Elder brother's garrison

"Huh?" Little White blinked, looking at Zara and Pompeii with a strange expression, as if he didn't understand at all.

"Admiral, Missouri has been cleaned up."

Just then, Missouri folded up the last tent, stacked it in a corner of the beach, and spoke to Little White.

"Oh!" Little White's attention was quickly drawn to Missouri. She smiled at Missouri and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Missouri."

"You're welcome, it's all Missouri should do." Missouri walked back to Little White's side, standing there gracefully. "Then, Admiral, shall we go back to the ship next?"

"Hmm... The president said she wanted us to buy her something to eat. Anyway, let's take a walk around the village first, and I also want to see someone."

"who is it?"

"A flower in a mirror," Xiaobai said.

Xiao Bai and the others walked towards the center of the village and arrived near the notice board on the main street.

By the roadside, Jinghua was sitting on the steps, propping her chin on her hand, watching groups of children chasing and playing in the street.

"Ah, it's the Admiral! You're back!"

Jinghua's senses were sharp. As soon as Xiaobai and the others entered the street, Jinghua seemed to sense something and looked over in their direction, then gave them a happy smile.

Jinghua ran up to Xiaobai and jumped into his arms.

Jinghua was only a few heads shorter than Xiaobai. When Jinghua pounced on him, Xiaobai took several steps back before regaining his balance.

—Speaking of this Jinghua, she seems to be only five or six years younger than me at most.

"Ah... Jinghua, it's been three days!" Xiaobai patted Jinghua on the back and said with a smile, "And I have some good news for you."

"What good news?" Jinghua asked curiously.

"We have defeated all the deep-sea amphibious ships on the surface, and this area is now safe," Xiaobai said.

"Really?!" Kyoka exclaimed in surprise. "Thank you, Admiral!"

"Hahaha... It's all about getting paid to do a job..." Xiaobai chuckled and released Jinghua. "And now, we're leaving here today."

"what?"

"Because the Deepsea Abyssal Ship is no longer available, I just reported this to your teacher—but, Jinghua, you are the one who commissioned us this time, so we have to report the commission to you no matter what, right?"

“Ah…right…” Jinghua let go of her hand in a daze, took two steps back from Xiaobai’s arms, and nodded.

When Xiaobai said she was leaving, Jinghua paused for a moment, but then took a deep breath and gave a knowing yet somewhat lonely smile.

"After all, you sisters still have to go to other places to fight in the deep sea." Jinghua said to Xiaobai, her face showing some reluctance, but her tone was still gentle and understanding. "Sisters, you must do your best!"

"I will," Xiaobai said to Jinghua.

"Goodbye, fellow ship girls!" Jinghua said to the ship girls behind Xiaobai.

"Until we meet again," Missouri said gently to Kyoka.

"Now we're leaving here—Jinghua, what are your plans for the future?" Xiaobai asked Jinghua.

"Me?" Jinghua pointed to herself.

"Ah."

"As for me... well, my teacher said that girls should study hard so that they can make a name for themselves in the city in the future..." Jinghua said, her gaze lingering on Xiaobai and the ship girls behind her for a moment, before she revealed a gentle smile, "However... I've decided! I want to be an admiral!"

"Become an admiral?" Xiao Bai asked in surprise.

"Yes! I also want to become an admiral like you, big sister, who can protect humanity's home!" Kyouka smiled shyly at Shiro. "But... going to the admiral's school seems very expensive, and I don't know if I'll have enough time... but I'll try my best!"

“…I see.” Xiaobai looked at Jinghua’s smile, thought for a moment, then reached into her pocket to hide and secretly took out a small piece of silvery deep-sea metal from her ship equipment space. “Well then, this little gift is for you. Keep it safe.”

"Sister, what is this?"

"Hmm... well, you'll use it when you become an admiral. Just don't let anyone else see it. If you feel you can't keep it safe, you can leave it with your teacher and retrieve it when you come of age," Xiaobai said.

"Oh... okay, I got it, thank you, sister!"

Jinghua held the silvery deep-sea metal that Xiaobai handed her. Although she didn't quite understand it, she nodded affirmatively and replied to Xiaobai.

In the eyes of the mirror flower.

This silvery deep-sea metal in front of you is perhaps just a small, commemorative item, like a beautiful seashell on a beach.

