Jingliu's body froze in an instant, even her breathing stopping for a moment.
She held her breath and focused, looking once more at the photo frame placed on the Marshal's desk.
Jingliu's mind stalled for a second, then she quickly recognized the location captured in the photograph.
That was the iconic building of the Star Sea Council.
It was an exam key point repeatedly emphasized by the academy teachers, a special place that no Xianzhou native, no, to be precise, no human at all, would mistake.
Here, countless laws safeguarding human rights had been passed.
Those qualified to appear here and leave behind an image were extremely few.
And among them… there was more than one person she recognized.
Great leaders famous across the Star Sea, from different star systems, all appeared together in this photo.
Their expressions were not as stern as in textbooks. Instead, with gazes either filled with admiration or flattery, they focused intently on one person.
That person had refined features, with a gentle and harmless smile that made people feel close to him at just one glance.
He looked straight ahead, meeting Jingliu's gaze across time and space.
Jingliu shifted her eyes away and quietly lowered her gaze.
The photo was well preserved, with no flaws in the image or the edges.
Without careful inspection, it was hard to tell when it had been taken.
Only the color tone, different from current aesthetics, along with the many leaders in the image who now existed only in history books, and that face so extremely similar to her lover's…
forced Jingliu to keep thinking.
Father and son? Or something else?
Her thoughts were in disarray, but she quickly realized where she was.
She was with the Marshal.
Her top priority was to carry out her superior's orders.
Jingliu forcibly pulled herself out of her thoughts and waited quietly.
The Marshal frowned tightly, staring at the jade abacus with a focused expression.
After looking for a while, she stood up, walked a few steps outside, then suddenly stopped.
Hua forced a smile and said softly to Jingliu, "Relax, it's break time."
After saying that, she sped up her speech.
"When we get to the Luofu, you and Tengxiao go to Scalegorge Waterscape."
Jingliu's heart sank.
The Marshal's itinerary was the highest secret of the Xianzhou.
This time, the Marshal had suddenly decided to head to the Luofu.
Most people knew nothing about it.
If any department or any high-ranking figure on the Luofu made a mistake during the Marshal's visit…
then it would be the Luofu General's dereliction of duty.
At that time, Tengxiao would certainly deal with the culprit strictly.
Dan Feng, you must not run straight into trouble.
After watching the Marshal leave, Jingliu took out her jade abacus. First, she sent a message to Dan Feng's account, urging Yingxing.
Then, she logged into the official website of the Star Sea Community and entered the words "Xianzhou" to search for related announcements.
Jingliu skimmed quickly, soon finding an announcement related to the Xianzhou Marshal.
The Star Sea Community collectively congratulated the Xianzhou Marshal on becoming the Overseer of the Star Sea.
The wording was no different from the press release of the Interastral Peace Corporation.
The next item was the obituary of the former Marshal.
Jingliu's breathing halted as she opened the obituary.
[To all esteemed member states, since the founding of the Star Sea Community, it has always been supported by the Overseer of the Star Sea, Xianzhou Marshal Zero…]
Jingliu's eyes widened as she reread the obituary.
This time, she slowed down, reading it word by word.
Among the many announcements, this obituary was particularly special.
There was no photo of the deceased, nor any age at death. It only earnestly listed the former Marshal's little-known achievements.
For example, when the Swarm and the "Anti-Organic" equation were still ravaging the universe, he gathered all civilizations to fight against them.
For another, after the war, he abolished slavery, along with a series of laws protecting human rights.
Jingliu's gaze fell on the words "gathered all civilizations."
Even though she was the Sword Champion, even though she had created the undefeated legend of the Cloud Knights…
Jingliu had still faced many hardships when she first joined the Cloud Knights, encountering subordinates who refused to obey.
Then what about other nations?
Gathering all civilizations to fight a calamity… was absolutely no easy task.
Jingliu stared at the name identical to her lover's and overturned all her previous guesses.
He and the person in the photo were not father and son.
The Marshal cared deeply about him and would not let him use the name of the deceased.
Jingliu quickly arrived at an answer.
She scrolled to the end of the obituary.
[As the longest-serving Overseer of the Star Sea, he remained unwavering, striving to protect human rights. The Star Sea will remember him forever.]
[The farewell ceremony is scheduled for 9 a.m., November 4th, Star Calendar year 6302, to be held on the Xuling Xianzhou.]
[Condolence messages, memorial articles, elegiac couplets, and flower baskets from all sectors are respectfully requested to be sent via email…]
Jingliu took a deep breath, closed the obituary, and opened the office software.
With her position and authority, she could access the information of all members of official Xianzhou institutions.
Her hands trembling, Jingliu typed in the name Zero.
After searching, there were many results.
Jingliu, "..."
'Right, this was the Xianzhou, with hundreds of billions of people on each massive ship.'
Separated by just a wall, Hua expressionlessly tapped on her jade abacus.
She believed she was different from the guardian, not someone with an extreme need for control.
Therefore, she merely kept track of that person's information, just as she tracked the vital signs and locations of other Xianzhou people.
Unless necessary, Hua would not take the initiative to investigate.
But just now, the jade abacus had suddenly sounded an alarm.
An anonymous number had sent her the guardian's location, and the place was Scalegorge Waterscape.
The moment she saw the location, Hua understood.
"Imbibitor Lunae" had gotten into trouble.
Even if the High Elder was fine, staying by the guardian's side… sooner or later something would go wrong.
'Wait, that guy Marty delivered himself right to the door!'
Hua sent a message to that anonymous number.
[Hua: The data from the jade abacus and the neutron gun were fabricated by you]
Soon, the other party replied.
[Marty did everything he could, yet still failed to fulfill his final wish]
Hua thought, 'Why would a long-life species even celebrate birthdays?'
She just didn't like celebrating birthdays. What did that have to do with the guardian?
Hua steadied herself and continued typing.
[Hua: You are his most beloved subordinate. As long as you need it, he will approve funds without condition, even pay out of his own pocket to support you. If he knew you were still alive, he would definitely be very happy]
The other party did not agree with Hua's statement.
[The truth will be completely the opposite of your assumption]
[Do you know the Ship of Theseus?]
[I possess someone's memories, but not that heart that reveres life, that belongs to a scholar. Then, am I still that person?]
Hua gritted her teeth.
'Damn it.'
'Don't tell me you think just because you became a mechanical lifeform…'
'He wouldn't like you anymore?!'
Hua suppressed her anger and added another line.
[Hua: Do you know? All the pocket money he's ever given me combined doesn't even compare to a single one of your funding approvals]
This time, the unknown number stopped acting up.
[qwq]
[Sorry, I just… don't know how to make him stop being angry qwq]
[Your Highness, do you know?]
Hua frowned as she typed.
[You are his most beloved subordinate. If even you don't know, how would I know? Skip the nonsense, Marty. When are you going to tell him the truth?]
Before sending the message, she suddenly paused and changed the word "subordinate" to "child."
The anonymous number made a request on its own.
[Could you trouble the Ten-Lords Commission of the Luofu to find me a child-sized puppet qwq]
Hua's mouth twitched slightly.
'So you're afraid he'll beat you up! Then what were you doing earlier?!'
In the end, she still agreed.
After dealing with Marty, Hua let out a breath of relief.
She returned to the room and saw Jingliu still standing in front of her desk, her heart nearly stopping.
Hua, "..."
'Damn! I relaxed too early!'
'That photo is still on my desk!'