"Are you the infected one by the Taotie Meme?" The "Iron Wall," who had been following behind Mr. Lee, asked gruffly.

"Yes." Sun Hang nodded.

Iron Wall stared at Sun Hang for several seconds, but in the end, he said nothing and simply sat cross-legged on the ground.

Even sitting on the ground, he was still significantly taller than Sun Hang.

"Shen is usually quite wary of strangers, so don't take it personally." Mr. Lee said with a smile, handing two cups of tea to Sun Hang and Yang Qi.

Shen? Sun Hang froze for a moment. Honestly, he couldn't reconcile this nearly four-meter-tall giant with the name "Shen."

"Mr. Lee." Yang Qi took the teacup with a bit of awe and asked, "Could you tell us why you called us here? Is there something specific you want from us?"

"Actually, there isn't anything important. I just took this opportunity to meet the young man who both Mr. Pei and I find very interesting." This Mr. Lee didn't have the kind of distant air typical of those in high positions; on the contrary, he was quite amiable and felt like the friendly old grandpa next door.

"Mr. Pei? Who's that?" Sun Hang took a sip of tea and asked subconsciously.

"Pei..." Yang Qi hesitated for a moment, then her pupils shrank as she softly told Sun Hang, "You should call him Mr. Pei... He's the tower master of Dubhe Tower! Not just in the Federation, but in the entire human realm; he's the most authoritative figure in the field of supernatural entity research, bar none!"

"Don't say that." Mr. Lee waved his hand with a laugh, "If Mr. Pei hears that, he'll be displeased."

"Someone praised and he gets displeased? The tower master's character sure is peculiar." Sun Hang remarked.

"To accept such praise means bearing the corresponding responsibility. Both I and Mr. Pei are old, and the burden on our shoulders is becoming too heavy to bear..." Mr. Lee shook his head. "Let's not talk about this; let's talk about you instead."

"Me?" Sun Hang pointed at himself. "What's there to talk about regarding me?"

"I've done extensive research on Taotie in my early years... Without hiding it from you, the theory that 'Taotie's Meme cannot infect humans' was proposed by me." Mr. Lee said.

"Ah?" Sun Hang was stunned. "Doesn't my appearance slap your theory in the face?"

"Cough, cough." Hearing Sun Hang's words, Yang Qi immediately coughed and desperately gave him meaningful looks, but Sun Hang completely ignored them.

"Well... Professor, what he actually means is..." Seeing her direct and hinting attempts fail, Yang Qi tried to smooth things over but was interrupted by Mr. Lee raising his hand.

"This slap in the face... is a good one! Your appearance proves my theory wrong—it's not my face that is slapped, but the faces of those who blindly trust authority! I've always believed that there should be no authority in the field of supernatural research. But whenever I say such things, people always assume I'm being modest... Ah." Mr. Lee showed a slight bitter smile. "Mr. Pei sees it this way too. He told me this feeling is like walking a tightrope with everyone, where just one misstep lets everyone behind fall into the abyss. This feeling... I don't know if you can understand it..."

"Walking on thin ice." Sun Hang summarized.

"Exactly, walking on thin ice." Mr. Lee nodded in agreement. "If things continue like this, human research into supernatural entities will just be stuck... We'll never reclaim the lost lands, and can only watch as our living space gets squeezed bit by bit until it's completely destroyed."

"Professor, I'm curious about something." Sun Hang asked.

"Go ahead."

"Yang Qi told me supernatural entities have existed since the Pre-Qin era, but for thousands of years, why didn't they invade human territories, yet three hundred years ago, they launched a massive attack on humans? Why is that?" Sun Hang directly asked the question he had posed to Yang Qi not long ago.

"The answer to this question, I, just like you, really want to know." Mr. Lee smiled. "I can't give you an exact answer, but I can share with you some mainstream speculations in the academic world."

"Like?"

"Do you know about the environment's 'self-purification effect'?" Mr. Lee asked.

"I've heard of it." Sun Hang nodded.

The self-purification effect generally refers to the phenomenon where bodies of water or soil can self-cleanse using physical (sedimentation, dilution, adsorption, etc.), chemical (oxidation, reduction, etc.), or biological decomposition methods after being polluted.

Sun Hang feels he probably wasn't illiterate before losing his memory; he not only recognizes words but can recall much textbook knowledge from his school days, and remembers plenty of higher math formulas that most people forget soon after graduating college.

"Supernatural entities are likely nature's self-cleansing tools." Mr. Lee slowly said. "People in the agricultural era didn't cause severe damage to nature, but as technology advanced, everything changed... Looking back three hundred years, besides the 'appearance' of supernatural entities, what other major historical events can you think of?"

"Three hundred years..."

While Sun Hang was still pondering, Yang Qi had already provided an answer: "The First Industrial Revolution."

"That's right; shortly after the First Industrial Revolution, numerous supernatural entities emerged worldwide. At that time, humans could only use flintlock guns, steam tanks, and steam warships to confront these terrifying creatures... Many historical documents have recorded the brutality of that war, which I'm sure doesn't need further elaboration from me." Mr. Lee said. "Since then, humans have gone from being a part of nature to being 'pollutants' and 'harmful entities' that need to be cleared away."

"This theory sounds like something proposed by an extreme environmental organization." Sun Hang commented.

"The person who first proposed this theory was indeed an environmentalist." Mr. Lee nodded. "This theory, although lacking solid evidence, also has no obvious loopholes; logically, it holds together completely. Because of this, it's the view with the most supporters in the academic world."

"While it's called a self-purification mechanism, it actually resembles a biological immune mechanism... It's like how, once the immune cells of supernatural entities 'activate,' they won't stop until they've completely eradicated humans, who've been identified as 'viruses.'" Yang Qi added.

"So, professor, are you also a supporter of this theory?" Sun Hang asked.

"No, I never support any view without solid evidence; I only trust my own eyes." Mr. Lee shook his head. "But I also will not publicly oppose it... Topics that provoke discussion and intellectual collision are good topics; they benefit the development of the academic world more than they harm it."

"Other than the 'self-purification theory,' the one with the second most supporters is the 'territory theory.'" Yang Qi said. "The territory theory is mostly similar to the self-purification theory, suggesting early human development hadn't yet affected the 'habitats' of these supernatural entities... But I actually think this perspective is rather one-sided. It portrays supernatural entities as wild animals seeking revenge against humans, but in truth, anyone who's researched supernatural entities knows they're vastly different from wild animals."

"The 'territory theory' has more supporters among the public, but few within the academic community." Mr. Lee said. "I do have a student who has been searching for concrete evidence to support the 'territory theory.' If you're interested, you could contact him."

"Um... I'm actually not too interested." Sun Hang said, "I just want to know, what is your perspective, professor?"

"I told you from the beginning," Mr. Lee opened his hands candidly, "I don't know."

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