Shipgirls and Salted Fish Commander, Port Survival Guide

"Di Di~"

After adjusting the air conditioner temperature with the remote control, Jing Su asked a question.

"How about we play a mobile game? The base has internet now, and considering the learning curve and entertainment value, mobile games are much easier to pick up than PC games."

Given Ayanami's current state, she probably won't want to play console games for a while. In that case, she might as well try something else.

"Mobile game...what is that?" To Jing Su's surprise, Ayanami sat upright in the chair with her hands on the chair, looking puzzled.

"Mobile games?" Jing Su was taken aback and blurted out instinctively.

"I think I heard Lei and Changchun mention this before. Commander, what is this mobile game?"

The case is solved. It wasn't an act; Ayanami genuinely didn't know anything about mobile games.

"Simply put, it's a game played on a mobile phone, hence the name mobile game. To draw an analogy, those discs you just took out, Ayanami, are for playing on, well, your latest PS2077, that's a console game. If you play them on a computer, you can call them PC games," Jing Su explained to Ayanami with great enthusiasm.

"Can a phone...play games?" Ayanami looked at Jing Su with a puzzled expression.

"Of course... So, Ayanami, you don't usually play mobile games? How do you use your phone at other times?"

"I contact Javelin, Z23, and Laffey, take photos, post them on WeChat Moments, get likes, order takeout, and sometimes I use it when I take on expedition missions."

"Also, I bought things online using my phone. These CDs were bought on my phone." Ayanami responded slowly, word by word.

"And... what about during your leisure time?"

"Playing games... Commander, the kind you're talking about, console and PC games." Ayanami blushed and pointed to the CDs scattered on the ground.

"Uh...this..." Jing Su didn't know how to respond for a moment.

To say that Ayanami is normal is an understatement. As a seasoned otaku, she doesn't even know what mobile games mean. Jing Su originally thought that even if Ayanami didn't like playing mobile games, she should at least know what mobile games meant. But it turns out that Ayanami was just using her phone as a communication tool.

You could say she's abnormal, but she uses the phone's additional functions very naturally: taking photos and posting them on social media, meeting up with friends, ordering takeout, liking posts, shopping online, and even using it for work. Everything she does shows that she knows how to use a phone.

The intense conflict between the two sides brought together the playful, innocent, yet adorable Ayanami.

"Commander, is it strange that you don't know about mobile games?" Perhaps embarrassed by Jing Su's surprised gaze, Ayanami turned her head away, looking annoyed.

"Cough cough, how, how could that be? At any time, being able to support yourself and be happy is a remarkable thing. In modern society, with the super explosion of information and knowledge dissemination channels, no one dares to say that they understand everything."

What may be common sense to others may be novel new knowledge to another group of people.

This is all normal.

"Don't even mention not knowing about mobile games; many people don't even know how to register an email address on their phone."

"Pfft~" Ayanami covered her mouth and chuckled, but quickly said, "Commander, Ayanami has thought of something funny, please continue."

"Haha, what a coincidence, I also thought of something funny."

"Hmm? Are we thinking of the same funny thing?"

"Maybe~"

"Well then, Commander, may I ask Ayanami to teach me how to play mobile games?"

"Eh...?"

Chapter 350 Enjoyable Mobile Game Time

"Swiping forward on the left side of the screen moves you forward, moving left on the left and right on the right, and so on. Swiping on the right adjusts the view and allows you to use items and skills, which is similar to using a gamepad."

"Okay... I understand. Can we begin?"

"Haha, don't be in such a hurry. Playing this game requires a sense of ritual." Jing Su replied with a smile, looking at Ling Bo who was gripping her phone tightly and looking nervous.

"...Um?"

"Come on, repeat after me, **Personality, activate!"

"**Personality, starting point!**" Ayanami held up her phone and shouted loudly.

"You actually said that so naturally?" After saying it, Jing Su felt a little embarrassed and blushed. Unexpectedly, Ling Bo followed suit.

“Since it’s a ritual, we should naturally follow it. Ayanami approaches every game with a devout attitude…” Ayanami clasped her hands together in a prayerful gesture.

