Night had fallen deeply in the blink of an eye.
Yinlin led a group of Outriders headed by Patroller Chixia to handle the victims of the Séance Society incident.
Jiyan, on the other hand, was conducting an impromptu night training drill for the Midnight Rangers, leading the elite troops in an orderly run back to the barracks.
With that, the incident came to a close.
...
"In the area near Whining Aix's Mire, military forces are weak. Most of the residents there are ordinary civilians, including the elderly and children who have no strength to tie up a chicken."
Inside Noah's house, Jinhsi tightly held Noah's hand with one hand while covering her chest with the other, still feeling lingering fear:
"If Ovathrax had successfully triggered the Tacet Discord tide there, even if the Midnight Rangers reacted quickly, there would have been massive casualties."
"Then Ovathrax would have gained power from the war. Once fully awakened, It would never let go of such an opportunity and would immediately return to the frontlines to bring down the Retroact Rain."
"At that time, the Midnight Rangers would still be far away in Whining Aix's Mire and wouldn't be able to return in time to defend. The frontlines would suffer heavy losses, and Ovathrax would gain even more power to nourish itself, allowing it to create a large number of Tacet Discords to attack Jinzhou City."
As she spoke, Jinhsi looked at Noah with eyes full of gratitude and relief:
"Thankfully, you struck down Its scheme while It was at Its weakest. Noah, tell me… how should I thank you?"
"There's no need for any words of thanks. Protecting everyone is our shared wish."
Noah smiled and gently withdrew his hand from Jinhsi's grasp, sighing with emotion:
"Today in Jinzhou City, I visited many friends and saw that each of them was living in peace and tranquility. Do you know what I was thinking?"
"What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that I have gradually gone from being that initial traveler to slowly integrating into and changing this world, making it a better place. Although there are times when danger appears, it really gives me a strong sense of accomplishment."
However... it turns out that not every time a Threnodian makes a move will there be a main quest to guide him.
This time he had stumbled upon the reviving Ovathrax by luck. What about next time?
Indeed, he should take the initiative and keep all changes under his control, rather than passively following the enemy's actions.
Thinking of this, Noah couldn't help feeling a bit troubled again.
Even though he very much wanted to take the initiative, this world differed too much from the original plot of Wuthering Waves, leaving him somewhat at a loss on where to begin.
Clearly in the original plot of Wuthering Waves, Ovathrax shouldn't have awakened at this time...
Shaking his head, Noah changed the subject:
"This time Ovathrax self-destructed its body. Logically speaking, it should need at least several years or even decades before It can make a comeback."
"Under normal circumstances, that would indeed be the case. When I resonated with the Sentinel earlier, I asked It. The Sentinel said that according to the previous prophecy, Ovathrax shouldn't have acted again until a year later, not awakened early like this."
Speaking of this topic, Jinhsi couldn't help but frown and continued:
"According to the Sentinel, there should be an existence that exceeds Its prophetic abilities that arrived in Jinzhou and forcibly awakened Ovathrax… Noah, don't worry. I will follow up and investigate this matter later."
"Then I'll leave it to you, Xixi."
Jinhsi nodded vigorously, temporarily setting the matter aside. Then, with some hesitation, she took out several invitation letters and handed them over:
"Last night, the Black Shores publicly disclosed matters related to the global Lament. These are invitation letters from Mingting, Mengzhou, Chongzhou, and other Huanglong regions. They… are all very curious about you and want to meet you."
"No time, not meeting them."
Noah refused without hesitation, waving his hand.
Once he had rested enough in Jinzhou, he would immediately head to Septimont. He had no intention of waiting until the gladiatorial tournament actually started before rushing over for the main quest at the last minute.
As for Mingting and Chongzhou… as the main quest progressed, he would visit those places sooner or later. For now, this was his vacation time.
"Xixi, please help me decline their invitations. You can be polite about it and say that I'll visit when I have time later."
Upon hearing this, a smile bloomed on Jinhsi's face.
Great! Noah rejected invitations from other places. Did this mean he planned to stay in Jinzhou for the long term?
As expected, Jinzhou was different to him!
The status of other Huanglong states was not inferior to Jinzhou's. If Noah had really agreed to visit other states, Jinhsi genuinely wouldn't have had a way to keep him here.
