Shipgirls and Salted Fish Commander, Port Survival Guide

"Lead the Dreadnought, Ticonderoga, Baltimore, Santiago, and Harman to Area A to gather intelligence, locate the Siren command ship in the area, and search for any signs of a new Siren host."

"A reconnaissance mission?" Essex pondered after turning off the monitor. "Hmm, I thought it would be a good fight, but am I the flagship this time? I don't need to worry about my sisters disobeying my orders."

But, Santiago, will she really listen to me? Or rather, will she understand what I'm saying?

With a nervous heart, Essex pushed open the door to the preparation room, only to find that she wasn't the first one there.

"Hey, Essex, you've finally arrived! I've been waiting for you for ages." As soon as Essex entered, a girl with a high ponytail, who was making a baseball throwing motion, stopped what she was doing and greeted her.

"Hmm, Fearless, so fast?"

"How could that be! You're the only one missing."

"What about the others?" Looking around the preparation room, it seemed that only the sister ship, Dauntless, was present at the moment.

"Changing clothes, weren't we having a swimsuit party earlier? You were completely drunk, acting crazy. It took us ages to carry you back to your room. You didn't even remember to change. Are we even fit for a mission with these clothes we're wearing?" Wuwei grinned, revealing his clean, white teeth, and chuckled.

"Ahem, no, don't scold me!" Essex's face flushed slightly. She had no recollection of what she had done the night before. To be precise, when she woke up in the morning, she felt quite refreshed and had a wonderful dream.

Before she could even tidy up the room, Jing Su called her to the operations command room.

"Haha, what's there to be shy about, Sister Essex? Seriously, it's the same person, yet there's such a big difference between when they're drunk and when they're not."

Hehe, we didn't take any photos this time, Essex, don't worry~

"A photo!?" Essex was stunned. She didn't believe she would act crazy when drunk until this naughty little sister got her drunk one time and recorded a video for her. That day, she, who considered herself a top student, chased Wuwei down the street for three whole blocks!

"Relax, relax, everyone said there was no filming!" Sensing the change in Essex's demeanor, Wuwei slightly hunched his neck, feeling a little regretful. Why had he blurted it out? He needed to quickly change the subject. "Um, sis, Essex, you were amazing today! You actually got the first chance to shoot."

This time, we'll show everyone the might of the Essex-class! With that, Fearless swung his baseball bat a few times.

Yes, to some extent, Fearless is a complete battle maniac. She is extremely passionate about fighting. She never expected to be able to participate in this battle, after all, there are so many big shots ahead of her. Unexpectedly, when she woke up, her phone vibrated. She groggily opened it and found that it was a transfer order.

She was so happy at the time that she quickly woke up her sister Ticonderoga, and rushed to the preparation room without even changing her clothes.

"Ahem, well, I also..." Hearing this, Essex blushed and turned her head away. She was a little shy in the face of her sisters' praise. "Anyway, hurry up and change your clothes. You can't go out in this tracksuit, can you?"

Yes, yesterday was a swimsuit party. After the ship girls realized it wasn't real and Jing Su fell into a coma, they started playing all sorts of fun games. Wuwei led a group of friends to play a baseball game. Then, as mentioned earlier, Essex got drunk and acted crazy. It took the sisters a lot of effort to get her back to her room. After that, they were all exhausted and just collapsed and fell asleep.

The next day, before I could even change my clothes, I received the order to start the operation. After a quick wash, I rushed over. I thought we were going to attack immediately, so I didn't look closely. But when I got there, I found that not everyone was there!

"Ticonderoga's changing in there; she said she needs to take a shower first." Fearless pointed to the only changing room and said helplessly, "We're about to fight, and she's changing clothes! What if we miss our chance to fight?"

"Sister, I heard you~" Just then, Ticonderoga, dressed in a tight-fitting battle suit, walked out of the room, squinting and smiling at Fearless.

"Ahem, I, I'm going to change my clothes!" Realizing something was wrong, Wuwei took off running. Oh no, he'd run into the person in question while gossiping about others. Time to get out of here!

"Good morning, elder sister." Ticonderoga wasn't angry after Fearless ran off. Despite being the younger sister, she was more like the older sister in both appearance and personality. In short, what could she do with an older sister like that? Of course, she would forgive her.

"Good morning." Essex nodded, then fell silent. Despite being a top student, Essex wasn't actually very good at communicating with others. When she didn't know what to say, she would remain silent.

"Big sister, what is the mission this time?" Fortunately, Ticonderoga knew how to communicate with Essex and took the initiative to ask.

"Reconnaissance, locating the command ship, and intelligence on the new Siren host. Senior Santiago will be in charge of air defense, Senior Baltimore will be in charge of protection, and Senior Harman, um, Senior Harman."

