In current times, maps of the areas that were under the control of an organization were rarely made available to the public. As such, most people did not really have a clear concept of the geography. Usually, people would just describe the location of the next stronghold with terms like in front, behind, to the left, to the right, up north, or down south. As for the exact distance and where they were precisely located, no one really knew.
Ren Xiaosu thought about how all those strongholds were actually a huge alliance, yet no one came up with a complete map of the lands. The organizations were all guarding against each other as though they were thieves. Of course, he felt that the various organizations would probably have more detailed maps but kept them secret.
This led to… Ren Xiaosu feeling embarrassed when he discovered he did not know where Stronghold 88 was even though he suggested going there.