Chapter 71: Knocked Out by the Deceptive Merchant

"Akashi, are you sure this talisman is really effective? Why isn't the commander waking up yet?"

Lin Lan felt like he was regaining his senses after an unknown amount of time.

He vaguely heard someone talking near his ear.

He tried to open his eyes but found his eyelids incredibly heavy, as if he had just undergone a major surgery under full anesthesia.

"Although Akashi isn't a professional witch, she has learned a few tricks from the Sakura companions, meow."

"And this is a genuine talisman personally drawn by Ryuuhou, meow. Even if you don't believe in Akashi, you should at least trust the exorcism talisman's effect from the Sakura faction, meow!"

Hearing that incredibly familiar loli voice and mannerisms, Lin Lan's mind, which was about to fall back into deep sleep, suddenly jolted awake.

Akashi... that deceptive merchant, fuck! My fists are getting hard!

"Look, meow, it seems the commander is about to open his eyes, meow!"

Lin Lan tried his hardest to open his eyes but couldn't manage to do so.

He could only vaguely see a small figure in a white shrine maiden outfit with a white cat-ear hood.

"It's really happening, the commander is really about to wake up. Akashi, you need to think of a way to make him wake up faster!"

Next to the cat-eared small figure, a lively loli with red twin tails wearing a black bikini made a cheerful sound.

"Even if you say that... let me think of a way, meow."

While Akashi was thinking, the red-haired, twin-tailed loli seemed to have come up with a good idea and said to Akashi:

"I heard that people wake up faster if they are stimulated. Maybe we should think of a way to stimulate the commander?"

Akashi thought for a few seconds and then nodded:

"I have an idea. I'll give it a try, meow."

Immediately, Lin Lan felt a seductive whisper in his ear from the green-haired, cat-eared loli:

"Commander, a new batch of gold equipment boxes has arrived at the store. Buying five at a time gets you a discount, meow. You'll definitely get rare equipment, meow."

How can you still have the face to say that?

Even though Lin Lan couldn't open his eyes yet, he was already furious.

As everyone knows, in Azur Lane, you only get one or two rare gold equipment items out of ten gold boxes. This often led players to complain about being scammed.

It wasn't until the game's cutscene revealed that Akashi and Shiranui, the port area shop owners, had been painting gold on purple equipment boxes that players finally understood why there were only purple items in gold boxes.

This led to their infamous reputation.

The red-haired, twin-tailed loli next to him joyfully exclaimed:

"It's working! It's really working! Akashi, try again!"

Hearing her words, Akashi's voice once again whispered in Lin Lan's ear:

"Commander, the port area has a new batch of limited edition outfits, but this time it's only available for three days... oh no, I mean one day, meow."

Lin Lan felt a surge of anger, and even breathing became difficult.

Previously, all outfits in the game were sold permanently. 

However, due to reports from other players, all new outfits, including many previously available ones, were changed to limited-time sales.

Even outfits originally planned for seven days could be suddenly changed to three or one day.

Many players missed these outfits due to work or school commitments. 

When they eagerly logged in on the last day to buy the outfit, they often found it had been taken down early, leading to furious complaints.

Noticing Lin Lan's breathing becoming rapid, the red-haired, twin-tailed loli happily shouted:

"I think the commander is almost awake! Just a bit more, Akashi, keep going!"

"Uh, meow... got it, meow!"

Akashi seemed to come up with a perfect way to stimulate Lin Lan.

The cat-eared little merchant leaned close to Lin Lan's ear and whispered:

"Commander, the wisdom cubes and supplies in the port warehouse are exhausted, meow." 

"If you want to continue building new partners, you'll need to spend red gems to buy from my store, meow."

The already weakened Lin Lan seemed to recall some terrifying memories upon hearing this.

He felt his vision darken and, unable to catch his breath, fainted immediately.

"Wow, the commander's blood pressure spike suddenly. What did you say to him, Akashi?"

"This is bad, meow. It seems the stimulation was too strong, meow!"

In the last moments before fainting, Lin Lan heard the two lolis arguing.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Lan finally regained consciousness.

This time, he felt his strength returning and managed to open his eyes successfully.

He saw a white ceiling and turned his head to find himself lying in a hospital room.

By his bedside, a woman with black short hair, wearing a sweater and with a pair of short red dragon horns on her head, was asleep.

It was Ulrich.

Lin Lan tried to sit up or lift his hand but found it difficult, so he decided not to rush.

He looked around and saw through the window that he was clearly in a high-rise hospital in the city.

It was early morning, just as the sun was rising, and he could still hear the chirping of birds outside.

At this moment, the TV on the wall in front of his bed was broadcasting the morning news.

The news anchor was reading out the latest update about Lihu County.

Lin Lan perked up and listened carefully.

"Regarding the Siren attack on the Lihu County Government Building in East Cloud City three days ago, the joint investigation team has provided the latest update."

"In the ruins of the government building, no bodies have been found."

"The investigation team reports that all former staff members of the building, including the Tian'ou Group's representative and county head Zhang Wei, are missing."

"Currently, the number of missing administrative personnel in Lihu County, including those from the Navy Department, has exceeded 120, and the counting is still ongoing."

"The investigation team preliminarily attributes the large-scale disappearance of administrative personnel to the Sirens."

Upon hearing this, Lin Lan was puzzled. How could the destruction of the government building be attributed to the Sirens?

Moreover, how could such a large building collapse without a single body being found, all categorized as missing?

Could it be that...

Lin Lan recalled the mysterious demon lord and combined it with what the old man from Liao Continent had said about this being having the ability to erase people and their corpses.

Lin Lan had personally experienced that this being could also control and attack souls.

Could it be that it had already slaughtered everyone in the building, and those office staff had been puppets under its control?

Such an unimaginable horror could only be deduced through abnormal reasoning.

The news on TV continued:

"Currently, the injured commander Lin Lan has been sent to a local hospital for treatment."

"The Navy Department has announced a commendation for thwarting the Siren's conspiracy and blocking their attack without casualties."

"General Li Hongjun from the Navy Department stated that the Tian'ou Group showed serious management negligence in the Lihu County incident, and the Navy Department will hold Tian'ou Group accountable."

"For further updates, please continue to follow our channel, Tianxing Morning News. Next, we have..."

Upon hearing this, Lin Lan realized that the true cause of the incident was likely unknown to the Candle Sea Chamber of Commerce and the Navy Department.

Or perhaps they knew the situation was unusual but couldn't find the true cause.

Even if the Liao Continent people suggested the possibility of the ancient demon army being behind it, the investigation team would likely dismiss it as a joke.

After hearing the news related to him, Lin Lan tried to sit up again.

As he was making the effort, he didn't notice Ulrich slowly lifting her head.

Lin Lan couldn't sit up despite his best efforts and was about to lie back down when a warm arm supported his back.

"Commander, you... you're finally awake."

A tired, deep voice came from Ulrich. Lin Lan turned slightly and saw her dark bronze eyes filled with surprise and concern.

"Good morning, Ulrich."

At this moment, Lin Lan wasn't sure what to say, so he smiled and greeted his battleship wife.

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