Zero only believed half of what Zandar said.
Seeing him fall silent, Zandar smiled and took the initiative to step back.
"If you don't want to pursue a doctorate, that's fine."
Zandar was able to rely on letters left behind by other geniuses from past cycles to reconnect with them and regain their trust.
Zero was different from them.
The student acted cautiously. Aside from leaving ambiguous hints and guiding him to deduce the correct answer, Zandar had no other choice.
His purpose in bringing up "cosmic genesis" was simple.
First, to make Zero waver.
Second, to block Zero's path in advance.
After all, blood would eventually run dry.
On top of that, each Xianzhou ship had an enormous population. The Luofu alone had hundreds of billions of Xianzhou people.
Zero knew that his own flesh and blood, in the face of such a massive population, was nothing more than a drop in the bucket.
Compared to "giving a man a fish," the student preferred "teaching him how to fish."
Zero wanted to find someone to study his flesh and blood, to solve the problem once and for all.
Zandar would not allow that to happen.
So he told Zero in advance that the "Genius Society" was fully occupied with "cosmic genesis."
At the same time, Zandar presented Zero with an option he would never choose, pursuing a doctorate.
In this way, as long as the student was alive, he would never use his own flesh and blood.
After all, in Zero's heart, his "homeland" would always be the most important.
He wouldn't interfere with the Genius Society's research progress.
He cared about his subordinates' feelings and wouldn't dare let them study his flesh and blood.
And if the student didn't want to live? Then fail once more.
Next time, it would probably be Nanook again.
At that point, letting Zero bring the entire empire back to his homeland wouldn't be bad either.
'It's just that girl… a bit of a pity.'
'But it doesn't matter much.'
'Compared to human lives, what did love count for?'
Thinking this, Zandar began to actively and thoroughly introduce the highest-classified project of the Genius Society to Zero.
"'Cosmic genesis' can achieve many unimaginable things."
"We can freely alter or erase concepts within the universe."
"For example, we could take the infinite digits of pi and round them into an integer."
"Well, I admit, rounding pi isn't very interesting. Let's talk about something you care about, like…"
Zandar draped an arm over Zero's shoulder, speaking casually, as if chatting, yet calmly uttering words that could shock the entire universe.
"Erasing Aeons."
"Once we erase the concept of 'gods,' they will cease to exist."
Zero's expression shifted slightly.
If the concept of "gods" could be erased, then… what about "mara"?
Zandar knew he was halfway there.
Next, what he needed to do was control the rhythm of the conversation.
And finally, blow the roof off.
Zandar's expression turned arrogant, his tone light and dismissive, "After all, if reality itself can be altered according to our preferences… what difference is there between us and 'gods'?"
Then he turned his head again, and his expression changed.
He showed Zero an extremely warm smile,
"In that case, let's kill them all."
Zero, "..."
'Why did that sound so familiar?'
Guanliang, "..."
'No wonder these two got along so well!'
'If they kept talking like this… the consequences would be unimaginable!'
'No, I have to think of something...'
'I need to contact the others."
Guanliang abruptly stood up.
Zero looked up, his eyes empty and lifeless, as if nothing existed within them, and looked at Guanliang.
He asked about Guanliang's intention with just his gaze.
Guanliang's eyes fell on Zero's neck.
"I'll go get something cold for you."
His superior's rationality always outweighed emotion. No matter how awkward or angry he felt, he would quickly adjust.
If it left marks like that… Zero must not have any self-healing ability.
At the very least, it needed to be iced, right?
Zero's expression didn't change. He said calmly, "No need."
As the saying goes, no need to sleep long in life, there's plenty of time after death.
Once he died, his body would naturally be cold. Why would he need anything for icing?
Still… he did care about how he looked after death.
Zero changed his mind midway.
"Forget it, go get it."
No matter what… he should at least try to satisfy their requests.
Guanliang let out a breath of relief.
Without showing it, he pretended to be unfamiliar with the hotpot restaurant's layout, walked all the way to the window, and very subtly made a hand signal.
Then he turned around, looking around as if confused.
After stalling for a while, Guanliang headed straight for the cabinet holding the medical kit.
As he rummaged for a cooling patch, he cursed in his heart.
'Damn it.'
If it weren't for Zero and Zandar being close… if Zero weren't sitting right next to him…
Guanliang would've already had someone open fire.
He walked over to the two of them, holding a cooling patch in one hand and dragging a chair with the other. Before they could stop him, he sat directly on Zero's other side.
He knew he couldn't match his former superior in combat.
If the other party really wanted to run… at least by blocking here, he could delay him for a few seconds.
Guanliang tore open the cooling patch and handed it to Zero.
Expressionless, Zero brushed aside his long hair and stuck the patch to the side of his neck.
Zandar remained calm and continued pressing, "What do you think?"
"How about we start with the stellar computer?"
Zero was briefly stunned.
Didn't they say that only after the project succeeded could concepts be altered or erased?
He asked, "You mean, now?"
Zandar nodded. "Yes."
"You can do it."
"For you, this is simple, isn't it?"
Zero hesitated.
Zandar's mental state… why did it look worse than his own?
Then he thought about it. What problem could his teacher possibly have? The problem was the Aeons.
Putting himself in Zandar's shoes, after working so hard to build the stellar computer, only to become an Aeon shortly after using it a few times.
Who could accept that? Wanting to kill "Nous" and deal with the machine he created was only natural.
Guanliang frowned deeply.
'What stellar computer? The Aeon of Erudition?'
Before he could process the massive amount of information, Zandar suddenly changed direction, "However… we're too far from it right now. Why don't we start with the Luofu?"
Guanliang felt puzzled.
The Luofu? What Aeon was there on the Luofu?
Zandar continued to guide him step by step, "Eric, this is a necessary sacrifice."
"When the time comes, even time itself will lose its meaning, let alone Aeons or faith."
Guanliang suddenly felt something was wrong.
'Luofu… faith…'
'Could he be talking about the Reignbow Arbiter?!'
Zandar lightly patted Zero's shoulder, his tone extremely intimate, "Now, deal with 'The Hunt.'"
Zero looked at Zandar and remained silent for a long time.
'Zandar, aren't you being a bit extreme?'
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