Solaris' Strongest Resonator

The next day at noon.

"Smack!"

Lucian felt a stinging pain on his butt and slowly opened his eyes.

Rover was sitting on top of him: "Get up already, the sun’s frying your butt!"

Still half-asleep, Lucian yawned: "Where are we going today?"

"Out of the city."

"?" Lucian was confused. "Why leave the city?"

"Last night, I thought it over carefully. The Magistrate’s tokens and travel pass must be guiding us out of the city."

Rover hadn’t slept well last night. After all, she was in an unfamiliar place and couldn’t be as carefree as Lucian.

Aside from the travel pass, there were also those tokens.

Mangosteen wasn’t a local fruit of Jinzhou—perhaps they’d need to investigate at a port or similar location.

As for that leaf, Baizhi at the research institute had mentioned yesterday that it bore traces of Tacet Discord frequency fluctuations, meaning they’d have to leave the city to investigate that as well.

"Like how we were guided to the City Hall yesterday?"

Rover nodded.

Lucian chuckled awkwardly: "I think I’ll pass... After all, I’m not the one the Magistrate is looking for."

"Hmm?!" Rover pressed down on him even harder.

"Ow—fine, I’ll go, alright?"

Rover snorted coldly and climbed off him:

"That’s more like it. Hurry up and get ready. Didn’t Chixia say she’d treat us to a meal?"

...

Panhua Restaurant.

"Over here!"

Not far away, Chixia waved at the two of them.

"Chixia, Yangyang! A few hours apart feels like an eternity!" Lucian grabbed their hands with exaggerated emotion.

Chixia laughed. "It’s not that serious. Come, sit down."

After ordering, Chixia asked, "Any plans for today?"

"Right, didn’t we say yesterday that we’ve got leads on the sugar pills and sundial? Now we just have the weird leaf and the totally-not-weird mangosteen left?"

"Who knew a quick trip to the research institute would solve two of them? Should I say Rover’s too clever, or that the Magistrate really didn’t mean to make things hard for us?"

Rover: "We’re planning to leave the city to follow the clues."

"Leave the city?" Chixia looked at Lucian. "You’re going too?"

If Lucian stayed in Jinzhou, she’d have liked to patrol with him.

"Chixia, I’m being forced!" Lucian said with utter despair.

He had originally planned to explore Jinzhou today, learn about the local customs, and kickstart his money-making schemes.

Chixia smiled. "In that case, I won’t be able to tag along—I’m afraid I’d miss my patrol shift. You two better protect Rover well. She’s an honored guest of Jinzhou now."

Lucian clicked his tongue. "Shouldn’t it be the other way around? I’m the one who needs protection—I’m just an ordinary civilian with no fighting skills!"

Yangyang chuckled softly. "Even if the Magistrate isn’t looking for you, judging by your performance yesterday, you’re anything but ordinary."

Lucian sighed dramatically. "Perhaps this is the burden of the capable."

Chixia teased, "You really do run with the slightest praise."

Yangyang turned to Rover. "As for the mangosteen... it’s not native to Jinzhou. It must’ve been transported into the city via the port. Maybe we should start by tracing its source?"

"And regarding that leaf—Baizhi mentioned yesterday that it bears traces of Tacet Discord frequency fluctuations. The tree it came from must be near a Tacet Field. We could start by investigating there."

"Tacet Field?" Lucian asked. "Like where that Crownless was yesterday?"

Yangyang nodded. "That’s the Tacet Field closest to Jinzhou, but not all Tacet Discords spawned there are Crownless."

Lucian suddenly raised his hand. "I have a question!"

Everyone looked at him.

"Do Tacet Discords kill each other?"

Yangyang nodded. "Of course. They devour each other to grow stronger. Some conflicts are territorial as well."

"I see."

In that case, this trip outside the city could serve as training for the Stonewall Bracer—and maybe they’d find other Tacet Discords to absorb.

"System, if the Stonewall Bracer defeats another Tacet Discord, can I absorb it?"

[Ding! Of course... no!]

[If your Echo defeats another Tacet Discord, it will be devoured by your Echo to strengthen itself. Only Tacet Discords you personally defeat can be absorbed.]

"I see... So I still have to steal the kill. Not sure if Comrade’s Hammer can one-shot them. Guess I’ll test it after leaving the city..."

Yangyang looked at Rover. "Seems Rover already has a plan. Do you think the next token will definitely lead us out of the city?"

"Actually, aside from the two tokens and the travel pass, I have another memory from before you woke me."

"I remember being in the starry sea, seeing a black-haired girl who said some cryptic things to me."

"Then I saw myself upside-down in the Etheric Sea, with the Resonance String from the back of my hand falling onto the earth—likely the place where I woke up."

Yangyang pondered. "The starry sea... a black-haired girl... the inverted Etheric Sea... the Resonance String emerging from the Tacet Mark on your hand..."

"The closest directions would be Cloudridge Valley and Norfall Valley. I’ve never heard Rover mention these before."

Rover explained, "I thought it was just a dream."

But after everything that happened yesterday, it suddenly came back to her.

"The Etheric Sea and Resonance Strings are real. And in Rover’s description, the place where the Resonance String landed is indeed Cloudridge Valley and Norfall Valley."

"Perhaps... it wasn’t a dream."

"Maybe finding that girl is the key to recovering Rover’s memories. Aside from the Magistrate’s clues, one of the dream’s directions points to Norfall Valley."

"That’s the battlefield of the Threnodian War, the origin of the Tacet Discord tides, and the frontline base of the Noctis Army."

Lucian hesitated. "We’re going to the battlefield?"

Rover noticed his worry and slung an arm over his shoulder reassuringly. "Relax, I’ll protect you."

Lucian: "If we’re heading to the frontlines, I think I might need to buy a weapon. I have a special gun, but it’s not very reliable."

Comrade’s Hammer requires frequent reloading—far from stable.

Deploying an Echo to fight isn’t impossible, but if they run into real combat, his own safety should come first. After all, he wasn’t some superhuman protagonist.

Though this trip was just to follow clues, all signs pointed to Norfall Valley, the frontline base.

Lucian didn’t believe the Magistrate sent Rover there just for fun. He had a feeling things would escalate into battles—maybe even war.

In his past life, he’d lived in a beautiful, safe country, but he knew full well the brutality of war—let alone in a world overrun by Tacet Discords.

"For weapons... you could go to the Foundry. Uncle Wei sells some there."

Rover nodded. "Let’s head there. After buying a weapon, we’ll leave the city."