I Will Teach You How to Hunt Gods

"The memory condition of the townsfolk is extremely peculiar, this is the first major issue discovered by Frost Moon and me."

Jack tapped his notebook with his pen and said in a deep voice, "Because of this, we investigated 17 villagers, and their situations were all the same."

"We first asked these villagers about things from the [past] and [childhood], and they answered very fluently."

"How fluent, you ask? A man over 70 years old could accurately recall... the scene of playing hide and seek in the barn with friends at the age of three, and even describe the process in complete detail."

"Every one of them seems to be a memory expert, whether old or young, they remember their past extremely clearly, and their accounts are interconnected without any error."

"Chica, Frost Moon, I want to ask you, do you remember any memories before you were three years old?"

"..."

The two were silent for a moment, and both shook their heads.

"The memories aren't very clear, I just know that because my family was poor, we often moved with my parents, and each time we moved, the house got smaller."

"But I can't recall the details, only a general idea."

Yun You answered honestly.

"I don't remember either."

Frost Moon replied more straightforwardly.

"Not remembering is normal."

Jack shrugged and explained, "Before the age of three, the human brain is in a state of rapid development, synapses and neurons are not yet fully formed, so what is seen and heard is often abstract and cannot form long-term memory."

"People's childhood memories, especially those before the age of three to seven, should be extremely vague, but the townsfolk remember in great detail, which is unreasonable."

"And what's even more unreasonable comes later."

"Their childhood memories are so deep, but when I questioned them about the [construction process] of this small town, and those questionable products... such as fruits, fabrics, barbecue sauce, and how they were manufactured, they claimed they couldn't remember."

"Keep in mind that the production dates of these products do not exceed a few dozen days, at most a few months... but never more than a year."

"Remembering childhood memories from decades ago so clearly, but forgetting the manufacturing process from just a few days ago, is very strange."

"For such a situation, I can think of only two explanations... The first is that everyone has been hypnotized, which is the [memory confusion theory] you mentioned before, Chica; the second is that all the villagers of Yangshan Town are deceiving us, secretly conspiring together to create an impeccable lie."

Jack paused, his eyes turning a bit colder.

"But regardless of the situation, I feel that they are no longer trustworthy."

Upon hearing this, Yun You silently nodded.

In fact, she already found the townsfolk untrustworthy, and the information Jack now mentioned also provided informational support for this suspicion.

Perhaps the people of Yangshan Town are not all villains, but what they say certainly doesn't hold much credibility.

"As for the second piece of information, it is an even more startling matter."

Jack said as he took a pickaxe head from his backpack and handed it to Yun You.

"This is..."

The young girl squinted her eyes, curiously examining the heavy object in her hand.

It was a half-meter long pickaxe head, entirely black, with a very hard texture. Despite many scratches and dust on the surface, indicating it hadn't been used for several years, there was not a hint of rust on it, suggesting it was made of a very fine special steel...

At the base of the pickaxe head, Yun You saw a thumb-sized hammer pattern, grasped by gloved hands.

"This is the [Hammer Totem]."

Jack pointed to the pattern, explaining softly, "It is the emblem of the [Hammer Vanguard]."

"The so-called Hammer Vanguard is essentially a team of civil engineering workers."

"But unlike general construction teams, Hammer Vanguard only took on one type of task, which was to create exploration tunnels for extremely dangerous mines."

"They were the pioneers, specializing in complex geographical and extremely harsh underground climates, claiming that as long as the price was right, they could carve out even the most terrifying mine passages."

"In fact, Hammer Vanguard really could achieve this, so 20 years ago, around 2057, they were renowned as the most popular construction team in Nest City No. 3."

"And the pickaxe head in your hand, Chica, is Hammer Vanguard's exclusive [Earth-Breaking Star Guard Pickaxe], integrating functions like mining, digging, rock breaking, and laser cutting, with considerable power."

Jack patiently introduced.

"Then why is it here?"

Yun You played with the pickaxe, curiously asking.

"That's where the problem lies."

Jack sighed and continued explaining, "Hammer Vanguard made their name in 2057 by taking over 30 orders in one year, setting a record as the strongest construction team."

"But likewise, it was this year that they suddenly vanished, evaporating like smoke, completely disappearing from everyone's sight.."

"Due to the confidentiality contracts with employers, Hammer Vanguard would often disappear for some time... but such disappearances never lasted long, at most a few months, and they would usually reappear."

"However, this time, the disappearance became a permanent missing case. From the foreman to the ordinary workers, the entire team vanished without a trace."

"People speculated whether the team encountered [Death Domain] and were wiped out, or if they had earned enough money and wanted to retire. But no matter the speculation, Hammer Vanguard never appeared again, and this matter became the biggest unsolved mystery of 2057."

"Yet today, 20 years later, in the mine of Yangshan Town, we found this Earth-Breaking Star Guard Pickaxe head and some uniform shoes I didn't bring back, items exclusive to Hammer Vanguard..."

"What on earth does this signify...?"

Jack did not continue.

But Yun You had already understood what he was implying.

Jack suspected the people of Yangshan Town, suspecting them of having caused the deaths of [Hammer Vanguard] in the mine, then taking their pickaxes and clothes to make the tools they needed.

This indeed was explosive information, which after careful analysis, could become a decisive piece of evidence.

Is [Hammer Vanguard] related to the origin of the entire mine incident? Did they die in Yangshan Town? And how exactly did they die...

Are they related to the Blue-Collar Workers who came to the mine 30 years ago because of the "Kamosi Command Incident"?

A series of new questions were now placed before Yun You.

She wanted to ponder over it thoroughly...

But just then, outside, a muffled clock chime suddenly sounded.

"Dong... Dong...!"

This was the sound of the town curfew.

Ten o'clock had arrived.