The gathered natives nodded.
They didn't understand why the other side would offer them help.
That battleship descending upon their planet, just one look, and you could tell how expensive it was to build.
But why come to their planet? Why help them deal with the insect swarm?
And why bring along those profit-driven people from the Interstellar Peace Corporation to deliver supplies?
When the company people saw the leading general, their expressions were full of flattery.
The natives couldn't figure it out. They knew very well that their planet held no value whatsoever to people who could so easily wipe out an insect disaster.
Once they understood that, the answer became clear in an instant.
These people simply wanted to eliminate the plague and help them.
Such pure, unselfish help, help that carried no ulterior motive, left them deeply moved and flustered.
After hearing the general's words, they secretly swore to remember the marshal's contribution for generations to come.
At that same moment, the Xianzhou Marshal, who was being silently thanked by many, was staring at the values shown on his system display.
[Current Progress: 60%]
[Current Progress: 59%]
Zero, "…"
He watched the progress bar go backwards, feeling a mix of emotions.
Zero didn't know how many planets the fleet and the colossi had already dealt with, but he knew one thing, the progress bar wasn't easy to grind.
He'd already lost track of how long he'd been on the Star-Destroying Ship. It just felt like Akivili had already sent him birthday wishes many times.
Yubie had also sent him countless gifts, enough to fill two of Yaoqing's empty rooms.
Since Zero wasn't on Yaoqing, some of his duties had been delegated to the Chief Strategist.
Among those duties, receiving gifts on his behalf, and sending return gifts.
As for diplomatic gifts, Zero used to just hand them off to subordinates the moment he received them, telling them to display them in the museum.
Return gifts, of course, had to be given in the name of the Xianzhou, and naturally paid for by the Xianzhou.
Of course, even if he had to pay for them himself, he couldn't afford it now, he'd already spent everything on SSRs.
Zero had always kept public and private matters strictly separate, so for personal favors and relationships, he had to pay out of pocket.
But right now, he was broke, and not even on Yaoqing.
So all these expenses had to be covered temporarily by the Chief Strategist.
Anyway, it was just a tiny fraction of the guy's savings. Nothing major.
Smooth as ever, Zero began spinning grand promises for the Chief Strategist, who had once again received gifts from Yubie.
Once the promises were made, he looked at the regressing progress bar and sighed deeply.
As expected, dealing with two major world-ending disasters at once was no easy task.
The problem before Zero was like one of those math questions that stump most students.
Like the kind where one pipe fills the pool while another drains it.
The endlessly reproducing insect swarms, and the machine intelligences corrupted by the "anti-life" equation…
The disasters never stopped spreading, while the fleet's progress was slowing down.
Still, it wasn't a big problem. It would all be solved eventually.
If one can save humanity, why not do it?
Zero turned once again to the galactic map he'd been staring at for who knows how long.
He gazed at the star systems occupied by the twin calamities, his thoughts drifting.
If only there were a "Heaven-Scorching Divine Weapon" capable of annihilating entire star systems.
Or maybe he could call Lan? But Lan also had their own achievements to grind.
Maybe he could toss a few Abundance Envoys onto those planets, Lan would definitely come running, following the scent…
But where was he supposed to find Abundance Envoys so easily?
Zero remembered the one that got insta-killed by Lan back on Luofu, and winced in pain.
Forget it. Lan never holds back, if the fleet got caught in the crossfire, it'd be a disaster.
He no longer trusted that spendthrift Aeon. Better to rely on himself.
So what if he had to stare endlessly at the star map?
So what if he had to drive the calamities into the farthest reaches of space?
So what if he had to remind his comrades and fleet to avoid "Destruction" to prevent casualties?
Oh, and check on all the Xianzhou ships in his spare time, keep resident satisfaction up, so they wouldn't start complaining about the ongoing war…
Not a big deal. Just grind it out.
Zero took a few deep breaths, cracked his knuckles, and got ready to lead the fleet to annihilate the disasters once and for all.
Forget omens or messages, for now, the calamity came first.
Fortunately, hard work pays off. Under his and his subordinates' efforts, they continued saving lives and blowing up stars. Progress was slow, but at least it wasn't dropping anymore.
