The Dwarves' Scheme

Su Ming did not ask these troops whether they were willing to surrender.

Given the current situation, it has nothing to do with their wishes anymore.

"Of these 80,000 troops, at most only 40,000 will remain," Su Ming said.

He did some mental calculations and realized that the total was still too high.

"Let them rest for a while, and continue the selection process during this time," Su Ming instructed. "Once the situation stabilizes, we'll gradually eliminate the 180,000 troops from the entire army."

"Such a large reduction?" A military officer couldn't help but show surprise.

"Based on our future military structure, we won't need that many people."

Su Ming explained calmly.

"The disarmament task will be completed in three phases, proceeding gradually according to the circumstances."

"Those who are eliminated can be transferred to local management systems, especially to strengthen public security."

"Understood." The officers immediately wrote it down.

"In addition, I have appointed Newman, also known as Master Barn Swallow, as the temporary head of the Construction Engineering Department," Su Ming continued. "His primary task is to renovate and upgrade existing roads nationwide, and to improve the road network."

To get rich, build roads first.

This idea was deeply ingrained in Su Ming's mind.

Anyway, this is something that can be done without hesitation, and there will definitely be no mistakes.

Please cooperate fully.

"All available troops should be assigned to the field as engineers."

"Yes!" the military personnel responded in unison.

****

At the same time, Zijin convened a meeting of the "Star Sand Co-governance Committee".

According to the currently determined political system, the nominal leader of the country will be "Saintess" Zijin.

However, the saintly figure carries more of a religious and symbolic significance.

The actual ruler is designated as the "head of state".

Su Ming is already extremely busy with military and industrial affairs, and is unwilling to take on the role of head of state.

After all, Su Ming's most pressing matters right now are re-establishing contact with Earth and constructing the dimensional gate.

This is the fundamental direction that cannot be deviated from.

The problem is that if Su Ming doesn't take this position, anyone else who does will be a figurehead.

So Katharine proposed a solution:

The position of head of state is temporarily vacant, and several prime ministers are appointed instead, distributing all the difficult tasks related to people's livelihood and politics among them.

Su Ming agreed with this idea.

At the meeting, Zijin officially announced the plan and released a list of leaders from the central to local levels.

She officially appointed more than one hundred people in one go.

And this has been almost a daily routine these past few days.

Many tasks cannot be done in too much detail right now.

First, stabilize the overall situation, then refine and gradually arrange things step by step.

****

After they finished their respective tasks, they met again in the evening.

Lilishan tidied up the room for them and laid out the bedding that had been airing out.

Upon seeing the two enter, she lifted her skirt and curtsied.

"Welcome home, gentlemen!"

"You've worked hard, go and rest," Su Ming said.

Lilishan took her phone out of her pocket, held it with both hands, and respectfully handed it over.

Su Ming looked helpless and unlocked the child lock for her.

"Manage your time well."

"Yes."

Lilishan stuck out her tongue, grabbed her phone, and ran away as fast as she could.

The room fell silent.

The two of them fell back onto the bed almost simultaneously, lying there paralyzed, not wanting to move at all.

"I'm so tired." Su Ming let out a long sigh.

"We need to quickly establish and perfect all aspects of the system," Zijin sighed. "Things are much more complicated here than back in the Dragon Race."

The two lay quietly for a while longer.

Zijin suddenly turned over and moved closer to Su Ming.

Do you still have the strength?

Upon hearing this, Su Ming revealed a completely understanding smile.

Of course!

"Okay!"

Zijin stood up abruptly, just in time to avoid Su Ming's attempt to put his arm around her.

"Let's change our clothes and go shopping!" she said happily, opening the wardrobe.

****

Ten minutes later, the two, now dressed differently, stood on the street.

Zijin cast Ignore Spell on the two of them.

Ordinary people would subconsciously ignore their existence; even if their eyes swept over them, they wouldn't notice.

Compared to when Su Ming left last time, the streets of the Holy City are now noticeably more lively.

It was already 8 p. m., and because the streetlights were on, a large number of people chose to come out and exercise at this time.

This would have been an impossible sight in the past.

A cool breeze was blowing on the summer night.

A bard, carrying his zither, leisurely sings tales by the roadside.

The protagonists of those stories are not lofty Hero, but ordinary residents.

I experienced this "new language revolution" from a friendly perspective.

