Shipgirls and Salted Fish Commander, Port Survival Guide

. . . . . .

“Commander, you’ve arrived. Is there anything Plymouth needs to do? Please feel free to tell me, I’ll do anything.”

As soon as Jing Su stepped onto the deck, before she could even stand properly, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her, tightly grasping her hands, the voice filled with sorrow.

"Ahem, it's nothing, it's nothing. I don't have anything special to do right now." Jing Su was startled by Plymouth and was about to say something, but she stopped herself abruptly, pondered for a moment, and then said these words.

There was no other way; Jing Su really didn't dare to say anything carelessly in front of Plymouth.

Actually, their group was supposed to depart around the time of the day before yesterday. However, on that day, after Jing Su boarded the ship, Plymouth, just like before, grabbed his hand and asked if he needed any help.

Jing Su casually mentioned that she was a little hungry and wanted to have some snacks.

Originally, Jing Su had planned to invite everyone to have something to eat. After all, it was a farewell party that day, and he had been busy for a long time. He was indeed a little hungry. Jing Su vaguely remembered that there were some leftover cakes in the kitchen, so he thought it would be good for everyone to have some. He initially wanted to ask Little Yellow Chicken to get them, but Plymouth caught him. So, without thinking, he asked Plymouth to get the cakes instead.

As a result, Plymouth deployed its ship's rigging and fired a single shot, blasting the deck to smithereens. Well, the galley was inside the ship's hull, which made perfect sense. Plymouth wanted to get the cake as quickly as possible, which was also fine; blowing up the deck was the fastest way to get to the galley, which seemed to be true. But the combination of all these things was truly a pity.

Fortunately, Radiance was nearby, keeping a close eye on Plymouth. Otherwise, Jing Su would have been thrown off by the shockwave. That was the deck of a super luxury cruise ship, more than twenty meters off the ground. If she had fallen, who knows what would have happened to her.

Afterwards, Plymouth was so ashamed that she almost shot herself and sank. It was only after Jing Su desperately shouted at her that she stopped Plymouth. Since then, Plymouth has become like this. She starts to tremble and is afraid when she sees Jing Su, and she even sheds tears from time to time. Jing Su doesn't know how to communicate with her anymore.

However, Jing Su didn't dare to replace Plymouth. Judging from her reactions these past few days, if she were replaced, news of her accident would definitely come on the very day Jing Su set off. To some extent, Plymouth's personality is indeed extreme, and she could easily cause a huge mess if Jing Su wasn't careful.

But it is precisely because of this that Illustrious chose Plymouth from among all the Royal Navy ship girls to accompany Jing Su to the front lines. With her watching over things, many ship girls who wanted to get close could be kept in check.

Guanghui said that no matter how gentle and generous she appears to be, she is still a woman and can be quite possessive when it comes to relationships. Allowing the other sisters in the Royal Camp to share time with Jing Su is the biggest concession she can make. Moreover, this is also to unite the Royal Camp and prevent internal strife and conflict with other camps. After all, the Royal Camp has no shortage of support, but it is desperately lacking in top-tier combatants.

Guanghui hasn't yet joined Jingsu in any battles. To be precise, since Jingsu's return, he hasn't participated in many combats. The battles he has participated in have all been one-sided victories, where the enemy was wiped out before they even saw them. Therefore, Guanghui doesn't actually know Jingsu's feelings about combat strength. What if Jingsu prefers strong opponents? That would be a huge disadvantage for the Royal Army, something Guanghui absolutely cannot allow.

"Commander, are you abandoning Plymouth? Are you disgusted with Plymouth? So you're still bothered by what happened the other day? Would it make you feel better if I disappeared from Plymouth?"

Upon hearing Jing Su's words, Plymouth's eyes instantly turned red, his voice choked with emotion and his whole body trembled. Jing Su realized she couldn't hold back anymore; she didn't know whether to speak or not, and she was completely numb.

"Ahem, Plymouth, listen to me first. It's alright. I never cared about what happened the day before yesterday." At this moment, Jing Su's mind was racing. Suddenly, an inspiration flashed through her mind, and she realized that she had been looking at Plymouth with the mindset of an ordinary person, which was wrong, or rather, she shouldn't have looked at Plymouth that way.

Plymouth might behave normally when she's with other people, but she absolutely cannot have such thoughts when she's with herself.

"Plymouth," Jing Su said softly, hugging Plymouth tightly after she had figured things out. "Actually, I should be the one apologizing to you. I haven't explained things to you clearly for so long, which scared you. I'm so sorry~"

“Huh?” Plymouth was stunned.

“I always try to take care of your feelings, but I neglect your own. I always judge you by my own standards, which is wrong of me. Plymouth, you are a wonderful girl. I am so happy to have you by my side. Every time I am alone, I think about how lucky I am to have a girl like you by my side. It is so wonderful, Plymouth.”

