104: Chapter 104 Construction

Standing before the construction platform, Li Ming hesitated for a moment.

Holding two cubes in his hand, Li Ming still chose the Light Construction platform.

"Just push the wisdom cube in and press the start button. You don't need to handle the rest of the resource input," the teacher on duty said while picking up the list. "Li Ming, right? ...You're actually one of the xia people? That's quite rare in these parts."

"Yes, Teacher," Li Ming replied as he took the cube the teacher gave him and aligned it with the input slot.

One cube.

Pushed in.

Resources infused.

Start.

Mm... good.

00:20:59

Twenty-one minutes? Li Ming calculated; it was likely a Destroyer.

Submarines belong to Special Construction, but the Federation doesn't seem to have a Special Construction area. This means the Federation might not have Aircraft Carrier or Submarine Ship Girls, and might not have even designed or built those types of ships themselves.

That much was unclear.

"A Destroyer... next one then."

Coming to the second construction platform, Li Ming repeated the previous actions.

Start.

Looks like it worked too?

02:15:59

Two hours and twenty-two minutes...

Hmm?

Li Ming dithered for a moment. "Teacher, is this normal?"

The teacher on duty walked over. "What's wrong? Isn't two hours the standard for a heavy cru... iser... two hours?!"

The green-haired Ship Girl teacher examined the construction platform and the Construction Dock behind it. "This is Light Construction, right? Why are you building a heavy cruiser?"

"I... I don't know?"

"Forget it... you wait here. I'll go find your Homeroom Teacher to accompany you. You're the last one anyway!"

The teacher on duty hurried out of the construction room toward the lounge area.

A short while later, Stuart rushed over, stood on her tiptoes to pat his shoulder, and then glanced at the construction platform.

"Mm... no need to make a fuss. We'll just mention it to Director Axiom normally and let it pass, how about that?" Stuart said to the teacher on duty. "For beings of Idealism like us, anything happening seems normal, doesn't it?"

"I suppose..." The teacher on duty rubbed her head. "Like hell it is! This situation is clearly outside the scope of Idealism!"

Calming down, she continued, "Director Axiom must be informed. This matter is indeed a bit special."

"Of course. Li Ming, what do you think?"

Li Ming shrugged. "I'm fine with whatever."

"Then it's settled. You two continue; I'll go find Director Axiom." Stuart walked out in her small high heels.

The teacher on duty stared at Li Ming as if she were studying some rare creature.

Li Ming took half a step back, and only then did the teacher snap out of it.

"Ahem, sorry." She covered her mouth with the back of her hand, her face slightly flushed.

"It's fine." Li Ming lowered his head and turned his music back on.

Twenty minutes would pass quickly.

However, while everyone is still here, why can I still construct Ship Girls? Is it a new local Ship Girl, or..."

Did someone sink?

Li Ming shuddered. No, he couldn't think like that...

Taking a deep breath, Li Ming tried to calm himself. Everyone was a veteran with high combat power, and the Sirens had no reason to do such a thing. It was impossible.

While existences other than the Sirens were possible, the Sirens' actions had already shown that such existences had not appeared in this world.

On the other side, Axiom received the message from Stuart.

"Over two hours for... Light Construction?" She rubbed her temples. "That is... indeed uncommon."

"Actually, it might be the first time." Lauren was helping her process documents. "It's clear that this little fellow is indeed a bit special..."

"That's more than just 'a bit'." Axiom put down her phone. "Has the one from the General Bureau arrived yet?"

"Hi hi, I'm here, I'm here!"

Kano didn't knock, but opened the door to the Director's office directly.

"...Eh?" Lauren was stunned for a moment. "You're the one from this morning..."

"Yup, it's me!" Kano put her hands on her hips in a proud pose. "Long time no see, Axiom."

"You've become much more cheerful over the years." Axiom shook her head. "Did you bring that young Xia person?"

"To be precise, I'm his guardian now." Kano flipped her ponytail and found a random spot to sit. "Did something happen?"

"This kid got a result of over two hours from Light Construction."

"..."

Kano's expression froze, followed by an indescribable smile. "That's over two hours combined, right?"

"It's one that's over two hours; the other was a normal 21 minutes."

Kano was silent for a while before sitting up straight.

"Technically speaking, with the generational upgrades of Escort Fleets, large-scale development is inevitable, so this might be a certain possibility for the future." Kano was quite serious when discussing business. "So there's no need to worry too much. However, I will inform the General Bureau about this. You guys just continue with your normal teaching."

"I understand," Axiom replied. "That suits me just fine."

Kano left the office, after which Axiom sighed. "Lauren, have you met her?"

"I met her once this morning. I thought she was the General Bureau Ship Girl that Li Ming had pulled."

"Now it seems this Li Ming might be a bit special." Axiom continued processing her tasks. "Let the people at the Ship Girl Bureau deal with the headache. We are only responsible for teaching and educating. As long as he doesn't endanger the safety of others, he will always be our student."

Lauren nodded in agreement.

"Then be a bit more careful next time. I don't know how that reserved little girl from back then turned into such a lazy yet clever mischievous schemer..."

"Mm..."

A mischievous schemer? Lauren thought about it; she didn't seem quite that bad?

——————

Time was almost up.

Li Ming turned off his earphones and put them back in their case.

The final half-minute countdown.

The teacher on duty patted him. "Don't be nervous. Careful not to let your Ship Girl make a fool out of you."

"Uh... ahaha..." Li Ming laughed awkwardly, then straightened his clothes and stood before the construction platform.

Was his outfit decent enough? He seemed to have never paid attention before; aside from his coat, he usually wore a haphazard combination of a shirt and sweatpants.

As the time hit zero, Li Ming pressed the completion button. The Construction Dock behind the platform, whose interior had been obscured, seemed to flash.

The doors opened, and the interior was shrouded in a large cloud of smoke that might have been dry ice or steam. He instinctively held his breath.

Then, he was forced to squint by a flash of golden light. Was it actually a Golden Legend?

When he could sense his surroundings again, there stood a golden-haired girl wearing a white military cap.

"Project 1135.1 Alert reporting to you, Comrade Commander!"

Uh... ah?

...

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