I'm in the azure sky, and I have an anti-fraud app.

Chapter 377 Bismarck's Drifting Plan

Eugen was so startled by the sudden sound that he almost jumped up.

Fortunately, Li Wei grabbed Eugen's shoulder and looked at the newcomer: "Z23, are you... going for a morning run?"

“Yeah.” Z23 wore a disgusted expression. “There aren’t many people in this park, so I chose to go for a morning run here. I didn’t expect the Commander and Miss Eugen to…”

Li Wei made a threatening gesture: "Now that you've discovered our secret, we can't let you go."

Z23 took a half step back, playing along with the commander's act: "Commander, what are you going to do to me!"

"What did I do? Of course, I did it." Li Wei pulled Z23 into his arms, surprised to find that her skirt was almost as revealing as a maid outfit. He said meaningfully, "I didn't expect you to be so bold, Z23... I remember you weren't like this before."

What was I like before?

"Weren't you quite conservative before?" Li Wei reached in to scout and found that Z23 was already prepared for battle. "Tsk tsk... You... were you already prepared after just one glance? Or did you anticipate this in advance?"

The girl instinctively puckered up her jelly to make it easier for the commander to move. Z23 blushed and said, "What is the commander saying? I don't understand."

"Never mind if you don't understand." Li Wei gestured for Z23 to sit up straight on the chair, mimicking a rocking horse pose. "You don't need to understand, just hold on tight. Also, don't shout battle cries—you don't want more ship girls to find you here, do you?"

Eugen finally calmed down a bit: "Commander, it was clearly me this morning..."

“Who said you could escape this?” Levi slapped Eugen’s jelly hard. “You come up here and hold him up… not side by side, but one above the other, like a hamburger.”

"Hmm..." Eugen was more familiar with this kind of scenario. She was only concerned about the risk of being exposed. Since she was already exposed, she might as well let loose: "Hamburger? Commander, do you see me as the bread or the meat filling?"

Li Wei entered a probing phase, taking turns gathering information outside the two core modules: "That depends on what you want to be."

"Hmm... is there any difference?" Eugen used a little trick, secretly shaking the jelly to make her core module more appealing to the commander and successfully gaining the first move.

Z23 simply breathed in the morning air silently, trying to calm her racing heart, without saying a word. Upon hearing Eugen's question, Z23 also pricked up her ears, eager to hear the Commander's answer.

“Of course there’s a difference.” Levi began to attack Eugen: “When you’re the bun of a hamburger, you only need to defend and attack. But when you’re the filling in the middle, you also have to defend against attacks from the bun.”

"Well……"

Eugen quickly experienced the difference firsthand.

……

In the Ironblood Port office:

Bismarck, now dressed in a new maid outfit, said, "Commander, I heard you made headlines in the park this morning?"

"What news? That was an accident." Li Wei said with a serious face: "If Z23 hadn't come for the morning run, he wouldn't have found out about what happened between Eugen and me, and naturally, no one would have known."

Bismarck sighed softly: "Even if you wanted to try it in a park, at least in a corner. Now that everyone knows, I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of?" Levi patted Bismarck's jelly, gesturing for Bismarck to step forward a little. The smooth texture in his hand made Levi love it. "If we let everyone go to the park to wait for the rabbits to run into the tree stump, wouldn't we have more space?"

Bismarck took a half step forward to make it easier for the commander to play with her, and sighed softly again: "Even without the park to attract attention, we have enough space—today's original plan was to go boating on the Rhine River, and no other ship girls would bother us."

“It’s not too late to go now.” Li Wei stood up. “Let’s go, I want to experience what it’s like to drift down the river—just the two of us, right?”

Bismarck: "Yes... Today was supposed to be all my time, but now I only have half a day left."

"Don't be disappointed." Levi pulled Bismarck into his arms and kissed her passionately. "I'll extend it until tomorrow morning, okay?"

Bismarck: o(￣ヘ￣o＃)

"How about I give you one more bullet?"

"Just one more shot?" Bismarck said in a rare display of coquettishness, "Commander, you've taken up almost an entire day of my time."

Even knowing that Bismarck was exaggerating, Levi still indulged him: "Then here's another round of ammunition, are you satisfied?"

Bismarck smiled and said, "That's more like it."

