Thick clouds and mist draped a layer of mystery over this watery realm. The gondola lightly skimmed the surface, stirring up fine, delicate ripples.
An ethereal song rose from the depths of the sea of clouds — so faint it was like a feather brushing through dust, inexplicably calming the heart.
"Listen — that's Lorelai's song. She guides the passing ships, allowing them to traverse the fog and thunderstorms in the sea of clouds and reach the depths."
Using the song as an entry point, Carlotta took the initiative to converse with Noah:
"This place was once the Divine Academy of the Order of the Deep, later destroyed by the thunderstorms of the sea of clouds."
"I see." Noah nodded slightly and opened Carlotta's banner from the panel.
Should he pull for Carlotta?
Pull!
He absolutely had to pull!
Carlotta wasn't just a super-mechanic monster — she was the ultimate wheelchair character in Wuthering Waves, a standalone big DPS. And he had her sub-DPS Zhezhi, perfect for teaming with Carlotta.
Forget that he only had 175 pulls right now — even if he only had one pull, he would resolutely invest it in Carlotta's banner.
"Could you tell me more, Miss Carlotta? I'm very interested in Ragunna's history and art."
Hearing Noah speak up, Carlotta's heart subtly rejoiced.
The fact that he was willing to engage with her was undoubtedly an excellent sign.
Moreover, Ragunna's history and art — these were precisely her strong suits. She hadn't expected this powerhouse from Jinzhou to share such similar interests and hobbies with her. She could use this to draw closer to him.
"…The monster named 'city' welcomed its first death upon its initial establishment. It uses death as nourishment to feed us, just like a giant whale slowly sinking into the abyss."
The little potato at this moment still didn't know that Noah had her elaborate in detail simply because he needed to focus on pulling, and out of politeness didn't want to cold-shoulder her for too long, so he gave her something to do.
[Current: Radiant Tide *100, Astrite *12040.]
Ten-pull summon — the panel resounded with the sound of tides —
20 pulls.
40 pulls.
60 pulls.
He threw down handfuls of Radiant Tide, yet no golden light stirred. Noah felt a twinge of pain.
He paused the ten-pulls and experimentally switched to single pulls.
61st pull… 65th pull… 69th pull — gold!
Golden radiance slowly faded on the panel, revealing an elegant young lady seated in an exquisite opal-backed chair.
"Fate — brings you before me."
The girl suddenly clenched her raised left hand, crushing the red crystal in her grasp, followed by several gunshots as the screen shattered like glass.
"And I — offer the corresponding terms."
Carlotta stood, brushing her snow-white long hair from before her face in a stunning arc. The camera froze on the girl's refined smile.
"You won't want to refuse, will you?"
[Successfully summoned — Carlotta!]
[When deploying the Resonator "Carlotta" in battle for the first time, you will obtain her Resonance ability and combat experience.]
The pull animation on the panel ended here. A smile appeared on Noah's face.
Small pity, no off-banner!
Across the gondola, Carlotta keenly caught the change in Noah's expression and, as if encouraged, spoke even more enthusiastically about history:
"The painter named Roselli died in poverty during his lifetime. After his death, every one of his works sold for over a million Shell Credits."
"How lamentable." Noah sighed and nodded, then continued pulling.
Keep single-pulling!
One pull, two pulls, three pulls, four pulls — gold!
[Successfully summoned — Rover (Havoc)!]
4 pulls for the small pity, and it was Rover (Havoc) — what difference did that make from not off-bannering?
Noah suppressed his excitement and kept pulling.
One pull, two pulls, three pulls… nine pulls — gold!
[Successfully summoned — Carlotta! (Automatically converted to Waveband)]
"No way — am I this lucky today?"
Noah was ecstatic and, while his luck was hot, kept madly single-pulling.
24 pulls, gold! Carlotta Waveband +1.
16 pulls, gold! Carlotta Waveband +1.
He had already pulled Carlotta to three chains, but four and five chains offered diminishing returns. Noah wisely stopped and switched to her weapon banner.
Mad single-pulls.
35th pull, gold!
[Successfully summoned — Death and Dance!]
16 pulls left — switch back to Carlotta's character banner!
2 pulls, gold! Carlotta Waveband +1.
He dumped the final 14 pulls into the standard banner. This pull session overflowing with European luck finally came to a close.
Blissful — utterly blissful. Noah felt like he was ascending to heaven, tempted to throw his head back and roar, "Montelli is right! I voluntarily join Montelli!"
He closed the panel, unable to suppress the grin on his face any longer, and clapped his hands enthusiastically.
"Excellent! Well told, Carlotta! Your words have truly enlightened me!"
"Uh…"
Carlotta was somewhat stunned.
She had just recounted the life of a destitute painter and the past of the Divine Academy — where exactly had he been enlightened?
Whatever. As long as he was happy.
Composing herself, Carlotta smiled faintly:
"So, after all that, what's your impression of Ragunna?"
Noah thought for a moment before answering:
"It's a city full of faith, but unfortunately weighed down by heavy rules that keep it closed off. If possible, I'd prefer they break free from doctrinal shackles and become free."
Hearing this, Carlotta's eyes widened slightly, her heart surging with even greater delight.
Perfect — his views aligned closely with the Montelli family's stance. Perhaps recruiting him would go very smoothly!
Carlotta at this moment didn't know that as long as she made any request, Noah would generously fulfill it.
"I noticed earlier that you were traveling together with an Acolyte from the Order and an employee from my Montelli family."
Carlotta clasped her hands at her abdomen, closely observing Noah's expression:
"May I be so bold as to ask, Mr. Noah — what are your views on the Order and the Montelli family?"
This question could clarify Noah's relationship with the Order while also probing his opinion of Montelli, thereby influencing Carlotta's impression of him.
"Let me think…"
Noah considered briefly, then pointed at the rippling lake surface beneath them:
"If the Order and Montelli both fell into the water at the same time, I'd choose to save Montelli."
"Though the Order has maintained Ragunna's peace for many years, to be honest, I don't like this way of using faith as a system."
"A place, a nation, a civilization — at its root, it's all about the people. Nothing should stand above the masses, not even gods."
At this point, Noah spread his hands and looked back at Carlotta:
"But I can only say as much. After all, I'm just a traveler and can't interfere or change anything here."
"…Your answer is even more perfect than the perfect response I imagined."
In Carlotta's expectations, as long as Noah didn't have too favorable an impression of the Order, it would already be a perfect answer.
Yet Noah's response, while not directly stating his view of Montelli, expressed opposition to the Order.
The final sentence even conveyed that he wasn't aligned with any faction right now — and subtly extended an olive branch toward Montelli.
What a mutual pursuit. His understanding of this city far exceeded what she had thought.
Most importantly, not only did his aspirations align with Montelli's, but he was also smart. Truly… an ideal partner.
"To be honest, Mr. Noah, I've learned that you come from Jinzhou. May I ask why you've come to Rinascita?"
"To save the world — do you believe that?"
Seeing Carlotta tilt her head in confusion, Noah paused, somewhat helpless.
In this day and age, telling the truth always went unbelieved.
He had no choice but to rephrase:
"Alright, truth is, I came to cause trouble for Fractsidus. You might have heard — Fractsidus caused major problems for Jinzhou before."
Only then did a smile bloom on Carlotta's face, her words pregnant with meaning:
"It seems we might be people on the same boat."
"I don't like beating around the bush." Noah pointed once more at the gondola beneath them:
"We're already on the same boat. We share a common path."
[The pulls in this chapter are based on a real-life case.]