Today's tutelary fort remains peaceful.

"What I mean is, your emotional intelligence is too low, and you're not considerate at all! If you weren't an admiral, no girl would like you!" Mutsu rolled his eyes at Xue Cheng fiercely, picked up a piece of tempura, dipped it in the sauce, and roughly stuffed it into his mouth: "Even though I said that, can't you praise me?"

Xue Cheng savored the food Mutsu had given him in retaliation and mumbled, "I think it's better to be honest. Blind praise can easily lead people astray. If Mutsu wants to improve his cooking, I can find Yixian for you... Um, is this carrot? Carrot tempura?!"

Xue Cheng had no knowledge of Japanese food. He had only heard that everything could be made into tempura, but he had never imagined that what was wrapped in the puff pastry was actually carrots.

"Forget it, Yixian isn't good at Japanese food, is he?" Mutsu shook his head, then looked at Xue Cheng's frown and asked, "Admiral, don't you like carrots?"

Xue Cheng swallowed the carrot with great effort and said with a wry smile, "It's not that I completely dislike it. It's okay if I eat it raw or stew it in beef until it's soft, but if I make it into a stir-fry or tempura, it's a bit..."

Mutsu nodded thoughtfully and picked up another piece of tempura: "Then Admiral, try this mushroom tempura..."

When Mutsu and Xue Cheng returned to the room, Saratoga immediately looked at their expressions vigilantly, trying to find some clues, but this time the two were just chatting casually, so they were very confident and didn't care about Saratoga's gaze at all.

The suspicious girl looked for a long time but couldn't figure out anything, so she had to look away in disappointment. At this time, Xue Cheng and Mutsu also put the food in front of Montana, Iowa sisters and Hindenburg.

"Thank you for your hard work. You must be hungry." Xue Cheng placed the cooked ramen in front of them and deliberately placed the plate of tempura closer to them.

"Try it, this ramen is cooked by the admiral himself." Mutsu said with a smile.

Seeing the eyes of the five Iowa people light up instantly, Xue Cheng quickly said: "Don't have any expectations, I just put the ready-made ingredients into the pot."

"That's pretty good too." Missouri picked up a steaming noodle, blew on it gently, and winked at Xue Cheng: "Even so, we are the first in the port area to taste the food cooked by the admiral himself, right?"

"That's right," Hindenburg said. She was always finding fault with Missouri, but it was rare for her to agree with her point of view, and she was obviously very happy.

Saratoga held the cup and drank the drink in big gulps. The girl's eyes were almost red at this time, and there was even a slight grinding sound from her mouth. You know, if it weren't for what happened tonight, this achievement should have been theirs!

Lexington's eyebrows twitched unconsciously, but she was the perfect wife after all, so she quickly controlled her emotions. Seeing Xue Cheng sitting down again, Lexington handed him a drink and said, "Admiral, thank you for your hard work."

After the four Mogami sisters left, the empty seat next to Xue Cheng was occupied by Lexington. Under Lexington's smiling gaze, Mutsu on the other side couldn't help feeling guilty and didn't dare to make any small moves.

Perhaps it was because the affairs of the garrison had always been managed by Lexington, or perhaps it was simply because she was the admiral's first wedding ship. In short, most people, even if they didn't want to admit it, would always feel a little guilty when facing Lexington, just like a mistress who ran into the wife.

"It's not that hard. Both the noodles and the soup are ready. All I have to do is put them in water and boil them." Xue Cheng took the drink and drank it all in one gulp. "Actually, I can make hand-rolled noodles. I'll make some for Lexington when I get a chance."

"Okay." After hearing Xue Cheng's answer, Lexington's expression instantly became bright and charming. In contrast, Hindenburg, who had just been full of smugness, was happy for less than two minutes before her expression fell.

Being able to eat noodles cooked by the admiral himself is certainly something to be proud of, but compared with the semi-finished products, which are made by the admiral himself by kneading the dough and rolling it out by hand, and which contain the admiral's heart and soul, it seems insignificant.

Xue Cheng put down the cup and suddenly noticed that the atmosphere in the room was a little strange. He looked up and saw that everyone was staring at him, only Lexington was smiling. After a little thought, he realized what the problem was.

"Ah, not just Lexington. If you like, I can make it for you too."

Xue Cheng's timely remedy restored the solemn atmosphere, but Lexington did not become disappointed because of this. She felt that inadvertent remarks were often people's subconscious thoughts. In the admiral's heart, she might really be the special one.

