City Hall.
The night was cool as water, the moonlight faint as mist.
Jinhsi was buried in processing a mountain of piled-up official documents, her snow-white twin ponytails hanging behind her, swaying occasionally with her body's movements.
Compared to yesterday's overclocking aftereffects that left her with barely a breath, her complexion today was slightly more rosy, but only slightly.
"Oh no, I accidentally tore the document again."
Jinhsi sighed, taking out a long cloth to carefully wrap the dragon scales on her arms, preventing the scales from tearing the documents again.
She continued reviewing various files, her expression sometimes slightly annoyed, sometimes worried.
With the sound of footsteps approaching from afar, a fragrance of food suddenly entered Jinhsi's nostrils, and only then did she realize her stomach had long been empty.
This smell—it's little dragon buns!
Jinhsi looked up, briefly escaping from her busy official duties, her eyes unconsciously brightening, her mood becoming a few degrees more cheerful as she looked at the several layers of steamers held in the visitor's hands.
"Sanhua, did you make the little dragon buns?"
"No, it was the honored guest Noah who asked me to deliver them to you."
Hearing the explanation, Jinhsi felt a warmth in her heart.
So, that person has such a considerate side.
Her cheeks suddenly flushed a bit, as if recalling the scene in the domain of sound where she was held in that person's arms.
Although at that time she was completely exhausted and weak, forced to be held, it was indeed one of the rarest close contacts with the opposite sex in her life.
Shaking her head, banishing some stray thoughts from her mind—she was the Magistrate of a city; matters of romance were not something she should consider.
"How was Noah's journey in Jinzhou today? Did he encounter anything unpleasant?"
"Your subordinate has been monitoring in secret the whole time; no issues were found. The people of Jinzhou are very enthusiastic."
"That's good. We must not neglect Jinzhou's benefactor."
Biting into half a little dragon bun, the fresh and fragrant flavor burst in her mouth. Jinhsi savored the lingering aftertaste of the delicacy and continued asking:
"Does he have any other requests? As long as Jinzhou can do it, try to satisfy him."
Sanhua handed over a portrait, relaying Noah's original words to Jinhsi.
Jinhsi looked at the portrait in her hand, falling silent for a moment, with some self-doubt—
Is this drawing a person?
If not told it's a person, she would have thought it was a Tacet Discord!
Sanhua handed her such an indistinguishable drawing?
Well... never mind, Sanhua is naturally blind and can only see frequencies, not images, so it's understandable.
Jinhsi held her forehead, carefully pressing the portrait onto the desk:
"Pass the out-of-city permit to Noah. I will arrange for the city's Patrollers and Midnight Rangers to search for this person called Rover."
"Oh, right!"
"Sanhua, compile a list of those who perished in this Fractsidus terrorist attack. Tomorrow, I will personally visit their families to offer condolences."
After sending Sanhua away, Jinhsi quickly devoured the little dragon buns on the table, one per bite, swallowing most of them into her stomach.
After satisfying her hunger, Jinhsi elegantly wiped the residue from her mouth, took out her terminal to try contacting a certain person, but received no reply for a long time.
A soft sigh echoed in the room:
"Teacher, Sentinel, where exactly are you?"
A new day.
The [Tasks] module lit up with a red dot.
[Main Story Task: "Clashing Blades" has been unlocked.]
[Task Description: Life flows in myriad forms; the Rearguard stands firm. Beyond the peaceful and prosperous Jinzhou City lies a brutal battlefield fraught with crises.]
[Completing the main story task "Clashing Blades" rewards: Radiant Tide *20, Lustrous Tide *10, Astrite *1600, Shell Credits *100000.]
Looking at the task description, Noah quickly recalled the corresponding main story plot.
In the original plot, Rover, based on the meeting gift given by Jinhsi, investigates part of his origins at the research institute, faintly guessing about his own identity.