I'm so happy to have you by my side!

So, Plymouth, how do you see me? Does my existence make you happy? Have my words or actions disappointed you, Plymouth?

Everyone makes mistakes. If you do something wrong, don't be afraid. Try to make amends. Being anxious and fearful will only disappoint those who care about you, Plymouth. You don't want me to be disappointed in you, do you?

"How could that be, Plymouth? I would never dare to do anything to disappoint the Commander, that's why I..."

"So why do you keep taking things to heart when I don't even care?"

"No, I didn't, I... Waaah, I'm sorry, Commander, Plymouth has let you down."

"Boom~"

Jing Su flicked Plymouth on the forehead and said with exasperation, "Why are you so hard to talk to? Well, I'm a little hungry now, Plymouth, go get me something to eat."

"Yes, Commander." Upon hearing Jing Su's order, Plymouth was about to deploy its ship equipment and blast off the deck, but Jing Su quickly stopped her.

"I haven't finished speaking yet, why are you in such a hurry?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Commander, I was in such a hurry."

“It’s alright, it’s alright, I’m not in a hurry. Here’s what we’ll do, Plymouth, I’ll give you ten minutes. I’ll wait for you under that parasol up ahead. No need to rush, these things are less fun if you rush. Go ahead.”

"Yes, Commander."

Chapter 167 Unexpected Situation

Blue sky, white clouds, sea breeze.

"Hehe, as expected, you should wear a swimsuit in the ocean, Commander. How's my outfit? Aren't you attracted by my style?"

"Ah, Miss Avant-garde, is it really like this?"

"Oh no, there's someone else here? Oh no, this is so embarrassing! Ugh, I have to go change right now. Forget everything I just saw, forget it all!"

Upon seeing that others were present, Qianwei let out a mournful cry, covered his face, and quickly left the scene.

"Ah, wait, Miss Avant-garde, I, um..."

"Oh no, did I miss something?"

At that moment, Jing Su heard the sound and stepped out from under the parasol. Before she could ask what had happened, she saw a person in a bikini hurrying away. The speed was so fast that Jing Su only had time to see a golden back.

After a long while, Jing Su suddenly realized, 'Damn it, I missed a chance to feast my eyes!'

"Commander, I... I didn't mean to!" Seeing the regretful expression on Jing Su's face, Javelin thought she had ruined Jing Su's date with Vanguard and quickly apologized.

"Cough cough, it's nothing. I only came over to see what happened after I heard the noise. I just didn't expect the vanguard to be so brave."

“Indeed, she’s quite different from the Vanguard Miss we usually see.” Javelin nodded. In her opinion, the Vanguard Miss we usually see in the Royal Army, apart from being a bit chuunibyou occasionally, is a very serious and earnest legendary knight.

Knights are creatures who generally value honor highly; however, the young lady from the Vanguard just now somewhat overturned Javelin's previous understanding of the game.

'Hmph, to get Miss Vanguard to do something like this, she truly lives up to her commander reputation. Getting her comrades to express their feelings is really impressive.'

Javelin is a typical sunny girl, but she can also be a bit of a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur) at times. So, in certain situations, she is one of the few in the Royal Navy who can connect with the avant-garde. Therefore, in special circumstances, Javelin's thinking can be quite unconventional.

She had just settled her luggage when she rushed over to play with Jing Su. Well, "play" might not be the right word. As someone who, when no one is around, would practice how to react after being praised by the commander for showing her cuteness to Jing Su, what she actually wanted was more than just praise.

On the way here, Javelin had fantasized more than once about what would happen if she met Jing Su.

"Oh, it's the Commander. The weather is so nice today."

"Haha, really? Indeed, the weather is great, and I'm in a great mood, but it's not because of the weather, Javelin, do you know why?"

"Hey, why, Commander?"

"Hehe, of course it's because I saw such a cute javelin that I'm in such a good mood. To see such a cute javelin so early in the morning, today is truly a wonderful day."

"Eek, Commander, what are you saying? Someone will see us."

"Haha, Javelin looks cute when she's shy. Come on, let me take a good look at you, and then take a good look at you again. Hmm, I never get tired of looking at you, and I like you more and more the more I look at you."

"Ah, Commander!" She leaned down and stretched her head to receive Jing Su's caress.

"Huh? Javelin, are you alright?" Seeing Javelin suddenly rubbing her legs and acting coy, Jing Su was a little curious, thinking that she hadn't done anything wrong.

"Huh!?" Javelin snapped out of her daze, standing there dumbfounded, her face turning bright red in an instant. Now she understood how her senior, the avant-garde, had felt when she ran away in embarrassment.

