Upon hearing this, Fang Zhou's expression grew more serious. If Zhang Wu's observations were accurate, then this was not merely a simple terrain change, but some force at work behind the scenes, leading to a widespread alteration of the landscape.
After a moment's thought, Zhang Wu disregarded the dirt and simply crouched down, sifting through the soil and even extending his fingers into the fine cracks.
"Captain, look," Zhang Wu said, pointing at a particularly noticeable fissure. "You can clearly see the difference between new and old here. The edges of the new cracks are very sharp, whereas the old ones have been weathered to be much smoother. This indicates that the desertification of this land might have occurred recently."
