132: Chapter 132 was slightly disappointing.

There were quite a few tasks listed on the community service board of this club. Li Ming stood in the front hall, looking at these services. Without a doubt, it was pretty much like being a volunteer back in the day.

Things like street cleaning, community service, visiting elderly care homes.

"They even keep statistics on volunteer hours?" Li Ming looked at the various charts hanging on the wall. "What's the point?... The final score is evaluated based on volunteer hours and contributions..."

Li Ming fell silent for a moment, then looked at Alert. "What do you think?"

"I think it has a certain Logic to it," Alert said, scratching her head and standing on tiptoe to look at the public statistics on another wall. "Recording who did what for the community and what contributions they made seems like a good way to track performance, right? It could effectively identify active members and bring them into the organization."

Li Ming nodded. What Alert said made sense, but for some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

It was like back in school, where the ones with the best grades were always the first to be brought into organizations...

He turned his head and looked at the long lists of names. Most people had just a few simple stamps, as if they had merely completed tasks, while a rare few had... row after row of them.

At the very bottom, his own name was clearly listed. Without a doubt, not a single stamp.

"Li? What brings you here?"

Glack, with his brown hair, walked into the front hall from outside. "And this is... Miss Alert?"

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Glack!" She turned her head. "I came with my Commander to take a look."

Glack looked at Li Ming, who nodded in greeting.

"Li, you know..."

"Of course, but there shouldn't be a problem with just looking, right?" Li Ming didn't mind. After all, there was no explicit rule saying Ship Girls couldn't listen or watch.

"...Alright." Glack thought about it and agreed it made sense. "But Miss Alert must stay out of any actual club business."

"No problem," Alert agreed, though Li Ming kept trying to give her meaningful looks. Alert's mind, however, was clearly elsewhere.

Following Glack into the main hall, Li Ming looked at the photos on the wall and fell into deep thought.

He walked up to the photo wall. The young people in the pictures were covered in dust and grime, posing for group photos.

Though not everyone seemed to be smiling, there was no doubt they were full of youthful energy.

Maybe his judgment was wrong?

"These photos are from our... roughly five generations of students, spanning about a decade or so, taken during long-term holiday activities," Glack explained. "Unfortunately, I've been busy with work at the academy and in the city, so I never had time to participate."

"Pretty good..." Li Ming acknowledged, casually pointing at a photo of a group in front of a factory building. "What's this one?"

"That's when our club members were working with comrades... friends from the Auronian Labor Front," Glack introduced. "We've always had a good relationship with them. It's precisely because of them that we've been able to understand the real living standards of ordinary people in Oronia."

"That's quite commendable too," Li Ming said in agreement.

Alert stroked her chin, looking at Li Ming with some suspicion as if she had questions, but she kept them to herself for now.

"Our activities go far beyond that," Glack said with a smile. "Though we usually have our own things to do, whenever something comes up, we do our best to gather. We participate in collective work within the academy and during emergencies."

"Oh?" Li Ming was surprised.

"So, what do you think, Li? Although some of your ideas are quite advanced, if you don't want to join, you can still withdraw from the club now. Our club isn't easygoing." Glack poured them some water.

"I plan to observe for a while longer," Li Ming replied. "And I have some questions I hope you can answer."

"Sure, go ahead," Glack said, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

Pulling Alert to sit down with him, Li Ming began his inquiries.

"What are the stamps on the wall in the outer hall?"

"Commemorative stamps for major activities. For example, participating in firefighting operations, rescuing people, or actions that make significant contributions to society—we add a stamp for each."

"So, those stamps aren't for recording points, but for recognizing members' contributions?"

"Correct. They provide extra credit, but overall, the main credit still comes from volunteer hours."

"I understand. What's this Labor Front you mentioned earlier? Why would an on-campus club have ties to an off-campus organization? Does the academy know?"

"The academy is aware. The Labor Front is the overarching community for our club in Oronia. Our club is part of the Labor Front."

Li Ming narrowed his eyes. According to the information from Logic, their main leaders were still politicians trying to vie for power in the parliament.

"Very well," he said, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Alert—who was struggling to hold back the questions she wanted to ask. "What did you mean by collaborating with people from the Labor Front to understand the situation at the grassroots level? Aren't you part of the same organization?"

"Because most of us are Commanders... we're practically part of the declassed. The main branch actually keeps quite a distance from us. After all, after graduation, we either serve in frontline fleets or are assigned to naval bases, completely removed from normal human society."

Alert let out a sigh of relief and tugged at Li Ming's sleeve.

"I see," Li Ming said, his eye twitching slightly. "I think I have no more questions."

"I'll say it again: if you want to withdraw, now is still the time," Glack said with a sigh.

"And I'll say it again: I'll observe for a while longer."

It wasn't the time to make a final judgment yet. Although he wasn't keen on getting involved in these matters, Li Ming genuinely felt he could follow them a bit longer. If he lost interest, he could always jump ship later.

"Alright then... We don't have any new activities today. Besides me watching the door, everyone else is busy with their own things."

"Same here," Li Ming said, picking up Alert. "Off to the Game Club to play some games."

"The Game Club? That used to be a great club, but it's fallen into decline lately."

After leaving the club, Alert finally spoke up:

"Commander, I thought they might be a bit different..."

"How so?"

"Why can't they organize properly? Why do they still insist on using those methods to fight for rights people should already have?" Alert's swinging legs came to a stop. "And why do you seem so accustomed to this so-called community service?"

"Isn't it just volunteering? Is being a volunteer strange?" Li Ming asked, puzzled.

"Well, it depends, doesn't it? Working in a factory goes beyond volunteer service, doesn't it?"

"...Hmm, that's because you've never heard of voluntary overtime or voluntary extra classes... Never mind, let's talk about that later..."

"But I want to hear about it now!"

"No investigation, no right to speak, Alert... At least for now, I haven't detected anything like that here..."

"Then what about you? Why do you know about these things?"

"Uh..."

...

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