Elder brother's garrison

"..."

Hearing Xiaobai's words, Hancock finally came to her senses. She nodded to Xiaobai and the other two, and then followed them.

"Hancock, please guide me," Changchun greeted with a smile.

"..." Hancock nodded silently.

The four friends, including Xiaobai, were on their way home.

After the evening's activities, Xiaobai felt that what he ate in the afternoon was almost digested. Hancock didn't seem to have eaten dinner either, so the four of them simply found a Kyoto food stall and ordered some local snacks to fill their stomachs.

He held the chilled soy milk cup in his hand, sucked on the straw, and drank it with great relish.

Changchun, on the other hand, ordered a bowl of fried liver and drank it with a small spoon.

Next to Xiaobai and his three companions, a Kyoto local dressed in old-fashioned clothes was fanning himself with a fan and talking to his tourists.

"Hey, let me tell you, this douzhi (fermented mung bean juice) has to be served with jiaoquan (deep-fried dough rings), and this fried liver (stir-fried liver) can't be drunk with a spoon or chopsticks. You have to drink it by dripping it along the edge of the bowl. That's the authentic way!"

Hearing what the person next to her said, Changchun quickly put down her spoon and looked around.

Once she realized no one was paying attention to her, she carefully picked up the bowl, brought her lips to the rim, and sipped slowly.

"It doesn't feel any different drinking it like this..." Changchun said to everyone after taking a few sips.

“Even in Kyoto, very few young people drink like this,” Hancock said to Changchun. “Originally, this way of drinking was just because the older generation had poor dining conditions back then. There were no tables and chairs, and they couldn’t free their hands to hold a bowl in one hand and a sesame seed cake in the other. Also, eating the edge of the bowl would cool it down a bit, so they wouldn’t burn their mouths. That’s how it gradually became a habit. Now that conditions are better, people can drink however they want.”

"Oh, I see." After listening, Changchun felt as if his knowledge had been broadened.

Chao Dahe was still drinking soy milk on the side.

Little White rested his chin on one hand, his gaze curiously fixed on Hancock.

"Hancock seems to know a lot about Kyoto's customs. Are you a long-time civilian ship girl?" Xiaobai asked.

"..." Hancock shook his head. "These are all things that people in the mercenary group said. I joined the group late, and I gradually learned about them after hearing them a lot."

"Huh? So you're actually quite young?"

“I don’t know,” Hancock replied.

Xiaobai looked at Hancock's profile and was about to ask more questions when the food stall owner came over with two bowls of braised pork rice.

Before the person even arrived, the air was already filled with a strong aroma of meat and braised food.

"Two bowls of fresh, steaming hot braised pork rice, here they come!"

"Over here!" Xiaobai quickly raised her hand, immediately putting aside her idle chatter and excitedly greeting the boss.

……

After dinner... or rather, after a late-night snack, Xiaobai and the other three returned to Yubari's neighborhood.

Hancock was stunned for a moment when he saw the luxurious residential area of ​​Yubari.

She stood at the back of the line, stopped, and stared blankly ahead.

"Hancock, what's wrong?" Xiaobai and the other two turned around.

"This is...where you live?" Hancock asked the three of them with a complicated expression, coming back to his senses.

"Yes."

“I thought it was a hotel… I didn’t expect it to actually be a house…” Hancock muttered to herself, but she quickly shook her head and accepted reality. “Hmm… it doesn’t seem wrong.”

The three girls exchanged glances, shrugged, and pulled Hancock into the residential area.

Within the residential area, perhaps to accommodate the residents' access to the water, most areas are pitch black at night, with only one or two small shops having their lights on.

Xiaobai and his two companions led Hancock into the Yubari building, took the elevator to their apartment door, put away the newly added letter, and then took out their key to open the door.

The room was instantly bright and spacious as soon as the light was turned on.

"Go home!"

The three of them, Xiaobai and Hancock, entered the house, and Hancock followed them inside.

