Shipgirls and Salted Fish Commander, Port Survival Guide

Okay, I understand.

"Commander, what's the situation with the patrol team?" After Jing Su hung up the phone, Binjiang and Yixian immediately came over and asked with concern.

Judging from Jing Su's expression, it seemed that she had discovered something extraordinary.

"Well, the training team seems to have discovered the Sirens' arsenal." After briefly recounting the information the patrol team had just reported, Jing Su quickly walked to the control panel, opened her tablet, and calculated the time; the photos should be sent by now.

"What!?" Yi Xian exclaimed in surprise, then asked anxiously, "Are Anshan and the others alright?"

Although Yorktown stated that the Sirens in the entire defense zone had been cleared, the necessary vigilance still needed to be maintained, as no one could afford to gamble on the "what if".

Therefore, except when everyone is resting late at night, the most basic guarantee is that there are people patrolling within a ten-nautical-mile radius of the cruise ship at any other time.

When Jing Su met with Changchun earlier, she had just returned from patrol, while Anshan and Taiyuan were patrolling outside.

Anshan stated that the area has been cleared and the detectors show no enemy activity.

"That's good." Yi Xian breathed a sigh of relief. As the person in charge of the entire Donghuang, she was always worried about the sisters in her faction. Whenever there was an attack mission, she was always on tenterhooks, no matter how small the mission was.

"Commander, what's the deal with that massive arsenal?" After Yi Xian finished speaking, Bin Jiang shifted the topic to the main point, as she was very interested in the arsenal.

As a research ship girl, nothing excites Binjiang more than attacking the Sirens.

Oh, not counting getting close to Jing Su. That's nothing, just everyday life like eating and drinking. Who would say they need to pay special attention to things in their daily life?

They've already become part of our daily lives.

Now, if Yixian isn't watching over him, Binjiang's daily routine is roughly as follows: get up, wash up, eat breakfast, then feel bored, chat with Jingsu, and eventually go into his room.

But with Yixian by her side, and it being her first time, she was naturally in the mood. As her best friend, Binjiang wouldn't compete for it at this moment. So, the only thing left that would interest Binjiang was fighting the Sirens!

"Well, Anshan said that an abnormal signal was detected in this coordinate direction. Due to the urgency of the situation, they did not report to us and went there on their own. They found an arsenal. According to Anshan, the arsenal was built not long ago and is presumably prepared for this battle."

"It's just that Yorktown and their team cleared the map too efficiently. Before the arsenal even officially started production, the entire area had already been occupied by us," Jing Su offered Anshan's assessment.

"What a bargain!" Binjiang murmured.

"Could it be a trap?" Yi Xian objected. Judging from the photos, the scale of this arsenal was not just large, it was super large. Not only were the resources it produced outrageous, but the factory itself was also ridiculously large.

In Yixian, the largest of the former arsenals destroyed in the port area was not even a third the size of this one.

Just as Anshan judged, there are at least two unreasonable points. Such a large arsenal, once started, would make a huge commotion, but according to Yorktown's account, they did not find this arsenal at all when they were cleaning the map.

Another unreasonable aspect is that the defensive strength is too weak. Under normal circumstances, such a large arsenal would be a top priority even for the Sirens, and its position is extremely important.

After all, no matter how powerful the Sirens are, their warships will still be transported over via teleportation anchors. Once this system is activated, resources will melt away like ice on a hot plate. Building an armory in this world is a necessary option for the Sirens.

In conclusion, even if this arsenal wasn't newly built, it was still extremely important to the Sirens. Why was it so easily breached by Anshan and Taiyuan?

It wasn't that Yixian doubted Anshan and the others' combat abilities. As guides, the two of them could advance together, one in the front and one in the back, and they could escape unscathed no matter what enemy they encountered. However, it was unrealistic for the two of them to take down a fully armed fortress in such a short time.

From the time they started patrolling in Anshan to Changchun, it's only been two or three hours at most. In such a short time, there's not even enough time to adjust after encountering the enemy. How could they have broken in so easily?

"Yes, Yixian, your judgment is reasonable. First, notify Anshan to set up a guard post. We'll sail the boat over there to pick them up. Binjiang, you go to the dock first and be ready to attack at any time. If you encounter the enemy, you don't need to ask for permission; you can open fire directly."

