Starting the Fight (10,000 words)
Two hours later, Little Spiky Head and Sangzi boarded the helicopter and left the "Advanced Light Source" experimental center.
A sense of disappointment lingered in Su Ming's heart. When he activated "Summoning of All Things," the dazzling beam of light, invisible to the naked eye, drawn from the light station did not produce any unusual movement.
Regardless of the photon information grouping method Sangzi attempted—whether it was intensity, frequency, or phase—no microscopic information was successfully transferred under instrument detection.
"This is not surprising." Sangzi's tone was unusually calm, and there wasn't even a trace of disappointment on her face. Everything was clearly expected. "You never truly transmitted matter to another world. This result on the photon level is entirely reasonable."
The photon itself, as a gauge boson that transmits electromagnetic interactions, has zero rest mass. Based on current observations of Su Ming's interdimensional teleportation, it is not surprising that the information contained in the photon cannot be transferred.
This synchrotron radiation source, which operates on a giant circular accelerator, is the most powerful light-generating system currently available to humankind. This result means that, for the time being, we can put an end to the path of inter-dimensional communication based on photons.
"So, in the end, it still depends on particles with mass, right?" Su Ming concluded.
"You were able to successfully transfer the data from the SD card, proving that your ability to transfer electron aggregation patterns is effective," Sangzi replied confidently, unfolding her tablet. "We're now heading to the second experimental site to verify whether the quantum information carried by the electron beam can be transferred."
"Okay," Su Ming nodded in agreement, then asked, "How much longer until we arrive?"
"The location is a bit far," Sangzi said, checking the screen. "We need to transfer to a fixed-wing aircraft; the whole trip will take about three hours."
"Then I'll go take care of things here first," Su Ming said.
Just as he was about to disconnect the communication, the helicopter suddenly and violently shook without warning.
Miao Xin immediately activated her Nether Sea, releasing its power to probe her surroundings. However, the area she could sense was completely silent, with no unusual fluctuations or sources of threat.
"It was just a sudden gust of wind," the pilot's voice came through the headset.
The slight interest that had flashed in Sangzi's eyes vanished immediately upon hearing this.
"It seems we haven't done enough; we haven't reached the point where we have no choice but to force them to show themselves and take action." Her voice was tinged with disappointment.
Su Ming glanced at Sangzi with some surprise. If the jolt just now was truly an attack planned by the remnants of the Jackal, Miao Xin would be fine, but Sangzi... most likely wouldn't have survived.
"Are you setting a trap again?" Su Ming asked inquisitively.
Sangzi slowly shook her head. "No, this is an open strategy. The core objective of those invaders is to prevent certain key events from happening." She explained, "Therefore, as long as we keep advancing and get close enough to that target node, we will inevitably be able to force them to launch an attack."
Su Ming opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, it only turned into a soft sigh.
He simply uttered two words, "Keep it up!"
"You too," Sangzi replied, her gaze once again drifting towards the thin clouds passing by the porthole.
****
Switching back to the other world, Su Ming checked the translation team's progress.
The language model for "Electricity-Swallowing Beast" is still undergoing continuous training and iteration, but as a test, a batch of accompanying manuscripts for the picture book have already been translated.
The translation team printed out the sample manuscript and manually proofread it.
The accompanying texts for these picture books have relatively simple plots and a small amount of text. The translation team members are all carefully selected skilled writers, and they quickly completed the revisions to the translation.
The comparative texts generated in this process will also serve as a parallel corpus, feeding back into the large AI model during training to further improve the quality of subsequent translations.
The finalized product was quickly sent to the printing workshop. The efficient production line was running at high speed, and soon the first batch of beautifully bound brochures rolled off the production line.
Su Ming picked up a book casually. It still carried the warmth of the machine after it had finished working, emitting a rich, fresh ink scent that reminded one of a freshly baked, steaming hot meat bun.
The paper, crafted using modern techniques, is thin, flexible, and has a delicate, comfortable feel. The printing boasts extremely high color fidelity and perfect consistency, resulting in bright, vibrant, and eye-catching images. Everyone who receives the catalog can't help but praise it, saying they've never seen such exquisite printing before.
As for the content, without the constraints of censorship, the imagination of those artists is breathtaking and captivating.
Zijin was also standing nearby. When she realized that her precious collection of books looked like a disheveled beggar next to these "art books," she felt a surge of anger.
But Su Ming was still there, oblivious to his own mortality, laughing.
