I really don't have money for the ship girls.

Ying Tian knew his roommate didn't mean any harm, so he asked in return, "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No."

"That's it, I don't have it either."

As Ying Tian spoke, he couldn't help but think of his classmates who had their parents bring them food during evening self-study sessions in high school. Watching them eat hot meals while he could only have steamed buns and stir-fried pickled vegetables, it was impossible not to feel envious.

Thinking of this, Ying Tian took a big bite of the sushi. The taste melted in his mouth, and Ying Tian felt that it was simply the most delicious. He had to admit that it was really satisfying to make others look at him with envy.

Anyway, thank you, Shoukaku.

Chapter Thirty: We can hug even tighter

It turns out that people who know how to be grateful are usually lucky.

After analog electronics class came linear algebra. Yingtian was usually a good student who listened attentively in class, but he was a little tired after having a nightmare yesterday, and became drowsy during the last class.

Until his roommate Hu Ke gave Ying Tian a big elbow strike.

What are you doing?

“Look outside, your childhood sweetheart is here again. Damn, I’m so envious.”

"What do you mean by 'child bride'? Are you ever going to stop?!"

Ying Tian groggily raised his head, and upon seeing the person outside the window, he snapped back to reality. Xiang He felt Ying Tian's gaze meet his own, smiled slightly, and then remained quietly waiting outside the window, as graceful and elegant as a delicate flower reflected in water.

"I really wish I had a girlfriend who would wait for me after class so we could have dinner together."

"I already told you, she's not my girlfriend, she's a philanthropist." Ying Tian explained weakly, but inwardly he felt a mix of struggle and secret satisfaction.

"I don't care, there are beautiful women waiting for you, but I don't have any. I'm so envious."

“I didn’t make her wait.”

"Damn, you're acting like Versailles just because I said a few words to you?"

The time before get out of class ended became particularly difficult to endure. Many students noticed the beautiful woman outside the window, whispered among themselves, and then turned their gazes to Ying Tian, ​​who could only pretend to be listening to the lecture and taking notes.

Ying Tian is not a vain person. Do you think he would be smug?

No, in fact he was extremely proud of himself.

Even if it's all insincere, it's still a kind of affection. One should enjoy life to the fullest when things are going well, and at worst, one can repay the debt later.

After finally getting through get out of class, Ying Tian packed his bag and left the classroom, while Xiang He was still standing there quietly waiting for him to come out.

"How did you know I had class here?" Ying Tian was really curious. It was one thing for her to be able to come and go freely from the school, but how did she know which classroom she was in?

Xianghe blinked and said, "I asked Ruidie last night, and she gave me your major's course schedule. I've already memorized it."

"Then you don't need to wait here."

Shoukaku countered, "If I hadn't come to wait for you, would you have come to eat on your own initiative?"

Ying Tian paused for a moment, then admitted, "You guessed it."

If Xianghe doesn't come, Yingtian will definitely go to the cafeteria with his roommates. It feels really strange to ask him to take the initiative to find Xianghe and the others to eat.

"Hmph, awkward commander."

Shoukaku muttered a complaint under his breath, then smiled gently, "But that also shows that I understood you right away."

Ying Tian awkwardly touched his nose and said to his roommates, "I won't be going to eat with you guys, I guess I have something to do."

"Understand."

"clear."

"envious."

The roommates all said they understood, since they had already been won over by Shoukaku's rice balls that morning.

Ying Tian and Xiang He walked side by side against the flow of people toward the west gate of the school. Among the women, Xiang He was already considered tall, but Ying Tian was even taller. In addition, Xiang He was wearing flat shoes, and when she walked softly beside Ying Tian, ​​she really looked like a crane, graceful and ethereal yet petite and charming.

Xianghe enjoyed the feeling, while Yingtian felt a little awkward, so he tried to make conversation, saying, "By the way, the money I took out yesterday probably wasn't enough to buy groceries, right? Didn't you buy any household supplies?"

“I bought it. Don’t worry, I bought a necklace in St. Louis. Prices here are much lower than at the naval base, so it’s more than enough.”

Ying Tian thought that a necklace could only sell for a small amount of money, and who could they sell it to? Surely it wouldn't be sold to Senior Sister Rui Die. If you think about it this way, it seems that he has taken advantage of Senior Sister again and owes her even more favors.

But so be it. I still owe society more than a decade of nurturing. It's so nice to be able to understand this feeling, to know that someone cares about you and is waiting for you to have dinner at home.

"Shokaku, thank you."

"Seriously, is that all the Commander can say?"

"No," Ying Tian said earnestly, "I really want to thank you. I will remember this feeling no matter what. It's so nice to be remembered."

Shoukaku pursed her lips, her soft heart seemingly being gently touched. She turned her head slightly, her silver hair slipping down her shoulder: "You're welcome. Actually, many people are thinking of the Commander."

"Maybe, anyway, it doesn't feel very real."

