Elder brother's garrison

Page 1976

"Oh, that's a pity," Xiaobai said with some regret.

"..." Luo Yingying forced a smile.

In fact, the Divine Eagle never took a holiday.

Because Luo Yingying cannot do without Shenying in the short term, and she has to deal with too much work as the guild manager in Chapter 8, Shenying, as Luo Yingying's current right-hand ship girl, is an all-rounder, quick-witted and efficient helper. Apart from being a bit expressionless, she has almost no flaws. Her presence is undoubtedly a huge help to Luo Yingying's work.

If Luo Yingying's work hadn't been so reliant on Shenying's help, she would have been sent back to her hometown thousands of miles away a few days ago with an express ship ticket.

The reason why the Divine Eagle did not show up was, of course, because Luo Yingying deliberately did not bring her out.

"Compared to... compared to the Divine Eagle... speaking of which, Admiral Lu Lin, you've already unlocked the second technological lock, right!" Luo Yingying quickly changed the subject, risking danger as she asked Xiaobai, "How long do you think it will take you to unlock the third technological lock?"

"Hmm? Miss Yingying, are you curious about this?"

"Ah...haha..." Luo Yingying laughed awkwardly.

“It’s not that we can’t tell you.” Xiao Bai exchanged glances with Nia and Luo Lian beside her. The three of them exchanged a look, and then said to Luo Yingying, “Actually, there are no questions on the third technological lock.”

"Huh?" Luo Yingying was taken aback.

"The third technological lock is actually..." Xiaobai briefly told Luo Yingying about what happened on the sea.

Luo Yingying listened to Xiaobai's words, her expressions becoming increasingly varied. Especially when she heard that Xiaobai had thrown an entire mass-produced Deep-Sea Dean Metal into the construction device, her expressions became even more varied. Then, after hearing that the entire mass-produced Deep-Sea Dean Metal had only increased the progress of the technology lock by one ten-thousandth, Luo Yingying's expressions became a riot of colors.

It took Luo Yingying a long time to make her facial features appear less exaggerated.

"Uh...so, in other words, the third technological challenge is to fill resources? And the upper limit for these resources is 10,000 mass-produced Deep Sea Dean Metals?" Luo Yingying murmured.

“Yes.” Xiaobai nodded.

"That's it...it's all over." Upon hearing this, Luo Yingying immediately lowered her head and sighed regretfully, "Where are we going to find so much deep-sea metal...even if we emptied the entire Admiral's Guild from Chapter Eight and threw it into the research and construction device, it still wouldn't be enough..."

"Lianlian and I have complained about this strange energy requirement more than once." Xiaobai listened to Luo Yingying's words and gave a wry smile, feeling very empathetic.

"I reckon the news about the third lock on the research equipment will spread very soon." Luo Yingying frowned helplessly, as if she had thought of something very troublesome. "This means that for quite some time now, no admirals will be coming to the guild to hand over deep-sea metal, but we haven't even met our guild quota for this month yet..."

"Hahaha..." Xiaobai chuckled, "Were the research ship girls this troublesome before?"

"Of course not. Research ship girls in the past didn't need to consume so many resources." Luo Yingying shook her head. "For example, the special ship girl in Chapter Seven two hundred years ago only needed a piece of deep-sea metal to begin construction after solving the research problem. This research ship girl is the first in history to require so many resources."

"It seems that even special ship girls manifest in different ways each time," Nia remarked.

“Yes…” Xiaobai nodded.

The atmosphere among the group was slightly somber.

"...Hmm? Wait a minute." Just then, Luo Lian glanced in the direction of the ship girl construction device and spoke up, "Don't you guys think something's a little strange over there at the construction device?"

"Hmm? That's strange...?"

"The construction time seems to be taking too long." Luo Lian frowned, looking at the still-operating construction device, and said softly.

Upon hearing Luo Lian's words, everyone present was stunned for a second.

Everyone turned to look at the ship girl construction device.

Indeed, generally speaking, after resources are invested, the construction device only needs to operate for a maximum of a few minutes to determine whether the construction is successful. However, the construction device here is taking an exceptionally long time. Even though Xiaobai and his group have been chatting for so long, the construction device is still buzzing and running, seemingly without end.

And just after Luo Lian raised her question, everyone gradually noticed that the normally stable construction device seemed to begin to vibrate slightly, and its outer metal shell emitted a series of creaking sounds. It felt like an old popcorn machine on the street, waiting for the moment when the lid was lifted to release all the pressure.

A very ominous premonition began to brew in everyone's hearts.

As if sensing something, Xiaobai and the ship girls from Nia's family quickly ran forward and stood in front of Xiaobai and the other two.

The ship girl attendants from the Admiral's Guild also rushed to Luo Yingying's side. The ship girls tightly protected the humans behind them, then stared wide-eyed at the construction device in front of them, ready for battle.

