Sun Tribe ARG

Sun Tribe ARG
Completed on 2025-10-27
Type	Official
Creator	Red Candle Games
Discovered	2025-09-09
Completed	2025-10-27

List of Investigations > Sun Tribe ARG

The Sun Tribe ARG was run by Red Candle Games, and heavily referenced their game Nine Sols. In the ARG, players helped the mysterious "Yuuki" uncover the truth of an ancient civilization with unusually advanced technology: the "Sun Tribe."

Sun Tribe Exhibition

From October 12-27, 2024, Red Candle Games hosted an exhibition of historical artifacts at the Pier-2 Art Center in Taiwan.. These artifacts were purportedly from the Sun Tribe: a legendary civilization that possessed technologies and knowledge far beyond its time.

After the exhibition concluded, Red Candle Games posted security footage taken from the exhibition hall to X. In the footage, two masked individuals are visible: one person uses a hammer to break open a display case and steal a clay tablet, while the other person marks the display case with graffiti of a sea turtle. Additionally, the overlay of the footage is written in the Solarian language from Nine Sols.

Hours after the security footage was posted, an X account named @DiverYuuki07 replied to the security footage. Notably, this new account had a profile picture that matched the sea-turtle graffiti design. The reply linked to this website, titled "Truth Beneath Shadows: Unmasking the Fusang Conspiracy". In the #unidentified-signal channel of the Red Candle Games Discord server, the Old Chang bot made an official post, also linking to this website.

According to the website, Fusang was a secretive organization working to unlock the potential of the Sun Tribe's artifacts. Allegedly, Fusang silenced others that tried to investigate the Sun Tribe, including an archaeologist named Wu Haimin. Fusang also shares its name with a primordial entity from Nine Sols.

The final page of the Fusang Conspiracy site hosted an image that concealed two faintly-visible halftone designs:

• The same sea turtle design that had been stenciled on the display case
• The URL https://forms.gle/hJ4iybcnivgxYYSHA, which led to a Google form.

The Google form asked visitors to leave their name and email address.

Trailhead

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The trailhead for the ARG

On September 9, 2025, Red Candle Games posted a video entitled "The Dark Legacy of the Sun Tribe" to their YouTube channel. At the same time, the Shan-Hai-9000 bot made an official post in the #unidentified-signal channel of the Red Candle Games Discord server:

[S-HAI_9000 :: EXECUTION LOG 03379]

::OBJECTIVE: Covertly monitor and track Yuuki
::TARGET: "seaturtle_yuuki:turtle:"

The narrator of the video introduces themselves as Yuuki, and takes credit for the break-in at the Sun Tribe exhibition. In the video, Yuuki tells the story of Wu Haimin, an amateur archaeologist. Through unofficial channels, Wu Haimin acquired ancient bamboo scrolls, dating from around 200 BCE. Wu Haimin thought the scroll was written by Xu Fu, a prominent alchemist who lived during the Qin dynasty. At the emperor's orders, Xu Fu had sailed east in search of the secret to immortality, and had never returned. According to Yuuki, Wu Haimin became obsessed with the scrolls.

The key for the cipher hidden in Yuuki's video

One night, Wu Haimin awoke to find an old man beside his bed, who told him to journey to the "immortal island." After this hallucination, Wu Haimin realized that Xu Fu had been in search of the Sun Tribe, an unusually advanced civilization that existed around 8000 BCE. According to Wu Haimin, members of the Sun Tribe depicted one another with having 4 fingers on each hand. Wu Haimin formed a research team to continue investigating the Sun Tribe, and received a threatening call from the Fusang Foundation. After this, Wu Haimin became paranoid, and eventually disappeared. Furthermore, in every photo where Wu Haimin once appeared, his face had been scratched out.

Xu Fu's bamboo scrolls were recovered from Wu Haimin's house, and eventually landed in Yuuki's posession. In the video, Yuuki translates a portion of the scrolls, and they mention the "ancient capital" Penglai, which shares its name with the Solarian home planet from Nine Sols. Yuuki asked viewers to join him in searching for Penglai, and explained that there is a way to contact him hidden in the video.

