The next day, the staff at the camp finally learned that Martin had deciphered the treasure map and found one of the caches hidden by Forrest Fenn.
Now, that treasure—worth around three million US dollars—was just casually displayed inside one of the tents at the camp for everyone to view.
Just a bit of pocket change.
Although Aron Ralston had said he was giving Martin the treasure map as a gift, Martin, being the generous man he was, still transferred him three million dollars and let him pick one item from the chest as a keepsake.
Aron Ralston declined a bit at first, but soon accepted Martin's generous offer and took a single gold coin—the most common item in the chest.
These were Spanish gold coins, supposedly dating back to 1588, from the era of King Philip II—certified antiques.
Of course, because they were relatively abundant, their value wasn't astronomical.
Besides the coins, the chest also contained a golden mask, a Chinese jade carving, and around twenty gem-encrusted golden crucifixes—probably excavated from the ruins of some church.
Martin counted them. Not only was there enough to give each of his "collectibles" one, but there were extras.
News of Martin discovering Forrest Fenn's treasure soon spread like wildfire.
Forrest Fenn, in an interview, said, "Thank God, someone finally found it. This proves I wasn't bluffing."
By that time, Martin was already back in Los Angeles, using footage and topographical references of the canyon to begin construction on a film set.
"Martin has purchased the film rights to Aron Ralston's memoir Between a Rock and a Hard Place. He's not only planning to star in the lead role himself—he'll also be directing. This will be Martin's directorial debut… and his first self-directed, self-acted film."
"It's finally happening. Martin Meyers is stepping into the world of directing! We've been waiting for this—actor, musician, dancer, novelist, fighter, entrepreneur… our super-genius is finally adding director to his ever-growing résumé. Let's see what he brings us this time…"
"Why did Martin choose to make his directorial debut a biopic? What's so special about Between a Rock and a Hard Place? Maybe we should take a look at the author's legendary story—Aron Ralston…"
"I'm sure everyone's excited about the movie—but let's be honest, people are even more fascinated by Martin finding Forrest Fenn's treasure. Recently, we interviewed a crew member who accompanied Martin to Blue John Canyon. He said…"
Between a Rock and a Hard Place was blowing up. Aron Ralston was blowing up. Forrest Fenn's treasure? Even bigger!
Over time, as no one had managed to find the treasure, many hunters had started to suspect the whole thing might've been a hoax—just a prank by Forrest Fenn.
The treasure-hunting craze had been cooling off.
But then Martin stirred the pot again, and the craze exploded anew. More and more hopefuls joined the ranks, dreaming of overnight riches.
...
Inside the studio, Martin stood surveying the finished "giant" Blue John Canyon set and turned to the set designer beside him.
"Is it sturdy enough? I'll need to hang off of it, you know?"
"Don't worry, we ran tests. This canyon wall model can support over four tons."
"Okay. What about the boulder that's supposed to pin me down? How heavy is it?"
"Super light. About fifteen grams. It's foam, coated with three layers of paint and dusted with rock powder—looks totally real."
"Hello, Martin!"
Just as Martin was talking with the set and prop designers, a voice called out.
He turned around to see a big-smiled beauty beaming at him—it was none other than Cameron Diaz, Drew's good friend.
"Hey, Popo, how've you been?"
"Alright. Just got back to being single again."
"You and Justin Timberlake broke up?" Martin looked surprised.
"Yep. That bastard was two-timing—he was seeing Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas behind my back. So I kicked him to the curb!"
Cameron Diaz didn't seem too bothered by the breakup.
She answered casually, then began checking out the studio set.
When she saw the scaled-down replica of Blue John Canyon, she let out a soft whistle. "Damn. Impressive."
"The real one's even more spectacular," Martin said with a grin.
"Really? Then I'll have to check it out sometime," said Cameron. "If I bring Drew along, you won't mind, right?"
Martin shrugged. "Of course not. Drew's been in full-on workaholic mode lately. I'd love for you to rescue her from drowning in projects. I may be her boss, but I don't want to see her drop dead on the job."
Martin was beginning to understand why Drew succeeded in the original timeline—and in Hollywood, of all places, where misogyny ran deep. The woman was simply relentless—
A model employee, truly!!!
"That'd be great. By the way, where's Gwyneth? She's not here yet?"
"She said she'd be here today. Should be any minute now," Martin said, glancing at his watch.
Cameron Diaz and Gwyneth Paltrow, Drew Barrymore's two close girlfriends, were set to make cameos in Martin's directorial debut, playing the two hiking girls. Cameron even had a love scene with Martin.
Gwyneth Paltrow had reportedly expressed discontent about this, but Drew and Cameron teamed up to shut her down.
In Drew's words: "I trust Cameron. But you, you little bitch, I'm worried you'll get too into it and turn fiction into reality! Plus, you're married, and you just had a baby last year!"
Just as they were chatting, Gwyneth Paltrow arrived.
Her looks weren't exactly stunning by Hollywood standards, but she had that classic Western beauty—timeless and elegant.
"Hello, Martin."
"Hello, bitch."
Gwyneth Paltrow greeted both Martin and Cameron Diaz.
Cameron flipped her the middle finger.
Then said to Martin, "This little bitch's still salty I took the love scene with you."
"Fuck off, that's not jealousy—it's just that I can act better!" Gwyneth fired back immediately.
Cameron nodded. "Yeah, sure~ You are better at love scenes. I'm sure Chris Martin would back that up." (Gwyneth's current husband)
"You jealous bitch!" Gwyneth snapped, then turned to Martin. "Let me do the scene. I swear I won't seduce you!"
Martin thought to himself: Aren't you seducing me right now?
Gwyneth Paltrow was famously known in Hollywood for "stamp collecting," and so was her husband Chris Martin in the music world—honestly, the two of them really were a perfect match!