Today's tutelary fort remains peaceful.

With the two of them around, even if they weren't deliberately adding fuel to the fire, things could have taken a turn for the worse.

"Hey, didn't the admiral see it in the group, so he came to stop the conflict?" Zhao He blinked and asked curiously.

"Not really." Xue Cheng shrugged: "Actually, I'm not in the group."

"Ah..." Xue Cheng's answer made the girls slightly stunned. It was not until then that they remembered that their admiral seemed to have never given his contact information to anyone, nor did he join the group chat formed by everyone. As a result, there were several times when the deep-sea flagship appeared, and everyone was unable to attack in time because the admiral was not in the naval base.

"Then I'll add the admiral to the group." Ying Rui's eyes sparkled. "But to add someone to the group, you need to be their friend. Admiral, add me..."

"it is good."

Even after traveling to this world, Xue Cheng's Penguin and X-Message were still usable, and even the mobile phone card he bought in another world could connect to the Internet as usual. He first added Ying Rui as a friend, and then, under Yixian's gaze, added everyone present. Only then did he accept Ying Rui's invitation and join a group chat called "Deep Sea Admiral".

By the way, the name of this group chat seems to be my game ID?

"Hello everyone, I'm a newcomer." Xue Cheng greeted everyone first, then thought about it and sent a red envelope of 100 yuan.

In just a moment, Xue Cheng's red envelopes were all snatched up, and then the group chat that had been quiet suddenly exploded.

Leipzig: "The new guy is very sensible, but a little stingy. You only give out 100 yuan to a group of hundreds of people?"

Rodney: "That's easy for you to say. Why haven't you ever given out red envelopes?"

Alaska: "That's right, Leipzig, you're in charge of the warehouse and the procurement of supplies. You must have taken a lot of kickbacks, right? Give me a red envelope."

Wichita: "Second."

Sirius: "Second."

Helena: "Second."

Roma: "What about Leipzig? Everyone is waiting for your red envelope."

Leipzig: "Come to think of it, who brought this new guy in? Did the tutelary fort get a new ship?"

Maryland: "Leipzig, please don't change the subject. I haven't heard of any new members joining recently. Whose smurf is this?"

Xue Cheng thought for a moment, then changed his rather childish ID to his real name, then said, "I'm Xue Cheng."

Tirpitz: "Ah, it's the Admiral."

Feiying: "It's the Admiral? Am I dreaming? How did the Admiral suddenly enter the group?"

Leipzig: "Admiral, listen to me. Alaska just slandered me because I didn't give her fireworks last time. Don't believe her one-sided words..."

Enterprise: "Come to think of it, the Admiral also stayed at the tutelary fort last night. Am I dreaming? Did something happen to the Admiral?"

Yorktown: "What nonsense! Isn't it normal for the admiral to stay at the garrison? Why are you talking so much?"

Enterprise: "Eh? Sister kdsjfslg..."

Leipzig: "@Xue Cheng, Admiral, can you come to the warehouse after dinner? I have something to tell you."

Xue Cheng thought for a moment and sent a message: "I will be stationed at the garrison from now on and will do my best to fulfill my duties as an admiral. Please supervise me."

Leipzig: "@Xue Cheng, Admiral? Are you there?"

Xue Cheng was not a man who was good at making polite remarks. He wanted to organize his words and make his speech more formal, but the overwhelming private messages and friend request notifications had already sounded.

If there was only one person, Xue Cheng could have replied properly. If there were more than a dozen people, Xue Cheng wouldn't mind spending more time. However, the hundreds of friend requests and private messages that instantly flooded his old phone nearly blew up. He quickly logged out, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and said to Yixian beside him with a forced smile, "Everyone is really enthusiastic, haha..."

"Whose fault do you think this is?" Chongqing glanced at Xue Cheng with resentment, then turned and said, "As our superior, you didn't even leave any contact information. If something goes wrong, you don't know where to find anyone. Isn't this a dereliction of duty on your part?"

"I'm sorry." Xue Cheng said embarrassedly. Although he also had his own difficulties in this matter, he couldn't say it out loud, so he had to admit that he was unlucky.

Fortunately, Chongqing only complained casually and had no intention of settling accounts with Xue Cheng. After that, he casually opened the insulated box on the ground and rummaged through it. Then, with an expression of "as expected", he took out a few boxes of yogurt, ice cream and other things and placed them on the table: "I just had dinner and I don't feel like snacking yet. How about a box of yogurt to help me digest it. Admiral, how about it?"

