The Naval Base of the Unnamed Ship Girls

Under Nelson's skeptical gaze, Rodney pulled down the floor-to-ceiling curtain next to him, then tugged on a rope hanging from the curtain. After hearing a few clicks from some mechanism, Rodney stood on tiptoe and turned the chandeliers on both sides of the opposite wall outwards by ninety degrees.

Finally, with Nelson looking speechless, the wall in the middle of the chandelier slowly fell to the ground amidst a series of mechanical sounds.

...and then another wall was revealed.

"Is this the ghost you were talking about? Did you design something wrong?" Nelson knew that Rodney, who always liked to create these strange things, wouldn't just put a wall here for nothing. According to Rodney's design, there must be a hidden purpose, such as using it as a secret game room or something.

"Impossible! I laid every single brick in this house!" Rodney said, then remembered that Kogan had also helped out, and immediately corrected himself, "At least I designed and built every single one of these mechanisms myself."

"So what was this supposed to be?" Nelson asked, tapping on the wall to confirm its solidity.

"There should have been a door here! The door led to a room with several treasure chests! I put... put... well, nothing in those chests." Rodney quickly covered his mouth to prevent himself from saying too much.

“I roughly know what’s behind this wall even if you don’t tell me, but there’s no room behind this wall. Are you sure you’re not mistaken?” Nelson was certain there was no room behind the wall that Rodney had mentioned.

"Impossible! I went in this morning to check if all those things were still there. It's impossible that the room would be gone in the time it takes to eat a meal." Rodney said in a tone as if he had seen a ghost.

"Should we blow it up and see?" Seeing Rodney's bewildered look, Nelson suggested the solution most befitting a ship girl.

"Wait, let me see the blueprints." Hearing his sister say this, Rodney realized he'd forgotten the best solution in his haste, and quickly pulled out the blueprints for the dark Gothic building, pointing to this area and saying:

"There are quite a few traps around here. If we were to shell them, it could cause other problems, but it doesn't really matter. We can just check everything again from start to finish later."

It seems that what Rodney hid in the room was very important, so important that he was willing to destroy all sorts of mechanisms in the house.

"Are you sure the wall is this thick?" Nelson asked again after glancing at the blueprints and summoning his ship's equipment to calculate the explosive charge.

"I don't know either! There shouldn't have been a wall here! How would I know why a wall suddenly appeared?" Rodney looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Let's drill a hole and see," Nelson said, pulling out a drill gun, feeling that he couldn't just fire anything in the room.

“Then that’s the only way,” Rodney said firmly, determined to get back what he had put in those treasure chests.

Just as the two ship girls were ready to drill and destroy, a door suddenly appeared on the wall next to them. After the door opened, Adun, who was carrying a fish, saw Nelson and Rodney unfolding their ship equipment and holding drill guns, and asked them in a strange way:

What are you doing?

"Huh? Is this the door? I remember it being on this side of the wall!" Rodney rushed over as soon as he saw where Adon had come out, but just as he got close to the wall, the door disappeared as abruptly as it had appeared, leaving only a thick wall behind.

Having figured out what the two ship girls were doing, Adun spread her hands and said, "Oh, I've made a slight adjustment to the layout. You don't need to worry about where that room is for now. As for the things in the room, I'll return them to you."

“Please make sure you hand it directly to me, Lord Adun,” Nelson said earnestly.

"Sister!!" Rodney almost cried.

“However, Lord Adun, what you are carrying in your hand, if I’m not mistaken, should be…” Ignoring his sister’s wailing, Nelson noticed what Adun was carrying and asked with some surprise.

"Hmm, tiger shark. My admiral has been wanting to eat it, so I asked a friend to bring one for me." Or rather, that friend caught it specifically for Tidu.

“Master Adon is indeed… well-connected.” Nelson made no attempt to hide the expression on his face, as if he had just seen a deep-sea spy.

Ardon said he felt no pressure about this.

