Shipgirls and Salted Fish Commander, Port Survival Guide

Actually, the data for our book isn't particularly good. Azur Lane is a relatively niche genre on the site, and our writing style isn't exactly top-notch either.

But what can I do? I just love azure blue.

Hehe, I'm not pretending anymore, I just like those pretty girls, they all play Azur Lane, dddd.

This is my second Azure Fiction book. The first one flopped terribly, but that was my own fault. I wanted to write something different, but I overestimated my abilities, and the result was that the more I wrote, the stranger it became.

This book reflects lessons learned, and I hope to write stories that everyone will enjoy.

I'll also briefly mention some frequently discussed issues, which will also serve as a summary of the previous outline.

This book is written in a style that leans towards seeking a return to the source, but it is not a true retrieval in the traditional sense.

After the protagonist announced his return, all the ship girls learned of this news. The reason they didn't go to find the protagonist wasn't because they didn't want to, but because the protagonist had given orders to continue living his original way of life and not to do anything reckless.

Because our book adopts an early Azur Lane setting for the various factions—they are opposed to each other, and conflict outweighs cooperation.

In the early days, Azur Lane and the Red Axis engaged in direct combat.

Without the protagonist acting as a mediator, the various factions in the book would fight each other, even going to war with one another. This was the earliest setting of the game's storyline.

Of course, we will have a happy ending, but it is impossible to achieve unification in a short period of time with just a few words. After all, we have been separated for so long, and it is illogical to unify with just a few words.

Moreover, this way of writing can show the protagonist's growth. There always needs to be a process of mental growth, right?

The ship girls are so beautiful and powerful, it wouldn't make sense for the protagonist, who is the commander, to be just a pretty face. I don't expect the protagonist to be perfect, but I hope that the protagonist makes the ship girls feel at ease by relying on his own strength, rather than because of the affection settings in the game.

In fact, in Kantai Collection fanfiction, and even in other fanfiction involving the affection system, how the protagonist and the characters in the game develop affection has always been a difficult problem to solve.

Of course, this kind of thing generally doesn't need to be explained, nor is it easy to explain. Writing it down would only be disgusting and wouldn't have much meaning.

I certainly won't write about these things specifically, but I still hope to write about the protagonist's growth.

The growth here mainly refers to the growth in mindset. In terms of strength alone, the protagonist is actually invincible in the book, even though the factions are set up according to the early storyline of the game.

But with so many port districts, our strength is definitely based on the port district line.

This book is more slice-of-life, but there will definitely be battles and the like, just as a side dish.

Contact with the Maritime Safety Administration, that is, the official authorities, is also the same; I won't write anything disgusting.

Here I want to specifically talk about the issue of resources. Actually, if you've read this far, you should already know that the resources are purely intentional on the part of the ship girls. The purpose of this was explained in the previous chapters.

Let me reiterate, I will not write about disgusting things.

Discussion is welcome. I will listen to and adopt any reasonable suggestions.

Oh, yes, one more thing.

Regarding the interactions between ship girls, this requires a separate discussion of the ship girl's character design.

I'm probably considered a bit of an oddball; I'm the kind of person who reads the story when playing Azur Lane. When describing the characters' personalities, I also refer to the dialogue, so you don't need to worry about the character designs—they're definitely based on the established lore.

Of course, I'll add a little personal bias, like the discussion about whether the company's personality is too lively.

I wrote an explanation there, hoping that the business could be happier. In the world of the book, she doesn't need to carry a heavy burden; she can just be happy.

Don't worry, I may add a little bit of personal bias, but it won't ruin my image. Even if I add personal bias, there will definitely be a reasonable explanation, just like a lively company.

She is not actually a sad or pessimistic person. Judging from the lines and plot, she can only be described as rather naive and cute. This can be seen in many parts of the lines. The reason she appears pessimistic is because she has carried too much burden in both history and the game.

In the book, she doesn't have to carry any burdens, neither companions nor responsibilities are as heavy as in the game. Isn't it normal for her to appear happier?

