Qianyuan: My crew comes from the world of anime.

However, the answer Levi received from Lucy was completely unexpected.

Lucy: "Hmm... It's impossible to just say no. To be honest—I don't quite understand what you mean by 'like'. But if you were to ask me: what would my reaction be if the captain hugged me directly? My answer would be: I wouldn't refuse."

Levi: "..."

At this moment, she felt that this guy with the multicolored hair was completely incomprehensible in his thought process. He wanted to sleep with her just because he didn't dislike her.

“You’re insane,” Levi commented. “Your brain must be mad because it’s loaded with too many machines.”

"Just because you like him, you want to sleep with him? Are you even thinking straight?"

Despite Revy's sarcastic remarks, Lucy remained unfazed and said, "Is that so? And what about Revy?"

Levi: "..."

She suddenly fell silent. Lucy leaned against the bulkhead and said, "I've never done this with anyone else, and I have no experience in this area. If it's you, Levi—could you give me some advice on what your criteria are for sex and choosing a partner?"

Levi: "..."

She was rendered speechless by Lucy's seemingly harmless words.

At the same time, Lucy continued:

"Then let's refer to the standards of most people."

"First of all, being extremely wealthy... that might simply mean they like the other person's money."

"Then, good looks... actually most people just like the face."

"In Night City, those cyborg doctors can instantly transform your appearance into that of a cover model, and even customize different faces... But what's the point? I don't feel anything special looking at those celebrity faces on the electronic screen."

"Finally, personality...yes, it's probably his personality," Lucy murmured. "Because of his personality, plus his fondness for cleanliness and his ability to be tolerant of others...that's probably why it's hard for people to dislike him."

Lucy looked at Revy, who was about to become furious, with an icy expression and said, "I wonder if this will resolve your doubts?"

Revy's expression hardened like a beast about to devour its prey, and she forced out the words through clenched teeth: "What exactly are you trying to say?!"

Lucy: "I'm just curious about Revy's standards... I would be happy if you could give me some more valuable insights."

Revy: "...!"

She was like a mother wolf cornered at a cliff, baring her teeth at the outsider who had just entered the territory in her heart.

The will emanating from Lucy's prosthetic eyes was so strong that Revy had no choice but to give an answer.

"Ugh...!" She scratched her head in frustration, then raised her right middle finger at Lucy in response:

"F*ck! I hate to admit it, but my standards for a partner are exactly the same as yours, you bastard! Okay? Are you satisfied now?!"

Lucy's cherry-colored lips curved into a smile, and she said, "So that means... you like the Captain just like me, right?"

Levi: "What?!"

Lucy tilted her head: "Wait? You hate him?"

"..."

If I lie here, this cyber-crazy woman might actually believe me.

Levi, in a fit of self-pity (a classic "give up" attitude), said, "Yes, yes, yes! Yeah, I don't hate him, so what? Is that what you're trying to say?!"

Does liking someone mean you have to sleep with them?

Lucy: "Isn't that right? If you don't hate it, why not do it?"

Revy: "Just because you like it doesn't mean you have to do it?! Do you... know that you and he are from completely different worlds?"

Her dark red ponytail swayed restlessly.

"That guy, Alo, seems crazy and sociable, but have you actually seen him kill someone?"

“He…is not from our world, not like us, guys with blood on our hands…”

Lucy: "So what?"

Levi: "!"

Lucy: "Does love mean 'responsibility'? Does liking someone mean you have to stay far away from them, not let them accept everything about you, and hope they can live well without you... If that's the case, Revy—your love is too heavy."

Lucy said naturally, "I'm different from you... I'm a very selfish person. You can't survive in an environment like Night City without being selfish."

"Therefore, if I don't dislike him, I will get him by any means necessary... Enjoying life while I can is the only truth."

Levi: "..."

The two have vastly different views on relationships. Levy is conflicted because they live in different worlds and hopes he will stay away from such a world.

Lucy, on the other hand, would do anything to get her hands on the other person, even if it meant dragging them down a path of destruction with her.

Luo Tianming, at the center of the storm, was completely unaware of the disagreement between the two.

Chapter 52 Catherine

When Luo Tianming came out again, he witnessed a truly bizarre scene:

Levi and Lucy, one on the submarine bridge and the other in the engine room... they occupied the two furthest points on the Nautilus, never even getting together to smoke.

"..."

Sensing something was amiss, Luo Tianming turned on his communication device and asked, "What happened?"

Lucy & Revy: "Go ask her!"

The two started arguing on the phone almost simultaneously, and then hung up on each other at the same time.

Luo Tianming: "..."

Curiosity tickled his heart like a feather: what exactly happened during the time he and Miaomiao were being intimate?

Just as he was about to figure it all out, the airlock doorbell rang like an air raid siren.

Even Takemi, who was tidying herself up in the infirmary, popped out: "What is it?"

Luo Tianming shrugged. He didn't know either—who could it be so late?

"..."

Luo Tianming leaned closer to the monitor on the airlock, only to find a completely unexpected figure appearing on the screen:

The councilor at Chongshan Station, who harbored deep suspicions about them, and 'Catherine' who made rude remarks in the afternoon.

What is she doing here?

Just then, she jumped up (the airlock button was placed high to prevent children from accidentally touching it) and slammed the doorbell on the airlock.

Luo Tianming frowned and leaned closer to the monitor microphone, saying, "Stop pressing the button! Are you a brat who's always causing trouble for other people's homes?!"

"!!"

Catherine, standing outside the door, hated being told she was like a child, so a vein bulged on her forehead.

