Elder brother's garrison

Ultimately, everyone present, including Xiaobai himself, agreed that it was absolutely unacceptable to have Montana as an opponent for Guam and Alaska.

After all, this exercise is not about winning or losing; its main purpose is to showcase the shipboard capabilities of Guam and Alaska, and to demonstrate their current strength after being converted into missile ships.

As for Montana's strength...

As everyone just saw.

Good guy.

That a casual wave of the hand can unleash an attack with a force comparable to the destruction of the world, is something that the concept of a ship girl can't achieve...

I reckon that, apart from Frederick the Great, everyone else in this garrison would be instantly killed if they faced Montana head-on...

If the Montana were to face off against the Alaskan sisters, the exercise would likely end before the Alaskan sisters even had a chance to demonstrate their shipboard capabilities.

Despite Montana's repeated friendly explanations regarding the ship girls' protests, she stated that in addition to her all-out battle mode, she also has a relatively mild, go-ahead mode, much like how she treats normal naval base partners in daily life during drills. She wouldn't immediately jump into the second phase and use her invincible nanotech army to crush them, so the ship girls could rest assured.

Montana spoke with exceptional sincerity, but the ship girls who had just witnessed Montana blast through an entire training ground were already determined that no matter what Montana said, they would not let her touch the Alaskan sisters even once.

With things having come to this, Montana could only regretfully squat down on the nearby sand and draw circles on the beach with his finger.

"Admiral, if it's just a mild exercise to demonstrate the ship's equipment performance, then let me do it." As everyone discussed the exercise partners, Guam and Alaska, Pompeii stepped out from the group of ship girls.

"Pompeii? You're going to conduct exercises with Guam and Alaska?" Xiaobai raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and turned to look at Pompeii.

"Well, I'm already here anyway." Pompeii shrugged at Little White, a smile playing on her lips. "I've never actually fought a missile ship before, so this is a good opportunity to give it a try."

"Hmm... if it's Pompeii, then it's fine..."

Xiao Bai muttered to himself, glancing at Guam and Alaska.

"What's going on? This tone of 'It's okay because I'm weak'..." Pompeii frowned at Xiaobai's words, then pouted and said to Xiaobai, "Admiral, let me say this first, although I joined the naval base relatively late, I am actually considered to be in the middle to upper tier among the ship girls in our naval base. Rather, you should remind Guam and Alaska not to capsize in my hands."

“That’s right, that’s right.” Xiaobai immediately nodded with a smile.

“However, if Pompeii is to deal with Guam and Alaska alone, even a friendly exercise will be a bit stressful.” Zara stepped forward at this moment, put down the red umbrella on her shoulder, and smiled at Xiaobai, asking, “Admiral, if possible, please let me join the exercise as well.”

“Oh, so it’s two against two, that’s fair.” Xiaobai nodded immediately.

“Count me in!” Baltimore quickly raised her hand, squeezing through the crowd and saying blushingly, “Since Miss Guam and Miss Alaska want to showcase their missile ship equipment, then the more people the better, right…”

“Baltimore has a point,” Xiaobai said, looking at the Alaskan sisters. “Guam, Alaska, what do you think?”

Guam and Alaska exchanged a glance, thought for a moment, and then spoke to Little White.

"Admiral, as long as we don't have to fight Montana, that's fine!"

"That won't happen..." Xiaobai smiled. "Hmm... How about this, since you also think it's better to have more people in the exercise, why don't you just put together a full six-person squad with the ship girls you're exercising with? That way, you'll have more room to perform, right?"

"Oh, two against six? That's a good idea too, so who wants to come?" Alaska immediately looked at everyone confidently.

"I'm in charge of measuring the data, and I have to stay on the shore to debug the machine. I can't do it," Yubari said, raising his head from the sand.

"Wow, Yubari, you've adjusted your emotions so quickly?"

"Ha! I am the world's number one ship equipment refitter. This little setback is nothing but a bit of hardship!"

"So Changchun and Jinan are coming too?" The ship girls looked at Changchun and Jinan again.

