At the northernmost edge of the Xiazhou Federation lay Baikal City, in the Siberian Autonomous Prefecture, north of Lake Baikal.
Affected by global climate change, the shores of Lake Baikal remained blanketed in snow even in summer. A thin layer of ice covered the entire lake, like a vast, crystalline mirror. Pale moonlight spilled across its surface, making the whole scene seem like a dream.
Dusk was approaching. The sun had already sunk completely beneath the horizon. Half the sky was stained by crimson-gold afterglow, while the other half had taken on the texture of sapphire.
"What a pity it's summer. If all the leaders had come in winter, you could have seen the beautiful aurora," said the fisherman in professional climbing gear to the several similarly dressed middle-aged men following behind him.
This was a small team of around twenty people. They were climbing along the southern foothills of the Yablonovyy Range—the northeastern corner of Federation-controlled territory... Shu Province in the southwestern corner was now shrouded beneath the clouds of Eternal Night, while this place, farthest from it on the Federation's map, had enjoyed decades of peace.
Some said Lake Baikal served as a natural barrier, preventing the anomalies wandering western Siberia from invading. Others said the spirits of the soldiers who had sacrificed themselves on this frozen land were protecting their descendants... But regardless of which claim was true, Baikal City had suffered almost no anomaly invasions since its founding. Even when there were incursions, the threat those anomalies posed to the city was less than that of a bank robber with a gun.
The only area of the Siberian Autonomous Prefecture seriously afflicted by anomalies was the Far East region's coastline. But it was simply too far from Baikal City, and with more than a dozen coastal