A Professional Named Miao Mu

After receiving supplies and payment, the White Triangle began its full-speed journey south across the equator towards Water Chestnut Island.

Saenieka was left on the ship. Psychic necromancers are now considered rare technical talents, and there's still no progress on Miao Xin's matter; it's not time to discard her after she's served her purpose.

The White Triangle doesn't tolerate idlers. Zijin assigned Saenieka the task of Deboning all the carcasses stored on the ship, cleaning out impurities, and refining the inferior parts.

When Su Ming looked for him, he was busy in the lower deck, the foul smell was like a sticky miasma, and there were scenes everywhere that needed to be blurred. Su Ming had to call him up to the deck, and even took a cloth to cover his mouth and nose.

"Rinse yourself thoroughly after you're done!" Su Ming said, "Including yourself." He gagged as he spoke. He wasn't usually a very particular person, but this scene was really pushing his nerves.

Saenieka, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected.

"Yes, Bone King," he said breathlessly, "Who are you looking for?"

The pirate mage's biggest fear was that the people on the White Triangle would think he was useless and just kill him.

"I need to ask you about Miao Xin," Su Ming said.

On his way from Vietnam to Miao Xin's hometown, Su Ming talked a lot with the vengeful spirit girl and learned about her past experiences.

Miao Xin was born into a fairly well-off family. Her father's name was Miao Mu and her mother's name was He Yixiang. Although the couple often traveled for work, they could afford a nanny and their life was relatively smooth. Even the unexpected birth of her younger sister, He Ran, did not throw their lives into chaos.

Everything took a sharp turn for the worse last year when a sudden car accident killed my mother and seriously injured my father, Miao Mu. The accident caused huge property damage to third parties, exceeding the coverage of the insurance.

To make ends meet, Miao Xin's family sold their house, used their savings accumulated over the years, their mother's pension, and borrowed money to barely complete the compensation.

Miao Xin had just finished high school at the time. She started doing odd jobs to support her family until she was murdered more than three months ago.

Saenieka listened carefully to Su Ming's account and quickly concluded, "While Miss Miao Xin's experience was unfortunate, it's absolutely impossible for it to produce a rank-based vengeful spirit." He explained in detail, "For a vengeful spirit to have power, the deceased must possess intense resentment. We need to select exceptionally resilient material, ideally something that has endured long-term suffering but hasn't been crushed. Then we intervene and 'process' it, further increasing the pressure until the target collapses."

"No wonder it's the lowest of all career paths," Su Ming thought to himself. "No wonder even among necromancers, the Wraith faction is universally despised."

Saenieka glanced at Su Ming's face as she spoke, making sure he seemed normal, before continuing, "Miss Miao Xin's experiences don't even meet the most lenient entry-level requirements."

"How do you activate a vengeful spirit in its Nether Sea Form?" Su Ming asked, moving on to the next question.

"Just stimulate the Nether Sea; any negative emotion spell will do."

The vengeful spirit created by the pirates was still there. Saenieka's spell demonstration was much faster this time. The blackness on the pirate vengeful spirit expanded and then went out of control. Countless tentacles surged out from the spirit and frantically pounced on the surroundings.

Su Ming released a spherical shield that enveloped the vengeful spirit, allowing it to smash and pound inside.

The spirit, which had been relatively inconspicuous before, suddenly erupted, causing the shield to shatter, forcing Su Ming to add two more layers.

It lasted for about thirty seconds before the vengeful spirit's power rapidly waned and it collapsed.

Su Ming sensed it for a moment, then shook his head. The difference was so great that it was as if she were not even the same person as Miao Xin.

****

After seeing Saenieka off, Su Ming returned to his cabin.

Beianqi was looking at a list and handing it to Zijin.

"Fifteen thousand gold coins?" Zijin was somewhat surprised. "Replacing and repairing the parts for the alchemy puppet is very expensive."

As agreed with the Federation, the losses suffered by Beianqi and Yexiya in their last battle were to be paid by the White Triangle from the rewards it received.

"Pure cost," Beianqi said with a hint of helplessness. "I used some of your materials; otherwise, it would have cost an extra two thousand gold coins."

"The consumption of your stuff is truly terrifying," the scholar remarked sincerely. "The losses from just one battle are enough to fund a standard-scale experiment."

Hearing this, Su Ming, standing to the side, was terrified. Neither of you should accuse the other of wasting money!

"The Spirit Mechanic is a truly money-devouring profession," the girl lamented. "Alas, I so regret choosing this path."

"Beianqi, do you have a way to provide supplies?" Su Ming asked her.