……

The starting point of the rafting trip on the upper Rhine River.

Bismarck helped the commander put on his life jacket and then solemnly checked the ship one last time: "Commander, this is the ship we'll be on. Just one last time, Commander, you can swim and you're very familiar with emergency procedures for drowning, right?"

Li Wei nodded: "Don't worry, the river doesn't even look as deep as me. I reckon I could stick my head out of the water if I stood up."

“That’s because this is the dock.” When it came to the safety of the commander, Bismarck could not afford to be negligent. She carefully checked every possible problem area: “In the real river, the water is much deeper than it is now.”

"However, Commander, you don't need to worry too much. I've invited five ship girls to provide comprehensive protection from different angles."

Li Wei: ...

Five ship girls working together to protect...

That means that, in addition to underwater, there are ship girls protecting you from all directions, including in the air, in front, behind, left, right, and above.

Seemingly seeing through Li Wei's thoughts: "No, no, no, Commander, in order to give you a little bit of the drifting experience, there was no special protection up ahead, so you can rest assured. The last protection is underwater."

"alright."

Li Wei said he was deeply shocked.

But as the protected center, he couldn't say anything.

"...Is this the little boat I'm going to drift on?"

“To be precise, it was the small boat that the Commander and I were drifting in.” Bismarck checked all the safety precautions and, with Levi by his side, pushed the boat into the water. The boat looked like it was made of wood, extremely light in the water, yet remarkably sturdy.

"This seat is too small for two people, right?"

“So… I’ll sit in the Commander’s lap.” Bismarck gestured for Levi to go first, then sat in the Commander’s lap herself, while secretly fiddling with the main gun. Only then did Levi realize that there was an opening outside Bismarck’s core compartment, allowing his main gun to be attached to the core compartment.

Li Wei: "...All five ship girls are still watching."

“This idea was actually theirs…” Bismarck’s face flushed slightly. “Alright, Commander, hold on tight, we’re about to begin.”

"it is good."

The small boat was launched, and Li Wei gently paddled with his oars. The current near the dock was not rapid, allowing Li Wei to easily familiarize himself with and master the techniques of rafting.

"Commander, move a little lighter. We just need to go downstream; we don't need much strength. Just pay attention to maintaining our balance... There's a big rock over there; let's avoid it. Yes, and then we need to turn left ahead. Just gently nudge it with the oar to turn. Hmm... Commander, you're great!"

Li Wei mischievously asked, "What's so great about it?"

Bismarck turned and kissed the commander's cheek: "Everything about you is wonderful."

Li Wei turned the boat again, splashing water. "Be more specific."

Bismarck, holding a map, acted as a "guide," introducing the scenery along the way to Livy.

“…Be careful not to move too much, or you’ll fall out.” Levi repeatedly shielded Bismarck in his arms, saying, “This ship is only so big, I’m afraid you’ll fall over if you move too much.”

Bismarck smiled sweetly, not saying that she was a ship girl and not afraid of falling into the water; nor did she say that she had a main gun fixed and could not fall into the water. She just leaned against the commander's arms, enjoying the commander's care and love.

……

Egil: "...Damn it, that position should have been mine! I was the one who came up with the idea! And Bismarck just took it from me..."

Hutten: "...Bismarck is even more affectionate than I imagined. Is this what the Commander likes?"

Hindenburg: "The contractor was actually blinded by that woman, how infuriating..."

Only U-556 looked excited: "The last time I saw Bismarck smile so happily was probably the last time..."

Frederick the Great: "...U-556, please keep a good watch underwater."

U-556: "Yes! Leave it to me!"

……

As the water flow slowed, the scenery on both banks gradually changed, transforming from forests and canyons to farmland and other landscapes.

Bismarck took the initiative to introduce to the commander: "Commander, these two banks are vineyards. See those green plants? Those are grapevines. They don't seem to have fruit yet, but once they bear fruit, they will be sweet and sour and very delicious."

Li Wei: "...What are you going to do with so many grapes?"

“Well… most of it will be used to make wine. The amount of grapes produced along the banks of the Rhine River accounts for about 70% to 80% of our daily needs…” Bismarck was a little embarrassed, and she shifted her position slightly to make herself more comfortable: “A portion will also be sent to our home port every day for everyone to enjoy.”

