Repairs and Interrogation

The following day, at the agreed-upon time for teleportation with Earth, Su Ming connected with Miao Xin.

He looked around and realized that he wasn't in the warehouse from yesterday, but in a different factory building. Looking out the window, the layout was completely different—had they switched to a completely different factory?

"The goods have been inventoried, and all departments are ready." Ling Wen walked over, her voice sounding slightly tired, with noticeable dark circles under her eyes.

"Why did you change locations?" Su Ming asked.

"... Miao Xin blew up the power grid yesterday." Ling Wen replied in surprise, "Didn't you see it?"

"A few cables are enough to force you to move?" Su Ming asked, puzzled.

"All six 1250KVA transformers in the factory area have been scrapped." Xiao Cheng walked over, his face also showing heavy dark circles under his eyes. "We weren't left with a single one."

"I'm sorry, I used too much force," Miao Xin said, apologizing again.

There are ways to ensure the power supply is maintained; simply deploying a few emergency supply vehicles would suffice. However, given the scale of the disturbance, for safety reasons, it was decided to relocate personnel and equipment overnight.

Other things were manageable, but the setup of the observation equipment and site arrangement specifically designed for Su Ming's teleportation consumed a great deal of the research team's energy.

Ling Wen explained all of this to Su Ming.

"Anyway, I haven't slept for 26 hours." She said, yawning. "The sooner we finish, the more rest we can get."

"Okay." Su Ming nodded and walked towards the pile of parts.

After a day of rest, he has basically recovered.

Miao Xin, in her ghost form, hummed a song as she followed beside him. Su Ming could now clearly sense a subtle change in Miss Ghost, like a lamp in the darkness whose brightness had been dimmed, yet which had become even more solid.

This is clearly a result of her breakthrough yesterday.

The so-called "Resentment Mark" is clearly a translation error; the correct understanding is "calamity." The textbook from the Plundering Clock likely contains countless other errors, perhaps even more serious ones, but Miao Xin, through her own understanding and meticulous study, successfully unleashed this power.

Behind him, Xiao Cheng picked up the walkie-talkie, "Attention all departments, 'Burgundy mirror rhinestone,' scene two, shot one."

Burgundy mirror rhinestones?

Su Ming immediately lifted the Little Spiky Head's hand and, sure enough, saw ten dazzling red mirror nail polishes on his fingernails.

He shook his knuckles, and dozens of huge imitation diamonds gleamed under the factory's floodlights.

"[About Miao Xin...]" Su Ming said, trying to reason with her, "[Could you please not make it so shaky?]"

"[They requested it,]" Miao Xin said. "[They said it would be more obvious this way, and during later analysis, they could immediately tell which record it was.]"

[... They don't name every experiment after a nail art design, do they?]

[Bingo!] Miao Xin responded happily.

****

Youth Civilization.

The train stood silently on the snow-covered plain, its silvery-white body gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

Su Ming started from the front of the motorcycle and slowly moved forward, his fingers tracing the metal surface. Order was drawn from Earth; damaged parts were used as raw materials and reconstructed into something brand new on the spot.

As his mastery of Magic Power grew, he was able to perform such fluid maneuvers. As pale light swept across the massive machine, the twisted tracks immediately straightened, and the broken gears were restored to their original state.

Like a dream.

Because it uses faulty parts as materials, Su Ming needs to make very few adjustments, and the Magic Power consumption is negligible.

By the time he walked from the front to the back of the motorcycle, the entire vehicle seemed to have undergone a metamorphosis and been reborn. Su Ming, on the other hand, appeared to have simply strolled along leisurely.

Newman watched in awe, exclaiming, "If the Dwarf Mechanics' Guild saw this, they'd worship him as a god!"

"Teacher, is Mr. Su a god?" Younier blinked her big eyes and asked, puzzled.

"Of course not," Newman said, his voice tinged with a hint of awe, "But behind him lies something more terrifying than God!"

On Earth's side, the Little Spiky Head controlled by Su Ming stopped moving; half of the parts in front of it had already shattered.

"Scene 2, one take complete." Xiao Cheng stepped forward. "Could you please give us two minutes to make some adjustments?"

"Cameras, props, lighting, stagehands, get to work!" he shouted into the walkie-talkie.

Staff immediately gathered around, removed the debris, adjusted the placement of the remaining parts, and selected a more favorable angle for the equipment to record data.

