Doomsday Locomotive Teleportation

"And we have many accomplices on this trip," Su Ming said. "The current Star Queen, Catherine, is also a member."

"... Did she become mentally impaired from giving birth?" Newman asked incredulously.

"And your student, Princess Dafulin, whom you have a romantic relationship with." Zijin patted her shoulder blade.

Newman's bony claws stopped abruptly. "I've only been dead for six months—has this world been invaded by an evil god?!"

"You'll get used to it!" Zijin said cheerfully. "By the way, transfer the copyright of your collection of papers to me; you'll get a royalty fee."

Don't even think about it!

****

The morning passed quietly amidst busy work and casual conversation. Sunlight streamed through the windows of the shed, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

Su Ming took a nap after lunch. He had fought while chasing Jimite last night and got up very early this morning, so he was clearly sleep-deprived.

He slept very soundly, not getting up until three in the afternoon.

Stretching lazily, Su Ming strolled to the shed, but didn't see the scholar lady. Newman was holding his shotgun, with a table full of disassembled ammunition in front of him.

"Good afternoon," Su Ming greeted.

"Not good this afternoon." Newman's tone was clearly disgusted, his soul fire flickering incessantly. "What kind of rubbish ammunition have you made? What a waste of such good weapons!"

As he spoke, he loaded a reassembled bullet into the chamber, pulled back the bolt with a "snap," and fired a shot at a round wooden target beside him.

The thick wood was pierced instantly, and the bullet passed through the bone-like walls of the shed.

The poor little skeleton was also knocked to the ground by the powerful recoil, rolling around before bouncing up. Newman casually tossed the thick gun, which was only a head shorter than him, back onto the table and continued to bury himself in modifying the ammunition.

The workbench was piled high with various odds and ends of alchemical materials, some of which were scraps salvaged from the loot Qiluo had brought back. Even the Sense-Severing Wood box that had previously been used to store the Celestial Gold had been cut into pieces.

Su Ming then truly realized that he had completely underestimated the value of having an engineering master join the team. Although Zijin's abilities were quite comprehensive, she couldn't compete with this person who was also a titled expert. The value of being one of the "only two" in this other world was indeed not to be underestimated.

Compared to all the scattered odds and ends, Newman was the biggest gain during this period!

Su Ming's slow realization was probably because he was used to having the scholar girl by his side.

****

A familiar presence suddenly appeared within his perception range; it was Zijin returning. Su Ming opened the door of the shed, and the girl flew in on a broomstick.

A large wild boar was tied to the broom, and it looked like it had just been hunted.

Meanwhile, Qiluo and Younier also drove back in their snowmobile, the truck bed piled high with all sorts of fresh vegetables.

"What are you doing?" Su Ming asked.

"Little Newman's joining us is definitely something to celebrate!" Qiluo jumped out of the car, excitedly saying, her ponytail swinging merrily with her movements.

Upon hearing this, Newman's soul fire in his eye sockets twisted into the shape of a dead fish eye, and he glanced sideways at the jubilant crowd. "Celebrate with a big meal? Look at me, do I look like I can eat anything?"

However, no one paid any attention to his protests; Qiluo and Hansite had already begun a heated discussion about tonight's menu. Zijin untied the wild boar from the broom and tossed it at the feet of the foodies. "It's your turn!"

"Don't worry!" Hansite gestured as if he had been given the order, while Qiluo beside him was equally eager to get started.

"Wouldn't it be faster to treat the pig hair with high-temperature steam?" Younier suggested.

As long as she doesn't cook herself, she's a smart, charming, and lovable girl.

"That makes sense. A live pig can't be as hardy as Newman." Hansite nodded in agreement.

Newman, standing nearby, angrily loaded the newly assembled bullet into the chamber and fired it again with a "bang." This time, although the bullet did not penetrate the wooden target, it almost split the entire piece of wood apart.

Seeing this result, he finally showed a hint of satisfaction.

****

A new communication signal came in; it was a message from Price—his transport team had delivered the goods to the designated location.

Su Ming immediately dispatched a drone to investigate, and sure enough, the supplies were found in a valley five kilometers away. The transport team had already left as ordered after unloading the goods.

Zijin led out the several Frostmane Giant Wolf. "Younier, let's go pick up the goods."

