The reality and the past became muddled for a moment. Wu Tianzhen seemed to suddenly understand something and rushed back to the deck, just in time to see Zhang Qiling's gaze turn towards him.
The emptiness in his eyes had receded significantly, faintly revealing the warmth of before.
"Xiao, Xiaoge..." Wu Tianzhen couldn't help but stutter. In this instant, the joy in his heart and a nameless worry intertwined, making it impossible to discern his emotions. "You remembered?"
"What the heck?!" Fatty suddenly sprang up from the deck, only to wince as the sand and stones still in his shoe dug into his foot.
He didn't have time to tend to his large feet and urgently exclaimed, "Holy crap, Xiaoge, Xiaoge, you remembered?? When!?"
"Do you still remember me?" Fatty seemed to have lost all reason for a moment. "It's me, it's Fatty! The one you grabbed and tossed from the cliff edge into the snow!"
The words sounded amusing, but as Wu Tianzhen recalled their first meeting, he inexplicably started to cry.
He felt a bit embarrassed and, before anyone noticed, quickly wiped his eyes as if nothing had happened, only making his eyes appear particularly red.
Zhang Qiling noticed this, but he merely paused before turning his gaze away.
He nodded.
"Good! Good brother!" Fatty's eyes also turned red, but unlike Wu Tianzhen, he didn't hide it. He strode forward and gave Zhang Qiling a big hug. "It's good that you remembered!"
Wu Tianzhen had intended to maintain a composed demeanor, but Fatty's arm slung around him almost made him break down and sob uncontrollably.
However, the situation was complicated, and they quickly composed themselves.
"...I can't quite see what this Bronze Gate is doing now," Wu Tianzhen felt his mind was completely muddled. "What benefit does it get from making Xiaoge remember?"
...Could it be that it wanted to shake Xiaoge's resolve to go to it through emotional ties?
Wu Tianzhen stole a glance at Zhang Qiling and, from his unchanged expression, saw an unwavering persistence.
But at that moment, Zhang Qiling spoke, denying it: "It's not the Bronze Gate."
He slowly looked towards the front, where behind the blue, semi-transparent light screen, the deep sea quietly surged closer.
[Current Fusion Degree: 90%]
...When he was on the verge of death in the Zhang family's sacred land, his role-playing degree had risen to 80%. But after that, the name on the system had changed to fusion degree.
Perhaps these two were the same thing, and it was only disguised as role-playing degree before to make it easier for him to accept.
After recovering his memories, some things became clearer.
...It seemed this fusion degree referred to his fusion with this world.
And as he pondered, the fusion degree progress bar on the light screen before him slowly faded, and in its place appeared an extremely large, bold font.
[Final Mission: Seal the Bronze Gate]
"Xiaoge, did you remember something?" Wu Tianzhen stood before him. He noticed Zhang Qiling staring blankly into the void for a long time and tentatively waved his hand.
His hand passed through the light screen, and the screen then dissipated like a bubble.
Zhang Qiling snapped back to reality, and at that moment, the sound of the waves in his ears subsided.
A vast expanse of white, carrying an icy chill, arrived.
It was as if this was his destined fate.
Amidst the white snow, the Hangzhou city, almost frozen, appeared weathered and ancient. Only the silently falling snowflakes seemed to be slowly burying the earth's scars.
Looking back, there were no footprints, as if this heavy snowfall had sealed away the past, turning it into a blank slate.
"It changed again," Wu Tianzhen and Fatty didn't react for a moment, their teeth chattering from the cold.
"It would be great to have a down jacket right now," Fatty said instinctively, but then he spat, "Damn it, Fatty forgot. This materialization ability is just an artificial intelligence, it only works on subconsciousness, you can't force it!"
"Quick, Tianzhen, use your powerful ability, use your subconsciousness to conjure a down jacket!"
Wu Tianzhen: ...
"Now that you've shouted like that, how can I have subconsciousness? It's already become my real thought!" Wu Tianzhen said speechlessly. Just as he was about to walk next to Zhang Qiling, his vision suddenly went black, and something like fabric was thrown over his head.
...They actually had an extra layer of down jacket on them?
"...What does this mean? This is impossible?" Wu Tianzhen felt his memory was deceiving him. He thought it over and over, almost getting stuck in a dead end.
"Oh, what are you agonizing over?" Fatty, however, put on the jacket without hesitation. "The Bronze Tree is not that big, it's at most a grandson. Now its grandfather has arrived, its ability must be stronger than the grandson's!"
"What the grandson can't do, the grandfather can. Isn't that normal?!"
"Look!" Fatty slyly pointed at Zhang Qiling's back. Xiaozhang was now inexplicably wearing a bright yellow down jacket, looking as if he was about to ascend the throne. "Look at Fatty's excellent taste, I told you our Xiaoge looks good in anything. Look at this yellow, it's beautiful!"
Zhang Qiling: ... (silently took a step forward)
Regardless, now was not the time to dwell on the principles behind these things.
Wu Tianzhen noticed Zhang Qiling had already taken a few steps forward. He immediately abandoned his thoughts, fumbled with the zipper of his down jacket, and hurried to catch up.
After entering this world of ice and snow, it seemed all surrounding life had receded.
On both sides stood only silent houses. The familiar shop signs were covered by thick ice and snow, giving them a daunting, deathly stillness.
He heard the sound of his name being called again. Wu Tianzhen realized it was the snow leopard walker from that time being replicated. He didn't look back, just kept pace closely behind Zhang Qiling.
He thought that in countless forbidden lands, he had always followed Zhang Qiling's footsteps like this.
And that person, as always, was steady and powerful with every step, as quiet as he himself was.
Lost in these thoughts, Wu Tianzhen noticed Zhang Qiling's steps suddenly halt.
His heart skipped a beat, and he looked up—
The Bronze Gate was now within reach.