With so many people around, Zijin refrained from making a move on the spot and instead called Su Ming out directly.
"Let's go to the training ground." Zijin turned and left without another word. "Make the rules you want, I'm not going to follow them."
Su Ming still wore that smiling expression, his hands casually behind his back, following Zijin at a leisurely pace.
"Actually, these picture books aren't the first batch," he said slowly. "The first batch of books was already produced yesterday during the equipment testing phase."
"Oh?" Zijin glanced at him sideways, her eyes filled with suspicion. "So you secretly arranged for something to be printed? It wouldn't be anything more erotic—"
Su Ming reached out his hands from behind his back and handed several thick books to Zijin.
The scholar instinctively took it, and immediately felt its weight. The cover featured an elegantly designed Zijin pattern, with the title printed in gold: "Collected Essays on the Bay Owl".
She opened the neatly bound pages of the book, and inside lay all the papers she had published over the years.
Due to the limited level of publishing in otherworldly realms, the length of academic papers is usually strictly controlled in order to maximize information density. Even so, thanks to Zijin's accumulation over the years, the content is enough to fill three thick volumes.
Zijin's fingers gently traced the neatly printed, sharp pages, her fingertips even trembling slightly.
She flipped through the table of contents and discovered that several manuscripts she had written during this period, which had not yet been formally published, had also been carefully organized and included by Su Ming at the end of the book. For example:
"Observations, Research, and Experimental Methods Regarding Liches in the Burning Transformation"
A Preliminary Discussion on the Invasion and Countermeasures of Interdimensional Viruses
Reverse Zombie Spell: Sea Monster Edition
On the Nature of Undead Waves
Su Ming reached out and turned to the title page. "The first batch consisted of one hundred sets, and this is the collector's edition, number 0." He pointed to the number "00" on the title page and said, "I took the liberty of taking the set with me, number 1."
Zijin hugged the three heavy books tightly to her chest. She raised her head, her gaze carefully tracing Su Ming's face, and deep in her eyes, it seemed as if tiny fragments of light were slowly gathering and flickering.
"Su Ming..."
She had just opened her mouth when Su Ming suddenly raised his hand to signal for silence—it was Miao Xin who had contacted him; she and Sangzi had arrived at the second experimental site.
"Sorry, I have to take care of things over there first," Su Ming said quickly. "We'll talk later."
Zijin's fingers unconsciously tightened around the spine of the book in her arms as she watched Su Ming hurriedly turn and walk towards the office. She bit her lower lip slightly, and just as she was about to activate her Omniscient Vision, she felt a familiar presence close to her side.
"Stacy!" Zijin scolded, somewhat displeased.
In this base, the only people who could easily approach her without arousing the slightest suspicion, besides Su Ming, were the people standing before her.
"What's wrong?" Stacy, carrying a huge stack of books that almost blocked her view, staggered over.
She tilted her head out from behind the book, looking at Zijin with a completely puzzled expression.
"No, it's nothing," Zijin said.
Stacy simply used a Levitation Spell to make the pile of books float steadily, then took out the bottom book and handed it to Zijin.
Zijin took it and saw that the cover was printed with "Stacy's Essays".
"You have one too?" Her expression momentarily lost control.
"Su Ming printed copies of both my and Newman's papers," Stacy replied cheerfully, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "And Chloe, I've already sent a message to tell her to hurry up and organize her manuscript!" She couldn't hide her excitement. "That equipment is simply amazing! A hundred books printed in just one hour, and they look so beautiful!"
As Stacy spoke, she pushed the floating books forward, "I need to send a few copies to the old folks at the Supreme Knowledge Association soon as possible." Her voice held a playful smugness, "So they'll be drooling with envy!"
****
Earth, with Sangzi leading the Little Spiky Head, headed towards the laboratory area inside the facility.
Su Ming observed the surroundings through the Little Spiky Head's perspective and vaguely sensed a sense of familiarity. "I think I've been here before—is this the place where we first transported repair parts for the Doomsday Locomotive?"
Inside the factory, several burnt cables were not repaired, but instead carefully protected by fences, as if displaying some kind of historical relic.
"[This was the first time I triggered the calamity here,]" Miao Xin explained. "[Afterwards, this place was converted into a dedicated research base.]"
"You remember it quite well." Sangzi replied to Su Ming, then stepped into the laboratory, walking through clearly defined experimental areas with flashing instruments.