Younier was somewhat afraid of the frostwolf, but she still mustered her courage and approached, carefully placing her hand on the wolf's back to feel the warmth emanating from its thick fur.

Zijin grabbed Younier by the back of her collar and tossed her onto the wolf's back like a kitten, then lightly leaped onto its back herself. Amid Younier's panicked screams, the giant wolf shot out of the shed like an arrow.

Seeing this, the remaining Frostmane Giant Wolf hesitated and stood still. Seeing this, Su Ming untied the long whip from his waist and lashed it hard at the snow at their feet.

"Snap!" The crisp sound of the whip sent snow and dirt flying everywhere.

The Frostmane Giant Wolf then hurriedly chased after the alpha wolf and fled.

After a while, the wolf sled team returned fully loaded, pulling a large amount of miscellaneous military equipment and supplies into the shed, all of which Su Ming had previously selected.

Newman put down his work and came over to check. "The Ripper Rune Cannon! Mobile Military Shields! This equipment is enough for a small-scale battle!"

"Tear them all down, break them down, and sort them!" Zijin said. "We'll use them as materials."

"Teared it down?" Newman's jaw nearly dropped in astonishment. "These are all good stuff!"

"It is their honor to be chosen as material by Su Ming," Zijin said calmly.

The skeleton servants had already brought in scales, wrenches, and a cutting machine, while Younier held a file, ready to take detailed notes.

The main point is to be familiar with the process!

Newman felt a pang of heartache watching this, so he decided to turn away and continue organizing the unfinished alchemical materials, muttering something under his breath.

Zijin picked up a piece of parts removed from the cannon and smashed it on Newman's head with a "Duang," finally silencing Newman in frustration.

****

Dinner was a little later than usual and was exceptionally lavish. The wild boar meat was prepared into several different dishes, with some of the offal boiled into a thick soup and others stewed directly. Su Ming took a bite; although it inevitably had a slightly fishy and gamey taste, it was still within an acceptable range.

A bonfire was lit in the center of the work shed, and the warm firelight shone on everyone's faces. Zijin took out the corn wine she had bought in Turkmen City earlier and drank half a cup with relish.

Despite his sharp tongue, Newman poured himself a glass of wine and splashed it into the mouth of his skull, saying, "Thank you for the welcome!"

The atmosphere was lively and cheerful, and Qiluo even hummed a little tune happily. With everyone's tacit approval, she devoured all the food.

The unicorn's good mood lasted until the moon rose, when Su Ming urged her to activate the "Consecration Aura" in order to transfer the components of the Doomsday Locomotive.

"So you fed me today just so I'd have to work?!" Qiluo jumped up in anger. "No, it was all about me from the start—no wonder Ailisha went hunting wild boar!"

Hansite took two spice-marinated wild boar legs from the kitchen and roasted them over the fire in front of her.

"... Since you're so sincere!" Qiluo snorted, pouted, and ran into the moonlight, unfurling her golden-green halo.

With the materials and beast jinchūriki ready, Su Ming took a deep breath, focused his mind, and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the workshop on Earth—the third section of the Doomsday Train was quietly parked in the factory's idle workshop, and the surrounding area had already been cleared.

Su Ming looked around. Besides Ling Wen and Xiao Cheng, there were more than a dozen people wearing visitor badges a little further away, setting up professional equipment to record information. They were moving with extreme caution, as if afraid of disturbing something.

Further out, an entire team was on guard, and the ripples emanating from their work were clearly visible to Miao Xin. Everyone was filled with a mixture of tension, excitement, and curiosity.

Although everyone tried to avoid looking this way, almost all their attention was on the Little Spiky Head.

[Boss, this is your first live performance, don't embarrass yourself!] Miao Xin teased.

[The first teleportation went smoothly.] Su Ming replied, [The last one tomorrow at noon, I doubt it will work.]

In the other world, a magic circle for Summoning of All Things spread out in a ring on the ground, centered on Su Ming. During this time, Su Ming had been guided by Zijin to draw the magic circle, and he hadn't made no progress at all.

He raised his hand, and the Little Spiky Head in the workshop simultaneously raised his bone claws. A bunch of crystalline things appeared at his fingertips. Su Ming looked at them distractedly, which caused his mental sea to ripple, almost causing the magic array to collapse.

