After confirming that the Guardian Giants did not need his help for the time being, Hao Ren came alone to a small hill on the edge of the northern wilderness.
Muru and his two friends had built a small camp here.
The camp had been used when the Tanagrus ecosystem had just begun to recover. Back then, the three Guardian Giants had watched over the planet's revival from here. Only after the Zhuom people had put down roots on the planet, built settlements near the wilderness, and finally settled down had the camp been abandoned. Even now, the abandoned camp showed little sign of decay. The weeds around it had been cleared away, and a newly built stone path even stretched up from the foot of the hill. In front of a stone pillar Siv had carved with her own hands, Hao Ren also saw some still-fresh flowers and several colored stone pieces.
Hao Ren had come simply to enjoy the scenery and think about a few things. The items in the camp surprised him somewhat. He was preparing to ask Muru or Siv where the flowers had come from, but before he could leave, he sensed someone approaching.
He hid in a corner. Before long, several figures indeed came walking up from the direction of the stone path. They were a group of young men and women, the oldest of whom looked no more than seventeen or eighteen. They wore the gray-white uniforms issued to residents of the nearby Zhuom town. Judging from the wear on their clothes and the stains on their sleeves, they had probably just gotten off work at a factory or somewhere similar.
Under Hao Ren's curious gaze, the young people stopped in front of the stone pillar Siv had left behind. A young girl