Sun Hang: "A salute, let's call this a salute."

"Yamaguchi Masakatsu passed away due to overwork two months after the completion of the old city district of Lake Baikal City. The refugees, in honor of his contributions, made an exception to bury him in the National Hero Cemetery on the outskirts of Lake Baikal City," Zhong Ling said.

"How many years has he been dead?" Sun Hang asked.

"Based on the completion date of the old city district of Lake Baikal City, it's been at least seventy to eighty years," Yan Yu'an replied.

Seventy to eighty years… Sun Hang couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

If the underground city of the Baikal Remains is truly meant to "salute" the fortress city of the Hakone Region back then, then it's very possible that this designer who died seventy to eighty years ago didn't completely die, but turned into a Spirit Body type of mysterious creature.

Even if he didn't become a mysterious creature, his obsession very likely attached itself to certain mysterious creatures… These creatures that served as carriers were not completely destroyed by the deathly aurora but instead were released with this opportunity, and, combined with the resentment of the old Siberian Federation soldiers, gave birth to a "mysterious creature version" of a fortress city like the Baikal Remains?

Thinking this way, it seems everything makes sense…

Moreover, by this logic, Yamaguchi Masakatsu's obsession might still take up a significant portion of the "self-awareness" within the Baikal Remains.

"Should we smash it?" Wang Xiyi squatted on the ground, comparing her fist to the ground beneath her, "When we just turned around, I caught a glimpse of the thickness of the ground. Conservatively estimating, ten punches should be enough to break open a passage to the surface."

"Don't smash it just yet, let's stay put since we're here." Sun Hang shook his head, "Anyway, Liu Li's dynamic model is already obsolete. Even if we return to the surface, we can't reach the veterans' sanatorium smoothly."

"Just fly over, anyway it's only two blocks away," Wang Xiyi said nonchalantly.

"That was just now." Yan Yu'an's expression was very serious, "After we were swallowed underground, the location we are in has long since changed… Now, even if we return to the surface, it's not in the same place as we were. Moreover, if the Baikal Remains can swallow us once, it can swallow us a second time."

Yan Yu'an paused for two seconds, speaking with a tone that seemed somewhat reluctant, "I agree with Sun Hang's view, since the Baikal Remains has now 'reverted' to a relatively quiet state, we might as well begin our next exploration phase in this underground city… If there's really no progress, then we'll find a way to return to the surface."

"Have you noticed something?" Zhong Ling suddenly said.

Wang Xiyi: "What?"

"It's very quiet here… The Baikal Remains just swallowed us but did not send mysterious creatures to attack us," Zhong Ling said, "Moreover, that giant bear mysterious creature just now, its strength wasn't strong, it seemed more like it was trying to attract our attention rather than kill us."

"Hmm… that makes some sense." Wang Xiyi nodded, "Thinking back, when Mr. Yan was fighting the giant bear, the surrounding buildings seemed to stop moving, as if storing up for some big move, and when the bear died, the ground started to split…"

"Hypothetically, I'm just saying hypothetically." Sun Hang walked to a 'house' by the street, gently rubbing the rough wall with his hand, "If the Baikal Remains is really a mysterious creature concocted by Yamaguchi Masakatsu's obsession, then perhaps our initial target was wrong… After all, Yamaguchi Masakatsu was buried in the National Hero Cemetery, not the veterans' sanatorium."

"Are you suggesting that the Baikal Remains is deliberately 'correcting' our route?" Yan Yu'an couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"It's certain that the veterans' sanatorium holds special significance within the Baikal Remains, but it probably isn't the key to solving the problem." Sun Hang pinched a small bit of what looked like lime off the wall, gently rubbing it between his fingers, "I increasingly believe the Baikal Remains possesses a clear self-awareness… it's just that this self-awareness isn't too smart, only now realizing we're Hunter here to solve problems, not invading mysterious creatures."

"Isn't that wrong?" Wang Xiyi muttered, "If the Baikal Remains wanted to cooperate with us, why doesn't it just put whatever the key to the problem is right in front of us? If we weren't somewhat skilled, with all its antics, we would have ended up buried in the abyss, right?"

"Those who would end up buried in the abyss don't have the ability to solve the problem, so this is also a form of a filtering process." Sun Hang looked into the distance of the road, "Additionally, how do you know it hasn't put the key to the problem right in front of us?"

"Huh?"

"Where we are now, there's only one road," Zhong Ling explained to Wang Xiyi for Sun Hang, "This road is straight, flat, and without any obstacles."

"It even thoughtfully sealed the other end of the road." Sun Hang continued.

They were currently in a dead-end, with buildings blocking the other three sides except for the road beneath them.

Sun Hang casually tossed the lime from his hand: "We don't even have to worry about which direction to take."

"I'm still worried, could it be a trap or something…" Yan Yu'an said softly.

"Whether it's a trap, we'll know once we advance."

…

The four of them formed a defensive formation, with Sun Hang at the front, Zhong Ling in the middle, Yan Yu'an and the Number One mysterious skeleton tightly guarding behind her, and Wang Xiyi in a semi-dragon form taking up the rear position to cover.