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

“Perhaps this is your good fortune coming into play,” Li Wei said, gesturing for Enterprise to sit in his lap. “Come, let me borrow some of your luck too.”

Enterprise aimed her core at the Commander's main cannon and sat down without hesitation: "Okay... um... then I'll give all my luck... to the Commander..."

"If the price of my good fortune is taking away your good fortune, then let the company be even more fortunate." Li Wei felt the core cabin in the hot spring, a different sensation from the previous core cabins: "As long as you are all well, it is my duty as the commander."

"Hmm..." Enterprise became even more emotional: "Commander..."

"We ship girls were born for you, Commander..."

"If all you ship girls are gone, what's the point of me being the commander?"

The company suddenly realized that the stars were no longer important, and spending a night in the hot springs would be just as nice.

Chapter 401 The Three Ship Girls' Coup

When the company returned to the port area, the ring on its left ring finger put an end to all the speculation.

Belfast and Newcastle went to the dock together to greet the commander. The clash of titans Levy had imagined didn't happen; Belfast and Enterprise got along much better than he'd expected. Seeing Belfast and Enterprise leave together, Levy, led by Newcastle, headed to the office.

"Has anything unusual happened in Newcastle or Belfast lately?"

"Abnormal? Why does Master say that?"

"The look in her eyes when she left was rather meaningful."

“Perhaps it’s just the master’s imagination.” Newcastle paused for a moment. “Belfast did, though, give me some instructions beforehand, asking me to show them to the master in his office.”

"Oh? Is it something important?"

Newcastle quickened her pace to hide her embarrassment: "Hmm... grass is indeed quite important in a certain sense, affecting every ship girl."

……

"...Is this what you said Belfast told you to do?"

In the office, Levi was enjoying the Newcastle white silk stockings, his expression still somewhat incredulous.

The usually gentle and meticulous Newcastle's first action upon entering the office was to lock the door, and his second action was to push him onto the sofa and give him a proper taste of milk chocolate.

"Belfast suggested that the Master has been under a lot of pressure lately, which is why he contacted Enterprise... So we discussed it briefly and decided to give the Commander a way to relieve that pressure."

Newcastle lifted her high heels, indicating that the commander could help himself: "Master, please don't be confused yet, let me explain slowly."

Li Wei felt that Newcastle's technique had improved again: "Go ahead."

"The master should have sensed it too. Since the ring appeared, the atmosphere in the port has become much more tense than before. If people didn't have many specific goals before, now almost everyone is pointing at the same single target, whether openly or secretly."

Li Wei nodded in agreement.

"So we've come up with a solution that might be useful." Newcastle gently applied pressure to the bottom of the main gun, watching its reaction with a satisfied smile.

"Have you found a way to mass-produce the rings?"

“No.” Newcastle noticed a slight disappointment in the commander’s expression. “However, we have made another breakthrough.”

"Oh?"

"The simulation device, Commander, do you remember that?"

“Of course I remember.” Levi felt Newcastle’s soft soles. “What major progress has been made with the simulation device?”

"Thanks to the efforts of numerous factions and ship girls, the simulation device has finally received a complete upgrade." Newcastle sped up: "The current simulation device not only has no side effects, but it has also further increased the number of ship girls it can accommodate."

"According to the technicians, the current simulation device can already simulate the situation in another world—however, they also made me remind you repeatedly that everything in the other world is virtual, not real."

Li Wei's curiosity was piqued: "Another world?"

“Yes, another world.” Newcastle made a final push: “Or rather… another timeline. The master might encounter ship girls from another world, and…”

Li Wei understood.

Mate and Siren, you know.

"Don't worry, everything in the simulation is virtual; I can tell the difference." Li Wei assured him there was no need to worry: "Is there anything else?"

"Hmm... just one last bit."

Li Wei was just asking routinely, but he didn't expect there to be more: "What else?"

