Elder brother's garrison

Page 1956

Feeling the curious gazes covering his entire body, the short admiral's vanity was greatly satisfied. He puffed out his chest, took a deep breath, and spoke smugly.

"My ship girl spotted a fleet of special ship girls on the sea yesterday! Can you guess where she saw them?"

"Uh...where?"

"In the flagship deep-sea area!"

"Huh??? The deep-sea flagship area... Wait, let me sort this out..." The admirals present were stunned at first, then shocked. They looked at each other in surprise and quickly asked, "This admiral with special ship girls, wasn't yesterday his first day in the 8-2 area?"

"really."

"So what you're saying is... that they completed the clearing of the 8-2 sea area in just one day??"

"Yes."

"You...you're kidding me! Impossible! Even the top ten naval bases couldn't clear this area so efficiently. Do you think you're playing a speedrun game?!" The admirals swallowed hard and said hastily, "The 8-2 sea area is so vast. Dealing with wave after wave of enemies is exhausting enough. Even a strong admiral like Li Hua spent a full week just barely managing to find the route to the deep-sea flagship at node 8-2! Tell me, how capable must that special ship girl be to accomplish something so incredible!"

"What's the use of asking me that... I'm just another one of them." The short admiral also said with a sneer, "My ship girl just happened to see the special ship girl in the final sea area... No matter what method she used, she still reached the final sea area! It only took her a day!"

"You...you might have mistaken your ship girl for someone else...?"

"Are you kidding me? How could a ship girl's eyesight be wrong, especially with such a gorgeous appearance as a special ship girl!"

“That’s true…” The admirals looked at each other. “So… the special ship girls really found the route to the final sea area in just one day?”

"Not only that, she also killed the deep-sea flagship," the short admiral added.

"What?!" Upon hearing this, the admirals gasped, even more astonished. "This..."

"Don't ask me, I don't know how the special ship girls did it either, but when my ship girls saw them, they had just finished fighting, and by the time my ship girls got to the location of the Abyssal Flagship, only the wreckage of the Abyssal Flagship remained." The short admiral sighed and said slowly, "However, that's not the most terrifying thing."

What's the scariest thing?

"What's most terrifying is that these special ship girls don't show any signs of combat at all!"

"..." The admirals were silent for a moment. "Are special ship girls... really... that abnormal?"

"I haven't even told you the most perverted part yet." The short admiral looked at the reactions of the admirals in front of him and suddenly revealed a rather sarcastic expression. "When I say the next sentence, don't be scared to death."

"What could be more terrifying in this world than clearing the 8-2 sea area in a single day..."

"That's because they not only cleared out the 8-2 sea area, but they also obtained Deep-Sea Flagship Metal from the final boss's Deep-Sea Flagship," the short admiral said proudly. "And it was extremely high quality metal!"

The moment the short admiral uttered those words, the entire room fell silent.

All the admirals stared at the short admiral with expressions of disbelief.

……

Meanwhile, Shiro and her group, led into a private suite by the ship girl maids, were unaware of what was happening outside.

The suite was set up in a room that resembled a conference room.

In the center of the room was a large table that could seat more than a dozen people. Around the table were many shiny black chairs, and on the table were fruit plates, candy plates, vases and other decorations. Each of the plates and decorations looked very fresh, and even had a few drops of morning dew on them.

"Admiral Lu Lin, please wait here for a moment. Our mission dispatcher will be here shortly." The ship girl maid stood to the side and said to Xiao Bai and his group with great care.

"Don't we need to queue outside?" Xiaobai asked the ship girl maid curiously, touching the chair.

"This is the Admiral Guild's VIP room, which is generally reserved for the world's top ten admirals and other admirals who have made significant contributions," the ship girl maid said. "Given your status, Admiral Lu Lin, using this room is not considered cutting in line, but rather a basic procedure."

"I see..." Xiaobai murmured, and sat down in the chair.

"This is my first time here... If you hadn't told me this was a VIP room, I wouldn't have known such a thing existed." Nia looked around at her surroundings with a curious expression, and said to the ship girl maid with a smile, "Thanks to Xiaobai, I've really learned something new!"

"..." The ship girl maid smiled and nodded to Nia, "Miss Nia, you will also have VIP privileges in this room in the future."