Then Rover leaves the city to investigate other clues, initially encountering Jianxin, defeating the exiles, and arriving at the Rearguard Base.
Through this clue, Rover realizes the importance of Jinzhou's defense line—if Jinzhou's defense falls, the entire Huanglong will fall into crisis.
This plot segment mainly serves as a bridge in the game, allowing players to better understand the heavily endangered side beneath Jinzhou's peace and harmony.
Regarding this, Noah expressed a headache:
"The main task doesn't even give task guidance, and Rover isn't here—how am I supposed to complete it!"
"Also, one main task only gives 30 limited pulls—this isn't enough! There are 7 more main tasks in the Jinzhou area; completing all would only be 210 pulls, just three soft pities."
"Not enough for pulls, absolutely not enough! These rewards are too stingy—dare to give more?"
As if sensing Noah's dissatisfaction, the task interface slightly trembled, refreshing two new tasks—one purple, one green.
[Companion Task: "Wild Heart's Return" will unlock in 8 hours.]
[Task Description: Unlocks in 8 hours.]
[Completing the companion task "Wild Heart's Return" rewards: Lustrous Tide *5, Astrite *3200, Shell Credits *80000.]
"Wow, the snow leopard's companion task? One companion task is equivalent to 20 limited pulls plus 5 standard pulls—so many?"
Noah was slightly stunned; though surprised, he was still not fully satisfied:
"The rewards are plentiful, but there aren't many companion tasks—the entire Jinzhou map only has 5, totaling 100 limited pulls and 25 standard pulls."
"Truly the great鸣 emperor returning to Jinzhou—also on foot!"
His gaze shifted downward to the green task:
[Daily Task: "Fierce Tacet Discords"]
[Task Description: Please eliminate three Overlord Class Tacet Discords that have appeared in Desorock Highland; the corresponding locations are marked on the map in real-time.]
[Completing the task rewards: Astrite *800, Shell Credits *10000.]
"Holy crap! Daily task gives 800 Astrite!"
Noah exclaimed in surprise, his eyes burning as he stared at the green daily task.
After all, it's called a daily task because it refreshes every day!
"One day is 5 pulls, ten days is 50 pulls, a hundred days is 500 pulls!"
This is much more stable and worthwhile than main tasks, companion tasks, and other unappeared tasks!
"Simply dating Encore, Youhu, Verina at the same time—criminal! Too criminal!"
After the excitement, Noah began planning today's itinerary.
First, leave the city to complete the daily task in Desorock Highland, preferably farming more Tacet Discords along the way, then return to Jinzhou in 8 hours to do the snow leopard's companion task.
As for the main task, he still didn't know how to proceed, so set it aside for now.
Completing the companion and daily tasks would provide a stable income of 4000 Astrite and 5 Lustrous Tides.
With the plan set, Noah took out his terminal:
"Yangyang, are you free? I want to go to Desorock Highland to farm Echoes—do you have time to join? Oh, you do—great, then I'll contact Chixia too."
Bringing the two female leads along—maybe relying on their protagonist luck, he could pick up Rover in the wild!
On the other side.
Jinzhou City, city gate.
Due to the previous Fractsidus invasion, the defense forces at Jinzhou's edges had increased by several levels.
The stationed soldiers alone had tripled.
At this moment, a tall and upright figure slowly appeared.
His face was resolute and cold, his eyes deep as an unfathomable abyss, clad in black battle armor, exuding a chilling aura.
The gate soldiers judged from his stance alone that he was terrifyingly strong, stopping him and shouting:
"Halt, who goes there."
"I am Calcharo, leader of the transnational independent mercenary organization 'Ghost Hounds'."
Calcharo handed over his identification, his voice cold as a blade, keeping people at a distance:
"Someone has prepared sufficient remuneration to hire me to resolve Jinzhou's crisis."
Hearing this, the gate soldiers widened their eyes in unison:
"Huh???"
Bro, you're just arriving now!