Elder brother's garrison

York and Saratoga looked at each other with expressions like those of severely addicted internet youths who had met a clueless online friend at an internet addiction treatment center—bewildered, surprised, delighted, and incredulous.

Saratoga's face is delicate, beautiful, pure and aloof, possessing a conflicting quality of youthful vibrancy and alluring charm, making her unforgettable.

When York first saw Saratoga in his dream, he was amazed by the beautiful and unique ship girl. At first, York was a little hesitant to talk to Saratoga, but after spending more time with her, he realized that Saratoga was actually quite a disappointment.

Shut your mouth and remain as still as a virgin; kick your legs and act like a complete idiot.

It's her, it's her, it's definitely her, my teammate Toga.

York looked at Saratoga as if in a dream, only then remembering that he seemed to have come here in the first place to chase after this blonde girl.

"Fire Social Security!" York stretched out his hand, giving an expression that said, "I've given the signal, and I need a response."

Saratoga snapped out of her daze, her eyes lighting up. She quickly moved to York's side and slapped his hand shut.

"—Fragment of Water!"

It's the end of the month...

For the sake of how elegantly I posted last time, even turning it into a limerick, could you perhaps call me a "damn pigeon" and throw in a free razor blade or something? (Innocent) Anyway, it's the end of the month, and if I don't throw in the free blade, it'll be gone by midnight. I might as well use it to smash the pigeon, right? (Hint)

Even if you don't shout, just throwing razor blades is perfectly fine.

Chapter 844 Secondary responsibility is punished leniently.

Just as Saratoga and York recognized each other, Little White, who had returned to his room, closed his eyes, his mind gradually sinking, and slowly entered his own mental world.

When I opened my eyes again, I was surrounded by a vast, green grassland.

Xiaobai is a retired high school student in her teens who has been an admiral for less than a year. After she activated the admiral network, no one taught her how to use it step by step. In fact, because the admiral network is classified, there was no user manual or instruction manual. As a result, although Xiaobai has a powerful admiral network, she still knows very little about the mental realm. She can be said to be a complete novice.

Although Xiaobai is inexperienced, she has powerful backers. As a master in the spiritual realm, Deep Sea Will has considerable influence. So, you can't go wrong by contacting her.

Because of urgent business, Xiao Bai did not waste any time after entering the mental state this time. Instead, he quickly chose the shortest route, crossed Dafeng Village, and rushed towards the villa of the Deep Sea Will.

Under the watchful eyes of numerous deep-sea giants, Xiaobai drove straight in and arrived at the gate of the Deep-Sea Will Villa.

"Deep Sea Will!" As soon as he stepped into the villa, Xiaobai couldn't wait to call out to the inside.

Today, the Deep Sea Will did not indulge in transforming the spiritual world as usual, but sat quietly on the sofa in the living room.

Upon seeing Xiaobai walk in, the Deep Sea Will raised its head and glanced in this direction. In its eyes, there was a hint of helplessness, like that of a blue robot cat prying open its magic pocket and asking for help.

In terms of positioning, Doraemon's will and the robot cat are not fundamentally different.

"Deep Sea Will, what happened to York?" Little White approached the sofa, plopped down next to Deep Sea Will, and asked her cautiously.

The Deep Sea Will shares Xiao Bai's memories. It knows everything Xiao Bai encounters in the real world and what she wants to consult.

Time was tight, so Xiaobai skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.

“…You contacted her at Baijiahei’s old home using the Admiral’s Network. It’s inevitable that you left some footprints as you passed by.” Deep Sea Will sighed. “Mental forces are inherently mutually repelling, so it’s normal that York’s Admiral’s footprints would conflict with the footprints you left in York’s ship rigging.”

"Uh... footprints?" Little White looked at the Deep Sea Will strangely.

"It's those wind-like things in York's ship rigging, and those glittery things floating in her ship rigging," Deep Sea Will said.

"That's all?"

What else would you like?

"No, no..." Xiaobai shook her head quickly, then pondered awkwardly for a while.

According to the Deep Sea Will, York became like this because he once touched York with his flirting skills. Because of that operation, Xiaobai left a small remnant of his spiritual power in York's ship equipment.

Because those remains lost Xiaobai's control and could no longer maintain the form of the admiral network, they transformed into the most primitive spiritual energy. When Admiral York's admiral network entered, it naturally collided with this overflowing spiritual energy.

However, the volume of the spiritual remnants left behind by Xiaobai was negligible. As the Will of the Deep Sea said, those things were at most the size of a footprint that Xiaobai accidentally left while passing by the York ship's equipment. At most, they wouldn't exceed the size of a graffiti scribbled by some uncivilized tourist in a corner of a scenic spot.

