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

Then, with Ron as the main speaker and Mercury adding supplementary information, they recounted the main missions of the three of them.

"So, the three of you came here to play games 24/7 in three shifts?" Ying Tian didn't know how to respond for a moment, then, as if struck by a thought, he said, "So all I need to do is hand over my account, and then I'm done with it?"

Ron said, "Of course not, you have to do what the commander does."

So the question is, what do you do as a commander?

Chapter 42 Surely you don't think you can live a life of luxury? No way!

Including the time he was summoned by the Prince of Wales, Ying Tian had been called commander for almost a month, but it was just a formality. Ying Tian had hardly thought about what a commander should do.

Even though St. Louis and Shokaku were by his side, and he saw their extremely futuristic and compact ship equipment, Ying Tian still had a somewhat unreal feeling.

You say I am the commander of a naval base with hundreds of ship girls. Not counting the three who came today and Taihou who wrote the love letter, I have only met three people in Yingtian. I have even less of a concept of the other world. My life still revolves around studying and part-time jobs, so naturally I don't have much of a thought about the concept of a commander.

Now that Ron had spoken, Ying Tian began to ponder what the commander should do.

As the name suggests, a commander is an officer who directs the ship girls. Literally, their daily task is to command the ship girls in battles against the Sirens.

But let's set aside whether Yingtian has the will and ability to do so. Without contacting the naval base in another world, there's no way she can command the ship girls in battle.

So what should the commander do?

If we refer to fan fiction, when the commander isn't directing battles, they usually throw parties. The only difference is whether they go to the Royal Maid Corps or the Sakura Empire Fox Garden, and whether they go to mature older women or young lolis...

Thinking of this, Ying Tian quickly shook his head to clear his mind of the inexplicable thoughts. He used to have very pure thoughts when he looked at his roommates' three faces every day, but how come seeing so many beautiful women has led to more unhealthy thoughts? This is not good.

"I still don't know what I can do, and I can't command you in battle from here; I don't have that ability."

“It’s not about commanding operations,” Ron explained. “Besides combat missions, the most important thing a commander needs to do on a daily basis is to arrange the daily training programs for the naval base ship girls, and to understand their capabilities and performance by observing training and reviewing training reports.”

Ying Tian nodded, thinking to himself that one should not concern oneself with matters outside one's official position, and that there was such a thing to do. He then asked, "But I can't see your training reports here, can I?"

Ron continued, "We can't see it for now. Commander, you used to influence our world through games. Ultimately, our goal is to get rid of the coincidental element of games. But now that there are no other conditions, we naturally have to squeeze the game's potential out of us first."

“That’s right,” Mercury Memorial said. “Ron, Ayanami, and I were tasked with working in three shifts a day to level up all the characters in that game to the maximum level, get all the best equipment, and then summarize the situation for the commander every few days, which is equivalent to the training report now.”

"As long as everyone in the naval base becomes stronger and each person can form a fighting force, it will be easier to defeat the Sirens, the materials for crossing will be easier to obtain, and the connection between the two worlds will be simpler, forming a virtuous cycle."

"I see, I understand now."

After a moment's thought, and combining it with what St. Louis had said earlier, Ying Tian immediately understood what it meant—whether the character in the game was at the maximum level or had luxurious equipment was not important. What was important was that Ying Tian knew that a ship girl's combat power had increased. Then, through the so-called spacetime disturbance and the connection between the commander and the ship girl, the ship girl could draw power and trust from the commander, making the ship girl stronger. That's why it was said to be equivalent to a training report.

More importantly, besides handing over his account to the three power levelers, Ying Tian only needs to check on the status of the ship girls in the account every few days. It's incredibly easy and enjoyable. He can also continue to mooch meals from Shoukaku, saving a lot on food expenses. It's truly a wonderful thing.

"If that's all there is to it, I can cooperate."

Mercury Memorial pouted and said, "What cooperation? This is what the commander should be doing."

"There is never a right or wrong, only a willingness or unwillingness."

Even though Mercury is charming and adorable, Ying Tian still scoffs at this kind of talk. My parents gave birth to me and should have raised me, but they still abandoned me at the gate of the orphanage. Of course, I am a model student and cannot be like those two bastards. But reality is reality, and reason is reason. There are not so many reasons in reality.

Helping is a favor, not helping is one's right.

Ying Tian's idea was just that: St. Louis and Xiang He were already friends, so Ron and the others should just treat them as friends of the Prince of Wales and simply be hospitable hosts.

As for whether or not to take the position of commander, Ying Tian had not yet decided. Before making a decision, he wanted to see the Prince of Wales at least one more time.