"Your output pattern has changed a lot this time." Sangzi walked over.

Su Ming's gaze shifted downwards, and sure enough, there was a cast on her right palm.

"Is this detrimental to your observations?" Su Ming asked.

"We've been adjusting our observation methods, but your performance has been constantly changing." Sangzi sighed softly, her tone tinged with helplessness. "From a scientific perspective, we hope to have a certain amount of reproducible experimental data."

"I'll try my best to cooperate," Su Ming said, frowning. "I'm improving, and my condition is different each time I teleport."

"I know," Sangzi nodded, "So I'm not making a request. Besides, it's actually a luxury to worry about."

****

The second teleportation was completed quickly, this time carrying mechanical components from the destroyed carriages, such as the braking and steering systems for each carriage. Su Ming also teleported twelve additional sets.

"Goodbye!" Su Ming waved to everyone and switched back to the other world.

Younier was already taking stock of the equipment that had been transferred this time, using a small notebook.

Newman stepped forward. "Are you planning to add twelve more carriages?"

"Six living quarters, one multi-functional area, one dining car, two work cars, and two spare sets," Su Ming explained in detail. "We'll be meeting up with Princess Dafulin's support team in three days, and there are still over a hundred necromancers who need to be accommodated."

"Understood." Newman extended his bone claws, and suddenly a thickened carriage cracked open. The bone on it rapidly decomposed, reconstructed, and pieced together to form the prototype of three carriages.

The extra bone collected earlier in Hard Rock Canyon is now coming in handy.

"Although my simplified White Bone Mark doesn't have much Magic Power, it's still enough for this task."

Su Ming then realized that he wasn't the only one capable of doing these things.

But a certain female modeler with zero marks suddenly reached out and lifted the half-human skeleton.

"If I find you going back to your old aesthetic in places where symmetry is required," Zijin threatened, "I'll personally assemble the carriages and put your bones underneath!"

This threat was quite serious; Newman couldn't even imagine what kind of bizarre shape he would be pieced together into.

"Okay, I understand," Newman replied obediently.

In the afternoon, Ge'enda'er came to say goodbye to Su Ming, accompanied by Jielusi, who was returning to the team. The girl was in very poor condition and was helped back to her room to rest by Younier as soon as she returned.

"Jielusi is mostly recovered; she'll be fine after a few days of rest," Ge'enda'er explained. "Abigai's corrosion magic is indeed quite skillful."

Another important reason is that the person with the strongest healing ability in the team right now is Jielusi herself.

"Silver Mask, Yise, and I will escort everyone away," Ge'enda'er explained. "We need to clean up any traces you leave behind, prevent information leaks, erase the memories of those girls, and deal with the etched runes on their bodies."

There were many complicated matters to attend to, and almost everyone was injured.

Su Ming nodded in understanding.

"Bon Voyage!"

"Then see you at the foot of the Sacred Mountain." Ge'enda'er bowed in farewell and turned to leave.

****

On the third night after the battle, all the new carriages were assembled, the electrical equipment was installed, and the train was ready to be put into service.

Su Ming planned to set off once the boiler was preheated, but this meant he needed to load Abigai and Ruogejin's bodies onto the truck.

This makes it impossible to guarantee many things!

"What's coming will come." Zijin gently moved her wrists, feeling the Magic Power gradually returning to her body. "My condition is acceptable; we can proceed."

"Alright." Su Ming nodded.

Qiluo, needless to say, would never miss out on gossip, even though the unicorn righteously claimed it was to investigate the unusual matter of Divine Favor.

Newman followed, expressing his desire to see the legendary Bone King Corpse.

"Wait a minute!" Su Ming said urgently, "Who told you that!"

The unicorn beside it immediately turned its head and focused intently on studying the distant snow scene, whistling off-key.

"Hey, is this how you repay the person who gave you two jars of caviar!" Su Ming grabbed the unicorn's horn. "It was an accident!"

"I'm just stating what I saw!" Qiluo Luo retorted forcefully, forcing Su Ming to slide. "I didn't even say that Yexiya's corpse was completely naked."

"..."

Newman clicked his tongue a few times, "I never would have guessed!"

Amidst their playful antics, they soon arrived at the location where the body was hidden. It was in a nearby snowdrift, covered by an ingenious concealment array.

