Zero had never thought that a bratty kid would think about him.
Hua actually brought over sobering fruit and yogurt after he got drunk.
He was surprised inside. Soon after, Hua said it had been the strategist-in-chief's idea.
Zero instantly understood his subordinate's intention.
It was nothing more than not wanting the relationship between two generations of superiors to become too stiff.
Just right, he had confiscated Hua's New Year money, so he could consider it evened out with the brat.
Since the other side had taken the initiative to offer him a way out, there was no reason for him to keep messing with her state of mind.
After all, she was his heir. If the relationship got too tense… it would inevitably affect his retirement.
Originally, Zero had planned to eat some fruit, drink some yogurt, sit in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, and space out until the night passed.
At this annual meeting, he had spent most of his time chatting with both close and not-so-close subordinates.
If socializing required skills, then at this moment, his mana bar had long since been completely drained.
Zero just wanted to be alone and slowly recover.
Who knew the brat would come downstairs and run straight into him.
Now that the kid was already right in front of him, he couldn't exactly not greet her, could he?
Zero had no choice but to adjust his mood and tease the brat by calling her "Her Highness the Crown Princess."
She froze for a moment, then kept a straight little face and said seriously, "You said before that you only needed me to help you do one thing. I've already done that thing."
Zero thought it over. His eyes carried a smile, his expression relaxed, and he nodded at the brat.
He really had said that.
Only Hua could use "Feather Crossing Dust."
And the candidates for heir weren't just Hua, there were also Lan and Guanliang.
As for the equally outstanding Marty… Zero truly couldn't feel at ease.
A pure-minded research genius shouldn't be troubled by political affairs.
Anyway, that "Heart of God" item that could form contracts still had one use left.
If Hua and Guanliang really didn't want to, he could just borrow the item and let Lan take over his position.
That was his real plan.
When speaking to Guanliang, Zero had deliberately reversed the order, placing the strategist-in-chief as the last option.
The other man wouldn't think that the "Hunt" Aeon would return to the Xianzhou to take over the marshal's position.
Only in this way would Guanliang try every possible means to help him make Hua the heir.
It was only ten years, after all.
When the time came, he would finally be free.
Of course, before that, he also had to let the strategist-in-chief and the other subordinates who likewise couldn't die obtain their release.
Zero had promised Marty that he wouldn't use the neutron gun to take anyone's life.
Aside from the neutron gun, the only thing that could end their lives was the colossus.
But using the colossus would be far too painful, wouldn't it?
After thinking it over, only by doing it himself could they die faster and more easily.
That way, they wouldn't suffer too much pain.
Ten years, that's all.
Thinking this, Zero patted the seat beside him, signaling for Hua to sit down.
When Hua came closer to the water bar, Zero realized the problem.
The stool at the water bar was too high.
Their relationship wasn't close. It was nowhere near the point where Hua could accept him picking her up.
On top of that, Zero had a prior record. At this moment, Hua would probably be even more resistant to physical contact between them.
Considering Hua's feelings, Zero stayed where he was, still propping his chin with his hand, watching the child struggle to brace herself on the chair, lift her foot onto the footrest, and only then sit up.
Zero's tone was relaxed, as if he were chatting about something unimportant.
"You said you don't have a father like me. Coincidentally, I also don't have a child like you."
"I'm just your guardian."
"To be precise, on the Xianzhou household registry, I'm your guardian."
"Ten years from now, you can do whatever you want."
The child in front of him showed a series of changing expressions.
Zero didn't pay it any mind.
In the same tone as before, he asked, "Alright, can't sleep? Do you need me to tell you a bedtime story and lull you to sleep?"
Hua kept her little face tight and shook her head.
For a moment, the two fell into silence.
Zero let out a deep sigh.
He really didn't know how to interact with kids.
Especially when they were this young… and girls, at that.
Zero's mana bar was already empty. He couldn't spare any mental energy to look for a topic, so he casually asked, "Where are your lottery tickets?"
Hua only looked at him and didn't say a word.
Seeing this, Zero found it amusing and coaxed softly, "Alright. I said I'd deduct your New Year money, and I'll only deduct your New Year money. I won't take your lottery tickets."
Hua showed an indescribable expression and reluctantly took out the tickets.
Zero took them, gave them a quick glance, memorized the address on them, then returned the tickets to Hua.
He stood up and extended his hand toward Hua in an inviting gesture.
"Do you want to come with me and take a look at the gifts you received?"
Hua hesitated and didn't put her hand in his.
Zero calmly withdrew his hand.
At present, he was very good at putting himself in others' shoes.
