Lucian pondered for a moment before asking, "By the way, what about Youhu's treasure?"
"You mentioned earlier that it's now with you?"
Rover nodded slightly and took out an object that closely resembled a memory stick.
Just then, Rover's terminal rang. "Hey! Hey! Is this Rover? Are you alright?!"
Youhu's voice came through the terminal.
"We couldn't reach you for a long time earlier—Yangyang was practically frantic with worry."
Rover was about to respond when the call abruptly disconnected. Rover frowned. "What's going on?"
KU-Money, standing nearby, explained, "This is normal."
"The Black Shores are built atop a massive Tacetite deposit. Ordinary terminal communications are disrupted by the Tacetite's interference."
"Only the unique signal beacons of the Black Shores can penetrate the inherent frequency interference of Tacetite."
Hearing this, Lucian chuckled. "Use my terminal, then. Mine isn't affected by the interference."
KU-Money was skeptical. "How is that possible?"
Lucian picked up his terminal and dialed Youhu. "Youhu, where are you all now?"
Youhu's youthful voice brimmed with excitement. "Are you with Rover right now?"
"Hurry up and bring me over too!"
Lucian sighed helplessly. "...I'm afraid I can't help with that."
Youhu let out a disappointed sigh. "Well, as long as you're all safe. It seems that when we and Rover encountered that sudden situation in the Port City of Guixu, someone teleported us away from that place."
"By the time we realized what had happened, we were already in Jinzhou City."
Chixia, standing beside Youhu, snatched the terminal. "Lucian! Lucian! Are you at the Black Shores now? Don't you dare forget about me!"
Lucian laughed. "How could I? I'd never forget—ugh—"
Rover delivered a swift chop to Lucian's neck and took the terminal. "What's the situation in the Port City of Guixu?"
Chixia's tone turned serious. "We received a warning from the Black Shores and have reinforced Jinzhou's defenses."
Yangyang, next to Chixia, added, "The Midnight Rangers are also preparing to concentrate forces in the Port City of Guixu and enforce a lockdown. And..."
"As for the unfortunate Bloom Bearers who fell... we'll retrieve their remains and return them to the Black Shores."
Rover nodded slightly. "Good. Stay safe."
Yangyang's voice softened. "Rover, Lucian... No matter what you encounter at the Black Shores, please remember—in Jinzhou, you still have us..."
Camellya snorted. "How nauseating..."
The call ended. Lucian said, "In that case, let's head to the greenhouse first and ask the Shorekeeper for details?"
KU-Money, however, remarked, "I never expected your terminal to be immune to interference. Truly unheard of... By the way, could you let me examine that artifact?"
Rover handed over Youhu's treasure.
"This is..."
Lucian asked, "Did you find something?"
KU-Money frowned (or at least made an expression resembling one). "This is a register the Black Shores deployed across the world to monitor the state of the Sentinels. If anything happens to the Sentinels anywhere, we'd know immediately."
"Who would've thought it was also coincidentally functioning as a transcriber for anomalous frequencies in the Port City of Guixu..."
"I'll need to transmit the anomalous frequency data from Guixu back to the Tethys System first."
Lucian then asked, "Speaking of which, since you're connected to the Tethys System, can you look up information on that Bloom Bearer named Hoda?"
Lucian was curious about Hoda. He suspected she might have been a member of the Black Shores long ago—after all, she even knew Rover was the Astral Modulator...
Rover added, "She seemed capable of manipulating gravity."
"And she referred to herself as 'we.'"
KU-Money searched the database briefly before shaking its head regretfully. "A Bloom Bearer with gravity manipulation as their ability... There's no record of such a Resonator in the Tethys System, nor any mention of a Bloom Bearer named Hoda."
"Not just the Tethys System—I've never even heard of someone with such abilities."
"Statistically speaking, the odds of a Resonator who generates Shell Credits are probably higher."
Rover deadpanned, "There's no way someone like that exists."
Lucian fell silent, at a loss for words. Broadly speaking... he was a Resonator who could generate Shell Credits, thanks to his Don't Bully the Young and Poor talent.
Camellya, standing nearby, smirked. "The world is full of wonders. If there are Resonators who can resonate with the Sentinels, maybe there really are Resonators who resonate with Shell Credits."
Rover nodded slightly. "That's possible. After all, Jinhsi is a Resonator who can resonate with the Sentinels."
KU-Money produced a money pouch. "Oh, right—this is for you. Like Lucian, every member of the Black Shores receives a dedicated activity fund. Come find me when you run out."
Rover's eyes lit up as they swiftly grabbed the pouch. "There's such a good thing?"
KU-Money paused. "...You two really are birds of a feather. How do you manage to have identical movements, speech, and expressions?"
Camellya chuckled. "I doubt they even need money. They'll just make the Black Shores and Fractsidus foot the bill anyway."
Lucian mused, "If even the Tethys System has no record of a Bloom Bearer named Hoda, could it be that she really isn't a member of the Black Shores?"
Camellya smirked. "That's a possibility. But if machines won't work, there's another way..."
"Let's head to the greenhouse. That's where most of the Black Shores' staff gather, and Monica, who oversees personnel, is there."
Lucian smiled faintly. "Earlier, you said you didn't care about saving the world or anything like that. Why are you so eager to help us now?"
Camellya stiffened momentarily before turning her head away. "Hmph... Like I said, I've got nothing better to do right now, so I might as well kill time with you... Besides, isn't this what the Shorekeeper asked of me? To act as your guide or whatever..."
Though she said this, Lucian noticed the faint pink tinge on her earlobes.
Lucian grinned. "In that case, we'll be counting on you, our great guide, Camellya?"
Camellya huffed. "You're really something..."
Before they left, KU-Money reminded them, "Oh, right—the Tethys System has indeed been operating somewhat unstably lately. Be careful."
Upon arriving at the greenhouse and meeting Monica, the personnel overseer...
Monica gasped in surprise. "Camellya? What a rare guest! What brings you here? And these two are..."
She scrutinized the two before exclaiming, "Isn't this Mr. Lucian?! And Rover!"
Lucian smirked. "Oh? Has my reputation already spread to the Black Shores?"
Monica nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! We received a research report on you from the Huaxu Academy."
"You have no idea how badly our researchers here want to study you!"
Lucian: "?"