In stark contrast to the magnificent synchrotron radiation facilities of the past, the experimental equipment here is generally small and compact, with numerous researchers in white coats focused on their respective operations within their designated areas.
"We are now able to stably generate entangled electron pairs, but the scale and rate of generation are still far from sufficient," Sangzi explained as they walked.
She skillfully changed into a clean white protective suit, put on a hood and goggles, and walked into the air shower room to be exposed to strong winds for dust removal.
Several staff members quickly stepped forward to help the Little Spiky Head complete the same changing process and pass through the air shower.
Inside the laboratory, apart from the exceptionally strict dust control measures and everyone being enveloped in pure white, there seemed to be nothing special. Someone had written "Miss Qiu" on the back of the Little Spiky Head's protective suit, the handwriting somewhat crooked.
Miao Xin was clearly a regular at the lab; she waited in place. Soon, a staff member guided her to a separate experimental workbench.
"The cathode rays will pass through the area in front of you," Sangzi's processed voice came through the internal communication. "When the indicator light comes on, immediately activate your teleportation ability."
Su Ming, controlling the Little Spiky Head, raised his hand and gave an OK sign to indicate that he understood.
The experimental procedure was quite complicated. Following the instructions, Su Ming conducted dozens of small-scale transmissions with varying precision requirements. The indicator light on the pre-transmitted receiving device in the other world flashed frequently, indicating a successful green reception.
During any break in the experiment, a staff member would enter the control area to check the equipment status and casually explain the current stage of the experiment to Su Ming.
"So, the results now confirm that the electron's spin state can be successfully transferred, right?" Su Ming confirmed.
"It's not just spin," the staff member explained further, a hint of excitement in their voice, "Under high-precision transmission conditions, the other quantum state information carried by the electron is also transmitted completely."
Soon, new instructions arrived: the "current noise correlation measurement" experiment was about to begin, and Su Ming was required to carry out this transmission with the highest precision.
As he had done many times before, Su Ming focused his mind on the area through which the cathode rays passed and activated the teleportation.
However, this time, the verification and analysis of the experimental results took a considerable amount of time.
However, when Sangzi finally announced the success of the experiment, the entire laboratory was instantly detonated, and all the researchers were engulfed in wild cheers and hugs, celebrating the crucial breakthrough.
Su Ming came to Sangzi's side and saw that she was also immersed in the joyful crowd, so he reached out and half-pulled her away from the center of the noise.
"So what exactly was that 'current noise correlation measurement' you were measuring just now?" Su Ming asked, his tone slightly annoyed.
"That's a method for measuring the 'spin entanglement' state of electrons." Sangzi's face beamed with barely suppressed joy. "Just now, we successfully transmitted the correlation information of the entangled electrons to you, and maintained this quantum entanglement for a full microsecond before decoherence occurred—this is the core principle verification, and we succeeded!"
Su Ming felt a little resentful that Sangzi hadn't explained beforehand. But then he thought that perhaps they were worried that if the experiment failed, it would affect his mindset.
In any case, this achievement is encouraging.
Su Ming raised his hand and patted Sangzi's shoulder with slightly more force. "Does this mean that cross-dimensional instant communication is feasible in principle?"
"We also need to increase the efficiency of entangled electron pair generation by four orders of magnitude," Sangzi explained. "In addition, we must significantly extend the time during which quantum coherence can be stably maintained."
"Alright, I'll wait for your good news!" Su Ming said expectantly.
"Absolutely!" Sangzi replied resolutely, her eyes burning with determination.
****
After severing ties with the Little Spiky Head, Su Ming returned to his office at the base, intending to focus his efforts on the "Cultural Torrent" affecting the foundations of the Temple of Light 'Divine Covenant Faction.
However, the scene of success in the laboratory began to replay repeatedly in his mind. He simply stretched out his hand, and the correlation information of the entangled electrons on Earth miraculously crossed the dimensional barrier, arrived in the other world, and lasted for a microsecond.
This signifies that the technological forces have finally managed to extend their reach into this mysterious dimension with great difficulty. A real crack leading to new possibilities has been torn open by them with tremendous effort.
Building communication infrastructure is merely the first step in the journey. It is foreseeable that a flood of in-depth research will follow, focusing on this breakthrough. Humanity never gives up on exploring any possible area, even the smallest opportunity—once discovered, it's like an opponent revealing their health bar, becoming the target of all-out attack!
