Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 398 Assassination (1.1 words)

When morning came again, a large number of ships had gathered on the sea outside Sapphire Harbor. The sails were so dense that they almost blocked the entrance to the harbor.

Su Ming placed the order more than half a month, or even more than a month ago, to purchase materials including but not limited to steel bars, otherworldly cement, and various ores. Among them, with the advancement of the dwarven zinc smelting process, the first batch of gallium-containing "slag" that shimmered with a strange luster was also produced and transported to the port.

But as Su Ming counted the number of cargo ships, he felt it exceeded his expectations. He called over Beianqi, pointed out into the harbor, and asked, "Do I need so many ships to transport the goods I ordered from the Dwarf Merchant Guild?"

Beanie asked, puzzled, "Only five of them are transport ships that I'm responsible for coordinating with. The rest... weren't they arranged by you separately?"

“Three of them are coal transport ships from Brown Gold Island,” Su Ming replied. “So what about the remaining seven?”

Contact personnel were quickly dispatched, and the situation was soon confirmed. It turned out that these ships had spotted the unusually bright beam of light from the Sapphire Harbor lighthouse while en route to Dragon Gorge, and thus changed course to head there.

“It’s a full 200 kilometers from here to Longxia Port!” Su Ming tapped his fingertips lightly on the table. “Why would a ship that’s so far away be attracted to our lighthouse?”

The problem was quickly identified. Ji Su's initial design of a 100-kilometer visibility range was based on standard human visual capabilities. However, this was another world, where lookouts were typically winged races or orcs with exceptional eyesight, or at the very least, halflings with naturally keen vision. Their eye structure was vastly different from humans, giving them a far superior ability to detect faint light sources at a distance.

Even in the rarest cases where there are no such lookouts, the last line of defense is provided by human spellcasters who can use Eagle Eye.

In short, the zero added to the lighthouse's light source power by Ji Su, the high-standard Fresnel lens group, and the visual abilities of the otherworldly lookouts far exceeding those of humans on Earth, greatly extended the effective navigation distance of the Sapphire Lighthouse.

As a result, its coverage distance completely suppressed the navigation range of the Longxia Port Lighthouse.

Su Ming felt a headache coming on. However, the captains who had mistakenly entered the port all said that encountering such a bright and highly penetrating navigation beacon on the vast ocean was an incredibly reassuring thing.

The beam characteristics of the Sapphire Harbor lighthouse are also different from those of the Dragon Gorge Harbor lighthouse. After a moment's thought, Su Ming instructed Bei Anqi to further adjust the flashing period and rhythm sequence of the light source to significantly increase the difference in visibility from the Dragon Gorge Harbor lighthouse.

Subsequently, with the updating of data in the shipboard beacon list, such confusion incidents can be completely eliminated.

After the issue was clarified, the six cargo ships that had gone to the wrong location did not leave immediately. A violent sea storm was approaching, and Sapphire Harbor's unique bay provided an excellent sheltered anchorage.

This is why, even after they realized the direction was off in the later stages of their voyage, they still followed the guidance of the Sapphire Lighthouse at full speed and headed for the shore without hesitation.

Storms may not sink ships, but they can cause damage to the hull or loss of cargo and personnel, which can be quite costly.

Su Ming did not refuse their request to dock, though this naturally required payment. Moreover, not all the cargo on these ships was from the Chamber of Commerce orders; some was intended for free trade upon arrival at port.

Su Ming is currently accepting all kinds of supplies without hesitation, as long as the price is right.

As for the last remaining ship, realizing it had gone to the wrong port, it immediately weighed anchor and set sail. By the time Su Ming finished dealing with the matters concerning the sheltered vessels, that ship had already sailed several kilometers out of the port.

Just then, three silver dragons belonging to the guard arrived at Sapphire Harbor. Their enormous figures swept past and settled into the newly renovated cave, becoming "security guards" of this emerging port.

Seeing this, Su Ming signaled Rui Xiuli to board one of the silver dragons and go check on the ship that was hurriedly leaving the port.

****
Also traveling with them were Gerald and a student named Margaret, who knew about navigation and port affairs.

Margaret looked up at the horizon, where the clouds were churning and the sky was clearly changing rapidly. "At their current speed, they simply won't make it to Dragon Gorge before the storm hits. This kind of sailing into danger is both foolish and illogical."

