"What's Cloud doing!?"
In the distance, Zack frowned.
They had been sent to conduct surveillance, but Cloud got interested in the target and insisted on striking up a conversation.
What could Zack do? Of course he let him.
So, he went up, said a few words, and then ran off.
Was he here to joke around?
Did he not realize how much risk Big Bro had taken to get him this opportunity, how many hardships and tears he endured?
And now, he didn't even appreciate it.
"Zack, come help me out!"
Zack was internally complaining when he suddenly heard Su Ye call for him.
"What... What do you want to do now?"
Behind him, Su Ye had somehow gotten hold of a pile of wood and dumped it loudly in front of Zack.
Zack was speechless.
"Big brother, what are you doing with all this wood? Are you chopping it for firewood?"
Zack glanced at his own Buster Sword—a huge blade over 20 cm wide—it did look fit for chopping wood.
But he was a warrior, not a lumberjack. Using a weapon to chop wood? Was this a joke?
Su Ye, however, didn't have such concerns. With a flick of his hand, the Buster sword disassembled into a pile of tool parts.
Then he started carving the wood with them.
In no time, the logs became boards and strips.
"Here, help me use this to build a flower cart, one you can push down the street to sell flowers."
"Cloud!" Zack couldn't help but remind him.
"We're here on a mission, not to flirt! What are you doing now, building a flower cart to offer as dowry to the target?"
Su Ye frowned. In the original story, Zack gave Aerith a flower cart, and then they became a couple.
Why is Zack pretending like he doesn't understand now?
Could it be that he's regretting it?
"Zack, I just went to introduce myself. It's not too late for you to have second thoughts now."
"Bullshit!"
Zack immediately stuck his Buster Sword into the ground next to him.
"I don't regret anything. I just don't get what exactly you're trying to do."
Su Ye picked up two wooden sticks and started gesturing with them.
"To really understand the target, I need deep interaction. Surface-level stuff might just be a façade she wants me to see."
"Real contact, deep interaction, and firsthand exploration—that's how you learn the truth."
"That's when her responses will be the most genuine!"
"Get it now?"
Zack shook his head helplessly.
"I get it, but somehow I feel like what I understand isn't quite what you mean."
"Well, close enough," Su Ye laughed.
"Come on, help me make the flower cart. I'm not familiar with this. Can you do it?"
Zack took the wood from Su Ye, gesturing with it in his hands. His movements were clearly quite professional.
"Tell me what you want: a transformable sports car mode or a flying jet fighter form?"
Su Ye immediately had a black line appear across his forehead.
"Big brother, are you joking? I just want to make a flower cart to bond with the target. I'm not trying to start an intergalactic war. What's with all the transforming race cars and fighter jets? Are we talking about Transformers here?"
"Transformers? Never heard of them!" Zack even responded, playing along perfectly.
Su Ye rolled his eyes— "You're seriously feeding into this?"
"Big brother, just a simple flower cart will do. No need for transformations. Just put some flowers on it and push it around, is that okay?"
"This is a bit too simple!" Zack said, but his hands didn't stop working.
Ten minutes later, a flower cart was complete. It looked a little rough but was solid and durable.
"Nice craftsmanship! Zack, have you been a carpenter before?" Su Ye asked, confused.
"Who's a carpenter? Not me, don't make things up!" Zack quickly denied.
"I just worked in the Weapons Development Department for a while."
"Weapon Development Department?" Su Ye immediately thought of the department head, Scarlett.
"Do you know Scarlett? Isn't she the head of the weapon development department? How is she? Is her skill any good?"
Zack nodded. "Of course, her skills are excellent. Otherwise, how could she manage such an important department like weapon development?"
"And..."
He stopped halfway through and showed a subtle expression on his face.
It seemed like he was reminiscing, or rather, savoring the thought.
He was speaking highly of Scarlett, even praising her technical skills.
Su Ye seemed to understand why Zack didn't react when he saw Aerith earlier and even encouraged Su Ye to go talk to her.
So, this was the issue.
Turns out, he and Scarlett, the same "Big Cough" lady, must have some unspoken relationship.
This is getting interesting!
But upon thinking more carefully, Scarlett and Aerith—only a child would choose Aerith.
Adults would definitely want both!
If they had to choose one, Scarlett would definitely have the upper hand.
"Alright, Zack, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you. We're both men, I understand."
Su Ye said sincerely.
Zack snorted. "Men, huh? You, kid, who only treats girls as treasures, how can you understand the world of adults?"
"Come on, come on, stop talking, hurry up and get moving, go interact with your target!"
Zack pushed him forward, clearly not wanting to discuss this matter further.
Discussing a relationship with the company leader wasn't really a big deal. It was probably just that Zack didn't want to embarrass himself in front of his little brother.
"Let's go!"
Su Ye pushed the flower cart back and soon returned to the church.
"Hey there, nice to see you again."
Su Ye smiled and greeted Aerith, who also smiled and tilted her head to look at him.
"So this counts as our second meeting?"
Su Ye nodded. "Of course, once we meet twice, we're not just acquaintances anymore. We can now call each other friends!"
"Nice to meet you, friend."
"Alright, friend," Aerith shrugged. "But I don't even know your name."
"Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Su Ye, nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you, Su Ye. I'm Aerith. Please take care of me!"
