Elder brother's garrison

"...Where is the Admiral?" Illinois looked around and asked curiously.

Reminded by Illinois' words, everyone looked behind them.

Little White's figure appeared in their sight right after New Jersey. She jogged and waved as she caught up.

"Admiral, you've finally come out." The crowd said when they saw Xiaobai chasing after them.

"Ah... um..." Xiaobai glanced awkwardly at New Jersey, who was buried in Iowa's arms, and observed her condition. "Yes... yes, it took a little time."

"Admiral, what were you and New Jersey doing behind the scenes? You're being so secretive."

"No, nothing much..." Xiaobai blushed even more upon hearing this, "We just talked about the Super Construction Machine..."

"Oh……"

Everyone nodded, then looked at each other.

"Speaking of which, it's rare to see two new ship girls this time. Shall we head to the training ground later?" Iowa asked. "It'll be a good opportunity to show the two ship girls our strength."

“Eleveno, 1913, what do you think?” Missouri asked with a smile.

“I’m fine with anything.” Illinois raised her hand and tapped her chin with her index finger knuckle. “However, my training level is still very low, so it probably won’t show much.”

“Me too.” 1913 said with a smile as she held up her parasol. “As a new ship girl, my training level is only level 1.”

"Ah...right, lately there have been all sorts of special ship girls, I almost forgot that the levels of ordinary ship girls have to be increased manually." The ship girls belatedly realized, and they rubbed their foreheads and sighed.

"Isn't the admiral supposed to be able to level up the ship girls?"

"The admiral said that forcing growth is not good in the long run... unless it is a ship girl with a very solid foundation from the start."

The ship girls exchanged glances and made comments.

Upon hearing that Xiaobai could improve training levels, 1913 and Illinois exchanged thoughtful glances.

Xiaobai smiled as she listened to the ship girls' discussion.

"We can talk about the training ground later," Xiaobai said to everyone. "Illinois and 1913 are rather special ship girls. They should have some ship girls with unique relationships in our naval base. We can call them over to get to know them."

“We’re probably the ones with the most connection to Illinois,” Wisconsin said, turning to 1913. “As for 1913… wow, this name sounds so awkward to me, it doesn’t sound like I’m calling you at all… can I use a different name?”

“Of course.” 1913 nodded with a smile.

“Hmm…then I’ll call you…” Wisconsin stroked her chin, looked 1913 up and down for a while, then her eyes suddenly lit up and she asked excitedly, “How about Aunt Thirteen!”

"...What a weird name." Everyone looked at Wisconsin helplessly.

"What's wrong? This name actually suits her quite well," Wisconsin explained to everyone. "Look at her, how fitting this name is for her!"

"That's a bit..."

Everyone wanted to speak but stopped.

“Sure.” 1913 nodded with a smile.

"Huh? This is possible?!" Everyone looked at 1913 in surprise.

"Hmm...it's a very distinctive way of addressing me. If you call me by that name from now on, I shouldn't mistake you." 1913 raised a finger, covered his mouth and smiled softly, then said to everyone.

"Look, the parties involved have all agreed!" Wisconsin immediately felt a surge of accomplishment.

"...You're too kind, aren't you?" The ship girls all looked at 1913 and sighed.

1913's smile was filled with a kind of affection that seemed to be from an elder to a younger generation, like indulging a child's mischief, with a kind of inexplicable sense of tolerance.

Xiaobai watched the noisy crowd silently from the side. Her gaze shifted from 1913's smile to Wisconsin.

Wisconsin... she really is as accurate as ever.

Based on Xiaobai's conversation with 1913, and considering their backgrounds, Xiaobai felt that at least for 1913 herself, she probably didn't particularly like the name "1913"... After all, in essence, the name "1913 Battlecruiser" was merely a general term for "unborn battlecruisers from a certain era." This name wasn't offensive, but it was never truly 1913's own name. To her, it was like someone pointing at Xiaobai and calling her "human girl," pointing at Missouri and the others and calling them "ship girls," pointing at Abyssal and the others and calling them "Abyssal Dean"—a rather general term.

Xiao Bai remembered a sentence that 1913 had just said.

“One’s own name is just a code.”

It turns out that for 1913, this name really was just a code.

Wisconsin's statement that "saying 1913 doesn't sound like calling your name" certainly fits this concept. Her choice to use her own original nickname to refer to 1913 is also a reaction to this feeling.

Wisconsin is a country that acts solely on intuition and always makes choices that others would have made after careful consideration.

