The rest of the team members each had a Green Goblin Glider, and they would soon receive a message from Zheng Zha in Shanxi. If all the remaining components of the Buddha statue were gathered, this world would very likely continue to develop according to its original history. However, if the rest of the statue components were lost... this world might plunge into a great upheaval, and history itself might be rewritten from then on! Although Zheng Zha kept muttering about how much of a bastard Chu Xuan was, since this pair of glasses was meant for their sleeping comrades, it was likely an artifact to cure their dormant state. Thinking of this, all of Zheng Zha’s anger vanished, leaving only complaints about Chu Xuan’s excessive mystery.

“Zheng Zha, please! I have the elderly above and the young below, and I also have at home…” Jonathan pleaded incessantly from the airship basket for Zheng Zha to let him go. He truly didn't care about the floating Buddha head; he would have thanked the heavens to be rid of this trouble. The mausoleum was simply too bizarre, making even a greedy man like him want to retreat. He had desperately wanted to bolt when they were in the Shanghai suburbs, but who knew that after Zheng Zha and the others finished discussing, he was forcefully dragged into the sky? Now, even if he wanted to leave, it was impossible.

Zheng Zha replied irritably, “Please? Stop the begging. I know exactly who you have at home better than you do. Save those Chinese-style pleas for someone else. I ask you, where did you originally find this map?” “Isn't this what Chinese people love to hear when begging for mercy?” Jonathan muttered, “I’ve forgotten how this map appeared. It seems I bought it at an antique stall, or perhaps it just materialized after I arrived in China. In short, it’s very strange, and now even I’ve forgotten where this map came from.”

Zheng Zha felt a surge of surprise. Forgetting the origin of some item might not be strange for others, but for Jonathan to forget? That was truly bizarre. After all, this man’s defining characteristic was his inability to forget anything related to treasure, ancient tombs, money, or gold. Coincidentally, in the eyes of the people of this world, without the ancient inscriptions, this map was nothing more than an ordinary treasure map. Yet, this man had forgotten the map's origin? This was definitely odd.

(Could it be that those cultivators had planted a backdoor with the ‘Main God’? As soon as the Central Continent Team, or a similar yellow-skinned team, entered this world, the map would be delivered to them through various means? For instance, placing the map on someone they were very familiar with in this world. As long as they saw the map, they would have to go to that Floating Pavilion to complete the mission. After all, the Gods and Monsters world was special—it not only had many side quests but also housed the only resurrection item in the entire (Reincarnation) world. As long as that team continued to resurrect their members, there was a chance the map would fall into their hands…) Zheng Zha silently mulled over this possibility, and the more he thought, the more likely this hypothesis seemed. But then, how could the ancients have known about the Gods and Monsters world thousands of years ago, or even earlier? Could it be that the "Main God" itself possessed intelligence and consciousness? Could it autonomously generate so many worlds based on humanity's cultural development? (Regardless, this whole affair is suspicious. We can only wait for Chu Xuan and Qi Tengyi to translate those documents. What truly happened to humanity in the past? What secrets lie within that ancient civilization? What were the relationships between the Sages and the cultivators? And this ‘Main God’ space… what exactly is it?)

