[Main Story Task: "Rushing Strategy to Await the Fractsidus" has been unlocked.]
[Task Description: Cooled embers and silent ruins bury forbidden memories. The Fractsidus flickers behind the shadows, wanting to tell you a story that is still burning.]
[Completing the main story task "Rushing Strategy to Await the Fractsidus" rewards: Radiant Tide *20, Lustrous Tide *10, Astrite *1600, Shell Credits *100000.]
"Another main task completed—somehow mysteriously."
Noah furrowed his brows, pondering the connection.
First was the initial "Utterance of Marvels - Part 1," completed after he defeated the Crownless, then "Utterance of Marvels - Part 2," completed when he stepped into Jinzhou City.
Followed by "First Echoing Marche," completed when settling in Jinzhou City to rest, and "Clashing Blades," completed upon leaving the Rearguard Base.
These tasks were all completed without the key character Rover.
"Could it be that—I'm Rover?"
Thinking of this possibility, Noah couldn't help but find it amusing:
"How could that be. He is he, I am I—he is not me, and I am not him either."
But setting aside the key character, the key plot points weren't missing.
Could it be that as long as certain plot conditions are met, even without Rover, the task counts as completed?
If that's the case—
Noah's gaze involuntarily turned toward the direction of Qichi Village, his mind quickly recalling the content of "Rushing Strategy to Await the Fractsidus."
In the plot, Rover, following Jinhsi's clue, leaves the Rearguard Base and heads to Qichi Village, where Rover first encounters the Fractsidus member Scar in the village.
Scar uses Yangyang as leverage, forcing Rover to explore Qichi Village's past while telling a riddle-like sheep herd story, attempting to recruit Rover.
This plot segment briefly reveals the Fractsidus forces to the player, subtly declaring the ideology the Fractsidus pursues—
A group of doomsday madmen seeking death, yet claiming to hold the truth. Before the truth is revealed, no one knows if they are right or wrong.
If the truth they hold is correct, they could just be open and honest—with Rover's personality, there's a high chance Rover wouldn't refuse.
But they speak vaguely, hiding and concealing—either the writers hadn't fleshed out the Fractsidus ideology, or the Fractsidus truth couldn't be accepted by the masses.
In Noah's view, the latter was more likely. Having sorted through the plot content, he made up his mind.
Based on his speculation, completing the key plot points would allow the main task to be completed.
Whether this inference was right or wrong, he decided to go to Qichi Village to verify it.
The key plot of "Rushing Strategy to Await the Fractsidus" has two parts: one is uncovering the truth of Qichi Village, the other is the initial meeting with Fractsidus overseer Scar.
Now Scar has already been boxed off, likely with no more appearances later.
So, Noah only needed to follow the steps and investigate the truth of Qichi Village—it should count as completing the task.
He could also complete the daily task along the way.
"What are you thinking about, Noah?"
Yangyang looked at Noah with some concern, asking:
"I've noticed you've been frowning the whole time—you seem unhappy."
"Oh, no—I'm just thinking about some things, got lost in thought. Not unhappy."
Noah waved his hand, inviting Yangyang to go to Qichi Village together. Since Qichi Village was in the same direction as Jinzhou, the girl didn't think much of it.
"From the first day we met, you've often mentioned a name—Rover."
Walking on the long road, Yangyang proactively found a topic to chat with Noah, unconsciously asking what concerned her most:
"I'm really curious—what kind of person is Rover? Is Rover very important to you?"
She hadn't forgotten how, back in the Cloudridge Valley, Noah had gone so far as to make Chixia cry in anger just to find Rover.
After the three of them parted in the Cloudridge Valley, she had been using her ability to monitor Noah's condition, hearing him shout Rover's name to the sky.
Every time she recalled this, the girl couldn't help feeling a bit jealous.
Just who was this Rover—a man or a woman?
"You're asking about Rover—well, that's a long story."
Mentioning Rover energized Noah. He decided to introduce Rover to Yangyang in advance, sparing no praise:
"Rover—a person with a mysterious background, immensely powerful in combat, humble toward others, and a highly reliable partner."
"Rover is gentle yet resilient, full of justice, and will protect everyone around them. If you ever encounter any unsolvable difficulty, asking Rover for help is definitely the right choice."
"Rover's biggest flaw is being too perfect!" (Talking about you players!)
A flurry of extravagant praise made Yangyang nod repeatedly, though doubts bubbled up in her heart:
So, is this Rover a man or a woman?
Just as she was about to ask, Noah suddenly stopped.
"Yangyang, wait here for me about ten minutes. I need to go to that village over there to handle some urgent business."
He didn't plan to bring Yangyang through Qichi Village's plot—Yangyang's Resonance ability would sense the village's negative emotions, affecting her mood.
Though affecting her mood wasn't a big deal, it was better to avoid if possible.
"Oh, okay!"
Yangyang nodded, watching Noah quickly stride into Qichi Village, still pondering in her heart.
If the Rover Noah spoke of was a man, that would be fine—but what if it was a woman?
From the looks of it, Noah and this Rover were clearly very close. This was the first time she had seen Noah praise someone so enthusiastically.
If that Rover...
The more she thought, the more chaotic the girl's heart became.
On the other side, Noah swiftly and efficiently cleared the Tacet Discords in the Tacet Field within Qichi Village, finding a Tick Tack Tacet Discord in a corner of the ruined village.
Next was speedrunning the "Rushing Strategy to Await the Fractsidus" plot.
As a professional account booster, he didn't even need perception to guide Tick Tack at full speed collecting various clues.
Broken wooden signs, suspicious embers, tattered picture books, torn diary pages, notes on tree branches, stains on walls—telling a long-buried story...
"A few years ago, there was a peaceful village. The villagers worked from sunrise, though worried about Tacet Discords that could appear anytime, life was still stable."
"In the village, a little girl awakened a Resonance ability to manipulate Tacet Discord frequencies. This news spread quickly, attracting the Fractsidus."
"The Fractsidus brought many benefits to the village—the villagers could live affluent lives without labor, and even wishes made to the Fractsidus would be generously fulfilled."
"Soon, the villagers placed great trust in the Fractsidus."
"One day, a Fractsidus member told the little girl a dark fairy tale about a sheep herd, asking for her opinion. Afterward, the Fractsidus began secretly scheming."
"During a Tacet Discord invasion, Little Xi died protecting the little girl. The little girl turned Little Xi into a Tacet Discord, trying to find a way to revive her as a human."
"Tacet Discords could not be accepted by the village, so the hidden Tacet Discord Little Xi became the Fractsidus's leverage over the little girl."
"One by one, people in the village quietly disappeared, turned into Tacet Discords using the little girl's ability by the Fractsidus."
"Some villagers vaguely learned the truth but, greedy for the resources the Fractsidus provided, pretended to know nothing, believing disaster wouldn't befall them."
"If no one exposed it, the villagers would indulge in the stable status quo, choosing to drift numbly along. But the little girl could no longer bear harming the villagers and began refusing the Fractsidus's orders."
"The little girl broke the rules—the Fractsidus tore off their facade, revealing to the whole village that the little girl was the 'culprit' behind the disappearances."
"The little girl was seen as an outsider, a monster—driven out and sacrificed by the villagers."
"The next day, the sun rose as usual, but the village no longer had traces of the little girl or the Fractsidus."