Zero put on leather gloves, fumbling as he dug through the dirt for the hamster, while the Chief Strategist shouted for people to light a fire and heat water.
Once he dug it out, the Chief Strategist had already prepared a brazier and hot water bags. He snatched the hamster out of Zero's hands.
"Don't drop it into the fire with your shaky hands."
"…Am I some kind of King of Hell to you?"
Zero's mouth twitched. Seeing there was nothing left for him to do, he opened the system to check his panel, only to discover he'd gained a "Possessed by Ghost" debuff.
He perked up and said with interest, "Hey, do you think the ghost could be canned? If used as an energy source, it'd be endless, right?"
The Chief Strategist cursed with a dark face, "And you still claim you're not the King of Hell?"
Very soon, the ghost possessing Zero crawled out, cursing nonstop and gagging.
"Ugh ugh, pfft pfft, damn it, I must've burned off eight lifetimes of luck to run into you!"
Silently, Zero picked up the wooden box he'd just used for the hamster, raised his hand, and locked ghost inside.
The ghost didn't resist. Instead, it turned into a transmitter, blabbering without pause, "Quick, send me to that leader of yours! I've had enough! Disgusting, absolutely vile! Even dogs wouldn't eat it, but I had to!"
Annoyed by the noise and worried it might harass the Chief Strategist, Zero slapped a lock on the box, stuck a talisman with muting, sealing, and other functions on it, then tossed it aside and turned his full attention back to his subordinates as they rescued the hamster.
Not long after, the hamster's whiskers twitched. UR also followed the the ghost's trail to the General's Mansion.
Zero, still wearing gloves with a bit of mud on them, carefully cradled the just-revived hamster. When he saw Lan, he tilted his chin toward the wooden box on the ground.
Lan bent down to pick it up. A weightless talisman fell to the ground, and the silenced the ghost began spitting venom again, "And he dares call himself a general who loves his people like his children? Ha! What a joke. He's never once cared about you!"
Lan froze.
The ghost continued, "To him, you're no different from dead objects!"
Lan stiffly picked up the talisman, then turned back toward the general.
The man's eyes were fixed on the hamster, his gaze gentle, as if it were something precious.
That single look sent a chill down Lan's spine.
He couldn't help but recall the ghost's words. When the general looked at the people of Yaoqing, was he ever this gentle, like when he looked at a pet?
Sensing Lan's stare, Zero seemed to realize something. He handed the hamster over to the Chief Strategist instead.
Then he turned and smiled warmly at Lan, slowly removing his gloves. As if performing a trick, he pulled out a small piece of fruit and forced it into Lan's hand.
"Eat it."
Lan only needed one glance to know what it was.
It was the fruit of the Aeon of Abundance.
The sacred medicine craved by all Xianzhou people, longed for across generations but never obtained. Eating it granted immortality.
Even a single piece could fetch a sky-high price across Yaoqing, or even the whole universe.
Now, this miracle that everyone coveted was sitting in his palm.
Lan looked deeply at Zero, then, as if tossing garbage, threw the fruit into the burning brazier.
Zero didn't mind.
Refusal was refusal.
Even when you feed small animals, they won't eat everything.
Worst case, when UR is about to croak someday, he'd just shove it down his throat. That way, UR could work for him for life.
Zero glanced at the fruit being swallowed by the flames, brushed past the potential conflict, and casually pulled out a few talismans, telling Lan to use them to seal the ghost.
Lan accepted them, but as he stared at the general, who hadn't been angered in the least, still playing with the hamster, he asked, "That researcher who died in that 'accident'… was it your doing, General?"
Zero looked puzzled. Seeing Lan's persistence, he thought hard for a moment, then replied carelessly, "No. I'd never lay a hand on any Yaoqing person. What, you believed the ghost's words?"
Zero lifted his head and smiled at UR.
"Evil man, good man, whatever. I don't care about labels. After all, sitting in this general's seat, no matter who it is, no one could do better than me."
Lan lowered his eyes, as if deep in thought.
Zero stroked the hamster. "That much, I know. And the Yaoqing people know it too."
Then, suddenly shifting tone, he laughed, "But if the ghost's words made you want to overthrow me and take the general's position yourself, no need. I can hand it to you right now."
Lan shook his head. Looking at the general's seemingly kind expression, and the smile that never reached his eyes, he said, "No. No one could do better than you."
Hearing UR's words, Zero took it as the matter settled.
He waited and waited until the colossus was finally completed. Then, with the hamster in hand, he led his subordinates to see it.
Without hesitation, Zero chose the planet closest to Yaoqing.
He wasn't some King of Hell. He wasn't about to annihilate an inhabited planet with a neutron strike.
But this planet was special. No trace of humans remained, only swarms of bugs created by the Aeon of Propagation.
The natives were likely all wiped out by the swarm.
And since the planet was close to Yaoqing, Zero wasn't about to let his great base camp get overrun by bugs.
Besides, his UR's sense of morality was way too strong. If he picked some other planet just to test things out, Lan would definitely argue with him.
Zero had no patience for moral debates. So this time, he'd play the saint and clean up the infestation.
Everyone held their breath, drawn to the giant statue hanging above the planet. Then, a dazzling white beam shot onto the planet's surface.
The neutron stream that could instantly wipe out the swarm transformed from white light into blue ribbons, spreading rapidly across the entire planet.
All watched in silence, waiting for the results.
After a while, the project leader burst into joy,
"General, the technology is a success!"
Zero instinctively wanted to clap. Looking down, he saw the hamster wriggling in his hand, so he tucked it into his chest pocket before applauding for the researchers.
While pressing the hamster back down as it tried to poke its head out, he laughed and said, "You've done so well. Even humans, with their own minds, can create miracles. Next, I won't take up more of your time. Let Yaoqing's great contributors say a few words."
He turned to the project leader, tossing the spotlight to them.
Clapping with a smile, Zero swept his gaze across the crowd. When he saw UR's serious face, standing apart from the applause and praise, he drifted over to Lan's side.
Lan murmured, "That researcher was right."
Zero's smile vanished. "You saw? Was it Fuli again?"
Lan shook his head. "No. It was Erudition."
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