Miss Scholar's Infuriating Lesson (6K)

After sailing for another two hours, the sea began to roughen. Half a day later, the wind reached force 7 and the sea conditions became giant waves.

"The storm hasn't arrived yet!" Su Ming was somewhat surprised. According to the weather radar, there was no hurricane activity within a 500-kilometer radius.

"Otherwise, why do you think this place is called the Storm Sea!" Beianqi rolled her eyes at them, truly showing the fearlessness of ignorance.

Since entering the area around Water Chestnut Island, the young mechanic has been completely immersed in the bridge, even refusing to check her beloved equipment. As the only regular crew member on the White Triangle, she must take responsibility when facing dangerous sea conditions!

But half a day passed, White Triangle remained as steady as if the storm outside did not exist; the occasional swaying was as gentle as soothing a baby to sleep.

"This anti-shake effect is ridiculously good!" Beianqi complained, then felt sorry for her overreacting.

"The anti-roll fins still need adjustment. Will you make dinner?" Su Ming asked while busy working.

Using a game analogy, a gyroscope increases the ship's health, which is equivalent to its mass; while anti-roll fins reduce damage by actively mitigating the impact of waves, and their performance improves with higher speed. Using both together yields even better results.

Speaking of cooking, Beianqi felt even more resentful. She had been making pancakes for several days in a row, preparing for the situation where she wouldn't be able to cook once she entered the Storm Sea.

So what exactly has she been busy with?

The girl glared angrily at Su Ming, "We're having pancakes for dinner tonight, no waste!"

To be honest, Beianqi's cookies are quite fragrant, and they're still relatively fresh and have the right texture.

"I don't really care, as long as Ailisha doesn't object."

"Snort!"

After the White Triangle's shaking stabilized, the trio began to manufacture and test a new weapon. For this resupply, Su Ming requested a large amount of alchemical explosives from the merchant guild. If a sea monster was discovered during the investigation, they would use the second plan that Su Ming had originally proposed to eliminate it.

"Is the sea monster really here?" Beianqi asked.

"The possibility is not low," Zijin replied. "Ships are afraid of storms, but sea monsters are not. There is no better place to hide and conceal ourselves."

The Little Trench Coat recently received another batch of magical materials, and the scholars have been crafting several magical items. Among them was a bracelet with Swiftness Spell, which was given to Su Ming for use.

"Can this energy be replenished once it's used up?" Su Ming put the bracelet on his wrist; it felt very comfortable, and the azure color of the wind-element crystal was also very beautiful.

"It can be replenished, but the number of times is not unlimited," Zijin replied.

I'd like to practice.

"Don't use it yet. Wait until I'm training with you."

Su Ming imagined a ferocious, burly man firing a gun into the air, grinning maliciously as he told his "prey" to run faster.

"Okay," he said helplessly.

****

On the second day after entering the Storm Sea, the radar of the White Triangle detected a ship that was quite large, about half the size of the White Triangle.

This is a very strange thing in the Storm Sea.

Su Ming analyzed the radar signal and discovered that it was a pirate ship that had appeared in the previous Battle of Wheat Awn Sea.

"What were these pirates thinking, coming here?" Beianqi said.

Su Ming offered a guess, "Is it possible that they originally wanted to go to Water Chestnut Island, but were blocked by the Star Rain at Water Chestnut North Port?"

Beianqi clapped her hands. "That's a reasonable guess."

The wind was strong, but the pirate ship wasn't moving fast, only at eight knots. Su Ming followed it for a while, hoping to find a base or some other ship to pick him up, but after a long time, he realized that the ship was just drifting aimlessly.

"Let's just arrest and interrogate them!" Zijin suggested. "If a storm comes, our ship will be fine, but they might sink!"

Su Ming has been quite tired these past few days. To achieve better results, the added anti-roll equipment needs to be integrated with the ship's existing control system, and he has been making repeated adjustments.

Moreover, the waves were getting bigger, and the mass distribution and power strategy of the White Triangle had to be changed, making the task extremely difficult for this novice.

