Elder brother's garrison

Page 1986

Luo Lian's voice came from the side.

"I'll find a suitable time to tell Nia about the ship equipment," Xiaobai said, blinking at the ceiling.

"……Um."

"Ah—I feel much better now." Xiaobai stretched.

"……Me too."

Xiao Bai turned to look at Luo Lian.

Luo Lian lay there in disheveled clothes, smiling at Xiao Bai with her lips pursed. The corners of her bright red lips were upturned, and two red blushes burned on her fair and flawless face. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, and they were full of a mature smile that did not belong to her age.

Looking down through that smile, Luo Lian's disheveled clothes couldn't conceal the scenery on her chest, slightly revealing a section of her delicate white jade collarbone, and the snow-covered village that was faintly visible, like a budding flower.

……

Check Nia's status

After leaving the temporary garrison, Nia went directly to the wholesale market in Chapter Eight without stopping. Veneto, in her nicebody form, was worried about Nia's safety and went with her.

This wasn't the first time Nia had gone to the wholesale market to buy ingredients. Her garrison would go to buy a new batch of ingredients about once a week. For her, this was just a part of her daily life, mundane and reasonable, so there was no need to go into too much detail about the process.

"Romaine lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, corn... and beef, lamb, ham, eggs... and... um... that's all the money in total." Nia tapped on her calculator as she left the wholesale market, muttering to herself as she walked, "Hmm... we still have a lot of seasonings left at home, and as for the ingredients, the wholesale market will deliver them by truck in a while. With these, it should be fine."

After checking the accounts, Nia handed the calculator to Veneto with a sense of relief.

"Veneto, thank you for coming all this way with me," Nia said with a grateful smile. "Do you want to buy anything to take home? It's on me!"

“Commander, I don’t need to buy anything.” Veneto turned around and smiled at Nia. “I’m here to ensure your safety. I don’t want to do anything else before I escort you home.”

"I just came out to buy some groceries, it should be fine, right..."

“Commander, you can’t say that! You’re the most talked-about person in Chapter Eight right now!” Veneto said, opening her arms to Nia. “Besides, Commander, you’re so beautiful and cute. What if someone tries to take advantage of you and kidnaps you from Admiral Lu Lin when she’s not looking?”

"Don't praise me like that... I'm very ordinary..." Nia said to Veneto, cupping her cheeks. However, after hearing Veneto's comment about being "kidnapped" by Xiaobai, she still seemed very happy. "Um... Xiaobai and I haven't developed to that level yet..."

"Commander, if you try a little harder..." Veneto bent down, just about to speak to Nia, but she suddenly stopped halfway through her sentence, and then looked thoughtfully toward the alley entrance by the roadside.

“Veneto? What’s wrong?” Nia noticed Veneto’s expression and asked curiously.

“Hehe…” Veneto looked at the alley entrance by the roadside, narrowed his eyes, and revealed a faint smile. “Commander, it seems that I came to the right place today.”

"Hmm?" Nia blinked and looked around.

The path Nia and Veneto are currently taking is a shortcut back to the temporary garrison. The city routes in Chapter 8 are intricate and complex, and this path is like a hidden place, not even marked on the map. Only those very familiar with the wholesale market routes know about it, so there are very few pedestrians on the road.

For example, right now, there are only Nia and Veneto on the entire path.

Under Nia's gaze, Veneto returned to her side, shielding his body with one hand, and with a serious expression, he spoke softly towards the alley entrance ahead.

"Hey you over there! Stop hiding! Your stench is wafting all the way here!"

Veneto's shouts drifted on the wind into the distant alleyway.

A few seconds later, footsteps came from inside the alley.

Under the watchful eyes of Nia and Veneto, three or four admirals emerged, pulling at each other, and awkwardly greeted Nia.

"Oh my, isn't this Admiral Nia!"

"Admiral Nia, what a coincidence!"

"Admiral Nia personally took the ship girls shopping?"

"Haha, Admiral Nia, it's nice to meet you. Haha, well, we have some things to do right now, so we won't bother you any longer..."

"……

These admirals who emerged from the alley didn't even wait for Nia's reply before hurriedly running away.

As Veneto watched the departing admirals, he quickly raised his hand and made a mosaic gesture towards their backs.