"Huh?" Nia was taken aback and looked at the ship girl maid with curiosity.

Just as Nia was curious and about to ask for more details, the door opposite them was suddenly pushed open.

A slender figure with long, flowing hair, carrying a briefcase, walked into the room.

Upon seeing the figure enter, the ship girl maid quickly stood up straight and bowed to the figure.

"Good day, Manager Luo!"

"Hmm..." Luo Yingying, who had just entered, looked at Xiaobai and the others in the room with a complicated expression. She tightened her grip on the briefcase in her arms and forced a smile as she said to everyone, "Um... Admiral Lu Lin, Admiral Nia, and Admiral Luo Lian... It's been a few days... It's nice to see you all again..."

"Huh? Miss Yingying, it's you again?" Xiaobai asked in surprise.

"I... I guess I'm also working part-time as a mission distributor..." Luo Ying whimpered, her voice filled with complaints. As she spoke, she walked to a seat furthest from Xiao Bai's. "But Admiral Lu Lin, you can rest assured, although I'm only a part-time mission distributor, my professional skills..."

"You must be exceptional, right?" Xiaobai interjected. "Miss Yingying, you're really good at everything you do."

"..." Luo Yingying forced a smile, "So what type of missions would you all like to take on?"

"The mission to clear the level." Xiaobai and Nia exchanged a glance, then Xiaobai said to Luo Yingying.

"A mission to clear the level?" Luo Yingying was taken aback. She glanced at Nia. "Is it level 8-1?"

"How could that be? It's 8-2."

"Hmm? Forgive my bluntness... Admiral Lu Lin and Admiral Nia, you only went to Chapter 8-2 for the first time the day before yesterday, and only officially started exploring it yesterday, right?"

"You know that too?"

"After all... it's the Admiral's Guild."

"Just like you said, Nia and I only played 8-2 for one day." Xiaobai nodded with a smile. "Will this affect receiving the completion quest?"

"It shouldn't affect anything..." Luo Yingying shook her head. "However, the time limit for completing the mission is 24 hours. If you fail, you'll have to wait at least a week before you can accept it again... Admiral Lu Lin, before you've fully explored the chapter, I don't really recommend that your companions accept the mission. Normally, admirals would obtain the kill evidence and then directly bring it to the Admiral's Guild to accept the mission and complete it."

"Then you don't need to worry, Miss Yingying." Xiaobai smiled upon hearing this. "Actually, we already completed the elimination last night."

“…Huh?” Luo Yingying stared wide-eyed.

"What's wrong?" Xiaobai asked, "Miss Yingying, don't you believe me?"

"Uh...no, no, no..." Luo Yingying's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly waved her hands, "If it was Admiral Lu Lin who intervened and helped, then clearing 8-2 in one day is absurd, but it's understandable..."

Luo Yingying is indeed different from the lazy admirals outside; Luo Yingying's vision is much broader.

When Xiaobai uttered the words of killing, Luo Yingying was only stunned for a few seconds.

"Admiral Lu Lin, since you completed the killing mission yesterday, why didn't you submit the killing evidence directly to the Admiral's Guild..." Luo Yingying thought of this and said to Xiaobai and his group, "Even deep-sea flagships, once their bodies die, will disintegrate into fragments and disappear into nothingness within just twenty-four hours. If we don't submit the killing evidence quickly, we'll have wasted an opportunity once the killing evidence disappears."

"Don't worry, our evidence of the killing won't disappear," Xiaobai said again.

"How could that be... Admiral Lu Lin, you must be joking." Luo Ying chuckled. "I've worked as a deep-sea appraiser before. Unless a deep-sea creature reaches the level of a deep-sea dean, its body will invariably disintegrate and vanish into nothingness upon death. Only deep-sea metal will remain. How could your evidence of the kill not disappear..."

As Luo Yingying was talking, she suddenly seemed to remember something and realized that something was wrong.

"Huh? Wait... a piece of evidence that won't dissipate..." Luo Yingying opened her mouth, looking at Xiaobai and Nia's group.

Xiao Bai and Nia's group also smiled and silently watched Luo Yingying.

Luo Yingying finally understood, and she gasped.

"Admiral Lu Lin...you...your evidence of the killings wouldn't be...that, would it??"

