Collapse Iron: I just transmigrated! You want me to save the Black Tower?!

Jiang Jiu opened his eyes, his vision was a little blurry, and he blinked twice before he could see the scene in front of him clearly.

This is the place where Aha said he wanted to take him to see some fun, and he has never left it.

...That's actually quite reasonable.

Jiang Jiu was still lost in thought when Black Tower suddenly spoke up.

"Jiang Jiu, let's go home."

Jiang Jiu was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously looked at the black tower: "...What?"

I said…

"Let's go home, okay?"

"go home?"

Jiang Jiu repeated the two words, his eyes darkening for a moment.

Home...

"Okay." He heard his own voice, very soft, with a hoarseness he himself didn't even realize. "I'll go back with you."

[Hanabi: Huh...?]

[Fireworks: How strange. At this moment, Black Tower isn't asking about the end or discussing the outcome, but instead tells Jiang Jiu that she wants to go home? Is this still the Black Tower lady whose mind is only filled with experimental data?]

[March 7th: Lady Black Tower... has she realized something?]

[Star: What did you realize?]

[March 7th: She seems to have realized it, but I haven't...]

[Himeko: Going home? When Black Tower said we should go home, what was he thinking during that one second of hesitation? Was he wondering if he even had a home?]

[March 7th: Ms. Heta is so gentle; she talks about these paintings in a completely different way than usual.]

[Dan Heng: I think Jiang Jiu doesn't feel a sense of belonging to the concept of "home." He helped Xianzhou, the company, and the space station, but he never talked about going home.]

[Danheng: Does he really have a home? A place that can be called a home?]

[Fireworks: Holy crap, stop it!]

[Sambo: Oh dear, we were just discussing the collapse of the universe and the ascension of the star gods, and now you're starting to stab me in the heart? Your analysis has actually gotten old Sambo a little emotional.]

[Silver Wolf: Every moment of his life felt like a countdown, a constant cycle of death and restart. Black Tower was the only person he actively chose in this world, but the space station she was on wasn't his home either; it was her territory.]

[Su Chang: How is that possible...]

[Su Chang: Does this mean Jiang Jiu never truly had a place of his own? A room, a planet, or even a place to store his personal belongings? Really not? Then where did he stay every time he reopened the world?]

[Gui Naifen: Here's the problem...]

[Gui Naifen: I can hardly find him any rest time. Is he really working non-stop...? When he does need to rest, it seems like he just stays wherever he happens to be, without any fixed place.]

[Qingque: He has even fewer personal belongings. The Lonely Star Sword and the Little Black Tower doll were given to him by the Black Tower, and the mask was a gift from Aha. Does he have anything else?]

Fu Xuan: ......

[Topa: As expected of the Black Tower.]

[Gold Sand: As expected of the Black Tower.]

[Jadeite: As expected of the Black Tower.]

[Aista: As expected of the Black Tower!]

[Aista: Lady Black Tower instantly saw what Jiang Jiu needed most at this moment. Yes, that's it! Take our savior back and give him a good rest! I'm afraid he'll break down if he doesn't rest soon!]

[Emerald: The Wise One showed him death, Aha showed him new life. But neither of the two star gods told him what to do. The Black Tower gave the answer: go home.]

[Jingyuan: For a seed to grow, it must survive a harsh winter.]

[Jingyuan: But winter often symbolizes death. Crossing winter to spring, crossing death to rebirth, Aha showed him both winter and spring. The Black Tower awaits him at the end of spring.]

[Forgetful Person: This young lady suddenly remembered a phrase.]

[The Forgetful Traveler: Home is where the heart finds peace.]

[Forgotten Returnee: Jiang Jiu's heart has never been at peace, not anywhere, but if it were Lady Black Tower, she should be able to do it, right?]

[Existence - Jiang Yin: Actually, it does exist.]

[Forgetful Person: Your Excellency Jiang Yin, what do you mean by this?]

[Existence·Jiang Yin: Actually, I do have a home... I always have.]

Even though Hei Ta clearly understood the meaning behind Jiang Jiu's words, he said nothing, neither exposing Jiang Jiu's trick of changing the subject nor asking any further questions.

"Let's go then."

She let go, stood up, and patted off non-existent dust from her body.

"There's still a ton of data to process on the space station, and the simulated universe needs updating too. Will you come with me?"

She turned around without looking back at him, but simply stretched out her hand and offered it to him.

Jiang Jiu stared at the hand for a second, then smiled, took her hand, and stood up from the ground.

