Divine Driver

"Using the Heavenly Father of the Gospel to drive the motorcycle." Zijin suddenly laughed out loud, "So that's what you've been planning all along, great idea!"

The image of the once high and mighty god working amidst steam was so beautiful that she couldn't wait to see it.

The two walked toward the work shed, with Zijin brushing the snow off her clothes.

As they passed a unicorn whose tongue was stuck to a statue and which was whimpering and struggling, the two pretended not to see it.

But then the scholar seemed to realize something, and she said to Su Ming, "Longing doesn't belong to the dead; the Moon Prayer Masters are the professionals in that area." She pointed to Qiluo.

"Moon Prayer Master?"

"A class within the Moon Goddess system. She used ' Moon's Offering ' last time, didn't she?" Zijin replied. "You don't really believe she's just a vegetable grower, do you?"

"That's not necessarily true."

"Su Ming, save me." Qiluo bit her tongue, her voice muffled, "Hansite, you're so naughty!"

Su Ming then poured a glass of warm water and poured it onto the little girl's tongue.

"Ptooey, ptooey!" Qiluo, now free, rubbed her mouth and spat frantically. "They tricked me into thinking Heavenly Father of the Gospel is sweet, but he tastes like pickled vegetables!"

"All beings suffer!" the Heavenly Father of the Gospel declared in a compassionate voice. Qiluo was so angry she wanted to smash the statue, but was stopped by Zijin. The unicorn then turned to cause trouble for Hansite.

"Wait, I need you to materialize the longing on the steam locomotive." Su Ming grabbed her ponytail and pulled Qiluo back.

Qiluo's green hair, like vibrant spinach, stood out starkly against the snowy landscape, and he had long wanted to grab it.

The unicorn looked up at the clear sky. "The moon has been quite nice these past few days. Since you saved me, I'll help you tonight." Su Ming released his grip with satisfaction.

****

Zijin began studying the statue. The liquid oxygen production was insufficient and had been exhausted, causing the temperature inside the statue to rise again.

"What's the temperature?" she asked Su Ming.

-150 degrees Celsius.

"The spirit core doesn't rely on low temperatures to function. I suspect there's an alchemical mechanism that cuts off the Gospel's Magic Power supply above a certain temperature," Zijin said. "I need to find it and fix it so the Gospel spirit can work at room temperature."

Su Ming nodded; the two of them had the same idea. They didn't need the statue to perform a Magic Power -free levitation act or release "holy water" or "holy mist" to fool people.

What is needed now is simply an automatic driving system for a steam locomotive.

When the temperature rose to -135 degrees Celsius, Zijin took off her right glove and placed her palm on the surface of the Heavenly Father of the Gospel, carefully feeling the Magic Power flow within it.

"Overheating, about to hibernate!" the statue proclaimed, its eyes beginning to glow with blue light. "God's grace will forever be with you!"

"It's going to stop," Su Ming said.

"Um."

A white-clad servant carrying a large hammer and a steel chisel came out and stood beside the two men.

"Why do you want it to carry a hammer?" Su Ming asked, puzzled.

"Find the spot that's reacting, smash it open!"

Su Ming was very surprised, "Won't doing this ruin Heavenly Father of the Gospel?"

"I can repair the damage to the Magic Power circuits," Zijin replied. "However, damaging the spirit core is indeed troublesome. At best, it can result in memory loss; at worst, the spirit will be destroyed and rendered an idiot."

A question mark immediately appeared above Su Ming's head, "This works?"

"There are always risks," Zijin said calmly. "Analyzing and dissecting it bit by bit could take a month—do we have that kind of time?"

Su Ming and realized he really didn't have the time or energy. "Let's use a cutting machine," he suggested. "It's better than smashing it, right?"

"Alright."

Su Ming had the black skeleton bring out a large handheld cutting machine from the shed. The alloy saw blade gleamed with a cold, sharp light, and stood alongside the sledgehammer and chisel on the snow in front of the statue.

The temperature reading continued to rise, and the statue's eyes blinked faster and faster. Zijin's slender fingers were already icy cold. Su Ming wanted to cover her with something, but he knew that doing so would interfere with her senses, and even shield-type magic would be unusable.

The two hoped the light would go out quickly.

"The cold is God's will," the Heavenly Father of the Gospel said again.

The two ignored it and waited for it to stop working. Although the statue's eyes were flashing wildly, they remained firmly lit, which reminded Su Ming of the light on Ultraman's chest.

The temperature rose to -120 degrees Celsius, and Zijin could no longer bear it and let go of her hand. Her entire palm was numb with cold. Su Ming quickly took her right hand and rubbed it vigorously.

The girl looked at the statue with a hostile expression, then with a flick of her left hand, the large iron hammer stuck in the snow fell into her palm.

