Siren Commander, a mole in his own port

Taking a step back, he became angrier the more he thought about it. Binjiang stared at Luo Yun's sleeping face, and after a little thought, he pressed forward viciously. "No matter how cautious you are, Commander, I don't believe you can still be on guard against me when you lose consciousness."

If I stick out my tongue secretly, the other ship girls won't notice, right?

Chapter 41: Tang Monk is actually me

"I'm telling you, you guys have completely lost all your reserve. We agreed... Hey, look, Luo Yun's awake! Hurry up, stop playing!"

For a moment, Luo Yun heard the chattering of more than a dozen women, and they seemed to have mentioned his name. He subconsciously wanted to eavesdrop on their conversation, but found that they suddenly became quiet, as if everything just now was just an illusion.

He slowly opened his eyes, and Bremerton's delicate face seemed to be within reach. Seeing Luo Yun slowly waking up, a trace of elusive panic flashed across her eyes, but it was only for a moment. She quickly regained her composure and asked in a soft and concerned voice: "Luo Yun, how do you feel? Are you feeling unwell?"

She had just stuck out her tongue, and the Commander was already awake. Could it be that Binjiang and the others were pushing too hard, giving the Commander too much energy? If she had known earlier, she would have exposed their little tricks. If she hadn't wanted to take advantage of them, at least she could have kissed them to her heart's content.

Luo Yun felt his physical condition and shook his head gently: "I'm fine, I feel more comfortable than ever before, but..."

"Just what?"

Luo Yun showed a puzzled look on his face: "I feel my mouth and tongue are a little swollen, as if I was stung by something, or as if someone hit my mouth hard with a vacuum cleaner."

In fact, Luo Yun still felt that there was an inexplicable fragrance lingering in his mouth, and it was a mixture of various spices. However, the smell was relatively thin, and he couldn't confirm it. It was not appropriate to say it out loud, so he didn't mention it.

"Well, I'm not sure. It might be the ventilator the shipgirls use... Ahaha, anyway, I'm glad you're okay." Bremerton quickly changed the subject. "Speaking of which, why did you suddenly faint? Do you have any idea?"

After Bremerton reminded him, Luo Yun suddenly remembered the reason for his coma. He was the one who became nervous in an instant. He evaded the question, "I'm not sure. Maybe not having breakfast caused low blood sugar. Well, this is the first time I've encountered such a situation."

It's fine if the ability didn't work on Binjiang, but why did he faint? Could it be that using the ability on a human would backfire? Or is it simply because he didn't have enough energy to use the ability multiple times in a short period of time?

Luo Yun couldn't be sure which possibility it was for a moment, but no matter what it was, it meant that it was not worth using his ability on the candidates. After all, his primary goal was to become a commander. As long as he could obtain the identity of a commander, no matter what the candidates' purpose was, he could deal with it calmly.

"It's my fault. I didn't wake you up early enough. If I had, you wouldn't have passed out because you didn't have breakfast." Binjiang came up to Luo Yun, handed him a big meat bun, and said with some self-blame, "I'll wake you up earlier tomorrow. Come eat something."

Luo Yun struggled to sit up, and then he realized that he had been resting his head on Bremerton's plump legs. He said a little embarrassedly: "Thank you, you...why are there so many people surrounding me?"

You wouldn't know until you see it. Luo Yun realized that he was surrounded by girls of all kinds. Not only were most of the candidates there, but there were also many ship girls looking at him curiously.

Binjiang lied calmly, "Who made you suddenly pass out? Everyone thought someone was plotting against you. The candidates were all worried, and the shipgirls were also afraid that someone would get into trouble on the ship. It would be difficult to explain to everyone. Fortunately, you are okay, otherwise we would be in trouble."

"I'm sorry to have worried you." With Bremerton's help, Luo Yun stood up and said apologetically, "I'll go back and rest for a while after dinner. It might be because I didn't sleep well last night."

Binjiang winked at him and said, "It's nice to reward yourself, but you have to exercise moderation. If you ruin your health now, I can't even imagine how you'll survive in the harbor."

"...Sister Binjiang, you misunderstood. And what does this have to do with my life in the harbor?"

"Haha, you didn't know you were unconscious, but I saw it all clearly." Bin joked, "Just now, a lot of ship girls were secretly looking at you, as if you were some kind of hot commodity. I guess if we weren't there, I don't know what they could have done to you."

Binjiang did not lie. The reason why the outer ship girls did not attack Luo Yun was because they took action first. The principle of close contact with the commander is that the first come first served. In love, there is no first come first served. The one who cannot grab the third party is the mistress.

