41: Chapter 41 Dolls

Li Ming sat on Fujian's rigging as they approached the island.

He couldn't just leave it alone; no matter who it was, he had to take a look to find out.

As for why he was going personally again, it was naturally because of his absolute confidence in Hu Jian. Just look at this massive aircraft carrier; why don't you try attacking it?

And so, a Ship Girl who had been called out to work and her boss, the Commander, stepped onto the island to inspect the unidentified target on the beach.

"This child looks to be only in her teens..." Li Ming adjusted his glasses, looking closely at the child. And that equipment... it looked like... a tank?

"Dolls?" Li Ming thought of a certain other game.

"What are Dolls, Commander?" Fujian asked as she drew her bow.

"Tank and plane girls, just like you are a Ship Girl, though there are some fundamental differences?" Li Ming thought for a moment as he cautiously approached.

She seemed to have fainted. For some unknown reason, she was leaning against her seemingly flimsy equipment.

She had milky white short hair, a pair of green goggles, and a red cat-ear hairclip with a gray frame. She wore a sleeveless dark gray shirt paired with a short skirt—or were they shorts? Her long black gloves had red fluorescent patterns, giving them a very high-tech look. Her dark gray stockings and black mid-calf boots didn't seem particularly special; if anything, they were quite small.

However, the only jarring elements were the umbrella hanging next to the equipment and an orange-red blade resembling a Ship-Slaying Sword.

Looking at her equipment again...

The equipment was mainly divided into four parts connected by a connector on her back into a single unit. The tracks on the lower left and right sides appeared adjustable, likely allowing her to choose between walking and moving on tracks. Above that were two halves of what looked like a split turret, with the gun barrel on the left side. The long barrel looked impressive... but Li Ming had never seen this overall configuration before.

And this turret configuration... wedge-shaped?

Li Ming's mind raced through various main battle tanks worldwide that used this design, but this configuration was clearly...

A Leopard 2, specifically the A5 and later models.

"Fujian, do you think this is an L44 or an L55?" Li Ming pointed at the gun barrel, but his gaze remained on the girl herself.

"Neither. It looks more like... a 128mm/L55."

"A 128mm gun? Huh?" Although that was indeed a German caliber, the real Leopard 2 clearly used a 120mm gun.

"Then she is...?"

"She has a Wisdom Cube reaction, but my intuition says... she's a human?"

"Huh? You mean..." Li Ming turned to look at Fujian, then turned back under her affirming gaze.

How could a Wisdom Cube be used by a human? You've got to be joking...

Tsk, tsk. Li Ming calmed down and looked at the child again—she still hadn't woken up.

Also, was that behind her... a fox tail? So those weren't cat-ear hair accessories, but fox ears?

Scratching his head, Li Ming finally decided to approach.

"...?"

She suddenly opened her eyes and met Li Ming's gaze.

Li Ming froze in place, while Fujian immediately drew her bow.

"..." She didn't move, only looking at him.

Li Ming finally reacted. "Hello?"

"Hello, Sir," she replied.

"Sir? Me?" Li Ming asked in confusion, pulling back his hand.

"Yes, Sir. Your image is very clear in my database. Please issue your orders, Sir," she continued to reply.

"Uh... hello, my name is Lin Yuming." Li Ming scratched his head while gesturing for Fujian to lower her bow.

"Yes, Sir. Your name has been recorded." Her tone remained flat.

Li Ming felt a bit at a loss.

"Why do you call me Sir?"

"Sir is Sir. Your record in my database is very clear."

"Who gave you that record..."

"Querying... Unknown." For the first time, a look of confusion crossed her face, but it was gone in a flash.

"Never mind then." Li Ming shook his head and leaned down to meet her gaze. "What is your name?"

"A6," she replied.

Leopard 2A6?

"Alright then, A6. Do you want to come with us?" Li Ming reached out his hand.

A6 looked at him with a hint of human-like confusion, her gaze scanning him several times.

Then, she looked at Li Ming.

"Sir, it seems you haven't established authority over me?"

Authority? Li Ming scratched his head.

He didn't withdraw his hand; instead, he placed it on her head and patted it. Fujian was startled and instinctively wanted to stop him, but she noticed that A6 had frozen in place.

"What's all this about authority?" Li Ming said helplessly. "I just want to ask, are you willing to come back with us?"

A6's mouth hung slightly open, her gaze a bit vacant.

"...Affirmative. Remaining here long-term results in a survival rate below 0.3%. Question: Long-term maintenance of the unit requires significant equipment and technical costs. Has the Sir considered the maintenance issue?"

"Maintenance?" Li Ming tilted his head. "What do you need? It's fate that we met. Since I'm taking you back, I'll take care of you no matter what."

"Negative. This does not align with tactical logic or strategic value. Proactively assuming the immense maintenance costs of a weapon with unknown strategic strength is contrary to conventional thinking."

"It's not normal to just leave a cute little girl alone!" Li Ming rubbed her head vigorously, causing her to freeze up again.

"...Thank you for your generosity." A6 gradually came back to her senses, or perhaps it was just because Li Ming had moved his hand away.

Fujian fell into thought, while Li Ming reached out his hand again.

Are you willing? That was the question before A6.

A hint of confusion appeared in her vacant eyes. Li Ming wasn't in a hurry for an answer; he just stood there, looking at her with his own somewhat vacant eyes behind his glasses.

She hesitantly reached out and placed her hand on Li Ming's.

This hand was very rough. (Her hand is so delicate!)

She felt Li Ming's hand, then noticed a small boat being lowered from the ship behind him and Fujian.

With a click, she stepped down from her equipment and took a step forward so he wouldn't have to stay bent over, then gently withdrew her hand.

"Sir, what is the next objective? I will clear a path for you."

"Why do you keep saying such strange things? We're going home, of course!" Li Ming pinched her cheeks. "Just come along. As long as you don't hurt yourself or others, and don't go running into dangerous places on your own, that's enough."

She seemed even more confused, appearing to think about how she should respond to Li Ming's words.

Fujian was lost in thought, but she only watched and said nothing.

...

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