Lin Lan was shocked when he heard Deutschland's words.
Could it be that the pattern on his hand was only visible to him?
After confirming with Spee again, Lin Lan was sure of it.
At the moment, it seemed that only he could see this pattern.
But this was actually a good thing—it saved him the trouble of constantly explaining it to the ship girls.
Lin Lan was sitting in a chair, thinking about what to do today when Deutschland suddenly made a suggestion:
"Lowly creature, since you seem to be free, why don't you come with me to see the production workshop of Muscle Manjuu?"
That seemed like a good idea.
He was also curious about what the workshops in the port area looked like.
"Alright, I'll go broaden my horizons today."
So, under the guidance of the German sisters, Lin Lan left the office attic.
At this time, the sun had just risen over the port area.
As he followed Deutschland and Spee along the road, Lin Lan noticed a man wearing a straw hat, holding a hose, watering the roadside trees and the shrubs and lawns in the greenbelt.
"Hiss... is there anything in this world that Manju can't do?"
Lin Lan gasped at the sight.
He had clearly underestimated the working capabilities of the barbarians.
"Um... fight?"
Spee, walking beside him, tilted her head and thought for a moment before replying.
Indeed, Manju seemed capable of doing everything—except fighting...
Wait!
Lin Lan suddenly recalled the suicide ships that had tormented him back when he was still a rookie.
In the main map of the game, those enemy units were piloted by Manju.
"Spee, do you still remember the self-destructing ships from back then?"
Lin Lan's words stunned Spee, who seemed to recall the fierce battles of that time.
Spee and Deutschland were both Iron Blood ship girls who had joined the port early on, so they naturally remembered their experiences fighting off those suicide ships when they were still pioneering.
"How dare you, a lowly creature like you, say such a thing?"
Before Spee could respond, Deutschland flipped her long hair back, turned around, and looked at him with dissatisfaction.
"You're such a fickle man. It took you so long to swear an oath to us. Where is your conscience?"
"Uh..."
Lin Lan's face turned red.
Back then, he hadn't graduated yet, and his daily expenses were very limited.
It was only after he started working that he was able to buy oath rings for many of the ship girls who had accompanied him in exploring new areas.
"Sis, the Commander made a promise to us in the end, so don't be mad at him," Spee hurriedly tried to pacify her overbearing sister, while Lin Lan also scrambled to find a way to appease Deutschland.
Fortunately, Deutschland's temper flared up and faded quickly, so she didn't stay angry for long.
The workshop was located at the edge of the port area. On the way there, the three of them encountered others who had woken up early to patrol the coastline.
Among them were three active U-boat chibis.
Regardless of their faction, all the submarine girls were playful and mischievous.
Even the famous U-boat wolf pack, known for their discipline in history, was no exception.
U-101, a little blue-haired girl, excitedly invited Lin Lan to race across the sea with her modified shark ship suit, which she had turned into a sea scooter.
However, under Deutschland's unkind gaze, Lin Lan had no choice but to decline the little chibi's invitation and promised to race with her tomorrow instead.
After saying goodbye to the three little wolf pack chibis, Lin Lan continued following the German sisters down the road until a wide, single-story gray building appeared before them.
Upon seeing it for the first time, Lin Lan was reminded of the design of old-style warehouses.
"Meow~ You guys are late today... Commander, why are you here too, meow?"
To Lin Lan's surprise, the one who walked out of the warehouse-like building was none other than the cat-eared little profiteer, Akashi.
"Akashi, why are you here so early?"
He was surprised and picked up Akashi, who had walked up to them, stroking the little green-haired kitten's head in confusion.
"This is Akashi's store, meow. As the boss, I have to live here, meow~"
Akashi narrowed her eyes and purred comfortably in Lin Lan's arms.
"Of course, now this place has been transformed into a workshop by us, Iron Blood."
Deutschland smirked smugly.
So that's how it was.
Lin Lan realized that the so-called workshop was actually inside Akashi's store.
Now that he thought about it, he had run into Akashi elsewhere several times in the past few days, but this was his first time visiting her store in person.
"Akashi! Akashi! Where did your barbaric crew take the wrench I left on the table last night?"
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out from inside the store.
As the voice grew louder, a tall, red-eyed girl with long black hair stepped out, dressed in a white belly-baring tank top and blue fluffy jeans.
It was the light cruiser, Magdeburg.
"Ah! It's the Commander!"
Upon spotting Lin Lan, Magdeburg happily ran up to him and threw her arms around both him and Akashi, completely ignoring the fact that Lin Lan was still holding the little cat-eared profiteer.
"Meow... let go of me, you idiot! Akashi's gonna suffocate, meow..."
Although Magdeburg was a sporty girl, she was definitely not lacking in certain areas.
The poor little profiteer, squeezed between Lin Lan and Magdeburg's soft chest, let out a pitiful cry for help.
"Alright, alright, Magdeburg, let go of me. Akashi's about to be squashed to death."
Seeing the struggling Akashi, Lin Lan chuckled.
"Eh? Isn't this a bit too exciting?"
After finally letting go of Lin Lan and Akashi, Magdeburg scratched her head with a sheepish grin.
Her outfit caught Lin Lan's attention.
Magdeburg, already a beauty, now exuded the lively charm of a young mechanic with this rugged look.
"I never realized you were actually such a beautiful mechanic."
Lin Lan grinned as he set the little profiteer down and addressed the energetic black-haired cruiser.
"Heh, thanks for the compliment!"
Hearing Lin Lan call her a "beautiful mechanic," Magdeburg blushed slightly.
"If only my tools didn't keep getting stolen by a certain unscrupulous merchant, it'd be even more fitting," she muttered.
Deutschland's remark seemed to remind Magdeburg of why she had come out in the first place. She suddenly grabbed Akashi by the collar and lifted her up.
"Akashi! Where's the wrench I left here yesterday? Tell me the truth!"
"Meow... maybe the barbarians mistook it for trash and cleaned it up, meow..."
Akashi drooped her ears and turned her head away, looking pitiful.
But Magdeburg wasn't buying it. She narrowed her eyes and glared at Akashi.
"Still making excuses? Then explain why I was able to buy my own screwdriver—marked with my initials—from your store the day before yesterday!"
Seeing this, Deutschland and Spee also stepped forward, surrounding Akashi with intimidating expressions.
"Mmm... that's because..."
Akashi, now flustered, whimpered weakly.
Surrounded by two pocket battleships, a heavy cruiser, and a light cruiser, the little profiteer found herself in a dire situation.
Watching Akashi get cornered like this, Lin Lan couldn't help but laugh.
This little profiteer from the Sakura Empire really didn't take the Iron Blood ship girls seriously.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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