Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 163 The Search for the Beast

Su Ming adjusted the industrial control system, replacing some sensors that were unstable due to the low temperature. By then it was afternoon. Throughout this process, the land radar remained on alert, and no one approached.

After the busy period subsided and everyone sat down for afternoon tea, they realized the unicorn hadn't returned. Today's tea snacks were quite special: a flock of sparrows that had flown in from who-knows-where. Su Ming shot them all down in mid-air, incidentally removing their feathers with dark magic. Hanster cleaned and gutted them, coated them in batter, and fried them—they smelled delicious.

"You've prepared too much stuff." Su Ming looked at the large bowl of croissants on the table.

“Given Miss Sacred Beast’s speed, she should have returned by now,” Hanster said. “I’ll go look for her.”

"I'll go," Su Ming said, stopping him. He had basically finished his work, and besides, he could drive a snowmobile.

He asked Violet to help him dress up to look weathered, put on a forbidden cloak, and dress him in warm outdoor clothing, putting various items into a snow camouflage backpack.

He then pushed the snowmobile out of the mechanical compartment and filled it with fuel. This was the closest thing to gasoline he could find among the petroleum products in this world, delivered during the last resupply of the Mist Veil. In actual testing, although it produced a lot of smoke, it was indeed usable.

You need to clean the spark plugs every now and then.

"Can we keep in touch?" Violet asked him.

The interdimensional communication technology could only cover a few kilometers, and the distance for telepathic synchronization was even shorter. Su Ming thought for a moment, then brought along the walkie-talkie and drone. "Perfect for testing these devices. Set up the antennas!"

Violet gave an OK sign.

****
The weather was alright, visibility was good, and the snowmobile easily reached a speed of 60 kilometers per hour. Su Ming arrived near the village in ten minutes, and he first released the drone to test the equipment.

The high-polymer materials used for the drone's fuselage and propellers were unavailable in this other world, so he replaced them with bone. The purified, high-purity bone slightly outperformed lightweight materials on Earth. After being summoned, the drone's flight performance was even slightly enhanced.

The drone took off quickly. But shortly after, it was forcibly switched to "restricted mode," limiting its altitude and speed, and disabling many of its functions.

Su Ming was somewhat annoyed; it had malfunctioned on its very first use. He asked Miao Xin to contact the drone manufacturer's customer service to inquire about the cause. It had worked perfectly fine during testing on Earth!
Su Ming manually raised the drone to 120 meters, but the system repeatedly warned that it was in restricted mode and could not be raised further.

He activated the communication relay device mounted on the drone, put on his earphones, and pressed the call button. "Can you hear me?"

“I can hear it, very clearly,” Violet replied.

After Su Ming left, she erected a 20-meter-high antenna on the carriage and set up a communication base station.

The drone traverses terrain obstacles by transmitting radio signals from high altitude. The two antennas also automatically align to enhance the signal.

In theory, this device can achieve wireless communication over a distance of more than 50 kilometers. However, its performance should be even better in the electromagnetically clean environment of this other world.

Miao Xin quickly relayed the manufacturer's customer service response, which was a standard script: Please perform a self-test on the drone's positioning module and check for satellite signal obstruction in the surrounding area. If any of these issues exist, the system will default to a no-fly zone and enter a restricted state.

Why even check this? There's no way there's a satellite positioning signal in this other world!

Su Ming asked Miao Xin to inquire whether the flight restriction function could be turned off.

The customer service robot then posted another section: "Interim Regulations on the Management of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Flights".

Su Ming never expected that even in this other world, he would still be subject to the strict aviation regulations of his homeland. He had never encountered anything like this before, so he asked Miao Xin to seek help from Miao Mu.

****
The drone malfunctioned, so Su Ming had to enter the village himself. He didn't find anything unusual along the way. The weather was very cold, and occasionally villagers would leave their houses, only to quickly return inside.

All the chimneys were emitting thin wisps of smoke for heating.

"Is this Rick Village?" Su Ming recalled the map he had seen.

“Yes, this is Whittaker family territory,” Hanster said. “It’s not a large territory, and the lord’s title is viscount.”

Communication with the Youth Civilization Unit is stable. The terrain in the plains is flat, and the 120-meter altitude limit for drones does not hinder the operation of the communication system.

"It's the feudal system." This was somewhat unfamiliar to Su Ming, after all, these things had long since disappeared from Earth, and history and Taoist arts were his least favorite subjects. "What exactly was it like?"