If he ran into some adult who snatched away his New Year money, he'd probably throw a tantrum too.
Zero turned and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window.
This hotel was located on an artificial island, and by now the night was deep.
If they were in a mid- or lower-level room, they might still be able to see Xianzhou people having fun with friends and family.
Unfortunately, in front of the top-floor window, all one could see was the coastline and various buildings outlined by countless points of light, shining all night long.
Zero quickly found Hua's gift.
He raised his hand and pointed in a direction, saying, "Over there, that's your gift."
Hua looked over.
She stared at the most dazzling building among the cluster, the one with the most light sources, and fell silent for a moment.
Hua asked, "Isn't that a Yaoqing tourist attraction?"
"A lot of people come to Yaoqing to travel and take photos there."
Zero, "..."
Yaoqing opened some grotto-heavens and areas to the public for sightseeing.
But why had the house he originally set aside as a prize… become a tourist attraction in Yaoqing?
He patiently explained to Hua.
"That's not a tourist attraction. It's private property. And now, it's yours."
Hua let out an "oh" and didn't say anything more.
Zero shifted his gaze and looked out at the sea.
The sea and sky that weren't favored by light became patches of blue in varying shades, scattered with all kinds of ships.
One ship was especially distinctive. Though it was far from the artificial island where the hotel stood, it still caught the eye immediately.
The reason was simple. If other ships only provided sea fishing and snorkeling services for hotel guests, then that ship was a mobile city at sea that could satisfy all the needs of the wealthy in the star seas.
That was the cruise ship General Yaoqing had submitted in the documents, the second backup plan for this annual meeting, and Hua's gift.
Zero didn't understand cruise ships and could only rummage through the documents he had seen before.
When his subordinates mentioned the cruise ship, they had glossed over it.
He could only repeat the wording from the documents.
"How many billions of credit points did that cruise ship cost to build again? Anyway, it's currently the most luxurious cruise ship with the highest passenger capacity. It hasn't been opened to the public yet. If you like it, you can go play on it."
"Let me think, what else is on it?"
Zero paused, trying hard to recall the cruise ship he had visited with Guanliang and Daiyang years ago.
After so many years, there were surely only more facilities, not fewer.
Daiyang had mentioned many activities to him back then.
Zero filtered them a bit, picked out what was appropriate to tell a minor, and said to Hua, "You can play golf, skate, surf, bungee jump, um, and there's also a water park."
Hua, "..."
Why was this adult talking to a ten-year-old kid like her about bungee jumping?
Zero continued, "All the revenue it generates from now on will belong to you."
For once, he considered Hua's situation and said thoughtfully, "But given your current circumstances, forget the cruise ship, you probably can't even afford the property management fees, utilities, and staff wages for that house."
After saying that, he hesitated for a moment, then added, "Then I'll temporarily cover those expenses for you."
After all, he'd already deducted the brat's New Year money… he couldn't just take without giving back at all, right? He had to show something.
Zero couldn't help feeling heartache over the unnecessary expense. Looking at Hua, who was gazing out the window, he said, "Alright. Kids should be sleeping now."
He grabbed Hua by the collar.
Hua, "..."
Last time it was carrying her. This time it was lifting her?
'What an unreliable adult.'
Ignoring the child's struggles, Zero took big steps, grabbed her by the collar, carried her to the second-floor bedroom, shut the door, then returned to the floor-to-ceiling window to continue spacing out.
Ten more years… no, to be precise, today was Hua's birthday.
Nine more years.
He was in an extremely good mood, watching the night slowly fade away.
Zero glanced at the time on his jade terminal. There was still one hour until the academy started.
He timed it carefully, summoned a female attendant, and told her to prepare breakfast and wake Hua up.
Zero gave the attendant the academy's address.
After solving the brat's school problem, he left the suite to look for his subordinates.
When Guanliang saw that only his superior was there, his eyes widened in shock as he asked incredulously, "Where's Hua?"
Zero was confused. "She has to go to school."
The vein at Guanliang's temple twitched. "...You're not sending her?"
Zero said indifferently, "She's already ten. Do adults really need to personally escort her? Don't worry, the hotel will take her to school."
Guanliang couldn't take it anymore. He looked around, saw several Xianzhou generals, and had no choice but to lower his voice, "...Can you treat her a bit better?"
Zero thought, 'If I treat that child well, that's what would really harm her.'
Zero smiled and said, "This way is good for her, and for me."
Guanliang fell silent at once.
Yes. His superior would be gone in ten years.
He believed there was no need to let one more person grieve for him. He believed that long-lived beings had many ten-year spans, and that his own ten years meant nothing to Hua.