"Ah, you guessed it, that's it!"

"Wh...what??? It really is that!" Luo Yingying covered her mouth, exclaiming in shock.

"Veneto, bring that up," Little White said, turning around to Veneto.

Chapter 2737 Replacement of Merit Points

Under Luo Yingying's shocked gaze, Veneto silently walked up. Then she opened her ship equipment space and slowly took out "that" that Xiaobai had mentioned in front of everyone.

Veneto carefully placed a large, round, deep-sea flagship metal object, about the size of a fist, radiating a golden glow, on the table.

With the appearance of the Deep Sea Flagship Metal, wisps of faint deep-sea aura rose and swirled, and for a moment, the temperature in the VIP suite seemed to drop considerably.

“Miss Yingying, look, this is our evidence of the kill.” Xiaobai smiled and pointed to the Deep Sea Flagship metal on the table.

“...It really is…” Luo Yingying covered her mouth, staring blankly at the table.

"Miss Yingying, don't just stand there, let's appraise it quickly." Xiaobai reminded her, seeing Luo Yingying staring blankly at the metal of the deep-sea flagship, "Even for the Admiral's Guild of Chapter Eight, this is not a small item, is it?"

"Ah? Oh, oh... I'm sorry... indeed... this thing needs to be taken very seriously..."

Luo Yingying was only able to snap out of her daze after Xiaobai's words.

Realizing she had lost her composure, Luo Yingying smiled awkwardly at everyone, then took a deep breath and slapped her cheeks twice. With a series of crisp slaps, Luo Yingying's expression quickly returned to seriousness.

"Admiral Lu Lin, if it's convenient for you, I'll begin the deep-sea metal identification now," Luo Yingying said to Xiaobai. "Right here, right now."

"Miss Yingying, please make yourself at home." Xiaobai nodded with relief.

After receiving Xiaobai's permission, Luo Yingying took a deep breath, then took out a pair of black gloves from her clothes, carefully put them on, and then bent down in front of everyone, taking out the set of instruments she had used to help Xiaobai identify deep-sea metals from under the table.

Luo Yingying solemnly placed the Deep Sea Flagship Metal onto the table of the identification instrument. She adjusted the instruments, then leaned close to the observation mirror, fiddling with the Deep Sea Flagship Metal while controlling the light source of the identification machine, observing and studying it with a serious expression.

Generally speaking, when identifying deep-sea metals—especially precious deep-sea flagship metals—it is usually necessary to have a professional team of appraisers carefully conduct the identification process to ensure the authenticity of the results. However, ordinary task administrators do not typically possess this kind of technical expertise.

However, Luo Yingying is different. As the successor of the Inland Governor's Mansion, Luo Yingying is proficient in a series of businesses such as personnel management, deep-sea appraisal, and ship girl appraisal. She is an outstanding and highly versatile talent who can excel in all of them. Having her personally appraise the deep-sea flagship metal is much more reassuring than having an entire team of appraisers.

Xiao Bai and his group waited quietly for Luo Yingying's test results.

Nia watched as Luo Yingying fiddled with the deep-sea flagship's metal like a spinning top, her hands clenched into fists, swallowing nervously.

Hoping for a good appraisal result... Hoping for a good appraisal result...

Please don't let it be a fake, please don't let it be a fake...

Nia prayed incessantly in her heart, just like a student waiting for their college entrance exam results, her heart pounding nervously.

Compared to Nia's tension and fear, Xiaobai's expression was much calmer and more composed.

There is probably no one in this world who knows more about deep-sea metals than Xiaobai. Although Xiaobai can't list a lot of data to identify deep-sea metals as rigorously as Luo Yingying, if it's just about judging the quality and taste of deep-sea metals by sight, Xiaobai is second to none in this world.

In Xiaobai's opinion, the quality of this piece of deep-sea flagship metal is far superior to the mass-produced deep-sea dean metal in Chapter Six. It is a treasure-level deep-sea metal that is only one level below the genuine deep-sea dean metal.

The VIP room was completely silent.

The only sound in the air was the faint creaking of the deep-sea metal as Luo Yingying turned it.

In an exceptionally quiet atmosphere, Luo Yingying's deep-sea metal identification lasted for nearly two hours before it ended.

