Don't go to the moon, there are gods on the far side of the moon.

"The shattered heart of Buzhou Mountain?"

Xu Wangshu almost immediately zoomed in on the fire platform diagram.

The image was blurry, but it was enough to make out the black core in the center of the fire platform. Unlike ordinary rocks, it did not have the same texture as the heart chamber of Buzhou Mountain, except that the cross-section had been burned, and the edges showed a vitrified dark red.

Lin Jibai's echo was very slow.

I've seen similar patterns in the heart chamber.

But the heart compartment is missing.

Xu Wangshu's heart sank.

"In other words, the missing part of the heart chamber of Buzhou Mountain is located on Zhurong Terrace."

Wen Zhaolin's expression immediately turned ugly.

"That explains it."

Lu Chengong had just recovered from the nine days of counter-control, and his voice was still hoarse.

"Explain what?"

Wen Zhaolin looked at the fire platform diagram.

Why does the complete restoration of Buzhou Mountain trigger multiple systems?

"It didn't break on its own."

"Its heart fragments were allocated to other insurance systems."

Xu Wangshu continued: "Zhurongtai took away the fire-elemental shattered heart, Gonggong retained the disconnection authority, the South Heavenly Gate controlled the entrance, and the North Heavenly Gate was responsible for the alarm."

Lin Xiaoman said softly, "So they used to be a complete set?"

No one answered immediately.

But the answer is obvious.

In ancient times, there was not only one Buzhou Mountain, nor only one Heavenly Court Gate.

It was a mythical engineering feat so massive that modern people could not even imagine it. Later, Mount Buzhou broke apart, and its various parts scattered into myths: Gonggong broke the pillar, Zhurong guarded the fire, Houyi shot down the sun, Chang'e guarded the treasury, and Nuwa mended the sky.

They were told as stories by later generations.

But beneath the story lies the wreckage of the construction project.

Qin Lan asked in a deep voice, "What will this heartbreak lead to?"

Xu Wangshu quickly deduced the results.

"If the North Heavenly Gate obtains the shattered heart from the Zhurong Platform, it may be able to rebuild part of the Buzhou Mountain main system."

"If Tianheng gets hold of it, it will try to use it as a deterrent."

"If the Zhurong Altar activates on its own..."

She stopped.

"What will happen?" Qin Lan asked.

"I don't know," Xu Wangshu said, "because we don't yet know the complete rules of the Zhurong Terrace."

Lin Jibai's echo suddenly flickered.

A broken heart cannot be taken away alone.

Why?

The heart chamber isn't missing parts.

He paused.

It's the brakes.

The entire technical bay fell silent after those words were spoken.

Braking.

If the Zhurong Terrace preserves brake fragments from the heart chamber of Buzhou Mountain, then its significance would be entirely different.

It is not a component that makes Buzhou Mountain stronger.

It is a brake to prevent Buzhou Mountain from being completely taken over.

This also explains why the tinder would refuse to be forced to ignite.

Brakes cannot be commanded to accelerate.

Lu Chengong cursed under his breath, "Just how much stuff did those old systems dismantle?"

Xu Wangshu stared at the fire platform diagram and suddenly thought of an even worse possibility.

"The fact that the North Heavenly Gate is turning towards Mars doesn't necessarily mean it wants to obtain fire."

Qin Lan: "So what does it want to take?"

"It wants to use the brakes."

If the North Heavenly Gate takes away the broken heart of Buzhou Mountain, it will lack a countermeasure mechanism when it examines the South Heavenly Gate, the Moon's far-side lighthouse, or the heart chamber of Buzhou Mountain in the future.

At that time, it might be able to forcibly restore the old succession system, or even redefine Lin Jibai.

Lin Xiaoman understood.

"Therefore, it cannot be allowed to get close to Mars."

Xu Wangshu nodded.

"At the very least, it must not come into contact with the Zhurong Altar."

However, humanity currently lacks the capability to immediately travel to Mars.

They had just escaped from the far side of the moon, and the return capsule was almost falling apart. Lin Jibai had no physical form, Lin Xiaoman was weak, Lu Chenggong was seriously injured, Wen Zhaolin was on trial, and Tianheng was still in internal strife.

Meanwhile, the Beitianmen patrol shadow has completed the initial positioning of Mars in near-Earth orbit.

This is the enemy's advantage.

It requires no launch window preparation, no approvals, and no fuel budget.

It just sees it, then turns away.

Qin Lan quickly asked the most practical question.

"Can we stop it?"

The technical team's answer was quite unpleasant.

Existing ground-based interference can only affect near-Earth orbit and cannot prevent the rover from sending deep-space markers toward Mars.

Hou Yi's sequence can be locked, but Lu Chen's bow is currently in insufficient condition.

The moon-side lighthouse can interfere with old lines, but Lin Jibai had just finished his fieldwork and his identity anchor was severely worn.

Looking at this string of restrictions, Xu Wangshu felt a true sense of powerlessness for the first time.

Just then, Lin Xiaoman suddenly spoke.

"Can we let Mars hide itself?"

Xu Wangshu looked up.

"What do you mean?"

Lin Xiaoman pointed to the fire platform diagram.

"Since the spark can refuse to be forcibly ignited, could it also refuse to be found?"

There was a two-second silence inside the cabin.

Xu Wangshu's eyes gradually brightened.

"You mean, remind Zhu Rongtai?"

"Yes," Lin Xiaoman said, "It's not about ordering it around, not about making it obey us. It's just about telling it that the brakes need to be applied at Beitianmen."

This aligns with their consistent logic.

We do not control, do not own, and do not represent.

Submit only evidence.

Xu Wangshu immediately established an independent Mars channel.

Send a very brief message.

[The North Heavenly Gate is currently locating the Zhurong Platform.]

[The target is suspected to be the Broken Heart of Buzhou Mountain.]

If you have a refusal mechanism, please avoid this situation.

After it was sent, everyone stared at the red dot on Mars.

one second.

two seconds.

ten seconds.

no respond.

Lu Chengong whispered, "It's not asleep, is it?"

The next second, the red dot on Mars suddenly went out.

It wasn't an attack.

It destroyed itself.

Zhurongtai disappeared from all observation data.

Only a single, ember-like response remained on the screen.

[Fire Does Not Return to the Hunter.]

Xu Wangshu slowly exhaled.

But the North Heavenly Gate patrol shadow also turned to Earth at the same time.

It lost its Mars target.

So, they turned their attention back to the human world.