Shipgirls and Salted Fish Commander, Port Survival Guide

Directly seizing the goods was impractical, as we would still need the Maritime Safety Administration's help to find Jing Su, and many daily necessities would need to be purchased from the mainland. Therefore, opening up new sources became the best solution.

According to TB's records, the port area originally wanted to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. After implementing it for a period of time, it was found that it was not working. To be precise, there were major problems with reducing expenditure. There were certain conflicts between different factions, and resources were limited. At the same time, there were not many fleets that could be deployed, so no matter how resources were allocated, there would be dissatisfaction.

Those who took action felt they received too few resources, while those who didn't felt that those who did take action didn't know how to conserve resources and were wasting them.

Ultimately, the problem was the lack of a universally recognized entity to distribute resources. Subsequently, the port split, and each faction, led by its own leader, happily engaged in cost-cutting and revenue-generating activities.

"How am I supposed to know who needs which resources when it comes to resource allocation? Asking directly isn't appropriate either..." Looking at these documents, Jing Su was at her wits' end. "No, we need to resolve the resource extraction site issue as soon as possible. It's such a crucial matter, and being held back by others makes it impossible to get a good night's sleep."

Jing Su tossed the file aside and began looking at another document. Cost-cutting measures had essentially reached their limit; to truly solve the resource problem, open source was the only option.

In fact, the search for new resource points had already begun right after the split. The easily exploitable resource points were controlled by the Maritime Bureau, but what about the difficult-to-exploit resource points? Those difficult-to-exploit resource points were basically in the ocean.

Previously, given the choice, no one would consider marine resource points. After all, mining marine resource points was not only difficult, but also required guarding against Sirens' attacks. One wrong move and all your efforts would be for nothing.

But we don't have a choice now, do we?

According to the information provided by Hu Teng and Yi Xian, the Donghuang and Tiexue factions have already established several marine resource points, which are currently self-sufficient and even have surplus resources for the research and development of new ship equipment.

On the Ironblood side, Hu Teng said that because their own faction was strong and had enough resources to carry out a big operation, it was almost finished. Originally, they would have been able to find the commander after a while, but now that Jing Su has returned, it is no longer necessary.

When asked what big job it was, Hu Teng said, "You'll find out when you get here. I won't let him down."

"Commander, I've come to play with you~"

Just as Jing Su was having a big thought, the door to the room was suddenly pulled open, and Chang Chun hopped in, leaped up, and jumped into Jing Su's arms, rubbing his little head against hers incessantly.

"Hehe, the Commander's scent, hehe~"

Jing Su was hit quite hard, but fortunately, she had been hit several times during this period and had gotten somewhat used to it, so she pulled Chang Chun out of her arms.

"Oh, look who's here! Isn't this my lovely little princess Changchun? Seeing Changchun makes all my bad mood disappear." Jing Su half-lay on the ground, supporting Changchun under her armpits with both hands, and lifted her high up.

"Hehe~~" Changchun chuckled in mid-air, her smile as beautiful as a flower, making people feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.

"How did Xiao Changchun end up here?" After putting Changchun down, Jing Su stood up and dusted herself off.

"Anshan, Pinghai, and Ninghai were playing cards, and Sister Yixian was on the phone, so Changchun came to visit the Commander."

"Don't we need to adjust the equipment anymore?" Jing Su asked.

"We've already finished most of the debugging a few days ago. We can finish the rest at the base. Besides, with the waves so rough, there's no way to debug it."

“That’s true. Speaking of which, can I see your ship equipment, Changchun? I’ve never seen it before.” Jing Su nodded and then asked.

To keep it a secret, Yixian and her team went to the port to test the ship's equipment. It seemed to be a weapon they were secretly developing. Jingsu was very curious about what it looked like.

"Eh, Commander, do you want to see this?" Changchun looked troubled.

"Is there any difficulty?"

"It's not that there are any difficulties, it's just that deploying the ship's equipment consumes resources. A few days ago, when we were testing the resources, Changchun had almost used up all the resources he was carrying, so we couldn't deploy the ship's equipment anymore."

"I see." Jing Su nodded, then, as if remembering something, asked, "What if we encounter enemies along the way? Will that be alright?"

"No, no, with Sister Yixian here, the fighting power of Pinghai and Ninghai is much higher. This is a safe zone, even if we encounter enemies, it won't be anything..."

