Zheng Zha and the others traveled to a patch of woods on the far outskirts of the city. It was fortunate that it was the dead of night, and the Green Goblin Glider produced hardly any noise; they flew the entire way without seeing any further aerial interceptions. Moreover, Chu Xuan clearly knew the terrain of this area, suggesting he had scouted out an escape route completely beforehand.

Once everyone dismounted the Green Goblin Glider, Zheng Zha felt his entire body go slack, bordering on complete exhaustion. Thankfully, both his Neili and Blood Clan energy reserves had not been entirely depleted. Although he had drawn upon roughly forty percent of his remaining Neili and Blood Clan energy from the Mithril Charging Ring, these two sources were just enough to sustain him in his current depleted state.

On another note, Zhao Yingkong practically sprang from his embrace. Only then did the young girl coldly twist her body. For Zhao Yingkong, such an impulsive leap was exceedingly rare. Usually, she resembled Chu Xuan closely, displaying supreme indifference to everything around her. This rare emotional outburst suddenly revealed that she was, after all, just a girl of fifteen or sixteen.

Zheng Zha froze momentarily at Zhao Yingkong’s action but quickly dismissed it. He turned instead to face Chu Xuan, asking, "Stopping here? Will there be any issues?" Zheng Zha’s query extended beyond merely whether the Umbrella Corporation would dispatch pursuers; he was probing Chu Xuan’s next move. Having been tricked by Chu Xuan too many times before, he genuinely feared that the man harbored some astonishing scheme designed to loop him back in for greater personal gain.

Chu Xuan also descended from the Green Goblin Glider. He seemed unfazed by Zheng Zha’s words, casually replying, "We enter this forest. The current time is 11:20 PM. Three kilometers inside, there is a small stream where we will build a fire and rest. At five in the morning, we proceed. In about half an hour's travel, we reach an abandoned gold mining center, and we’ll use that to return to the city’s edge. Then, we wait until the twentieth day concludes before returning to that alleyway..."

Zheng Zha quickly considered the plan. It seemed to have no apparent flaws. It was then he noticed Zero Point was being carried on Ba Wang's back. A jolt of alarm went through him, and he rushed over to Ba Wang. Before he could speak, Cheng Xiao cut in, stating gravely, "Zero Point’s injuries are not life-threatening, but they are far from good. He has an issue with his cerebral blood vessels. Though it is only minor vessel rupture, which hasn't caused death or locked him in a vegetative state, the accumulating blood is beginning to press on his cerebral nerves. If left untreated, he will likely fall into a state of unconsciousness, leading to central nervous system damage after forty-eight hours..."

Zheng Zha quickly interrupted him. "I don't understand all this talk of nerves, brains, and vessels. I only ask you one thing: Is Zero Point in mortal danger? Can you cure him?"

Cheng Xiao pondered for a moment. "No mortal danger, and I can cure him... but I require a spacious, clean operating area. Those underground pits in the gold mine are absolutely out! It will take five hours, and I need one assistant... that is my absolute limit for speed."

Zheng Zha was then struck by the realization of the rest period Chu Xuan had allotted the team earlier, and the chosen location near a stream. Could it be that Chu Xuan selected this particular area precisely to save Zero Point?

"Save Zero Point? No. The reason for choosing this location is to evade satellite surveillance."

Chu Xuan denied it outright. "According to the film's plot, the Umbrella Corporation possesses a satellite reconnaissance system. Once we fled the base, we were certainly locked onto by a surveillance satellite. However, these satellites are not omnipotent; for instance, their effectiveness is greatly reduced in such dense forest cover. If we lose their lock as soon as we enter the woods, perhaps Umbrella bioweapons or bombardment from fighter jets will already be en route. Rogandao’s mech has only twenty percent of its ammunition left, and Zero Point is unconscious. Zhang Heng’s arrows are devastating, but he excels at sudden bursts of power; sustained combat will exhaust him. For the rest of us, even if you use the Green Goblin Glider, you cannot fight off more than ten fighter jets. Rather than us suffering heavy casualties from an attack, it is better to let the satellites continue tracking our supposed trajectory, thereby deterring Umbrella from engaging in nighttime warfare for fear of casualties—because... they don't know we are out of ammunition, nor do we have the Gauss Sniper Rifle anymore. The battle at the base destroyed dozens of their attack helicopters; our current combat power is enough to give them pause."

Zheng Zha stared blankly at Chu Xuan. He had momentarily thought Chu Xuan was developing a shred of humanity, beginning to care for his comrades. Though unspoken, it would have been a rare display of camaraderie. Who knew this man remained so utterly detached, so strictly profit-driven? He asked stupidly, "And then? What do we do until five o'clock?"

