The Old Man and the Tide I
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Brief
Yin Dong asks the Endministrator's team to help find his missing mentor, Tianshi Mo. Someone witnessed Tianshi Mo rushing out of Wuling when the Blight Tide surged against the city. The areas near the Maintenance Zone have been damaged by the Blight. Scan the area to find clues.
Unlock
Rewards
Operational EXP ×700 Operational EXP ★★★★★ Raises the Endministrator's Authority Level. 
Oroberyl ×175 Oroberyl ★★★★★★ An artificial material often used for recruiting operators. 
Advanced Cognitive Carrier ×2 Advanced Cognitive Carrier ★★★★★ A material that provides a lot of EXP for leveling up Lv.61-90 operators. Overview › 
Arms INSP Set ×4 Arms INSP Set ★★★★ A material that provides a lot of weapon EXP. Overview › 
Protohedron ×6 Protohedron ★★★★ A material that upgrades operator skills. Overview › 
T-Creds ×20,000 T-Creds ★★★★ TC for short. This currency is recognized and used in many places. Steps
1 Go to the Maintenance Zone and investigate View on map
Dialogue
W
Worried Lad (Dong)
Oh dear, I'm so screwed... I can't find the old dude here either! Where did he go?
W
Worried Lad (Dong)
Oh, Mr. Mo ... I need to find you fast.
Chen Qianyu
Hello there, young man. You look troubled. What happened?
W
Worried Lad (Dong)
Oh? Who are you?
W
Worried Lad (Dong)
You must be the guests of Tianshi Zhuang! I heard all about you! The defenders of Wuling City!
Perlica
Everyone in the city fought hard to protect their homes. What's going on?
W
Worried Lad (Dong)
Er... where should I start? Well, I really need your help to find my mentor.
Chen Qianyu
Your mentor? You're...
W
Worried Lad (Dong)
My name's Yin Dong and I started my studies at Wuling last year. My mentor, Tianshi Mo, is a lecturer at the Tianshi Bureau Academy. But he's been ... institutionalized for six months now.
Y
Yin Dong
When the Blight Tide came, I went looking for him to get him to shelter. He's got bad legs, you see. But...
Y
Yin Dong
Physician Cui of the Medical Clinic told me he had run off! I searched the entire city! Nothing!
Y
Yin Dong
Physician Cui thinks that the ... old dolt is just throwing a tantrum. He did plenty of that, but always returned after a couple of days.
Y
Yin Dong
But ... it's really different this time. People told me he charged straight for the Blight Tide!
Chen Qianyu
Is he crazy?! We're talking about a Blight Tide!
Y
Yin Dong
Well, Mr. Mo has always been ... rather interesting. People told me that the Medical Clinic was being extra forgiving because he worked really hard for decades...
Y
Yin Dong
But I don't care what they say about Mr. Mo! I'm clumsy too but he took the time and taught me how things work... I'm just worried he really went off into the Blight Tide...
Perlica
Take a deep breath, young man. Have you found any other clues?
Y
Yin Dong
Back then, I was...
Chen Qianyu
Endmin...
Chen Qianyu
Remember the Blight Tide...? We all saw it. Heading outside the city feels like a death wish...
Chen Qianyu
But respecting one's mentor is a really big thing in Hongshan. I don't know ... the lad looks really desperate.
Chen Qianyu
Really? That's awesome!
Perlica
So the last witness saw him running off to the Maintenance Zone outside the city? The area may be dangerous. We'll handle it.
Chen Qianyu
Alright, young man. Stay in the city and keep searching. We'll look outside the city for you.
Y
Yin Dong
You're really helping? I don't know how to thank you all!
Chen Qianyu
But ... Blight Tides and Aggeloi are really dangerous. If...
Y
Yin Dong
I'm not asking much. But I'm his only disciple. It's the very least I could do for him ... and myself.
Perlica
And we will do everything we can.
Radio
Chen Qianyu
He was last seen near the Maintenance Zone. We should look around the place.
