Elder brother's garrison

"Can't we have ship girls?"

"Yeah, it's okay. I can't beat you anyway, so don't worry about me beating you up." Mu Yu shrugged and then walked into the door behind him.

Xiao Bai glanced at Lexington.

Lexington nodded: "Mu Yu has a pretty good relationship with your brother, he won't harm you."

Xiao Bai said "Oh," and then followed Mu Yu into the warehouse.

With a snap, the warehouse door slammed shut.

Xiao Bai walked into the warehouse and looked inside.

Then Xiaobai looked as if he had seen the warehouse of a newbie naval base and was surprised.

—So magnificent!

Xiaobai looked around in surprise at the dazzling array of golden ship girl equipment on display.

"Little White Sister, over here." Mu Yu stood in the middle and waved to Little White.

Xiao Bai quickly followed.

"Little White Sister, congratulations on getting first place!" Mu Yu said with a smile as she led Little White along the way. "As expected of the rookie garrison, you still crush everything as always."

"...They almost died." Xiaobai disagreed with Muyu's opinion.

"Huh? What's gone?"

"First of all, if it weren't for the ship equipment merit system later, wouldn't I have been pushed down by the people behind me?" Xiaobai said honestly.

Mu Yu stopped in her tracks and looked at Xiao Bai with a puzzled expression.

"...What's wrong?" Xiaobai was taken aback.

"You don't know?" Mu Yu asked curiously.

"What do you know?" Xiaobai was taken aback again.

"There's no way the Issu Naval Base could get first place." Mu Yu could tell that Xiao Bai seemed genuinely unaware, then thought for a moment thoughtfully, "She didn't tell you, did she?"

"..." Xiaobai tilted her head.

Mu Yu sighed, then stopped and turned around to look at Xiao Bai.

"Do you want to know why the merit points at the Isle Naval Base increase so quickly?"

“…I want to.” Xiaobai nodded.

Xiaobai really wanted to know.

After all, the rate at which the merits of the Ys Naval Base increase are too strange, and the fact that they can still maintain such a fast pace even when the number of deep-sea creatures is decreasing is something that even a novice like me has no idea about.

“...Because he has benefactors to help him.” Mu Yu laughed, then pointed to herself, “That’s me, and your Luo Lian.”

"Lianlian???" Xiaobai exclaimed in surprise.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

At the entrance of the Admiral's Guild, after Xiaobai led the ship girls away, the admirals, who thought the matter was over, were about to pack up and return to their residence in the artificial city when they were once again shocked as if they had encountered a storm.

They stared blankly at the LCD screen, as if they wanted to bury their heads in it, lost in thought.

A girl with black hair stood in front of Ringo, picked up her admiral's certificate, and then stretched out her left hand to adjust her glasses. Her black eyes stared straight at the LCD screen, and after seeing the rankings, a slight smile appeared on her beautiful lips.

Second place: Linlin Garrison, merit points: 5000001.

Third place: Ys Naval Base, Merit Points: 4999999.

—Where did this auntie come from?

Why don't you guys guess what the first place reward is for Xiaobai's Autumn Deep Sea event?

Chapter 562 Safe my ass!

Behind the magnificent Admiral's Guild was a sizable warehouse. Although it wasn't heavily guarded, it was still taken seriously because it contained a lot of high-level ship girl equipment. You would have to go through one or two layers of checks to get close.

Inside the warehouse, Mu Yu was pointing to the sky with his finger raised, his eyes closed, a slight smile on his face, as if he had just unveiled a secret.

A second passed.

Two seconds passed.

Half a minute passed.

"Um... Little White Sister?" Mu Yu opened her eyes a crack and looked in Little White's direction.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Xiaobai asked.

"...What happened to the cheers we were promised?"

“…Oh.” Xiaobai nodded, then raised his hand expressionlessly and patted his chest symbolically. “So amazing, so amazing.”

It was a rare sound that was completely devoid of emotion.

Mu Yu sighed, and then her whole body slumped down.

"So, did Lianlian help improve the score of the Issu Naval Base?" Although Xiaobai was expressionless, she still had some questions. She lowered her head and asked Muyu honestly.

"And me too!" Mu Yu raised her head in grief and indignation, looking at Xiao Bai. "I contributed as well!"

"..." Xiaobai turned her head away, "Then may I ask how Lianlian increased her merit points?"

Even a novice like me had some questions about the unusually rapid increase in merit points at the Ys Naval Base, after all, even a novice has curiosity.

What methods did the Ys Naval Base use to maintain the highest growth rate even when the number of Abyssal Fleet ships had been reduced to the limit?

