Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 149 Gathering and Departure

Before long, loading on the White Triangle's port side was finished. Hanster climbed aboard with his backpack, and Su Ming had the skeleton raise the sail, drifting slowly away from the port in the gentle breeze.

Fletcher led a group of people to see them off at the dock, waving colorful little flags they'd somehow found. As time passed, their boisterous figures gradually dwindled in size.

Suddenly, a commotion arose in the crowd, and Fletcher's voice could be faintly heard on the wind, "Ahhh, my eyes!"

"You blinded him?" Su Ming asked Zi Jin, leaning on the deck railing.

"Hmm, I was thinking of cutting off his hand, but after thinking about it, I decided to gouge out his eyes instead—who told him to have such useless eyes."

"...Then it would be better to cut off your hand."

“He was only temporarily blind for half a month, and I didn’t poke his eyeballs.” Zi Jin glanced at Su Ming, very puzzled. “I was very lenient.”

Now it was Su Ming's turn to look puzzled. "How come you've become so kind-hearted?"

Violet snorted and went into the cabin.

Hanster looked towards the shore, puzzled. Su Ming snapped his fingers between his eyebrows, releasing the memory seal that had been placed on him the day before yesterday.

The old man rubbed his head. "Sir, you didn't erase my memory."

“Sealing it first and then releasing it will save time from repeated communication,” Su Ming said. “My name is Su Ming, and that was Elisa. You can just call us by our names.”

Hanster's legs went weak, and he sat down on the deck.

This surprised Su Ming somewhat. "You know us?"

"Lord Ainz Ooal Gown, Lord Siren!" He looked around. "Then this ship must be the White Ghost!"

"Please don't use those embarrassing names," Su Ming said. "But you're certainly well-informed."

The man was shocked but not flustered. Su Ming observed the details and concluded that Hanster was no nobody.

“Little one—” Hanster began.

"I don't like you referring to yourself like that. Please respect our customs. And just call us by our names."

"Ah, very well. The deeds of the two lords have spread throughout the entire ocean. I may not recognize the people, but their names are absolutely legendary."

“It’s not too late to back out now,” Su Ming said to him. “I can erase your memory and send you away.”

“Bone—” Hanster began, then immediately changed his mind, “Mr. Sue, you’re too kind. I’m more than happy to oblige.” The old man grinned, “This trip is sure to be spectacular! Please be sure to take this old bone with you; feel free to use it as you see fit!”

“Welcome aboard, Hanster.” Su Ming shook his hand, then summoned a zombie. “This ship is mostly filled with undead creatures. Any problems?”

“No,” Hanster replied. “The dead are easier to get along with than the living most of the time.”

Su Ming had the zombie lead him to his room, while he went to the cockpit to conduct a final check before departure.

"I've arrived at my destination," Miao Xin reported.

【OK. 】

Miao Xin packed her documents and camera into her backpack, jumped out of the car, took out her phone, showed the appointment information, walked through the gate, and entered the interior of a huge building.

****
Here, the entire White Triangle system is functioning normally, and the steam pressure has reached the standard value.

"Su Ming, where are we setting sail?" Zi Jin unfolded the sea chart on the battle platform. "We need to find a suitable place to test the new equipment, right?"

"Yes, to the Giant Horn Peninsula in the north."

Someone entered the driver's seat. Su Ming assumed it was Hanster, but turning around, he saw it was a girl. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Eunice. She had changed into a more casual dress and entered carrying two cups of tea. "My lords, please have some tea!"

Su Ming turned to look at Zi Jin, "Explain?"

“I made a ‘friendly’ agreement with Fletcher, letting his daughter work for us for a while, and then we’ll let bygones be bygones,” Violet replied. “Don’t worry, Eunice is just an ordinary person. I’ve put a contract on her that requires her to keep everything a secret, and she can’t resist it.”

"My lord, I have only just realized the grave mistake my father has made. I am deeply grateful that you have allowed me to atone for my sins in this way!"

“I knew it! Why did you just poke Fletcher’s eyelid and let him go?” Su Ming said. He took the tea from Yunier and reiterated the issue of how to address him.

"Also, don't speak in such a flowery way," Su Ming added. "Look at Zi Jin, even a scholar isn't this particular—you can't possibly sound more cultured than her, can you?"

Upon hearing this, Zi Jin rolled her eyes at Su Ming. Yunier, who was standing to the side, wanted to speak, but she covered her mouth after only uttering "my little girl".

She was so flustered by Su Ming that she didn't know what to say.

