Elder brother's garrison

"Thanks to the nerve serum, Miss Luming has regained her mental power," Xiaobai said to the ship girls.

“Now for the main event…” The goddess of the hearth and Yubari nodded, casting cautious glances at Shikamei’s side.

On the floor next to Lu Ming, the heavy cruiser equipment that Missouri had just taken out was placed there peacefully.

When Lu Ming's carotid artery was bitten open by Xiao Bai, a large amount of blood splattered from her body, and a significant portion of it splashed onto the snow-white heavy cruiser rigging beside her. At this moment, the blood had slightly congealed, and the surface of the heavy cruiser rigging was adorned with red and white spots of dried blood.

An eye-opening situation soon unfolded.

Just as Lu Ming's body once again emitted waves of spiritual energy, the heavy cruiser's ship equipment, which had been sitting quietly beside Lu Ming like an inanimate object, also showed a slight reaction.

Under the watchful eyes of Xiaobai and the others, the bloodstains splattered on the heavy cruiser's rigging disappeared rapidly... or rather, were being rapidly absorbed by the rigging. In just a few breaths, the red and white heavy cruiser's rigging returned to its pristine white state.

After absorbing the blood from the surface of the ship, the heavy cruiser's rigging trembled slightly, seemingly unsatisfied.

The next second, the pool of blood that had gathered at Lu Ming's feet on the floor seemed to be drawn by something, and the blood turned into a small stream, flowing one after another towards the heavy cruiser's equipment.

The heavy cruiser quickly drank up the blood on the floor.

As the last drop of blood was added, the surface of the heavy cruiser's rigging began to emit a faint glow.

The light from the ship's rigging grew stronger over time. Just as the brightness reached its peak, illuminating the entire room so brightly that not even a shadow could remain, a loud "hum" came from the heavy cruiser's rigging, and the light abruptly stopped. After a brief pause, the room returned to darkness.

Everything seemed to have returned to how it all started.

Nothing seems to happen.

Lu Ming remained kneeling in the center of the blue cushion, her mind still hazy. Half of her body was stained red with splattered blood, a blood-red bandage was wrapped around her neck, and her long, slender, white thighs were covered with dried blood. She looked extremely disheveled.

Failed?

When Xiaobai and the ship girls saw Luming's condition, this thought flashed through their minds.

But soon, Xiaobai and the ship girls looked at Luming's side. They were stunned at first, and then they all showed happy expressions.

"Hey, hey...it...it worked??"

"Admiral, we succeeded...we think we succeeded!"

"Miss Luming, you've turned back into a ship girl!"

The goddess of the hearth and Yubari turned around excitedly, took Shiro's hand, and said with great enthusiasm.

—Amidst the joyful gazes of the crowd.

Beside the unconscious deer.

The heavy cruiser that had been standing on the floor had vanished without a trace.

Chapter 2514 Return to Ship Girls

The female stove goddess didn't care about anything else for a moment. She let go of Xiaobai's hand and ran to Luming's side immediately.

The female hearth goddess first poked Lu Ming's cheek with her trembling fingers, then carefully touched the bandage on Lu Ming's neck and peeled it off one loop at a time.

Remove the bandage.

Lu Ming's neck was exposed to everyone's gaze.

Lu Ming still had Xiao Bai's clear teeth marks on his neck, but the marks were healing at an astonishing speed visible to the naked eye, and the blood was no longer flowing out.

Upon seeing this, the goddess of the hearth's eyes reddened.

Large tears streamed from the eyes of the goddess of the hearth.

"That's great...that's great..." The Vessian couldn't hold back her tears. She covered her mouth and sobbed as she looked at the healed wound on Luming's neck. "This is ship girl-level recovery power...only a ship girl can heal her injuries so quickly...it must be true, Shropshire...she's back to being a ship girl! That's great, that's really great, waaaaah..."

By the end, the female hearth goddess was so excited that she could no longer speak.

