"Li Shimin" and Speculations

"Everyone, looking at the overall situation so far, things aren't looking too good."

"Especially since Team Eleven's survey has basically been completed. The news they sent back isn't very encouraging."

With just a few words, Zhao Li, who was in charge of the relevant records, put away his charcoal pencil as well.

In less than an hour, the few dark-gray sheets on the table before him had already taken on the shape of a barely legible hand-drawn map.

"We can confirm that Route Three has many mountains and hills. There is almost no risk of needing to seek additional cover. In terms of terrain alone, it is indeed suitable for small-scale infiltration. Even the civilians who have newly joined us could probably be divided into teams and sent through."

"However, Team Eleven believes that doing so carries a high risk of an outbreak. They specifically stressed that they do not recommend sending anyone through this route."

"Within thirty or forty li to the east, in the areas they explored, the fresh graves in those hills have already piled up into rolling mounds. Quite a few corpses were simply wrapped in tattered straw mats and tossed into mass graves."

"Even the hunters from the nearby mountains currently don't dare enter the mountains lightly."

"Moreover, aside from the usual dangers in the wilderness, Taoist Priest Qu believes that the excessive accumulation of corpses has most likely produced miasma, Corpse Demons, and various monsters that have formed from it. Once those trying to go deeper carry too much human presence, they will most likely draw attacks from every direction."

A heavy silence fell over the group.

Though they had even begun to "get used to" such things, these souls from the twenty-first century once again experienced firsthand the truth of the saying: in