Only a handful of star systems remained; the insect swarms and rogue machines were on the brink of extinction.
Maybe because of their efforts to help humanity, his virtue points increased, and with it, his intimidation power skyrocketed.
Zero estimated that once they finished off the calamities, his intimidation meter would finally max out.
By then, he'd finally get his long-desired Heaven-Scorching Divine Weapon, and the Aether Resonance Engine that Fuli had emphasized.
The former could wipe out enemies in one blow, ending the disasters. The latter, well, for now it could only rely on Lan's power for concealment, but it'd be a secret trump card for his successor.
Whether the successor would ever use it… that he didn't know.
After all, the agreement with Fuli was made with him, not his successor.
Hmm… maybe he could use the engine to help his successor become friends with Fuli.
That way, his friendship with Fuli could continue into the next generation. Nice. Very nice.
Feeling pleased, Zero decided to take out the Jade Token and relax a little.
First, his dear friends.
Akivili was still in that habit of going MIA, but always made time to share tales of his adventures, wild and eventful enough to fill novels.
Wait, someone like Akivili, basically a protagonist with invincible cheat codes, would probably just get flamed online, right?
As usual, Zero reminded him that if he ever ran out of funds, he could just use Zero's credits.
Next came Yubie. As always, the Dragon Lord would share stories of his rich-person lifestyle, constantly expanding Zero's understanding of wealth.
Though, their chat intervals were getting longer and longer.
Zero thought about it, it's fine, long-lived species and all.
Finally, there was his fragile, delicate SSR.
Marty said that, inspired by Zero, he'd integrated the ship's control systems with a game, creating a little mini-game.
Zero glanced at the galactic map, saw that the fleet was about to land on a supply planet, and felt even happier.
That was the planet he'd ordered to be used for dumping mechanical debris.
Zero, 'Finally, I can get rid of this junk!'
He followed the excited supervisor to drop off the garbage, triple-checked that nothing would explode prematurely, and returned to the Star-Destroying Ship with the control Jade Token in hand.
He directed the fleet's course, steering them away from the direction of the Aeon of "Erudition."
This time, humanity would launch its final offensive, to completely eradicate the disasters.
He sat at the bar counter and glanced at the system's display.
[Current Progress: 95%]
Zero sent a message to Akivili, [Almost done. You and Aha coming?]
This time, Akivili didn't vanish, he replied with a cute gray bunny emoji and said he'd bring Aha along.
Zero took out Mirror Flower, Water Moon and placed it beside Heavenly Fang.
He'd always been intrigued by high-level NPCs, especially the Aeon of "Propagation."
After all, his allied species, the Vidyadhara, couldn't reproduce; their population cap was locked.
If Tayzzyronth were still alive, could that problem be solved?
Zero's thoughts wandered to Aha.
'If two paths overlapped, would one devour the other?'
After all, "propagation" is also a form of "joy," isn't it?
Rounding it up, doesn't that mean Aha could cure infertility?
Unfortunately, the Aeon of Propagation had long perished under the siege of other Aeons, so the answer would never be known.
Guess Aha can't fix that after all.
Zero sighed, then looked up, Akivili was smiling radiantly, tugging at Aha, who was already rushing toward Zero's fridge.
Zero smiled back. "Long time no see, Akivili."
Akivili let go, and Aha bolted toward the fridge like a cannonball.
The gray-haired youth's eyes sparkled, and his tone was full of warmth.
"I've heard about your Xianzhou on other planets, you know. Like great heroes, your fleet descends from the sky and, in just moments, wipes out insect swarms and rogue machines..."
Akivili paused, his golden eyes, brilliant and all-embracing, focused intently on him.
In a softer voice, the Aeon said, "But I know, it couldn't have been as easy as they say. It must've been… so, so exhausting, wasn't it?"
Zero froze for a moment, then smiled.
"It's fine. I just did what I could."
Akivili looked at him quietly.
On his journey, he'd met many rulers with all sorts of personalities, but none quite like Zero.
How could he even describe him?
It seemed that no word he knew could capture it precisely.
His dear friend loved all the people of the Xianzhou, yet on the battlefield, he showed no bias, fighting with all his strength to protect and save everyone.