"Huh? Me too? Okay!" Jinan's eyes lit up. She was about to nod and raise her hand, but Changchun grabbed her wrist from behind and pressed it down.

Jinan puffed out her cheeks and turned around, but the next second, Changchun's palm gently covered Jinan's head and began to stroke it tenderly.

"Ladies, Jinan and I won't be participating in the exercise." Changchun reassured Jinan while saying somewhat apologetically to the others, "We are all missile ships. If we also go up to participate in the exercise, the scene will turn into a missile duel... which will affect the performance of our fellow missile ships, Guam and Alaska."

"As expected of Changchun, she has such a meticulous mind..." the ship girls realized.

Xiao Bai smiled at Changchun as well.

"So right now, only three ship girls—Pompeii, Baltimore, and Zara—have decided to participate in the exercises with Guam and Alaska," Xiaobai said to the people present. "We're still missing three other ship girls."

“Admiral, then I…” Montana, who was in the distance, came closer when she heard the voice, her expression slightly expectant.

"Montana, you may leave."

"Sigh." Montana shook his head, returned to the ground where he had been, and squatted down again to continue drawing circles.

So far, there are only so many ship girls following Xiaobai. After checking everyone's numbers, only three ship girls can participate in the exercises with Guam and Alaska. As for Changchun, Jinan, and Jean Bart, they can also join, but as Changchun said, the three of them are missile ships after all. Missile ships have a different way of fighting than normal ship girls, which is quite special. If they really get involved, the scene of the exercise will turn into a boring duel between missiles, and then Guam and Alaska can forget about testing their ship equipment properly.

"How about I go and call a few friends over?" Baltimore suggested to the group when he saw the situation freeze. "I've been at the Naval Base training grounds for quite a while, and I have a few training partners here that I know well. They should still be here by now, so they should be able to come."

“Oh, it’s you again, Baltimore. Why don’t you try calling him?” Little White immediately smiled and looked at Baltimore.

Upon receiving Xiaobai's instructions, Baltimore immediately took out her phone, turned her back to the crowd, and went to the beach not far away. She made a few calls, stroking the microphone and speaking briefly into the other end of the line.

Time flies.

Just minutes after Baltimore hung up the phone, three figures came running from the other side of the beach at the training ground.

"Admiral! I heard you're short-handed!"

Three colorful and agile figures ran over waving their hands. Leading them was York, whom they hadn't seen for several days, and beside York were two rookie heavy cruiser girls from the naval base.

Xiaobai recognized that these two heavy cruisers were the ship girls who had received heavy cruiser training from Washington along with York and Baltimore.

These three heavy cruiser ship girls are known for their rigorous training. They must have just finished training not long ago. When they ran this way, their clothes were almost soaked with sweat and seawater. The wet fabric clung to their beautiful figures, and their snow-white skin was faintly visible in the sunlight as their bodies swayed and undulated.

“York, over here!” Baltimore waved his phone and called out to York.

"Baltimore!" York exclaimed with a smile as soon as he saw Baltimore, quickening his pace by half a beat.

After the three ship girls arrived in front of everyone, York immediately gave Baltimore a big hug.

The two sounds of laughter swirled and then stopped.

"Baltimore! I heard you took leave these past few days to help with the Chicago renovation project. How's it going?" York asked with a smile, holding Baltimore in his arms.

"Yes, everything is fine. I missed you all so much!" Baltimore smiled happily at her friends, gently pursing her lips. Then, she gripped York's hand tightly, exchanged a knowing glance with her other two friends, and turned to Little White, saying, "Admiral, these three are the good partners I was talking about. They are my best training partners in daily life, and we have great chemistry. Let them join us for the exercise!"

"I heard we're going to be sparring partners for the remodeled Guam and Alaska?" York smiled and looked at everyone. "Of course I'd come to such a good thing. So, where are the people from Guam and Alaska?"

"..." Little White blinked and pointed to the Alaskan sisters next to her.

