Zero roughly worked out the real reason for his death.
That was because he was not a god, but an ordinary person.
As an ordinary person, Zero would naturally feel tired. After being exhausted, wanting to seek release, wasn't that something completely normal?
If he had always been a player who treated the starry sea as a playground, then he would forever have been the "god" of the Xianzhou.
As a "god," he would only love all his subjects equally.
A "god" would not develop feelings for any specific person, nor would he feel pain over their departure.
With no pain and no emotions, he would live easily and freely.
It was just a shame that Zero was not a god, and could never become one.
As time went on, he gradually developed feelings for his subordinates.
From that point on, Zero was no longer a carefree, heartless player, but a bona fide ordinary person.
A god could be undying and indestructible, but what about humans?
Zero had no choice but to start considering questions he had never cared about before.
If the system were to disappear one day, how should he keep the Xianzhou Alliance running? After his death, would the weapons he left behind still be usable?
The first question could only be answered by Zero himself.
It was precisely because he had tried that he realized how mediocre he was.
And so, he could only rely on the locked-HP cheat to stay up without sleep, reading books and handling documents nonstop, little by little making up for it, narrowing the gap between himself, an ordinary person, and an "omniscient, omnipotent" deity.
During this time, Zero went through countless things.
When he saw documents piled high like mountains on his desk, he would feel tired in certain moments.
When he heard that in some galaxy, on some planet, there were once again unruly people rebelling, he would feel angry.
When he learned that subordinates had gone missing or passed away, he would feel indescribably sad.
It was just a pity that, whether as a ruler or as an ordinary person, he could not allow himself to sink into negative emotions.
If a ruler was too emotional, they would issue wrong orders.
If an ordinary person was too emotional, they would need to spend a huge amount of time regulating their emotions.
Zero had already exhausted his energy just trying to close the gap between himself and "omniscience and omnipotence", where would he find time to waste?
Fortunately, his efforts were not in vain. Even without relying on the system, he could still keep the Xianzhou's satisfaction level steady at a fairly good value.
As for the second question, after Zero died and the Xianzhou Alliance lost the system's reinforcement, how should it protect itself…
Taking ten thousand steps back, even if the Colossi, the Burning-Heaven Divine Weapons, and the Aether Phase Engine could not be used, he still had Mati.
Zero believed that with Mati's abilities, before Zero died, he would definitely develop even more powerful weapons using those as blueprints.
What's more, Zero had signed a contract with Lan. Lan had said that as long as the Xianzhou needed it, It would go and do so.
The content of the contract was the Xianzhou. Therefore, even if Zero died, the other party would still be obliged to fulfill it.
Zero only needed to cultivate a successor to take over his position, and he could completely shed the identity of marshal.
He was just an ordinary person, nearly five thousand years without rest, taking all his accumulated annual leave in one go, following Akivili on a journey, was that really too much? Letting Hua take office early and take over the Xianzhou, was that really too much?
He was tired of playing, bored of playing. Following Akivili and dying together, was that really too much?
Of course, Zero would definitely leave himself and Akivili some contingencies before dying.
For example, Dust of Rebirth, the blade that could revive the dead.
No matter whether he and Akivili could successfully be revived or not… as long as he pulled out this item, he could give those Aeons a huge surprise.
Even if Zero really died, who knew, one day he might come back to life again.
Honestly, he couldn't even go home anymore. The fact that he hadn't dragged the entire universe down with him to be buried together was already pretty good. Even the Aeon of Destruction would praise him for his kindness, and his close friend Fuli would applaud him for it.
Zero just wanted to die. Was that request really that excessive?
He thought it wasn't excessive at all. Even now, when he thought back on it, he felt relaxed and happy.
In Zero's remaining memories, people valued returning fallen leaves to their roots. That was something he could no longer achieve.
Then settling for second best, wanting to die cleanly and decisively, was that too much?