Of course, the storyline written by Su Ming is that the protagonist breaks free from the oppression of the old Holy See and embraces a new life.

The ending was happy and harmonious.

Consequently, the story naturally includes a lot of popular science about the policies and regulations of the Early Dawn Republic, which are different from those of the previous Holy See.

Many key elements were adapted into catchy rhymes.

The children in the audience were clapping and singing along.

"Your trick is quite effective," said Zijin.

"It's just copying from the book," Su Ming replied.

The two walked hand in hand, slowly making their way forward.

There were many street vendors, selling food and miscellaneous goods, lined up close together, adding a lively and bustling atmosphere.

The two bought some snacks and ate them as they walked.

There are many stalls selling various daily necessities.

The most popular items were those from the Ruby Base.

Su Ming felt quite gratified.

This is exactly what he wanted to see: a market economy!

After receiving the money, a vendor suddenly and deftly pulled a colorful booklet from under the black cloth of his stall and stuffed it into the customer's pocket.

Su Ming has a sharp eye.

That book, it seems to be from "Mad Machines Publishing House"?

So in the end, did he still lose to color? — He lamented.

****

Zijin suddenly grabbed Su Ming's hand and pulled him to a stop in front of a house.

It was a two-story wooden house, somewhat old-fashioned, its surface worn dark by the passage of time.

"What's wrong?" Su Ming asked.

"This is the house I bought when I was studying at the Radiant Holy City Church School." A touch of nostalgia appeared in Zijin's eyes.

"Twenty-one years have passed, and you're still here?" Su Ming was somewhat surprised.

"Katharine has arranged for someone to help look after her," Zijin explained.

She reached out and pushed open the door, lit up the magic orb, and went inside.

The room was very clean; Zijin had sent someone over to clean it a few days ago.

Su Ming followed them inside and discovered that the place was actually quite small.

The first floor contains the kitchen and bathroom, with only a small dining table in the middle.

Go up the wooden stairs to the second floor, and you'll find a whole room.

Both walls were converted into bookshelves, with a few old books scattered on them, but not many; obviously, most of them had been taken away long ago.

Zijin stood in front of the bookshelf, looking at the familiar wear marks, her eyes softening little by little as memories began to surface.

"There are many documents that I can't access at school."

She said softly.

"I actually spent more time here than in my dorm room back then."

"Especially after I obtained the identity of the saintess, most of what I left in the dormitory were just illusions."

"No wonder you're so skilled with illusion magic," Su Ming couldn't help but say.

In the early days after he transmigrated, he was tormented by Zijin with various illusions.

So much so that he later specifically studied "Silent Vision," a technique to counter illusions.

Zijin took a book out of the bookshelf.

Too much time has passed, and the pages have oxidized and become brittle.

She merely flipped it over lightly, and the edges crumbled and scattered tiny scraps of paper.

A slight glint of water appeared in her eyes.

At that time, her body, like this book, was extremely fragile.

Su Ming stepped forward and gently hugged her from behind.

"I'm fine," Zijin's voice was soft. "I just suddenly remembered the old days, and then—I suddenly really wanted to bring you here."

"Next time, I'll take you to see my hometown," Su Ming said softly.

"OK."

There was no bed in the room.

In the corner, there was only an old straw mat lying around.

Su Ming glanced over and found that the thing was already rotten.

The person in charge of cleaning obviously didn't dare to handle it on their own, so they simply packed it up and set it aside for the time being.

Zijin turned around and reached out to wrap her arms around Su Ming's neck.

"Let's go buy a new mattress and some new household items."

She looked up at Su Ming, her gaze soft.

"Then, I'll stay here tonight."

"Good."

Su Ming responded and lowered his head to kiss her.

****

Seven days later, Su Ming returned to the Ruby Base.

During this period, he basically maintained this fixed rhythm, staying in one place for a week and then going to another place to handle matters.

Beianqi first reported many details about the factory to him, and then about the progress of the Pansy.

The warship broke free from the mud of the Meiladas Tidal Flats a week ago and returned to Sapphire Port.

Before the "Zhurong" nuclear reactor is officially in place, a great deal of preliminary work needs to be carried out.

"Structural and feasibility verifications for the 'submarine mode' are both underway," Beianqi reported, handing over several sheets of paper. "This is the first batch of equipment list."