Yuuki's video included a key that allowed the substitution of symbols with English letters. Throughout the video, these symbols appear near Yuuki. By excluding symbols where Yuuki is not holding up his hands, the following text can be translated with the substitution cipher:

DRAGONPALACE5

The number 5 had to be replaced with the number 4, since members of the Sun Tribe had 4 fingers on each hand, not 5. By combining this text with the Tumblr logo hidden at the end of Yuuki's video, players discovered the Tumblr user @dragonpalace4, which used the sea turtle design as its profile picture. After the blog was discovered, the Shan-Hai-9000 bot made another post in the Discord server:

[S-HAI_9000 :: EXECUTION LOG 03532] 

::OBJECTIVE: Monitor Yuuki’s posts and concurrently obtain signal-based location for periodic tracking

Tumblr Blog

Xu Fu's bamboo scrolls, recovered from Wu Haimin's house

Yuuki's first post on the Tumblr blog included a more complete translation of Xu Fu's bamboo scrolls. In the post, Yuuki asked for theories on where the location described in the scrolls might be. Based on the description of stone tombs in the translation, commenters suggested the location could be Gangwha Island. Yuuki travelled to South Korea to visit Gangwha island, and kept a log of his travels on the Tumblr blog. Each post was also recorded in the Discord server by the Shan-Hai-9000 bot, which was "tracking" Yuuki.

South Korea

The painting that had been passed down over generations by the hongeo vendor's family

First, Yuuki visited the Gangwha Dolmen Sites (the stone tombs mentioned in the scrolls) but found them to be a dead end. However, Yuuki was followed by a strange person who tried to speak with him in Korean before vanishing. Yuuki then tried to track down the "fermented dried fish" mentioned in Xu Fu's scrolls by visiting a fish market, where he identified the dish as hongeo before being kicked out of the market. Yuuki felt he was being followed again, and headed into a café. Yuuki fell asleep at the table, and when he awoke, he was holding a drawing of same the sea turtle he used as his profile picture.

While visiting a museum, Yuuki had his wallet and passport stolen by a pickpocket posing as a "private tour guide." Yuuki traced the thief to his address and met the thief's grandmother, who apologized profusely for her grandson's behaviour. After understanding that Yuuki was looking for hongeo, the thief's grandmother gave Yuuki a note to pass to the same fish vendor that had previously kicked Yuuki out of the fish market.

The hongeo vendor set up a meeting between Yuuki and the hongeo supplier. After a night of drinking with the hongeo supplier, Yuuki recovered a painting passed down by the supplier's ancestors, and recognized that the painting pointed to the next point of interest a shrine in Japan.

Japan

The notes recovered from the summit of Mount Takamikura

Four days later, Yuuki travelled to Japan to visit an unnamed shrine in the Kansai region of Japan. While investigating the shrine, Yuuki was again followed by the same man from South Korea. Yuuki confronted the man, who revealed that he disliked Fusang as well. Yuuki had another conversation with the man over Steam, where he introduced himself as Michael. Michael convinced Yuuki that their interests were aligned. That night, Yuuki made a post where he revealed that Wu Haimin was his father. Yuuki deleted the post shortly after posting it, but the post was recorded in the Discord server by the Shan-Hai-9000 bot.

Continuing his investigation of the shrine, Yuuki met the youngest child of a family that had kept the shrine for generations. The child, whom Yuuki calls "Shiro," introduced Yuuki to the rest of his family. Shiro's family allowed Yuuki to search through documents pertaining to the shrine's history, and Yuuki discovered that Fusang had driven Shiro's family away from the shrine. Yuuki also learned that Shiro's family had preserved the Solarian language, calling it "the gods' script." Shiro revealed to Yuuki that before she passed away, Shiro's grandma had buried a stack of papers under a tree (which she referred to as "Fusang"), near the summit of Mount Takamikura.

Yuuki attempted to climb Mount Takamikura, but got lost on the trail. At the same time, the Shan-Hai-9000 bot posted that it had lost track of Yuuki. Yuuki called emergency services, and the operator repeated the phrase "go down," then disconnected the call. Michael found Yuuki on the trail, and together the pair agreed to return to the base of the mountain. Michael suddenly started screaming at Yuuki, then Yuuki passed out. At this point, posts containing "下去" (or "go down") were added to the Tumblr page.

Yuuki was woken up by Shiro, who guided Yuuki to the summit of the mountain, then disappeared. Under a tree near the summit, Yuuki discovered the Solarian notes that had been left there by Shiro's grandmother. Yuuki returned to Shiro's house, but Shiro had no memory of finding Yuuki on the mountain trail. After translating the notes, Yuuki's next target was "Xianyu." This pointed back to Okinawa, Yuuki's birthplace.

Okinawa

After returning to Okinawa, Yuuki got a taxi. The driver revealed that they worked for Fusang, then asked Yuuki to come with him to their headquarters. After escaping from the cab driver, Yuuki seemed to forget about the encounter he had just had, posting about new pages that had suddenly appeared in his book. Yuuki deleted this post, but it was recorded by the Shan-Hai-9000 bot.

