After hearing that, Zero's heart leapt with joy, thinking Lan had finally changed his mind.
He instinctively opened the system backpack, wanting to pull out an item to give to his own UR.
But just as he was about to take it out, he suddenly remembered the quarrel with the other earlier. He stopped immediately, trying to think about the other's feelings.
Before Zero could figure out suitable wording, Lan, without changing expression, skipped past this topic and instead turned the conversation to the ghost.
UR's attitude was calm, expression natural, as if he had never even brought up the matter of immortality.
Zero looked at Lan suspiciously.
Lan lowered his eyes, continuing to repeat questions concerning the ghost.
Zero glanced at the mission tab.
[Xianzhou: Yaoqing]
[You are the general of Yaoqing]
[Your people see you as faith]
[Now the the ghost rampaging on the Immortal Boat have been repeatedly defeated]
[Can you lead the people of Yaoqing to attain immortality?]
'Hmm, this batch of mobs is about to be cleared.'
He opened the system map, searched for the ghost's tracks, then circled the relevant locations on the desk map and pushed it to UR.
"Only these few ghosts are left. If you can capture them alive, try to. Who knows, maybe they can be made into canned food, or used for electricity or something… of course, if you can't capture them, it doesn't matter. Your safety is what's most important."
Lan took the map without questioning how the general knew the enemy's whereabouts.
It seemed that to the general, every problem in the universe could be solved effortlessly.
As a superior, he assigned tasks to subordinates with clarity and simplicity.
As an enemy, he was undefeatable, flawless in calculation, like a god.
As if there was no secret in the universe that he did not know.
Only with the question of immortality…
Lan knew well, the general could not give him the answer he wanted.
The more Zero looked at UR, the more satisfied he felt. Smiling, he said, "This time, you don't need to write a will. Make it quick and decisive."
Lan nodded.
Before battle, writing a will had long been a custom in the army. Facing strong enemies, everyone carried the thought of dying in battle, leaving a will for family.
But after they had the all-capable general, battlefield injuries greatly decreased, and many stopped writing wills.
Yet the general insisted, no matter the battle, a will must be written.
Thus, the custom was preserved.
In his words, it was called a kind of "ritual sense."
Wills were no longer the words of the dead. Over time, they gained other meanings.
Most were filled with praises of the general. A small number used them to pour out heartfelt words to family or lovers.
But for Lan, who had gone through countless dangers, the coming battle was nothing special.
Zero lowered his head, rubbing his hand sore from writing too many documents, "When you come back, you'll take over my work. This time, you can't decline again."
"General, why do you insist on having me inherit the position of general?"
Hearing UR's question, Zero laughed, "Of course it's because I'm an ordinary person. Anyone would get tired."
Come on, how long had he been grinding the game day and night? Couldn't he get a break?
Lan, "..."
'If the general was an ordinary person, then what were others? Amoebas?'
Zero thought for a moment. Maybe the other was worried he'd cling to power and not let go?
So he added, "Don't worry, when the time comes all I'll need is the fleet and the giant statue."
Lan, "..."
That didn't sound reassuring at all.
It felt like once the general was let loose, before long the entire universe would become Yaoqing's territory.
UR never liked to talk much. Zero was used to it, and just assumed Lan agreed.
As expected, Lan led the troops and smoothly wiped out the ghost, even bringing back the strongest of them alive.
[War Victory Achieved!]
[Yaoqing has eliminated the ghosts that had long troubled the Immortal Boat]
[Gained Prestige +10000, Material the ghost *999, Special Material...]
The subordinates showered endless praise, "All thanks to the general's talismans, and to the brave, mighty Crown Prince, His Highness!"
Afraid of angering the general, they poured all their enthusiasm onto Lan instead, calling him "Crown Prince."
Lan, endlessly persecuted, had at first resisted strongly, but by now was used to the title, feeling no ripples inside.
Zero glanced at the small mob Lan had brought back. As soon as he came close, it pulled away fast, as if avoiding some filthy thing.
He lost interest quickly, telling subordinates to send it for professional handling.
"Handle it however you want. No need to report back."
He trusted his subordinates. Though their stats couldn't match UR's, most were SSRs or SRs capable of holding their own.
Subordinates would absolutely give their all, working for Yaoqing's benefit.
As usual, Zero turned down the victory banquet, sending Lan and the subordinates to attend instead.
Since that talk with Lan, he'd been working hard to consider things from the NPCs' perspective, learning to empathize.
After all, he was the boss. If he showed up at such events, satisfaction points would probably drop.
Who wants to see their boss during off-hours?
Zero returned to the general's manor. Seeing the empty, quiet surroundings, he felt at a loss.
So with one hand holding a hamster, the other a stack of documents, he went into the courtyard.
He placed the hamster and papers on the stone table, then lifted his head, staring dazedly at Yaoqing's moon.
Originally, Yaoqing only had day and night, temperature never changing, no beautiful seasonal scenery.
Oh, back then Yaoqing hadn't even had rain…
To raise satisfaction, Zero had put great effort into such details, maxing out the seasonal atmosphere, nearly driving several researchers insane.
He racked his brains, creating everything, except mosquitoes.
Spring drizzle, summer storms… the people of Yaoqing cried with longing when they saw it.
Of course, to stop them from crowding the Alchemy Division, he had subordinates issue a notice.
[Don't keep getting sick from the rain! Yaoqing will not reimburse these medical expenses!]
The result showed Yaoqing folk were obedient. They didn't flood the Alchemy Division. Truly worth celebrating.
As for the moon…
It was no different from memory, Yaoqing's moon.
That, he could admit, was his private whim.
Zero couldn't help sighing. 'This damn game, when would he finally clear it?'
"Oh come on, gone just a moment and you're already sighing? Let me see, don't tell me you're even crying?"
That mocking tone could only belong to the Chief Strategist.
"What are you doing here?"
Zero shot him a glance, then went back to stroking the hamster.
"Worried you'd feel left out, that's why I came. Besides me, there's also your Crown Prince. Truly such a filial child."
Lan's cold face almost cracked, "…Chief Strategist, can you not tease me like this?"
Zero couldn't help laughing. He looked up to see the two of them, Chief Strategist carrying two jars of wine, Lan bringing side dishes.
For a moment, he didn't know how to describe his feelings. He just stared blankly as they cleared the documents off the table, poured wine, and set food.
Zero accepted the cup Lan handed over and drained it in one go.
"Lan, make a trip to Luofu for me."
"Can't we eat without talking work?"
At that, the Chief Strategist first exploded, then instantly switched to office-drone mode, explaining the purpose of the trip for Lan.
"They've received the Aeon of Abundance's gift. You, as Yaoqing's representative, just need to swing by Luofu, show your face, that's all."
Zero thought, once UR came back, he'd give him the item to use.
After all, who could say no to a hexagon-stat warrior?
He sent Lan off on a ship to Luofu. After the farewell, he kept checking the panel every so often, making sure Lan wasn't suddenly going to drop dead like the hamster.
One day, as usual, he opened the panel, only to see Lan's status had changed to "Slumber," location, Immortal Boat Luofu.
Zero, '???'
'Damn it, where's my Lan? I swear I'll fire up the giant statue on you!'
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