"This photo was taken when I was fighting the Inferno Rider in the Port City of Guixu. I didn't bully it at all—I fought it fair and square using Chixia's abilities."
At the dinner table, Noah held up a photo. In the picture, he wielded dual pistols, bullets pouring out like flowing fire, relentlessly dodging and strafing the Inferno Rider.
"And mine?"
Chixia widened her eyes, hurriedly swallowing the fatty beef in her mouth along with the champion spicy sauce, only to choke and cough repeatedly.
Yangyang casually handed Chixia a drink, her gaze turning curiously toward Noah.
They all knew that Noah could use others' Resonance abilities under certain conditions, but they hadn't expected the abilities he used to be even stronger than their own.
"Here are some more photos, of me fighting the Feilian Beringal, Lampylumen Myriad, Tempest Mephis, and others using different Resonance abilities."
Noah shared the photos, taking the opportunity while everyone was looking at them to snag the last two pieces of fatty beef from the hotpot.
"Among them, the Feilian Beringal was the hardest to fight, because while battling it, a bunch of little ape kids would jump out and ambush you—totally not playing fair."
Hearing Noah's words, Yangyang specifically pulled up the photos related to the Feilian Beringal. In them, Noah summoned a cyan whirlwind, sweeping all the little ape kids into the air.
"This is..."
Yangyang pointed at the Tacet Mark on Noah's forehead in the photo, her expression changing slightly.
"This is my Tacet Mark position. You're using my ability?"
"That's right." Noah nodded.
"That's great." Yangyang suddenly smiled brightly.
"This feeling is like I'm fighting alongside you in another way, protecting you."
As she finished speaking, Chixia, who had finally recovered beside them, looked stunned for a moment before giving a thumbs up.
"As expected of Yangyang—such big-picture thinking!"
Changli slowly and gracefully took small bites of her food, her gaze shifting to Noah's cheek.
"It seems the Hero really has mastered quite a few Resonance abilities. I wonder if mine is among them?"
Hearing this, Noah thought seriously for a moment, then shook his head.
"No."
Changli's banner had terrible value; her skill multipliers were too conservative, and he was a pure meta player.
Though Changli was extremely beautiful, her conservative numbers made her position in Wuthering Waves characters quite awkward.
She wasn't a main DPS, nor a sub-DPS. To deal damage, you needed at least 0+1, and the other two teammates for the phoenix flagship team—one was far in Rinascita, the other far in Septimont.
Even ignoring teammates, the Fusion team's playstyle was rotation-based: one finishes a set, the next comes on, and so on. The floor was high, but the ceiling was somewhat lacking.
If it were just playing the game, he'd happily pull for a Changli, but in reality, every Astrite he had needed to be carefully calculated—he couldn't waste them casually.
If there was a chance later, he'd rather pull for big DPS characters like Camellya, Carlotta, or Cartethyia.
"Then, does the Hero have the Resonance ability of the genius researcher Xiangli Yao?"
Noah: "Yes."
Xiangli Yao: "Huh?"
Noah extended his right hand, switching characters. A faint purple laser immediately shot upward from his palm toward the sky. Seeing this, Xiangli Yao's mouth fell open, eyes full of shock.
No way, is this fair? We just met yesterday, and my Resonance ability has already been copied? That's too shady!
"This isn't right. My Resonance ability relies on my mechanical arm to manifest, and my Tacet Mark is on the mechanical arm too. You don't have a mechanical arm—how are you using my ability?"
Facing Xiangli Yao's confusion, Noah turned his palm over, looking innocent.
"I don't know either, but the Tacet Mark appeared on the knuckles of my right hand."
"This... makes sense!"
Xiangli Yao thoughtfully lowered his head, recalling that before his right arm was severed, the Tacet Mark was indeed on his knuckles.
"It seems I'm still a bit different from others."
Seeing Noah's performance, Changli was actually a little happy.
She knew that for Noah to use someone else's Resonance ability, certain undisclosed conditions had to be met.
But Noah had the Resonance abilities of everyone present, except hers—this made her stand out a bit.