This mere pirate ship wasn't even enough to fill a tooth gap for MK71. So he handed over command to Beianqi and went to catch up on his sleep.

****

When Su Ming woke up, there was indeed a large group of soaking wet pirates on the ship. Their feet were bound, a group of zombies were guarding them, and there were many wounded people in the cabin.

As for the body, Saenieka was again assigned to have his Deboning.

He had already completed his previous work, and Zijin added the processed bones to the White Triangle. The more than a thousand skeletons piled up in the ship's hold ultimately added eight tons to the White Triangle's weight.

The low utilization rate left Su Ming speechless; no wonder the Undead Bone System was declining.

If we calculate based on 10 gold coins per corpse, the White Triangle, with its skeleton alone, is the most dazzling ship in the entire sea, and its price is equivalent to several fleets.

Su Ming belatedly felt awe at being able to drive such an awesome thing so soon after arriving in this other world.

"How come there are so many dead and injured?" Su Ming asked. Were the pirates really that stubborn?

Zijin was clearly exhausted and didn't reply, while Beianqi was in slightly better condition. "It's none of our business. As soon as I got close to them, I fired surrender and distress flares, and then we started the rescue and containment."

"Oh, what happened?"

"Internal dealings, the norm for pirate groups," Beianqi replied. "I did a brief interrogation; this ship originally had many orcs who were the leaders of the last operation. After the raid failed, the pirates listened to them and fled to Water Chestnut Island, only to encounter the Star Rain Fleet."

Su Ming could guess the rest; in their panic, they fled into the Storm Sea. Then, faced with the harsh sea conditions and a hopeless situation, the pirates grew dissatisfied with the instigators.

A natural consequence was the rebellion and the ensuing bloodshed.

"It's a bit of a pity, all those orcs were killed," said Beianqi. "Sister Ailisha examined their souls."

The memory is very fragmented; no information about the zombie base could be found.

"It's alright. We investigated all along, and there are only so many islands around Water Chestnut Island suitable for a base." Su Ming walked up to Zijin and asked, "How are you?"

"I'm fine, just tired," Zijin replied.

"Then you guys go and rest. Is there anything you need me to take over?"

There are quite a few things to be done during the handover. First, there are the wounded pirates. Zijin has already treated them, but many others still need further treatment.

Then the pirate ship became useless, so Zijin smashed it to pieces and carried hundreds of tons of its hull onto the ship. She also captured several lifeboats, which she tossed askew onto the deck.

Beianqi also scavenged a large amount of supplies from the pirate ship, but she didn't have time to organize them, and the cabin was a mess.

"We'll have to switch to a shift system," Su Ming said, since we're currently in the Storm Sea. "I'll work the night shift, and the two of you can work the day shift, how about that?"

This is almost the only feasible allocation. Su Ming is more versatile in terms of shipping on the White Triangle, while Beianqi cannot utilize the undead resources on board.

Zijin nodded in agreement, and the two girls went to rest first.

Su Ming took the ship's log and began to handle various matters. He first inspected the prisoners, checked their numbers, and recorded the inspection time and situation in the log.

When the pirates made requests for drinking water, Su Ming did not refuse. Seeing that the wet pirates were cold, Su Ming modified the smoke extraction system of the White Triangle, allowing some of the hot smoke to pass through the side walls of the cabins where they were being held.

The temperature in the detention cell quickly began to rise and become warm.

He then began to examine the wounded. Zijin had handled the situation fairly well; she had learned Su Ming's method of cleaning the wounds with alcohol, then using water to heal the outer layer, and leaving the rest to fate.

After all, they were the enemy, and they had a lot of wounded soldiers; she couldn't afford to expend too much energy on them.

"Why aren't there any seriously injured people?" Su Ming asked casually, noting down a few patients in his log who required continued monitoring.

"Lord Liya has already given those brothers a quick death," a pirate replied cautiously.

Su Ming paused for a moment while writing, then continued writing.