"Hamanmanwa, she can be very powerful too, we should never underestimate her!" Essex was originally thinking about how to arrange the mission later. She knew her sisters' strengths very well, so she didn't need to explain. Once on the battlefield, they would do what they were supposed to do.

Then, positions were assigned according to function. Baltimore was a heavy cruiser, so the escort position was perfect for her. San Diego's air defense capabilities were unparalleled in the entire port area. With her around, the Sirens' planes could be almost ignored. Only Hamman was a different story. For a while, Essex didn't know what to do with her. It wasn't that Hamman wasn't capable enough, but rather that the other ship girls had done almost all the jobs she was capable of.

"Ahem, senior Harman, I didn't mean to belittle you." Essex was a little flustered. Just like before, she had been criticizing someone behind their back, only to be caught red-handed. She was a little embarrassed, even though, strictly speaking, she was assigning tasks, not gossiping.

"Ahem, Senior Harman, what my sister meant was to put you in the escort position, but we don't know where to place you yet. We have no intention of belittling you." Ticonderoga stepped in to help his sister Essex out of the predicament.

"Hmph~ Since you put it that way, then Hamman will forgive you!" Hamman crossed her arms, pouted, shook her head with her eyes closed, and went to sit down in a seat, muttering, "Actually, I wanted to protect Yorktown sister~"

Based on historical circumstances, HMS Hamman could be said to have witnessed the sinking of HMS Yorktown. Well, it's not quite accurate to say she witnessed it. After being bombed twice by the Japanese, the Yorktown was indeed on the verge of collapse, so HMS Hamman was tasked with towing it to a safe area. However, just as HMS Hamman was preparing to tow it away, the Yorktown was spotted by I-168 and attacked, ultimately resulting in the sinking of both warships.

This makes Harman quite dependent on Yorktown, yet quite displeased with I168.

"Senior Harman, after this sortie, I will suggest to the Commander that you escort Senior Yorktown next time!" As a ship girl, Harman's hearing is exceptional. Her subconscious muttering was clearly heard by Essex, who had already completed her combat preparations.

Essex may not be very good at communicating with people, but there is one thing she knows—to tell the other person your thoughts directly and to exchange sincerity for sincerity. This may hurt the other person's feelings, but in terms of results, it is the most suitable way for Essex to get along with others. It is a one-step approach that can directly determine whether you are suitable to continue the relationship.

And coincidentally, Essex's direct approach is a natural counter to Hamann.

So-called natural talent can overcome arrogance~

"What do you mean? Are you implying that Haman isn't performing well? Haman, let me tell you, I don't want your charity!" Haman, like a cat with its fur standing on end, blushed and hurriedly tried to defend herself.

"Well, it's not that I think Senior Harman won't perform well, but I already believe that Senior Harman's performance will exceed everyone's expectations, so I'm informing you in advance!" Essex said seriously.

"Eh, you, me!?" Harman froze, her cute little face turning even redder. She was angry just now, but now she was ashamed. She had actually thought so much about Essex just now. How awful of her! "Um, I, Harman, I'm sorry!"

After saying this, Hamman bowed deeply to Essex. This was something she had been taught to her by I168 during an argument: when you do something wrong, you should bow to the other person.

According to a popular saying in the ship girl community, if you're apologizing, you should show your belly!

But exposing her belly was too shameful for Harman, and she didn't want to show it to anyone other than Jing Su and Yorktown, so she decided to just bow!

"Huh?" Essex was a little confused. Had she said something? Why was Senior Harman apologizing to her?

"Hehe, alright, alright, it's almost time to launch. Get some rest first. I've already received the map information from Saratoga-senpai. Big sister, I'll be leaving the command to you from now on~" Ticonderoga chimed in. She finally understood that her sister's communication skills were sometimes good and sometimes bad. Those words just now almost scared her to death. She genuinely thought her sister was deliberately trying to cause trouble. Luckily, it was just a false alarm.

“Hmm.” Essex nodded, took the tablet from Ticonderoga, and began to examine it carefully.

This combat method may seem like a last-minute effort, with the battle area only being sent out just before the sortie. However, in reality, the ship girls on the front lines had already practiced it several times during their daily patrols and training, learning how to fight in which areas, how to carry out different missions, and how to handle them.

The area Essex is responsible for this time has already been simulated countless times; in the words of the Eastern Empire faction, it is known by heart!

"Oh, everyone's here! Haha, sorry, sorry, I was a little late changing clothes. I hope it's not too late~" At this moment, the room door was suddenly pulled open, and a brown-haired girl with a proud figure and her hands covered in patterns appeared in the doorway, dressed in loose casual clothes. Who else could it be but Baltimore?

She was dragged to play tennis yesterday, and then her long-awaited sister, Bremerton, covered her in temporary tattoos, saying it would increase her fighting ability. Whether it actually increased her fighting ability is unclear to Baltimore, but the way others looked at her was definitely different.