To the onlookers, the vibrations of the construction device grew stronger and stronger, and the creaking sounds from its outer shell became louder and louder.

A strange red color spread across the entire construction device.

"Admiral, bow your head!" Richelieu was the first to react. She quickly pressed Xiaobai's head down, hugged Xiaobai's body, and summoned her ship equipment.

boom! ! !

swish swish swish swish swish swish —

Just as Richelieu tightly embraced Little White, the normally functioning construction device creaked and shattered under immense pressure. Countless steel fragments exploded and scattered like blooming red lotuses, transforming into thousands of sharp blades that clattered and pierced the surrounding walls, floors, ceilings, and even other innocent construction devices.

The construction device... exploded!

Chapter 2768 You want to try again?

Richelieu hid behind her ship's rigging, separated by a main gun, listening to the clanging of steel on the other side, her heart pounding with tension.

totally unexpected……

Creating a ship girl can even cause the construction facility to explode...

Hearing the sounds coming from the other side, Richelieu pressed Shiro's head tightly against her chest. Her pupils were somewhat unfocused, and she felt a sense of panic. Richelieu was quite certain that although these flying steel fragments could not threaten the ship girls' bodies, if they were to pierce a human's body, they would mercilessly pierce through the human's fragile body like bullets, instantly taking the human's life...

Just thinking about the consequences if I had been even a few seconds slower...

Richelieu nervously swallowed.

My heart was pounding uncontrollably.

After a short while, the explosions on the other side of the ship's equipment finally stopped.

Richelieu, still shaken, waited a while longer. Only after confirming that everything was completely alright outside did he cautiously lower his head to look at the little white creature in his arms.

"Admiral Lu Lin... are you... alright?"

When people's lives are threatened, they often become panicked and fearful. The series of events that just happened was too sudden, and Richelieu was a little worried that Little White might have developed some kind of mental problem from the fright.

However, Richelieu's worries were clearly unnecessary.

When Richelieu looked down at Little White, she didn't see a scared or frightened expression on Little White's face, but a sweet smile.

Xiaobai's emotions were more stable than Richelieu had imagined.

Little White was looking up at Richelieu with a smile on his face.

"...Admiral Lu Lin?"

“Richelyu, you just called me Admiral, didn’t you?” Xiaobai smiled at Richelieu. “I thought it would be another two years before you called me Admiral on your own initiative.”

“…” Richelieu was taken aback. She recalled her reaction when the construction device exploded, and then realized something. She quickly lowered her head and gently pushed Xiaobai away from her arms. “…At a time like this, why are you still concerned about such things…”

"Nia, Lianlian, are you alright?" Xiaobai turned her head and spoke to the person beside her.

"I'm fine, Nia is with me, and she's fine too." Luo Lian's voice came from the center of the group surrounded by the four Veneto sisters, next to Xiao Bai.

"Oh...that's great, what about Miss Yingying?" Xiaobai turned her head again to look in the other direction.

"I...I...I...I didn't...I didn't...I'm fine..." On the other side, Luo Yingying, who had been pinned down by the ship girl attendants, scrambled to her feet, her face pale and her hands trembling. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked around. "Huh...what just happened...what happened...how did the construction device suddenly explode..."

Richelieu stowed away its ship equipment.

With its view no longer obstructed, Xiaobai finally got a clear view of the current construction status of the floors.

The construction device that Xiaobai had activated earlier was now nothing but a pile of fragments. Acrid smoke swirled around them, and the floor, walls, ceiling, and even the outer shells of other nearby construction devices were covered with shards that looked like glass blades.

A pink metal block gleamed amidst the ruins, like a star in the night.

Xiaobai stared blankly at the scene before her. She tentatively walked forward, bypassed the debris scattered on the ground, cleared away the ruins, and picked up the pink metal piece.

“This piece of… metal doesn’t seem to have been broken down by the construction machine.” Xiaobai looked at the undamaged metal block and turned to the others to say.

"How could this be? Isn't it a directional metal?" Nia walked out with Taihou's help, not even having time to tidy her wind-blown hair, and just looking at Shiro in surprise.

"I don't know either..." Xiaobai weighed the metal block in his hand, lost in thought. "Could this be its intended purpose? No wonder the research and construction machine didn't accept this back then..."

“But no matter what, it’s too outrageous to just blow up the construction machine…” Luo Lian patted the dust off her body and frowned as she looked at the devastation around her. “Compared to directional metal, I would find it more convincing if you said that a grenade was put in there just now.”

"I do not know……"

Xiao Bai pinched her chin with one hand and held the pink metal in the other as she returned to Richelieu's side. She thought for a while and then looked up at Luo Yingying.

Compared to the three of them, whose mental state was not affected much, Luo Yingying's appearance at this moment seemed very real.

