Elder brother's garrison

Page 1824

Xiao Bai murmured Lu Ming's words, her gaze unconsciously lingering on Lu Ming's chest.

As a heavy cruiser ship girl, Lu Ming has a slender figure like a young girl, but her chest is quite eye-catching.

"It doesn't feel uncomfortable... but it's strange. It's like something has taken root and grown here." Lu Ming carefully protected his chest, his expression one of bewilderment as he slowly explained to Xiao Bai, "When I try to explore this feeling, as soon as I shift my attention to it, I get a feeling... like you're right next to me. I don't understand..."

Xiaobai listened blankly to Luming's words, her gaze still fixed on Luming's chest.

"Can you...feel me inside my body?" Xiaobai murmured. She frowned at first, then suddenly opened her eyes as if she remembered something. "Ah...could it be because..."

The novice was enlightened, suddenly realizing the truth and gaining clarity.

Lu Ming looked at Xiao Bai with a puzzled expression.

“I understand… so that’s how it is.” Xiaobai sighed and gave Luming a wry smile. “Miss Luming, I know where this strange feeling of yours comes from.”

"How?"

“Miss Luming, you’re not a military ship girl, so you might not know…” Xiaobai thought for a moment and then explained to Luming, “This feeling you have is a very common situation among ship girls in our admiral circle.”

"It's common... Mutsu-nee-san too?"

"Ah, yes, Mutsu probably feels the same way too..." Shiro scratched his head, then smiled sheepishly at Shikamaru. "I won't keep you in suspense any longer. The reason you felt like I was always by your side after retrieving your ship equipment, Miss Shikamaru, is because you were connected to my admiral's network during the previous treatment."

"Link?!"

"Yeah... It's my fault, I didn't realize it before." Xiaobai covered her head and walked up to Luming with an embarrassed look. She said to Luming, "The so-called link refers to the ability to connect the admiral's network with the ship equipment of his own ship girl through mental power. This is an ability that only admirals who have activated the admiral network can use on ship girls."

"You and I... are linked..." Lu Ming clasped his hands tightly, looking at Xiao Bai with curiosity, "Why?"

"This is a long story..." Xiaobai was a little troubled and didn't know where to start. She thought for a while and then said to Luming, "Miss Luming, you remember when I bit your neck during your treatment?"

"Ah."

"And what else do you remember?"

"I can't remember the specifics," Lu Ming shook his head, "I just feel a lot of pain in my neck..."

"Uh."

"And then... my body suddenly felt very cold." As Lu Ming said this, he couldn't help but hug his arms and tremble slightly. "It was so cold, it felt like I had been thrown into a frozen wasteland, with my feet in an icebox, and the blood in my body seemed to freeze. But after a while, my body warmed up again, and then I felt comfortable."

“It seems that Miss Luming only remembered the basic physical sensations from the last treatment.” Xiaobai nodded and held up a finger to Luming. “Miss Luming, the reason you felt cold before was because, during the previous treatment, due to some oversights, you were almost eroded by the deep-sea aura and lost your life.”

"Deep-sea aura?" Lu Ming lowered his hand and looked at Xiao Bai curiously.

“Yes, the aura of the deep sea.” Xiaobai sighed regretfully. “The nerve potion is made from deep-sea blood, so it inevitably contains some deep-sea components. After some secret processing, those deep-sea components, although dead, wouldn’t cause any problems even if humans took them. But Miss Luming, you are not truly human. Even though your constitution is exactly the same as a human’s, the dead deep-sea components in the drug still recognized your identity as a ship girl. So, those deep-sea components, like smelling prey, came back to life and began to attack your body frantically.”

"..." Lu Ming's eyes widened.

"I must apologize to you for this," Xiaobai said regretfully. "It was because I didn't understand the situation thoroughly enough that I almost caused Miss Luming's death."

"..." Lu Ming shook his head quickly, "It was my own decision to take the medicine, it has nothing to do with you."

"..." Xiaobai gave Luming a wry smile, then withdrew her smile and continued seriously, "In short, the situation at the time was extremely urgent. In order to remove the deep-sea aura from your body, I had to use the Admiral Network to invade your body and imprint my mental imprint on the core of your newly appeared mental world. Although this action will dispel the deep-sea aura that is lingering there, leaving a mental imprint in the ship girl's mental world is the same as the connection of the Admiral Network."

After saying that, Xiaobai looked apologetic.

“Miss Luming, I’m so sorry… for leaving my admiral’s mark in your mental world without your permission.”

"..." Lu Ming listened to Xiao Bai's words in a daze. She was stunned for a few seconds, and then a look of understanding and realization flashed in her eyes. "...Ah."

Lu Ming finally understood what he had been feeling before.

"So that's how it is... It's not your fault, it's not your fault." Lu Ming shook his head and smiled at Xiao Bai. "Can this mental imprint be removed?"

“I’m sorry… it seems like it won’t work…” Xiaobai shook her head regretfully. “Once this mark is applied, it probably… will never disappear in this lifetime unless I die.”

“…” Lu Ming remained silent.

Logically speaking, for an ordinary admiral to establish a link with a ship girl through the admiral network, the ship girl herself must agree.

