"Moving back in time, the third-to-last 'Eternal Night' on the Xiazhou Continent appeared during the Zhu Ming Period, in the ninth year of Hongzhi, which is the year 4185 in the Huang calendar. That Eternal Night lasted only for nine years, yet it reduced the population from Siming Prefecture to Zhaoqing Prefecture to less than twenty percent of its original size." As Mr. Lee spoke, the holographic projection on the table also changed.

"Zhu Ming Period?" Sun Hang was slightly taken aback and gently nudged Yang Qi with his elbow, asking very quietly, "I just thought of a question."

"What?" Yang Qi cast a puzzled look.

"If my memory is correct, isn't the history of strange entities only around three hundred years? But the Zhu Ming Period was over five hundred years ago, right?"

"'Strange Entities' was a unified term proposed after the founding of the Xiazhou Federation. In historical records, they were sometimes referred to as natural disasters, specters, or evil spirits..." Yang Qi whispered to Sun Hang, "Ancient history, whether official records or folkloric tales, often lacks detailed descriptions of these things. Many records that seem to involve strange entities were actually phenomena the ancients couldn't explain with the science of their time. It wasn't until about three hundred years ago that strange entities began to invade human territories frequently and on a large scale, destroying countless human nations, making people realize... Humankind actually wasn't the true 'dominant species' on this planet."

Yang Qi paused for a moment then continued, "And for this reason, official records of 'Strange Entities' have only been maintained for around the last three hundred years... But evidence of their existence can actually be traced back to the Pre-Qin period. During that time, these entities were mostly secluded and didn't interact much with human society."

"So, are the supernatural beings recorded in mythological stories actually strange entities?" Sun Hang couldn't help but think of an ancient text called the "Classic of Mountains and Seas"—according to Yang Qi's explanation, could it be that the monsters in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" were not made up by ancient people but had real-life prototypes?

"At least some of them are." Yang Qi nodded slightly, "But with strange entities like 'Eternal Night' which present extremely obvious characteristics, even if the recorded description is just one sentence, it's easy to confirm their existence."

"Then why was there so little interaction between strange entities and humans for thousands of years, yet three hundred years ago they suddenly began to invade human territories on a large scale?" Sun Hang asked again.

"The answer to your question is one that Dubhe Tower has been seeking for a long time." Yang Qi sighed somewhat helplessly, "There are many guesses in academic circles, but none with credible evidence."

On the other side of the long table, Mr. Lee waved his hand, and a photograph appeared in the projection.

The photograph showed a rubbing of a page from an ancient book, written in the Zhu Ming Period's official font, "Tai Ge Style": "On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month in the ninth year of Hongzhi, at noon, from Siming Prefecture to Zhaoqing Prefecture, there was suddenly a sound like roaring, with black clouds rising, obscuring the sky. Amidst flying sand and stones, strange beasts and monsters appeared, causing panic among the people. The prefect of Siming Prefecture sent troops to defend, but they collapsed upon contact, resulting in thousands of casualties among the defeated soldiers."

Most of the latter part of the rubbing was heavily inked over, making the original content indistinguishable.

Besides this rubbing, Mr. Lee also showcased other historical document photos, all with consistent content documenting incidents of "evils and strange beasts" attacking humans during that "natural disaster."

Among these documents were official histories from the Zhu Ming Era as well as many anonymous collected wild histories—even with only brief descriptions, it wasn't hard to imagine the various terrifying scenes people encountered during those nine years.

"According to these documents, we deduced that the breeding source during the ninth year of Hongzhi was located seventy to ninety kilometers north of Siming Prefecture." Mr. Lee said, "With the human military strength of the Zhu Ming Era, it was unable to contend with the strange entities, and thus, in the second year of Eternal Night, the court abandoned the region, leaving those who remained to fend for themselves."

"Professor, I have a question." Yang Lian suddenly raised his hand.

"Please, go ahead."

"If the breeding source remains untreated, will the number of strange entities in that region continue to grow until they overflow? Or will the strange entities birthed by the breeding source only be active within the Eternal Night region? And where do the breeding source and these strange entities go once Eternal Night ends?" Yang Lian fired off several questions in rapid succession.

From the looks in others' eyes, it was clear Yang Lian's questions were concerns shared by everyone present.

"After Eternal Night dissipates, the breeding source and the strange entities born from it will vanish. As for where they go, no one knows." Mr. Lee shook his head, "But the crucial issue is that we don't know how long this Eternal Night will last, and we cannot ignore the potential appearance of a breeding source."

"Sounds like the breeding source is akin to a large strange entity hatchery." Another Hunter said, "Once we locate its position, couldn't we just send bombers or ground missiles to destroy it, solving the problem?"

"I wish we could solve the problem that easily, but there's something I must inform everyone." Mr. Lee sighed, "Within the breeding source, strange entities with low serial numbers might appear... including the Primal Strange Entities with a serial number of 'zero.'

"Primal Strange Entities?!"

Upon hearing this name, a collective gasp echoed among the Hunters—only those who had direct dealings with strange entities could understand the significance of what Primal Strange Entities entail.

In the circle of Mysterious Creature Hunters, and even among a considerable number of strange entity researchers, the alias used for Primal Strange Entities wasn't "it," but instead, "He."

"In the year 4509 of the Huang calendar, across the ocean in the Amazon River Basin, there was once a thirteen-month-long Eternal Night." Mr. Lee slowly said, "And the strange entity that emerged at the breeding source during that Eternal Night, surely every one of you here has heard of its name."

The group instinctively held their breath, an intense silence enveloping the meeting hall.

Sun Hang turned to face Yang Qi, exchanging a glance, and he perceived a mix of shock and fear in the latter's eyes.

"The breeding source of that Eternal Night lay deep within the Amazon Rainforest, at the lair of the Primal Strange Entity known as the 'Dingling·Decaying Mother Tree.'

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