Xue Cheng shook his head. Because of the care of sisters Lexington and Essex, he ate a lot at lunch. The food was almost up to his throat. How could he eat anything else?

Xue Cheng picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip of the still warm tea. When he turned around, he found that Zhaohe, Feihong and Haiqi were all looking at him strangely.

Xue Cheng was stunned: "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Zhao He scratched his hair and whispered, "Admiral, that teacup belongs to my sister..."

Xue Cheng almost dropped the teacup. He quickly looked at Ying Rui and was about to apologize, but he saw Ying Rui with a light smile on his face. He said, "Ah, Admiral, don't mind it. I have a spare teacup here. I'll give it to you."

"Okay..." Looking at Ying Rui's expression, Xue Cheng felt a chill in his heart for some reason. He broke out in a cold sweat on such a hot day. He quietly leaned towards Yixian. He noticed from the corner of his eye that Ying Rui was still smiling at him. He coughed lightly and said, "Why are there only four of you here? Where are the others?"

20. British cuisine

It’s not that Xue Cheng is timid, but he is actually afraid of a little girl who looks delicate and weak. It’s just that yanderes are too scary, so he has to be extra careful.

A good friend of Xue Cheng was once deeply involved in a love affair with a yandere girl and had to work very hard to get out of it. During this process, Xue Cheng saw everything that happened to him. Although he did not experience it personally, it still left an indelible shadow in Xue Cheng's heart.

Especially the life forms of ship girls are not as weak as they seem. Even submarines and destroyers that look like children can still carry their ship equipment and fight against deep-sea ship girls that invade humans. It is conceivable that when such ship girls become sickly, it is not something that mere humans can bear.

"As for them..." Ying Rui thought for a moment, then counted on his fingers and said slowly, "Ninghai and Pinghai were in charge of helping Sister Yixian prepare lunch today. They should still be in the cafeteria finishing up things. Vulcan and T.995 should be helping them. Anshan and Jinan seem to have gone to the beach together. Sister 1913 and Sister T seem to be reading in their rooms. Danyang should have returned to the J Department... Admiral, what do you want to talk to them about?"

"Nothing." Xue Cheng shook his head. He just wanted to find a topic to divert attention. However, Ying Rui didn't seem to buy it. Seeing that there was an empty seat next to Xue Cheng, he sat down next to him, picked up the teapot and poured him a cup of tea. He said softly, "Admiral, drink it."

"Hmm..." Xue Cheng forced a smile, took the teacup and drank it all in one gulp despite his stomach's protests. He said, "The cafeteria is so big, wouldn't it be too hard for Ning Hai and the other four to stay there alone? Why don't we go help them?"

Chongqing sat down carelessly across from Xue Cheng. She quickly dug into her yogurt with a spoon and said nonchalantly, "It's okay. Although the cafeteria is nominally under our jurisdiction, people from other departments also help out. Occasionally, we'll give up our seats and let those who can cook come in to change everyone's taste. Otherwise, how can we run it with just the few of us?"

"And not everyone is comfortable with Chinese food," Yixian added. "For example, the Japanese have opened their own izakayas, and they seem to be doing pretty well. The British have also opened cat cafes, serving fast food and desserts. I heard London was also considering opening a restaurant, but it seems they were stopped."

"Well done for stopping her!" Xue Cheng nearly slammed the table in anger. London was a master of dark cuisine, completely unaware of herself and fond of having people taste test her dishes. If she were to open a restaurant, it would be a disaster. Thinking of this, Xue Cheng felt a surge of fear. He said with lingering fear, "Not everyone can handle British dark cuisine. Who's really upholding justice?"

"Admiral!" Chongqing's face was a little grim. Although she had been transformed into the Chongqing of the Celestial Empire, she had not lost her memories of her time as the Dawn Goddess. Xue Cheng's unintentional map cannon could be said to have hit her as well: "You are discriminating! It's a stereotype! In fact, Britain has a lot of delicious food too!"

"Yes, yes, yes." Seeing that Chongqing seemed to be serious, Xue Cheng suppressed a smile: "Like fish and chips?"

