Azur Lane Mobile Front

“Let me explain,” Zhenhai said, “The problem is actually quite simple. Donghuang’s biggest problem right now is that it doesn’t have money.”

"No money?" Rob thought this was an unexpected turn of events. All the navies in the various factions were notorious for spending huge sums of money; after all, you couldn't run a navy without money. The first problem he encountered upon arriving in Donghuang was that the Donghuang navy was out of money.

"Yes, all of Donghuang's problems ultimately boil down to a lack of money. Donghuang's navy has a low annual budget and a limited number of commissioned missions. Resources are barely enough to maintain existing ships, let alone develop a more advanced navy. So, Commander, the first problem you'll face is solving the economic issue. How will you handle it? I'm really looking forward to it."

Rob rubbed his forehead. "Miss Zhenhai, before I came back, I thought about the Sirens and the Sakura Empire, but I never imagined that the most fundamental problem for the Eastern Empire would be a lack of money. I can't speak for other factions, but for the Eagle Union, the navy is definitely a money-burning operation. Every year, the research and development of new ship equipment, the maintenance and construction of ships consume massive amounts of resources. I've never heard of the navy having any other way to generate revenue. Even launching attacks to clear out the Sirens and selling their wreckage to headquarters wouldn't work in the Eastern Empire. I really don't know what to do."

"It's alright, Commander. This problem has been bothering us for many years. If the solution were so simple, it wouldn't have lasted this long," Yi Xian said, seeing Rob's predicament and offering words of comfort.

"Let's not talk about that for now. There are twelve ships here now. Apart from these, are the others stationed in other ports or what?"

"No, Donghuang only has this one port area. The other sisters are all out at sea on patrol. In the past year, the Sirens in the nearby waters seem to have appeared more frequently. We also have to be constantly on guard against the actions of the Sakura Empire, so we haven't even been accepting any commissions lately."

Yixian added some food to Ninghai and her sister's bowls, wiped the oil off Pinghai's face, and then answered Luo Bo's question.

"Are the sirens appearing more frequently?"

"That's right, it's embarrassing to admit. Before, many of the Sirens that appeared in the nearby waters were actually cleared out by the Sakura Empire. After all, we have limited manpower here, and they would always give us advance notice before coming. Over time, it became a habit. If we had Sirens that we couldn't handle, we would notify them to come and clear them out. It seems that the Sakura Empire is very interested in Sirens. In the past, most of the Siren wreckage we obtained was bought by the Sakura Empire. Now that the Sakura Empire has turned to the enemy camp, there are even more Sirens here."

"Something's not right!" Rob noticed something amiss.

"Oh? What brilliant idea does the Commander have?" Zhenhai sat up straight, his hands, clad in black silk sleeves, lightly gliding over the black silk stockings on his legs. A sly smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"The Sakura Empire's previous actions had only one reason: they needed a large amount of Siren remains. Whatever their intentions, that's for sure. But now, they're not even coming here to clear out the Sirens. This definitely isn't because the Sakura Empire's allies have changed. Before, even those on the same side would cross the border to steal Sirens, though they would inform the Sakura Empire in advance out of courtesy. Now, if the Sakura Empire wanted to steal Sirens, they wouldn't even need to inform them beforehand. There's no reason for them not to continue doing so. The only reason they're not doing this is because they no longer need the Siren remains."

“They’ve done what they wanted to do. Is that what you mean?” Zhenhai picked up where Luo Bo left off and gave the answer.

“No, Miss Zhenhai, you’re talking about the best-case scenario. They’ve discovered something from the wreckage of the Sirens. You know, they attacked Pearl Harbor last year. The Sakura Empire’s naval power is definitely inferior to that of the Eagle Union, so they must have something to rely on to do this. However, I’ve also considered the worst-case scenario.”

"By considering the worst-case scenario, we can make more thorough preparations. Zhenhai would like to hear the commander's worst-case scenario."

"They are in league with the Sirens."

Whether it was the previously serene Yixian, the composed Zhenhai, or the enterprises, all were terrified by Luo Bo's deduction.

“Commander, this joke isn’t funny. Sakura Empire fought the Sirens for decades before.”

"No, Yixian, the commander is right. If we really consider the worst-case scenario, this possibility exists. Since Sakura Empire and the Sirens are on the same side, they naturally won't clear out the Sirens appearing in the sea anymore. They also don't need to study anything from the Sirens' wreckage; they can just ask their Sirens allies for it."

“I suspect the Sangvis Ferri is in the same situation, after all, both factions are now part of the Red Axis. When Bismarck sank Hood with a single shot, I initially thought it was just bad luck for Ms. Hood, but if the Sangvis Ferri really acquired Siren technology, it seems to make sense. Enterprise, could you get me the communicator Saratoga gave me earlier? This situation must be reported to headquarters.”

"Yes, Commander."

"Notify all ships still out at sea to return to port. We need to reconsider future patrols." Rob turned to Yi Xian and said, and Yi Xian nodded solemnly. Rob issued his first order on his very first day in Donghuang.

