"We reported it to the Mysterious Creature Research Institute in Dragon City immediately, but because there were no surviving witnesses and no clear observational records or evidence, it wasn’t officially included in the mystery archives..."

"Can’t that journal count as evidence? And those remains?" Sun Hang asked in confusion.

"By the time the remains were discovered, only the bones were left. The residual memes had completely dissipated, and no one knew the true cause of their deaths," Nagano Souta sighed, "As for that journal, there are countless instances where hunters in the no-man’s land experienced hallucinations due to mysterious creature erosion. Mere unverifiable written records can’t prove the true existence of the fog zone."

"So the Mysterious Creature Research Institute in Dragon City just ignored it? That’s a poor work attitude, isn’t it?" Sun Hang scoffed.

"The Mysterious Creature Research Institute in Dragon City did not disregard the report," the main brain’s voice sounded in Sun Hang’s headset, "After receiving the report, Dragon City sent out eleven investigation teams into the no-man’s land to search for traces of the fog zone, but all were unsuccessful. Therefore, for the sake of cautious consideration, the ’Hexi Corridor Cursed Fog Area’ was listed in the ’suspected mysterious creatures’ catalog instead of being formally entered into the archives."

"I see..." Sun Hang silently nodded.

"So, do you suspect that this group of hunters encountered that fog zone that appeared eight years ago?" Candle Dragon asked.

Nagano Souta drained the remaining liquor in the cup and reached for the jug again, only to find it clutched by the accountant.

"Boss, you can’t drink anymore!" the accountant said sternly.

"I didn’t say I wanted to drink," Nagano Souta helplessly put the cup down on the table, "I’ve reported the reappearance of the fog zone to the Mysterious Creature Research Institute in Dragon City. They will send people to investigate again... we don’t need to worry about this anymore. What needs our headache now are these fragments of the treasure map..."

"Should we let her try?" Sun Hang suddenly remembered Xue Yue’s reaction when she first saw the treasure map fragments and pushed the little girl in front of himself.

"Who’s this?" Nagano Souta’s gaze lingered on Xue Yue for a few seconds before looking at Sun Hang and asking.

"My sister."

"Sister?" Nagano Souta was stunned. Although much of Sun Hang’s information was confidential, he had managed to find out a bit through his resources—at least one thing was certain, Sun Hang had no known relatives apart from a few women he was close to in Celestial City.

Even his identity records were only established after he became a hunter; before that, he was a complete "black household."

"A non-blood-related sister," Sun Hang added, "She’s currently serving as my assistant."

"She’s also a hunter," Candle Dragon stated.

"I can sense the memes within her..." Nagano Souta commented, "May I ask, what is this young girl’s ability?"

"It’s not convenient to say, but she should be able to help you," Sun Hang replied.

"Understood," Nagano Souta nodded, wheeling himself away from the table and gesturing invitingly to Xue Yue. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Sun Hang gently patted Xue Yue’s back, prompting her to hesitantly approach the table and look at the scattered fragments.

"Can you arrange these fragments in the correct order by intuition?" Sun Hang asked.

"I... I’ll try."

Xue Yue picked up a fragment, then after a few seconds, put it down with a conflicted expression.

She resembled a novice trying her hand at a puzzle game for the first time, clumsily experimenting with different combinations of fragments...

Half an hour passed. Although Nagano Souta remained patient and silent, Sun Hang still detected a hint of barely noticeable disappointment in his eyes.

As for the accountant standing aside, the impatience in his eyes was even more evident.

"I... I can’t do it," Xue Yue wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and looked at Sun Hang with a pleading expression, "There are too many and they’re too chaotic... I can’t concentrate..."

Sun Hang thought for a moment, walked behind Xue Yue, and covered her eyes with his hands.

"Calm your mind, let go of all distractions, and freely sense the emotions these fragments give you... Don’t worry about making mistakes, just go with your intuition," Sun Hang whispered in Xue Yue’s ear.

Xue Yue took a deep breath and reached for the fragments on the table again.

This time, her movements were significantly faster, and the trial and error decreased continuously.

As the remaining fragments dwindled, Xue Yue’s speed increased, and Sun Hang could sense her breathing becoming slightly rapid, with the area around her eyes and the contact with his hands gradually warming up from their initial coldness.

"Hoo..." Xue Yue suddenly exhaled and inserted the last fragment into the only remaining gap.

"I... I’ve finished it," Xue Yue said.

Nagano Souta, Candle Dragon, and the accountant immediately gathered around, looking at the "complete" treasure map on the table.

The left side of the treasure map was perfect, with all lines and patterns perfectly aligning; the right side was also perfect, with all lines and patterns likewise aligning, except for a strange chasm in the center of the map—where all lines and patterns diverged, creating an extremely discordant feeling.

Even someone without any research in puzzles could see that the middle part must be wrong.

"This... this seems even worse than the boss’s previous attempt..." the accountant hesitated to complete his sentence, "I remember the last time you were closest to a perfect alignment, only four lines didn’t match..."

The accountant wanted to say more, but the solemn-looking Nagano Souta raised his hand suddenly, signaling his subordinate to silence.

His upper body stiffened completely, leaning slightly forward, with the tubing in his throat bubbling continuously.

Excitement flashed through Nagano Souta’s eyes as he spoke in a trembling voice, "Yes... that’s exactly right... you truly did it! This treasure map is supposed to be like this! This is the correct order!"

"Bo... boss..." the accountant stared bewilderedly at his excited boss, "But the map’s middle... it obviously doesn’t match!"

"That’s precisely why it’s correct!" Nagano Souta declared, "Because, in reality, this position is indeed misaligned!"

"Misaligned?" Candle Dragon paused, appearing deep in thought.

"This place is called Nanhua Town," Nagano Souta explained, "It’s the only divided ruin town in the Hexi Corridor no-man’s land."

"I remember it now!" the accountant announced immediately, "Nanhua Town experienced geological changes due to phenomenon-type mysterious creatures, with half the town rising by several hundred meters and the other half sinking by several hundred meters, creating a fault with a near-thousand-meter drop... so it was that place! No wonder, no wonder there’s such a distinct divide between the town’s east and west sides..."

"Nanhua Town..." Candle Dragon quickly moved in front of an old map hanging on the wall, "The location of Nanhua Town is quite deep, being a straight three hundred kilometers from Yumen, a little further west, and it would be in the true Surrendered Area."

"Is this the only town divided in such a way? There shouldn’t be any mix-up, right?"

"I can’t be certain if any similar towns have emerged recently, but during the era when my father ’brought back’ the treasure map, this was the only town split apart like that!" Nagano Souta said with absolute confidence.