On the back of the note, Aurora wrote some of her own speculations.

However, since these speculations coincided with Yun You's ideas, the little girl did not read them aloud.

"Now, the origin of the mine is very clear."

Yun You put away the note and calmly said, "Let's briefly summarize the known information."

"It began with the 'Anmoscy Order' incident in the 2040s."

"The workers of Tunnel 23, affected by this toxic chemical material, came here to prolong their lives and alter the fact of their bodies disintegrating."

"They acquired some sort of extraordinary power from somewhere and collectively descended into the mine, under the guidance of the creature called 'Master,' launching an unknown [Sacrifice] activity. The initial goal was to extend their lifespan or... cure the ailments within their bodies."

"This part should be correct?"

Frost Moon nodded, and Jack added softly.

"That's right."

"Moreover, I suspect that the entire sacrificial activity must have been very smooth at first, and might have brought some benefits to the workers, which is why they devoted themselves wholly to the sacrifice."

"This can be inferred from the word 'control' on the note... This suggests that at least initially, the workers had the upper hand."

"However, the workers overestimated their mastery and underestimated that supernatural power."

At this point, Jack sighed.

"Thus, when the workers placed all their hopes on the sacrificial activity, the so-called [Master] began to close the net."

"Using special means, it sealed the mine exit, trapping these workers from thirty years ago within the tunnels, and slowly tormenting their minds and bodies, forcing them to survive by eating the innards of their kind."

"Just now, a resentful corpse uttered such an incomplete sentence—could it be that we... we are..."

"It didn't finish the latter half, but I boldly speculate that it might be..."

"Could it be that we... we are... the sacrificial offerings of this sacrifice?!"

"Facts have proven that the [Master]'s appetite was larger than the workers imagined. It was dissatisfied with the offerings provided by the workers; it wanted everyone's lives, thus this sealed space was born."

"But... the fortunate thing is, the workers did not compromise."

Jack shook his head with a bit of feeling.

"They mentioned in the note that they forcibly ended the sacrificial ceremony through some method."

"I think the so-called method is—letting themselves die, because once they die with resentment and obsession, turning into ever-restless dead, the fungal carpets on the ground can no longer devour them, and the sacrificial ceremony would be halted due to lack of offerings."

"Hey, coal mine workers are like that, extremely ill-tempered and as hard as stone; nothing can bend their backbone except life itself, not even the [Master]."

"They ended the sacrificial ceremony in this manner, but they were not professional mercenaries or Apprentice Death Gods, unable to completely eradicate the aftermath of the sacrifice, hence, up to now, this mine continues to claim innocent lives."

"This is the origin of the entire incident, although there might be some details missing in between, the general outline is like this."

"Indeed."

Yun You nodded and stacking several diaries together, said in a deep voice: "The source is clear; now the issue lies in the [Sacrifice] itself."

"We need to understand the type of sacrifice, the offerings involved, and the purpose as well as the identity of that [Master]."

"Frost Moon, Jack, how much do you know about sacrifices?"

After a little thought, Jack promptly replied, "I know a bit about it."

"Though Nest City's technology is fairly advanced, the standard of living is surprisingly poor, at the grassroots, people even struggle to eat their fill."

"Low material life leads people to seek spiritual sustenance, hence all sorts of peculiar beliefs emerge."

"Mercenaries worship the [Hunting God], warriors in the arena worship the [War Master], teachers respect the [Second Elder], and doctors have faith in the [Snake Staff]..."

"And what about hackers and blacksmiths!"

Frost Moon interjected, "Though I don't worship anything, most hackers and blacksmiths do worship the [Mechanical God·Taltado], claiming that as long as one's heart is devout, a heap of scrap metal can be assembled to exert a powerful effect; the principle behind this is unknown..."

"Correct."

Jack nodded and softly said, "All in all, it's quite normal for residents of Nest City to have beliefs."

"Moreover, Chica, you should know that some beliefs are not rootless, those so-called Masters or Gods occasionally manifest, displaying supernatural powers."

Yun You indeed nodded at these words, without refuting.

After all, she had witnessed such supernatural powers triggered by faith.

"Continue."

Jack uttered a sound of acknowledgment before adding, "But typically, faiths featuring sacrificial ceremonies are quite rare, and ones with returns are even rarer."

"Let me take a few examples I know of."

"The War Master's faith involves one-on-one duels; the victor takes the defeated one's death as an offering to the War Master, there is no benefit in such sacrifices, regardless of victory or defeat, the War Master does not manifest."

"In the Hunting God's faith, the sacrificial activity involves competing in hunting numbers; similarly, there is no reward for the victor, nor penalty for the defeated."

"I have heard that sacrifices to the Mechanical God bring benefits, but I've never seen requests for 'longevity needs' like the workers perhaps wished for."

Yun You nodded.

Indeed, this is the case.

There are many sects aiming for immortality, but identifying the workers' faith among them is more challenging than finding a needle in a haystack.

Moreover, the crucial point is that Yun You and the others have not yet understood the content of the sacrifice, still unclear about the disaster the workers feared.

In this situation, random guessing clearly holds no value.

"In short, it's due to insufficient information."

The girl rubbed her head and instructed, "Continue to explore ahead."

"Understood."

Jack responded, then proceeded with the exploration with his head lowered.

Yun You glanced thoughtfully at the workers in front of her, then put away the diary, intending to follow in their footsteps.

But in that inadvertent moment, the corner of the young girl's eye accidentally caught sight of a strange figure in the corridor behind...

A pink, slowly twisting blob of flesh.

This was precisely the "human flesh mound" mentioned in the old miner's diary.

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