Zero opened the system backpack and found the sheet of paper where the fable and hints were written.
The handwriting of the fable looked especially childish, completely different from the handwriting below that wrote the cat and dog hints.
Judging from the handwriting… the fable was written by Zandar, and the hints were written by Zero himself.
Zero fell into thought.
It was very hard for him to give trust to others.
Even if his past self had left hints everywhere reminding him of his relationship with Zandar, he still found it hard to believe the other party.
When the two first met, Zero had taught Zandar a new language.
Having the same handwriting… was perfectly normal.
But why, after so many cycles, was the other person's handwriting still the same as his?
Zero couldn't stop thinking about that fable book, the words on the title page and the postscript… were they really written by him?
He quickly ruled out this guess.
Zandar was different from him.
Zero had a special constitution, Star Gods couldn't kill him.
But once the plan was discovered by the Star Gods… Zandar would really die.
From this point of view, Zandar was an ally who would never betray him.
As for why the handwriting was the same…
Zero tried to think from another angle.
Zandar was responsible for recording experimental data, so he must have also kept materials from previous cycles.
Then, as a top scholar, learning a new language on the side and practicing handwriting as neat as Zero's would be quite normal.
Zero quickly sorted out his thoughts.
Judging from the ugly handwriting, not long after they met, they must have quickly reached agreement and decided to kill those Star Gods?
As for the "Erudition" Emanator Zandar mentioned… whether this person had really violated the latest galactic law…
Zero didn't care about the truth, nor did he have interest in investigating further.
He knew Zandar wouldn't betray him.
Even though Zero didn't understand Zandar's personality well, but…
If Zandar could get along with him, that meant they were very alike.
Zandar must be the type with steady emotions, strong execution ability, and one who wouldn't stop until reaching the goal.
Even taking ten thousand steps back, even if it was fake, so what?
If his ally ran into someone they didn't like, helping solve it wasn't excessive.
Besides, an "Erudition" Emanator voluntarily presenting such a good chance to make an example out of someone, how could Zero miss it?
Zero stopped hesitating, forwarded the information Zandar provided to his subordinates, and told them to send Sea Patrol Rangers to handle it.
He quickly threw the matter to the back of his mind and began thinking about his successor's education issues.
Zero had previously followed Akivili's advice, but sadly Hua simply didn't want to read books properly.
So how should he help the child develop proper values?
Zero thought for a while, then decisively gave up.
If he used methods he came up with… how could he possibly raise a normal person?
After thinking again and again, Zero decided to let Hua keep a pet.
If values couldn't be taught, then at least responsibility could be cultivated through a pet.
Zero picked up the jade communicator and asked Guanliang for his opinion.
[How about picking a pet for Hua?]
Guanliang, seeing this, kept sighing inside that his superior was rarely acting human for once.
He was actually asking other people's opinions.
'Rare, very rare!'
A pet… most likely his superior would choose from the breeds left by Chaoyan.
Since Chaoyan passed away, the Marshal had specially arranged people to take care of those pets.
After thinking for a moment, Guanliang replied.
[Wait until Hua gets back from school and ask what she thinks]
Zero listened to the advice well, focused on handling documents, and after finishing a day's work, a while later Hua returned.
Hua came in holding a pot of pothos and stood in front of Zero.
Zero asked with interest, "What's this?"
Hua carefully protected the green plant in her hands and said, "This is homework from an elective class."
Zero nodded, then asked, "Cats, dogs, hamsters, which do you like?"
Hua felt surprised inside.
Did the sun rise from the west? Her guardian was actually asking her opinion?
She actually didn't want to keep a pet.
But it was rare for her guardian to let her choose herself.
If she didn't choose this time… would he go back to making decisions for her like before?
After thinking it over again and again, Hua decided to keep a pet.
She realized among those three options, only a hamster wouldn't knock over her homework.
She quickly made her choice.
"I like hamsters."
Hua thought, this time, her guardian should be reliable, right?
The next day after school, Hua stared at the Labrador, not even reaching her knees and wagging its tail wildly, and fell silent.
She looked at her guardian and asked, "Where's the hamster?"
Zero paused, searched in his coat pocket with a leather gloved hand, and pulled out a lively hamster trying hard to escape restraint.
He stuffed the furry little thing into Hua's hands, then crouched down and picked up the Labrador.
The puppy was extremely enthusiastic, completely focused on trying to lick his face.
Zero subconsciously turned his face aside and dodged.
He said, "The hamster is yours. This one is mine."
Hua thought for a moment, then showed a suddenly enlightened expression.
She said firmly, "You actually like hamsters more, right?"
Zero, "…I like obedient dogs more."
'Who likes hamsters! Don't look like you've seen through everything!'
Hua thought, her guardian clearly liked hamsters.
She deliberately sighed like an adult, looking as if she was tolerating some childish behavior.
Hua cooperatively said, "Mm, don't like hamsters."
She raised the pet in her hand. "While I'm at school, I'll leave it to you to take care of it."
Zero, "..."
That really was a reason he couldn't refuse.
Zero's mouth twitched slightly, and without showing it, he handed the hamster care job to Lan.
Hua looked at the Labrador in his arms, then at the hamster in her hands. Probably afraid her pet might get eaten in one bite, she very readily agreed to this suggestion.
She turned and handed the hamster to Lan.
Lan, "..."
Considering Hua was one of the rare normal people on the Xianzhou, the Star God didn't refuse.
A few days later, the pothos Hua had carefully taken care of became droopy.
Hua held the flowerpot and looked up at Lan.
With a serious expression, she said, "This pot of pothos is my homework."
Lan, "..."
Facing one of the rare normal people on Xianzhou, the Star God yielded once again and took over the responsibility of caring for the plant.
When Zero learned about this, he was very surprised.
Come on, that was the easiest pothos to grow.
He sincerely gave Hua a suggestion, "How come you can't keep anything alive? Why not try raising ants?"
Hua stayed silent for a moment, then changed the topic. She brought up Xianzhou textbooks and asked why his name wasn't in them.
Zero paused briefly, petting the dog's head while saying, "Imagine this, whether textbooks or news, all of them have my name written on them."
"Every person you meet would praise my achievements."
Hua, "..."
She thought, that must be a nightmare.