If it were before, Luo Yun would have thought Binjiang was joking, but everything the observer said was confirmed one by one. Even a cautious Luo Yun had to believe that he might have a unique attraction to ship girls. If he lost consciousness in public again next time, and the girl he met was still a girl like Emden...

Hiss, no, you have to be careful. You can't think that you can do whatever you want just because you have the ability to read minds. It is always a flaw that his physical fitness is not as good as that of the superhuman ship girls. He thought he was the male protagonist of a harem novel, but he didn't know that he was Tang Monk who accidentally entered the Kingdom of Women. If he is not careful, he will be eaten without leaving even a bone.

The good news is that the one-year death game is unlikely to pose any threat to him. The bad news is that if he is not careful, he will be defeated in less than a year.

Thinking of this, Luo Yun suddenly felt that the looks the ship girls gave him became a lot strange. He didn't dare to stay any longer. He quickly finished his meal, packed a breakfast for Louis IX, and hurriedly left the restaurant and returned to his room.

Apart from eating, Luo Yun spent the entire day in his room. Except for occasionally dealing with Bremerton and Binjiang who came to play with him, and Noshiro who came to visit him out of concern, Luo Yun always felt the power contained in the Mind Cube in his body.

Unfortunately, compared to the energy source mentioned by the observer, the mind cube in his body seems to be a targeted device. It will only react when Luo Yun tries to activate his abilities. Apart from that, it is as if it does not exist and cannot provide any benefits to him.

Towards evening, Luo Yun returned to his room after dinner and was just about to lie down to rest when an uninvited guest quietly came to his room.

Dupleix, holding a thick stack of documents, looked around Luo Yun's room curiously. Then he cleared his throat and said solemnly, "Hello, Luo Yun. Let me formally introduce myself. I am a deacon of the Vichy Church and a Suffren-class heavy cruiser. I would like to discuss the significance of overtime with you. Is it free for you now?"

Luo Yun was stunned for a moment. He thought that Duplex was just pretending to be polite, but he didn't expect that the other party really planned to chat with him after get off work.

"Inconvenient?" Dupleix frowned slightly.

"No, I'm just a little surprised. Please come in." Luo Yun quickly made way. No matter what the other party's purpose was, based on her identity as a ship girl, Luo Yun could not refuse the opportunity to get to know her better.

Chapter 42: A skilled hunter often appears as prey

"It's funny. I thought Miss Dupleix was just trying to please me during breakfast, but I didn't expect you to actually come see me after get off work." Luo Yun paused for a moment, looked at the documents on the desk, and asked uncertainly, "Are you really off work?"

Dupleix said, "As you can see, these are the tasks that need to be handled today but have not yet been completed."

"So many?" Luo Yun asked in surprise, "Is the work of a ship girl so heavy?"

"That's not the case. It's just that as a deacon of the Vichy Church, I've taken the initiative to take care of all the clerical work of the Church." Dupleix rubbed his brow. "Bishop Clemenceau is in charge of the overall situation, and everyone in the Inquisition often needs to conduct exercises and training. As a relatively weak ship girl like me, I can only do some logistical work to help."

Luo Yun understood and said, "I thought Miss Dupleix liked to work overtime, but it turns out she has a reason to do it."

"You like working overtime? H-How is that possible!?" Duplex suddenly became agitated, not knowing if he was trying to hide his guilt or if he was afraid Luo Yun would misunderstand him. "I'm clearly destined to be a hard worker. Even I want to be rewarded for my hard work and go on a date on my days off... It's just that the Bishop can't offer me the compensation I want."

This was a lie. Although there were many affairs in the port area, it was not enough to keep her busy. Duplex took the initiative to find things to do because she enjoyed it. In fact, nothing would go wrong even if she left it alone. After all, the port area was not a workplace, but more like a big family.

"The salary is very low?" Luo Yun murmured, "Low pay, heavy workload, and frequent business trips. Isn't this my job? Has the employment environment become so bad that it affects the ship girls?"

"In fact, the salary and benefits that the Bishop gave me are quite generous. Looking at the entire port area, it is considered a considerable income. It is only slightly lower than that of the ship girls who often attack. But the ship girls don't value material conditions. I hope..."

Midway through the conversation, Dupleix realized he had slipped up and hurriedly and abruptly changed the subject: "We've strayed off topic. Let's get back to talking about overtime."

Luo Yun didn't want to ignore the flaw Dupleix had revealed. He guessed, "What do you want more? If it has nothing to do with material conditions, then it can only be spiritual... For example, a commander?"

Diplex's delicate body trembled, obviously having been touched by Luo Yun. She was silent for a long time, then responded softly, "That's right, everyone says that shipgirls are the embodiment of all that is good, but in our opinion, a shipgirl without a commander doesn't even have a complete soul. No one else can understand the feeling."