"Boom! Boom boom!"

Before Changchun could finish speaking, the entire cruise ship suddenly began to shake violently. Jing Su was almost thrown to the ceiling, but luckily Changchun reacted quickly and grabbed her.

"Ding~ Ding!"

"Hey, enemy attack!"

Chapter 18 Valkyrie

Red lights flashed incessantly, visible everywhere in the rooms and corridors.

"Enemy attack? Is it the Sirens attacking? Are we alright?" Jing Su asked worriedly as Chang Chun dragged her through the winding corridor.

"Hehe, it's alright, Commander. This flashing frequency is no problem, it's easy to handle. Besides, I'm here. Changchun is very capable." Changchun spread his arms wide, like a jubilant little bird, and said excitedly.

'Is an enemy attack something to be happy about?' Jing Su was a little confused as she looked at Changchun's jubilant expression.

"These are battle merits, which can be exchanged for resources," Changchun replied.

It turns out that after the Sirens invaded, humans and the port began to study the Sirens. Since the Sirens were basically intelligent warships, they were fearless in the face of death when they went to the battlefield. Moreover, the Sirens warships seemed to be equipped with self-destruct programs. Once the situation was not right, they would immediately self-destruct, making them extremely difficult to capture. Even getting some wreckage was not easy.

Therefore, the best way to obtain the wreckage of the Sirens is to destroy them before they self-destruct, so that the crucial core can be preserved.

Therefore, the port area reached an agreement with the Maritime Bureau to exchange some resources for the wreckage of the Siren warship.

However, according to Changchun, the port area did use wreckage to exchange for resources in the early stages. After a period of development, the higher-level Siren warships were no longer given to the Maritime Bureau, but were kept for research. The lower-level ones, or those that had already been thoroughly researched, were given to the Maritime Bureau.

The Sirens battleships also have a tiered system, similar to ship girls, and are divided according to rarity, from white to gold. Rarity is not strictly linked to combat power, but there is still a tier system. For example, a gold battleship in the safe zone may not be as durable or powerful as a white suicide ship on the front line.

Led by Changchun, Jingsu arrived at the captain's cabin. Inside, Yixian stood with his arms crossed, staring intently at the screen above him. Besides Yixian, there were some chubby, round, yellow little creatures in the room.

'Are these the little yellow chicks?' Jing Su thought to herself as she watched the busy little creatures.

"Sister Yixian, we're here!" Changchun, still cheerful, skipped and hopped to Yixian's side.

"Hmm." Yi Xian nodded, then looked at the screen that was still showing a blue screen.

"How is the situation? Is it serious?" Seeing the seriousness in Yi Xian's expression, Jing Su asked.

"It's not clear yet; we'll know once Pinghai and Ninghai have set up the signal."

The cruise ship is currently sailing in an area without satellite signal, making it impossible to detect enemy activity using satellites. Generally, only in such areas might a few Sirens appear sporadically; in other areas with signal, once detected, patrol teams will handle the situation.

"Signal has arrived." A few moments later, the blue screen flashed with a few electric ripples, followed by an electronic sound, and then the image appeared: a vast blue ocean with a dark cloud faintly visible in the distance.

"Sister Yixian, can you hear me?" Pinghai's voice came through.

"Can you hear me? Have you figured out the model of the Sirens?" Yi Xian asked coldly, clearly displeased.

"Sister Ninghai is confirming, and we should be able to figure it out soon. However, judging from the size of the dark cloud, it is more likely to be a white-skinned destroyer, at most one light cruiser."

"Hehe, I understand. Please let me know if there are any issues. I've already asked Anshan to make preparations on the deck."

"Hey, is Anshan going to go on a mission too? That can't be right." Pinghai's voice sounded surprised. As one of the people accompanying the test of the new ship equipment, she naturally knew what Anshan was carrying. If she were to prepare for combat, the return on this mission might not be worth it.

"It doesn't matter. These blind bastards deserve to be torn to pieces and ground into dust!" Yi Xian squinted, her right hand stroking her face, her voice calm and serious.

"Oh dear, you keep bothering me, it's really unforgivable!"

Yi Xian was setting up the venue to welcome Jing Su when, just as she was getting to the crucial moment and was still imagining the wonderful time, she was suddenly startled by an alarm. Her inspiration, which had been flowing like a clear spring, vanished. When she realized that she could no longer get into that state of mind, Yi Xian said that she was really angry.

