96: The disappeared person!

Shadow One didn't wait for them to answer, but continued, "Why are you destroying Panshi City's Guardian Great Array?"

Lin Ye looked up, his eyes a mix of confusion and wariness.

The several "Dawn" members beside him also exchanged glances, not understanding why the mysterious "Shadow One" was so interested in the Great Array.

"The Guardian Great Array is Shi Potian's crucial tool for controlling Panshi City."

Lin Ye's voice was hoarse as he explained, "It's not just the city's defensive barrier, but also his tool for suppressing the forces within the city. Weakening the Great Array will give our brothers in the city a chance to act, and it will also create conditions for our subsequent plans."

He paused, looking at Shadow One's eyes hidden in the shadows, and added, "Our goal is to overthrow Shi Potian's tyranny and liberate the residents of Panshi City. Destroying the Great Array is the first step in this plan."

Shadow One listened quietly, without interrupting.

His eyes seemed to penetrate everything, appearing exceptionally deep in the darkness.

"Overthrowing tyranny, liberating residents... but I don't see anything wrong with it." Shadow One repeated Lin Ye's words, a little confused.

As soon as he spoke, the already tense atmosphere in the adobe house instantly solidified.

"Darkness is always hidden beneath the surface. You're in the city, haven't you noticed how few children there are in Panshi City?"

A young man with a cloth strip wrapped around his arm, already soaked with blood, sneered.

A gaunt woman next to him, her eyes vacant as she stared at the ground, chimed in:

"Few? It's more than just few. Have you ever seen a normal city where you don't hear a newborn cry more than a few times in three years? The children you occasionally see on the streets, the oldest of them, look to be no more than ten years old. What about the older ones? The fifteen or sixteen-year-old teenagers? They're all gone, as if swallowed by something."

Her voice carried a bone-chilling coldness and despair.

"Is ten years old a boundary?" Shadow One said, "Or rather, an age node for some kind of screening mechanism."

He looked around at everyone; Lin Ye's fists were clenched, veins bulging on the back of his hands, clearly not at peace internally.

Shadow One asked again, "Could it be? No one knows."

"Don't know?" The young man with the blood-soaked cloth strip on his arm snorted, "Some people truly don't know, or rather, they don't want to know."

"In this city, neither fools nor smart people live long. Those children... are like livestock; when they reach a certain age, they are quietly taken away."

He paused, lowering his voice even further,

"No one knows where Shi Potian sends them. They only know that those children never come back. No one sees them alive, no one sees their bodies dead."

Lin Ye suddenly slammed his fist on the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

A young female member of "Dawn" began to sob softly, but quickly suppressed it, though her shoulders still trembled slightly.

"Panshi City's Guardian Great Array does more than just defend against external enemies."

Another "Dawn" member, a burly man with a burn scar on his face, took over the conversation.

"It can make people 'forget' many things. Over time, even if people in the city occasionally notice something amiss, that thought quickly vanishes. It's like... their minds have been wiped clean. Day after day, year after year, all they see is the 'peaceful and prosperous world' Shi Potian wants them to see."

"So, the people in the city are like pigs and sheep in a pen." Lin Ye's voice carried suppressed rage and deep sorrow, "The children are sacrifices, the adults are laborers, replaceable parts at any time, used to maintain this grand and beautiful tomb."

"Then how is the population maintained?" Shadow One's gaze shifted from Lin Ye to the endless darkness outside the window, as if contemplating the logic of this bloody cycle.

"The wilderness is vast; there are always people who can't survive."

The young man with the bloody cloth strip spoke with a hint of sarcasm, "Panshi City regularly sends people to 'lure' those refugees struggling to survive in the wilderness."

"To them, Panshi City is a giant city of legacy status. When one group disappears, another group of foolish moths, full of illusions about the future, will naturally rush towards this seemingly warm flame. This city operates by constantly devouring new lives. Shi Potian even gives some insignificant rewards to families willing to have children, encouraging them to have more, and then waits for the next batch of 'sacrifices' to grow up."

The atmosphere in the room grew heavier, almost suffocating.

Lin Ye suddenly looked up, a determined light flashing in his reddened eyes: "No matter where those children went, no matter what Shi Potian is up to, we must drag him down from that position. This city must change! Even if everyone else forgets, we will remember for them!"

Shadow One looked at Lin Ye: "What is your specific plan?"

Lin Ye met Shadow One's gaze, those eyes seeming to see through people's hearts.

He was silent for a moment, organizing his words: "My ability is a kind of intuition. It tells me that although your intentions are hard to fathom, and you might even be using us to achieve some goal of yours, you won't be our enemy. At least, before Shi Potian falls, our goals are aligned."

He continued, "The first thing we need to do is find a way to damage Panshi City's Guardian Great Array. As long as we can weaken the Great Array's power, Shi Potian's control will significantly decrease, and only then will our subsequent actions have a chance of success."

Shadow One asked, "How many of the Great Array's core nodes have you identified?"

Lin Ye sighed: "We... have only detected a few peripheral energy flow nodes so far. It's too difficult to find and destroy the core nodes. Shi Potian's protection of the Great Array is extremely tight; we've lost many of our people, but progress has been minimal."

"I've already surveyed the entire Panshi City. In the southeast corner of the city, in the third district, there's a smelting plant that has been abandoned for many years. The leyline energy reactions there are far more active and complex than in other places, not as simple as they appear on the surface."

Lin Ye and the others were all startled by these words, turning to look at Shadow One.

An abandoned smelting plant? They knew about that place, but had never connected it to the Guardian Great Array.

In their impression, it was nothing more than a dilapidated ruin.

"You mean..." Lin Ye's voice held a hint of anticipation.

Shadow One nodded slightly: "That place might be one of the key nodes you've been looking for. Even if it's not the core, it's very likely a weak point that can be exploited."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone, and added, "At least, I think it's worth investigating further."

Lin Ye pondered for a moment, then said solemnly, "Good! We'll arrange for people to investigate that smelting plant right away!"

"However," Lin Ye's tone shifted, and he looked at Shadow One again, "Since you can discover the anomaly of that smelting plant, I presume you have more than just this one discovery regarding Panshi City's array nodes, right?"

"Indeed, there are still some places that require your confirmation." With that, Shadow One took out a beast skin and unrolled it.

On it was a rough map of Panshi City, with several specific locations marked with special symbols.