Chapter 29: What Power Really Means

Yes, those operating the equipment and handling the ammunition were indeed the official game mascots, the adorable Manjuus.

"Commander, is it really that surprising to see Manjuus?"

Scharnhorst asked, puzzled by Lin Lan's sudden outburst.

Even though Lin Lan had imagined encountering strange things after crossing over, he never expected to see living Manjuus here.

He took a deep breath and approached the workshop.

Bismarck and the others exchanged curious glances and followed him.

When Lin Lan reached the entrance of the workshop, the transparent door opened automatically.

Without hesitation, he walked in and approached a Manjuus that was diligently operating the machinery.

The Manjuus, with its plush yellow fur and little tuft of hair on top, was only as tall as Lin Lan's knee. He picked it up and examined it closely, staring into its big eyes.

"Chirp chirp? Chirp chirp chirp?"

Startled by Lin Lan's sudden move, the round Manjuus flailed its little legs and fluttered its tiny wings in panic.

After examining it for a while, Lin Lan finally relaxed.

Fortunately, it wasn't a person in disguise.

The impression of the Manjuus costume used by the game's host during official live streams had been so strong that he was relieved to see the real thing.

He placed the poor Manjuus back on the console, and when it looked back at him, it let out a surprised chirp chirp chirp.

The other Manjuus handling ammunition heard the noise and stopped their work, gathering around.

Lin Lan looked around and found there were actually more than a dozen round Manjuus.

"Chirp chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!"

"Hey, hey, what are you all trying to do?"

Seeing the crowd of Manjuus closing in, Lin Lan suddenly felt a bit panicked.

But the next moment, he was swarmed by the Manjuus, hugging his legs and snuggling up in layers.

"?"

The Manjuus, now clinging to him like cats to catnip, made Lin Lan's brain feel overloaded.

"My child, what's wrong with you? Why did you come in without saying a word?"

Bismarck and Frederick the Great approached, seeing Lin Lan surrounded by Manjuus. Frederick, with a concerned tone, asked.

After thinking for a while, Lin Lan finally came up with an excuse.

"I think there are too few Manjuus here. There should be more."

Scharnhorst burst out laughing.

"These Manjuus were brought directly from the port area. We Iron Blood already have enough of them. Most of them are still with the Royal Navy."

Bismarck, watching Lin Lan struggle with the Manjuus, said, "Manjuus usually ignore us. It seems only the Commander can make them interested."

Surrounded by the Manjuus, Lin Lan lost his balance and sat down, instantly getting covered in the fluffy creatures. Two Manjuus even stood on his head.

"Stop talking and get me out of here!"

Seeing himself about to be completely buried by Manjuus, Lin Lan shouted for help.

The four Iron Blood ship girls, trying to hold back their laughter, pulled the fully engulfed Lin Lan out of the workshop.

Standing outside the workshop, covered in feathers, Lin Lan looked at himself, and Scharnhorst, unable to control her laughter, asked:

"Commander, do you still think there are too few Manjuus?"

Seeing the murderous look in Lin Lan's eyes, Scharnhorst finally burst into laughter.

In front of Lin Lan, who was his pledge partner, Scharnhorst felt completely unrestrained.

The Empress gently helped Lin Lan clean up his clothes and remove the yellow feathers.

"So, these Manjuus are responsible for producing ammunition here. The goods docked at the fortress are also transported by them, right?"

Lin Lan recalled seeing the mass-produced transport ships at the dock when he arrived at the fortress yesterday and guessed who was unloading the cargo.

"Yes, my child, these Manjuus handle all these tasks. It has always been this way," Frederick confirmed.

With the mystery of the Iron Blood's ammunition source finally solved, Lin Lan realized that with such a vast assembly line factory and these hardworking Manjuus, the Iron Blood fleet was well-supplied.

"Let's go check out the equipment... Oh, and remember to send the Manjuus I picked up earlier to my dorm. How dare they mob me like that, huh?"

Lin Lan had long wanted a Manjuus-themed pillow. He had no place to put it before due to work, but now he could finally fulfill that dream.

Who could resist hugging an adorable Manjuus?

The poor Manjuus still hadn't realized it was now being eyed by someone.

After leaving the military workshop, Lin Lan finally arrived at the equipment warehouse he had been eagerly anticipating.

Through the transparent wall, Lin Lan immediately saw a brand-new, light green, single-winged propeller aircraft on the front shelf.

This seemingly delicate and compact carrier-based aircraft had a name etched into every Azur Lane player's soul:

Experimental Carrier-Based Heavenly Thunder or Tenrai.

Lin Lan stared at this bomber, which had been implemented in the game's fourth research phase, his body trembling slightly with many thoughts.

He had previously spent massive amounts of resources and various equipment parts in the research system just to obtain a blueprint for Tenrai.

Not for anything else, but because Tenrai was the most powerful bomber in the game—no exceptions.

As the saying goes: "Without Tenrai, Azur Lane bombers would be stuck in eternal darkness."

It took a total of fifty blueprints to produce one finished aircraft. Even Lin Lan, who was an old player with both grinding and spending, had only managed to build a few before he crossed over.

Whenever he shared screenshots of Tenrai from his warehouse in the group chat, it always led to angry comments from group members wanting to steal his Heavenly Thunder.

How powerful was Tenrai? To give you an example:

The second strongest bomber in the game was the experimental XSB3C-1, upgraded from the White Eagle's SB2C Hell Diver.

These were the third and second strongest bombers in the game, respectively.

The Heavenly Thunder had approximately thirty percent higher damage than the second-ranked SB3C.

What does powerful mean? That's what it means!

So, seeing Tenrai prominently displayed before him, Lin Lan couldn't help but feel emotional.

"These aircraft can only be touched by the Commander, so don't try to pick them up. They can only be controlled by carrier ship girls," Bismarck reminded as she saw Lin Lan reaching out to touch Tenrai.

"I know. I'm just looking at it and reminiscing about my lost youth," Lin Lan said with a chuckle, eagerly moving closer to Tenrai and reaching out to touch the bomber that looked like a model.

"Hehehe, Heavenly Thunder, my Heavenly Thunder."

As Lin Lan laughed foolishly, Bismarck sighed and took a file from the wall, handing it to Lin Lan.

"Commander, here's the current equipment inventory for the Iron Blood fleet. Please review it."

Feeling the cool metal surface of Tenrai, Lin Lan reluctantly let go of it and took the file from Bismarck.

"Hmm, let's see. Flying Dragon, JU-87D-4T0, experimental carrier-based BF-109GT0..."

"457 Big Slippers, Champagne Cannon, 460 Big Root..."

As Lin Lan's eyes scanned the familiar names of the equipment, he suddenly felt tears welling up.

Back at the academy, what kind of lousy equipment were those?

How could those things possibly compare to the Sirens?

With these, he finally had the strength to stand tall.