"You must have worked really hard."
At Huaxu Academy, Noah looked through the thick glass at the stalks of rice and let out a heartfelt sigh of admiration:
"Verina, you actually managed to find male-sterile rice plants. You're truly amazing!"
Listening to Noah's unreserved praise, Verina smiled shyly:
"It was just luck. Brother Noah, you don't need to praise me like this. Brother Xiangli Yao, Uncle Mortefi, and Sister Baizhi all helped a lot."
Xiangli Yao gave a light cough: "I didn't help much. It's not worth mentioning."
Mortefi looked stunned: "Kid, I'm only a few years older than you. Why are you calling me uncle?"
"It really wasn't just luck." Baizhi rarely showed a smile as she reached out and gently placed her hand on Verina's shoulder:
"Obtaining this rice mother plant was far more difficult than you can imagine. But the benefits are also enormous. After Academician Verina's initial experiments, the rice yield per mu has increased by a full three times compared to before!"
"Three times?"
Yangyang, standing beside Noah, gasped. Her eyes toward the rice suddenly became fervent:
"If it can be promoted and planted widely, wouldn't that mean no one in all of Solaris will have to go hungry anymore?"
"Not only that, there is still a lot of room for further yield improvement."
Baizhi nodded:
"In the future, the exiles in the wild may become a thing of the past. If they still want to be lazy and commit evil deeds, Huanglong won't mind providing them with free prison meals for life."
"Amazing, amazing!"
Noah praised again, then suddenly changed the topic:
"Wait, Baizhi, besides saying three times just now, what else did you say? Verina... Academician?"
"That's right! Verina is now a top-tier research talent who can walk sideways across all of Huanglong."
Verina took out a large Academician Honor Medal and pinned it to her chest. With both hands on her hips, she proudly raised her head, then took out another identical medal:
"But all of this is thanks to the method Brother gave me. Verina prepared one for you as a reward too!"
"Aiyo, how could I possibly accept this."
Noah bent down, looked at the medal in Verina's hand over and over again, clearly very tempted.
In the end, he reluctantly returned the medal and took out a big Rinascita gift package:
"Here's a gift for you, Verina!"
The one-meter-sided large gift box immediately knocked Verina to the ground:
"Ahh— it's so heavy. Is this the reward..."
Baizhi gave Noah a light glare, helped Verina up, and in the next moment another big Rinascita gift package appeared in her hands.
"Baizhi, this is for you too."
Looking at the big gift package in her hands, Baizhi was slightly stunned. Before she could speak, Xiangli Yao, who was sitting nearby, smiled:
"Do I get one too?"
"Yes, brother, yes. I still have nine more gifts like this!"
Noah waved his hand grandly. Two big Rinascita gift packages flew out and were steadily caught by Xiangli Yao and Mortefi respectively.
"I get one too?" Mortefi accepted the unexpected delight, the corner of his mouth curving up as he nodded to Noah:
"Then I won't be polite. If you need anything in the future, just call on me."
"Deal."
Noah smiled, already thinking in his mind about the next place he wanted to visit.
Jiyan, Zhezhi, Jianxin, Danjin... and the Linyang?
There were quite a few places to go. Better skip them all for now!
...
Septimont.
"Phrolova, sometimes I really don't know what the Fractsidus is fighting against."
Cristoforo placed a can of chilled Heart-Refreshing Drink on the table. Looking at Lupa's image printed on it, he let out a long breath and casually chatted with Phrolova opposite him:
"The operation at Mt. Firmament failed, the reshaping of Leviathan in Ragunna failed, and even Mya in Septimont was completely incinerated. The House Silva was also expelled from Septimont."
"Oh."
Phrolova had no interest in comforting Cristoforo. She lowered her head and quietly observed her own Red Spider Lily cane, silently pondering another matter in her mind.
According to the Grand Archetic, Noah... seemed to have resolved the global Lament — Slaughterblade of Carnage of the Black Shores some time ago...
Hiss~ Was there anything that guy couldn't do?
She was feeling more and more regretful about joining the Fractsidus.
Thinking of this, she raised her head, coldly glanced at Cristoforo's head, then looked away and spoke:
"You're not the type to complain. Tell me, what new evil scheme have you come up with?"
"You saw right through me. You're really getting to know me better and better."
Cristoforo clapped his hands and smiled lightly:
"Indeed, Mya is dead, but that doesn't mean the plan to revive the Threnodians has failed."
