I really don't have money for the ship girls.

Soviet Belaros: "Good! Very spirited!"

Ron's side was relatively less lively. Hipper stood in front of her with his hands on his hips and said, "Anyway, you definitely have to work hard over there. You are the representative of our Ironblood ship girls. But don't give that man too much face. Don't hold back when you need to hit or scold him... Time will tell. The Prince of Wales has only been gone for a few days. He may not have shown his true nature yet. If he is a bad person, kick him down and kick back my share too."

Prince Eugen suppressed a laugh and said, "Hipper, if you want to kick it, go ahead and kick it yourself."

"Huh? What do you mean I want to? I don't even want to see him."

"If you have the chance in the future, remember to let your little sister have a turn, okay? I really want to see the Commander."

"Fine, I'll give it up. I don't care."

Hipper then uttered a powerful statement that she would regret for years to come.

Frederick the Great stepped forward, gently touched Ron's forehead, and said, "Just be yourself, my child."

“I understand, Frederick,” Ron replied with a smile, and anyone who saw her expression would be captivated by her tenderness.

Bismarck hesitated, but ultimately said nothing.

"Alright, the journey is about to begin."

The three of them stepped into the hollow space that resembled a door. As the machine started, the world spun around them, and countless photons flowed around them, as if they were watching a grand meteor shower, as they raced towards the bright lighthouse in the distance.

After an unknown amount of time, or rather, in a mere instant, the surrounding space finally settled, and what came into view of the three was two people standing side by side. One was Saint Louis, judging from his back, and the other was naturally the Commander.

Ron's expression froze instantly, and his right hand clenched tightly.

They were embracing, shameless.

They are embracing.

And then?

Shameless!

Chapter 40 You actually booked a hotel room

Once again, Ying Tian missed out on that yearning for motherhood, and felt that the plot was completely different from what was shown in the old TV series.

Shouldn't it be something like, "Maybe I came at the wrong time, no, you came at the right time," or "I'm here to join this family, not to break it up"?

Besides, why do ship girls always appear silently next to me without any warning? There's never a cool animation or sound effect to remind me. It's one thing if it happens at this time, but I can't even imagine what it would be like if they suddenly appeared during class or while I was taking a shower.

As Ying Tian stepped into the room from the balcony, his mind raced, comparing the features to those in his memory. The woman with pink hair and a tall, voluptuous figure was clearly the Ironblood heavy cruiser Roon, and St. Louis had already called her by name.

The silent girl beside him seemed stunned by the scene she had just witnessed, her face blank with confusion. Her pale yellow hair was tied in a ponytail, adorned with strange hair ornaments on either side that resembled horns. Her identity was now quite clear: she was Ayanami, the first captain of the Sakura Empire's Ayanami-class destroyer. The slender girl, her legs clad in white cotton socks, stood against the wall, appearing both resolute and bewildered.

Another woman with black hair and a petite yet curvy figure was more uninhibited than Ayanami.

Mercury Memorial was no longer the strong and powerful figure she had been at the naval base. She suddenly pounced on the bed in the room, rubbed against the pillows, and then sat on the sheets and shook herself vigorously a couple of times. She said with satisfaction, "So soft, it's so comfortable to lie on... The Prince of Wales said the Commander was a pauper, yet he lives in such luxury. St. Louis, how do you make money?"

"I'm so sorry to be a poor wretch." Ying Tian couldn't stand Mercury Memorial's saccharine voice anymore, so he waved his hand and said, "Besides, this isn't my home, it's just a hotel, of course it's luxurious."

"It's just a hotel... a hotel?!"

Mercury Memorial slumped onto the bed in disappointment, then suddenly realized something and sat up abruptly. Her red eyes swept over Ying Tian and the elegantly dressed St. Louis, and she said incredulously, "Where's Shoukaku? Shoukaku isn't here... Commander and St. Louis brought Shoukaku to a hotel room? What are you doing?"

