The So-Called Culprit Behind It All

Inside the room, Mu Qiansè fell silent for a while because of the Dead Zero's answer.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

The Dead Zero, frowned slightly.

"... nothing."

Mu Qiansè's lips twitched slightly.

If she had any doubts before, then with the words spoken by the Dead Zero, she finally found the culprit behind everything.

--This is the care from an elderly father.

She didn't want to openly interfere in her daughter's personal affairs, but she was also unwilling to let some scoundrel fool her with his looks, so she simply took a roundabout approach... She probably did something else as well, right?

Thinking of this, Mu Qiansè cautiously questioned the Dead Zero, in front of her.

"By the way, let me ask you something. You left in such a hurry before, was it because of some extremely urgent matter? The urgent matter that caused you to rush off overnight with the plane... does your father know about it?"

"It was my father who notified me. What happened?"

The Dead Zero, was slightly confused.

"That kind of thing is classified, and you're not Player in this system, so I can't tell you the specifics. But the situation was indeed extremely urgent; one wrong move could have resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties... Fortunately, it turned out to be a false alarm, but just to be on the safe side, I stayed there for almost three months."

"... Okay, I understand."

Mu Qiansè stared silently at the ceiling.

"You received the mission after the trial was basically completed, right?"

"Um."

The Dead Zero, nodded calmly.

"If the timing hadn't been perfect, something else might have been delayed."

"... Let me ask you another question: Is there a signal in the place you're going to?"

"Initially, due to unforeseen circumstances, external signals were cut off for approximately one month."

After thinking for a moment, the Dead Zero gave his reply, his words carrying a hint of dissatisfaction.

"Although I couldn't contact the outside world, I wrote to him every day, but he didn't reply to a single one."

Are you sure he really received your letter...?

For some reason, Mu Qiansè seemed quite powerless.

"Since it's a top-secret mission and a top-secret location, the information there shouldn't be leaked to outsiders, right?"

"It's alright, I've asked my father for help."

The Dead Zero, nodded earnestly.

"My father said he would help me send them out, and he would also bring back any letters received at the collection point."

"... And then did your father tell you that all the letters you sent out had disappeared without a trace? And that he didn't send you anything either?"

Mu Qiansè spoke softly.

"How did you know? You said exactly the same thing as my father."

Looking at Mu Qiansè in front of him, the Dead Zero seemed slightly surprised.

"Ah... I guessed it just by guessing..."

Mu Qiansè waved her hand, appearing quite helpless.

"May I ask what your living environment was like when you were a child? Or how did you spend your childhood?"

"Special training, daily training."

The Dead Zero, looked completely unfazed.

"... I meant something else."

"Anything else?"

"... Where are your family members?"

"My mother stayed at a base in Antarctica year-round, and my father was away from home almost 365 days a year... I grew up in a military camp."

Seemingly hesitant for a moment, but after some thought, the Dead Zero finally revealed this not-so-important information.

"... Okay, let's go back to the beginning of the problem."

Mu Qiansè pressed her forehead hard and spoke.

"Let's put aside the idea of using a date as a pretext for a trial for now, since it was your father's idea. Let's focus on other things. Don't you think that kind of date would be a huge blow to him?"

"... Shouldn't this be normal?"

After thinking for a moment, the Dead Zero asked her with a hint of doubt.

"When I did trials before, it was the same process, but it was much more complicated and several Level more difficult... Can this be considered a setback?"

"... Not everyone is a genius like you."

Mu Qiansè was speechless.

"No, he was always a genius many times stronger than me."

As if recalling his experiences in that Rose Manor, Dead Zero's eyes flickered slightly.

"You have no idea how strong he is. He's a master strategist, as if everything is within his calculations. How could a genius like him be discouraged by something so trivial?"

"... So that's why you didn't realize it?"

Mu Qiansè's lips twitched slightly.

"Even the finest steel needs to be forged and tempered a thousand times. Why can't you just think that it became so strong... a genius, after you struck it down?"

What do you mean?

After frowning and thinking for a while, the Dead Zero asked.

"I can sense that nothing in the world can truly break him. The Trait he displays... the change before and after is indeed quite significant. Could it really be because of that one setback? But that was clearly just something completely common..."

In the end, even the Dead Zero himself became somewhat uncertain.

"Uh... I don't think so, right? After all, although he outwardly appeared to have fallen into depravity and depression, secretly he..."

Influenced by the Dead Zero, Mu Qiansè herself became somewhat confused.

Shaking her head vigorously, Mu Qiansè simply spoke up.

"However, one thing is certain: because of those dates and what happened afterward, he was definitely hurt emotionally, otherwise he wouldn't have acted that way afterwards!!"

"... How so?"

After a moment of silence, the Dead Zero spoke up and asked a question.

"His attitude was indeed somewhat distant, but I don't think those things could really hurt him emotionally... Didn't he later have six girlfriends?"

"So it's precisely because of emotional wounds that they go on and on with girlfriends like crazy."

Mu Qiansè rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed.

"Intentionally labeling yourself a 'scumbag' is probably just to avoid any further interference in relationships, right? So ultimately, you bear at least 50%... no, 30% of the blame for this!!"

"... Could you please explain it to me in detail?"

After a moment of silence, the Dead Zero turned his head to look out the door.

"I came back in such a rush, and right after I got back, Large-scale Campaign Quest and the book were launched. I didn't have any time to learn about those things... Could you please tell me about them?"

"Those things that happened to him after I left."