Newcastle seemed a little embarrassed: "After unlocking more timelines, Master... also has the possibility of more timelines."

Li Wei: ? ? ?

……

Standing before the simulation device, Li Wei finally understood what the possibility of more timelines meant.

"So you mean I can go back to my past, instead of being my childhood self?"

“In a way, that’s true, meow.” Akashi tried to explain to the commander, “We will be using your childhood memories to build this, meow, so you could say we’ve gone back to the past, meow.”

"The only problem is that you might feel like your past memories have been read, meow—but don't worry, it's all up to you, meow. You can choose which memories to use, which not to use, and which memories to ultimately present."

Li Wei exclaimed in surprise, "Are simulation devices this powerful now?"

“Commander, ever since that incident, the simulation device has been consuming most of the port’s production capacity, meow. If we don’t make some breakthroughs, it’ll be a complete loss. We’re starting to doubt ourselves, meow.” Akashi yawned wearily. “Alright, Commander, you can explore the rest on your own. I’m going back to rest, meow.”

"Okay, get some rest." Li Wei patted Akashi's head. "Seeing how tired you are, I'll reward you for now."

"A reward!" Akashi tried to perk up. "What is the Commander going to reward me with? Gold bars, meow?"

"Here's a colorful equipment box as a reward—obtained from a gold equipment box."

Akashi turned and left without saying a word.

……

Levi had originally planned to show off his skills in the simulation device, but Naples came and indicated that Levi already had a pre-set simulation scenario available for use.

"Ok?"

"I think it was Iris that was using it? Sardinia joined in too?"

"It seems Iris doesn't have enough people, so we've come to help." Naples' eyes gleamed with excitement: "Commander, this scene... is very interesting!"

"You're involved in Naples too?" Levi suddenly thought of something: "...It's not some kind of public bathhouse or something, is it?"

Naples tried her best to look angry, but she was so cute that you couldn't tell she was angry at all: "Commander, even Sardinia doesn't spend 24 hours a day soaking in the bathhouse!"

"Oh, you didn't know how?"

"In short, Commander, please enter and experience it!"

"now?"

“Now… um, sorry, I got too excited. I’ll go contact someone right away.” Naples said a little embarrassedly, “Commander, please wait here for a moment.”

Perhaps it had been a while since he had had in-depth communication with the commander, or perhaps the ship girls Sardin and Iris were nearby. However, just over ten minutes later, Li Wei saw a group of ship girls rushing in.

Richelieu: "Commander, you finally remembered us!"

The mature and sophisticated archbishop, who is always considerate in front of her companions, immediately transforms into a spoiled little girl when she sees the commander, rushing straight into his arms.

Jeanbart quickly walked to the commander's side, unusually joining forces with his sister in front of everyone: "Commander, you've already run away twice!"

Li Wei was a little guilty: "How can it be considered desertion? I was... I was just doing my duty! It can't be considered desertion! It's the commander's business..."

In the end, Veneto came to Levi's rescue: "Commander, it's not convenient for us to stay here... Let's go into the room next door and talk about it."

Li Wei cast a grateful glance at Veneto.

However, it turned out that he was still too young.

He thought Veneto couldn't bear to see him being surrounded and attacked by the ship girls.

In fact... Veneto only missed the first wave of opportunity, so he came up with a way to put himself back on the starting line with Richelieu and Jean Bart.

In the small room.

Richelieu's red stockings rubbed lightly against the main gun: "Commander, tell the truth!"

Jean Bart slapped his black stockings across the ammunition depot: "Commander, tell the truth!"

Veneto's white stockings covered the remaining area: "Commander, tell the truth!"

Li Wei had never seen such a scene before, especially with a group of ship girls lurking in the corner of the room. If it weren't for the small square table in the middle providing some cover, Li Wei's main guns would have been swarmed by the ship girls long ago.

Faced with such a question, Li Wei could only weep with frustration: "What am I supposed to explain?"

"Hum..."

