The younger one, with his limited age and experience, couldn't quite grasp what 007 meant. But the care and gentle caresses from his father felt like a gentle spring rain, nourishing his tender soul. "Ah-ah-ah..." the baby's round, endearing face bloomed with pure, innocent joy, softly rubbing against his father's chin. He, eager to return home, declined Red Chicken Brother's dinner invitation, called the Queen to book the fastest return flight to Songhai, and headed straight for the airport with his little quirky companion. On the way, in the taxi, he made a phone call to the Queen: "Queen, there's a task I'd like to assign to you over the coming days." The Queen smiled lightly, then lowered her voice, her tone suggestive: "What task? Are you planning for me to step in and cover for Guan Ya during her time in the quest?" Oh, Queen, your thoughts are quite daring—constantly thinking about your best friend's boyfriend. Hmph, don't think I'll be filling in for you on your personal scorecard. Zhang Yuanqing said firmly: "There's something serious—I don't want to play around with such jokes." Since he wasn't sure whether Guan Ya or the little green tea companion was with them, his response was quite formal and serious. After all, the Queen's tea skills weren't far behind the little green tea's. Zhang Yuan said seriously, "For the next week, you and Xie Lingxi will gather intelligence on my behalf. As soon as you find any cases potentially related to artifacts, send them to me immediately. During this time, I won't return to the Fu Family Village villa." The Queen exclaimed, "Has Fu Elder assigned you targets?" Although the Songhai branch has been fully mobilized, and for a long time to come, official teams across various regions will prioritize collecting artifacts and resolving incidents, their patrol unit has been waiting at the villa, never taking the initiative to act. Now, Yuan Shi has suddenly asked them to actively gather intelligence and compile reports—how has this changed? "This has nothing to do with Fu Qingyang," Zhang Yuan said, gazing out the window. "Then what exactly is happening?" "Because of poverty!" Zhang Yuan sighed and hung up the phone. Then he opened Fu Qingyang's profile and sent a message: "Boss, I'd like a summary of the total number of missing items, a list of recovered items, and the cases related to those items." He needed to know exactly how many items were scattered and how many had been found already. A few minutes later, Fu Qingyang sent him a link. Zhang Yuanqing clicked on the link and logged into the "Yuan Shi Tian Zun" account, but found his permissions insufficient to view the information. It hit him then—he was only a regular employee with the lowest level of access—so he switched to the "Guan Ya" account. ——The two had already exchanged official account credentials and phone unlock passwords. Zhang Yuanqing was now deleting messages frequently, especially the chat records with his female friends: Xiao Green Tea, Xiao Yuan, Queen, Zheng Sha Palace Master, and Anne, among others. Logging into Guan Ya's account and clicking the link, two tables appeared on the screen. #Summary of Lost Items# #Summary of Recovered Items# He opened the first spreadsheet and quickly scanned it. The total number of lost items this time was 95, with each item listed by name, profession, and function. However, among the first fifteen items, only the name and profession were recorded—functions were blank. Zhang Yuanqing noticed that his newly acquired little red hat was listed at position thirteen. For a premium item from the Saint Realm to be ranked only thirteenth, while the first twelve were all of master-level? If he could secure just one, he’d surely reach the pinnacle of his career within moments. He murmured in admiration and then turned his attention to the top three. These three entries were blank—only the sequence numbers were provided, with no names, professions, or functions. "Either these are premium items among the master-level, or they are rule-based items," he thought. "The president likely doesn’t wish to reveal the attributes of these three items to the official office." Zhang Yuanqing's eyes burned with passion. Fu Qingyang was absolutely right—it was both a disaster and an opportunity. If one could secure the top 15 items listed in the table, a once-ordinary practitioner could easily ascend to the rank of a top-tier master. Among the remaining 80 items ranked below 15, one-third were of Saint-level quality—exactly 27 items—so coveted that even the Saints themselves would be eager to claim them. Then he opened the "Summary of Recovered Items" table, which was otherwise identical to the previous one, listing the 95 scattered items. However, certain item numbers were marked in red and stamped with the label "Recovered." Of the top 15, eleven were marked red; only items numbered 1, 2, 3, and 9 remained unmarked. Among the subsequent 80 items, half of the Saint-level items and one-third of the Transcendent-level items had been recovered. In just a few days, cases triggered by these items across regions such as Songhai, Scattered Areas, and Jiangnan had accumulated to over twenty, resulting in casualties totaling more than five hundred. I suspect the Songhai Branch, the Hangzhou Branch, and the various standalone branches are under significant pressure. "The portable items scattered outside—13 of divine-tier, 36 of extraordinary-tier—and plus the four key pieces: No. 1, 2, 3, and 9—totals 53 items." In the taxi, Zhang Yuanqing leaned against the back of the seat, quietly reflecting: "The president is a void-based profession with treasure-hunting abilities. Among the top fifteen items, aside from the Little Red Cap, the others should have already been retrieved by him. His next focus will undoubtedly be those four exceptional pieces, especially the rule-based ones. He won’t have time to attend to the extraordinary and divine-tier items—this is my opportunity." "After the first wave of crises, the more assertive, restless items or their holders have already been eliminated. What remains will only grow more cautious and reserved." "Thinking of this, he also sent messages to Xiao Yuan and Kou Beiyue in Jinshan City, asking them to keep an eye on the city's recent security situation, and to immediately notify him if they noticed any disturbances involving the items. "The battle among the half-gods with scattered items all over the place?" Xiao Yuan replied in message. "Yes, those scattered items have already caused several serious incidents, injuring over a hundred people. I'd like to resolve this matter as soon as possible." Zhang Yuanqing was replying to the message from a position of moral authority. He simply couldn't face Xiao Yuan with the truth. "Got it! I'll keep an eye out for you." Xiao Yuan replied. Zhang Yuanqing sent back a [Love you] emoji. As for Kou Beiyue, her reply was: [I've been busy with work lately. Let's talk about it when I have time.] Her tone suggested she was a mature adult, constantly juggling responsibilities and striving to make ends meet. ... 8 p.m. at Changqiao Airport. Upon landing, just as Zhang Yuanqing had turned off the flight mode, he received a message from the Queen detailing several incidents—some confirmed, others suspected—triggered by specific props. Cases of arson, robbery, theft, and homicide—numerous, totaling over twenty. Due to unclear leads and interruptions, these cases have remained unsolved and are currently classified as open mysteries. However, three incidents particularly caught Zhang Yuanqing’s attention: According to the queen, these urban legends were recently compiled by Li Chunfeng using big data, limited to the Songhai city district. There are numerous similar tales in Songhai, with new ones being created almost every day; yet since Li Chunfeng has selected these three specifically, there must be a reason. Zhang Yuanqing believes in a scholar's professional integrity. "The Songhai University is right nearby—let's go take a look," he said, closing his phone and now having a clear destination.