The Rift Tribe teleportation array previously discovered in the Northern Ice Continent was essentially just a one-way passage from top to bottom from Eden, that "high-energy plane".
However, if we can analyze the technology it uses, combined with Su Ming's unique Space Element power, and the relentless exploration of the essence of space by the technological side... then establishing a two-way teleportation channel between Earth and Taya will no longer be an unattainable fantasy!
At that moment in the laboratory, Su Ming appeared unusually calm. But now, as he truly realized the significance of the successful experiment, his heart was like a lake with a boulder thrown in, unable to regain its tranquility.
Su Ming struggled to suppress his turbulent emotions and prevent himself from dancing wildly in the office in front of a group of secretaries—especially since his dancing skills were so clumsy, comparable to a duck's waddling, that he was too ashamed to show them in public.
But his excitement was still hard to calm, so Su Ming had to temporarily stop his work and leave the office.
The base expands daily as if it were alive, changing so much that in some areas, one would lose their way if they didn't visit for a few days.
In terms of personnel, the new members have integrated extremely quickly. Furthermore, as the base's influence has spread, some hidden necromancers have spontaneously traveled here upon hearing the news. Currently, the number of people arriving each day is around a dozen.
Several staff members came out of the printing workshop and worked together to push several small carts full of picture albums.
Su Ming strolled behind them, watching them push the truckload of brand-new picture books into the supermarket inside the base.
As arranged beforehand, these picture books will be sold internally for members of the base to read and to gather feedback from readers.
The exquisitely designed picture book, unlike anything seen before, caused quite a stir. Soon, everyone was calling their friends and family, and the huge supermarket couldn't even accommodate all the customers coming to see what was going on.
The supermarket responded quickly, setting up stalls outside.
That's reasonable; everything has a certain novelty factor.
What's illogical is that some dragons also came upon hearing the news. They sought help from the base members and purchased a large number of picture books on their behalf.
So, is there a business opportunity for dragons too!? Su Ming wondered in surprise.
Although he couldn't understand the dragon's aesthetic preferences, Su Ming didn't intend to let go of any opportunity that could stimulate the dragon's internal demand.
He immediately established a mental connection and instructed, "[Miao Xin, notify the Dodder plant to create a batch of 'Dragon Books' featuring dragons as the main characters.]"
Miao Xin paused for only a moment before demonstrating her professionalism by asking specific questions: [Specific subject matter, is it "Dragon," "Dragon X Human," "Human X Dragon," or a group with multiple dragons interacting?]
[Dragon! Two pure giant dragons!] Su Ming quickly interrupted.
[What about content tags? Should the focus be on "violent scenes," "non-consensual scenes," or --]
[Be serious!] Su Ming quickly emphasized.
"[Then, can we add elements like egg-laying play?]" Miao Xin continued to ask. "[And the two you mentioned earlier, you mean having two reproductive organs like a snake--]"
"[Um, Miao Xin.] "Su Ming's tone was filled with deep doubt, "[Why do I feel like we're discussing things on different levels?]"
[Huh? Aren't all of this just standard stuff in the cultural field?] Miao Xin's voice was full of innocence. [It's just that you're a bit ignorant.]
"Okay," Su Ming said helplessly. "Then is there any content type suitable for someone as ignorant and limited in knowledge as me?"
[Tsk, how boring.] Miao Xin responded disdainfully, [As artists, we should be brave enough to embrace innovation and diverse expressions!]
****
After strolling around for a while, Su Ming's mood gradually calmed down.
He began by assigning the translators a writing task: to write a series of stories reflecting the plight of the laborers in Dragon Valley.
The core template of the story is as follows: the protagonist, under the cruel exploitation of the "Labor Chamber of Commerce", toils day and night, becomes ill from overwork, and can only get extremely meager income, plunging his life into despair.
However, after he joined the "Public Employment Association," he was shocked to discover that the majority of the compensation he should have received for his labor had been ruthlessly swallowed up by the Chamber of Commerce.
Upon learning of the protagonist's "betrayal," the "Labor Chamber of Commerce" immediately dispatched thugs to carry out various vicious threats and intimidation. With nowhere else to turn, the protagonist finally mustered the courage to seek refuge with the dragon. Then, the mighty Dragon Guard descended from the sky, breathing a scorching dragon breath at the threatening individuals, instantly incinerating the villains to ashes.
