Zero pretended not to understand.
"Truce? I don't quite get it. Kids these days are really hard to understand…"
He copied Bacchus's earlier move, warmly leaning closer, placing a hand on the other's shoulder, and using a gentle tone meant to guide a rebellious teenager, asked, "What's wrong, Bacchus?"
Bacchus let out a deep sigh. He pressed his hands together as if begging and dragged out his tone in a spoiled way.
"Ah… Eric, stop calling me good kid, well-behaved kid…"
Zero felt extremely uncomfortable.
Some words… he truly found hard to say.
But he knew that when dealing with Aha, he had to be ready for mutual destruction if he wanted to stay on equal footing.
Injure the enemy by a thousand, hurt yourself by eight hundred, that already counted as outstanding performance.
Fortunately, Aha liked the identity of Bacchus very much and did not do anything beyond the limits of human ability.
In front of the Nameless, Bacchus did not use any special powers. He was just a simple child who had not gone through voice change yet.
He spoke without thinking, blunt and straightforward, and so he naturally and subtly drove a wedge between Zero and the other Nameless.
Zero never cared about others' opinions.
Just like he once told Hua, if one person disliked him, that person had a problem.
If a group of people disliked him, then that group simply knew each other.
And now, Bacchus had proven Zero's theory through action.
Zero rarely left his room. With Bacchus adding fuel to the fire, people formed first impressions and naturally developed prejudice against him.
Zero did not care, but Akivili did.
The Aeon insisted on helping him blend in with the Nameless. He could only follow Their wishes and clean up the mess Aha left behind.
Fortunately, it was not a big problem.
Just throw money at it.
Zero had no time to socialize. The simplest method was money.
Treat the Nameless to a few meals or afternoon tea.
That would easily ease the tension between them.
As the saying goes, once you eat someone's food or take their gift, it's hard to keep holding a grudge. After he spent money, surely they would not continue to hold bias against him?
As for Aha, who gave him the biggest headache…
Since the other wanted to continue playing the role of a Nameless, then as a dear friend, how could Zero stop him?
'Wait...'
Thinking of this, Zero finally understood.
No wonder, no wonder Akivili prepared Aha as a "surprise" for him.
The root cause was Zero himself.
He had allowed Aha to call him dear friend, which led Akivili to misunderstand.
Zero lowered his head calmly and met Bacchus's eyes.
Good kid, well-behaved kid… he did not want to say those words at all.
But seeing how much Aha resisted such titles, Zero suddenly felt he had the upper hand.
So what if he felt uncomfortable too? As long as he could repeatedly hit Aha where it hurt, it was worth it.
Bacchus snorted, shrugged off the hand on his shoulder, crossed his arms, and took on the pose of a rebellious teenager, saying unwillingly, "I'm already an adult. Don't call me that anymore!"
Zero showed extreme patience and nodded in a very tolerant way.
To educate a successor, he had deliberately read through books on the market, consulted Zandar, and even read many academic papers.
During that time, he tried praising Hua in his mind, rehearsing many drafts, but the other could not even last one round.
If it were Aha… surely he would bring unexpected surprises?
Zero used the child psychology he had studied and gave Bacchus a round of praise.
The other seemed immersed in the role of a minor and enjoyed it very much. He actively took on their shared task and began gathering information.
Thanks to Bacchus's youthful face, after chatting with him for a few moments, the locals were amused and laughed loudly.
They quickly dropped their guard, and more people gathered around.
Bacchus's expression shifted with the topics. When talking about local tourist spots, he looked full of longing.
When discussing customs, he looked surprised. Finally, the locals began complaining about unreasonable systems.
The incompetent rulers had caused countless deaths.
Hearing this, Bacchus showed the right amount of sympathy.
At that moment, he truly looked somewhat like an Aeon.
The locals poured out their grievances to the child before them and soon revealed the information they needed.
Zero listened silently. He raised his right hand and tapped his left wrist with his index finger, urging Bacchus to watch the time and wrap things up.
Bacchus acted as if he did not see it and gently comforted the crowd.
Seeing this, Zero went to a quiet corner and organized the information they had just obtained.
Only after he typed out a reconstruction plan for the planet on his jade device did Bacchus reluctantly say goodbye to the locals.
The boy held all kinds of local specialties in his arms, with bags of different colors hanging from his ten fingers.
He hugged the items and struggled to lift a hand, pointing at Zero.
"Eric, you're really cold-blooded."
"They were so sad… they finally found someone to talk to and vent their feelings, and you only cared about the information."
Zero deleted the reconstruction plan he had just written and left Bacchus behind, walking back the way they came.
"If you have time to chat, you might as well reunite with Akivili sooner and help them deal with the current rulers."
Bacchus was stunned.
"Wait, Eric! Help me carry some of this!"
Zero did not turn around and kept walking.
He replied casually, "Bacchus, you're already an adult. Handle your own matters."
Bacchus gritted his teeth, carefully hugging the items and slowly followed behind.
At a corner near their meeting point, Zero suddenly realized something.
He almost forgot, as an adult, he should take care of children.
Zero stopped and turned to look at Bacchus.
Bacchus instinctively narrowed his eyes, full of caution.
Zero first smiled, then without a word grabbed all the local specialties from Bacchus's hands and arms.
Bacchus, "..."
'That's too much!'
'I'll complain later! Definitely complain later!'
Bacchus fell a step behind and watched as the person who had not helped at all naturally joined the Nameless and started distributing the specialties.