65. Be Frank and Honest

"Okay, okay, I also want to try the food made by the admiral." Shinano, who was snuggling with Yamato, raised her head and said drunkenly. She had been alone since she was born and seemed to regard Yamato as a sister. Maybe because she was in a good mood, she got drunk.

"This idiot." Mutsu sighed. She and her sister Nagato were rescued and brought back to the port by the admiral one after another in a short period of time, so it was difficult for her to understand Shinano's feelings. She felt that although everyone in the naval base belonged to different factions, as long as the admiral was there, as a bond, everyone was a family, and there was almost no barrier between them. It didn't seem so important whether there were sister ships or not.

Moreover, according to Iowa and the others, it is still unknown whether Yamato can be trusted. Doesn’t Shinano worry that his efforts are just wishful thinking?

Shaking his head, Mutsu handed the hangover soup to Shinano's mouth and called softly: "Shinano, come, drink this."

"Oh..." Shinano's drinking behavior was obviously not as bad as Suzuya's. She was usually gentle and always used to catering to others. Even when she was drunk, her temperament did not change drastically. Or maybe Shinano was simple and had no hidden side to her.

Shinano obediently took the hangover soup and drank it slowly, muttering to herself, "But compared to the Admiral's cooking, I prefer cooking for him. Watching the food I prepared with so much love being eaten bit by bit by the one I love, receiving praise and recognition, that feeling must be wonderful, right? Admiral, if there's a chance, Shinano will cook for you, okay?"

Well, I take back what I said. Shinano's personality did change after she got drunk. She seemed to have become bolder. She used to be shy when she just imagined something in her mind, but now she actually launched a straight attack.

"Okay, I'll definitely try Shinano cuisine when I get a chance." Xue Cheng's response instantly filled the room with a tense atmosphere. He could only smile wryly. Compared to his own safety, he felt that trampling on the feelings of an innocent girl was even more unforgivable. After all, the root of the problem lay with him. Who had made him marry so many shipgirls when he was playing the game? He had to grit his teeth and eat the bitter fruit he had sown.

"Hehe..." After getting a response from Xue Cheng, Shinano smiled foolishly and fell limply on Yamato's thighs. After a while, he began to breathe evenly.

"Ah, what a silly girl." Shinano had just passed out, and Yamato, who was also originally drunk and hazy, suddenly sat up straight. She rubbed her eyes, and when she lowered her arms, the drunken look on Yamato's face disappeared. Looking at the girl sleeping soundly on her side on her thighs, she smiled and said, "See? Don't let her go out alone in the future, otherwise she will be cheated without knowing it."

"Yamato?! Aren't you drunk?" Saratoga was dumbfounded.

"It's just alcohol. A little use of the ship's armor can clear it up." Yamato curled his lips. "Your tutelary fort is a den of wolves and tigers. That bastard admiral over there is also a pervert. How dare I allow myself to get drunk?"

Xue Cheng curled his lips, selectively ignoring Yamato's slander, and asked, "What about Shinano?"

Yamato stretched out his fingers to help Shinano tuck the hair behind her ear and sighed, "Because she wants to get drunk, right? Honestly, I don't really understand the kinship that you humans and shipgirls care about. After all, I've only just gained rationality. Even though I'm born with knowledge, there's still a lot I need to learn and understand."

"But, looking at her, I suddenly feel like having a sister like this isn't so bad." Yamato gently poked Shinano's cheek, a hint of... tenderness flickering across his lips. Xue Cheng rubbed his eyes, a little incredulous. Could it be that the deep-sea shipgirl, who only knew how to destroy and fight, actually had such a human side?

Iowa put down her fork. Although the Admiral was Chinese, she wasn't used to using Chinese cutlery. She wiped her mouth with a tissue. Iowa looked Yamato straight in the eye and said calmly, "I remember you had sisters, right? Musasi and Sinono?"

"Yeah," Yamato said, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes. "It's been a while since I've seen them. Even though we were sisters, we weren't rational back then. Even when we met, we just acted on instinct and didn't communicate at all."

"So? What are you trying to prove by saying this?" The furious Hindenburg stared at Yamato and sneered, "Showing us your human side to gain our trust? Or..."

Hindenburg didn't finish her words because Missouri beside her pulled her clothes.

"Yes, I'm trying to gain your trust." To everyone's surprise, Yamato admitted it openly. She changed her position to make Shinano more comfortable, and then said, "But have you ever thought about why I do this?"