Xiao Bai looked at 1913, seeing her calm and contented smile.

Although the name Thirteen Aunt is quite quirky, at least... when Wisconsin calls her that, 1913 truly feels that it is calling her, and she is not angry about it.

I see, that's how it is.

Xiao Bai nodded, feeling deeply moved.

"Admiral, what do you think of the name Thirteen Aunt?" Wisconsin asked Xiaobai.

"Huh? Me?" Xiaobai was taken aback. She looked at the stares of those around her and smiled a little shyly. "...Um, it's...it's fine?"

"How about you call me Aunt Thirteen from now on, Admiral?"

"...I'll just forget about it..."

Xiao Bai smiled.

Chapter 3669 Same Camp

Say one thousand, preach ten thousand.

Even from an emotional perspective, 1913 herself did not object to the novel way of addressing her as "Thirteenth Aunt," but Xiaobai still felt that it was inappropriate to call such a young, beautiful, and elegant older sister "Auntie."

1913 only gives the impression of being a bit more mature than the average ship girl, but she's not old at all.

It's too early to call her auntie now.

"Admiral, I rarely come up with a good name," Wisconsin pouted, complaining to Little White.

"You should be secretly happy that the Admiral allowed you to call her 'Thirteenth Sister' that way." Iowa raised her hand and gently tapped Wisconsin's head. "It's already difficult enough that such a strange title was approved. How can you still want to bring the Admiral into your camp?"

“Where is this pushing your luck? This vibe is so fitting…” Wisconsin exclaimed, rubbing her head and turning around. She was about to explain, but then she froze, realizing something was wrong. “I…you…wait, wait, wait, wait—wait a minute!!! Sister Iowa, did you just casually say ‘Thirteenth Sister’ like that?! That was your own addition, wasn’t it? That was definitely your own addition!”

Wisconsin's eyes widened, and she pointed at Iowa.

"Sister Iowa, you are so despicable!"

"How is this despicable? Is it inappropriate to address her as 'Thirteenth Sister'?" Iowa cupped one cheek and asked with a smile.

"You're so..."

“After all, it’s a unique way of addressing someone, and Missouri also thinks that addressing Senior Thirteen is quite good.” Missouri smiled and nodded from the side.

"Hiss, even Missouri, you..."

Wisconsin stared at Missouri, then suddenly looked at Illinois and pulled her to her side.

"Illinois, what do you want to call her?"

"Huh? Me?" Illinois was suddenly pulled from her spectator position to the center of the discussion. She hadn't expected the topic to suddenly shift to her, and she was also a little confused as to why the situation had suddenly turned into a nickname contest for 1913. But looking at 1913 standing to the side with a calm smile on his face, she hesitated for a moment before finally showing some empathy in her reply, "Well... if Miss Thirteen doesn't mind, may I call you that from now on?"

“Of course, Miss Illinois,” replied 1913.

"Now only New Jersey is left." Wisconsin looked at New Jersey.

"..." New Jersey lifted her head from Iowa's arms, glanced at everyone, rubbed her eyes, "...My name is Thirteen?"

New Jersey's response was perfunctory.

"Good, good, good, the simplest way is the best, it has to be you." Wisconsin put her hands on her hips and turned to 1913 beside her, saying, "Thirteenth Aunt, look, the names they gave you were either unoriginal or impolite, in the end, mine is the most memorable."

"I really like the name you all gave me," 1913 said with a smile, gently stroking the black hair draped over his shoulders.

"...You really aren't picky?" Wisconsin said, somewhat speechless.

"I already told you, Thirteenth Sister is a very nice person."

"Ugh, this is getting cheesy."

"It seems that Wisconsin is still some time away from understanding the art of balance."

"Bring water? What kind of water?"

"..."

Everyone chatted animatedly, creating a lively atmosphere, much like a comedy routine, without any awkwardness as if they were meeting for the first time.

Xiao Bai looked at everyone and smiled slightly.

As for myself... I'll just call it 1913 for now.

It seems that 1913 prefers to be given some everyday nicknames by others, and Xiaobai will cooperate with her on this point. However, Xiaobai has been bad at naming things for a long time, and when she has time later, Xiaobai will think about what other names would be more suitable.

"Back to the previous topic... Illinois, 1913, you are both new ship girls in our naval base, and I need to arrange accommodation for you." Xiaobai said with a smile to the ship girls in front of her, "As for Illinois... since you are an Iowa-class ship girl, how about you live with Iowa from now on? If you prefer to live alone, you can also say so, and I will arrange a separate dormitory for you."