Chapter Twenty-One: The Great Adventure in Fushun

The communication with Saratoga allowed Rob, who had been at sea for quite some time, to learn about the latest situation on the White Eagle's side.

Last month, Enterprise and Hornet launched an air raid on the Sakura Empire's homeland. Although the results were minimal, it was of great significance to the overall war effort. It could be considered revenge for the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Earlier this month, the fleets led by Lexington and Yorktown unexpectedly encountered the Fifth Carrier Division of the Sakura Empire in the Coral Sea. As a result, Lexington suffered a major defeat, and Yorktown was also seriously injured.

No wonder Saratoga has lost her former energy in instant messaging; it seems she's been under a lot of pressure lately.

When the company heard that Yorktown was injured, they grabbed the communicator and inquired about the situation in detail.

After receiving news that Yorktown was out of serious trouble after several days of repairs, I finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

The next morning, Luo Bo walked into the office, ready to begin his first day at Donghuang.

It was called an office, but it was really just a small room with a table, a chair, and a bookcase for storing files. That was all.

Rob is not someone who has never experienced hardship, but he still finds it difficult to adapt at first. As the saying goes, it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

Before Luo Bo could start working, Yi Xian walked in with her beautiful legs encased in black stockings, carrying a bowl of steaming porridge.

"Commander Luo, good morning. Did you sleep well last night? I was just about to go to the dormitory to find you, but I didn't expect you to be starting your work already. Drink this bowl of porridge first; it's not a good habit to go on an empty stomach."

"Yixian, good morning." Luo Bo took the steaming porridge, looked at it and smelled it. It was just the simplest white rice porridge, but a faint fragrance wafted over, which showed that the chef was very skilled.

I picked up a spoon, scooped up a spoonful, blew on it gently, and put it in my mouth. At first, it didn't taste like anything, but slowly a faint sweetness appeared in my mouth.

"Great cooking skills! Did you cook this, Yixian?"

"It's just some plain rice porridge, Commander, I'm glad you like it."

After eating Yixian's white rice porridge, Luo Bo was ready to officially begin his work for the day. Suddenly, an urgent telegram was placed on the table by Zhenhai, who had walked in briskly.

"Commander, emergency!"

This is intelligence sent from a mass-produced warship that went out on patrol.

"Fushun suddenly lost contact in the XX sea area."

The telegram was brief, but fewer words meant a bigger problem. After reading it, Rob handed the telegram to Yixian. "Gather everyone. This is serious."

Yi Xian glanced at the telegram, his face grave. "Fushun, I remember she should be patrolling the East China Sea. Why did she go there?"

"The answer to this problem can only be found in Fushun." Luo Bo rubbed his temples. He had been given a huge task on his first day in office, and he was really struggling to cope.

An unknown sea area.

"Hey! Where am I? The radar isn't working at all! And where did everyone go?"

The girl in military uniform with sandy brown hair scratched her head, her almost ankle-length twin ponytails swinging as she looked around. She felt like she was lost.

"Oh, if Sister Anshan were here, she would definitely have a solution!"

Fushun pulled out a piece of dry rations from somewhere and, while sailing, nibbled on it like a hamster, clutching it in both hands. "Honestly," he muttered, "the rations are almost gone. If this keeps up, we'll go hungry."

After finishing his dry rations, Fushun clapped his hands, then a brilliant idea struck him. "That's it! Changchun said that if you get lost, you'll always find your way out if you keep walking in one direction!"

The port area at this time.

"The surrounding ships have already sent out messages, asking them to assist in the search for Fushun."

"Thank you for your hard work, Yixian. Could you please arrange for the fastest ship? Enterprise and I will go directly to the accident site to take a look."

"Okay, Commander, I'll have Ning Hai go with you to facilitate negotiations with the personnel on the mass-production ships over there."

While Luo Bo and his group were busy, Fu Shun, who had gotten lost, also encountered a small problem.

"Why did you call me all of a sudden? I just wanted to ask for directions!"

Behind Fushun, Akatsuki of the Sakura Empire was chasing after her.

However, Xiao's condition was also very strange at this moment. His eyes were empty and lifeless, and his expression was blank. When Fushun came up to talk to him earlier, he didn't say a word. He just looked at Fushun for a few seconds and then raised his hand to fire a cannonball.

Thanks to Fushun's quick thinking, he narrowly escaped this attack that came without warning.

"Seriously! I'm angry!" Fushun, who had been chased all the way, was somewhat annoyed and finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"The Southern Bright Fire, its flames illuminate all directions!"

Fushun dodged the artillery fire behind him, executed a circling maneuver, and unleashed a barrage of artillery fire at Xiao behind him.

Unexpectedly, after just one round of probing barrage, Akatsuki was severely damaged and slowly sank into the sea.

"Huh? Huh! How did it sink?"

This scene was somewhat unexpected for Fushun, after all, she only retaliated slightly, and even a mass-produced warship that had just taken that round of attacks might not necessarily sink.

But since the other party wouldn't chase her anymore, Fushun didn't think too much about it. She looked around for a while and wondered, "Where am I now?"

