Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 101 The Scholar's Fault-Finding (6K words including bonus chapter)
Su Ming sat up and found that the numbness had indeed disappeared, but he still couldn't use magic. Looking around, he noticed that his senses were noticeably dulled. He got out of bed and took a few steps, but his strength had been greatly reduced.

There were dominoes on the bedside table. Su Ming picked them up and saw a message from Zi Jin on them, which briefly described what happened last night.

After treating Siwo and Beanche, I called for reinforcements and logistics, and informed the Federation of the battle situation.

They had already learned from other sources that the enemy was Yeshia. Our victory caused an uproar.

[Too many communications, I've shut down the communication array. Don't turn it back on; receiving too much useless chatter wastes magic crystals.]

Grandpa Siwo's injuries are quite serious, but his life is not in danger. I've arranged for a support ship to take him to the Central Pacific Islands for better treatment and recuperation.

Beanchee departed aboard a dwarf ship.

So it's just him and Zijin left again? Su Xiang thought to himself, taking the dominoes and walking out of the cabin.

The white skeletal ship moved peacefully, slowly in the sea breeze. The azure sea rippled gently, and a skeletal whale swam quietly beside the white triangle, only its back visible above the water.

In the cockpit, two skeletons stood silent on guard. Su Ming checked the equipment; everything was working normally—of course, the power system was still malfunctioning, but given his magic-suppressed state, he couldn't repair it for the time being.

Su Ming checked the nautical log and the gyroscope's tracking data; everything was normal. Zi Jin chose to sail away from the central ocean area and away from the central shipping lane where ships congregated.

"Galio, what time did Chestnut Owl go to bed last night?" Su Ming asked Black Skull.

They usually communicate with the dead through thought, but now that Su Ming's magic is sealed, he can only speak.

"Master, Master went to rest at two o'clock in the morning."

"My language skills still need some work," Su thought to herself, as she continued reading the last two lines of messages on the dominoes.

The bone whale didn't find Yesia; what a pity, she had so many good things on her.

Other matters are minor and will not be discussed here. If you wake up in the morning before I do, please wake me.

Su Ming arrived at the bedroom area below the driver's seat. The scholar's room door was unlocked; Su Ming knocked gently and pushed it open.

Zijin wasn't a very good sleeper; the blanket was haphazardly draped over her, but this time she was dressed neatly in her pajamas. Su Ming approached and saw the girl's exhausted face; her already radiant skin appeared even paler, with faint blue veins visible. Cookie crumbs were scattered on the floor, and a few unfinished cookies lay on the bedside table.

Next to it was an exquisite lunchbox, engraved with intricate patterns, and the food inside had been eaten.

Su Ming sighed softly, knowing he couldn't bear to wake her, and turned to leave.

****
Zi Jin slept until 11 o'clock before waking up. She immediately messaged Su Ming and only felt relieved after confirming that everything was normal. After tidying up briefly, she went to the workroom, which was filled with a comforting aroma of food.

"Is there something you need that made me wake you up so early?" Su Ming asked.

"The White Triangle isn't going very fast right now; we're just worried about encountering another accident," Violet replied.

"I've been keeping an eye on my surroundings, and there's nothing unusual," Su Ming said.

He put down the talisman book and blueprints in his hand, got up and went to the stove. He ladled a bowl of porridge from the electric slow cooker and served it on the table along with the stir-fried pork liver. Then he turned on the induction cooker, took out a frying pan, and started frying eggs.

Zijin was very hungry. She picked up a spoon and ate the porridge. "Mmm, it tastes so delicious! What is this?" She used the spoon to lift the porridge and looked at it closely. She found that there were many ingredients diced into small pieces in it.

"The meat of the conch, some dried squid, lotus seeds, peanuts, and stuff like that," Su Ming replied. "How many fried eggs do you want?"

“Two, thank you,” Violet replied.

After finishing her meal, the girl put down her bowl and paused for a moment. "Is there any more porridge?" she asked Su Ming.

"Don't eat too much at once," Su Ming advised. "If you're hungry, I can cook you several more meals."

