Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 162 New Year’s Gift
After leaving the Giant Horn Peninsula, the Youth Civilization Locomotive headed south towards the edge of the Arctic Circle. Twelve hours after its official departure, the locomotive traversed 200 kilometers and arrived at the banks of the San River.

The ice on the river was over a meter thick, so Su Ming didn't need to worry about the load. After Zi Jin used magic to clear a downhill slope of snow, the Youth Civilization Ship entered the river channel and then meandered westward along the frozen surface of the Sang River.

The train became much smoother, gliding almost effortlessly across the ice. Su Ming even felt as if he were riding a high-speed train on Earth. The speed easily exceeded thirty kilometers per hour, which was the current limit given the train was fully loaded.

The camouflage work was gradually completed as the train moved, with each carriage now featuring two tusks and a pair of large ears.

Hans Stuart modified the whistle, and now pulling it produces a deep, resonant rumbling sound.

The violet commented that the call sounded very similar!

She also constructed two puppets fixed to the driver's platform, which were directly controlled by Gospel to operate the locomotive. The automatic driving system was further improved.

With the steam locomotive running at full speed, the carriages were well-heated, and the journey finally became comfortable. On the afternoon of their second day on the frozen surface of the Sang River, Su Ming and Zi Jin decided to take a half-day off; the work they had been doing for the past few days had indeed been too strenuous.

After a lazy afternoon nap, Su Ming took out some flour, eggs, sugar, and nuts and started baking cookies.

The unicorn, which was originally on duty in the driver's cab, miraculously smelled the aroma from upwind, even through the working steam locomotive and water-powered car. By the time Su Ming noticed, the unicorn had already sneaked into the kitchen and devoured all the piping hot cookies from the oven.

"It's not even done yet, and you—" Su Ming was astonished.

"Don't worry, it tastes great!" the unicorn grumbled as it chewed.

Su Ming angrily kicked her out, locked the kitchen door, and started making it again.

****
An hour later, Su Ming finally sat down in the workshop with Zi Jin, drinking milk coffee and enjoying cookies. Watching the snowflakes swirling outside the window and enjoying a leisurely afternoon tea, Su Ming finally experienced a taste of bourgeois life in this other world.

The unicorn barged in again, shouting, "Su Ming, where's mine?!"

Su Ming pointed to a pile of food on the side and said, "I grilled a big one for you."

Qiluo ran over excitedly, picked one up, and sure enough, it was much bigger, a round, thick pancake. She swallowed it in one bite, but choked immediately, clutching her neck and jumping up and down.

She drank water frantically to relieve herself. "Phew~, Su Ming, this is completely different from the one before!" she said angrily.

“Of course it’s different. I’d bake these cookies all day and it wouldn’t be enough for you to have even one bite,” Su Ming said matter-of-factly. “So I kindly baked you some naan, which is all you can eat.”

"No, this isn't as good as the cookies!" The unicorn picked up the second naan and took a big bite. Su Ming spread ghee on it and sprinkled sesame seeds on it; the freshly baked naan still smelled delicious.

"Wrap this around and eat it." Su Ming brought out a bowl of diced onions and minced meat and placed it in front of the unicorn, which immediately beamed with joy.

Su Ming took out a water spinach and a curved needle, broke off the small stem of the water spinach, and then began to sew it up.

"Do you have a grudge against this vegetable?" Qi Luo asked, puzzled.

“When I used to play games, people would praise me for having a very steady hand.” Su Ming tied a knot after sewing a stitch. “So I want to develop my ability in this area.”

At first, he always tore the skin of the water spinach, but he quickly found the trick and began to succeed.

****
That evening, Miao Xin contacted Su Ming.

【Happy New Year!】

Su Ming was stunned for a moment before he remembered that today was Lunar New Year's Eve, the thirtieth day of the lunar year.

He put down the rune book in his hand, his arms still bearing bruises from the battle where Violet had struck him, and his back aching from strength training. Others come to this world tired of being beasts of burden, so why was he even more of a beast of burden here?

Su Ming switched his consciousness to the other side, and the familiar sound of a variety show rang in his ears. A tablet was placed on the table, and the screen was filled with bright red colors, displaying the hosts that Su Ming knew.

Despite complaining about it every year, Miao Xin still watches it. There's another phone next to her with a one-way video call showing Miao Mu and He Ran, with the same program playing in the background.