York followed Xiaobai's gaze to the two ship girls, and their eyes met for a moment.

York stared at Guam and Alaska for a moment, then tilted his head.

"Hello?" York asked somewhat hesitantly. "Are you new here?"

“I’m Alaska, York,” Alaska said, pointing to himself and laughing. “What, don’t you recognize me?”

"……what?"

York paused, her curious expression momentarily blank, as she looked around at Alaska and her eyes widened instantly.

"You...you're Alaska?" York exclaimed in surprise, her gaze shifting between Alaska and Guam in disbelief. "So...this blue one over here is Guam? Wait, do you even have a single cell in your body that's the same as the ones from Alaska and Guam?"

Chapter 3872 Guiding the Great Patrol

It seems that even York was speechless with astonishment at the Alaskan sisters' incredible transformation, which was comparable to plastic surgery, body sculpting, and even a complete head transplant.

“York, we understand how you feel. Actually, we felt the same way when we first saw them after their modifications.” The ship girls patted York on the shoulder. “Even the Admiral didn’t recognize Alaska at first.”

“Oh dear… even the Admiral didn’t recognize it…” York snapped out of her daze, staring at Alaska with a strange expression. “The extent of the modifications is truly… exaggerated…”

"Heh heh, pretty good, right?" Alaska laughed, puffing out its chest.

"..." York stared at Alaska's radiant face and the trembling soft object hanging on his chest, then cautiously leaned close to Baltimore's ear, "Baltimore, are modifications this amazing now?"

“Dr. Yubari said that this is a rare case…” Baltimore explained.

"Sigh... I'm envious." York withdrew his gaze and murmured meaningfully.

“However, there’s one thing I need to correct.” Alaska held up a finger and winked at York. “Actually, the Admiral did recognize me in the end. As expected of the Admiral, even though my appearance, figure, and voice have almost completely changed, the Admiral can still recognize my soul!”

"...What's going on? Why do I feel like she's showing off to me?"

"Your intuition is probably correct..."

"Fine, fine, I'm going to use all my strength in the exercise later!" York gritted his teeth.

Xiaobai listened to the ship girls' conversation and couldn't help but chuckle.

Now that the full squadron is assembled, Xiaobai immediately arranged for Pompeii, Zara, Baltimore, York, and two other heavy cruiser girls to go to sea.

After watching the full squad reach the sea, Xiaobai turned his attention to Guam and Alaska beside him.

"Guam, Alaska, it's your turn to enter," said Xiaobai.

"Okay, Admiral, we'll head over now." Alaska smiled at Whitey, "I hope Guam and I will perform to your satisfaction!"

"You were battlecruisers before, right..." Xiaobai smiled as she listened to Alaska's words, then asked with concern, "Now that you've suddenly been converted into a missile ship, are you adapting well to the change in ship equipment?"

"Hmm... Actually, before the conversion, I thought I would find it quite difficult to adapt... After all, converting to a missile ship meant that all the training we had accumulated over the past ten years, the combat experience we had gained, and the tactics we had learned would basically go to waste. We would have to start all over again as a new ship type..." Alaska thought for a moment, then smiled and explained to Xiaobai, "But... Admiral, after the actual conversion to a missile ship, as the missile ship equipment became integrated into my body, I realized that the sense of freedom, as if I could treat the ship equipment as an extension of my body, filled my entire mind. I learned how to operate the missile ship equipment almost intuitively. I didn't even need to think much; as soon as I thought about using the missile launcher, my body would automatically respond to the command. This feeling is even better than when I was still a battlecruiser!"

"Regardless of the outcome, I have no regrets about converting it into a missile ship," Guam said with a smile, placing one hand on his chest. "It seems that our lives were prepared for this moment."

"That puts my mind at ease." Little White breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Guam and Alaska. "Good luck!"

Xiaobai watched as Guam and Alaska stepped onto the water, where they met the training ship girls who had been waiting for a long time.

The creaking sound of footsteps came from behind Xiaobai.

