[Aha has invited you into "One Big Cosmic Family."]
Zero, 'Aha, why are you everywhere!'
'Wait a second, if someone's in the same group as Aha, clearly they're no ordinary person.'
'Could it be… another Aeon?'
Zero typed away, finally deciding to greet the Aeons in the group with a meme.
[Zero: (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡]
[APieceOfScrapMetal: ...]
[APieceOfScrapMetal has changed their card name to "Erudition."]
[You have been removed from the group by "Erudition."]
Zero, "..."
Probably only ellipses could truly capture his feelings at this moment.
As expected, Aha was unreliable, the Aeon of Elation never once mentioned his entanglement with the Aeon of Erudition.
Zero was baffled. Just what earth-shattering crime had he committed to end up provoking one Aeon after another?
[Aha has invited you into "One Big Cosmic Family."]
[Aha has set you as an admin.]
[Aha: Hahaha! This time the metal lump can't kick you out.]
"Erudition" stayed silent, then immediately left the group.
Zero, "..."
He stared hard at his jade device, at that system message.
["Erudition" has left "One Big Cosmic Family."]
It's not like he was something dirty… was that really necessary?
[Zero: Do I have some conflict with Them?]
[Aha: Dearest friend, have you forgotten?]
[OneShotHundredLeaves: .]
[Aha: Back then you scrapped plenty of those metal lumps.]
[Aha: Oh-ho, touched a nerve? @OneShotHundredLeaves]
Zero automatically ignored the useless messages, only now recalling what Fuli had once said.
Fuli said, to the Swarm and to mechanical life, he was a sinner.
No wonder the Aeon of Erudition reacted that way.
Zero, 'So the dirty thing… is actually me…'
He tried to put himself in their shoes.
Imagine, someone you had a grudge with, dead for hundreds of years, grass on their grave taller than the hills.
And suddenly, one day, that person crawled out of the grave.
Not only that, they climbed out of the coffin just to send a cat meme in your group chat… how disgusting would that be?
That's like Otto climbing out of his coffin to send Welt a cutesy emoji, completely surreal…
Zero sighed inwardly. '"Erudition" truly lived up to being an Aeon, broad-minded.'
If it were him in that situation, forget kicking someone out or leaving the group, he might have torn the other apart through the network cable.
He felt guilty for about a second, then set the group messages to "Do Not Disturb," and curiously scrolled through the member list, trying to figure out the group owner.
Just who was it, that could gather Aeons with such wildly different personalities together?
Without even thinking, Zero first eliminated Aha.
'What a joke, no Aeon would give Aha that kind of face!'
His eyes locked immediately on the very top of the list, Akivili.
The avatar was mostly gray-toned, the background like a train carriage. In the middle stood a man in a medieval captain's outfit, gray-haired, golden-eyed, radiating brilliance.
It was said the Aeon of Trailblaze, Akivili, had a personality closest to humanity.
They never ceased to walk the Path they had chosen.
Their god-powered train journeyed endlessly between worlds.
They encountered nameless companions of all kinds, shared laughter, then parted at some unknown point, witnessing with their own eyes humanity's joys and sorrows, anger and love.
Perhaps it was because of this that Akivili's personality seemed so human.
Most likely, only Akivili would think of gathering Aeons into a group chat.
And only They could have pulled it off.
Zero was full of feelings.
How to put it? Like a friend you never got to meet in time, before you could even talk, they were gone.
But you know, without a doubt, that you would have been closest friends.
Unfortunately, Akivili had long since fallen.
Having lost his memories, Zero could only piece together those wild, free Trailblazing days through faint records left behind.
Think about it, no petty troublemakers, no dwindling funds or resources… wouldn't that be bliss?
Zero figured he must have gotten tired of being General Yaoqing and retired, switching careers to become a Nameless.
He didn't linger on the sadness long. The moment he saw his superior posting in the work group, he shoved "One Big Cosmic Family" to the back of his mind.
[Xianzhou Luofu, Divination Commission]
[Grand Diviner Xiaolin, @Everyone]
Unless it was about overtime, the Grand Diviner rarely posted in the group.
'Could it be that "The Hunt" had shot another arrow somewhere?'
[Grand Diviner Xiaolin:
Diviners, in order to improve the working atmosphere of the Commission and your work experience, starting tomorrow, the Cauldron Division will regularly conduct psychological counseling for everyone.
I will also privately meet with you one by one, to check in on your work and lives. If you need help with anything, just say so.
Put your current tasks on hold for now. Today, please complete the following psychological tests from the Cauldron Division and cooperate with our fellow department's work.]
[Grand Diviner Xiaolin, Shared "Occupational Psychology Test" "12 Personality Disorders Test" "Psychological Stress Test" "Depression Self-Assessment Form"]
Zero, "..."
He stared silently at the four tests, each averaging one to two hundred questions.
In the work group, colleagues were either replying "Received" or showering the Grand Diviner with rainbow farts.
Zero followed the herd, typing "Received," then watched the high-EQ colleagues perform.
One declared passionately that to have a leader like the Grand Diviner, who cared so much for his subordinates, was a blessing across three lifetimes.
They thanked him for his concern over their mental health, praised his thoughtful consideration, and said they should all learn from his broad perspective, so they could better serve not just the Xianzhou, but all of Luofu.
[Grand Diviner Xiaolin: This is General Tengxiao's order.]
One sentence from the boss immediately killed the compliment competition.
The high-EQ colleague, unfazed, smoothly shifted tone, praising both the General and the Grand Diviner in one breath.
Zero opened the private group chat formed by the colleagues.
This group had no leaders, just the Divination Commission's grunts.
The same colleague who had been praising nonstop earlier was now furiously swearing in the chat.
The entire group was filled with curses, like a telegraph machine spewing nonstop complaints.
They had just finished welcoming the Xianzhou's General and were already swamped. Their own department's matters weren't even sorted yet, and now they had to stop working to take some stupid psychological tests?
The high-EQ colleague was first to strike, slyly probing in the work group, [Was this psychological test only for the Divination Commission, or for all departments?]
The Grand Diviner replied, [The Divination Commission was the pilot department. Whether it would roll out further depended on the results.]
The whole department exploded.
[Push it! Roll it out! Let all Six Commissions and the Cloud Knights get their share of suffering!]
Everyone vented freely in the chat, spewing all their emotions, then finally calmed down, speculating together about General Tengxiao's real intentions.
The high-EQ colleague declared he had already guessed the truth.
[I heard a Cloud Knight officer stabbed several of our colleagues!]
Zero, "..."
'This Cloud Cavalry soldier you're talking about… is it the Swordmaster?'
'And the "colleague"… is it me?'
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