Her house had been decorated; a "福" (good fortune) character was pasted on the door, and several small lanterns hung in the window. Miao Mu was stuffing a pile of meatballs and sticky rice cakes into the refrigerator. He Ran, wearing an apron and with flour on her face, was pressing dumplings with her small hands on the coffee table.

Su Ming asked Miao Xin for her phone and logged into the home security camera. He suddenly remembered that his app's renewal period had expired, and the cloud service should have been suspended. But to his surprise, he still managed to connect successfully.

The house had some New Year's goods, but it was still visibly deserted. The two elderly people sat on the sofa watching TV, with only a plate of peanuts on the table. Su Ming's eyes stung, and tears immediately welled up.

"Su Ming?" Su Ming opened his eyes as his senses returned to the other world. Before him stood Zi Jin, who looked worried. "What happened?"

Su Ming shook his head. He wanted to talk about his parents, but felt it was unnecessary to evoke her feelings. "Sorry, seeing some scenes made me miss my hometown a little."

Zijin nodded. "If we go to Earth in the future, I don't think I'll miss this place."

"That's hard to say," Su Ming forced a smile. He paused, waiting for his emotions to calm down, before switching back to Miao Xin.

Miss Wraith had already crushed the phone that Su Ming had just used and was preparing to move to another location.

"Miao Xin, can you make a video for me to send to my parents?" he asked.

Miao Xin thought for a moment and then understood, "Use AI to synthesize your video and then send it to your parents?"

"Hmm," Su Ming said, "Just wishing them a happy holiday will suffice."

Miao Xin agreed.

Su Ming disconnected the connection and prepared to rest, but Miao Xin initiated contact again.

【What's wrong? 】

"My dad doesn't recommend doing this with the video," Miao Xin said. "He means that it would really expose the perpetrators and put your parents in danger."

Danger? Su Ming didn't understand at first, but he quickly thought of the enemy who had ambushed Miao Xin in Vietnam.

He rubbed his forehead in frustration. There were a ton of things to do in this other world, and he had too little time or energy to think about things back home.

"Is there any solution? This can't go on like this," Su Ming said, somewhat fed up with the situation.

"My father's idea is to maintain the status quo for now," Miao Xin said. "The international services department hasn't resolved the issue yet. It would be dangerous for me to expose myself rashly."

"Are these guys really that inefficient?" Su Ming complained inwardly. Why were they all so aggressive when they were surrounding him?

"Okay." He had no choice but to agree.

"My dad said not to connect to your parents' cameras until the problem is resolved." "I understand," Su Ming said helplessly.

But then he remembered that Miao Xin had just been watching Miao Mu via video.

Professionals, are you really that hypocritical?

Just as he was about to disconnect, Miao Xin called him back, "[I forgot to mention, Su Ming, I prepared a gift for you.]"

[Oh?] Su Ming was quite surprised.

Miao Xin put on her coat and went downstairs. It was an unfamiliar neighborhood, and in a secluded corner, a brand-new snowmobile was parked. It had sleds in the front and tracks in the back, with two seats in the enclosed cabin and a small trailer at the rear.

Miao Xin patted the snowmobile. "How is it?"

[Thanks!] Su Ming was quite touched; this was indeed something useful. [I didn't prepare a gift for you, and I can't give it to you now.]

Su Ming hasn't yet found a way to send things back to Earth; he can't use magic with Earth as the target. As for Miao Xin, she can't use "Summoning of All Things." Although Miss Wraith's Nether Sea is powerful, it's not a spatial ability in nature.

Another problem is that the good stuff in the other world, compared to Earth, mostly contains special magical materials. Therefore, if we teleport back, we probably won't find the corresponding materials on Earth. Otherwise, wouldn't it be amazing to find a way to send the necessary materials back?

Of course, we need to establish a stable base before we can conduct further research to find out the specifics.

"I'll owe you that. Once you've set up the dimensional portal," Miao Xin said. "There are so many fun things in that other world; I can bring them back then."

[Hopefully so.]

Su Ming retrieved some materials from the Youth Civilization Unit's warehouse and summoned the snowmobile to this other world. Miao Xin took out a shovel and broom and cleaned up the broken debris.

The two exchanged New Year's greetings, and then Su Ming disconnected the link.
-
On the third day after entering the Sang River, Su Ming stopped the Youth Civilization Ship. Instead of stopping in the middle of the river where they could be easily seen, they chose a spot on the lower part of the riverbed, parked it close to the embankment, and built a snow wall on the other side for cover.

