Elder brother's garrison

Page 1400

As Xiao Bai was feeling delighted, his smile faltered slightly, then faded, transforming into a subtle expression of disappointment that he had received a reward completely disproportionate to his efforts, even before exerting any real strength.

"The leveling spots in Chapter 8 are extremely important for this chapter's progression. The sooner we find them, the more it will help both Admiral Haoding and me in our progress... I should be very happy to have found a leveling spot now..." Xiaobai muttered, looking at the water with a strange expression. "But... is it really okay for me to find a leveling spot so easily...? This is a bit too easy..."

"Hmm... Could it be that the leveling spots in Chapter 8 aren't actually that hard to find... and they're actually quite large?"

"...It seems like this is the only explanation..."

"Nature's artistry is truly amazing..."

"..."

Xiao Bai muttered to herself, sighed helplessly, then took a deep breath, straightened her expression, took out her notebook and started scribbling notes with a ballpoint pen while her gaze swept across the empty water surface around her again.

"In short, I need to thoroughly understand the situation in this sea area... Deep Sea Will, are you there? Can you help me capture a few deep-sea submarines that are submerged beneath the surface? The kind that move as quietly as possible..."

Xiao Bai called out to the person beside him.

Xiao Bai's words fell onto the water's surface.

next second.

Xiao Bai then felt that his admiral network seemed to have some of its own ideas and wanted to do something on its own.

Xiao Bai relaxed and allowed his network of admirals to stretch and expand, extending a thick tentacle of the network.

The deep-sea aura around Xiaobai swirled and gathered in front of him. The seawater surged up and attached itself to Xiaobai's admiral network tentacles, eventually forming a huge black hand. The black hand plunged into the water with a splash and, like catching loaches, grabbed several thrashing deep-sea submarines from the water and handed them to Xiaobai.

"Hiss—Aww—"

"Hiss—Aww—"

The deep-sea submarines, grabbed by the giant hand, were clearly in a panic. They roared angrily, and torpedoes protruded straight out of their massive mouths. After being brought ashore, they made a move to launch their only target at sea, Little White.

"Crack!"

However, just a moment before the deep-sea submarines launched their attack on the little white ones, the giant hand that had captured them clenched its fist tightly. A burst of sparks and flashes rose from the deep-sea submarines' bodies. The deep-sea submarines, which had been lively and energetic just moments before, let out a mournful howl, their heads lolled to the side, and then fell silent.

A giant hand spread out.

Several deep-sea submarine wrecks are laid out flat on the palm of your hand for a novice to look at.

"As expected of the most vulnerable ship type... Once they leave the safety of the underwater world, their armor protection is even worse than that of a destroyer..." Xiaobai looked at the wreckage of the deep-sea submarine in the center of the giant hand with some emotion, put her hands together, and bowed to the wreckage. "...I hope you won't be deep-sea submarines in your next life, but ship girls..."

After putting down its hand, Xiaobai climbed onto the giant hand and squatted around the wreckage of the deep-sea submarine, knocking and hitting it. Finally, it took out two pieces of deep-sea metal from the wreckage, brushed off the dust, and licked them lightly with its tongue.

"Hmm... It's about the same quality as most of the deep-sea metal I encountered today... or maybe a little inferior?" Xiaobai clicked her tongue, revealing a bitter expression. She muttered to herself as she put the deep-sea metal into her pocket. "Well... considering that deep-sea submarines are a large and easy-to-counter type of ship... the quality of this deep-sea metal is acceptable... Hmm... I don't have any ship girls with anti-submarine capabilities with me right now, so I can't test the strength of the deep-sea submarines in this leveling area for the time being. But all submarines in the world are essentially the same. I can test them later when I have time... The most important thing now is to bring this news back!"

As Xiaobai spoke, he excitedly jumped back onto the sea from the giant hand.

The giant hand collapsed back into the sea with a splash, carrying the deep-sea submarine's wreckage back to the surface.

"Anyway, I need to go back and find Missouri and Eugen to tell them the good news about finding a leveling spot..."

Little White skipped and hopped back the way it came.

In the vast, calm sea, Xiaobai's murmurs faded away like smoke.

All that remained was the mirror-like black surface of the water, where the wrecked hull of the deep-sea submarine gurgled and sank to the bottom of the sea.

-

Elizabeth didn't know how much time had passed, but she felt as if she could hear the ebb and flow of the tide, and the continuous, complex sound of the waves washing over the sand.