"Yes, what are you trying to do?" Ron stood in front of St. Louis with her arms crossed, tilting her pretty, pink face slightly, and said, "Commander, and St. Louis, can you give us an explanation?"

"No explanation, it's just as you see it." A faint smile graced St. Louis's delicate face. Being interrupted at such a crucial moment naturally made her unhappy, and with three more people joining in the future, it would be even harder to find such a good opportunity. However, it wasn't a big deal. Getting the commander to say "I like you" was something probably no one else in the entire naval base could do. Although she was third... third is still third, much better than being a loser.

Ron narrowed his eyes and said, "So, you're saying that everyone at the naval base risked their lives to gather the materials for your time travel, and this is how you repay their expectations?"

"You're lining your own pockets!" Mercury Memorial exclaimed excitedly. "In our Northern Union, your behavior would get you a ticket to the Gulag and a potato-digging expedition in Siberia!"

"Everyone, please be quiet... I have some candy here, wait, where's the candy?"

Ayanami was completely at a loss in the face of this scene. She tried to take out the candy that Shigure and the others had stuffed into her pocket, but when she reached in, her hands were empty. The girl, who was not good at talking and socializing, was even more at a loss for what to do, so she decided to just stand there.

"I just did what every ship girl in the naval base would do."

"quibble!"

"Hehe, you've done something really big."

"Everyone, please be quiet..."

Looking at the out-of-place Ayanami, Ying Tian felt as if he were seeing his former self. He shook his head helplessly and stood in front of St. Louis, and the argument between the three of them stopped immediately.

"First of all, there is no need to explain what I and St. Louis did or what we intend to do; that is our freedom."

St. Louis paused for a moment, then couldn't help but smile happily behind the man's back. Ron looked at Ying Tian in front of him, narrowed his eyes, and said, "So, Commander, you're protecting St. Louis?"

"That's my second point. St. Louis came here to raise money, and I was just there to help out. That was the purpose, and it was very successful. I have no obligation to explain anything else."

Ying Tian didn't care about anything else. It was just a matter of personal relationships. He and St. Louis had only hugged briefly. So what if they went to bed together? Did he have to report it?

He pointed to the three women in front of him: "Ron, Ayanami..."

His finger stopped at the spot where Mercury Memorial stood. He had originally intended to wait for her to introduce herself, but Mercury Memorial looked at Ying Tian expectantly. Before the girl's expression could turn sour, Ying Tian decided to guess: "Yubari."

"what?"

"That's an Isuzu."

I'm about to cry!

“Agano, yes, you must be Agano.”

Mercury Memorial's eyes were wide open, and her pink lips twitched incessantly, as if she was about to cry at any moment.

Fortunately, St. Louis reminded him from behind, and Ying Tiancai quickly said, "Just kidding, Mercury Memorial, the Northern Union light cruiser Mercury Memorial, of course I recognize it."

Mercury Memorial then puffed out her cheeks and said indignantly, "You mean-spirited person! If you didn't recognize me, Commander, I would really be angry!"

"I'd rather be angry than angry. You guys just popped up like that. Luckily, no one else saw us. What if I were on the street? What if I was in a bathhouse covered in sweat?"

Ying Tian looked at the ship girls in front of him, each with their own beauty: pink hair, black hair, and yellow hair. Add to that the blue and white hair of St. Louis and Shoukaku, and they could almost be the Calabash Brothers, let alone Teletubbies. If you were with them, passersby might mistake them for a group of people from the "Funeral Love Family" having a team-building event on the street if they ignored their appearance.

"Do you think we wouldn't want to be notified if we could?" Mercury Memorial pouted. "It's just that we can't contact you right now, and we have no idea what's going on here from inside the naval base."

“You guys always manage to catch me off guard… I don’t care about the past or why you were able to know me in another world, but now a friend of a friend is also my friend.” Ying Tian extended his hand to Mercury Memorial and said, “Welcome to this world, Mercury Memorial.”

