Shipgirls and Salted Fish Commander, Port Survival Guide

After Changchun finished speaking, he traced a pattern on Jingsu's wrist in a specific order.

"Ding~"

Jing Su shuddered, a crisp sound flashing through her mind.

A pale blue light screen appeared in front of Jing Su, with a few words written on it.

Please enter your password.

"Commander, Commander, is it ready yet?" Changchun urged.

"Um, it says it needs a password. Changchun, do you know the password?" Jing Su asked.

"Password? I don't know. I've only heard Sister Yixian mention it. I have absolutely no idea what the password is."

"Then isn't this thing just for show?" Jing Su said with a wry smile.

"Hmm, it seems to work. It's a fingerprint. Commander, why don't you try putting your palm on it?" Changchun tried hard to recall, but said uncertainly.

"Let me try."

Jing Su placed her hands on the light screen.

"Om~"

Another shudder ran through her body. This time it wasn't an illusion; Jing Su truly felt an electric current travel from her wrist throughout her entire body.

"Identity information confirmed successfully."

Commander network rebooted.

Information updated...

Update successful.

Search for signal stations.

Search failed.

Search again...

Search successful.

Network connection successful.

Several lines of text flashed quickly on the light screen. Just as Jing Su was wondering what this thing was searching for, an emotionless voice rang in Jing Su's ear.

"Commander, Navigator TB is at your service. Welcome back!"

Chapter Thirteen: The Port Area's Strength Exceeds Expectations

At this moment, in front of Jing Su, a girl with a gray body, a wisp of blue hair on her head, and a black necklace floated silently.

Jing Su's eyes widened, and she was speechless for a moment.

'Holographic projection? This 3D effect is a bit too strong, isn't it?' Jing Su said, noting that she could even see several tentacles floating back and forth behind the girl.

"Oh, it's Sister TB! Long time no see!" Changchun clearly recognized the girl who called herself Navigator TB, waved to her, and said excitedly.

"Long time no see, Miss Changchun. It's been 983 days since we last met. How have you been?" Upon hearing Changchun's words, TB nodded to her, then turned to look at Jing Su with a burning gaze.

"Hmm~ Has it been that long? More than nine hundred days. Is a year three hundred and sixty-five days or sixty? Wow, I can't figure it out. Never mind, TB sister, it's nice to see you again."

"By the way, Sister TB, I was so excited to see the Commander that I jumped over from the sea and bumped into him. Could you help me contact Sister Yixian?" Changchun asked timidly, her head down and her little feet drawing circles on the ground.

“Ding! Ding! Ding!”

After hearing Changchun's words, Navigator TB's body quickly turned red and kept flashing. The tentacles behind him began to fly upwards. Jing Su vaguely felt a wave of wind constantly rushing towards her. The powerful aura scared Changchun into taking a few steps back.

"Ahem, well, I'm fine, I feel good now, just a little tired. I was thinking of asking Yixian to drive us back." Although she didn't know what had happened, Jing Su's intuition told her that if things continued like this, something quite bad would happen, so she quickly spoke up to cover for Changchun.

Upon hearing Jing Su's words, navigator TB's abnormal behavior gradually subsided, and he returned to normal.

"Oh my gosh~ TB sister, you looked so scary just now~"

The strange occurrence had clearly frightened Changchun. As soon as the navigator TB returned to normal, Changchun immediately ran behind Jingsu, hugged Jingsu's waist tightly with both hands, poked his little head out, and rubbed against her while saying something.

"Miss Changchun, please try to avoid such behavior in the future. It would be bad if you hurt the Commander," said Old Fire Soup TB, who had returned to normal.

"I know I was wrong, Commander, I'm sorry~" Changchun's timid voice rang out again, making Jing Su's whole body go numb. How could there be such a soul-touching voice in this world?

"It's alright, it's alright. I could tell that Changchun held back at the end; she knew her limits."

Based on navigator TB's performance, Jing Su could roughly guess the strength of the ship girls. She was just stunned by the impact and didn't react in time. Now that she thought about it, the coastline was at least 20 or 30 meters away from where she was, and Changchun just jumped over directly and even landed precisely in her arms. Jing Su thought that her control was absolutely amazing.