Xiao Bai had just experienced it too; the York's ship equipment was calm and still, with only a gentle breeze that Xiao Bai felt could be dispersed with a simple wave of his hand.

"Are you thinking there's nothing wrong with York's ship equipment?" Deep Sea Will saw through Xiaobai's thoughts by following her expression.

“…Mm.” Xiaobai nodded.

"Do you still remember the deep-sea amphibious vessel that Xiao Hong used in the first node?"

"remember."

"Would you retrieve Little Red's mangled body, which was battered by the Deep Sea Bismarck, and take it home?"

"Uh...no way."

"But that thing is a treasure that all the deep-sea ships in the entire node dream of," the Deep Sea Will said. "Do you understand?"

"..." Xiaobai nodded.

"In your eyes, it's just a pile of used scrap metal, but in the eyes of other life forms, they see a completely different scene. Because your realms are different." The will of the deep sea stretched out its icy fingers and poked Little White's nose.

Xiao Bai shrank his neck: "Why is this happening...?"

"Because you have me, and no one else does."

"...As expected of you." Xiaobai loved the way the Deep Sea Will seriously told her how amazing she was.

The Will of the Deep Sea withdrew its hand: "In short, what you perceive as a gentle breeze might be something terrifying to an admiral whose mental strength is at least a thousand times weaker than yours."

"...What could it be?"

"Tornadoes and square dancing."

"Pfft." Little White was amused by the Will of the Deep Sea. She quickly shook her head, straightened her expression, and then asked the Will of the Deep Sea, "Then why didn't you tell me about this before, Will of the Deep Sea?"

"Even if I told you about this, there's nothing I could do to remedy it. Besides, the mental energy left in the York ship's equipment has escaped your control and will normally dissipate on its own in a few days."

"I see." Xiaobai breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the words of the Deep Sea Will, but soon became puzzled again, "Huh? That's not right, almost two weeks have passed, why hasn't it dissipated yet?"

"I already said it's normal." The Will of the Deep Sea said, a hint of helplessness finally showing on its calm face.

"...Is York not normal?"

Deep Sea Will reached out, and a video camera that was playing a video fell from mid-air into her hand. She handed the camera to Little White.

Xiao Bai took the camera, glanced at it twice, and raised an eyebrow slightly.

I've seen this video before; it's the one where York, engulfed in flames, brutally beats up a high-level deep-sea amphibious ship.

York was unstoppable in the deep-sea amphibious fleet, charging in and out seven times with his two fiery fists.

Like a fighter with maxed-out melee attributes, he wields his blade with lightning speed, shattering steel into pieces.

The punches were so realistic and impactful that they got the viewers' blood pumping.

"Wow, that's amazing." Xiaobai muttered to himself again as he watched York, who looked like a god descending to earth, in the video.

“You’re the one who’s impressive,” the Will of the Deep Sea said.

"Huh?" Xiaobai was taken aback, then pointed to herself, "Me?"

"Hmm, do you remember Saratoga?"

“Sarato… eh?” Xiaobai nodded, about to say something, when suddenly a flash of inspiration appeared in his mind, and then a scene from his memory appeared in Xiaobai’s mind.

—The ship's rigging, which suddenly turned red-hot as if it had burst into flames.

—It was as if he had been given a cheat code, his strength and physical abilities had increased many times over.

Xiaobai remembered that York wasn't the first ship girl to experience this situation.

On the very night that Xiaobai acquired his land-based ship equipment, Saratoga, who was out of ammunition and supplies, also with the support of her own admiral network, carrying her red-hot ship equipment, used a rising dragon punch to send a deep-sea dean flying from the sea into the air in full view of everyone.

"Could it be... York, she..."

“Yes, that’s not York’s skill.” The Will of the Deep Sea nodded. “She became like that only because she received the blessing of your Admiral Network.”

Xiao Bai covered her mouth, utterly astonished.

"Back then, you hadn't met me yet. Although your mental strength was still hundreds or thousands of times greater than that of an ordinary admiral, the scale of your admiral network was still much smaller than it is now. At this point, your admiral network would probably look something like that when it's used to buff the ship girls again," Deep Sea Will said.

"Uh... but I'm not connected to York..."

“Bai Jiahei explained why she insisted on impersonating York instead of you, who seemed easier to target and hide from,” Deep Sea Will said. “Because York, that fool, has a mind of her own. She entered that state not because you actively empowered her, but because subconsciously, she followed the remnants of your spiritual power within her ship equipment, actively activated your admiral network via the network cable, and then empowered herself.”

"……Wow."