Wooden hulls are designed with durability in mind. If a ship is rocked back and forth in a storm, many of the fasteners at the structural joints will come loose. And repairing a seagoing vessel is not as simple as just nailing a plank on.

Therefore, the ship's actions amounted to nothing more than a pointless loss of money. Not to mention the other losses and risks that the storm might bring.

Upon hearing this, Rishiri and Jelus exchanged a glance, their expressions turning serious.

Soon, the dragon swiftly approached the target ship. Rishri's gaze swept across the ship's hull, recognizing its name: "Gold Coin Coachman."

Among the busy sailors on deck, green-skinned goblins made up the vast majority. This composition meant only one thing—the ship's owner must also be a goblin.

Only a fellow goblin shipowner could so "efficiently" drive his goblin sailors to work.

Without the slightest hesitation, Rishiri, Gerus, and Margaret leaped lightly and nimbly from the dragon's back, landing steadily on the somewhat worn deck of the "Gold Coin Coachman".

The shipowner immediately jogged over to greet him, and sure enough, it was a goblin dressed in an elegant captain's uniform.

"Greetings, esteemed lords. What brings you to my humble abode?" His voice carried the distinctive high-pitched quality of a goblin.

Margaret stepped forward and said in a businesslike tone, "According to regulations, we need to conduct a routine inspection of the personnel and cargo on your ship."

The goblin captain immediately jumped up as if his tail had been stepped on. "Inspect? We haven't even entered your port! You have no right to inspect my ship!"

“We have this authority,” Margaret stated calmly, her voice clear and firm. “This is territorial waters under the jurisdiction of the Dragon Clan. According to Article 7 of the ‘Dragon Kingdom Maritime Trade Management Agreement,’ the Dragon Clan Guard and its administrative members have the right to inspect any suspicious or unregistered vessels within the territorial waters.” She pointed to the enormous silver shadow hovering overhead. “We are being carried out on this official duty directly entrusted by that Silver Dragon Lord.”

The goblin captain tried to argue further, but Gerald's bone blade flashed out like a cold light. Several sharp cracks rang out, and several thick ropes on the mast snapped!

The sails, now unsupported, plummeted like giant birds with broken wings, crashing onto the deck and burying several sailors who couldn't get out of the way, eliciting gasps of alarm.

"When did you get the idea that we were consulting with you?" Gerus's voice was as cold as ice.

The goblin captain was ashen-faced. Forced by circumstances, he had no choice but to obey. He yelled and ordered his men to bring everyone in the cabin to the deck. Soon, the deck was packed with over 150 people.

Margaret quickly sensed something amiss. For a medium-sized cargo ship like the "Golden Coachman," weighing around a thousand tons, a normal crew should number less than a hundred. Why would a goblin captain, so obsessed with money, willingly spend money to hire far more crew than actually needed?

This was even more painful than killing him!
Even more noticeably, once everyone had exited the ship's cabin, the number of humans actually exceeded that of the goblins.

"Explain yourself!" Jelus was too lazy to check each item one by one. She approached the captain directly, and the bone blade in her hand was instantly covered with a layer of dark magic. A cold light flowed on the blade, exuding an invisible sense of oppression.

In contrast, Rishiri, who was standing at the back holding the healer's scepter, seemed overly relaxed, looking with great interest at the various odds and ends and furnishings piled up on the old-fashioned sailboat, as if he were an outsider.

"There are dozens of humans among them," the goblin captain said knowingly. "They're on their way to Dragon Valley for work!"

“Yes, yes, yes!” A strong human man in the crowd, whose attire clearly did not resemble that of a sailor, quickly chimed in, “My lord, please understand! We are just ordinary workers who are taking a boat to the dragon’s territory to find some work and earn a little money through hard labor.”

A slightly mocking smile played on Gerus's lips, her tone brimming with confidence. "Oh? I had no idea that even mid-level warriors had to resort to manual labor to make a living!"

Although these people were physically stronger than ordinary civilians, it was reasonable for migrant workers to have some muscle, and Gerus did not sense any obvious energy fluctuations from them.

But it doesn't matter, testing the waters and trying to trick someone won't take much effort.