"No need for formality. As your friend, I've prepared a gift for you."
Su Ye pushed the flower cart in front of her. "I made this myself. It's a gift for you."
"Wow! It's so pretty!"
Aerith nearly jumped with joy.
She had wanted a flower cart for a long time so she could take more flowers out to sell, make more money, and return to help the poor in the slums.
As the ancients said, when poor, one should take care of oneself; when wealthy, one should help the world.
Aerith hadn't reached the "wealthy" stage yet; she was just a girl making a living by growing and selling flowers, but she had a heart full of love.
That was her charm.
But to Su Ye, her approach wasn't very effective.
"The rich help the poor because they have enough wealth to support such actions. But if the poor rely solely on charity to help the poor, they may remain poor forever."
On the bustling streets of the business district, the two of them pushed the flower cart while talking.
Mostly, Aerith spoke about her past.
From childhood to adulthood, she didn't have many friends and rarely had the opportunity to share her experiences. So, when she found Su Ye willing to listen, she immediately began speaking nonstop.
As she continued, talking about what she was currently doing, Su Ye suddenly raised an objection.
"Have you considered the root cause of their poverty? If that cause can't be identified, even if you sell all the flowers in your church and do it every day, you won't be able to help them all!"
"Charity work is never just about giving money. It's about giving the poor a chance to lift themselves out of poverty with their own hands and abilities."
Su Ye spoke in a low voice, his tone not particularly impassioned, but the content was profound and striking.
Previously, everything Aerith had done and thought was just about selling a little more, earning more, and helping out her neighbors.
She never considered helping her neighbors find an opportunity to escape poverty—a job that could support them.
Because she couldn't do it herself.
Her identity and experiences limited her imagination.
But Su Ye's words continued.
"Poverty generally has two causes: one is internal, and the other is external."
"The internal cause can be summed up in one word: laziness!"
"There are no people who die from poverty, only those who die from laziness. As long as you aren't lazy and are willing to work hard—even if it's just carrying bricks—you can support yourself."
Aerith suddenly spoke up. "But they can't find jobs! There are so many people in the slums, everyone is waiting for a job, but the opportunities are so scarce."
Su Ye nodded. "This is the external reason I was talking about."
"What is it that causes there to be no job opportunities in society, leaving these people unable to find work?"
Aerith thought hard for a moment. "Is it because Xandar's technology is so advanced, and many manual jobs have been replaced by machines?"
"That's not entirely wrong, but think deeper," Su Ye continued.
Aerith shook her head. "I can't figure it out."
Su Ye sighed. "It's fine if you can't figure it out. You've lived in this city your whole life, in that church. How would you know what the world outside is like, and how could you understand the problems of the world you live in?"
"So?" Aerith asked.
"So, you need to go out and see. Go to different countries, even different planets, and see what the outside world is like. Then you'll know how to change things here, so those poor people can live a life of happiness, too."
After living on Xandar for 18 years, it was the first time Aerith felt the urge to go out and see the world.
And, it was with a man she had just met.
This was absolutely absurd.
But Su Ye's narration wasn't over.
"Do you know? Where I was born, there were two countries."
"One of the countries is the most powerful on that planet, with an economy and military strength far surpassing other nations. Yet, in this country, there are many homeless people."
"At night, forget about a single woman— even a man walking alone on the street is at risk of being robbed or even blown up!"
"And the leaders of this country never considered changing the situation. They never thought about making the streets safe, giving the homeless a chance to eat and have a warm place to stay."
"All they do every day is hoard wealth and engage in pointless wars, using their power to bully other countries, even trying to exploit the world's economy to support themselves."
"Countless wealthy, prosperous nations were turned into shells of themselves, with families torn apart and people suffering."
"On the other hand, another country, though ancient, declined due to some reasons. It was even bullied by many other nations and went through a hundred years of war before finally achieving peace."
"Despite being isolated, sanctioned, and oppressed by that other country and its allies, this nation worked tirelessly to develop its economy and remained steadfast in its commitment to poverty alleviation."
"In just a few decades, they lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. The entire nation no longer had slums, and the society was peaceful and unified."
"Everyone can walk freely at night without fearing for their lives."
"Do you understand what this means?"
"When the most powerful country is still thinking about how to steal resources from others, this country focuses on developing its own people and never forgets the goal of improving the living standards of its citizens. Do you know how much perseverance and determination that requires?"
"If you really want to do something for the poor, for this planet, I truly recommend that you go there and see for yourself. You might find something entirely new."
When the topic of the planet was mentioned, Aerith suddenly became uneasy.
She was Ego's descendant left on this planet. And Ego had left a fragment of himself here.
When her divine genes awakened, she formed a connection with that fragment.
The purpose of Ego's manifestation was to devour this planet and claim it as his own.
In other words, this planet, Xandar, was considered Ego's private property by his manifestation. No one else could take it from him.
This intent was also communicated to Aerith, and it caused a shift in her thinking.
She loved this planet. She wanted to protect it and its people.
This feeling had even escalated to a sense similar to being a guardian of the world.
But the problem was that her abilities didn't match her ideals; she didn't have the power to carry out such grand ideas.
So, she needed to go out and see more, gain strength, and find someone to help her.