Chapter 1379 The Rice Is Cooked

"Admiral, could Missouri modify this piece of deep-sea metal a little?" Missouri looked at the silvery-white deep-sea metal in Mirror Flower's palm and suddenly spoke to Little White.

"Hmm? This piece? That's fine... but what do you want to make it for?"

“It’s just a decorative modification.” Missouri didn’t say it directly. She stepped forward and took out a string of silver pendants from her ship’s equipment space.

Missouri gently removed the colored crystal from the pendant, then picked up the silver-white deep-sea metal from Jinghua's palm and gently pressed it into the groove of the crystal, making sure it fit perfectly.

“It’s just a small stone, which is too difficult for a girl to keep safe. It’s definitely better to keep it as a bracelet or necklace, right?” Missouri held the necklace and smiled as she gently hung the necklace with the deep-sea metal on Jinghua’s neck.

"Wow... thank you!" Jinghua looked down at the necklace hanging around her neck, her face full of surprise.

"You're welcome. Missouri only did a little bit of finishing touches." Missouri stood up and walked back to Little White's side.

"I will take good care of this! Thank you, sister!" Jinghua smiled contentedly, put the necklace around her neck into the innermost layer of her clothes, and patted it again and again.

"Well, then we should leave this village. Kyoka, let's meet again when you become an admiral." Shiro smiled and waved to Kyoka.

"Mmm!" Kyoka nodded happily. "Goodbye, Admiral! Goodbye, ship girl sisters!"

The loneliness of parting.

It seems that the impact was somewhat diluted by the parting gifts from Xiaobai and Missouri.

Xiaobai and the ship girls first went to a nearby food store to buy some food for Chairman Er Gou on the ship, and then left the village and went to the beach.

"Speaking of which, Admiral."

Walking on the beach, Missouri smiled and spoke to Little White.

"How much did our naval base receive in total for this commission?"

"Uh... well, it's only a few million in total."

"How much is the deep-sea metal that you just gave to Kyoka worth?"

"Uh... this..." Xiaobai's face turned awkward.

The silvery-white deep-sea metal that Xiaobai just gave to Jinghua was one of the highest-grade deep-sea dean-level metals that Xiaobai had kept from the sands of the waves during the dean-level deep-sea event in Chapter 6.

Now, after the baptism of the sixth chapter deep-sea event, the price of Dean-level deep-sea metal on the market has dropped considerably, but the price of high-quality Dean-level deep-sea metal remains high. The price of the piece of deep-sea metal that Xiaobai left for Jinghua... can be said to be extremely difficult to estimate.

If we only consider the money aspect...

For a task worth several million yuan, they directly lost a high-quality deep-sea dean metal.

Xiao Bai's commission this time was a complete success, costing him dearly.

"...Uh, I'll be more careful about being thrifty next time..." Xiaobai said awkwardly to Missouri.

"Pfft." Missouri chuckled, covering her mouth. "Admiral, of course Missouri doesn't mean to blame you. All those deep-sea metals you possess were obtained through your own decisions and fortuitous encounters. How they're distributed is naturally up to you. Besides..."

"Besides?"

“Those deep-sea metals were originally going to end up in the Admiral’s stomach, but now they’re being given to a little girl who aspires to become an Admiral, to become her dream fund. Isn’t that a good thing, helping others achieve their goals?” Missouri said with a smile.

“…Uh.” The young man blushed.

After listening to Missouri's explanation.

Suddenly, Xiaobai had a realization: she had been such a spendthrift...

As they chatted, the group walked to the edge of the deserted beach.

Before me stretched an endless sea.

Little White and Missouri turned around and looked at Zara and Pompeii behind them.

"Speaking of which, Zara and Pompeii, have you thought about what's to come?" Xiaobai asked Zara and Pompeii behind him.

“Ah…us?” Zara Pompeii, who was following behind Xiaobai, exchanged a glance, then each looked around at the beach. “Us…”

"Well... how should I put it, although those Abyssal Deans on your ship almost scared us to death, Admiral Xiaobai... but..." Pompeii scratched his face and said softly.

"I've been a traveling ship girl with Pompeii for almost ten years now. Although we've managed to get by thanks to our training and combat experience, it's really getting tiring now..." Zara smiled at Xiaobai. "It might be a bit shameless of me to say this now, but I wonder if Admiral Xiaobai is doing well on your end..."

