Chapter 48: Luckily, She's My Wife

"Hmph, Commander, how did I do just now?"

As they returned to the mass-produced destroyer and began their voyage back, Ägir set the ship to autopilot, walked up to the deck, and smiled at Lin Lan, who was standing at the edge of the deck.

"..."

"Commander, why aren't you saying anything?"

Seeing Lin Lan standing with his back to her, silent, Ägir felt a bit uneasy. Could it be that her actions just now had upset him?

At that moment, Z23, with a knowing expression, came over and said to her, "Sister Ägir, I think the commander was temporarily deafened by your main cannon just now."

"..."

Actually, Lin Lan had been startled by the close-range firing of Ägir's main cannon. 

But not wanting to lose his composure at the last moment, even though his heart was pounding, he forced himself to stay calm. 

After all, he was much closer to Ägir than the two men on the cargo ship.

Witnessing the power of Ägir's main cannon, he had to admit that the fourth-generation research ship, the Iron Blood super cruiser Ägir, was indeed astonishingly powerful.

Especially those two majestic steel dragons—it was simply breathtaking. 

If Bismarck had such impressive dragons, she would undoubtedly embody the Iron Blood leader's charisma even more.

Poor Bismarck, poor Tirpitz...

But come to think of it, why were his ship girls so quiet? And why couldn't he hear the destroyer's engine? It felt unusually peaceful.

Just as Lin Lan was gazing at the sea breeze, a heavy pat suddenly landed on his shoulder.

"Whoa!"

The force almost made him lose his balance and fall into the sea. He turned around to see that it was Ägir, her silver hair flowing in the wind.

"Hahaha, sorry, sorry, did I scare you?"

Ägir laughed joyfully and reached out to remove the mask from Lin Lan's face.

"You're still wearing this mask even after we return. Are you getting addicted to it or something?"

Lin Lan, who had slowly regained his hearing, immediately retorted, "I just forgot to take it off, alright? This mask is way too edgy."

"I actually think it's great. Those two humans were trembling in fear just now. It was so amusing, hahaha."

"It was you who scared them, I was just borrowing your strength..."

Ägir was in a great mood, seemingly satisfied with the sense of accomplishment from scaring Sun Dewang and Zhao Rui.

"Well, to be honest, I might actually need to wear this thing more often in the future, so I should keep it safe and not throw it away."

Seeing that Ägir was about to toss the mask into the sea, Lin Lan hurriedly stopped her. Then, he began to consider if there were any flaws in his earlier conversation with the two men.

For now, he wasn't planning to contact Zhao Rui from the Navy Department. 

After all, his senior had only graduated a year ago and had limited abilities. His potential was yet to be fully realized.

On the other hand, Sun Dewang's appearance was a pleasant surprise. A corporate executive without prejudice against ship girls was undoubtedly a valuable ally worth investing in.

Thanks to Ägir's earlier intimidation, Lin Lan was confident that Sun Dewang had realized the overwhelming difference in power between them. 

As long as he had any sense, he wouldn't dare act recklessly.

Once the situation in New Port District stabilizes, Lin Lan could find an opportunity to meet with Sun Dewang privately to discuss cooperation. 

If Sun Dewang had no ill intentions, Lin Lan could consider offering some purple-tier equipment from the game as a reward for smooth cooperation.

Of course, timing would be crucial. Ideally, it would be best to approach Sun Dewang when he was in a bind, needing Lin Lan's help to get through a tough situation.

Invite, behead, and recruit as a loyal subordinate.

Although Lin Lan had never used these tactics before, he had seen them often enough in his previous workplace.

"Nimi, please keep those notes they wrote earlier safe. They'll be useful later," Lin Lan said to Z23, who was holding a small notepad. Then, he turned to Mainz.

"Call back Deutschland and Ulrich. We're heading to Dongyun City."

Watching the serious silver-haired girl take out a communicator, Lin Lan lowered his head and continued to ponder. 

According to his estimate, they should arrive at the port city of Dongyun by evening.

As for their identities when entering the city, there was no need to worry. 

Lin Lan had a qualification certificate as an intern commander from Hongye School, so he wouldn't face any trouble at the entrance.

The identity of a commander carried many privileges in the Orlan Federation. 

As long as the ship girls were with their commander, they wouldn't attract too much attention from ordinary people.

This was understandable. 

Although the high attractiveness of ship girls was admired by many men, it was common knowledge in the Orlan Federation that ship girls were only interested in the commander who built them.

Despite their appearance as cute and beautiful girls, ordinary people were no match for ship girls, even without using their riggings. 

If someone offended a ship girl, they were lucky if they just got a beating. 

If the ship girl had a temper and went too far, leaving them crippled or seriously injured, they would have to accept their fate.

The Tribunal established by the Zhuhai Commercial Association, although often at odds with the Navy Department, wouldn't easily protect those who foolishly overstepped their bounds.

After all, with so many cases of people bringing trouble upon themselves every year, the busy judges found it rather tiresome.

A few minutes later, Lin Lan saw the three Iron Blood mass-produced transport ships floating on the sea. 

After boarding the ship, the first thing he did was ask Ägir to store the fuel-guzzling mass-produced destroyer back into her rigging storage space.

In the game, players couldn't use mass-produced warships, but now, they had become Lin Lan's ideal means of transportation.

These mass-produced warships, which could be manually piloted or automatically fought, were the best choice for navies before the appearance of ship girls and Sirens.

However, compared to the flexible ship girls and the riggings created by Wisdom Cubes, mass-produced warships were too bulky and fragile.

Even the weakest ship girl or humanoid Siren could easily take on several mass-produced warships of the same class.

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