Just now, I was so focused on dodging the attack from behind that I completely forgot about the direction. When I came to my senses, Fushun, which was already lost, was even more confused.

With the idea that "the more debts you have, the less you worry, and the more lice you have, the less they itch," Fushun simply picked a random direction and continued forward to see if he could find a way back to the port area.

After an unknown amount of time, Fushun found a house in the middle of the sea.

It instantly piqued her curiosity, and she completely forgot about getting lost and finding her way back to the port.

"Wow, why is there such a big house here!" Fushun exclaimed as he walked over. "Is anyone there? I'm lost, could you tell me where I am?"

There was no response; only echoes.

"How strange this place is. There's no one here. Who built such a big house here?"

Fu Shun looked at the various instruments in the room that he had never seen before and couldn't help but reach out and touch them.

"Wow! These are all things I've never seen before!" Seeing the various buttons on the equipment, Fushun couldn't contain his curiosity.

She tried pressing that button. As she pressed each button, the previously dimly lit room lit up.

On the other side of the sea.

Why was the carving studio started at this time?

In the central control room, Akagi saw the light symbolizing the start of the carving studio turn on. He then got up to check the surveillance footage.

Then, she saw something that made her blood pressure skyrocket.

In the surveillance footage, Fushun pressed all the buttons in a row and is now reaching for the last big red button.

Akagi felt the fur on his tail stand on end.

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Mischievous Child

"Damn it! Who is this! Activate highest privileges and teleport the target from the carving room out of the test field!" Just as Fushun was about to press the big red button, Chicheng kicked her out in time.

"Huh?" The sudden change in scenery left Fushun completely bewildered. "The radar is reacting again! I get it, that was the thing that could send me back."

(Akagi: "You don't know anything, that's a self-destruct button!")

"Wow, it seems like we're not far from the port area now! I can go home!"

Meanwhile, accompanied by Ning Hai, Robo was getting information from the captain of the mass-produced ship who had sent the message earlier.

The company has been searching in the sky for quite some time, but unfortunately, they have found nothing.

"Fushun sent a message saying that she had spotted the Sakura Empire ships and wanted to follow them. We couldn't keep up with her. The last time we received a message from Fushun, her location was in this vicinity."

"Okay, thank you for the information." After finishing his negotiations, Rob turned to send a message to the company.

"Enterprise, be careful. If Fushun loses contact in this area and can't even send messages, it means something is interfering with the communication devices. Keep an eye on the communication equipment, and if there's any problem, leave that area immediately."

"Yes, Commander! Enterprise received!"

"Seriously, where did he go?" Today is the third day since Fushun went missing. But there is still no news, which makes Luo Bo a little worried.

In the port area, Yixian and Zhenhai were sorting through the messages from various parties, and a worried look crept onto their beautiful faces.

Still no clue?

"No. It's been three days, and there's still no news. It's like they suddenly evaporated from the world."

While everyone was trying their best to find Fushun, Fushun had already returned to the port area on his own.

"Huh? Why are the lights in the command room still on so late?" It was already late at night, but the port area was still brightly lit.

"Everyone! I'm back! Sister Yixian said our port finally has a commander! Where is he? Let me see!"

Yixian and Zhenhai, who were waiting for news, were stunned when they saw Fushun push the door open and enter.

"Fushun, you..." The two pointed at Fushun, unsure of what to say, a sense of powerlessness welling up within them.

It feels like your child is lost, and you gather the whole family to search high and low but can't find them, only for them to find their way back by themselves at the exact moment.

"Hey? Sister Yixian, Sister Zhenhai, your expressions are so weird. Right, didn't we say we had a commander? I don't see one!"

"Go and call everyone back. There's no need to look for them anymore." Yi Xian rubbed her temples, not knowing what to say.

Zhenhai didn't say anything, just nodded and turned to send messages to everyone.

"Sister Yixian? What's wrong with everyone? Why don't I see anyone else?" Fushun finally sensed that something was wrong.

"Fushun, you've been missing for three days." Even Yixian, who had always been calm and composed, felt somewhat exhausted.

"Huh?!" Fushun thought carefully and realized that he hadn't been in contact with anyone for a long time.

Feeling that he might have gotten into trouble, Fushun lowered his head, silently walked to the side, found a chair, sat down, and waited for his fate.

"Fushun, go to sleep first. We can talk about it tomorrow."

"Okay... okay."

On the other side, Luo Bo, who had just received the news from Zhenhai, slumped into his chair, feeling relieved, but then also exhausted.

"Business, stop looking for her, come back. She went back to Fushun on her own."

"I understand." After hearing Rob's message, the company remained silent for almost a minute. It seemed even the company had been through quite a bit.

"Everyone, go and rest. The target has returned to port." After informing Enterprise Rob, he also informed the mass-produced ships who were still searching for them.

After greeting the captain and instructing him to sail the ship back to port, Rob didn't even wash his face before collapsing onto the bed and falling asleep.

After three days of tension, his nerves suddenly relaxed, and a wave of exhaustion washed over him, making it impossible for him to hold on any longer.