After chatting and playing with his Iron Blood ship girls by the beach until the sun was about to set, Lin Lan and the girls returned to the conference room for a simple dinner.
To be honest, with Akashi's help, Lin Lan felt his stress had significantly reduced.
Akashi had managed all the logistics clearly and thoroughly, so Lin Lan no longer had to worry about it.
"Commander, see you tomorrow!"
After dinner, Lin Lan waved goodbye to the Deutschland sisters and the submarine lolis.
By now, it was getting late, and he needed to head back to properly check out his bedroom.
Unlocking the door with a key, Lin Lan found that his bedroom was furnished like a villa, complete with a large bed, a bathroom, a shower, and a floor-to-ceiling balcony.
He hadn't explored it in detail during the day, but as he turned on the dim yellow chandelier, he saw that his bed was already made up with soft cotton blankets.
"Akashi really put a lot of thought into the setup here, but such a big bed seems a bit extravagant."
Lin Lan complained about the overly large bed, feeling that it might be a bit of a waste.
He then went to the bathroom, took a comfortable hot bath, and after washing up, changed into his usual clothes from the closet and relaxed on the large bed.
However, he suddenly noticed a strange dark silver pattern appeared on the back of his right hand.
He quickly turned on the bedside lamp and examined the dark silver circular pattern closely.
Soon, he confirmed that it was not an illusion.
After futilely attempting to rub it off, Lin Lan gave up on investigating it.
The dark silver pattern was barely noticeable unless closely inspected and, like a tattoo, it couldn't be removed.
"This is strange. I don't remember having this before."
Lin Lan mumbled to himself. At this moment, he heard a cute "chirping" sound from the balcony.
Looking towards the floor-to-ceiling window, he saw the little manjuu that had been following him was also here.
"I thought you were out working. Turns out you're here slacking off."
After bringing the manjuu into the room, Lin Lan lay back down on the bed.
He held up the manjuu, stroked its soft feathers, and observed it closely.
This manjuu was noticeably larger and fluffier compared to others in the port area.
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
Hearing the manjuu's dissatisfied sounds, Lin Lan chuckled and put it down.
After a whole afternoon of play, he was already tired and it was time to start feeling sleepy.
However, just as he was about to go to sleep, he heard a knock on the door.
"Who could it be at this hour?"
Lin Lan puzzled, put on his slippers, and went to the door, wondering who it could be.
When he opened the door and saw the person, his sleepiness vanished almost instantly.
"Hi~ Human-sama, good evening~"
The girl with flowing silver-white hair, blue eyes, and a captivating autumn gaze stood at the door in a pure white translucent gown, her skin as white as snow.
Emden, with a gracefully elegant smile, looked at Lin Lan with affectionate eyes.
A soothing faint fragrance filled the air, making Lin Lan take a step back, as if he had just seen a beautiful swan from the East that had bathed not long ago.
"Human-sama, why are you stepping back upon seeing Emden?"
"Could it be that you're afraid I'll eat you?"
Just as Lin Lan was about to say something, he suddenly felt a warm body press against his back, and Emden's sweet voice came close to his ear.
"E-Emden, you…"
Lin Lan turned his head and discovered another girl with red eyes and silver-white hair, dressed in a tight, translucent black gown with a red rose accessory, had appeared behind him without him noticing.
"Hmm, Human-sama, it seems you've bathed as well."
Red-eyed Emden licked her lips, gently wrapped her slender, delicate arms around Lin Lan, and exhaled a warm, moist breath near his ear.
"No need to speak, lovely Human-sama. Just follow Emden's arrangements~"
The cute girl outside, Emden, seized the opportunity to slip into Lin Lan's room, closing the door gracefully with her crescent-shaped eyes.
"Chirp chirp chirp."
The little manjuu jumped off the bed, ran to the balcony window, and self-consciously drew the curtains before escaping outside.
Lin Lan found himself gently pushed down onto the bed by the two silver-haired, graceful girls, his face blank with shock.
This... this isn't right, is it?
What is Emden planning to do, to forcefully consume me?
Lying on the bed, Lin Lan was tightly embraced by the two warm, delicate bodies.
Feeling the smooth texture of the girls' skin, Lin Lan was too nervous to move.
The two silver-haired girls had their heads resting gently on either side of his face, emitting sweet, alluring laughter.
"Hehehe, Human-sama, you're so tense you can't even move. Don't worry, we won't eat you~"
"After all, you're already exhausted today. We've arranged with the others to only act when you want us to~"
The girls' incredibly sweet voices whispered gently in Lin Lan's ears.
Their slender fingers lightly traced and kneaded his body, helping his tense muscles gradually relax.
"No need to speak. Just let Emden lead you into a comfortable dream and enjoy the beautiful dream we've created for you~"
"Well then, Human-sama, it's Emden's time now~ Hmm hmm hmm~"
The two girls, differing in personality and tone but equally sweet in voice, whispered softly in Lin Lan's ears.
At the same time, the hidden fatigue within him was rekindled by their delicate, soothing touches.
