76: Chapter 76 Conclusion

...The situation is a bit complicated."

At 10:30 PM, Zhenli returned to Verres's room.

"It's fine, no rush. Tell me everything in detail."

She poured her a cup of black tea, but Zhenli didn't touch it, instead rubbing her brow.

"First is Li Ming. His issues stem from both internal and external factors."

"External pressure gave him the core drive that forces him to act, even if it causes him great pain. This drive comes from five aspects." Zhenli tidied her hair.

"One, leadership pressure. This is simple; the entire faction relies on him as its cornerstone, which invisibly places a massive sense of oppression on him."

"Two, peer pressure. Fujian and the other four have given him their trust and reliance, but this has instead given him immense psychological pressure. At the same time, the goal of finding their other companions weighs heavily on his shoulders."

"Three, survival pressure. Survival in the island region is difficult enough, and with Siren activity on top of that, he is forced to constantly think, analyze, and make plans to cope."

"Four, social pressure. Contact with Olena gave him the need for external negotiations. This added another burden to his already overwhelmed psychological state."

"The final layer of pressure comes from us. Based on his few words, I am certain he spent a great deal of energy preparing for our visit, though we have no way of knowing exactly how much."

"Speaking of which, it is strange. Royal Fortune didn't directly publicize it in the tavern but instead sought us out." Verres also set down her teacup. "This was likely the work of Li Ming or Fujian... He is gambling, gambling on whether we are truly easier to negotiate with than the Federation itself."

"..." Zhenli shook her head; she wasn't the type to ponder grand affairs. "Based on his fragments of speech, I judge that he was already forced into a 'vacation' after the negotiation incident with Olena and the other, but our inevitable appearance forced him to pick up the burden once more."

"...Alright, then what about the internal factors?"

"The internal factors are more troublesome. Let me organize my words."

Zhenli paused for a few seconds. "Let's start with his physical condition. His current healthy state is achieved by squeezing his own potential, which means he could fall ill at any time. You can think of it as compressing a multi-year training program into two or three months. He succeeded perfectly, but the price is his future health."

"Uh..." Verres didn't know what to say; that was quite ruthless.

"At the same time, I am certain that Miss Fujian provided the training plan." Zhenli closed her eyes. "But out of... well, just like what you heard this morning, he did it."

"Then let's talk about his personal psychological issues. Generally speaking, they can be summed up in a few terms: self-denial, imposter syndrome, self-destruction, and a tendency toward being a tool. If I had to add one more, it would be a perfectionist streak regarding himself."

"This..."

"And then there are his personal moral constraints. You probably didn't notice, but Laffey, Javelin, Ayanami, and Z23—all four of them have rings on their ring fingers. They are Commander Li Ming's Oath Ships."

"Destroyers?" Verres was stunned for a moment. Could he be a lolicon?

"However, from the process of examining his body, I can be certain that Li Ming has no experience with men or women. Or rather, he understands what certain situations imply but deliberately avoids them."

"Uh..."

"His physiological reactions are completely normal, but he deliberately suppresses them. At the same time, he is very repulsed by the opposite sex... or rather, physical contact with unfamiliar females, even through gloves or instruments." Zhenli paused. "During our conversation, he didn't avoid my related questions; he simply responded with the idea that men and women should keep their distance and that we are still relatively strangers."

"Compared to other Commanders who can't even walk straight when they see you, this Commander Li Ming is truly... special," Verres commented.

"It's not that he's special, but rather that he is quite rare within the scope of the society we know," Zhenli corrected. "I have no doubt he is one type of person that exists in society, but this existence itself is worthy of the medical community's attention. This isn't just a simple personality; it's a syndrome that integrates several psychological conditions."

"This..." Verres found it somewhat difficult to understand. "Then why is it that this situation is generally not found among our Commanders?"

"Because they are filtered out starting from the interview stage." Zhenli opened her eyes, her light gray pupils shimmering with an unknown light. "Issues like this, which cannot be discovered through an examiner's usual methods, are generally interpreted as a lack of ability or a difficulty in supporting a relationship with Ship Girls, and thus they are uniformly eliminated."

"..." Verres took a deep breath. "Valkyries above..."

"Taken as a whole, he needs a relatively gentle environment to rebuild his perception of himself and the world while undergoing trauma recovery. However, as a leader, it seems we don't have the possibility of forcibly removing him or making arrangements for him ourselves." Zhenli stared into Verres's eyes. "What do you think?"

"I will convince Fujian. Commander Li Ming must receive our intervention," Verres replied. "Miss Fujian also needs to clear up the situation, so I must make a trip there."

"Then what's next? How do you plan to arrange things for him?" Zhenli continued to ask. "The Federation and the local Chivalric Order leaders won't just sit by and watch a leader of a new faction suddenly appear within the Federation."

"That's a good question." Verres paused, feeling a headache coming on. "There must be a plan that is convincing enough, highly reliable, and won't break the current situation."

"I'll go call the others over." Zhenli glanced at the tea, which was almost cold.

"Mm, that's good." Verres thought for a moment. "Still no need to call Olena and Finn."

"I know."

Zhenli left the room, and Verres stood up, leaning against the windowsill to catch the breeze.

Under a distant streetlight, she saw a lonely silhouette walking toward the core area. That must be Li Ming, right? After all, it was clearly a male, and Finn was currently downstairs—his shouting while playing games was very obvious. She hoped Olena could keep him in check.

She organized the information everyone had given her in her mind. Physiologically, Li Ming was not yet 20 years old, but he behaved very maturely. He was very experienced in some areas, but in the most important aspect of being a Commander, he seemed to have never undergone systematic study...

"Systematic study... not yet 20?" Verres narrowed her eyes.

The Maritime Academy? That is indeed a good place... maybe it's possible?

But as for the rest, I'll have to chat carefully with my companions...

...

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