****

Upon reaching the supply warehouse, it was filled with a chaotic jumble of items, many of which were soaked and exuded a salty, damp smell, likely due to being wetted by waves during transport. What should have been a simple task became difficult in the Storm Sea with their high sea conditions; no wonder the two girls were so exhausted.

With everything pending, a bunch of zombies waited blankly for instructions.

Su Ming thought for a moment, then summoned White Skull and Saenieka, and had them lead the zombies to begin clearing the area.

Su Ming selectively ignored the trivial matter that Saenieka had already worked an entire day shift.

The fuel depot was overflowing with unprocessed fuel from the ship's hull. Normally, simple tasks like shredding fuel could be done independently by the crew.

However, these pirate ships have a lot of metal armor and attachments on their hulls, requiring someone with a brain to command them.

Su Ming decided to postpone it until Saenieka's day shift tomorrow.

The mechanical materials warehouse wasn't in much better shape either. The cannons and equipment from the pirate ship had been roughly dismantled, and everything needed to be sorted by material, but that had to be put aside for now.

Su Ming lamented the White Triangle's lack of human resources. Unfortunately, his and Zijin's wanted status prevented them from hiring or recruiting partners at will. Saenieka, a prisoner of slaves, could only be used cautiously.

We need to find a way to solve this problem.

****

Su Ming was busy with various chores all night. When Beianqi arrived at the cabin, she found that he had distributed a large amount of food to the pirates. The pancakes she had painstakingly baked had also been divided into bags.

"Su Ming!" the girl shouted, "I have no problem with you processing extra cakes, but it's too much of a waste that you're feeding them to these prisoners!"

"The food given to the pirates was just what they brought from their ship; it got wet from the seawater and would spoil if they didn't eat it," Su Ming explained. "As for these cakes, they're for them to eat when they go ashore."

"Going ashore?" Zijin walked in and asked curiously.

"Let's have a morning meeting and hand over the responsibilities." Su Ming was also sleepy.

The three of them went to the operations room, where Su Ming placed a log containing a lot of information on the table.

"Check the logs for the progress on supplies organization. I have an idea about the pirates." Su Ming unfolded the nautical chart. A few days ago, when the Mimosa came, it brought them a detailed map and information on the Water Chestnut Island waters. "We'll be passing through an island group soon. Most of them aren't very big, but the three main islands are all over ten square kilometers in size."

"You want to send pirates to search the island?" Zijin immediately understood Su Ming's idea. "These pirates aren't part of the orc gang; they can definitely be used. It's more efficient than us searching ourselves, and more effective than sending zombies to the island!"

Su Ming nodded. "My plan is for us to pass by these three larger islands in turn, drop off small boats, let the pirates land and search, and then bring them back at night." He drew the round-trip route on the nautical chart. "The White Triangle will go to the other islands, the smaller ones will circle around them with binoculars, and the larger Zijin will be flown over or sent to land by aircraft."

Two-pronged approach, double the efficiency!

"Indeed, this way we can search the entire area in a day," said Beianqi, then asked the crucial question, "How do you get these pirates to obey?"

Instead, Zijin chimed in, "I can put gold chain collars on the pirates who land on the island, which will explode thirteen hours later. That way, they won't dare to run away!"

Beianqi continued, "Are the pirates just shirking their duties?"

Su Ming presented a plan he had already considered. "We'll use a system of rewards and punishments to motivate the pirates. For example, we can randomly toss some magic balls onto the island. Finding a ball will earn a reward, as will finding a suspicious location. Pirates who perform well can be given food or something. As for punishment one—" He paused for a moment, "They won't be allowed to return to the Triangle until they've collected a certain number of balls!"

Beianqi was about to speak, about to say, "If that's the case, you shouldn't have fed the pirates so well."

Zijin stopped her.

"The idea is good," Zijin said to Su Ming. "Leave the details to us, go get something to eat and rest."

"Good."