All the dragon demanded was a 5%-10% personal tax rate from the workers as the administrator. Compared to the "Labor Chamber of Commerce's " exorbitant fees and various exploitative charges, it was practically free!
The necromancer writers possess an innate talent for writing on this subject. They not only created multiple versions of the story with different plots, but also added poignant details such as the laborers being tricked into taking out high-interest loans by the "Labor Chamber of Commerce" and falling into an inescapable debt trap.
These stories were quickly printed into picture books and began to seep and spread like a trickle through various channels to the alien laborers gathered in various parts of the Dragon Race Clan.
****
Five kilometers south of the Ruby Base.
Out of consideration for keeping a low profile, the announcement so far is that a new "Central Administrative Center" will be established here, with the aim of sharing the burden of handling the increasingly complex various government affairs.
The dragons welcomed this idea. It meant that many matters that previously required a trip to the Dragon Court could now be handled more conveniently nearby.
However, most of the high-ranking core members of the Dragon Race, including Zijin, have already moved into this area and are conducting their daily work here.
To balance the layout and improve efficiency, a "Southern Government Affairs Center" was also established at the lower end of Dragon Valley. Su Ming deployed two "Dandelion" floating communication base stations to build an aerial information bridge, connecting the two government affairs centers with Dragon Court via a communication network.
As a result, the administrative efficiency and information transmission speed of the entire Dragon Valley have been revolutionized and greatly improved.
Zijin continued to advance reforms. The administrative center began to exercise unified jurisdiction over the foreign business entities on this land, controlling the approval of land resource development and utilization, as well as the planning and supervision of large-scale production activities and construction projects.
In order to effectively implement various new systems, she arranged for some administrative members of the management team to work in a mobile office model, rotating between the three areas of "Dragon Court", "Central Administrative Center" and "Southern Taiwan Government Affairs Center".
Minor problems naturally arose one after another during the process, but for the first time, both the upper management and ordinary members of the Dragon Race clearly realized that they were building a true nation with a powerful central command system, just like other mature races on the continent, rather than the loosely organized, tribal-like form of the past.
One of the most obvious changes is reflected in how they are referred to by outsiders. The geographical name "Dragon Valley" is gradually being replaced by "Dragon Kingdom".
****
The previously promulgated regulations on the management of the alien population quickly met with the expected backlash. Almost overnight, large-scale protests and joint strikes suddenly emerged and spread throughout the land of the Dragon Kingdom.
But this time, the masterminds were disappointed to find that the Dragon Race had clearly planned for this. And this was completely different from the previous attitude of the Dragon Race' territories being divided and each dragon acting independently, or most of the dragons remaining on the sidelines.
The dragons displayed unprecedented organization. They hovered and circled in the air above the noisy strike and demonstration crowds, targeting the most passionate and rousing agitators below, or the organizers who were hiding in the shadows, providing financial and logistical support.
Then, without hesitation, it swooped down and unleashed a precise and deadly dragon breath.
Many cleverly disguised individuals mingled among the laborers, their bodies erupting with various protective lights the instant the dragon's breath touched them, attempting to defend themselves. But it was all in vain—if one breath wasn't enough, they'd take a second. At most, three breaths would completely resolve the problem.
In short, with the instigators and organizers physically eliminated, the seemingly surging wave of strikes suddenly lost its backbone and quickly subsided.
Dragons are not adept at complex political games and intrigues. For them, suppressing others by force is the easiest and most convenient method to understand and execute.
As for a fundamental solution, with the widespread distribution of the pamphlets printed by Su Ming and the full rollout of the "Public Employment Association" network, more and more low-level workers will personally experience the differences and gradually understand the truth.
Su Ming also arranged for a writing team to release a new batch of stories. In the picture book, the bloated and greasy presidents of the "Labor Chamber of Commerce" insidiously incited unsuspecting laborers to protest in the streets after discovering that their own interests had been harmed by the reforms. Meanwhile, they hid in safe and luxurious places to continue their debauchery, and made no attempt to hide their mockery of those they had used, calling them even more foolish than pigs and dogs.
Propaganda is the most powerful tool in any world. Especially when the weapon of criticism and the weapon of criticism are both in hand, Su Ming doesn't think these greedy merchant leaders have any chance of turning the tables.
****
Gray Ridge, the heart of the goblin territory.
Bowers never imagined that the mentally damaged ghost pieced together from the remnants of an assassin's soul could be so elusive.
