Bab 23

I awaken to the sound of voices. Sitting up, I'm immediately aware of the pain rippling through my stomach. It's a familiar feeling. I'm hungry. Sitting up, I immediately capture the attention of both Admiral Liang and Captain Xiao who both rush over. 

Liang: How are you feeling?

I open my mouth to speak but my voice is hoarse and barely comes out at all. Why's my throat so dry? Seemingly sensing my predicament, and certainly hearing the growl of my stomach soon after, Liang orders a nearby sailor to have the chefs prepare something for me to eat. 

After the sailor leaves, she helps me to my feet but my legs quickly give way. Xiao manages to catch me before I hit the ground however and wastes no time swooping me up into his arms. After making sure I'm secure in his arms, Liang leads us out of the room and down the hallway. Passing sailors are forced to clear the way as we continue towards the mess hall thanks to how I am positioned. As my imagination takes over, I can't help but picture how I must look right now and it causes me to giggle just a bit but the pain quickly cuts my joy in half. 

Sometime later, we make it into the mess hall, garnering all the attention in the room as Xiao all but parades with me to an empty table. As he finally puts me down, some chefs come and place a single plate of food in front of me. I nearly erupt in a fit of laughter at the sight. Such a measly amount of food would probably see me die of starvation seconds after eating it. Still, as I try to lift a serving of the rice, I find that my hands are even too weak to support the weight of the food. 

Liang notices as smiles, taking the dish from me and taking the opportunity to feed me. I can practically feel all the eyes in the room staring at us but after the first few grains of rice hit my tongue, the world vanishes. As she continues feeding me, my body doesn't even wait for the food to hit my stomach before it begins processing it. No, I can practically feel it dissolving in my mouth. 

The first serving of food is quickly finished but before even I can ask for more, my stomach makes its desires known. There's some laughter from nearby sailors and Liang but she nevertheless asks them to bring more food. To my surprise, the chef brings an entire pot. It's steaming but smells perfect. Liang, thanks the chef who leaves the pot on the table before bowing slightly and returning to his duties. Once he's gone, she shares another serving and begins feeding me once more, taking care to cool it before bring it to my lips. 

Around halfway down the pot, my strength finally returns to me but I keep it hidden to allow Liang to continue feeding me. Having gotten used to it, I find it's actually quite nice to have someone feed you, even if the entire ship is staring at you because of it. 

[System reboot complete. All systems operational.]

The ship jerks violently causing many to go fall off their seats. Liang too comes flying my way but with my strength returned, I easily manage to catch and support both our weights as the ship comes to a halt. 

Xiao: What in the world was that!

Liang: Are you hurt? I'm sorry that I fell on you like that.

Me: It's fine. 

She looks up at me as she pulls away, shock written all over her face. I guess she wouldn't have known that my voice had returned either. It's quite a handy little trick of mine or rather my body. If I am damaged, hurt, low on fuel, etc. all it takes is a good meal and I'll be back to normal. I was a bit sceptical about it at first since I'm essentially a ship eating human food but as it turned out, that's exactly how it works in my case. Having been damaged so many times since arriving in Dragon Empery whether due to accidents or other activities, it became pretty clear pretty quickly. 

Liang: Your voice is back...and you're strength...but how?

PA: [Captain you're needed on the bridge.]

Xiao glances our way before heading off. Liang gets up as well and I follow. She protests somewhat at first saying I should finish eating but I turn to a nearby sailor and, he agrees to take the pot back to the galley and have them keep it warm until I'm back. Seeing this, Liang finally concedes and we begin making our way to the bridge together. We get there shortly after Xiao.

 Xiao: What's happening?

Sailor: The Zhejiang started up its engines and began countering us so we were forced to stop to avoid overheating the engines. 

Xiao: What do you mean it started up its engines. We already tried starting it ourselves and nothing responded to our inputs. How would it just start up on its own now?

Sailor: We're not sure sir. It's still being towed but every time we start trying to move forward it counters by moving backwards thus bringing us to a standstill. 

Xiao: That makes no sense!