"Hehe~" Changchun smiled happily after receiving Jing Su's affirmation, buried his head in Jing Su's lower back, and rubbed against him.

"Commander, please allow me to examine you." Navigator TB glanced at Changchun for a moment, then said expressionlessly.

"It has this function too?" Jing Su was overjoyed. He had originally just wanted to ask Yi Xian if there was a hospital nearby to check his health. Now that he could do it directly, it would save him a lot of trouble. "If it's possible, thank you for your trouble."

"..."

Jing Su's tone was quite polite, after all, she was troubling someone to help with the check, but the navigator TB didn't seem very happy.

Just as Jing Su was wondering, a burst of blue light suddenly appeared from the star pattern on Jing Su's wrist and quickly covered her entire body, startling Jing Su.

After about ten seconds, the blue light stopped, and at the same time, a new light screen appeared in front of TB, on which a series of numbers quickly appeared.

"The examination is complete, Commander. Apart from an inflammatory reaction in your intestines, no obvious trauma or bleeding points were found. Based on the assessment, there is no need to worry about impact injuries."

However, my examination can only check the surface damage and cannot detect hidden injuries. I suggest the Commander go to the control room, where I can conduct a fluid test for you. As he finished speaking, although it was very subtle, Jing Su seemed to notice a slight blush on the navigator TB's pale face.

"Forehead..."

'This bodily fluid test should be a legitimate examination, right?'

"Hey, hey, inflammatory reaction? What inflammation? Is it serious? Commander, don't scare Changchun. Let's go find Sister Yixian right away." Jing Su didn't feel much about TB's examination. After all, she knew her own body well, and the examination report given by TB matched her memory. But Changchun obviously didn't know these things. When she heard that Jing Su really had a problem, her face turned pale in an instant, almost as pale as TB. She pulled Jing Su and was about to walk to the rest room.

Jing Su quickly stopped her, saying, "It's nothing, it's nothing. It's an old problem. I know how to deal with it. I'll just find a pharmacy, get some medicine, and take care of it for a while."

This inflammatory reaction was a sequela of Jing Su's car accident. It would flare up every few days, either causing ulcers or bleeding for no reason. This problem tormented him a lot during his first few years of college. Later, Jing Su found a folk remedy and took it for two years before the problem was cured.

Now it's just a matter of starting over. Having experience before, Jing Su naturally won't take this problem to heart. In fact, compared to before, with experience, she might be able to cure it faster.

"Really!?" Changchun was skeptical.

“Of course, when have I ever lied to Changchun?” Jing Su stroked Changchun’s soft, long hair and said, “Taobao, could you help me search for the nearest pharmacy? I can take this opportunity to buy some medicine. If it’s far away, I can ask if they can deliver.”

"Yes, Commander." TB nodded, and the previous light screen reappeared, but this time, the content on it was a map with constantly changing coordinates.

Soon, the coordinates stopped changing, indicating that the location had been found.

"Commander, the nearest pharmacy is this **Pharmacy, about 1,200 kilometers away. Their online information shows a delivery distance of 15 kilometers, so they probably can't deliver here."

Commander, should we begin navigation? I can search for the fastest route.

"Um, no need..."

Jing Su was embarrassed. From his previous conversation with Yi Xian, he knew that the port area was on a large island. However, judging from the coastline and the ring road, Jing Su judged that the island's infrastructure was quite good. He figured there should be a pharmacy or something, but there wasn't.

'Are the island's residents really that resilient? There's not even a pharmacy. If someone gets sick, wouldn't that be a nightmare? Wait, judging from Hu Teng and the others' attitude towards the port area, there seems to be another possibility.'

Jing Su, who was lost in thought, suddenly had a thought that sent a jolt through her.

