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

"I will make them surrender on their own."

"And then what? Does this mean you have money now? Do you have a place to stay? Can you stop bothering the commander? There's no point in you complaining like this."

"Hehe, shirking responsibility is unforgivable."

"I don't need your forgiveness."

The argument between St. Louis and Ron was tense and intense, with Shoukaku occasionally chiming in. Although Sakura Empire and Eagle Union were not exactly enemies, she and St. Louis were on the same side at this moment.

"Stop arguing, what's the point... But we won't have to sleep in this garage from now on, right? Well, it's not impossible, I can manage to live a frugal life. Oh, my back..."

"It's just a matter of ability."

"Yes, yes, it's my fault. You can send a signal to the naval base to bring you back."

"Heh, it's you, St. Louis, who should be going back."

……

Ying Tian walked in through the small door next to the garage and saw St. Louis, Xiang He, and Ron standing facing each other in the corner with their arms crossed, while Mercury Memorial sat on a newspaper spread on the ground, hugging his thighs and knees, looking quite disheveled.

The four of them looked towards the doorway as soon as they saw Ying Tian and Ling Bo walk in.

"Commander, it's like this..."

"It's not that I'm complaining, it's that..."

"Oh no, Commander, we're not going to end up homeless, are we? I'm so..."

"enough!"

Yingtian let out a low roar, and all four ship girls shut their mouths.

"Let's go one by one. Shoukaku, you go first."

Chapter 46 The Commander is Everyone's Pillar

Ying Tian asked them one by one, starting with Xiang He.

The gist of it was that some older women in the neighborhood reported unusual gatherings in the apartment, suspecting the landlord had rented it to disreputable individuals. So, the property management, citing a fire safety inspection, came knocking on the door. Of course, Xianghe and the others didn't open the door; instead, they secretly slipped out. After all, they lacked identification, and making any sudden contact could arouse suspicion and trigger a chain reaction.

"Very cautious, well done."

Ying Tian praised him, then turned to St. Louis and asked, "I saw the message you sent. What's going on?"

St. Louis pursed her lips tightly, her delicate face devoid of its usual enthusiasm. Her eyes flickered, and she smiled self-deprecatingly, saying, "I was a bit too confident. I didn't realize that even within the capital market, there are different rules and styles."

"So you're saying we lost money?" Ying Tian understood what St. Louis meant.

"To be precise, it's all gone... It's locked at the daily limit down, and the limit down won't be lifted until the sell orders drop by at least 80%."

"Forehead……"

Looking at St. Louis's dejected expression, Ying Tian noticed that even his usually rosy lips were dry. Although it wasn't exactly authentic, he couldn't help but chuckle. Now he knew the weight of China's A-shares, didn't he? Never forget your original intention, and you'll be stuck at 3,000 points for life. Even a business elite like St. Louis would crash and burn here.

"so?"

St. Louis's lips twitched. Women all want to show their most beautiful side to the person they like. Just as she didn't want to admit her mistake in front of Ying Tian, ​​she said helplessly, "So even if I know the next move of capital, I no longer have the capital to make any plans."

"We might not even have money to cook," Shoukaku said.

Mercury Memorial sat up from the ground, patted his butt, and said, "Without money or a place to stay, let alone a mission from the naval base, we'd probably have to sleep on the streets and beg for food."

“It’s alright, I have a way,” Ron said with a faint smile.

What's your idea?

Ron said matter-of-factly, "There's so much food and supplies on the street, and so many vacant houses nearby, we can just use them."

"Are you serious? Don't cause trouble for the commander."

"So you weren't causing trouble for the Commander after all, huh? Hehehe."

Seeing Ron and St. Louis arguing again, Ying Tian didn't try to mediate. Instead, he observed with great interest the earrings on Ayanami's head that looked like mechanical horns, which were exquisite, cute, and technologically advanced.

“Commander, this is Ayanami’s ear.”

"Ears? Not for decoration?"

"It's an ear, Ayanami... Is that strange?"

"No, it's quite cute, it's amazing."

"Ayanami's ears...are they cute? I don't really know...as long as the Commander is happy."

Perhaps because of Ying Tian's attitude, or perhaps because they had calmed down, the garage gradually quieted down while Ying Tian was chatting with Ling Bo.

Ying Tian looked at the beautiful ship girls standing in the garage and said, "Have you released all the pressure?"