"Well, basically everything on the territory belongs to the lord. The lord is responsible to the kingdom, bears the tax obligations, and sends troops when conscripted." Zi Jin gave a brief introduction. "The northern region of the Cold Mountain Kingdom is divided into more than a hundred lords of varying sizes, also known as the Lord's Autonomous Region. The administration of the southern kingdom is more streamlined, as that area is covered by royal authority."

Su Ming found hoofprints at the entrance of the village, which later turned into deep human footprints.

Considering the unicorn's weight, she would definitely sink into the snowdrift if she transformed into human form. Fortunately, she was already close to the village, and there wasn't much snow on the road because it had been cleared. Judging from the marks, she managed to enter the village without incident.

Her small, deep footprints were so distinctive that the snow was almost trampled into hard ice. Su Ming quickly followed the footprints to the place she had visited, which was the most presentable house in the village.

Su Ming knocked on the door and went in. The village chief lived there. After exchanging a few words, he learned that a green-haired girl had indeed come to him that morning to buy food.

"And then?" Su Ming asked immediately.

Compared to the approachable and friendly young woman, the young man in front of him was clearly a warrior whom ordinary people couldn't afford to offend. The village chief naturally dared not lie, "That young lady didn't like the things in my cellar. She didn't buy anything, gave me a few copper coins as a tip, and then left."

"Do you know where she went after that?" Su Ming asked.

The village chief hesitated for a moment, and Su Ming glanced at him. He immediately said nervously, "It's all my wife's fault. She mentioned that many girls have been going missing here recently, and told her to be careful. That young lady inquired about the details and then skipped away."

Su Ming frowned. According to the village chief, a group of human traffickers had been operating on the icy plains recently, abducting beautiful young girls. Many people had gone missing, causing widespread panic.

No one was arrested in this small village, but someone went missing from a neighboring village the day before yesterday.

So Qiluo most likely went to this neighboring village, Su thought, opening the map. The snowfield was sparsely populated, and although the village was said to be adjacent, it was still six kilometers away.

He left the village chief's house, contacted Zijin, and reported the information he had obtained from the village chief.

"How strong is Qi Luo's fighting ability?" Su Ming asked.

“At a low level, she can easily defeat enemies with her hooves,” Violet replied. “However, she’s not a combat-oriented class, so she’ll have trouble dealing with large groups of enemies or strong opponents.”

"Then why did she go alone?" Su Ming complained. "She should have called us first." Although the unicorn acted erratically, she was very shrewd when it came to important matters. He couldn't understand why she was acting so recklessly this time.

Hanster interjected, "Miss Holy Beast is a pure white follower of the Moon Goddess, and she can't stand human trafficking—this trampling of freedom and life—the most. If she encounters it, she'll definitely get in trouble." Su Ming had a headache, "Then what methods will she use to find people?"

“Faction scouting,” Violet replied. “Fly through the air and search for evil targets on the ground.”

The snow-covered plains are vast and sparsely populated, making them ideal for this method.

"Alright, I'll go after them and take a look."

****
Su Ming retrieved the drone, plugged in the car charger, started the snowmobile, and continued heading towards the next village.

He arrived at the six-kilometer distance in less than ten minutes. This time he was familiar with the area and went straight to the largest house. He quickly learned that three hours earlier, a green-haired girl had indeed come to investigate the disappearance of a girl.

"She even ate lunch, finishing all the lunch ingredients that more than a dozen households had prepared," the village chief recounted.

Su Ming inquired about the direction the other party had left in, and then set off again.

It was already four in the afternoon, and the sky was beginning to darken. Su Ming followed the villagers' directions and arrived at the third village. People still saw Qi Luo, but this time no one knew which way she had left.

With the trail broken, Su Ming had to stop and gather more information. The village chief knew a great deal: the disappearances had begun a week ago, and people had witnessed bandits operating brazenly in the area.

No girls have gone missing in this village, but three girls have gone missing this week from more than a dozen neighboring villages. All of them are very beautiful young girls, and one of them had just gotten married.

Su Ming opened the map and found that the criminals were being searched from east to west, averaging two to three villages per day.

"Isn't there a sheriff here to handle these matters?" he asked Violet, voicing his doubts. This place was only about fifty kilometers from Whittaker, where the lord resided; it wasn't very far. The village chief said he'd reported it, but no one had taken any action for so long.