Yuuki then left one final post on the Tumblr blog, thanking the community for helping him reach this point. Another bot named "Old Chang" then began posting in the #unidentified-signal channel of the Discord server, asking the community to help him track down Yuuki by providing "computing power." Players provided this power by reacting to Old Chang's Discord messages.

Background Check

After receiving computing power, Old Chang posted the following information about Yuuki in the #unidentified-signal channel of the Discord server:

[Phase 1: Identity Baseline Verification]
Initiated from global registry and education databases to construct the core identity file of Yuuki Wu, ensuring accuracy for subsequent tracking.

Key Excerpts:
- Registry Record: Yuuki Wu (吳湧生)
- Date of Birth: 1985-07-18
- Place of Birth: Okinawa, Japan
- Family Information: Only child, no siblings.
- Father: Wu ▓▓▓-Min (Reported missing in ▓▓▓▓, formerly employed at ▓▓▓▓▓▓, later suspected of involvement in illicit black-market transactions and activities)
- Mother: ▓▓▓▓ Mion (Relocated to mainland Japan and remarried)
- Education Record: Attended Okinawa ▓▓▓ International School, later transferred to Prefectural High School. Excellent academic performance, outstanding athletic ability. Records indicate social withdrawal and emotional instability during elementary school, which improved after medical treatment.
- Special Note: During high school, Wu and two friends (Liu Jun Ming, Michael Tamaki) encountered ethnic discriminatory provocations during a weekend outing. The three engaged in a verbal dispute with local youths that escalated to group fighting. Resolved through school intervention and guardian mediation on both sides. No police report filed, no criminal record. School counseling records on file.

[Phase 2: Career & Medical Trajectory]
Building on the identity baseline, this phase extends to occupational and medical history to assess how major events shape behavioral patterns, providing the logic base for path tracking.

Key Excerpts:
- Occupation: Professional Soldier
- Unit: ▓▓▓▓▓▓ Foreign Legion
- Service Period: 2006-2020
 Mission Record I: ▓▓▓▓▓▓ Operation
- Date: Jan–Jul 2010
- Location: ▓▓▓ Forward Base
- Incident: During ▓▓▓▓▓ clearance mission, the squad was ambushed. With the squad leader KIA, Cpl. Wu assumed control, organized perimeter defense, and fixed enemy firing points while coordinate CAS, leading seven teammates out of contact.
- Decoration: ▓▓▓▓, Bronze Star device
Mission Record II: ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ Campaign
- Date: Feb 2013
- Location: ▓▓▓▓ Valley
- Incident: Participated in a combat jump; in close-quarters engagement, two hostile combatants were confirmed neutralized, enabling node clearance and relief-in-place.
- Decoration: ▓▓▓▓, Silver Star device
Mission Record III: ▓▓▓▓▓ Sector Ambush
- Date: Sep 2020
- Location: ▓▓▓ Border
- Incident: Following an IED strike, the convoy was pinned by interlocking MG fire; Sergent-chef Tamaki was KIA. Sergent-chef Wu, despite head trauma, disobeyed retreat orders to recover body.
- Decoration: ▓▓▓▓, Bronze Palm device

Medical History (Cross-Reference):
Medical Record — #RPT-024
- Diagnosis Date: 1992-▓▓-▓▓
- Symptoms: Memory gaps, emotional dysregulation
- Diagnosis: Suspected Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID); assessed as related to childhood experiences.
- Treatment: Stabilized after inpatient care; DID provisionally ruled out.
Medical Record — #RPT-049
- Diagnosis Date: 2020-▓▓-▓▓
- Incident Background: Ambushed in ▓▓ combat zone, severely wounded
- Injuries: Gunshot wounds to the head; right palm.
- Diagnosis: PTSD; DID confirmed - Determination: Unfit for duty, discharge recommended.
- Result: Immediate discharge with compensatory benefits.
Medical Record — #RPT-083
- Diagnosis Date: 2023-▓▓-▓▓
- Status: Worsening condition
- Assessment: Persistent instability of the primary personality state; the secondary personality exhibits schizophreniform features.
- Probable Triggers: Likely related to the death of a family member and exacerbated PTSD, producing significant psychological stress.
- Medical Conclusion: Immediate admission to a secure psychiatric unit; however, Mr.Wu declined treatment and subsequently went missing.

The Yonaguni Monument rock formation.

[Phase 3: Recent activity analysis]
Analyzing recent activities and transaction records, verified latest location via Okinawa entry/exit traveler databases.

