273: Chapter 273 Mental Disorder

"Huh? Fever? Are you sure? ... Fine, fine, what a pain. I'll keep an eye on him for you, happy now? ... What are you afraid of? I am the great Mercury, that's enough, I'm hanging up."

Click, the call ended.

"Tsk, humans..."

——————

Li Ming had a fever, and this was no small matter.

Kuznetsov suddenly realized that he really was just an ordinary human.

Exercising intensely in the freezing cold and then being exposed to the wind for so long—a normal person would have collapsed long ago, but Li Ming had persisted until now.

Although he kept insisting he was fine, his complexion, which kept alternating between red and white, and his hoarse voice could not be faked.

There was no other way; Kuznetsov had to kick Ushakov out of bed.

"Huh?"

Ushakov, who had just woken up, was still dazed, but seeing Li Ming looking so frail gave her a fright. She scrambled up and went to boil hot water—she at least remembered that hot water was somewhat useful.

And a cooling patch... The problem was, where would they find a cooling patch at home? Please, this was a Ship Girl's home...

In desperation, Ushakov called Pamir to ask for help...

She must not have been fully awake; her phone was turned off.

This was a disaster.

Ushakov had no choice but to hurriedly get dressed and prepare to go out to see if the nearest pharmacy was open.

Then, the moment she opened the door, she saw that black figure in the polar night.

"You..." Ushakov instinctively stepped back, watching the other person vigilantly.

This was right at their doorstep; they couldn't fight here...

"Hmph, it seems your Commander-in-Chief didn't listen." Mercury Memorial Meta said.

"That has nothing to do with you." Ushakov drew her pistol and aimed it at the other person's head.

"You don't think this is just your business, do you?" Mercury sneered, "Catch."

She threw over a bag.

Ushakov caught it with one hand, and then saw her vanish into the darkness.

Inside the bag was medicine.

"This is..." Ushakov paused, her expression becoming complex.

But there was no time to lose; Ushakov turned back, closed the door, and went to deliver the medicine.

"Huu... hu..."

Snai had already woken up and was kneeling on the bed, holding Li Ming's hand with a worried look. It was hard to tell if she was truly worried about him or worried about losing her meal ticket (not really).

"Alright, Snai, it's okay."

Kuznetsov took the thermometer gun and checked the temperature: 38.9.

His body temperature was starting to rise.

Seeing Ushakov come up with the bag, Kuznetsov was a bit surprised, "Wu Sha, so fast..."

"The situation is a bit complicated, I'll explain later..."

Kuznetsov nodded slightly, then lightly flicked Snai's forehead, "Snai, why don't you go play outside with Wu Sha for a bit?"

"Purr..."

Although she wasn't very willing, Snai still followed Ushakov outside.

Despite having many questions in her heart, Ushakov gently closed the door, giving Li Ming, who was still somewhat conscious, a look full of questions.

Opening the bag, she took out the cooling patch and applied it to Li Ming's head.

Seeing Li Ming staring at her, Kuznetsov raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

"Kuzna..."

Li Ming propped himself up and shook his head.

"Li Ming? Is there something you want to say?"

"...Cough, how much do you know about Meta Technology?"

Kuznetsov paused, "Why ask about that?"

"Just... asking..."

She hesitated for a moment, "I'm not very clear on it; I've only heard the name from Peter."

Li Ming collapsed back down; he seemed to take a deep breath.

"Don't touch that stuff..." he whispered.

"What?"

"Don't touch Meta... It's a major, uncontrollable source of threat..."

"Ah..." Kuznetsov hadn't expected him to say such things, and more importantly...

She poured out the medicine, picked up a glass of water, and helped him take it.

"I understand. Rest for a while longer."

"Mm..."

Li Ming closed his eyes, not knowing if he would be able to fall asleep.

Kuznetsov quietly exited the room.

——————

"...So, in other words, this medicine just now was delivered by that person suspected to be Mercury?"

Kuznetsov sat on the sofa, looking at Ushakov.

Ushakov rubbed her hands uneasily, "That's right. At first, I didn't feel anything, but looking at it now, she and Li Ming must have quite a connection."

"So that's how it is; was your argument with Peter also because of her?"

"Yeah. She warned me not to touch Meta Technology." Ushakov looked out the still-dark window, "I'm not sure, but... she is very strong. I can't gauge her strength."

"Have you had contact with our Mercury?"

"I've met Teacher Mercury before. I was chatting with Comrade Aurora yesterday, and Teacher Mercury is still in Saint Petersburg; she hasn't left." Ushakov replied, "Although she is no longer on active duty, she doesn't give me that eerie sense of danger at all, nor does she appear suddenly... or disappear suddenly."

Kuznetsov nodded.

"What do you think of this guy, Li Ming?"

"He..." Ushakov was silent for a moment, "Honestly, he gave me a feeling... that I've never felt before."

"Be more specific?"

"Kuzna..." Ushakov looked at her, "Earlier, while you were talking to Peter, Li Ming told me something that I think you need to know."

"What is it?"

"He said he intends to take me away from this world, to his side."

"..." Kuznetsov's pupils constricted, a rare occurrence, "I see. Is there anything else?"

"Kuzna, you should consider it too." Ushakov said, "You know his temper; he won't leave you in this place."

Kuznetsov closed her eyes; she seemed to understand why he hadn't told her about these things.

It's just that...

"Kuzna..." Snai swung her legs uneasily.

"Ah... Snai, what's wrong?"

"Go together."

Snai's eyes, which were extremely similar to Kuznetsov's, looked at her.

"Mm..."

"Look, now Snai and I are on a united front." Ushakov suddenly laughed, "Kuzna, you might as well just give in to us."

Kuznetsov rolled her eyes at her, "We'll see. Regardless, it's not the time yet."

"See, you're hesitating again."

"Aren't you?" Kuznetsov held her forehead, "Anyway, let's solve the current problem first... Ushakov, go check Li Ming's temperature."

"Oh, okay." Ushakov went upstairs happily.

Kuznetsov beckoned Snai over, "Snai is starting to learn how to speak, that's very good..."

Snai always seemed to be very happy.

"Kuzna... happy." Snai pinched Kuznetsov's cheek, "Go together."

Kuznetsov stiffened for a moment, then revealed a helpless smile.

"Kuzna." Ushakov came down from the second floor, "It's 39.6 degrees Celsius... but he is sweating, so it shouldn't be a big problem."

"That's good... just keep observing him." Kuznetsov turned back to look at her.

"But... I confirmed one thing. The full name of that person I met before is... Mercury Memorial Meta."

...

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