Arc 5The Convoy and the Zombie Base
Su Ming, Zijin, and Beianqi outfitted the White Triangle, defeated a pirate fleet, and completed an escort mission while Su Ming dealt with threats and secrets on Earth. The arc ended with Zijin securing a new contract to investigate the zombie base, but her concealment of her business stake strained her relationship with Su Ming.
- Zijin revealed that she was the bone dragon sealed inside the White Triangle, and Su Ming helped her understand written English while they repaired the ship and its heavy gun.
- Su Ming and Zijin recruited Beianqi from the Molten Iron Mountain Range, towed the damaged Five Fangs to Willow Leaf Island, and prepared the White Triangle and Mark 71 for combat.
- Beianqi helped install and test the Mark 71, which she named Maimai, and Su Ming, Zijin, and Beianqi joined the convoy escort after negotiating favorable terms.
- Su Ming, Zijin, and Beianqi led the White Triangle into battle against thirty-one pirate warships, sank or captured enemy ships, and protected the convoy.
- The convoy celebrated the victory and auctioned salvage, while the Federation paid the escort fee and the trio agreed to pursue profits through trade rather than plunder.
- Su Ming and Miao Xin were caught in a space-weapon strike in Vietnam, but Su Ming calmed Miao Xin after she lost control, and she escaped toward home as he uncovered signs of a wider threat.
- Su Ming planned upgrades for the White Triangle and sent Miao Xin to retrieve a gyroscopic stabilizer, while Charles reported that the Federation wanted them to find and destroy the zombie base.
- Zijin negotiated a 130,000-gold investigation contract and concealed her seventy percent stake in the Blue-Eyed Chamber of Commerce, prompting Su Ming to tell her he felt exhausted and upset by her secrecy.