Since it had just been applied and was not easy to clean in a short time, and because my sister insisted, Baltimore came dressed in casual clothes.

"Uh, cough cough, Baltimore's outfit is indeed eye-catching~" Ticonderoga covered his face and chuckled.

"Haha, really? Bremerton made me do it. I was worried you'd find it strange~" Baltimore scratched his head, but said cheerfully.

"It suits Baltimore perfectly!" Fearless happened to come out of the locker room at that moment. When he saw Baltimore's outfit, his eyes lit up. He rushed to Baltimore, grabbed his hand, and said excitedly.

"Uh~" Baltimore was taken aback by this fearless attitude. She was a well-known figure in the port area and a timely helper, but she had never seen such an enthusiastic look before.

"Hello~~ Santiago, reporting for duty~~ The cruiser that won the most stars in World War II—hehe, that concludes my simple and appropriate self-introduction! I'm so smart!" Just when the atmosphere at the scene was a bit awkward, a lively voice broke the silence, and a bright red-haired, vivacious girl named Santiago made a dazzling appearance!

"Hey, what game are you guys playing? It looks so fun! Santiago wants to play too, let me join you~" Seeing Fearless holding Baltimore's hand, Santiago thought they were playing a game and skipped over to grab Baltimore's hand as well.

"Ahem, Senior Santiago!!!" Baltimore exclaimed helplessly. (Santiago got into the water earlier than Baltimore.)

"Hehe, Santiago, you lost by doing this~" Compared to Baltimore's helplessness, Wuwei surprisingly hit the mark with Santiago and said with a smile.

"Hey, I lost? How could I lose!" Santiago was a little indignant. He had just started playing and he had already lost.

"Well, now that everyone is here, let's get ready to set off, everyone."

I hereby announce the official formation of the First Special Operations Team of the Summer Offensive, to depart immediately.

"Gentlemen, bring victory to the commander!"

"Hoohoo!"

Chapter 274 Commander, I'm counting on you.

"Commander, Essex's message has arrived. Do you want to see it?" After playing games with Saratoga in the operations command room for a while, Saratoga suddenly skipped over to get a tablet, looked at it, and asked Jing Su.

"Hmm, let me see." Although he knew nothing about combat, since Saratoga had said so, he might as well take a look.

"Give."

"Wow~ so many ships?" Essex sent over a video, which could be interpreted as her filming of the Sirens' warships.

In the video, dark clouds are dense, and the rumbling of thunder can be faintly heard. Purple lightning flashes on the dark clouds, giving an ominous feeling. Some time after the video was filmed...

In the latter half of the video, the plane filming plunged into the dark clouds, revealing a dense swarm of Siren warships, like a locust plague. Destroyers, light cruisers, and heavy cruisers were everywhere, while battleships and aircraft carriers were showered with compliments in the front row.

"Boom~"

There was a loud noise.

It turned out that several suicide ships had collided with each other, causing a massive explosion that triggered a chain reaction. An entire area of ​​the sea was cleared out, but soon the empty space was filled by subsequent warships. Before long, apart from the flames still burning on the sea, there was no trace of the suicide ship explosions.

"Da da da~"

Several sharp whooshing sounds came through the air, and the video ended. Clearly, the plane filming had been detected by the Sirens' anti-aircraft fire and shot down in a concentrated barrage.

Fortunately, the plane managed to transmit the video before it crashed.

"Hehe, Commander, this is nothing. If we don't destroy the teleportation anchor, these Sirens are just appetizers~" Saratoga covered her mouth and chuckled as she answered, seeing Jing Su's shocked expression.

"Huh? Such a terrifying number is just an appetizer?" Jing Su was stunned. With such a huge number, even with continuous bombardment, it would take several days to bombard them, right?

“Otherwise, how could the number of supervisory offices be greater than the number of artillery shells? The Maritime Bureau might lie when they're fooling the people, but how could we possibly deceive you, Commander?” Sitting on the table, Saratoga swung her two cute little legs, watching Jing Su's performance with a smile.

Saratoga, one of the most playful ship girls in the port, enjoys seeing others' frustrated and shocked expressions when she jokes. Now, she can see that expression without even joking. Is there anything more delightful than this? Does she really think joking is so easy?

"I guess I was just ignorant." Jing Su wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, feeling a little apprehensive. Had her girls been fighting against something like this all along? "Hey, speaking of which, I just remembered something, Jiajia. Didn't they say that Sirens have powerful shielding abilities, and that when they gather in large numbers, they can't send out any signals?"

Whether in the game's storyline or in this world, the Sirens are overwhelmingly superior in electronic information technology. In the story, the Sirens have a bunch of observers on their side. In the early stages of the main storyline, when the ship girls are fighting each other according to their factions, the Sirens are watching from the sidelines. They are even openly watching, and the ship girls don't even notice.

