Black-Armor Form

"Oh, you're learning about that new aircraft type?" Miao Xin said enthusiastically, "It's called a seaplane, right?"

"It's a ground effect vehicle," Fengshou corrected, gesturing for Miao Xin to follow. "This time, the theoretical course content is very extensive and will be very intensive." Upon hearing that she would have to learn a lot of theory, Miao Xin's face immediately fell.

"They're all flying things, is it really necessary to make such a fuss?" Miao Xin retorted, "I performed exceptionally well on that battlefield!" "This ground effect vehicle is designed to weigh over 2,500 tons," Fengshou explained, "It's completely different from the small plane you pilot."

"That's so exaggerated?" Miao Xin exclaimed in surprise.

She had recently crammed on aviation knowledge and knew that the largest An-225 transport aircraft on Earth had a takeoff weight of only 680 tons. "Then, quickly take me to experience the real thing!" Miao Xin said excitedly, patting Fengshou's back with her bony claws.

Fengshou paused, a hint of helplessness on his face. "This plane isn't a real one, only a simulator," he admitted. "We can't build something like that."

"Huh?!" Miao Xin nearly lost Little Spiky Head balance. "No real aircraft? So you're making me learn to drive this?!" she demanded. "Are you planning to make me fly an airplane?!"

"We can't build it because we lack the bone material of otherworldly undead, that kind of high-strength yet lightweight material," Fengshou sighed, "And Magic Power, that unreasonable thing." He unfolded his tablet, brought up a 3D modeling software, and displayed a huge white aircraft. It had exceptionally wide wings, with as many as thirteen super-heavy turbofan engines densely arranged above the wings and at the tail. Its massive body resembled a lurking behemoth. At the bottom of the model was the official project number: H-6 -Sea and Sky Form.

"But we possess mature sustainable propulsion technology and aerodynamic design!" Fengshou told Miao Xin. "We will complete the design scheme for the H-6, including the power equipment and longitudinal suspension. As long as we combine enough bone materials in the otherworld, we can make this behemoth fly!" Miao Xin was even more confused, "Where did you get the data on undead materials?"

Fengshou pointed at her, "Of course, it's the cleansing agent we collected from you during this period."

Miao Xin's soul fire suddenly leaped... "No wonder you stuffed me into the wind tunnel last time and blew me senseless, making me change shape and shape all over the place!"

"It's not that simple," Fengshou added. "We also made various modules to scale and conducted a massive amount of wind tunnel testing." As he spoke, he prepared to put away his tablet, but accidentally pressed a button, switching to another design model.

He immediately covered the tablet.

"Wait!" Miao Xin, with her sharp eyes, had already spotted a strangely shaped object. "What's that?!"

... Military secret. Fengshou hid the tablet behind his back, his face hardening. "Alright, let's go to class."

Miao Xin ignored him. The Little Spiky Head flashed away like a ghost. Before Fengshou could react, the tablet in his hand was easily snatched away.

Miao Xin took a few steps back, unfolded the screen, and a large model of a four-legged, skeletal iron behemoth appeared before her eyes. Judging from the dimensions marked, it was over sixty meters tall and weighed over four thousand tons. The model's internal structure was exceptionally complex, filled with a framework that mimicked the skeleton of a living organism, and a power system that shimmered with Magic Power light.

Miao Xin glanced at the naming at the bottom of the model: Type 59 Modified - Black Armor Form.

"You call this a military secret?!" Miao Xin's soul fire flickered violently, her voice filled with anger, "A colossal undead robot? What kind of military purpose is that?!"

"Uh... Occasionally, in my spare time, it's okay to have a little... hobby," Fengshou explained somewhat awkwardly. That boy didn't even have a dream of piloting a giant robot yet!

"Heh heh, these magic-driven configurations and data were also measured from me, right!" Miao Xin pressed on, "This isn't something one person could create alone—your level is beyond what a hobby could achieve!"

Fengshou was momentarily speechless. "... This project indeed didn't go through the formal approval process, but as exploratory research into cutting-edge technology, everyone's 'voluntary overtime' is permissible!"

"Hmph, don't give me that crap!" Miao Xin bluntly pointed out. "I think it's just that you 'model enthusiasts' are no longer satisfied with simply playing with models!"

She reached out and pressed the Fengshou against the wall, saying, "If you give me a break during the theory exam, I won't pursue this matter, okay?" As the construction of the Celestite Hydropower Station progresses, a batch of new equipment needs to be transferred to achieve higher power output and water level management; this is another purpose of Su Ming's visit.