Zijin had no choice but to give up.

“I saw a pigeon in the cage,” Su Ming asked. “Did Stanton leave it behind?”

The scholar looked slightly surprised. "How do you know it was him?"

“That lunchbox,” Su Ming explained. The lunchbox he saw in the scholar’s ​​room that morning wasn’t from the ship. “He’s the only one in a place like this who would bring you food.”

“Stanton infiltrated the Little Coat a few days ago,” the scholar said. “He came to warn us of unusual activity on the Dragon’s side and to remind us to be careful.”

Su Ming rubbed his chin. As far as he knew, the open ocean was a forbidden zone for dragons. No matter how powerful they were, dragons couldn't fly continuously; when they got tired, they had to swim in the sea to rest, and the skill of catching fish was a matter of life and death.

Crossing the ocean can take anywhere from ten days to a month. It wouldn't be surprising if a weaker dragon, due to improper stamina management, drowned.

"Do you have any specific intelligence?" Su Ming asked, unable to figure out why the dragon would come here to cause trouble.

“Stanton is still investigating. The dragon has reached a cooperation agreement with the Cardinal Council of the Temple of Light,” Violet replied. “Judging from the details of the movement of related supplies, it will be a month or two from now. We have agreed on a secretive way of communication, and he will notify you if there are any developments.”

Having an inside man certainly makes things much easier.

"What's your connection with Stanton?" Su Ming asked.

"Are you worried about his reliability?" The scholar clearly understood what Su Ming really wanted to ask. "Stanton is a Teya, and I taught him his divine language abilities. On this point about targeting the high-ranking members of the Church of Light, we share the same interests."

Su Ming nodded, then realized, "The Taiya people?"

"According to biological research on the origins of the other world, the dominant human race in the Teya plane is suspected to have been introduced from outside five thousand years ago. However, there are also intelligent human races in the other world itself, and to distinguish them, this group is called the Teya people."

“They look pretty much the same.” Su Ming recalled Stanton’s appearance—an ordinary middle-aged man with a nose, two eyes, and thinning hair.

"The differences are actually quite significant," the scholar pointed out. "For example, they are oviparous and do not have a navel; they only have four toes, one of which points backward."

"It's really easy to spot the features," Su Ming remarked.

“They’re much more closely related to pigeons than to us,” Violet continued. “So usually, we’re treated as two completely different species.” She suddenly remembered something. “Just a heads-up, if you’re interested in reproduction, you can have orcs, but forget about the Teya. Their cloaca…”

"Please don't let my dead biological knowledge attack me," Su Ming interrupted.

During this period, he studied the camouflage patterns of the little troublemaker and made good progress. His mind was already filled with a large number of model parameters.

So no more!

"and then?"

“I beat him up and chased him away,” Violet replied. “We still have to maintain appearances.”

Su Ming was certain that this beating was not just a superficial act.

He returned to the long table, rearranged the books, and turned on his laptop.

"What are you doing?"

“Design plan,” Su Ming replied, “It requires strengthening the easily damaged parts of the power system and adding shock-absorbing structures to the engine room.”

Real-world experience is the best way to expose problems. Identifying problems, developing solutions, and executing them—Su Ming increasingly felt his "corporate slave" traits had been fully activated. Was this really a transmigration to another world?

“I can add earth-based cushioning spells to the base.” Violet leaned over to study it together. “I also have some ideas for shock absorption in the flywheel system.”

Su Ming opened the document and added the scholar's proposal to the to-do list.

Zijin glanced at the list on the screen. "Wow, I've accumulated quite a lot."

In addition to the ever-increasing number of trivial matters, the highest priority installation of the MK71 artillery has been broken down into many sub-tasks, with the overall progress at only 15%. Manpower has become a bottleneck for the White Triangle, and the problem will become more and more serious as more equipment is added.

Zijin suddenly said, "Speaking of which, that Bei Anqi is quite nice."

Su Ming continued typing, "What?"

“Last night she took the initiative to help me cover up my injury, and even omitted many of our secrets in her report to the Federation,” Violet replied. “She’s a sensible girl.”