“Um…it does seem like something you could do.” Jing Su scratched his head, wanting to say something more, but ultimately held back. “Then, let’s start matching quickly. Let’s practice in casual matches first, and then we can play ranked matches after we’re more familiar with them.”

"Commander, a true warrior dares to face risks." Just as Jing Su was about to start a game, Ling Bo called out to him.

"Um...so, you mean?"

"Since we can directly enter ranked matches, let's challenge the higher difficulties. Familiarizing ourselves with the mechanics should be achievable in ranked mode, right?"

"Okay... fine then." Jing Su didn't really care about rankings. A long time ago, he became a casual gamer, playing games only for fun, and everything else came second.

Therefore, Jing Su prefers playing casual matches to the relatively serious ranked matches. In casual matches, there is no such thing as winning or losing. Everyone is there to practice their characters, and no one will say much if someone makes a mistake.

However, since Ayanami wanted to play ranked matches, Jing Su naturally wouldn't refuse. Anyway, both of them had just created their accounts, so it wouldn't be easy to encounter smurfs.

So, three minutes later.

You are lost!

With a flushed face and pouting lips, Ayanami stared at the gray screen, trembling all over.

"You were stunned (instantly killed), it's not your fault," Jing Su thought, trying to comfort her.

"Come again!"

...

"My teammate is a bot. He got to Tier 2 within the first two minutes. Tier 1 and Tier 2 of this character are two completely different things. It's normal that we can't beat him."

"Again, again!"

...

"It's a team composition issue; there's really not much you can do if a fast repairer encounters a team that can catch you quickly..."

"Again...!"

...

"Commander, why can't I move?"

"Haha, congratulations! You've experienced the true essence of online gaming!"

...

"Phew, this time was alright, I ranked up."

Finally, after countless attempts to dissolve the phone, Jing Su breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the word "victory" on the screen. She put down her phone, stretched her slightly sore wrists, and then turned to look at Ling Bo.

At that moment, Ayanami was holding a can of iced cola and chugging it down her throat.

"How does it feel?"

"It's a strange experience, one I've never had playing console games," Ayanami said, putting down her cola and answering expressionlessly. "But anyway, it's nothing special!"

"If you play this game with friends, the chances of encountering real people are very high. Without time to adjust, the first few games can be quite painful." Jing Su looked at the broken phone fragments on the ground, silently following Ayanami's train of thought. "So, it's quite impressive that Ayanami was able to get the hang of it and successfully rank up in such a short time."

"This is the Commander's power!"

"Actually, it's still a problem with the game mechanics. Because there are competitive elements in this game, the balance in all aspects can't be as good as that of console games. Plus, it involves a battle between two different factions, so no matter what, some people will feel uncomfortable."

"Indeed, as a game, it doesn't give players enough time to adapt to the environment and the game's pace, which is a major drawback."

However, Commander, why is it that so many times, while playing, I suddenly can't move?

Moreover, even if it's unbalanced, the enemy is far too powerful.

Furthermore, why is it that the character I control is unable to fight back and can only passively be attacked by the enemy?

Picking up where Jing Su left off, Ayanami asked a series of questions.

"As expected of a game master, you discovered the essence of the game so quickly. In normal circumstances, the opponents that new accounts encounter in the early stages are either newbies like us or intelligent AI, or what we call human-machine.

These opponents will give new players a gaming experience so that they will stay. Once the player's skill level improves, they will be matched with opponents of similar skill.

However, as I mentioned before, it's impossible to maintain balance in this kind of competitive game with an asymmetrical number of players. So what I just said can only be an ideal state and cannot actually be achieved.

As for suddenly being unable to play, haha, if you don't encounter network fluctuations and freeze a few times, can you even call it playing an online game?

The enemy is too strong; either they're intentionally smurfing, skilled players are using smurf accounts to bully newbies, or they're using cheats—in PC game terms, using secret codes to assist in clearing the game.

"This behavior is too much!" As soon as Jing Su finished speaking, Ling Bo picked up her phone and started typing rapidly.

"Ayanami, what are you doing?"