[Miao Xin!] Su Ming exclaimed angrily, holding up her bone-like finger studded with pink diamonds, [When did you get your nails done?!]

"[... It's rare to have a few days off, isn't it?]" Miao Xin said boastfully, "[I used to work at a nail salon. How is it? Pretty, right? It matches your debut look, doesn't it!"]

Helpless, Su Ming tried to shift his attention away from the glittering nail polish and refocus his mind.

As the intensity of the Magic Power output increased, fine cracks began to appear on the dark light covering the runes, faintly revealing a power that was deeper and purer than darkness itself.

"It really isn't dark-type," Newman said.

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of." A rare look of worry appeared on Zijin's face. "He's about to cross the line."

"Concept Element are both immense power and insurmountable barriers." Newman's soul flame flickered uncertainly. "It's hard to say whether Su Ming won't follow in your footsteps."

Zijin skipped over the topic, "Can you see anything else?"

Newman observed carefully again, then shook his head. "It's a pity Old Raven is gone. With his expertise in teleportation, he should have been able to deduce more information."

The "old raven" he referred to was Galio the Traveling Crow, a Saint Rank Magister who was also the scholar who had gone the furthest in teleportation research. The White Bone Fortress was the one he used to teleport from the Plain of Despair to the Hard Rock Canyon, which was the largest-scale interplane teleportation spell ever cast.

Zijin pointed to the black skeletal servant, "Galio's bones remain, but his soul has vanished."

"You tore him to pieces?" Newman exclaimed in surprise. "What a waste!"

Zijin shook her head. "The moment he died, I used all my senses to search for him, and found that his soul had been shattered into dust."

"What terrible things did this old man do in his life, or was he cursed?" Newman muttered.

Spiritual magic wasn't Newman's domain, so he didn't think much of it. Instead, he carefully examined the black skull. "It uses the Classical Soulfire system!" he exclaimed. "No wonder it's Saint Rank material; even after all that messing around, it still moves!"

"... If you're so good, then you do it?" Zijin didn't argue much. Compared to true masters, her skill in necromancy was indeed lacking.

Newman shook his head. Although he was better than Zijin in the study of soulfire, his overall depth of research into necromancy was limited.

"Weren't we going to the Divine Might Prison to rescue someone? Ruixiuli should be there, right?" Newman suddenly remembered something. "He's a real expert!"

"With her alluring looks, how can Ruixiuli possibly survive in a place like prison?" Zijin sighed.

"... Indeed." Newman's soul flame also dimmed slightly.

****

Here, Su Ming's magic array had expanded to its limit, and he activated the spell with all his might. In the workshop on Earth, the material order was suddenly drained, and a large amount of debris collapsed on the spot.

In the otherworldly workshop, a new order descended from the void. A large amount of materials rose into the air and rapidly converged under the guidance of this "order." Gradually, the third section of the Doomsday Locomotive appeared in the center of the workshop.

Su Ming stopped his spell, gazing at the enormous white device before him, his heart filled with mixed emotions. Teleporting to such a large device was no longer as difficult as it had been initially.

Of course, Qiluo's assistance was also a great help. Su Ming turned to the unicorn on the other side, "Thanks!"

Qiluo arrogantly raised her head and ignored him. After withdrawing her Consecration Aura, she went straight to the roasting pig leg by the campfire and lazily lay down.

The grease dripped onto the charcoal fire, sizzling and releasing a fragrant aroma.

"What's next?" Zijin asked.

"Section Three includes a complete auxiliary boiler and auxiliary generator system; we'll modify that part first," Su Ming replied.

"Let's start with the heat-reflective coating," Zijin said, picking up Newman with one hand and then throwing him away with a "thud."

"Don't throw me!" Newman's protest drew a graceful arc in the air, and finally, with a "thud," the little skeleton fell precisely into the boiler furnace.

"Your small stature makes it easy for you to squeeze into narrow places." Zijin stepped forward and handed over the Nie Silver materials.

"Belladonna!" Newman shouted from the hearth, his voice echoing long and clearly. "I see now, you're getting revenge on me—when have I ever offended you in the first place?"

"Guess. If you guess right, I'll let you go," Zijin readily admitted.

"Tch, so narrow-minded~~" Newman muttered discontentedly, but his bone claws skillfully began to attach to the materials.