Mercury shook hands with Ying Tian and suddenly felt a surge of excitement: "Anyway, I've finally met you. Please take care of me from now on!"

"Welcome, Ayanami."

“Ayanami… says, nice to meet you.”

"And Ron, welcome."

"Well, I'm new here and not familiar with the area yet." Ron put his arms around Yingtian's hands and said gently, "I was a bit rude just now, Commander, please forgive me."

“I understand.” Ying Tian was a little puzzled. How could someone who was so assertive just now suddenly back down? Then he noticed Ron’s firm chest, which was no less impressive than St. Louis’s.

A woman who smiles often is lucky, and a woman with large breasts is not narrow-minded.

"In short, it's not convenient here. What do you want to do here, and how should we arrange things? We'll go back and discuss it with Xianghe."

"it is good."

However, before leaving, Ying Tian changed his mind: "Forget it, let's eat here before we go. Room service is a freebie."

Ying Tian decisively called the front desk and asked the waiter to prepare a copy of every dish on the menu.

"Sir, are you sure you want them all?"

"Five servings of Wellington steak and Typhoon Shelter Lobster, and one serving of each of the other dishes."

"...Okay, I'll arrange it for you right away."

As long as you don't die from freeloading, you should freeload to the point of exhaustion. This has always been one of Ying Tian's mottoes.

[The commander just now seemed so rational and assertive, but now he seems completely different?]

Ayanami looked at Ying Tian, ​​tilted her head, and thought that the commander was the same as she had imagined, yet not quite the same.

Chapter 41 It is not scarcity that is a concern, but inequality.

As night deepens, neon lights illuminate the scene.

They seemed to be a couple when they came in, but when they came out, it was a family gathering of all ages.

After Ying Tian and everyone had a hearty meal, Ying Tian led the group of four out of the hotel. St. Louis and Ron supported Ying Tian on either side, as if they were embracing each other, but in reality, Ying Tian was just too full...

However, he managed to avoid any slip-ups, and no one came to him with a long bill to settle the accounts. After all, the guests today were all important figures, and the entire event was paid for by the summit organizers. He successfully got a free meal.

"To be honest, I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly." St. Louis said to the three new ship girls sitting in the back seat while driving. "It's only been less than two weeks since Shoukaku and I arrived in this world. Neither funds nor accommodations are fully prepared. You originally told me that the next batch of people wouldn't arrive for at least a month. How come this is completely different from the plan?"

"Let me explain."

Ron sat in the back of the passenger seat, propping her cheek up and looking at Ying Tian in the rearview mirror. She said, "Because of the Commander's influence over the past two weeks, the rewards for the naval base's attacks have become increasingly rich. So we don't need to spend a month gathering enough materials for the two of you to cross over like before. The reason the plan was brought forward is because the situation has changed."

St. Louis frowned slightly: "The Sirens have launched a major offensive?"

"No, the reason lies within the naval base."

St. Louis thought for a moment and quickly understood Ron's meaning. Actually, this was quite normal. It wasn't scarcity that caused the problem, but inequality. Before, whether they liked or disliked the Commander, wanted to see him or feared seeing him, no one had the chance to see him anyway; everyone was in the same boat. Now the situation had changed. Regardless of their feelings towards the Commander, some could see him while others couldn't, and the mindset of everyone in the port was bound to change.

Through the rearview mirror, St. Louis saw that Ayanami, sitting in the middle, had her hands on her knees, still expressionless and unable to tell whether she was happy or angry. Mercury Memorial was holding onto the car window with both hands, looking curiously at the lights of the city outside. These two, apart from their power and ability, were indeed very ordinary destroyers and light cruisers, and could indeed represent ordinary ship girls of the naval base.

"I can roughly guess the reason, but I didn't expect you to come."

"Me?" Ron chuckled softly. "Why can't I come?"

"I just didn't expect it. Of course you can come, everyone can come."