Su Ming nodded. "Did you ask her about the shells?"

“She said production had been arranged a long time ago, and the process went smoothly. Delivery will be available in about ten days, with the first batch of about 200 units,” Violet replied. “By the way, we got a free order, and Beianchi, on behalf of the Dwarf Merchant Guild, promised to owe us a favor.”

Su Ming was puzzled. "Bei Anqi, did you really need to go to this extent? I just went to the cabin to rescue her. Fighting Yeshia was just a cooperative operation."

Violet didn't understand either, and tilted her head.

The two continued with their respective tasks, while the titled scholar reviewed the previous night's battle, examining the shortcomings of his own combat system.

"When did you learn 'Elemental Fading' and 'Resurrection of the Dead'?" Violet asked Su Ming. "These spells are quite obscure."

'Elemental Fading' is a dark-elemental dispelling spell that can destroy magical effects on a target. 'Resurrection' can temporarily restore the deceased's memories and activity.

“In our world’s games, there’s a saying: ‘Supports are the constant, damage dealers come and go.’” Su Ming replied, “My strength can’t keep up with yours, so I’ll focus on improving my utility spells first.”

"That's a good idea."

At lunchtime, Su Ming plucked and cleaned the pigeon, chopped it into pieces, and stewed it with white peony root and yam. The pigeon Stanton brought was quite large, and the resulting soup was milky white and fragrant.

Pigeons are good for replenishing blood and energy, making them perfect for the injured violet. It must be said, Stanton is quite knowledgeable about these things.

When Zijin was serving the soup, her hand suddenly paused.

"What's wrong?" "Do you remember I said I agreed on a way to communicate with Stanton?"

Su Ming immediately realized that this was a carrier pigeon!
"...What should we do then?" Su Ming asked anxiously.

“It’s not a big problem. I have a plan with him,” Zijin said, as she filled her bowl to the brim. “If necessary, we can also send coded messages in plain text through my channel with Xiwo.”

Su Ming breathed a sigh of relief; at least nothing went wrong.

“But you ate his beloved big brother—” The scholar took a bite and showed a satisfied expression. “Not bad! Keep the bones, I’ll put them together into a skull pigeon for him, as a keepsake.”

"You're trying to kill my heart, aren't you?!" Su Ming thought to himself.
-
Earth, Dahlgren Naval Test Center. An elderly white man wearing a gray top hat stands in the center of the square, leaning on his cane, lost in thought.

Fine metal shavings were scattered on the ground. Although most of them had been collected, the remaining particles still refracted a colorful rainbow in the sunlight.

The head of the testing center strode over with a stack of reports in his hand. "Mr. Smith, this is the center's list of losses. Please take a look."

Smith ignored the thick stack and tore off only the top sheet, which had about twenty items on it.

"Is this one real?" he asked coldly, his tone carrying a chilling warning.

"Yes, yes!" The person in charge nodded repeatedly, "The first page records the actual losses."

Smith began reviewing the two sets of high-voltage incoming lines and twenty-three sets of functional lines, including fiber optic communication lines. Five generator sets were scrapped, hundreds of electrical cabinets were damaged, and half of the base's low-voltage system and its equipment faced repair and replacement.

The MK71 heavy artillery suffered particularly devastating losses; not only was the turret itself destroyed, but all the auxiliary equipment stored in the warehouse was also wiped out. This destroyer, codenamed "Hyena," possessed extremely unique offensive capabilities, and it remains unclear what kind of weapon could pulverize objects so thoroughly.

The list also mentioned that a commemorative medal was lost.

Smith actually suspected that it had been stolen by one of their own people, as the "Hyena" would never identify itself in this way.

But it doesn't matter anymore, high-performance mechanical dogs, intelligent bionic humans, stealthy underwater vehicles, and ubiquitous information coverage capabilities.

Who else could be behind this?

The truly fatal loss was the research data. Apart from the outdated MK71, almost all of the more than a dozen cutting-edge projects, including the EMRG electromagnetic railgun, hypersonic missiles, and LaWS laser weapons, along with their electronic data, were destroyed. Much of this data was original and had no backups.