After all, if we compare the spiritual world to a house, then if the admiral wants to sign a contract with the owner of the house, the ship girl, then at least the owner has to personally open the door and welcome you in.

The consent of the ship girls is essential.

This is a fairly standard process for connecting with the admiral network.

However, Xiaobai's admiral network is extraordinary. It's thousands or even tens of thousands of times stronger than an ordinary person's. For something as trivial as linking with ship girls, from a power perspective, she doesn't need their consent at all. If the ship girls, as the masters of the spiritual world, are unwilling to "open the door" for Xiaobai, then with the strength of Xiaobai's admiral network, she can simply blast the door open, climb in through the window, or even shrink into a tiny form and slip through the crack in the door... In short, Xiaobai has thousands of ways to ignore the ship girls' opinions and directly link with their spiritual world.

This is probably Xiaobai's cheat code.

"So, I'm your ship girl now, right?" Lu Ming asked Xiao Bai after a moment of silence.

Chapter 2517: Keeping an Appointment

In a sense, the ship equipment of ship girls is equivalent to an extension of their bodies; it is a part of their bodies.

The ship girls' spiritual world is an existence closely related to their ship equipment.

Therefore, for all ship girls in this world, having their spiritual world offended without permission is an unbearable humiliation.

To use a somewhat inappropriate analogy to describe this feeling, the feeling of having one's spiritual world offended is similar to a ship girl coming home from get off work one day and finding a complete stranger in her house. This stranger not only illegally entered but also used her personal toothbrush, face wash, and shower gel without her permission, casually flipped through the photo album containing her embarrassing pictures, ate her treasured snacks with gusto, wore her slippers and pajamas, slept on her bed until it was all crumpled, and then hugged her pet cat and petted it excessively...

This is a powerful sense of humiliation that can raise blood pressure and drive you crazy.

Moreover, what Xiaobai did to Luming before was not just an offense to her mental world.

Xiao Bai even left her unique mark on the core of Lu Ming's spiritual world!

"Miss Luming, I'm really... really sorry!" Xiaobai bowed deeply to Luming with a pained expression, apologizing profusely, "It was wrong of me to leave the Admiral's mark in your mental world. You can scold me however you want!"

"..." Lu Ming didn't speak, he just silently looked at Xiao Bai.

Lu Ming's emotions were surprisingly calm at this moment. Compared to Xiao Bai's apologetic expression, Lu Ming's expression remained calm and serene. He stood there quietly, like a shallow lake.

After a short while, Lu Ming slowly spoke.

“I don’t blame you,” Lu Ming said to Xiao Bai, his eyes clear and serene. “You did this to save me. Without your help, I would be dead by now.”

"That's the logic... but..."

“It’s alright, I’ve never been an admiral before,” Lu Ming said to Xiao Bai. “Besides, we’re friends, so this isn’t offensive.”

“Miss Lu Ming…” Xiao Bai looked up, somewhat moved, and clasped her hands together.

"Thank you for explaining the situation to me. Now I finally understand why I had this strange feeling after obtaining the ship equipment." Lu Ming patted his chest and thanked Xiao Bai with a pursed mouth.

"Don't worry, Miss Luming!" Xiaobai quickly raised her hand to Luming and said righteously, "Although I left my Admiral's mark in your mental world, no one else in the world will know about this except for you and me! Miss Luming, you will still be a big star in human society! There will absolutely never be an Admiral and ship girl relationship between us!"

"..." Lu Ming listened to Xiao Bai's words and smiled silently at her.

Seeing that Lu Ming didn't seem to have any complaints about her, Xiao Bai finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Speaking of which, Miss Luming, now that you've retrieved your ship equipment, you should be able to go back to work tomorrow, right?" Xiaobai asked Luming casually.

"Mm." Lu Ming nodded.

"Have you told the company about your recovery?" Xiaobai asked again.

“I’ve already sent the message.” Lu Ming looked away and said slowly, “The company wants me to report for duty tomorrow morning. We’ll discuss some follow-up matters then.”

"Great news, great news!" Xiaobai clapped at Luming, a relieved smile on her face. "I guess the company wants to discuss your comeback with you, right? After all, you haven't made any news for over a month, they must be worried about your online popularity... Ah, but I'm not worried at all! With Miss Luming's looks and talent, she'll definitely return to her peak career quickly whenever she makes a comeback!"

Xiao Bai has full confidence in Lu Ming.

Lu Ming smiled quietly at Xiao Bai, then lowered her head and thought for a while before asking Xiao Bai a question.

"Tomorrow...can you come to the company with me?"

"Eh? Me?"

"Mm." Lu Ming nodded.

"Sure, that's fine... but Miss Luming, I don't think there's anything for me to do at your company anymore, right?" Xiaobai asked curiously.

"Regarding this treatment, the company said they want to discuss compensation with you." Lu Ming said, his gaze somewhat unfocused, and then added softly, "Also... regarding the treatment, his manager would like to thank you in person on behalf of the entire company."

"The agent is really too kind... I didn't help Miss Luming for any reward or thanks..." Xiaobai smiled and spoke slowly, pausing slightly halfway through her sentence before nodding. "Well... but... going to the company to take a look isn't out of the question... So, Miss Luming and I will go to the company together tomorrow morning?"