Even after seeing the worst sides of humanity, he still did his best to help those suffering in disaster.
As the Xianzhou saying goes, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
Actively helping planets overcome disasters was, of course, a good deed. They saved human lives and spared them physical suffering.
But what about their hearts? Those shattered, bitter, hate-filled hearts, they needed time to heal, and a way to vent.
Thankfully, his dear friend had thought of that, doing everything he could to give humanity a good ending.
With the corporation's supplies, the natives no longer turned on one another for resources after enemies fell.
And the only human who could convince the Interstellar Peace Corporation to do charity work… who else could it be but his dear friend?
Akivili loved humanity deeply.
But seeing his friend now, he felt that this man loved humanity even more than he did, almost like a god himself.
Smiling, he said to Zero, "If you ever feel tired, the Express will always welcome you. I can't wait to go on adventures with the great Marshal."
Akivili suddenly brightened up, as if a thought struck him.
"With you along, we'd be treated as honored guests wherever we go!"
Zero chuckled. "What, don't want to be wanted criminals anymore?"
Akivili put his hands on his hips, indignant.
"Excuse me? What did you just say? You've been learning bad habits from those Nameless Ones!"
Zero laughed, then turned to Aha.
No sooner had he settled his accounts than Aha started raiding his liquor again.
Those last bottles, if auctioned, they'd fetch at least ten billion credits.
When they last landed for supplies, the supervisor, seeing the empty fridge, had eagerly restocked it with even more expensive liquor imported from other star systems, and then told all the generals about it.
Good thing they were at war, otherwise, Zero didn't even want to imagine how many vineyards his subordinates would've bought by now…
He decided to put the entire liquor bill on Aha's tab this time.
At the old "friends' discount," of course, Aha now owed him ten billion credits.
Not that Zero ever expected to see the money back. But if he made Aha owe him enough, maybe Aha would stop showing up altogether.
Zero took out a Jade Token he'd gotten from the last supply stop and handed it to Aha, who was pouring red wine into a decanter.
Aha put down the bottle, eyes shining as he held the Jade Token like a treasure, his tone theatrical as an opera singer, "My dear friend! You're actually giving me a gift?"
Zero casually took the filled decanter and handed it to Akivili.
Then he said offhandedly, "Do you want to go to another world? A more real, more interesting one?"
Aha froze, then stared at him intently.
Unbothered, Zero said lightly, "Open it. There's a game inside. If you beat the final boss, I'll take you somewhere fun, something so fun you'll never forget it."
Aha beamed. "As expected of you, my dear friend. You always surprise me, "
He sat down beside Akivili, clutching the Jade Token.
Akivili didn't pay much attention, still watching the red wine in the decanter. He asked Zero, "How long do we need to wait?"
Zero recalled the bottle Aha had been holding earlier, recognized the wine type, and answered honestly, "For those who care about such things, Cabernet Sauvignon should be decanted for at least an hour…"
Akivili smiled. "I bet you won't wait that long."
Zero lifted the decanter and poured. "Of course not."
They each took a sip. Akivili set down his glass. "I think the champagne from before was better. Let's save this one for Aha."
Zero, "…I agree."
As they spoke, the fleet launched its attack.
Akivili let out a soft gasp, setting down his glass to watch the battle unfold.
Brilliant beams of light, like fireworks, ignited the starry sea.
The fireworks before them were dull in color and chaotic in shape, hardly a visual feast.
In terms of beauty, fireworks still won hands down.
Zero kept his eyes on the battle outside while also monitoring the galactic map.
The regions held by the calamities were being driven into a corner, defeated again and again.
All Zero had to do was wait.
Wait for the disasters to vanish from the map entirely.
Then, suddenly, the Jade Token in Aha's hand made a sound, like an explosion.
Aha frowned, tossed the token onto the bar, and said bossily, "Friend, that's no fun at all! Totally unbeatable!"
Zero looked up at him, then at the Jade Token flashing "Game Over." Pulling up the high-level NPC "Erudition"'s status panel, he saw the HP bar wasn't full, and couldn't hold back a laugh.
Zero fought to suppress his grin.
"My dear friend, I've done what I promised you."