The Ale

1. A total of 12,000 posts were updated today.

2. The 8200-word chapter in yesterday's "Extra Chapter" (paid) has now been renamed "Chapter 14: Pansy".

3. Once this problem is resolved, normal operation will resume.

4. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience caused. Happy holidays everyone!

In the evening, Su Ming sorted out the many problems he had discovered while reading the design proposal for "Pansy" during the day.

He shifted his focus to Miao Xin and prepared to contact the engineers in the "Ocean Fisheries" project team to communicate and coordinate these matters.

But when he cut in, he found Miao Xin in a storage room filled with multi-tiered metal shelves. On the long stainless steel table in front of her, a large pile of personal items that clearly belonged to a woman were spread out, including but not limited to clothing, different styles of shoes, backpacks, bedding, and daily necessities.

There are even complete sets of kitchen utensils such as pots, pans, and bowls.

"What are you doing?" Su Ming asked, deeply puzzled.

But the next second, his gaze suddenly locked onto one of them. He immediately took control of the Little Spiky Head's body and strode over.

It was a clearly broken hair tie. The linen-colored silk satin texture still showed its former exquisiteness, but most of the crystal decorations on the Butterfly orchid ornament had fallen off, leaving only a few lonely crystals.

[This belongs to Si Ran?] Su Ming picked up the hair tie with his White Bone fingers.

"Yes," Miao Xin replied somewhat helplessly. "These are Si Ran's belongings collected by the relevant departments. They asked me to examine them to see if there are any residual energy fluctuations, such as traces of Resentment Mark or curses."

She had originally worried that seeing the object would remind Su Ming of her and increase his sadness, so she didn't plan to tell him about it. But she didn't expect that, by sheer bad luck, he would still catch her in the act.

Su Ming's gaze slowly swept over the scattered items. He had indeed lost touch with Si Ran in the past two years, and he no longer recognized many of the items. But the old cell phone, the keychain with the little Doll hanging on it, and the backpack she had used for so long were still so familiar, like solidified marks of time.

However, the vibrant figure who used them back then is no longer there.

A sudden wave of sadness washed over Su Ming.

"Skull Mark - Deep Connection!"

With a thought, Su Ming decisively immersed his entire perception and consciousness completely in the Little Spiky Head. The sensory signals from his main body, such as sight, hearing, and touch, were instantly blocked, as if separated by a thick layer of frosted glass.

Su Ming manipulated the skeleton to raise its head and look around the storage room. A flood of environmental information came into view: the warm-toned latex-painted walls, the dust particles floating in the air, and even the faint background noise of city traffic coming from outside the window. These elements intertwined, giving him the illusion that he had really returned to Earth.

"[What's wrong?]" Miao Xin asked from a distance.

The ghost girl, who was originally attached to the Little Spiky Head, was "squeezed out" by Su Ming's mental power and transformed into a semi-transparent girlish light and shadow, drifting to one side.

This "deep connection" ability was originally a technique used by necromancers to fully control undead creatures, but Su Ming had never actually used it. By the time he mastered this skill, Miao Xin had already become his proxy on Earth.

"[Just wait a little while.]" Su Ming didn't hide his feelings; his mood was somewhat somber. "[If I go back now, I'm afraid I won't be able to control my tears.]"

Miao Xin paused for a moment, then asked, "[Si Ran, could she be your... lover?]"

"No." Su Ming answered quickly, revealing the answer before Miao Xin could press him further, "I confessed my feelings to her, but she rejected me."

"Wow!" Miao Xin exclaimed in surprise, "This lady is amazing!"

Su Ming's gaze returned to the relics, among which a slightly worn notebook caught his eye. He recognized it as Si Ran's work notebook. Opening the cover, he saw neat and beautiful handwriting inside, with meticulous and detailed records, just like her work ethic.

The notes Si Ran once wrote for him also had this kind of handwriting.

****

Su Ming closed the notebook and gently placed it back in its original place.

If he continued to dwell on the memories, his emotions would only sink deeper, Su Ming realized that this was not a good time to mourn his deceased friend.

He simply walked out of the storage room. "[Miao Xin, find me somewhere to get some fresh air.]"

[No problem, follow me!] Miao Xin immediately perked up and floated towards the door. She led "Su Ming" through the corridor and out of the building, then hovered the spirit body next to a rainwater pipe leading to the roof.