Ron blinked, St. Louis pursed his lips and looked at Xianghe. Ying Tian's calm demeanor was like a pillar of stability. Although he only said one sentence, it calmed their somewhat hesitant hearts.

"What did I think was so important? Just this?"

Ying Tian smiled dismissively. So what if you're broke? I'm not very capable. I've been alive for almost twenty years. I wouldn't say I'm destitute, but I don't even have a home. I'm constantly in a state of being broke and impoverished. Is that all? You call that a hardship?

If the ship girls are warriors forged in iron and fire, living in isolated overseas naval bases that form their own small society, possessing extraordinary wisdom and abilities without needing to learn or adapt, they are ultimately not social beings and do not understand the rules of social survival. Coupled with the unfamiliarity of arriving in another world and the tension caused by not wanting to lose face in front of the commander, beneath their mature exteriors lies a sensitive heart, unknowingly accumulating pressure.

"First of all, don't worry about where you'll stay. We'll go up together later. Don't pay attention to those gossipy old ladies; they're just jealous of your beauty."

Ying Tian said casually, calling out, "St. Louis."

“I’m here.” St. Louis straightened her back, her beautiful eyes fixed on him.

"Everyone makes mistakes, that's normal. I once lost 800 out of 1,000..."

"Is the commander really that incompetent?"

As soon as she uttered the words about Mercury, everyone in the room stared at her, so she quickly corrected herself, saying, "I meant to say that the Commander is such an honest gentleman, haha... hahaha..."

"It's not something shameful," Ying Tian said, looking at St. Louis. "The key question is, St. Louis, do you still have confidence? Do you think you can still make money?"

St. Louis raised her pretty face and said, "Yes, I'm not just someone who gets lucky."

"Okay, I believe you. I have some savings; I'll help you win back your losses."

St. Louis bit her lip, and with just a simple "I believe you," she felt her heart melt. Her voice trembled with emotion as she said, "Commander, thank you..."

"Don't thank me yet," Ying Tian waved his hand and said, "It's not for you, it's a loan. This is my savings for next year's tuition and living expenses. You'll have to pay me back with interest."

Ying Tian deliberately said fiercely, "If you don't pay up, you'll all have to come with me to the deadly assembly line to tighten screws this summer."

"If you can't pay me back, I'll give myself to you."

"Fine, if you don't pay me back, I won't have money to go to school either. Then I'll make you pour my foot bath water every day."

“I can do the same for the Commander,” St. Louis said, tilting her head. “I can even warm the bed.”

“I can warm the bed too.” Ying Tian shifted his gaze from St. Louis’s slender figure and called out again, “Ron.”

"I'm here."

"Don't fight amongst yourselves, trust your companions."

Ron opened his brown eyes wide and smirked: "I have a lot of faith in the Commander."

“You must not only believe in me, but also in everyone else,” Ying Tian said. “And Xiang He as well.”

"Yes," Xianghe replied. This feeling of having someone to rely on made her feel incredibly at ease, as if no matter what difficulties she faced, as long as the man in front of her was there, she didn't need to worry.

"You should still have lunch prepared for today, right?"

"Half-prepared."

"Come on, let's go upstairs and cook together. No matter what happens, food is the most important thing."

"Hmm~!" Shoukaku nodded with a smile.

Everyone followed behind Ying Tian, ​​preparing to leave the garage, when Mercury Memorial quickly asked, "Commander, what about me?"

Ying Tian asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Mercury Memorial pouted: "You told everyone else, didn't you have anything to tell me?"

"As for you..." Ying Tian thought for a moment, but couldn't think of anything, so he could only say, "Anyway, your task is just to play games at home, which doesn't consume much energy, so you can eat less when you eat. Every little bit helps, and we can all get through this together."

Mercury Memorial opened her pink lips, hardly believing her ears.

"You... Commander, you're going too far! All she did was say something negative about you, and you retaliate like this!"

“Mine.” Ying Tian readily agreed, saying, “Mercury Memorial, you’ve been playing games too hard. Eat more. If you eat an extra bowl of rice, we won’t go bankrupt.”

Mercury blinked, feeling that something was off, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Commander, you're up to no good!"

"What's wrong with me?"

"Anyway, he's malicious!"

Mercury Memorial jumped around Ying Tian defiantly, and St. Louis and Shoukaku quickly followed. They exchanged glances with Ron, and looking at the man before them, they all shared a common belief—

The commander truly is the pillar of the naval base.

