Bashan Mining Area

"The White Pheasant did indeed document in its academic papers a highly complex case of treating heart defects in young children using surgery," the renowned physician once told her. "But with all due respect, Ms. Katharine, you are absolutely not one of those cases. I can say with absolute certainty that your heart is perfect, perfectly healthy, and shows absolutely no trace of surgery!"

Katharine couldn't understand it at all. But the White Pheasant healer had long since passed away, and the mystery remained unsolved.

Fortunately, judging from the current progress of her relationship with Su Ming, it won't be long before she's able to confront the key figures who orchestrated these events back then!

She will definitely treat these Divine Covenant Faction well!

****

Outside the bathroom, there was a slightly hurried knock on the Ge'enda'er, and his anxious question to the maid.

Katharine sighed helplessly and got up from the steaming bathtub.

She quickly put on a simple set of winter loungewear, her long, wet hair still dripping, and met with Ge'enda'er, who was waiting in the hall.

The deputy, his face grave, immediately handed over a sealed intelligence scroll. "Sir, it's about the investigation into the whereabouts of the Shattered Light Sword Saint Atiya." He paused, his tone heavy, "Now, the situation is completely confirmed."

Katharine unfurled the cold scroll, her gaze quickly sweeping over the words, and her heart sank—sure enough, the intelligence clearly showed that Atiya had been attacked by unknown assailants and died more than a year ago!

This Legendary swordsman was known for his unruly nature, and he lingered wherever he pleased.

However, for more than a year, there was no clear news of his activities, nor did he change his residence. Especially when his daughter, Zijin, was wanted and faced a large-scale manhunt, he did not intervene at all.

Combined with the fact that a year or so ago, the Divine Favor weapon symbolizing great power suddenly changed hands and fell into the hands of the Ashen Repentance Friar, Katharine had a deep intuition that there must be a hidden story behind this.

"I... still held onto some hope." Katharine's voice was filled with deep regret. "Thinking that Atiya might just have suffered a particularly troublesome injury and been trapped... in the end, it was still..." Her words were filled with endless sighs, and the image of Zijin involuntarily appeared in her mind. For a moment, she didn't know how to convey this devastating news to her.

"However," Katharine's eyes suddenly sharpened, she raised her head, looked directly at Ge'enda'er, and said in an icy voice, "Who exactly killed Atiya?!"

"We are still investigating with all our might," Ge'enda'er immediately responded. "One lead suggests that Leoni was at the location where Atiya was last seen around the time of the incident."

Leoni, "Icefield Nightmare," Saint Rank Ranger, left behind countless legends on the frozen wasteland.

"No wonder..." Katharine murmured, instantly connecting the clues, "Leoni was severely injured over a year ago, falling from the Saint Rank, and even his terrifying, ferocious silver wolf battle pet perished... Immediately use all available channels to find Leoni's whereabouts!" She commanded decisively, "I will personally interrogate him!"

Leoni might be a victim of the attack, but more likely, he was one of the perpetrators! Katharine thought to herself. After all, there are very few people in this world who could harm Atiya.

Even with fewer than three Saint Rank experts working together, it would be impossible to stop her!

"And what about Bone King Ainz and Miss Zijin?" Ge'enda'er cautiously inquired about the next steps.

This matter must be told to Zijin; there's no way to avoid it. Katharine hesitated for a moment, then made a decision, "... let's postpone it a little longer."

Currently, Su Ming and Zijin are still in the territory of the Feather Race, handling urgent matters. Informing them of this bad news after they leave the Feather Race territory will have a relatively smaller impact.

Besides, they are still looking for Leoni. It would be more appropriate to tell them the whole story once they find him and have more accurate information.

****

Northern Ice Island, Bashan Mining Area.

After a period of adjustment, the trainees and assistants following Su Ming had become quite proficient in their operations. They methodically directed the Feather Race personnel to clear a straight, sufficiently long, makeshift runway through the thick snow.

Meanwhile, the trainees themselves set up wind speed measuring devices and other monitoring equipment around the track to collect meteorological data.

Zijin then commanded several burly frost wolves to steadily drag the "Rainbow No. 4" drone to the starting point of the runway.

As for why it's "Number Four"? This is because when exploring a foreign land where no one knows you, some mishaps are inevitable.

As the Feather Race watched the drone descend from the sky, kicking up a cloud of snow dust that eventually transformed into a breathtakingly brilliant burst of fire, everyone cheered wildly.

