271: Chapter 271 Noise

"Alright, little ones..."

The BMPT stopped, and Li Ming climbed out of the driver's cabin. "It's about time. If you keep going, your big sister Pamir is going to get angry..."

By the roadside, Pamir stood with her hands on her hips, watching a group of little Ship Girls sitting on the tank, delivering snowballs to every window along the street. Her dark aura seemed almost tangible.

"Eek..."

"Oh no..."

The little Ship Girls quickly jumped off the vehicle and fled toward the dormitory building, escaping the clutches of the great demon king.

"Come back and play next time!"

"Goodbye, Li Ming and Snai!"

"Happy New Year—"

Li Ming shook his head and looked at Snai, who had started to doze off.

"Are you sleepy, Snai?"

"Huu..." She rubbed her eyes and sat on the turret.

"Well, Commander Li Ming, I'll be heading off now too!" Pamir waved at him and then turned to leave.

The lively hall had cleared out, and Peter was waiting for him at the entrance.

After stuffing Snai into the vehicle, Li Ming jumped down and walked over.

"Madam Commander, is there anything else?"

"No." Peter shook her head. She looked like she had drunk quite a bit today; her face was a little flushed, but she was still sober. "Are you really confident that you can take good care of her?"

"Healing her will take time, but ensuring the problem doesn't worsen is not an issue at all."

"...You know that's not what I'm asking. Li Ming, answer me."

"Then do you have a better solution?" Li Ming raised an eyebrow, his coat fluttering back in the wind and snow. "Do you intend to let her just rot in the snow like this? Honestly, I can't just watch that happen."

"Do you know what she said to me just now?"

"That is your private business."

"You..."

Peter took a deep breath, her eyes turning cold. "Do you think this is just your own personal business?"

"It has never been just my business, has it?" Li Ming spread his hands. "But what have you done? Wasn't there a loud call to send her to Eastern Radiance for deep treatment back then? What happened in the end? What have you done all these years? I haven't seen anything."

"..."

Peter closed her eyes. That's right, what had she actually done all these years?

She had tried every possible method, but it always came down to a lack of funds or insufficient technology.

But that didn't mean that she... or the entire Northern Fleet, hadn't tried over the years...

"Li Ming, do you think you're the only one worried about her?" Peter opened her eyes again, her aura pressing down on Li Ming. "Do you know how much effort we've put in over the years? By what right can you dismiss it all with a single sentence?"

"I have no intention of denying the effort you've made." Li Ming stepped forward, looking her straight in the eyes. "And I don't intend to deny your concern. I've heard your question, and my answer remains the same as before. Her coming with me is better than rotting in this godforsaken snow."

Then Li Ming brushed past her and walked toward the hall.

Peter the Great lowered her head, her mind replaying the words of the Eastern Radiance young man who was half a head shorter than her, as well as the... disdain, more or less, in his eyes.

"So... everything I've done was useless, is that it?"

The drunken muttering of Ushakov and the sound of conversation between Kuznetsov and Li Ming drifted from the hall, but Peter the Great no longer had the heart to listen.

She walked toward her room in a daze.

No, it hasn't reached the end yet... Hope still remains...

If that technology can be implemented...

Her footsteps became a bit firmer; some things required her personal oversight. She would not give up the hope of a cure.

Turning her head, she looked at the fire support vehicle by the roadside.

It was very unconventional. Several pieces of explosive reactive armor on the glacis were missing, and the paint job was a bit battered, but there it was, parked right there.

The little one who looked so much like the Marshal was dozing on the hatch, looking quite cute.

"But..."

Perhaps he was right, but she was still the flagship of the Russian Federation's Northern Fleet.

The interests of Mother Rus were above all else...

——————

The BMPT set off on the return journey.

Ushakov had fallen asleep, reeking of alcohol again, and Kuznetsov had also been drinking, her face flushed with a hint of red.

It seemed Snai didn't like that smell, so she didn't lean against them, but instead climbed outside the vehicle to catch some breeze.

Unexpectedly, she really wasn't afraid of the cold; the wind whipping against her slender frame didn't cause her any discomfort.

Li Ming poked his head out of the driver's cabin to drive like this. The cold wind whipped across Li Ming's face, keeping him sober and preventing him from getting drunk from the strong smell of alcohol.

Li Ming had noticed since he was playing with them earlier that there were faint, lingering gazes from the surrounding houses. Combined with the fact that Logic had discovered a few extra surveillance devices around Kuznetsov's house a few days ago, Li Ming knew someone was targeting him... or even Snai.

"Snai..."

"Huhu?"

"Do you want to come with me?"

"Hu...?"

It seemed she fell into thought, then nodded.

Was this her... master? She didn't know how to describe it.

"Then do you want them to come with us too?"

"Mm-mm!"

"Is that so?..." Li Ming nodded gently.

——————

"Heave-ho..."

Li Ming and Snai used all their might to move the dead-drunk Ushakov onto the bed.

"Snai, it's time for a bath," Li Ming said. "I'm going down to turn on the hot water."

Snai floated slowly downstairs, tilting her head to look at him.

"I'll do it, Li Ming." Kuznetsov patted his shoulder. "Thanks for your hard work. As for helping her bathe... I'll handle it."

"Are you sure that's okay?" Li Ming was a bit worried.

"I'm not that delicate, Suka..." Kuznetsov kicked him in dissatisfaction. "You little brat, go turn on the water!"

"Alright, alright..."

After a while, Kuznetsov relayed a new piece of information: Snai didn't like things that were too hot (except for food and drink).

It took a great deal of effort to convince Snai to bathe together, and only then did Kuznetsov settle down, to the point where she nearly fell asleep in the bathtub.

As for Li Ming...

He put his clothes back on and left the house.

The surveillance system had already been controlled by Logic, and the people watching from the surroundings...

Mercury stepped out of the shadows. "Tsk, I have to step in for such a minor annoyance..."

"Thank you for your hard work, my respected Lady Mercury..."

"Stop, stop, stop. Get to the point." Mercury quickly stopped Li Ming's flattery.

"...Alright then, ahem." Li Ming knew when to stop. "Mercury, I hope you can confirm that we can take others with us when we leave."

"No problem. And then?"

"Can you tell me who is in charge of the Russian Federation's Meta technology?"

"It's Peter the Great."

"I knew it... tsk..."

"What?" Mercury raised an eyebrow. "Did she upset you?"

"Not really..." Li Ming looked at Mercury. "Do you know where their research facility is?"

...