With the materials already prepared, he quickly completed the first round of summoning. Su Ming casually sat down with a few metal ingots as materials, intending to rest before proceeding with the next batch of summoning.

The phone made a soft sound. Su Ming opened it and found that it was a photo sent by Zijin.

In the picture, the girl is wearing a fitted black dress. She gathers her long, flowing hair with one hand, loosely tying it on top of her head, revealing her swan-like neck.

Zijin turned her head to look at the camera, her eyes revealing a rare, dreamy light, carrying a gentleness she rarely showed.

Su Ming felt his heart clench suddenly, and he almost couldn't catch his breath.

Why did Zijin suddenly send him such a photo?

Su Ming's expression shifted, completely unable to figure out the reason.

But in any case, not replying to the message was definitely inappropriate. He began to hesitate, wondering if he should send a photo of himself casually dressed, sitting amidst a pile of metal as a response.

But compared to a girl's elaborate outfit, this seems too perfunctory!

A line of text appeared.

"I plan to wear this for the burial ceremony at the Land of Ancestral Spirits tomorrow." "That's from Zijin," she said. "Our styles of dress shouldn't be too different."

Su Ming then remembered this matter.

The remains of the dragons who perished in this battle will be laid to rest tomorrow in the Land of Ancestral Spirits of the Dragon Race, accompanied by a grand ceremony. "I see," he sighed.

In fact, Su Ming also planned to build a special cemetery for the Final Bone Mad Machines and hold a memorial service. But there was a thorny problem—he didn't have any bodies to bury there!

As for where the remains of those who perished went, it can only be said that the necromancers of the other world clearly have a completely different interpretation of the methods of commemorating the dead and the phrase "their voice and appearance remain."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind!" Su Ming composed himself and replied to Zijin.

He paused for a moment with his finger hovering over the screen, then quickly added a sentence, the characters lighting up on the screen:

You look great in this outfit!

Su Ming put down the communicator, his gaze lingering on the chat interface for a moment, but there was no further response from Zijin.

He opened the photo again, looking at the girl's silhouette in the light and shadow, and still felt that something was off.

Lately, Zijin has been doing things that make him feel strange!

Su Ming planned to talk to Miao Xin about this topic, even though she was also at the "Resilient Iron" level.

However, Miss Wraith had already abandoned the Skeleton Pig's body and dispelled her consciousness projection. Su Ming directly contacted her through the mental link and was surprised to find that Miao Xin was actually taking a flight theory course.

[The course for the H-6?] Su Ming asked in surprise, [Why would you want to learn this?]

[Believe me, even if you fly aerospace fighters in the future, the aircraft type printed on your pilot's license will still be H-6.] Miao Xin irritably flipped through the pages of the book, complaining, [Come suffer with me! What the hell are these "wave ground effect" and "high sea state cruise theory"?] [Go for it, you can do it!] Su Ming decisively refused, [Also, thank you, these ground effect vehicle courses were originally prepared for me.] [Heh heh, thank you from your whole family!] Miao Xin said angrily.

Su Ming severed the mental connection, scanned his surroundings, and found that if there was a skeleton, there was another one here.

He picked up the small skull and sat down next to himself.

"Newman, I want to ask you something." Su Ming asked, "Have you known Zijin for a long time?"

"... We met about thirty years ago." Newman, though somewhat puzzled, still answered the question, "Back then, I had just finished overseeing the expansion project of the Temple of Light Sisters' College. My career was on the rise, and I was full of vigor and ambition!"

Su Ming imagined a halfling walking arrogantly down the street and held back his laughter.

"Then?"

"And then... I was stuffed into a sack by two girls," Newman said with a hint of helplessness.

Su Ming thought of Newman's library design, which could drive anyone crazy. Given Zijin's personality, she would definitely have a legitimate reason to put the sack over her head. "Two?" Su Ming pressed for details.

"The other one is Katharine," Newman sighed. "Those two girls not only beat me up, but they also sealed my Magic Power and forced me to take them home."

"... So, you just brought two naive underage girls to your house like that?" Su Ming's tone was somewhat subtle. Underage? Newman's soul fire seemed to flicker, "They were already taller than me back then, and I couldn't beat them in magic!" The rest of the story is that Zijin and Katharine found the complete set of blueprints for the nunnery in his house, and they grabbed him, the designer, demanding to know how they managed to sneak through the various restricted areas without anyone noticing.

The three became acquainted through this encounter.

With Newman's "insider guidance," the two girls could sneak out of the convent with ease. They would visit frequently, bringing all sorts of food and gifts. "Did you recognize Zijin back then?" Su Ming asked.

