Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

It took Qi Zhimu quite a while to recover.

He casually wiped his lips, then lowered his eyes, his fingertips gently brushing across Black Tower's lips, wiping away the remaining crimson blood.

I felt relieved to know she was alright.

Turning my neck to look around, all I could see was a light mist drifting erratically.

"So, where is this place?"

Black Tower strained his mind and analyzed the surrounding spatial coordinates. Before long, a rare hint of joy flashed across his face.

"This is the no-man's land within the mists of memory!"

Her voice unconsciously rose considerably, filled with excitement.

"The ethereal life forms outside Azure Star must pass through this region to truly enter Azure Star's gravitational range."

"We've finally left the labyrinth area! If we just cross the no-man's-land in this direction, we'll see the equatorial fortress defenses and return to Azure Star!"

"...We're almost at your front door."

Qi Zhimu snorted, grabbed the Black Tower's wrist and pulled it into his arms to protect it, then mounted his staff and sped off into the depths of the mist.

The scenery along the way was desolate.

Twisted phantoms occasionally emerge from the mist of memory, and sometimes one can see some wandering ethereal life forms.

They come in various shapes and sizes, hidden in the thick fog, and exude obvious hostility.

Those ethereal beings with a certain level of intelligence, upon sensing Qi Zhimu's aura, mostly chose to avoid him, not daring to challenge his power.

But there are always some low-intelligence creatures that act solely on their killing instincts.

Once it recognizes the human aura on Black Tower, it's like a shark smelling blood, roaring and charging forward without regard for anything else.

Faced with these ignorant scum, Qi Zhimu was too lazy to play games and killed them as quickly as possible.

The journey through the no-man's-land was equally long.

However, compared to the bloody battles I experienced in various desperate worlds not long ago, it is now infinitely easier.

Gradually, the fog began to thin, and familiar scenes emerged.

Black Tower stared straight ahead.

When I left three years ago, the equatorial defense fortress that stretched along the edge of the no-man's-land came into view.

In my memory, the fortress was majestic and magnificent, with countless heavy energy-concentrating cannons standing on it.

The defense forces are stationed here to block malicious, fictitious life forms from crossing the no-man's-land.

But everything before my eyes was completely different.

The equatorial fortress is now in a dire state, with gaps in its outer walls and charred marks and molten metal fragments left by fierce battles everywhere.

Some areas have completely collapsed, exposing the intricate internal structure and broken load-bearing columns.

Not to mention the Azure Star Defense Force, there isn't even a trace of human activity.

Surprisingly, many low-intelligence, ethereal beings have hidden in dark corners and built nests, turning the former fortress into their habitat.

Black Tower froze, utterly bewildered.

The fall of a defensive fortress can only mean two bad things.

Either the defense line collapses completely, forcing humanity to retreat to Azure Star and hold out for the rest of the world.

Either the Memory Labyrinth Zone inside Azure Star has absorbed and merged with more areas of the real world.

Either way, it foreshadows a deterioration in the situation in their hometown to an unimaginable degree.

Taking in Heita's expression, Qi Zhimu didn't offer any meaningless words of comfort. Instead, he tightened his grip on her arm and quickly passed through the abandoned fortress.

Suddenly, the view opened up, and the complete outline of the azure star came into view.

Black Tower's breath hitched.

The azure planet has been transformed into a white world almost entirely covered in ice and snow.

From space, no trace of blue liquid water or any green color can be seen on the planet's surface.

Glaciers stretch endlessly, covering all the mountains and plains, while storms rage in the thick atmosphere, whipping up blizzards.

The entire planet exuded a deathly, cold, and despairing aura.

Due to the semi-fusion of reality and illusion, the effects of crossing the gravitational field, atmosphere, and Kármán line no longer exist.

The two penetrated the planet's outer protective layer and flew towards the ground.

The temperature was plummeting at an alarming rate, and as the altitude decreased rapidly, Qi Zhimu deliberately slowed down.

The blurry white figure in Black Tower's eyes gradually became clearer.

Ice valleys with countless ravines and snow-capped peaks soaring into the clouds.

The cold wind, carrying sharp ice crystals, howled through the sky and struck the magical shield that Qi Zhimu had erected, producing a dense sound.

This ice-covered planet has an extremely harsh environment and does not have the natural conditions suitable for human survival on the surface.

Back when the Black Tower was on its mission, the average surface temperature dropped significantly due to the influence of the Memory Mist, but many continental plate regions were still within the range that humans could adapt to, far from being as severe as they are now.

If it weren't for Qi Zhimu's protection, even if she didn't suffocate from lack of oxygen, she would have frozen to death the moment she was exposed to the air, and her blood would have frozen in the blink of an eye.

Qi Zhimu glanced at the vast expanse of white below and clicked his tongue:

"The environment's tough enough, kid. Do you even remember the coordinates of your coalition government?"

Before Black Tower could answer, he continued talking to himself, his tone suggesting he was enjoying the spectacle.

"Frozen to this state, could it be that all the original humans of Azure Star have died out?"

Black Tower didn't respond, but took out the long-unused coordinate signal connector.

After so many changes, and with Azure Star in its current state, the items are most likely no longer usable.

But with a try-it-and-see attitude, Black Tower pressed the start button anyway.

Something unexpected happened.

After the indicator light flashed a few times, it successfully connected to the corresponding frequency band, but the frequency was not very stable and it kept emitting a buzzing sound.

Black Tower held his breath, staring intently at the fluctuating wavebands on the screen.

Soon, the communication was connected, and a woman's tired voice came through.

"Hello, this is the Joint Government Space Coordinates Connection Department. How can I help you with any questions?"

Upon hearing this, Black Tower's eyes flashed with astonishment.

Spatial coordinate docking department?

Before she set off on her mission, the commander-in-chief personally assured everyone that the docking station had the highest level of communication privileges.

Once back on Azure Star and connected to the corresponding frequency band, we can directly contact the core person in charge of the project and immediately dispatch a spaceship to pick us up.

But now, the communicator with the highest authority is only connected to dual-use military and civilian departments.

The woman on the other end of the communicator didn't hear a response, so she patiently asked again, "Hello? Can you hear me? Please tell me if you need help."

Black Tower remained silent for a moment, suppressing the complex emotions in his heart, and asked:

"Excuse me... what year is it in the Azure Calendar?"

The woman opposite him was clearly taken aback, probably because she thought the question was too absurd.

Out of professional ethics, she still gave an answer.

"It is now the year 2499 of the Azure Calendar, ma'am. Is your device malfunctioning?"

Upon hearing the year, Black Tower trembled.

The subtle movement drew a questioning look from Qi Zhimu.

"What's wrong?"