Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

His voice grew weaker and weaker.

Black Tower shook his head frantically, tears streaming down his face with each movement.

No!!

Lies...

You're lying!

Home is still far away, but you are here now...

Qi Zhimu didn't look into her eyes again. Instead, he took out more than ten small devices and set their activation order, coordinates, and countdown times.

Then, stuff all the devices into the Black Tower's protective suit storage box.

No...no!!

Black Tower immediately recognized those as space jump devices, one of which was a coordinate signal docking device.

He wanted to use these devices to get her out of the no-man's land...

And what about you?

What are you going to do?!

In response to her, Qi Zhimu reached out his hand towards the oxygen port.

Disconnect the delivery interface and leave all the remaining oxygen to the black tower.

Black Tower kept trying to stop him, telling him not to.

But her voice was destined never to reach Qi Zhimu's ears.

Qi Zhimu wanted to say something more, but coughed up a mouthful of blood, lost his balance and fell weakly to the ground, his voice broken.

"I'm sorry... Little Ta, Brother Mu has to break his promise..."

"In the future... after I can no longer hear your... call... I'll rush to your... cough cough, beside you..."

With each word he uttered, more blood gushed from the corner of his mouth.

On the other clean side of the mask, the girl's heart-wrenching cries were reflected.

The light in Qi Zhimu's eyes flickered, and his intermittent words were filled with longing and regret.

"If only I knew magic..."

"That way we can overcome all obstacles...and go home with you..."

"No--!!"

The future Black Tower merged with its past self, letting out a mournful howl.

The sound tore through his throat and vibrated in his chest, but it couldn't escape the mask covering his face.

A surge of power, seemingly from nowhere, compelled her to reach out and grab Qi Zhimu's hand.

Just before they were about to grab him, the surrounding space suddenly distorted.

The jump device is activated.

The Black Tower's hand was just an inch away from Qi Zhimu's fingertips, and that inch seemed like an eternal barrier that could never be broken.

Two hands, yet they still missed each other in the end.

The last moment before his body disappeared from the spot was when Qi Zhimu's lips curled up slightly, his pupils turned completely gray, and he lost all signs of life.

The reality, branded like a hot iron, is deeply etched into the retina of the Black Tower, and even more so into the heart and the deepest part of the soul.

It can never be erased, ever.

Space continued to distort, the no-man's-land receded further and further behind her, and the figure lying in a pool of blood was no longer visible.

"don't want--"

"Let me go back!!!"

But her body wouldn't obey her commands, and she could only let the power of space push her forward.

Qi Zhimu's pre-set jump devices were activated one after another, quickly sending her out of the no-man's land.

When she could see her surroundings clearly, she was already floating in the near-Earth orbit region of the Azure Star.

Finally... I can see my hometown again...

But her heart was shattered into a million pieces.

Qi Zhimu had arranged everything for her with his life, and the coordinate signal connector on his body began to work.

In less than half an hour, a large fleet appeared in sight, with a clear target, heading straight for her, sending out lights and signals frequently.

She could have been saved, but the person who saved her could never come back...

The moment Black Tower was rescued and boarded the ship, he heard people talking, comforting him, and asking questions.

But she couldn't remember anything, only repeating one sentence over and over again.

I want to go back... I want to go back...

Go back, go back, go back—

He's still there.

He was there all by himself.

How could he be there all by himself?!

Her obsession boiled in the depths of her mind, scorching her soul.

Finally, at a certain moment, the obsession that was enough to ignite a spark swept through like a supernova explosion.

Space instantly distorted, and everyone inside the spaceship looked on in horror as they discovered countless spatial rifts appearing around the girl.

The Black Tower's consciousness left its body, transforming into a beam of light that pierced through the ship's bulkhead, penetrated the void, and headed towards the coordinates, towards the man lying in a pool of blood.

Maybe ten minutes.

Maybe half an hour.

Maybe longer.

The Black Tower pierced through the endless fog of memory, through countless broken dimensions, and through countless layers of space, finally returning to that no-man's-land.

With just one glance, he locked his gaze on the man lying in a pool of blood.

The blood on his body had dried, his eyes were closed, but a faint smile remained at the corner of his mouth.

He is laughing.

He successfully left the hope of returning home to the girl in his heart, and smiled peacefully.

Hei Ta staggered over and knelt beside him, tears streaming down her face.

"Brother Mu..."

She bent down and hugged him tightly with all her might.

In that instant, the boundless darkness swallowed the two of them.

The Black Tower could see nothing, and could only cling to Qi Zhimu's mangled body, letting the darkness carry it as it continued to sink.

After an unknown period of time, points of light surged in from all directions, forming countless fragments of memory like shattered mirrors, reflecting many past events.

……

Qi Zhimu woke up crying from a nightmare in the middle of the night, hugged the girl tightly in his arms, and gently patted the back of her head.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here, I'll always be here."

……

On the way home, the girl held Qi Zhimu's hand, smiling broadly.

"If Brother Mu saw me swearing, would he think I was rude and uncivilized?"

"No, some words are like chocolate; they're sweet to humans but poisonous to dogs."

"Many people secretly say I'm mean..."

"That's because these idiots who are targeting you only dare to talk behind your back. In public, they'll just get yelled at and made to cry. I suggest you step up your efforts. You're not living for them, so worrying about these idiots' feelings is a waste of time."

"Okay~"

……

"It's strange. Why are animals in nature, regardless of whether they are ferocious beasts or not, so friendly to you, even completely hiding their ferocity?"

The girl rode on the snow-white tiger that was lying beside Qi Zhimu, and kept stroking its fur with her hand.

Even when things go against their natural course, tigers are always gentle and quiet.

"Perhaps I am a reincarnated druid," Qi Zhimu smiled, catching the two snowy owls that flew towards him, without explaining further.

"Let's not talk about this anymore. I'm going to buy milk tea, the usual?"

"For my drink, five-tenths sugar is enough this time."

……

"Brother Mu, do you think... we can save Azure Star in our lifetime?"

"To correct a small mistake, it's you, not us. I'm not as smart as you. After all, you are the youngest genius girl in the history of Azure Star."

"Without Brother Mu resolving the corrosive effects of the Memory Mist, countless scientists and soldiers would have perished. How can that not count as saving the world?"

"Even if I can't do it, someone else can. Xiaota is a remarkable person, and I believe you can definitely save Azure Star."

"You've come again. Remember, it's us—"

"Hmm... okay, not you, but us..."

……