It set off from Sapphire Port, wandering aimlessly east and west, eventually drifting all the way to this territory belonging to the goblins.
Bowers had no choice but to follow, constantly replenishing the fragile ghost's dark elemental energy to prevent it from completely dissipating. Finally, after a long journey, the ghost's sense of direction seemed to become clearer, and its target was obviously ahead.
Its course of action began to become clear and resolute.
After another half-day of tracking, Bowers finally confirmed the ghost's ultimate destination—a rather large manor. He acted in time to stop the ghost from breaking in, and then swiftly and decisively crushed the spirit, which had completed its mission, into powder without a trace.
After careful observation, Bowers discovered that there were many signs of human activity in the manor, and that it was equipped with a fairly strong guard.
Instead of rushing in, he signaled to the accompanying mage to immediately go to the town's public communication array and send a secret message to Su Ming.
****
With all projects progressing steadily, the nitrocellulose production line has finally been put into operation. The high-quality cotton purchased is purified and then immersed in a mixed solution of concentrated nitric acid and concentrated sulfuric acid to undergo a nitration reaction, producing the core raw material commonly known as "nitrocellulose".
Thanks to the original cotton varieties in this other world that have not been modified by modern technologies such as genetic engineering, their fibers are rich in short filaments. The nitrocellulose product that Su Ming finally obtained unexpectedly had a nitrogen content that exceeded the best quality that could be obtained on Earth.
After a series of subsequent processing steps, this nitrocellulose was eventually made into gun propellant: smokeless powder.
This was the first time Su Ming had barely caught up with Earth in the crucial area of consumable resources.
With the introduction of electric equipment, the excavation efficiency of the POW camp mines was significantly improved. They changed their strategy and began to build vertical shafts, supporting the shaft walls with reinforcing materials as they steadily dug deeper into the ground.
Su Ming came to inspect the site and discovered signs of vein-like lead-zinc-silver ore among the rock fragments excavated by the prisoners of war.
Currently, these metals are already smelted using mature techniques in this other world, so Su Ming is not in dire need of them. However, as a reserve for future large-scale industrial production, exploring and mastering these mineral resources would undoubtedly be a good thing.
The current excavation depth is approximately 500 meters. Su Ming has established two new exploration sites in the vicinity and ordered the POW camp to continue exploring deeper into the volcano.
Su Ming had originally planned to also check out the dwarven mines, but Jielusi quickly approached and handed him a folded note, "This was just received at the office; it's an encrypted message from Bowers."
Su Ming took the note and opened it. On the surface, it appeared to be just an ordinary business correspondence. He took out his phone and took a picture of the note, and the app quickly deciphered the secret message hidden beneath the ordinary text.
He turned the phone screen towards Jielusi.
Jielusi quickly finished reading the intelligence report. "Judging from Bowers ' description, it should be a secret outpost of the Temple of Light," she concluded. "The Radiant Holy City has such outposts in various regions, used for espionage, infiltration, assassination, and sabotage missions."
Su Ming nodded. "What level of combat power is usually deployed at a stronghold like this?"
Jielusi for a moment, "It's hard to say. They certainly wouldn't dare send out their main combat force right now—this is the realm of dragons. I suspect they'll mainly send assassins and killers."
Ruixiuli also came to Su Ming's side. "Is a fight about to break out?" he asked.
"Your sense of smell is quite sharp," Su Ming glanced at him. "If you and Jielusi were to face a high-level assassin, would you be confident in suppressing them?"
Jielusi shook her head. "I guess I can only rely on Shadow Form and resort to a mutually destructive strategy, forcing a trade."
"I'm a battle mage," Ruixiuli interjected. "I'm at a disadvantage against professional assassins, and I basically have to rely on a desperate, trade-off strategy." He then added, "But your Bay Owl an expert at dealing with assassins."
Su Ming was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, "She's skilled at dealing with assassins?"
"Back then, Bay Owl died in an ambush by orc assassins on Water Chestnut Island," Ruixiuli explained. "Over the years, Bay Owl has thoroughly studied the techniques and weaknesses of assassins."
Su Ming that before, Zijin had used a temporary inscription to demonstrate the "Shadow Jump" ability to him. Now that he thought about it, there was definitely a reason why she knew these skills.
The scholar is indeed the type who, once bitten by a snake, will then be the one chasing and biting the snake.
"Alright." Su Ming put away his phone. "Let's not delay, let's take down this stronghold!"
****
Central Administrative Center.
