"Micro-layered mixture... But the Compiler was supposed to have been completely destroyed. How could it have reappeared?"
Upon hearing Lin Lan mention the familiar name of their enemy, all the shipgirls around him suddenly realized what was happening, but their realization was immediately followed by deep confusion.
Agir voiced the question on everyone's mind, and Lin Lan recalled the storyline of the old game.
Back then, he had mostly skipped through event stories to clear the missions efficiently.
However, during his downtime, he had watched summary videos by Qi Qizi-sensei on a certain pink website, so he was well aware of why his shipgirls were reacting this way.
The Compiler first appeared in the Eagle Union faction during an event called Micro-Layered Mixture, dealing a devastating blow to the faction.
The so-called "micro-layered mixture" referred to the mysterious fog generated by the Compiler's abilities.
She could use this thick white mist to trap enemies, making it extremely difficult for those caught within to escape.
At the time, before anyone understood this ability, the Compiler had played all factions like pawns in her game.
It wasn't until the final event Rondo at Rainbow's End that the factions finally joined forces to defeat the Compiler.
Friedrich der Große assembled the Ironblood High Seas Fleet along with the player, uniting elite forces from the Eagle Union, Northern Parliament, and Sakura Empire, as well as cutting-edge research ships.
Even then, if Scharnhorst META, who had been brought from another experimental world, hadn't intervened, they might not have been able to defeat the Compiler.
In the story's final chapter, the core data tower containing the Compiler's consciousness in Scapa Flow was completely destroyed.
The reason Lin Lan wasn't surprised that the Compiler was still alive in this world was because of a hidden story segment at the end of that event.
Just before the Compiler's consciousness was about to dissipate, Helena META hacked into the data tower and intercepted her.
Only he knew about this detail.
The shipgirls at his base—except for this META-version Helena—were likely unaware of it.
But in the end, all of that was just a game's storyline.
Now that he was in another world, facing the real Sirens and his real shipgirls, he couldn't be certain if the past game's plotlines still held true.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Lan answered Agir's question:
"Maybe the Sirens still have the Compiler's machine data and managed to recreate a new one."
"I see. As expected of the Commander."
Agir's voice carried a note of agreement. Lin Lan's explanation made sense—after all, this was exactly the kind of thing the Sirens would do.
However, as the fleet's flagship, Agir quickly raised another concern:
"Commander, I tried contacting Ulrich and the others, but as expected, our communication system has already malfunctioned due to the dense micro-layered mixture."
"Should we continue forward, or retreat?"
Lin Lan remained unfazed by Agir's report. This was within his expectations.
Now the real question was whether they should press on or turn back…
After a brief contemplation, Lin Lan made his decision and spoke into the communicator:
"A sudden appearance of this many Sirens means their target is definitely Dongyun City."
"Since we have enough forces here, there's no reason to be cautious. Let's head to Dongyun City and find out what the Sirens are up to."
"If Ulrich and the others realize we've lost contact, they'll definitely raise their alert level and proceed with their planned attack on Dongyun City."
"At that point, even the Compiler won't be able to maintain this large-scale micro-layered mixture for long."
After careful consideration, Lin Lan decided not to retreat and instead pushed forward toward Dongyun City.
He couldn't believe the Sirens would shroud the city's waters in the micro-layered mixture for no reason.
They were clearly up to something big.
If they allowed the Sirens to complete their objective, it would become even harder to launch another attack on Dongyun City in the future.
Moreover, the surrounding Sirens hadn't attacked them yet, which meant the Compiler hadn't noticed them.
After all, the Sirens had no way of knowing that Lin Lan possessed the Elemental Sight, an ability that allowed him to see through the illusions of the micro-layered mixture.
Once Lin Lan gave his order, the Ironblood shipgirls followed without hesitation.
They were already well-versed in fighting the Sirens—this was just another skirmish for them.
With their Commander by their side, they had their pillar of support, leaving no room for doubt or fear.
All the shipgirls activated their riggings and, guided by the Elemental Sight, carefully advanced through the thick mist toward Dongyun City.
Keeping the Elemental Sight active continuously would naturally drain his mental energy, not to mention sharing the ability with so many others.
Yet Lin Lan simply sat in his chair, monitoring the radar screen of the command ship as if he were completely unaffected.
His mental energy recovery rate, thanks to the countless skill points he had converted using Wisdom Cubes, had been maxed out to the extreme.
The current drain was far from enough to outpace his recovery.
"We're passing right by these Sirens, yet they aren't attacking at all. They really are just mechanical creations, aren't they?"
Lin Lan observed the radar, watching as his command ship and the shipgirls maneuvered around the Sirens without triggering a response.
It was as if the enemy was completely inert.
"But what exactly are the Sirens trying to do?"
"Could it be that someone in Dongyun City is working with them again?"
Lin Lan casually pulled a chair over and sat down by the radar screen, gazing out through the reinforced glass window, deep in thought.
