Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 183 Supply Procurement
“In short,” Catherine rubbed her face, composing herself, “the only way you can change the status quo is to hold a knife to the necks of these Covenantists and force them to bow down.”

The Covenantists, who proclaim themselves servants of God, fulfill a so-called sacred covenant generation after generation, dedicating themselves to God through their descendants. To put it bluntly, they are the hereditary high-ranking members of the Church of Light.

"Why not just be direct and leave them with no way to back down?" Violet said coldly.

“…You see, we have common interests,” Catherine said. “Elisa, I know what you want.”

She clasped her hands together, and a luminous phantom appeared above her. "By endless devotion to the light, Catherine Osha, I am willing to participate in the rescue of the innocent from the Holy Mountain's Divine Prison!"

Just as Violet remains a believer in the light, the church is the church, and the divine is the divine. As long as one follows God's guidance and justice, betraying the church organization is completely harmless and without shame.

"Not bad," Zijin said calmly.

Next, everyone began to discuss the details.

“I need to return to Bubing City first,” said Catherine. Bubing City is the largest city on the Timbulik Icefield, where the Cold Mountain branch of the Temple of Light is located. “I will provide you with all the intelligence you need and prepare the necessary supplies and personnel to meet you at the agreed location.”

"Aren't you being sidelined now?" Violet asked.

“The North has become a place of exile in recent years. Commoners who are ostracized by the higher-ups, especially those who are too talented and capable, are sent here—I have a pretty good relationship with these people,” Catherine said.

"How good is it?" Su Ming asked.

“Before I was transferred to the Tribunal, I worked in the Department of Evangelism,” Catherine further explained. “I was in charge of the temple’s general education, and I had deep connections with the common people. I had teacher-student relationships with many people in Beiliu. So even without my position in Hanshan, I could still get involved in many things and mobilize a lot of resources!”

"So what's the situation with this assassination attempt?" Su Ming asked.

“I don’t know either, it’s just inexplicable,” Catherine said helplessly. “But Bubing City has enough power, and Princess Daphne, whom you rescued, will go there too. We’ll find out what’s going on!”

"Don't be careless again. Your death is nothing to regret, but don't drag Little Dumpling down with you," Zi Jin mocked.

“You’re the ones who need to be careful,” Catherine scoffed, retorting, “I’ve only been assassinated once, but do you dare to calculate how many waves of assassins are chasing you?”

"..."

****
Everything returned to normal after that. As Miao Xin said, one-month-old babies are actually quite sleepy, and the little one is relatively easy to take care of. After the initial chaos, things became less tiring with everyone sharing the workload.

Yunier, having recovered considerably, joined in. Having cared for her younger siblings before, she was even more skilled than Catherine, who rarely did things herself, which eased the pressure on everyone.

Catherine recovered quickly; Su Ming's medication helped her a lot, otherwise, she wouldn't have regained her mobility so quickly after losing so much blood.

Miao Xin initiated an online consultation, and the doctor suggested that in addition to replenishing fluids, some blood-tonifying agents could be used. The sanatorium's warehouse had no shortage of such medicines, and Su Ming completed the teleportation and applied the injection to Catherine.

“That naval battle was very unfair,” Catherine suddenly said. “Someone like you suddenly appeared in Elisa’s life, and I knew nothing about it.”

"Didn't you know immediately that the White Bone Mark had changed its controller?" Su Ming asked curiously.

“But nobody said that this controller is also a healer, a mechanic, and a master of tactics and strategy,” Catherine said. “Sorry, I actually only like to bully weak opponents and hate facing tough opponents.”

“No matter how much you flatter me, I will never forget the fact that you tricked me into a trap during the Battle of Agate,” Su Ming said. “And you’re probably thinking about how to get revenge on me.”

“I’m not as vindictive as Elisa,” Katharine retorted.

"Who are you calling vindictive?" Violet's voice rang out. "Are you asking for trouble?"

"..."

****
The little boy was very curious about the intravenous syringe and kept reaching out to grab it, so Catherine had to ask Eunil to take him away.

She carried the IV drip herself to the long table in the workroom, intending to find a book to pass the time.

A familiar object caught Catherine's attention. She reached out and rummaged through the books that Su Ming had deliberately piled up, finding "Qingjian Yunzhi" at the very bottom.

"So you really did take it." Catherine opened her spellbook. "And you even unlocked my lock!"

“What do you mean by ‘take’?” Violet corrected. “What we captured on the battlefield is ours!”