2 Scan the place to look for clues View on map
Dialogue
Y
Yin Dong
You're back! What did you find? Anything about Mr. Mo?
Chen Qianyu
......
Perlica
The clues and footprints led us near the Maintenance Zone. Unfortunately...
Perlica
...the footprints disappeared into the Blight Tide. And that's where our leads ended.
Y
Yin Dong
What...? Did Mr. Mo ... did he really...?
Chen Qianyu
We also found traces that look like lashes from a whip. But there's ... nothing else.
Y
Yin Dong
They were made by Mr. Mo's Tide Flayer... He always walked around with that while mumbling: "Back, filthy tide! Back!"
Perlica
Don't give up yet. There's no proof that Tianshi Mo didn't make it.
Y
Yin Dong
I understand... But I gotta thank you all for helping me out. You've been true heroes to Wuling ... and to me.
Chen Qianyu
I'm sorry... But the results...
Chen Qianyu
Ugh. The Blight Tide has receded, but it washed away plenty of people and things... I don't know if they would ever return...
Perlica
We shouldn't give up. He told us that his mentor was getting treated at the City Medical Clinic.
Chen Qianyu
Yeah. We should head over and ask around.
Y
Yin Dong
I'm not giving up just yet... Really appreciate your help, but I have to start looking for other leads.
Radio
Perlica
Clues might be hidden beneath the Blight Tide. Let's run a scan, Endmin.
3 Share your clues with Yin Dong View on map
Story update
The leads suddenly end right before the Blight Tide. The Endministrator's team is uncertain if Tianshi Mo is still alive, so they decide to share what they have learned so far with Yin Dong.
Radio
Chen Qianyu
These look like ... traces that someone left behind.
Perlica
Looks like a lash from a whip... Let's continue our search.
Chen Qianyu
Where would that old Tianshi go during desperate times?
Perlica
Based on what Yin Dong told us, the old man seems to have some obsession...
Chen Qianyu
Let's hope the Medical Clinic physicians can give us a clue.
4 Go to the city clinic View on map
Story update
The Endministrator's team has no intent to give up. They decide to go to the City Medical Clinic where Tianshi Mo was hospitalized and continue their investigations.
Radio
Perlica
These footprints...
Chen Qianyu
They lead to the Blight Tide...
Chen Qianyu
The clues end here. Now this is weird...
Perlica
We should head back and tell Yin Dong about this.
6 Find Tianshi Mo at the Technological Production Office View on map
Story update
The Endministrator's team learns that Tianshi Mo has left the City Medical Clinic on multiple occasions for the Technological Production Office test fields. The team thus decides to continue their investigations there.
Dialogue
F
Florist (Yue)
What would you like?
F
Florist (Yue)
May they rest in peace...
F
Florist (Yue)
The departed will appreciate this.
F
Florist (Yue)
There's an old man who likes this flower.
7 Find Tianshi Mo at the Technological Production Office View on map
Story update
The Endministrator's team learns that Tianshi Mo has left the City Medical Clinic on multiple occasions for the Technological Production Office test fields. The team thus decides to continue their investigations there.
8 Clean up the Blight of the test fields View on map
Story update
The test fields of the Technological Production Office have been severely polluted. The Endministrator's team decides to help the Tianshi clean up the Blight while searching for clues to Tianshi Mo's whereabouts.
Dialogue
F
Fu Qiu
Welcome, visitors... What is the purpose of this visit?
Y
Yin Dong
Oh, hi. My name's Yin Dong. I'm a student of Tianshi Mo. My mentor has...
F
Fu Qiu
Tianshi Mo... I know him. Has he accepted another student? Oh poor thing, I hope you haven't suffered much.
Y
Yin Dong
Wha? My ... uh, Mr. Mo treats me really well. No one's suffering.
F
Fu Qiu
Well... My own mentor told me about Old Mo. They go back a long way. Old Mo has an ... interesting temperament. He rarely accepts disciples.