Throughout the journey, Zheng Zha had been continuously activating the third level of the Gene Lock. Besides contemplating these matters, the execution of this side quest was also on his mind. However, he wasn't Xiao Honglv or Chu Xuan; his simulated third-level Gene Lock carried his subjective bias, so he could only grasp a vague outline of what the future held… (If I’m not mistaken, Chu Xuan intends to use that thing… the same thing he used to deal with Haotian in The Lord of the Rings…) As Zheng Zha pondered, the flying group entered Shanxi territory…………… “Understood. The Buddha statue has been completely lost. Over five thousand troops are guarding the outside of the valley. Since we need to stay there for a week, we should avoid immediately attracting the army's attention and camp outside the valley first…” “I completely agree with this decision, because nothing exists in isolation; one thing always follows another. Until we retrieve all the remaining components of the Buddha statue, it is best that your situation remains unknown to the outside world…” Chu Xuan held a sliver of silver metal to his ear as he spoke, looking at the other team members: Zero Point, Wang Xia, Zhang Heng, Cheng Xiao, and Ming Yanwei. Apart from Ming Yanwei, the other four were among the main fighting forces of the Central Continent Team. It was up to the strength of these six people to recover all the statue components within seven days, a scope that might extend across all of China, or perhaps the entire world… Chu Xuan exchanged a few more words with Zheng Zha, then folded the silver metal piece and tucked it into his pocket. Only then did he address the others: “That’s the basic situation. All remaining parts of the Buddha statue are lost, and the local tomb has been completely sealed off by Yan Xishan’s forces. For a warlord like Yan Xishan, the floating Buddha parts could easily fall into one of three factions: the Kuomintang, the Japanese military forces, or the Communists. Of course, there is a fourth possibility: international powers outside these three factions, but that seems unlikely, as this is the most urgent period of World War II. Foreign powers are struggling just to protect themselves, so the chances of them snatching the Buddha parts in China are slim.”

Zero Point and the others exchanged glances. Zero Point asked first, “And then?” “To find the statue, we must first know which factions appeared there. Since our time is extremely tight—only seven days, actually closer to six and a half—we certainly cannot track down every faction present. Therefore, we must adopt a multi-pronged approach.”

Chu Xuan sighed. “First, Zero Point, you go to Chongqing. After arriving there, we will coordinate contact. I might require you to meet with Chiang Kai-shek. Naturally, given your identity, meeting him directly will be impossible. Therefore, I authorize you to use any means necessary to meet him: assassination, kidnapping, ambush, or even bombing—I won’t interfere. In short, when I need to speak with him, you must be by his side. Can you accomplish this?” Zero Point nodded without hesitation.

Chu Xuan also nodded, then turned to Cheng Xiao. “I need you to go to the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region. As a member of the Communist Party, you should know the location of the high-level leadership during this period. I also require you to do as Zero Point does. However, since you are a future ally, achieving the objective without resorting to violence is best. By the way, you can openly state your identity and our origins. If they don't believe you, here is a complete roster of all underground Party members from this era…” As Chu Xuan spoke, he pulled out a thick document from his spatial pouch and handed it directly to Cheng Xiao.

Cheng Xiao stupidly accepted the file, then stared at Chu Xuan’s spatial pouch. After a long pause, he said, “Doraemon, lend me your infinite bag. I know you have great stuff inside…” Chu Xuan ignored him and looked at Zhang Heng. “Zhang Heng, I have no specific location for you, but I need you to reach the Northeast by the end of today. Furthermore, you must carry two Green Goblin Gliders—one standard, one reinforced. I believe your physical conditioning is more than capable of handling the acceleration speed of the reinforced glider… Stay there, and follow my instructions when I give them. It’s possible I’ll ask you to rush to Chongqing or the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region on short notice, so be mentally prepared…” Zhang Heng nodded, then suddenly seemed to remember something and anxiously asked, “I can handle it, but what about her? Ming Yanwei can’t withstand that acceleration speed.”

Chu Xuan sneered. “That’s not my concern. You decided to let her stay; that is one of the costs… Be a man and bear the consequences. Since it was your choice—whether to revive her or leave her behind just now—it is up to you to figure out how to manage it.”

Zhang Heng froze, then managed a bitter laugh. It seemed Chu Xuan remembered everything clearly; there was no possibility of him forgetting anything… “Wang Xia, stay close to me; we’ll go to Shanghai together…” Chu Xuan finished speaking and reached for his spatial pouch to distribute the Green Goblin Gliders. Suddenly, he paused as if remembering something, then continued: “Oh yes, there is one thing I forgot to remind you all. I don't know exactly how many pieces the Buddha statue is divided into, but one thing I am certain of is that even if it’s broken into pieces, from the perspective of the side quest, it won't be shattered into tiny fragments. However, conversely, if the statue is broken after we acquire it—say, into countless small stones the size of a finger… then we will never be able to reassemble this key. Therefore, if you discover a component, exert all your effort to protect it… otherwise, our entire team will perish together.”