Upon entering the house in Yubari, Hancock stood in the entryway, looking left and right, constantly observing his surroundings.

"Hancock, is this your first time visiting someone's house?" Little White asked curiously, looking at Hancock's expression.

"..." Hancock looked at Xiaobai and nodded, "I used to stay in dormitories... This is the first time I've seen what the interior of a guesthouse looks like."

"Sigh... your mercenary group must have it tough," Xiaobai said with some emotion. "Come in and have a seat."

Hancock then took off his shoes while holding onto the wall and followed Xiaobai and the other two into the living room.

Changchun washed the fruit for Hancock, brought the fruit platter to her, and helped her sit down on the sofa.

"Sister Hancock, what kind of TV do you like to watch?" Changchun asked with a smile, picking up the remote control.

"...Television?" Hancock tilted his head.

"Ah... well, then I'll find you some movies to watch." Changchun looked at Hancock's expression and immediately realized that Hancock probably had never watched TV before, so she quickly changed her mind, reached out and pressed a button on the remote control, and switched the TV program to the movie channel.

Hancock sat upright on the sofa, his gaze fixed on the television screen, its surface reflecting the flickering light and shadows.

Hancock watched the television quietly, her eyes clear and bright. Standing next to her, it seemed as if you could clearly see the reflection of the television screen in her pupils.

Changchun sat down next to Hancock and handed her an apple.

Hancock took the apple, but just rubbed it between his thighs without eating it.

Hancock is a quiet and unassuming man who doesn't seem to have any desires or make any noise, so he's quite easy to take care of.

Xiao Bai looked at the two people on the sofa and sighed.

In the living room, Hancock and Changchun got along well.

Xiaobai wanted to join them, but then she suddenly seemed to remember something, reached into her clothes, and pulled out her phone.

Speaking of which... I was busy with other things all afternoon, and later I even went to the factory area in the suburbs and caused a ruckus, so I didn't check my phone until I got home.

I wonder if Yubari has seen my message.

After all, he had promised the people at the Ship Equipment Research Center that he would convey their message to Yubari.

Xiaobai opened her phone and glanced at the message notification bar on the screen.

Upon seeing this, Xiaobai immediately burst into an embarrassed laugh.

Xiaobai's message notification bar shows that he has received 99+ messages, and the message was sent by only one user, Yubari.

This is Xiaobai's fault; she's been keeping her phone on silent mode whenever she goes out these past few days.

Xiaobai opened her phone and tapped on the message notification.

The phone screen quickly switched to the chat interface with Yubari.

At the very top of the message, Shiro's "Yubari, are you there?" was still prominently displayed. However, about half an hour later, below Shiro's message, Yubari's replies began to flood the screen.

"I'm here!"

"Haha, I was working on ship equipment with Vestal before, so I didn't see it. Now that I do, Admiral, is there something you need?"

"Admiral?"

"Has the Admiral arrived in Kyoto yet? How is the house?"

"Admiral? Hello?"

"Admiral, say something!"

"Hey—are you there—"

"Remember to reply to me after you see this, Admiral!"

"..."

"Admiral, it's been five minutes, why haven't you answered me yet?"

"Admiral, what do you want with me?"

"I'm so anxious! I'm so anxious! Where are you, Admiral?"

"Could it be that they've run into some kind of trouble?"

"Oh no, there shouldn't be anyone in this world who can stump the Admiral..."

"Why does the admiral want to see me? Did he lose his keys?"

"It's okay if you lose your keys. Uncle Li, the security guard, will help you contact the property management."

"If all else fails, just punch the security door and install a new one!"

"Admiral, half an hour has passed, where are you...?"

"Lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely..."

"Lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely..."

"...Waaaaah, Admiral, I was wrong. I will never delay your messages again."

"Admiral, please say something..."

"..."

Xiaobai scrolled through Yubari's messages from beginning to end, and could even picture Yubari anxiously holding her phone on the other end of the phone, pouting and pacing around, stamping her feet.

Xiao Bai suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

Xiaobai raised her finger and sent a message to Yubari's chat interface.