Since the Federation is unreliable, we naturally need to find other ways.

"It's simple. The Ale will deliver the shells you've purchased in about ten days," Beianqi replied. "Just send it with whatever supplies you need."

Zijin vetoed, "If the enemy targets us, we can't rely on supplies from the dwarves either!"

The dwarves themselves wouldn't get involved, but as an overt resupply operation, the Ale could be infiltrated at far too many points.

Having grasped the problem, Beianqi for a moment, "We can use my family's private ship, the Mist Veil, to secretly deliver the supplies to a certain island, unload them there, and then we can go to receive them. That way, apart from the highest levels, no one will know who this shipment is for, minimizing the risk of intelligence leaks and unforeseen complications!"

"That's a good method!" Zijin nodded.

"How about we proceed with the supply plan for the Ale as scheduled?" Su Ming suggested. "Have the dwarf factory pack up the defective shells and load them onto the Ale for delivery. But let's send the real goods on the Mist Veil, a secret mission!"

"That's good, it adds another layer of cover," Beianqi agreed, then contacted the Mist Veil via encrypted communication to arrange the relevant matters.

****

The trio continued installing the roll stabilizer gyroscope. Its structure was not complicated; the core component was a huge and bulky rotor operating in a vacuum. The motor would bring it to a very high speed, thus giving it enormous momentum.

When the ship rocks, the rotor generates a precession motion, counteracting the rocking torque. Essentially, it's a large spinning top.

The force of physical momentum is used to suppress the entire ship. Of course, the force generated when a large gyroscope is working is also enormous, requiring very good support and fixation.

Su Ming redesigned the lower deck configuration and support structure, and the two girls worked together to complete the installation and reinforcement.

After connecting the cables and various subsystems and patiently debugging them, Su Ming started the equipment, and the slight shaking of the entire ship immediately disappeared.

Beianqi was amazed and wished she could crawl into the vacuum chamber of the gyroscope to find out more.

Next is the anti-roll fin, which looks small but has a complex working mechanism. It is also called a side rudder and controls the torque of the ship's roll. When there are waves, the side rudder senses data through sensors, makes predictions under the control of the intelligent control system, and provides a force opposite to the wave to offset the impact.

Su Ming spent a long time debugging, and it initially took effect, but the specific effects still need to be verified in the big waves.

Then there's the forward-looking obstacle avoidance sonar, a convenient civilian device that beeps when it detects shallow reefs within a 500-meter range. Zijin installed it herself by following the instructions. However, its effective range is too short, so she still needs to teach Heilou how to react in time.

The White Triangle only had its middle section with the deepest draft, a very narrow area, which was perfectly adequate for avoidance.

During this time, Su Ming gave Miao Xin a new task.

[Tungsten-titanium-cobalt cemented carbide, cubic boron nitride, and titanium carbide nitride.] Miao Xin struggled to repeat these tongue-twisting names. [Industrial materials?]

[Um.]

Miao Xin opened her phone and started searching. "[Su Ming, didn't you say you needed the corresponding materials to send it?]"

[You can synthesize a small amount of things that you don't have, as long as you have the corresponding elements.] Su Ming was only in a semi-connected state, casually chatting with Miao Xin while calculating a newly learned spell.

[Hmm, I found the alloy. Products made of this material are available on Taobao.]

[Yes, I can change the shape myself.]

Miao Xin also found sellers for the latter two materials. [A few yuan per gram, are high purity requirements?]

[Anything not too outrageous is fine. 200g cubic boron nitride, 100g titanium carbide.]

Miao Xin contacted customer service and they said, "If we ship SF Express, it will take two days."

"[Two days is fine.]" Su Ming said, "It's good to avoid trouble. [But how will you receive the package?]"

Her current address is just a temporary place to stay.

"I can pick it up at the station," Miao Xin replied. "I have a legitimate identity that allows me to shop online."

Su Ming narrowed his eyes, but did not ask any questions.

Miao Xin was silent for a moment, then, "[Well, I wasn't planning on hiding it anyway.]" She confessed honestly, "[I contacted my father.]"

Su Ming's work didn't stop. [How did you get in touch?]

This 19-year-old girl had only ordinary school and part-time work experience. The drastic change in her behavior could only be due to receiving outside assistance.

Considering her sunny disposition that could make even the Nether Sea a mirror, there are no other possible options.

[I should have said that we couldn't use regular communication channels.]

Anyone connected to the event will be placed under surveillance. This can be done at little cost; supercomputers filter communications, and a small number of people verify them, making every interaction transparent.

