Love and passion, cutting up the wasteland

Black Scratches, the Great Library.

The Shak girl in light armor strolled between the floors and bookshelves. The various covers and book titles from different eras made her feel amazed and even frightened.

Seto's cultural education was completed by Bayan, and his office may be the place with the highest "word content" in the entire Shak Kingdom; when he arrived in the Land of Flash, the ancient scientific books collected by the Nameless were once so valuable that they were enviable.

But no matter where it is, compared with the great library of the Black Scratches Town, it is definitely just a drop in the bucket - after all, this is a collection of the results of all the technological hunters' adventures, explorations, and missions over the past thousand years.

Unlike the end of the world, the technology hunters collected and backed up books, but in fact, not many of them like to read and study them; what hunters really like and borrow more are the story notes or survival manuals left by various legendary predecessors.

As a disciple of Lu Beiyou, Princess Seto's mission was quite smooth. The Black Scratches Town was shocked by what happened in the Land of Flash and almost accepted their conditions in full.

When Seto stayed here.

The construction team of the Tech Hunters to build the relay station has already set out. Judging from their quick actions, they may have made preparations in advance, but the specific location has not been determined yet.

During this period, Seto even met a member of the inner circle, who is said to be the leader of the northern hunters.

However, the other party did not come because of the relay station. He just heard that the watch silver card of the former Ai Mine Town was sent back, so he came to commemorate it.

The major factions who heard the news had different reactions. Most of them realized that the members of the inner circle might continue to expand and began to plan. For example, Seto keenly noticed that the hunters from the Gray Desert looked at them with hostility, but they would not do anything in the Black Scratch Town; while the hunters from the Shark Kingdom came over with some interest to say hello, meet her little princess and ask for information... Only the leader of the northern hunters not only acted the most directly, but also really had no interest in the inner circle seat, which left a deep impression on Seto.

At the same time, the identity of the other party also surprised her.

"Robben." The middle-aged man took off his armored mask briefly to signal, and quickly put it on again.

The watcher of the Xinkun Peninsula.

The representative of the northern hunters.

But Seto and the world are more familiar with his other identity - the owner of the fortress city and the leader of the cannibal hunters.

They are active in the extreme north of the continent, and their lifelong mission is to wipe out the cannibal painted tribes. Unlike the passive defense of the Holy Kingdom and the United City, the cannibal hunters are the only armed force that will actively attack the Dark Finger, the northern coast and other areas controlled by the painted tribes. On the other hand, the mountain dogs they train and breed are famous for their hunting and hiding, and are regarded as the best hunting dog breed.

For a long time, the purpose of the cannibal hunters was pure, and they rarely appeared in the public eye, so sometimes they were covered with a veil of mystery - but until Robben revealed his identity in front of Seto, she understood everything.

The cannibal hunters have been fighting alone for many years. Where do the funds, equipment and supplies come from? Their foundation is not as strong as that of the big countries, so why are they able to improve and domesticate mountain hounds? On the other hand, the Tech Hunters are usually unwilling to take risks in the north, but they can still get ancient books and relics from the Painted Plains... These were once used as evidence of cooperation between the two, but I didn't expect that the Cannibal Hunters were actually one of the factions of the Tech Hunters in the north!

However, Seto, who was taught by Bayan and the Nameless, soon figured it out: the Cannibal Hunters, a northern faction, are probably quite independent even within the Tech Hunters, and are almost a semi-autonomous organization.

Tech Hunters are employed by Mechanics, and their main purpose is to explore ruins and occasionally act as bodyguard mercenaries; but the northern faction has always been committed to extinguishing the threat of the Painted Tribe, at least to limit these cannibal demons within their own territory and stop them from spreading, and almost every hunter has a personal grudge against the Cannibals.

For example, Seto has heard a rumor that Robben, the Northern Watcher, once escaped from the Painted Tribe camp alone and then joined the Cannibal Hunters.

As for the fate of the friends and companions who were arrested at the same time, it is not a suspense.

