Elder brother's garrison

Page 1921

"..." Luo Lian remained silent.

The main reason why Nia didn't rush to the 8-2 area immediately after clearing 8-1 was that she was overwhelmed by the high rent and housing prices. After all, although the house where Nia and Xiaobai lived was luxurious, the rent was still incredibly expensive. Even for Nia's naval base, she had to maintain almost constant attendance at expeditions every day and complete all the daily tasks in order to pay such a huge rent on time.

Nia can be said to be carrying a heavy burden.

If it weren't for Xiaobai's generous spending, directly "buying" the house and also reducing Nia's rent by half, Nia would probably still be a mortgage slave, struggling daily to pay the rent for that million merit points.

"You cleared out the 8-1 sea area in the first week after arriving at Chapter 8..." Luo Lian thought for a while, then suddenly asked Nia, "Nia, what is your naval base's world ranking?"

"Huh? Me?" Nia was taken aback, seemingly completely unprepared for Luo Lian's question, and for a moment appeared flustered. "Uh... I, I'm very weak... um... I rarely look at the world rankings, but the last time I looked at them... if I remember correctly, I was somewhere outside the top ten thousand..."

Nia stammered when she talked about her world ranking.

"More than ten thousand?"

Luo Lian raised an eyebrow upon hearing Nia's reply.

"OK."

"This isn't your actual ranking, is it?"

"Well..." Nia smiled shyly, but did not deny it.

"Have you never done any drills before?" Luo Lian asked.

“Yeah… because we’re already so busy conquering seas and earning merits, we simply don’t have the energy to deal with things like world rankings…” Nia scratched the fabric on her arm and explained honestly, “Well… for example, if we get a high ranking, a lot of challengers will come knocking on our door to apply for ranking practice, right? If there are too many of those people, our naval base’s expedition plans will be disrupted.”

"If your world ranking is high, the Admiral Headquarters will treat you fairly and allocate resources to you accordingly."

"That would have to be really high, right? I'm already ranked over 10,000... I wonder how long it would take to get that high."

“That makes sense.” Luo Lian nodded, then asked Nia, “Nia, have you ever estimated how high you could possibly get in the world rankings if you were serious about it?”

"Hmm... about... seven or eight thousand?" Nia looked at Luo Lian uncertainly.

"..."

"With some effort, five or six thousand?" Nia added, mustering her courage, when she saw that Luo Lian didn't speak.

"..."

Luo Lian remained silent for a long while before letting out a helpless sigh.

“How could someone who can conquer the 8-1 sea area in a week only be ranked five or six thousand in the world rankings… Don’t forget, Chapter 8 has been open for almost a month, and there are still quite a few admirals stuck in the 8-1 sea area.” Luo Lian sighed, “Nia, although I don’t have a specific understanding of your sea area, judging from your current performance, your sea area is at least in the top fifty in the world rankings.”

"Huh?? Top 50 in the world... No, no way..." Nia was startled when she heard Luo Lian's words and quickly waved her hands at him. "I...I...I'm very weak, and I've only been working as an admiral for a little over a year. I've only gotten this far thanks to Shiro. Becoming top 50 in the world is just too..."

“Humility is a good thing, but excessive humility is arrogance.” Luo Lian interrupted Nia, staring straight at her. “Although you have only been with the company for a short time, you should know that the position of admiral is not based on seniority, but on hard skills. Both Xiaobai and I have been admirals for a shorter time than you.”

"..."

Nia closed her mouth under Luo Lian's gaze, but she was still dizzy and seemed to have not yet accepted the current situation of her garrison.

Just then, Xiaobai finished training Jean Bart and pushed Jean Bart into the ship girl team. Xiaobai then slowly returned to Luo Lian and Nia's side.

"Huh? Lianlian, what did you just say to Nia? Why does Nia seem so distracted?" Xiaobai looked at Nia curiously, then turned to Luo Lian and asked.

"I just gave her a clearer understanding of her own strength." Luo Lian shook her head, then said to Xiao Bai, "Xiao Bai, are you going to the 8-2 Sea Area today?"

"Hmm, Lianlian, didn't you know?"

“Nia must have forgotten to tell me. My original plan was to go to 8-1 to check on the progress of the other solvers, but I didn’t expect Nia to have already cleared the 8-2 area... Oh well, let’s go to 8-2 today.” Luo Lian thought for a while and said seriously to Xiao Bai, “Just think of it as solving problems in a different place and changing my mood.”

"Oh, I see!" Upon hearing this, Xiao Bai smiled contentedly at Luo Lian.

Xiao Bai and his group headed towards the 8-2 sea area.

The number of admirals in Chapter 2679 is less than a fraction of that in Chapter 1, but the sea area and city area in Chapter 8 are several times larger than those in Chapter 1.

The 8-2 sea area is far from the 8-1 sea area.

