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墨書 Inktalez
Fatty gave me a disdainful smile. He picked up a handful of small stones from the ground and began arranging them on the Chessboard Stone. My curiosity was piqued as I watched him, astonished.
Soon, Fatty ran out of stones, so I jumped down from the Chessboard Stone and gathered more stones from the ground to hand to him, watching as he continued to place them on the Chessboard Stone. Before long, Xiao Ting joined in the stone-gathering effort. Fatty arranged the stones quickly; if I had to describe it in one word, it would be "confident."
Clearly, Xiao Ting also recognized the pattern that Fatty was creating; she seemed quite familiar with it. I was even more familiar with it—I did this every day at home. Yes, what Fatty was arranging was exactly my sand table model. Could this guy really be smart enough to replicate such a complex Sand Table Model?
Finally, he stopped. One corner of the Sand Table Model was missing stones. This position was also vacant on my home model because that part had not yet been made. Yet, I was incredibly surprised; while not every model's position was perfectly accurate, the discrepancies were minor, and I could make adjustments easily.
Of course, the stones were merely placed according to the positions on the Sand Table Model. They couldn't compare to my meticulously crafted model at home. The similarity lay in the arrangement of the models.
“ Fatty, how did you do this? It's impressive.”
“Come on. Every time I'm at your place, I'm either staring at your face or this sand table. It would be hard not to remember.”
I ignored Fatty's sarcasm and filled in the empty corner with stones. Then I examined this miniature Sand Table Model and said to Fatty, “I have to admit your memory is quite impressive. But does that have anything to do with overall strategy? You’re not just trying to show off your memory skills, are you?”
Fatty pointed at the miniature Sand Table Model and then gestured towards the Valley. “Don’t you see any patterns or similarities?”
I looked at Fatty in disbelief and shook my head. Was there something wrong with my eyesight?
Actually, when Fatty was arranging the Sand Table Model, I realized he might be simulating the terrain within the Valley. However, as it gradually took on the shape of my home’s Sand Table Model, I stopped thinking about it.
It was clear that while the area of this Valley was large, the hills within it were scattered and could not possibly replicate my entire Sand Table Model. If each hill corresponded to a Yadan Landform Model, then there were probably only enough hills here for about ten percent of what was on my model.
Xiao Ting also began moving her gaze back and forth between the model and the Valley, clearly searching for connections between the two. I could already predict the outcome: she was wasting her efforts. When Fatty arranged the stones earlier, I had compared them and found no similarities at all.
"Stop playing tricks; these two are completely different, and in terms of quantity, they're not even on the same level. Just tell me what you've discovered; I admit your IQ is above zero, okay?"
Xiao Ting also stopped her repetitive eye movements, looking at Fatty with a confused expression. Clearly, she had no discoveries to share.
Fatty shot me a sideways glance. Without saying a word, his face took on an unusual seriousness. Then he bent down, sweeping the stones in front of him off the table like a fan. Without looking up, Fatty circled around the Chessboard Stone, continuously knocking the stones to the ground.
It wasn't until only a piece of the Sand Table Model remained in the center of the Chessboard Stone that Fatty lifted his head and said, "Now take another look."
I silently observed the Sand Table Model for a moment. This section of the sand table was located in the very center of the entire Yadan Landform Group's Sand Table Model, occupying only a small part of it. I could certainly remember it accurately in my mind. Then I turned my gaze toward the interior of the Valley.
After a moment, I noticed that Xiao Ting had once again stopped her comparative observation, and I turned back with equal confusion to look at Fatty. I did not see anything familiar.
"Stand where I'm standing; I set up the sand table facing the Valley. Qiangzi, your spatial awareness is really lacking."
I ignored Fatty and changed my position to continue observing. Immediately, several hills in front of me aligned with the Sand Table Model.
I was more than just shocked; although I had already concluded that there must be some connection between the cave beneath Hakka Village and Lop Nur's Underground Passage, being able to correlate the positions of these hills with those of Lop Nur's Yadan Landform Group was nothing short of miraculous. I couldn't imagine how this could be achieved by human effort.
I thought my expression must have looked terrible and devoid of any emotion; I even felt an urge to shut myself off from everything as a wave of immense fear washed over me.
The hills visible to my eyes continuously matched up with the Sand Table Model; the scattered hills within the Valley resembled a gigantic Sand Table Model. The only difference was that this Sand Table Model was enormous, with significant distances between models, yet they were all made to scale. If it were miniaturized, it would match perfectly with the sand table on the Chessboard Stone.
I jumped onto the Chessboard Stone and raised my Monocular Telescope. Yes, everywhere I looked, every hill corresponded to something in the Sand Table Model. My hands fell limply at my sides; I could barely hold onto the telescope as my mind went blank for a moment.
"How did you discover this? When did you realize it?" I turned my face toward Fatty, my voice trembling with complex emotions and shock.
"I noticed it before entering the Valley. From atop a mountain outside, I kept searching for you all with my telescope, especially during that heavy rain when I couldn't see anyone—only these mountains. At that time, I couldn't see everything clearly; I could only make a preliminary analysis that they were quite similar. Once we entered the Valley, especially after getting into Hakka Village and seeing more hills correspond to each other, I confirmed this fact. Do you think this is just coincidence? Is it naturally formed?"
I shook my head.
"Of course not," Fatty didn't expect my answer. "But I also don't think the Hakka People could do this. So what is going on?"
I thought to myself that this was truly miraculous. But I knew that would only invite Fatty's scorn.
The hills in the Valley weren't particularly tall, but relatively speaking, they were all over a hundred meters high, and their area was quite astonishing.
To create mountains, to build countless hills in specific orientations—this was an undertaking that would be monumental even in ancient times, let alone today. Like Fatty, I couldn't believe the Hakka People could accomplish this. Even if they had only the Ten Clans when they arrived here, not even the common folk or thousands of families could complete such a project.
So who did this? Was it really as the Hakka Clan Leader said, that this place was abandoned by some civilization? My mind felt hazy, tortured by this question.
At that moment, I heard a voice carried by the wind. Turning around, I saw Tang Yumo; she had climbed to the top of the hill and was walking toward us, with Jack following closely behind her.
I frowned slightly and kicked some pebbles off the Chessboard Stone with my foot.
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