"Bang!" Chongqing slapped the stone table in front of them. The loud noise and her unwavering expression made Xue Cheng realize that the shipgirls in this world indeed possessed powerful powers far beyond those of ordinary humans. "For example, Beef Wellington! Shepherd's Pie! Cornish Pasty! These are all dishes that can be classified as gourmet. Has the Admiral tried them?"

Xue Cheng shook his head. Excluding Western fast food like fried chicken, hamburgers and pizza, he had never eaten a proper Western meal. His impression of British cuisine was limited to the fish and chips and stargazing pie commonly seen on the Internet.

Oh, and there are in-game recipes.

"You haven't tried it, so what right do you have to say that?" Chongqing slammed the table angrily. "No! In order to change the admiral's misconception, I will prepare tonight's dinner. I must let the admiral taste what real British cuisine is!"

"Uh, no need for that?" Xue Cheng said guiltily. It's not that he really believed that there was only dark cuisine in Britain, he was just worried that Chongqing would take revenge on him.

"I absolutely must!" Chongqing stared at Xue Cheng fiercely and threatened: "I'm going back to the cafeteria to get the ingredients now! Admiral, if you dare to run, just give it a try!"

After saying that, Chongqing ran away quickly without waiting for Xue Cheng to answer, and did not forget to take the half-eaten box of yogurt with him before leaving.

"Yixian..." Xue Cheng looked at the girl beside him with a sad face: "Is Chongqing deliberately trying to make trouble for me?"

Yixian suppressed his laughter and said with a straight face, "Who told the Admiral to deliberately provoke her? You're only regretting it now? It's too late."

"That's what I mean." Feihong, who had long golden hair, sat down next to Ying Rui. She propped her chin with one hand, looked at Xue Cheng sideways, and said with a smile, "The Admiral always likes to bully people. This is not good."

"I know I was wrong and I won't do this again." Xue Cheng smiled bitterly. He didn't expect that a little joke would make Chongqing so angry.

"Don't worry, Admiral. Sister Chongqing won't do that." Haiqi also sat down and said, "Didn't Sister Chongqing say she wanted to prove to you that the British cuisine isn't just about bad food as the outside world has said? Wouldn't deliberately making the food unpalatable reinforce your stereotype? So she'll definitely go all out."

"Then...how is Chongqing's cooking?" Xue Cheng looked at Yixian expectantly.

Yixian's eyes turned slightly, revealing a half-smile, and he said softly: "It's okay, not as good as Ninghai and Pinghai."

“…” Xue Cheng was speechless.

Judging from various indications, the Ninghai sisters also have a very high level of cooking skills. The elder sister Ninghai is proficient in the eight major cuisines, while the younger sister Pinghai is good at making pastries. There are probably not many people in the Zhenshou Mansion who can surpass them in cooking skills.

However, just because Chongqing’s cooking skills are not as good as those of the Ninghai sisters does not necessarily mean that their cooking skills are good. For example, London’s cooking skills can also be evaluated with this statement. Does it prove that the food cooked in London is delicious?

Obviously not. In the game's British cuisine dress-up of London, the food she made glowed with a very strange light. Even in the broken portrait, London's look of holding her stomach with no desire to live has already explained the power of London's cuisine. It is the ultimate dark cuisine that can even poison the ship girls!

Thinking of this, Xue Cheng was filled with regret and wanted to slap himself in the face. He could only pray in his heart that Chongqing, which had obtained the nationality of the Celestial Empire after the transformation, would receive additional bonuses in cooking skills.

21. Home

In order to correct Xue Cheng's wrong idea, Chongqing really brought back a lot of food from the cafeteria, then locked the kitchen door, locked himself in, and started preparing dinner early.

At this time, the place where everyone was located had moved from the pavilion by the artificial lake to a beautiful and tidy farmyard. Xue Cheng asked around and found out that it was Yixian's residence.

The courtyard is not big, but in the limited space, not only a few fruit trees are planted, but also a small vegetable garden is opened up. A grape trellis is built in the center of the yard, with tables and chairs underneath, which is perfect for cooling off in the summer. According to Yixian, some chickens and ducks are raised behind the house, and fresh eggs are produced every day.

Xue Cheng found a place to sit down and suddenly heard the sound of birds. He looked up and saw a swallow's nest hanging under the eaves not far away, with a little head looking out curiously.

"I remember when I was little, there was a swallow's nest at home, and every year the swallows would come back to hatch eggs." The small farmyard full of life reminded Xue Cheng of his childhood: "Whenever spring came, I would count the days on my fingers, waiting for them to come back."