F
Fu Qiu
And when he did, those poor souls just wouldn't stop complaining. All of them left after a while.
F
Fu Qiu
When his favorite disciple passed away, he simply stopped accepting any more.
F
Fu Qiu
That was for the best. His theories are fringe and extreme. It's not easy for anyone involved.
F
Fu Qiu
Oh, I also heard Old Mo had been admitted to the Medical Clinic. How is he doing?
Y
Yin Dong
He's... Well, I came here to see where he went. Tianshi Mo went missing when the Blight Tide hit us.
F
Fu Qiu
What? The Blight Tide... Did he ... do it again...?
F
Fu Qiu
He just couldn't let go of his preposterous ideas... Sorry, but I'm afraid we haven't seen him.
Perlica
You seem to know Tianshi Mo very well. Can you share a few more details with us?
F
Fu Qiu
Endministrator and Supervisor Perlica? You're actually here for Old Mo as well.
F
Fu Qiu
I don't really know what to say about him. I just started my career when I met him, and he was already planning his resignation.
Chen Qianyu
Why did he want to leave?
F
Fu Qiu
It was the Blight Tide. Everyone says so. It's been the only thing on his mind in these last ten years.
F
Fu Qiu
He lost vision in one of his eyes during that disaster ten years ago. Since then, he swore to completely neutralize the Blight Tide...
Y
Yin Dong
So that's what happened to his eye...
F
Fu Qiu
He's like many in the city. They lost loved ones or family, and it burned a mark on them.
F
Fu Qiu
He looked upon the ever-growing Blight Tide with nothing but hate...
F
Fu Qiu
Old Mo occasionally went to the tidal shores just to curse the Tide. And his curses could last an entire day.
F
Fu Qiu
The Institute often criticized his attitude towards his research, but Old Mo never cared.
Perlica
What is his research...?
F
Fu Qiu
It's a project based on a branch of Xiranite science. He chose the most dangerous project of all — the Tide Flayer.
F
Fu Qiu
He believed the flaying whip could expand fracture points into fault planes. A direct strike at the core would bring the whole thing down.
Perlica
It's theoretically feasible, but...
F
Fu Qiu
But it's too risky. A user of the Tide Flayer would be completely exposed to the Blight itself.
F
Fu Qiu
The slightest miscalculations of core locations would have potentially lethal consequences...
Chen Qianyu
No wonder the Institute went against it.
Y
Yin Dong
But Mr. Mo is usually a really kind man, this is...
F
Fu Qiu
I hardly ever saw him after he left the Institute. I hope he's doing alright.
Perlica
Thank you for sharing the information with us. We'll keep searching the Institute to see if there're any clues we've missed.
Y
Yin Dong
Blight Tide, Blight Tide... Mr. Mo really hates this thing...
Radio
Perlica
These fields are heavily Blighted... We must locate the Blight Core.
Perlica
The jet drone should do the trick.
Chen Qianyu
More lash marks... Did Tianshi Mo make these?
Chen Qianyu
You actually fixed it?! That's amazing, Endmin!
10 Read the messages in the Emergency Search Group
Group chat
Y
yindong
My dear heroes! I found some clues!
Y
yindong
I met an elder at the tea house who knows my Mr. Mo...
Y
yindong
He told me where Mr. Mo used to work at when I told him the story! I'm going to look around the place. Maybe I'll meet someone else who also knows Mr. Mo.
Chen Qianyu
We were planning to go and find you. Let's meet up at the location you mentioned. How about that?
Y
yindong
Sure thing! It's at the Institute of Materials Science. I'll toast the coordinates to you.
Y
yindong
I'll need your help again, heroes.
Perlica
Don't worry. Finding your mentor is the top priority.
Radio
Chen Qianyu
Another trace. Now this really looks like a lash.
Perlica
We seem to be going in the right direction.