When Xiaobai and the other two led the ship girls to the 8-2 sea area, the golden beach was deserted and cold, and the dark seawater lapped against the beach in layers.

"There are so few admirals with an 8-2 rating," Xiaobai remarked, looking at the beach in front of him.

“Most of the admirals in Chapter 8 are currently staying in the 8-1 sea area.” Nia explained from behind Xiaobai, “Only about 10% of these admirals have obtained the qualification to go to 8-2, but even among those admirals who have obtained the qualification to explore 8-2, a considerable proportion still choose to stay in the 8-1 sea area.”

Why don't they go to 8-2?

“Because we’re not ready yet,” Nia said with a smile.

"I see." Xiaobai nodded and smiled at the ship girls behind her.

After arriving at the beach in the 8-2 area, the ship girls from Nia's family and Xiaobai's family quickly set up a command platform for Xiaobai and Nia. However, the command platform was actually just some tents that could shelter them from the wind and rain, as well as some light decorations such as parasols and outdoor tables and chairs.

"Before the eighth chapter was successfully cleared, the beach here was always filled with an extremely strong abyssal aura. Back then, we had to wear a gas mask specially made by the ship girls to stay on the beach. However, even so, it only slowed down the rate at which the abyssal aura eroded our bodies." Xiaobai said with a smile to Nia and Luo Lian as she watched the ship girls quickly set up their tents. "I remember back then, Admiral Haoding, who was in charge of the clearing mission with me, was almost killed when he was accidentally invaded by a large amount of abyssal aura while trying to command the ship girls on the beach..."

Nia listened nervously to Xiaobai's words, swallowing hard.

"Oh, that was dangerous... Little White, were you alright when the deep-sea energy got in?" Nia asked worriedly.

"I'm fine." Xiaobai shook her head and looked at the sky with a touch of emotion. "The reason I said those things just now was because I saw how the beach looked after it was cleaned up, so I just spoke on a whim... I wonder how Admiral Haoding is doing now. I haven't seen him yet since I returned to Chapter 8."

“Little White is talking about the world’s fourth admiral, Admiral Haoding, right? I’ve met Admiral Haoding here once,” Nia said.

"Eh? Does Nia know Admiral Haoding?"

“I don’t really know him… I just saw him at the front desk once when I went to the Admiral’s Guild to turn in a quest. He’s considered a pioneer of Chapter 8, you know… The Admiral’s Guild sent a lot of staff to give him a special welcome. It was quite a grand affair.” Nia nodded. “Because there were so many people around, I only caught a glimpse from afar… Although I never spoke to him directly, I saw him chatting with the staff of the Admiral’s Guild and other top ten admirals. Hmm… Judging from Admiral Haoding’s demeanor back then, he must be a very kind and generous admiral.”

“Yes, the people under Admiral Haoding are very reliable.” Xiaobai nodded with a smile.

“But there’s something quite strange,” Nia said, a hint of doubt in her voice. “Admiral Haoding isn’t supposed to be Black, is he? But his skin is as black as charcoal, and his head is as smooth as a hard-boiled egg. He doesn’t have any hair, not even a single eyebrow…”

"Ah...that's what I was talking about before, the symptoms of the body being invaded by deep-sea energy."

"Huh? So it's a lingering injury from clearing the land??" Nia covered her mouth in surprise, her eyes darting anxiously over Xiaobai's fair face. "He looks so badly injured! And you, Xiaobai? You should be alright, right?"

Chapter 2680 An Insolent Person

Nia seemed very worried about Xiaobai. She was afraid that Xiaobai would also be invaded by the deep-sea aura and turn into a little bald egg like Admiral Haoding.

Xiaobai could only smile helplessly at Nia's concerns.

—All I can say is that Xiaobai was quite touched.

But Nia's worries were unnecessary.

"Nia, don't worry, I took good care of my body during the exploration." Xiaobai stroked Nia's head and said to her, "We changed clothes together in the locker room before, right? You saw my body, and there weren't any marks on my body from the deep-sea energy at that time, were there?"

"Oh...right, right..." Nia was reminded of what happened a couple of days ago by Xiaobai's words.

makes sense.

Xiao Bai's body was fair and flawless, smooth and delicate. Every inch of her skin from head to toe was so perfect. Not to mention any traces of being invaded by the deep sea, Xiao Bai didn't even have the slightest scar or pimple on her body.

That body...it's simply...it's simply...

It was so clean it didn't seem like a human body.

As Nia recalled this moment, the image of Little White sitting on her face inexplicably surfaced in her memory.

Nia's face flushed pink, and she began to feel dizzy.

"I, I'm relieved... Hehe..." Nia smiled at the silly little girl.

Looking at Nia's expression, Luo Lian sighed helplessly, then exchanged a glance with Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai smiled at Luo Lian, then lowered her hands.