Xiao moves forward and pushes the throttle forward himself only to find the words of the sailor to be true. My ship counters the momentum almost immediately bring the ships to a standstill. I'm not certain when it started operating automatically apart from the AA defences but it's certainly not filling to move now. As I continue thinking about it, however, it finally dawns on me that maybe it's keeping them back to prevent them from seemingly taking me away. It's an absurd idea but the more I think about it, the more plausible it becomes. Isn't that the same reason why its AA defences fire automatically? Even when I'm not on the ship itself, if it's close by and detects I'm in danger it acts on its own. Yes, just like that one time back in Dragon Empery.

Me: Uhm...sorry.

Liang: Why are you saying sorry? You didn't do anything wrong.

Me: It's hard to explain but you should be able to move now.

The sailor seems a bit doubtful but Xiao, after a single glance at my facial expression, pushes the throttle forward again. This time, just as I declared, the ship moves along smoothly. There are some cheering but also confusion. Smiling, but knowing what's coming next, I leave the bridge and walk out onto the flight deck of the aircraft carrier we are on. I'm watching my ship, still being towed by this aircraft carrier, when Liang and Xiao finally join me.

Xiao: Mind explaining a bit of what just happened?

Me: I'm Zhejiang.

Xiao doesn't seem to pick up on what I am implying, instead, going off about how my name doesn't explain a thing but Liang catches on quickly and stares in shock.

Liang: Are you saying you're the actual ship?

This catches Xiao's attention and he stops his rambling immediately, listening to what I have to say next.

Me: Yes, kind of? It's hard to explain but I am. It's why I recognised you and called you by name even though we had just met. I remember you from before I sunk.

Xiao: But that's impossible! Ships are machines, not human beings. 

Me: As impossible as a ship that blew up in a nuclear blast currently being towed behind us in perfect condition?

This shuts him up. Regardless of what he might think or whether he believes me or not, he can't deny that he watched my ship get blown apart. He also can't deny that the same ship is currently behind us now and I'm sure that if he really thinks about it, it'll all make sense. 

Liang: She might be right Xiao. Think about it. When she fell unconscious, the Zhejiang powered down and wouldn't start back up regardless of what we tried despite seemingly being in perfect condition. It's the reason we decided to tow it in the first place instead of just have some sailors go on board to sail it back.

Xiao: But!

Liang: Then when she woke up and recovered after eating her fill, the ship suddenly turned on once more. What more signs do you need? Even if she's not the ship itself, she's certainly connected to it somehow. 

Xiao sighs but I can tell he knows he won't win this fight. To further convince him, however, I have the carrier bring one of my planes up to the deck. 

Me: Will you believe me if I show you?

They both look at me, perhaps wondering how I plan to do that. Instead of telling them directly, I have the jet position itself for launch before pointing towards it. When I've made sure they are looking at it, I issue a verbal command so that they can hear what I am saying clearly. 

Me: Launch.

The jet launches and blasts overhead, quickly beginning its climb. They both stare, utterly dumbfounded but I'm not done. After having the aircraft circle around, I order it to land back on my carrier and it does so without fail. They watch as it lands and is moved back toward the elevator before disappearing below deck all without the aid of a crew. 

Xiao: That's impossible...

Me: Believe me now?

Liang: So you really are the Zhejiang?

Me: Well, just Zhejiang but yes. 

To my surprise, she kneels, removing her cap and bows her head. The captain, after a few seconds, joins her. 

Liang: Forgive me for failing to protect you in the past. I can't imagine what-

Me: It's all in the past. Really. I've had all the time in the world to get over it. 

Xiao: Forgive me as well. I failed as your captain.

Me: I said it's fine. There's no need to beat yourselves up over it. We were all new to naval warfare at the time. If anything, it's a miracle that you achieved as much as you did. Besides, all the crew evacuated safely so I'd like to think everything went well. 

I hold out my hand, beckoning them to stand before people notice and begin wondering what's happening but both refuse until I forgive them. Not wanting to draw even more attention, I hastily put it into words that I forgive them before pulling Liang back to her feet, mere moments before a few sailors step out onto the deck. To think these were the same people who didn't necessarily believe me when I said I was the carrier. People can be so odd at times.