The three interrogated him together: "Commander, you can remain silent, but every word you utter will be used as evidence."

Li Wei: ...

He silently raised his hands and gave a friezed salute.

This only spurred Richelieu and Jean Bart to exert even greater effort.

……

In conclusion, the ship girls won in the end.

The combined forces of the two smaller factions of ship girls exerted pressure comparable to, or even exceeding, that of a larger faction—most of the Iris ship girls were religious—especially given that this religion was now centered around the commander. If Li Wei refused too strongly, she would probably have to fulfill her duties:

Addressing the psychological issues of the ship girls.

Li Wei was thus forced to sign an "unequal treaty": before the next ring was issued, the commander would enter the simulation device at least every other day to have in-depth exchanges with the ship girls of Iris and Sardinia.

Of course, the written term is "councilor," meaning "councilor of the ship girls' physical and mental health."

Seeing the ship girls united in their hatred of the enemy, Li Wei couldn't help but reflect for a moment. Lately, his energy had been focused on Ironblood and Royal Navy; he had even been with Eagle Union not long ago. It seemed that he hadn't had any in-depth exchanges with the ship girls from the smaller factions for quite some time.

“In that case, let’s do it in the simulation.” Li Wei glanced around at the ship girls, whose faces lit up with delight the moment he agreed. Li Wei cleared his throat: “Then let’s meet in the simulation from now on!”

The ship girls stood up happily: "Commander, we won't be so easy to talk to in the simulation!"

Chapter 402: An Alliance from a Small Faction

In the simulated scenario.

Li Wei discovers that he has been transformed into a teenager.

In reality, he has long since entered his youth, or even, more broadly, middle age. After all, he's already in his thirties, married with children, and it wouldn't feel out of place for young girls to call him "uncle."

Of course, Li Wei still wanted them to call him "Dad."

Now that he was back to his teenage years, Li Wei moved his body around with a sense of novelty.

It feels so good to be young.

That's the feeling of youth that no amount of physical enhancement can buy.

After a few brief remarks, Li Wei strolled forward, heading towards the only large building in front of him.

Although he had some guesses when he saw its magnificent exterior, it was only when he actually stepped inside that Li Wei truly felt how much work the ship girls had done during this period.

"Golden and opulent" is an understatement to describe the glittering interior. The high ceilings, alluring bunny girls, and numerous entertainment facilities unlike anything I'd ever seen before—it's simply a scene of decadent luxury.

"Welcome, guests!"

The ship girls, all dressed as bunny girls, stood on both sides bowing sweetly. Their cotton candy-like appearance against the golden background was dazzling, almost blinding Li Wei.

Li Wei noticed another difference from reality: height. He wasn't as tall as he would become when he was a teenager. In reality, he usually looked down at the ship girls, with only a very few requiring him to look at them at eye level or upwards; but after entering the simulation, Li Wei discovered that he actually had to look up to see all the ship girls in front of him.

"Little brother, is this your first time here?"

The sound of "little brother" sent shivers down Li Wei's spine. He was already imagining what it would be like if he had met such a perfect older sister when he was a child, if he could experience everything here, if he could really...

Wait, the Heavenly Gang has been reversed!

Richelieu blinked and gestured behind his back with one hand, indicating that the common sense modifications in the simulation scenario should be intensified.

Li Wei immediately felt himself revert to his former naive mindset: "...Yes."

"Then let your older sister have some fun with your little brother, okay?" Richelieu bent down slightly, the cotton candy on her chest drawing a red arc in the air. The small but striking red bunny girl outfit shimmered alluringly before Li Wei.

Li Wei even felt that he could see the markings on the marshmallow.

"Let's go~"

Richelieu, beaming, took Li Wei's hand. Red fishnet stockings and platform stilettos—the mature woman's heels clicked crisply on the floor, making it seem as if she were stepping not on a gleaming floor, but on Li Wei's operating system.

“Richelio…”