Unexpectedly, Gerus's words were like a boulder thrown into calm water, causing the expressions of those dozens of people to change drastically!
The goblin captain was so shocked that he tried to stop them, but it was too late—the group of people suddenly unleashed a fierce aura, pulling out various weapons hidden under their clothes or in the debris on the deck, and surrounded Gerus and her two companions like hungry wolves!
The goblin captain's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, his mouth agape, the curse that almost escaped his lips stuck in his throat. He groaned inwardly: their goblin race's unique concealment techniques, capable of temporarily masking fluctuations of battle aura or magic, were not so easily seen through!
They're all a bunch of idiots!
The silver dragon, which had been circling overhead on alert, keenly sensed the sudden change on the deck and unleashed a rapid breath attack without hesitation. However, this dragon breath did not strike the ship directly; instead, it violently slammed into the sea surface right next to the hull!

"boom--!"

Huge columns of water shot into the sky, carrying salty seawater, and poured down on the ship's sides and parts of the deck like a torrential rain.

This was what Rissori instructed. In his words, if the ship was damaged, they would lose their spoils of war!
Of course, the real reason is that such area-of-effect attacks can indeed kill or severely injure ordinary grunts. But against powerful figures like Rishiri and Gerus, clearing out grunts is not a problem. As long as corpses are created, the rest of the battle is irrelevant to the minions.

However, against truly skilled enemies, this type of area-of-effect attack is ineffective. Instead, it severely disrupts Rishiri and Gerus's perception of the battlefield, blurring their vision and judgment, and causing trouble.

****
The attackers on the ship had no idea what their opponent was really thinking. Seeing that the silver dragon was only launching a deterrent attack, they mistakenly believed that the dragon was worried about harming their own people on the deck, and their arrogance only grew stronger.

"Take them hostage!" the lead soldier roared. "These men are definitely not simple!"

Several warriors immediately pounced on Gerus, trying to entangle her. Gerus, like a true warrior, calmly swung her bone blade to parry and retreated steadily.

While defending against the enemy's attacks, she quickly assessed the overall strength of her opponents, her sharp eyes scanning the crowd to determine if any experts were lurking among them.

A ghostly black shadow suddenly appeared behind Rishuli! His movements were silent yet swift as lightning, and the dagger in his hand was precisely aimed at Rishuli's throat—he intended to take the weakest healer hostage.

In an instant, Rui Xiuli felt a chill run down his spine! The attacker was actually a master-level assassin!
He had no idea that such a skilled expert would be hidden on this seemingly ordinary merchant ship. He had only exchanged weapons with Gerus out of caution. Little did he know that this act would shield Gerus from a fatal sneak attack!

In a flash, Rishiri made a decision: he had to capture this dangerous assassin! His upper body stiffened as if he were paralyzed with fear, as if he had no time to react, but his right hand, hanging at his waist, drew the short sword from his waist with lightning speed.

Immediately afterwards, his wrist twisted at an extremely strange and skillful angle, and the short sword, from bottom to top, along his ribs, swiftly stabbed upwards and backwards like a venomous snake emerging from its hole!

The assassin who intended to take the hostage also immediately noticed something amiss—his target was also a wolf in sheep's clothing!
No, it should be a lion! The opponent's aura exploded instantly, far exceeding his expectations!
Alarm bells rang in the assassin's mind, and without hesitation, he changed tactics! The originally gentle hostage-taking action instantly transformed into a fierce killing move, the dagger changing from a defensive stance to a slash, viciously cutting towards Ruixiuli's neck.

Regardless of success or failure, this experienced master assassin had already made up his mind to flee immediately after the strike!
But Rishiri was even faster! His left hand seemed to have anticipated the trajectory of the dagger, and instead of dodging, it met the blade head-on!

puff!

The dagger pierced his palm in an instant, and a sharp pain shot through him, but Rui Xiu's expression remained unchanged. His left hand gripped the assassin's wrist, which was holding the dagger, like an iron clamp, and then he pulled it forward sharply!
Caught off guard, the assassin staggered from the force, his retreat interrupted. In that instant of loss of balance, the short sword in Rishiri's right hand, with a piercing whistling sound, stabbed precisely into his chest!

The assassin's fingers simultaneously flicked the dagger's hilt, and green venom immediately gushed out from a small hole inside the blade, covering the blade and Ruixiu's wound.

