After subduing this group of exiles, Yangyang called a squad of soldiers from the Midnight Rangers camp to escort them away.
The trio began repairing the scouting tower.
"How do you fix this?"
Noah held a handful of precision parts, looking at the scouting tower with its severely deformed shell exposing complex circuitry, and couldn't help feeling a bit overwhelmed.
In the Wuthering Waves game, you just had to complete a minigame to skip this part, but reality wasn't a game.
Assembling and repairing a scouting tower wasn't something someone like him—who could only change a light bulb—could handle.
"Leave it to me. Noah, take a break. I'll be done soon."
Yangyang proactively took the parts from Noah's hands and fixed the scouting tower in a few quick moves. Her clean and efficient posture left Noah greatly amazed.
"Impressive, Yangyang. I didn't expect you to know how to repair machinery too."
"Every Midnight Ranger member learns basic repairs for front-line equipment. It's a required exam in recruit training."
Yangyang answered humbly, making Jianxin beside them thoughtful.
Soon after, having repaired the two disconnected scouting towers, the three-person team quickly arrived at the Rearguard Base without further delay.
The current timeline was just before the Threnodian Ovathrax revived. Endless Tacet Discords were appearing at a frequency far exceeding previous levels, putting immense pressure on the front lines.
In the game plot, Rover briefly interacted with two wounded soldiers here, which was already enough to glimpse the urgent situation in Jinzhou.
But when Noah arrived at the Rearguard Base for the first time, he saw a completely different scene—
Wounded soldiers, wounded soldiers, and more damn wounded soldiers.
Seeing soldiers all injured yet still busily rushing back and forth, Noah was stunned.
No way, bro!
Is there even one healthy person in this camp?
How is everyone injured? Could it be because Jiyan stayed in Jinzhou for three days earlier?
Yangyang quickly stepped forward, trying to stop a hurried soldier:
"Excuse me, I'm Yangyang, a Tacet Scout member of the Midnight Rangers. May I ask—"
"I'm very busy—find someone else."
The soldier, carrying a box of medical supplies, limped away without pausing for a moment.
After asking several soldiers in a row with no one stopping, Yangyang could only return somewhat dejectedly:
"It seems we came at a bad time."
"This is this humble Taoist's first time on the battlefield. I didn't expect the atmosphere here to be so tense."
Jianxin gently bit her lip, her gaze constantly scanning the figures around them, filled with some sympathy:
"They seem so busy they don't even have time to drink water."
"Yes." As a Tacet Scout member of the Midnight Rangers, Yangyang deeply resonated with this:
"War is like this. The soldiers on the front lines must remain vigilant at all times, fighting bravely to bring peace, happiness, and carefree lives to the people in the rear."
"The soldiers all hope to become a barrier the people can rely on, keeping danger at bay. For this common goal, everyone is giving their all."
"An endless stream of soldiers, using their flesh as cement and bones as rebar, pave the road to peace, hoping those who come after can step on this path and go higher and farther..."
At this point, a wounded soldier from the Rearguard Base staggered over to the trio, dragging his heavily injured body.
His face, covered in bandages with only one eye exposed, was filled with excited emotion:
"Excuse me... are you the hero who saved Jinzhou, Noah? My daughter Nannan sent me your photo!"
"Yes, I'm Noah. But saving Jinzhou was just a matter of fate and circumstances—I don't count as a hero."
Noah nodded, gently placing his palm on the soldier's shoulder, his tone deep:
"But you, my friend, and everyone on the front lines—you are the true heroes!"
Hearing Noah's praise, this simple and honest soldier couldn't help grinning widely, laughing uncontrollably, causing the trio's expressions to tighten:
"Oh no, he's too excited—his wounds are tearing open."
"Holy crap, bro, stop laughing—the bandages are turning red!"
"This soldier, please stay calm! My master once said: A calm heart leads to..."
In the ensuing chaos, they finally found medical personnel and managed to stabilize the soldier's condition.
Facing the reproachful looks from the medics, the trio unanimously looked embarrassed, feeling guilty and lacking confidence.
However, at least now someone had time to deal with them.
Through the medics, they inquired about the quartermaster's location. The trio took the elevator to the upper level of the camp, found the Rearguard Base quartermaster, and successfully learned Zhiyuan's whereabouts.
"Thank you all for your help. This humble Taoist will go find him first."
Jianxin bid farewell and left, turning the three-person team into a duo.
Noah and Yangyang originally planned to leave as well, but were stopped by the quartermaster.
"The wilderness is extremely dangerous. If the great hero wants Echoes, the front lines certainly don't lack them. You can take some from the warehouse yourself."
"No thanks—appreciate the kindness."
Noah waved his hand in refusal.
Back in the Cloudridge Valley, he had already tested with Yangyang and Chixia: Echoes dropped by others had no main or substats at all.
They only had stats if he personally defeated the Tacet Discord.
Otherwise, why would he leave the city? He could just ask Jinhsi for Echoes directly.
With his current status, as soon as he asked, Jinhsi would immediately bring out all the Echoes in the city for him.
Thinking of this, Noah opened his panel and inwardly complained:
"Your cheats have too many restrictions. If later I farm a Calamity Class Tacet Discord and the main stat is healing, wouldn't I be screwed?"
The panel read his complaint but didn't reply, pretending to be dead.
On the other side.
Jinzhou, City Hall.
"Thank you very much for your kind offer of assistance, Mr. Calcharo."
Sanhua received Calcharo in the tea room, politely gesturing for him to overlook Jinzhou's scenery:
"But as you can see, Jinzhou has now restored peace. If you wish to stay as a guest, Jinzhou can arrange accommodation for you."
"Is that so... I came at full speed, yet I was still a step too late."
Calcharo narrowed his eyes, feeling a faint regret in his heart. He stood up from the chair without drinking the hot tea on the table and shook his head:
"In that case, this commission is void. I still need to return half the deposit to the client—I won't disturb you further."
Hearing this, Sanhua nodded and took out a silver card, handing it to Calcharo:
"Still, thank you, Mr. Calcharo, for coming to aid Jinzhou. This is 10,000 Shell Credits—a small token from Jinzhou."
"No need. The Hounds don't accept remuneration outside of commissions."
Coldly declining Sanhua's kindness, Calcharo left City Hall, his heart aching so much it felt like it was bleeding.
Because...
The reward for this commission was truly generous—the client had added way too much money!
Money, so much money—all flown away!
And he had to return half the deposit!
It hurts, it hurts too much—hurts so bad he could barely breathe!
"Is Jinzhou really safe now?"
Calcharo pondered repeatedly in his mind:
Is there a possibility that Jinzhou isn't actually safe—that the current peace is just an external illusion, one that could be shattered with a light poke?
He narrowed his eyes, deciding to wander around Jinzhou City to confirm its true situation.