"You must already know about the red-clothed freak's barrier enveloping Jinzhou."
A trace of worry colored Jianxin's expression as she slowly explained:
"General Jiyan of the Midnight Rangers rushed back to reinforce Jinzhou, briefly breaking an opening from which he rescued a small group of people—but after that, no one ever came out of the barrier again."
"Those rescued Jinzhou citizens were all affected by Threnodian influence, driven mad and raving."
"And Mr. Mortefi was one of those General Jiyan saved from inside Jinzhou City—he was also the one most severely affected by the Threnodian influence."
At this point, Jianxin lowered her eyes, her mood growing heavy.
To prevent these Threnodian-polluted people from frightening the villagers of Taoyuan Vale, they had no choice but to use forceful measures to calm them.
Just after Jianxin's spar with Noah, a villager had come to her with news that Mortefi had suddenly gone missing.
Upon hearing this, Jianxin immediately searched throughout Taoyuan Vale, leading to the earlier scene where she knocked Mortefi unconscious.
Fortunately, Noah, Mortefi, and the villagers of Taoyuan Vale were all unharmed.
Thinking of this, Jianxin couldn't help feeling a bit relieved.
"Is there really no way to cure Threnodian pollution?"
Looking at Mortefi's tightly furrowed brow even in unconsciousness, Noah couldn't help asking.
To this, Jianxin only shook her head.
She didn't know.
Even Yangyang, Taoqi, and the only researcher Baizhi were powerless against it.
If there truly was a way to undo Threnodian pollution, perhaps only the red-clothed freak who had invaded Jinzhou knew it.
"Don't think too much about it, young hero Noah. Rest early. I'll take Mr. Mortefi back now—we won't talk further."
With that, Jianxin hoisted Mortefi onto her back and walked toward the other side of Taoyuan Vale.
Noah stood in place, watching Jianxin's figure recede into the distance, then suddenly closed his eyes.
[Exploration Module - Perception - Activated.]
Every brick and tile of nearby Taoyuan Vale mapped into Noah's mind like a 3D model.
The core worldview of Wuthering Waves is that all things in the world are composed of frequencies.
And the Perception function players have in the game is absolutely top-tier. Through Perception, one can sense the frequencies of all things, helping players solve puzzles and find treasures.
For example, the soil underfoot and the flowers are extremely stable frequencies, while insects and animals have relatively lively frequencies.
Powerful Resonators also possess their own unique frequencies—the stronger the frequency, the deeper the resonance generally is.
Jianxin's frequency, for instance, was clear and pure, steady yet harboring immense explosive power—gentle as a breeze when still, thunderous when unleashed.
When Noah perceived Mortefi's frequency, his brain suddenly felt as though pierced by needles.
What kind of frequency was that?
Violent, frenzied, chaotic—like the simultaneous wails of countless beings.
Noah opened his eyes. Brilliant golden light faintly spilled from his pupils as he stared fixedly at Mortefi, his gaze seeming to pierce through the man's body.
Within the wild frequency, a golden Whisperin Core pulsed deep in Mortefi's brain, rising and falling faintly with his breathing.
The horrifying sight made Noah's heart pound uncontrollably.
"T-t-this—a Whisperin Core?"
Whisperin Cores are an ordinary cultivation material in Wuthering Waves, often found inside Whisperin-type Tacet Discords.
Yet now, he had discovered a high-frequency Whisperin Core inside Mortefi.
"What's going on? Is this the butterfly effect from my traversal? Why has the plot of the Wuthering Waves world collapsed like this?"
Noah took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the unease welling up inside him.
"I must find Rover as soon as possible. Once I find Rover, everything will fall into place."
Though he now possessed all of Rover's Spectro attribute abilities, he trusted Rover's capabilities even more!
That was the one and only protagonist of Wuthering Waves—high intellect, high combat power, occasionally high emotional intelligence—absolutely reliable!
With this thought, Noah calmed down.
Tomorrow's trip to Cloud Ridge Valley—he and Yangyang would definitely find Rover, right?
No matter how broken the plot of this world became, it couldn't possibly erase the "protagonist."
Impossible—absolutely impossible!
The next day.
Dawn had broken, the sky clear for miles. Morning mist carried the fresh scent of earth, uplifting the spirit.
"Good morning, Yangyang, Chixia."
"Good morning, Noah." x2
At the agreed meeting spot, Chixia forcefully patted Noah's shoulder, her face beaming with gratified smile:
"I didn't expect you to become a Resonator overnight. When Yangyang told me just now, I didn't believe it. Hey, why do you look so listless—didn't sleep well last night?"
"Thanks for the concern—I'm fine now. Let's head out quickly."
Noah yawned, shaking his head vigorously to dispel the weariness from his face.
The shock of traversing, the joy of obtaining Rover's abilities through Convene, and the panic from discovering Mortefi's change.
All these emotions left Noah overwhelmed, causing him to toss and turn all night, unable to sleep until the early hours.
"Mm. We still don't know exactly what your ability looks like. Remember to stay close to us and don't wander off."
Yangyang nodded and handed over a black gourd-shaped tech device:
"This terminal is a gift for you. It's already configured with Grapple and glider Echoes. Congratulations on becoming a Resonator."
"Thank you, Yangyang."
Touched, Noah accepted the black gourd. A flood of prompts only he could see appeared one after another.
[Obtained terminal. Exploration Modules "Grapple," "Glider," "Synth" — Activated.]
(In the game, the glider is indeed used through the terminal, so this function is added to the exploration module here.)
As expected of the kind-hearted poster girl Yangyang—giving away a terminal just like that, instantly unlocking many additional exploration module functions for him.
Noah silently resolved:
I must find Rover and save Jinzhou from peril.
"This terminal has my and Yangyang's contact info. If you run into anything in the future, just reach out to us for help."
Chixia clapped her hands, pointing toward Cloud Ridge Valley, her fiery red short hair swaying:
"Let's go! Jinzhou's Blazing Dawn is gonna farm ten Echoes for you today!"
"Awesome! Thanks, Blazing Dawn Chixia."
In the distance, Taoqi watched the three figures playfully bantering, a faint smile appearing on her face.
"It's been a while since I've seen Chixia this lively."
"She's naturally optimistic—it's just these past few days worrying about Jinzhou that made her so down."
Baizhi walked up beside Taoqi, silently gazing toward Jinzhou City, her eyes filled with indescribable gravity:
"Taoqi, why did you send Yangyang and Chixia to Cloud Ridge Valley?"
"This operation carries risks after all, and Chixia has a fiery temper—I was worried she'd sneak off to Jinzhou City."
Taoqi sighed:
"So I casually assigned them a task, letting Yangyang keep an eye on her to prevent any accidents."
As for Taoyuan Vale's safety, there were other patrollers and the young Taoist priestess Jianxin.
Hearing this, Baizhi nodded lightly. Behind her, a burly middle-aged man in a white hat lifted a box of black drones and spoke in a deep voice:
"We should set off too. Today we must scout the exact situation in Jinzhou City."
"Let's go."