Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 143 Island Procurement Plan
“There are plenty of amethyst mines, so we’ll have to make several trips.” Violet changed the subject. “I’m paying Fletcher one silver coin per kilogram, and he’s practically ready to move the whole island.”

They had no shortage of money, and they didn't mind using a little to get Fletcher excited.

“I have a problem.” Su Ming was flipping through a stack of documents he had “obtained” from the mining area. “I really like this island, but I can’t defend it with my current abilities.”

Brown Island's remote location and abundant coal reserves represented the possibility and convenience of building some basic production lines. There was no agriculture, and land was freely occupied. The island's desolate economic ecosystem also provided a moderate amount of idle population, making it an ideal location for industrial development.

Leaving aside the long-term prospects, in the near term, if crude oil could be obtained from the Naga, it could be transported here for processing. This implies that gas turbines could be a precursor to future plans for modernized weapons relying on electricity.

Understanding Su Ming's intentions, Zi Jin pondered for a moment.

“Buying this island is simple. A desolate mining island whose owner died a violent death doesn’t cost much,” Violet said. “I can arrange for the Blue-Eyed Merchant Guild to take it over.”

“I agree with everything else, but the island's owner cannot die a violent death,” Su Ming said, raising his hand to stop Zi Jin. “Fletcher is a useful man.”

Su Ming displayed Brown Gold Island's financial report, which showed total liabilities of 200,000 gold coins.

"Is this dilapidated island really worth that much money?!" Violet was extremely surprised. "How could goblins lend out such a large amount of money? They're already insolvent!"

She immediately ordered the port staff to summon the deputy supervisor, Killian, to inquire about the details, only to be told that he was in a remote production area supervising operations. The task of delivering a thousand tons of high-quality coal within three days had put the entire mine under overload.

"Then call the clerk over." Zijin changed her target. As the person in charge of internal affairs in the mining area, the clerk should also be aware of the relevant situation.

The clerk's expression changed, but he dared not disobey and hurriedly retreated to look for the person.

Before long, a young girl in a plain-colored long dress came running up. She was about to bow when she suddenly realized she was still wearing the work sleeves. She hurriedly took them off before lifting her skirt and bowing.

"Greetings, Your Excellencies!" the girl said, her voice slightly breathless. "I am Yuniel, the scribe here."

Su Ming quickly sized up Yunier—she looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, with calluses on her palms and small abrasions scattered on her bare arms. There were no signs of physical training, and he couldn't sense any spiritual energy fluctuations. She was clearly just an ordinary human girl.

Su Ming and Zi Jin exchanged a glance, understanding each other's judgment.

What alerted the two was Yunier's demeanor. Despite her face being covered in soot and her hair being disheveled, the girl's bearing and manners were very proper, giving her a sense of competence that seemed incongruous with her still-childish face.

This person stands out from the crowd on the mining island, and is really not like an ordinary worker.

"What's your surname?" Su Ming asked. He hadn't overlooked the detail that Yunier hadn't mentioned her surname during her self-introduction.

“My name is Lores.” Seeing that she could not hide it any longer, Yunier answered directly, “My father is the island lord Fletcher, and I am the eldest daughter.”

That makes sense, Su Ming thought to himself. Given the dire situation of Brown Gold Island, it's only natural that its children would help manage it.

“Miss Lores,” he said, waving the financial forms in his hand, “I would like to know more about the debt issues of Browngold Island.”

"You may call me Yunier, sir." Yunier bowed again. "Thank you for your help, and thank you all for your kindness!"

"No need to be polite, we've already received payment," Su Ming said.

“That meager reward is no way to repay your kindness,” Yunier said, before beginning to explain the details of the debt.

The process was not unexpected. Eight years ago, the Goblin Merchant Guild lent out 100,000 gold coins, with the agreement to repay in quarterly installments. However, Browngold Island's business was in dire straits, resulting in multiple late payments. With interest compounding and penalties added, even though Fletcher had repaid a total of 120,000 gold coins, the remaining debt had more than doubled.

Su Ming felt this scene was very familiar. "The goblins' methods of 'collecting debts' are probably not very friendly, are they?"

“Yes!” Yunier readily admitted, “If we dare to abandon the island and run away, our whole family will be hunted down by bounty hunters. The island will be taken over by goblins, and all our property will be confiscated to pay off our debts.”

“It’s not a chase, little girl,” Violet corrected. “It’s a capture, to sell them into slavery or something. Goblins are very frugal.”

"That's really shady!" Su Ming exclaimed.

