Elder brother's garrison

Page 378

"Cough cough!" Little White quickly hugged North Carolina in his arms, then looked around several times before finally shouting loudly at Muji, "Lord Muji!"

Xiaobai still holds a high position. As the one who brought the construction device, she has considerable authority. When Xiaobai shouted at Muji, everyone's shoulders trembled, and they all looked at Xiaobai with confused and guilty eyes.

"..." Xiaobai thought for a while, feeling the body temperature of the little ship girl in his arms, "The construction device is only slightly damaged, it can still be studied. Look, North Carolina was still born, wasn't she?"

"But……"

“There’s no ‘buts’ about it. The little girl is right. It’s just a minor damage to a part. Judging from the completion rate of this ship girl, it’s easy to see that the construction device isn’t seriously damaged. It’s probably just that a part came loose, causing it to leave the ship a little too quickly,” Sukhbaatar chimed in.

As soon as Sukhbaatar spoke, Muji finally felt relieved. He took a few deep breaths before a look of relief finally appeared on his face: "That's great...that's great..."

"But you, a grown man, crying and wailing when the ship girl was just born, what kind of behavior is that?" Suzuran naturally sided with Shiro. She stood behind Shiro and showed the North Carolina in Shiro's arms to Muji and the others.

After all, Muji and the others were researchers, not admiral reserves. Naturally, they didn't pay as much attention to the ship girls as they did to the construction equipment. When they saw that the construction equipment had malfunctioned, Muji felt his head go blank. All sorts of negative emotions flooded his mind in an instant, which led him to do such an indecent thing.

It took Muji a while to get up from the ground, still somewhat dazed. He looked at the construction device that was still emitting black smoke, and his face was still pale.

Muji looked at North Carolina in Xiaobai's arms: "This...is this the ship girl from earlier?"

"Yes." Xiaobai nodded, then slowly released her hand.

The ship girl, who was in Xiaobai's arms, looked at Xiaobai with a panicked expression as soon as Xiaobai let go of her. She grabbed Xiaobai's clothes tightly with her two small hands and clung to Xiaobai with her whole body, as if Xiaobai would abandon her in the next second if she did not.

“…Oh dear…don’t be so nervous.” Xiaobai gently reassured North Carolina, observing her reaction. “Let others see how you are?”

North Carolina looked up and met Xiaobai's gaze twice.

"..." Finally, North Carolina seemed to gain some confidence from Xiaobai's eyes, and slowly let go of Xiaobai's hand. Then she turned her head and looked at Muji and the staff with some fear.

Looking at North Carolina, who seemed to have no physical defects except for being a little young, Muji finally smiled with relief.

"Your name is..." But Muji's behavior just now was too terrible. Even though he composed himself and politely asked North Carolina for her name, North Carolina didn't give him a chance to explain. She quickly took a step back, turned around, and jumped onto Xiaobai's body, wrapping her little arms around Xiaobai's neck and hanging on it gracefully.

"Her name is North Carolina, she's a battleship ship girl, just like Missouri," Xiaobai explained to Muji.

"Oh..." Muji looked at North Carolina's completely unwilling-to-communicate attitude and lowered his head in disappointment.

Whether it was simply the fledgling recognizing its parent, or the inherent maternal qualities of the land-based ship equipment, or something else, North Carolina seemed to really like Little White. She clung to Little White, pressing her entire body against it, looking like she would never get off.

Xiaobai had to carry North Carolina to a chair so that North Carolina could finally show her face.

“…All ship girls have admirals…then…” Muji looked at North Carolina and Shiro being all lovey-dovey and let out a deep breath.

Mukichi looked apologetically at Suzuran standing behind Shiro, revealing an expression that said, "I knew it."

—Miss Suzuran, seeing how close this new ship girl is to your ship girl, it seems we'll have to trouble you with the task of managing this new ship girl.

written request for leave

That's right, it's me again, your dear, with your leave request.

I'm taking a day off. The reason I'm asking for leave is not to work on the outline, nor is it because my supervisor needs me.