"Honestly! Not a single one of them is serious!"

"Veneto, who were those people just now...?" Nia looked at the admirals who had appeared, puzzled, and curiously approached Veneto.

"Hey! It's obvious at a glance, they're here for you, Commander!" Veneto said. "They're probably after your special ship girl secret, so they're coming close to you for a special encounter, trying to raise your favor rating and build a good relationship with you in some annoying way."

"Eh……"

"Hmph... Luckily I came today, otherwise you would have fallen into their trap, Admiral!"

"Oh, I see... Thank you, Veneto." Nia smiled shyly.

"Alright, alright, let's go! Admiral Lu Lin is still waiting for us at home!" Veneto took Nia's hand and left in another direction.

Nia followed in Veneto's footsteps, her gaze thoughtful as she looked at the alley where three or four admirals had just walked out, her eyes filled with doubt.

The alleyway entrance was dark and bottomless.

seem……

It looked like there were other people still there.

Chapter 2783 The person who insulted Xiaobai is in trouble.

Nia stopped in her tracks, staring at the dark alleyway entrance.

"Hmm?" Veneto felt resistance coming from Nia's direction. She turned to look at Nia. "Commander, what's wrong?"

“…People over there, please come out,” Nia said to the dark alley.

"Huh?" Veneto was taken aback. "Commander, there shouldn't be anyone in there anymore. Who are you talking to?"

In Veneto's perception, the alley was clearly empty and deserted.

Even after hearing Veneto's explanation, Nia's gaze fixed on the alley entrance remained unwavering.

Seeing that Nia did not take any action, Veneto did not force her at the moment, but instead looked at the alley entrance with her.

The quiet atmosphere lasted for a full three minutes.

at last.

In the almost frozen atmosphere, a slow clapping sound rang out from the alley entrance.

"Huh? There really is someone!" Veneto exclaimed in surprise.

Under the watchful eyes of Veneto and Nia, a gloomy-faced male admiral led two ship girls out of the alley and appeared before them.

Upon seeing the male admiral's face, Nia showed a surprised expression, while Veneto was even more startled. He then took a step forward and tightly protected Nia behind him.

"It's you!" Nia exclaimed.

"Hahaha." The male admiral clapped his hands, and his expression quickly returned to normal, becoming friendly. "As expected of a future top ten admiral, Admiral Nia, you are indeed much better than those previous trash."

The man who appeared before Nia and Veneto was none other than Admiral Ke Yuan.

The moment Veneto saw Admiral Ke Yuan, he became extremely alert, quickly stood beside Nia, and shouted at Admiral Ke Yuan.

"What are you doing sneaking around in the alley! Whatever you're thinking, get out of my commander's sight right now! If you don't leave, I won't be polite!"

"Hehe, Admiral Nia, it seems your ship girls lack some manners. Even before you, the admiral, have spoken, they're already eager to stand up for you." Admiral Ke Yuan's gaze towards Veneto turned slightly cold before he said with a smile.

As Admiral Ke Yuan spoke, the two ship girls standing behind him slightly bent down, their auras emanating from them, and then they revealed unfriendly expressions.

Admiral Ke Yuan is the admiral of the thirteenth naval base in the world, and the ship girls behind him naturally possess the strength of world-class ship girls.

When the ship girls behind Admiral Ke Yuan secretly exerted their power, Veneto, standing in front of Nia, suddenly felt an immense pressure bearing down on her.

Veneto's face darkened.

Veneto's combat strength is actually considered to be among the top-tier ship girls in the entire ship girl community, but it is clear that Veneto is not yet powerful enough to take on two opponents at once.

Only the newbie naval commander could do something like that.

broken……

This person isn't going to...

Veneto looked at the two ship girls with unfriendly expressions in the distance, feeling nervous.

Just then, a pair of hands gently pulled Veneto.

Veneto turned around and saw Nia shaking her head at him.

“Let me do it,” Nia said, looking at Veneto.

“…” Veneto was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.

“Admiral Ke Yuan, I don’t think I know you.” Nia stepped forward and said to Admiral Ke Yuan.

"Haha, Admiral Nia, you're being too formal. Didn't we meet yesterday?" Admiral Ke Yuan smiled. "In the waters of 8-1, I was still with Admiral Fang Jie back then, do you remember?"