Two hours later, Luo Ying, who was already covered in sweat, let out a long sigh of relief. Exhausted, she sat up straight and finally put her hands down from the metal of the deep-sea flagship.

"It's over." Luo Yingying took off her gloves, rubbed her temples with her slender fingers, and said with a slightly tired expression.

"Excuse me! May I ask... what were the results of the test?" Nia, who was standing to the side, asked anxiously as soon as the test was over.

“Because it’s a rather precious item… I was extra careful during the appraisal.” Luo Yingying looked at the golden deep-sea metal on the appraisal device and said to everyone, “Now I can basically confirm that this is indeed a genuine piece of deep-sea flagship metal, and its purity is exceptionally high. As expected of deep-sea metal produced by the deep-sea flagship of Chapter Eight… Although there is still an insurmountable gap, the purity of the deep-sea aura inside can be said to be quite close to that of genuine deep-sea dean metal.”

"Wow—that's great!" Nia heard Luo Yingying's comments with her own ears, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief and was completely at ease.

"There's no need for further examination of the physical evidence related to the killing. I'll grant Admiral Nia's naval base permission to travel to the 8-3 sea area right away," Luo Yingying said to the group.

"That will be troublesome," Xiaobai said with a smile.

"Admiral Lu Lin, do you need my help to grant you permission to enter the 8-3 sea area, given that you are currently using a disguised naval base?" Luo Yingying asked.

"Hmm? Is that okay?" Xiaobai asked.

“Uh… Generally speaking, no matter how many pieces of evidence from the same deep-sea flagship are produced, only one admiral can be granted access to them…” Luo Yingying grinned and gave Xiaobai an awkward smile. “However, if Admiral Lu Lin finds it troublesome, I can help you make arrangements to grant you access to 8-3 together.”

"Huh? Really? Then please do it for me... I hope this won't cause trouble for Miss Yingying?" Xiaobai nodded first, then asked with some concern.

"It's alright. With Admiral Lu Lin's strength, you could easily dominate all the sea nodes in Chapter Eight. You have the qualifications and authority that you could have anytime you wanted." Luo Yingying shook her head and said to Xiaobai, "Even if I asked you to retrieve another evidence of a deep-sea flagship's kill, it would only be a waste of an afternoon for your naval base, right? In that case, Admiral Lu Lin, there's no need to go through all that trouble. We're just going through the motions anyway. Although my official position in the guild isn't high, I still have this much power."

"Miss Yingying, you're so kind." Xiaobai looked at Luo Yingying with some emotion. "I didn't expect you to be so considerate of me."

"..." Luo Yingying forced a smile.

Luo Yingying wasn't really thinking about Xiaobai's feelings; she just didn't want to see Xiaobai more often in vain.

"Admiral Lu Lin, regarding the piece of Deep Sea Flagship Metal that you obtained, on behalf of the Admiral's Guild, I would like to purchase it for 90 million merit points. Is that acceptable?" Luo Yingying asked Xiaobai and Nia, placing one hand on the Deep Sea Flagship Metal.

Before setting off this morning, Xiaobai specifically went to the Admiral Forum to check the bounty price for the Deep Sea Flagship Metal in Chapter 8.

At the time, the price listed on the Admiral Forum was 86.33 million merit points, as published by the Admiral Guild.

Luo Yingying could have directly acquired it at the original price, but she raised the price to 90 million merit points, which to some extent was giving Xiaobai face.

"Thank you, Miss Yingying." Xiaobai smiled and shook her head at Luo Yingying. She exchanged glances with Nia and Luo Lian sitting behind her, and then said to Luo Yingying, "This piece of deep-sea flagship metal is hard-won, so we don't plan to sell it to the Admiral's Guild."

"Huh?" Luo Yingying was stunned. She subconsciously said, "Uh... are you not satisfied with the price? Admiral Lu Lin, the current bounty price of the Admiral Guild is 86 million... If you are not satisfied with the price, I can talk to the upper echelons of the Admiral Guild now. Hmm... I can probably increase it by about 20 million merits for you."

Another 20 million?!

That would amount to 110 million merits!

When Nia, who was sitting behind Luo Yingying, heard Luo Yingying's sobbing words, she almost stopped breathing.