This will significantly delay research and development in related fields!
In comparison, the decommissioned warship at Everett Naval Base, worth a mere seven hundred million dollars, is nothing at all.

Smith fell into deep thought. The identity of the saboteurs was obvious, but what was their motive?
If the destruction of a decommissioned littoral combat ship could still be considered a deterrent, then this sabotage of core research data indicates that the objective has escalated to targeting one's own strategic potential.

Following the attack on the naval base, all bases across the United States raised their alert levels, especially major ports. Now that the testing center has been attacked, the state of emergency has been extended to these non-combat units.

So, where will the "hyenas" go next, to another research center?
He suddenly realized that the most deadly target was the core of this land, the very foundation of the United States!

He made a phone call: "Immediately raise the security level of all core factories!"

Yes, the impact of damaging or stealing those remaining core manufacturing industries, whether they are aviation, semiconductors, high-efficiency automated machine tools, artificial intelligence, or military industry, would be fatal!
Based on current technology, even if this robot has exceptional performance, its battery life is limited, requiring frequent maintenance. The extremely powerful destructive weapons it carries will also inevitably experience significant energy consumption.

Therefore, there must be a complete logistics team behind the "hyena" to provide support at any time!
Since we can't find the machine, let's find these people!

Smith continued issuing instructions over the phone, ordering a thorough search of all types of vehicles that had been in the vicinity, including cars, motorcycles, airplanes, and boats.

This is an unprecedented crisis, and they must launch a strong countermeasure!
Smith looked up and made the sign of the cross: God bless America!
-
Zijin had a good appetite and ate almost all the pigeon meat, leaving only yam in the pot.

In the afternoon, the girl got sleepy and took a nap, which was unusual for her.

The magical examination showed that her wounds were healing quickly and there were no signs of infection; only some red marks were visible on the surface of her skin.

Su Ming felt relieved; a full recovery was only a matter of time.

As night fell, the magical seal on Su Ming dissipated, and he finally regained his ability to cast spells.

He first contacted Miao Xin and learned that she had suddenly lost her magical support here a day ago, leaving only a faint connection. She immediately went into hiding and hasn't dared to take any action since.

"Master, what happened?" Miao Xin asked.

"My magical power was sealed for a period of time by that powerful enemy from yesterday," Su Ming replied.

He reassigned Miao Xin a task: to go to a museum in Portsmouth and keep an eye out for hospital morgues and funeral homes along the way, looking for a large number of recently deceased bodies.

The destination was very close, only a few hundred kilometers away. Given the additional task of finding a body, Miao Xin decided to change her commuting method. She grabbed a backpack, stole a road bike, and rode off on the highway in broad daylight.

She didn't like hitching rides on trucks because the drivers here almost never drove at night, and she had no choice but to hitch a ride on trucks at night.

Miao Xin easily rode her bicycle at a speed of 25 kilometers per hour. Su Ming calculated that it would take a little over a day to reach their destination. Considering the possibility of being tracked, it was better to stay put.

They've caused a lot of trouble in the US, and it's all been big-scale. It's unclear how many people are working tirelessly behind the scenes to investigate, but it's safe to assume the risks will only increase over time.

So once this matter is settled, Su Ming will have the troublemaker leave the United States immediately. His constant erratic behavior across the Pacific will likely cause problems even for the security services. Su Ming doesn't believe that the two sides can cooperate in solving the case.

After disconnecting from Miao Xin, Su Ming brought the White Triangle to a stop and conducted a complete overhaul of the starboard propulsion system. By midnight, the starboard propulsion system had been restored to normal, and the ship could reach speeds of over 18 knots.

Violet was also helping. She used an alchemical restoration technique on the twisted main shaft and propeller on the left side, which would gradually restore them to their original shape. The downside was that the effect was slow, taking more than 24 hours.

But at least the problem was solved.

****
The next day, Su Ming used his magic to construct the MK71 cannon. He had already summoned nearly half of the cannon's components, and the two began installing some subsystems.