[May 15th is almost here! I hope to continue my efforts to climb the 515 Red Envelope Ranking, and on May 15th, I can give back to readers with a red envelope rain and promote my work. Every little bit helps, and I'll definitely update harder!]

☆, Chapter 124 Charlotte's Father's Original Words

P.S. Here's today's update. Also, please vote for me in the Qidian 515 Fan Festival. Everyone gets 8 votes, and voting also earns you Qidian coins. I'm begging for your support and appreciation!

As the ultimate delicacy of the deep sea, tiger sharks are very difficult to catch, especially after the loss of fishing expert wo-chan, who rose to the rank of commander-in-chief through his hunting skills. South Dakota's deep-sea fleet spent a great deal of effort to catch a half-dead tiger shark.

The shark was then given as a gift by South Dakota to Arden, who was visiting the deep-sea port.

Actually, I just wanted to treat that Admiral of Ardon, who has a close relationship with the Deep Sea Princess of South Dakota, to a good meal.

Even if South Dakota hadn't said it, Adun could have guessed it. However, what Adun was most concerned about was whether his temporary naval base No. 666 had any spies closely connected to the Deep Sea besides himself.

Because Adon can guarantee that she never mentioned to this Deep Sea Princess that her admiral was unhappy because he didn't get to eat the tiger shark before she got it.

Could it be that another ship girl is still in contact with South Dakota? Is it Wo-chan? Or Xiao Bei? It seems like either of these deep-sea ship girls could be involved.

Regarding Ardon's speculation, South Dakota said it wasn't that complicated: "Wo-chan told me that the specialty fish you guys had at the barbecue the other day were ones that Wo-chan and Xiao Bei asked the patrol teams for."

"So that's how it is," Yaton suddenly realized. No wonder Wo Jiang and Xiao Bei brought back so many ingredients in such a short time. They didn't go out to sea to catch them; it was all free business.

South Dakota's actions once again made Adon concerned about the relationship between Tidu and this Deep Sea Princess.

Upon hearing that Tidu wanted to eat tiger shark, she immediately sent her men to catch the fish. Could they really be mother and daughter?

Unfortunately, these words couldn't be said to Nelson Rodney, who was full of suspicion. Although Tidu and Charlotte had a good relationship, the 666th and 233rd temporary naval bases were considered staunch allies based on this relationship (if they didn't want to admit it, they should be prepared to lose their young master).

But they are still outsiders. There are some things you can say and some things you can't say. Even if the other person has an expression that says, "We can see right through you," you can't utter a single word.

At least we can't let Aden say it; it's fine if Tidu says it herself.

Upon seeing the tiger shark that Adun was carrying, Tidu immediately remarked, "Adun, have you been messing around with that Deep Sea Princess ship nearby again?"

"Can things between ship girls be called 'girling'?" Yadun thought that even if Tidu had any thoughts, she would say them quietly when there were no ships around. She did not expect her admiral to say it so bluntly to her face.

Didn't you see Charlotte, who was supporting her own initial ship and was suspected to be the future IJN battleship ship girl Omega Yuriko, turn pale with fright?

"Am I wrong? Giving away something as valuable as a tiger shark like that, Adun, you're not going to betray your country and send me over there one day, are you?" Tidu remembered that Adun had mentioned wanting to join the deep sea before.

"..." Adun glanced at the admiral's ship girl and the abyssal ship girl, all of whom were looking at him. After thinking for a moment, he didn't say aloud that the tiger-striped shark was actually a gift from the abyssal princess to the admiral. Instead, he said very tactfully:

"If I really did that, my subordinates would line the streets to welcome that Deep Sea Princess."

And it's not me who's welcoming you, not you, Admiral.

“That’s right. Successfully turning a hero-class ship girl to defect and having her kidnap her admiral to the Abyss would be recorded in history textbooks as a typical example.” Tidu, who didn’t understand Adun’s subtext, continued, “Unfortunately, it’s a negative example.”