Chu Xuan sat by the nascent campfire. "The current fire, along with the lighting from Rogandao’s mech, already indicates our position. By dawn, large ground forces will begin to encircle us, with air support arriving as heavy fire. Therefore, we must depart at five sharp, head toward the gold mine, and sabotage our own trail as we advance until we slip from the underground mine into the city's sewer system. Only then will we be safe."

Zheng Zha nodded and fell silent. He retained considerable confidence in Chu Xuan’s judgment and planning—a faith built up over long periods. He asked no further questions, his gaze immediately drifting toward where Cheng Xiao and Zhao Yingkong were collaborating on an urgent operation. The surgical kit Cheng Xiao had acquired earlier proved invaluable, and his precise medical skill set was sufficient to carry out a craniotomy.

This was the first time everyone truly witnessed Cheng Xiao’s surgical technique. After a simple alcohol sterilization, Cheng Xiao immediately inserted his personal, inexpensive fine needles into Zero Point's various acupuncture points. Once a selection of points were addressed, he retrieved a small glass vial from his coat, containing small, vibrantly colored centipedes. These creatures made the onlookers' skin crawl, but Cheng Xiao reached in, plucked one out, crushed it between his fingers, and then smeared the resulting pulp onto the acupuncture points on Zero Point’s skull.

"Hemostasis, anesthetic... and also potent sterilization," Cheng Xiao murmured quietly, seemingly aware of the surprised stares. Then, he took a scalpel from the surgical kit and began shaving off Zero Point's hair. Now, Zero Point truly earned his name, completely bald on top...

By the time Cheng Xiao had opened Zero Point’s skull, Zhao Yingkong had also become deeply engaged. The reasons Cheng Xiao chose her as an assistant were twofold: perhaps he harbored some personal fixation on her youthful appearance, or more likely, as an assassin, she possessed the best anatomical knowledge among everyone present besides Cheng Xiao. As Cheng Xiao exposed the brain, she began skillfully using the equipment to suction the clotted blood from the surface of Zero Point’s brain. Her movements were so practiced that it was impossible to imagine this was her first time assisting in a craniotomy.

Time flowed inexorably onward. By the time the sky showed the faintest hint of light, Cheng Xiao’s surgery was flawlessly concluded. Although Zero Point remained unconscious due to the insect-derived anesthetic, judging by Cheng Xiao’s boastful pronouncements, the procedure had been remarkably successful. A major craniotomy, typically requiring a sterile operating room, two lead surgeons, and several assistants, would usually take a minimum of twelve hours. Yet, Cheng Xiao had completed it in under five. His medical artistry could indeed be described as exquisite.

"That being said... why does Zero Point look so ashen and pale? Are you absolutely sure that crab you fed him earlier was fine?" Zheng Zha asked worriedly while walking, casting a glance back at Zero Point, who looked disturbingly cyanotic and pale atop Ba Wang’s back.

Cheng Xiao quickly corrected him, "Relax, relax... But that wasn't a crab; it was a Five-Colored Spider, alright? It's a form of Gu poison designed to slow blood circulation. It can be purged using the full-body restoration feature back in the 'Main God' space, or if necessary, I can remove it myself. However, the major arteries inside Zero Point's head have sustained cracks. My equipment isn't designed for that kind of surgery, so this method—keeping him dormant until we return to the 'Main God' space—was the only option..."

Zheng Zha sighed, finally grasping the full extent of Zero Point’s affliction: it was the strain from his newly enhanced Point-Line Demonic Eye that caused the trouble. The power of the Point-Line Demonic Eye sounded terrifyingly potent, but apparently, its backlash was equally extreme. It was likely beyond the stress of his "Explosion" state, though perhaps not yet reaching the super-load threshold of the "Destruction" state. For Zero Point’s relatively frail body, this was simply too much to bear. Zheng Zha realized that upon returning to the 'Main God' space, Zero Point would need to rigorously test the maximum permissible usage count for the Point-Line Demonic Eye. Otherwise, if a similar incident occurred in the next horror movie world, the Central Continent team would lose a major fighting asset, and Zero Point’s very life could be...

"Regardless, Zero Point's life has been secured," Zheng Zha sighed, then turned back to Chu Xuan. "What about the other part? I didn't receive notification for Reward Points, but I did get the mission completion notice. Did anyone receive reward points for the side plot? And did we manage to steal the TBD original fluid?"

Chu Xuan nodded, then shook his head. "Yes, someone on our team did receive the reward points for the side plot... The current issue is that based on the TBD original fluid data, its value isn't just as a catalyst for unlocking the first stage of the gene lock; it appears it can also be used to manufacture 'Trackers'... the life forms we create could potentially be converted into 'Trackers'..."