124: Chapter 124 Points

"Hey! Li! How's it going today?"

"Not bad... What's up?"

Finn suddenly patted him on the back from behind. It was only his off-the-wall personality that allowed Li Ming to sense him early; otherwise, he might have really been startled.

"This is Ronan, my friend."

Li Ming's gaze shifted to the thin, brown-haired young man. "Hello, Ronan. I'm Li Ming."

"Hi, hi! Li Ming!"

Li Ming quickly stood up to shake his hand. Why was this guy so nervous?

"That's just how he is. Once you two get to know each other, you'll realize this guy's a total goofball."

"Screw you! Finn, when have I ever been stupid!"

Watching the two of them start bickering again, Li Ming watched expressionlessly for a moment, then turned back to continue his meal.

He really didn't feel like dealing with these two.

After fooling around for a bit, the two finally got their food and sat down.

Not long after, Cliff also squeezed his way over. He greeted the red-haired Ship Girl beside him, after which she left with the other Ship Girls, and Cliff came over to sit.

A red-haired Ship Girl and a red-haired Commander? Interesting.

After greeting Cliff, the four of them could be considered officially and fully acquainted.

"...So what you're saying is, your Game Club is basically just a few teachers and students messing around for fun, right?" Li Ming listened to Finn and Ronan discussing the club's future development, feeling somewhat speechless.

"Of course not! Didn't I already say we're also responsible for game development and critique!" Finn declared righteously.

"Oh~ What games have you made?"

"The Land of Gods trilogy!"

"Uh... You mean *that* 'Land of Gods', the one voted Worst Game of the Year, just cashing in on nostalgia?" Cliff bit through the noodles in his mouth and asked, "And you sell each of the three games for three hundred, and the bundle for a thousand? You guys really are something..."

Finn hemmed and hawed, not knowing what to say.

Ronan sighed.

A brown-haired Ship Girl peeked out from a corner.

Small glasses, a good match for Ronan. She hesitated, standing behind Ronan and watching him, unsure whether to greet them or not.

"Can I help you with something?" Li Ming asked.

"Ah! Um, I... I-I-I..."

"Loni!" Ronan turned around and then sprang up, hugging her. "Honey, what are you doing here?"

"Um, Commander..." Steam seemed to rise from Loni's head. "I, I was worried about you..."

"Ronan! You blockhead! You forgot to tell Loni again, didn't you?!" Finn scolded angrily, though he wasn't really that mad.

"Sorry! Sorry Loni, my fault!"

"Sigh..." Watching them, even someone as thick-skinned as Finn felt somewhat helpless.

Li Ming and Cliff exchanged glances.

"Speaking of which, Li Ming, have you told your Ship Girls?" Cliff suddenly thought of something.

"About that." Li Ming tilted his head. "We agreed beforehand. If they don't find me, they just go eat on their own. Anyway, we always cook at home in the evenings."

"You cook yourselves?" Finn suddenly got excited.

Li Ming turned his head to find this guy already kneeling on the table, leaning down, his face only a few centimeters away.

"Holy sh—!..." Li Ming was so startled he quickly leaned back. "What the hell... what are you doing!"

"Li, you absolutely must invite me over for another meal!"

"...It's not necessarily me cooking. Z23 is basically the head chef."

"Oh..." Finn sat back down, disappointed.

"But her cooking skills are better than mine." Li Ming added as if talking to himself.

Then the above scenario repeated itself.

After much persuasion, Li Ming finally agreed to cook during tomorrow's club session, which finally stopped Finn's face-invasion.

Li Ming had no homosexual inclinations; he really couldn't appreciate Finn's behavior.

If it wasn't a family meal, Li Ming ate very quickly.

"Finn, what class do you have this afternoon?"

"Teacher Stuart's culture class."

"Oh? So first-years and third-years are in the same class?"

"Well, it's a large lecture hall. Having the same class is pretty normal." Finn shrugged. "But I'm just going to sign in. Today I plan to go out with Olena."

"Hmm?" Li Ming raised an eyebrow. Was this guy really treating the military academy like a university?

"There's a super—delicious dessert shop downtown recently. I've been wanting to go back ever since I tried it last time!" Finn snapped his fingers. "Li Ming, Cliff, you guys coming?"

For some reason, even though Olena wasn't there, Li Ming could almost sense her resentment.

This kid probably didn't have a clue about his Ship Girl's feelings at all...

"No, I need to attend my afternoon class properly. And I have plans tonight too." He declined, and under the table, he also kicked Cliff, who seemed a bit tempted.

"Ah, right, I need to spend time with my Linde." Cliff paused for a moment, then immediately said.

"Alright, alright..." Finn was a bit disappointed. "Should I bring some back for you guys?"

"I think you'd better focus on appeasing Olena first." Li Ming facepalmed.

——————

After lunch, Li Ming and Cliff left the cafeteria first.

Cliff went to find his Ship Girl, while Li Ming strolled towards the dormitory area, listening to Logic's complaints in his earpiece.

"What on earth is the Federation thinking? Each state has its own information system, communication lines change coding as soon as they cross a border... Radio is more usable than this!"

Listening to her rant, Li Ming didn't know what to say. "You mean the networks of the various Federation states aren't interoperable, right?"

"Exactly!" Logic's tone held a rare hint of helplessness. "Just think of it like this: imagine an apartment building where you can connect to every unit's WiFi. That's how messy the Federation's network system is..."

"That is indeed... complicated." Li Ming was at a loss for words. "Don't they find it troublesome themselves?"

"Because... communications in each state are privately operated by various parties. Although many businesses large and small would love to standardize, but..." Logic paused. "But this is also somewhat good news. I can regulate some sensitive information in a timely manner."

"That's true. The latency is ridiculously high, which in a way is also a good thing." Li Ming facepalmed.

"Ah, right, Commander." Logic suddenly asked, "Have you looked at the proposal Miss Gang Yishawa gave you?"

"You mean the Industrial Zone proposal?" Li Ming nodded. "No problem. As long as they have a plan, just cooperate to help them complete it."

"Understood. Then I'll figure out some ways to provide cover... As for the situation in reality, we'll just have to leave it to everyone else."

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