Xiao Bai stepped forward, comforted the female Kitchen Goddess with a hug, patted her shoulder, and smiled as he spoke to her.

"Goddess of the Hearth, you've done a good job."

"Admiral... Waaah, Admiral... Thank you... Thank you so much... Waaah!!!" The female hearth goddess, relieved of her burden, hugged Little White with gratitude.

Little White patted the goddess of the hearth on the back and gave Missouri a wink.

Missouri understood immediately. She walked over to the unconscious Lu Ming, knelt down, and gently shook Lu Ming's shoulder.

“Senior Luming…Senior Luming…Senior Shrop County, it’s time to wake up.”

"..." Lu Ming was gently shaken by Missouri. Her head swayed back and forth, and then at a certain moment, her body trembled slightly, her brows furrowed, as if she had just had a very long dream. She opened her eyes weakly and sleepily.

The moment Lu Ming opened his eyes, he saw Missouri's smiling face.

"Shropshire senior, did you sleep well?"

"You are...Missouri..."

Lu Ming's eyes were half open, clearly still in a dazed state after just waking up. She first murmured Missouri's name, then looked at Missouri's face for a moment, and at this moment, the memories slowly flowed back into her mind.

As his memories returned, Lu Ming's eyes widened even more.

"!!"

Finally, Lu Ming remembered everything.

Lu Ming remembered that she had just been receiving treatment to turn back into a ship girl.

"Did...it work?" Lu Ming asked Missouri blankly.

"I'll leave that question for you to confirm, senior." Missouri smiled upon hearing Lu Ming's words. "Does senior still remember how to operate the ship's equipment?"

“…” Lu Ming.

Lu Ming certainly remembered how to operate the ship's equipment.

After all, operating ship equipment is something every ship girl instinctively learns before even stepping out of the construction facility. For ordinary humans, this behavior is as basic as breathing, drinking water, clenching a fist, or swallowing—it's something etched into their DNA, something they'll never forget.

Lu Ming lowered his head, looking at his palms, in fits and starts.

Lu Ming gently clenched his fist.

White light flashes.

Just as Lu Ming was trying to clench his fist, a pristine white heavy cruiser appeared behind him. The breeze it created swirled up from the floor as it appeared, blowing Lu Ming's hair upwards.

Lu Ming was startled and quickly turned around to look behind him.

Lu Ming stared blankly at the ship's equipment.

Several seconds later, Lu Ming finally tried to control the heavy cruiser behind him.

The small turrets on the heavy cruiser's rig constantly swayed in the direction of Lu Ming's will, changing their orientation in all directions, with subtle creaking sounds echoing in the quiet room.

Everything felt so natural, without the slightest sense of incongruity.

It was as if this ship equipment was an extension of an arm, as if this ship equipment was something that Lu Ming had never lost.

Lu Ming attempted to utilize the power of the ship's equipment.

As the thought flashed through her mind, a power she hadn't felt in a very long time gathered in her palm.

Looking at her palm, Lu Ming could clearly feel that she could easily punch through the reinforced concrete floor if she threw a punch at the floor beneath her.

But Lu Ming did not try it.

Lu Ming simply withdrew his hand, trembling as he touched his neck, then his thighs and arms. These three places where Xiao Bai had bitten him had left scars of varying sizes, but now, under Lu Ming's touch, all three wounds had disappeared as if they had been abraded. When his fingers touched them, all that remained was the smooth and firm texture of the girl's skin.

It felt like a dream.

A strong sense of unreality, accompanied by dizziness, filled Lu Ming's mind.

……

Large tears suddenly streamed from Lu Ming's blank eyes, falling to the ground in a pattering sound.

"Miss Luming, that's wonderful." Xiaobai walked up carrying the female hearth goddess and smiled at Luming, saying, "It seems you have regained your identity as a ship girl. Our treatment was a complete success this time."

"I... I've turned back into... a ship girl?" Lu Ming asked Xiao Bai blankly, confirming.

"Miss Luming, can you stand up now?" Xiaobai smiled at Luming.