"Human-sama, your efforts have always been seen by Emden…"
"Human-sama, now just close your eyes and feel Emden's warmth with both your body and soul~"
With these affectionate whispers, Lin Lan felt the two girls drawing close, their moist, tender licks sending a tingling sensation to his ears.
"Em...den…"
The sudden, pleasant stimulation made Lin Lan's eyelids become heavy.
He mumbled softly, his hands held by the girls' intertwined fingers.
"Sleep, Human-sama~ Emden is here…"
"Sleep, Human-sama~ Your life is protected by us, Emden…"
The tempting and warm sounds of the girls' sticky, lapping voices echoed in his ears, reaching the deepest parts of his consciousness.
The reassuring warmth in his palms allowed him to sink into a deep, sweet sleep, embraced by the fragrant, soft bodies of the two girls.
"Hehehe, hehehehe…"
Emden's gentle, light laughter was the last sound he heard.
Lin Lan felt that he had never slept so soundly and comfortably before.
This might be the most pleasant sleep he has ever experienced.
When he woke up, opening his eyes, he found his body was incredibly refreshed, all the previous fatigue swept away.
However, as he tried to get up, he discovered that his hands seemed to be pinned down by two incredibly smooth, soft pillows.
Looking down, he found that these "pillows" were actually two beautiful sleeping girls.
Though Emden was a single entity with two souls, with the blue-eyed Emden as the primary, the red-eyed black Emden could also appear in the real world for short periods.
The two girls alternated between soft, cute snores, snuggling tightly against his chest like two sleepy water snakes, wrapping around his body.
"Emden, thank you."
Lin Lan smiled gently.
He naturally knew that his current state was the result of the auditory suggestion from the two girls the previous night.
Lin Lan remembered that Emden seemed to have this special ability in the game settings.
The soft whispers from the girls, especially in stereo, were indeed quite irresistible.
Adjusting to a comfortable sleeping position, he embraced the two sleeping light cruiser girls in his arms.
"Mmm… Human-sama…"
The girl with the white rose eye accessory slept soundly, murmuring sweetly like she was dreaming of something blissful, her lips curved into a faint smile.
The girl with the red rose eye accessory instinctively held Lin Lan even more tightly.
Seeing Emden, his favorite ship girl from the game, snuggled up to him like this filled his heart with an indescribable happiness, making Lin Lan feel that his life was worth living.
Through the thick curtains, Lin Lan noticed that it was still dark outside.
It was still early morning, and the two girls were deeply asleep. Lin Lan didn't have the heart to wake them.
Feeling the touch of the girls' tender skin and inhaling their delicate fragrance, he soon fell back into a deep, comfortable sleep.
Normally, he wouldn't pass up on a "prey" that came to him willingly. However, he remembered the meticulous care Emden had shown him last night.
It would be better to wait until they woke up.
"Commander, it's time for breakfast, meow."
Lin Lan was roused from his sleep by Akashi's knocking on the door.
"Got it, got it. Akashi, please go ahead and notify the others."
Waking up, Lin Lan sat up and called out to Akashi outside.
"Meow? Then Commander, you'd better come early. If you sleep in, you might be disliked, meow~"
Akashi's voice faded as she walked away. Lin Lan thought to himself that breakfast wasn't urgent; he had important matters to attend to this morning...
Wait, speaking of important matters, where's Emden?
He then realized that the two light cruiser girls who had been with him were no longer by his side.
"Ah…"
Lin Lan looked around, feeling a pang of despair and emptiness.
He had been prepared for a morning without an early start.
Now, it seemed he had missed out on a golden opportunity.
As he sighed and was about to get up and get dressed for breakfast, he suddenly heard the sound of running water from the bathroom.
Lin Lan was taken aback and looked towards the bathroom, noticing that the black and white clothes were neatly folded and placed on a cabinet by the bathroom door.
Oh, it seems he hadn't missed the opportunity after all.
He quietly approached the bathroom. The large bathroom door was not locked.
Gently lifting his hand, he pushed open the bathroom door, and a burst of white steam immediately obscured his vision.
…
Nearly two hours later, Lin Lan carried the two silver-haired girls, now dazed and disoriented, back to his bed.
"What's going on? How could I be so strong? It didn't seem this exaggerated before."
Lin Lan pulled open the curtains, and it was now bright outside, proving that he had been at it for quite a long time.
He felt no fatigue at all, which was clearly abnormal and quite strange.
He remembered how exhausted he had been with the Hipper sisters, nearly to the point of collapse.
It had only been a few days, so how could he have improved so much?
It was clearly not normal.
As Lin Lan pondered this in confusion, the sunlight streamed through the glass and illuminated his room.
One ray of sunlight fell directly on the back of his hand.
Lin Lan, who had been in a contemplative state, noticed the mysterious silver pattern on the back of his right hand.
Under the sunlight, the silver pattern revealed intricate designs.
Seeing this, Lin Lan carefully examined the pattern.
It was a hexagram-like border, with a small silver longsword in the center of the hexagram.
In addition, there were many dense characters around and inside the hexagram, but Lin Lan did not recognize them.
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