"Hmm...hmm...humph..." Elizabeth, lying on the beach, took a deep breath. She raised her hand to rub her forehead, slowly opened her eyes, and looked at the sky in confusion. "Hmm...hmm? Where...am I?"

The sky was clear and cloudless, but black fog swirled all around, as if a thick dome had been tightly covering the sky, making it hard to breathe.

This is a celestial phenomenon unique to Chapter Eight, and it's also the state that should exist in an unexplored chapter's sea area.

Elizabeth blinked in confusion as she regained consciousness. She stared at the sky shrouded in black mist, remaining lying there for a while before pondering questions such as "Why am I lying on the beach?" and "What was I doing here before?"

After a while.

As the dazed period after waking up passed, the memories of being knocked unconscious flowed back into Elizabeth's mind like a stream.

Elizabeth remembered that she had been leading Little White on a tour of this unexplored sea area, and that she had been having a pleasant conversation with Little White when suddenly, for some reason, she felt a jolt at the back of her head and lost consciousness...

"Ah! Admiral Lu Lin!" Elizabeth's bewildered gaze suddenly sharpened. She sat bolt upright on the beach, looking around in alarm. "Admiral Lu Lin? Are you alright! Where are you? Lu..."

Elizabeth's shouts were abruptly cut short the moment she looked around.

All that could be seen around Elizabeth was her surroundings.

On a deserted beach.

Not far from Elizabeth, a small, ice-blue airplane was whirring and swishing its tail as it flew around. Sometimes it would run up to the nearby dry trees, sometimes it would glide over the nearby water, leaving long ripples in its wake, and sometimes it would simply circle in mid-air, making a whooshing sound.

"Huh? What is this...?" Elizabeth looked at the small, ice-blue plane with a puzzled expression.

Just then, the ice-blue plane, which had been gliding in mid-air, suddenly stopped. It turned its nose towards Elizabeth—or rather, it simply turned its nose towards her. After realizing that Elizabeth had woken up, the ice-blue plane flew back to her side and landed on her chest. It even cleverly flicked its tail twice, as if to say something like, "You're awake."

"This carrier-based aircraft is..." Elizabeth picked up the aircraft with a puzzled look, stood up from the beach, rubbing her throbbing head as she looked around, "And where are Admiral Lu Lin and the others now—"

"Miss Elizabeth!" Just then, Little White's voice called out from afar on the beach.

"Admiral Lu Lin?" Elizabeth quickly looked towards the source of the sound, and saw that on the other side of the beach, Little White, Prince Eugen, and Missouri appeared one after another. They waved to Elizabeth and were running over.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—" The carrier-based aircraft in Elizabeth's arms also made a buzzing sound, and then reluctantly detached itself from Elizabeth's chest and flew towards Little White, Missouri and Prince Eugen in the distance.

Little White rushed over and reached out to the little airplane, which obediently landed in Little White's palm.

“…Hmm?” Elizabeth looked at Little White in the distance with a puzzled expression and tilted her head.

"Miss Elizabeth! You're awake!" Just as Elizabeth was wondering what was going on, Xiaobai and the other two arrived in front of her. Xiaobai, panting, walked up to Elizabeth apologetically and asked, "How are you, Miss Elizabeth? Do you feel unwell anywhere?"

"It's...it's alright...it's just that the back of my head is a little dizzy and sore..." Elizabeth looked at Xiaobai with a puzzled expression, her gaze then lingering on the small airplane in Xiaobai's hand. "Admiral Lu Lin, may I ask what this carrier-based aircraft is...?"

"Huh? This? This...this is from my ship girl..."

"Admiral Lu Lin, neither of the two ship girls beside you are equipped with carrier-based aircraft, right..."

"Uh... this one was sent by the ship girls from my valley... well, you know, Chapter 8 is dangerous... and the carrier ship girls have a lot of tricks up their sleeves. Although they can't come with us, I can't really say anything if they send their carrier-based aircraft over to check on us..." Xiaobai scratched his cheek and said to Elizabeth, "More importantly... Miss Elizabeth, when you brought us to this beach before, you fainted while we were talking. How are you feeling now?"

"Fainted? Me?" Elizabeth pointed at herself in surprise.

“Yes… Missouri was startled too…” Missouri smiled and replied to Elizabeth, “Perhaps Senior Elizabeth has been too worried about the construction of Chapter Eight these days and has neglected her rest, so she couldn’t keep up with the energy for a while and fainted on the beach as a protective mechanism of her body.”