"You can't exactly say that this entire island belongs to the port area, right? Ship girls don't usually get sick, and if they do, human medicine is unlikely to work on them. Plus, they're not on the island, so pharmacies and such are completely unnecessary, right? That can't be right. This place is lush and green, with a pleasant environment, clearly suitable for living. Such a large area, would that maritime bureau really be willing to give it up to the fragmented port area?!"

According to Hu Teng, since they left according to their factions and developed independently, apart from the factions on duty, very few ship girls have come back to visit the port. Such a large and suitable area for survival, no force group has any reason to leave it completely empty.

No, it's still possible.

It seems the port area's strength might exceed my expectations!

Chapter Fourteen: Open Language Speech, I'm Back

"It's so far, Commander. Should I go buy it? It should be enough for a round trip before we leave tomorrow." After thinking for a moment, Changchun asked after hearing the distance to the pharmacy.

“No need for that. There’s no rush. We’ll have the chance to go to the mainland eventually, and we can buy it then.” Changchun’s words interrupted Jing Su’s thoughts, and Jing Su answered after taking over the conversation.

"Oh~" Changchun drawled, his eyes darting around as if he were pondering something.

“TB, I heard from Changchun that you can contact Yixian. Is that possible?” Seeing that Changchun did not respond, Jing Su focused on the girl floating in mid-air in front of her.

From the moment she made her suggestion until now, this expressionless, taciturn girl has been floating around, neither speaking nor reacting in any other way, simply looking at Jing Su.

"Sure, although the signal stations here have all been dismantled, I can requisition a satellite to provide a signal. It will take about ten minutes. Commander, should we contact Yixian now?"

"Our port area even has satellites?" Jing Su asked in surprise.

According to the storyline, it's normal for a fleet backed by Azur Lane to have a few communication satellites. However, based on the previous conversation with Yi Xian, it seems that there is only one military organization in this world called the Maritime Bureau. Dawn Port does not belong to any faction. How can an entity that couldn't even solve the problem of deployment resources three years ago be able to launch its own satellite in just three years?

"Yes, I just checked the database of the port area. In the past three years, the port area has launched a lot of satellites, the most recent one being a month ago."

"Oh, okay, then we'll requisition one. Wait, you said, requisition? The satellite we're calling over isn't ours?" Just as Jing Su was about to give the order, she suddenly realized that TB's wording was a bit strange. Did they really need to use the word 'requisition' for their own satellite?

"Yes, the closest satellite to our location belongs to the Maritime Bureau, Commander. I have already gained control of this satellite. Should we bring it over now?"

"..."

"Um, let's leave it for now. Will the people at the Maritime Safety Administration notice what you're up to?" Looking at TB, who had suddenly pulled off a big stunt, Jing Su silently wiped away her cold sweat. She had thought Changchun was invincible, but it turned out that this cute, petite guy was even better.

"No way, with the Maritime Safety Administration's technology, they can't detect TB's methods. If all else fails, just blow up that satellite and say it was done by the Sirens!" Changchun exclaimed excitedly before TB could answer, clearly having done this many times before. Jing Su still wanted to exclaim, 'How are you so skilled at this?!'

“In that case, we don’t need it anymore. Just return it,” Jing Su said after a moment’s thought.

"Hey, Commander, aren't you going to contact Sister Yixian anymore?" Changchun asked.

"No need. I only contacted her to ask her to come pick me up. I'm fine now, I can walk back later," Jing Su replied.

The initial concern was that he might have some hidden injury that would prevent him from moving, which is why he called for help. After a check-up by TB showed that he was fine, there was no need to call for help anymore. Before setting off, Yi Xian seemed to have something to do, so he didn't want to bother her. Besides, he was using the Maritime Bureau's satellite. Jing Su's understanding of the Maritime Bureau came entirely from conversations with others. He only knew that this organization had some ambitions towards the port area and that the port area was constrained by it in terms of resources, but he didn't know anything more specific. He didn't know whether this force was strong or weak, or what its status was in this world.

Under these circumstances, it would be bad if we acted rashly and ruined the girls' plans.

