The groups received their respective responsibilities after the assignment. Zheng grumbled at Xuan, especially with concern to the glasses, would they cause any harm to YinKong or him. Though he set the grumbling away and head off on the Sky Sticks. He piloted one and TengYi piloted another with baskets hanging beneath carrying the three movie characters and the sleeping members off to Shanxi, where the tomb was located.
The rest of the team were given a Sky Stick to each member. Before long, they received a message from Shanxi. Zheng said this world would progress according to history if they could gather the Buddha in whole. Otherwise, a storm would overtake the world and alter history.
Despite Zheng’s grumbling at Xuan, he was not mad knowing the glasses were an item that could potentially aid the sleeping members. He still complained about Xuan’s secrecy though.
“Zheng! I have a grandma to take care of and an infant…” Jonathan begged in the basket for Zheng to release him. The flying Buddha head wasn’t valuable enough to risk his life. He would be grateful to pass this trouble to someone else. The mystery surrounding the tomb drove even such greedy person away. Jonathan intended to leave back in Shanghai. He never expected Zheng to bring him along and it was too late now.
Zheng said, “Please. I know who’s in your family more than you do. Stop begging using the Chinese way. Where did you find this map?”
“Isn’t this what Chinese people like to hear?” Jonathan mumbled. “I forgot how the map came about. Think it was from an antique stall or it somehow came to me after I arrived in China. Strange that I can’t even remember where it is from.”
Zheng also felt strange. Other people might forget an item’s origin but not Jonathan. He would never forget anything related to treasures, money, gold. This was a treasure map after all to the eyes of the inhabitants of this world since they could not see the message.
(Is this part of the backdoor? That the map will end up in team China or a yellow skinned person this way? Once the map is in a movie character close to the targets, they will naturally see it and become forced to enter the Sky Tower. The Mummy’s world is special after all. It has lots of bonus missions and the only revival tool in this realm. Which means there’s a high chance of the map coming to the players hands.)
These thoughts ran through Zheng’s mind. He felt the speculation was close to the truth. However, how did ancient people predict what happened in The Mummy’s world? Including human history, World War I, World War II, the distribution of countries, the languages, the cultures. It was impossible to know such future thousands of years prior. Could it be that… God had intelligence and a mind? Was it the one who created all the worlds in this realm using human culture?
(The truth of ancient humans and the secrets of their civilization will have to wait until Xuan and TengYi decipher the documents. What was the relationship between Saints and Cultivators? What is God’s realm?)
Zheng remained in the third stage for nearly the entire flight. He pondered on the mysteries and the bonus mission. However, he was neither HongLu nor Xuan so his thoughts carried his subjectivity. He was only able to see a blurry image of the future.
(If I guessed it right, Xuan’s planning to use that thing… The thing he used on HaoTian in the Lord of the Rings.)
The Sky Sticks flew into Shanxi’s boundary.
“… Understood. The Buddha is gone. An army of five thousand guards the entrance. I agree with the decision to not draw the army’s attention since you have to stay there for a week. Keep yourselves hidden until we obtain all the parts of the Buddha.” Xuan placed a silver plate next to his ear. He said while looking at the rest of his group.
Zero, WangXia, Heng, and ChengXiao were major combat forces of the team. Their group of six had to gather all of the Buddha’s pieces in seven days, from over the whole China or perhaps the whole world.
Xuan folded the silver plate then put it into his shirt pocket. He turned to the group again. “The basic situation is all pieces of the Buddha are gone. Yan Xishan’s army blockaded the tomb. The Buddha pieces are likely to be in the hands of three powers, the Communist Party, the Japanese army, and the Kuomintang. They might also be in foreign forces but the possibility is low. This is during the height of World War II so it’s not likely for them to come to China and seize the Buddha.”
Zero asked, “What now?”
“Find the Buddha. We must know how many powers entered the tomb. Our time is short, six and a half days, so we won’t have the time to investigate all the powers that appeared.” Xuan exhaled. “Zero, go to Chongqing. I might have you meet Chiang Kai-shek. Which you probably won’t be allowed to given your identity. So I authorize you to use any means to meet him, killing, kidnapping, bombing, I don’t care. When I need to speak to him, you have to be next to him. Can you do it?”
Zero nodded.
Xuan then turned to ChengXiao. “I need you to go to the intersection of Shanxi, Chahar, and Hebei. As a member of the Communist Party, you should know where the officials are located during this time. Do the same as Zero. Though you can try to not use brute force since they are our potential allies. You are allowed to reveal your identity and our origin. If they don’t believe you… Here’s a list of all the Communist Party members.” He took out a thick stack of papers from the dimensional bag and handed them to ChengXiao.
ChengXiao stared at Xuan’s bag and said, “Doraemon, give me your 4D pocket. I know you have more items inside.”
Xuan ignored him and said to Heng, “I have no specific location for you. I need you to arrive at Dongbei by tonight. Take two Sky Sticks, one normal and one enhanced. You probably have the physical stats to handle the burst speed from the enhanced. Wait for my order there. I might need you to rush to Chongqing or the intersection of Shanxi, Chahar, and Hebei. Be prepared.”
Heng nodded then thought of something and quickly asked, “I can bear the pressure but what about YanWei? She can’t stand the burst speed.”
Xuan gave him a cold laugh. “That isn’t my issue. You are the one who decided for her to stay. This is one of the cost. Bear the consequences like a man. It’s your decision to revive her and have her stay. So you have to figure it out yourself.”
Heng smiled bitterly. Xuan never forgot anything. It wasn’t a possibility of him forgetting in the first place.
“WangXiao follow me to Shanghai.”
Before handing out the Sky Sticks, Xuan paused for a second as though he just remembered something. “I forgot to tell you I do not know how many pieces the Buddha is split into. Looking from the bonus mission, the pieces shouldn’t be tiny. However, if they are shattered into tiny pieces after we obtain them, we can’t gather the key in whole again. If you find the pieces, do your best to protect them. Or else we will die together.”
