Bearman Captives

There was also a particularly small girl among them, standing on tiptoe and watching longingly, her drool almost dripping into the pot; she looked to be no more than ten years old.

Su Ming cursed the Plundering Clock as worse than a beast and went up to find out what was going on, only to find that the other party had green hair.

That's alright!

A side chamber held fifty bear-men, prisoners of the battle. This was mainly due to Newman's victory; he controlled their skeletalized chieftain, brandishing a 100mm revolver and tearing two of them to pieces, completely extinguishing any thought of escape for the bear-men.

Of course, Su Ming suspected that it was that "death metal concert" that completely destroyed their psychological defenses.

Su Ming entered the cave and found that the bear-men were obediently lined up in several rows, kneeling on the ground.

At their center, Hansite stood atop a protruding rock, looking down at the prisoners. LED lights projected from behind him, elongating his shadow into a highly oppressive silhouette.

"You scum kneeling on the ground! Open your eyes, blinded by dust and lies!"

Hansite's hoarse voice rang out, causing all the bear-men to tremble. Many of them began to writhe uneasily, some even shaking involuntarily.

Hansite's voice clearly evoked some extremely terrifying memories for them.

"Look at you all now! Like rats trembling in the gutter!" Hansite's voice was full of contempt. "Is this the 'grace' you Jörmungandr '?!"

Anger blazed instantly in the eyes of the bear-men. They could endure humiliation, but they would never tolerate the Desecration of their greatness.

Hansite's fingers plucked the guitar strings, producing a soft hum. This sound might be insignificant to an ordinary person, but to the bear-men, it was like a sharp blade scraping their eardrums. All the bear-men immediately lay back down on the ground, not daring to even breathe.

"Shout after me!" Hansite snapped. "The false god Jörmungandr is bullshit!"

The bear-men looked hesitant, but when they saw Hansite's fingers on the strings, they immediately stopped. As Hansite made a move to strum the strings, several bear-men hurriedly stammered, "It's... bullshit!"

As Hansite's fingertips traced the path, a granular, rustling sound burst forth from the speaker, echoing back and forth between the cave walls.

"Ah!" The girls cooking outside were startled by the sudden noise.

The string music, which was supposed to be gentle, sounded like the shrieks of demons to these bear-men! They all lowered their bodies even further, their foreheads almost touching the ground.

"Say it again!" Hansite commanded coldly.

This time, all the bear-men immediately raised their hands and shouted in unison, almost in tears, "Jörmungandr is bullshit!"

The results looked good, Su Ming nodded in satisfaction. The upcoming Sacred Mountain project now had a larger pool of strong, physically demanding laborers.

****

Su Ming spotted a familiar face in a corner of the cave.

Rupert, the former sheriff of Shafeng'er Town, was resting against a rock, his body wrapped in bandages, but he looked to be in good spirits.

There were several jars of wine at his feet, which seemed to have been unearthed from somewhere.

"Hi! Bone King," Rupert greeted him immediately, a relieved smile on his face. "Those two drinks you bought me back then, weren't they worth it?"

"It's definitely worth it." Su Ming looked him over. Although he was wrapped in bandages all over, at least he wasn't missing any arms or legs.

"I heard about what happened in Shafeng'er Town; I'm sorry to have dragged you into this." He pulled a small cloth bag from his pocket and tossed it to Rupert. "I wish you a good life in Dawn Territory!"

Rupert caught the bag, the gold coins inside clinking pleasantly. "Thank you for your kind words!" he grinned.

Newman sent a message saying he had discovered something interesting.

"See you next time." Su Ming turned to leave.

"I hope we never meet again!" Rupert waved his hands repeatedly, "I really can't get involved in the affairs of you big shots!"

****

Su Ming quickly arrived at an open space outside the cave, where a simple shed had been set up.

The ground was littered with collected magical weapons. Except for the core component, the "Star Core," which was intact, the rest were broken fragments.

Younier squatted on the ground, holding a thick notebook in her hands, carefully labeling each piece with a number, trying to piece them together. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the roof, illuminating her focused profile.

"This girl has good comprehension," Newman commented, standing to the side. "She might not be able to learn magical alchemy, but natural alchemy is no problem."

Younier studied the basics of alchemy, but later gave up on further studies due to a lack of Magic Power talent. The natural school of alchemy relies primarily on the natural reactions and changes of matter, and is considered a marginal school in this other world.

However, after Su Ming's trip, the situation is clearly changing.

"It's all thanks to the teacher's excellent guidance!" Younier said, looking up.

Newman wanted to say something, but looking at his own skeletal frame, he felt there was no need to fuss over trivial matters. "Call me teacher if you want, but my knowledge in this area is limited, and I can only teach you the basics of this world."

Newman emphasized the words "this world," but Younier didn't understand him at all. The girl was overjoyed and immediately stood up and bowed deeply, "Thank you, teacher!"

"Don't call her that in front of Dafulin," Su Ming reminded her, "Or it might cause additional trouble."

"Mmm!" Younier nodded vigorously.

"You're asking me to teach you in front of truly capable people," Newman bluntly stated, "I'm unworthy of such a title."

Younier was initially puzzled, but when she followed Newman's gaze to Su Ming, her eyes widened instantly.

"Mr. Su is also an alchemy master?" She covered her mouth in surprise.

Newman suddenly wondered if he had accepted the wrong student. "What do you mean 'also'? Didn't he just conjure up the White Bone Train right in front of you?"

Younier's face showed disbelief, and she even unconsciously took a few steps back, clearly her worldview had been greatly shaken.

"That was alchemy... I always thought it was a divine art from a creator god from another world!" she murmured.

If something is too far beyond common sense, it will be subconsciously categorized as a ghost or deity.

Su Ming and Newman exchanged a glance, then ignored the bewildered clerk and headed straight for the pile of debris in the center of the shed.

"Let Younier start by learning from the things of this world," Su Ming said as they walked. "My upcoming production system needs a bridge between itself and local technology."

"You're incredibly ambitious!" Newman glanced at him, a deep blue light gleaming in his bony eyes. "I like it!"