"Noah, thank you. You defeated Scar and saved all the citizens of Jinzhou."
Yangyang sincerely thanked Noah. Her autumn-water-like eyes seemed to hold a trace of admiration as her words brimmed with concern:
"You fought Scar for so long—are you injured anywhere?"
"No way. Beating Scar? That's just something you do with your hands. I cleared it completely without taking damage."
Facing the admiring, praising gaze the girl directed at him, Noah felt an inexplicable vanity rise from the bottom of his heart. He flicked his bangs and began boasting:
"I lured Scar far away. He deployed a barrier trying to trap me, but I just crooked my finger at him and said: Come on, I'll even give you a hundred moves!"
"Blah blah blah..."
What got loaded—oh! It was Noah loading up the act.
Though the real situation was that his character stats weren't up to par, so he couldn't clash head-on with Scar and could only dodge first, then seize openings to counter.
But that didn't stop Noah from bullshitting. He could brag however he wanted—Scar was already dead anyway, with no witness to contradict him.
Even though Noah's description sounded a bit dry, Yangyang still listened with rapt attention.
Gradually, the surrounding Patrollers gathered around as well, all listening to Noah's embellishments.
"When Scar saw he had nowhere to run, he actually swallowed the Whisperin Erosion and transformed into a massive horned demon. But I wasn't fazed at all—I taught him a lesson with ten consecutive Sacred Light."
"Wow, that's amazing!"
Chixia clapped enthusiastically, her eyes practically sparkling with little stars. The surrounding Patrollers also burst into applause.
This actually made Noah's face flush red. He awkwardly scratched his head and waved his hand:
"Basic stuff, don't hype it—keep it low-key, low-key."
"What does 'basic stuff, don't hype' mean?" someone asked.
"It means basic operation—no need to shout 666."
The Patrollers around him had never encountered such internet slang before and instantly felt the phrase was high-class, refined, yet humbly modest.
For a moment, thunderous applause rang out again.
"666! 666!"
This incident would probably become their topic of conversation for a long time to come.
"Cough cough!"
A clear cough interrupted the Patrollers' enthusiastic atmosphere. Everyone turned toward the sound and saw Jinhsi slowly walking toward Noah.
"Mr. Noah, on behalf of all the citizens of Jinzhou, Jinhsi thanks you for your aid to Jinzhou. Thank you!"
Jinhsi had naturally heard Noah's entire recounting. Now she solemnly bowed to him, performing Jinzhou's highest courtesy.
Noah helped her up: "It was nothing—don't mention it."
She nodded gratefully, turned around, and stood beside Noah, facing all the Patrollers:
"And to all the Patrollers present—your contributions were equally vital. Please accept a bow from Jinhsi!"
The assembled Patrollers watched the Magistrate of Jinzhou bow to them, all feeling overwhelmed and flustered as they returned the Patroller salute in unison:
"Hey! Magistrate, you're too kind."
"Yeah, yeah—this is just what we should do."
"One day a Jinzhou Patroller, a lifetime a Jinzhou Patroller!"
Jinhsi took a deep breath and spoke again:
"The catastrophe came suddenly, causing great losses to Jinzhou. Fortunately, the citizens of Jinzhou are brave... (omitting several hundred words)"
Noah felt as though he were listening to a speech under the national flag—left ear in, right ear out.
After arranging for the Patrollers to receive the victims relocated to Taoyuan Vale, Jinhsi finally turned to Noah beside her:
"I'm truly sorry for keeping you waiting. If you could spare a little time, Jinhsi would like to speak with you privately."
"That's fine—I have plenty of time right now."
Noah shrugged:
"Whatever you want to talk about—ask away, I'll answer everything."
If following the plot of Wuthering Waves, when Rover first meets Jinhsi, it's mainly Rover asking and Jinhsi answering.
But now the plot had collapsed—Jinhsi had time-stopped herself for three days and knew far less about current Jinzhou than Noah did.
So it became Jinhsi asking and Noah answering. Soon, Jinhsi fully understood Jinzhou's present situation.
"So you are not reinforcements from Huanglong but a traveler who happened to arrive in Jinzhou."
Jinhsi covered her mouth in surprise and bowed to Noah once more:
"I'm truly sorry. As an honored guest of Jinzhou, Jinzhou has caused you such enormous trouble."
Noah didn't mind at all and casually helped Jinhsi up:
"Hey, it's nothing—don't be so formal. Just call me by my name."
"Alright, you—cough—you can call me by my name too. I'm Jinhsi."
Jinhsi gave a light cough and pressed a hand to her chest. A flash of pain crossed her expression:
"To be honest, when I awoke, I sensed Resonance power on you that was in sync with the Sentinel. The moves you used were also very familiar to me. May I ask..."
As expected, she asked this question.
Noah had long anticipated that he would eventually face it.
In Solaris, every Resonator's ability was unique—almost no duplicates existed.
Therefore, even if unspoken, every Resonator believed their ability was one-of-a-kind and took pride in it.
But suddenly one day, some guy appears before them, using their abilities and moves, even shouting their catchphrases—
It was like having a charming, beloved wife, then someone showing you photos of his wife. You look closely—how does his wife look exactly like yours?
This was straight-up NTR right to your face—no acting required.
Who could tolerate that? The mild-tempered might ask if they were twins; the hot-tempered would explode on the spot.
"Well—"
Noah offered his explanation:
"This is my unique ability. Under certain conditions, I can briefly imitate others' Resonance power—though it's hard to surpass the original."
He wasn't lying.
Certain conditions = pulling the corresponding character in gacha.
Briefly imitate = impossible to use the same character forever without switching to others, right?
Hard to surpass the original = assembling five top-tier Echoes is indeed very difficult!
"I see. The world is vast—truly full of wonders."
Hearing Noah's clever explanation, Jinhsi visibly relaxed a great deal.
It really scared Jinhsi—she had thought the Sentinel found another Resonator.
Good thing she hadn't been cucked by the Sentinel.
"Noah, though it's a bit difficult to say, but—I have a presumptuous request."
Jinhsi exhaled deeply, her expression turning solemn:
"As you can see, Jinzhou now lies in ruins and awaits rebirth. Even if the injured citizens recover their minds, they will remain fearful and uneasy, having lost their former sense of security in Jinzhou."
"As Magistrate of Jinzhou, Jinhsi failed to protect the citizens in this calamity. I bear primary responsibility—my crime is unforgivable."
"The title of Magistrate signifies supreme authority and mountain-heavy duty. Jinhsi considers herself derelict and unworthy of the Sentinel's trust. I wish to relinquish this position."
"And you, as the hero who saved Jinzhou—if you could take this role, it would surely calm the people's hearts and give them a sense of security."
"The Magistrate position can only be decided by the Sentinel. Jinhsi cannot presume to decide, so—could you please serve temporarily as acting Magistrate of Jinzhou?"