****
Jelus sensed something amiss the moment Rishuri was attacked. She no longer concealed her strength; her magic erupted suddenly, creating an invisible storm that violently blasted away the enemies entangled around her. Her eyes had already begun to change color, but when she glimpsed Rishuri's injury and the ominous, eerie green hue stained the tip of the blade piercing his hand—

Gerus's eyes instantly regained their calm, stillness, replaced by a chilling killing intent.

"Holy Imprisonment!"

She raised her hand, and a chain made entirely of holy light appeared out of thin air, instantly binding the assassin and securing him tightly! Taking advantage of this opportunity, Rishuri exerted her strength to break free of the assassin's grip. The two, perfectly in sync, simultaneously hurled their respective main weapons at each other!

Margaret, who had been clutching her heart with her hands, looking utterly terrified and pitiful, was suddenly enveloped in intense shadow energy the instant an enemy lunged at her with a sinister grin!
The next moment, a lithe cheetah, its body as black as ink and its eyes gleaming with an eerie green light, took her place!
Shadow Druid!
Margaret, in her cheetah form, let out a low growl. Instead of dodging or evading, she allowed the opponent's sword to pierce her side, and at the same time, she lunged forward, her gaping maw filled with sharp teeth precisely biting the opponent's unsuspecting neck!

Black corrosive energy surged wildly from the cheetah's sharp teeth, like tangible shadow thorns, instantly piercing through the opponent's hastily condensed battle aura shield!
Click!

With a sickeningly sharp crack, the soldier's neck bone was snapped in two!

The unidentified soldier's fierce glint vanished instantly, his body went limp, and he died in a flash.

Then, Margaret jerked her head back and threw the body out like a rag doll. The body slid down the slippery deck, through the bubbling, crimson blood, all the way to Rishuli.

Just as Rishiri caught the bone blade thrown back by Gerus, dark magic instantly coiled around it as if it were alive, emitting a chilling, eerie light. Without the slightest hesitation, he swung the bone blade with all his might at the assassin!
"Mad Bones - Crushing Strike!"

The assassin, still reeling from the shock of breaking free of the chains of holy light, barely managed to parry the bone blade that Rishuri was slashing at him with his dagger. He pushed off with his feet, his body moving as light as smoke, intending to use the momentum to retreat quickly—the enemy was powerful; if he didn't escape now, he would truly be finished!
However, just as he was about to retreat, a sudden change occurred!

Suddenly, numerous tiny wounds appeared on the corpse of their companion that had slid nearby! Countless sharp bone fragments flew out from them, seemingly drawn by an invisible force as Rishuri's bone blade danced, whistling as they struck the assassin's body with a series of thuds!
The assassin successfully retreated, but his body went out of control like a kite with a broken string. He crashed heavily onto the sturdy railing at the bow of the ship, then slipped and fell to the ground, covered in blood, already seriously injured and unable to get up.

****
"boom--!"

An even more ferocious and terrifying beam of white dragon breath slammed into the outer side of the other side of the "Gold Coin Coachman"! This dragon breath swept horizontally, and even after violently impacting the sea surface, the terrifying energy it contained still carried the seawater forward at high speed like a torrent of lava, creating a long curtain of water!

It was Elder Yin Er's dragon breath! This majestic dragon, significantly larger than an ordinary silver dragon, was hurtling through the air at an astonishing speed. On its broad and sturdy back, Su Ming lay prone, gripping a sleek CS/LR24 sniper rifle tightly in his hand. Holding his breath, he decisively pulled the trigger.

boom!
The specially designed 8.6mm caliber bullet leaves the barrel at a terrifying initial velocity of more than three times the speed of sound!
Snipe from the dragon's stable back; it felt so much safer than when I used my flight spell! Su Ming thought to himself with admiration.

The bullet tore through the air, covering nearly two kilometers in just a moment. It struck an enemy soldier precisely between the eyebrows, leaving a gruesome bloody hole from which red and white matter spurted out instantly.

Instantly, the remaining enemies on the deck fell silent, as if their throats had been choked. With both the terrifying power of the dragon's breath creating a wide-area intimidation and such precise long-range targeting, this battle had completely lost any meaning in continuing.

Su Ming put down his sniper rifle, but sighed helplessly—he had clearly aimed at someone else, but the bullet missed the target by a full two meters!

Back in the day, he was considered a skilled marksman in the game, often fantasizing about being invincible with a real gun. But reality... sigh.