"Think about it carefully. Our goal is simply to obtain the identity of the gladiator champion, so we can invade the central beacon of Septimont and repeatedly bring down the Black Tide according to the script, thereby strengthening the power of the Threnodians."
"We only need to ensure that this champion can be controlled by the Threnodians at the critical moment."
Upon hearing this, Phrolova frowned:
"Simpler. Speak like a normal person."
"I'm planning to abandon Mya script and instead have another person who has already been materialized into reality through the script seize the championship. Then, at the critical moment, hand him over to the Threnodians for corruption."
As he spoke, Cristoforo opened his own script and looked at the name "Avinoleum" on it with some regret:
"Actually, I was quite satisfied with this character I designed. It's a shame to use him like this— but never mind. Since Septimont is destined to be destroyed anyway, he might as well make some final contributions."
"You want the character you designed to win the gladiator championship?"
Phrolova frowned slightly:
"But from what I know, ever since that Ephor took office, the gladiator matches have been converted into team battles of two people. One character alone won't be enough."
"No problem. Just find him a strong teammate."
Cristoforo glanced at Lupa's image on the packaging of the canned Heart-Refreshing Drink on the table. The corner of his mouth curved up slightly:
"Learning from the last lesson, this time's script will no longer allow any outsiders to intervene like before. Everything will be firmly under my control."
"The fall of Septimont is already a foregone conclusion. There will be no more accidents!"
...
Jinzhou.
"Strange. When did a script appear in my backpack?"
After leaving Huaxu Academy, Noah sorted through his backpack and unexpectedly discovered a script inside that had appeared at some point.
However, it was completely blank with nothing written on it.
"Yep, this is Scar's frequency."
Noah frowned, trying hard to recall when exactly he had put a script into his own backpack.
His backpack received all kinds of things every day—automatically picked-up plants, ores, and various items obtained from daily quests and exploration quests.
Because of this, he couldn't remember at all when he had stuffed a book inside.
"What are you thinking about?" Yangyang beside him asked with concern.
"Nothing. I'm just organizing the gifts I prepared for everyone. Now that I'm done packing, let's go. We'll visit the other friends in Jinzhou City."
Casually stuffing Scar's script back into his backpack, Noah didn't pay it too much mind. He invited Yangyang to come along and once again began visiting his old friends in Jinzhou City.
"Boss Koko, long time no see. These are medicinal herbs I casually gathered in Rinascita. They're for you."
"It's the Hero of Jinzhou. Please accept this newly made premium Recovery Spray from my small shop."
"Uncle Wei, these are ores from out of town. They're for you to study."
"Aiyo, so many. Thank you, thank you."
"Linyang, big Rinascita gift package. Catch."
"Awoo!"
In one afternoon, he visited the Simulation Training Grounds, Yuanwu's Fist Gym, the Swiss Lion Group, the Pioneer Association, and other places. Noah's visiting list was finally more than half complete.
As for Peach Blossom Restaurant, he had already gone there for lunch. As for Ma He... better forget it.
Back when Wuthering Waves first launched, the prices at Ma He Grocery were ridiculously high with no purchase limits.
Noah, who had rushed into the game at launch to grab an ID, went to Ma He Grocery to buy bird eggs and subconsciously maxed out the shopping bar.
He bought over a thousand bird eggs at 1500 Shell Credits each, leaving him broke for a long time in the early game with no Shell Credits to level up characters. He even foolishly thought Calcharo was weak because he didn't have money to build him.
If the real-life Ma He wasn't so black-hearted, Noah might have whispered a few words into Jinhsi's ear.
"You really are thoughtful. The moment you returned to Jinzhou, you visited so many friends."
A soft voice pulled Noah out of his thoughts. He turned his head and met Yangyang's eyes that were as clear as rippling autumn waters.
"Haha, it's mainly because I don't have much to do."
Noah smiled and casually explained:
"Seeing everyone in Jinzhou City living peacefully makes me feel very happy too."
"Is that so?"
Yangyang lowered her head, gently pinching her chin, then smiled sweetly:
"Seeing you happy, I somehow feel very happy too. By the way, what are your plans after this?"
"In the next few days, I'll go around all the areas near Jinzhou and plant the anchors. That way, I can go anywhere in an instant in the future."
"Returning to Jinzhou from outside will also be instantaneous?"
"Yes."
As this affirmative statement fell, the smile on the girl's face seemed to become even brighter.
...