"Wowowo" (Isn't that great?) Wo-chan, who was cleaning up the tiger shark with her tentacles, said. As the only ship girl present who had caught and eaten a tiger shark, Wo-chan naturally took charge of how to cook this rare ingredient that everyone had only heard of but never actually eaten.

"Stop fooling around! Get back to work." Ardon said, tying a knot in the tentacle that was reaching out to him.

“Young Master, shouldn’t we reconsider this alliance?” The Prince of Wales was somewhat worried that the relationship between Young Master Charlotte and Tidu would affect the reputation of the garrison.

"Um...no...it's okay, I trust Big Sister, whatever Big Sister says goes." Charlotte, who was somewhat swayed by the Prince of Wales' words, saw the dangerous look in Big Sister Tidu's eyes and immediately swore allegiance.

"Alright, I'll do whatever you say, young master." The Prince of Wales said with a hint of helplessness. Her biggest dilemma right now was whether she should hide something from the current admiral of Naval Base 233, Charlotte's father.

"Don't worry about that, Your Highness, the master already knows," the head maid said, trying to comfort the Prince of Wales when she saw his troubled expression.

"Huh? You already told my dad about Reputation??" The young master, who also wanted to hide the unclear relationship between the ship girl Adun and the Deep Sea Princess from the big sister Tidu, asked in horror.

"This is my duty, but you don't need to worry, young master. Master is not unhappy at all," the head maid said with an air of complete control.

"What did my dad say?" Charlotte asked, forcing herself to be brave, because she had a very bad feeling.

"Master said..." The head maid paused slightly, then spoke again, her voice now that of a middle-aged man, clear and unrestrained:

"It's just a Deep Sea Princess, son. Don't be afraid. Show the might of my 233rd Naval Base and woo her. Ouch, darling, why are you hitting me? Don't hit me. I'm still on a reputation call."

Upon hearing the recording equipment mounted on the Renown ship, all the admirals and ship girls in the dining hall, which had been relocated to a dark gothic deep-sea-style building, wore bewildered expressions.

The reputation that played this message did not stop because of the expressions of the other ship girls.

"Ahem, Renown cut that part out. Ahem, son, don't worry, the hyperspace teleporter will be repaired soon. Veneto and Richelieu will be here soon. I even slipped a construction tool into their pockets. They can build as much as they want. How can we lose when the Admiral is building everything on the spot!"

"These are the master's original words," Reputation's voice returned.

Yes, that's exactly what they said... That was the first reaction of all the admirals and ship girls present.

---------

The fourth update is finished. It seems there's no hope for this book to make it onto the top three literary platforms; the probability of it flopping has increased to 99.9%.

[May 15th is almost here! I hope to continue my efforts to climb the 515 Red Envelope Ranking, and on May 15th, I can give back to readers with a red envelope rain and promote my work. Every little bit helps, and I'll definitely update harder!]

☆, Chapter 125: In a Bad Mood (Fifth Update)

P.S. Here's today's update. Also, please vote for me in the Qidian 515 Fan Festival. Everyone gets 8 votes, and voting also earns you Qidian coins. I'm begging for your support and appreciation!

While the admiral and ship girls at the temporary naval base No. 666 were stunned by the outspoken battleship fanatic's words.

The thick iron door of the officers' mess hall in the distant deep-sea port, which was twenty centimeters high, was kicked open by the chief of staff of the port, who was on one ship and on thousands of ships.

"Where's the cook? Where's the cook on duty today?" The first mate of the deep sea rushed into the officers' mess hall and shouted, leaving behind two sperm whales and giant squid that were too big to fit through the door.

Unfortunately, since it wasn't a hotel, the empty officers' mess hall was only cleaned by a deep-sea battleship dressed as a maid.

"Hey, you... I remember you're from the carrier battle group, aren't you? What are you doing working in the mess hall?" After recognizing the deep-sea battleship that was cleaning in front of him for a while, the first mate, who had just returned from fishing, asked curiously.

