In the Real World, Eizuka had visited Xia City many times. Most of the time, she had been in a hurry, but seeing this relatively familiar place enter a strange "Supernatural Carnival," before any negative real-world effects had surfaced, she could not help feeling delighted.
Out of an old habit, Eizuka had placed her Xia City "save point" in the Cloud Capital Shuiyi area beside Zhi Xing Institute.
Back then, when she came to visit her distant uncle Wu Zunliang, and later her mentor Luo Yuandao, she had always stayed here.
Whenever she felt stifled, she could climb any of the high-rises in this complex and gaze into the distance. The comparatively low buildings of Pingjiang District, along with the wetland reserve that served as the city's green lungs, always gave her a sense of relief.
And whenever she saw North Shore Gear, an old acquaintance's creation, memories of the past inevitably resurfaced.
Though she had never personally experienced those wonderful days Luo Zhongheng so often bragged about; though Luo Yuan hated this sort of stale cliché; though she had merely been an inconspicuous worker who kept her head down in the laboratory back then, too afraid to join in most of the time and able only to eavesdrop and giggle foolishly from the sidelines... none of that stopped her from drawing a little strength from those memories, to keep that seemingly endless project alive while shouldering risks that perhaps should never have fallen on her.
Having some strength was always good, even if it was only a little.
At present, the Wetland Jungle was lush and vibrant, brimming with life, yet Eizuka still felt it was livelier than it had been a few years ago.
Besides flocks of birds rising and settling, there were many figures leaping up and