In Xiaobai's view, Luo Yingying just stared blankly at the construction device that had been blown to pieces. Her pupils trembled slightly, her breathing was weak and disordered, and her body trembled slightly, showing that she was quite frightened by what had just happened.

"Miss Yingying, I'm so sorry to have dragged you into this," Xiaobai said to Luo Yingying. "My garrison will compensate for the damages caused here."

"Ah...ah?" Luo Yingying stared blankly at Xiaobai after hearing his words. "Eh...okay..."

"Then it's settled." Xiaobai smiled.

"Okay... um... um... um?" A somewhat dazed Luo Yingying looked at Xiaobai's smiling face and finally came to her senses. She gasped and hurriedly waved her hands, "Oh no no no no... no need for compensation, no need for compensation, how can this be—"

"I caused this, so let me compensate you. Don't make me owe you this favor." Xiaobai shook her head and smiled at Luo Yingying, saying, "I'm also very sorry for scaring you, Miss Yingying. Remember to include compensation for emotional distress in the price."

"Uh..." Luo Yingying's body stiffened. Looking at Xiaobai's smiling expression, she knew that Xiaobai had already made up her mind, and she couldn't change it at all. So she could only lower her head and say softly, "Then...then I'll take stock of the losses here and send you the bill later..."

"Hmm." Xiaobai nodded, then looked at the pink metal in her hand and fell into deep thought. "Hmm... that's strange. It's clearly a directional metal, but it can't be used to build anything..."

"Is this really the reward for the second lock?"

"Absolutely true."

"It feels more like a trap than a reward..."

"How can research ship girls be so dangerous... They were supposed to just solve problems." Nia sighed beside her, "Explosions, swallowing supplies, and then spitting out rocks to hit people on the head... It's terrifying..."

"This year's research ship girls are quite unique."

"This can no longer be explained by personality..."

"..."

The three of them chatted and laughed.

Luo Yingying stared blankly at them as they talked. After a while, she calmed herself down and mustered up the courage to speak to Xiaobai.

"Admiral Lu Lin".

"Hmm?" Xiaobai turned around.

"Can... let me take another look at that piece of metal?" Luo Yingying tentatively reached out her hand.

"Sure." Xiaobai handed the pink metal to Luo Yingying without any suspicion.

Luo Yingying accepted the pink metal item. She took out a magnifying glass from her clothes and examined it carefully.

Luo Yingying was somewhat confused at this moment, but she observed with extra care. Even though her breathing was uneven and her hand holding the magnifying glass was trembling slightly, her gaze was exceptionally focused and serious.

Five or six minutes passed.

After examining the pink metal, Luo Yingying put the magnifying glass away.

"Miss Yingying, how are you?"

“This metal… should be the same type as the last one.” Luo Yingying murmured, reaching the same conclusion as before. “Although there are some differences in the patterns, the overall feel is exactly the same, and the quality, luster, smoothness, and the feedback of the deep sea atmosphere are all the same.”

"That's strange." Xiaobai frowned in confusion.

But the next second, Luo Yingying said something else.

"Because of the reward from the research and construction machine, I think this should still be a targeted construction of metal, but... it might be a little different from the last one." Luo Yingying said, biting her lip, and then said to Xiaobai with determination.

"Huh? Why are there different distinctions now? Weren't they supposed to be the same?"

“This distinction doesn’t refer to the type… but rather… um…” Luo Yingying thought for a moment and said to Xiaobai, “It’s probably because the targeted construction types are different.”

"Isn't this supposed to produce the same ship girl no matter what formula you use?" Xiaobai asked curiously.

“Yes… but only if it’s targeted at ship girls.” Luo Yingying said to Xiaobai.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is... this directional metal is probably not oriented towards ship girls, but rather... equipment," Luo Yingying said.

"Huh? This is directional metal for equipment??"

"Probably...maybe we can give it a try." Luo Yingying returned the directional metal to Xiaobai. "This is all just my guess...I'm not sure if it's true. Admiral Lu Lin, you can take it as a suggestion, don't take it seriously."

"Hmm..." Xiaobai took the directional metal and carefully looked at the color of the metal in her hand.

Xiao Bai recalled the reactions of the research construction machine and the ordinary construction machine when the directional metal was thrown in.

The research construction machine angrily spat out the piece of metal, while the ordinary construction machine simply exploded...

Putting aside the principle behind the explosion, perhaps... Luo Yingying's words make some sense.

Xiao Bai gripped the directional metal in his hand and looked it over.

In addition to the ship girl construction equipment, there is also a ship equipment development equipment in the construction floor. At this time, there is one about ten meters away from Xiaobai. Although this one suffered some minor wear and tear damage in the recent turmoil, it is intact on the outside and seems to be operating normally.