The day after Peter Parker's interview, Xu Xiao also began gathering information from all over the world.
At Jonathan's manor, Xu Xiao couldn't help but speak after hearing the report:
Are you sure? You didn't find those people on the list?
Wiping away non-existent cold sweat, Jonathan reiterated his affirmative answer:
"Yes, Mr. Xu. I have mobilized all my resources to search, but I have not found any information related to Bruce Banner, Tony Stark, or anyone else."
"But the people you mentioned, such as Norman Osborn, Otto Gunther Octavius, William Baker, and Curtis Kurt Connors, have all been found."
"Oh, and there's also news about Steve Rogers, but it's from a long time ago. He disappeared during World War II, and the United States military has no information about him either."
After Jonathan finished speaking, seeing that Xu Xiao had no reaction, he could only stand quietly to the side, not daring to say another word.
Having spent time with Xu Xiao, he had figured out the man's temperament and knew that it was inappropriate for him to interrupt when Xu Xiao was thinking.
Xu Xiao took the compiled report and reviewed it, feeling a buzzing in his head.
'Indeed, these worlds, though seemingly sharing the same worldview, are actually vastly different.'
'The movies feature villains like Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, and even the Lizard who never appeared, but there's absolutely no mention of well-known characters Iron Man and the Hulk.'
'There's news about Captain America Steve too, but I don't know if it's the same person. It's really a headache.'
Xu Xiao flipped through the materials Jonathan had found; they had all been organized and printed out, forming a thick stack.
It features many villains from the Spider-Man World, but almost no heroes from other universes, except for a US soldier with the same name who also participated in the Super Soldier Program during World War II.
Steve Rogers
Unfortunately, there's absolutely no way to verify whether the other person is Captain America.
'The missing people are probably a matter of timelines, just like how my development in the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils World Ba Bu couldn't affect The Return of the Condor Heroes.'
Xu Xiao had his own guesses about this result, but he didn't doubt Jonathan's intelligence.
The old man's power was far greater than he had imagined; the reason he couldn't find him was naturally because such people didn't exist in this world.
However, Marvel's universe is inherently complex; comics, movies, TV series, and even novels are all part of it, and it also incorporates the concept of a multiverse.
'The world I live in must be a parallel universe that only follows the events of the 02 movie.'
'It seems that the cheat-like ability to travel through time is only fixed by the anchor points I've recorded; it can't connect two worlds that don't belong to the same world at all.'
Xu Xiao has gained a new understanding of the concept of a cheat code.
Before he arrived, he discovered that Spider-Man 1, 2, and 3 only formed one anchor point at the Heavens World-Crossing Gate, meaning that one anchor point corresponds to one world.
The previous Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils and Condor Heroes each had their own independent anchor points, thus dividing them into two worlds. Although they shared the same worldview, they were not the same world.
Unless it's two completely inherited movies, like Spider-Man 1, 2, and 3, other universes can't be connected.
This is neither good nor bad news.
The good thing is that the Spider-Man World doesn't necessarily have those powerful beings from the same worldview that he fears, like the Ancient One, Doctor Manhattan, Phoenix, or Odin.
These are people that Xu Xiao is completely unable to deal with at the moment; if he encounters them, he can only run.
The bad part is that his plan to steal power from other worlds from a film also failed.
Originally, Xu Xiao planned to take advantage of the plot's foresight to gain some benefits in advance, such as the seven Infinity Stones, the Ten Rings, the Extremis Virus, the Tablet of Life, and so on.
There are many great things in the Marvel Universe, and Xu Xiao could easily obtain many of them with a little planning, but now there's no way to do so.
"Forget it, I should focus on developing a suitable enhancement potion first. Now that I understand the rules of traveling between worlds, I'll have to go alone to obtain different things in the future."
Xu Xiao was not discouraged; he had plenty of time and wasn't in a hurry at all.
For him, every trip to a new world is a journey; achieving his predetermined goal is good enough, everything else is just incidental.
Life is never quite as perfect as we imagine.
Through these repeated tests, Xu Xiao gained a deeper understanding of his cheat ability, making it easier for him to make choices when traversing the heavens in the future.
Having figured this out, Xu Xiao spoke directly to Jonathan beside him:
"Get Dr. Thor to begin his research on the super spider as soon as possible, and find a way to bring those on my list under our control once we discover them."
"I don't care if you use money to coerce or bribe, or anything else. If you can't get it done, then come back to me."
"Remember, I want results."
Xu Xiao raised a finger at Jonathan.
"One hundred days! I'll only give you one hundred days!"
"We'll soon be able to obtain the special blood I told you about, and using it as a base, we can immediately begin the research and development of the enhancement drug."
"If you can't give me an answer within one hundred days, then you have no reason to live, understand?"
Xu Xiao's attitude was clear: without pressure, these guys would lack self-motivation.
Since they're not one of our own, we'll kill them if they don't meet our requirements. At worst, he can take the research data and find other people, or even people from other worlds, to collaborate with.
"I understand. I will definitely speed up the research and development process."
Jonathan made a solemn promise.
He had seen Xu Xiao make similar forceful demands before; he had also been harsh on his employees in the past.
But his previous punishment was dismissal; with Xu Xiao, it was a direct threat to his life, leaving him no room for carelessness.
"Don't worry, Jonathan, I won't treat you unfairly. This is just the beginning. If you do well, I'll give you more opportunities in the future."
"Not just longevity, but even immortality wouldn't be a problem."
"Understood, I will try my best." What could Jonathan say? It was still far from over, and he didn't have much trust in Xu Xiao yet.
According to Xu Xiao, the genes of the unfamiliar child were a perfect match for those of the super spider.
It can develop extremely powerful cyborgs with 100% accuracy, thereby saving Van der Will a lot of research time.
But Peter Parker's onboarding won't begin until tomorrow; we'll only know if Xu Xiao's words were true once we get his blood.
Only when Xu Xiao's prediction comes true will a pure businessman like Jonathan have any hope left.
" Peter Parker, hopefully your protagonist aura will still be working."
Having already experienced the protagonist's prowess, Xu Xiao placed all his hopes on him.
Just like in the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils era, expecting him to learn the Northern Darkness Divine Art on his own was definitely a pipe dream.
But if Duan Yu, the Duan Yu protagonist, learns it and then teaches it to him, it would be much simpler, faster, and safer.
This time was no different; Xu Xiao didn't have much of an idea about becoming Spider-Man.
His plan was to first leverage Peter's protagonist aura to develop Spider-Man, an inevitable existence, and then use him for further research and refinement.
Xu Xiao's ultimate goal was to develop a drug that could simply enhance the body without any side effects.
All he needed was immense power, not side effects; he was willing to accept even less effective results.