"Wow! Commander, look! Big Sis is flying!"
Blücher cheered excitedly at the sight.
"Weser, can you keep up with them?"
After watching Sui Qiong and Hipper disappear from view, Lin Lan quickly turned to ask Weser.
In response, she gave him a confident smile, as if everything was under control.
After confirming that Hipper was not in danger, Lin Lan walked over to Magdeburg.
"Did you capture the shot just now?"
"I think so? But we'll have to wait until the film is developed to see how it turned out..."
Hearing that the photo still needed developing, Lin Lan smacked his forehead.
Why didn't he just use his phone? That would have saved the trouble of developing the film.
"Leave it to me, nya! I'll have the photos developed within ten minutes, nya~ Do you want to add a special commemorative frame for an extra charge, nya?"
The little swindler Akashi snatched the camera from Magdeburg's hands, beaming with a bright smile as she asked.
"Mm-hmm, we absolutely need a commemorative frame. This is a historic moment for our port!"
Prinz Eugen, trying her best to suppress her excitement, pulled a handful of Red Gem vouchers from her coat pocket and handed them to Akashi with a serious expression.
"Leave it to me, nya! Just wait a moment, I'll be right back, nya!"
Seeing Prinz Eugen so readily hand over such a generous amount of Red Gems, Akashi hummed a cheerful tune as she dashed back to her shop to develop the photos.
"By the way, does anyone know if Hipper is afraid of heights?"
While waiting for Hipper and Sui Qiong to return, Lin Lan suddenly thought of this and asked.
"Afraid of heights?"
"Never mind, forget I asked."
Hearing the puzzled responses from the others, Lin Lan waved his hand with a smile.
After all, Hipper was a heavy cruiser-class shipgirl. There was no way she'd be afraid of heights, right? He was probably just overthinking it.
Soon enough, the ever-motivated swindler Akashi, driven by the power of Red Gems, came out of her shop holding a photo frame.
"The photos are ready, nya! Please take them, nya!"
With the photos developed, everyone gathered around to see how they turned out, even the usually composed Ulrich, who approached out of curiosity.
As the commander, Lin Lan naturally had the first look at the photo.
Taking the framed picture from Akashi's hands, he held it up while several Iron Blood shipgirls leaned in to take a look.
In the photo, Hipper, mid-air and just leaving the ground, had her eyes wide open in terror, her mouth agape as Sui Qiong dragged her upward, leaving a faint blur in the background.
Magdeburg's timing was impeccable. The shot was so perfectly captured that Lin Lan couldn't help himself—he clutched his stomach and burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha! Now you Iron Blood girls can go brag to the Royal Navy and Eagle Union. I have to admit, Iron Blood technology is truly number one in the world!"
He could already imagine the scene when Bismarck showed this photo to Elizabeth or Saratoga once the other factions returned to port.
Lin Lan simply couldn't hold back, laughing so hard that he nearly lost his breath.
"How about we name this photo 'Iron Blood's First Step to the Skies'?"
Even the usually composed Ulrich couldn't help but chuckle as she suggested the name.
Prinz Eugen, ever the troublemaker, was already squatting down, clutching her stomach and shaking with laughter.
"Magdeburg, take my advice—run while you still can, before Hipper gets back, or she might just execute you on the spot."
After recovering from his laughter, Lin Lan handed the historic photo back to Akashi and gave Magdeburg a serious warning.
"Commander, I think you're absolutely right. I should make a run for it. See you all at the banquet tonight!"
Imagining Hipper's reaction upon seeing the photo, Magdeburg shivered slightly after her fit of laughter.
Rubbing her nose nervously, she agreed with Lin Lan's suggestion without hesitation.
As the sporty, black-haired light cruiser made a swift escape, Weser, who had been piloting a carrier-based aircraft, spoke up in a voice still laced with amusement:
"Commander, my sister is back."
Less than a minute after Weser's announcement, Lin Lan looked towards the distant sea, where two dark silhouettes appeared in the sky against the backdrop of the setting sun.
Moments later, Sui Qiong descended with Hipper, controlling her thrusters to ensure a smooth landing.
The white-haired, mechanical-winged girl remained as composed as ever, but she clearly looked more energized than before.
In contrast, Hipper was in a miserable state.
The moment her feet touched the ground, her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the floor like a pile of jelly.
"Hipper, are you okay? It was just a short flight, not even twenty minutes. How did you end up like this?"
Seeing Hipper sitting motionless on the ground, Lin Lan quickly ran over and helped the exhausted blonde, flat-chested girl to her feet.
Gone was her usual haughty demeanor. Hipper's face was pale, as if all the strength had drained from her body.
"You... you idiot... I swear, I will never go up there again..."
Prinz Eugen, Blücher, and the others hurried over to help support Hipper as well.
As soon as her feet were firmly planted on the ground, she seemed to regain a little strength.