Chapter 47 Creditors Can Rightfully Monitor Borrowers

The property management is the easiest to deal with. As soon as the St. Louis residents speak English, German, Japanese, and Russian, they immediately turn big problems into small ones and small problems into nothing. Why take a few thousand dollars a month so seriously? The property management of high-end communities are just employees. As long as they can give those middle-aged female residents an explanation, that's enough.

As for contacting senior Rui Die to rent an extra room, that matter has been put on hold for the time being. We should cut back on our spending and get through this difficult time together. Every little bit saved counts. In theory, we could secretly use the living room and other rooms, but there's no need for that.

Yingtian's identity has deepened from "friend" to "creditor," and he has become increasingly entangled with the ship girls. Or rather, such entanglement was inevitable from the moment Prince of Wales appeared and called out "Commander."

So, aside from meals and part-time work, Ying Tian became increasingly accustomed to coming to this suite outside the school. Whether doing homework or writing articles for the public account, he practically treated it as his private study room. On the surface, Ying Tian said that as a creditor, he naturally had the right to supervise the borrower at all times, but in reality, he was really addicted to this lively and intimate feeling.

"Commander, time to play cards!"

Ying Tian, ​​who was working on his coursework on a secondhand laptop in the living room, said without even looking up, "You guys do it, I have other things to do."

Mercury, barefoot, bent down and brought her head close to Ying Tian's and the computer screen. Her cute and delicate face, carrying a fresh fragrance, appeared in front of Ying Tian, ​​her thin cherry lips smiling, as if saying, "Quickly praise this girl for being cute."

"As a senior colleague, let me share some life experience with you: work is never-ending, and enjoying life while you can is the true meaning of life."

Ying Tian looked at the cherry-pink lips in front of him, as if tempting him to take a bite. He moved his head to the left so that he could look past Mercury's face and at the computer screen: "Of course you can't finish your work, so you're just slacking off, aren't you? Have you finished your eight hours of gaming today?"

"I can't spend money on in-game purchases, and the oil runs out before I even have to work shifts. Besides, Shoukaku's phone is so laggy, it's driving me crazy."

Mercury Memorial's head also stretched to the left, continuing to block Ying Tian's view. Next, no matter how Ying Tian moved his head up, down, left, or right, Mercury Memorial followed suit, until Ying Tian's head leaned forward, and Mercury Memorial tilted back, the back of his head directly hitting the computer screen.

Ying Tian couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Mercury rubbed her head, looking aggrieved, and said, "The Commander is bullying me again..."

"It doesn't hurt," Ying Tian said. "By the way, who were the people playing cards?"

Mercury Memorial perked up immediately and said, "Me, Ron, Shoukaku, we're missing you."

"What about St. Louis?"

"She's reviewing the stock market; let's not disturb her."

"Ayanami?"

"She won't hit him."

"If Lingbo doesn't fight, I won't fight either."

"what?"

Ying Tian couldn't help but laugh again. Mercury Memorial was a rather innocent and naive girl who often said some arrogant things that seemed like she was taking advantage of her age. It was really interesting to bully her.

"Just kidding, I'm stuck on my coursework, I'll play with you guys for a bit."

"Okay, let's get this straight first, we're betting when we play cards."

"Never mind, I don't have the money."

"If we don't have money, we don't have any either. The loser just needs to give the winner a three-minute massage."

"That works, my shoulders are a bit sore."

However, things didn't go as planned. After that night, even with his eyes closed, Ying Tian could tell that it was Ron's thigh and that was Shoukaku's shoulder. Mercury Memorial was slender, but surprisingly fleshy.

Ying Tian isn't actually the type to bully people, but it's mainly because Mercury Memorial seems a bit dim-witted and likes to talk to herself, so it would be a waste not to tease her a little.

In contrast, the young girl Ayanami has a completely different personality.

When it was her turn to play the game, she would sit silently in the chair until all the oil was used up, and then quietly write a report, recording all her game content so that Ron could collect and organize it into a training report for Ying Tian to see.

She never says what she wants to eat. When she has nothing to do, she sits on the bed with Xianghe and watches TV series. She goes to bed early and gets up early, and doesn't eat snacks. One day, she sat in the toilet for more than an hour because she ran out of toilet paper. Yingtian suspected that if she hadn't been discovered, she could have sat there all day.