156: Chapter 156 Daily Life

"Goo~od morning, Commander! It's your old friend Zheng-chan! Yesterday's new messages totaled a full thirty again! But there's one piece of earth-shattering news! I think you must know..."

"Stop, stop, stop, Zheng-chan! What kind of craziness are you on?!"

It was only eight o'clock, and Li Ming had been roused by Logic using a quite exaggerated tone.

"Calling you to get up, of course."

Logic's voice came from the phone, "Don't forget you have things to do today."

"Ouch, ouch..." Logic's words made Li Ming snap out of it a bit. He then rolled off the bed and ran to the bathroom to wash up.

Anshan was holding popcorn while watching a local movie; it looked like she must have pulled an all-nighter yesterday.

Kano was lying there like a corpse nearby, likely having failed her attempt to stay up all night.

A6 saw him quickly finish washing up, and only then did she shuffle into the bathroom in her slippers.

The smell of bread wafted from the kitchen; the hardworking Z23 always woke up early every day.

He picked up Z23 from behind; she struggled for a moment before helplessly accepting Li Ming's affectionate behavior.

"Commander, I'm making breakfast..." She patted Li Ming's arm, asking him to put her down.

Finally getting him to put her down, Z23 stuffed a piece of toasted bread into Li Ming's mouth to silence him for a bit while she continued with her tasks.

Over these past two weeks, she had figured out that her Commander must have been a textbook high school student during his school days.

Sleeping in, sleeping in class, slacking off, and having lots of ideas.

Teacher Stuart had already complained to the house, so Z23, acting as the "parent," could only apologize repeatedly...

Sigh...

But this isn't so bad either?

Commander raising or something...

Wu—

Z23 suddenly blushed and kicked Li Ming out of the kitchen, leaving him completely bewildered.

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"According to the Federation Broadcasting and Television Station on September 12th, on September 9th, an armed conflict broke out between the fleet of the unknown force 'Horizons Edge' deep in the southern waters and the Taronia Self-Defense Fleet, 300 nautical miles south of Federation waters."

"Reports state that the Taronia Self-Defense Fleet took quite aggressive threatening actions, and a suspected battleship-class vessel from the Horizons Edge fleet fired warning shots at a Taronea Destroyer..."

"September 9th..." Li Ming glanced at the calendar on his phone; today was September 13th. "This news really spreads slowly..."

"Normal." Anshan had a small piece of bread in her mouth; she chewed twice. "With the Federation's system, it definitely takes time to discuss how to handle public relations, and then local broadcasting and secondary processing take more time."

Li Ming looked at the photo shown on the TV. FVS1001 was sailing towards the left of the camera frame, with all its naval guns pointed towards the camera. There was thick smoke over the number one turret, proving it had just fired.

Li Ming nodded. "I just don't know how things will develop next. I hope Fujian has already prepared a plan."

Kano was drinking soy milk and stopped when she heard Li Ming. "Oh please, on our side, by the time a plan is produced, half a month will have already passed... unless Miss Fujian takes some initiative, she might even be able to lead them by the nose."

Li Ming shrugged. If something really happened, Fujian had plenty of ways to contact him, though it would be a hassle. However, early warnings wouldn't be a problem at all.

So for now, he just needed to sit back and watch how things developed.

"Now for a news flash. On the 11th of this month, the Kingdom of Auronia Chamber of Commerce officially began experimental work on maritime container technology. According to the Kingdom's spokesperson and frontier manager, Ms. Andrine Brooke, this technology will be tested in collaboration with the Ship Girl Bureau and various enterprises. If the experiment is successful, it will significantly improve shipping efficiency."

"On the afternoon of the 12th, citizens filmed an unidentified flying object appearing in the low sky over the Oronia Maritime Academy. The video shows it is a man-made object, and the situation is currently under investigation..."

"Not bad, pretty fast." Li Ming nodded. "It's clear that news spreads quite quickly within the city."

Alert looked like she hadn't woken up yet, appearing as if she might slam her head onto the table while eating.

She definitely played games secretly last night.

Li Ming glanced at Anshan, who glared back at him.

He looked at A6; although it was hard to tell if she was sleepy, she looked away the moment their eyes met.

I knew it. Li Ming felt helpless. Adding Kano into the mix, they were definitely playing in a four-stack at night—maybe even a remote five-stack including that bastard Finn.

Li Ming had no way to deal with these night owls.

"Z23, the two of us are going out today."

"Ah, okay... What is it, Commander?"

Z23 was a bit confused; she didn't remember anything happening today.

"Going to her place to check on the progress of the plan, so I have a better idea of what's going on."

"No problem, Commander." Z23 understood. "Are we leaving in a bit then?"

"Of course." Li Ming nodded. "If we're late, we might not even be able to come back."

"Mm..." Z23 thought of Gang Yishawa's personality, that initiative...

After breakfast, they put the dishes in the sink and prepared to head out.

Before leaving, seeing that Z23 had stepped out first, Li Ming hurriedly turned back and gave Anshan a signal.

Anshan understood and gave a thumbs up.

Then Li Ming closed the door and left.

Anshan immediately stood up and kicked Kano off the sofa. "Everyone, move! Get ready for tomorrow!"

"Ready for what!" Kano rubbed her backside. "What's going on?"

"Tomorrow is the anniversary of Z23's commissioning," Anshan said. "The hardworking Destroyer lady might not say anything, but we can't actually forget. A6, you go plan the itinerary. Alert, you're coming with me to scout locations. And you, Kano! No causing trouble!"

"Wow! I can definitely help in some way, right!" Kano complained.

"Then you... you drive away any Ship Girls or girls who get close to those two tomorrow!"

Kano's face fell; this was truly a job that would offend people.

The four of them started a noisy commotion, successfully turning the house into a mess.

Well, they better tidy up the room first...

On the other side, Li Ming and Z23 reached the door, intending to use public transport to reach their destination.

Z23's rigging could only be described as well-fitting; it wasn't massive like those of other large Ship Girls, nor did it have high-tech multi-purpose expansion modules like Anshan's. In other words, her rigging couldn't carry anyone, so they could only rely on public transport.

But to be fair, this was probably the first time Z23 and her Commander were wandering around the city alone.

The station was full of Ship Girls and Commanders, so there was no need to worry about safety...

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