Although this hillside is barren, it is not desolate—at the moment, the entire area is filled with people carrying lighting equipment. Judging from their uniforms, there are people from the Public Security Bureau, the Anomaly Investigation Bureau, soldiers from the Tianfu City Guard, and regular military personnel from the Xiazhou Federation.
Sun Hang and his two companions jumped off the car and were immediately approached by two investigators. The uniforms of these two investigators bore the insignia and identification codes of the Investigation Bureau, clearly marking them as full-time positions within the bureau.
"Any new discoveries?" Yang Qi asked.
The two investigators shook their heads in unison.
"I have a question," Sun Hang said, "How did you confirm that this place has reverted to its undeveloped appearance from decades ago—rather than the whole cemetery disappearing and leaving behind a barren hill?"
"Because they found this on the scene." Yang Qi took an opaque evidence bag from one of the investigators and threw it to Sun Hang.
"Can I open it?" Sun Hang inquired.
Yang Qi nodded.
Inside the bag was a tin can of cookies. The paint on the surface of the can was somewhat scratched, but the scratched parts showed no rust. Sun Hang turned the can over and found a line of text printed on the bottom.
"Production date: Yellow Calendar, Year 4653, January 10th. Shelf life: 24 months."
It was a can of butter cookies, with a deformed lid that left it almost unsealed. Even at the bottom of the evidence bag that contained it, there were quite a few golden cookie crumbs piled up.
Sun Hang gently pried open the deformed lid with his fingernail and found several pieces of shattered cookies inside the can.
These butter cookies were not individually wrapped; the outer tin can was their only packaging.
Picking up one piece, Sun Hang found that the cookie was not only unspoiled and mold-free, but also not damp. With a gentle squeeze of his fingers, he could hear a crunchy sound as the cookie was compressed.
"Cookies produced sixty-six years ago, even those meant for long-term storage, cannot remain in this condition," Yang Qi commented.
"Tch." Wang Xiyi took the can, picked up a piece of cookie... In the next second, the cookie turned into powder in her palm, falling back into the can.
"Initially, we thought that the space of the cemetery might have experienced a time displacement with its state from decades ago," Yang Qi said, "But based on your description, those missing people might not have gone to a time in the past, but rather to the future."
"No, I don't think so," Sun Hang shook his head, "If it were just time travel, the travelers themselves shouldn't have aged so much... From what I observed, it seemed more like the time flow of the space they were in was accelerated by thousands or even tens of thousands of times."
"If it were just a simple increase in time flow, you should be seeing skeletons, not aging living humans," Yang Qi frowned, "Humans need to eat and breathe to maintain their metabolism; if the time flow suddenly sped up by thousands of times, those people would have died long ago."
"But aging is essentially one of the manifestations of metabolism," Sun Hang countered.
"...You're not wrong," Yang Qi sighed, "The anomalies caused by strange objects cannot be explained by our known scientific theories... It's precisely because of this that only those like you, infected by the Deceit Virus, can contend with such objects."
"So what do you suggest I do now? Like everyone else, turn this barren hill upside down?"
"Wait. No matter how urgent, all we can do is wait," Yang Qi said solemnly, "Wait for the resonance to appear once more."
At this moment, a familiar voice suddenly called out from nearby: "0420? You're actually still alive?!"
Sun Hang turned his head, and sure enough, there stood 0401 in a grey uniform without insignia, leaning on a shovel, staring at him from a small hillside in amazement.
"You seem eager for me to die?"
"No... no, that's not what I meant! I'm just surprised..." 0401 waved his hands repeatedly, "It's just that you didn't make it out of the basement that day, nor did you return to the Investigation Bureau. I thought you might have... wait, is that a gun you're carrying on your shoulder? They actually issued you a gun?"
"In the wilderness, it's normal to have a gun for wild beasts, isn't it?"
"Crap, then why don't I have one? Wait a minute! You're not a temporary investigator anymore! What exactly happened that day?" 0401 wanted to continue questioning, but a layer of ominous dark red light suddenly covered the entire hillside, abruptly cutting him off.
He stiffly turned his neck, looking up at the sky.
Between the gloomy clouds, a blood-red full moon hung high, emitting a sinister crimson glow.
"Damn," Wang Xiyi cursed softly.
"Why does it have to happen now... This complicates things," Yang Qi also frowned.
"What is that?" Sun Hang asked, looking at the blood moon in the sky.
In his remaining memory, there was no information related to the "blood moon."
"'Phenomenon-type' strange object, Blood Moon, serial number 'B6'," Yang Qi explained, "Based on observational records over the years, the Blood Moon has a probability of appearing on the full moon night every month... Today is the Yellow Calendar, Year 4719, May 15th, coincidentally a full moon night."
"Is the Blood Moon... very dangerous?" Sun Hang asked.
"The Blood Moon itself doesn't cause direct damage, but each time it appears, beasts on the wasteland become particularly aggressive, and various strange object abilities get amplified... The most lethal part is that the infection process of those with the Deceit Virus will also worsen," Yang Qi explained, "So whenever the Blood Moon appears, each city-state treats it as a major threat. Curfews, enhanced patrols, and fortifications are the most basic measures. Moreover, all investigation tasks and strange object extermination missions are urgently halted, and all investigators and Hunters are recalled, fully prepared."
"Calling the Hunters back isn't actually for guarding against possible strange objects," Wang Xiyi added with a frown, "It's to guard against unstable Hunters turning into strange objects... Hunters whose infection process approaches the dangerous threshold are locked in special rooms, and once they undergo a mutation, they are immediately 'neutralized'..."
"Have you been locked up?"
"Once. When the Blood Moon appeared, I had just come out of a beast transformation. I had to inject five doses of suppressor to maintain my human form; almost died," Wang Xiyi said casually, as if the story was about someone else, not herself, who almost died.