[Climb up this path, and you'll easily reach the roof.] Miao Xin gestured for them to go, her tone slightly smug. [The view from there is expansive and the scenery is exceptional!]

Su Ming shook the skull head helplessly and resignedly began to climb. The Little Spiky Head was light and agile, and even though Su Ming was a bit clumsy in controlling it, he easily climbed to the roof.

He stepped onto the uneven, heat-insulating bricks and found a relatively gentle slope to lie down. The city's night sky was tinged with a dark red by light pollution, and the sparse starlight was almost invisible.

"Alright, let me have some peace and quiet," Su Ming said to Miao Xin. "I'll go back by myself once I've calmed down."

[How could I possibly leave you here alone, just standing there daydreaming!] Miao Xin floated up, her voice righteous and stern. [This is the perfect opportunity to snoop out some gossip!]

[It's just a story of a failed confession, what's so interesting about it?] Su Ming replied irritably, [Have you never been in a relationship before?]

When I was in junior high, I had a crush on a tall boy in the next class who played basketball. I finally mustered up the courage to give him a love letter, but he rejected me without even reading it. Later, two other boys confessed to me, but I just didn't feel anything for them and rejected them all.

Later, a Meituan delivery guy tried to befriend me while I was working as a food delivery driver, but I told him directly, "Ele.me and Meituan have no future!"

Miao Xin finished recounting her "romantic history" in one breath, her tone light and cheerful. "[Okay, I'm done. Now it's your turn to give a detailed account!]"

[--·] Su Ming was completely defeated by the ghost lady's persistence. After a moment of silence, he helplessly spoke, [Si Ran and I have always had a good relationship. She is truly a very dazzling girl.]

[Dazzling?] Miao Xin recalled what she had just seen in the storage room: simple clothes and everyday items. Her tone was clearly confused. [But what Sister Si Ran left behind—it seemed like she wasn't particularly interested in dressing up like that?]

[What I meant by dazzling was the feeling she gave off.] Su Ming corrected, his voice tinged with nostalgia. [She possesses remarkable drive and charisma; no matter how complicated the task, she always manages to organize it perfectly. More importantly, she naturally inspires those around her. Few people around her fail to be captivated by her enthusiasm and perseverance. So, after spending time with her, I naturally—came to like her.]

[The goddess in everyone's hearts, no wonder Si Ran didn't fall for you!] Miao Xin said with a grin, deliberately picking at Su Ming's sore spots and poking at them without any mercy.

[Actually--·] Su Ming sighed, [Si Ran is quite special to me. She has many friends, but I'm the closest to her. We share our secrets, stay up all night together to finish final assignments, take care of each other—and there have been quite a few ambiguous moments. I genuinely believed that she had special feelings for me too.]

[Pfft, hahaha!] Miao Xin burst into laughter, her ghostly, semi-transparent figure trembling violently in the air. [The number one of the three great illusions of life: She likes me! Hahahaha, Su Ming, I never thought you'd make such a blunder!]

[I've learned a lot from Si Ran.] Su Ming's voice calmed down. [I learned how she handles things, how to adjust and improve. Everything else is fine, except for being rejected. I really don't want to learn that from her.]

Miao Xin stopped laughing. "[When you asked me to find Si Ran's soul, you didn't mean you wanted to ask her why things turned out this way, did you?]"

"[That's not true.]" Su Ming said. "[This matter bothered me for a long time, but I later realized that her kindness towards me was a gesture of goodwill she was willing to give, but her dislike for me was also her true feeling and her freedom. What I need to learn is to accept this reality. Then we went back to being ordinary friends, and everything returned to normal.]"

Miao Xin calmed down as well. [At least Si Ran is still good to you. That boy I gave love letters to back then didn't even glance at me.]

[Maybe this is actually a good thing.] Su Ming interjected, [The other person's kindness towards you might just be wishful thinking on their part.]

[Wait!] Miao Xin's gossip radar went off like crazy. She keenly caught a certain word: [Who are you referring to as "the other party"?]

[---] Su Ming paused for a moment, then asked in return, [Why do you think that the "other party" I mentioned isn't referring to Si Ran?]