Her emerald green eyes glared fiercely at Lin Lan. Though her voice was still weak, her usual sharp tone had returned.
Well, if she still had the energy to be angry at him, she was probably fine.
Lin Lan shrugged. He could now tell that Hipper had a classic case of acrophobia.
He had assumed that shipgirls, with their enhanced physical capabilities, wouldn't be afraid of heights.
But Hipper had just proven that acrophobia had nothing to do with physical prowess.
Practical experience is the ultimate test of truth.
It seemed that shipgirls accustomed to naval combat were indeed different from the aerial combat-oriented mechanized warriors.
As Hipper gradually regained her strength and no longer needed assistance to stand, Lin Lan shifted his gaze to Sui Qiong.
For some reason, he noticed a flicker of concern in her eyes as she looked at Hipper.
"Sis, are you okay? Did Sui Qiong accidentally hurt you…?"
Hipper had just recovered when she saw the adorable, petite mecha girl who had taken her into the sky standing before her, looking at her with a pair of beautiful blue eyes filled with concern.
"Hah? What are you talking about? Just flying around in the sky for a bit—how could that possibly hurt me? I'm not that fragile."
Lin Lan covered his mouth to hide the upward curve of his lips as he witnessed this scene.
This was classic Hipper—stubborn to the core.
Who was it again that collapsed onto the ground, pale-faced, the moment she landed?
"If you weren't hurt, that's great."
Hearing Hipper's words, Sui Qiong's normally expressionless face actually…
Showed a hint of relief in the form of a faint smile.
Seeing such an adorable mecha girl smile, not only was Hipper momentarily stunned, but even Lin Lan was quite surprised.
He had assumed Sui Qiong was the type who struggled to express emotions, but now it seemed she was much better at interacting with others than he had thought.
Off to the side, Huten stroked her chin in thought, carefully observing Sui Qiong's every movement.
"Commander, aside from the database system and weapon system, all of Sui Qiong's other systems have been fully restored to optimal condition."
After confirming that Hipper wasn't injured, Sui Qiong turned to Lin Lan, standing straight as she reported.
"As long as there are no issues, that's good. But about the weapon system…"
Lin Lan recalled the energy blade that Sui Qiong had wielded in the Mirror Sea yesterday, as well as the small homing missile swarm used by the mecha overlord, Lieyun.
"Sui Qiong, do you still remember how your weapons are made?"
"Yes, Sui Qiong's data storage system contains the complete manufacturing process for the weapons."
Hearing this answer, Lin Lan smiled in satisfaction. As long as she remembered, that was enough.
He turned his gaze toward the small, shrewd merchant, Akashi, who was holding the picture frame.
"Akashi, did you hear that? This glorious yet challenging task is now yours."
Akashi twitched her cat-like ears, thought for a moment, and then spoke hesitantly.
"Uhh, meow… It's possible, but…"
"Extra charges? No problem. Just deduct it directly from my account."
"This job is as good as done, meow!"
Lin Lan, already well aware of this little merchant's antics, preemptively cut her off.
If money could solve a problem, then it wasn't really a problem.
As Akashi's voice fell, the now mostly recovered Hipper also took notice of the picture frame in the small merchant's hands.
"Akashi, what's that in your hands? Let me see it!"
Hipper suddenly remembered that Magdeburg had taken a picture of her when she was in the air.
Now, with Magdeburg nowhere in sight, Hipper's instincts told her that something was off.
And when she noticed the slight smirk at the corner of her younger sister Eugen's lips as soon as she mentioned the picture frame, she became even more certain that there was something terribly wrong with that photo.
Her eyes turned sharp as she glared at Akashi.
Feeling the murderous intent in Hipper's gaze, Akashi instinctively shrank back a few steps, tightly clutching the picture frame while protesting warily.
"What are you doing, meow? This is just a commemorative photo, meow!"
"Hah? Be good and let me see it!"
"Meow… N-No way!"
Just as Hipper was about to step forward and snatch the photo, Eugen beat her elder sister to it, rushing over to Akashi's side and taking the frame into her own hands.
"Mm-hmm-hmm, dear sister, this is a photo personally approved by Ulrich, a truly groundbreaking moment for Iron Blood."
Eugen spoke with a face full of amusement while keeping a safe distance from Hipper, holding up the frame to display the photo to her.
"???"
Seeing the exaggerated, utterly ungraceful expression of herself in the picture, Hipper froze in place for at least three seconds.
Then, Lin Lan saw Hipper suddenly summon her imposing battleship rigging.
"EUGEN!!!"
"Destroy that photo right now!!!"
Predicting this reaction, Lin Lan had already covered his ears in advance.
However, when he saw the ever-scheming Eugen also summon her battleship rigging and stash the framed photo inside, he knew—
Hipper's embarrassment was now set in stone.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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