This snowfield is a cage. The people here struggle to survive on this ice plain, enduring hardship until it seems the land itself roars in anger, burying everything under snow.
That's how it should have been.
The Forbidden Zone – a no-man's-land covered in ice and snow.
Its past prosperity is long gone. Snowdrifts cover everything. The wheel ruts on the roads froze over long ago, leaving only ice-scarred trails of varying depths.
Struggling through the falling snow, the only thing visible in any direction is a deathly silent expanse of white.
Stelle watched the thumb-sized flakes drift down before her eyes. Her gaze swept across the scene, and memories began to surface, one by one.
"Cocolia is just ahead. Are you ready?"
The black-haired, stoic young man holding a spear was speaking.
This was Dan Heng, one of the Nameless aboard the Astral Express, a companion she had only recently met. Though he often wore a stone-faced expression, he was earnest and responsible when it came to his friends.
"Of course! We can't wait any longer. Bronya's in grave danger! If we delay any further, it'll be too late!"
The pink-haired girl wielding an ice bow urged them on as well.
This was March 7th, also one of the Nameless from the Astral Express, another companion Stelle had met not long ago. She was lively and energetic; you couldn't help but be infected by her vibrant energy just by being near her.
"Then what are we stalling here for? Let's go! Let's take down Cocolia and get Bronya back!"
The ink-blue-haired girl shouldering a scythe also looked like one of the companions they had met in the Underworld. Though a bit impetuous, she was reliable overall and treated everyone with genuine sincerity.
They had another friend, Bronya, who had been taken away by her mother, Cocolia – the mastermind behind everything.
Everyone had agreed: bring Bronya back, save this snowfield, let the tepid sun regain its warmth, and stop the desolate, frigid wind from stinging faces like a blade.
But that was five minutes ago. The memory shattered in an instant. A ferocious blizzard jolted Stelle back to reality.
In the Forbidden Zone, the large automaton swayed precariously. Dan Heng's every gasp sounded like a straining bellows as he gripped his spear, preparing for a fight to the death. Seele, meanwhile, searched for an opening nearby, striking with her scythe in the brief pauses between Cocolia's attacks.
This stalemate had lasted for a while. Stelle should have been part of the fight too, but an accident had forced her to retreat to the side under March 7th's cover.
But two people couldn't possibly hold back Cocolia, just as humans cannot stop a natural avalanche.
Cocolia tilted her head back and beckoned. The initially grating, low chant gradually intensified, becoming furious and shrill. Space itself seemed to tremble violently across the snowfield. Those husks, long frozen solid, were shattered by the howling song. Under this incantation, even the frantic blizzard seemed to cower like a frightened cub.
Bronya had been successfully rescued, moved away from Cocolia's immediate vicinity. But the priority now wasn't ensuring Bronya's safe escape; it was figuring out how to defeat Cocolia, who had absorbed the power of the Stellaron.
Are we going to die here?
Does thinking about death make people shrink back in fear?
Stelle mused internally. She had only been alive for two days; her memories only spanned two days. Logically, someone who had lived for such a short time should fear death more than others. Yet, why, upon realizing she might die here, was her mind occupied with other thoughts?
What was she thinking about?
Right. She was thinking that her companions absolutely could not die here. She was thinking, if only I could protect them.
As this thought took hold, Stelle found that everything around her seemed to slow down.
Her gaze then settled on a corner of the battlefield.
In a snowdrift not far away, a handsome, white-haired young man appeared. He was listlessly watching their struggle, muttering to himself. Her companions, locked in combat, seemed utterly oblivious to him. Even if he were to walk right past them, no one would spare him a glance.
Strange… it's as if only I can see him.
The entire Forbidden Zone was bathed in the light emanating from Cocolia's fusion with the Stellaron. He stood bathed in the light, yet somehow merged with the shadows.
Noticing her gaze, the young man raised his hand and gave a slight wave, acknowledging her attention. When he spoke, his voice surprisingly materialized directly beside her ear.
"Do you know why birds fly?"
When Jiang Liang opened his eyes, he found himself already on some kind of battlefield.
His robust mentality, honed by persevering through hundreds of deaths, immediately kicked in. After spending two minutes assessing the situation, he readily accepted the reality that his 'Cheat' was the rather embarrassing 'Finger Cat Shame System'.
During those two minutes of adaptation, he had also sorted out the rules for being a proxy fighter.
- Consent from the target individual was required before initiating the proxy session.
- The proxy session could not be interrupted before the 'event' concluded.
- Each proxy session was treated as a commission. Upon completion, rewards would be automatically calculated based on the difficulty.
Among all the rules, the most crucial was the need for the 'original owner's' consent. He couldn't just take control directly.
Although termed 'proxy fighting,' the system didn't function like an account hacker, letting him simply hijack someone else's 'character.'
Jiang Liang found this quite reasonable. If I could just hop onto anyone's 'account' whenever I wanted, I could cause all sorts of trouble, right? The system would probably crash and burn.
However, this stipulation meant he couldn't just fight and then vanish; he had to actually interact and negotiate with the person.
What a headache.
Upon arriving in this frozen wasteland, the 'Character Card' the system had mentioned earlier materialized in his hand.
Jiang Liang stared, momentarily stunned, at the character illustration printed on the card.
Isn't this the white-haired young man I stumbled upon occasionally back in the Sea of Quanta? When I tried to wake him up, everything went black for no reason, and then some kind of progress bar filled up.
Apparently, that action had counted as 'helping,' which allowed him to unlock this person's Character Card.
Character Card: Kevin Kaslana
Items: Judgment of Shamash, Might of An-Utu
Character Bio: A Fusion Warrior from the Previous Era, fused with the ice-controlling, Emperor-Class Honkai Beast Parvati. Capable of withstanding the flames unleashed by Judgment of Shamash. Entered a dormant state in the Sea of Quanta fifty thousand years after the end of the Previous Era.
When using the Character Card, the character's combat experience and specific memories will merge with your body. The Compatibility Rate determines how perfectly you can utilize the Character Card.
Current Compatibility Rate: 0%
"Not bad," Jiang Liang muttered. "Having some combat strength is good. But I can only use the Character Card during these proxy sessions... What a truly peculiar system."
If I could leave a review, buddy, he thought sarcastically, I'd give you one star at a time, five times over! That would definitely make your heart 'jump' with 'satisfaction'.
Rubbing his temples, Jiang Liang turned his head to look at Stelle, who was still standing there, stunned.
Everything around them seemed to be playing out in slow motion. When he walked past the others – the pink-haired girl, the black-haired young man – neither showed any reaction.
But this gray-haired girl gripping a baseball bat had seen him. Her gaze was even following his movements.
Looks like she's the target for this proxy session.
He stood his ground, consciously schooling his features into an indifferent expression, and then opened his mouth.
"Do you know why birds fly?"