"You bastard! How dare that coward Zhu Mobo!"
In the early morning, atop the grand headquarters of Battleaxe Military Industries in Haifeng City, one of the largest cities on the Western Continent.
A furious voice, seething with rage, pierced through the sealed, luxurious office and echoed throughout the entire floor.
Every fully armed soldier stationed on this level trembled involuntarily.
There was only one person who could erupt in such fury at the top of this massive military-industrial conglomerate—Ye Zhanke, the owner of Battleaxe Military Industries.
"All of our personnel in Dongyun City have lost contact! Is that coward trying to rebel?"
Inside the office, a middle-aged man in a black suit, tall and imposing, crushed his glasses in his grip, his face filled with disbelief and rage.
On the desk before him, various luxurious items that had been neatly arranged were now scattered on the floor.
Standing before the desk was a cold-looking man wearing sunglasses.
The man, clad in black sunglasses, exuded a chilling, murderous aura from head to toe.
"Boss Ye, maybe Zhu Mobo isn't trying to rebel, but rather encountered something he couldn't handle."
The man in sunglasses spoke in a cold voice.
"What do you mean?"
Hearing this, Ye Zhanke suppressed his fury and fixed his gaze on the man.
The sudden loss of contact with all Battleaxe Military Industries personnel in Dongyun City—Ye Zhanke could only think of one possibility: an organized rebellion.
"Because they didn't just lose contact. According to the latest intelligence from the spies I sent into Dongyun City, all of our personnel there have completely disappeared…"
"It's a 'disappearance' in the most literal sense."
Hearing the emphasis on the word "disappearance," Ye Zhanke froze for a moment before realizing the gravity of the situation.
"What did you just say?!"
—
The mass-produced destroyer was far faster than Lin Lan's yacht.
Previously, when he traveled from Dongyun City to the harbor district, it took an entire day because he had to clear out the Siren fleets along the way.
But now, with the Ironblood shipgirls patrolling the area daily, the Sirens had all but vanished.
As a result, by around one or two in the afternoon, he and the Ironblood shipgirls would arrive at Dongyun City.
In the conference room aboard the black mass-produced destroyer, Lin Lan sat on a sofa, munching on cookies brought by Roon.
Snuggled beside him were four adorable Z-class destroyer little girls, while a lazy green-haired Sakura Empire kitten lay sprawled atop his head.
On the opposite sofa, aside from Blücher lying on Hipper's lap and looking enviously at the little girls surrounding him, the other four Ironblood girls sat upright, staring at him.
Feeling their gazes, Lin Lan couldn't help but compare Ägir, Roon, Prinz Eugen, Blücher, and Hipper.
Finally, his eyes settled on Hipper's chest.
As expected, Hipper really was the disgrace of the Ironblood heavy cruisers.
Lin Lan let out a quiet sigh.
"…Where the hell are you looking?"
The blonde, flat-chested girl immediately caught onto where her commander's gaze had landed.
Seeing him sigh afterward, she instantly knew what he meant and glared at him angrily.
"Hipper, I was just thinking that your outfit today looks really nice. Why don't you wear it more often?"
Sensing Hipper's displeased tone, Lin Lan quickly explained.
"Hah? Are you serious? I didn't pick this outfit for you! Even if you compliment me, I won't wear it more often."
As expected, tsunderes were the easiest to deal with.
Hipper's face flushed slightly at Lin Lan's words, and she turned her head away with a huff.
Prinz Eugen, seeing through everything, glanced at her older sister with a helpless look.
To think you'd believe such an obvious lie, big sis… You're way too naive.
"Commander, what about my outfit today? Hmm~?"
Seeing Lin Lan take the initiative to compliment Hipper, Roon seized the opportunity to grab his attention, smiling sweetly as she asked.
She was wearing a black-and-red waist-cinched dress that extended past her knees, exuding a classical elegance.
"Roon, you must have put some thought into your outfit today. It's quite different from your usual style."
After careful consideration, Lin Lan responded cautiously, as if handling a landmine.
"Oh my, the commander noticed~"
Roon giggled, pressing her hands against her cheeks in delight.
Seeing her pose, Lin Lan was reminded of a yandere heroine from an anime he once watched.
"Good thing Roon's personality is way better than in the game…"
Lin Lan muttered under his breath, forgetting that he was surrounded by little girls.
"Commander, did you say something?"
Z46, who had been lying on his lap reading a book, suddenly lifted her head, her golden eyes gazing at him innocently.
"Oh, I was just saying that it's been a while since I last visited Dongyun City."
Realizing his slip-up, Lin Lan quickly smiled and changed the topic.
Close call. Good thing I reacted fast.
Z46 didn't press further and obediently returned to her book. Seeing this, Lin Lan reached out and gently stroked the literary little girl's silver hair.
"So, Commander, why don't we just have Zeppelin and the others bomb the Battleaxe Military Industries base in the city, like we did in Yalang City?"
Ägir, the silver-haired goddess of the rough seas and the flagship of this operation, crossed her long, black-stockinged legs and gazed at Lin Lan, confused as to why they were taking such a roundabout approach.
Lin Lan wasn't surprised by Ägir's question—he had expected his Ironblood shipgirls to ask this.
"The Battleaxe base in Yalang City was far from the main city and the naval port, so there were few civilians nearby, meaning we didn't have to worry about collateral damage."
"But Dongyun City is different. The Battleaxe base there is right next to the naval port and the Tian'ou Group headquarters."
Lin Lan had studied Dongyun City's map multiple times while planning this operation.
He was here to destroy Battleaxe's forces, not to massacre civilians.
If Ulrich, Zeppelin, Ruprecht, or even Elbe and Weser attacked, the destruction would be widespread.
Thus, he divided the operation into three fleets.
The first fleet, led by himself, would infiltrate Dongyun City with Ägir and the others.
If they could directly destroy the Battleaxe base and eliminate its commander, that would be ideal.
The second fleet, consisting of Ulrich, Zeppelin, Peter, Lützow, and Ruprecht, was stationed outside the city, ready to launch a devastating assault if the first fleet failed or encountered unexpected resistance.
The third fleet, led by Brunhilde and composed of the Scharnhorst sisters, three wolfpack little girls, the Deutschland sisters, Elbe, and Weser, wasn't tasked with attacking Dongyun City directly.
Instead, they were stationed along the coast and rivers to cut off any reinforcements Battleaxe might send.
With these three fleets, Lin Lan was determined to take Dongyun City.
Against Battleaxe's forces, even a single fleet would have sufficed.
However, the test subject that had appeared during Yalang City's battle had served as a wake-up call.
Unlike in the game, where shipgirls only lost morale when sunk, here, they could actually die.
Back in the harbor, when he and Luo Tao were waiting for Ägir's fleet to return from fighting the test subject, Lin Lan had been on edge the entire time.
Seeing them wounded upon their return had nearly broken his heart.
Now that he controlled the Tian'ou Group and had an abundant supply of oil, he no longer had to be cautious.
This wasn't a game anymore. There was no fleet size limit.
So he would bring everything to bear!
Even if another test subject appeared, he had more than enough shipgirls to handle it.
Meanwhile, Mainz, Emden, Elbing, and Magdeburg were in charge of defending the harbor.
With oil continuously arriving from Tian'ou Group's supply lines, and with the port's defenses in place, Lin Lan had no concerns about a surprise attack.
Moreover, based on his calculations before departure, Bismarck's fleet should have already set sail from the Ironblood fortress.
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