"Of course!" Newman's skull head nodded. "I was also a Titled Scholar in academia—though not back then." "That's true, after all, you're Master Barn Swallow." Su Ming raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, I grew up reading the papers of the Scholar Bay Owl during my school years," Newman recalled. "The unconventional spirit and wildly imaginative thinking that permeate her works have always been something I greatly admire!"

"... Don't tell me that the reason I pursue asymmetry is actually because of her influence," Su Ming said in surprise.

"It had a profound impact!" Newman laughed heartily. "Back then, I was thinking, if the Bay Owl can break conventions so freely, why should I, when building structures, always insist on uniformity from front to back and side to side?"

"This emotional pit was dug by Zijin Zijin, "Su Ming thought to himself.

"Speaking of which, Bay Owl is practically my half-teacher," Newman said seriously. "During that time, she taught me quite a few very unique light-based magic arrays. Later, it was thanks to these that I secured the construction project for the Holy Mountain Divine Might Prison and rose to fame! I owe her a debt of gratitude." "What kind of person was Zijin back then?" Su Ming asked directly, "I mean, what was she like back then?" "Actually, her personality is roughly the same as it is now, not much has changed," Newman replied. "I've always revered Bay Owl like a goddess, but when I actually met her in person, her aura immediately faded considerably." He continued, "Bay Owl would complain about the academy's messy courses wasting her time, complain about the credits limiting her access to the deeper texts of the Temple of Light, and even complain that the desserts I made for them were too spicy..." "Wait!" Su Ming interrupted him, "Desserts, with chili peppers? Do halflings have this tradition?"

"I lied to them, saying it was a specialty from my hometown." Newman's skull grinned, a hint of smugness in its eyes. "Who told them to put the sack on my head first! Very well, as expected, none of these scholars are easy to deal with."

"Zijin is extremely serious," Newman said, his tone becoming earnest. "She's frighteningly diligent; she often sneaks out in the middle of the night to find research for an academic problem, and she always drags me along." He sighed again, "It's become a regular occurrence for me to stay up all night with her."

Since Newman wasn't asleep, Zijin was naturally staying up all night as well.

"No wonder her health is so poor," Su Ming sighed. Back then, Ailisha was still an underdeveloped child, and she acted recklessly like that. After they met, Su Ming also noticed that her sleep schedule was often chaotic. Unless there was a very necessary reason, Su Ming would intervene very firmly. "I'm really happy to have met Bay Owl again," Newman said, "But now, she's sometimes so gentle... it's a little unsettling." "Gentle?" Su Ming caught the key word.

"Well... it's not that she used to be fierce," Newman carefully chose his words, "She used to be almost completely indifferent to anything outside of academics, let alone taking care of others. I heard that even Chloe, who is extremely self-reliant, was practically left half-dead by her."

"She almost died trying to raise herself," Su Ming added irritably.

"That's true." Newman shrugged his small, skeletal shoulders. "But the Bay Owl really is much more upright now." He thought for a moment, "Oh, do you know how I met Chloe?"

Once the conversation started, the half-human skeleton began to actively steer the conversation.

"I guess it was Zijin introduced them?" Su Ming speculated.

"Chloe wanted to blow up the Stars Imperial Tomb, so she dragged me into being her accomplice," Newman said, making a startling statement.

Considering Chloe's status as the former empress who "absconded with the egg" under the Stars Emperor Xialike, her involvement in such matters is perfectly logical. "I know, you mean they planted explosives in the Stars Palace," Su Ming said.

They both paused suddenly and looked at each other.

"Imperial tomb?" Su Ming repeated, realizing something was amiss.

"The Royal Palace?" Newman's eyes blazed with fury. "Explosives were found in the Stars Palace a while ago... It was the Bay Owl who planted them?!" "Wait!" Su Ming quickly pieced together the logic in his mind. "They did all this to threaten King Xialike into letting Chloe leave, right?"

"No, no, no, you're mistaken," Newman immediately corrected. "Chloe had nothing to do with planting explosives in the palace; she just coerced me into helping her blow up the Stars Imperial Mausoleum."

"... Chloe, blew up the imperial tomb?" Su Ming asked, "Is that statement in the past perfect tense?"

"Hmm!" Newman confirmed. "It was eighteen years ago, when she escaped the palace with the egg." He made an explosion gesture, "... blowing up the imperial mausoleum."

Su Ming was completely speechless.

"His Majesty Xialike didn't send troops to attack the Feather Race's Northern Ice Island... That's definitely true love!" he sighed.

"I wholeheartedly agree!" Newman tapped his skull forcefully.