"You're right, Fletcher really can't die," Violet said. "His ability to repay debts is limited, and the goblins are only restraining themselves from exploiting him. If the Blue-Eyed Merchant Guild really buys him out, the insatiable goblins will definitely re-evaluate the debts and get involved in the affairs of Browngold Island. That will be a real problem!"

"Therefore, we need to keep Fletcher in the open. We'll secretly acquire actual control of the island by agreeing to cover the installment payments," Su Ming said.

****
Yunier took out a notebook from her skirt pocket. "My lords, please allow me to report on the production situation."

"Keep it brief," Su Ming gestured.

Yunier was also very decisive: "Currently, the coal mine has resumed production in three shafts, with raw coal being brought to the surface at a rate of twelve truckloads per hour. It is expected that all coal will be delivered by noon on the fourth day."

Su Ming nodded. Although it was a bit delayed from the three days promised by Fletcher, it was already a very good speed considering the production level of this coal mine, and there was no need to continue to criticize it.

The two inquired about some specific details of Yunier's Brown Gold Island and discussed their next steps.

Fletcher couldn't refuse the Blue-Eyed Merchant Guild's offer. This way, the Blue-Eyed Merchant Guild could first upgrade the infrastructure on Brown Gold Island, such as roads and ports, build the factories needed for Su Ming's production line, and renovate the coal mines. Once the White Triangle dealt with the Azure Sea Valley Dragon Carrier, they could openly occupy the area.

All that's needed is to put on a show where the bully White Triangle forcibly buys the island from the pitiful Little White Flower Blue Ocean Merchant Guild at a low price.

With the apparent change of ownership, the issue of the goblin creditors is no longer a problem. With Truth and Belladonna in hand, it's up to them who will come looking for whom to settle the debt.

[Wait a minute!] Violet quickly realized, [If we do this, haven't we ended up saving Fletcher from a predicament instead? Then I'll deal with him later—]

Two toddlers, around three or four years old, suddenly ran over and hugged Yunier's legs, peeking out from behind her.

"elder sister!"

"elder sister!"

The voices of a boy and a girl rang out at the same time.

The girl's face turned pale instantly, and she grabbed the two little ones in a panic.

Su Ming sighed and waved for her to leave. Yunier hurriedly picked up one of them in each hand and hastily took her leave.

After running quite a distance, the faint sound of a reprimanding voice could be heard.

“Let’s spare Fletcher’s life,” Su Ming said to Zi Jin. “Having so many children must have been quite an achievement.”

"So this is compassion?" Violet pouted. "He provoked us first!"

“We can try a different way of disciplining them.” Violet’s eyes lit up, and she quickly came up with a good idea. “Alright, I’ll give them a simple lesson then.” She conceded and then continued to discuss the plan for Brown Gold Island. “I will arrange for the Azure-Eyed Merchant Guild to send a team of people overseeing all affairs on Brown Gold Island. We will then take over this group of people and establish the ‘Sea King Su Ming’ Merchant Guild.”

Su Ming raised an eyebrow. "I think I heard you casually slip in a quirky business name."

“The name is a small matter,” Violet argued. “You named the ship last time, so it’s my turn this time.”

"Really... alright." Su Ming said helplessly, then realized something was off. "The name 'White Triangle'... I came up with it?"

“Of course!” Violet declared confidently. “How could someone who hates geometry like me possibly name something like a triangle!”

The girl shook her head, blinked at Su Ming, her clear, autumn-water-like eyes like the tip of a warm knife.

Su Ming surrendered instantly.

Then came the details of the island's infrastructure layout. Zijin patted Su Ming on the shoulder, encouraging him, and then went to study the amethyst while humming a song.

Su Ming knew absolutely nothing about civil engineering, but sometimes things you don't understand are easier to solve.

"Miao Xin, help me find a planning and design institute," he quickly contacted.

****
Seeing that Violet had found something useful, Su Ming decided to visit Fletcher's warehouse as well. He brought along a mineral handbook that had been transferred from Earth and toured Fletcher's warehouse.

The minerals on Brown Gold Island are generally classified as iron-type copper deposits, mainly consisting of pyrite and chalcopyrite, with various other minerals as byproducts, including amethyst.

However, the usable elements within it have already been developed by the other world, such as galena. Su Ming uses very little lead; the 100 kilograms of lead ingots he purchased are still not all used up.

"Anything else?" Su Ming asked Fletcher, clearly dissatisfied. "After all these years of hard work, don't you have any good collections?"