It turned out that when I was cleaning the keyboard today, my hand slipped and I spilled mineral water into the keyboard, which broke it.

My dear keyboard, which has been with me for half a year, I'm so sorry.

I'm not sure if this falls under the category of force majeure, and I'm really desperate.

In short, I'm a dead fish without a keyboard. I just can't type with the keyboard that comes with my laptop. The small difference in key layout makes for a terrible experience... Anyway, after typing this, I'm going out to buy a keyboard.

See you tomorrow, dear readers.

Chapter 490 Improving Training Level

Things then began to unfold in a more logical and predictable way.

North Carolina seems to be an even more clingy ship girl to Shiro than Missouri. After seeing how reluctant North Carolina is to leave Shiro, Kiji also understands that the admiral of this new ship girl will most likely fall into Suzuran's hands again.

Fortunately, this is a period of time, and ship girls have only been around for a few days. Humans in this era do not pursue ownership of ship girls like modern human admirals. Otherwise, Xiaobai's domineering style of wanting both Missouri and North Carolina would really be a bit too much.

After appointing Suzuran as the admiral of North Carolina, Kiyoshi and his staff began a tense and exciting dismantling operation.

Although the construction device malfunctioned just now, which dealt a heavy blow to Kiji, it also strengthened his resolve to dismantle and study the construction device.

The construction device that Xiaobai brought from the mysterious shipwreck was a seamless, perfectly integrated unit, without even a screw hole or trace of assembly. It couldn't be disassembled using normal methods. Muji and his group had no choice but to resort to a more forceful approach.

The staff, led by Muji, gathered together and discussed something mysteriously for a while. Then, they suddenly looked up and nodded to each other. Afterward, they ran into the factory and brought out all sorts of tools that Xiaobai couldn't name.

Among the tools were various files, chainsaws, and small pipes that spewed fire. Each tool came in several sizes and styles, all neatly arranged on the floor, a dazzling sight. The researchers of this era seemed quite adept at manual labor. Muji simply picked up one of the small tools, plugged it in, and began working on the construction device amidst the crackling sparks.

Xiaobai withdrew her gaze from the construction device and looked down at North Carolina in her arms.

"Lu Lin, you seem to really like this child?" Linglan asked curiously, noticing Xiaobai staring at North Carolina.

"Hmm... I quite like it." Xiaobai smiled and then placed the North Carolina on the chair next to her.

Xiao Bai looked at North Carolina and sighed with a hint of helplessness.

Battleship girls are usually tall and voluptuous older sisters; it's very rare to see someone as young as Veneto or North Carolina in front of us. While I'm not entirely sure about Veneto's situation, North Carolina is probably still under construction.

It's not uncommon for newbies to encounter situations where construction is incomplete. When venturing into the first chapter of the sea, Veneto's sister, the Empire, was in the same situation. In a sense, she and North Carolina are both malnourished ship girls, just in different ways.

"Can you talk?" Linglan walked up to Xiaobai and asked North Carolina, who was sitting obediently in a chair looking at Xiaobai.

North Carolina nodded.

"It's good that he can talk." Looking at North Carolina like this, Linglan also thought the child was quite cute and couldn't help but laugh.

After laughing for a while, Linglan looked at North Carolina with a hint of doubt in her eyes: "But North Carolina is still so small, can it really withstand the deep-sea amphibious ships?"

"Sure, a ship girl's appearance and combat ability are completely unrelated," Xiaobai explained.

"Oh..." Lily of the Valley studied Little White for a while, then gave him an expression that said, "So does that mean North Carolina and Missouri are about as strong as you?"

Xiao Bai gave an awkward laugh.

Xiaobai's ship equipment strength is now so great that even she herself doesn't know exactly how strong it is. Especially after receiving the help of the Deep Sea Will, Xiaobai's combat power has increased by several levels. It is estimated that ordinary ship girls cannot defeat Xiaobai.

