49: Chapter 49 On the Journey

"Good morning, A6."

Headpat.

A6 silently straightened her hairclip. "Objection. Meaning unclear."

It was now two days later. Several Molecular Assemblers had been loaded onto the ships, along with a large amount of construction materials.

By the way, Li Ming did not lack small transport ships. As for where the transport ships came from?

Although the base's R&D investment was focused most on aerial weaponry, the largest industrial investment was actually in the Navy. 'Ten years for the Army, a hundred years for the Navy' was no joke. If Li Ming wanted to catch up, he had to invest the vast majority of his industrial capacity into the Navy.

The twenty-four 4,000-ton transport ships were orders squeezed in before the construction of the Omaha-class. They were originally intended for transporting Yellow Chickens and some construction materials during regional deployments to build forward air bases, but now they were perfect for transporting industrial equipment.

"Question: Is the superior officer preparing to leave the station?"

"Ah, yes. I plan to go check out the new Industrial Island." Li Ming thought for a moment. "That island's main task will be expanding the shipbuilding business. I think it might come in handy later—this way, the current Industrial Island can reduce its production pressure and devote its capacity to other areas."

"Query: According to Miss Z23's 'Commander's Health and Safety Protocol,' you must be cared for at all times during your recovery period."

"Then, can you do it?"

"Query..." She froze.

Li Ming laughed heartily. "Then it's settled!"

"Objection!"

She gave no reason; she just objected.

——————

Fujian and Z23 eventually agreed. Although they were very uneasy, they agreed to give A6 a chance at Li Ming's insistence.

However, before setting out to sea, Z23 pulled A6 aside and went over a long list of precautions. The core of it was: No staying up late! No heavy work! No strenuous physical labor! No exploring in the wild! No eating random things!

To this, A6 indicated she had recorded it all, and then she was pulled by Li Ming onto the newest Atlanta-class cruiser.

Compared to the Omaha-class, the Atlanta-class was slightly smaller, but it had better performance and good flexibility.

"A6, speaking of which, I've never seen you open fire before?" Li Ming suddenly thought of something.

"Response: No combat targets."

"That's not a problem. If I wanted to, could you perform a target practice for me?"

"...Affirmative. Please designate the target."

"Oh yeah, A6, you're the best!" Li Ming picked A6 up, making her stiffen for a moment. Then, as she watched Li Ming put her down and run into the Bridge, she didn't know how to evaluate the situation.

"Query: Meaning unclear..."

That being said, considering he wanted to see her shoot, she still needed to bring out the equipment from her storage room.

About thirty minutes later, a large target was set up at the stern of another Atlanta-class ship nearby, and A6 had already deployed her equipment, ready to fire.

Li Ming stood on a nearby anti-aircraft gun platform and watched. "A6, fire whenever you're ready."

"Response: Commander, please select the ammunition type."

"Ammunition types? What are the options?"

"Response: APFSDS, HEAT-FS, Pzgr..."

"Uh, what is HEAT-FS?"

"Response: Fin-stabilized high-explosive anti-tank shell."

"Oh, I see... Use the steel needle... I mean, the Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot."

"Yes, Commander... Query."

She had already aimed, but suddenly turned her head back. "According to the 'Commander's Health and Safety Protocol,' please wear ear protection, Commander."

"Ah? Oh, right..."

Only after he put on the earmuffs did A6 feel at ease to aim.

"Boom—!"

Li Ming felt a jolt. Amidst the gun smoke, a 128mm 'steel needle' was fired.

He hurriedly picked up his binoculars to look. Since the target was a large piece of cardboard, he couldn't tell if it hit from two kilometers away...

"Chuchu, Chuchu Chuchu..." The voice of the Gunnery Chuchu from the cruiser opposite came through the headset, leaving Li Ming dumbfounded.

A 10.4 score? At two thousand meters? cruiser moving target to moving target?

"Impressive... That works! Amazing!" Li Ming almost threw his binoculars. "Alright, A6, good job."

A6 lowered the gun barrel, still maintaining her expressionless face.

"Response: Please instruct, Commander."

"Alright, you've worked hard. Go get some rest," Li Ming replied.

"Query: According to the 'Commander's Health and Safety Protocol,' I must ensure your close-range safety until you go to rest."

"Well, alright then. Put your equipment away first; we still have a long way to go."

——————

"..."

"..."

The two sat on the steps, neither of them speaking.

"It's rare. I haven't had a quiet moment like this in a long time." Li Ming took the initiative to break the silence.

"Question: Does the Commander not like quiet atmospheres?"

"It's not that..." Li Ming thought for a moment. "It's just hard for me to idle. It was like that before, and it's much the same now. Now that I suddenly have nothing to do, I'm not used to it..."

A6 looked at him without responding.

"To tell a joke, I used to dream of joining the army." Li Ming turned his head toward the setting sun.

"Query: For normal human societies, being conscripted is a very painful thing."

"That's because you haven't seen my home... well, Fujian probably didn't tell you either. Where I come from, many people want to join the army but can't." Li Ming gave a bitter smile. "I used to be weak and frail, plus I was nearsighted, so I couldn't even think about it."

"Question: Incomprehensible." A6 showed a hint of confusion.

"Probably... because I wanted to be like them, to become a man who can take responsibility."

"Query: Meaning unclear."

"Ahaha... That's true. If you weren't born where I was, it's hard to understand that feeling." Li Ming turned his head and looked her up and down carefully. "If you were in our world, you would definitely be a good girl."

"Objection. I am used for..."

"You're a good girl." Li Ming's voice wasn't loud, but it choked back A6's words. "Though you might still not understand, there's a song that might help... I'll say it upfront, I'm a terrible singer. If you think it sounds bad, you can punch me."

"Objection. No authority to act."

"Alright, alright. Anyway, I'm going to sing now."

"Affirmative..."

Li Ming cleared his throat twice.

"In the vast sea of people, which one am I?"

"In the surging waves, which blossom am I?"

"In the army conquering the universe, the one contributing silently is me... In the long river of glorious causes, the one surging forever is me."

"I don't need you to know me, I don't long for you to recognize me. I melt my youth, melt it into the mountains and rivers of the motherland..."

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