"This is Lady Suki's order." If it weren't for the high quality of the alloy broom in his hand, Deep Sea Heavy would have almost crushed it upon hearing the words of the First Vice Chief of Staff.

"Hey, aren't you a combatant? Why have you been assigned to logistics?" the deep-sea first mate asked, unaware of what had happened.

"This is the punishment given to me by the master." The deep-sea battleship knew that it was far inferior to the chief staff officer of the deep-sea fleet in terms of both status and combat power, and tried its best to suppress its emotions as it spoke.

"Punishment? What punishment?" The first mate of the deep sea was a little surprised that Lady Suki, who usually didn't care much about things below, would have time to punish a small fry. Wasn't this kind of thing usually left to her?

"The charge is to speak ill of Lady Suki's friends." What the hell?! His own Lady Suki is friends with a ship girl? If word got out, would the ship's reputation be established? The alloy broom in the hands of this deep-sea battleship was marked with two clear handprints.

"Huh? So it wasn't an illusion after all." The adjutant, who was about to become a princess, recalled how he had rushed into the princess's office and was thrown into the midst of a battle between two deep-sea creatures before he could even see what was happening.

It seems, it appears, that I saw a very familiar ship girl in Lady Suki's office, and it was even from the nearby naval base.

"She really came?" It seemed that it wasn't his imagination. The first mate asked another victim, his tone shifting from mischievous to slightly sympathetic.

"Her? That...that handsome and dashing ship girl?" The deep-sea battleship, who was about to say "that" abruptly, suddenly remembered her Deep-Sea Princess and quickly changed her words to insincere praise.

"Handsome and dashing? That's a description for male animals, isn't it? Could it be that ship girl isn't a ship girl, but a ship boy? I've never heard of that before." Unexpectedly, the first mate was quite interested in the adjective used to describe this battleship.

"...Please spare me, Chief of Staff." Life was already so hard enough, and to treat me like this, the deep-sea battleship felt like breaking down in tears.

"Well, it's alright, it's alright. Actually, I was just punished by the boss too. I almost got eaten by these two monsters." The first mate, trying to comfort his subordinate, pointed to the whale tail and squid tentacles behind him.

"..." The deep-sea battleship glanced at the two deep-sea monsters that were already dead beyond any doubt, and then at the deep-sea first mate who was slightly larger in comparison, and silently complained in its heart.

For these weaklings with a combat strength of less than five, Chief of Staff, you are the monster, not some tiger shark or anything.

"Chief of Staff, what is the relationship between that ship girl and Lady Sugihime? I saw that Lady Sugihime even sent Wo-chan to her side." The deep-sea battleship asked the question she had been wanting to ask.

As for what she said to the deep-sea heavy cruiser that wanted to borrow money from her, she didn't take it seriously at all, even when Lady Suki specifically said it when selecting a new captain of the carrier battle group.

It's already unbelievable enough that a ship girl can become an admiral, but to actually sign a deep-sea ship girl like Wo-chan, who is at the rank of colonel, is like treating the combat power of a colonel-level ship girl as a decoration. Even the governor of the human faction might not be able to sign a colonel-level deep-sea ship girl.

"This is... a secret." The chief of staff initially decided to do his duty, but upon seeing the expression on the face of the deep-sea battleship before him, he spread his hands, shrugged, and said:

"That ship girl is indeed an admiral, or at least has the ability to sign a contract with a ship girl. Captain Wo-chan has broken free from the mark of Princess Suki and become the ship girl of that admiral."

"Huh? Is that really true? This is really... this is really..." This is just too unbelievable! Although Wo-chan always uses strange Wo language and is often driven by instinct to search for food when she's starving, she's a colonel! A colonel-class deep-sea carrier that can be wiped out in the blink of an eye!

With a thud, the broom in the Deepsea Battleship's hand fell to the ground, severely damaging the worldview of this Deepsea Battleship, which had just been selected to join the carrier group as an escort ship.