"What is Counselor Changli's Resonance ability? Even Noah can't use it?"
Beside her, Chixia, sitting next to Changli, couldn't help but ask. This question was undoubtedly one everyone present was curious about.
"It's Immortal Blaze."
Changli snapped her fingers, and a cluster of flames danced lightly on her bright red fingertips.
"This flame has extremely high temperature and must be carefully controlled, or it could easily hurt others or myself."
Everyone chatted and laughed, and the dinner banquet soon came to an end.
"Let's go play Moon Shooting, and then it should be about time to release the sky lanterns."
Walking on the streets of Taoyuan Vale, Chixia was the first to suggest it, then scratched her head a bit.
The five-person group for Moon Shooting has a discount, but there are exactly six of them.
One person won't get the discount, and that person is...
"You all have fun."
A pink figure appeared before everyone, smiling gracefully, her beautiful eyes flowing like autumn waters.
"Magistrate!"
Everyone was a bit surprised, not expecting Jinhsi to suddenly appear. From the looks of it, she had deliberately sought them out.
They were about to bow, but Jinhsi waved her hand to stop them.
"No need for formalities. Today is the Moon-Chasing Festival— I hope everyone enjoys themselves to the fullest."
Jinhsi gracefully approached, stopping right in front of Noah, her words gentle as water.
"Noah, I have something to discuss with you. May I borrow a bit of your time?"
"Uh, this?"
Noah glanced left and right at Yangyang, Chixia, Baizhi, Changli, and Xiangli Yao beside him, but ultimately nodded.
"Let's go."
Soon, the two disappeared from the sight of the remaining five.
"Wow, did you see that? The Magistrate looks so beautiful today. It's the first time I've seen her wear a dress."
As soon as Jinhsi left, Chixia couldn't hold back her excitement and started discussing.
"But the Magistrate seemed to specifically come looking for Noah. I wonder what it's about—so mysterious."
Changli covered her mouth with a light laugh, slowly shaking her head without directly answering.
"I didn't expect Jinhsi to be so bold. It's a bit beyond my expectations."
Beside them, Yangyang seemed a little absent-minded, her brows lightly furrowed.
Just now, the Magistrate seemed to call Noah. When did their relationship become so close?
If...
Her arm was hooked, and turning her head, she saw Chixia excitedly pointing at a nearby Moon Shooting stall.
"Yangyang, let's go play Moon Shooting! Five people get the biggest discount!"
"No thanks."
Yangyang gently pushed away Chixia's hand, shaking her head slightly.
"Chixia, I suddenly remembered I have something to do. I'll step away for a bit and be back soon."
===
"According to the records in the Grand Library, the Sentinel once descended from the heavens, saving the suffering and alleviating disasters. Later, during festivals, everyone would release dragon lanterns and make wishes."
Jinhsi picked up an exquisitely crafted dragon lantern from a nearby stall and handed it to Noah, smiling sweetly.
"Noah, why not follow Jinzhou's custom and make a wish with me? I know a good spot to release dragon lanterns."
"You specifically called me out just to release dragon lanterns?"
Noah looked down at the dragon lantern in his hands; it seemed to still carry the faint fragrance and warmth from the girl's body.
"Yes, but not entirely. Let me keep a little mystery for now."
Jinhsi's cheeks flushed slightly, not very noticeable under the lights of Taoyuan Vale.
She led the way ahead of Noah, occasionally greeting children who called out to her.
"Hello, Magistrate."
"Hello." She smiled and waved back.
Along the way, people around them cast glances and whispered.
"Hey, look, the Magistrate looks really beautiful today."
"The one beside her is the legendary hero of Jinzhou, right?"
"Are they going to release sky lanterns together?"
"I wonder what wishes they'll make."
Jinhsi heard the surrounding whispers, the corners of her lips curling up slightly.
Perfect timing, perfect place, perfect people—she had prepared everything thoroughly. Today, she would absolutely captivate Noah completely and win him over.
She narrowed her eyes, hiding that triumphant smile, and subtly shifted her steps, unknowingly closing the distance to Noah by another fraction.