St. Louis drove his car away from the overpass and gradually entered an area familiar to Yingtian. The city was brightly lit and bustling with traffic. By the time he arrived at his apartment building, it was already completely dark.

Wow, there are so many people here! How come there are so many people?

Mercury Memorial looked at the middle-aged women dancing in the community square, looking like they had never seen the world before. In contrast, Ayanami was much quieter, simply following behind Yingtian silently without expressing any opinion.

Some of the older women were also pointing and whispering about Ying Tian and his group.

"Dyeing her hair like that, all sorts of colors, she's definitely not a good woman."

"It has completely lowered the standard of our neighborhood."

"The boy looks quite honest, how come he's hanging out with a woman like that?"

……

"Who are you saying isn't a good woman?" Mercury Memorial clenched her fist, then suddenly realized, "Oh yeah, I have black hair, so they weren't talking about me, hehehe."

Mercury's words of remembrance almost made Ying Tian laugh; this girl seemed a little silly.

After parking the car in St. Louis, the group walked into the apartment building together. Shoukaku was happy to see her sisters from the naval base, especially Ayanami. She quickly asked about her younger sister Zuikaku's situation and learned that her sister was doing well in both battle and life, which put Shoukaku at ease.

"My back is killing me from standing all day... By the way, can I just pick any room?"

Facing Mercury's big, bright eyes, Ying Tian cruelly said, "I'm sorry, I can't."

"Huh?" Mercury Memorial's mouth dropped open.

“Actually, this room is rented, and only one room was rented,” St. Louis explained while folding the clothes he had rented for Ying Tian. “Originally, you were supposed to come at least another two weeks, and I wasn’t ready yet.”

Ying Tian paced around the room a couple of times and said, "This room is rented from one of my senior classmates. It's a bit late now, so it's not good to ask her. Also, I remember she doesn't really want to rent the whole place. I'll ask her during the day or see if I can rent a bigger place. You guys can just make do and sleep on the floor tonight."

"Huh?" Mercury Memorial's mouth opened even wider.

"Since you've come all this way, I'm sure you're prepared to endure hardship. You're not expecting to travel for work, play games, live in big houses, and live a life of luxury, are you? You can't be, can you?"

Ayanami is a good girl; she's even content to just curl up in a corner: "I'll listen to the Commander."

Ron also smiled and said, "I'm fine with anything."

Ying Tian nodded in satisfaction and said, "Then you can make your own arrangements. I'll be leaving now."

Ron: ? ? ?

Ron: "Commander, aren't you staying here with us?"

"Why would I stay? See you tomorrow."

As Ying Tian spoke, he turned around to go back to school, when he heard someone speaking behind him.

Ayanami: "Is the Commander going to abandon us again?"

Yingtian: ?

Mercury Memorial: "They made us sleep on the floor while they went back to sleep in their big beds. Humph, how mean!"

Yingtian: ? ?

Ron: "So eager, are you going to find another woman?"

Yingtian: ? ? ?

Chapter Forty-Three: Inviting the Enemy into the Trap

Moral blackmail is useless against Ying Tian. Ying Tian has a flexible moral bottom line, is alone, and is not afraid of social death.

However, Ying Tian stayed.

It wasn't about moral blackmail, but simply because I, as the host, had indeed acted inappropriately, making five friends who had come from afar stay in a room of less than twenty square meters, crammed onto a bed, and forced to sleep on the floor. This didn't quite fit the way friends should treat their guests.

Therefore, we can only share the hardships together.

“It’s true that it’s not safe for five girls to be in an unfamiliar place. You can make your own arrangements in the room, and I’ll sleep on the sofa outside for the night.” Ying Tian pointed outside the room and said, “You can call me if you have any problems. Although it won’t do any good, at least I can let you know.”

St. Louis blinked and said, "Let's just sleep together. Three on the bed and three under the bed, we can squeeze in just the right amount of space."

"That's great, there's room for six people, five would be even more no problem. I'll stay outside and won't disturb you."

Ying Tian said this, then walked out and closed the door.

The people left in the room, especially the three new ship girls, looked at each other in bewilderment.

"This feels completely different from what I imagined... Seeing such an invincible beauty, shouldn't we pamper this genius instead?"

Mercury rubbed her lower back—no, it was the slender waist of a beautiful girl—and asked Shoukaku beside her, "Shoukaku, Shoukaku, is the Commander usually like this?"

“That’s right, you’re not used to it yet, but you’ll get used to it in a couple of days.” Shoukaku took out bedding from the cupboard, preparing to make a makeshift bed for his companions. Although he wasn’t fully prepared for their arrival, he had still prepared plenty of sheets, blankets, and toiletries.