11 Meet Yin Dong at the Institute of Materials Science View on map
Story update
Yin Dong tells the Endministrator's team about his new findings. The team decides to visit the Institute of Materials Science and look for new leads.
Dialogue
Chen Qianyu
These Blight Cores ... kinda look different.
Perlica
Someone attacked them before we arrived here. These look like ... lash marks.
Chen Qianyu
...Does that mean?
X
Xia Yi
You did it?! Wonderful! Now everyone can have a peace of mind.
Perlica
Someone attacked the Blight masses here... They might look bigger, but they're also less hazardous.
X
Xia Yi
Really? Are you saying that...?
Perlica
Well ... his technique wasn't perfect and he couldn't strike the core itself. It would seem that he made things worse, but he was only trying to help.
X
Xia Yi
So he wasn't here to cause trouble... I should apologize for my outburst earlier.
X
Xia Yi
And thank you for saving the test fields. But ... we couldn't locate the old man. Sorry.
X
Xia Yi
The lash marks he left overlap with the Aggeloid trail...
X
Xia Yi
The lash marks go a long way into the distance. I don't think he's in trouble yet.
Chen Qianyu
Aggeloi? That means he's in danger.
X
Xia Yi
Sorry, I want to do more but I gotta do my job. We need to grow enough food for everyone.
Perlica
It's alright. We can handle the rest from here.
Chen Qianyu
What now? Should we inform Yin Dong about our findings?
Perlica
Yes, and we should also use the opportunity to keep everyone updated.
Radio
Chen Qianyu
What is this mentor of yours like?
Y
Yin Dong
I deeply respect Mr. Mo, but others kept saying ... how eccentric he is.
Chen Qianyu
Eccentric?
Y
Yin Dong
Yeah. Oddly tempered, with equally odd behavior...
12 Follow Yin Dong and look for information View on map
Dialogue
Y
Yin Dong
I can't believe you fixed it so quickly!
Y
Yin Dong
Let me see... Records from past projects and segments from a few diary entries.
Y
Yin Dong
Records of Blight research files... Some data needs decryption and deciphering.
Chen Qianyu
What is it? Did you find something?
Y
Yin Dong
The diary entries...
Y
Yin Dong
The reason why Mr. Mo gave up the project he was obsessed with...
Y
Yin Dong
This is Mr. Mo's diary. The last entry was written two years ago... You should take a look as well.
Radio
Y
Yin Dong
This is where Mr. Mo used to work. Many of his Tianshi peers have retired. I'm not sure if anyone here knows him well...
Y
Yin Dong
People also said that he left this place with plenty of grief and regret...
13 Talk to the nearby Tianshi View on map
Dialogue
Y
Yin Dong
These are all the test logs made by Mr. Mo ... everything he worked on.
Y
Yin Dong
Mr. Mo ... he gave up almost everything for the Tide Flayer. Why did he destroy it all?
Y
Yin Dong
Nothing stopped him. Not even his disability nor his doubtful peers... But the research progress halted two years ago...
Perlica
From the looks of it, Tianshi Mo decided to give up after the failure.
Y
Yin Dong
Yeah... Mr. Mo then applied for a transfer ... and got himself admitted to the Medical Clinic...
Y
Yin Dong
He kept talking about "letting go"... I finally realized what he was talking about.
Y
Yin Dong
My dear heroes, there's a place I want to go. Mr. Mo ... might be there.
Y
Yin Dong
Yes. Serenity Garden...
14 Find clues related to Tianshi Mo No map marker available
Story update
Tianshi Mo once worked at the Institute of Materials Science on an extremely dangerous project titled "Tide Flayer". The Endministrator's team decides to investigate the Institute and look for additional data on Tianshi Mo and his project.
Dialogue
Y
Yin Dong
You're here. This is the place...
Perlica
This is...
Y
Yin Dong
This merit stone bears Chun He's name ... She was my senior ... and she was ... Mr. Mo's strongest supporter.