"Damn it, who told you I came here to cause trouble! I have important business with Dr. Takemi!"

"Hmph~" Luo Tianming sneered disdainfully, "'Doctor Wu Jian'? Now you remember that our Miaomiao is a doctor? Why didn't you... Ah! Ouch! Ouch! Miaomiao, what are you doing?"

Wu Jianmiao, standing behind him, blushed and pinched Luo Tianming's lower back with her fingers.

I don't know if she blushed because of the nickname 'Miaomiao' or because of the prefix 'our family'.

Catherine, of course, couldn't see what was happening behind the airlock. She stamped her foot and said, "This is an extremely urgent matter, a matter of life and death!"

"The patient that Dr. Takemi treated before, we initially thought he was fine, but then he suddenly started vomiting blood and had convulsions all over his body!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Jianmiao, who was behind Luo Tianming, immediately tried to press the button to open the airlock.

He stopped her, shook his head, and said in a voice not loud enough to be picked up by a loudspeaker:

"Don't go. Have you forgotten how she framed us and drove us onto the ship?"

Takemi: "But..."

Luo Tianming placed his index finger on her lips, finishing her sentence for her: "'But you can't just watch a patient die,' right?"

Takemi: "..."

Luo Tianming: "I know Miaomiao is always so kind, but—your kindness shouldn't be treated as a cheap commodity for them to summon and dismiss at will."

"At least teach them a lesson, so they won't falsely accuse us without even knowing the facts."

"Look at me."

Wu Jianmiao nodded in belief.

Luo Tianming's voice suddenly turned cold: "What does this have to do with us? You wouldn't be trying to slander that patient because of our treatment, would you?"

Catherine: "No~!"

Her small body was so anxious that she didn't know what to do. After all, judging from her appearance, she was only about thirteen or fourteen years old.

The little girl was extremely anxious. When she realized that she had actually 'misunderstood' the two people, she had the idea of ​​going to their place to apologize in person.

Then, upon hearing the young man coughing up blood again and desperately pleading for help from his family, Catherine panicked.

Without a second thought, she rushed to the airlock of the Nautilus, her mind a jumbled mess, unable to recall anything at all.

"I...I didn't mean to."

As she said this, she suddenly felt a lump in her throat. "Before the incident, no one told me the details. It was just that those guys from the Painted Skin Cult were shouting 'Alliance officers' and seemed to be bullying civilians."

"I don't have time to think that far ahead... So many eyes are watching. If I show even the slightest bias towards the Alliance, rumors will spread, and my parliamentary seat, which I got because of my father, will immediately be..."

Catherine squatted on the ground and wailed like a helpless little girl.

At this moment, Luo Tianming had long forgotten his intention to punish her. He did not stop Wu Jianmiao from pressing the airlock switch behind him. She jumped down the gate and left quickly.

"..."

Luo Tianming was left alone to face the red-haired, wavy-haired loli crying on the ground.

Luo Tianming cried for about five minutes, his arms crossed as he watched Catherine, the red-haired girl who seemed to have cried herself to sleep.

She looked up—her red, rabbit-like eyes stared at him, filled with helplessness and stubbornness.

Luo Tianming suppressed his desire to comfort her and kept emphasizing in his mind: 'She is not a child, she is a member of the Senate who holds power over the site.'

He said in an unfriendly tone, "You think you can get away with doing something wrong without any punishment?"

"Are you scared? Seeing that you've done something wrong... does your mind go blank and you feel like you have no strength left in your limbs?"

"It's fortunate that our Miaomiao is beautiful and kind-hearted; otherwise, if it were anyone else, you'd be collecting that guy's corpse right now."

"..."

She stretched out her palm as if in a fit of pique; it was a pair of delicate hands that had never been through any labor, more than half the size of Luo Tianming's hands.

He knew that this red-haired little girl was waiting for him to exercise his power.

Luo Tianming raised two fingers of his left hand and slapped her outstretched palm without any hesitation.

Although it didn't hurt, it felt like a great humiliation to Catherine. She squatted on the ground, wiping away her tears, and said fiercely:

"Those people from the Painted Skin Cult, how dare they lie to me!!"

"I knew these guys weren't behaving themselves. Just wait and see how I deal with them!"

Luo Tianming, always eager for a good show, said, "Sure, count me in then."

Catherine looked at him suspiciously: "You?"

He then glanced at the Allied officer's uniform he was wearing: "It's alright to come and help, but change out of that uniform!"

She seemed to have finally accepted the existence of Luo Tianming and his group, but she still had some issues with him.

Luo Tianming asked with some curiosity, "Why?"

To be honest, he found the Alliance uniform quite comfortable.

The dark gray color is very dirt-resistant, and the leather fabric is not only waterproof, but also uses high-quality fur for warmth inside.

The design is also good, a wide-collar, fitted jacket with many pockets, each with its own purpose... Now he understands a bit about those military uniform enthusiasts from his original world.

“No, it just won’t work!” Catherine said stubbornly. “If you’re wearing the Alliance officer’s uniform, you’ll naturally be seen as an Alliance member. Go change into something else… Can’t you see that people here are deliberately downplaying the existence of the Europa Alliance? These people who have only recently rebelled are very afraid that the Alliance will come after them.”

"You're wearing an Allied officer's uniform; to them, it looks like you're showing off!"

Luo Tianming: "..."

Since she had said so, Luo Tianming went back and took out the pilot jacket he had prepared beforehand. The khaki clothes looked much better on Catherine.