The two organizations are both affiliated and cooperative, just like the Mechanic and the Tech Hunter themselves - the little princess thought, if it were the master who evaluated it, he would probably say that this was outsourcing.

It was not a coincidence that Robben came all the way south to Black Scratch this time, because he originally came for the Sorrow Mine Town - when there were rumors that the Tech Hunters were going to take over the Sorrow Mine from the United City, the Northern Watcher set off, and many people judged that he wanted to serve as the head of another city outside the Fortress City.

Perhaps, this is really his purpose.

But this is also quite puzzling: the Northern Hunters have never been interested in factional struggles, and Robben's forced intervention in the Sorrow Mine Town will not only be separated by the entire continent, but will also inevitably conflict with the Lagoon Watcher Qin, which is not worth the loss.

What was even more surprising was that after Robben met Seto and learned that the nameless person had taken over the commission of the Mine Town, the Watcher gave up the desire to fight for it and set off again to return to the Fortress City not long after, which showed that he really had no interest in fighting for another inner circle seat for the Northern Faction.

Only Seto knew that Robben had said something to her before leaving.

This may be the reason:

"Red King... He was not called this name at that time. It was when he just arrived in the Kingdom of Shek. Our people reported that two copies of the information sent to the Stan Desert Relay Station were bought by someone. That field was too niche and written in ancient language. No one should be interested in it."

"You probably know what happened later: a human warrior participated in the Thunder Arena of your Kingdom of Shek and won the championship... And he used a rare new weapon in the arena."

[Blood Cleaver]

Heavy head and light feet, straight blade and thick.

It is a weapon exclusive to the cannibals.

Although it has not been leaked from other places on the continent over the years, because they are all second-hand goods processed by northern hunters, the quality is often worrying, and the scrap masters in Kaidun City do not have or cannot read the forging drawings of the blood cleaver...Then the answer is obvious.

This information is not a secret within the Tech Hunters. When Lu Beiyou became famous, someone would naturally collect and analyze it. However, this small detail is insignificant to other factions, but it is of great significance to Robben.

Why did he buy the report of the cannibal hunters and use the weapons of the Painted Tribe? This is not a taboo. There is no sin in using weapons, but the important thing is that Lu Beiyou really knows the effect of the flesh cleaver and can play its role in cutting bones and cutting meat. In addition, his vision...

He at least knows about the cannibals.

Even, he knows about their "curse".

Unlike other people in the world, who regard it as a mythical legend used to intimidate and hunt for curiosity.

Then, he should understand what they might encounter when they enter the Sad Mine Town.

The Blood Rebellion was caused by famine.

And the Sad Mine Town, a former imperial city, has been blocked by high walls for at least three generations and decades.

What the people inside will experience.

It is conceivable.

If the ‘bloody remnants’ were really all dead as the coalition expected, it would be fine - but if in this case, the will to survive overcomes fear... living would be the most terrifying.

As the chief of the Northern Hunters, Robben has always been fighting on the front line of the battle with the Painted Tribe. He is more aware of the seriousness of the problem: their enemies were not even wiped out by the Second Empire, making the Cannibal Plains the last place on the continent that the Iron Bodies could not conquer, and they could only defend and blockade.

It can be said that they have been killing all the time.

But they have never been able to get rid of the nightmare.

If you want to solve the problem fundamentally, there is probably only one way.

That is, from the beginning, don't start the curse of cannibalism.

After saying goodbye to the watcher, the Shak girl came to the Great Library, got the approval of the watcher, went up to the attic, and read the notes written by the hunters of all generations. This is undoubtedly their privilege, and it was originally one of the tasks given to her by the Nameless.

However, the original order she received was to record all the floor structures and emergency exits of the library, and to draw up a plan to ensure that she could escape smoothly after clearing out all the books... Seto commented that it would be more reliable to directly attack the Black Scratch Town.

She knew that this was just a thinking exercise and was not for her to implement, but when it came from the mouth of the Nameless, she always felt that there was a possibility of pretending to be real.