Fletcher quickly bowed and said, "No, no, you know my financial situation. I only have some minerals from other places in my collection, which are not worth much and are not worthy of your attention."

"Take me to see it."

Fletcher's collection room wasn't secluded; it was just a small hut next to the warehouse. Fletcher opened the door, revealing hundreds of different kinds of mineral specimens piled inside.

Looking at the atlas in his hand, Su Ming quickly found something useful: sphalerite!

This is a good thing. He quickly inquired about the origin of the ore and learned that it came from a mountain range on the Dwarf Continent.

****
Su Ming brought the sphalerite back to the White Triangle, found some corydalis, and used them to break down and extract the ore. Through purification and distillation, Su Ming finally obtained the desired data on the spectrometer.

"Confirmed to contain gallium and germanium!" Su Ming exclaimed excitedly, "We've finally found the source of these two materials!"

Zijin inquired about the content shown in the spectral analysis, then analyzed the extraction process and calculated that the abundance of both minerals was less than one ten-thousandth, or even lower.

"Isn't it troublesome to have such a low concentration?" the scholar asked, frowning.

“This concentration is normal for rare elements,” Su Ming said. “My usage is also not large.”

However, it is indeed a problem. If elements need to be extracted from tens of tons of ore to balance the materials during the transmission, it will put great pressure on Su Ming's magic power and cause waste, seriously hindering the expansion of the equipment scale.

Moreover, the raw ore is mixed with a large amount of impurities and gangue. The beneficiation process alone requires multiple steps.

Simply spending money is not an option, but the results are far too low.

Su Ming pondered a solution. Having witnessed the vast industrial system of the Earth, he knew he couldn't possibly do everything himself and manage every single step.

Therefore, the best approach is to utilize the productivity of this other world.

****
An hour later, Su Ming found Bei Anqi and handed her a copy of "Hot-dip Galvanizing Process".

"Zinc can be used like this?" Beianqi flipped through the booklet, her eyes lighting up.

In the common understanding of the other world, zinc is a metal with low hardness, brittleness when heated, and extremely poor mechanical properties. However, Su Ming's manual explains that by applying it to steel through a specific process, a dense oxide protective layer can be formed, significantly improving the steel's rust and corrosion resistance.

"Are you planning to sell this technology?" Beanie asked, flipping through the manual.

Su Ming shook his head. "I need a byproduct extracted from sphalerite."

The content of gallium and germanium associated with zinc sphalerite is extremely low. Su Ming proactively provided the technology in order to establish a zinc industry chain in this other world.

Countless workers and capital will be involved in the mining, beneficiation, and smelting of zinc. He can then extract the byproducts of gallium and germanium much faster than starting from scratch himself.

Beianqi didn't mind that Su Ming was just hitchhiking. The painting techniques in this other world were outdated, so this surface treatment process was a godsend.

“The Dwarfs’ Association will definitely make an offer to buy it,” Beanie said. “I’ll negotiate the specific amount with them.”

“Using gallium-containing extracts as a deduction is also acceptable,” Su Ming said. “I’ll leave the entire process to you.”

Bea Angie gave an OK sign.

****
With most of the tasks completed, Su Ming asked the people at the mine for a map of Brown Gold Island. He invited Violet to go up on the island to explore the déjà vu issue he had initially felt.

Having spent the last few days traveling to and from the island's edge, and already familiar with the surrounding scenery, the two decided to venture deeper into the heart of the island. They first went to the island's highest point, where they could overlook the entire island.

Brown Island is quite large, with one side even lacking a coastline. The soil in most areas is poor, with sparse vegetation, making the entire island appear like a brown muddy mass. Crops are scarce, and food is mainly supplied from outside.

"Let's go take a look over there?" Violet pointed in the direction of the miners' residential area, where a large number of dilapidated houses stood.

"Hmm." Su Ming nodded. He felt something was attracting him from there, a faint but persistent sensation.

They first went to find Qiluo and had the unicorn cast an ignore spell on them. This spell worked very well; as the two walked across the island, the passing residents ignored them. Only when someone passed by would they unconsciously walk around them.

Walking all the way to a cave in the center of the residential area, Su Ming checked the map and said, "This is an abandoned old mine that was completely mined out decades ago."

The map didn't show any further markings, but looking through the opening, it was clear that it was a typical sloping well, extending downwards along the slope, its depth unknown. Near the entrance, residents had dug many horizontal tunnels, using them as cellars for storage or as living quarters.

(End of this chapter)