258: Chapter 258 Gradually Fading Away

"About how much did she drink?"

Li Ming asked as he picked up the drunken Ushakov in a princess carry.

"Um... roughly... 8 bottles of vodka, 2 bottles of brandy, 5 bottles of wine, 4 bottles of stout, and a bottle of Spirytus." Despite her shock at the tank support vehicle outside the door, Pamir answered Li Ming's question very seriously (using the bill), "And she hasn't paid yet."

"..." Li Ming's forehead was covered in black lines. "The money I have belongs to the Marshal; I don't quite dare to use it."

"Then just keep adding it to Ushakov's tab," Pamir said with a shrug. "She always forgets to pay."

"...How much does she owe?"

"One hundred and nine thousand, three hundred and twenty-four rubles..."

"How much?"

That's freaking ten thousand red bills! Li Ming had never seen so much money in his life!

"She couldn't possibly be..."

"She has the money." Pamir shook her head. "The retirement settlement given by the higher-ups, combined with her allowance, is more than ten million rubles. She can afford this bit of money; she's just... in a bad mood."

"In a bad mood..." Li Ming shook his head.

"Mmh...?" Ushakov squirmed in his arms, coughed twice, and then tore open the buttons of her jacket.

Li Ming quickly averted his gaze and looked at Pamir.

She stepped forward to help straighten Ushakov's clothes, then patted Li Ming on the shoulder. "I heard about your situation from Ushakov... She let it slip while drunk, so don't take it too much to heart."

"It's fine." Li Ming shook his head. "Her personality is actually quite nice."

Pamir froze for a moment, then gave a bitter smile. "Thank you, sir. If possible, before you leave... help me look after her... and the Marshal, okay?"

——————

Li Ming settled her into the commander's seat and merged his consciousness with the vehicle. Then, the tank support vehicle started up again and began the journey back.

The tab was wiped clean by Pamir; the brown-haired girl had exchanged over ten thousand in debt for a single promise.

Was it worth it?

He would have to leave eventually and couldn't take care of them for long, unless...

Take them with him?

As soon as this thought appeared, Li Ming startled himself.

His phone was placed next to the observation and sighting system. Logic took over the power system to begin auto-cruise, while Li Ming detached his consciousness from the vehicle itself and sat in the gunner's seat.

She had torn her clothes open again, and this time even the buttons were ripped off, making it impossible to fix.

She leaned against the commander's seat all crooked, bouncing along with the swaying of the hull.

Large patches of fair skin were directly in Li Ming's line of sight, but Li Ming chose silence, taking off his coat and covering her with it.

He took off her white beret and set it aside.

She subconsciously reached out to rub her head, then fell back into a deep sleep.

Almost there.

Li Ming glanced at the navigation and then observed the outside.

It was still a blizzard, and everything was silent except for the sound of the engine.

A formally dressed Ship Girl walked by the roadside, casting a wary look at the tank support vehicle.

"That is Peter the Great..." Logic said, then returned to silence.

She didn't seem to make any move, just continued walking forward, and Li Ming soon lost sight of her.

The tank support vehicle drove into the courtyard. Li Ming pulled Ushakov into his arms, and every part of the BMPT transformed into liquid metal, merging into his body before disappearing.

He picked her up again and walked toward the front door.

The cold wind made him shiver, and he almost froze stiff on the last stretch of the path.

—Of course, that was just a joke. Li Ming opened the door and ducked inside, shutting the cold wind out.

"I'm back!"

He placed Ushakov on the sofa, wrapped her up like a zongzi with Kuznetsov's blanket, and then carried her upstairs right under Kuznetsov's nose to toss her into a room.

Returning downstairs, Li Ming looked at the Marshal, who was sitting amidst a pile of documents.

"I put her in your room."

"Mm." She nodded to show she understood, then seemed to think of something and looked up again. "...Next time, remember not to drive that piece of junk of yours into my yard. It's noisy as hell."

"Next time, maybe not."

Clearly, she didn't catch the slang; she just lowered her head again to flip through the documents.

Li Ming went to tidy up the dishes.

"...Are you not going to eat a bit more?" Kuznetsov asked.

"No need... I'll be making lunch in a bit."

"...Two meals a day is actually enough for me."

"Oh?" Li Ming shifted himself behind her and stared intensely at her back.

"..." The Marshal's shoulders slumped. "Fine, fine, I get it... You really are a little brat."

Li Ming shifted back.

"Oh, right..." She suddenly remembered something and saw the unused kitten cooling patches and the cat-ear headband under the TV. "Li Ming, put those cat ears and the cooling patch on Usha."

Li Ming gave her a strange look. "Wait a moment."

To be fair, he thought this would be quite amusing.

"Alright, go do it quickly. I have something to ask you in a bit..." Kuznetsov waved him off. "Remember to take a photo for me."

"Understood, Ma'am."

——————

The world is flat, but that doesn't mean everything is fair.

Everyone remembers seventy years of glory, but who knows of thirty years of bitter cold?

Ushakov was certain she had drunk herself into unconsciousness; after all, she was definitely dreaming.

After all, the trouble with her power system had never been fixed. Besides, how could Kuznetsov possibly run this fast...

The flag of the Northern Union fluttered over the docks, but Ushakov remembered clearly that she had only awakened after that sacred Union had dissolved.

Is this a case of 'thinking by day, dreaming by night'? (Laughs)

Besides, she couldn't even move in this hallucination, so how could it be real...

She was definitely dreaming again, but to dream like this, she was probably about to go see Ilyich...

In her daze, she seemed to see a standing figure in the crowd...

Then, she saw a giant hand appear in the sky, falling straight toward her and the crowd.

"Comrade Ilyich, watch out—" she shouted instinctively, and then her face slapped right into Li Ming's palm, which was holding a cooling patch.

"What do you mean? What Ilyich?"

Li Ming stuck the cooling patch on her forehead and then picked up the headband. "What, planning to start a revolution with Comrade Ilyich?"

"...Eh?"

She broke free from the blanket restraining her and sat up. "So it really was a dream..."

Li Ming quietly put the cat-ear headband on her as well. "I can tell. I ruined your beautiful dream."

"Ah, ah, Li Ming..." She seemed to finally realize what was happening and looked at Li Ming, then immediately averted her eyes.

Her fair face was even redder than when she was drunk; it looked like steam was about to rise from it.

"What's wrong?"

"Hey... please forget how I looked just now..."

She shrank back into the blanket, leaving only her short blue hair and a tuft of ahoge twitching on top of her head.

Is she shy? Li Ming tilted his head.

...

...