"God said, 'Be kind!'" the Gospel continued.

"That damn spirit has been playing dead!" Zijin finally realized, "You gave it liquid oxygen, making it think it was back in the temple before activating it—it wasn't a temperature-related mechanism at all!"

Su Ming couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"I was tricked by a spirit!" The scholar stamped her foot in disbelief. "How could I be so stupid!"

"Even the wisest person can make a mistake," Su Ming reassured him, but his barely suppressed laughter made his words sound insincere.

Zijin glared at him and swung the sledgehammer at Gospel, but Su Ming quickly pulled her back.

"No, it's useful!"

Zijin tugged at her own hand, but couldn't break free.

"This thing is so valuable!" Su Ming quickly pulled her closer, "Smashing it will lower its value!"

It's not about the money at all. Using such a precious item for driving is already a waste. If it gets even slightly bumped or scratched, people who know what happened later will be heartbroken!

Zijin bit her lip and finally reluctantly put down the hammer in her hand.

"It's lucky!"

She broke free from Su Ming's arm, turned to the statue, and said fiercely, "If you dare to put me into hibernation again, I'll tear you to pieces!"

"God's servants, wait patiently!" The voice of the Heavenly Father of the Gospel remained as kind as ever.

Zijin angrily smashed the hammer at the foot of the statue and went into the work shed to warm up.

****

At 10 p. m., Su Ming, Zijin, and Qiluo dragged the statue to the two Qianjin Class steam locomotives. The pale pink moonlight gilded the snow with a beautiful rose gold, and the sound of their footsteps on the snow was incredibly clear in the Tranquility night sky.

The unicorn took off its coat and thermal underwear, stepped barefoot into the snow, and prepared to transform into its true form, completely ignoring Su Ming standing right beside it.

"You could use illusion magic to put on an undergarment," Zijin reminded him. "This guy's eyes aren't gentlemanly at all."

"Relax, relax." Qiluo waved her hand, piling the clothes into Su Ming's hands. "I'm not human."

Su Ming protested, "I have no designs on non-humans or young girls!"

"Man is born naked," the Gospel icon interjected. "With a pure heart, all things are beautiful."

"See! Only those with impure hearts would think such nonsense!" Su Ming defended himself.

The little girl's eyes darted around, a glint of light flashing in them, and suddenly a tall, long-legged, completely naked, beautiful woman appeared. She reached out and hooked Su Ming's chin, her silver eyes alluring, "Little brother, how about this!"

Su Ming was truly shocked. This was the first time he had ever faced a physical object. The soft, undulating surface and the sudden impact left his mind blank.

Zijin sighed, "Su Ming, that won't do. You can't just turn into a naked enemy and then hesitate to attack, can you?"

Su Ming snapped out of his daze and pushed Qiluo's fingers away. "Let's get down to business!"

In her young lady form, Qiluo pouted and transformed into a unicorn. "You humans are so strange. I don't wear clothes in my true form either."

With a thud of her four hooves, her long horns lit up. Moonlight gathered around her, solidified, and then flowed outwards like water. Tiny specks of light emerged from the motorcycle, gathering more and more until they danced like a swarm of fireflies.

"Such intense longing!" Zijin exclaimed.

The light cast a hazy glow on the motorcycle's metal frame. The unicorn's eyes gleamed with silver light, and the phantom of the Moon Spirit appeared behind her.

"My Thoughts Woven Like Threads!"

Using moonlight as threads, Qiluo began to weave, and swarms of fireflies converged on her along the threads. Soon, the phantom of a miniature motorcycle made of moonlight and longing appeared before her.

"My turn." Zijin summoned the Divine Favor Scepter. Its power unfolded, and pure white light merged into the Moonlight Array, gently supporting the newly manifested Thought Entity.

The girl then gave the statue a fierce look, and the blue in its eyes immediately faded, turning into pure white light.

She stretched out her hand, and countless alchemical runes appeared in the void surrounding the statue. Zijin quickly scanned them, and it took her a while to find the entrance.

She then drew the motorcycle's Thought Entity over and brought it into contact with the statue.

Fusion!

With a clench of her outstretched hand, the Zijin runes immediately retracted into the statue, and her Thought Entity merged into it. The light in the statue's eyes flickered rapidly, then gradually dimmed until it disappeared.

The scholar remained calm and waited patiently for several dozen seconds. Then, the light from the statue's eyes reappeared, accompanied by the clanging sound of machinery that echoed across the snowfield.

God said, "Drive!"

****

The day after the statue was successfully integrated, Zijin placed the Gospel in the cab of the first locomotive.

The modification of the steam locomotive was completed ahead of schedule. Su Ming had Hansite and the unicorn drive the steam locomotive around the area to familiarize themselves with its operation. During this process, the Gospel Spirit also integrated its newly acquired knowledge and adapted to the modifications made to the Qianjin Class locomotive for driving on snow.

