Deep Sea Embers

Familiar room, familiar furniture, familiar small living room, familiar bachelor apartment.

Everything remains as it was when he left, like a piece of amber frozen in the shell of time. No matter how long it takes, nothing will change here.

Zhou Ming walked into the small living room of the bachelor's apartment. Standing in the room where he had lived for many years, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He has not returned here for a long time - sometimes, he even feels that he has forgotten this bachelor apartment and the "another world" behind it.

But in the end, this self-deceptive "forgetting" means nothing.

He smiled and shook his head, then walked straight towards the desk - he did not check the closed window like before, because the sundries on the window sill and the specially sprinkled flour had been removed last time. After cleaning up, he no longer expected any more guests to visit the last hut deep in the mist.

There was a faint layer of green firelight on the desk that was slowly fading. In the fading flames, he saw that the new "collection" was gradually taking shape.

Zhou Ming walked over, sat down on the chair, put his hands on the table, and looked at the vibrant-looking... "little sapling" with calm and gentle eyes.

She floats above the desk. The diameter of the tree crown is about as long as an adult's forearm. It is lush and leafy. There is a large piece of soil connected to the bottom of the trunk. Her roots are deeply rooted in that piece of soil, and there are A few roots extend from beneath the soil, exposed to the air.

She was floating like this, about ten centimeters high from the desk, maintaining her suspension in an... incredible way, showing a painting style that was completely different from other "collections".

Zhou Ming raised his head and glanced at the large shelf not far away - the other collections on the shelf were quietly in their respective compartments and landed firmly on the partition.

The "little sapling" floating above the table at the moment is the only "collection" that currently exhibits obvious supernatural properties.

...Is it because her essence originated from the "dream", so even if she becomes a collection here, she still retains some characteristics that are unique to the dream creation?

Zhou Ming thought about something in his mind, and stretched out his hand to gently fiddle with the crown of Sirantes - this "World Tree" like a "suspended bonsai" was floating in the air and he pushed it away. a little, and then drifted back to the starting position.

But other than that, the little sapling showed no other active characteristics - she could neither speak nor respond to Zhou Ming's touch in other ways.

"Now, you have really turned into a small sapling again..." After quietly staring at this small "World Tree" for a long time, Zhou Ming finally said softly, "I don't know if you Can you still hear it... In fact, I don't even understand the process of how you became a 'collection' here after being burned by the spiritual fire, but..."

He paused, glanced at the shelf not far away, and glanced at the models of the Lost Home, the White Oak, and the two city-states.

"But no matter what, this will be your new home from now on." He said softly.

The model would not answer his questions, which made him feel like he was muttering to the air. If there were outsiders present, this would probably be an embarrassing scene - but fortunately, there have been no "outsiders" here for a long time. "Yes.

He stretched out his hand, carefully picked up the piece of soil where Selendis was rooted, and carried her towards the shelf in the corner - he was very careful, for fear of breaking up the "clod" that didn't look very strong. Because once the clods of soil are scattered, it may not be so easy to gather them again, and there may be some soil that falls into the gaps in the floor and becomes "loss".

In this cabin, "dirt" is a precious resource.

But to his surprise, the seemingly loose soil was very "stable", as if there was some invisible force maintaining its shape. He carried it all the way, and not a single grain of soil fell off it. Falling.

He placed Selendis on the empty space on the shelf, next to the model of the Lost Home.

The "little sapling" still floats in the grid, like a quiet bonsai.

Zhou Ming stood in front of his new "collection" and stopped to look at it for a while, but this time his mood was no longer the same as before. All kinds of complicated thoughts were ups and downs in his mind. After a long time, he sighed softly with relief. .

At least, when I go back, I can tell Goat Head that its "little sapling" is indeed still there.

"You shouldn't need to water..." Zhou Ming suddenly thought of another thing and couldn't help but muttered, "Theoretically, you shouldn't need to... I hope you don't grow up anymore, I don't have it here. Such a big place…”

Of course, the "World Tree" in the grid would not respond to his soliloquy. Sirandis just floated there quietly, turning slowly.

Zhou Ming shook his head, turned around and sat down on the sofa in the small living room. He sat there and rested for a while, then took a book from the small round table next to him and flipped through two pages aimlessly.