"Um--"

With graceful steps, Xianghe took Yingtian's arm. Feeling the commander's body stiffen slightly, she said gently, "Doesn't it feel much more real now?"

"It seems a bit more realistic now." It's so big and soft, not only realistic, but it also makes me a little excited.

"You can hug me a little tighter."

"Ahem, that's good, that's perfect."

"The commander is a little shy~"

"This isn't shyness, it's respect. We should all respect each other."

Hehehehe—

Of course, it wasn't St. Louis who cooked. Who has ever seen a rich woman cook by herself? Shoukaku had already prepared most of the food before coming out, and the rest had been simmering in the pot for the right time. He just told St. Louis to turn off the heat when the time was up.

Of course, St. Louis wasn't idle either. She went out last night and this morning to investigate the situation of this world using her own methods. Overall, due to the war, the technological level of the Naval Base world is a notch higher than that of this world, so St. Louis didn't spend too much effort to deduce the living standards here.

"Most of what you said is correct..."

As Ying Tian spoke, he couldn't help but take another bite of rice. He originally just wanted to be reserved and only eat a few bites, but Xiang He's cooking skills were so much better than the cafeteria's that Ying Tian, ​​who had never eaten anything good before, couldn't control himself at all.

He swallowed the fried pork chop in his mouth and said, "To be honest, you two have good looks and great temperament, and you shouldn't lack ability. It shouldn't be difficult for you to make money in a short time. For one thing, you two teaching English and Japanese would be perfect, and the market is vast. But the problem is that you don't have legal status, so you can't do regular or respectable jobs. That means you'll have to think of other ways."

St. Louis nodded in agreement: "Yes, I'm not in a hurry, or rather, I can't be in a hurry. I need to figure out the situation before I can decide on the next move."

At the dinner table, St. Louis shared his views on the world, with Ying Tian occasionally correcting or adding to them. The three of them ate and discussed, but Ying Tian ate three large bowls of rice without reaching any conclusion. They simply decided to buy St. Louis and Xiang He a cell phone and get SIM cards for them that afternoon. Their immediate priority was to help them integrate into modern society, as it was practically impossible to get by without a smartphone.

"I don't have classes this afternoon, but I have a part-time job to do tonight, so I'm only free this afternoon. Do you take a lunch break? If so, I'll go back to my dorm first and come find you this afternoon?"

"You can take a lunch break here, but there are more important things to do."

Shoukaku pulled Yingtian, who wanted to say goodbye, directly into the room. Since it was indoors, Shoukaku and St. Louis were dressed much more lightly. Their delicate calves, fair necks, and exquisite collarbones, along with their barely visible snowy breasts, made Yingtian somewhat dazzled.

"What important thing?" Ying Tianzhen wasn't thinking anything inappropriate. His body was pure; it was just that his mind wasn't so pure. No matter how you looked at it, it was all the fault of the chaotic online world.

"Playing games."

"what?"

"Play Azur Lane."

"oh oh……"

Chapter Thirty-One: Beneath the Gentleness, Is There a Touch of Cunning?

"Haven't you logged into the game yet?"

"Loading takes a while, so we can't rush it."

St. Louis rested his chin on his right hand, which was propped up on his round thigh, and said, "I think I know what the first goal is: I need to buy you a phone that can run games smoothly."

Ying Tian pursed his lips. Actually, he felt that his phone could still hold up as long as he didn't play games. He said, "You say I can influence your world, but what if the game shuts down one day? Wouldn't the connection be cut off, and your supplies wouldn't be replenished?"

“Commander still has some misunderstandings.” Shoukaku sat on the other side of Yingtian, his long legs tightly pressed together, reflecting the bright white light from the window. “The naval base usually receives supplies, although it’s not enough and we have to save a little to barely make ends meet. Moreover, Akashi said that you, Commander, are the key to influencing our world. The game is just a visual medium. Theoretically, as long as you think about it, supplies will appear in our naval base.”

"If it's that powerful, then why bother playing games?"

Shoukaku explained, "So, theoretically speaking, we still need to rely on the game to obtain resources for now. Once the situation at the naval base stabilizes and we gain a foothold in this world, we can send researchers like Akashi and Strasser over. They should be able to figure it out."

"That's true. We should proceed step by step. Professional matters should be left to professionals."

As Ying Tian spoke, he felt a strange sense of disconnect. Surrounded by two stunningly beautiful women, he was holding a phone that was loading an anime game, yet they were discussing sci-fi and idealistic topics. It was as if a dedicated actor was performing in a poorly written script. If it were on television, it would be perfectly natural, but in real life, it felt somewhat absurd.

After thinking it over, Ying Tian realized where the problem lay.

"Can you deploy your ship equipment?"

"Commander wants to see?"

"A little curious."