Somewhat frustrated, Mu Yu looked at Xiao Bai, who had a questioning expression, then straightened his collar and coughed lightly.

"Little White Sister, before I explain to you, I want to ask you, what do you think is the fastest way to increase merit points?" Mu Yu asked.

"...Increase merit points?" Xiaobai was taken aback, then thought for a moment, "...Hmm, accept the governor's mission, get the highest level bonus, then go to the main battlefield to fight, and return to the admiral's guild to exchange for deep-sea metal."

“That’s right. In most people’s eyes, this method is indeed the fastest way to gain merit.” Mu Yu paused for a moment after saying this. “It is also the method that can make the most of the advantages of the ship girls in the newbie naval base, so that even if other naval bases find out, they will not be able to learn it.”

"The garrison of Naisu..."

“However, this is just a conventional method.” Mu Yu interrupted Xiao Bai. “Little Bai, this method is very suitable for newbie naval bases because it allows you to almost monopolize half of the resources on the main battlefield. However, this method is far from the most efficient for other naval bases.”

"Is there an even more efficient way?" Xiaobai was taken aback.

"This is just a matter of habitual thinking." Mu Yu paused for a moment before slowly saying, "The essence of exchanging merits is to sink the deep sea, obtain deep-sea metals, and then exchange them for deep-sea metals—that's what quite a few people in this artificial city think."

"Isn't it right?"

"As the governor, I certainly agree with this idea. After all, the admiral's job is to protect humanity, isn't it? But in reality, there are more ways to obtain merit than just this." Mu Yu said to Xiao Bai, "Little Bai, you should know that the merit points during the Autumn Deep Sea event are calculated independently. When you exchange merit points, you are given special cards. The merit points on the cards are the same as the normal merit points, but the merit points on the cards will be included in the ranking system. Before the event ends, generally no one will touch those merit points."

Xiao Bai nodded, waiting for Mu Yu's next words.

"...Simply put, Luo Lian started a betting scheme," Mu Yu said.

"Huh??" Xiaobai was stunned, utterly shocked. "A bet??"

"You've seen it in TV dramas, right? It's Russian roulette, playing cards, dice, lots of pretty female dealers, a handsome young man who loves chocolate and is really good at playing cards, a super-powered younger brother who can't spend money easily, and a hook-nosed uncle and stuff like that..." Mu Yu explained.

"...Isn't that illegal?"

"What do you mean by illegal, little white sister?" Mu Yu snorted softly, then said in a low voice, "We didn't gamble, we just played cards and stuff, and used a little bit of merit as a bonus, so it's safe, safe, you understand?"

Xiao Bai squinted at Mu Yu.

"...Ahem, those merit points can't be exchanged for money, right? Hmm, I know that the Admiral does have transactions where he exchanges himself for cash in private, but that's consensual. Actually, in the exchange rate section, there's no setting for how much money is equal to 1,000 merit points. Since merit points themselves have no value, then there's no problem..." Mu Yu tried to muddy the waters.

"Hello, Lexington?" Little White turned around, covered his ear with one hand, and then opened the Admiral's Network to contact Lexington outside. "What's the Military Police's complaint number?"

"No—no—!" Before Lexington could speak, Mu Yu behind her instantly turned into a lazy bum, pounced on Xiaobai's feet, and hugged her leg tightly. This fairly handsome man suddenly burst into tears, "Xiaobai, please don't! Even I, even I sometimes want to earn some extra money! The Governor is also short of money! I have dozens of ship girls to support!"

"..." Xiaobai looked down at Mu Yu, paused for a moment on Mu Yu's pitiful face, and then resolutely said to the Admiral Network, "Yes, I want to complain."

"Stop it! I'm in the same boat as your Luo Lian! Even if you don't care about me, you have to protect your Luo Lian!" Mu Yu struggled and rolled on the ground.

It has to be said that Xiao Bai was somewhat moved by the mention of Luo Lian.

After pausing in his conversation with Lexington and pondering for a while, Xiaobai disconnected from the Admiral's network.

Mu Yu's words make some sense. If Xiao Bai complains about Mu Yu and accidentally implicates Luo Lian, it would be a huge loss.

“…Oh.” Xiaobai responded softly, then lowered her hand.

Mu Yu, as if changing her expression instantly, quickly stopped crying and stood up from the ground.

"So, in short, did Lianlian open a gambling...game and win so many merits?" Xiaobai asked.

"Mm." Mu Yu nodded.

"What does that have to do with the Issu Naval Base?"