The Nameless looked a little awkward, clearly not expecting to receive something from Zero.
Just as Bacchus was about to speak, Zero calmly said, "This is all Bacchus's credit."
Akivili spoke at the right time. "Ah, dear friend, carrying so many things all the way… that must have been hard."
Zero did not lie to Akivili. He shook his head. "The one who worked hard was Bacchus."
Akivili sighed. "Do I not know him? He loves to slack off."
The other Nameless all nodded, agreeing with their Aeon.
Bacchus could not help but complain inwardly.
'Akivili, what kind of image does that person even have in your heart?!'
'Isn't he just good at saying nice things? Don't the Nameless simply like him and willingly help him with small tasks? How did that become slacking off?'
Just as he was about to speak, Zero took the food the locals had given him and shoved it into his mouth without a word.
The least reassuring Bacchus was forced to withdraw from the meeting.
Akivili felt at ease and immediately exchanged information with the others. When They learned more about the locals' suffering from Zero, They looked sorrowful and fell silent.
At that moment, Zero finally understood why Bacchus had shown that… divine expression.
He was imitating Akivili.
Soon, Akivili smiled confidently.
"New Nameless, just watch how your seniors 'trailblaze'..."
With one sentence, the Aeon excluded Zero and Bacchus from the plan.
Zero was happy to relax and stayed at the inn handling work.
Bacchus could not sit still. He either played with stray cats and dogs in the streets or joined some youths to rob passersby.
When Zero rejected Bacchus's invitation for the fourth time, the other said sarcastically, "Eric, you're not looking down on these kids who survive by robbery, are you?"
Zero shook his head, denying it.
While reading documents on his jade device, he replied, "If humans can't even be sure they'll survive… what's the point of talking about law and morality?"
"Only when survival is guaranteed will people follow interstellar law."
"And if you want to steal from me, just say it. Even if you say it, I won't give you anything."
Finally, Bacchus quieted down. Before Zero could relax, three days later, they were wanted.
Zero, "..."
:As expected of you, Akivili.'
He quickly packed his luggage into the system backpack, then grabbed Bacchus, who was eager to turn himself in and experience prison life, and searched for a suitable hiding place.
Zero had expected this.
The Aeon of Trailblaze laid down star rails, connecting star systems blocked by imaginary energy.
So the planets they reached might not accept patrol currency or credits.
Zero had deliberately bought various accessories to exchange for local currency and food during their travels.
After meeting the others, he exchanged a gem brooch for a secluded courtyard large enough for everyone.
The locals even provided hot meals.
This time, the Nameless exchanged glances and finally let go of their prejudice.
They sat on low stools, crowded around a small table.
Bacchus was very moved and slapped his thigh.
"I thought you were some rich heir, dressed like a peacock, so picky. Turns out you did it on purpose."
Zero, "…Your meal is gone."
He casually took Bacchus's untouched meal and placed it in front of Akivili.
Ignoring the noise, Zero asked Akivili, "Do you need help?"
Akivili paused.
They were an Aeon... Their dear friend had abandoned Lan and chosen to believe in Them...
When They invited their dear friend, They never planned to rely on his power to solve problems.
They just wanted him to relax.
The Aeon stood up.
"Dear friend, let's talk."
Zero stood up and followed, leaving the courtyard for the rooftop.
The Nameless below seemed to be discussing something, but from the rooftop, it was hard to hear clearly.
On the way up, Akivili had already prepared what to say.
'Dear friend responds better to softness than force. No problem.'
The Aeon looked away, staring anywhere but at Zero.
Their tone sounded full of guilt.
"Sorry, dear friend. I didn't expect… I…"
Zero thought for a moment and said, "Unexpected situations always appear during a journey, like bubbles in soda, don't they?"
Akivili sighed deeply.
"Your time should be spent handling documents worth billions of patrol currency. Your mind should be making decisions that determine a star system's economy…"
"That's why I don't want you to step in."
"You came to the Astral Express to rest, not to work!"
Zero, who worked eight hours a day online, "…You're right."
Hearing this, Akivili thought Their words had worked and continued, repeatedly emphasizing that They invited him to rest, not to work overtime.
After persuading him, Akivili asked about the price of the brooch.
Zero did not care. "No need to mind it. The brooch isn't expensive. It's only worth ten thousand patrol currency."
Akivili had known Zero for a long time and often heard shocking numbers from him. Hearing the brooch's price, Their first reaction was that it was cheap.
But for an ordinary person, that amount could cover a year of expenses.
After thinking, Zero added, "I didn't bring these accessories only for your trailblazing."
"If I meet someone I like, I'll give them as gifts."
"The money isn't much, but it's enough to give them freedom and start a new life."
Akivili's gaze shifted slightly.
To Their dear friend, money was easy to obtain.
So why deliberately choose accessories that did not match his status and were relatively cheap?
The answer was simple.
They were gifts.
If a gift were so expensive that it allowed someone to idle for life and lose motivation to move forward… then it would not be a gift anymore.
Akivili murmured, "You're very thoughtful, dear friend."
Then They asked, "I'm curious about something… dear friend, why didn't you ascend to godhood?"
Zero thought, 'Of course it's because I'm a high-dimensional intruder.'
'The power systems aren't compatible at all. What kind of god could I even become?'
Following Akivili's line of thought, he continued thinking.
If he had ascended…
His thoughts suddenly stopped.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
"…An evil god, right."
He paused, then added, "Like the Aeon of Destruction, Nanook."