Key Excerpts:
- Border-Control Query: Connected to the Okinawa air-traffic database; confirmed that Yuuki Wu purchased a one-way ticket (flight OKI-▓▓▓-▓▓▓, Okinawa → Yonaguni Island). No return segment on file.
- Financial Activity — Recent Purchases:
  - Outdoor outfitter: Headlamp, trekking knife, first-aid kit, dry bags
  - Pharmacy: Painkillers, antibiotics, motion sickness medication
  - Supermarket: Energy bars, bottled water, canned goods, waterproof rope, tarp
  - Online orders: Compressed rations, electrolyte powder
- Social Footprint: No social media activity detected except Tumblr posts

Based on the one-way ticket and purchases described in the Phase 3 results, players deduced that after signing off from Tumblr, Yuuki's destination was the Yonaguni Monument, an underwater rock formation.

[Phase 4: Advanced Positioning]
High-resolution satellite scan activated. Major surveillance networks accessed; biometric matching enabled to widen the footprint search.
- Coverage: All zones with probable Yuuki Wu activity
- Biometric Source: Military service records (2006–2020)
- Time Window: Past 168 hours Multi-layer scan… Initiated Candidate-trace tracking… Complete → 147 potential traces detected
Filters:
  Height; gait analysis → 23 candidates retained
  Facial recognition cross-match… No match → Initial result: Match failed
  Integrated additional surveillance feeds… Security bypassed
- New detections: 7 potential matches
- Match #7: Confidence 78.38% Key Frame Analysis… Complete
- Location: Main gate, “▓▓ Marine Science Research Center”
- Frame Description: Stretcher transport in progress
- Escort Personnel: 4 (2 medical, 2 suits)
- Subject Condition: Supine; IV line in place; face covered—identification not possible
- Other Characteristics: Confirmed match
Intercepted Messages Access to the facility’s emergency notification system… Granted
- Historical messages: “…medical support required… discovery site: Site-0…” “…confirm identity? Wu… unconscious…” “…prepare transfer to treatment facility…”
- Facility Background Check - Registered Name: ▓▓ Marine Science Research Center
- Parent Company: Fusang Group International (acquired in 2019)
- Public Operations: Marine ecology research; deep-sea exploration
- Anomaly Flags:
  - Ambulance bypassed nearest hospital
  - Satellite analysis reveals structural anomalies
Final Assessment:
- Target Yuuki Wu: Found
- Probable Location: 99.73% within Okinawa, inside a Fusang-affiliated research facility

After locating Yuuki, Old Chang was able to connect to a camera inside the Fusang research facility, and broadcasted the footage via YouTube. The footage showed Yuuki lying unconscious on a hospital bed, wearing the Draconis Anima, a fictitious VR headset from Nine Sols. Old Chang hacked into the Draconis Anima headset, and identified that in order to save Yuuki, the headset would need to be repaired with the help of the community.

Yuuki Mindscape

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A playthrough of the "yuukimindscape" beta branch of Nine Sols

In the #unidentified-signal channel of the Discord server, Old Chang posted a set of instructions for opting into a Nine Sols beta branch on Steam. By entering the code shanhaiarchive into Steam, players were able to access the "shanhaiarchive_yuukimindscape" beta branch. This branch turned Nine Sols into a completely different game: a first-person exploration game where players explored the interior of the Yonagumi Monument from Yuuki's perspective.

Yuuki, controlled by the player, begins the game next to his discarded diving equipment. Yuuki picks up a cassette tape, but the player has no way of listening to it. Yuuki explores the dark space with his flashlight, and navigates through a gauntlet of trapped rooms before eventually reaching a crystal. Yuuki takes the crystal, at which point his flashlight malfunctions.

After taking the crystal, Yuuki's flashlight must be turned on and off manually, and is much dimmer than before. Additionally, the flashlight's battery has a limited power supply. The player must then guide Yuuki back through the gauntlet of traps to return the crystal to a receptacle near the entryway. Upon doing so, the remaining power in the player's flashlight is "converted" into power to repair the VR headset, and a leaderboard is displayed showing the power contributions of all players.

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Fusang Research Center footage, shown after Yuuki's mindscape reached 100%

After players collectively contributed enough power, Yuuki woke up inside the research facility. In the security footage, an unnamed Fusang agent enters Yuuki's room and explains that he had been assigned to Yuuki to keep him safe. The agent reveals that Xu Fu, the original author of the bamboo scrolls, had followed a similar path to Yuuki: Xu Fu had discovered the Yonaguni Monument, survived the gauntlet of traps inside, and founded Fusang. The agent explains that Wu Haimin, Yuuki's father, had ties to a tomb raiding group. The agent also alludes to the death of Michael - the other Fusang agent that had been tailing Yuuki in South Korea and Japan. The agent says Yuuki is free to go, but encourages him to listen to the cassette tape that Yuuki recovered from the site.

