A New Decision

When Su Ming regained his senses, his whole body felt as if it were trapped in nothingness, drifting in a daze. Gradually, he began to feel his body, numb and stiff.

He managed to move his fingers slightly.

A hand gently grasped his. A warm light approached his forehead, then a spring-like power flowed in, irrigating his parched senses.

He began to have more of his five senses: the softness of touch, the warmth of the sun, the hazy glow of everyday life, and the earthy smell of soil.

He slowly opened his eyelids, and a girl with brown hair was looking down at him from above. A shimmering curtain of light unfolded behind her, blocking the glaring sunlight. Through it, he could vaguely see a light blue sky and slowly drifting clouds.

"He seems to have come back to life?" A talking horse squeezed into the frame, with a long horn sticking out from its forehead.

"Shouldn't I be clocking in at the workshop?" Su Ming wondered. It seemed he was going to be late; perfect attendance only cost 240 a month.

He's worked at this factory for over a year and has earned some recognition; he can't leave a bad impression.

It took Su Ming a while to process his understanding: a business trip, transmigrating to another world, encountering White Bone, building a ship together to fight, and experiencing adventures.

Su Ming suddenly coughed, only then realizing he was breathing. So the girl was the scholar Zijin, and the horse was the unicorn Qiluo!

As if he had returned to the world, Su Ming felt a sharp pain all over his body, and his mind convulsed as if being stabbed with knives.

But at least he can move now.

A pair of hands gently massaged his temples. After a while, Su Ming felt slightly relieved and opened his eyes again.

"Ailisha?" he opened his mouth, his voice dry.

He tried to get up, but Zijin held him down.

"Don't move. You're suffering from the most severe level of Magic Power backlash." Her Zijin- blue eyes held a rebuke, her chest heaving with her words.

"Does she have such curves too?" Su Ming wondered, but quickly realized he was looking up at her. The back of his head felt soft and warm; it was resting on the girl's lap.

So, this is a lap pillow?

"Su Ming, after you resonated, you used power far beyond your limits. Of a hundred people like you, ninety-nine would die," Zijin continued to reprimand, "And the other five would become mentally disabled!"

"The numbers are wrong," Su Ming murmured.

"Because four of them will become idiots and then die!" the scholar said irritably, but she was also relieved that Su Ming's intelligence was still intact. "You really should thank Qiluo."

Su Ming lowered his gaze and saw the unicorn lying down beside him. She looked very listless and had fallen asleep after saying what she had said earlier.

Zijin glanced at Su Ming's lips and sighed. She turned around and called out "Little Cuckoo" to the side. Soon, a little girl ran over and brought a glass of water.

Zijin supported Su Ming's head and carefully fed him.

She wasn't actually very good at taking care of people, but Su Ming's meticulous care for her when she was seriously ill taught her a lot.

The little girl who delivered the water also leaned over, her voice clear and bright, "What's wrong with this big brother?"

Su Ming recognized her as the girl whose sweet potato chips had been stolen by Qiluo. There was still redness in the corners of her eyes, indicating that she had cried a lot because of the missing sweet potato chips.

He did something incredibly stupid; children shouldn't follow his example.

After drinking the water, Su Ming felt better. Zijin returned the cup to the girl and took out a copper coin for her.

The little girl shook her head, her braids swinging with the movement, and ran away with the cup.

Zijin pulled up her cloak, then helped Su Ming up and pulled his cloak up for him as well. "I'll take you back to the Triangle."

So, his first ever lap pillow experience began so inexplicably and ended so abruptly? He didn't even get a proper feel for it!

Before Su Ming could even finish his thought, Zijin swept him up in her arms.

"By the way, what happened?" After taking off using the Levitation Spell, Zijin finally asked this question.

"I met a Archlich, and she gave me a bracelet."

"Wait, Archlich?" the scholar exclaimed in surprise. "Are you sure?"

Su Ming had consulted the "Encyclopedia of Undead Creatures." "That woman possesses the undead traits of a lich, yet her structure exhibits a complete cycle of the six elements—that's the mark of Archlich, right?"

"That's impossible." The scholar looked bewildered. "The Archlich is just a theoretical concept; although countless people have studied it..."

But it never actually happened.

Su Ming was somewhat puzzled, "Is the Archlich very powerful?"