"Sister Yixian seems very angry." Pinghai swallowed, cold sweat pouring down his face. Even under the blazing sun, he felt a chill inexplicably.

Even Changchun sensed something was wrong with Yixian's current state. He hid behind Jingsu, peeking out with his head and watching Yixian with trepidation.

'Madam, you have the potential to turn evil!' Jing Su thought to herself as she saw Yi Xian's appearance.

"Sister Yixian, enemy activity detected, engagement imminent." Ning Hai's voice rang out at that moment.

On the screen, a warship surrounded by black smoke appeared in the dark clouds, with surging purple lightning faintly visible.

"A purple-skinned Siren has appeared in the safe zone. It seems the patrol team has been a bit complacent lately." Yi Xian's cool voice rang out. "Pinghai and Ninghai, no need to hold back, join forces and attack."

"Yes, Sister Yixian" x2

After saying that, the scene shifted and soared into the air, where two girls in black stockings carrying ship equipment appeared on the screen, rapidly heading towards the dark clouds.

Unlike ordinary warships battling each other, ship girls have a much more flexible way of fighting. Since even compared with the smallest warships, ship girls are so small that they are almost negligible, close combat has become the most common way of fighting for ship girls.

Whether in games or anime, there have been scenes of ship girls engaging in close combat. In the anime, the scene of Enterprise fighting aircraft in close combat once dazzled Jing Su's eyes.

Close-quarters combat saves resources because when high-level ship girls get close enough to low-level Sirens, they can tear the warship apart with their bare hands, whether with a knife or their fists. They can find the Sirens' control center and destroy it in one blow, thus destroying a Sirens warship.

When the Sirens are of a higher level or appear in large numbers, the cost of getting close will be relatively high. In this case, the ship girls can choose to use long-range artillery to eliminate a portion of the enemies first.

Long-range artillery fire is usually assigned to battleships or aircraft carriers; the idea is that the artillery bombards the area, and then the infantry charges after the artillery has finished.

Of course, you can also send forward vanguards to launch torpedoes to sneak up and kill enemies. If they hit, one torpedo is an instant kill. However, the hit rate of torpedoes is generally quite low, so they are usually used to disrupt enemy movement.

Take Ninghai Pinghai as an example. Ninghai took the initiative and launched its torpedoes. The torpedoes flew out of Ninghai's small gun barrels, hit the water, and then grew larger at a visible speed, rushing straight towards the Siren warship.

Sensing the threat, the Sirens quickly adjusted their course to avoid the risk, but they fell right into Ning and Ping's trap. It turned out that shortly after Ning launched his torpedo, Ping also launched his own torpedo, targeting the very direction the Sirens were trying to avoid.

"boom!"

Because it was close enough, Pinghai's torpedo hit the bullseye precisely.

A brilliant flash of fire streaked across the sky, and the Siren warship, filled with resentment, was reduced to countless wrecks that scattered in all directions.

The immense impact transformed into a raging storm, stirring up towering waves. Ning Hai raised her hand to shield herself from the wind and waves. In the scene, her resolute expression, combined with the towering waves, made her resemble a valiant Valkyrie, surveying all directions with dominance.

"Phew, that felt good~" Seeing the Siren warship turn into a giant firework, Yi Xian let out a long breath and said, "Ning Hai, Ping Hai, hurry up and clean up the battlefield, we still have a long way to go."

"Yes, Sister Yixian~"

Chapter Nineteen: Look forward to my surprise!

"This is the core of the Sirens?"

Looking at the purple iron ball that Ning Hai had brought back, Jing Su was full of curiosity.

"Mmm, this little metal lump is the intelligent core of the Siren warship, and it can be exchanged for a lot of resources." Changchun lay on the core, gesturing excitedly.

Since the Sirens are mostly intelligent warships, their internal core is extremely important. Since the war between humans and Sirens began, research on warships has never stopped.

Through core research, the Maritime Safety Administration has made a leap forward in intelligent technology. At one point, they came up with a very magical plan: to use a large number of mass-produced ships to replace combat personnel and fight the Sirens at a loss, while reducing their reliance on ship girls.

However, the idea was beautiful, but the reality was harsh. The Sirens' resources seemed inexhaustible, and they simply couldn't outlast them.