"Okay."

The lights on the space station were still on, and the screens on the experimental table were still displaying data. The second mirror, connected to the entrance to the simulated universe, floated quietly in the center of the room.

Black Tower walked in, tossed the scepter in his hand aside, and the scepter dissipated in mid-air, merging into the void.

"I'm exhausted," she said.

Jiang Jiu stood at the door, looking at her, and suddenly felt like laughing.

Hei Ta tilted his head to look at him, raising an eyebrow: "What are you laughing at?"

"nothing."

"Come in and close the door."

Jiang Jiu went inside and obediently closed the door.

The laboratory was quiet, with only the data on the screen silently changing.

Hei Ta leaned against the lab table, looking at him, and suddenly said, "Jiang Jiu, don't you think we should celebrate?"

Jiang Jiu was taken aback: "Celebrate what?"

"Celebrating that we're still alive," Black Tower said casually, with an air of matter-of-fact. "Or... celebrating that this storyline hasn't ended yet?"

Jiang Jiu paused for a second, shook his head, and sat down next to her: "No need."

"why?"

“Because we haven’t found a solution yet…” He paused, then added, “Killing the Venerable Master is not the answer; it might even hasten the end.”

[Fireworks: To be honest, I often can't keep up with their train of thought. Although I don't know how Black Tower suddenly jumped the topic from something dull to a celebration, Jiang Jiu definitely shut down the conversation with one sentence.]

Fireworks: Not romantic at all.

[Star: Exactly! Black Tower even offered to celebrate, couldn't they at least pretend to cooperate? The end is inevitable anyway.]

[March 7: Exactly! It feels like Lady Black Tower has been trying really hard to make you relax, but you just keep talking about the end...]

March 7th: It's making me feel... kind of depressed...

[Danheng: Isn't that how he always is? He believes that things that aren't over aren't worth celebrating, and he doesn't allow himself to stop until the problem is solved.]

[March 7th: It's like he's celebrating after everything's over... After one thing ends, what awaits him is one after another, and yet another, an endless series of things to come...]

[Saifei: Are you playing an eternal cycle here?]

[Feixiao: But people need to breathe! Machines need to be shut down for maintenance too. Are you, Jiang Jiu, some kind of perpetual motion machine?]

[Su Chang: So when Hei Ta said he wanted to celebrate, he didn't really want to throw a party, but was afraid he'd collapse?]

[Gui Naifen: Definitely! Is Heita usually the type to suggest celebrating? She only said it because she noticed Jiang Jiu wasn't acting right!]

[Topa: Killing Boruto is not the answer, it even accelerated the end, tsk... His tone is so calm, I always feel like his mentality is already on the edge of a cliff.]

[Gold Sand: Generally speaking, people who are truly on the verge of collapse don't say they're about to break down.]

[Gold dust: They will calmly analyze all the negative outcomes, then expressionlessly reject all goodwill.]

[Fu Xuan: The Black Tower figured it out.]

[Jingyuan: When a string is stretched too tight, it cannot be suddenly loosened.]

In the video, Black Tower does not seem to agree with Jiang Jiu's words.

She knelt on the sofa with one leg, moved closer, and sat directly on Jiang Jiu's lap.

Jiang Jiu was taken aback by her sudden movement and subconsciously raised his hand to support her waist, afraid that she would lose her balance.

Heita's knees were pressed against the sofa cushions, her skirt spread out and pressed against his legs.

Then... the image trembled slightly, and when everything returned to calm, the image transformed into a desolate planet.

Um.......?

[Star: Why are you still eating alone?!]

[Hanabi: Well... even a fool could tell what this canopy is that it doesn't want to show. Tch... I don't really want to see it either! It's just...]

[Aista: I thought I could finally indulge in some serious shipping, but I'm so sad that we can't watch it.]

[March 7th: What's there to be sad about? Those young couples are being all lovey-dovey, and we, the millions of third wheels, are just here to watch and eat dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection)?]

[Star: It's not impossible, is it?]

[Silver Wolf: A little-known fact: the images in the sky have actually been filtered by the Star God himself. If he doesn't want you to see something, you won't see a single word of it~]

Fu Xuan: None of that matters.

[Fu Xuan: Instead of focusing on these things, you should pay attention to the conversation between Jiang Jiu and Aha.]

Regardless of Aha's attitude.

Jiang Jiudu repeated the instructions to the God of Joy with utmost seriousness.

"Yes, new student."

"The death and rebirth of the universe."