Given his past encounters with key figures—such as Ming Muhan, the general agent of Battleaxe Industries in Yalang City, and Abbott, the self-proclaimed leader of the Demon King's Army in Lihu County—he quickly considered the possibility.
"The Sirens… What is their true goal in this world?"
As Lin Lan pondered over this question, he suddenly noticed that the thick sea fog outside the window was gradually thinning.
Judging by the distance, he was now about to reach the shores of Dongyun City.
He had no idea what had become of the city, but the surrounding waters remained eerily devoid of merchant or cargo ships.
Just as he was about to give the order to dock, a voice suddenly came through the communicator from Z23, the young girl scouting ahead:
"Commander, the edge of a Mirror Sea has appeared on the waters ahead!"
Hearing Nimi report, Lin Lan immediately stood up and looked out the glass window.
He deactivated his Elemental Sight, and only then did he clearly see the dense, white layered fog tightly enveloping the coastline of Dongyun City.
It was as if this sea fog had been sealed within an invisible barrier, preventing even a wisp from escaping.
"A double-layered fog? What are the Sirens playing at this time?"
The fleet slowly came to a halt at the edge of this Mirror Sea, surrounded by mist.
"So, beyond the outer transparent sea fog, there's an overlapping area of another fog and a Mirror Sea? And the extent of this..."
Lin Lan's expression darkened as he gazed at the vast expanse of white layered mist merging with the Mirror Sea, covering a massive stretch of both ocean and land.
"The entire Dongyun City has been completely engulfed by the Mirror Sea... The Sirens have really gone all out this time."
It hadn't been long since his last visit here, yet in such a short time, the city had fallen into this state.
"Even with a major port and chesspiece shipgirls stationed here for protection, not a single message got out before it was overrun?"
"Everyone, stay close to the command ship and enter the Mirror Sea with me. Report immediately if you notice anything unusual or feel unwell."
Since they had come this far, they were close to uncovering the Sirens' scheme.
After issuing the order to the shipgirls, Lin Lan commanded the entire fleet to advance into the Mirror Sea.
Once he received the acknowledgements, he watched as the command ship drew closer to the boundary of the Mirror Sea and the white fog—until they fully entered it.
He had expected to be greeted by an impenetrable mist, so thick that one couldn't see their own hand.
But to his astonishment, the moment they entered, his vision suddenly became incredibly clear.
The surrounding fog vanished, and instead of Dongyun City, the shoreline before them was...
A ruined ancient city of chinese design, bathed in bright sunlight, crumbling apart with black smoke and explosions erupting everywhere!
The shocking sight made Lin Lan widen his eyes in disbelief, prompting him to activate his Elemental Sight.
But it didn't take long for him to confirm—this was indeed a city consumed by the fires of war.
The surrounding ocean was littered with the burning wreckage of wooden warships, while behind him, an ironclad fleet was locked in combat with a vast fleet of wooden ships.
By all logic, wooden ships shouldn't stand a chance against modern warships.
Yet, Lin Lan could only stare in stunned silence as he witnessed the ironclad fleet's main cannon fire being blocked outright by the wooden ships, dealing no actual damage at all.
"BOOM!!!"
As he reeled from the sight of this completely illogical battle, a deafening roar suddenly erupted from directly above him—so loud it felt like the sky itself was being torn apart.
"Commander! Commander! Look up! In the sky!"
Z1's voice, filled with disbelief, came through the communicator.
Ignoring his ringing ears, Lin Lan rushed out of the cabin and onto the deck of the command ship, looking up—
And what he saw in the sky shattered every expectation he had ever held.
In the clear blue sky, there was—a colossal, multi-story-tall, one-armed white mecha!
This massive white mecha wielded a terrifyingly huge energy blade, its powerful mechanical wings propelling it at high speeds as it pursued an enemy ahead, striking with fierce slashes.
Compared to the towering mecha, its opponent was minuscule, but when Lin Lan took a closer look—
He realized that it was just an ordinary person wielding a single-handed longsword!
Yet, this "ordinary person" wasn't just flying through the air—they were actually clashing head-on against the mecha's energy sword, which was dozens of times their own size!
What kind of monster is this?!
And in other parts of the sky above the ocean, at least three more similar battles between humans and mechas were unfolding.
The battle overhead reached its climax in mere moments.
The colossal mecha's shoulders suddenly opened, revealing rows of missile launchers, which fired dozens of homing missiles in elegant arcs toward its human opponent.
A surefire death sentence—
Or at least, it should have been.
But in the next instant, an aqua-blue sword light erupted, so radiant it seemed to split the very sky apart, cutting down every single missile in an instant!
The sword light didn't stop there. In a single strike, it cleaved the massive mecha cleanly in two, sending its halves plummeting from the sky!
This extraordinary sword strike stunned Lin Lan to his core. But more than that, it made him realize exactly where they were.
"This place... could it be... the battlefield of the Orlan Federation and the Natlan Empire?! But how is that possible?!"
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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