"It's mutual. Since you can say that, you can probably understand why we are wary of you." New Jersey gently stirred the noodles with her chopsticks. She had already eaten a lot of food before and now had no appetite.

"Just as you are afraid of me, I am also in constant fear in your base camp."

"A deep-sea flagship isn't invincible. The countless times I've been sunk by you is irrefutable proof of that. Furthermore, my current strength is far less than it used to be. You only know that even now, I still have the power to destroy or even sink a shipgirl with a single shot, but have you ever considered that my own safety isn't guaranteed?"

Yamato smiled faintly. "Cooperation requires trust. Since you don't trust me and are so wary of me, it's better not to cooperate. I won't have to worry about my future, and you won't have to worry about a bomb in your home that could explode at any moment. That's better for everyone, isn't it?"

"..." Yamato's words made everyone fall into silence. If they were in Yamato's shoes, it would be really hard to bear such treatment. But if they left it alone, what if Yamato suddenly attacked? How many people in the garrison could withstand Yamato's bombardment when they were caught off guard?

Just as Lexington was pondering a countermeasure, Xue Cheng spoke up, "Okay, I admit you're right. As an ally, our attitude does seem insincere, but please understand our difficulties. So how about we just compromise?"

Lexington hurriedly tugged at Xue Cheng's arm and whispered, "Admiral!"

Xue Cheng shook his head, gave Lexington a reassuring look, then looked at Yamato, waiting for her reply.

Yamato narrowed his eyes, a smile playing on his lips: "How do you want to compromise?"

66. Unhealthy tendencies and evil spirits

"It's impossible to completely unrestrict your movements," Xue Cheng said. "Even among allies, betrayal is possible, and there are certainly no unrestricted interactions. However, I will reduce the number of people monitoring you. Hmm, how about this? Since you like Shinano, she'll be in charge. Add Montana, and from now on, as long as you have these two by your side, you can move freely within my tutelary fort. How's that?"

"Admiral!" Lexington called anxiously.

"It's okay." Xue Cheng gently patted her hand that was tightly grasping his and comforted her: "Shinano and Montana are very strong. Even Yamato can't defeat them easily. Besides, Yamato has no reason to attack our people."

Xue Cheng smiled slightly: "If this is just a simple cooperation, Yamato must maintain our trust in her if she wants to gain our support. As long as she still needs our help, we won't dare to act recklessly."

"And if she had big plans, it would be even more impossible for her to do something that would alert the enemy."

There was one more thing Xue Cheng didn't say. There were surveillance systems set up by Yubari everywhere in the garrison. All of Yamato's actions would be under surveillance, and he wouldn't be able to cause any trouble at all.

But the deeper reason is...

Xue Cheng narrowed his eyes, and his gaze seemed to fall on the diamond ring on Yamato's hand unintentionally. Ever since Yamato put on the ring, he seemed to be able to feel Yamato's emotional fluctuations.

Not only Yamato, if Xue Cheng concentrates and senses it, he can also feel similar fluctuations from wedding ships such as Lexington.

This kind of emotional fluctuation is extremely weak and vague. If you don't sense it carefully, you will almost think it is an illusion. Fortunately, Xue Cheng's nerves are not that thick. He is careful and can even distinguish something from that kind of fluctuation.

Yamato had no ill will towards him. Not only that, she even had an inexplicable liking for him. Xue Cheng's intuition told him that this deep-sea girl was truly trustworthy.

"Since the admiral has said so..." Iowa looked at Xue Cheng deeply, lowered his eyes, and made up his mind to secretly monitor Yamato's every move to prevent her from doing anything dangerous.

Xue Cheng had no recollection of what happened next. He only vaguely remembered that the enthusiastic Yamato seemed to make him drink a lot of wine, and then he was helped out of the izakaya. When he regained consciousness, it was already bright outside. The sunlight shone through the window onto his face, making it itchy. Xue Cheng couldn't help but turn over.

Tsk, alcohol is really not a good thing. Scratching his cheek, Xue Cheng felt a dull pain in his head.

His alcohol tolerance was not good to begin with, and Yamato kept pouring him more, while Lexington and Iowa didn't stop him for some reason, which led to him falling to the ground. He didn't even remember how he left.

"Hmm?" Speaking of which, where am I now? Xue Cheng shuddered and opened his eyes instantly. He quickly sat up and looked around, finding himself in a completely unfamiliar room.

