Transmigrated into Azur Lane

Chapter 116: Construction Filled with a Spirit of Freedom

Security Bureau, inside the office.

"Thank goodness we didn't leave Tirpitz behind..."

Sitting in his office chair, Lin Dong murmured to himself, holding the photos he had developed after returning from the picnic. Tirpitz, who was leaning against a phoenix tree, was captured in the corner of the photo, while Gridley, who had fallen, was also seen peeking out from the corner of the photo, with half of the back of his head visible.

"The spoils seized during this operation to clear out the waters off Fujian Province have been delivered. Please take a look."

Nelson frowned when he saw the commander slacking off, then handed the supply list to the commander's desk and tapped him lightly on the head.

After being warned, Lin Dong put down the photos in his hand and looked at the list of supplies, asking in confusion.

"The quantity is... a bit small?"

"The details are below."

Nelson said with some dissatisfaction to the careless commander.

"Oh... salvage costs, screening labor costs, transportation costs..."

Lin Dong then noticed the fine print on the list. Reading the contents aloud, he couldn't help but chuckle. Dong Huang, faced with Lin Dong's meticulous new conditions, retaliated in kind. "You want to calculate? Fine, I'll calculate it with you too."

"Haha, even though I feel like I've been taken advantage of, why does it feel so good?"

After putting down the list, Lin Dong walked to the window and laughed loudly. Then he turned around and looked at Nelson with a wry smile.

Is this what freedom tastes like?

As long as one is in Donghuang, one will always be dependent on others; there is no true freedom to speak of. However, upon hearing the commander's incredibly naive idea, Nelson couldn't bring herself to utter a harsh word. Nelson was created shortly after the Security Bureau was established, and having handled most of its affairs, she understood the commander's predicament better than anyone. Although the commander didn't outwardly show anything about those deliberately humiliating restrictions, Nelson still remembered the time the commander begged Cao Zhengping during the New Year. At that time, he only wanted to be able to sail to the base and reunite with everyone for the New Year.

Although he always seemed so carefree when facing the ship girls, Nelson could sense the commander's suppressed frustration that was almost unbearable. As Nelson thought about this, tears suddenly streamed down his face.

Lin Dong was terrified when he saw Nelson's unusual behavior. He rushed to Nelson's side and kept wiping Nelson's tear-streaked face. Then, he stared at Nelson with wide eyes and asked nervously.

"Honey, what's wrong?"

"Waaaaah..."

Seeing her husband's silly expression, Nelson could no longer suppress her grief and burst into tears.

In his panic, Lin Dong could only think that the baby might be the reason for Nelson's sadness. Misunderstanding, Lin Dong hurriedly hugged Nelson and said some very poorly worded words of comfort.

"It's okay if we don't have a baby now. We'll work hard and make it happen, and we'll get pregnant eventually. Don't cry, don't cry."

"Waaaaah... Lin Dong, you're such a pervert... Waaaaah!"

"I'm a pervert, I'm a pervert, stop crying, stop crying!"

...

Security Bureau, in the warehouse.

Lin Dong first looked at the ship girls who were all present except for Nelson, and then looked at the spoils of war that the Enterprise group had seized in Fujian Province. After being deducted by Donghuang at each level, the spoils seized this time were only about 20 sets of regular cargo.

"let us start."

After speaking to the ship girls whose faces were full of anticipation, Lin Dong took out two Rubik's Cubes from the safe and placed them on the construction materials.

The Rubik's Cube floated up on the building materials, then carried the powdered building materials into its body. Soon, both Rubik's Cubes emitted white light and merged to form a ball of light.

The white light faded...

Wow! Sister, sister, sister, sister!

Yuudachi, who had been sitting listlessly on the container, suddenly cheered and ran towards the white light.

"Hey!? Little sister, what are you doing here?"

The naturally naive Shiro looked at her younger sister, who was tightly hugging her, with a puzzled expression, and then blinked at the Commander.

"Sister, sister, sister"

Overwhelmed with excitement, Yuudachi couldn't think of any other words to express her joy, and could only repeat the same word over and over.

Shiratsuyu, the eldest sister, did not make any statement to her excited younger sister. Instead, Shigure (Sen), who was created with her, gently patted Yuudachi's back to comfort her.

"Thank you for your hard work these past few days, little sister!"

After hearing Shigure's words of comfort, Yuudachi abandoned her adorable eldest sister and turned to look at her second sister, with whom she had a better compatibility. The two of them gently swayed their almost identical little tails and gazed at each other for a moment before hugging tightly and rubbing their noses together.

Second Sister

"Sunrise"

Second Sister

"Sunrise"

Second Sister

"Sunrise"

"White Dew, welcome back."

Lin Dong watched Xi Li and Shi Yu's actions with some speechlessness, then greeted Bai Lu, who was standing to the side.

"Huh? Commander...where am I?"