“Su Ming, this group’s target is clearly high-quality young girls,” Zi Jin replied. “That means they are capable of conducting investigations and calmly choosing their targets—which implies that the perpetrator is a mid-level combatant.”

"So?" Su Ming asked.

"So it's not worth it. Sending mid-level combatants to investigate would require at least four or five at a time. Asking high-level combatants to deal with it would come at a considerable cost, and might even be a waste of time," Zi Jin said matter-of-factly. "If it were a large-scale human abduction, the lord might mobilize a large force. But for just a few girls, it's not worth it."

"A good deal?" Su Ming gritted his teeth. This was the first time he had heard such a claim. "Isn't the lord afraid of the people here—"

“The people are merely the lord’s private property; how dare they complain?” Hanster said. “If they do, whip them, cut off their ears and noses. If they still disobey, cut off their hands and feet, and if all else fails, cut off their heads.”

Recalling the villager he had just seen who had no ears, Su Ming felt a nameless frustration. "With the lord treating his people so harshly, won't they flee?"

“From birth, the people are branded; there’s no escaping it,” Violet replied.

“Actually, things weren’t this bad at first. When the Kingdom of Hanshan was first divided up, it signed the ‘Convention of the Lords’ Autonomous Regions’,” Hanster said. “The Convention provided a certain degree of protection for the human rights of the people, such as limiting corporal punishment and execution. But without law enforcement to supervise, the Convention quickly became a mere formality, and the lords did whatever they wanted.”

Su Ming sighed, thinking that similar backward stages had also appeared in Earth's history, which seemed to be an inevitable part of social development. However, he also thought that compared to the same era, the productivity of the other world was already very advanced, so he asked Zi Jin about his doubts.

After thinking for a moment, Zijin replied, "Economically developed and densely populated areas have already undergone transformations over the past few hundred years. The Timbulike Icefield is the most backward remnant on the continent."

"Is there a problem with the ice field?" Su Ming asked.

"There are many reasons, but I know very little about them and don't know the specifics," said Zijin.

Su Ming brought his thoughts back and continued the initial topic, "So how should we find Qi Luo?"

Zijin had an idea about this: "The next village ten kilometers north of your place should be the area where these thugs were active today. Little Unicorn will definitely go there to look for them."

Su Ming ended the call and started the snowmobile to head out.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to find Miss Sacred Beast even this way,” Hanster suddenly said.

"Why?" Zi Jin asked, puzzled. "She can't defeat three mid-level combat professionals, but she can definitely escape."

"I'm afraid she didn't intend to escape," Hanster sighed.

****
Fifteen minutes later, Su Ming arrived near the fourth village. He searched from the air and, after several tens of minutes, discovered some green areas in a grove of trees not far from the village.

Su Ming approached and discovered that the snow had been knocked off several evergreen trees, revealing the leaves underneath.

He landed there but found no signs of the expected battle. There were signs of activity and many footprints, but no fighting had taken place; only the tracks of a sled pulled by an animal stretched into the distance.

Su Ming contacted Zi Jin and described what he saw at the scene.

"As expected, she's willing to get involved herself," Hanster said. "Miss Sacred Beast's goal is to save people, so she'll definitely choose to infiltrate!"

Su thought for a moment. Qi Luo was a very beautiful young lady, and she would definitely catch the eye of those thugs. "So she deliberately let herself be captured?"

“That’s absolutely true.” Hanster nodded. “From here, we’ll go to their hideout.”

“The problem is that with her weight, the thugs will give themselves away as soon as they make a move!” Su Ming said.

“The levitation technique can reduce weight for a short period of time,” Violet said.

“I understand. I’ll just follow the tracks of the sled, right?” Su Ming said.

“Perhaps we should look for any messages,” Hansster suggested. “It’s strange that the snow was knocked off the trees without any fighting.”

Su Ming lifted the hood of his magic-sealing cloak, and the biting cold wind made him shiver. He quickly sensed a magical fluctuation, walked over, and dug it out of the snow, finding a small, faintly glowing crystal wrapped in a piece of paper.

Su Ming opened it and, as expected, found the message left by the unicorn, detailing the entire incident. She had now disguised herself as a vulnerable young girl and allowed herself to be taken away by the kidnappers in order to rescue other kidnapped girls.

　I made a mistake last night and the update was less than 4 words, so I'm adding another chapter...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)