184: Chapter 184 Ruins

"Judging from the architectural structure, this is a normal modern city."

The M4A4E13 was advancing.

Although it didn't drive that fast, it was at least much more stable than the hellcat or even the wheeled combat vehicles, wasn't it?

Puma wheeled reconnaissance vehicles led the way and scouted ahead, while Yellow Chickens armed with weapons conducted in-depth reconnaissance within the city.

The Meta Ship Girls had already scouted the outskirts of the city in advance, so they could head straight for the core area this time.

Li Ming leaned against the Commander's cupola of the Sherman tank, while Béarn leaned against the driver's hatch on the tank's turret.

"...So, my Dark Witch, could you tell me where Miss Dark Realm has run off to?"

The already wide tank hull looked even broader after being fitted with slat armor and recoilless rifles; at the very least, it could no longer pass through some narrow spaces.

"Oh? Commander, obtaining knowledge from the Dark Witch requires an equivalent price, you know?"

"...So, what is it you want to know?"

"Hmm..." Béarn looked up, her silver-gray short hair swaying slightly under the influence of gravity. Her left eye's lens and right eye's black pupil gazed at Li Ming. "How about giving me some new clues about the Secret Council?"

"Uh..."

"In plain English, she wants to know more about you," Logic prompted in the headset.

How cheesy, Li Ming thought to himself.

"What aspect do you want to know about?" He smiled.

"Um..." Béarn hadn't expected her Commander to actually play along, and she quickly averted her gaze. "Any clue will do."

Li Ming pondered for a moment. "Actually, when I was younger, I liked small ones too; it's not like I only like big ones."

As he spoke, Li Ming looked at Béarn's figure.

She wore a black backless dress. Although her figure wasn't bad, it still had that slender girlhood feel to it, which... simply couldn't compare to someone like Glorious.

"Wha—wha?!"

Composure broken.

Béarn... or rather, Béarn Meta, nervously swung her large sleeves. It was worth noting that her large black sleeves extended from below her shoulders to beyond her hands, but they weren't attached to her clothes.

Is this Ship Girl technology? Even the clothes are so... uh, high-tech.

"By the way, the way you look right now is quite captivating."

Normally, Li Ming wouldn't have done this; after all, getting hit actually hurts. But here, Li Ming wasn't even afraid of death, and his courage seemed to have grown significantly.

"Commander... that is truly a forbidden power..."

"Is it a foul? I don't think so." Li Ming leaned on the Commander's cupola with a chuckle. "You've already entered my port; do you still think you can run?"

"I am a witch, after all!..."

"Then you are my family's witch."

"Ugh..."

"Do you want to know anything else?"

"...Not anymore!"

"Then it's my turn..." Li Ming narrowed his eyes and suddenly stood up, half his body emerging from the hull before leaning forward. Taking her by surprise, he grabbed her directly under both armpits.

"Eek?!"

Before she had a chance to react, she had already been pulled into the tank by him.

"Commander?! Does this count as shameful forbidden knowledge?... At—at least do it somewhere where no one is around..."

"What are you thinking?" Li Ming tilted his head. "Oh—you think I'm going to do 'that' to you, right?"

"Guh... if we are to perform this kind of ritual, then please see it through to the end..." Béarn gave up resisting. She was a girl with max affection, after all; her thoughts were quite easy to guess.

"Hmm... Béarn has become quite bold as well..." someone whispered from the shadows.

"Dark Realm?!" Béarn's face turned pale. "When-when-when did you get back?"

"Just now. I saw you two interacting... so I didn't interrupt."

Li Ming let go and turned on the emergency light inside the tank. "What were you doing?"

"I scouted ahead a bit."

The dim yellow light illuminated Dark Realm Meta. The messenger of the underworld maintained her usual expressionless face, but Li Ming still reached out to pat her head, ignoring the scythe behind her that sent enemies to the afterlife.

"Mmm..."

Dark Realm pulled down her hood; at least at this moment, she wasn't the Reaper.

"Anyway..." Dark Realm organized her thoughts. "I didn't find any clear threats in the core area of the city, but that's only relative to us."

"You mean..."

"Automated anti-armor or anti-infantry weapons. I've already destroyed them in advance, but I'm not sure if there are any remnants left."

"I see."

The turret rotated slightly. Béarn and Dark Realm could see their Commander sitting in the Commander's seat, remaining motionless as the turret spun.

Feeling the rotation of the basket, Dark Realm looked at Béarn.

Béarn blushed and looked away.

Dark Realm sighed, even though she was more petite than Béarn.

In other words, she seemed to be on the Commander's hunting list as well?

Yes.

"Béarn, Dark Realm."

"Present."

"Commander?"

"You two get out of the tank first, lest an ammo rack explosion blows you both up in a bit."

"Yes."

"Ugh..."

The two of them climbed out of the turret hatch and watched the wide hull of the Sherman continue to advance.

Béarn deployed her rigging.

Several planes were launched by Béarn, maintaining an Alert from high altitude.

However, in the urban area, this Alert mode had limited effectiveness. Béarn jogged a few steps to keep up beside the tank, while Dark Realm faded into the shadows once more.

"Commander, the forward reconnaissance team reports that no biological remains or valuable items have been found in any of the peripheral areas, only building ruins and abandoned vehicles," Glorious's voice came through the headset.

Li Ming glanced through the Commander's sight at the buildings and abandoned vehicles lining the crack-riddled road. "Received. Salvage anything useful from the outskirts... I mean, the Nanocloud can digest the entire city, which will also help make up for the deficit from our previous base construction."

"Understood. I will arrange it."

"Right. So, Logic?"

"I hear you," Logic replied. "Nanocloud has been deployed."

"Next, Commander. The forward reconnaissance units have completed the general mapping of the city's core area. The relevant information has been uploaded to your terminal."

"Received."

Li Ming glanced at the terminal; there were several important buildings in the core area.

The City Library, the military barracks, and... the Lord's Manor?

The center of a modern city was actually a castle-like Lord's Manor? Interesting.

"Béarn, go check the library in a bit. Dark Realm and I will head to the military base. We'll meet up at the entrance of the Lord's Manor later."

"Yes."

"Understood, Commander."

...

...