"I advise that guy who was cheating earlier. It's one thing to use cheat codes in offline games, but to do it in a game where you're playing with other people is shameless!"

"Haha, Ayanami, congratulations again on experiencing another kind of joy in online games. Your current behavior is called 'laning' in slang. Take my advice, don't bother with this kind of person."

He's already frying fish and opening things, so he's already prepared to argue with people. If you actually talk to him, it won't be long before it escalates into a war of words between the two of you, and then it'll be a battle of who can insult whom more.

Winning an argument is a waste of time, losing an argument leaves you angry and disliked by everyone. It's not worth it.

For this kind of person, two words to describe them: compliant.

“Since it’s the Commander’s suggestion… then Ayanami, just do as he says.” Ayanami’s face was flushed red because Jing Su had subconsciously put his hand on her shoulder while comforting her.

Rather than saying that Ayanami gave up confronting the cheater because of Jing Su's words, it would be more accurate to say that Jing Su's actions made her shy.

"Hehe, I may be compliant, but for the sake of the overall environment, I'll submit this report."

"People like that are really annoying," Ayanami pouted and lowered her head, making her expression unreadable.

"Indeed, the game's official team doesn't care. By the way, this prompt is a survey. You can answer the questions to receive something."

"Survey?"

"The questions and answers that the official team put out are basically asking players to give feedback on their gameplay experience. But you can just take these things with a grain of salt. They release questionnaires every now and then, but I haven't seen them actually make any changes. If they do, it's a long time later. So, just treat them as a small perk that the official team gives to players."

"Um..."

"I've already tried online competitive games, and they can get really tiring. How about switching to a different game to cheer myself up?"

Is it still a competitive game?

"No, constant combat is exhausting. Let's switch to a single-player game."

"Single-player games for mobile phones? How much do they cost? How do I buy them?"

"If you're just playing, you don't need to spend any money; it's free."

"Free? Are there still companies that make free games for people to play?"

"Haha, there are quite a few companies that do this. Of course, it can't be completely free. They must be getting their profits and satisfaction from other sources."

The game I'm recommending is one I've been playing in Changchun. It's a post-apocalyptic tower defense game. The revenue model is selling cards and skins. You can think of it as players obtaining characters through special resources via gacha pulls, and then there's the customization aspect – changing the characters' clothes.

"Can this really make money?"

"Haha, it depends on the industry. If you can survive, you can make money; if you can't survive, you can't make money. This industry is much more brutal than the console market. It's notorious for being a small, messy, and chaotic industry."

"..."

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore. It's fine to play normally, just avoid those circles. There are too many extreme players, and if you get involved with them, you'll get a headache."

"Um..."

So, Jing Su spent the entire afternoon playing games, including new and old ones. In short, she tried out everything she could think of that was on the leaderboard and looked appealing.

During this time, Changchun joined the fray. It turned out that Yixian and Yorktown had been unable to find Jingsu and were very worried, so they asked Changchun to come and look for her. To be precise, Yorktown also asked Raffi to help look for her, but Raffi was sleeping. By the time they received the message, Changchun had already been playing with Jingsu for a long time.

"Sister Ayanami, hurry up and promote a four-star operator to Elite 2, so we can 'bang bang' through the main story."

"Are four-star characters really that powerful at Elite 2 in this game?"

"If you have an Elite 2 operator, you can borrow a six-star Elite 2 operator! This blue-haired lady with horns is very useful. Don't let her support role fool you; she can solo many main story stages and form an army on her own!"

"Oh, that's amazing. That's impressive."

"Hehehe, yes, come here, Ayanami-neechan, that's enough for a 10-pull. A beginner's 10-pull, this is guaranteed to give you a 6-star. Let's test Ayanami-neechan's bloodline."

"Sakura Empire, the Oni race, possesses the power of demons and gods..."

"It's not about bloodline, it's about how lucky you are, Ayanami-neechan. People who draw good cards are all unlucky and don't live long!"

"In fact, Ou Kun has an extremely long lifespan."

"..."

Faced with Ayanami, who was out of sync with him, Changchun seemed a little desperate and looked at Jingsu with pleading eyes.