"Yubari, I just got home."

As soon as Xiaobai sent the message, before she could even step into the living room, her phone immediately responded.

"Admiral!!! You're finally back!!!"

Wow... such a quick reaction.

Xiao Bai looked at the messages on her phone and sighed.

"Admiral, Admiral, what have you been up to all day? I haven't seen you all day, I was so worried about you!" The message from Yubari came through very quickly.

"Ah... I didn't do much, just had dinner with Changchun and Chao Yamato, then strolled around Kyoto, went to settle a dispute between two large civilian mercenary groups, blew up an abandoned factory, and then..." Xiaobai typed, glanced back at Hancock and Changchun in the living room, and continued typing, "...and then brought a new ship girl friend to your house for a visit...I didn't tell you about this before, sorry..."

Chapter 3435 The common people, but not entirely the common people

"Huh? Admiral, your day has been so exciting??? You've even been involved in some fun activities, like blowing up factories! That was awesome!" The message from Yubari sounded quite shocked. "Oh no, oh no, we've really lost out! We should have come with you, Admiral!"

"..." Xiaobai smiled, ignoring Yubari's seemingly heart-wrenching wails, and continued typing, "Speaking of which... people from the Ship Equipment Research Center also came today."

"Ship Equipment Research Center? What are they doing here?" Yubari immediately became alert.

"They said they can't do without Dr. Yubari. Without you, the Ship Equipment Research Center can't function properly. Also, if you come back now, they are willing to give you a high title, high salary, and give you preferential treatment in resources. With just one order from you, they will appoint you as the new leader of the Ship Equipment Research Center."

Wow, that's amazing?

"That's it."

"Looks like I'm pretty good after all!" The message from Yubari was full of pride.

"After all, you are the first, the second, and the only proper researcher in the world to have carried out missile shipboard modification..." Xiaobai replied with a smile, and then typed, "So are you planning to come back?"

After Xiaobai sent that message, there was a long silence on Yubari's end.

Xiaobai held her phone for a long time, and just before she was about to turn around and walk into the living room, Yuzhang finally sent a faint "Sigh~~~~" from her end.

"Admiral, but I've noticed that I'm finding myself spending more and more time at the naval base lately," Yubari messaged Shiro. "The classes at the Ship Equipment Center... to be honest, I do want to go there. I'd be happy to be exposed to high-level research, but there are so many Abyssal Directors and so many amazing new ship girls at the naval base now, all of them are top-tier in the world. I could grab any two of them and write a paper using their ship equipment and combat data. For me, our naval base is an inexhaustible gold mine right now. I really don't want to go back... Besides, Kyoto is so far from our naval base, it takes several days to go back and forth!"

"So you were worried about the journey?" Xiaobai blinked. "If that's the case, then it's actually fine now."

"what?"

"I installed a teleportation anchor for Super Yamato at your house... As long as Super Yamato is still there, it will be very convenient for us to move around," Xiaobai typed.

"Eh? Super Yamato? Oh! Right! The teleportation anchor! Oh dear, Super Yamato! How could I forget about that!" Yubari suddenly became excited, sending a bunch of happy panda emojis to Shiro. The panda emojis kept flooding the screen, showing Shiro a handsome, tearful smile. "Admiral, Admiral, I've changed my mind! I've changed my mind! I'm going to Kyoto now, so I can commute between Kyoto and the naval base! Is my teleportation anchor set up yet? Can you come pick me up now?"

"Sure...but we have new guests at home right now..."

"Hey! What's that? Anyway, any ship girls that run up to you, Admiral, will eventually be taken home by you. They're all on your side!"

Yubari is spouting her blunt truth again.

Shiro smiled helplessly, but she still agreed to Yubari's request, and then raised her hand to call Chao Yamato to her side.

Chao Da and several cups of soy milk were packed to take home. At this moment, she held a cup of soy milk and went to Xiao Bai's side like she was drinking milk tea, obediently like a little puppy.