“I’m fine, I’ll stay with my sisters.” Illinois nodded, gently patting her chest. After thinking for a moment, she asked Xiaobai for confirmation, “Speaking of which… I heard that the Admiral lives with Iowa and the others?”

"Hmm? Hmm... Yes, but that was back at the naval base."

"Isn't this the naval base?"

"This is a temporary garrison; we're still on a long-term mission."

"I thought this was a naval base."

"The place is a bit big, but our garrison headquarters will be even bigger," Xiaobai smiled. "I'll take you back to see it in a few days."

"Oh……"

Illinois nodded, her gaze sweeping over her sisters beside her, and said nothing more.

"1913... Next up is your side." After finishing up with the Illinois matter, Xiaobai turned to 1913 and said, "Um... I just heard you say that you are very familiar with Changchun and Anshan... How about I have them come and meet you now?"

"I do wish to meet them, but whether those two seniors from Changchun and Anshan are interested in me is beyond my control," 1913 said with a smile, lowering his parasol slightly.

"It's okay, they'll be interested in you." Xiaobai smiled at 1913.

It turns out that Changchun and Anshan were indeed interested in 1913.

Because they didn't even have time to wait for Xiaobai to call them. When Xiaobai and her group returned to the dormitory building, Changchun and Anshan were already waiting there for a long time.

Under everyone's gaze, Changchun and Anshan looked on expectantly. Beside them, a person from Jinan climbed onto a tall street lamp, her two fair legs tightly gripping the lamp, and raised her hands as if making a telescope gesture to look at Xiaobai's side.

Jinan raised his hands and waved to Xiaobai and his group who had arrived at the dormitory building entrance.

"Comrade Admiral—over here!"

Jinan shouted, attracting the attention of Xiaobai and the others.

Immediately afterwards, Jinan nimbly jumped down from the street lamp, which was more than six meters high. Changchun and Anshan followed quickly behind her, and the three of them soon jogged to Xiaobai and his group.

"Admiral, we just heard from Jinan that you built a battleship for our faction, is that right?" Changchun covered her chest with her hands in surprise, her face slightly flushed with excitement. Her eyes kept scanning the people behind Xiaobai, finally landing on 1913 and Illinois. "Our faction actually has battleships? How amazing! Um... excuse me... which lady is it?"

Generally speaking, the faction of ship girls can be identified from some of their physical characteristics and clothing.

Just like the distinctive naval uniforms worn by women from Changchun and Anshan, which implicitly indicate their identity and stance.

However, this method of evaluation is not absolute.

Ship girls' appearances can change arbitrarily due to certain historical reasons. For example, Changchun and Anshan, although belonging to the same camp as Yixian, are not black-haired and black-eyed, but rather white-haired beauties.

The three people from Changchun looked at the two unfamiliar older women who had recently appeared in Xiaobai's group. They curiously examined the two women's clothes and appearance, but for a moment, they couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Which of these two is my faction's battleship sister?

Changchun first looked at 1913 with curiosity, scrutinizing 1913's oriental features and long, flowing black hair. Her eyes just revealed some certainty, but in the end, her questioning gaze lingered on 1913's Western-style dress and parasol, before finally turning to Illinois on the other side.

Changchun stared thoughtfully at Illinois' green hair, shawl, and sheer blouse.

"What a perfect timing! I was just about to call you over." Xiaobai said to the three ship girls in front of her, and said with a smile, "Haha, not many people probably know that I went to build ship girls. How did you know that I had successfully built them? That's right, it was the two of you."

"Ta-da!" Jinan raised her hands high, smiling as she waved to Xiaobai, "Of course it's me! I'm very sensitive to the scent of ship girls, and I can tell right away which ship girls have been added to the naval base!"

"It's Jinan..."

Xiao Bai looked towards Jinan.

Anshan spoke to Xiaobai and his group with a smile.

"Jinan was with me and Changchun just now. She was eating snacks when suddenly she shook several times as if she had been struck by lightning. Then she told us with a look of surprise that a battleship with the same aura as us had appeared."

"As expected of Jinan, their special ship girls are really amazing." Xiaobai nodded to Jinan with admiration, then smiled and pointed to Illinois, who had just been watching Changchun, and said to them, "Well, it's perfect that you're here. I don't need to call you. Let me introduce you first. This is Illinois, the fifth ship of the Iowa-class, and Missouri's sister."

"Ship No. 5?"

Changchun and Anshan looked at Illinois in astonishment.