Obviously, Diplex deliberately exposed a flaw to Luo Yun, and Luo Yun took the bait as expected. A smart hunter often appears as a prey. Young commander, let me teach you the first lesson of life.

"That's why you're picking candidates from various camps and trying to choose your commander from among them." Luo Yun thought for a moment and took the opportunity to ask, "I want to know what a commander is to you. A friend, a family member, a boss, or... a partner?"

"Neither. A commander is a commander," Dupleix said firmly. "Regardless of gender, age, appearance, or any other additional conditions, the relationship between a commander and a ship girl is inadequate to describe any interpersonal relationship in human society. This is a kind of... I'm sorry, I can't explain it specifically. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a commander until now."

Luo Yun asked, "But without exact standards, how can you choose a commander that suits you?"

Duplex sighed softly, "That's the crux of the matter. Although the Candidate Plan was proposed by the Red Axis, I'm personally quite pessimistic about it. Even in the best-case scenario, only a tiny fraction of the shipgirls would find their own commanders, which would be a drop in the bucket for the entire port area."

"For example, when you humans go on blind dates, some people prioritize looks, others personality. Perhaps someone will fall in love with you because of a certain trait, but it's impossible for everyone to have the same standards for choosing a partner. It's not surprising that their standards are completely opposite. No one person can meet all the requirements of all ship girls."

Diplex stole a glance at Luo Yun, lost in thought, and threw out his bait again: "Although shipgirls don't value material conditions and prefer to pursue spiritual resonance, how can others discover my desires if I don't actively open my heart? Contacting you is already the most outrageous thing I have done, but even so, do you think you can guess my preferences?"

Commander, the meat is right in front of you. Even if you are cautious, you should at least take a lick and taste it, right?

Of course, Luo Yun couldn't see through Diplex's little tricks. He just thought that it was the commander's talent that took effect, making Diplex confide in him. And because the ship girls had never been conquered by anyone, they couldn't help but be a bit arrogant when talking about such topics.

It’s a pity that you didn’t expect that there would be an outlier like me among the candidates.

Luo Yun tensed up, trying hard not to let himself smile strangely: "What if I guessed it?"

"You?" Duplex pushed his glasses, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. "I advise you not to act rashly. Even if you want to start with me, at least give me some time to get to know me. The shipgirl won't give you the chance to make mistakes. If you fail once, you'll never talk to me again in your life."

Luo Yun shrugged and said in a relaxed tone: "What's the difference between not trying and failing? With your shipgirls' personalities, you won't accept humans as your friends, right?"

"That's true. Hmm... Since you're clear about this, you must be completely confident in yourself." Dupleix chuckled. "Alright, I'll give you a chance. Come on, find a way to make me happy before I leave. If you succeed, I won't treat you unfairly."

Luo Yun was afraid that she would regret it, so he decisively asked, "Are there any conditions?"

"Of course, you're not allowed to do anything that goes against the rules, and don't have any physical contact with me. Everything I have belongs to my future commander." Duplex's tone was more serious than ever. "Not only me, but all the ship girls abide by this basic principle. You must never touch the taboo, otherwise you will die."

No physical contact or excessive actions are allowed, and the method of cultivating feelings over a long period of time is meaningless to them. They must hit the nail on the head from the beginning. It is no wonder that Dupleix is ​​not optimistic about the candidate plan given the difficulty of this strategy.

Unfortunately, she happened to meet him, a commander with his own abilities. Luo Yun was secretly delighted, but remained calm on the surface: "Don't worry, I'm not interested in challenging the military power of the ship girls. These are the documents you need to deal with tonight, right? I have a method that can improve your work efficiency. Would you like to know?"

Chapter 43: Actively requested placement?

"Improve my work efficiency? You think you can?" Duplex said doubtfully. "Have I told you before? Port affairs are completely different from human workplaces. No matter how rich your previous experience is, it can't be applied here."

Most of the things happening in the port area are trivial matters, and few people make a big deal out of them. They are not complicated to deal with, but they are a waste of time.

The person in front of her is her own commander. Even if Luo Yun guessed her hobby wrong, Diplex can pretend to be seen through by Luo Yun, but the premise is that Luo Yun's answer cannot be too wrong or her performance cannot be too bad. It would be a big problem if the commander found out that she was lying with her eyes open.

In other words, Dupleix was more afraid than Luo Yun that he would make mistakes, and was afraid that Luo Yun would brag too much and then be unable to cover it up, so he deliberately reminded him, hoping that Luo Yun would consider everything carefully before making a decision.