Bai Lu put her finger to her lips and asked in confusion.

"This is our new home."

Lin Dong smiled and patted Bai Lu's head.

Although Lin Dong and Bai Lu were still strangers, the adorable Bai Lu didn't seem to mind the commander's actions. She first stared blankly at everyone around her, and then began to observe the warehouse. Her blank expression was just like Suffolk's.

Yuudachi finally finished catching up with Shigure and walked up to the Commander. Yuudachi put her hand on Shigure's shoulder and grinned.

"Second sister, the commander is super loyal!"

"Shigure, welcome home."

Lin Dong also patted Shi Yu's head.

"Yes, thank you for taking care of Yuudachi all this time, Commander!"

Although Shigure resembles Yuudachi in many ways in appearance, his personality seems to be much more reliable than Yuudachi's so far.

"We're all family, there's no need for special treatment, haha."

Seeing Shiyu's reliable demeanor, Lin Dong couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He had originally thought that Shiyu was as mischievous as Yuudachi.

Chapter 117 Construction II: A Spirit of Freedom

Yuudachi chatted with her second sister Shigure as they walked out of the warehouse. Before leaving, Shigure instinctively grabbed the wrist of her eldest sister Shiratsuyu, who was still in a daze, as if she were taking care of a child. The three Shiratsuyu sisters left the warehouse just like that.

Lin Dong was happy to see that Yuudachi finally had someone to keep her company. Actually, he was mainly happy because he no longer had to worry about Yuudachi finding ways to torment him. Lin Dong whistled with a relaxed expression and prepared to start building again.

Since Bailu and Shiyu were both members of the commissioned team, the Rubik's Cubes didn't absorb much building material. Lin Dong glanced at the materials piled on the ground and then took out two more Rubik's Cubes and placed them on top of the building materials.

"Holy crap."

Lin Dong watched in amazement as the two Rubik's Cubes were simultaneously being sucked in like a whirlwind.

The two floating Rubik's Cubes ruthlessly shaved off a large layer of the piled-up supplies.

As the white light dissipated, two small figures appeared where the Mind Cube had been.

After being created, a little girl with brown hair and blue eyes looked around before finally fixing her gaze on the man in front of her. She gave a brief smile, walked up to him, and then gave a serious salute to the commander.

"Z23 reporting for duty, Commander!"

"Z23, welcome back."

Since Z23 was wearing a military cap, it wasn't easy to pat its head, so Lin Dong could only settle for pinching Z23's little cheek instead.

Z23, as one of the three initial ships in the game, has always been quite popular. Especially since she was the precursor to Ayanami, a reward in the game's character encyclopedia, most commanders would level her up to the maximum, including Lin Dong. Although she was previously a second-tier ship in the Maritime Bureau, her strength was definitely not weak.

Z23 slightly moved her cheek away from the commander's pinch, seemingly not liking the commander's childlike behavior.

Seeing Z23's actions, Lin Dong stopped what he was doing, feeling a little embarrassed. Instead, he patted Z23's small shoulder and said something.

"From now on, the Security Bureau will have to rely on you, Z23."

"Yes, Commander."

Z23 then smiled confidently and replied.

After catching up with Z23, Lin Dong turned to look at another little girl behind Z23. He recognized her immediately upon seeing the prominent tattoo on her leg.

"Z46, welcome home."

"Long time no see, my beloved."

Z46 blinked and walked to the commander's side, taking his hand.

Z46 left no name in history because her construction continued unfinished until Ironblood's defeat and was thus halted. Similarly, in reality, she inherited no memories from the battleship consciousness, remaining like a blank sheet of paper. During her short service, only the Commander accompanied her, so calling the Commander, whom she deeply admired, her true love is not an exaggeration, as her empty memories were filled entirely by him alone.

Because Lin Dong was already very fond of Z46's character art in the game, he went online to learn about her history. Combined with the lines from the game's character design, Lin Dong also gained a general understanding of Z46.

Looking at the pitiful little girl, Lin Dong felt a pang of pity and picked up Z46, who was holding his hand. He then habitually rubbed his stubble against Z46's face.

Z46 didn't react at all when the commander rubbed his chin against her cheek. She just quietly watched the commander without acting cute or resisting.

Seeing that Z46 didn't react like other little girls, Lin Dong felt even more that he needed to take good care of this pitiful little girl. He stopped rubbing his chin and said...

"I'll take good care of you from now on!" (Z46)

"Isn't this what you're supposed to do?"

Z46 frowned slightly and asked in return.

"Haha, yes."

After Lin Dong finished speaking with a smile, he lifted the Z46 onto his neck and sat down. Then he took out a Mind Cube from the safe and lifted it onto the Z46 around his neck, saying...

"Z46, you're a Sangvis Ferri, so you're considered European, right?"

"seems like it."

Z46 tried hard to recall his past and answered somewhat uncertainly.

"You build it."

"alright."