Zero glanced down at his jade terminal. It was exactly time to start work, so he immediately talked business with the strategist-in-chief.
Guanliang was multitasking, discussing work while also thinking about how to get his superior to properly teach the heir.
The marshal could do things no one else could.
For example, ordinary-looking talisman paper that could seal the "Mara-struck."
Those subordinates would only gaze at it with awe, look at it again and again, and never dare to try drawing talismans themselves.
Now that Hua was the superior's heir, he would probably teach her too, right?
Just as Guanliang thought, only a few days later, his superior had someone prepare yellow paper and cinnabar, then personally went to Hua and instructed her to come find him at midnight.
Hearing the time, Guanliang decisively told the attendants to free up a room for Hua in his superior's residence.
His superior always drew talismans at the hour of Zi. It seemed he was preparing to teach Hua what he was skilled at.
Drawing talismans consumed a lot of energy and spirit. It was better not to run back and forth, she might as well stay there directly.
———
A few days later, Hua developed a fever.
When Guanliang heard about it, he assumed it was just a minor illness.
His superior had specially summoned the Master of the Alchemy Commission to treat Hua.
Guanliang couldn't help complaining inwardly.
And he still said it was good for both of them… he was clearly truly invested. He wasn't treating Hua as an heir at all, he was treating her like a child, wasn't he?
If it were really as his superior said, why would he specially summon the Master? Wouldn't it be enough to just find any doctor?
Zero knew nothing about what his subordinate was thinking.
After asking the Master, he soon put it out of his mind.
Zero trusted his Master. A trivial ailment like this would definitely be fine the next day.
There were taboos when drawing talismans. One of them was that one must not draw talismans while the mind was unclear, such as when drunk or ill.
Hua was very talented and learned quickly. It wouldn't be long before she could draw talismans that sealed the "Mara-struck."
The next day, when the Master came to him with a bitter expression, he finally realized something was wrong.
The medicine the Master prescribed had no effect at all.
Zero felt deeply uneasy.
Could it be… because he taught Hua to draw talismans?
That shouldn't be. He had told Hua many precautions, and she had followed every single one.
Zero followed the Master and the strategist-in-chief to Hua's room. He bent down, touched the child's burning forehead, and said nothing.
He looked around. With a sweep of his gaze, he saw the yellow paper on the table.
Could it be… that it really was because of the talisman paper?
Or perhaps it wasn't Hua's problem. It was his problem.
Perhaps the talismans he was good at couldn't be taught to the people here.
Zero rummaged through the stack of talisman papers Hua had used for practice and asked the Master, "Do you have fire?"
The Master shook his head.
Guanliang widened his eyes, ignoring the Master beside him, and hurriedly whispered, "Are you… going to burn these talismans?"
Zero nodded.
The strategist-in-chief let out a deep sigh.
His superior's condition… was truly worrying.
He said earnestly, "Then at least change locations, alright? Don't do it in the room. Hua still has a fever."
Zero froze for a moment.
He closed his eyes, walked outside, and burned the talisman papers with fire.
Perhaps it was because of the Master's medicine, or perhaps because Zero burned the talismans, but the next day, Hua woke up.
She only felt her scalp aching in waves. When she opened her eyes, she happened to see that nasty adult sitting by her bedside.
Hua turned her head and saw that the man was holding a lock of her hair in his hand.
Zero raised his head, meeting Hua's gaze.
He slowly released his grip on the hair.
Hua raised her hand and touched her hair, only to feel small, uneven, crooked braids of varying thickness.
She asked, "What is this?"
Zero raised his hand and tested the child's forehead temperature with the back of his hand.
He didn't speak. Hua waited for quite a while before getting an answer.
Zero said, "This is a longevity braid."
Hua froze. Her eyes shifted slightly, she pressed her lips together, and didn't say anything.
Zero gently reassured her, "Get a good rest tonight. We won't learn talisman drawing anymore. After school tomorrow, we'll learn something more interesting."
He stood up calmly.
Wearing a black coat, using the motion as cover, he slipped the small tuft of hair he had accidentally pulled out into his coat pocket.
He thought that later, he should tell the kitchen to make more hair-growth-promoting dishes for Hua.
———
Another day passed. When Hua returned to Zero's residence after school, before she could even put down her backpack, he lifted her up by the armpits.
Zero held Hua up with both hands, his tone extremely cheerful, "Look, Lan, this is the heir I've chosen..."
Hua met the gaze of the blue-haired, black-eyed man, and the two fell silent for a moment.
The man named "Lan" was the first to speak. He asked, "...Are you willing?"