Although Su Ming had configured multiple overseas VPNs for Miao Xin, these weren't foolproof. Judging by the time, it was about time for them to escape.

"My dad frequents a niche online gaming platform; that's where I found him," Miao Xin explained, "And then directly told him the situation."

This seems to be a blind spot.

Su Ming recalled the chess page he had seen before. That small platform had only a rudimentary interactive design, and it didn't retain any chat logs, which was indeed unfriendly to regulators.

But even if we temporarily bypass it

[Does he believe in?] Can anyone accept these fantastical stories?

"I believe you!" Miao Xin replied. "My dad was overjoyed. He pulled me aside and talked to me for a long time, teaching me many things!"

Su Ming frowned. This performance didn't seem like that of a "professional" as Miao Xin had described. But on the other hand, Miao Xin's actions had indeed shown immediate improvement, which was something an ordinary person couldn't teach.

"Can I talk to your father now?" Su Ming asked.

Yes, you can!

Miao Xin picked up her phone, and there was a landlord room on it. The opponent players were [Chaochaomumu] and [DK_23775].

"Three people?" Su Ming, puzzled.

"[This platform has few users, and its name clearly indicates it's a bot just there to fill the numbers,'" Miao Xin explained.

"How's the pulse technique I taught you yesterday?" Su Ming asked.

[Oh, that's so difficult, I have absolutely no clue.]

[Practice while I have some free time, so I can give you some pointers.]

[---Okay.] Miao Xin reluctantly broke the fusion and went to the side to use the Resentment Power glass bottle.

Su Ming took over control of the Little Spiky Head. He casually clicked the "Ready" button in the Dou Dizhu game, found the simple chat window, and started typing.

****

At eight o'clock in the morning, Miao Mu had just dropped off his youngest daughter He Ran, at kindergarten.

The middle-aged man was not tall, and appeared even more hunched in the cold wind. He had difficulty walking, and his face showed the weakness of someone recovering from a serious illness. However, compared to ordinary pedestrians, he walked quite fast, carrying a canvas shopping bag, and soon arrived at a supermarket.

At the entrance, several workers were inspecting the security cameras. The number of cameras in this area has increased to more than three times the normal density, and the corresponding maintenance work has become more frequent.

The phone beeped, Miao Mu tapped "Ready" to start the poker game.

"Hello," came the message from the other end.

Miao Mu hesitated for a moment, then quickly realized something, "Su?"

"Right."

Su Ming, who was in first place, immediately bid for the highest multiplier to become the landlord, and then randomly played a few cards.

"You believe me?" Su Ming asked directly.

"I don't believe you," Miao Mu replied bluntly. "I'm past the age of reading fairy tales."

He knew the horrific state of his daughter's remains at the scene of her death, and often woke up from nightmares. More than the physical injuries, the heart-wrenching pain of losing loved ones one after another overwhelmed him, leaving him He Ran. "I guess so," Su Ming said.

Miao Mu selected a fish and handed it to the butcher to butcher. For the past three months, he had been asked to reduce his outings and only stay near his home.

At first, he thought it was related to his daughter's murder, and that the killer might be retaliating against him. But as the security level continued to rise and equipment was upgraded on a large scale, he began to seriously doubt the nature of the incident and started to investigate in various ways.

"The person chasing after you can barely be considered my colleague," Miao Mu replied. "So don't waste your time; I know you're an outsider who has obtained my daughter's memories."

If he hadn't had a kidney and spleen removed in the car accident and been forced to recuperate, he would likely be doing similar work.

Su Ming was a little annoyed; this was truly a professional! But it wasn't a big problem; he could explain this to Miao Xin properly.

The Psionic Power the brink of exploding not entirely because of his conceptual power. Miao Xin's own resilience and tenacity were crucial.

This girl is exceptional in some ways, beyond imagination.

Su Ming had already begun to consider the next steps, and occasionally he would still allow Miao Xin to contact her father. Miao Mu himself didn't seem to mind this kind of communication.

The game in the room has progressed to the endgame. The AI has played three 4s with a pair of 5s, and has a pair of Kings left in its hand.

Miao Mu had four cards in his hand: a pair of 2s, a pair of 5s, and a pair of 3s. He chose to pass.

Su Ming had four 7s, a King, and a pair of 6s in his hand. He mentally calculated his cards, then used the three 7s with the pair of 6s to beat the King.

The human and machine selection process has been completed.

Miao Mu was stunned for a moment, then nodded in surrender somewhat blankly.

In this round, Su Ming randomly called for the landlord position, had no Kings and was missing a 2, and his hand was far weaker than Miao Mu's. However, Su Ming used that stupid AI to block him and won without much drama.

