The Investigation Ends Here

Only a small portion of Longcheng's inhabitants knew the truth about the anomalies. Among those who did, like An Qi, some of the worlds connected to these anomalies also held the same knowledge.

After her family made initial progress in researching anomalies in Longcheng, a schism occurred within the clan. The entire family split into two factions: the migration faction, who wished to leave their current world in search of others with higher environmental conditions for development, and the conservative faction.

In worlds with low environmental conditions, even the strongest individuals could be killed by technological weapons. The likelihood might vary, but for extremely powerful beings, the possibility was never zero. Conversely, in worlds with high environmental conditions, encountering an equally powerful being meant normal technological weapons would have no chance of killing them.

Weapons like the Star Destroyer Cannon from science fiction should not be brought up.

While powerhouses in high-environment worlds were formidable and could ignore most conventional technological weapons, those worlds naturally harbored equally powerful beings. Therefore, in many respects, both high-environment and low-environment worlds were quite similar.

However, the advantage of high-environment worlds lay in the greater possibilities they offered. Breaking through lifespan limitations was difficult in low-environment worlds, but it was not an issue in high-environment ones. The downside was the frequent occurrence of "gods fighting," where even observing from hundreds of meters away could result in death from the residual shockwaves.

In low-environment worlds, as long as it wasn't a nuclear war and one avoided war zones, such "gods fighting" scenarios were generally absent.

Despite this, her family still split at that time. A portion of the family, along with some of their resources, encountered an anomaly leading to a high-environment world and migrated there, seeking greater development. They were never heard from again.

Her family still followed this matter, but they had never found the world connected to that anomaly from years ago. It was too difficult to encounter the same world twice. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the family members who chose the high-environment path back then would likely never reconnect with their side. Their future understanding of each other would be limited to historical records.

The conservative faction, comprising the elders who remained in Longcheng, did not necessarily wish to avoid high-environment places. They had simply chosen a more cautious approach, not rushing to migrate. Longcheng itself was a unique location.

The mere fact that it was a hub for anomalies was reason enough for them not to leave easily. Staying in Longcheng meant easier access to more anomalies, allowing them to acquire more knowledge and technology from those connected worlds.

With continuous accumulation, by the time they truly decided to move, they would select a high-environment world and arrive with a host of "max-level" combat power. Wouldn't that be better than the migration faction, who chose a high-environment world and then struggled to develop from scratch?

Furthermore, with the "Environment Adjustment" factor, they didn't have to worry about a sudden super-powerful individual appearing to flatten Longcheng, forcing them to abandon everything. Inter-world travel and influence were confined to their own or similar worlds.

Going to a low-environment world and failing would be no laughing matter. An Qi had also interacted with people from other worlds who knew about the anomalies. Upon learning about some of Longcheng's characteristics, they expressed great envy.

Some even wished to remain in Longcheng permanently before the anomalies disappeared, to pursue greater development possibilities. Once they had accumulated enough, they would then choose a high-environment world.

There were individuals within An Qi's family who felt this way, and other factions in Longcheng aware of the anomaly's truth also had similar unique individuals.

Arriving in the Southern Forest, An Qi reviewed the report submitted by her subordinate. After the team exceeded their communication time, the camp personnel immediately reacted and began searching the area where the squad had been operating.

The result was the discovery of several incomplete corpses, but the number was short by one person – the team leader, an Anomaly Hunter who had been with her for several years.

As for the corpses, they had been thoroughly scavenged. Were their equipment valuable? It depended on the situation. Firearms were not difficult to obtain in Longcheng. Their price varied depending on the source: official stores were more expensive, while the black market was cheaper. They were not rare items, let alone Peerless Divine Weapons.

Or rather, in the many worlds connected by anomalies, the quality-assured firearms purchased from Longcheng's gun stores, provided they had ammunition, were all Peerless Divine Weapons.

Moreover, those firearms bore her hunting group's insignia, making it unlikely they were scavenged by rivals. The main issue would be reselling them. As for electronic devices, if scavenged and taken out of the forest where there was a signal, her people would track them.

Anyone with a bit of sense wouldn't scavenge them. Therefore, the most likely scenario was that those items were taken by natives from the worlds connected to the anomalies.

Besides the recovered corpses, there were other items.

"My people don't use these kinds of guns," An Qi said, looking at some steel balls. Shotgun pellets were found at the scene, along with traces of Small Grenade explosions. These were not weapons her hunters were equipped with; her subordinates had more powerful ones.

Not only that, but the search party also found some peculiar powder, not dust, but residue left behind after something was destroyed.

After her people were killed, other Hunters intervened at the scene. The report recreated the scene: the other party likely discovered the corpses and conducted a thorough search. At that time, the anomaly had not yet disappeared. During the search, they encountered an attack from a certain 'creature.' Initially, they attacked with a Shotgun, but the attack was ineffective.

According to her people's investigation, the pellets from that shot were scattered widely. Unless it was an intentional miss, some should have hit the target, but the pellets found at the scene were all accounted for.

After the initial ineffective shot, the attacked Hunter decisively changed tactics and used a Small Grenade. The explosion should have been effective.

However, afterward, the other party encountered some attacks of the same type or different ones, fighting like kite-flying. At that time, the Hunter who engaged did not use a gun but fought with a Melee Weapon. Some holes were poked in the trees, which should have been from a gun... Using a gun among Melee Weapons in the forest is also unique.

The final result should have been that the other party sustained minor injuries and achieved victory. However, no effective bloodstains were found at the scene. The Abnormal Creatures in the forest licked those bloodstains clean. Who knows how those things suddenly started cleaning up 'hygiene' for other Hunters.

Based on the traces, it can be confirmed that the Hunter who engaged had come into contact with the anomaly that appeared at the scene. There is a high probability that the other party entered the anomaly and remained in an unknown world as the anomaly disappeared, because the investigators found no traces of anyone leaving the scene.

The identity of the other party could not be determined either. Many Hunters have entered the Southern Forest recently, and none of them are skilled in using guns.

An Qi put away the report and took away the powder with abnormalities. "This matter ends here."

The annihilated team could not be revived. The Hunter who intervened was likely left in an unknown world. The anomaly had long since disappeared. This was more difficult to handle than an unsolved case and not worth further investment of energy. It was enough to take care of the families of those Hunters.