"Shinonome Oni of Despair... Lihu County's reputation is well-deserved. Even with the port district in this state, Lin Lan still hasn't abandoned his post..."
Lu Yangshu looked bitterly at the younger junior standing by the pier, his eyes filled with admiration.
This utterly ruined scene, completely different from the outer districts of Lihu County, allowed him to vividly imagine what had happened here.
This trainee commander, in order to protect the people of Lihu County, led his shipgirls and withstood multiple waves of Siren attacks, fighting desperately in this remote location without support, never retreating.
Such a young and courageous lone warrior—truly one who surpassed his predecessors.
Even though Lin Lan was several years younger, Lu Yangshu couldn't help but feel deep respect for him.
Beside him, Qi Yue also had a complicated expression, filled with shame for all the thoughts she had harbored just moments ago.
The ruined buildings around them spoke volumes about how the port district had been bombarded by the Sirens not just once.
To still be able to smile optimistically in such a desperate situation, and to never even request assistance from Naval Command despite the port lying in ruins—
This trainee was definitely not some privileged insider, but a true naval port commander.
Perhaps Luo Tao did want to look out for an old classmate, but in the end, he hadn't forced them—he merely suggested it.
Now, seeing how Lin Lan's port had been reduced to rubble, even without Luo Tao's prompting, she would have offered to help Lin Lan of her own accord.
Lin Lan, of course, had no idea what was going on in their heads. He only knew that if not for the Ironblood faction's support, this place should look like this.
Everything behind him was a product of the Mirror Sea System, built entirely from his imagination.
Even if these two commanders walked in and checked everything themselves, he was confident they would never detect anything wrong.
The Mirror Sea System was one of the Sirens' signature technologies—Naval Command in Orlan still hadn't fully understood it.
This technology, which operated through spatial folding, allowed those who entered to remain in the same physical location, yet see a completely different world around them.
That was why, once the Sirens established a Mirror Sea, their fleets became almost impossible to detect within it.
This time, the shipgirls accompanying him included destroyers Z23, Z1, and Z2; wolfpack submarines U-37, U-81, and U-96; the light cruiser Mainz; and the light aircraft carrier Weser.
He had already instructed them to pretend to be mere pawns—don't speak unless spoken to.
Watching the two approach from the yacht, Lin Lan cleared his throat and, as if deeply ashamed, said:
"Ah… you both came from so far, and as you can see, there's not even a proper place to rest. I'm terribly sorry for the poor hospitality."
"No need for that! We're all brothers under Naval Command, you really don't have to apologize like that."
Lu Yangshu smiled warmly, stepping up onto the pier and enthusiastically shaking Lin Lan's hand.
"Let me introduce myself first. Lu Yangshu, 26th class, Red Maple Naval Academy graduate."
After he spoke, Qi Yue also said calmly, "Qi Yue, 28th class, Red Maple Naval Academy."
Seeing that both had introduced themselves, Lin Lan followed suit:
"Lin Lan, trainee from the 30th class of Red Maple Naval Academy… technically, I won't graduate officially until next year, hahaha."
Now that they were familiar with each other, Lu Yangshu let go of Lin Lan's hand, then glanced at the devastation behind him and couldn't help but ask:
"Lin Lan, I'm a few years your senior, so I'll just call you Xiao Lin if you don't mind. But… what happened to your port district to make it like this?"
Hearing the question, Qi Yue also looked curiously at her not-yet-graduated junior, hoping for an explanation.
"Senior Lu, Senior Qi, feel free to call me Xiao Lin."
Despite being years older than the two in reality, Lin Lan—an old hand from the working world in his past life—put on a bashful and modest smile, showing no signs of deceit.
"As for this port… sigh, that's a long story. Since Feng Tao is in a hurry, how about this—we set out first, and I'll explain everything on the way."
Lu Yangshu and Qi Yue nodded. Feng Tao was urging them after all, or they wouldn't have traveled overnight.
So Lin Lan called his Ironblood shipgirls, who were pretending to be pawns, onto the yacht, then followed his seniors to the upper deck.
As the yacht reached open waters, Lin Lan immediately made a show of ordering Mainz to lead the three Z-class chibis and activate their rigging to begin escort duty.
However, upon seeing their black-and-red, shark-like mechanical riggings, Qi Yue frowned slightly and asked:
"Xiao Lin, your shipgirls' rigging… doesn't quite look like our style, does it?"
"Ah, that takes us back to my experiences after arriving here."
Lin Lan had long anticipated that the strange appearance of Ironblood rigging would arouse other commanders' curiosity.
Fortunately, it seemed neither Qi Yue nor Lu Yangshu had been present during that massive final battle. Lin Lan breathed a small sigh of relief.
"When I first arrived here from the Academy, the port was badly damaged, but a few buildings could still keep things running."
"The shipgirls I built using the wisdom cubes given by the Academy were all completely normal, just like yours."
"But not even three days later, the Sirens in the surrounding waters went completely berserk and began launching crazy attacks on the port."
As he spun his tale, Lin Lan glanced nervously around the sea, as if terrified the Sirens might suddenly reappear.
His performance quickly caught Lu Yangshu and Qi Yue's attention—they listened intently.
"At one point, I was nearly killed by a Siren aircraft. Thankfully, my shipgirls dug me out of the rubble with their last strength."
"After that, we fought guerrilla battles along the coast and river. When they ran out of ammo, my girls had no choice but to fight hand-to-hand with the Sirens."
"I don't even know how it happened, but after so many brawls, it was as if the Sirens began to corrupt them—their rigging slowly changed into what you see now."
"My poor girls… even though they've been influenced by Siren power, they still remain loyal, defending Lihu County without complaint…"
As if finally releasing all the grief he had bottled up, Lin Lan's voice dropped lower and lower with each word.
By the end, he was clutching his face with both hands and sobbing uncontrollably.
He looked just like a traumatized rookie soldier, overwhelmed by memories of a brutal battlefield.
"Uh…"
Lu Yangshu and Qi Yue were both stunned. This was the first time they'd heard of Siren influence changing shipgirl rigging like this.
No wonder the young man's gaze had seemed so world-weary—it turned out he'd just been hiding an unbearable weight in his heart all along.
"There's no signal here, no logistics, no resupply. In the end, all we could do was fight the Sirens in close combat."
"Even if it meant sacrificing ourselves, my girls and I swore that we would never let a single Siren enter the river and reach Lihu County."
"But… I still don't understand—why did my calls for help vanish into thin air? Why didn't Naval Command warn us about the true situation here…"
"I came here ready to die. But what about my shipgirls? They're still just kids… Are those higher-ups at Naval Command even human?!"
Lin Lan's voice grew more and more indignant, until he seemed completely overwhelmed by emotion.
But Lu Yangshu and Qi Yue didn't blame him for speaking so irreverently about Naval Command.
After all, anyone who had been through such a nightmare might not have responded any differently.
Down on the lower deck, the little wolfpack chibis and Weser all twitched their mouths at their commander's tearful monologue, struggling not to burst into laughter.
Commander, you're way too good at acting—we almost believed it ourselves!
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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