36: Chapter 36 Commander and Ship Girls

Li Ming straightened his uniform and waited on the Bridge for the other party to arrive.

Holding his binoculars, he watched as an officer and a Ship Girl on the water's surface seemed to be arguing about something. Finally, as if resigned to her fate, the Ship Girl deployed her rigging.

Then, the officer took a forceful leap, jumping toward the Ship Girl...

His stomach slammed into the rigging, and Li Ming thought he heard a faint wail of pain.

Immediately after, he continued to fall. Although the Ship Girl instinctively tried to catch him, she only managed to grab his ankle. He still hit the water with a splash before being quickly pulled up by the Ship Girl, swung in a half-circle through the air, and having his stomach slam heavily into her shoulder once more.

Li Ming had once undergone combat training with Fujian. Even though Fujian had held back significantly, Li Ming knew exactly how hard those shoulders were.

Seeing the officer's face twisted in pain, he sent for a Military Doctor Qiu, telling it to prepare a medical kit and bring it to the command ship's reception room.

He then saw them approaching. Li Ming quickly descended from the Bridge and arrived on the deck. Although the storm was nearly over, the lingering elements still carried strong winds and thin strands of rain.

I hope they don't catch a cold, Li Ming thought mischievously. Though if they catch a cold, I'll probably be next.

About ten minutes later, they had closed in on the cruiser. Leaning against the railing, Li Ming slowly waved to them, identifying himself.

The Ship Girl was a blonde-haired girl wearing a relatively conservative military dress uniform similar to Fujian's, though her nationality was indistinguishable. The officer, meanwhile, wore a standard wartime white naval uniform, which stood in stark contrast to Li Ming's solemn attire.

With a leap, the Ship Girl jumped onto the cruiser's deck and set the officer down.

The young, brown-haired officer clutched his stomach and leaned against the railing, groaning for quite a while before finally speaking slowly:

"Olena, remember for next time... handle with care..."

"You were the one who jumped the wrong way!" the Ship Girl complained. She then stepped forward and extended her hand to Li Ming. "Greetings, Officer. I am Olena, an Apprentice Knight of the Federation Navy's Osterwick Maritime Knights."

"Hello, Ma'am." Li Ming reached out and shook her hand. "I am Lin Yuming, an ordinary Captain."

"As for this gentleman..." Li Ming looked toward the officer. "Are you alright? Do you need medical assistance?"

Li Ming instantly felt a resentful glare from the Ship Girl and instinctively pulled back his neck. However, the officer waved at him, struggled to stand up while clutching his stomach, and said, "I'm fine, sir..."

He stepped forward and shook Li Ming's hand. "Hello, Captain... Lin?"

"Captain Lin," Olena corrected.

"Right, right. Captain Lin, hello. I am Finn Hawke, a First-year Student at the Federation Navy's Osterwick Maritime Academy. We are on a mission to rescue a missing cruise ship."

"Oh, I understand. It's windy out here; please follow me inside."

The three arrived at the reception room, where the heating had already been turned on. Li Ming had also had a Yellow Chicken place some non-descript Sailor Shirts on the table for them to change into. After personally bringing them a water flask (cups would spill), he temporarily left the room to give them some space. He also needed to change his own clothes, as the rain outside had been quite heavy.

Taking off his overcoat, Li Ming looked at his casual clothes and fell silent for a moment. He immediately went back to the captain's quarters to change into his military dress uniform; otherwise, it would seem too impolite.

The dress uniform had also been prepared by Fujian, with all identifiers removed. She really is thoughtful, Li Ming thought to himself.

After waiting about fifteen minutes, during which Li Ming calculated what to ask, how to introduce himself, and what questions the other party might have, he knocked gently and pushed open the door to the reception room.

The Ship Girl was still in her dress uniform, but it seemed Comrade Finn had changed into the Sailor Shirt. His soaked and salt-crusted clothes were nowhere to be seen—perhaps the Ship Girl had put them away?

"It seems you both are feeling better," Li Ming said, sitting down across from them. "Three hours ago, our fleet discovered your cruise ship, the Holmes, in this area. Out of humanitarian concern, we left two Destroyers to escort it. If you wish to take the ship, we will, of course, release it immediately."

Li Ming paused. "However, since we are still strangers to each other, on behalf of my entire fleet, I hope to understand a few things."

Finn was about to speak but was glared back into silence by the Ship Girl.

The Ship Girl's sky-blue eyes stared directly at Li Ming, but Li Ming naturally looked between the two of them, appearing as if he were deep in thought.

"Captain Lin, may I ask if the passengers on the cruise ship are safe?" she inquired.

"Passengers?" Li Ming thought for a moment. "According to the reports from the Destroyers, the Holmes hasn't had any incidents like people falling overboard since encountering us. As for the interior of the ship, we do not intend to interfere—especially since they weren't very friendly when they saw me."

"Then, Captain Lin, I hope to board and inspect the condition of the ship," Olena said immediately.

Li Ming nodded in agreement. Olena then stood up, declining Li Ming's offer to see her out, while giving Finn a warning look.

Finn instinctively shrank his neck and gave a slight nod.

As the door closed, Li Ming sat back down.

He glanced at the tablet he had placed in the corner. The surveillance showed that she had indeed gone straight outside, so he nodded.

Finn looked a bit nervous, but he was clearly relieved.

"Relax, friend. We look to be about the same age."

—Though he said that, Li Ming could sense that Finn was likely already in his twenties.

"Let me give a brief introduction, otherwise I'll seem insincere. After setting out, I lost contact with the rear and didn't know how to return, so we could only keep moving forward until we ran into you," Li Ming said. It was a half-truth, but it was indeed the journey he had taken.

Where would a student like Finn have ever heard of such a legendary experience?

"By the God of War... it's a miracle you've survived until now!" he exclaimed. "Captain Lin, what are your plans next?"

"Ours?" Li Ming thought for a bit. "To explore this world. I'm quite interested in your Federation. Is the God of War your faith?"

"He's one of the deities we believe in," Finn said, scratching his head. "I mean, for you to be able to carve a bloody path through the Sirens is truly impressive."

Li Ming smiled and offered no further explanation.

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