"Yes, Commander!"

At Jing Su's command, Binjiang and Yixian immediately sprang into action and quickly left the room. The task of cleaning up after the meal could be left to Little Yellow Chicken. After thinking for a moment, Jing Su got up and walked towards a certain room.

"Hey, Commander, you're here! Perfect timing, I just finished downloading the game. It's called 'Two-Player', I heard it's really fun." Changchun cheered and jumped for joy when Jing Su entered the room. She had just searched online and finally found a game for two people based on various short video clips. She had just finished downloading it when Jing Su pushed the door open and came in.

"Hehe, Changchun, I'm afraid I can't play computer games with you now." Jing Su fiddled with her earrings and began to organize her thoughts.

"Hey, why? Commander, what did I do wrong? You, you're lying!!!" Upon hearing that Jing Su was no longer playing games with her, Changchun immediately became anxious, her eyes reddened, and large tears streamed down her face.

"Hey, hold on, don't rush. It's not that I don't want to play computer games with you, it's just that there are more fun things waiting for us to deal with~" Seeing Changchun's expression, Jing Su knew that the other party had misunderstood, so she immediately comforted him.

"Huh? What could be more fun than a game?" Changchun choked up.

“Fight the Sirens! Playing games on the ship is so boring. I’ll take you to fight the Sirens. Playing the real-life two-player version is much more exciting than the computer version!” Jing Su gently stroked Chang Chun’s hair and then briefly described what had happened to the patrol team to her.

"Really? Really? Can we really fight the Sirens?" Sure enough, upon hearing that he could fight the Sirens, Changchun quickly became excited.

"Of course, when have I ever lied to you?" Jing Su explained with a smile.

Just after Yixian and Binjiang left, Jingsu looked at the photos and suddenly had an idea to try it out, but the plan was a bit crazy.

I wonder who I'll run into this time?

Chapter 322 My Mind Is Made Up

"What? Commander, you want to go to the arsenal yourself? No, absolutely not, I disagree, it's too dangerous!" As expected, Binjiang and Yixian both objected to Jing Su's plan.

Yi Xian, in particular, was so anxious that she slammed her hands on the table, her face flushed red, making the table shake and the sound of it breaking could be faintly heard.

“If we follow my plan, I believe nothing will go wrong,” Jing Su insisted.

“But Commander, it’s really too dangerous for you to meet the Sirens alone. What if the Sirens try to attack you? You said yourself that last time, a Sirens sent you out on their own, which is why nothing happened. What if the Sirens you encounter this time are from an enemy force?” Binjiang chimed in, her words at this moment being much more rational.

"The commander isn't alone, I'm going with him too!" Changchun raised his left hand high, strongly declaring his presence.

However, it seems that Yixian and Binjiang completely ignored it.

"Changchun, go to your room and wait. I'll let you know when I've discussed the situation with the commander." Yixian calmed down a bit and instructed Changchun.

“But…” Changchun hesitated.

"Go!"

"Yes~" Yi Xian's sudden seriousness startled Chang Chun. Don't be fooled by her usual playful and carefree nature; that's only when Yi Xian is being comforted. At this time, whatever she does, as long as it's not too outrageous, can be forgiven.

However, Yi Xian is currently in a berserk state, and if he disobeys orders at this time, he will really be in deep trouble.

"So, Commander, can you tell us why you had to do this?" Binjiang sighed and asked after Changchun left.

"Because we need intelligence, intelligence from all sides. I've had a very ominous feeling about the current quarterly offensive. The front lines are going too smoothly. The more things are going at this time, the more dangerous it is for us."

“But…” Upon hearing Jing Su’s explanation, Binjiang clearly wanted to say something, but Jing Su stopped him directly.

“I know what you want to say, Binjiang. All along, our port area has been beating the Sirens to a pulp, right?” Jing Su sighed and continued, “But Binjiang, have you ever thought that even though we’ve been winning all the time, the Sirens have been attacking our home all along. It seems like we’ve never managed to get to the other side even once.”

In the few attempts they made, they failed to achieve any results and lost all the strongholds they had captured.

Although I was partly responsible for the loss of those strongholds, it doesn't change the fact that we actually know nothing about the Sirens.