Shiro turned his head and saw Yubari brushing the sand off his body and coming to his side with a strange prop that looked like a camera.

The sound just now was the strange sound of Yubari's feet stepping on the sand.

"Yubari, what is this...?" Shiro looked curiously at the instrument in Yubari's hand.

"This is a comprehensive ship equipment strength measurement instrument," Yubari said. "It can remotely save the data of ship girls in actual combat by recording optical images, and retain the image data for experimental needs."

"Uh... I didn't understand."

"This is a camera." Yubari stuck out her pink little tongue at Shiro.

"understood."

"Admiral, do you think Guam and Alaska will win?" Yubari asked Shiro while taking pictures of the sea.

"Hmm... the battle hasn't even started yet, so I don't know... plus, Guam and Alaska are using ship-based equipment for the first time, and they're facing our naval base's main heavy cruiser lineup, so their performance might not be ideal..." Xiaobai analyzed, and after thinking for a while, she continued, "However, in my understanding, missile battleships are very powerful, so maybe they can surprise me."

"Oh... that's what the Admiral thinks." After hearing what Shiro said, Yubari nodded and smiled mysteriously.

"Huh? Yubari? What do you mean by the hidden meaning in your words?" Shiro didn't quite understand Yubari's reaction.

“Admiral, you seem to have made a mistake.” Yubari, holding a camera and filming the sea, turned to Shiro and smiled. “Although Alaska and Guam have been converted into missile ships, I never said they were missile battleships.”

"Huh? Not a missile battleship?" Xiaobai was stunned, a little surprised. "Aren't they battlecruisers converted into missile ships? What else could they be but missile battleships?"

"Admiral, have you heard of the Grand Tour?"

"Guide...what?" Xiaobai was confused.

“A missile-equipped large cruiser,” Yubari explained, word by word. “Simply put, it’s a missile-equipped large cruiser. Of course, you can call them large cruisers if you like, Admiral. This is a special modification I tailored for them based on the ship equipment preferences of Guam and Alaska.”

“Special modification…” Xiaobai murmured, his expression somewhat unfocused.

"Ah, the battle has begun," Yubari said with a smile, pointing to the sea.

Xiaobai subconsciously looked towards the sea.

Sure enough, during the few words that Shiro and Yubari were exchanging, a crisp signal flare sounded on the sea, and Guam and Alaska immediately engaged in combat with the training ship girls.

Among the training ship girls, Baltimore took a deep breath, and then she gradually emitted a dazzling light. The light from her body was transmitted to her teammates in the blink of an eye. The next moment, the entire squadron of heavy cruiser ship girls shone on the water as if they were plated with gold.

With the dazzling light, the aura emanating from the training ship girls immediately became several times more ferocious.

The blue and pink figures retreated rapidly towards the edge of the field.

The training ship girls immediately chased after the blue and pink figures, clinging to them like leeches. As they pursued, barrages of cannon fire erupted from their ship equipment, raining down like a shower of raindrops.

wow-

The barrage of shells blocked the movement of the blue and pink figures, but fortunately, the two ship girls managed to dodge most of the shells with a few skillful maneuvers.

Heavy cruisers' shelling power is far less than that of battleships. Even if a small number of shells hit them, most of them are simply deflected by their thick armor. A few may get minor scratches on their rigging, but these are generally harmless.

"Huh?" Xiaobai, who was watching the battle, was a little surprised. "Why did the training ship girls go first?"

"The missile launchers of guided cruisers are rather unique; they don't have the ability to launch opening missiles from extremely long distances," Yubari said. "Baltimore's shipboard skills can greatly enhance the strength of heavy cruisers, and our naval base has quite a few heavy cruisers with long guns, so it wouldn't be surprising if we gained the upper hand in battles like Guam and Alaska..."

"Oh... what are the advantages of the Great Patrol?" Xiaobai asked curiously.

"The Admiral wants to know?" Yubari glanced at Shiro.

"Yes," Xiaobai nodded sincerely.

"Then just wait, you'll see it soon." Yubari grinned.