“Speak the same way you did when you were working on the island,” Su Ming said.

Seeing that Yuniel was still uneasy, he continued, "Your job here will still be that of a clerk, responsible for material planning, coordination, document management and various other support tasks."

"Yes, Mr. Su!"

"Isn't this good?" Su Ming pulled out a dozen or so lists from the folder. "These material lists are very rough and deviate from reality. Go and check the quantity and status of materials in the second-floor warehouse now, and file the results."

“Okay!” Yunier took the list and ran off to get to work.

****
Zijin searched back and forth on the sea chart for a while, and finally pulled the entire sea chart down a large section before finally finding the Giant Horn Island that Su Ming had mentioned near the top.

"So far north, do we really need to go that far?" she asked Su Ming curiously. Even if it was to evade capture, going all the way to the vicinity of the Arctic Circle seemed absurd.

Even at the speed of the White Triangle, it would take more than a week to cover such a distance.

"Yes, we need to go to the Holy Mountain Divine Might Prison," Su Ming explained.

"Wait!" Violet exclaimed in surprise, "Didn't we already discuss this? Why go if it's so dangerous!"

“Because the potential gains are substantial,” Su Ming replied. “The talent we desperately need, and the leverage we have against the Temple of Light, are all there. If we reduce the risks to a sufficient level, the equation holds true.”

"But how can we reduce the risk?" Violet asked.

“I have a general plan, but there are still many details that require our joint efforts,” Su Ming said. “First, we’ll go to the Giant Horn Peninsula and complete the transformation of the Bone Fortress there. Then we’ll cross the Timbulik Icefield and head north to the Dome Mountains.”

Violet examined the path carefully but still couldn't imagine it.

"Let's not even talk about the cliff area with a thousand-meter drop where the Dome Mountains meet the Icefield. It's the dead of winter in the North now, and the temperature on the Timbuk Icefield is minus twenty degrees Celsius. How are we going to cross the snow zone? And what about the Azure Sea Valley?"

Violet was very willing to go, but there were so many difficulties—

“We’ll ignore the Azure Sea Valley,” Su Ming said. “It would be very dangerous to face the Dragon Carrier now, which is currently at the height of its power. If we’re not careful, we’ll be found first and lose the battle.”

As the first half of the dragons, Zi Jin quickly understood Su Ming's plan. "Given the nature of dragons, even the giant ship Azure Sea Valley would be in dire straits. They can endure it for a week or two, but if it goes on for too long, their scales will definitely explode."

"So I plan to come back from the Holy Mountain and cause trouble again," Su Ming said. "By then, the dragon might have already lost patience and left, leaving only an empty ship in the Azure Sea Valley, which we can just bomb for free."

"When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we pursue"—this is an irrefutable tactical mantra. "It may not be so ideal," said Violet. "A dragon can sleep; perhaps it can endure if it insists on doing so."

“It doesn’t matter,” Su Ming said. “The environment on the ship is not the same as on land. After a few months, these dragons are either exhausted or sleeping like slumber. If we attack when the enemy is tired, the situation can’t get any worse.”

“That’s true.” Violet nodded. “Then my people will have to endure being stuck at sea for months!”

****
On the White Triangle, Hanster had already put his luggage in his assigned cabin. He walked back to the door of the bridge and knocked lightly on the open door. "Excuse me, Mr. Su, what areas on the ship can I go to?"

"Anything except the hold is fine. Come in."

Hanster entered the cabin, saw the markings on the map, and recalled his conversation with Su Ming a few days ago. He guessed that they were going to pass through the Timbulik Icefield to reach the Holy Mountain Divine Prison.

Hanster pointed to the coast of the Giant Horn Peninsula, “This area is a mudflat about 50 kilometers wide. If you land here and can’t return before the end of the freeze in the next three months, the mudflat will turn into a difficult wetland and swamp.”

Su Ming did the math, "It will take about ten days to go to the mudflats and prepare the equipment, and another month to rescue the people. That should be enough time."

"Seven thousand kilometers of snowfields, fourteen thousand kilometers round trip, more than a month?" Zi Jin clearly didn't believe it. "Even if we can travel light and reach that speed, how can we possibly manage to rescue people and then return with our families in tow!"

“Mr. Su, even if we had a carriage, it wouldn’t work,” Hanster said. “The Timbuk Icefield is sparsely populated, the roads are terrible, and we often have to cross mountains. Besides, in this season, the snow is more than a meter deep in many places, making travel extremely difficult.”