"..." Lu Ming stood up unsteadily, as if seeking support, and subconsciously reached out his hand to Xiao Bai.

“Miss Luming, you just lost enough blood to kill an ordinary person.” Xiaobai smiled and reached out to shake hands with Luming’s outstretched hand, then smiled sweetly, “If you were still human, Miss Luming, let alone standing up now, you might even have a big problem staying conscious.”

"So... if that's the case..."

"Welcome back to being a ship girl, Miss Shikamaru." Shiro held Shikamaru's hand, then playfully stuck out her tongue at her. "Oh no, or should I call you... Miss Shropshire now?"

Feeling the warmth emanating from Xiao Bai's palm, Lu Ming took a long breath.

I... turned back into a ship girl...

She's turned back into a ship girl!

The dreamlike sense of unreality vanished completely with Xiaobai's previous words.

Missouri stepped forward at the opportune moment, took out a pack of tissues, and handed it to Lu Ming.

Lu Ming accepted the tissues from Missouri with both hands, but instead of wiping away her tears immediately, she carefully held the tissue pack and stared at the tissues for a long time.

"Miss Luming, let's go outside and take a look," Xiaobai said with a smile.

"Outside?"

“Yes, there are many people outside who are worried about you,” Xiaobai said again.

"..." Lu Ming held the tissue in his hand and looked back at the tightly closed door.

At Xiaobai's prompting, Luming staggered to the door, gently turned the doorknob, and opened the door.

Sunlight streamed in from outside the door, illuminating Lu Ming's body.

Outside the door, Mutsu was leaning against the wall of the corridor with his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on them nervously.

The moment Mutsu saw Shikamei open the door, a look of joy instantly appeared on his face.

Shropshire!

Mutsu ran towards Luming immediately, ignoring the bloodstains all over her body, and rushed up to hug her tightly.

"Thank goodness! You're alright, you're alright..."

"Sister Mutsu...I..."

"The admiral secretly told me before that there was a way to turn you back into a ship girl, but there would be some risks. After I found out about this, I was especially worried about you. I was afraid that something would go wrong during your treatment, but I wasn't afraid that coming in would disturb you. I was so afraid that when I saw you again, you would have become completely human, and I was also afraid that I would never see you again. I..." Before Shikamei could speak, Mutsu, unusually, said a long sentence to Shikamei. She seemed to have a lot to say to Shikamei, but in the end, all the words stuck in her throat. She shook her head and hugged Shikamei again without hesitation. "...You're alright, that's so good...my sister...you're finally back..."

"Mutsu... Sister..."

Lu Ming murmured Mutsu's name and completely collapsed into her arms.

"I...I'm back..."

"You silly girl, you worried me to death! You're covered in blood!"

"……Um……"

"Quick, come with me to the bathhouse! I'm going to wash you all clean today!"

"..."

Without saying a word, Mutsu pulled Shikamei away, and the two left the room, walking down the stairs one after the other.

From the bottom of the stairs, the exclamations of the ship girls soon echoed in the lobby on the first floor.

"Wow, Miss Luming, you finished your treatment so quickly... Eh eh eh eh!! Why are you covered in blood!"

"Miss Luming, are you alright?"

"Huh? Wait, am I imagining things? Why do I sense the aura of a ship's equipment on Miss Shikamei?"

"Miss Luming?? You've turned back into a ship girl???"

"Wow! What did the admiral do to you?!"

"..."

The lobby downstairs quickly descended into chaos, filled with the footsteps of the ship girls and their excited chatter.

Inside the room on the second floor, Xiaobai listened to the shouts coming from outside and smiled contentedly.

"Now... I can finally put my mind at ease..." Xiaobai murmured to herself.

"The Admiral is truly remarkable." Yubari walked up to Shiro with a look of admiration. "To be able to give retired ship girls their ship equipment again and let them become ship girls again, this is an unprecedented and unparalleled achievement..."

"Thanks to your help, Yubari." Shiro smiled at Yubari.