Zijin is presiding over a meeting to release the draft of the "Dragon Valley Environment and Natural Resources Protection Law" and is preparing to solicit opinions from all dragons.
"Our core legislative purpose is to ensure that all natural resources, including forests and minerals, can be developed and utilized in an orderly manner," she explained to the Dragon Race present. "Our planning cannot be limited to just the next few decades; it must also look towards the long-term future, a hundred or even two hundred years from now."
"If we're still alive two hundred years from now, we'll naturally consider it," an elderly dragon elder said, somewhat puzzled.
Zijin raised her hand and tapped her forehead. She had almost been led astray by the human pace of time.
"In short," she cleared her throat, "We must encourage all Dragon Race to actively participate in the discussion of the new law. Improving the legislation itself is important, but even more important is using this process to raise awareness among individual dragons about economic and political affairs and improve the overall quality of each member."
Soon, the dragons present reached a consensus to distribute the draft opinion to all Dragon Race settlements, encouraging dragons to participate in the discussion.
After the meeting, Zijin put away her notebook containing the key points. She looked up, her gaze sweeping across the room and landing on Su Ming, Jielusi, and Ruixiuli, who were standing on the periphery.
"What brings you all here?" Zijin glanced at the sky. "Well, it's almost dinnertime. I don't have anything good to offer you besides boiled potatoes," she joked.
Jielusi patted her backpack. "I happened to bring three boxed lunches. If we divide them up, it should be enough for four people."
Zijin was slightly taken aback. Normally, she would return to the Ruby Base for dinner in the evening. She immediately realized, "Any plans for tonight?"
Su Ming then briefly recounted the intelligence sent by Bowers.
"The heart of Gray Ridge..." Zijin frowned slightly. "The goblin territory is a troublesome place. They've long regarded dragons as their hypothetical enemy and have deployed numerous targeted magical defenses within their territory. If we accidentally alert the goblins and trigger a collective reaction, the situation will become extremely complicated."
"Therefore, our actions must be extremely swift and decisive," Su Ming emphasized. "A swift attack and withdrawal, without any hesitation."
Elder Zhimeng also approached. Having clearly overheard the discussion, she added, "Goblins possess a sophisticated surveillance system. A small number of High Rank dragons might be able to infiltrate undetected by sheer strength, but if their numbers increase, they will almost certainly be exposed."
"Our plan is to invite a dragon elder to participate in this raid," Su Ming explained. "Add the four of us, along with Bowers who is there, and we'll take down this stronghold tonight."
After a moment's thought, Zhimeng calculated their combat strength. "Indeed, with one Saint Rank, two Master Rank, and two Adept Rank, such a lineup should ensure a safe evacuation even in the event of unforeseen circumstances."
She looked around and saw many dragon elders of various colors gathered together chatting, waiting for the Ruby Base's fast food delivery.
Just then, a delivery dragon descended from the sky, placed several large, round woven bags down, and then hurriedly flew away. The dragon elders were unsurprised; this was their busiest time.
The elders stepped forward and collected their food according to the labels on the bags.
"So, which Elder Dragon do you plan to invite to accompany you?" Zhimeng asked.
As soon as she finished speaking, she noticed that Su Ming, Jielusi, and Ruixiuli all focused their gazes on her.
"Me?" Zhimeng seemed slightly surprised.
"Would we have the honor of inviting you to join us?" Su Ming smiled and extended the invitation sincerely.
Zhimeng didn't refuse outright. She gracefully extended a claw covered in scales, looked down at her own scales that shimmered with a soft blue luster, and said, "I heard that your 'Dragon Scale Nourishing Essential Oil Wax' is quite in high demand right now." She directly stated her conditions.
Su Ming was somewhat surprised. Although this scale-protecting wax was indeed popular with dragons, the supply was relatively orderly. On the contrary, baby dragon supplies such as "Dragon Wing Posture Correction Belt" and "Screaming Giant Bear" were consistently out of stock.
"If the Grand Elder needs it, I'll arrange for someone to send it immediately," Su Ming replied promptly. "Such a small matter—"
"I mean," Zhimeng, "That your current product line doesn't include the color 'emerald green.' Also, the fragrance should be a fresh, herbal scent."
"Understood!" Su Ming immediately agreed, "I'll arrange for research and development right away, a jade-green herbal scent, exclusively for the Jade Dragon!"
Zhimeng immediately smiled, "Okay, President Su, deal!"