Zero had no idea what the company shareholder was thinking. He held Mirror Flower, Water Moon in his hand and, together with Daiyang, arrived at the Central Starskiff Haven of Luofu.
There, he met Akivili, the Aeon of "Trailblaze", and the Nameless Ones who followed this Aeon.
Among them, a gray-haired young man in a trench coat smiled awkwardly, trying to calm the displeased-looking Nameless One beside him.
Zero couldn't hear what the gray-haired youth said, but the Nameless One's expression grew even darker.
When they got closer, Zero heard the Nameless One speak in an impatient tone to the young man, "Akivili, think carefully. Where exactly did we put our credit points?"
If the Nameless One hadn't called him by name, Zero would have found it hard to connect this person with a Aeon.
He had met plenty of Aeons before, like Aha, who wanted to destroy several galaxies; the "Erudition" Aeon who saw him as a cosmic disaster; and Fuli, who failed miserably at pretending to be a riddler.
And then there was Lan, whom he had known since the latter's youth.
Akivili was completely different from any Aeon Zero had encountered.
He seemed too lively, too human.
It was hard to imagine the other Aeons he'd met joking and bantering with their own followers the way Akivili did.
…The odds of Aha collecting his corpse and crying over him were probably higher than this.
Just thinking about that made Zero's scalp tingle, and he quickly pushed the ridiculous thought aside.
This Aeon traveled with the Nameless Ones to various planets, helping the oppressed and overthrowing tyrants.
It reminded Zero of his "Galaxy Rangers", his scattered people across the universe who punished evil and promoted good, constantly earning merit for the Xianzhou.
Zero approached Akivili partly for his own reasons, and partly for the sake of those people.
If something unexpected happened someday… surely the Aeon of Trailblaze wouldn't stand idly by.
And if they became close friends, maybe he could even cover all the train's expenses whenever it visited the Xianzhou, or any of their allied worlds.
With that in mind, Zero led Daiyang forward, stopping a few paces away to keep a respectful distance from the Nameless Ones.
The Aeon of Trailblaze and his companions noticed the approach and turned their gazes toward the newcomers.
When Akivili's eyes landed on Zero, his gaze couldn't help but fall to the blade in Zero's hand. The cheerful smile on his face froze instantly.
Zero acted as if he didn't notice and smiled back.
Maybe Akivili would rather be treated as a person than as a god?
With that thought, and wanting to build a good relationship, Zero greeted him first, "Welcome to Luofu, everyone. Hello, I'm Zero."
Akivili immediately relaxed. Ignoring the Nameless One who tried to hold him back, he returned a bright grin.
"Hello, Zero!"
Zero smiled.
"I've heard of your deeds. If I ever get the chance, I'd love to become a Nameless One too, to travel from planet to planet, blazing new trails."
Akivili scratched his head and laughed sheepishly.
"Hahaha, really? I thought we were going to be wanted again this time…"
The Nameless One beside him went stiff, his expression saying, 'I don't care if the world ends right now.'
'Akivili, what the hell are you doing?! Why are you saying that out loud?!'
A normal person would introduce themselves by saying "My name is so-and-so."
But this man? He said "I'm so-and-so" as if everyone should already know who he was, so smugly.
It was obvious this guy was trouble.
Zero noticed the Nameless One's reaction but didn't let it show. He only feigned surprise.
"How could that be? The Nameless Ones have always had a great reputation! Even I've heard how much the people of different worlds welcome you."
The Nameless One, giving up entirely, sighed, "Have you ever considered the possibility that the ones who don't welcome us… might've been overthrown by Akivili?"
Zero, "…"
Akivili, "…"
Both of their expressions nearly cracked.
Akivili's golden eyes seemed to flicker with flames. He fumed, just a little.
Even when his follower exposed him like that, he didn't say anything harsh.
He planted his hands on his hips and retorted with perfect righteousness, "What are you talking about? You make it sound like I'm some kind of disaster magnet! It's not my fault, it's their fault! If they treated their people well, why would the Nameless Ones even need to act?"
Zero chuckled softly and turned to Daiyang. "Charge the Nameless Ones' expenses to my account."
Daiyang nodded in acknowledgment.
The Aeon and the Nameless Ones immediately stopped bickering and turned to stare at him in unison.
"Forgive me," Zero said apologetically. "Your good deeds can't possibly be measured with mere credits, but credits are all I have, so please don't look down on them."
He sighed regretfully, then looked directly at Akivili.
"What a pity. If I could, I'd love to visit other planets myself…"
The gray-haired, golden-eyed youth took a step forward and said gently, "The train welcomes everyone."
Zero gripped Mirror Flower, Water Moon tightly and met Akivili's eyes, giving the Aeon a subtle hint.
"Even though we've only met once, I feel like we'll become the closest of friends."
The Aeon stared at him with those golden eyes, then suddenly nodded enthusiastically. "I feel the same way!"
Zero took out his jade communicator and exchanged contact info with him.
Under Daiyang and the Nameless Ones' watchful eyes, the two started chatting casually. Their conversation drifted from Luofu's cuisine to adventures on other planets.
Eventually, the Nameless One couldn't take it anymore and interrupted, reminding Akivili they still had other appointments. Only then did the Aeon reluctantly stop talking.
"It can't be helped," Akivili said wistfully to Zero. "We'll see each other next time!"
Daiyang glanced at her superior, then at the Aeon, and finally put on a polite, practiced smile as she pulled the Nameless Ones aside.
She quietly transferred 100 million credits to each of them, hush money.
"Please keep today's meeting a secret."