As the saying goes, an outsider's perspective is often clearer. When St. Louis uttered those words, he understood the crux of the matter. In reality, Ron certainly wouldn't only have the support of Ironblood and the Prince of Wales. Without the approval of more than half, Ron wouldn't be selected. Besides being suitable in ability, the most important thing was to convey an attitude to everyone in the naval base: the port leadership wouldn't discriminate. Regardless of seniority, battle achievements, or even personality issues or a bad reputation, as long as one applied, they could still go to the world of commanders.

This is to put everyone at ease; otherwise, with undercurrents swirling beneath the surface, some people might actually cause trouble.

“Yes, yes, anyone can come.” Ying Tian couldn’t help but complain, “You guys really have me all figured out. On the surface, you say I’m the commander, but in reality, you all act first and ask questions later.”

Mercury Memorial said, "We can't do anything about it. There's no way to communicate two ways right now, and it's too costly to rely on people to relay messages."

“I understand the specific difficulties. Now you can tell me what your purpose is in coming here and what you need me to do.” Ying Tian paused for a moment and said somewhat seriously, “Let me emphasize this first. I have also told St. Louis and Xianghe this. I don’t care about the situation in the past. Maybe we can become friends in the future, but right now I have no responsibility to you and you have no obligation to me. I am only helping you to repay the Prince of Wales’ favor, and I think that favor is almost over.”

"Huh?" Mercury Memorial was a little confused. "What does Commander mean by this?"

Ying Tian said, "It means exactly what it says."

Ayanami pursed her lips: "So, the Commander really doesn't want us anymore?"

Ying Tian said, "There's no such thing as wanting or not wanting. It's fate that we met. There's no subordinate relationship to begin with... Of course, you can understand it that way if you want."

A blush rose on Ron's fair face. Instead of being anxious, she asked with concern, "Commander, have you experienced any trauma?"

"No."

"That's because the Prince of Wales and St. Louis hurt you."

"No, really."

"It's alright." Ron stretched out her snow-white arm from the middle of the driver's seat and said gently, "I will heal the Commander's heart."

Ying Tian hesitated for a moment, then extended his hand to shake Ron's: "Thank you, but I think I made myself very clear just now."

At that moment, the car suddenly shook violently, and everyone in the car swayed to the right due to inertia. Ying Tian and Ron's hands naturally loosened.

"Wow, what's going on?" Mercury Memorial quickly grabbed the handle on the roof of the car, looking completely unlike a warship that could collapse an overpass.

“It’s nothing. A car was changing lanes ahead, so I let it pass,” St. Louis explained casually, then added, “Don’t worry too much. That’s what the commander says, but he’s actually all bark and no bite.”

Ying Tian retorted, "I'm not stubborn, nor am I soft-hearted."

"Is that so?" St. Louis smirked and said, "Who was it that said they were confident just now? And didn't you accept the title of Commander?"

"Whether I accept it or not, it's enough that you all call me that."

"Isn't that just being stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside?"

"Interpret it however you like."

Hehehehe—

After hearing the conversation between St. Louis and Ying Tian, ​​Ayanami felt a little relieved and couldn't help but say, "St. Louis and the Commander have a very good relationship."

There's one more thing Rei didn't say—they have a really good relationship, I'm so envious.

Ying Tian said, "It's alright, we're friends."

St. Louis raised an eyebrow: "Just friends?"

"Friends who are interested, friends who like... Okay, let's not dwell on this kind of thing." Ying Tian was a man of his word, but when he thought about what happened with St. Louis on the balcony, he still felt that he had been too frivolous. Telling a friend he had only known for two weeks that he liked her, and at the same time saying that he liked three people—"I like her, but I like you the third"—no matter what kind of liking it was, it was a bit too scum. He shouldn't bring this kind of thing to others to torture them.

"I'd rather know what the three of you are doing here, and what your specific plans are for the naval base."