"It's not a matter of strength," Zijin thought for a moment. "Let me put it another way. Although liches have very long lifespans, their memories are constantly being lost, and their minds gradually become chaotic. The reason why people have an evil impression of liches is not because they are evil people in disguise. Rather, it's because all liches quickly lose their way, becoming paranoid and twisted. So even if they die, not many necromancers are willing to convert them."

Su Ming understood the implication. "The Archlich doesn't have these weaknesses?"

Zijin nodded. "Theoretically, absolutely not."

Su Ming immediately understood the core of the problem: not diminishing intelligence and maintaining an unaffected mind is equivalent to extending lifespan!

It will surely be sought after by countless powerful and influential people!

"It's just a pity that the academic community has already reached a conclusion: it may be possible, but the difficulty is almost infinite—far beyond the concept of my birth."

The birth of Zijin was already incredibly precious. Her human mother, Atiya, was a recognized genius in this world, possessing unparalleled talent in mastering divine scroll weapons. Coupled with the titled healer Sebastian and the titled alchemist Holder, it was hard to imagine anyone possessing technology and resources that could surpass them.

So, did I see things wrong back then? Su Ming began to have doubts.

"What about the bracelet you mentioned?" the scholar asked again.

Su Ming reached out his hand, only to find his wrist empty. "Did you see a bracelet when you found me?" he asked the girl.

Zijin shook her head. "I only felt a powerful spatial fluctuation, and then you collapsed next to me like a living being. There was nothing around us."

"I see."

During the flight, Zijin's hair was blown by the wind and brushed against Su Ming's face, where he smelled the familiar scent of mint.

"Zijin, you stole my shampoo, didn't you?"

What shampoo?

"If you just tell me, I can give it to you."

"No, I don't know anything about cooling shampoo," Zijin insisted.

"Actually, your hair type is more suited to a moisturizing conditioner. If you admit that, I could even send you a bottle from Earth."

"Hehe, I didn't take it. Also, when are you going to send me the conditioner?"

No need to see me out.

A slight smile appeared on Zijin's lips. "You've been glancing at my chest several times since just now... What scent do you like?"

****

Su Ming slept for more than a day before waking up, but he still had a headache. During that time, Qiluo treated him several times, and even the unicorn was amazed at how badly he was injured.

Fortunately, unlike Beianqi, he did not suffer direct physical damage and showed no signs of aftereffects.

On the third day, Su Ming felt more comfortable and got out of bed to go up to the deck for some fresh air.

Large quantities of coal were being piled up at the dock, and the coming and going of transport trucks created a noisy scene. People were constantly spraying water on the road to suppress the dust.

A well-organized and bustling scene.

In the distance, at the mine and coal washing area, even more workers are busy at work.

"Give each worker a reward of 20 copper coins," Su Ming summoned Kilian and instructed, "Distribute the money directly to each person."

"Thank you, sir! I'll have them come to collect it during their break."

"Take turns in groups, maintain order in queues, and don't let good intentions turn into bad results."

"Yes, sir!"

When Qiluo saw him appear, she immediately rushed to him and dragged him towards the cabin without saying a word.

"What?"

"I've completed the task you gave me!" she said excitedly.

Yesterday, Su Ming asked Qiluo to soak some barley, telling her that he planned to make maltose, which greatly boosted the unicorn's enthusiasm.

Su Ming was dragged into the workshop by an irresistible force. Helplessly, he lifted the white cloth covering the basin and was surprised to find that the wheat had indeed sprouted, and the sprouts were almost 4 centimeters long!

"So fast!" Su Ming exclaimed in surprise. Only one day had passed; normally, malt would take more than a week to grow to this size.

"I told you I'm a plant grower, this is basic skill!" Qiluo pouted in dissatisfaction. "Hey, the malt is ready, hurry up and make the sugar you mentioned!"

"Okay."

Su Ming had his skeleton servant bring out a large bag of glutinous rice from the warehouse, soak it, and instructed Qiluo to chop the malt.

Then steam the glutinous rice until cooked, cool it until slightly hot, break it up, add water and chopped malt, stir well, and seal it.

"Ferment for eight hours." Su Ming clapped his hands, took off his apron, and instructed Qiluo, "Go shell the peanuts, and call me when it's time."

"Okay, good!" The unicorn stared at the large bucket of glutinous rice, pondering a way to speed up the fermentation process.

****

After doing some physical labor, Su Ming felt his headache had eased a bit, and he decided to get down to business.