"I guess... I'm a little bit better." Xiaobai stretched out her hand, pinching her index finger and thumb with a small gap between them.

"As expected of Lu Lin." Linglan made no effort to praise Xiaobai.

Xiao Bai withdrew his hand embarrassedly and looked back at Missouri standing behind him.

Despite her usual humble and easygoing demeanor, Missouri is actually quite proud, judging from Xiaobai's interactions with her at the naval base. Xiaobai stood right in front of her and said she was slightly stronger; it's unclear whether Missouri would be angry.

In Xiaobai's view, Missouri stood behind Xiaobai with a smile on her face, as if saying whatever Xiaobai said was right.

He didn't seem angry at all.

"Although it's not a good time for me to say this, these two new ship girls are only at level 1 yet." Sukhbaatar interjected at that moment.

"Training level?" Suzumura looked at Sukhbaatar with some surprise upon hearing her words.

“Ship girls aren’t born strong; they need weapons, combat experience, and training.” Sukhbaatar explained, “Training refers to the compatibility with ship equipment. Simply put, the more you use the ship equipment, the more comfortable it becomes.”

Lily of the Valley looked at Little White, her eyes questioning him.

Xiaobai nodded.

"Is training level important?" Liner Siba Bashi Chun Linglan asked.

“It’s very important.” Xiaobai nodded again.

As a fellow level 1 "land-based ship girl," I deeply understand what it's like to have a low training level. The difference in combat power between Abyssal Will controlling its own ship equipment and when I control my own ship equipment is like heaven and earth. If I were to rely solely on myself, I feel that I could at most fire a few shells, and I wouldn't even be able to launch aircraft, let alone use carrier-based aircraft for patrol and bombing.

Seeing Xiaobai's confident expression, Linglan frowned. She looked at North Carolina and Missouri's faces and asked, "Lu Lin, what's your training level?"

"Uh...no, it's not that high..." Xiaobai lowered his head shyly.

"And what about you, Sukhbaatar?" Lily of the Valley asked Sukhbaatar curiously.

"Hmph, of course I'm at max level!" Sukhbaatar raised his head, with an expression that said, "As expected, I am the best in the world."

However, there's really no difference between Sukhbaatar at max level and not at max level if he doesn't transform, since he's a complete weakling anyway. And there's even less difference after he transforms, since he's still incredibly powerful.

"Training level is so important..." Seeing how respectful Xiaobai was to Sukhbaatar, Linglan also realized the importance of training level. "Then how do we improve it?"

“As I said before, the more you use it, the more comfortable you become,” Sukhbaatar said. “Simply put, it’s about combat.”

"A battle?" Lily was taken aback at first, then she looked at Xiaobai, Missouri, North Carolina, and Sukhbaatar.

It goes without saying who they're fighting; ship girls are created to fight against deep-sea amphibious ships.

"Is it dangerous?"

"there must be."

"..." Linglan turned around and looked at Muji and the others. She saw that Muji and the others were obediently surrounding the construction device, using various tools to cut the outer shell of the construction device, and had no interest in Shiro's conversation at all.

It's inevitable to level up ship girls. The difference in combat power between a level 1 ship girl and a max-level ship girl is just too big. Just for this little bit of combat power, Missouri and the others must fight to level up. However, one thing that cannot be avoided in battle is that there will be bumps and bruises. If you walk by the river often, you will eventually get your shoes wet. What if you suddenly twist your ankle, get injured, or lose your life?

Looking at Xiaobai's fair face, Linglan was troubled.

"Ah, about leveling up..." Xiaobai saw through Linglan's thoughts, raised her hand, and said to Linglan, "I do have some ideas."

"Lu Lin, please begin your performance."

"...Um, I know a safe place and method for leveling up," Xiaobai said.

You know that?

"Yes, I know." Xiaobai nodded. "I know a place where there shouldn't be any danger if it's just combat training."

"Great!" Lily of the Valley exclaimed happily. "Where is it?"