You wouldn't do something this awful without spending a few years immersed in the world of such things!

"Are you really Su?" Miao Mu suddenly asked.

Su Ming was hanging up. He had just closed the crying face question window that asked "Are you really leaving?" when another beautiful picture popped up asking "Why don't you stay a little longer, sir?", and then he accidentally clicked on an ad pop-up.

This crappy platform deserves its low user count!

"What?" Su Ming replied.

Miao Mu blankly accepted the cleaned and cut fish, then lowered his head and moved outside. The evidence of the transmigrator's intrusion was too conclusive; everyone was on guard against the other party confusing their identities to achieve certain goals, and only held reservations about the other possibilities.

The other party insists on being human and impersonating Su Ming, and has now fabricated a new story that even includes Miao Xin. But Miao Mu stops in her tracks. What if this story is true?

He instinctively wanted to make a phone call to report it. But then something suddenly occurred to him, and he quickly stopped, switched back to his Dou Dizhu (a card game) room, and typed, "Give me a few minutes to think!"

"No, I have to smash my phone and run away quickly," Su Ming replied.

"Don't!"

Please wait!

Miao Mu was breathing rapidly, typing continuously, while trying his best to remain calm so that the monitors wouldn't notice anything unusual.

If that really was Su Ming, then his story is 1.

Miao Mu's mind raced; the logic of it all actually made sense!

His daughter's spirit is in absolute danger of being exposed!

A layer of sweat beaded on Miao Mu's forehead. Finally, with trembling hands, he typed out a line of text.

"I believe you."

Three days later, all preparations were complete on White Three.

Cubic boron nitride and titanium carbonitride have been received. Su Ming used the dark magic "Other and Self Exclusion" to separate the impurities.

This is one of the best purification spells in alchemy. The drawback is that it can only be applied to a single compound, and the spell must be rewritten for each substance. If it weren't for Zijin, he really wouldn't have been able to do something so extravagant.

Yes, luxury.

Even though he didn't understand at first, amidst Beianqi's various unbelievable attempts, he began to realize just how outrageous this Titled Scholar of "scholar" who casually developed new spells was.

The vast majority of the magic spells used by scholars cannot be found in textbooks.

In a sense, Zijin actually changed the rules. If the otherworldly battlefield were like the NBA, she would definitely be banned with a wall dedicated to her by the league.

Su Ming now realized that he had been led astray by the scholar, developing the bad habit of rewriting spells whenever he encountered trouble. Beianqi had gone from being speechless to becoming numb.

If two out of the three people are not normal, the normal one will start to doubt himself.

The warships reached the northern tip of Water Chestnut Island. This was the largest maritime trading port for the orcs, and the only large seaport on the entire island. Here they encountered the Star Rain, who, with a fleet, completely blockaded the port, forcing the orc kingdom to explain what had happened in the Central Ocean Waters.

Considering that the two sides were still on the same side for the time being, the White Triangle did not approach the Star Rain battle group, but instead passed by it from the left at a distance, heading towards the east side of Water Chestnut Island. The two sides even exchanged a greeting with signal flares from afar.

Continuing forward, rounding the outer corner of Water Chestnut Island, the closest distance was only a dozen kilometers. This huge island, in appearance, is no different from a solid continent.

"I actually have some very unpleasant memories of this place." On the deck, Zijin gazed at the faint outline of land in the distance. "It was on this island that I died."

"Death?" Su Ming didn't quite understand.

"Of course, otherwise why would I have turned into a bone dragon?" Zijin retorted.

"I thought you were trying to uncover some mystery, like supplementing the dark magic you can't use."

The Faerie Dragon is the queen of the four elements, unable to use light or dark magic. Zijin, through her Ailisha form, possesses extremely high affinity for light magic. As for the remaining dark magic... "I would never trade my life for this!" Zijin said irritably. "I was assassinated. If it weren't for the help of many people who paid a great price to save me, I would truly be dead."

What do you mean to say?

"I can use the Bone Dragon Form, but I can't use it simultaneously with the Ailisha form," Zijin said. "So if we need to land on Water Chestnut Island, there is another option."

Su Ming understood. By combining the White Bone Mark with the enhanced bone dragon, the two could quickly advance towards targets on the island, maintaining mobility while also possessing considerable combat power. The risk was that the omnipresent undead fluctuations would expose their location.

"I've got it." Su Ming nodded. Zijin was supplementing his tactical reserves. The incident with the Blue-Eyed Chamber of Commerce made her start to pay attention to the exchange of decision-making information.