This didn't make much sense. He had read that book countless times. The content was boring and could no longer bring the pleasure of reading.

But he has become accustomed to doing such "meaningless" things when he returns to this single apartment - either sitting down and reading a few pages of a book, writing a few lines in his diary, or tidying up the clutter and cleaning. The cleaning itself made the room almost spotless.

For Zhou Ming, these things are like opening a small shop in a city-state or working as a guard in a cemetery. They are not necessary in themselves, but they are like anchors of humanity, allowing him to feel that he is still a human being and can still live. In "Order" and "Civilization."

After a while, Zhou Ming put down the book in his hand and prepared to get up and return to the Lost Home.

But just the moment he raised his head, his movements stopped - maintaining the posture of just standing up, his eyes fixed on the desk not far away.

Silantis was floating quietly a few centimeters above the desk, as if he had never moved there from beginning to end.

Zhou Ming blinked, and for a moment he even suspected that there was something wrong with his memory. Then he frowned, came to the desk and looked around at Silantis floating in the air, and then looked up at the shelf. That empty grid.

After a slight hesitation, he picked up Sirandis and placed her on the shelf seriously.

He stared at the grid for several seconds, and after confirming it, he slowly backed away, then turned around and walked away for a few steps, and then suddenly turned back.

Selantis still stayed in the shelf.

Zhou Ming frowned, exhaled, and walked towards the door of the apartment - but just as he was about to reach the door, he suddenly stopped and turned back without warning.

Silantis was floating quietly above his desk, as if he had never moved from beginning to end.

Zhou Ming: "..."

He walked over with a straight face, staring at the "little sapling" floating in the air without blinking.

"Did you do it on purpose? Can you move freely?"

Of course Selantis didn't respond at all. She was like a real tree, staying peacefully there.

Zhou Ming stared at the "World Tree" for a while, then raised his hand to pick her up and put her on the shelf. Then he turned around and stood in front of her for a while. After a few seconds, he turned around and saw that Selendis was floating above the desk next to him.

The corner of Zhou Ming's mouth trembled involuntarily. He took a few steps to the desk and raised his finger to point at the desk: "This is my desk, where I work. And if there are new 'collections' coming over in the future, they will also To show up at this table.”

Then he raised his other hand and pointed to the big shelf in the corner: "That's the place for you over there. The second grid below is for you. You should go to your grid, not here." Take my table!"

Silantis didn't respond, and just floated quietly in the air, turning slowly in circles.

Zhou Ming's eyes trembled, and he raised his hand without hesitation and put the "little sapling" on the shelf again.

Then he stared for a long time, then turned around and stared at his desk.

Silantis did not appear on the desk this time.

But there was a "bang bang bang" crash behind Zhou Ming.

He turned his head and saw Selantis appearing in another compartment at some point - that was the storage compartment where the "model" of the White Oak was placed.

Silantis was using the big clods of soil from her tree roots to hit the hull of the White Oak, making a loud banging sound, and the latter was almost knocked to the ground by her.

"Stop!" Zhou Ming stretched out his hand and held down the crown of Sirantes' tree. "You can't bump into your 'roommate'!"

Silendis trembled under his hand, and then quickly swayed to the side. Zhou Ming felt his eyes blurred, and then looked in the direction of the sapling's last sway -

This little "World Tree" is floating quietly on his desk.

Zhou Ming: "..."

After a while, Duncan opened the door to the captain's cabin and came to sit down at the navigation table with a tired look on his face.

The goat head on the edge of the table immediately crunched its neck and turned its gaze on the captain.

"Duncan Abnomar." Before the goat-head could speak, Duncan waved his hand and said proactively.

"Ah, Captain! You are back. I thought you would come over immediately, but I didn't expect..." The goat head immediately became active - it seems that because of the dissipation of the mythical form, the familiar noise returned to the chatter again. on the wooden sculpture, but soon it noticed some subtle expressions on Duncan's face, "Um, you look tired?"

Duncan waved his hand again, and this time sighed.

After a few seconds, he raised his head and looked into the goat's eyes: "Your little sapling has taken over my desk."