"Alright. I'll reject the invitations from them and the New Federation as well. Leave these matters to me."
After tentatively suggesting to reject all other invitations together and seeing that Noah didn't object, Jinhsi felt even happier:
"It's getting late, Noah. I should head back now."
"Okay, I'll walk you out."
The distance from here to City Hall was only a minute's walk. Noah stood up and escorted Jinhsi to the door.
"Just… just send me off here..."
Jinhsi stood stiffly at the doorway. Her bright, moist eyes gazed deeply at Noah's face as anxiety surged in her heart:
Hurry up and say you want me to stay the night. Say it already. I already said I'd let you stay the night yesterday.
"I really have to go now."
"Okay, I'll walk you back to City Hall."
"Mm… no need… I really have to go."
Seeing Jinhsi's expression gradually turning pitiful, Noah finally caught on and asked tentatively:
"How about… staying here for the night?"
"Wouldn't that be inappropriate…" Jinhsi's heart leaped with joy. She slightly lowered her gaze, looking a bit shy. "Wouldn't it be too much trouble for you?"
"It's fine, it's fine. My house is quite big."
Noah casually pointed toward the upper floors and explained:
"The entire fourth floor is the master bedroom where I sleep. The second and third floors combined have eight guest rooms. Xixi, you can pick any one you like."
"Great!"
After receiving Noah's approval, Jinhsi, like someone who had succeeded in her scheme, couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth curve upward slightly.
Cohabitation was definitely a very effective way to quickly close the distance between people. Staying once would lead to twice, then three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten times.
If she stayed long enough… it would be normal for some small conflicts to happen, right?
Over time, Noah would gradually get used to her presence, to the point where he couldn't live without her, and then… well, that would be the part that couldn't be said.
Thinking of this, Jinhsi couldn't help wanting to giggle.
Harboring secret delight, Jinhsi followed Noah's guidance and toured the second and third floors, looking at every room.
Using this as an excuse, she chatted with Noah for a long time. In the end, she even went to the fourth floor to see where Noah slept.
Finally, she chose the room on the third floor, directly beneath Noah's large bed on the fourth floor. Only then did the two stop talking and go to rest.
...
"The first-floor hall feels a bit too empty. In the future, I need to buy some furniture and potted plants for decoration. The living rooms on the second and third floors can't be too plain either."
Inside the guest room, Jinhsi kept thinking:
"The wardrobe on the fourth floor is empty. Noah doesn't have enough clothes. I need to buy him more. Perfect, another way to get closer to Noah."
"I should be the first person to stay overnight in Noah's house, right?"
"Two years from now, I will rightfully move in and become the mistress of Noah's house. Xixi hehe~"
At this moment, Jinhsi still didn't know that because of the precedent she set tonight, countless other women would later move in as well.
...
On the other side, upstairs from Jinhsi.
Late at night, the gentle expression on Noah's face gradually faded until it became completely blank.
Today he had reunited with many old friends, and he had originally been very happy.
Yet right when his mood was at its most relaxed and pleasant, he encountered a Threnodian again.
It felt like someone was reminding him — this place was ultimately a world full of crises under an apocalyptic backdrop.
Even though he had temporarily dealt with the Slaughterblade of Carnage and Leviathan, it was far from time to truly relax.
He took out his terminal:
"Shorrie."
"I'm here."
After briefly explaining everything related to Ovathrax, Noah tried to obtain some information from the Black Shores' database.
"Please wait, querying now."
The projected Shorekeeper fell into a contemplative state, then quickly gave a reply:
"According to the query, after the Ovathrax's consciousness falls into slumber, it will hide its unhatched body and refuse to awaken until it has gathered enough power."
"Ordinary people cannot enter Ovathrax's Sonoro Sphere, and powerful civilized forces also would not attempt to awaken it."
"Based on the above, a reasonable inference: It was the Fractsidus who awakened the war Threnodian · Ovathrax in an attempt to destroy Jinzhou. Although the motive cannot be determined, only they would do such a thing."
"Fractsidus?"
Hearing this answer, Noah showed no surprise. He turned off the terminal, his gaze gradually becoming extremely sharp as his voice turned icy cold:
"I will definitely eliminate all of the Fractsidus!"