Currently, in the entire Hong Kong region, only the Iron Blood faction has sent an expeditionary force to other worlds to scout the situation. I haven't asked whether other factions have sent teams privately, but I imagine that even if they have, they wouldn't have obtained much intelligence.

After all, if we were to truly gain something, we wouldn't be completely unaware of who the Sirens host we're fighting this time is.

Our ancestors said, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle." Yet, we have won many times without knowing ourselves or our enemy, which is clearly abnormal.

"Commander, you mean..." Binjiang's expression turned serious, as if he realized what Jing Su was about to say.

Over the years, since the port area's main focus has been on finding Jing Su, the battles with the Sirens have always been simply a matter of repelling them; there's no time for pursuit or anything like that.

Over time, the ship girls came to regard defeating the Sirens as nothing out of the ordinary. It's no wonder they had this idea; any faction could easily send a main force to defeat the Sirens. With such a disparity in strength, the ship girls had no motivation to feel any sense of crisis. In other words, as Jing Su said, they had been too lucky, and their battles had always been too smooth.

Arrived smoothly, as if it had been arranged.

"It's exactly what you think. I've compared the recent battles, and over the past year, there have been dozens of battles, big and small. But no matter which faction or which battle, the way to win is almost the same, without any change. It's like playing a game and progressing through levels; the strategies are too predictable!"

Jing Su recalled the words she had spoken to Chang Chun that morning—

"It's almost lunchtime, is there enough time? Be careful, your sister Yixian will scold you again if she finds out!"

"Hehe, that's enough. Once you have a good team composition, the game is pretty much the same. It's all the same stuff over and over again. Once you're familiar with the map, I can clear the level with my eyes closed by just placing the operators!"

At the time, Jing Su didn't think there was anything wrong, but now, with the emergence of the arsenal and the news of its swift elimination by Anshan and others, Jing Su finally realized that something was amiss.

As the saying goes, those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly. Although Jing Su has been in this world for some time, she is extremely self-aware and knows that she has no idea how to command. Therefore, she hardly interferes with the ship girls' battles and can instead have a comprehensive view of the situation from an outsider's perspective.

Upon closer inspection, the problem becomes quite obvious.

Whether it's Azur Lane or the game "Porridge Game" played in Changchun, they are essentially games with their own underlying game logic design, so the existence of fixed patterns is inevitable.

But now, Jing Su has transmigrated to a real world. There's a saying: novels need logic, but reality doesn't. In reality, even the most bizarre things can happen. How can you use fixed ideas to describe everything?

Moreover, judging from the last time Jing Su accidentally entered the world of the Sirens and was then frantically sent out by a little guy, it can be seen that the Sirens are not entirely mechanical creations in the true sense. Artificial intelligence, or rather, some Sirens may have already awakened and possessed self-awareness.

In this situation, it's easy to guess that there's no fixed pattern to the battle against the Sirens.

The sea breeze blew into the room through the window, causing Jing Su's earrings to sway irregularly. Combined with the erratic gazes, it made Yi Xian and Bin Jiang's eyes hurt and became irritable.

“But even so, it’s no reason for you, Commander, to risk your life alone!” Although she sensed that the port area might be involved in a huge conspiracy, Binjiang still insisted on her own idea. It was too dangerous. Even if the intelligence was important, it was not as important as Jing Su’s safety.

If anything were to happen to Jing Su, the Sirens wouldn't even need to lift a finger; the port itself would crumble instantly.

"It's alright. The other side went to such great lengths, sending an entire defense zone of warships and a huge resource point. Their objective is clear: they're after me."

It's fair to say that since we stepped into this defense zone, the final outcome has been pretty much the same. Perhaps I'd be safer if I went voluntarily.

"Binjiang, quickly send a message to the command center and tell them to send people over for support!" Upon hearing Jing Su's words, the two people's expressions changed drastically. Yi Xian was the first to react and shouted to Binjiang.

"There's no need to waste that effort. Even if we could get in touch, it would be too late. Doing so would only alert them. Like I said, I'll go myself; that's more likely to be safe."

If they really wanted to attack us, they wouldn't have waited until we sailed into this area.

"But......"

"No buts, my mind is made up. Go and make your own preparations!"

"Yes!"