No wonder Fengshou advised him against taking this weapon, saying that without tens of thousands of bullets, he wouldn't be able to develop its combat effectiveness.

"Believe me, the LR24 is a niche weapon; my CS/LM12 is the real deal!" he patiently persuaded.

****
As the enemy completely lost their will to fight and surrendered, more reinforcements quickly arrived and brought the chaotic situation under control.

The poison on the assassin's poisoned dagger was extremely potent and acted rapidly. Fortunately, Gerus was a professional healer and immediately began emergency treatment. Even so, it took her nearly fifteen minutes to barely stabilize the situation. When she wearily straightened up, her forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat.

Su Ming went forward to check on him and found that Ruixiuli had fallen into a deep coma shortly after being injured. He was pale and showed no signs of waking up.

But his breathing was still quite good.

Gerus reported to Su Ming: "The major danger has been temporarily averted, but purification treatment is still needed."

Su Ming immediately nodded in acknowledgment, "I have already recalled Stacy."

Several guild members who rushed over carefully lifted the unconscious Rishiri and, together with Gerus, returned to the Pansy, which was anchored in the harbor.

On the Gold Coin Coachman, all the unidentified personnel were captured. Powers arrived and began interrogating them on the spot.

Su Ming walked to the bow of the ship, to the assassin. Having despairingly discovered his severe injuries and hopelessness, the assassin licked the blade of his dagger, already dead from the poison.

Beianqi donned specially made protective gloves and carefully pried open the assassin's stiff fingers, removing the oddly shaped dagger. Upon closer inspection, she discovered it was an extremely sophisticated murder weapon. Not only was the blade as thin as a cicada's wing and incredibly sharp, but more importantly, it contained delicate, hollow venom channels hidden within. Simply flipping a switch on the guard would release a deadly poison, coating the entire blade.

"The initial assessment of the toxin is that it is a high-purity extract of the Heart-Eating Vine, which is lethal upon contact with blood," Bei Anqi analyzed. "But the dagger itself is ridiculously expensive. Moreover, because of its pursuit of extreme thinness and sharpness, its structure is exceptionally fragile, making it essentially a disposable combat item that is destroyed after use."

“So,” Su Ming frowned, “this master-level assassin must have come with a specific mission to assassinate a high-value target.”

This dagger, so fragile like glass and with such a meager amount of poison, could not possibly have been used to deal with a thick-skinned dragon.

So who is their real target?

Bowers quickly finished the initial interrogation and strode over to report to Su Ming, "Guild Master, this group paid a high fee to the goblin captain to smuggle themselves into the dragon territory."

Smuggling is not uncommon, so the goblin captain readily accepted the job, since it wouldn't interfere with his cargo transport. However, due to the unusually strong light from the Sapphire Harbor lighthouse, the "Gold Coin Coachman," which was supposed to be heading towards Dragonfjord Harbor, was mistakenly led to Sapphire Harbor instead.

Initially, the goblin captain didn't mind making a short stop there to avoid the approaching bad weather. But when the group of stowaways learned about the situation, especially when they saw the large number of necromancers in the bay, their expressions changed drastically. They immediately threatened the goblin captain to leave as soon as possible, which led to the scene of them hastily weighing anchor and setting sail to face the impending storm.

"So what exactly is the purpose of this group infiltrating Dragon Valley?" Su Ming pressed.

“We haven’t gotten them to talk yet. We don’t know the specifics about the lower-ups, but the leaders are really stubborn.” A cold glint flashed in Bowers’ eyes. “Once I take them back, I’ll give them a good ‘welcome,’ and I guarantee they’ll tell me everything.”

“Okay!” Su Ming nodded in agreement.

****
After this little incident, Su Ming threw himself back into his busy work.

With the arrival of a large quantity of ordered raw materials on cargo ships, Sapphire Port has entered a high-speed unloading phase. Large numbers of undead creatures move back and forth in the dock area, cranes rise and fall, and cargo containers pile up like mountains.

The resource warehouse, which had been almost depleted, has finally become abundant again.

The goods were unloaded and sorted as they went. Soon, Ymir came to report: the materials needed for one hundred sets of "audio-visual entertainment equipment" had been prepared according to Su Ming's requirements.

In the past few days, Su Ming has been able to remove one of the 'Spirit Enclosure Crystal Barrier' bracelets for daily activities. As his body gradually adapts to this level of exertion, the passive effect of 'Whispers of the Stars' has also begun to appear, promoting the growth of his mental strength.