"Even the way Bone King Gown's summoned beast lands is so unique and earth-shattering!" The accompanying Minister of Minerals of the Feather Race exclaimed sincerely, his tone filled with awe.

The meteorological data was quickly compiled, and the flight control system indicated that the current operating conditions were good and provided the optimal flight configuration recommendation.

"Refuel to 80% of the maximum range, and double the amount of antifreeze and de-icing fluid," Su Ming clearly instructed the ground crew.

Northern Ice Island is extremely cold, so preventing frostbite is crucial.

"Receive!"

The fuel pump started working. The fuel supply here is a major problem. The fuel supplied by the dwarves is not only scarce, but also extremely unstable in quality, fluctuating wildly.

Not to mention the vast differences in values and characteristics between different batches of oil, even within the same batch of oil from the same barrel, the composition of the upper and lower layers can be significantly different.

This situation left Earth's engineers speechless. In their world, any supplier who dared to provide this kind of oil would have been shut down long ago, and every single logistics personnel involved would have been punished.

But Su Ming's side is in another world, so they could only grit their teeth and rack their brains to design and manufacture this highly adaptable, lightweight, and compatible internal combustion engine.

As Jisu quipped, "With this engine now, you could put engine oil in the fuel tank and it would still burn up and fly!"

The engine started successfully, and the propeller blades at the tail of the drone began to rotate smoothly. After a careful inspection, the ground crew signaled that it was ready for takeoff.

Su Ming did not rush to take off immediately. He patiently waited for the engine temperature to rise and ensured that all systems, sensors and equipment were fully preheated before starting the formal takeoff operation.

****

About half an hour later, the first batch of detection data began to be transmitted back to the ground control station in real time. The complex terrain of the Bashan Mining Area, which was covered by a thick layer of ice, finally unveiled its mysterious veil to the world for the first time, revealing its true and rugged face.

Countless deep ravines formed by ancient glacial movements, along with crisscrossing massive fissures beneath the ice, create a treacherous underground world that resembles a labyrinth, causing Su Ming to gasp in shock.

"This... this terrain below... it turns out to be so treacherous." The Minister of Minerals leaned closer to the screen, muttering to himself, his voice filled with shock.

"With such terrifying geological conditions, how did your Feather Race conduct prospecting and mining operations in the past?" Su Ming asked in bewilderment. As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed that the Minister of Minerals beside him was silently shedding tears.

"I'm sorry, you must have found this amusing." The Minister of Mines immediately wiped it with the back of his hand.

As the data processing finished, the image resolution on the screen improved further. Su Ming discovered many unnatural obstacle outlines in certain areas of the ice. Upon closer inspection, some of the obstacles clearly showed human-shaped outlines, and there were quite a few of them!

Behind him, several more suppressed sobs came. Su Ming didn't turn around; he instantly understood what he had discovered—these were the remains of his fellow Feather Race members who had tragically perished beneath the ice during years of mining exploration.

"With this precious map... we... we finally have a chance to bring them home." The Minister of Minerals turned to Su Ming, his voice choked with emotion but filled with gratitude, "Bone King, we are deeply grateful!"

"You're welcome," Su Ming said. "May the sky take away their mark."

****

After a full day of intense work, Su Ming finally completed the surveying work on this vast mining area.

Thus, the geological mapping of the ice layer in Northern Ice Island has come to a temporary end.

The area currently explored has reached several thousand square kilometers. Such a vast area will keep the Feather Race's exploration and mining departments busy for quite some time.

Su Ming did not intend to spend any more time here. Moreover, from the perspective of long-term cooperation and transactions, fulfilling the agreement in installments and stages was also a very important process.

Su Ming summoned a tablet computer with greatly simplified functions and intuitive operation, imported the exploration results, including 3D map data, into it, and taught the Feather Race's mineral department technicians how to use it.

"This device operates on electricity," Su Ming said, handing them the accompanying solar charging panel. "It needs to be placed in sunlight to charge and function properly."

The Minister of Mines respectfully accepted these amazing tools with both hands, handling them with utmost care, as if they were rare treasures.

Mission accomplished, "Rainbow No. 4" automatically returned to base, and Su Ming piloted it to land.

This time, Su Ming's operation was flawless. From entering the slide to touching the ground and then slowing down to a stop, the whole process was smooth and exceptionally stable.

"Hmm... the landings today weren't exciting at all," a Feather Race among the onlookers muttered, scratching his head with slight disappointment.

"It must be that Bone King's summoned beasts are tired from working continuously for so long," another Feather Race analyzed seriously. "They can't be as imposing and noisy as they were yesterday."

"..."