Y
Yin Dong
Other senior disciples left but Chun He stayed with Mr. Mo, fighting the Blight Tide at every shore... But she had a birth defect and died young...
Y
Yin Dong
Mr. Mo brought me here. And every time he did ... he always brought a lotus flower and blamed himself for not protecting those around him...
Y
Yin Dong
That's all Mr. Mo told me. Perhaps he chose to let go because of this.
Perlica
Letting go ... is a very difficult thing to do.
Y
Yin Dong
But would Chun He really want Mr. Mo to let this go...?
Chen Qianyu
What are these...?
Y
Yin Dong
I guess my fellow seniors came here as well...
Y
Yin Dong
There's a florist over there. I... wanna talk to Chun He alone for a while... I want her to know what we found.
15 Go to Tianshi Mo's old residence View on map
Story update
The data room has information on Tianshi Mo's old residence. The Endministrator's team decides to follow the leads, visit the place, and check if the Tianshi has recently returned there.
Dialogue
Y
Yin Dong
There's a letter...
Perlica
The date written on it is several days ago. Your mentor did indeed come back here.
Y
Yin Dong
"We shall meet at Serenity Garden and discuss the promise at length"... Mr. Mo is going to meet someone at the Garden tomorrow...
Chen Qianyu
The letter is anonymous. But the tone tells me it's from someone close to Tianshi Mo.
Chen Qianyu
We finally got a strong lead! Let's look around some more.
16 Investigate Tianshi Mo's old residence View on map
Story update
The Endministrator's team arrives at Tianshi Mo's old residence and finds out that someone has already paid a visit. The team then decides to investigate the location.
Dialogue
Chen Qianyu
Hello, physician. I'm looking for Tianshi, one named Mo. Is he on record?
P
Physician Cui
Tianshi Mo...? You're talking about Old Mo. We probably know him too well...
P
Physician Cui
He's been a constant headache for six months.
P
Physician Cui
Old Mo was still quite normal when we first admitted him... It was just a case of rehab to undo the effects of his tests and experiments.
P
Physician Cui
But as time went by, Old Mo's behaviors became increasingly erratic.
P
Physician Cui
He kept breaking ward furnishings and equipment... We tried asking him why, but he always played stupid.
Perlica
Breaking... Did he hit or whip them with something?
P
Physician Cui
Not entirely. He got injured twice due to his tantrums. The incidents scared me.
P
Physician Cui
And when he's relatively stable, he would start mumbling things that nobody understands...
P
Physician Cui
Things like "force point" and "karmic cycle"... None of it made any sense.
P
Physician Cui
Sometimes he'd wake up at midnight and start setting off alarms as though he sensed something. Like I said, a real source of trouble.
Chen Qianyu
Has the old dude... I mean, has Tianshi Mo always acted like this?
P
Physician Cui
Well, he was nice before he got sick. But his behaviors only grew stranger with time.
P
Physician Cui
Since you're here ... I'm assuming he caused trouble again. We really apologize for that.
Perlica
No... He didn't cause any. But the old Tianshi went ... missing. His disciple is worried about his safety.
P
Physician Cui
Missing...? Did you try looking for him at the Tech Production Office test fields?
Chen Qianyu
Test fields?
P
Physician Cui
Yeah. I don't know why he kept sneaking off to the farm. Tianshi Xia Yi has made quite a few complaints about this.
P
Physician Cui
Hoo. Everyone's pretty stressed and anxious. I just hope Old Mo is alright.
Chen Qianyu
Thank you. That's where we'll look.
Radio
Chen Qianyu
Serenity Garden... Will Tianshi Mo be there?
17 Repair the broken Tianshi apparatus No map marker available
Dialogue
Y
Yin Dong
After all this, we still couldn't find where Mr. Mo went...
Y
Yin Dong
I won't give up, not when there's a glimmer of hope.
Y
Yin Dong
You didn't know him, but ... you still did so much for him. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I feel.
Chen Qianyu
Don't worry. Mr. Mo is definitely the lucky type.
