Chapter 76: The Current State of the Eagle Union

As the yacht was about to arrive at the port dock, Lin Lan had already settled back into the cabin.

At this moment, he was affectionately embraced from behind by two little submarine girls, while on either side, he was closely surrounded by Nimi and Z46.

Even when the two Z-class girls were deeply engrossed in their books, they stayed close to Lin Lan.

Fortunately, it was already deep autumn; otherwise, if it were summer, being so closely surrounded by these little girls would have made him unbearably hot.

Sitting on the opposite sofa, the silver-haired girl Elbe watched this group of little girls with eyes full of envy.

She also wanted to be so close to Lin Lan.

Unfortunately, she couldn't bring herself to compete for his affection in front of Ulrich; she just couldn't lower herself to do that.

After all, she was a noble Iron Blood aircraft carrier and couldn't act like a child.

Lin Lan occasionally shook his head to prevent U556 and U101 from turning his hair into braids.

At the same time, he had to explain some historical references from the Orlan history book to Z46 and Nimi.

At this moment, he resembled an old father taking his daughters out.

If it weren't for the fact that these little girls all wore oath rings on their right ring fingers.

"By the way, Elbe, you went to the Eagle Union, right? How are they doing now?"

Seeing the silver-haired girl with colorful eyes across from him looking increasingly jealous, Lin Lan quickly brought up a topic to consult Elbe.

"Hmph, the Eagle Union... actually, they're doing quite well. They directly occupied a large island."

"They're even more extreme than the Iron Blood. Not only did they claim the island as their own, but they also made a consortium their vassal."

Elbe's words left Lin Lan stunned, even doubting if he had heard incorrectly.

Are you kidding me? Directly making a consortium a vassal?

Which unlucky consortium from the three on the Eastern Continent of Orlan got messed with by the Eagle Union?

If it were the Tian'ou Consortium, he'd make a call and have that oppressive consortium shut down on the spot.

He would have to contact Eagle Union to find out more about this.

However, over the past year, he hadn't seen any news about this matter, either in the academy or online.

It was likely that the consortium had suppressed the news about how they were being treated like dogs by the Eagle Union.

After all, being violently beaten and humiliated by the suddenly emerging tyrannical shipgirls was not something to be proud of.

Lin Lan couldn't help but think that the Eagle Union was one of the most powerful factions in the game's player port area, and historically as well.

Not to mention the famous and terrifying Eagle Union carrier groups, primarily made up of Yorktown-class and Essex-class carriers.

Just the New Jersey and other battleship shipgirls alone would be enough to annihilate a nation in this other world.

Moreover, the Eagle Union also had a complete naval system.

Light carriers, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, destroyers, submarines...

They had almost every type of ship, and any single type could form a large fleet.

And in his memory, it seemed that the Eagle Union had a peculiar obsession with oil, both in the game and historically.

He just didn't know if his Eagle Union shipgirls were enthusiastic about building military bases...

As Lin Lan's mind wandered, the yacht gradually came to a stop.

He had finally returned to the port area.

Lin Lan stretched lazily, stepped out of the cabin, and was stunned by the sight before him even before he set foot on the dock.

"Could it be that the yacht's automatic navigation has misplaced the location?"

He couldn't help but say that.

The once devastated ruins in this area had completely disappeared.

What appeared now was a brand-new port area, already mostly completed.

Near the dock, the port entrance, enclosed by tall walls, had four three-story office buildings almost finished, with many other buildings in the back also taking shape.

Besides these buildings on land, some black and red high-tech facilities had already started operating in the sea facing the port area.

Lin Lan swallowed and rubbed his eyes.

It had only been three or four days since he left.

How did his Iron Blood shipgirls manage to perform such a massive transformation in such a short time with their black technology?

The construction speed of the sites he had seen before crossing over would be a dream come true if they could achieve such progress.

Iron Blood technology was truly impressive.

As Lin Lan marveled at the scene, at the port entrance, a green-haired cat-eared girl in a wide-sleeved white dress, accompanied by a team of "Manjuu," walked out.

Lin Lan immediately recognized the cute cat-eared girl.

Akashi, the repair ship of the Sakura Empire, and previously the owner of the Red Gems shop in the port area, the "culprit" who had caused him to stay an extra day.

Seeing the little schemer, Lin Lan quickly stepped onto the dock and approached her.

"Oh no, it's Commander Meow!"

Seeing Lin Lan suddenly walking towards her, Akashi's green cat ears perked up, and her body instinctively trembled.

The little schemer recalled the "good deeds" she had done in the hospital and thought Lin Lan might be coming to settle the score, almost wanting to run away.

However, seeing the increasingly familiar face approaching, she paused her steps.

A long time ago, when she awoke from the darkness and arrived in the unfamiliar port area, she happened to meet her Sakura Empire partner, Shiranui. 

The two planned to open a shop in this deserted port area to make a living.

On the day of the store's opening ceremony.

The young man who looked exactly like the one in front of her was the first customer to enter the store.

"No need to say more, let's start with a first recharge of 1 yuan to test the waters, after all, she is quite cute."

"Welcome, Meow!"

After cleaning the store, Akashi put down the broom and lazily greeted her store's first customer.

Hearing her voice, the surprised young man reached out and started petting her head and ears:

"Wow, it's actually a lv2d cat-eared loli with a voice, amazing!"

Akashi was momentarily stunned by the petting; what was this guy doing?

But seeing his clothes and realizing that he would be the commander of this port area and that she would rely on him in the future, Akashi restrained herself from biting him.

It was all for making money, Meow, no shame in it.

Even as the port area became more bustling and new partners appeared, this man continued to visit her shop.

Sometimes he would casually browse various products, or he would generously buy a large amount of Red Gems.

But each time, he never forgot to pet her head.

Well, considering his support for her business, Akashi decided to endure it.

She gradually got used to this man's company and began to trust him more as time went on.

So much so that when he didn't visit the shop, she would feel a sense of emptiness.

Moreover, being petted by him made her feel her temperature rise and her heartbeat quicken.

She only wanted to make money, so why did this happen?

After officially joining the port area as a repair ship, responsible for logistics work, Akashi finally got to know her commander better.

Although they still met in the shop, Akashi found that their relationship seemed to go beyond that of a shop owner and customer.

It was more like an unspoken understanding, one that neither of them would break.

Every time the commander bought something from her store, Akashi would pretend not to care and personally hand over the carefully prepared goods.

Though she needed to earn money, she preferred to stay by his side.

Years went by.

She watched as the commander gave out oath rings bought from her store to other battle-skilled companions.

Though she felt immense envy, Akashi was also very self-aware.

Such valuable items that could enhance attributes and held important significance were beyond the reach of a weak repair ship like her.

However, whenever she saw the commander and other companions in wedding dresses, looking happy as they left the port area's church, shrine, or bridal chamber, Akashi would feel a sharp pang in her heart.

Even though the commander had bought her new clothes and helped her shop through countless economic crises.

She had realized something.

What she truly wanted was to stand by the commander's side, walk into the shrine with the other companions, and receive that unique oath meant for her.

But Akashi knew very well that it was probably just a delusion.

After knowing each other for so long and giving enough hints, the commander remained indifferent.

Well, it's not the commander's fault, Meow.

If there's anyone to blame, it's herself for being just a repair ship, Meow. She should focus on providing logistics support for the commander and saving money.

Though, the commander might not even need the money she saved... Meow...

Akashi comforted herself in her heart.

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OATH. YOUR. AKASHI. NOW!

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