Compared to the iron-blooded shipgirls who were barely holding back their laughter, Lu Yangshu and Qi Yue were truly fooled by Lin Lan's tearful performance.
Lu Yangshu gently patted the back of his poor junior, who was sobbing and convulsing, to comfort him.
Then he looked up at Qi Yue, his face full of disdain.
Being looked at like that by Lu Yangshu, even Qi Yue, whose expression was usually ice-cold, couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed.
Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she turned her gaze away, avoiding eye contact with him.
Within her family, she had heard about the many shortcomings currently plaguing the Navy Department. The most typical of them was the lack of support for remote port areas.
Hearing this junior blame the Navy Department's top brass for not providing support and intelligence made her, as a direct member of the Navy leadership, feel deeply guilty.
Thinking about the wreckage of the port area that completely contradicted the thriving surroundings of Lihu County, she couldn't help but start reflecting—on herself and on the Navy Department's actions over the years.
Perhaps, what Lin Lan had done truly deserved to be called the deeds of a real soldier, a true port commander.
Before the two could say anything, Lin Lan wiped his tears again and continued in a choked voice:
"T-That destroyer shipgirl with the little blue ribboned cap who was escorting us... she used to be such a sweet and obedient girl…"
"But all these relentless and brutal battles… just to protect me, her rigging—her rigging was blown apart by a single shell from a Siren…"
"Later, to better handle close combat, her rigging slowly transformed into that ferocious form… but whenever I was in danger, she was always the first to shield me…"
"Tell me, how could I report this to the higher-ups? What if those Navy Department executives treat them like Sirens and capture them for research? I can't live without them!"
Lu Yangshu, hearing Lin Lan's tearful complaints, instantly felt his blood boil. He pounded his chest and swore to him:
"Don't worry, Xiao Lin. No one saw the changes in your shipgirls today. And if anyone dares to report them to the higher-ups, that person's got no conscience whatsoever!"
Even though he didn't say it outright, Qi Yue understood exactly who Lu Yangshu was referring to.
"Such loyal and righteous shipgirls should be treated as heroes. I won't report anything about them to the Navy Department either."
Qi Yue looked at Z23 and the others seriously guarding the waters and finally spoke with heartfelt conviction.
"You've suffered, Xiao Lin. That Tang Yanxing really went too far. Though we've never met before, if you ever run into any trouble from now on, just let me know—I'll do my best to help."
Seeing that Lin Lan seemed to have calmed down, Lu Yangshu gave him a firm pat on the shoulder to reassure him.
"Commanders like you are rare nowadays. We should all take you as a role model. You're definitely going to become a great hero like Luo Tao."
Listening to his senior's words, Lin Lan still kept up the act of being deeply moved, but inside, he was struggling to hold back his laughter.
He wasn't deliberately trying to deceive the two of them.
The truth was, if he hadn't encountered the shipgirls of the Iron Blood faction, how could he be sitting here now putting on a performance?
He would've already been killed countless times by the fleet of the Purifier, or by the Demon Army's county governor Bolt in Lihu County.
As for the origin of the Deutschland shipgirls' rigging, Lin Lan wasn't too worried about it causing a major uproar.
Up to now, Orland's understanding of the Sirens was limited to combat.
They didn't even know the Wisdom Cubes they used were fake—let alone have the capacity to research what changes might occur in shipgirls during battle.
After being comforted by Lu Yangshu, Lin Lan pretended that he was gradually recovering emotionally and began chatting with the two about old times at the academy.
"That Tianou Conglomerate is way too much! Back when I was still studying, they wouldn't dare to act so brazenly—now they're outright kidnapping and assassinating!"
Upon learning that Lin Lan had nearly been assassinated while still at the academy, Lu Yangshu clenched his fists and cursed the Tianou Conglomerate with rage.
From his recent observations, Lin Lan had already figured out that this senior Lu Yangshu was straightforward in character and also deeply hated the Zhuhai Chamber of Commerce.
As for the female commander named Qi Yue, she didn't speak much and wasn't very sociable.
For some reason, she always avoided his gaze when looking at him.
Since neither of these two colleagues harbored ill intentions toward him, Lin Lan was quite pleased with the situation.
It would be best to reach the destination quickly, resolve the matter, and safely escort these two seniors back.
Compared to dealing with people like this, he much preferred staying in the port area and living a peaceful life with his shipgirls.
So, as Lin Lan casually found some topics to chat about with the two, time quickly passed, and soon, it was noon.
By then, their yacht had already left the mainland and entered the open ocean.
Lu Yangshu and Qi Yue had their chess-piece shipgirls deploy their rigging and start patrolling around the yacht.
After all, this area was essentially the Sirens' home turf. Other than the occasional distant sighting of a large ocean-going vessel, everything around them was just an endless azure sea.
"Come to think of it, how come we haven't been attacked by Sirens on the way here? That seems kind of off," Lu Yangshu muttered with confusion during lunch.
Their meal was a portable military ration prepared by Qi Yue. On this point, Lin Lan had to admit the female commander had done an excellent job with the preparations.
"Maybe the Sirens have been pushing too aggressively lately, and the ones in this area are starting to conserve their strength," Lin Lan replied casually.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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