However, it still caused interference during high-intensity spellcasting. Su Ming put the bracelet he had taken off back on and then began the Summoning of All Things.

In Earth's warehouse, the equipment prepared by the dodder was disassembled, and after consuming the corresponding materials in another world, it was reassembled.

These gaming devices are not particularly large; all components combined occupy only a few cubic meters of space. However, their internal structure is exceptionally sophisticated, especially as they contain a massive number of chip units.

Su Ming had to perform the summoning in three separate sessions, and with the help of Qi Luo's sacrificial aura, he was able to complete this extremely costly task.

"What are these square boxes for?" Qiluo poked one of the devices with her unicorn horn, her eyes full of curiosity.

Su Ming originally planned to let the unicorn experience it firsthand, so that she could save herself the trouble of haggling when she needed her to do work in the future. For example, just now, she asked Su Ming to order a batch of rare fruits unique to the Silver Moon Forest.

But on second thought, Qiluo is generally quite good, she was just a bit greedy, but that's not a serious offense!
****
Su Ming, along with the members of the newly established "Entertainment Division," carrying these devices, headed to an abandoned dragon settlement near the port.

This is a group of continuous earthen slopes formed by wind erosion, with dozens of nests scattered among them, large enough to house an adult dragon.

As early as when the plan was finalized, Su Ming dispatched a construction team to the site to prepare the nests. Inside each nest, the workers carefully scraped out an extremely smooth rock wall and coated it with a highly reflective white matte paint to serve as a projection screen.

By this time, the basic renovations of more than a dozen caves had been completed. Su Ming directed the members of the entertainment division to install projectors and sensor capture equipment in designated locations within the nests.

The electrician team reported: "Power supply has been restored and voltage is stable."

Su Ming nodded, his gaze sweeping over the group of dragons nearby who were attracted by the construction noise and curiously peeking around. He randomly selected a lucky audience member of medium size and invited him into the cave to become an experience participant.

Several staff members stepped forward and strapped the lightweight yet sturdy custom-made motion-sensing device to the dragon's head, forepaws, hind legs, and its large wings.

Subsequently, the staff connected the power. Considering the otherworldly beings' level of expertise in operating electronic devices, all complex settings such as initialization, device self-test, and signal pairing were completed automatically by the device.

Soon, with a crisp and pleasant "ding" sound, the indicator light on the device turned a stable blue – the hardware was ready to start and the motion sensor initialization was complete.

"Ace Flying Dragon," Su Ming issued the voice command.

The giant screen projected onto the pristine white rock wall lit up, the game loading at lightning speed, and automatically skipped all the tedious character selection and appearance settings—the camera hanging on the wall captured the physical features of the dragon spectator in front of him, directly generating a virtual dragon image similar to him in the game.

Upon seeing the lifelike "himself" appearing in the giant projection on the rock wall, the dragon spectator's eyes widened in astonishment, and he let out a low growl.

He subconsciously moved his front paws and was surprised to find that the virtual dragon on the screen also made the corresponding movement in sync!
"Just follow the instructions on the screen!" Su Ming explained to him.

Soon, the giant dragon on the screen soared through the magnificent otherworldly sky, beginning to confront enemies surging from all directions. A variety of attack methods were available: breathing various colors of dragon breath, unleashing powerful dragon magic, and even engaging in fierce aerial melee combat. Players could also collect power-up items scattered throughout the battle or unlock and upgrade them as the battle progressed.

Guided by a simple and intuitive tutorial, the dragon quickly mastered the basic controls and soon became immersed in this unprecedented experience, happily slapping the ground with its tail and letting out excited growls.

Seeing that the effect had met expectations, Su Ming turned to the surrounding dragons, who were now more attracted, craning their necks and their eyes gleaming with curiosity and longing, and announced loudly, "There are still some spots available for the trial. Anyone want to give it a try?"

No sooner had the words been spoken than two more dragons, unable to contain themselves, eagerly stepped forward. Amidst the envious gazes of their companions, and with a hint of bewilderment, they excitedly strode towards the novel and alluring "abyss" before them.

****
Today's main tasks are equipment debugging and initial promotion. Su Ming left two silver dragons on site to maintain order and clearly stipulated that each dragon's experience time should not exceed two hours before leaving the "PUBG Internet Cafe".