Su Ming rubbed his neck and got out of the driver's seat. He really felt like he was back in the busiest time at the factory, working day and night shifts. It was a pity this was another world, where there were no noisy coworkers to go out for barbecue and chat with to relieve stress.

He came to the workshop alone; Beianqi had left him breakfast. He rummaged through the storeroom and found a bottle of beer, opened it, poured himself a glass, and took a sip. It was stronger than anything he'd ever had before, and the taste was quite different.

Su Ming didn't understand why he missed home so often. He knew he wasn't a good transmigrator. His past experiences were unremarkable, uninteresting, and arduous, but those times always kept popping into his mind.

Su Ming shook his head, dismissing these random thoughts. He still had time before bed, so he went to Zijin's library and selected a few rune books. If he were on Earth, he would definitely play a game of League of Legends or watch an anime series.

However, this is another world. If Miao Xin's understanding of the Undead Mark was slightly worse when he became a vengeful spirit, he would have lost contact with Earth. Even earlier, if he had misjudged the direction of the Ice Blade Spell when facing Ice Beauty Yexiya, he would already be a corpse.

This isn't about knowledge changing your destiny; knowledge is your destiny!

At the very back of the bookshelf, Su Ming found a copy of "Principles of Economics".

Considering he needed to learn about the economics and culture of this other world, he took out the book, intending to skim through it, but strangely, he couldn't turn the pages.

Su Ming looked at the cover again. Below the title was a six-pointed star rune, each point representing a different magical element and lighting up when pressed.

"What kind of riddle is it now?" Su Ming. He took the book with him and went back to his room.

****

During the handover that evening, the two girls told him that yesterday's search mission had been successfully completed. The White Triangle was heading to the next island group, hoping to arrive before the storm.

Su Ming calculated and increased the ship's speed by two knots. With the anti-roll equipment, the ship's stability was enhanced, and the speed limit was increased accordingly. He activated the weather radar and discovered that a storm was forming 500 kilometers away. However, no one could accurately predict the size of the storm or which direction it would go; they could only continue monitoring it.

He then began to inspect the ship's cabins. In the area where the pirates were being held, he found more than a dozen pirates hanging there, their bodies covered in whip marks.

Su Ming frowned. He counted the number of pirates and found that five were missing. Two groups of pirates had not found enough balls, and Zijin killed the pirates leading them on the spot, while the rest were hung up and whipped as a warning.

They were too rough with the whipping, and three more died.

Su Ming finished his work and returned to his workroom. He didn't turn on the light, but looked out at the moon, letting his thoughts wander.

Familiar footsteps sounded, and Su Ming turned around in surprise. Sure enough, it was Zijin. The girl had already taken a shower and changed into an off-shoulder nightgown; her skin was as white as snow in the moonlight.

"Why aren't you asleep?" Su Ming asked.

"Something seems off about you," Zijin said. "What's wrong?"

Su Ming shook his head. "No, I was just thinking about some things."

Zijin said, "I warned them before they landed on the island, but some pirates still dared to fool us. I must punish them according to the law."

"I understand all of that," Su Ming explained, "I'm just a little unaccustomed to it."

"Su Ming, you can actually do it. You're very intelligent."

"Thank you, but it's okay to be a little sentimental once in a while, right?" Su Ming replied, somewhat absentmindedly.

Pirates are not important.

The impact of the manuscript he saw in that book last night before bed has still not subsided for him.

Zijin walked to the open kitchen counter in the corner, picked up a fruit knife from the shelf, and Magic Power flowed onto it, causing the blade to glow with a dark light. "Su Ming, I missed a lesson in your training, and I've decided to make it up today."

Seeing this situation, Su Ming felt a sense of foreboding.

"Please inflict damage on me. Otherwise, I will not end this!" As soon as Zijin finished speaking, she vanished from the spot.

"Wait!" Su Ming instantly activated the Swiftness Bracelet on his wrist and left his original position. A flash of light appeared, and the long table in the workspace was cut in half.