"Ahem, little sister, you should know... my share of merit... well, it's not really appropriate for me to claim it myself."

"..." Xiaobai looked at Mu Yu with an expression as if he were looking at a moldy fermented bean curd.

"In short, this matter is that simple, nothing special." Mu Yu nodded. "Luo Lian opened a casino, and I acted as her guarantor and backer. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be dealt with."

"So how were your merits distributed later?"

"Luo Lian said that it would be good if she could get the merit points just enough to get second place."

Xiao Bai nodded, guessing that Luo Lian had received five million merit points.

"Can you really win that many merits by running a casino?" Xiaobai asked with some doubt.

"Of course... but that's not quite it." Mu Yu nodded. "Luo Lian... well, it seems she studied this area a long time ago, and she seems to know some gambling skills, so as the house, she wins more than she loses, and earning merit points is no problem."

How long did you drive there?

"It opened on the seventh day of the event, after the peak period of the deep sea had completely passed, and it was only closed today."

Is it a large scale?

"The number of members has reached over a thousand."

Xiao Bai thought for a while and nodded thoughtfully.

"That's what I was saying earlier, Little White Sister." Mu Yu looked at Little White and laughed. "For admiral guilds outside of newbie naval bases, the most efficient way to gain merit is to take it from others."

Xiao Bai raised her eyes and glanced helplessly at Mu Yu.

At this point, Xiaobai understood the strange growth rate of the Ys Garrison.

Seven days after the start of the event, the admirals in the artificial city were mostly bored due to the sharp decrease in the number of Abyssal Fleet ships. However, each admiral could not leave the artificial city because of their job duties.

In this situation, if someone told the admirals that a thrilling and exciting little casino had opened, like a mahjong parlor for the elderly, that it was free and had many beautiful ship girls as dealers, and that they could have a great time all day with just a few merit points, and asked if they wanted to go and have some fun while they were bored, probably not many people would refuse.

The artificial city boasts thousands of admirals, gathering high-ranking admirals from all over the world. Even if the newbie naval base is incredibly powerful and invincible, its merit points during the entire Autumn Abyssal Event will only account for about ten percent of all admirals' total. Furthermore, as the newbie naval base's mine, the number of Abyssal Fleet ships on the main battlefield is decreasing daily, meaning that even the newbie naval base will eventually yield zero rewards in the final days of the event.

However, Luo Lian was different. Knowing that her naval base was weak and could not compete with the advanced naval bases in terms of combat power, she wisely chose another method instead of forcing herself to compete with the main force for merits. That was to shift her target from the deep-sea ships on the sea to the admirals who had already obtained merits.

In the "Newbie Naval Base Squad" incident, Luo Lian earned his first pot of gold as an admiral. After buying a house closer to Xiao Bai's house and getting Warspite a new set of equipment, Luo Lian exchanged all his remaining merits for money. He then rented an underground shop, hired a large number of people, and in a very short time, completed the training, decoration, and purchase of props, transforming the shop into a casino.

The advantage of doing this is obvious: as Luo Lian's mine, the total merit value of the admirals with merits is far greater than that of the deep-sea ships on the high seas. As long as the casino is run well, she will hardly have to worry about the problem of declining income in the short term.

Chapter 563 The Final Reward

"I never expected it to be like this." Xiaobai thought about it again and again, and finally sighed.

"Hmm, the answer to the question is surprisingly simple, isn't it?" Mu Yu said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Lianlian is really amazing."

"I don't deny that." Mu Yu nodded, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

The actual events were far more complicated than Mu Yu described. At the beginning of the plan, there were always major problems with the selection of the location, the confidentiality of the personnel, and the profitability of the casino. The problems with the venue piled up and have started to erupt in recent days, keeping Mu Yu very busy lately.

However, Luo Lian remained steadfast, continuing to fight on the front lines. When the casino problems piled up and erupted, even Mu Yu himself felt a little panicked, but Luo Lian seemed to have anticipated everything, calmly and simply nodding.

"It was inevitable that problems would arise, after all, I didn't plan to keep driving like this forever," Luo Lian said.

At that moment, Mu Yu understood.

Luo Lian is someone who would be incredibly powerful even if he didn't become an admiral.

I don't know what got into this girl, who would obviously be the protagonist template in a novel, that made her so willing to follow Xiaobai.

—In a sense, it's a blessing for beginners.

Xiao Bai and Mu Yu's conversation paused slightly, and Mu Yu continued to turn around and lead Xiao Bai toward the innermost part of the warehouse.

"Speaking of which, won't running a casino harm a lot of people?" Xiaobai asked.