Finally, I hope everyone will continue to support me, thank you!

Chapter Forty-Nine: Delaying Time

"Commander, Commander, I want to eat that! It looks so delicious!"

"Changchun, slow down, don't fall!"

In the bustling commercial street, a petite and adorable little girl weaves through the crowd, looking here and there, her lively and cute appearance like a butterfly fluttering in the air.

Although her face was obscured by her large hood, her silvery laughter frequently drew attention.

"Hehe. I won't fall down so easily in Changchun. Ouch~ that hurts~"

"I told you to be careful, look, now you know what pain is?" Jing Su said irritably as she pushed through the crowd and looked at Changchun, who was crouching on the ground with his head in his hands, defending himself.

"Uh, I didn't fall!!" Changchun said stubbornly, her eyes filled with tears.

I didn't fall, I just bumped into a pillar.

"Okay, okay, let me see where you bumped into something. Let me blow on it~" He pulled Changchun up, and Changchun crossed his legs and buried his head in Jing Su's arms.

Chang—rushing into Jing Su's arms whenever he had the chance—Spring is back online.

"You~" Jing Su sighed helplessly, but said nothing, letting Changchun hang on her like that.

"Hey young man, out shopping with your sister? The two siblings seem to have a good relationship." After a few words of reassurance, the vendor next to him said cheerfully.

"We're not siblings~" Changchun muttered before Jing Su could say anything.

"?"

Changchun ran away as fast as lightning, leaving the vendors dumbfounded.

"Are kids these days playing such elaborate games?" After Jing Su left, the others called out a few times before the vendors realized what was happening and ran off to get busy.

"Changchun, wait a minute." Jing Su was carrying a lot of bags and couldn't run fast at all. She didn't know why, but ever since she got off the ship, every few steps she walked, Changchun would go into a shop. At first, she wouldn't say anything, but she would stare longingly at a certain item. Her gaze was too powerful, and Jing Su couldn't resist it. She had no choice but to obediently surrender and buy the item that Changchun wanted for her.

Although Changchun was probably childish and mostly bought food, Jingsu's collection kept growing as she walked around.

It has to be said that the ship girls have an enormous appetite. Changchun's petite body is like a bottomless pit. Jing Su is really curious. She has thrown away dozens of food boxes, but Changchun's belly has not become round and bulging.

As for spending, there's no need to worry for now. Jing Su has money in his own account, though he doesn't know exactly how much. One percent of the annual fiscal surplus of the Hong Kong region is deposited into his personal account and spent as salary. Even after he disappeared, this process continued, and it's even more extravagant than before.

Previously, the Hong Kong region was a unified entity, where those who earned more also spent more. Now, the Hong Kong region is fragmented, with different factions existing independently, and each faction transferring its earnings to the Hong Kong region's account.

According to Yixian, Jingsu's personal account currently has enough money to sustain the entire Hong Kong region for three years without any new deposits; in short, he can spend it as he pleases.

Before setting off for the royal residence, Jing Su thought about borrowing some money from Yi Xian so that she could take Chang Chun on a good trip.

Actually, based on relationships, it would have been better to borrow from Binjiang District myself. However, after deciding to go to the Royal Camp, an urgent matter suddenly occurred at the front line, requiring reinforcements from Donghuang. Binjiang District is both the top fighter and the second-in-command of the Donghuang Camp. Given that Yixian and Changchun need to accompany me to the Royal Camp, this emergency can only be handled by Binjiang District.

Because a considerable portion of the sea area between the Eastern Empire camp and the front line has no network signal, although there is satellite signal, it is not possible to transfer money.

Jing Su had asked the navigator TB and learned that he, as the commander, was paid a salary, even receiving a salary from the Maritime Bureau. However, because he had kept a low profile in the past and had been missing for a long time, the Maritime Bureau had stopped paying his salary for a long time.

One purpose of this trip to the Royal Residence is to announce our presence to the Maritime Bureau, so that these guys won't keep eyeing the port area.