After all, countless ill-intentioned people across the universe had spent huge sums trying to dig up information about the Marshal, his appearance, his whereabouts.
But should the Marshal be forced to suffer because of them?
Of course not. Daiyang and her colleagues would never allow that. So they carefully handpicked bodyguards to protect their commander.
Whenever the Marshal went out, they'd rent out entire venues in advance.
This time, though, he had ditched his attendants and come to Luofu alone, catching them completely off guard.
What could Daiyang do? She could only smile and forgive him, and throw money at the problem.
If anyone took the hush money and still leaked information, she'd have to… deal with them.
As for the Marshal's upcoming trip…
Since this was his first vacation, they naturally had to rent out the entire cruise ship, to make sure he enjoyed himself.
Daiyang didn't trust the company, so she ordered her subordinates to thoroughly vet the ship's 1,500 staff members, their identities, their backgrounds, everything.
Or… maybe they shouldn't risk it? Should they just transfer Xianzhou personnel instead?
She hesitated. Since others besides the Marshal would be attending this meeting, replacing the entire staff with Xianzhou people wouldn't look good.
Better to finish the background checks early.
And with over forty different cuisines aboard the ship, surely something would suit the Marshal's taste, right?
As she thought that, she continued instructing the Nameless Ones.
The Nameless Ones were still dazed, saying their farewells to Zero and following the enthusiastic, reluctant-to-leave Akivili away from the Central Starskiff Haven.
One of the Nameless Ones suddenly realized something was off.
Covering their expenses was one thing, but why had each of them been given 100 million credits?
'Something is wrong. Definitely wrong!'
He turned to look at Akivili, who was still beaming from his "new friendship," and voiced his doubts.
Akivili replied cheerfully, "Of course it's because he's the Marshal of the Xianzhou."
Nameless Ones, "???"
Their faces instantly changed, like a spilled paint palette.
They immediately recalled all the rumors they'd heard about that man, and a chill ran down their spines.
Seeing this, Akivili tried to ease their fear. "Relax, Zero's a good person."
One of the Nameless Ones couldn't take it anymore.
"You're terrible at judging people!"
Akivili looked troubled.
"Then what do we do? Should we send the credits back?"
Then his eyes lit up with an idea.
"The Xianzhou's benefits are amazing! Even if we don't use the credits, we could still enjoy their free meals… I've heard their trash bins are full of delicacies! How about..."
"Stop," said the Nameless One flatly. "The Xianzhou doesn't have trash bins."
After a long discussion, the group decided to transfer all the credits to Akivili and have him return the money to the Marshal.
Still uneasy, they warned him to be extremely careful around that man.
Akivili replied brightly, "But he really is a good person. I could see it in his eyes, he looked at us with genuine kindness."
The Nameless Ones stared blankly.
"That man, the Xianzhou Marshal who kills everywhere he goes, you're saying he looks like a child? Are you insane?!"
'Pure eyes? More like eyes that hide everything! Only people with the deepest schemes and best acting skills have eyes that give nothing away!'
Then they remembered who they were talking to, an Aeon.
And suddenly, it all made sense.
At Akivili's age, wouldn't everyone look like a child?
They immediately ignored their unserious god and turned their full attention to the brochures handed to them after entering Luofu, discussing their next plans.
———
Meanwhile, back at the Central Starskiff Haven, Daiyang quietly asked, "Do you… really like the Nameless Ones?"
Then, after a pause, "Will you ever leave the Xianzhou one day?"
Unaware of her thoughts, Zero nodded and gave an answer that would've made Akivili furious if he'd heard it, "Don't you think they're interesting? Wherever they go, trouble follows."
He chuckled softly. "And getting close to them will make the Galaxy Rangers safer too."
Daiyang, "…"
She was completely shaken.
'Seriously, Marshal, aren't you being a little too indulgent with your people? Can you take off your rose-colored glasses, please?'
'Wasn't it more dangerous for the villains they encountered?!'
Daiyang decisively dropped the topic and quickly changed subjects.
"The cruise ship has plenty of entertainment, water park, spa, golf, surfing, opera performances. Which do you prefer?"
If he liked the spa or the opera, she'd book out the entire facility. If he liked a certain feature, she'd replicate it on Luofu itself.
"I prefer hot pot."
Zero wasn't interested in any of that.
All he wanted to do once aboard was lie down on the deck and do absolutely nothing.
He didn't want his subordinates spending money, so he casually gave an option Daiyang hadn't mentioned.
Daiyang, "…"
'Got it. I'll open hot pot restaurants across the entire universe for you, Marshal.'
After chatting for a while, Zero returned to Yaoxing. When the agreed time arrived, he left the Xianzhou for the second time and headed to the resort planet.
This time, only the Chief Strategist and Daiyang, who had defeated all other subordinates, accompanied him.
They crossed the bridge and boarded the cruise ship. Under the company shareholder's guidance, they reached their suite.
The shareholder introduced the room in detail, but Zero only half-listened. He vaguely remembered it was made by combining several rooms together.
He looked out through the floor-to-ceiling window at the vast ocean and felt no desire to speak.
Inside, he felt perfectly calm, like the stillness of eternal peace that always felt just within reach.
He lay on a chair on the balcony, watching the waves, the flickering lights along the coast, until dawn.
Before meeting the NPCs who would join him against the cosmic calamities, the Chief Strategist asked Zero a question.
"Is this… the right thing to do? Is this justice?"
"Justice?"
Zero repeated the word softly, lowering his eyes.
"Justice is what I decide it is."