Although the resources were not exhausted, the Siren cores still became a strategic reserve resource for the Maritime Bureau. Even if they were not used to build warships, they were still good as research data.

"So, how many units of resources can this lump of iron be exchanged for?" Jing Su didn't care what the Maritime Bureau wanted to do with this thing, but she was very interested in the resource units and such.

"Oh, this is a purple core. If I remember correctly, it should be able to be exchanged for thirty units of oil or twenty-five units of seaweed," Changchun said after a moment of thought, uncertainly.

"Oh, Changchun, you even know about seaweed?" Jing Su was surprised. Wasn't "seaweed" a game nickname?

"Hehe, isn't that what you always say, Commander? That's what we all say in our port area. The core of the Siren destroyer can be exchanged for torpedo parts, or half of the universal ones. But we have quite a lot of universal ones in our port area." Changchun counted on his fingers, recalling intently.

"Is that so? These parts are used to manufacture ship equipment? Do they require blueprints?" Jing Su asked, hearing that the content was somewhat related to the game.

"It's for manufacturing ship equipment, but why does it need blueprints? If we know how to build it, we can build it again after debugging. However, besides the components, we also need some other materials. Our port area can't produce those materials yet. I heard from Sister Yixian that it seems to be very troublesome to build."

“Indeed,” Jing Su nodded. The materials used in the military research lab in the game, such as special steel and military-grade electronic components, sounded like they were not easy to obtain.

'It seems we still need to find a way to solve the material problem.' Jing Su silently added this to her mind.

"Clang~"

The door was pulled open, and Ning Ping and Shuang Hai, dressed in bathrobes, rushed in. They ran to Jing Su, and Ping Hai stretched out his hands, saying proudly, "Commander, we're back, hehe."

After defeating the Sirens, a special little yellow chick went to clean up the battlefield. Ning Hai and Ping Hai were the first to return, but when they came back, Yi Xian called them to take a bath. Whether it was traveling or the aftershocks of the battle explosions, they were inevitably wet by seawater. After the seawater dried, it was sticky, uncomfortable and unhygienic. Naturally, Yi Xian did not allow the dirty Shuang Hai to meet the commander.

"Oh, who's back? Haha, our Valkyrie is back! Ning Hai and Ping Hai, I watched the whole battle, it was so cool!" Judging from Ping Hai's posture, he probably wanted Jing Su to hug him. Jing Su originally wanted to do that too, but just as he was about to make a move, he saw that Ping Hai really was just wearing a bathrobe when he came over.

'This is a crime! If you lay a hand on it, it's definitely a crime!'

It was clear that Ning Ping and Shuang Hai had taken a hot bath; their originally fair skin was now slightly rosy, and the scent of shampoo wafted over them. Combined with their rosy cheeks, they resembled ripe apples, ready to be picked.

Jing Su's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

'Using this to test cadres, who can withstand it?'

Compared to Pinghai's waving, Ninghai was much more direct, rushing over to hug Jingsu, burying his little head in Jingsu's arms, and rubbing against her.

'Hmm, the Commander's scent, such a gentle embrace. No wonder Changchun loves rushing into the Commander's arms so much; it feels so good.'

Jing Su's body stiffened, and a surge of heat welled up deep within her.

Ning Hai's figure is absolutely top-notch among the little ones, incredibly impressive, and doesn't seem like someone her height could possibly have.

Feeling that soft, yielding sensation kneading and deforming her abdomen, Jing Su felt like her head was about to explode.

"Ninghai, stop fooling around. Your hair isn't dry yet. What if you get the Commander's clothes wet?"

Just when Jing Su's mind was in complete disarray, Yi Xian's gentle yet serious voice came, saving Jing Su's life.

"Oh~" x2

Upon seeing Yixian appear, Ninghai and Pinghai scattered, and Changchun was also swept away.

"Wait, why me too, sob sob!" Changchun tried to struggle, but he was just a destroyer and was being carried away by two light cruisers, with no ability to resist.

"Ninghai and Pinghai are really something, Commander. It's my fault for neglecting their discipline and failing to educate them properly," Yi Xian said, rubbing her forehead with a hint of helplessness.

"It's alright, it's alright. Isn't it good for kids to be lively?" Jing Su regained her composure, cleared her throat, and said in a deliberately profound tone.