Su Ming took it and glanced at it, discovering that it mainly consisted of the ballast water tank control system and the high-pressure air system related to submersion.

"Okay, I'll arrange a time to handle it."

After Beianqi finished her report, she left, and Rupert came in next.

"President, here's what you asked me to investigate."

He handed a report to Su Ming.

Su Ming opened the report, his gaze falling on Rupert's illegible handwriting. When he finished reading, his eyes narrowed sharply.

"It really is them," he murmured to himself.

Rupert scratched his head.

"But I don't think this evidence alone is enough to confirm that the dwarves did it, right?"

"No need to confirm," Su Ming said calmly.

Suddenly, a patch of emerald green shadow enveloped the outside of the window.

The enormous figure of Zhimeng descended from the night and came to rest outside.

The group of bandits, who had been making some noise, suddenly fell silent.

What are we having for dinner tonight?

Zhimeng leaned over to look at Su Ming, a bright smile on her face.

Su Ming's lips twitched.

They even came all the way here at 9 pm just to get a late-night snack.

He turned and ordered, "Lilishan, order a deluxe late-night snack for Zhimeng."

"OK!"

Lilishan picked up her phone and quickly ordered a deluxe late-night snack at the Chicken Dinner Internet Cafe.

Note: Choose tomato and egg drop soup for the meal, and make sure it's extremely spicy!

Su Ming opened the window and handed the papers in his hand to Zhimeng.

After taking Zhimeng brought it close to her eyes, cast a magnification spell on herself, and read the contents.

Wow, these guys have thick eyebrows and big eyes.

Elder Jade Dragon was also shocked.

"How did you come to suspect the dwarves?" she asked Su Ming.

"Because of the Red Ridge Mine incident."

Su Ming explained.

"I only informed Shiquan that evening about my decision to go there, and we set off early the next morning."

"With such a short interval, how could those Divine Covenant Faction assassins have known the news in advance and still complete their assassination plans?"

"I became suspicious from that time on. But since Shiquan heroically died in the incident, I couldn't find a starting point to investigate further."

"But I always kept it in mind, and I had Rupert keep tracking it."

The note contained Rupert's findings:

The dwarves have been using reverse parasitism to infiltrate the Divine Covenant Faction's intelligence network.

This is a typical case of "I predicted you, and I predicted my own prediction."

"Although there's no concrete evidence yet, it's enough to confirm this hypothesis." Su Ming's eyes turned slightly cold. "At the time, the dwarves mobilized a double agent hidden within the Divine Covenant Faction's special agents to pass on incorrect operational instructions to the assassins, Nastaya and her group."

Zhimeng shook its enormous dragon head.

"So the truth is, it was the dwarves and the Divine Covenant Faction who 'joined forces' to assassinate you?"

"Yes." Su Ming nodded.

The dwarves secretly opened the door for the Divine Covenant Faction's assassins.

This explains many of the inconsistencies in the mine incident and the Divine Covenant Faction's self-destructive act of exposing its high-ranking spies.

Zhimeng also figured it out.

"The Divine Covenant Faction was responsible for both the actions and the blame, taking all the blame."

"King Star Pickaxe, afterwards, put on an angry expression and ruthlessly purged the Divine Covenant Faction's infiltrators."

She exclaimed in genuine admiration.

"Their plan was brilliant!"

"What a pity." Su Ming narrowed his eyes, his voice gradually deepening, "Those assassins from the Divine Covenant Faction were rather incompetent; they failed to kill me—that's their biggest mistake!"

Zhimeng paced back and forth outside the house a couple of times, lightly tapping the ground with its claws.

"Su Ming, what are your thoughts now?"

Upon hearing this, Su Ming let out a heavy sigh.

"Our current monthly trade volume with the dwarves reaches five million gold coins."

"And it's increasing rapidly at a rate of 10% per month."

The Final Bone Mad Machines require a large amount of raw materials and primary products, while the Dwarves require a large amount of industrial products.

There's also a convenient inland river connecting the two sides; disregarding the backstabbing between high-ranking officials, it's practically a match made in heaven.

"You also want to say that the Republic of Chuxu is currently making every effort to take over the territory left behind by the Temple of Light, and that the operation against the Gravel Scale Desert is imminent?"

Zhimeng continued the conversation without hesitation.

"Don't you want to ruin this hard-won situation?"

"Yes, is there a problem with that?" Su Ming asked in return.