Upon returning to the Pansy, Powers immediately greeted him and solemnly handed him the interrogation report.

Su Ming only glanced at the key conclusions before feeling a slight dizziness wash over him, causing him to instinctively grab the bulkhead next to him.

"They...they came for me?" His voice was filled with disbelief and astonishment.

Bowers nodded heavily, his voice low, "Yes, Master, assassins sent by the Temple of Light."

According to the detailed confession of the leading officer, four of those captured were elite members of the Temple of Light's "Dark Side" action group. The core objective of this infiltration mission was to thoroughly investigate the latest movements of the "Bone Mage" organization in the Dragon Mountains and gather relevant intelligence.

Meanwhile, the operation order explicitly included a "wait and see" clause—if the time was right, Su Ming himself could be assassinated.

The assassin who chose to commit suicide after being severely wounded by Rishiri came for this reason. He was one of the top assassins secretly trained by the Covenant at great expense.

No one expected that, due to the lighthouse's overperformance and the goblin captain's eagerness to find a safe haven, they inadvertently sent the team on a covert mission directly to the doorstep of the "Bone-Ending Mad Machine" headquarters.

Su Ming took a deep breath, forcibly calming his mind and suppressing his surging emotions.

As sworn enemies, the Divine Covenant's dispatch of assassins to kill them is logically sound. However, sometimes reason is one thing, but the feeling of actually feeling that chilling killing intent descends upon you is entirely different.

If it weren't for Rishiri's decisive action—this top assassin, whose movements were like ghosts and who was prepared to die—he would have definitely caused him a lot of trouble. Given the assassin's skill level, Su Ming knew perfectly well that if he had accidentally entered the assassin's hunting range, he wouldn't have been able to withstand it.

Even if one manages to cope, the consequences would be unimaginable if one were to contract the deadly poison that kills on contact with blood, and there was no top-notch healer like Gerus by one's side.

For the first time, Su Ming truly felt the most naked and coldest cruelty of war.

“Understood.” Su Ming’s voice returned to its usual calm, but a hint of seriousness appeared in the depths of his eyes. “Please continue to dig deeper into the interrogation and find out whether they have established a local intelligence network inside Dragon Valley, or whether they have accomplices who can provide assistance.”

"Yes, Chairman!" Bowers solemnly accepted the order, turned around, and quickly left.

Su Ming buried himself in the large chair, his chaotic thoughts surging like the tide for a moment. Then, he picked up his phone and dialed Zi Jin, who was far away in Longting, and told her about the events that had just occurred.

"You need to be extra careful too," Su Ming warned. "Since they can target me, they will definitely not let you off the hook."

“Yes, I know.” Zijin’s voice was calm. “My strength is much greater than yours, and there are many dragon elders guarding the Dragon Court. They have no chance of succeeding.”

"But on your side," she changed the subject, "you need to immediately strengthen your personal guard."

“Dragons do have an advantage against powerful enemies,” Su Ming said frankly. “But against top assassins skilled in stealth and assassination, humans are still more perceptive and quicker. But don’t worry, Stacy has already arrived at Sapphire Harbor. She said that with Gerus’s proper handling, Rishuri will be able to recover his mobility in a day or two. After that, I will have Rishuri accompany me on my missions as my personal bodyguard.”

Zijin gave a soft "hmm" on the other end of the phone, indicating her agreement.

"By the way, I heard you're running an internet cafe?" Zijin asked.

Su Ming also took the opportunity to describe his "Dragon Incentive Plan," including the accompanying consumer products and the upcoming membership and points program.

"My core goal is to motivate the dragons to participate in production," Su Ming explained. "To guide them to actively engage with broader affairs and gradually improve their overall cognitive level and quality."

Zi Jin agreed, "This is indeed a direction to solve the current predicament of the Dragon Clan." She pondered for a moment, "The restructuring of the upper echelons of the Dragon Court is nearing completion. I will come back in person tomorrow; there are some matters that need to be discussed in person."

"Sure, welcome," Su Ming replied, then added in a relaxed tone, "By the way, what do you want to eat when you get back? —Speaking of which, how's the food at your Dragon Court?"

"Uh...it's...not bad, I guess." Violet's answer was slightly hesitant.

