Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
Countless pieces of equipment poured into the Black Shores under the procurement efforts of Aalto and others. With the hard work of various Resonator guests and Noah, the Black Shores was rapidly recovering its original appearance.
"Oh, you're awake?"
A female physician from the Black Shores opened the medical pod in surprise. A pretty girl with short white hair stood up somewhat weakly, stretched her slender body lazily, and yawned:
"I feel like I slept for a very long time. I really didn't expect I would still be alive."
"Don't joke around, Bloom Bearer Camellya. During the Lament incident earlier, you were the one who worked the hardest to save everyone. We definitely wouldn't let you die."
The female physician smiled helplessly:
"But you really slept for quite a while… You are truly very lucky. The Black Shores Lament incident has been completely resolved, and the reconstruction work is almost finished."
"Oh?"
Camellya straightened the vines that kept appearing on her body due to overclocking. She looked around and noticed that in this cabin storing dozens of medical pods, only she and the female physician were present.
It seemed the other injured Resonators had already been fully treated.
"Bloom Bearer Camellya, all the previous Black Shores terminals were destroyed. This is your new terminal. Come, I'll show you the current state of the Black Shores."
"Alright, might as well find something fun to do."
The girl hummed lightly, took the terminal, and followed the physician's steps.
"The current Black Shores has been moved from the original Sonoro Sphere space into reality, covering a rather large sea area. It's said that we might choose a new location in the future."
"The powerful hero who saved the Black Shores and the entire world is our honored guest. Although he is very easygoing, please show him a little respect when you see him."
"The time-flow barrier he set up around the Black Shores will be lifted today. The Shorekeeper has promised everyone an eight-day long holiday to adjust our condition."
Listening to the female physician's endless chatter of information, Camellya looked uninterested and kept casually glancing around.
After walking out of the clean corridor designed with futuristic technology, under the blue sky and warm sunlight, the familiar architectural complex of the Black Shores came into view.
Black Shores technical personnel gathered in small groups of three to five, seemingly discussing technical issues. Bloom Bearers from the Black Shores could be seen hurrying back and forth everywhere carrying equipment.
It felt like something was missing.
Camellya stopped walking, lightly tapped her soft cheek with her finger, fell into thought, and suddenly realized. She interrupted the physician's rambling:
"Doctor Mo, where can I get Blake Bloom seeds?"
"I'm not too sure, but the Shorekeeper should have some Blake Bloom seeds."
"Got it… Oh right, thank you for your help."
...
On the other side.
In front of numerous high-precision advanced devices whose names Noah couldn't even recognize, countless technical personnel were busy setting up one command after another.
"Time-flow barrier has disappeared. Conducting the third self-inspection of the Tethys System simulation integrity. Self-inspection successful. Can now reconnect with the global beacons of Solaris."
Beside Noah, the Shorekeeper stepped forward and gently placed their palm on the virtual screen, speaking slowly:
"Authorization granted. Begin connecting global beacons."
"Yes!"
Invisible information waves shot out from the Black Shores base as the origin point, spreading extremely fast across the entire Solaris star.
Large amounts of Data Torrent were connected to the Black Shores, with the Shorekeeper acting as the transfer station for all this information.
"Hello?"
Noah looked at the suddenly dazed Shorekeeper and asked with concern:
"What's wrong? Did something bad happen?"
The Shorekeeper's movements were stiff. It took them a long while before they squeezed out one word:
"...It's..."
"What is it?"
All the technical personnel and Noah felt their hearts tighten at once. Could another Lament have appeared? Or had some region been taken over by a Threnodian?
"What is it? Hurry up and say it!"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the Shorekeeper stiffly turned their head and spoke one word at a time:
"...It's... a bit... laggy..."
Slap! Noah smacked his own forehead.
Slap! All the technical personnel smacked their own foreheads.
"Oh, everyone's here." Camellya stepped into the laboratory and immediately saw all the technical personnel and Noah with their hands on their foreheads:
"What are you all doing? Performing some strange ritual?"
She walked lightly through the equipment and personnel. Just as she was about to pass by Noah, her footsteps suddenly paused and her expression became puzzled.
This person… had she seen him before?