Qiluo broke free from Su Ming, raised her front hoof and stomped, dissolving the magic array. A whirlwind rose up, scattering the covering snow and revealing the corpses of Abigai and Ruogejin, as well as two souls sealed in specially made bottles by the unicorn.

Abigai's body was relatively intact; although Yise angrily smashed it several times after the battle, it was still recognizable as human.

As for Ruogejin, it can only be described as a mess.

"Please enjoy!" Qiluo said smugly.

Su Ming glared at him, then helplessly gripped her right wrist with her left hand. The Dawn and Dusk Bracelet had already begun to stir restlessly when they were nearing the corpse hiding place, and now it was even more impatient to manifest itself, flashing with an unusually beautiful glow.

He focused his mental energy and suppressed the bracelet with all his might. "Hey, at least let me ask you a few questions!"

Whether it was Su Ming's suppression that took effect, or whether it was understanding Su Ming's request, the Dawn and Dusk Bracelet really did become quieter.

Su Ming turned to Zijin, signaling her to begin.

Zijin also looked helpless. Without her actively summoning it, the Divine Favor Scepter had already appeared on its own, hovering above their heads, emitting a pure white light, looking menacing.

Neither of them is easy to deal with!

Zijin pulled the Bone Staff of the End, which she used as a hairpin, from her head, and her long, cascading hair fell down. She restored the staff to its original state, and then struck Abigai's soul with a "Soul Punishment".

However, Abigai's soul did not react at all; it neither screamed nor struggled.

Zijin didn't say much; this was the most painful spell to inflict on the soul that she knew of. She continued to whip him, and Abigai endured the punishment like a stagnant pool.

But as the spell was cast, Abigai's soul began to show signs of dissipation.

The Dawn and Dusk Bracelet became completely unruly. Before the materials were "damaged," it ignored Su Ming's suppression and forcibly began to devour them.

No one knew what it was made of, Su Ming's strength couldn't budge it at all. He was dragged towards Abigai's corpse and then fell face-first onto the old woman's mummy-like body, his hand pressed against his chest.

"It really is true!" Newman, who was watching, clicked his tongue in amazement.

Qiluo gave her a "I told you so" look, while Zijin on the other side shrugged, indicating that she couldn't help.

Su Ming gritted his teeth and tried to pull his hand away, but it wouldn't budge. He could only resign himself to his fate.

The Dawn and Dusk Bracelet had already begun its devouring spree, Abigai's soul finally let out a painful wail.

Su Ming gave Qiluo a strange look, "Didn't you dislike this shriek?"

"It's just the shrieking, it doesn't matter," the unicorn replied. "You've drained Abigai's soul energy, it's a bit noisy, but it doesn't hurt." She gave a disgusted look. "Back in Shafeng'er Town, you shattered such an ugly soul, making filth fly everywhere!"

Su Ming was consuming Magic Power, and it took him several minutes to absorb it all.

When it was all over, Su Ming finally didn't faint this time. He looked at the Dawn and Dusk Bracelet and found that the second section had been completed.

"Very good, mission progress 2/12," Su Ming said.

Newman was extremely interested in the unprecedented runes on the bracelet. "This bracelet, once assembled, will definitely be something amazing, but its segments—" he hesitated, "Seem that each segment can function independently."

Su Ming wanted to take off the bracelet and let Newman study it himself, but he found it was impossible. He put his wrist in front of Newman, and the bracelet simply disappeared and ignored him.

Everyone was prepared for this situation, and then looked toward today's real target: the soul of Ruogejin.

Qiluo tossed the bottle in her hand, opened it, and released Ruogejin's soul.

"If you can also withstand ten lashes from me without uttering a sound," Zijin's voice was icy, and the "Soul Punishment" light shone on the Bone Staff of the End, "Then pretend I didn't say anything."

"... I can answer one question." Ruogejin's soul, unlike Abigai's, finally responded to the fluctuation.

"Three," Zijin bargained, whether there were really only three or not—she'd ask first anyway.

"I can only answer one," Ruogejin said firmly.

Zijin was about to speak again, but Su Ming raised his hand to stop him.

Why can you only answer one question?

"This is a blessing bestowed by Jörmungandr!" Ruogejin's soul pulsed with sarcasm. "After death, we can answer one question to complete the ritual and exchange it for the return of our souls!"

An invisible rhythm swept through, and with the answer to the question, the ritual was completed!