As planned, he conducted the first overhaul of the train's equipment, and the energy of the Bone Mark also needed to be restored to keep up with the consumption during the journey.

This time, 80% of the bone was sacrificed, weakening the power of the Bone Mark. Fortunately, as long as the Bone Dragon remains at its core, there are no issues with the control and function of the Bone Fortress. Bone spirits can also reside within it and follow it, so the overall power of the mark can still be reduced to half.

Elisa's form was largely unaffected, except that Violet's already weak dark power was further reduced.

The train has many maintenance tasks, including checking the wear and tear of all moving parts, inspecting and replacing steering and brake pads, adding axle oil, draining boiler water and removing scale.

Hanster took twenty sets of white work clothes and hats from the warehouse and made the zombies wear them so they would be harder to spot from a distance.

"I ordered it at Hongluo Port last time," he explained.

"Not bad," Violet said approvingly.

Everyone got busy. Fuyin, inheriting the thoughts from the motorcycle, offered many helpful suggestions. In return, Su Ming assigned some zombies and skeletons to it, allowing it to directly participate in the work.

Only the unicorn had nothing to do. She looked at the map and found a village a dozen kilometers away.

"I'm going to buy some food!" Qiluo took out two backpacks, packed a set of clothes, and then took off with a whoosh.

"Go early and come back early," Su Ming instructed.

Preparations were carried out one by one, and the most important boiler was in pretty good condition. The water-steam circulation system set up by Zijin had greatly reduced the hardness of the water, saving a lot of trouble.

Ymir meticulously verified each item, working with Hans to organize and streamline the process.

“Mr. Hanster, you were wasted your talents at the mine!” she said to Hanster.

Hanster was one of the technical leaders at the Brown Island coal mine and often dealt with Eunice, who was the clerk. Back then, after finishing his work, Hanster would eagerly find a place to lie down.

Unlike now, although they are just as unfamiliar with all aspects of the Youth Civilization Unit as she is, they are highly motivated and take learning very seriously.

"Heh heh, with so many novel things, it's impossible not to put in a lot of effort," Hansster replied. "Miss Eunice is doing pretty much the same, isn't she?"

Despite the cold, Yunier's face was flushed from being so busy.

“I… after all, my father owes them money, so I have to do my job well!” She carefully checked the lubricant level. “Mr. Hanster, how did you suddenly decide to come?”

"Can I still stay here?" Hansfield asked, with a wry smile.

"Oh, what happened?" Yunier asked, puzzled.

"You didn't know?" Hanster was somewhat surprised. He thought for a moment, guessing that it hadn't been long enough for anyone to deliberately tell her about what happened down in the well, so he simply took the initiative to tell her.

While trapped underground on Brown Island, some people were organizing a self-rescue effort, while others were selfish and looting supplies. To stop the conflict, Hanster, who appeared harmless, suddenly intervened, breaking the necks of two troublemakers and successfully using them to solve the food shortage problem.

Trapped underground, everyone treated him with deference. After his rescue, however, they gossiped about him behind his back. This extinguished Hansster's interest, and he conceived the idea of ​​wandering far away and dying wherever he pleased.

Hanster didn't talk to the little girl about human flesh. He changed the subject with something else, "I was tidying up in the house when a butterfly flew in."

“Butterflies?” Yunier asked, puzzled. “Why would there be butterflies this season?”

Brown Island is not as cold as the Northlands, but it is still winter.

“I was just as confused,” Hanster said. “I don’t know why I followed them, and then I saw Mr. Su and Miss Rui Shou handing out candy in the square.”

It was a butterfly that was entirely black, with delicate scales that shimmered with an eerie light. Hanster was captivated the moment he saw it.

“Perhaps it is the guidance of fate?” Yunier said.

****
“God says, ‘Sing!’” the Gospel proclaimed from the other side.

"Singing is allowed, but no whistling!" Su Ming warned. He actually quite enjoyed listening to hymns; the Temple of Light was quite adept at disseminating the arts, but unfortunately, Violet never sang a note.

The spirit of the gospel spoke, and a loud song rang out, "Hey yo~, our mountain songs are sung in carts~ yo~~"

"..."

Violet chuckled, "Your Earth songs are quite flavorful!"

(End of this chapter)