Never mind, she couldn't remember.
At the same time, Noah glanced at his current character: Cartethyia.
Good thing he hadn't switched to Rover. Otherwise, if Big Silly Camellya got attached to him, it would be troublesome.
"Butterfly girl, oh ho ho ho~ How did you end up like this?"
Camellya reached out and waved her hand in front of the Shorekeeper's dazed eyes. Finding it very amusing, she laughed so hard her body shook:
"This is the first time I've seen you make this kind of expression. So unconstrained by rules and logic, looking both dazed and adorably silly."
"Alright, let's get to business. Do you have any Blake Bloom seeds? I want to plant some flowers."
Camellya stretched out her hand. The Shorekeeper mechanically turned their head and slowly spoke:
"...None..."
"None?" Camellya tilted her head. "How could there be none?"
"...Busy..."
Slap! Camellya smacked her own forehead.
Noah beside her explained:
"The Shorekeeper is currently connecting to the global beacons and can't spare any attention. If you have something to do, come back later."
"Fine." Camellya replied casually. Only then did she shift her gaze from the Shorekeeper to Noah's face, examining him carefully.
"What are you looking at?"
"Have we met before?" Camellya asked with a puzzled look.
[Companion Story: "The Forked Paths of the Star Sea" has been activated.]
The next second, Camellya shook her head. There was a trace of inexplicable loss in her eyes:
"Never mind. I must have mistaken you for someone else. Goodbye."
She turned and walked past Noah, her steps casual with no pause at all.
[...Status error. Quest terminated.]
[Companion Story: "The Forked Paths of the Star Sea" has been canceled.]
Watching her departing back, Noah shook his head slightly.
Camellya's Companion Story was quite wonderful. The content involved Rover accidentally learning that a Lament related to Camellya, previously contained by the Black Shores, had gone out of control and needed Camellya's help.
From there, Rover gradually helped Camellya recover her memories, resolved the star map crisis, and learned that Camellya had once been her inseparable Bloom Bearer.
But when it came to Noah, not to mention the star map related to Camellya, all the Laments the Black Shores had contained for many years had been completely wiped out by his Havoc. Naturally, Camellya's Companion Story could not be triggered.
"Not taking this quest is actually pretty good."
Noah thought to himself. If he had really accepted this quest and helped Camellya recover her memories, then upon realizing Rover was gone, the recovered Camellya would definitely go crazy.
...
Black Shores - Medical Room.
"Hi, Doctor Mo. You look beautiful again today."
Aalto pushed up his sunglasses, walked into the medical room, greeted the female physician, and asked:
"How is Encore? Has she still not woken up today?"
"No."
The female physician shook her head and motioned for Aalto to come over and look at the computer screen.
On it was a cute girl with pink twin-tails inside a medical pod, hugging two plush toys — a black sheep and a white sheep. Her sleeping face looked incredibly sweet.
"In the past two days there were too many people who needed care, and little Encore's physical condition was relatively healthy. I thought she would be fine, but when she still hadn't woken up yesterday, I realized something was wrong."
"Look, according to all physical examinations, little Encore's body is completely fine in every aspect. The only possibility is that there's a problem with her brain."
"She has become a vegetative state."
After the final diagnosis was given, Aalto's eyes widened in shock. He unconsciously gripped Doctor Mo's hand tightly:
"Doctor Mo, what should we do? I was only able to escape the Black Shores earlier thanks to Encore! You have to save her!"
"Don't take advantage of the situation."
Doctor Mo shook off Aalto's hand and adjusted her glasses:
"Don't worry. Since we've diagnosed the cause, there is a solution. This is also why I called you here."
As she spoke, Doctor Mo pointed to the medical pod next to Encore:
"Lie down here. You can connect to Encore's deep consciousness. You're half her guardian and know her best, so you should be able to wake her up."
"Oh oh, okay. I understand."
Aalto nodded in understanding. He lay down in the medical pod, closed his eyes under Doctor Mo's instructions, and fell into a deep sleep.
A few minutes later, Aalto stood up from the medical pod with a face full of shock:
"Wait, what do you mean adults who don't believe in the real existence of the Wooly Warriors can't enter the Wooly Kingdom?"
...