“My current weapon was destroyed during the escape battle.” Catherine tossed the spellbook aside. “I can use this one now.”

"That's a nice idea."

"Ten thousand gold coins," Catherine said directly, without beating around the bush.

“Your Majesty, I find this book very useful, and I especially like the information inside,” Su Ming said. “Especially the maps; the military and topographical data you have collected is far superior to the tattered civilian data.”

Catherine took a round alchemical tool from her body; it was also cyan. "Plus this. It's a substitute I made; it can record one-tenth of the original's content."

Su Ming considered it for a moment; this capacity was enough to store the parts he needed most. He exchanged opinions with Zi Jin, "Deal!"
-
Afterwards, Su Ming called on Yunier to carefully inspect the operational status of the Youth Civilization spacecraft, addressing each component that required maintenance and adjustment. Having completed this task, he finally had time to monitor the situation on Earth.

The scene shifts, and Miao Xin is standing in front of Si Ran's grave. It is evening, and the branches of the withered cypress droop under the leaden sky, with snow covering the tombstones of varying heights.

Su Ming originally thought that since he possessed the abilities of the necromancy side, he could use it to exchange a few pleasantries with his old friend, which is why he arranged for Miao Xin to search for Si Ran's soul. However, unexpectedly, Miao Xin searched the scene of Si Ran's death and traced the trail all the way to the hospital, morgue, and crematorium, but still found nothing.

After completing her journey, Miao Xin returned to the cemetery.

My former friend is now just a dark blue stone tablet in front of me. The inscription on the tablet is half covered by frost, and the serious face of my senior in the photo is now as cold as the surrounding environment.

This was Su Ming's first time trying something like this, and he wasn't sure if Si Ran's soul had dissipated too quickly or drifted to another place. As a necromancer, he had used far too little of his "professional" abilities.

Since he couldn't force it, Su Ming didn't dwell on it too much. He asked Miao Xin to collect a few wildflowers and place them in front of Si Ran's grave as a tribute.

"Winter, bro," Miao Xin said helplessly. "I can buy you some fireworks, though."

It's Chinese New Year now, and there are still a few days until the start of spring.

"Forget about that," Su Ming said. Si Ran had mentioned that she was injured by fireworks when she was little and hated them the most.

The sound of rustling footsteps approached; someone was getting closer. Miao Xin put on her glasses and turned to leave. A cold wind swept through the gaps in the cemetery, swirling snowflakes between the granite tombstone bases.

Su Ming said goodbye to Miao Xin and disconnected the connection.

After walking a short distance, Miao Xin glanced back and saw that the person who had come was a young man with a full beard, who was now standing in front of Si Ran's tombstone, placing offerings.

Tomb sweeping at dusk? This person is just as strange as I am. Miao Xin wondered, she had initially thought he was a cemetery worker.

Upon closer inspection of the man, Miao Xin suddenly stopped in her tracks. For the first time, she detected a resentment etched very clearly on this young man!
-
On this side of the other world, the blizzard gradually stopped.

The clouds turned from dark to pale, the wind stopped, the snowfield became silent, and everything seemed to have been refreshed.

The Youth Civilization Team successfully arrived at the Nuoxia Lake area, and Su Ming initiated the third parking preparation.

As usual, they chose a location with shelter on one side and built a snow wall on the other. Catherine raised her hand, and a hazy curtain of light enveloped the train. The train completely disappeared; from the outside, it looked like an ordinary snow slope.

Illusion, "Water Curtain Heavenly Splendor"!
"Excellent!" Violet praised, "For such a large scale, there is almost no magical fluctuation."

The difficulty of illusion lies not in creating a realistic disguise, but in the dissipation of magic that exposes the disguise.

“After all, I’ve practiced for so many years,” Catherine said proudly. “If I used a magic circle to release it, there wouldn’t even be this much fluctuation.”

The two began to discuss the details and techniques of the spell.

Su Ming knew nothing about water-based magic; he could only marvel at how Catherine, who had chosen this specialization, was definitely a master strategist. Thankfully, they were no longer enemies; some people, the more you looked at them, the less you wanted to fight them again.

Qiluo cheered and ran towards the lake to break the ice and fish with Hanster. Fuyin, meanwhile, led the undead creature to work busily on the motorcycle. Since inserting the Cardinal-level access card, this guy had become much more proactive.

Su Ming adjusted the drone configuration, launching a six-axis drone to an altitude of 500 meters to scan a large area of ​​terrain and verify map data.

