While they were talking, another burst of static sounded, and Taoqi's face showed an apologetic expression.
This time, she did not deliberately leave, as if to confirm what she had said about "trusting Noah."
Taoqi placed the terminal on the table and connected the call. A mature male voice came through:
"Is this Jinzhou Border Defense? This is Huaxu Academy researcher Mortefi."
Hearing the voice, Noah couldn't help feeling somewhat gratified.
The last time he saw Old Mo in prison, the other was suffering from the torment brought by Whisperin Erosion. Now, hearing this vigorous voice, it seemed Old Mo had recovered very well.
"This is Border Defense. I am the border defense head, Taoqi. What can I do for you, Researcher Mo?"
After confirmation, Mortefi spoke solemnly:
"Based on research into the shielding device against Whisperin Erosion—the Concealment Bracelet—we discovered that the Concealment Bracelet is made from Waveworn materials, and the manufacturing process is not complex.
The academy has already designed a mass production plan for the Concealment Bracelet, expected to make the entire Jinzhou range immune to Whisperin Erosion's invasion."
Two sentences immediately made Taoqi and Noah's eyebrows light up with joy.
As expected of a border city's academy—truly capable. First, Xiangli Yao solving the Court of Savantae technology, now Mortefi solving Whisperin Erosion.
Happy as she was, Taoqi didn't forget her duties. The academy wouldn't casually contact border defense.
"Researcher Mo, is there anywhere the academy needs assistance from border defense?"
"It's like this: this manufacturing plan requires Waveworn materials produced in Tacet Fields, but the academy has no reserves of this material left."
"Got it, understood."
After the call ended, Taoqi began thinking about which Tacet Field would be suitable to clear.
Although Tacet Fields can produce precious materials, to ordinary people, they are no different from dragon lairs and tiger dens.
Common class Tacet Discords like Inquisitors are hard for ordinary people to handle; Elite class like Stonewall Bracers cannot be defeated by non-combat Resonators;
Overlord class like Thundering Mephis can easily annihilate an army; Calamity class like Dreamless can bring devastating strikes to a city.
Currently, the front-line troops are very busy and cannot be pulled away, while the Patrollers guarding Jinzhou City are mostly ordinary people, so too many cannot be mobilized.
But with fewer people, attacking a Tacet Field would be very unsafe.
As if seeing Taoqi's dilemma, Noah proactively spoke to comfort her:
"This morning, I just wiped out the Tacet Field in Taoyuan Vale. You can go there to collect materials. There shouldn't be many Tacet Discords left there now."
Hearing this, Taoqi was indeed overjoyed.
"Clearing a Tacet Field for fun—Mr. Noah even has such elegant hobbies!"
"Just my daily routine."
Tacet Fields might be very dangerous to ordinary people and general Resonators, but to him, they were just farming spots.
He couldn't even remember how many Echoes he had farmed in Taoyuan Vale—anyway, those Echoes all stood together, and he one-shot them all with Sacred light!.
Only eight Echoes dropped, all from the Rejuvenating Glow set. He hadn't even pulled Baizhi yet, so he could only use them for Yuanwu's healing fists.
In reality, once the Echoes in a Tacet Field are cleared, they can't be refreshed with Crystallized Waves—annoying.
Casually mentioning, the dragon scales that appeared on Noah from overclocking while using the 'Jinhsi' character a few days ago had now completely disappeared.
Another burst of static sounded. There seemed to be especially many calls tonight, but this time it was a communication request from Sanhua at City Hall to Noah.
Seeing that Noah had no intention of leaving, Taoqi tactfully stood up and left, giving Noah private space.
Though curious who was contacting the hero of Jinzhou, it was clearly more important now to first go to the Tacet Field to find Waveworn materials.
"Honored guest, today you requested the Magistrate to help you find Black Shores members, correct?"
Sanhua's cool voice rang from the terminal:
"The Magistrate is very concerned about this matter and has inquired about Black Shores information through multiple channels."
"After investigation, it was found that within the entire Huanglong territory, the last recorded contact with Black Shores personnel was two months ago—"
"It was a distress signal from Black Shores."
Black Shores sent a distress signal?
It was hard to imagine these words connected together!
Noah stiffly gripped the terminal, suspecting he had misheard.
That was Black Shores—the largest Lament observation center in Solaris, personally established by Rover.
Not only did it have the supercomputer Tethys System, but also the artificial intelligence Shorekeeper and countless selected Bloom Bearers.
Since its establishment, Black Shores had only ever saved others—how could there be a day when Black Shores sent a distress signal?
"Honored guest? Honored guest, are you listening?"
Sanhua's questioning voice came from the terminal. Noah gathered his thoughts and asked:
"Was there any mention of why they were seeking help?"
"No, sorry—I couldn't help you find Black Shores personnel."
"...Thanks for your efforts. You can go busy yourself."
Noah, with thoughts like tangled hemp, ended the call.
In an instant, all the changes encountered since transmigrating seemed to have an explanation.
Why no Rover found in the Valley of Whispers? Why did the Fractsidus attack Jinzhou early? Why no Rover found in all of Jinzhou?
Because something happened to Black Shores.
In the plot, Rover was personally placed in the Valley of Whispers by the Shorekeeper—upon waking, immediately valued by various forces.
But if something happened to Black Shores, could the Shorekeeper still leave Rover out in the open?
Rover not emerging from the Valley of Whispers naturally wouldn't attract the Fractsidus' attention.
So the Fractsidus could unscrupulously use the super-overpowered Threnodian creation "Whisperin Erosion" in Jinzhou.
So—
Rover must be at Black Shores right now!
Then the problem was—how to enter Black Shores?
Noah's brows gradually furrowed. He took out his terminal and contacted Chixia. Soon, Chixia's voice rang from the terminal.
"This is Jinzhou's Blazing Dawn. Noah, is there something you need help with from Chixia?"
"Chixia, when you and Verina returned to Jinzhou City, did you encounter a little girl with pink hair?"
Holding a sliver of hope, Noah asked.
However, the response from the terminal was negative:
"Nope. I listened to you and paid attention along the way for any kids with pink hair—even checked some remote spots on the road."
"Alright, then did you encounter a sneaky white-haired man who doesn't look very honest?"
"Let me think... Seems not. White hair is a pretty obvious feature—if I'd seen him, I'd definitely remember."
Hearing this, Noah silently sighed.
As expected, no Encore, no Aalto. Looks like only that method left.
"Got it, thanks Chixia."
"No problem—sorry I couldn't help."
Call ended.
Noah opened his panel, staring at the main quest [To Know the Coming Rain] in the [Quests] module, silent for a long time.
Under the corner lights, his expression was sometimes grave, sometimes irritated, eyes mixed with indescribable complexity.
If the last method failed too, what then?
Unable to reach Black Shores, unable to find Rover—how much time left for the Sentinel? Jinzhou's future—would it be eternal stagnation...
Excessive worries led nowhere.
For now, only do one's best and leave the rest to fate.
Noah stood from the corner seat, passing through the crowd working overtime at border defense, walking straight toward Taoqi.
"I need a car with a full tank, and help me unlock the map near Whining Aix's Mire on the terminal."
"Right now, thanks."