Chapter 78: The Overhauled New Port Area (Part 1)

The past memories made Lin Lan lower his head with a complex expression, looking down at Akashi, who was crying and clinging to his chest, a small tearful cat.

The little schemer emitted soft sobs, her slender and petite body trembling slightly from the crying.

Lin Lan gently stroked the green bangs and the dazed tuft of hair on Akashi's head.

His eyes were filled with guilt as he leaned closer to the little loli's cat ear and gently whispered:

"Little shopkeeper, I'm sorry."

"I won't leave you again in the future."

Hearing his words, Akashi's cat ears twitched slightly.

"R-really, Meow?"

The cute cat-eared loli, with yellow eyes still glistening with tears, looked up at him, evoking sympathy.

Seeing Akashi's pitiful appearance, Lin Lan answered solemnly:

"Of course it's true. I didn't mean to leave you before, so please don't cry anymore, my little shopkeeper."

He certainly wouldn't leave his shipgirls again.

As he spoke, Lin Lan lifted his arm, allowing Akashi to sit directly on his arm.

"Well then, if that's the case, Akashi will forgive the commander for leaving without a word, Meow…"

"From now on, you have to come to buy things from Akashi every day and play with Akashi, Meow."

Upon hearing Akashi's words, Lin Lan nodded affirmatively and promised.

"That's a must. I haven't petted your little head enough yet."

The cat-eared loli, sitting on Lin Lan's arm, quickly wiped away the tears from her face with her white sleeve.

She tied her green long hair back and tidied it up quickly.

On her round face, the long-missed schemer's smile finally appeared.

The little schemer opened her arms and tightly hugged Lin Lan's neck.

"So we've agreed, Meow. From now on, the commander must come to find Akashi for anything you need, Meow!"

Meanwhile, on the yacht, Ulrich, Elbe, and others approached.

"Akashi, when did you manage to bring so many Manjuus?"

Elbe looked in surprise at the seven or eight Manjuus carrying various tools around Lin Lan's feet, glancing suspiciously at Akashi.

"Wow, it's Manjuus!"

U101 and U556, the two loli submarines, saw the Manjuus and happily ran over, each hugging a Manjuu and rolling on the ground.

Hearing Elbe's words, Lin Lan realized.

He had only brought one Manjuu from the Iron Blood fortress, so what was with all these Manjuus on the ground?

"Meow heh heh, how could you know how much stock Akashi's shop has, Meow?"

Contrary to Elbe's expectations, Akashi not only shook off the timidity she had when traveling with them but also proudly showed off.

After finding the commander, Akashi, like finding her former support, sat on Lin Lan's arm, looking at Elbe with the corner of her eye, revealing a scheming smile.

"You!"

Elbe was about to get angry but found that Akashi had already snuggled up to Lin Lan's neck again, acting like a clingy little cat who had found its owner.

This must be her true nature.

Elbe gritted her teeth, looking at Akashi, who had always been so pitiful since the commander's disappearance.

In the end, she crossed her arms and huffed.

Well, Akashi, with the commander backing you up, you're quite something.

"These Manjuus were probably hidden in the mass-produced ship parts by her."

Just as Elbe was still fuming over Akashi's smugness, a calm female voice came from the entrance of the port area.

Lin Lan looked at the newcomer in surprise.

The mature Iron Blood shipgirl had short hair that was distinctly divided into black and white.

She wore the same sexy black bodysuit as Agir, outlining her perfect athletic figure.

On her left hand was a heavy metal gauntlet, and she wore long black high-heeled boots, draped in a black and red cloak.

Her attire, full of heroism, made it impossible for any man to look away.

Facing the woman who walked up to him, Lin Lan's first impression was of a battle-hardened Valkyrie arriving before him.

The woman with a steady expression scrutinized Lin Lan with her resolute red eyes. After a while, she smiled faintly.

"Iron Blood's O-class battlecruiser, Brunhilde. Commander, long time no see."

"Brunhilde, long time no see."

Lin Lan, holding Akashi in his arms, smiled at the Iron Blood battlecruiser named after Norse mythology and waved.

"I'm really sorry. Not only was I not able to be by your side immediately when you returned, but I also couldn't come to protect you in time when you were in danger. Please allow me…"

Hearing the Iron Blood Valkyrie's apology as her first words, Lin Lan quickly interrupted:

"Please, I've heard enough apologies today. I've never blamed you."

After speaking to Brunhilde, he was reminded of the white light he saw in the spiritual world.

He immediately turned to the cute Akashi in his arms and asked:

"If I remember correctly, you were the one who saved me? What about the shrine maiden and the talisman?"

"Wah Meow, this is a long story, Meow. If Akashi hadn't been brought to you by Brunhilde and the others, you would have been in real danger, Meow."

Seeing that Lin Lan wasn't blaming her for the silly things she did in the hospital and with U1206, Akashi relaxed and said to Lin Lan.

"I'm also very curious about this, but let's wait until the commander is back in the port area to discuss it slowly."

The silent Ulrich spoke up at this time, and Brunhilde nodded in agreement:

"Sir Ulrich is right. We can't keep the commander standing here. Please follow me, Commander."

So, Lin Lan set down his little shopkeeper and, with the group, followed Brunhilde into the port area.

Walking through the port area, which was still a wasteland a few days ago, he saw that even the green spaces and pipeline reservation slots were already dug up, making him somewhat astonished.

It's well-known that construction progress and quality are inversely proportional; the faster the progress, the rougher the work.

However, in his port area, not only was the progress astonishingly fast, but even details like landscaping and water and electricity pipeline planning were being taken care of.

He began to seriously doubt his years of construction experience.

Do you even know what real construction is? This is construction.

"No wonder the port's logistics master, Akashi, the area truly changes every day."

Z23 also looked around at the buildings and the Manjuus working on the interior renovations, making a comment for Lin Lan.

She could also be considered one of the shipgirls who first got to know Akashi.

Praising the labor's results, Akashi puffed out her chest:

"It's mainly thanks to the Iron Blood companions' ship parts and the salvaged Siren steel, Meow."

"Otherwise, even with me and the Manjuus, it would have been impossible to build a new port area so quickly, Meow."

Akashi's words revealed why the port area was being constructed so quickly.

The problem of missing steel materials was not difficult to solve. 

They had directly salvaged the Siren mass-produced models sunk by Brunhilde and the others nearby and used them as ready materials.

And the heavy work that the Manjuus couldn't handle could be completed with the help of the Iron Blood shipgirls using their ship parts.

It was through this collective effort that the port area was built so quickly.

"Commander, remember to settle the port area construction fees later, Meow. The total cost for the new port area construction is…"

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