The sunlight finally pierced through the thin clouds, carving out sharp, contrasting lines of light and shadow on the undulating snow slopes. The ice crust on the tire tracks reflected a cold, sharp light, interfering with the camera's operation. Su Ming had to make the drone climb even higher.

The scan was finally complete, and Su Ming could clearly see a prosperous small town about thirty kilometers ahead, with a population of over four thousand, judging from its size. He checked the map and found that the town's name was Turkmenistan.

“There are caravans coming and going; it looks like a market is being held,” Zijin said.

"Are there any major festivals here on the ice plains?" Su Ming asked.

“The winter solstice is in a week,” the girl replied, “the most important festival in the entire western continent.”

The current time is December 18th in the Star Calendar. Calculating the time, the winter solstice in this other world is about the same as the time in my hometown. The two are very similar in terms of calendar.

After compiling the coal consumption figures for this period, Yunier organized them in chronological order and handed them to Su Ming.

Su Ming entered the data into his portable computer and quickly calculated the energy efficiency for different time periods, discovering that coal consumption was somewhat high. He contacted the studio to analyze the reasons and concluded that the actual roads on the snowfield were not as smooth as imagined, and the train's speed did not reach the theoretical value most of the time.

The studio proposed a series of improvements, such as optimizing navigation software and selecting better routes. One of these was adding heat-reflective coating to the furnace. This material can reflect infrared radiation generated by coal combustion, reducing heat loss and improving energy efficiency.

Su Ming originally planned to have Miao Xin find a supplier to "obtain" it, but Zi Jin discovered that there was a better product in the otherworldly alchemy: Nirvana Silver Coating. It has higher reflectivity and excellent toughness and durability.

Nobles used it to make the interior of fireplaces, and the extravagant would even coat the entire house with it.

"Can you buy Nirvana Silver Plating in Turkmenistan?" Su Ming asked Zi Jin. Such a good thing should be used to boil water—that's the right thing to do!
"I'm not sure, but I can go look for it and give it a try."

Su Ming calculated that the round trip would only take a little over an hour. He also wanted to buy some daily necessities along the way. Although he had made some preparations before coming to the Northern Continent, he only realized that he lacked many things after arriving here.

Catherine made a request, hoping that Su Ming could help her purchase some items for the little dumpling. Although Su Ming had teleported some from Earth, there were still some odds and ends missing.

But when Su Ming received the list from Catherine and saw that it even included baby formula, he was puzzled. "Isn't the baby formula in our car enough for him to drink until he's six months old?"

“The milk powder you bought from the Dwarf Continent is not suitable for human babies,” Catherine said.

"..."

Su Ming considered who should accompany him. Qi Luo was definitely too busy to stay still, but he wasn't comfortable letting her go alone. Yunier's bone injury hadn't fully healed, so she shouldn't travel on a bumpy ride. Zi Jin needed to stay here to guard against any trouble from Catherine. Considering he could drive a snowmobile quickly to and from the destination, it would probably be him going with Unicorn or Hanster.

Unexpectedly, both Qiluo and Hanster refused.

"We need to make fish cakes," Qi Luo declared righteously. "The Winter Solstice is coming soon, we must prepare seasonal food!"

"Okay." Su Ming pushed out the snowmobile, intending to go alone.

But Zijin came over and said, "Take me with you."

"Very well, he's skipping what he should be going and going to what he shouldn't be going," Su Ming thought to himself. He said to Zi Jin, "If you want to buy anything, just give me the list."

“If I can’t buy finished alchemical products, I’ll buy raw materials to synthesize them,” Violet replied. “And I need to pick out some sanitary products; I want to do that myself.”

"...What about Catherine?"

"Don't worry, she wouldn't stoop to using such tactics on me," the scholar said confidently. "Objectively speaking, following us to Bubing City on the second level is her only option now."

If Catherine were alone, she might not have any worries, but she also had her little one with her.

“That’s true,” Su Ming said.

"The day after we rescued Catherine, she saw that the little dumpling was safe and sound, and she actually cried secretly under the covers," Zijin said with emotion. "She was someone who never cried no matter how much I bullied her back then."

"You know that's bullying," Su Ming thought to himself. In the past few days, the two would occasionally talk about the past at the nunnery. Although Catherine was two years older on the surface, she was still a real child back then. How could she possibly outwit a scholar? Nine times out of ten, she was the one who suffered the loss. The only other time was when Zi Jin was in a good mood and didn't bother to argue.

(End of this chapter)