Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 184 The Trap of the Bone Mark

Su Ming and Zi Jin began to dress up. Although the wanted posters in this world were rather abstract, they were going to a busy city in broad daylight, so they had to hide any easily identifiable features.

Zi Jin was indeed very skilled in this area. She took out some alchemical tools and changed her appearance and hair color. Then she helped Su Ming change his hair and eye color to brown.

She continued applying dark foundation to both of their faces, trying to make their skin look dull and rough. For travelers in cold conditions, skin honed from long hours in heated carriages is far too smooth.

“We can’t hide the fact that we’re from out of town, so we need to pretend to be a couple traveling here,” Zijin said to Su Ming.

Su Ming thought about it and agreed; traveling to the ice field in the dead of winter, especially as a couple, was indeed the least suspicious explanation.

"Got it, darling!" He immediately got into character.

Violet then painted his face an even darker shade.

Hansster walked over and said, "Lord Su Ming, could you help me buy a six-string guitar?"

"Are you a bard?" Violet asked.

“I used to be.” Hanster pointed to the scar on his neck. “I lost my voice in a battle and lost the ability to manipulate music and cast spells.”

"Now?" Su Ming asked, somewhat puzzled.

Hanster looked at a singing statue in the distance. "It's just an idea, maybe it would work. If it could be done, it might be of some use in battle."

Musical spellcasting—Hansster was previously a bard.

“The strings won’t work at this temperature,” Violet pointed out the problem. “Could you use a percussion instrument?”

The strings in this other world are all made of animal materials, and they become incredibly brittle at temperatures of minus twenty or thirty degrees Celsius.

Hansst shook his head. "I'm only good at strings."

“Hmm, I’ll get you an instrument from Earth later,” Su Ming said. “Metal strings aren’t afraid of low temperatures.”

"That works."

****
After the interlude ended, the two boarded a snowmobile and set off, with Violet volunteering to drive. The first half of the journey followed the smooth ice, and as she became more skilled, the snowmobile easily exceeded seventy kilometers per hour.

Su Ming wasn't idle either. He connected half his vision to Miao Xin, opened his email, and downloaded a file filled with various symbols. Ji Su Studio submitted the calculation results as scheduled.

Su Ming carefully verified the information and made minor adjustments from time to time.

“Zijin, I have a question for you,” Su Ming asked the girl beside him. “You said you rely on me and the White Bone Mark for support, so what if something happens to me, like I die?”

“I should have told you I would be severely injured,” Violet replied.

"But Galio didn't die like this," Su Ming recalled the events of his initial transmigration to this other world. Back then, with Violet's help, he killed Galio, and the bone mark detached from Galio's soul. At that time, Miss White Bone, still in her bone dragon form, seemed completely unharmed.

“You have released all the restrictions on me, and I have been liberated even more deeply,” Violet explained. “Activating the Elisa form, all seals are broken, and the power level is raised—this is completely different from when I was just regarded as a spirit of a bone fortress.”

Su Ming tried to understand, "So, the bond between us is deeper than I thought?"

“No, that’s not it.” The scholar shook his head. “It’s me who’s dependent on you. My death won’t have any impact on you.”

The pen in Su Ming's hand snapped in two. "I always thought we were good partners!" he said angrily.

“I’m just stating the facts about our parasitic relationship,” Violet replied.

The driver's cab was quiet for a short while.

“There’s something I need to confess to you. The Bone Mark is a trap.” Violet broke the silence and said, “During the battle on the Plain of Despair, while the two Saint Mages were plotting against me, I also inserted a backdoor into their forbidden spells—that’s how I used it to kill Russell.”

“That’s somewhat predictable,” Su Ming said. He had been prepared ever since he learned of the White Skull’s identity. After all, given the Chestnut Owl Scholar’s ​​personality and abilities, it would be unreasonable for him not to have a backup plan.

“Galio is a Saint-level being, and he took targeted defenses after learning about the trap,” Violet said. “But your mental strength isn’t that strong, so I can counter it at any time.”

"I should be glad that I haven't used my authority as the controller to do anything excessive to you," Su Ming said casually.

“It’s not just not excessive, you’ve never controlled me at all,” Violet said. “Oh, that time when I was drunk doesn’t count.”

"Wait a minute." Su Ming remembered this incident. "You were drunk and yelled at me... you could have killed me at any time—" He gestured to his neck, ""

Zijin glanced back at Su Ming but didn't say anything.

