Rover made her way back to Jinzhou after receiving intel that Chixia had flagged down a highly suspicious individual.
The moment she arrived at the scene, Chixia waved her over urgently. "Rover, perfect timing! This guy's been sniffing around here for a while now. He keeps trying to talk to elderly people and minors! I've been keeping an eye on him!"
"And I saw a little girl with him! She kept turning her head and looking around, but now she's nowhere to be found. This is super fishy!" Chixia narrowed her eyes at the silver-haired man standing nearby.
He wore a tactical suit beneath a white jacket, along with a sun-blocking visor that concealed part of his face. Despite the strained smile he maintained, the tension in his posture was obvious.
"Hey, I'm Patroller Chixia," she declared firmly. "Sir, business license, please."
"B-Business license? Uuuhh…" The man visibly faltered before quickly forcing a casual grin. "Oh! I'm Aalto, just a humble information broker."
He tried to play it cool, smoothly slipping into small talk. "I've been traveling around, helping people out in my own little way…"
"I see. So, no license," Chixia replied flatly. "I bet you don't even have a fixed business location either, huh?"
She rested her hands on her hips, her expression utterly deadpan.
"Business location? Why would I need that?" Aalto attempted to brush the matter aside.
Unfortunately for him, that only made Chixia even less amused.
She immediately moved to arrest him for operating an illegal business, prompting Aalto to hurriedly plead his innocence, insisting that he was merely searching for a distinctive pink-haired little girl who tended to bounce whenever she walked.
Simultaneously, on a nearby bridge, the very pink-haired girl Aalto had described appeared alongside Verina.
A strange haziness seemed to linger around her, as though she were under the influence of something.
The moment she spotted Rover, her eyes lit up.
Without hesitation, she bolted forward.
"Be careful!" Verina called after her.
The girl sprinted across the bridge before skidding to a stop in front of Rover. Rover regarded her curiously, while Yangyang crouched slightly to meet the child's eye level.
Bouncing excitedly from foot to foot, the little girl beamed at Rover and proclaimed, "Here you are! Hurray!"
"Encore! I looked everywhere for you!" Aalto immediately attempted to approach, only for Chixia to step between them. "Back off! Leave that girl alone!"
"Miss Patroller, she's the girl I've been looking for!" Aalto protested, trying to diffuse the situation.
Chixia remained unmoved.
A moment later, the young botanist joined the group and explained what had happened.
Apparently, Encore had been found near a dangerous cliff, casually eating poisonous mushrooms. Verina had rushed to prepare an antidote, only to discover that the child appeared completely unaffected.
When Chixia asked Encore about Aalto, the girl innocently destroyed his cover.
"Uncle Aalto sells things without a license!" she announced cheerfully. "He listens to other people's secrets for business and likes playing pranks too!"
"Encore..." Aalto muttered weakly.
The child continued without mercy. She further revealed that Aalto had specifically sent her to the cliff to spy on Rover and her companions.
"Encore... Some things are better left unsaid, you know..." Realizing that his entire espionage operation had just been exposed, Aalto let out a defeated sigh.
"Since the situation has come to this, I've got no choice but to tell you the truth." He struck a dramatic pose. "Indeed! We're here for business. And it's a very important one! Want to know what it is?"
"Let's go, Encore!"
A thick mist suddenly spread across the area. Within moments, Aalto vanished into the fog with Encore in tow, loudly proclaiming that they had "a world to save."
"Cough... We can't let him get away!" Chixia declared through the lingering haze.
"I-I'll search the residential area!" Verina quickly added.
What followed was a peculiar chase through the alleyways of Jinzhou.
As he fled, Aalto left behind a trail of mist figures—foggy holographic decoys posed in increasingly theatrical and ridiculous stances. Some spread their arms like majestic eagles, others offered welcoming hugs, while one even formed a heart shape.
Beside each illusion floated misty slogans advertising Aalto's supposed business integrity.
As the intervals between the decoys narrowed, Rover steadily tracked the pair's route through the city. Eventually, the trail led to the end of an alleyway.
There, with nowhere left to run, Aalto and Encore found themselves cornered by Rover.
Aalto, as if expecting her arrival, spread his arms slightly and proclaimed, "...Ha, now you're here."
"Where are you going to run off to this time?" Rover challenged.
Despite being cornered at the end of the alley, Aalto remained unnervingly calm. "Well, we weren't really running from you."
His voice lowered. "We just wanted to make sure you were alone."