In this world, when the Sirens launch a large-scale attack, the resulting cloud formations can block external detection methods. According to the war-weary, their main method of obtaining intelligence when fighting the Sirens is to send a unit to physically charge into the Sirens' ranks, observe the situation with the naked eye, and then break out to a place where the Sirens cannot block the information, transmitting the intelligence back to the rear.

The headquarters then makes strategic adjustments based on this intelligence. Although it cannot be done in real time, it is still very accurate and timely.

Now, Essex has not only filmed the situation of the Sirens, but also sent it back directly. The video shows that when the plane's camera crashed, it was definitely within the shielding range, yet it was still able to transmit signals.

"Ah, Commander, you didn't know?" Saratoga made an exaggerated expression and said to Jing Su, "Hehe, if you do that, Miss TB will be very sad~"

"Ah, TB?"

"Yes, the Sirens have strong shielding capabilities, but our technology is not bad either. Navigator TB is the culmination of the port's technology. She can transmit messages to the outside world even within the Sirens' shielding range."

"Really? How did you do that?" Jing Su turned to look at the 3D projection TB, which sensed Jing Su's gaze and looked in her direction.

"Well, how should I put it? With the help of some mysterious entity, she—cough cough—deciphered the Siren's shielding source code, and based on that, we created TB~"

"How risky is it?" Jing Su was a little nervous when she heard that TB's code came from non-Hong Kong forces.

"We shouldn't have to worry about safety. That guy has no reason to lie to us. Besides, Commander, even if there were dangers, we've been using TB for so long. If there were any problems, they would have surfaced long ago. There's no need to make trouble now."

"Wouldn't it have been better to launch an attack when we were weaker than we are now? Our port is quite strong now~" Saratoga recalled the scene of the code handover and the discussion among most of the ship girls about activating TB. She laughed happily, after all, it was quite a lively scene.

As for the result...

Those who initially opposed it eventually admitted they actually liked it.

"TB, oh TB, what kind of existence are you?" Jing Su said softly, glancing at the watch on her wrist.

"Di Di~"

"Miss Saratoga, there's a phone call!"

Just as Jing Su was feeling sentimental, TB suddenly spoke, startling her.

"Oh, let me see... buzz, the Maritime Bureau's call. What do they want at this hour? How boring. I won't answer. Just tell them we've already set out to fight the Sirens, and to get ready to clean up the battlefield." After checking the caller ID, Saratoga clearly became impatient, waving her hand as she announced her strategy.

"Oh, the Maritime Bureau is also involved in this battle? If I remember correctly, they've always been in charge of cleaning up the battlefield."

"Yes, the Maritime Safety Administration is ultimately for the benefit of the people and operates on an election system. If they want to hold their positions, they need to have something to show for it, something impressive. Military achievements are naturally the best way to silence public opinion."

After all, when the Maritime Safety Administration talks about its achievements, it can't say that it was only responsible for transporting supplies and cleaning up the battlefield on the front lines; otherwise, it would have no purpose.

“That’s true.” Jing Su nodded. “Jiajia, you seem so agitated. Is something wrong? If it’s about the Maritime Bureau, let me go. Isn’t this the kind of situation where I, as the commander, come in handy?”

"Oh, it seems so. I'll leave that matter to you, Commander."

Chapter 275 Shouldn't I have been first?

"Is this really a good idea?" Jing Su complained, watching Saratoga bustling around.

"Hehe, it's alright, it's alright. Besides, this is your mission, Commander, isn't it?"

"Commander, are you really willing to let such a cute girl like me have to deal with those guys from the Maritime Bureau? How can you be so heartless?" The girl's playful voice rang in my ears.

"Fine, fine, I'll do it." Jing Su sighed helplessly. Saratoga's little expression was just too irritating. Jing Su felt goosebumps all over his body and quickly agreed. To be precise, he had already been put in this position and had no choice but to agree.

Yes, Jing Su came to this place to contact the staff of the Maritime Safety Administration. To be precise, he was there to assign them a task and have them cooperate with the port area in operations.

Even before Jing Su arrived at the front lines, people from the Maritime Bureau kept asking about the Belfast Operation Plan. This wasn't just about gaining military merit; more importantly, the meeting was one of the few occasions where the Maritime Bureau could interact with the ship girls.

However, no matter how many calls the Maritime Safety Administration made, Belfast always gave the same response—"Wait, we have more important things to deal with here," which immediately caused a stir among the Maritime Safety Administration staff.

Now, this is the perfect opportunity to completely reveal Jing Su's identity, which will surely make these so-called second-generation rich kids obsessed with her.

"Alright, hmm, all dressed up, Commander, you look great~"