As for the location, by the tree would be fine.
Wait, then his body… It seemed he could only ask Akivili to help deal with it. Seen this way, his death was indeed something excessive for a close friend.
But there was no helping it. Among the Aeons Zero knew, only Akivili could really be considered reliable. He couldn't very well expect Lan or Aha to collect his body for him, could he? Setting aside Lan, that low–EQ fellow, if Aha didn't use his remains to mess with people's minds, that would already be a blessing…
Jade struggled incessantly in his arms, interrupting Zero's train of thought.
He looked down to see Jade determined to break free of his restraint.
Seeing this, Zero had no choice but to let the cat go.
Despite not matching her size, Jade possessed remarkable agility. She quickly leapt from his arms, landed lightly on the ground, then pinched her voice into a sweet meow, called out a few times, and flopped over to show her belly to Jingliu.
The smooth little combo made both of them laugh. They squatted down together and rubbed Jade's belly.
Zero continued, "I'm an ordinary person. If I want to achieve a goal, I need to spend more time and energy studying, closing the distance between myself and my competitors. So… I can only go without sleep, and skip meals."
For most people, taking the initiative to confess one's flaws to a lover, was undoubtedly something that required setting aside pride and self-respect.
But Zero didn't care.
For most people, recognizing the facts early and accepting that they are ordinary would make life much easier.
Zero had already accepted this back when he was powerless to stop his subordinates from going to their deaths. And so, facing Jingliu, he said it quite frankly.
Jingliu no longer looked at the cat. She turned her head toward Zero and said softly, "I remember you once said you didn't like reading at all. Then why do you still stay in the archive?"
Zero froze for a moment, then sighed.
"How should I put it… I guess I'm just used to it? Besides, in the entire Divination Commission, the archive is the quietest place."
Jingliu said nothing more. When they reached the gate of her residence, she held Jade and took the initiative to suggest, "How about leaving Jade with me? I get up early every day to do morning training. I can take her along."
Zero rubbed the cat's head and said with a smile, "Then I'll trouble Swordmaster."
After they parted, Jingliu settled Jade properly, then turned and headed for Dan Feng's residence.
In the High Elder's estate, Dan Feng had just lit a sleep-inducing incense when he heard movement outside again.
Dan Feng walked slowly toward the courtyard. When he focused his gaze, this time it wasn't Zero, it was Jingliu.
Dan Feng, "..."
'You two really are a match made in heaven!'
The High Elder's mouth twitched slightly as he questioned her, "You and I meeting late at night is rather inappropriate, don't you think?"
Jingliu frowned lightly. For a moment, she didn't understand what Dan Feng meant by that.
Dan Feng took a deep breath. "A lone man and a lone woman, do you really think that's appropriate?"
Jingliu's expression froze for a moment, then she belatedly realized the issue.
How could Dan Feng not understand his friend's thinking?
So from the very beginning, she hadn't even regarded him as male?
Jingliu sat down on the stone stool without changing her expression. Seeing that Dan Feng still refused to sit, she suddenly said, "You were injured before. I carried you back with one hand."
Dan Feng, "..."
Those who understood it knew she was just stating her stance, treating him as a friend.
Those who didn't would think she was mocking him.
'Besides, aside from Yingxing, the logistics guy, which one of them hadn't been carried away by you with one hand?'
'That time was just an accident, okay?! Could you stop deliberately stressing the words "one hand" and "carried"?!'
The High Elder was speechless for a moment. Reacting quickly, he immediately shot back, "Then what about Zero? When he was poisoned before, did you also carry him to the Alchemy Commission with one hand?"
Jingliu gently shook her head, which left Dan Feng greatly disappointed.
The High Elder had originally planned to keep pressing, but who would have thought that Jingliu's next question would instantly kill his mood for watching the fun.
Jingliu looked straight at Dan Feng and asked, "Dan Feng, you knew him a very long time ago, didn't you?"