"The remnants of spiritual energy you left in York's ship equipment, if left unattended, would naturally dissipate and disappear over time. However, York's frequent use of your admiral's network has caused those nearly vanished spiritual energies to be nourished by your admiral's network time and time again, slowly taking root and sprouting."

"Take root and sprout?" Xiaobai was taken aback.

"People who get beaten up often become more and more resilient, let alone your mental strength. The stuff in the York ship's equipment is not so easy to dissipate now."

"...Um..." Xiaobai thought for a long time with a complicated expression before looking at the Deep Sea Will with suspicion, "So...the reason for this situation is..."

"You're at best an accomplice," the Will of the Deep Sea said.

Xiao Bai breathed a sigh of relief.

Regardless of the outcome, although it was still closely related to her, Xiaobai still felt a sense of relief when the will of the deep sea told her that she was not primarily responsible.

Maid-outfit Deep Sea Taihou brought over two steaming cups of milk tea from the kitchen. Deep Sea Will accepted the milk tea and took a small sip: "But in the end, you don't need to worry about what happens next."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

“After all, York wasn’t an illegal account registered through a mental imprint. You cleaned her out yourself a few days ago,” the Deep Sea Will said. “If you leave it unattended, even if it has taken root and sprouted, the mental energy you left in her ship equipment will wither sooner or later.”

"I swept it out?"

"Meow~" The Deep Sea Will imitated a cat's meow without any emotion.

"..." Little White didn't understand the words of the Deep Sea Will. She was a little confused, but after thinking for a while, she shook her head with a sense of loss. "Oh... that's fine too..."

Deep Sea Will, holding a teacup and sipping milk tea, glanced sideways at Little White.

"There's something I forgot to mention."

"what is the matter?"

“Even Saratoga’s ship equipment of that rank couldn’t withstand your admiral’s network for long. York’s ship equipment level couldn’t possibly be higher than Saratoga’s. Logically speaking, after the first use, her ship equipment and body should at least be seriously injured to the point of near death. The reason she was able to withstand that pressure unscathed is because she didn’t subconsciously reject your presence, so she connected with your mental world in another form, thus receiving your mental protection.”

"Uh, what does that mean?" Xiaobai asked, somewhat puzzled.

“What I mean is…” The Will of the Deep Sea picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip.

"If your network of admirals no longer protects her, she may die."

Chapter 845 Do you still believe me?

After vaguely bidding farewell to the will of the deep sea, Xiaobai withdrew from the spiritual world alone.

As the distinctive scent of grass in the air of the spiritual world gradually disappeared, Xiaobai slowly opened her eyes.

The air around her was filled with the salty smell of the sea. She lifted her slippers, checked the time, and realized that only a dozen minutes had passed since she entered the spiritual world.

It was a rather delicate period of time, neither too long nor too short.

Xiao Bai sighed, then rubbed his forehead in a somewhat troubled state and pondered for a while.

The words that the Deep Sea Will spoke to itself last echoed in Xiaobai's ears like a broken record.

York...

Xiao Bai covered his head and swayed from side to side, thinking for a long time.

Saratoga proved to Xiaobai that even as a top-tier ship girl, she reached her limit in just a few seconds when receiving Xiaobai's full support from the Admiral's Network. If Saratoga was like this, the other ship girls were even more vulnerable.

The strength of Xiaobai's current admiral network is already different from before. York received Xiaobai's blessing and fought several long battles in that state. Although she was not injured on the surface, she may have actually accumulated a lot of pressure on her body.

The reason why York is not injured and is still full of energy is likely because the mental energy that Xiaobai left in York's ship equipment is acting like a load-bearing wall, protecting her ship equipment and body.

York seems to be fine now, but once the remnants of Xiaobai's spiritual energy within her ship equipment wither and disappear as the connection with Xiaobai fades, making it unable to continue helping York share and relieve pressure, the ship equipment without Xiaobai's protection may become fragile the moment the load-bearing wall disappears, and may even collapse completely in an instant.

Xiao Bai covered his head and swayed back and forth.

—I have a feeling that things are starting to spiral out of control.

In any case, what's coming next involves York's life, and it's no longer something York can handle alone. Xiaobai thinks that no matter what, she'll probably have to meet with her admiral, Luo Yin.

After thinking for a long time, Xiaobai, who had a few ideas in mind, adjusted her emotions.

Xiaobai pushed open the door and walked out of the room.

In the courtyard, Saratoga and York, two ship girls, were embracing each other warmly, like old friends meeting in the same hometown.

"Your relationship has become so good?" Xiaobai walked up to the two ship girls and said.

Upon hearing Xiaobai's voice, Saratoga and York, who were embracing each other, trembled like a pair of adulterous lovers caught in the act and quickly separated.

York, his face flushed, waved his hands at Little White: "Um... you're out now..."