"Mm." Lu Ming nodded.

"Then... goodnight?" Xiaobai blinked, looking at Luming cautiously.

"Goodnight." Lu Ming raised his hand and waved to Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai smiled, waved to Lu Ming, and said goodbye.

"Then, Miss Luming, I'll go back to my room to sleep now. You should also take care to get some rest."

After waving goodbye, Xiaobai skipped away from the lobby on the first floor, ran up the stairs, and disappeared from Luming's sight in the blink of an eye.

The moonlight streamed silently down through the window.

Bathed in the dim moonlight, Lu Ming stood quietly in place, gazing at the direction where Xiao Bai had disappeared for a long time.

After a long while, Lu Ming slowly sat back down on the sofa and looked down at the coffee table.

There was a piece of paper and a pen on the coffee table.

The handwriting on the paper was neat and orderly, and a faint scent of ink wafted out.

It seems that Lu Ming had been silently writing on a piece of paper in the hall long before Xiao Bai and Lu Ming started talking. Xiao Bai hadn't noticed the paper and pen on the coffee table because her mind wasn't on Lu Ming at the time, and because the lights in the first-floor hall were off, leaving only moonlight and starlight in the area.

Lu Ming gently picked up the pen and slowly wrote the last paragraph on the paper. Then he put down the pen and turned to look out the window.

The stars outside the window are as dazzling as the Milky Way.

Under the moonlight.

Gazing at the Milky Way and the deer's cry, his eyes seemed to shine with light.

……

The next morning, the happy Xiaobai and Missouri got up early.

Missouri was on duty for breakfast today. She quickly dressed and went to the kitchen to start a fire and prepare breakfast for the family of ship girls and the Abyssal Deans.

While making breakfast in Missouri, Xiaobai also came to the villa gate, stretched his limbs in front of the morning grassland, and breathed in the fresh air.

The air on the grassland in the early morning carries some dew and the scent of grass, giving it a unique and vibrant feel.

"It feels so good to wake up early..." Xiaobai murmured to himself, his gaze unconsciously sweeping across the grassland. He quickly spotted a green figure running across it. "Huh? Is that... Rome?"

"Oh my gosh!! My youth! So full of energy!!!"

Just as Xiaobai was wondering, a green figure at the edge of his vision ran towards the villa gate. As the figure got closer, a familiar shout began to echo in Xiaobai's ears.

Rome, dragging a dozen huge tires, sped past Xiaobai, leaving long trails of dust in its wake. Xiaobai, who had just taken a few breaths of fresh air, couldn't help but cover her mouth and nose and cough twice.

"Ahem... Roma is training so early..."

"Admiral, you're up so early today." Veneto's voice came from behind Xiaobai.

Xiao Bai turned around and saw Veneto suddenly appear out of nowhere. She came to Xiao Bai's side with a steaming cup of coffee and looked at Xiao Bai with some surprise.

"Veneto? Do you usually train Roma this early?" Xiaobai looked at Veneto in surprise.

"The early bird catches the worm, doesn't it?" Veneto nodded noncommittally, then looked Xiaobai up and down before offering him the coffee. "Admiral, would you like some?"

"Hmm... thank you..." Xiaobai took the coffee from Veneto, took a sip, and said, "It's delicious."

“It’s just regular instant coffee.” Veneto smiled calmly, then looked at Rome, which was almost hidden below the horizon, with a hint of heartache in his eyes. “…Rome is a bit unlucky. Although her talent can’t compare to Missouri’s level, she’s at least among the top in our naval base. As for her work ethic… I don’t think she’ll fall out of the top three in the naval base. But it’s a real pity that the opportunity for her ship equipment modification has never come. On the contrary, the Empire, which has been sleeping all day, started its modification earlier than her.”

"As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait," Xiaobai said to Veneto. "Rome works so hard, the world won't let her down."

“Then I’ll take your kind words, Admiral.” Veneto pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and said, “Oh, by the way, Admiral.”

"Ok?"

"You haven't visited my house in a while, have you?" Veneto asked, a faint pink blush creeping onto her pale cheeks. "Hmm...everyone's free today, shall we go over..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's probably not possible today."

"Huh?" Veneto looked at Xiaobai in surprise, "Admiral, did you make a reservation?"

"Um..." Xiaobai looked at Veneto apologetically, "I told Miss Luming yesterday that I would go to her company to report for duty today... It seems that her company wants to thank me for curing Miss Luming or something."

“Uh…oh…” Veneto blinked and lowered his head in fits and starts.

Although Veneto didn't show any emotion and maintained his usual expression, for some reason, he seemed to look somewhat regretful at this moment.

Chapter 2518 The Importance of Deer Cry

"Because I made an appointment with Miss Lu Ming, it seems I can't go to Veneto's house today," Xiao Bai said to Veneto with some regret. "I'm sorry, Veneto."

“It’s alright, Admiral.” Veneto shook his head.

"Let's find another opportunity to go after we get back," Xiaobai said, smiling as she looked at Veneto's profile.