"Um, I, this, oh dear, what should I do? It's so embarrassing! Waaah~" Javelin squatted down on the ground in an instant, covering her face and starting to writhe, feeling utterly ashamed.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Upon seeing this, Jing Su quickly bent down to check. He had seen many people sick, and he himself was once a frequent visitor to the hospital. But he had never heard of a ship girl getting sick. Speaking of which, can Rubik's Cube creatures also get sick?

"Waaah, so embarrassing~" After a long while, Javelin said in a low, almost inaudible voice, with red eyes and a look of utter despair.

"Haha, Javelin, she's so cute." Seeing the shy Javelin, Jing Su felt her heart melt. As the saying goes, there are three types of lolis: light-hearted, gentle, and easy to... well...

Actually, after the Javelin was modified, her figure could no longer be described as a loli; it was more of a standard teenage girl's figure. But precisely because of this, she was able to better showcase the youthful vitality of a young girl.

"Really? Commander, do you really think so?" Javelin raised her head, her eyes shining. She had felt shy earlier because she didn't know what Jing Su was thinking. If Jing Su thought the same way she did, then there was no need to be shy.

"Of course it's true. Doesn't Javelin think she's cute? Hmm, that's really strange." Jing Su deliberately showed a puzzled expression and said, "She's clearly a vibrant and energetic girl, full of youthful energy and cuteness. Even I, as an observer, can see that. Javelin, as the person involved, you don't feel it at all. Hmm, what's wrong with this world? Are cute girls all so insecure? It's really so strange."

"Commander, please stop talking~" Javelin buried her head in her knees again, this time, she was really shy.

"Haha, so cute, it's a javelin, I really like it~" Jing Su smiled and patted the javelin's head. Originally, Jing Su was thinking of picking up the javelin and doing a spin in the air, but the javelin's size seemed unsuitable.

The gesture Jing Su wanted to make might be appropriate for a little girl, as children can be more relaxed with it, and it might also be suitable for an adult to express their feelings, since there was no one else around. However, it just didn't feel right for a girl like Javelin, who was neither fully grown nor young. Something just felt off about it.

However, since the atmosphere had been built up to this point, it seemed inappropriate not to do something. So Jing Su gently stroked Javelin's head, and Javelin immediately showed a cat-like expression of enjoyment.

'Ah, Commander's caresses... I'm so envious, so jealous! Why am I not the one being caressed? Isn't my love for Commander enough?'

'Want me to touch you? It looks so good, I want it~'

"Wow, is this what master's caresses are like? As expected of my proud master, even when he caresses someone, he is so handsome and serious. Ah, but, damn it, why am I not the one being caressed? I was ready to give everything. Ah, my proud master, when will you grace me with your favor? I am always waiting."

As Jing Su touched the sign, she suddenly felt a chill run through her body, as if she were being stared at by several people at the same time.

'This feeling...it's so cold inside. It's strange. Am I being watched by someone?'

Jing Su stood up and looked around. At this moment, Javelin also woke up from her shy state. As a veteran ship girl in the port, although she was only a destroyer, Javelin's strength was among the best in the port. She had experienced countless battles and her senses were very sharp. She just didn't think the cruise ship was at risk, and her eyes were focused on Jing Su instead of Javelin.

"Commander, please step back. Something bad has appeared." Javelin slowly walked up to Jing Su, stretched out her hand to protect Jing Su behind her, and looked seriously into the distance.

"Hmm? Is there a problem?" At this moment, Jing Su had already noticed several ship girls peeking nearby. She was about to say something, but seeing Javelin's expression and the reassurance in her eyes, Jing Su finally realized that something bad was about to happen.

"Was it just my imagination?" After a while, Javelin slowly withdrew her aura and returned to her innocent girl form. She scratched the back of her head and said to Jing Su, "Hehe, I think I saw it wrong, Commander. There's nothing wrong over there. Hmm, I must have seen it wrong."

"Is that so?" Jing Su stared at Javelin's face for a while, nodded, then walked up to Javelin, reached out and pinched her little cheek hard for a while, saying, "Silly girl, what needs to be faced will eventually have to be faced. Why are you hiding it from me? Are there enemies around?"

"Hey, Commander, you found out?" Javelin stammered as her face was pinched.

"I'm not blind. I can see your fierce expression clearly. Is the situation critical?" Releasing his grip, Jing Su followed the gaze of the javelin and saw a black cloud crackling with purple lightning appear in his field of vision.

I had no idea what was going on before, and I didn't think there was anything wrong with it, but now it seems that the dark cloud is actually drifting towards the cruise ship where I am.

"I don't know. The radar isn't showing anything, so it must have a shielding capability. To find out the specifics, we'll have to investigate at close range." Javelin summoned part of the ship's equipment, tapped a few times on a small instrument panel-like device, and finally shook her head, saying.

"So, are we about to launch an attack?" Seeing Javelin's stance, Jing Su raised an eyebrow and asked.