"Monitor!" Suddenly, Pompeii's eyes lit up, and he pointed at Little White, speaking to it with a strong voice.

"Huh? Pompeii, what did you say?" Little White was taken aback.

“Surveillance! That’s right, surveillance!” Pompeii nodded, hands on her hips, looking at Admiral Xiaobai. “During the time I’ve spent with you, Admiral Xiaobai, I’ve come to fully realize that you are an excellent admiral. However! As the saying goes, you can’t judge a book by its cover, and time will tell. It’s too dangerous to let so many Abyssal Deans around you. Therefore, I must stay by your side at all times to monitor your behavior, Admiral Xiaobai!”

"Uh...supervision?" Xiaobai blinked.

"Well... cough cough, so..." Pompeii looked at Xiaobai's face, her own face suddenly turning red. She lowered her head, and her previously smug tone suddenly softened, "Does your naval base need any ship girls... or anything like that?"

Xiao Bai saw Pompeii lower his head and then understood what Pompeii meant.

Xiao Bai breathed a sigh of relief, a look of understanding appearing on his face.

"Ah! I understand! Yes, we're short-staffed! We warmly welcome Pompeii to our garrison! Please take good care of me in the future, and feel free to keep an eye on me!" Little White stepped forward and took Pompeii's hand. "Hello, Pompeii!"

"...Um, you, hello...Admiral."

Pompeii let Xiaobai hold her hand and responded softly. Her whole face was as red as a red apple hanging from a branch, looking burning hot. She was no longer convinced of the imposing manner she had when she said she would supervise Xiaobai.

"Zara, do you and Pompeii think the same way?" Xiaobai turned to look at Zara.

Zara gave the two of them a somewhat carefree smile.

“Hmm… Although I have no intention of supervising Admiral Shiro… however, if Admiral Shiro wishes to use my power, I am willing to offer my all, right now, right here.” Zara bowed slightly to Shiro.

"That's great!" Xiaobai extended her hand to Zara and shook it. "It's wonderful that you two chose to stay!"

"After all, Admiral Xiaobai, you've already told us such a secret. As ship girls, we can't just turn around and leave," Zara said with a smile.

"Now that things have come to this, please stop calling me Admiral Xiaobai, okay?"

“Yes, my admiral.” Zara nodded.

"Alright! This mission is successfully completed!" Xiaobai happily let go of Missouri's hand and smiled, "Then let's hurry back to the president's ship!"

Little White happily stepped onto the water's surface and splashed its way towards President Er Gou.

The three ship girls quickly followed in Xiaobai's footsteps and walked onto the sea.

Zara and Pompeii actually seemed quite submissive. Although they had just seen so many Deep Sea Deans on Chairman Er Gou's ship, which had made them look terrified until now, their expressions seemed much calmer after establishing a relationship with Xiao Bai.

Walking on the water.

while walking.

Pompeii, standing behind Xiaobai, raised an eyebrow and suddenly spoke to Xiaobai as if he had remembered something.

"Oh, right, Admiral."

"Hmm? What is it, Pompeii?"

"I'm a little curious... When you were on the beach just now, did you mean to let Zara and me decide our own future?"

"Yes."

"Um... well, how should I put it? Although we simply wanted to become your ship girls, Admiral, that's why we did this... but we've met those Abyssal Deans before. If... I mean, if we hadn't chosen to become your ship girls, Admiral Shiro, what would you have done?"

Pompeii asked curiously.

Little White and Missouri, who were walking ahead, stared at each other.

Then, for some reason, he smiled.

"Of course we'll tie them up and take them back!" Little White and Missouri answered in unison.

"..." Pompeii was dumbfounded. "What?"

"Let's take them back to the garrison first, we can talk about the rest later," Xiaobai said cheerfully.

"Wait... So, Admiral Xiaobai, the choice you're giving us is either we go with you, or you kidnap us?"

"That's roughly the idea." Xiaobai smiled sheepishly.

"Wait, isn't kidnapping illegal?"

"It's okay. Look, you chose to come with us yourselves. We should get along well from now on."

"...Uh, you're right. So, the kidnapping thing the Admiral mentioned was just a joke... After all, Admiral, you wouldn't actually do something like that..."