277: Chapter 277 Lighting the Firewood

"Merry Christmas, Li Ming."

"Merry Christmas, Kuzna..." Li Ming murmured, "Let me sleep a little longer..."

"...Actually, you could let go of me and keep sleeping."

"No, I refuse."

On the eve of the Orthodox Christmas, Kuznetsov did not attend another event held by the headquarters, choosing instead to stay at home and spend it with Li Ming and Snai.

As for Ushakov...

She had run off to the venue to drink, so there was no need to worry about her for the time being.

In any case, on Christmas morning, Ushakov had still not returned; she was likely dead drunk at the venue and dragged away by Pamir.

Kuznetsov, who had only had a couple of drinks at home the previous night out of happiness, was not in such a sorry state; after all, it was Li Ming who was the mess.

He really hadn't expected Kuznetsov to actually be the one pushing drinks on him.

Using her good mood as an excuse, she coaxed Li Ming into drinking beer, and the kind with a reasonably high alcohol content at that.

What else could he do?

That night, the group went to sleep very late. Snai had been watching cartoons, but the other two adults were not doing the same.

Kuznetsov sat on the other side of the table, legs crossed, swirling a glass of red wine in one hand while resting her face on the other, watching Li Ming with narrowed eyes, looking to be in a very good mood.

Provoked by her gaze and her suddenly bold words, Li Ming had ended up drinking quite a bit.

And so, this morning, things turned out like this.

Snai fell asleep quickly, but it was a different story once Li Ming had thoughts on his mind.

The next morning, when Kuznetsov opened her eyes, the first thing she felt was Li Ming hugging her from behind. However, due to the alcohol the night before, she hadn't resisted at all; on the contrary, she had even hooked her legs around his.

"You little rascal..." Kuznetsov said helplessly, "I'm actually much older than you."

"But who was it that insisted I sleep in bed with her last night?"

"...Hmph, you're such a smooth talker."

Despite saying that, Kuznetsov didn't break free from his embrace. Instead, she pulled her legs back, turned around within his arms, and tangled herself with him face-to-face.

The sensation of her magnificent upper body made Li Ming freeze for a moment, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Then let's sleep a little longer. You've worked hard, Li Ming." She pressed his head into her chest, her gray-blue eyes watching his slightly overgrown short hair, and reached out to ruffle it.

"But remember to wash your hair properly later; don't just rinse it with water and call it a day."

"I'll try next time."

"Hmph, you little brat..."

Kuznetsov let out a soft huff and closed her eyes.

His breathing and the strange sensation made her cheeks flush, but she found herself unexpectedly enjoying the feeling.

...After all, this kid wasn't that old; he had barely just reached adulthood.

Closing her eyes to doze for a bit longer, Kuznetsov used her Ship Girl night vision to check the time.

It was about time.

"Alright, time to get up." She pushed Li Ming's head away, "Snai is about to wake up. Just imagine what she'd think if she saw us like this."

"Nope..."

"Then what do you intend to do?"

"I want a Christmas present." Li Ming said, half-closing his eyes.

"Hmm?" Kuznetsov raised an eyebrow, "What kind of Christmas present are you planning to ask me for?"

"Call me Commander."

"Commander..." Kuznetsov recalled that in Li Ming's world, the position of Commander was...

"Li Ming, you little brat, do you want to monopolize me that much?"

"If I said yes, would you agree?"

Li Ming put on an expression that said, "If you don't agree, I'm not getting up," leaving Kuznetsov feeling helpless.

She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Товарищ Офицер... Is that enough now?"

"Mmhmm~"

Li Ming let go of her, sat up, turned around, and placed both hands on either side of Kuznetsov's pillow, looking down at her from above.

"Hey? What are you planning to do?"

Li Ming leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.

"Mmph?!"

After a moment, Li Ming lifted his head, turned, and rolled out of bed, "Just collecting a little interest, what's wrong with that?"

"Tch, you pushy jerk." Kuznetsov glared at him, "Hurry up and go make breakfast, hmph."

She pulled her face into the quilt to hide her burning red cheeks.

This guy, he actually did it?! Where did he get the nerve...

"Kuzna..." Snai blinked, looking at him.

"Snai?!" Kuznetsov was startled, turning her head to look at the little one who had woken up without her knowing, "When did you wake up?"

"Just now... when Kuzna and Li Ming's faces were together."

"...Wuwu..." Kuznetsov completely retreated into the quilt, playing the ostrich, "Snai, please forget what just happened..."

Snai tilted her head and slowly produced a "?"...

And Kuznetsov looked as if she were already considering the prospect of scuttling herself...

——————

"Then I'll leave this place to you."

Glorious Meta smoothed her hair and looked at the new supervisor of the Carpathian Mountains base.

Ivory gray hair and golden eyes, a peculiar maid outfit, and a rather vintage-looking handgun.

Sheffield Meta looked expressionlessly at the rose on this high tower, "I will take care of this place, Ms. Glorious."

"That is good." Glorious turned and vanished into the darkness. After confirming the Commander's safety, the work focus of the Meta Ship Girls who were still in contact with Helena shifted to completing the Commander's instructions.

...Though Li Ming's "instructions" were more akin to requests.

Sheffield turned her head to look at the console. The view from this place was quite good, with multiple holographic screens displaying precise data information within the base, as well as a shared intelligence panel...

Latest news: 1

"...Ah."

Sheffield opened the pop-up screen.

It was a message from Mercury.

"So he was in this place."

Sheffield pulled up the list of worlds where anchor points had already been established, "Then I cannot leave him be."

She was not like Glorious, expecting her Commander to show initiative.

A maid's mission is to clear every pest from in front of her master, and now...

"The probability of accidental Meta research generation has exceeded the warning red line..." Sheffield Meta read this sentence silently, "Ms. Logic."

"I am here, Miss Sheffield." The local Logic terminal responded immediately.

"Please organize the combat personnel within the base, put the base into Level 2 combat readiness, and apply to the The Governing Body for cross-world combat... Of course, even if it doesn't allow it, I will still go."

"The The Governing Body has authorized it. When the threat threshold is reached, you are permitted to dispatch armed intervention."

...

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