"That must have been just a brief encounter."

"Haha, what a wonderful meeting!" Admiral Ke Yuan clapped his hands. "But ever since our last meeting, I haven't been able to forget Admiral Nia."

“…” Nia frowned.

Nia hates Ke Yuan.

Upon hearing Ke Yuan's words, Nia felt no joy, only annoyance.

“Admiral Ke Yuan, you don’t seem like the type to be interested in this kind of thing,” Nia said.

“Admiral Nia is right. When I said I couldn’t forget you, I didn’t mean that at all.” Admiral Ke Yuan nodded with a smile, then paused slightly before continuing, “I… actually came here to make a deal with you, Admiral Nia.”

“I have no intention of making a deal… Admiral Ke Yuan, I have to go home.” Nia shook her head, grabbed Veneto’s wrist, and was about to leave.

Admiral Ke Yuan smiled as he watched Nia turn around, but the smile on his face slowly faded.

"Admiral Nia, what if the contents of the transaction are related to Admiral Lu Lin?"

“…” Nia stopped and turned to look at Admiral Ke Yuan.

Admiral Ke Yuan extended his hand to Nia, a confident smile on his face.

"It's related to... Xiaobai? What do you mean?" Nia asked.

"Admiral Nia, I've been checking the information on you three good friends over the past two days," Admiral Ke Yuan said with a smile. "Admiral Nia, you've only spent less than a year pushing from the first chapter all the way to the eighth chapter. You truly deserve to be called a genius that appears once in a century in our admiral circle. Someone like you, even without special ship girls, would probably become a top ten admiral sooner or later."

"...This has nothing to do with you, right?"

"Of course it's okay, but I'm just sorry."

"regret?"

"Hehe... Admiral Nia, they say people strive for higher positions and water flows downhill. In the past year or so, you've become so much stronger, far beyond what you were a year ago," Admiral Ke Yuan said. "But can you tell me how many of your friends are ranked in the top 100 in the world?"

"...?"

“Admiral Nia, don’t look at me like that. My point is very simple,” Admiral Ke Yuan said. “Social circles follow people, and Admiral Nia, you don’t need to dwell on your past friends.”

"...You mean, Xiaobai?"

"Haha, Admiral Nia is talking about Admiral Lu Lin? That's right, I'm talking about her." Admiral Ke Yuan puffed out his chest and said seriously, "Admiral Nia, if I'm not mistaken, the special ship girl in the construction department should be your Rome, right?"

"...So what?"

"No matter how you look at it, among the three of you, you all seem to be led by Admiral Lu Lin." Admiral Ke Yuan's voice seemed to have a magical power, enticing him as he said, "You are the one who owns the special ship girl, you are the future top ten admiral, and your two friends not only live in your house, but also enjoy the worship of others by riding on your coattails. They are just parasites who depend on you. Without you, they are nothing. And in their hearts, you are just a meal ticket, a follower."

"..." Nia lowered her head, her face obscured.

Seeing that Nia remained silent, Admiral Ke Yuan's smile widened.

“Admiral Nia, you should mature by now. It’s time to cut off those unnecessary ties. You should move towards a better social circle and have access to higher-quality social resources,” Admiral Ke Yuan said. “Look, when I clashed with Admiral Fang Jie yesterday, Admiral Hao Ding, one of the top ten admirals, showed up. And all he had eyes for was Admiral Lu Lin. And you? Admiral Lu Lin just benefited from your fame, yet she got more than you. Don’t you have even the slightest opinion or thought about that?”

“…” Nia.

Admiral Ke Yuan's smile grew even brighter.

Seeing Nia's head bowed in silence, Admiral Ke Yuan was certain that he had planted the seed of division in Nia's heart. This seed might not sprout now, but as Admiral Nia's status rose, it would eventually be nurtured and grow...

Ha ha……

Admiral Lu Lin, right...?

A satisfied smile flashed in Admiral Ke Yuan's eyes.

"Okay, I understand." Just then, Nia finally raised her head and nodded to Ke Yuan.

"Admiral Nia, it seems you already have an idea," Admiral Ke Yuan said with a smile.

“Yes, I understand.” Nia nodded.

"Oh?" Admiral Ke Yuan asked in surprise.