Of course, this goal is not firm. Jing Su needs to test the attitude of the Maritime Safety Administration first, or more precisely, see if there is still any money to be made from. Before all the money is made from the money, being a behind-the-scenes bigwig is not bad, and it will also give him more freedom to travel.

As for why Changchun appeared in this place, it is related to the royal reception.

As they approached the shore, Yi Xian angrily ran up to Jing Su and told her that she couldn't accompany Jing Su to the royal camp.

The reason is simple: this trip was announced by Yixian in a very formal diplomatic manner. This was to put pressure on the Maritime Bureau, to show that the entire port area knew about their misappropriation of resources, and for the Donghuang camp to express their anger in writing.

On the other hand, it is to assert sovereignty to other factions. The commander is in my Eastern Empire faction, and even the announcements issued were written by the commander himself, which shows that the commander recognizes my Eastern Empire faction more.

The tactic originally intended to provoke other factions was unexpectedly exploited by the Royal faction.

You issued the official announcement, you are the person in charge of the faction, and you are also responsible for this resource allocation. Now that the negotiations are over, in order to prevent future buck-passing, you need to personally handle the portion of resources belonging to the Donghuang faction.

Even though Yi Xian clearly stated that this matter could be handled by other members of the Donghuang camp and that he had given full authority, and even though he repeatedly stated that he would not object regardless of the outcome, the royal camp still rejected it.

Regardless of the circumstances, that's the official stance of the royal family: you're the boss, and only your personal signature will prevent any objections.

When asked why other factions could authorize others to handle such matters, the Royal's response made Yi Xian's face turn red with anger.

'The other factions only want regular resources, but your Eastern Empire has added some special ones at the last minute. These resources need to be handled specially!'

'So that's why I asked the commander to hand me a new resource list!'

Even though Yi Xian was trembling with anger after figuring out the cause and effect, she was helpless. The resources provided by the Royal Camp this time were exactly what the Eastern Huang Camp urgently needed. The ship equipment on Changchun and Anshan required several new materials, which had just been developed by the Maritime Bureau. It would be troublesome to have their own camp develop them.

In fact, Yi Xian was well aware of the Royal Camp's reasons for doing this—the Eastern Huang Camp had too many advantages.

Being the first faction to receive the commander and sharing the same culture gives them a huge advantage. Furthermore, their shared language and culture give them a significant advantage in making Jing Su want to remember them, to the point that other factions are wary of them.

Just like the Royal Faction said, only the Eastern Faction got some special things. Is it because the other factions didn't want to get them?

Developing new materials is a rather troublesome and luck-based endeavor. Often, even when a new material is developed in the lab, the developers themselves may not know where it can be used. It requires repeated and extensive experiments to study its properties.

This process was far too cumbersome, so many factions simply outsourced the task of developing new materials to the Maritime Bureau. It wasn't that the port area lacked research and development capabilities; rather, the port area had to focus its main efforts on finding Jing Su and simply didn't have the time to develop new materials.

Now that Jing Su is back, we can indeed develop the materials and ship equipment ourselves, but this is just the beginning. It's not going to be done so quickly.

Therefore, obtaining new materials from the Maritime Bureau is highly desirable for most factions.

Yi Xian felt that other factions would not let go of such a good opportunity to fleece people, so he submitted several materials that his port area urgently needed.

Unexpectedly, the other factions, in order to intercept them, didn't even want the materials!

'Fine, fine, so you want to play this game? Since you're so ruthless, don't blame me for being equally unjust.'

Having figured it out, Yi Xian gritted her teeth. She had originally planned to take this opportunity to develop her relationship with Jing Su, and for this reason, she had even sent Bin Jiang to the front line. However, the plan had already come to an end before it even began.

Therefore, Yixian decided to unleash Jing Su's treasure—Changchun!

Before setting off, Yixian specifically instructed Changchun that no matter what, he must delay Jingsu on the road by two hours, preferably until the evening when they arrive at the royal residence.

