The reasons Noah gave were somewhat opportunistic, but not entirely without merit.
However, this was still not enough.
Sympathy and a trace of reasonableness were insufficient to make her overturn the established arrangements and bring a mysterious person into an even more complicated situation.
Her silence lasted a few seconds.
The air seemed to stagnate.
Then she raised her eyes.
Her gaze, like a calm golden lake, reflected Noah’s somewhat tense face.
“These reasons might explain why it is possible to bring one person.”
Rover spoke slowly, every word clear and powerful.
“But they are insufficient to explain why that person must be you, Noah.”
Her body leaned forward slightly, bringing an invisible pressure.
“Give me a reason.
A reason that can thoroughly convince me and is worth breaking the rules for once.”
Here it comes – the most critical strike.
Noah took a deep breath, as if having made some kind of decision.
His gaze became somewhat distant, as if sinking into memories.
“Rover, for me to say this might carry some suspicion of self-praise.”
He gave a bitter smile.
“But a hundred years ago… before I fell into the Sonoro Sphere, I was also a scholar.
I once followed an official advance exploration team and conducted early geological surveys in the Lahai-Roi region.”
He paused, observing Rover’s reaction.
Her golden pupils brightened slightly, as if some interest had been piqued.
“At that time, we noticed the special nature of Lahai-Roi’s geological activity.
Limited by technology, we could not understand it in depth, but we did make some superficial observations and speculations.”
Noah slowed his speech, as if struggling to dredge up fragments from the depths of memory.
“I… I remember very clearly that the team’s chief scholar once proposed a very bold hypothesis.”
“He believed that the root cause of Lahai-Roi’s persistent erosion phenomenon might not be entirely attributable to the Void Threnodian ‘Aleph One’.”
He carefully threw out this core and boldest viewpoint obtained from the memory fragments, while carefully observing Rover’s reaction.
Sure enough, upon hearing the term “Aleph One” spoken from Noah’s mouth, Rover’s pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
The meaning represented by this term was not something an ordinary person could easily know.
“He believed that while the Threnodian indeed brought profound disaster to this region,”
Noah captured this subtle change and felt reassured.
He continued in an uncertain tone, “But ‘Aleph One’ was more like the spark that ignited the powder keg, while Lahai-Roi’s special foundational structure itself was the powder keg that had accumulated countless amounts of energy.”
“Only when the two combined did it lead to this periodic erosion disaster phenomenon.”
“He even speculated that this special structure might be related to some kind of geological periodic resonance effect.
If this resonance could be understood, perhaps the key to predicting, or even… intervening in magnetic storms, could be found.”
He paused at just the right moment, an expression of regret and reminiscence appearing on his face.
“Unfortunately, this hypothesis was too advanced and lacked empirical evidence.
Not long after, the exploration team was scattered during a period of turmoil, and most of the related manuscripts and data were lost…”
“And I also encountered that Sonoro Sphere not long after returning to Huanglong.”
There was just the right amount of regret in Noah’s voice.
“I don’t know whether this ancient, possibly even erroneous line of thinking still holds even the slightest inspirational value for today’s cutting-edge research.”
“But I thought that if someone like me, who personally experienced that period of exploration and witnessed Lahai-Roi’s original geological conditions from a hundred years ago with my own eyes, could personally see the current situation, perhaps… it could awaken some forgotten details?”
“Or, through comparison between past and present, provide some… side evidence from the past for current theories and models?” This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
He said nothing more, simply looking at Rover sincerely.
He had already thrown out the bait.
An ancient hypothesis from a hundred years ago that might involve the fundamental issues of Lahai-Roi.
This hypothesis was vague and lacked details, but precisely because of that, it was difficult to immediately disprove while still being sufficient to arouse the curiosity of top researchers.
Rover had indeed fallen into thought.
Her golden pupils flickered slightly, clearly rapidly evaluating the authenticity and potential value of Noah’s words.
An ancient person from a hundred years ago not only knew of the Threnodian “Aleph One” but could also propose such an insightful hypothesis linking macroscopic phenomena with local geological structures?
This was already… no longer a simple coincidence or stroke of luck.
This was more like a living fossil buried by time that might contain precious clues.
A hundred years of time was enough to obliterate too many details, and also enough to make some buried wisdom appear even more mysterious.
At this moment, the terminal on the table rang.