First came the strange encounter in the mine, and he decided to go to the library to look up information about the Archlich. He quickly found a book called "Extraordinary Undead" and turned to the page about the Archlich.

Archlich, the only lich of the light side. Belonging to the undead, yet possessing unrestricted all-elemental spellcasting abilities, and intelligence and cognition devoid of any negative traits.

Aside from these, the book didn't record anything else. He was somewhat disappointed and decided to get another one.

When Su Ming closed the book, he saw a line of childish handwriting on the title page. "Presented to Sister Li by Stacy." He glanced at the book's printing date: forty-eight years ago.

Stacy Green, 54, is a renowned Great Scholar and one of the 57 prisoners held in the Holy Mountain Divine Might Prison. Stacy and Zijin have had academic exchanges in several papers, and judging from the timeline, she was still a child when she gave this book to Stacy.

This is not just about academic partners as Zijin claimed.

Su Ming put the book back on the shelf, a mix of emotions welling up inside him.

The reason these two can roam freely at sea as wanted criminals is because of the White Triangle's technological advantage over the other world. If they were to set foot on land, their hard-earned advantage would vanish.

Searching for Russell and Galio's legacy in secret is fine, but going to the Sacred Mountain to rescue them will inevitably involve encountering various enemies head-on.

Zijin understood these things, so when discussing the human resources dilemma, she chose to conceal her own wishes.

Su Ming unfolded the map. The Holy Mountain Divine Might Prison was located in the central plateau of the Northern Continent, in the center of the Dome Mountains, at an altitude of about 4,000 meters.

The northern side of the Dome Mountains is a steep drop-off cliff area, adjacent to the Tingbulike Icefield with a drop of over a thousand meters, while the southern side descends slowly with the mountains, so going there requires traveling from the south. This means passing through the most densely populated areas of the Star Empire and the Cold Mountain Kingdom before entering the outer perimeter of the Dome Mountains, making it virtually impossible to conceal one's presence.

Another challenge is that although the Holy Mountain Divine Might Prison is inconvenient to access and supply, it is the most important ascetic training ground of the Temple of Light, so it is not lacking in high-end combat forces. In addition, as a prison, it must have various defensive designs.

From a rational standpoint, Su Ming believed his decision was correct. Human resources could be acquired through other means; avoiding danger was the right thing to do.

However, from another perspective, rescuing these people would also yield extremely substantial benefits. Not only could it more than solve the predicament, but it would also allow for a better targeting of the Temple of Light, enabling the rescuers to regain the initiative in this continent-wide manhunt.

Human resources are not only useful for dimensional teleportation arrays. The development plan and production system of Brown Gold Island also require a large number of talents. These scholars are definitely the most knowledgeable and intelligent people that can be found in this other world.

As for whether necromancers can engage in industrial production, such a trivial matter as a mismatch between their major and their profession is commonplace on Earth.

In short, as long as we succeed, the road home will be much smoother!

****

Qiluo came to him and asked him to proceed with the next step in making maltose.

"Didn't I say it needed to ferment for eight hours?" Su Ming glanced at the clock. "It's only been less than a quarter of the time!"

Malt contains enzymes that break down starch into sugars, and this process takes time.

"Fermentation can be accelerated!" Without saying a word, Qiluo grabbed Su Ming, held him above her head, and ran to the workshop with him staring at her.

Su Ming was still holding a pen and a notebook. He was a little dizzy from being jostled around, and before he could react, he found himself upright and placed in front of the large bucket of glutinous rice.

He completely underestimated the unicorn's obsession with sweets!

Su Ming reluctantly opened the bucket, took a taste, and indeed it had a strong sweetness. Qiluo had used some method again to greatly increase the decomposition efficiency.

If this unicorn went to Earth, it would definitely be a god in the food industry!

"Alright, bring some gauze, crush it, and filter it." Su Ming began to guide Qiluo to the next step: squeezing out the fermented broth.

The unicorn worked very hard and was extremely efficient. With a clasp of her hands, she squeezed out all the glutinous rice. She quickly finished squeezing out the sugar water and, following Su Ming's instructions, poured it into a pot and boiled it over high heat to evaporate the excess water.

Before long, the aroma of rice began to fill the workshop.

"Your enthusiasm is astounding," Su Ming exclaimed. "Did Beianqi's family mistreat you?"

"You can never have too much food and desserts, especially delicious desserts!" Qiluo exclaimed.