"Are you serious?!" Su Ming retreated again, grabbing several chairs to block in front of him. They were shattered to pieces, and several black magic orbs hidden within exploded, but were easily blocked by the shield on Zijin's body.

Su Ming didn't waste any more words, smashed the window, and jumped out.

Although their overall strengths were completely unequal, Zijin only used the dark element and severed the power connection from the White Bone Fortress. The dark element was the weakest of Ailisha's powers, so in a sense, Su Ming had an advantage in Magic Power!

Su Ming analyzed the current situation while connecting with the nearby zombies and using Damage Transfer. A ripple flashed, and the transfer effect was dispelled.

"Natural Rhythm!"

This is not a spell, but a domain; all rule-based spells are disabled.

Su Ming almost cursed. This sealed almost half of his spells in one go! Rules and control had been Su Ming's main focus during this period, consuming a lot of his learning energy.

So what advantage is there?!

Zijin emerged from the cabin, several magic orbs hurtling towards her. Ignoring them, Su Ming unleashed a volley of even faster orbs to meet them head-on – "Withering Mist!"

The scholar's shield lit up, negating the damage, but the side effects of the "mist" stubbornly penetrated and continued to take effect, completely obscuring her senses and vision.

Success!

Su Ming's deliberate enhancement of the spell's piercing ability was not in vain; with his already powerful magic penetration, even Zijin was affected.

He dodged the magic orb that had lost its mental lock, and rushed towards his opponent, Thorn Long Whip appearing in his hand.

Although Zijin is not weak in melee combat, it would be too stupid to shoot at a veteran mage. The only way is to bravely get close!

"Shadow Illusion!" A humanoid figure retreated rapidly from the girl's form, captured by Su Ming's Psionic Vision. He ignored the illusion that remained in place, channeled his Magic Power, and swiftly lashed out with his whip.

Having repeatedly suffered losses against Zijin's illusions, Su Ming specifically learned "Silent Vision," but it was sealed by the Natural Domain.

Fortunately, this was one of the anticipated scenarios. Su Ming's enhanced Psionic Vision was already able to distinguish the illusions by their details.

The one that stayed in place is definitely fake!

The Thorn Long Whip struck the girl who had drifted away with pinpoint accuracy, its end quickly wrapping around her body, yet Su Ming found it surprisingly light.

Something's wrong!

The illusion shattered, and Zijin, who remained in the same spot, stepped forward and plunged her knife into Su Ming's abdomen!

Numbness and excruciating pain surged through him in an instant, leaving Su Ming's mind blank. He stared at the expressionless girl, finding it hard to believe that he had actually been stabbed by her.

Zijin withdrew her blade, the splattered blood staining her plain nightgown and translucent skin. The girl remained calm, raising her hand to stab again.

Su Ming reached out, and the Blade of Darkness materialized in his hand. He endured the excruciating pain and lunged forward, only to find that he had also pierced through Zijin's chest.

The magical shield that had been protecting the girl was somehow dispelled, and warm blood once again bloomed between the two.

"Zijin!" Su Ming gritted his teeth, his voice filled with anger as he spoke through the excruciating pain, "You're so cruel!"

Su Ming opened his palm, and it was empty; there was no magic blade there.

A hint of annoyance flashed in Zijin's eyes. "When did you find out!"

The scene before them shattered like glass, and the wounds and blood on the two disappeared. The real scene reassembled, and they were still in the workshop. The broken tables, chairs, and portholes were all restored, but the pain Su Ming felt remained, and his entire abdomen was still convulsing.

"I can't mistake your illusion, so the only explanation is that both are false." Su Ming gasped for breath, sweat pouring down his face.

"You're really confident." Zijin stepped forward and placed her palm on Su Ming's lower abdomen.

"After all, we've been researching this specifically for so long." Su Ming tried to stand up straight, but a spasm caused him to bend back down. "Pain Spell?"

"Yes, it's been enhanced." A faint light from a water-based dispel spell shone from the girl's palm, relieving the pain in his abdomen.