This system is not as simple as a steam engine. It's an 80-ton-class device, equivalent to a medium-sized production line.

They frequently consulted blueprints, constantly researching and experimenting. The floor was littered with wires, air pipes, and oil pipes, and both of them reeked of engine oil. Zijin, unusually, wrapped her hair in a headscarf.

During lunch, Miao Xin contacted him, saying she had found many corpses. Su Ming synchronized his vision to that location, only to discover it wasn't the hospital he had expected, but rather underwater. Miao Xin was controlling Little Spiky, dog-paddling underwater in its hound form.

Miao Xin had originally planned to take a direct shortcut. Both the Dahlgren Research Center she had just left and Portsmouth, which she was about to travel to, were located in the Chesapeake Bay. The area has long stretches of coastline and numerous inland seas, making it a popular destination for those abandoning their bicycles to swim.

With the aid of his spiritual vision, Su Ming indeed saw more than a dozen recently deceased corpses floating in the sea, not too far apart. Miao Xin had already pulled the closest ones together.

Su Ming took out his phone from the waterproof bag and checked the news around Rockingham. He quickly found the relevant report: a container ship that had just left the port collided with a bridge outside the port due to a sudden power outage, causing the bridge to collapse.

"These must be the people who fell into the water during the accident," Su Ming deduced. However, the news report from the lighthouse stated that only eight people fell into the water, two of whom had been rescued, and the number in front of him was clearly more than that.

However, the details were irrelevant. Su Ming looked around and didn't see any rescue or salvage vessels approaching, so the opportunity was quite good.

“I’ve found material that is fluent in the language,” he told Violet.

Violet was overjoyed upon hearing this, "Great! Quickly cast the spell on me!"

The language barrier has been a constant source of trouble for her during the installation and maintenance of equipment. Especially the MK71 heavy artillery assembly work that started today, with its numerous and complex drawings and instructions, has already left her feeling utterly overwhelmed after just half a day.

"Uh, I haven't studied that spell yet," Su Ming said helplessly. "Whenever I have free time lately, I've been dealing with higher priority matters."

Being proficient in a language is a separate system in itself, not to mention replacing the original water element with the dark element, which involves a lot of content.

“It must have been difficult for you,” said Violet. “Then let’s go with mind synchronization, and I will guide you in casting the spell.”

Recalling what happened the day before yesterday, Su Ming was still shaken. He couldn't help but glance at the girl, only to find that she had already begun telepathic synchronization. He quickly regained his composure, but it was too late.

Zi Jin narrowed her eyes, originally intending to let Su Ming go.

Am I really that young?

Su Ming covered his face. This was the second time he had been caught red-handed. The scholar was clearly looking for trouble to teach him a lesson.

He severed the mental synchronization, but Violet persisted.

"Let's discuss this from a purely academic perspective."

Su Ming firmly refused, "No!"

"I'd never trust you again!" he thought to himself.

Zijin paused suddenly, her tone becoming formal, "Okay, actually, I have some questions I want to know."

"Oh?" Su Ming was somewhat surprised.

“Although I experienced the growth of this body, I spent almost all of that time studying and researching magic,” Violet explained. “The health problems of the Elisa form have been troubling me from the beginning, and I could only try my best to find a solution. I couldn’t see any hope in this process, so I never thought I could really live as a human.”

"So, in your mindset, you still see yourself as a dragon?" Su Ming asked.

Violet chuckled: "Heh, you noticed."

“I rewatched the illusion of the bone mark,” Su Ming said irritably. “I was completely misled by you back then.”

Twenty-seven years ago on the Plains of Despair, Violet was not turned into a bone fortress by Russell. Rather, she herself actively released the forbidden spell [Undead Catastrophe], absorbing the power of the undead on the battlefield and growing into a bone fortress.

　First-day subscriptions have exceeded 2000, thank you everyone! An extra chapter will be added, bringing today's total to 6000 words.

　　From now on, we'll use a combined posting method to publish daily updates; it'll be easier to do.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)