The sound of wings flapping appeared, followed by the sound of four hooves pounding on the deck.

Su Ming looked up and, sure enough, saw through the porthole that the unicorn was dispersing its wings.

"Hey!" Su Ming pointed at Qi Luo and looked at Zi Jin again.

The girl raised her hand and gestured "just a tiny bit," indicating, "Something happened, nothing serious."

****
A day earlier, in the second-floor stern cabin, Qi Luo knelt down in front of Su Ming and began to concentrate her spiritual power to heal Su Daiyu, who had fainted again due to exhaustion of her magic power.

“Chestnut Owl Scholar, I have a request,” she said to Violet.

"Tell me about it." The girl placed Su Ming on her lap again and changed to a duck-sitting position.

"Please allow me to join you," Qi Luo said solemnly. "The abnormality of divine favor is too illogical; I must follow it to seek the answer."

"Are you sure, Princess Milan?" Zijin was surprised.

The main reason for allowing Beanie to leave the team was that the hunt for the sea monster was over, and they would return to being wanted criminals, at odds with the whole world.

"I am a guardian beast, and the world is my home," Qiluo said. "Don't let my appearance fool you, I am actually a devout follower of the Moon Goddess."

"Going against the Temple of Light is okay?" Violet asked, but she quickly realized she had asked a pointless question.

"With pleasure!" Qi Luo's eyes shone. "The Moon Goddess is the true goddess of the soul, the only beauty in the world!"

Beianqi froze for a moment, then suddenly lunged forward and grabbed her, "Sister, you can't go!"

“Why can’t we go? It’s the auspicious beast’s duty!” Qi Luo said righteously.

"It's because you think it's more fun here!"

“Having fun is only a minor aspect.” Kira’s eyes did not flinch.

"Aren't you going to take care of the Fog Veil?"

“Well, I still have my uncles and aunts, and I haven’t traveled to a different place in ages,” the unicorn replied. “And don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to—you’re the one who wants to come back, so you’re pushing me over there!”

"As a mechanic, this is where I can make a difference. But what are you doing here? Growing vegetables?"

Zijin looked at the two sisters making a ruckus and suddenly reached out her hand.

"Welcome aboard the pirate ship!"

Qi Luo pulled Bei Anqi off her, took a step back, lifted the hem of her skirt with both hands, and curtsied.

"Please take care of me!"

****
The unicorn spread its four hooves and joyfully pounced into the cabin.

"Hey Su Ming, we meet again! Where's the chocolate you promised?"

Su Ming covered his face; he had guessed it would be like this.

The unicorn's long mane looked much thinner. Qi Luo shook it and complained, "Beianqi insisted on combing my fur, which took quite a while."

She leaned closer to the control panel, looked at the map, and said, "Hmm, should we go to the ice field? I don't want to walk on snowy roads this season!"

"That won't do, we're counting on you to pull the sled."

Qi Luo immediately transformed into human form, opening her mouth to reveal sharp tiger fangs, "Using the unicorn like that will bring divine retribution upon you!"

"Alright, enough joking around." Su Ming straightened his expression. "I plan to drive the Bone Fortress over there."

Zi Jin's eyes twitched. "Su Ming, I'm very heavy."

“There is a San River on the ice sheet, but it’s the dry season now!” Hanster added. “And even during the flood season, the San River isn’t deep enough!”

Su Ming smiled and said, "Alright, when we get to Giant Horn Peninsula, I'll show you how to get this big guy ashore."

He turned to Kira and Hanster, “Welcome aboard the Bone Fortress, let’s set sail!”
-
Earth, Miao Xin finally found the right path. The sign she passed clearly read "Shenyang Train Museum".

Passing through a door, we arrived at a huge exhibition hall where a group of black behemoths were lined up and resting quietly.

Miao Xin's footsteps seemed to traverse sixty years, leading her to these meritorious machines that witnessed the past development process.

She looked up at the largest of the three.

The forward-type freight steam locomotive, numbered QJ6368.

"It seems Su Ming's target is this," Miao Mu's voice came through the earpiece. "Are you really going to destroy them?"

“It’s not about destroying it,” Miao Xin denied. “No motorcycle would refuse to ride on the earth again.”

"how do you know?"

"Guess."

The power of the Dark Sea unfolds peacefully, 'Tranquility - Tracing the Past!'

Black coal dust and white steam, carried on the crisp winter wind, mingled with the heavy weight of machinery.

"You're really in a hurry," Miao Xin said with a smile. "Please line up, the interviews will begin now!"

(End of this chapter)