“This…this is impossible…I’m a ship…” Elizabeth touched her back, looking incredulous. “And I feel more like I was…”

“Senior Elizabeth, as ship girls, our ship equipment will always provide us with unlimited energy and vitality, but that doesn’t mean we can take advantage of it and overdraw our bodies at will.” Missouri interrupted Elizabeth, saying with a worried expression, “In fact, it is the most dangerous situation for ship girls if they don’t get proper rest.”

"Huh? Is that so?"

“Yes… because the energy and strength provided by the ship's equipment can make us misjudge our physical condition. In reality, you might feel like you're full of energy and vitality, but your body is actually exhausted…” Missouri covered her mouth, looking at Elizabeth with a gaze that was three parts admiration and seven parts heartache. “Senior Elizabeth… Missouri just saw you collapse on the beach, and it really… broke my heart… Missouri begs you to take care of your health…”

"Uh...I...I...Huh?" Elizabeth was taken aback by Missouri's words. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, seemingly somewhat persuaded. She couldn't help but lower her head and recall her life over the past few days, "...Could it be that I haven't been taking care of myself...and have overworked myself...?"

"Please take good care of your health, Senior Elizabeth." Seeing that Elizabeth was completely taken aback by his words, Missouri pressed on while the iron was hot, cupping her hands and gently advising Elizabeth, "Senior Elizabeth is the flagship of the eighth chapter of ship girls, and Missouri understands your eagerness to achieve something. However, you should also know that if you collapse from exhaustion here, it will be a huge loss to the naval base where you are located."

“Ah… um, um… Missouri, you’re right…” Although Elizabeth was still completely confused about the current situation, the warning in Missouri’s words had indeed taken effect. After listening to Missouri’s words, Elizabeth nodded quickly and thanked Missouri, saying, “In order for the smooth progress of the naval base’s deployment plan in Chapter Eight, I should pay attention to my daily rest…”

“It would be wonderful if you could take note of this, senior.” Missouri lowered her hands with a smile.

"Hmm... However, there's something I find a little strange... Why have I been feeling a slight, dull pain in the back of my head ever since I woke up?"

"Regarding that, since you fainted, you landed on the back of your head first. You fainted so suddenly that Missouri and the Admiral didn't have time to react and we're truly sorry we couldn't catch you immediately," Missouri said calmly.

"It's alright, it's alright... Since it's my fault, let's just forget about it..." Elizabeth scratched the back of her head, speaking to Missouri and Little White with a hint of shame on her face. "More importantly... I was so confident today that I would show Admiral Lu Lin and you guys around this beach, but I fainted halfway through. Instead of helping, I just held you back. I'm so sorry..."

"Uh, it's not your fault, it's not your fault..." Xiaobai smiled awkwardly.

"Excuse me... during the time I was unconscious, did you stay by my side, Admiral Lu Lin?" Elizabeth asked Xiaobai somewhat shyly.

"Hmm... not entirely... seeing you sleeping so soundly, I didn't wake you up right away. Anyway, while you were sleeping, Elizabeth, we just wandered around the neighborhood a bit," Xiaobai said to Elizabeth.

"May I ask what Admiral Lu Lin has discovered?"

"It's just an ordinary beach."

"Just as we investigated before..." Elizabeth muttered to herself, then as if remembering something, she quickly bowed to Xiaobai, "Accompanying Admiral Lu Lin on this trip, not only did I fail to help Admiral Lu Lin, but I also troubled Admiral Lu Lin to take care of me, wasting Admiral Lu Lin's time for nothing. I am truly ashamed... After today's work is finished, I will definitely come to apologize in person!"

"Forget about apologizing... I'm actually fine here." Xiaobai quickly waved her hand, saying apologetically, "More importantly, we've finished exploring this beach now, so why don't we hurry back to your companions?"

“Ah, okay!” Elizabeth nodded.

"Senior Elizabeth slept all afternoon, I wonder if your sense of direction is still intact? Do you still remember the way back?" Missouri smiled and leaned closer to Elizabeth, teasing her.

"Please, please don't make fun of me..." Elizabeth blushed instantly, lowering her head, her face burning red. "The way back, I, of course I remember..."

Elizabeth pointed to the beach behind her.

"Admiral Lu Lin, this way."