"Wait a minute!" Su Ming clearly hadn't overlooked this detail. "You're not, you're not, eating raw potatoes again, are you?!"

"...No way!" Violet firmly denied.

"Okay, then tell me, how long does it take to cook potatoes?" Su Ming asked.

"..."

****
Reports quickly came back from the "PUBG Internet Cafe." In just one morning, dozens of dragons had participated in the experience. Afterwards, these dragons excitedly recounted their amazing and thrilling experiences to their companions.

Due to translation limitations, the games currently being released are all completely independent of text content. These are merely the tip of the iceberg in a vast world; the truly powerful ones are yet to come.

But that is indeed a problem.

Although Su Ming could cast the "Language Proficiency" spell, granting otherworldly beings the ability to understand Earth's languages, the standard version of this spell required pure water element to activate it. Su Ming himself only possessed dark element, not to mention Violet's unique constitution.

Among normal living beings, those who can withstand the erosion of the soul with their mental resilience, like Stacy, are extremely rare.

Moreover, even if such a candidate is found, their reliability must be ensured.

After pondering for a moment, Su Ming finally decided to begin deploying a large-scale localized language model to achieve mutual translation between Earth's languages ​​and the universal language of the other world. It wasn't just for the "PUBG internet cafe" game; his "cultural mudslide" plan, targeting the Temple of Light and the foundation of the Divine Covenant faith, should also be launched.

The batch of "high-quality" novels he commissioned on Earth needed to be localized and translated.

Currently, the collection of books from the otherworld is substantial, and the reserves of semiconductor materials have increased significantly. With sufficient hardware computing power, it is feasible to build a large model and, through targeted training, achieve a preliminary usable translation function.

Su Ming quickly put this task on his priority list.

Because Su Ming limited the experience time for each dragon, aiming to spread this scourge—no, this blessing—to more dragons, this practice inevitably caused dissatisfaction among some participants.

Fortunately, the Silver Dragon Guard was present to maintain order, preventing a major riot. However, the internet cafe manager reported to Su Ming with great concern: the number of dragons gathering was increasing rapidly, and worse, a rumor had begun circulating—claiming that a whole basket of eggs would be awarded as a reward for completing the game!

So even the old dragons whose scales had faded and turned white, as well as many young dragons that were still wobbling as they walked, all rushed over upon hearing the news. The entire area was overflowing with dragons, and the scene was beginning to show signs of getting out of control.

This rumor is completely out of the blue! Su Ming frowned—could someone be sabotaging things in the shadows? Could the spies planted by the Temple of Light be so vicious?

After a moment's thought, he immediately made a decision: send Elder Yin Er to oversee the situation! Moreover, the best way to dispel a rumor is not to clarify its falsehood, but to directly reveal the "truth".

Soon, Elder Yin Er's massive and imposing figure arrived at the internet cafe, accompanied by several large truckloads of potatoes and various tuber crops. They erected a prominent sign beside the premises, asking Elder Yin Er to carve eight large characters on it with his powerful claw marks:

Playing chess to amuse oneself, and rewarding others with golden sweet potatoes!
The dragons who had originally come for the "eggs" immediately lost interest upon seeing the reward announcement; they were tired of eating these things every day.

This part of the dragon quickly dispersed.

As for protesting against false propaganda? Didn't you see that Elder Yin Er wrote the words himself? The Dragon Clan only has one way to protest: fight. If they can't win, they just keep quiet.

As a result, order was restored instantly.

****
The last question raised by the person in charge left Su Ming speechless.

He quickly reconnected to the communication on Earth and directly questioned Dodder, "Didn't I explicitly request that the game difficulty be set to the lowest level?!" His tone was filled with dissatisfaction, "The dragons have generally reported that it's too difficult!"

Dodder was also taken aback and quickly checked the document. A team member next to him hurriedly explained, "Boss, this is absolutely impossible! We have already lowered the difficulty by more than half from the beginner level, and there is only this one difficulty level available now!"

After listening, Su Ming remained silent for a moment before saying, "Then, continue to lower it."

The team members looked at each other in disbelief. "If we lower the threshold any further... then all enemies, including the final boss, will basically die with just one touch."

“It’s fine, set it like this.” Su Ming said decisively. After thinking for a moment, he added, “Keep the current difficulty level, and rename it ‘Challenge Difficulty’.”

(End of this chapter)