Yes, Yixian intends for Jingsu to go to the royal residence on his own.

'Weren't you going to separate me from the Commander? Hmph, then I'll make sure you never see him either!'

Her wedding was thwarted, and now her hard-won date time has been ruined. Yixian says she's really angry.

She knew she couldn't really stop Jing Su from contacting the royal camp, and she also knew that once Jing Su joined the royal camp, she wouldn't be able to see Jing Su for a while. The royal side would definitely give her a lot of materials to deal with; it wouldn't be difficult, just time-consuming.

While there will definitely be plenty of good food and drinks during the trip, is that ship girl and commander really out there for this kind of thing? Besides, what good food does the Royal Navy have?

Yi Xian once considered urgently transferring a few ship girls from the base to cook for the commander, since the matter was already settled and she was genuinely worried that Jing Su wouldn't be able to get used to the food.

However, considering the time constraints, the plan was ultimately abandoned.

Just as they were about to dock, Yixian told Jingsu to disembark.

Yes, in response to the Royal Army's attempt to divert her attention, Yi Xian's solution was to have Jing Su go to the Royal Army's residence on her own.

In order to better obtain intelligence, each faction will build several offices on the mainland, which will be used as faction branch bases.

Generally speaking, the main base of a faction is located on the ocean, built on a relatively secluded large island. The Royal Faction is different. They have a deeper cooperation with the Maritime Bureau, so their branch bases on the mainland are built very luxuriously, with castles, gardens, and everything a European noble manor needs.

Yixian had visited the Royal Faction's manor several times, and each time she went, she couldn't help but wonder, "Isn't this your main base?"

But each time I didn't get a definite answer.

Whether it's the main base or not doesn't matter, as long as the location is the same.

When asked why he didn't accompany the royal family, Yat-sen explained that he was on official business at the royal residence, dealing with issues related to the misappropriation of resources, and therefore couldn't accompany them.

The reason for letting Jing Su off the ship halfway was also this: the public opinion caused by the misappropriation of resources was quite severe, and he would definitely be surrounded by many reporters when he disembarked. If Jing Su did not want her life to be disturbed, it would be better not to dock with him.

Jing Su thought about it for a moment, didn't find any problems, and agreed. When they were almost at the shore, she took a small submarine and left the cruise ship.

The port area is full of cutting-edge technology. Even though I was mentally prepared, I was still shocked when I saw the vehicle.

'This Rubik's Cube technology is truly unbelievable; they've even created a transforming submarine.'

A submarine departs from the bottom of a cruise ship. During its ascent, the hull begins to deform. Once it fully surfaces, the submarine becomes a speedboat.

The most amazing thing is that the outer hull was still dry.

Because Yixian deliberately slowed down, and the speedboat sped up as soon as it surfaced, the Jingsu cruise ship arrived at the shore in nearly an hour.

As soon as she got off the ship, before Jing Su even had a chance to look around, Chang Chun dragged her to go shopping.

Hehe, Sister Yixian said she wanted to stall for at least two hours, but she didn't say how. Now it's finally just the Commander and me, I'm so happy~

Is this what you call a date? I'm so excited!

When Changchun first received Yixian's mission, he was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. He then suppressed his joy, worried that if he was too happy, Yixian might withdraw the order.

. . .

"Changchun, are we there yet?" After strolling through most of the commercial street, Jing Su called out to Changchun.

"Huh? What's wrong, Commander? Are you having fun?" Changchun turned his head, put his hands behind his back, bent over, and spoke as if he were talking in an anime.

"I'm happy, it's definitely fun to play with Changchun, but aren't we supposed to be going to the royal residence? It's almost three o'clock now, it's not good to keep people waiting too long."

"Is that so?" Seeing that the action he learned from the cartoon had no effect, Changchun straightened up, blinked his bright eyes, and said, "It's okay, Commander. If we go over there now, we'll actually be disturbing them."

"Ok?"