"No, no, I've never done clerical work. Even if you asked me to help you, I wouldn't know how to do it. However, there are some commonalities in the workplace." Luo Yun asked in a pretentious manner, "If you carefully process these documents on the table, how long will it take?"

Duplex flipped through it casually, estimated in his mind, and said, "About three hours, faster than slower."

"Three hours? It's eight o'clock in the evening now. So... let's find a movie to watch first?" Luo Yun asked. "What kind of movies do you like? Romance, action, or science fiction?"

Diplex frowned slightly. "Luo Yun, are you trying to use work as an excuse to develop feelings for me? Even if we ignore the fact that you deceived the ship girl, I still won't agree. The time left after the movie is completely insufficient to handle work."

"How do you know it won't work if you don't push yourself?" Luo Yun said seriously, "There's a type of person in human society called a deadline warrior. They often have plenty of time to work initially, but they only start concentrating on completing tasks right before the deadline. This approach can stimulate a sense of urgency and motivation, greatly improving work efficiency."

Luo Yun has experienced this feeling more than once during his school career, including but not limited to final preparations, memorizing all night long before rushing to the exam hall, and a series of outrageous actions such as scrambling for half a semester and producing a graduation thesis of tens of thousands of words on the last day.

Although these efforts may not necessarily get results that satisfy him, it has to be said that things are going well. Sometimes, if people don't push themselves, they really don't know how far they can go.

However, he asked Duplex to do this not to try to teach her how to cram, but to create an environment for her to be burdened with heavy work. This girl's XP was too bizarre, and Luo Yun did not have enough status to support him to drive Duplex to work, so he could only find another way and use this method to increase her intensity.

"Is there such a thing? That's new." Dupleix pondered for a moment, pretending to be hesitant, but in fact he had already put himself in the situation and anticipated that situation.

No matter whether what the commander said was useful or not, as long as she could justify herself, she would be willing to follow it as a guiding principle. It didn't matter if she wasn't sure of her own preferences, as long as the relationship was close enough, there would be plenty of time to get to know each other slowly in the future. Nowadays, all the marriage ships in the port area could be considered to be married first and then fell in love, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to have one more.

Luo Yun struck while the iron was hot and said, "Even if it doesn't work, at most it will waste an hour of your time, but it can help you see a candidate clearly. It's not a big loss after all. Just consider it a chance to relax."

"Ah, so I'm forced to stop working, and can only watch time go to waste with guilt, and then have to work overtime to finish the work that should have been completed... Um, okay, okay, I'll try, I think I can hold it in... No, I absolutely can't help it!"

Just thinking about that feeling, a strange emotion surged in Diplex's heart, as if Luo Yun had touched the most sensitive part of her heart. For a moment, she couldn't tell whether it was because of the commander's mandatory order or because he had discovered her true XP.

"No way? Then forget it. I'll try again when I have a chance." Luo Yun said with a little regret. He just thought that Duplex was too embarrassed to do so, but it was not easy to force her for fear of backfire.

"It's not that I can't, but I need some restrictions, otherwise I will definitely not be able to control myself." Duplex thought for a moment, took off his glasses and placed them on the table, then took out an eye mask and a ribbon out of thin air, "Luo Yun, do me a favor, after I put on the eye mask, use this ribbon to tie my hands."

"Oh... huh!?" Luo Yun was shocked. "Given our relationship, this isn't appropriate, is it? What if..."

Without hesitation, Diplex interrupted him, her tone full of warning: "With the force of the ship girl, it is easy to break free from this restraint. I advise you not to take advantage of this opportunity, and you are not allowed to touch my body unless you don't want to live."

Since you don't want me to touch you, why do you ask me to tie your hands myself? Is it because you subconsciously want to touch me, but rationally feel that you shouldn't be too intimate with strangers?

Luo Yun couldn't figure it out, but he knew this was a rare opportunity, so he quickly agreed: "Leave it to me, I won't joke with my life."

Duplex did not respond. She put on the blindfold silently, then stretched out her hands to Luo Yun. Everything was said without words.

Just as Dupleix said, the ribbon could only symbolically bind her hands. Luo Yun didn't intend to go too far. She simply tied a bow and took the initiative to distance herself from Dupleix.

"For the next two hours, don't tell me the exact time. No matter what I want to do, you must not agree to it," Duplex stressed anxiously. "If there's a real emergency, I'll deploy the ship's equipment. I don't need to ask for your opinion. You can do whatever you want. Watch a movie, play on your phone, or even take a nap. Do you understand?"

