so?"
Guanliang did not answer. Rarely, he softened his tone and said, "But I think, even if it is death, it shouldn't be now. At least wait until Hua can stand on her own before thinking about what comes next, right?"
Zero stayed silent for a while and only said, "I'll try."
He lowered his eyes and forced out a smile.
"Before leaving, I'll free you all."
Guanliang nodded. He said, "Okay."
Zero's tone was extremely relaxed.
"Alright, relax a bit."
"At least for the coming period, no one will stand by your bed with a knife anymore."
He stepped back and said goodbye to his subordinate.
"Goodbye."
Guanliang replied softly, "Goodbye..."
He paused and changed the way he addressed him midway.
"Goodbye, Zero."
May he, before death, no longer be a tyrant, no longer a god, no longer the Marshal.
May he, before death… just be himself.
———
The next day, the Labrador Zero kept wagged its tail wildly.
Mimi followed closely behind him. That tail, sharply judged as enough to be listed as a controlled item, kept slapping his calves again and again.
Zero crouched down, took the leash Guanliang handed over, and tied it to the pet.
He passed the leash to Guanliang and rubbed the pet's head.
"Alright, just stay with Guanliang."
Zero said goodbye to the Labrador and led Hua and the Aeon away from Yaoqing together.
This time, he became a hands-off boss.
Except for asking General Cangcheng to handle reception, he handed all the remaining matters to Hua.
It was also the first time the heir truly took responsibility, so she had to have some presence, right? Of course, it could not be exaggerated.
Under Zero's instruction, General Cangcheng cleared the area and blocked the roads in advance.
When they arrived at Cangcheng, the fleet did not dock in the most hidden cavern heaven of Cangcheng but deliberately came to the Starskiff Sea in a very high-profile way.
After getting off the star-destroying ship, Hua first looked at her guardian, then at the endless line of starskiffs responsible for receiving them, and stayed silent for a long time.
General Cangcheng warmly came forward. Her tone was enthusiastic. As usual, she praised Zero, then, as if claiming credit, mentioned Shuhu, the "Abundance" Emanator already imprisoned in the Nether Prison.
Zero thought for a moment and decided to take Shuhu away.
He had gone through all the books Zandar listed and studied the system for a long time. He failed to remove it as he wished and could only shut it down.
Of course, Zero would not block his own escape route. He deliberately kept a backup plan.
When encountering Aeon-level power, the system would appear again.
Now, without the bonus from the "demon-shadow body," he no longer had healing ability far beyond normal people. Because of this, Shuhu became especially important.
When General Cangcheng heard this, she agreed without hesitation, then suggested they split up and leave here on different starskiffs.
Zero rejected the subordinate's suggestion.
He knew the subordinate feared something might happen and worried about their safety.
But if Lan was present and something still happened… then the Aeon might as well delete the account and start over.
Zero randomly chose a starskiff and went in with Lan and Hua.
Lan had no expression.
Hua seemed a bit uncomfortable.
Zero thought for a moment and reported a string of numbers.
Hua hesitated and asked, "Is this your jade communicator number?"
Zero shook his head, "No, this is the loss caused by the Starskiff Sea suspension and road closures."
"That's why I didn't want to leave Yaoqing."
He rarely took the initiative to comfort Hua, "It's just dozens of starskiffs opening the way and protecting you."
Hua subconsciously repeated, "Just? Dozens?"
Lan nodded and comforted Hua together with Zero, "At least it's not dozens of star-destroying ships in front and back."
Hua, "…"
Well said. Next time, don't say it.
The starskiff moved smoothly without obstruction. When they arrived, Zero saw Marty, who should not have appeared in Cangcheng.
Marty noticed his gaze and scratched his head with a simple smile.
Anger suddenly rose in Zero's heart. He instinctively turned to look at Hua, tried hard to control his tone, and asked, "Didn't I say this project is very dangerous? Why did you let Marty and the others come to Cangcheng?"
Hua's expression froze for a moment. She opened her mouth, about to say something, but Marty interrupted her thoughts.
Marty had never heard the Marshal speak in this tone.
He felt wronged and reluctantly addressed Hua as Crown Princess, his tone extremely aggrieved, "If the Crown Princess can come, why can't we come?"
Zero felt Marty's tone was strange but did not think deeply about it. He asked back, "Can you two be the same?"
When Hua was ten years old, she could already smash a stone bench into fragments. Marty was just a researcher without physical strength. How could he be compared with Hua?
Marty's expression instantly became ugly.
Lan thought, 'As expected of the Marshal.'
Just a few sentences could stir conflict between two people.