"Has the Commander never been living with you?"

"He's a college student who lives in a dormitory."

Not even one night?

"No."

"So that's how it is..." Mercury Memorial said in disbelief, "I thought you guys were going to do something else. There were all sorts of rumors circulating in the group, Toriumi said the Commander was..."

Mercury realized something and quickly shut up. Shoukaku raised his head, squinted, and asked, "What did Toriumi say?"

"nothing."

Tell me about it.

"It's really nothing, just guessing what kind of person the commander is."

"Really?" Shoukaku looked doubtful.

"Of course it's true."

Mercury Memorial looked certain. She couldn't possibly say that the various unspoken things in the naval base group were just random guesses at first, but later became more and more outrageous, such as the commander going berserk, Saint Louis fighting desperately, and Shoukaku having no choice but to submit, or the commander being helpless and easily manipulated by the wicked woman Saint Louis, and Shoukaku being unable to fight alone, or Saint Louis and Shoukaku combining their swords, and the commander losing his freedom and suffering unspeakable pain. In the literary exchange group, someone had even written a fanfiction - "Chapter Thirty-Six: The Commander is Devastated, Saint Louis and Shoukaku's Love is Tragic, and Yasunari's Radiant Light Brings Tears to Her Eyes."

Ayanami stood there quietly to the side. She had originally wanted to help Shoukaku make the bed, but after seeing Mercury Memorial talking to Shoukaku, she didn't know whether she should speak up or not, so she simply stood there.

Ron stood there for a moment, thinking it over, before taking a step to catch up with Ying Tian, ​​but was stopped by St. Louis at the door.

"Don't rush, the commander will refuse if you go like this."

Ron's amber eyes seemed unfocused as she tilted her head and said, "You mean, the Commander will reject me?"

“The commander would refuse anyone at this point.” St. Louis thought to himself that the naval base was really giving him and the commander a hard time. He explained, “I have a way to get the commander to come in and sleep with us, but we all need to cooperate.”

"Do you have a solution?"

"I arrived half a month earlier, so I know the commander a bit more. We all have the same goal, so trust me."

Ron gently rested his chin on his hand and smiled, "Okay, I believe you."

“Then let’s make a plan,” St. Louis said, pointing to Ayanami. “The main force also needs Solomon’s ghost to cooperate.”

"Me...?"

Ayanami pointed to herself, a hint of confusion on her pretty face.

On the other side, after Ying Tian left the house, he lay down on the sofa. He took out his phone and wondered whether he should tell his roommate that he wouldn't be coming back tonight, but then decided against it.

As for sleeping on the sofa, Ying Tian didn't mind. During the summer vacation before his senior year of high school, he worked on a sweatshop in an electronics factory for two months, making screws to save up for his tuition. He slept on a wooden bed for two months, so he had no problem sleeping on the floor, let alone the sofa.

"You guys sleep on the bed, you must be tired from just getting here. Shoukaku and I will sleep on the floor." A faint voice came from inside the room; it was St. Louis's voice.

"Ahhh...the sheets and the soft pillows...so nice!" Mercury Memorial, this girl is really a bit naive and innocent.

"Ayanami, you sleep in the middle, that way you won't roll off."

"I...I won't roll down, even though it's just a destroyer..."

Ying Tian lay on the outside, listening to the sounds coming from inside the room. He couldn't help but imagine the scene inside, wondering if the room was soundproofed that badly. How could he hear everything so clearly from the outside?

Just then, the door to the room opened, and Shoukaku walked out.

"Commander, are you taking a shower? Change your clothes so I can take a shower."

"I didn't sweat today, so I won't wash it. I need to wear these clothes tomorrow."

"OK, all right."

Shoukaku didn't insist much, took the water bottle and went inside.

A short while later, Ron appeared instead.

"Commander, would you like some midnight snacks?"

"No need, I'm quite full today."

"Oh." Ron smiled and said gently, "If the Commander needs anything, please let me know."

"Ah."

Ying Tian watched Ron walk in, his slender waist and shapely hips visible. He thought to himself that Ron was actually a rather gentle person. His aggressive demeanor at the beginning was probably just because he was anxious about the mission to the garrison.

After a while, Ayanami came out.

She didn't speak, but just stood there quietly, her red eyes staring blankly at Ying Tian.

Ying Tian found it a bit strange and took the initiative to ask, "Is something the matter? Would you like some water or something?"

"No, it's nothing. I just wanted to make sure you were still there..."

Ayanami tugged at the hem of her clothes, her delicate toes, clad in white stockings, tapped the floor, and forced a smile. Perhaps realizing her smile looked inappropriate, she quickly went into her room.