"These cavities should all have been spaces used to store petroleum. After the oil was pumped out, the rock strata lost their support, so collapses were only natural," Candle Dragon analyzed.
"By current standards, secondary extraction from rock formations in this condition is strictly prohibited..." Candle Dragon continued. "To recoup their losses, those people really didn't consider the workers' lives worth anything..."
"Not necessarily to recoup their losses." Sun Hang shook his head.
"Because of that anomaly?" Candle Dragon's expression turned grave. "Could it be that after mining for three years, that person still hadn't dug out the anomaly?"
"Maybe that thing was difficult to excavate, or maybe..." Sun Hang murmured.
"Or maybe what?" Candle Dragon asked.
"I only have a vague guess, but I can't explain exactly what's going on. You could call it a feeling that can be understood but not put into words..." Sun Hang laughed at himself. "Sigh, they say people become what they hate most. I hate cryptic talkers so much, yet one day I ended up becoming one myself."
"And it hasn't even been an hour since you complained about that ascetic cryptic talker." Candle Dragon laughed as well, and the previously stifling atmosphere eased considerably.
"Back to the point. Don't you feel like something is missing in this mine?" Sun Hang asked.
"What's missing?"
"The presence of an Anomaly Meme..." Sun Hang looked around. "Out on the Gobi, you could sense traces left behind by all kinds of anomalies everywhere. But here, it seemed a little too 'clean.'"
"That's true." Candle Dragon nodded. "Even if the target anomaly was hiding deeply, it shouldn't have left behind no trace at all... Not to mention, that anomaly had to remotely control the ascetic's actions. Leaving absolutely no traces would be impossible..."
"How long ago was