Shokaku and St. Louis moved a little further away from Ying Tian in a tacit manner. Then, completely different from what Ying Tian had imagined, there were no dazzling lights and shadows, no cool sound effects, and no sci-fi spatial ripples. It really was as if they were just sticking their hands out of their sleeves. The cold and tiny steel appeared beside the two beauties. Ying Tian observed for a while and then realized that the ship equipment was not physically connected to them. It seemed to be floating around them in the air.

The initial appearance wasn't sci-fi at all, but the actual sci-fi aspect was explosive.

Ying Tian rubbed his hands together and asked, "Um, may I touch it?"

"of course can."

"It's troublesome."

Ying Tian hesitated for a moment, but still touched the ship's equipment next to Xiang He, which looked like the flight deck of a model airplane. It seemed to be made of wood, but it felt like metal when you touched it. The details were exquisite, the kind of exquisiteness that was naturally perfect.

Looking at Yingtian's obvious delight, Shoukaku suddenly felt a strange sense of defeat. Why did it seem that the Commander preferred the ship's rigging to her own beauty? A beautiful body couldn't compare to cold steel. Was that reasonable?

On the other side, the ship's rigging on St. Louis was more angular and rugged, especially the dark, gleaming cannon muzzles.

Ying Tian couldn't help but ask, "Is such a small cannon really that powerful?"

St. Louis looked into Ying Tian's eyes and said, "Should I fire a shot to show the commander?"

"Never mind."

If Ying Tian was 70% convinced before, he now believes it almost entirely. Even without using it, the appearance of these ship equipment is already futuristic enough.

The game interface had finished loading, and Ying Tian didn't want to keep touching the ship equipment, as it would be impolite, even though he actually preferred playing with the ship equipment to the game itself...

"The interface looks a bit rudimentary."

"Is this the Prince of Wales? He does look quite like him."

"Let me see Zuikaku... She looks a bit like her. No wonder she's my sister, she's so cool."

"Helena, you actually have wedding dresses! This style is amazing, I must have one custom-made for her."

Ying Tian was surrounded by two beauties, one on each side. Even though he was focused on the game, his brain couldn't help but give him the answer: the one on the left was St. Louis, and the one on the right was Shoukaku. Indeed, the tactile details were what truly mattered.

"Don't you guys find this offensive?" Although the Prince of Wales had explained it once before, Ying Tian still couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "It's like it was pre-programmed."

"Because that's how ship girls are, just like warships. Whether it's tonnage or anything else, they're all designed." Shoukaku reached out and poked Zuikaku's little face on the phone screen, revealing a loving smile.

St. Louis added, "And we're not set up by the game, we're set up by you, Commander."

"I?"

“Strasse explained it to me, but I don’t quite understand it myself, so I can only relay it.” St. Louis carefully chose his words before asking, “Who do you think is the most powerful aircraft carrier in our naval base?”

"White Dragon, oh, I don't have a White Dragon, that's Shinano."

“That’s right, Shinano is indeed very powerful as an aircraft carrier; Enterprise and Saratoga are no match for her.” St. Louis then changed the subject, asking, “But is Shinano really that powerful?”

"Our name comes from those historical warships, because our strength also comes from them. However, the Shinano in history, although it was the largest aircraft carrier at the time, was a converted battleship with only one hangar. Its aircraft capacity was even less than that of the Soryu, which had a displacement of less than one-third. It was all show and no substance. Not to mention its fate of being sunk by a submarine after only seventeen hours of service. Can such an aircraft carrier really be called the strongest?"

Ying Tian seemed to understand something.

Although it was an explanation, Shinano was, after all, a Sakura Empire ship girl, and Shoukaku still offered a weak defense: "Shinano tried her best."

“She really puts a lot of effort into sleeping,” St. Louis said, shrugging. “So, Commander, you’ve been poisoned by the game’s premise. It tells you that Shinano is strong, and you’ve accepted that idea and think Shinano is strong. Then you’ve influenced Shinano at the naval base, and she’s getting stronger and stronger. We ship girls can draw power from people’s hearts. The more you trust us, the more powerful we can become.”

"The same applies to other aspects. In the game, when a character levels up, it doesn't mean we can level up. Rather, it's because you, Commander, believe that the character becomes stronger after leveling up. This belief influences us, and that's why we become stronger. Otherwise, there would be no such thing as levels."

"That's a bit idealistic, but I think I understand now." Ying Tian pondered for a moment and said, "For example, if I now believe that St. Louis is the most powerful light cruiser, will you become stronger?"

“Strasse did say that.” St. Louis raised an eyebrow, her beautiful eyes, sparkling like stars, glaring at Ying Tian. “But I don’t feel like I’ve gotten any stronger. Commander, you’re being a bit hypocritical.”

Ideas aren't so easily changed, but whether it's strong or not is another matter. Ying Tian is willing to call St. Louis the largest light cruiser.

“Commander!” Shoukaku leaned forward, looking into Yingtian’s eyes, and said, “I am Shoukaku, the first ship of the Shoukaku-class aircraft carriers.”

“I know.” Ying Tian said, somewhat puzzled.