[Do you think I'm stupid!] Miao Xin jumped as if her tail had been stepped on. [You just used the word "again"! Clearly, there's a second person causing you to have this illusion!]

[I already said it was just an illusion, what's there to study?] Su Ming said irritably. [You can't be like this, once bitten, twice shy!] Miao Xin immediately adopted a self-righteous look, as if she were saying, "I'm doing this for your own good." [You should be fearless in the face of illusions, and become more courageous with each setback! Maybe the next illusion won't be an illusion at all!]

[So you can enjoy the gossip to your heart's content, right?]

"Of course!" Miao Xin said without any hesitation, "Watching familiar faces make the fun twice as good!"

[Alright.] Su Ming manipulated the Little Spiky Head to sit up, the skeleton's joints making a slight grinding sound. [Let's deal with this later, then we can study these trivial matters. 007's workaholic doesn't have time for this.]

Ahead lies the city's dazzling night view and countless lights.

Miao Xin calmed down, "[Then I'll let you off the hook today, good luck!]"

Same here!

****

On the morning of the sixth day after departing from the Sheltered Valley, the long "Youth Civilization" train finally arrived at the Jishou Tidal Flats landing point on the east side of the Giant Horn Peninsula.

During the straightest section of the river at the end of the journey, the train even reached an astonishing speed of 65 km/h. The sustained high-speed experience left the unfamiliar passengers in the carriages in awe, with cheers rising and falling.

As expected, Su Ming's memory of the terrain details of this area was vague. Fortunately, the magical beacon he had buried here was successfully activated and emitted a stable guiding signal, pointing him to the location of the landing point.

As soon as the train came to a stop, Su Ming was the first to jump off the carriage. Behind him, the trainees from various training camps and the official members of the Final Bone Mad Machines got off the train in an orderly manner and quickly lined up under the command of the managers at all levels, and began to assign various tasks in an orderly manner.

One group of people was responsible for unloading the cargo from the truck; the other group put on their gear and prepared to dive into the icy water to salvage the skeletal remains and a large amount of supplies that had sunk there.

Later, they will dismantle the massive "Youth Civilization" train in groups and use all the bone reserves of the White Bone Fortress to assemble the bone hull of the "Pansy" in this bay.

Su Ming distributed a thick stack of ship structure blueprints to the heads of each work group. Afterward, he took Qiluo and began searching for people in the surrounding area.

That's right, Beianqi, who was supposed to show the supply ship and wait for us in the communications, was nowhere to be found!

Fortunately, it wasn't an accident; it was simply because this coastline lacked significant landmarks. Beianqi led the dwarf cargo ship "Ale" to another bay with a similar shape, more than ten kilometers away.

With the aerial vision provided by Qiluo, they quickly locked onto their target. The man and the unicorn glided across the sky and landed lightly on the weathered wooden deck of the cargo ship.

"Sister!" Beianqi skipped over, hugged Qiluo's long neck, buried her face in her soft, smooth mane, and rubbed against her, her voice full of pleading expectation, "Did you bring any fresh cucumbers? I miss that taste so much!"

A few hairs were removed, and Beianqi discreetly tucked them into the small pouch at her waist.

"You little brat, all you ever think about is eating!" Qiluo raised her head, trying to project an air of elder sisterly authority as she scolded, "Isn't it because we've been at sea for so long and haven't had any fresh vegetables?"

"But I haven't had a single fresh bite in months!" Beianqi looked up, complaining aggrievedly, and then plucked a handful of feathers. "Every meal on the ship is bean sprouts! I feel like I'm turning into a fallen bean sprout!"

****

The "Ale" set sail and began to slowly head towards the correct bay where the Youth Civilization landed.

A detailed list of supplies was quickly handed to Su Ming.

"This supply totals three thousand tons," Beianqi explained, pointing to the items on the list. "The bulk is high-quality coal, followed by specially made high explosives from the alchemy workshop, along with some selected metal ingots and rare ores."

Su Ming quickly scanned the items on the list, "What about food supplies?"

"The food is mainly on that transport ship, the ' Bronzebeard, ' which is behind us. It's a bit slower, so it'll probably take another week to get here." (Beianqi explained.)

"Yes, our current reserves are more than sufficient, so there shouldn't be any problem with the timeframe." Su Ming nodded and put the list away.