Luo Yun had already anticipated this girl's XP, so he just nodded. Then, realizing that she couldn't see his expression, he quickly said, "I understand. Then you sit down first, I'll rest for a while."

If things go well, he will be able to gain the other party's initial favor in two hours. Although the method of conquering the ship girl is different from what he imagined, and even a bit absurd, as long as it can increase her favorability towards him, everything will be worth it. Besides, he has never been in a relationship, so how can he know whether couples would do such things?

Chapter 44: First Battle Victory

"Luo Yun, Luo Yun, are you still there?"

Hearing Duplex's soft call in his ear, Luo Yun subconsciously replied: "I'm here, um, just closed my eyes for a while."

"What time is it now?" Dupleix asked anxiously.

"Let me see, I can't tell you now..." Luo Yun suddenly realized, "Ms. Dupleix, it's not the time we agreed on yet."

"Really? Really not yet?" Duplex twisted her body restlessly as her two slender, straight legs rubbed against each other. "Could it be that you deliberately concealed the time and waited until the early hours of the next morning to tell me that today was over, leaving an indelible stain on my assessment form?"

That being said, why is your body shaking and your face suddenly turning so red? Are you sure you’re not just enjoying yourself?

Luo Yun suddenly wanted to try according to Dupleix's idea. Maybe this was what she had revealed unintentionally, but he thought about it again and decided to continue according to the original plan. Girls are all hypocritical. They may lie to others, but their inner thoughts will not lie to themselves.

"Is the impression I left on you so unreliable?" Luo Yun glanced at the time and secretly praised him for being a deacon of the Vichy Church. Even if he was blindfolded, he could guess the time roughly. In another ten minutes, it would be the agreed time for the two of them.

"This is a matter of great importance, so we must be cautious," Dupleix muttered. "It's not that I don't trust you, but I want to check the time with my own eyes. Just a quick glance."

"If you really think it's that important, you can just break free yourself. There's no need to force me to help you." Luo Yun joked, "If I accidentally touch your body, it would be too unfair to die like this."

Duplex said in a trembling voice, "It's a small matter like this, so I don't need to mobilize the ship's power. This time is an exception. It doesn't matter even if you bump into me. M-Please hurry up..."

Although Duplex did not say it explicitly, Luo Yun read her subtext. If she used the power of the ship's equipment beyond the norm, it would almost be equivalent to her falling completely into Luo Yun's control. Without the ship's equipment, she would not even be able to protect herself. It was tantamount to losing the bet with him and admitting that Luo Yun had grasped her sore spot.

Even though Luo Yun did nothing but take a nap, and even the idea of ​​tying herself up was suggested by Diplex, if she had not been so arrogant and misjudged how well Luo Yun knew her (from Luo Yun's perspective), she would not have fallen into such a dangerous situation.

"It's not impossible for me to let you go, but I have a small request." Luo Yun came up with an idea, "You have to give me your phone. I don't want you to see the time. In exchange, after I untie you, you can work overtime."

Duplex's tone was filled with tears. "I knew you must have accidentally overslept. I promised you, don't you? Untie me now! If you don't work, my sleep time will be ruined!"

"I thought you were the kind of ship girl who likes to work overtime 24 hours a day." Luo Yun walked up to her and said meaningfully, "Where is your phone? Hand it over quickly."

"Who, who likes to work overtime? Your phone is in your right pocket, take it out."

Luo Yun was just about to make a move when he suddenly noticed that Duplex's uniform was an extremely slim-fitting type. If he put his hand into her pocket, it would inevitably come into contact with her. If this girl went back on her word, wouldn't he be in danger?

But if she doesn't reject it, she will get immeasurable benefits. If she is luckier, she may even become a true commander.

Want to take a gamble?

Luo Yun was momentarily torn. The Commander's importance to the Shipgirls was self-evident. With his own utilitarianism, could he truly be considered worthy of such a heavy relationship? But more than one person had told him that the Shipgirls, unlike humans, didn't accept things as they came naturally. They had to seize opportunities and take the initiative. Everything else could be discussed later.

Seeing Luo Yun still not moving, Diplex couldn't help but urge him, "Hurry up! At this point, I'm not afraid of you, so what are you afraid of? Being timid and hesitant, how can you be a responsible candidate... Huh!? What are you doing with your hands!?"

"Of course I'm looking for my cell phone." Even through a thin layer of cloth, Luo Yun could still feel a smooth and warm touch. He suppressed the temptation in his heart, tried to keep calm, and slowly groped Duplex's delicate body.

Luo Yun was looking for his cell phone and didn't make any unnecessary movements, but he wasn't really paying attention either. Instead, he tried to keep in touch with her as much as possible so that she could be infused with his scent.