Secret Ending

After Yuuki's recovery, the shanhaiarchive_yuukimindscape beta branch was updated to include a secret ending. In the secret ending, Yuuki discovers the Draconis Anima headset and puts it on. Yuuki experiences the memory of Shuanshuan, a character from Nine Sols.

Shuanshuan's memory was from a time when the Yonaguni Monument had not yet been submerged by the ocean. Shuanshuan begins the memory holding a spherical device - the Mystic Nymph - in his wrinkled hands. Shuanshuan, controlled by the player, walks into the Yonaguni Monument, reaching a large chamber. At the center of this chamber is a large device made of spinning, glowing concentric circles. Shuanshuan says the following:

Yi,
The sun's out today, so I came.
To give this back to you.
Over the years, so many things happened while I had it...
Ha, I don't even know where to start.
Anyway, we'll be seeing each other soon.
This time, it's my turn to tell you the story.
Thank you, Yi.
Thank you for always being there for me.

Shuanshuan places the Mystic Nymph at the center of the spinning circles. At this point, Shuanshuan's memory terminates, and Yuuki, still wearing the headset, stumbles into the same chamber. Yuuki reaches toward the Mystic Nymph before collapsing. At this point, the player is shown their converted power and the leaderboard.

If the player's Steam name is "Yuuki Wu," an audio file will play over the leaderboard screen:

Yuuki Wu?
I remember now.

Minecraft Server

On October 27, 2025, Yuuki made another post on the @dragonpalace4 Tumblr blog:

Long time no see. I’m not even sure how many of you are still checking this blog.
But I suppose every story that begins deserves an ending.
It’s been a few weeks since the Okinawa incident.
Too much happened—stuff I wouldn’t have believed myself.
My body feels different too… unnaturally calm.
I crawled out of “Penglai” alive and finally brushed the truth I’d been chasing.
And the enemy I always swore I knew… in the end, maybe they weren’t what I thought at all...
Was it all a wild goose chase? Or was the real treasure something else from the start? I don’t have that answer. Not yet.
It all feels absurd.
Either way, this treasure hunt ends here.
As for Xu Fu, the Fusang, and Wu Hai Ming—I’ve come to a few conclusions.
If you ever dig up what I found, keep it secret. Please.

The post included an image of the IP address for a Minecraft server: 51.79.226.76:25565 The Minecraft world can be downloaded here. The world file is compatible with Minecraft v1.21.7.

Treasure Tower

The "Treasure Tower" on Yuuki's Minecraft server.

The main point of interest in the Minecraft world seems to be the "Treasure Tower." The entrance to the Treasure Tower is located at (388, 115, 258). At the top of the Treasure Tower, there are copies of two books. The first book serves as an epilogue for Yuuki's trip to South Korea:

Yuuki, my dear,

How have you been lately? Are you eating well?
Thanks to you, the restaurant's been doing really well these days - I've been so busy I barely have time to rest!
About what happened with Myeong-ho last time, I still feel sorry about it. I really hope you can forgive him.
Speaking of my boy, he's finally starting to grow up.
He's pulled himself together now - found a full-time job at the museam[sic], and even comes to help me at the restaurant on his days off.
I'm so proud of him.
Oh, and when will you have time to visit Ganghwa again?
This time, let Myeong-ho drive you around and show you the island properly.
Dong-gu told me last time that you really liked hongeo, so next time I'll prepare an even bigger feast for you.
When you come, I'll make all my best dishes for you!

Yeong-ja

The second book is an epilogue for Yuuki's trip to Japan:

Uncle Yuuki,

Long time no see!
You looked really tired the last time you left - I hope you're feeling better now.
And thank you so much for all the chocolate you sent! It's my favorite, but Dad says I can't eat too much at once or my teeth will get cavities.
He promised that if I finish my homework every day, I can have one piece - so now I look forward to it every day!
I still miss Grandma a lot, but just like you said, I think she's still here with me. Thinking that way makes me feel happy again.
Please come visit us again sometime! Next time, let's go hiking to see Fusang together!

Shiro

Other Features

There are some more notable features in this Minecraft world:

• 
  At (30, 147, 97), there is a sign reading "Go Down Go Down Go Down" at the top of a cliff. Nearby, there is a treasure chest that drops the player off the cliff when opened. Some items are hidden underwater, at the bottom of the cliff.