"every day?"

"Yes, previously the ship girls on rotation would carry the supplies back and forth every week. Didn't the commander approve the logistics transportation work for that ship girl named Fargo a while ago? So we asked her to do it too. Now it's all done by drones, which is very convenient."

"...Fago is really amazing."

Bismarck pouted: "Hmm..."

"Of course, Bismarck was also very capable of producing so many grapes."

“Hmph…” Bismarck continued, “Further afield are ancient castles, now all cultural heritage sites. There are also some bridges, but they won’t bother us…”

And so, they drifted along with Bismarck until evening.

"Alright, Commander, nighttime rafting is exciting, but it's also much more dangerous, so shall we camp here? Everything we need for camping has been prepared."

Li Wei casually grabbed a handful of things from the storage box, feeling that the texture was a bit off. After taking them out, he glanced at Bismarck and asked, "This... is this all you prepared? Will we need it for camping?"

Bismarck tried to snatch it away, but failed and could only mutter, "...A camping night is still a camping night... Anyway, let's put it back, Commander..."

Chapter 378 Egil, How Do You Plan to Land?

The next morning, Li Wei was awakened by the sunlight.

After he got up, he realized that he and Bismarck had been a little too intense the night before, which had left him without any clothes to change into.

“Commander, that’s fine.” Bismarck showed no surprise. “Perfect, it’s also more convenient… more convenient for us to rescue you.”

Li Wei glanced sideways at Bismarck: "Is that how you make it easier to rescue me? I think you just want to keep yourself in place, don't you?"

"Yes...that's also a consideration..."

The rafting progressed much faster after that. Compared to yesterday's rafting, today's rafting route was much gentler, and the scenery on both banks was no longer mountainous, but instead a leisurely pastoral idyll.

"Commander, are you feeling relaxed?"

“If you’re talking about scenery like this, then it certainly is relaxing.” Levi put his arm around Bismarck. “I thought you were going to bring up the ring right away.”

“I’m not that impatient a ship girl. Since there’s more than one, I believe I’ll have one sooner or later, it’s just a matter of time. And my companionship with the Commander is permanent.” Bismarck nestled in the Commander’s arms: “And I can sense that you seem to have your own answer to this question, Commander.”

Li Wei hadn't expected Bismarck to be even more perceptive than he had imagined. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Do you want to know the answer?"

“No need.” Bismarck kissed the commander. “I know the answer won’t be me—at least not now, and I don’t think… it will be anyone from Ironblood, right?”

Levi simply kissed Bismarck.

“Alright, Commander, I know you’ve had your doubts, but there’s really no need for them.” Bismarck blushed beautifully. “I only know that I can get it, and that’s enough.”

"Yes, I swear, you will get it."

……

In the bushes, the ship girls who were originally responsible for security gathered together, glancing every now and then at the interaction between Bismarck and the commander—not that they didn't want to keep watching, but that these ship girls with low defense often ended up destroying themselves while watching, causing delays in their subsequent observations.

Egil: "What are Bismarck and the commander talking about? I have a bad feeling about this?"

Hindenburg: "Ha, what do you care what my Oathbearer said?"

Egil: "You!"

Hindenburg was not intimidated by Egil at all: "What, am I wrong?"

Egil: "Huh?"

Hindenburg: "Huh?"

u-556 whispered, "I feel like I've seen this scene somewhere before."

Frederick the Great: "You mean Hipper, right?"

Hu Teng glared at the two of them: "Keep your voices down, or the commander might hear you."

Egil and Hindenburg exchanged a glance and obediently lowered their voices.

……

Bismarck once again focused all his energy on in-depth communication with the commander, and after the drifting ended, he reluctantly tasted one last round of ammunition before leaving.

Li Wei lay on the ground, not even glancing at the ship girls' hiding place: "Who's next? Come out."

Egil appeared with light steps: "Ah, it's finally my turn."

Li Wei glanced at Egil's maid outfit: "Where are you taking me?"

For some reason, he felt that Egil's maid outfit wasn't as good-looking as it was when she faced the Royal Family. The current maid outfit was bold, but it was clearly designed to reflect the personalities of Bismarck and others, and Egil's outfit just didn't quite suit her.