"It seems so." Javelin put away her ship rigging and slowly walked towards the railing. "Although it doesn't feel very appropriate to say this, Commander, give the order. It's been a long time since we've launched an attack under your command."

"is that OK?"

"No problem, no problem, Commander, give the order! I can't wait!"

"Alright, be careful." Since Javelin insisted, Jing Su had nothing more to say. He then shouted loudly, "J-class destroyer, Javelin, target Black Cloud, mission reconnaissance intelligence, sortie immediately!"

"Hehe, Javelin received." Javelin braced herself against the railing and leaped down, empty-handed. A faint light emanated from her body, indicating that her ship equipment was deployed. "J-class destroyer, Javelin, sortie~ Let me kill some time with those bad guys over there."

Commander, please take a good look at Javelin's performance!

With that, the javelin landed steadily on the sea surface, then transformed into a purple lightning bolt and sped toward the black cloud.

"Commander!" Upon hearing the commotion, the people hiding in the shadows rushed to Jing Su's side to see if anything had happened.

Just now, when Jing Su's gaze swept over their hiding place, they were all startled, or rather, some were frightened, and others, realizing they were exposed, simply stood tall and proud, no longer hiding, standing right under Jing Su's gaze and meeting his eyes. Yes, the ship girl who did this was Sirius, and her gaze meeting Jing Su's seemed to say, "Punish me, my proud master. You can do whatever you want to Sirius~"

However, not long after, they saw Javelin deploy its ship equipment and launch a full-scale attack. Only then did they realize that something was wrong and they all rushed out to check on Jing Su's body, taking the opportunity to wipe, or rather, worry about Jing Su's body.

"Commander, are you alright?"

Before long, three ship girls appeared beside Jing Su: Plymouth, Sirius, and Perseus.

Well, the people Jing Su ultimately chose were Perseus and Sirius. To be precise, these two people weren't chosen by Jing Su, but rather by Radiance, Vanguard, Queen Elizabeth, and a group of bigwigs in a meeting.

First of all, Perseus has a good relationship with many ship girls. For a long time, she served as the leader of Jing Su's mid-level team. It can be said that many ship girls were led by Perseus when their training level was not high. Even later, after Unicorn rose to prominence, Perseus still held a superior position. After all, Unicorn also gets tired. When Unicorn got tired, it was Perseus who took over her position.

Sending Perseus to the front lines was a decision made after considering various factors. The main reason was that Glorious was worried about what might happen if Jing Su sent her to the front lines after seeing the candidates he had chosen. So, no matter what, Jing Su had to take Perseus with her.

For Guanghui, what she was really worried about was that these people couldn't beat the big shots from other factions on the front lines. After all, whether it was Vanguard or Warspite, they were both rather naive, or rather, easily fooled. They could be easily distracted with just a few words, which would be tantamount to giving Jing Su away. And with the strength of these two, once Jing Su was taken away, she would never be able to get her back.

In fact, Perseus's personality is not suitable for coordinating the Royal Navy's forces on the front lines, but Illustrious herself did not ask her to do this. There are ship girls on the front lines who can integrate the Royal Navy's forces, namely Belfast. Belfast has the qualifications and abilities, but she is a Royal Navy maid. Although the Royal Navy, whether it is Illustrious or others, does not care much about so-called maids and will not look down on people because of this identity.

However, Belfast was too insistent and determined not to do anything out of line, so Glorious had no choice but to send another person with the ability to do so to the front line, with Belfast in charge of overall coordination behind the scenes and Perseus taking the lead.

Sending Perseus was mainly to utilize her connections; she could speak with both sides, so her presence on the front lines wouldn't lead to a tense standoff.

As for Sirius, it's a simple matter. Since Jing Su went to the front lines, all the royal maids there, regardless of what they were doing before, would drop everything the moment Jing Su arrived and rush to take care of him. Therefore, Sirius was essentially filling in for Belfast, taking over for the company.

Chapter 168 We Just Can't Live Without You

The sky was pitch black, and shouts could be heard outside the railings.

Not long after, Jing Su felt that terrifying aura. Hmm, it was a very strange feeling. It looked like a dark cloud from a distance, but it just looked uncomfortable, and the more you looked at it, the more uncomfortable you felt.

"Commander, are you alright?" Perseus took the initiative, grabbing Jing Su's arm and asking worriedly.

"Commander."

"Owner."

"Are you alright?" x2

"It's okay, it's okay." Jing Su tried several times but couldn't pull her arms out of the deep bridge. At first, it was just a pair of ship girls, so she could still move them a little. But soon there were three bridges, and in an instant, she couldn't move either of her arms. So Sirius, who was slower, simply hugged Jing Su's neck.

"Everything's fine now, but I have a feeling that if you keep going like this, something bad is about to happen!"

"Drip!"