As for what to do specifically, it was up to the little princess herself.

Lu Meng actually gave Seto a high degree of freedom on this trip. After all, as the child grew up, if everything was arranged and thrown to her to execute, it would be disadvantageous for the training of a princess of a kingdom.

However, Seto also received a "gift" from him before leaving: it was a felt made of hemp grass, which looked like a cushion. Lu Meng asked her to rent a house in the Black Scratch Town and put the straw mat alone in it.

She did so.

Time passed in the library, dust rose and slowly fell, Seto changed the books in her hand one after another, this time she picked up a very old meeting record.

From the dust on it, it can be seen that few people have read it, perhaps it has been quietly here since it was sent to the library.

It has a history of at least several decades.

It was not until today that I met the first reader.

"... Other researchers have made many arbitrary speculations when proving the hypothesis that the ancients created the skeletons. Whether it is organic life or skeletons, we cannot determine their exact origins. Judging from the damage to the ruins, the destruction may be caused by natural disasters or super weapons. They can be the cause or result of internal conflicts and foreign invasions."

"From the perspective of logical reasoning, if the ancients are assumed to be the dominant race, then the skeletons, as their creations, should be at the forefront of the battle and face destruction first-but the fact is just the opposite. The skeletons have become survivors. This phenomenon prompted me to propose another possibility..."

"The skeletons are the dominant race of this civilization."

-Sabina.

Seto didn't know what this name meant to the mechanic, she just recited it in her mind and then turned the page.

"Unlike my colleagues, I admit that the existing hypothesis cannot fully explain the continuity of the skeletons. However, the theory of the dominance of the skeleton race proposed by her was actually popular during the Second Empire and is not sufficiently creative. In my opinion, only by starting from biological and environmental factors can we unveil this mystery."

"Ancient civilizations must have mastered highly developed biotechnology. They are fully capable of conducting biological warfare, and the special structure of the skeletons gives them a natural immune advantage in this catastrophe. What is more noteworthy is that this biological attack is likely to be launched by the skeletons themselves."

"In the excavation of the central mining area, we found evidence of large-scale resource exploitation. Toxic pollution caused by over-exploitation, coupled with natural disasters such as plague and famine, may change the ecological environment of this land. The transformation of depression lagoons, black sand The desert has become a land of death, which are all examples. "

"Recently, when I was studying the geological samples in the mining area, I found some interesting chemical residues. The molecular structure of these substances indicates that the byproducts of ancient mining activities may indeed cause biological mutations and diseases. For organic life, this environmental change is fatal, but for the skeletons, it has become a selective advantage..."

"This is a report from the local watchers: Deep in the ruins, the brave hunters also found some special experimental facilities. According to their description, the layout and structure of these facilities make me think of some kind of biological laboratory. If this speculation is true, then did the skeletons participate in these experiments? Did they foresee the coming disaster..."

Just when Seto wanted to continue to turn to read the following text, he saw a red stamp and annotation.

[Researcher Atticus's report is quite wonderful, but according to the review and confirmation of the committee, the instrument samples sent back are quite new and were manufactured no more than a hundred years ago. In any case, it is impossible to be related to the previous "mass extinction", so the subsequent inferences have lost their value and decided to remove the series of archives and thesis collections.]

[Researcher Finch raised an objection. 】

Finally, there is a new line of small characters:

[Due to the riots in the south, this research project cannot be continued. The preface and summary are now retained for future scholars to refer to and criticize. 】

At the same time.

The main force of Kaiton City advanced into the depths of the Ai Mine. The scouts and pioneers cleared the road very well. The citizens with strange behaviors were no match for the armored warriors and most of them died under the sword.

In order to prevent the outbreak of plague, Tian Xinli ordered all the bodies of the dead to be burned and buried together, and treated as enemies.

But at the same time.

The scouts and pioneers who made great contributions were in great pain and were in low spirits.

They had not eaten for five days.