Except for Xue Cheng himself, the rest of the people in the naval base were all ship girls. According to his guess, the environment he was in must be full of dreamy pink.

However, the actual situation is that the furnishings in this room are extremely simple and warm, full of life. There is no pink cartoon-patterned wallpaper, no light pink curtains, and even the bed sheets are sky blue with simple patterns. Only some small ornaments on the dressing table can reflect the owner's girlish heart.

Xue Cheng blinked, he lifted the quilt and put on his clothes properly. It seemed that what he was worried about did not happen.

"Where is this?" Xue Cheng was just talking to himself, not expecting a response, but at this moment, a voice came from the direction of the balcony: "This is Lexington's room."

"Who's there?" Xue Cheng turned his head in surprise. A girl wearing a black tights and a black mask that completely covered her eyes below was walking out from the window with her arms folded. She didn't face Xue Cheng, but stood sideways, looking at him with her head slightly tilted. Her curvy figure was extremely eye-catching against the backdrop of the tights.

"Ticonderoga?" Xue Cheng stood up and opened the sliding door to the balcony to let her in.

"Please call me Blue Ghost," Ticonderoga said seriously, "or Hancock."

"Chuunibyou." Xue Cheng pretended to hit her on the head, but Ticonderoga quickly dodged.

"You said this is Lexington's room. Which Lexington are you referring to?" Xue Cheng asked casually while sitting on the bed.

Ticonderoga pulled off his mask and rolled his eyes in annoyance. "What do you think? Who was that person with you yesterday?"

"If this isn't the Blue Ghost's home, then why are you here?"

"Of course, I've been following you in secret," Ticonderoga said matter-of-factly. "I've been following you ever since we returned to the garrison yesterday afternoon. Even when Lexington brought you back yesterday, I saw it all clearly from outside."

"Huh?" Xue Cheng widened his eyes, a little shocked. He originally thought that Ticonderoga was just a middle school student with a second-year syndrome who liked to play the role-playing agent game, but judging from her words, it seemed that the girl really had good qualities and plenty of patience.

At least if Xue Cheng was asked to secretly watch someone, he definitely did not have the patience to do so, and there was no guarantee that he would not be discovered.

"Don't worry." Ticonderoga misunderstood Xue Cheng's expression. She walked up to Xue Cheng with her hands behind her back, bent down and whispered in his ear, "Lexington left yesterday after seeing you fall asleep. He didn't do anything."

"Ahem, of course I know. Lexington is not that kind of person." Xue Cheng said embarrassedly.

"Really? I thought the Admiral would like it." Ticonderoga turned around and sat next to Xue Cheng, shaking his legs and saying with a smile: "Don't men like contrast? The drunken Admiral was taken to her room by Lexington. The usually dignified and steady Lexington revealed an unknown side at this moment. She showed a charming smile at the corner of her mouth, gently stroked the Admiral's forehead, and her fingers slowly slid down along the bridge of his nose and landed on his lips..."

"Nonsense!" Xue Cheng didn't hold back this time. Before she could finish, he slammed the girl's forehead with a slap. Looking at Ticonderoga, who was holding her head with tears in her eyes, he said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Where did you hear that?"

Ticonderoga rubbed his forehead and said aggrievedly, "Tirpitz's book and the novel written by Dafeng..."

"Very good." Xue Cheng clenched his fist expressionlessly. "I will soon launch a campaign in the garrison to promote civility and foster new trends, and ruthlessly eradicate these evil tendencies. When the time comes, hand over all your collections to me!"

67. Clothes make the man

"I don't have anything like what you said. My collection is not evil!" Ticonderoga defended.

Xue Cheng snorted coldly and did not respond. He did not believe Ticonderoga's words that he did not collect Tirpitz's books. However, he did not expect that Dafeng, who appeared in the game as a literary girl, would actually dabble in that field. He originally thought that Dafeng would be more innocent.

Looking at Xue Cheng's expression of disbelief, Ticonderoga puffed up his cheeks in anger, stood up and walked towards the balcony.

"Are you angry?" Xue Cheng stood up with her and asked as he walked.

Ticonderoga shook her head. She stopped and lifted her hair from her ear, revealing a device that looked like a Bluetooth headset. "The doctor reminded me that Lexington is back."

"Doctor... Yu Zhang? She also installed surveillance cameras in the room?" Xue Cheng widened his eyes. If this was true, he would definitely order Yu Zhang to remove the surveillance cameras. Otherwise, wouldn't there be no privacy at all?