Y
Yin Dong
I'll study the files and clues left by Mr. Mo closely. There's definitely something hidden inside.
Perlica
Keep us updated on your progress. We'll also pay extra attention on our end.
Perlica
We shall return here tomorrow, and wait for the person your mentor promised to meet.
Y
Yin Dong
This ... this is Mr. Mo's favorite flower. How did you know?
Y
Yin Dong
Mr. Mo...
Radio
Chen Qianyu
These fields are so devastated...
Perlica
The Blight Tide is a truly devastating force... Let's look around. Perhaps we'll find the other Tianshi mentioned by Physician Cui.
18 Give Yin Dong the Tianshi apparatus View on map
Radio
Y
Yin Dong
My heroes, this ... is Mr. Mo's residence...
Perlica
The lotus flowers... Someone's been taking care of them.
Chen Qianyu
There are traces of recent activity nearby. Maybe Tianshi Mo left them.
Y
Yin Dong
Mr. Mo's Tianshi apparatus? I saw it at the Medical Clinic before... Why did he leave it here?
Perlica
This Tianshi apparatus ... seems deliberately sabotaged.
Y
Yin Dong
Really...? But Mr. Mo always took really good care of it...
Chen Qianyu
Endmin, can you fix it?
Perlica
The Originium structure has been damaged, the other parts should be fine...
19 Read the data room test log and discuss the truth
Radio
Y
Yin Dong
Great. You're here.
Y
Yin Dong
Let's head in.
20 Go to Serenity Garden View on map
Story update
Yin Dong believes that Tianshi Mo might be at Serenity Garden. The Endministrator's team promises to meet him there.
Radio
Perlica
Someone came here not too long ago...
Chen Qianyu
Search around. Maybe they left behind a clue or something!
23 Place the flower by the merit stone No map marker available
Other dialogue
24 Game scripting dialogue not tied to a specific quest step.
X
Xia Yi
Who might you be? People are really busy and I can't spare anyone to give you a tour.
X
Xia Yi
The Blight Tide just receded and we could only save a few fields. Also some old troublemaker is giving us grief...
Chen Qianyu
Old troublemaker? Could that be Tianshi Mo?
X
Xia Yi
You know him? Great. Take a look at this mess we have on our hands.
Chen Qianyu
The Blight...
X
Xia Yi
The Blight Tide was just receding. We were trying to get rid of the residual masses when the old geezer showed up.
X
Xia Yi
Then he started lashing out at the Blight with some kind of whip. And he made it worse!
X
Xia Yi
He was also spouting nonsense like "fracture point" and "fault plane". That old clot is nothing but trouble!
Perlica
Is he...?
X
Xia Yi
I don't care what he was trying. He made things worse. Period.
X
Xia Yi
The Blight messed up the farms. We can't even deploy the rescue measures we prepared. These test fields are the only solution we have.
Chen Qianyu
How did things end up like this...
Chen Qianyu
Food reserves are low. Let's help you with the de-blighting operations.
Chen Qianyu
But I wonder if you could help us find that old troublemaker as well. He's gone missing and his disciple is kinda worried.
X
Xia Yi
......
X
Xia Yi
Protecting these fields is our top priority. I'll be super grateful if you could fix them.
X
Xia Yi
Got a plan. I can get people to look around. But we're really counting on you to clear the Blight.
Chen Qianyu
Leave it to us!
Chen Qianyu
Look at these files... They look like Tianshi Mo's project. "Hazard factors are too high"... I guess this is why the Institute decided to shelve it.
Perlica
That Tianshi told us the truth.
Y
Yin Dong
Mr. Mo's project ... it turned out to be dangerous...
Y
Yin Dong
This looks like Mr. Mo's old address... He got admitted to the Medical Clinic not long after I met him... Mr. Mo never mentioned it to me.
Chen Qianyu
I'm not leaving any leads unchecked. Let's go.
Y
Yin Dong
Maybe Mr. Mo went home...