"What happened next?" Changchun asked curiously.

"Later..." Xue Cheng shrugged: "Later, my family moved away. I don't know what happened to the swallows. I think they are still the same as before."

"Yes! It must be!" Changchun said loudly, and then looked at the little head that was peeking out from the swallow's nest.

Ying Ruian sat quietly beside Xue Cheng. Zhaohe pulled Feihong and Haiqi to the fruit tree and picked a green fruit. The three of them carefully cut the fruit with their knives and each took a bite. They made faces because of the sour taste. Yixian walked out of the room with a plate of cut watermelon.

Xue Cheng's expression was dazed for a moment. The situation in front of him was not familiar, it could even be said to be very strange, but this happy atmosphere reminded him of something.

When relatives came to visit when he was a child, it seemed to be like this. The adults chatted about family matters while the children ran around and played in the yard. But as time went by, Xue Cheng was no longer one of the children running around and playing, but became a bystander.

"Admiral, come and try this melon." Yixian continued feeding Xue Cheng, ignoring the fact that his mouth had been busy since lunch. Seeing Yingrui and Changchun each grab a few slices of watermelon and run past, joining Haiqi and the other two, he said, "What are you thinking about, Admiral?"

"I miss...home." Xue Cheng was feeling a little low, not because he had suddenly traveled to another world, but because he had not been home for a long time before he traveled through time.

Before working, every time Xue Cheng saw those promotional videos about crafts that cared for empty-nest elderly people, he always felt that the children in the videos were a bit too heartless. As long as they cared about their family, how could they not go home several times a year?

However, when he graduated from university and entered the society, he realized that some things are not as simple as he thought. People are not plants, and it is impossible to be emotionless towards the parents who raised them. If there is no other way, who would be willing to wander alone in a strange city?

Tired birds long for their nests, fallen leaves return to their roots. Even the most heartless person will inevitably feel some nostalgia when thinking of his relatives in his hometown. But the reality is like a thorn deeply embedded in the flesh. Even if you deliberately forget it, it will still be impossible to ignore it when you accidentally touch it occasionally.

"The Admiral's home?" It seemed that the Admiral had never mentioned his home before. Yixian looked at Xue Cheng's dejected expression, sat beside him, and said softly, "If you want to go back, go take a look."

"I can't go back." Xue Cheng sniffed. The barrier between dimensions wasn't so easy to break. Xue Cheng had no idea how he'd traveled to this world, let alone how he'd get back. He fought back the pain in his eyes and tried to keep his voice calm. "I don't have a home in this world anymore."

Yixian's breathing paused. She did not ask about the specific situation, but quietly reached out and held Xue Cheng's palm on the table. She felt that the slightly rough big hand seemed to struggle for a moment without much determination, and then did not move.

"Home?" Yixian smoothed his hair and sighed softly. "When the Admiral first built this, I was the only C-Class member in the harbor. At that time, the garrison was on the rise, and the Admiral was busy with various affairs. Since I wasn't strong enough, I had to sit on the bench. The Admiral rarely noticed me, so I could only play the piano and read books to pass the time."

"At the time, I was thinking, even though there are many people in the garrison and everything is available, it doesn't feel like a home. It's more like a staff dormitory."

Xue Cheng forced a smile and said, "I'm sorry I didn't show you more care back then."

Yixian shook his head. "I don't mean to blame the Admiral. If the naval base wants to develop, it must make some trade-offs. Powerful shipgirls get priority in training and receiving superior equipment. While this may seem unfair at first glance, from a collective perspective, this is the right choice. Otherwise, when the deep-sea flagship attacks, who will we rely on to resist?"

"Let me talk about myself," Yixian continued. "Later, the Admiral brought back Ninghai and Pinghai. Soon after, the Yingrui sisters joined them. The size of the garrison continued to expand with the accumulation of military merits. Although our C-line continued to decline, I no longer felt lonely because I had my own husband and a sister who I wanted to take care of and protect."

Xue Cheng looked at Yixian: "You want to say..."

"Home is where your family is!" Yixian said firmly. "I won't ask what happened to the Admiral, but the Admiral is not without family. Yixian, Chongqing, Changchun, Yingrui, Zhaohe... even the American, British, German, and everyone in the garrison are his family."