Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

From beginning to end, there was only one true Qi Zhimu.

Even when severely injured, he would carry her to survive, a primitive human fighting with everything he had.

But the Black Tower felt an unprecedented fear at this conclusion.

If the magician Qi Zhimu is merely a figment of her imagination to escape the harsh reality.

If the original human, Qi Zhimu, is the real one, does that mean that everything that happened in the past was far more complicated than she imagined...?

Considering Qi Zhimu's current predicament, Hei Ta dared not think any further.

Time passed, and Qi Zhimu completed the initial modification of the protective suit.

Its bizarre shape would leave anyone stunned at first glance, but it's not hard to understand.

He actually modified and pieced together a second, smaller set of protective clothing on the back.

"…this……"

Did he intend to use this protective suit to lead her on foot through the no-man's land shrouded in the mist of memory?

Without time to think it over, Qi Zhimu began to add an exoskeleton to the protective suit and removed some of the spaceship's weapon systems, transferring them to the protective suit.

Upon seeing this, Black Tower was involuntarily stunned.

A startling fact she had forgotten quickly resurfaced...

The reason why no man's land is no man's land is because humans cannot survive there.

Only non-human, uniquely designed ethereal life forms can traverse this realm.

The most direct reason for their inability to survive is so simple it needs no further explanation: anaerobic!

Black Tower's body began to tremble slightly.

In her memory, the magician Qi Zhimu had also led her through an oxygen-deprived area.

Destroy the world that gave birth to and nurtured the Envoy, erase the subspace and the memory mist that brought everything, and turn the area encompassed by that world back into a vacuum universe.

Could this experience correspond to...?

Recalling the truth, Black Tower clenched his fists.

Why?

Why did she forget so many key memories, only to recall them again through reliving and witnessing them?

In fairy tales, young magicians possess the ability to steal other people's memories.

Assuming that the magician Qi Zhimu never actually existed, this means that the person who took away his memories was not him.

But if it wasn't him, why did I forget?

While Black Tower was filled with confusion, Qi Zhimu completed the modifications to the attack and defense systems, then expanded the pure oxygen reserve and went to the oxygen circulation device to fill it up.

Finally, they proceed to the energy storage chamber, where 5% of the energy reserves are transferred to power the exoskeleton.

Black Tower's earlier thoughts were indeed correct; he understood why Black Tower wanted to modify the protective suit.

After the spaceship becomes unable to travel, Qi Zhimu plans to use the most primitive method to take her on her final journey.

After placing the modified protective suit, Qi Zhimu stepped off the spaceship to inspect the damage.

After calculating the appropriate speed that would not exacerbate damage to the ship's structure, return to the spaceship and restart the engines.

The battered spaceship spewed flames as it plunged into the no-man's land deep within the Memory Mist.

Just as the Black Tower predicted, the spaceship's energy reserves were completely depleted after only halfway through the uninhabited area.

Using its last bit of momentum, it glided forward for a distance before coming to a complete stop in a desolate wasteland.

Qi Zhimu quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, neatly removed the original protective suits from himself and Heita, and stuffed Heita into the modified interior.

Because he only had one arm left, the process was very inconvenient.

A few minutes later, Qi Zhimu activated the oxygen supply to his protective suit and opened the spaceship hatch.

Gray mist instantly flooded into the cabin.

He leaped down, and the shock absorber kicked in, allowing him to land safely.

After glancing up at the spaceship that could no longer be started, Qi Zhimu's gaze, through his mask, fell on the peaceful sleeping face of the girl behind him.

He gazed at it intently for a few seconds, then resolutely embarked on his journey home.

The ethereal life forms lurking in the no-man's-land are not as troublesome as the breeding worms, but they are enough to cause Qi Zhimu a lot of trouble and interference.

A battle was simply unavoidable.

With the help of the added laser cannon and other weapon systems, Qi Zhimu wielded a long blade and fought his way through the monsters' encirclement.

He wasn't a magician from a story; he didn't have that kind of power.

Each battle severely depletes the already dwindling stamina.

No matter how the monster roared and pounced, no matter how much damage his armor sustained, Qi Zhimu always protected his back, shielding himself from all fatal attacks.

After each battle, they didn't even have time to stop and catch their breath. They stepped over the monster's remains and continued their determined journey toward Azure Star.

The long killings and trek blurred the boundaries of time until a piercing sound of metal breaking rang out.

Qi Zhimu's exoskeleton completely collapsed, causing him to stagger and fall heavily into the dust of the wilderness.

It's not far from the exit of the no-man's-land.

It's really not far off.

But... he could no longer take the next step.

The continuous overload of work left countless hideous tears on his protective suit, each a testament to his perseverance.

If he hadn't been equipped with numerous attack methods, he wouldn't have lasted this long, let alone been carrying someone on his back.

The ambush that just ended was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

His right leg was broken.

The violent shock shattered his internal organs; the injuries were too numerous and severe, and the massive blood loss would quickly drain him of his life force.

pain.

It hurts.

But compared to that, she is still safe and sound.

Qi Zhimu struggled to raise his left arm, and the life support readings on his wrist flickered.

Remaining oxygen content: 29%.

"Cough cough cough..."

Blood spilled uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth, staining the inside of his mask a shocking red.

Qi Zhimu's hands trembled as he reached for the composite buckle at his waist, gradually loosening the secure assembly of the protective suit.

Slowly, he sat up and carefully moved the black tower in front of him.

Unexpectedly, the girl woke up at some point.

Through the blood-stained mask, Qi Zhimu saw a face streaked with tears.

Those eyes were so red they looked like they were about to bleed, and tears kept streaming down her cheeks, forming small puddles inside her mask.

Black Tower's lips trembled and moved as if he were saying something, as if he were crying out.

Qi Zhimu wanted to wipe away her tears, to tell her not to cry, and to say that he was alright.

But when he raised his hand halfway up, it fell back down.

He tried his best to pull the corners of his mouth upwards, using all his strength to create a slight curve.

"Your protective suit only has one-way communication capabilities; you can only hear me speak."

Black Tower actually knew, it always knew.

She woke up very early, so early that she woke up the moment Qi Zhimu first stumbled.

She witnessed all the difficulties they encountered along the way.

Every time Qi Zhimu was injured, her heart would clench violently.

Every time he gets hurt, his heart aches again.

After the spasms subsided, my heart ached until it was numb.

The man who always stood in front of her has now lost a leg after losing an arm.

Blood spread from beneath him, staining the earth red and her vision red as well.

Heita wanted to rush over and hug him, but her weak body couldn't support it, and even getting up was difficult.

He could only watch helplessly as Qi Zhimu slowly lost his life before his eyes.

Qi Zhimu finally raised his blood-stained arm and gently touched the top of the girl's head through his mask.

"...Don't cry, we're almost home."