"Are you serious!" Su Ming broke out in a cold sweat. "No, you are absolutely forbidden from touching alcohol again!"

“A little drink is fine, right?” Violet said discontentedly. “Anyway, I was so out of control back then, and you even put a tube down my throat, but I didn’t fight back.” She muttered, “When I was little, Siwo saw me eat poisonous celery and tried to make me vomit, but I chased after him and bit him. When I woke up that day, I was actually quite surprised to see that you were safe and sound.”

"..." Su Xiang remembered that he had given her a bottle of 96% concentrated water of life, which she had hidden somewhere, and suddenly felt that the future was bleak.

“My initial thought was that I could accept anything as long as you didn’t go too far,” the scholar continued. “Although I could sense through our mental synchronization that you are a nice person, it was still unexpected that you would treat me as an equal.”

"Not bad, friend card received," Su Ming thought to himself.

“Your mental strength is growing rapidly, and sooner or later it will exceed the limits of the trap’s control. Also, the spell for this loophole is hidden behind the fifth layer, and I estimate that you will be able to solve it in a while,” the girl continued. “I think I need to make these things clear to you.”

"I see." Su Ming nodded. "The mesh circuit of the bone mark is quite difficult. I don't plan to spend any more time analyzing it."

“After all, it’s a forbidden spell-level creation,” the scholar said. “Dozens of mages participated in the research, and it has undergone two hundred years of upgrades and iterations. The number and structure of the runes have piled up to the point that no one can figure out the whole picture.”

"You guys have shit-mountain code here too?" Su Ming complained.

Zijin smiled but didn't reply. A few minutes later, however, she slammed on the brakes and stopped the snowmobile. Su Ming, caught off guard, bumped his head on the front frame.

Su Ming rubbed his forehead. Zi Jin turned around and looked at him, her expression incredulous, "How did you know it had a network structure!"

He'd let it slip! Su Ming sighed inwardly. The first few layers of the bone mark were just multiple loops; he'd completely forgotten about them. The girl continued to press, "Tell me the truth, how far have you gotten?"

"Alright, I did unlock the fourth layer of the Bone Mark," Su Ming had no choice but to admit. "I also saw the confusion spell you planted."

Zijin remained completely unmoved, staring intently at Su Ming. "You've already unlocked all seven layers, haven't you?"

The girl wasn't using her omniscience now; her eyes were beautiful, sparkling brown. Su Ming felt a little guilty under her gaze, and he gave up trying to hide it. "Yes."

Violet punched his shoulder lightly with her fist, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Then, the scholar took a deep breath, closed her eyes to calm herself. After a moment, she slowly said, "You really can always exceed all my expectations."

“I used a tool you don’t know about,” Su Ming explained. “There are things on Earth called neural networks, which are best at analyzing complex but repetitive spell sets. I hired a team to help me filter out a large number of redundant spells in the rune sea and find the key paths.”

Su Ming had no specific idea about the computing platform the team rented. The further expansion of available funds allowed him to unlock more assistance from Earth. The power of industrial civilization could, in some ways, rewrite the rules of this other world.

"When did it start?" Violet asked.

"On Brown Gold Island, that magical resonance further expanded my mental power," Su Ming recounted. "When I woke up, I found that I could see the full picture of the white bone mark."

The starry nodes that appear when the bone mark unfolds are only the surface; the dark starry sky behind it is the ocean of information.

"Shortly after leaving Brown Gold Island, I cracked the fifth layer. The last two layers were completed a few days ago with the help of a larger computing platform."

There are two traps with the white bone mark placed by the violet; besides the fourth layer, there is another one on the fifth layer.

“So from that moment on, I completely let my guard down around you.” Zi Jin couldn’t quite articulate her feelings. “The day before yesterday, when you told me you’d cracked the third level, you were deliberately reminding me, preparing me for what was to come.” She closed her eyes and ran her hand over her hair. “It’s ridiculous. I struggled for so long, trying to convince myself to trust you more—but all of this was just a deliberate attempt to mislead me because you were worried about my feelings!”

“…This is a disaster,” Su Ming said sheepishly. “I got stuck on the fourth layer, so I don’t have much of an impression of the shallow structure.”

The scholar glared at him. "In your world, this is called Versailles, right?"