During her conversation with Yixian, Jingsu could sense that the port area, organized by faction, had definitely done some things behind the scenes that the Maritime Safety Administration did not want them to do. The most obvious example was the new ship equipment that Changchun was testing. Jingsu did not think the Maritime Safety Administration would be happy to accept it.

Upon receiving Jing Su's instructions, TB didn't say anything, but a string of code flashed across the screen: "Commander, the satellite has been returned, and the abnormal data has been deleted."

"Commander, what are you doing here?" Just as Jing Su was about to say something, a clear, cold voice interrupted him.

"Hu Teng? You're here?" Turning around, he saw Hu Teng holding a strange canned drink, staring at him expressionlessly.

"Hmm, the detector detected an abnormal signal here, so I came to check it out." Hu Teng crumpled the canned drink in his hand into a ball and accurately threw it into the trash can not far away.

"Hey, hey, a strange signal? Changchun's watch didn't detect it. It shows that the only signal we had nearby was from when Sister TB started up." Before Jing Su could say anything, Changchun shouted loudly, obviously having detected an abnormal signal and wanted to say something that was quite alarming.

"That's the strange thing, Changchun. Since you're here, do you remember how long ago TB was last launched?" Hu Teng asked rhetorically.

"Ah, how long ago was it activated? Changchun doesn't know. I only know that I haven't seen Sister TB in a long time." Changchun lowered her head, thinking. She only found out today that Navigator TB could be turned off.

"Ten months ago, exactly three hundred days ago, Commander, do you know what that means?"

"What?" Jing Su asked in confusion. To be honest, he had only been in this world for less than a day and had barely accepted the fact that he had transmigrated. How could he know what the switch of an artificial intelligence meant? However, there were indeed differences. TB was too intelligent. If Changchun hadn't kept emphasizing that she was an intelligent auxiliary system, Jing Su would have really thought he was talking to a real person.

'Speaking of which, judging from the official images, TB looks exactly like a certain siren? Hmm!?'

After Hu Teng's explanation, Jing Su finally understood why she said that TB's restart would be very unusual.

It turns out that since Jing Su disappeared, the port has been in chaos. The most serious problem is the allocation of resources. When Jing Su was around, the ship girls only needed to focus on fighting and finding ways to get close to the commander. They didn't have to worry about resources at all. Although they didn't know how Jing Su did it, every day when they woke up, the warehouse would be full of resources for sorties.

After the commander went missing, not only was the source of resources completely cut off, but how to allocate them also became a major problem. At first, they could still rely on TB's computing power to make plans, but not long after, due to the long-term inability to detect the commander's presence, the intelligent system navigator TB automatically entered a dormant state. According to TB itself, it was the same as the screen going black on a mobile phone.

The solution is simple: just restart her. However, TB says that she belongs only to the Commander. Even if she is restarted, she will soon fall into hibernation again when the Commander is not around. In addition, theoretically, no one except Jing Su can restart TB. She can only be restarted because the Commander specifically authorized the secretary ship to take care of port affairs when he is not around.

Although it can be restarted, most functions will be unusable, with only communication and search functions remaining. The secretary ship does not have the authority to directly seize control of a satellite, as it did just now.

With limited functionality and the fact that each startup consumes a lot of resources, TB naturally started less and less often over time. It used to be started once when the various leaders were gathered for a meeting. After each faction launched its own satellite and solved the communication problem, TB never started again. As Hu Teng said, the last time it was started was 300 days ago.

"So, is there any explanation for this launch?" Jing Su swallowed hard and asked.

“Besides the commander, only a few secretary ships have the activation authority. For a secretary ship to activate TB, everyone must be present and unanimously authorize it. At this moment, I am the only secretary ship in the port area. Most importantly, due to the authorization issue, TB is only used by us to urgently convene other people for meetings. So when she activates it, everyone else will receive the message.” Hu Teng smiled and said.

"In other words..."

"In other words, Commander, your actions just now were tantamount to clearly indicating to all the ship girls in the port area that you have returned."

Chapter Fifteen: The Royal Family's Return Reaction

Royal residence.

A crisp, rapid sound echoed down the corridor.

"Thump thump~ thump~"