I only wanted to retire, but I ended up becoming an extremely popular character.

"Hiss~ My popularity has increased by more than 10000, reaching 28794 points. I'm almost at 30000 popularity points."

Zod stared at the total popularity score in his mind, and he was really sweating bullets.

If he reaches 30000 popularity points, his appearance opportunities will increase by another 25%, which would turn into a ghost story.

Zod was actually somewhat prepared for this surge in popularity.

However, Zod found it somewhat unbelievable that his popularity only increased by 10000 points.

That seems way too low!

Zod thought he would at least break through 30000 points, after all, the accident in Clock Tower Town made him famous.

Those damn entertainment-seeking spectators definitely love a good show.

Zod also watches anime frequently, so he has some understanding of the audience's psychology.

Although he was constantly on the run in Clock Tower, according to Xavier, he also contributed to the overall campaign.

The lower popularity rating than he expected could only be explained by one thing: the anime's storyline had most likely not yet reached Clock Tower Town.

That makes sense!

After all, the storyline of a manga is always ahead of the storyline of an anime.

The anime series "Taiwanese Empire" is based on events that occur in this world.

Therefore, the time in the anime series must be behind the time in this world.

Zod's analysis was fierce, but it didn't seem to have any effect on lowering his popularity.

He still has to find a solution on his own.

Recently, after careful analysis, he discovered that there are other ways to lower his popularity rating.

Since he can't mess up the mission, let someone else mess it up.

On the other hand, it can also reduce one's own appearance rate and contribution to the plot.

Simply perfect!

Zod even had to admire his own intelligence.

He's practically a beetroot!

Zod glanced at the time, a mysterious smile playing on his lips: "Judging by the time, Cassius should be arriving soon."

While waiting for Cassius, he suddenly noticed a small thing that he hadn't taken care of in a long time.

He quickly pulled out the Winged Wave Messenger "Crow" from his military uniform.

The moment Zod pulled him out, Kro immediately spread his wings, flew to Zod's head, and patted Zod, seemingly complaining that Zod had neglected him and hadn't fed him on time.

"Crow, I understand, stop fighting, stop fighting!"

Zod quickly comforted Crow, then took out a few crystals and placed them in front of Crow.

Kro flapped its wings and flew to Zod's hand. It happily bit into one of the crystals, chewed the hard ore with its sharp teeth, swallowed it whole, and ate it with great relish.

Tempted by the food, he instantly forgot Zod's coldness towards him.

"Is this a silicon-based life form?" Zod was very curious about the internal structure of "Winged Wave Messenger" Kro.

Is it safe to eat? Can it be used as backup dry rations in an emergency?

However, on second thought, that probably won't work.

If silicon-based organisms are edible, then it's probably not much different from grabbing a handful of sand and eating it.

As I was pondering this, Cassius knocked on the door: "Report!"

Upon hearing the voice outside the door, Zod knew Cassius had arrived: "Come in!"

Cassius walked in, stood ramrod straight in front of Zod, and said, "You wanted to see me? Lieutenant Zod!"

"Yes!" Zod pushed the mission file he had received from Captain Spente in front of Cassius. "Cassius, there's a mission here that needs your attention!"

Cassius swallowed hard. "What mission?"

Zod relayed Spinter's words to Cassius: "The target is a bandit leader with a bounty of 50 crowns. Find him and wipe him out, dead or alive."

Cassius scratched the back of his head, answering somewhat uncertainly, "Lieutenant Zod, you know I have no problem fighting; you can make me fight anyone. But..."

Seeing Cassius's lack of confidence, Zod felt a secret thrill: "But what?"

"Unlike you, I can't do everything perfectly!"

Cassius sighed softly, "I'm really not confident I can find the other party in this kind of detective-like tracking job. I think it's more suitable for you to lead the team."

It's good that we can't find it!

If Cassius doesn't mess up the mission, then Zod will have entrusted the mission to Cassius for nothing!

This concerns Zod's retirement; failure is allowed, success is not!

The less confident Cassius was, the more Zod had to entrust him with the task.

Zod knew he was about to give Cassius another sage-like sermon: "If you think you can't do it, then you should take on the task even more. You'll never do it if you don't try."

"You'll eventually become an Imperial general or colonel if you're not willing to accept any challenges or risks."

"Are you expecting something for nothing?"

Faced with Zod's words that struck a chord with him, Cassius finally understood Zod's good intentions.

It was clearly Lieutenant Zod's intention to train Cassius, but he almost failed to live up to Lieutenant Zod's good intentions.

Cassius stared firmly ahead and assured Zod, "Yes, Lieutenant! I will do my utmost to bring the target bandit leader to justice!"

Upon hearing "do your best," Zod immediately became alert, wondering if he was going too far in motivating Cassius.

He didn't need Cassius to exert his best effort; he just needed Cassius to accept the task.

He quickly patted Cassius on the shoulder: "Cassius, just do what you can. You don't need to put too much pressure on yourself. Don't worry, I'll handle anything, no matter how big the problem is."

Zod had already considered this: what if Cassius failed the mission?

He will definitely go to Captain Spente in person to admit his mistake, take the blame, and accept punishment.

It would be great if he could resign to take responsibility.

Since there's always someone to blame, Zod will definitely rush to take the fall for Cassius, leaving no room for Cassius.

Cassius, his eyes brimming with tears once again, replied, "Yes, Lieutenant!"

He had never encountered a superior like this before, a superior who was willing to take responsibility for the failures of his subordinates.

Although he had long known that Zod had always been a magnanimous and distinguished Imperial officer.

However, Cassius was still deeply moved when he heard Zod's promise with his own ears.

"Whether successful or not, Wu... report back to me within four days. Are there any other questions?"

Zod was quite happy to hear that Cassius was willing to take on the task.

This means that his plan has taken its first step.

Now, all we have to do is wait for Cassius's "good news".

It wasn't that he didn't believe in Cassius's strength, but Zod had read the intelligence about the bandit leader's whereabouts and found almost nothing useful.

Let alone Cassius, even he himself had a hard time finding traces of the bandits.

"That's all!" Cassius picked up the document on the table. "Then I'll take my leave, Lieutenant!"

Go!

Before Cassius left, Zod specifically instructed him, "If you can't find that bandit leader, come back anytime! Cassius, don't push yourself too hard!"

"Yes!" Cassius was once again impressed by Zod's calm and composed demeanor.

When will he be able to do anything without fear and remain calm in the face of danger like Zod?