"—!!?" Rover's eyes narrowed.
Instinctively, she took a step backward, only to find Encore already standing behind her, cutting off the retreat.
"Be good, please!" Encore chirped, spreading her arms to block the path. "Encore and Uncle Aalto won't do anything bad to you..."
Taking a small breath, Rover suddenly cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted: "JINZHOU SPEEDSTER! HEEEELLLPP!"
The cry tore through the alley. Or at least, it should have.
The instant the sound left her lips, the surrounding mist reacted.
The dense fog lining the alley rippled outward in concentric waves, as though an invisible hand had disturbed a still pond. Moisture condensed into thicker layers around Rover's voice, swallowing the vibration before it could travel.
Instead of echoing through the streets of Jinzhou, the shout seemed to collapse inward upon itself.
The sound became dull. Then muted. Then, there was little more than a muffled vibration trapped within the fog.
Even Rover could hear the difference. Her own cry sounded strangely close, as though she had shouted through a heavy blanket pressed against her face.
The mist did not merely obscure sight. It dampened resonance.
The countless droplets suspended in the air scattered and absorbed the sound waves, breaking apart their momentum before they could escape the alley.
Realizing what had happened, Rover immediately stopped yelling.
"That's enough, Encore. You're freaking our precious client out." Aalto spoke casually as he wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.
Maintaining that damping effect had clearly cost him a significant amount of Resonance Energy.
"Encore just did what Uncle Aalto said!" she protested with a pout. "Encore is usually a good girl."
Aware of Rover's amnesia, Aalto decided to exploit the one weakness she could not easily ignore.
With the ease of a seasoned negotiator, he presented a straightforward proposition.
The mission was simple—Rover would accompany them alone to an abandoned Court of Savantae research facility deep within the dangerous Whining Aix's Mire and recover a lost Resonance Beacon.
As for the payment, it was equally clear—Aalto would provide critical, closely guarded information regarding the Black Shores and Rover's forgotten past.
Yet despite these offers, Rover remained unconvinced. "Why should I trust you?"
Aalto answered with characteristic nonchalance. "Our business revolves around customer satisfaction and is built entirely on integrity!"
He placed a hand against his chest as though personally offended by the accusation. "Otherwise, we wouldn't qualify as Consultants of the Black Shores."
"And since you're a first-time customer..." His smile widened. "I'm pleased to offer you an additional gift."
"Here, have this." He produced a Blake Bloom.
A real one this time. The dark petals seemed almost to absorb the surrounding light as he placed them into her hands.
"This should prove we're serious," he added. "Since you already know what it represents."
Rover studied the flower carefully as her expression remained openly suspicious.
Seeing this, Aalto pressed further. "And if you still have doubts about us... just show it to that plant-savvy young miss. She'll be able to tell."
Rover's suspicion lingered. Yet it was beginning to crack.
Sensing the moment, Aalto struck while the iron was hot. "Encore, do your cute face, quick!" He pointed forward as if referencing something.
"Got it!" His tiny accomplice immediately sprang into action.
Rover crossed her arms. "It won't work on me."
Encore tilted her body back and forth like a pendulum. Her shoulders shrank inward. Her eyes grew impossibly wide.
Then, in a small, timid voice that seemed carefully engineered to dismantle human resistance, she pleaded: "Aww... Pwease help us... Pretty pweaaase...?"
Aalto immediately poured fuel onto the fire. "Look at this poor child, pleading with you like that! How could anyone possibly have the heart to refuse?!"
Rover's expression remained perfectly flat.
At least outwardly.
Inside, however, her thoughts moved considerably faster. 'Okay, this little one is very cute. But compared to all the offers I've received so far, this is genuinely the best opportunity to uncover my past.'
The conclusion came quickly. The circumstances were suspicious. The meeting was suspicious. Aalto himself was suspicious. Yet the opportunity was simply too valuable to ignore.
After a brief silence, Rover finally relented. "Fine, you win."
Aalto immediately flashed a triumphant thumbs-up. "The deal's settled then!"
Turning to leave, he and Encore waved cheerfully. "We'll be waiting for you near the Beacon in Whining Aix's Mire!"
"And don't forget to come alone, okay?"
With that final reminder hanging in the air, the pair disappeared down the alleyway, leaving Rover alone with the Blake Bloom resting in her hand and a decision that already felt far more complicated than it should have been.
"I hope this will not take long." Rover hoped.
To be continued...