Su Ming and Zijin focused all their efforts on modifying the carriages. After modifying one carriage, they would attach it to the back of the locomotive and continuously test it.

After three busy days, the driver and crew's driving skills finally achieved a leap forward—they combined the Gospel of their steam locomotive experience, replacing everyone else. The locomotive operated with its servants, leaving no one else to do anything.

Of course, material arrangement and equipment inspection are still necessary. Younier has been helping out the whole time. Although Su Ming repeatedly told the little girl to rest, she still persevered and did non-physical work.

After the last carriage completed the joint debugging of the correction and braking systems, the Youth Civilization set off again. The Gospel Locomotive made a nimble start under heavy load, then smoothly corrected its course with a beautiful arc.

"That's a real veteran driver," Hansite exclaimed.

Not only were the drivers replaced with top-notch ones, but the new system also had a significant effect. The train's swaying on the snow was greatly reduced, allowing it to travel smoothly across the snowfield and increasing its speed considerably. The ride for passengers was also much smoother, a far cry from the original Youth Civilization.

Steam billows, and the terrain is gentle at the beginning of the ice field. Only by looking far inland can one see slightly undulating hills on the edge of the horizon.

"Where are we going?" Hansite asked, pointing to the map in the living quarters. With the Gospel, now only one of them needed to be in the cockpit.

The reason wasn't even to assist in the Gospel, but to supervise this "captive" from the temple.

"To the Sang River," Su Ming replied. "The riverbed downstream is frozen; we'll drive on the ice."

The Sang River originates from the Dome Mountains, flows through three mountain ranges, and traverses the entire ice sheet before emptying into the sea. At this time of year, the upper and middle reaches of the Sang River have dried up, but the lower reaches are completely frozen. The ice surface is very smooth, which means that the train has a very good running environment.

Hansite, however, was somewhat worried. "The villages along the Sang River are very densely packed; we're bound to be spotted."

This is a problem; if someone sees it, it could attract investigation. The huge tracks left by the train speeding across the snowfield cannot be hidden at all. This will further arouse more attention, and sooner or later, its identity and whereabouts will be exposed.

Su Ming stirred the coffee in his cup and began to ponder. They had recently switched from tea to high-calorie drinks. Su Ming didn't actually like coffee, but there were no other beverages for him to choose from.

"I have an idea," Zijin interjected, "Let's disguise ourselves as a caravan of the Plateau Bearfolk."

She walked over and pointed to the map, explaining to everyone, "The Plateau Bearfolk live on the inner side of the third tier of the Ice Plains, and they rarely interact with the humans on the Ice Plains. Their most valuable products are various rare materials and medicinal herbs, which need to be transported to places like Moon Bay City to be easily sold. Then they will purchase some daily necessities and transport them back across the Ice Plains."

Zijin took out a picture book, turned to one of the pages, and saw a caravan of huge mammoths carrying heavy loads across the summer ice plains. The mammoths were tied up one by one with ropes, and a dozen burly bear-men drove them with long whips, trampling thick mud into the grass.

"The Plateau Bearfolk do have this custom, but this place is far from the trade routes, and the Bearmen only trade in the summer," Hansite said.

"It doesn't matter, we just need a plausible explanation," Zijin said. "Do you want the villagers to think, 'There's a strange bear-man caravan there, we shouldn't mess with them,' or 'There's a long, gigantic monster there, we should report to the lord immediately?'"

Hansite and Su Ming exchanged a glance, agreeing that Zijin's words made a lot of sense.

"So we need to disguise the Youth Civilization as the Mammoth Team?" Su Ming asked.

"Just make it look somewhat like a mammoth, like with two tusks and two ears," Zijin explained. "Our main purpose isn't for people to see it up close, but rather to make it look somewhat like one from a distance. The real method is the sound; we'll imitate the sound of a mammoth, making it call out every now and then."

"The other is footprints," Zijin continued. "We added mammoth and bear-man footprint plates to the last carriage."

Su Ming also realized that if the villagers investigated and saw the footprints in the snow, and compared them with the shouts they heard, there would be an explanation.

The Youth Civilization Train is entirely white, making it difficult to see clearly from a distance.

"That's a good idea!" Su Ming agreed.

The footprints were easy to handle; he immediately began designing a pressure plate to hang at the rear of the train. The problem was the sound. Steam locomotives had whistles that could be used, but Su Ming had never heard the sound of a mammoth.

"I've heard a mammoth roar, and I have some knowledge of vocal principles," Hansite said. "Leave this to me."

Su Ming nodded, and Hansite left.

"Zijin, you're really adept at handling situations where you need to conceal your whereabouts."

"If you run away long enough, you'll naturally learn," Zijin said calmly.