148: Chapter 148 Warning

"...So, they weren't 'salvaged' by you, but rather 'returned'. Am I correct?"

Zhenli held her teacup, frowning as she looked at the sleepy-eyed Li Ming sitting opposite her.

What the hell do you mean by 'returned'? Are they Re-Travelers? This isn't Talos-II next door...

"Something like that...?"

"I can understand that, but that is no excuse for disrupting your normal routine, Commander Li Ming."

"My mistake, I was a bit too eager."

"No, no... it's not your fault." Zhenli suppressed the curiosity in her heart. "Even though you didn't tell me before that you had companions left behind on the continent, I can understand."

Your weakness is too obvious, Li Ming.

"However, I learned from your homeroom teacher that you've been quite busy this week. You signed up for four clubs?"

"Except for the Game Club, the others were voluntary," Li Ming answered. "I'm interested."

"I know a bit about the Industrial Society; the patents you applied for are quite revolutionary. But the other two clubs..." Zhenli sighed. "Li Ming, you came here to study and recuperate, not to save the world."

"I understand."

"So, why?" Zhenli gazed at him.

"You should have noticed that my behavioral habits are almost a carbon copy of the xia people," Li Ming replied. "The Ship Girls I'm looking for are among them, so establishing a relationship with the Summer History Society helps me continue my search. As for the Rights Society..."

"Because of this Alert, right?"

Zhenli looked at the half-closed door behind Li Ming. Chirping sounds came from within from time to time; they should be playing games.

"...Yes, but not entirely." Li Ming narrowed his eyes. "You're testing me."

"Yes. Although we might be in different camps, I am your attending physician, and I must be responsible for you."

"You don't have to do this..."

"...But for the Ship Girl Bureau, the relationship with you is a strategic asset."

"...Alright." He felt much more comfortable hearing that. Even if it didn't seem like her true feelings, he was willing to bet that was definitely part of it.

"From every level I can think of, I hope you can pay attention to your physical condition..." Zhenli paused. "From my personal perspective, I am very dissatisfied with your failure to follow medical advice. I have reasonable grounds to suspect that you barely rested during those months at Horizons Edge."

"Uh..."

"You might say these things have nothing to do with me, but your state doesn't lie. Although your physical condition isn't as bad as I imagined... your sleep time over the past few days shouldn't exceed ten hours, right?"

Li Ming rubbed his nose; she was right.

"Secondly, according to Kano's... testimony, you've been playing games quite late these past few days, haven't you?"

"Uh... yes."

"Even if you can apply for an exemption from high-intensity physical education classes, you still participated in Instructor Lauren's training. If I recall correctly, her training intensity is not low."

"Correct."

"...Commander Li Ming."

"Hmm?"

"Maybe you really can save the world."

"Ah?"

What kind of internet slang line is that?

"My point is, you can choose not to do things you don't want to do." Zhenli took a sip of tea and closed her eyes.

"I want to do these..."

"No, it's that you feel you should do them. So let me ask you, what are your hobbies? What objects or things do you like besides them? And... what do you think you like about yourself besides them?"

Li Ming was unable to answer.

"My point is, enough." Zhenli opened her eyes. "You are kidnapping yourself with responsibility and their wishes. Give yourself some time, Commander Li Ming..."

She felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Because she couldn't act for him. If he couldn't find the path himself, then there was nothing she could do.

"I understand your thoughts..."

"No, you don't." Zhenli put down her teacup. "...Sorry, I might be a bit heated, but I must tell you, before being the head of the Logistics and Medical Department, I am a doctor, a military doctor."

"I've seen many young people like you, but their problems were nothing like yours. In times of war, they long to live, they long for survival; in times of peace, they long to realize their dreams, they long for the future... and even more for happiness."

"You are different. You are indifferent to everything except them, or rather, you've deliberately suppressed your senses."

She stood up, leaning forward with her left hand on the table. "You should know this kind of suggestion."

Her upper body leaned closer; her tight-fitting clothes accentuated her figure, appearing incredibly alluring.

But after a quick glance, Li Ming immediately looked away.

"You've restrained your physiological desires. Normally, I would call that virtue, but you, Commander Li Ming... you are not that." She sat back down. "I've only seen it once before, other than you."

"He was a Xia person, also a Commander. But before he graduated, he learned that his parents had died in the mines."

"From then on, he always stayed by his Ship Girls' side until he died in battle—he wouldn't have died so easily otherwise."

"I once diagnosed him; to escape the pain, he made his Ship Girls his everything."

"I used to think that was an isolated case until I saw you. Before at Plata Port, you told me you were a very common person, but looking at it now, although there's no evidence, can I interpret it this way: your state is quite common back in your hometown?"

"...Probably."

"Commander Li Ming, I can't do anything for you, but I hope you can take my words seriously." Zhenli stood up again and put on her coat. "I'm leaving now, I hope you can remember this."

"I'll see you out..."

"No need. Take advantage of the lack of more tasks to get some good rest, Commander Li Ming."

Zhenli left.

Li Ming sighed.

Anshan opened her door. "Yo, if you don't court death, you won't die. I told you not to come here for school."

"...It's not like you don't know why I came here for school." Li Ming shrugged. "Come on, if I hadn't come, you'd still be in some corner somewhere."

"I don't care about that. Since I'm here, you have to listen to my orders." Anshan walked out and pulled Li Ming up. "Come on, sleep with me."

"Fine, fine, fine..."

Being dragged onto the bed in Anshan's room and used as a pillow by her, Li Ming felt somewhat helpless.

But after a short while, sleepiness washed over him.

Damn it, I hope I don't get pulled into another dimension this time...

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