Rover gave Noah an apologetic look and picked up the terminal, bringing it close to her ear.
“Rover.”
Shorekeeper spoke calmly, as if merely stating an established conclusion.
“Regarding the Rabelle Resonance waveform monitoring of this Mr.
Noah, there is a preliminary analysis result.”
“Go ahead.”
“In a simulated Lahai-Roi region virtual mass magnetic storm force field environment, his Resonance waveform exhibited a sustained and stable atypical resonance reaction.
Although the intensity is weak, the characteristics are distinct and do not match any known Resonance resonance spectral models.”
“The Tethys System preliminarily judges that this reaction may indicate an unknown affinity between his Resonance Ability and the special Lahai-Roi environment.
Suggestion: If conditions permit, preliminary on-site environmental observation can be conducted to collect more data and evaluate his research value…”
After listening, Rover ended the terminal communication.
Her gaze once again fell upon Noah.
The meeting room was quiet for more than ten seconds.
Finally, she gently nodded.
“Supervisor Chen’s exchange student team still has one research assistant quota that was originally reserved for internal review as backup but has remained vacant.”
Rover’s tone returned to its usual gentleness but carried the force of decision.
“I will communicate with him and give this quota to you.”
“Your identity will be Black Shores exchange student and research assistant, with permissions equivalent to those of ordinary exchange students, under the management of Black Shores.”
“On this trip, I will also enter Startorch Academy in the capacity of a student to observe your performance.”
She looked at Noah’s eyes that had instantly lit up and added, “This is only the first step, Noah.
Your stay or departure will ultimately depend on your performance during this mission and the comprehensive evaluation after one year.
Do you understand?”
“I understand!
I completely understand!
Thank you, Rover!”
Noah suddenly stood up and bowed deeply.
The excitement in his voice was half performance and half genuine relief.
He had won the gamble!
At the very least, he had won the ticket to enter!
“Go prepare.
Specific arrangements, Lia will notify you.” This story is hosted at g.com.
Rover waved her hand and redirected her attention to the shrunken Lahai-Roi map.
Noah suppressed his wild joy and respectfully exited the meeting room.
The door closed behind him.
He leaned against the cold metal wall and silently exhaled.
The clothing on his back had already been soaked with cold sweat in a small patch.
[Task “Enrollment Examination” Sub-Task One: Obtain qualification to enter Startorch Academy, status updated.]
[Current status: Qualification obtained (Black Shores exchange student and Rover’s research assistant).]
[Reward distributed: Skill “Disguise Proficiency”.
By adjusting facial features, body type, voice, and temperament, the host can disguise as another person, regardless of gender.]
[Skill cumulative duration: three hours.
Can freely switch back and forth.
Freezing available disguise time.
Skill cooldown: twenty-four hours.
Effect is weakened against high-perception targets (such as Rover).
Use with caution.]
A weak heat flow swept across his face and throat.
Noah touched his face.
It felt as if something was different, but he could not quite say what.
This skill, just from the description, was undoubtedly a divine technique.
It was just that there was currently no place to put it to use.
Moreover, the disguise skill had to be used carefully, existing as a trump card.
At least for now, it absolutely could not be exposed to an existence like Rover.
On the way back to the cabin, his steps were light.
He knew that the most thrilling hurdle had temporarily been passed.
New challenges would only begin after entering that academy city buried beneath the icefield.
…
Inside the bridge, in the small meeting room.
Rover was silent for a moment, gazing toward the lead-gray sky outside the observation window.
Beneath the icefield, that independent academy city hid far too many mysteries.
On this trip, one more young man of mysterious identity would be entering.
Would he be a pebble stirring still waters, or a wind that ignites hidden flames?
She needed to see for herself and make her own judgment.
…
On the other side, in Noah’s mind, the system interface quietly refreshed with a new line of small text:
[Phase One Guidance Completed.]
[Next Phase Task Environment: Startorch Academy.
Core Objective: Enroll together with Rover and establish a preliminary trust link.]
[Warning: Native worldline detected to have begun producing minor disturbances.
Host, please pay attention to the logical self-consistency of your words and actions.]
Noah returned to the cabin and looked at the terminal, rubbing his brow.
What he had just received on it was the team entry notification from Supervisor Chen’s team, along with a long list of codes of conduct.
It seemed that an actor’s self-cultivation had only just turned to the first page.