—Xiao Bai couldn't very well tell Nia that because he had a Deepsea land-based ship equipped with a weapon that had been reinforced hundreds of times inside his body, and because he had also ingested a lot of Deepsea Dean's metal, the Deepsea Aura in Chapter 8 not only wouldn't harm his body, but would even have a nourishing effect on him, could he...?

"Admiral, the tents are set up!" Behind Xiaobai, the ship girls who had been busy setting up the tents waved to the admirals.

The three of them responded and came to the tent.

They lifted the curtain and looked inside.

Inside the tents set up by the ship girls, all sorts of supplies were prepared in abundance. In addition to essential water and food, cell phones, pepper spray, there were even several decks of cards, a game of Ludo, and several stacks of comic books.

Xiao Bai walked up to the comic book, picked one up, looked at it, and a wry smile appeared on his face.

Good guy.

Isn't this the same comic book that Tirpitz published before, "All Ages Version of Yuru Kantai Collection"...?

Because of Tirpitz's short-lived enthusiasm as the main artist, she abandoned the comic for over a year. Xiaobai thought the comic had finally become obsolete, but unexpectedly, she saw it again on Nia's page.

"Nia, you like reading this too?" Xiaobai asked Nia, holding up the comic book.

"Hmm...it's quite popular at our naval base." Nia nodded with a smile. "Do you like Little White too?"

"...As for me...it's not that I hate it." Xiaobai looked at the comic book in her hand with complicated feelings, but in the end she didn't say anything more. She just sighed and silently put the comic book back in its place.

After setting up tents for the admirals, including Xiaobai, the ship girls rested around the tents.

The beach in area 8-2 was unusually deserted, but there were still a few other admirals around.

The presence of Xiaobai and his group naturally attracted the attention of many other admirals.

Just as the ship girls from Xiaobai's and Nia's families were inspecting their ship equipment and warming up before their expedition, a dozen admirals quietly approached Xiaobai and her group.

Nia and the ship girls from Xiaobai's family all stopped what they were doing and looked up at the approaching admirals.

The admirals nearby were staring intently at Rome in Nia's home, their gazes filled with a certain intensity that made one feel extremely uncomfortable.

Rome, who was inspecting the ship's equipment, felt the gazes of these admirals. She remained silent, but her brows furrowed slightly.

"Good morning, admirals. Are you here to visit my commander?" At that moment, Veneto stepped out from the group of ship girls, standing in front of Roma and shielding her behind her. She then smiled at the approaching admirals and said, "My commander is currently tidying up in the command center and will probably be available in a while. If you don't mind, you can wait here..."

As Veneto was speaking, the admirals who had been stopped by him stopped in their tracks. They glanced at the nearby tents as if no one else was there, and then completely ignored Veneto. Their eyes bypassed Veneto's shoulder and fell on Rome behind him, and they began to discuss in hushed tones in front of Veneto.

"This is...?"

"Yes, it's her."

"...I saw it that day."

"Special ship girl...that's right."

"Hmm... It is indeed magnificent."

"She is very beautiful."

"You have a good presence."

"As expected of something exceptionally difficult..."

"..."

These admirals who approached without provocation went about their business as usual, whispering amongst themselves. Their gazes would occasionally pass over Veneto and land on Roma behind them, their eyes unrestrained and aggressive, as if Roma before them was not a living ship girl, but a prize, a medal.

Veneto frowned at the thought of his sister being treated like an object and judged.

Ship girls have very keen senses.

Veneto could clearly sense that these admirals had absolutely no respect for them.

Littorio patted Veneto on the shoulder, walked to Veneto's side, and blocked the admirals' view of Rome.

"Admirals, my admiral is temporarily unavailable to receive you all. Please forgive me..." Veneto felt Littorio's touch and tried her best to control her emotions as she respectfully addressed the admirals before her.

"...Special ship girl."

"...Yes, special ship girls..."

"I wonder what kind of luck this garrison has had."

"..."

Even though Veneto was humble and submissive, the admirals who approached her recklessly once again ignored her.

Feeling the impolite stares and hearing the chatter around him, Veneto's breathing became rapid.

Behind Veneto, Littorio's gaze grew increasingly cold.

"Fellow admirals...we'll say it one last time, please leave..."

"Creak—"

Just as Veneto and Littorio were about to issue another warning, a white light suddenly flashed behind the admirals.

The next second, the huge, snow-white metal object, resembling a giant axe, was lifted high and arrived instantly with a whooshing sound, stopping right in front of the admirals.

The admirals' discussion fell silent instantly.

The admirals stared wide-eyed at the snow-white ship equipment so close at hand.

Before the admirals appeared an aircraft carrier rig. On the rig's runway, orange-red flames were rising inch by inch. These blazing flames flickered wildly in mid-air, like small snakes flicking their tongues, as if they were about to spit fire onto the admirals' unprotected faces at any moment.