"Okay, I was just showing off."

Zijin calmed herself down, restarted the snowmobile, and slowly moved along a ridge.

The snow-covered slopes stretched out under the clear sky, like a silvery-white canvas. Sunlight pierced through the chilly air, gilding the snow crystals with a diamond-like sharpness. The snow line at the horizon undulated with the mountain's contours, sketching undulating silhouettes against the sky.

The two quietly watched the snow scene for a while.

“Su Ming, you are the most terrifying master of the White Bone Mark,” Zi Jin suddenly said. “Fortunately, you are too good.”

"I promised—" Su Ming was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

“I know you want to regain control of the Bone Mark,” Violet interrupted. “But there’s no such thing as having it all: fixing my flaws and keeping my freedom.” She bit her lip repeatedly, her voice strained. “It’s not your fault; it’s something I need to learn to accept.”

The complete deciphering of the bone mark signifies that Su Ming has gained absolute control over Zi Jin. However, Su Ming has yet to find a way to change Zi Jin's parasitic and dependent nature at the soul level.

Directly removing the mark will only cause more damage to the corydalis.

****
The snowmobile suddenly veered towards Su Ming. Zi Jin's distraction caused the snowmobile to veer off course and slide down the slope. She checked the terrain on both sides of the snowmobile, adjusted its direction, and continued driving forward at an angle on the slope.

She turned to look at Su Ming, who was shorter than her, and was about to speak when she noticed that he turned his face away uncomfortably. "What's wrong with you now?" Zi Jin asked, puzzled.

"What do you think!" Su Ming thought to himself. The angle of the car's tilt brought them too close; strands of Zi Jin's hair almost brushed against his cheek. Not to mention her lips, which she had unconsciously bitten just now, the rosy hue spreading from the faint teeth marks, involuntarily reminding Su Ming of that moonlit night a few days ago—

He pushed the violet aside, turned the steering wheel, and maneuvered the snowmobile back up the hill.

“If you walk diagonally like that, you’ll be out in no time.” Violet asked, puzzled, “Did I make a mistake?”

“No,” Su Ming replied, as if he was the only one who cared about these things from beginning to end. After a moment’s thought, he decided to be clear, “I am a young man, and you are a very beautiful girl, please understand that.”

Violet paused for a moment.

She thought she had a pretty good understanding of human gender, after all, even dragons have gender concepts. But lately, she felt she had lost her sense of boundaries again, and Violet was somewhat annoyed.

"So, if you don't have any intention of developing a relationship with me beyond just being partners," Su Ming continued, "please be mindful of that."

Zijin nodded somewhat blankly. After a moment, she looked up and said, "Could you please remind me again, like before?"

"it is good."

Zi Jin turned around and focused on driving again, while Su Ming continued to verify the runes.

She suddenly remembered something, "Su Ming, should I not sleep with you either?"

"Even with the little dumpling in between, I actually slept quite soundly," Su Ming replied.

He thought to himself that it was nice to be able to steal a few glances at her when he woke up.

"So when you feel you can tolerate it, you won't remind me of my overstepping boundaries, right?" Violet narrowed her eyes.

"...You found out."

****
Fishermen, mostly villagers from the surrounding area, began to appear on the lake. They were bundled up in thick cotton-padded clothes, using dry grass as a base to chisel holes in the ice of Lake Nuoxia, then using poles to lay nets beneath the ice. Some fishermen were already hauling in their nets; the lines immediately became covered in ice crystals as soon as they emerged from the water. Even with various protective gear, their hands were still frozen red.

Su Ming was surprised by Yan Dong's active production.

"After nightfall, the Youth Civilization Train will pass through this area again," he decided. This was the first time since entering the ice field that he had seen a large number of local people on the train's planned route.

“There’s a salt mine near Turkmenistan where a thousand miners live,” the scholar explained to him, explaining the reason for this phenomenon. “The town has a huge demand for food from the surrounding area. Fresh meat like live fish, which is rare, can fetch a good price.”

Su Ming realized that the economic ecosystem was different. The fact that this region was so bustling during the cold winter was purely due to the overwhelming dominance of the industrial and commercial economy over the small-scale agricultural economy.

　I'll try my best to increase my daily update frequency to 6 words next month. I have a question: is it better to have one 6-word chapter, or two 4-word chapters a day, or one chapter a day?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)