163: Chapter 163 Waiting

Alert swung her legs boredly, waiting for her Commander to come out.

Aussie took a lap around the exhibition in the lobby and then sat down with a look of disappointment.

"Oh dear, how has nothing changed at all after all these years..."

"Sister Aussie, have you been here before?"

"No... I haven't been to this club, it's just that because I've been to so many places, I know about them."

"Oh, oh..." Alert nodded.

Aussie thought for a moment and sat down next to Alert. "Do you want to hear stories about other places?"

"Yes!"

"Let me think where to start..." Aussie looked up at the simply decorated ceiling, reminiscing.

"Let's start locally first." Aussie suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "That was many years ago; I came to Oronia for some reason."

"How should I put it... back then, this city wasn't this big. It was surrounded by factories, and the environment was terrible. My main job here was to inspect the logistics, and then I realized the situation was much more complicated than I imagined."

"First of all, there was the issue of people: the xia people and other groups... rodelis people, tawotite people, Olisians, Edenites... Although in most cases there wasn't much difference between them, they were riddled with conflicts."

"Why?"

"Because of the need for an outlet." Aussie closed her eyes. "The rodelis people and tawotite people looked down on the xia people, the Olisians disliked the rodelis people and tawotite people, and the Edenites looked down on everyone, treating everyone else like unruly subjects... Haha..."

Aussie found it a bit amusing. "In reality, there weren't actually that many problems; it was just because the authorities held the guns, so dissatisfaction couldn't be vented upwards."

"In fact, the Rights Society... or rather, the Labor Union, knew about this. But because their main body consisted of second-class citizens—primarily workers and clerks—even though some worked in mines and manors, the vast majority still lived in the city."

"As a result, the xia people—a group that survived outside the city and in designated zones within it—were naturally excluded."

"Don't the xia people resist?" Alert asked. "And the others, those workers... don't they resist?"

Looking at her serious little face, Aussie smiled—Alert, like most Ship Girls outside the core circle, did not originate from the Federation's history.

"Of course they resisted, primarily the xia people; they haven't stopped for over a hundred years. The fact that your Commander can study at the Maritime Academy now is quite closely related to their past struggles."

"But they still failed every time. Either due to insufficient strength or internal issues. But without a doubt, they have never possessed the ability to shake the Federation head-on."

"It's not just because the Federation firmly controls the stockpile of standard firearms, but also because of a gap in certain special powers. The Federation has the ability to use magic, and the xia people used to have something similar; they probably called it... Daoist Arts and Cultivators or something like that. But after the Xia Empire was defeated, the academies and reserves for learning those methods were all destroyed."

Aussie turned her head toward Alert. "I don't know what the world is supposed to look like in your memories, but here, it is extremely difficult for those at the bottom to truly rise up."

"Therefore... eh, what are you doing?"

"Recording it."

"What's the use of writing it down?" Aussie laughed.

"No, it is useful," Alert replied seriously. "Everyone needs to recognize the cause of the problem, and even more, someone needs to speak the truth plainly!"

Aussie was stunned for a moment and gave a bitter smile. "Yes, but in our context, any force for change will first be crushed by external pressure."

"Overseas, there's the annual Siren Tide; on the eastern half of the continent, there's the covetous Qianhe Empire..."

"If that's the case, then we need to change something even more!" Alert closed her notebook and put it away. "If no one stands up to speak out, then everyone will sink into numbness!"

A little kid acting like an adult, Aussie shook her head. "That's easy to say, but look, now it still has to be your Commander who does these things."

"Doesn't that prove the point even more? Aren't we a part of civilization? Why should..."

"We aren't."

"Uh..."

"The Ship Girl Bureau is an independent political entity. Although the relationship between Ship Girls and Commanders has long since surpassed mere utility and exploitation in most cases, in reality, the Federation's Orthodox Church has never recognized the existence of Ship Girls. As I just said, since we have magic, there are naturally certain large families and organizations behind the scenes."

"We naturally aren't afraid of them, but they control public opinion, trends, and even... the lives of civilians. Because of this, we cannot act rashly. We don't dare to gamble with everyone's lives, and the existence of Ship Girls is highly dependent on... everyone."

——————

"What are you two chatting about?"

About two hours later, Li Ming walked out of the room following a group of Commanders.

Seeing Alert's worried expression, Aussie patted her head. "Alright, your Commander is out. I have things to do, so I'll be going now~"

Watching her leave, Li Ming walked up to Alert and picked her up before she could say a word.

"Waa? Commander, you're doing this again..."

Seeing this, the surrounding students snickered and quickly left the area, giving them space—they were all Commanders themselves, and it wasn't right to be a third wheel while a colleague was flirting with his Ship Girl, was it?

"Did she make you unhappy?"

"No..."

"Then why the long face?"

"I just suddenly felt like... it's much more troublesome than I expected..."

"Mm." Li Ming nodded, carrying her as he walked out. "What did she say to you?"

"Commander... let's talk when we get back?"

"Sure."

Li Ming hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head...

And gave her a peck on the cheek.

She was so cute.

"Waa! Commander! Pervert! This is terrible!"

"What, are you going to resist this grand dictator?"

"Mean!"

Alert gave him a little punch.

"Ah." Li Ming let go of her and fell down quite dramatically, then immediately sat back up. "I surrender, my dear Comrade Apprentice Political Commissar. So, how do you plan to judge me?"

"Stupid Commander, let's just go home!"

"Alright, my dear comrade, let's go home!"

Tugging on Li Ming's sleeve, she followed him toward the Game Club.

"Wait, what are we eating today? We can't let Z23 cook for Finn and those bastards every day, can we?" Li Ming suddenly thought of something.

...

...