Chapter 323 Unexpected Situation

"Hey, Commander, are you saying we're only taking Changchun? Why not bring more people? Or should we send a message to Anshan and ask them to come and meet us?" Binjiang said worriedly from the takeoff platform, watching Jing Su prepare to depart.

"For this kind of thing, taking Changchun alone is enough. Taking more than that would alert the enemy. It's safer to leave three people on the ship. If something happens, one person can be sent out, and the other two can look after each other. This way, we won't be left helpless when the cruise ship is attacked."

By the way, Binjiang, I remember we verbally agreed on emergency rescue procedures before we set off. Could you see if you can contact Yorktown and ask them to send someone to pick us up?

“But…” Binjiang was still worried.

"There are no buts. Changchun is a guided-missile destroyer. Once it arrives at the arsenal, it can directly contact Anshan and Taiyuan and form combat capability. Fushun's ship equipment is not yet stable and it cannot launch missiles for the time being. It is not very meaningful to bring it along. It is better to leave it on the ship, where the safety factor is higher."

You and Yixian are both mature and I'm at ease in case of an emergency.

"Alright, that's settled then. Maybe I'm overthinking it." Jing Su patted Binjiang's shoulder lightly, preparing to set off.

"Hmm." Seeing that Jing Su had made up her mind, Binjiang stopped trying to persuade her. Whether from the perspective of a ship girl or from the perspective of an old married couple, her husbands had made their decision, so what she should do was to fully support them and offer her blessings. "Oh, right, Commander, put this on!"

Just as Jing Su was about to leave, Bin Jiang seemed to have thought of something and suddenly stopped her.

"Hmm?" Jing Su turned her head, but before she could ask what was wrong, she suddenly felt a cool sensation on her ear, and a small, ring-like object appeared on it. "What's this?"

"Never misses. My special power, Commander, you can think of it simply as a smoke bomb." Binjiang's hand was flashing with golden light. "In three seconds, the smoke it emits is enough to cover a 20x20 room. It is imbued with my ship girl power. Before the smoke dissipates, the Sirens will not be able to detect you."

If something happens, use it, then run!

“Of course~” Jing Su reached out and touched the small ring. It felt strangely nice to the touch, like a soft and smooth gummy candy that had been moistened with water.

"Come back alive!" Binjiang hugged Jingsu, whispered earnestly in his ear, "You must come back alive, otherwise, I don't know what I might do!"

"If this were a movie or TV show, we'd be setting up a flag here. I'm off!" Jing Su patted Binjiang's back a few times to reassure him.

Then, without saying another word, he turned and left.

As the speedboat gradually disappeared from sight, Binjiang took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and her cloak billowed without wind. When she opened her eyes again, a glint of light flashed in her eyes. Behind her, a golden dragon was circling and roaring silently.

Where the golden dragon passed, the ship's rigging, exuding a fierce aura, slowly emerged.

Before long, a giant umbrella appeared in Binjiang's hand, with a golden handle and two red ribbons tied to the end, fluttering in the air.

"Commander, you will definitely return safely!" With a wave of her hand, Binjiang twirled the giant umbrella, then pointed the tip of the umbrella directly in the direction Jing Su had left, and said earnestly.

...

"Commander, you've arrived. Shall we depart now?"

Upon entering the cabin, Changchun rushed to Jingsu with a very serious expression.

Clearly, Changchun had realized by this time that this attack might not be as simple as she had imagined.

"Yes, let's hurry up and leave, or things might change."

"No matter what happens, Changchun will protect the Commander!" Changchun danced with excitement, but then quickly became hesitant, lowering his head, placing his hands behind his back, and whispering, "That's right, Commander, if we come back safely, maybe..."

“Everything else is fine, but if you mean this, then no way,” Jing Su said softly, pinching her ear.

"Hey, Commander, that's so annoying! So many destroyer girls have this little bit of stuff, why can't I have it!"

"Hehe, let me correct two of your mistakes. First of all, in terms of age, you are almost the youngest among the destroyers in the port area. Having a good figure does not mean that you are old. Secondly, I do not only forbid you from doing this, but I also do not allow your sister Yixian to do so."

In short, what happened before is none of my business now, but what didn't happen after I came back has all stopped. I don't want to see any form of harm, absolutely nothing!