"exist……"

"Ding—" At this moment, sparks flew as a crisp sound of steel hitting the ground rang out from the construction device that Muji and the others were surrounding.

Xiaobai and Linglan's attention was drawn to the clear sound.

The dark outer shell of the construction device that Muji and the others were surrounding had been peeled off, revealing various intricate parts underneath.

"It's taken down!" Muji let out a suppressed cheer. He and the staff quickly put down their tools and carried the peeling shell of the construction device off the building.

As Kiji had expected, the interior of the construction device was so intricate that it was immediately clear to him that it was impossible to comprehend such sophisticated components with the current level of technology. Even simply imitating and replicating it would be a considerable challenge.

As the staff looked inside the construction device, they all perked up and began to quickly take notes on their draft papers.

Kiji first studied the construction device for a while, then drew a diagram in front of it for quite some time. After finishing the drawing, he carefully removed a small gear from the construction device.

"It looks like we'll have to study this for a while," Muji sighed helplessly, looking at the intricate machinery beneath the gears.

"Excuse me, is this very complicated?" Xiaobai walked up to the construction device and asked Muji.

"I don't know if it's complicated or not, but the main problem is that this involves technical fields that we've never even encountered before. I estimate that we won't be able to replicate it until we figure it out," Muji explained to Xiaobai.

Xiao Bai looked at the mechanical part that Mu Ji was pointing to.

Inside the construction device, where the removed gear should have been, were various interlocking gears, with colorful and wondrous patterns painted between them.

Chapter 491 The Pattern That Fell From the Sky?

Xiaobai was just a high school student who hadn't even graduated yet; he hadn't even been to university, let alone possessed the advanced technology involved in building ship girl construction devices. Looking at the various machines and colorful patterns inside the construction device, Xiaobai was completely bewildered and couldn't understand a thing.

"I'm sorry... I don't understand this, so I might not be able to help you." Xiaobai apologized to Muji.

"No need to apologize. Miss Ship Girl, the fact that you gave us this thing intact is already the greatest help you can give us." When Muji said "intact", his eyes dimmed for a second, as if he was still regretting that he had missed the best opportunity to conduct research. However, he quickly composed himself and explained to Shiro.

"How long will it take you to complete this research?" Xiaobai asked.

"Well... it depends on how quickly we master this technology. Once we master this new technology, it will only take less than a week to replicate the construction device." Muji raised his hand and looked at the gear in his hand. "This technology seems to be just ingenious in its concept. The construction of the instrument is not as demanding as I imagined. With our technology, we can also manufacture parts of this level."

"Ah, that's good." Xiaobai looked at the gear in Muji's hand and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, right, I also wanted to mention the ship girls' training levels..."

"Improving training levels, huh? I heard that too." Muji smiled at Xiaobai. "I never expected that ship girls could grow slowly over time. That really surprised me."

"Well, regarding the training levels of Missouri and North Carolina, could you let me help them improve their training levels?" Xiaobai asked.

"Of course." Muji nodded without hesitation.

"...It might take a long time, and I'll have to leave this city."

"Of course." Muji nodded without even thinking.

This time, Xiaobai was truly shocked by Muji's open-mindedness.

These are two living, breathing ship girls! They're the only force in the era capable of resisting the Abyssal Fleet! Is it really okay to just hand them over to Shiro and take them away from the city?

“Ah, Miss Ship Girl, you have already given us such a precious gift. Logically speaking, as long as we can obtain the ship girl technology, it would be absolutely worth it for our city to exchange all its resources and everything for you. However, you have not taken a single penny and have no ulterior motives towards us. Just for this reason alone, it is enough for me to entrust you with all my trust.” Muji explained to Xiaobai.

"This city must be very happy to have you as its leader." Xiaobai was a little touched.

"Thank you," Muji said, bowing his head to Xiaobai.

After that, Muji wrote Xiaobai a long-term access pass to the resource library. Xiaobai accepted it and went to the resource library alone to fill his ship equipment with resources, and also stuffed the ship equipment space to the brim.