"Yes, Miss Elizabeth, please lead the way." Xiaobai smiled and walked to Elizabeth's side, and the three of them walked back together.

"..." Elizabeth silently watched Xiaobai walk up to her, and for some reason, her gaze lingered on Xiaobai's cheek for a long time.

"Miss Elizabeth? What's wrong?" Xiaobai felt Elizabeth's gaze and looked back curiously.

"Admiral Lu Lin... how long have I been unconscious?" Elizabeth looked thoughtfully at Xiao Bai's face and asked slowly.

"...It seems like it's been seven or eight hours...What's wrong?"

“Eight hours…” Elizabeth muttered to herself, glancing up at the distant sea, its surface tinged yellow by the sunset. “That means, Admiral Lu Lin, you’ve been on this beach for most of the day…”

"what happened?"

"...Even my admiral, after wearing a mask for three or four hours straight on the beach, experiences intermittent aches and pains in his joints, causing him to show signs of pain. Even if he tries to hold on, he can't calm down..." Elizabeth looked at Xiaobai's face with suspicion. "But Admiral Lu Lin, although you took off your mask at some point and stayed on the beach for almost a whole day, your expression is still as calm as when I first met you, without any trace of perseverance or pain... It feels... almost as if you are completely immune to the deep-sea atmosphere around you..."

Xiao Bai stopped in her tracks, her heart skipping a beat.

The mask that Elizabeth gave to Xiaobai was made hastily by the ship girls of Haoding Naval Base to protect the Haoding Admiral. Its airtightness was so poor that even if Xiaobai wasn't exposed to the deep-sea atmosphere, she would still feel suffocated wearing it. So after Elizabeth was knocked unconscious by Missouri, Xiaobai put the mask away.

Never imagined.

He was so eager for a moment of easy breathing that he accidentally gave himself away...

He met Elizabeth's clear gaze.

Xiao Bai felt nervous.

"Uh... well... maybe it's just my constitution..." Xiaobai stammered as she waved her hands and quickly explained, "And, actually, I'm not completely fine. Even though I don't look any different, I do feel a cool, aching sensation in my knees! It's really quite severe!"

After Xiaobai finished speaking, he pointed to his knees and made a gesture as if he was struggling to take a step.

The aura of the deep sea certainly wouldn't affect Xiaobai's body.

However, facing Elizabeth, Xiaobai felt that she should do as the Romans do.

Xiao Bai nervously explained to Elizabeth.

However, Xiaobai's explanation was, of course, somewhat weak.

Elizabeth looked at Xiaobai with increasingly puzzled eyes, her gaze filled with growing inquiry.

“Senior, my admiral is not yet twenty years old, at least ten years younger than the admiral of your garrison. It is said that the deep-sea resentment is a collection of death, coldness, and gloom. Perhaps it is because my admiral is young and his life force is vigorous and abundant that he is able to resist the invasion of the deep-sea resentment to some extent,” Missouri said to Elizabeth.

Missouri's words were somewhat nonsense, but they sounded much more scientific than Xiaobai's explanation, and Elizabeth received a plausible explanation.

"...Admiral Lu Lin...is probably even more powerful than I imagined..." Elizabeth stared at Xiaobai for a long time with complicated feelings, then silently looked away. She raised her hand and touched the back of her head, saying in a low voice.

"..." Xiaobai didn't know what to reply at this point.

"Admiral Lu Lin, do you have anything to do later?"

"Um... back, back to the valley."

"I'll escort you back."

"Oh? That won't be necessary... I already have a ship girl with me, and besides, Elizabeth, you still have work to do, so there's no need to trouble yourself..."

“Consider it an apology for fainting without permission before.” Elizabeth looked at Xiaobai, her eyes seemingly trying to see through him. “Admiral Lu Lin, please let me follow you for a while.”

"……"noob

Oops.

I have a feeling... Elizabeth seems to be starting to doubt her status as an ordinary admiral...

It seems my decision to take the ship girls out to sea today was indeed a bit reckless... Did Missouri really manage to knock Elizabeth unconscious on the beach so easily, instead of dispelling her doubts so easily...? Elizabeth doesn't seem so easy to fool. She almost discovered my immunity to deep-sea aura. What if she discovers something else while she's with me...?

Little White didn't want Elizabeth to stay with him anymore.

So Xiaobai looked to Missouri for help.

But Missouri gave Little White a helpless smile, indicating that she couldn't help him in this situation.

At last.