"Uh... alright, I have to admit, my drawing is really quite abstract."
Noah glanced at his own artwork:
"Try to help me look for them anyway. I'll also search for them within Jinzhou City."
"Understood. I'll go make the arrangements then. If you need anything, you can always find Sanhua."
Jinhsi pursed her lips slightly, reached out to pick up the portrait, and was about to leave, but Noah called her back.
She turned around, her clear eyes revealing a hint of confusion:
"Is there something else?"
"Yes."
Noah calmly opened the panel and skillfully navigated to the Convene interface.
After chatting for so long, he almost forgot to pull for Jinhsi's constellation. Although a C0 Jinhsi is already fully functional, a C1 Jinhsi is even stronger.
The first constellation allows the damage from that dragon breath in her Resonance Skill to nearly double (Illuminous Epiphany).
That's quite satisfying.
Though it requires stacking four layers of "Incandescence" using special Basic Attacks and Resonance Skills, for Noah, that's hardly an issue.
Noah clicked the 10-pull button while using the conversation to stall Jinhsi temporarily:
"I want to know what Threnodian creations are all about, and that ring you used to rewind Jinzhou City last time—what's its origin?"
At the mention of Threnodian creations, Jinhsi's expression immediately grew heavier, as if recalling her previous dire situation:
"This... Although I am the Magistrate, in truth, I don't know much about unprecedented things like Threnodian creations. However, I can tell you about the Sentinel creation in my possession."
Jinhsi removed a ring from her hand and placed it on the table:
"Before the Sentinel disappeared, She entrusted this nameless ring to me, saying that Jinzhou would face calamity from uninvited guests."
"When I received this ring, the Sentinel's state was very weak, as if creating it had cost Her a tremendous price."
"Through the power synchronized with the Sentinel, I can manipulate this ring to do things only the Sentinel can, like time stop or rewind."
At this point, Jinhsi looked at Noah with gratitude.
If Noah hadn't intervened in time, her already depleted power wouldn't have been enough to drive the ring to rewind Jinzhou back to its current state.
"Unfortunately, this rewind isn't perfect. The frequencies of the deceased have dissipated and cannot be revived, and everyone retains some memories influenced by the Threnodian creation."
After listening, Noah gained a certain understanding of this Sentinel creation and nodded immediately:
"Alright, thank you for telling me."
"No need for thanks. If there's anything, you can always come find me."
Jinhsi smiled faintly and left the guest room.
Without Changli to share the burden, the affairs on her shoulders had become even more hectic. Being able to spare this brief moment for conversation was already a luxury.
Looking back at Noah, he was now tallying his new gains from the Convene pool:
He invested 60 pulls and successfully obtained Jinhsi's first constellation.
In addition, he got Chixia's Wavebands *2, Fusion nucleus stellars *2, Yuanwu's Wavebands *1, and Whimsical Variation *1.
As for blue weapons, they were directly ignored.
"20 pulls ahead of schedule, and no off-banner—nice!"
Noah opened the Resonator interface and activated Jinhsi's first Waveband.
[Waveband: Incarnation - Profound (Activated)]
[When Jinhsi performs Basic Attack Soaring Grace - Basic Attack or Resonance Skill Pursuing the Moon, she gains one layer of Incandescence, stackable up to 4 layers. Each layer increases Resonance Skill Dragon Break's damage by 20%... (abbreviated)]
He also activated the Wavebands for Chixia and Yuanwu to avoid little red dots appearing on the Resonator icons in the panel.
Closing the panel, Noah looked out the window at the streets and alleys, murmuring to himself:
"The next focus is finding the members of the Black Shores."
...
Jinzhou.
"You want to know what a day in the life of a Patroller is like?"
Chixia looked at Noah in surprise, curious why he would have such an idea, then excitedly clapped her hands:
"Sure thing! Then stick close to me—don't wander off on your own."
"You got it, Jinzhou's Blazing Dawn."
Noah obligingly called out Chixia's favorite nickname.
He did need to find Black Shores personnel, but Jinzhou City was so vast, and he had no leads. So he simply used Chixia as a random guide.
As long as he toured the whole city, under his deliberate observation, the moment Aalto or others appeared, he could spot them immediately.
Even if he didn't find Aalto, he had [Perception] active, allowing him to notice any members wearing Blake Blooms in the nearby area.
The afternoon sunlight was dappled, with swaying tree shadows.
Noah followed Chixia around for two hours. Though the time wasn't long, it made Noah realize—
Patrollers really take on all kinds of jobs!
A resident reported that their tricolor cat had climbed a tree and couldn't get down, so Chixia decisively climbed the tree to catch it.
As a result, the startled cat jumped straight down from the tree, landing on Chen Pi's head and causing him to stumble and fall.
During this, Noah chatted briefly with Chen Pi, but it didn't trigger any Echo collection tasks.
That made sense—real-life Chen Pi couldn't provide things like stellar echoes or Rover Wavebands, just like how real Jinzhou didn't have stellar echo chests scattered around.
Then, in the western part of the city, someone reported a big yellow dog barking nonstop, scaring passersby. Chixia hurried over to reason with it.
Who did she reason with? The big yellow dog, of course!
It was Noah's first time learning that the outgoing and enthusiastic Chixia wasn't just known by most people in Jinzhou City—even one of Jinzhou's big yellow dogs could "woof" a few words with her.
Through Chixia's introduction, Noah also got to know this big yellow dog and could simply command it to sit or stand.
Saying this might sound absurd, but reality is often more fantastical than fiction.
In his excitement, Noah pulled out three bird eggs he picked up yesterday from his backpack and lightly tossed them like frisbees. The big yellow dog leaped up to catch them.
After eating the three eggs, the big yellow dog stopped barking. Patroller Chixia's task was complete—everyone happy.
"Two more hours until off duty—that's quitting time."
Chixia stretched lazily and pointed toward the theater:
"Remember the lion dance I mentioned this morning? That's the specialty of the Auspicious Beast Troupe. Since we've got time now, let's hurry over and watch!"
Noah scratched his head, a bit surprised:
"Aren't you on duty? Is this okay?"
"Oh, come on, don't be so rigid. As a Patroller, I'm going to maintain order—that's definitely not because I want to watch the lion dance!"
Having found a perfectly reasonable excuse for herself, Chixia eagerly led Noah toward the theater while pulling out her terminal.
After a faint electric hum, the terminal connected the call. A gentle voice came from the other side:
"Chixia, it's Yangyang."
"Yangyang, it's almost three in the afternoon—hurry to the theater. We'll watch the lion dance together."
Chixia impatiently urged her best friend, but a slightly hesitant voice came from the terminal:
"I have a commission to help someone ghostwrite a letter, so maybe..."
"Noah's here too—come quick!"
"Oh, okay, I'm on my way."