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

"The naval base has been a bit chaotic lately, not because of the sorties, but because some people in the port are becoming uneasy. They say they've found the commander, but without being able to see him, the commander's existence is too abstract. There are no pictures, no videos, only descriptions from the Prince of Wales. St. Louis and Ron have gone there one by one, but haven't received any official feedback. So rumors are flying around the naval base. A couple of days ago, Marco Polo and the others even held a demonstration in front of the office. It calmed them down, but it's not a long-term solution."

As he spoke, Reno unfolded his ship's equipment and said, "The port research team came up with a way to make a cross-time and space communication device. In order to ensure that it would not be lost during the journey, it was packed and placed in my ship's fuel tank. Fortunately, this method worked."

"It's actually possible?" Mercury Memorial leaned closer and saw Reno take an oil paper package out of his ship rigging, and said, "Then can we contact the naval base now?"

"Uncertain, needs to be debugged. Theoretically, the signals emitted by the Mind Cube can travel through space and time to fixed coordinates, but that's only in theory."

Reno took out a device with a screen that looked like a brick from the oil paper package. She looked at Ying Tian and said, "I need something from the Commander to use for spacetime anchoring... Could you give me a hair?"

"no problem."

Yingtian immediately plucked a hair and handed it to Lino. He was also very curious and nervous. Although he had heard about things like the naval base for a long time, he still felt a sense of unreality and uncertainty. Moreover, it was said that not all the ship girls in the naval base were supportive of him as the commander. However, none of that mattered. What mattered was that he had another chance to contact the Prince of Wales, which was both exciting and nerve-wracking.

The same goes for the other ship girls. The commander is important, of course, but the sisters in the naval base are just as important. Being able to talk to them is certainly a good thing. Everyone watched with anticipation as Reno debugged the equipment.

At this moment, Xianghe suddenly and quietly pulled Yingtian's arm and dragged him to a corner of the living room.

"Shokaku, what's wrong?"

“Yes, that’s how it is…” Shoukaku bit her lip and said, “Commander, do you remember the letter I gave you before that was written by Taihou?”

Ying Tian was a little surprised: "I remember."

“Actually, there’s another letter, written by Akagi-senpai.” Shoukaku took out a slightly creased envelope from his clothes and handed it to Eten, quickly explaining, “It’s not that I deliberately kept it. I’m only giving it to you now because I need to be able to contact the naval base. The main reason is that Akagi-senpai’s mental state isn’t very good, and she often does things that cause trouble for others. I’m only helping her deliver this letter because of Amagi’s sake. I really don’t want the Commander to have a bad impression of the naval base.”

"It can't be that exaggerated, can it?"

Ying Tian opened the envelope, and a fresh scent of ink mixed with a faint orchid fragrance wafted out. The handwriting on the paper, printed with a light cherry blossom background, was delicate and elegant, pleasing to the eye at first glance.

Respectfully yours, sir. Seeing this letter is like seeing you in person.

Hearing that you are well brings me great comfort. Though we are separated by thousands of miles, I wish I could transform into a bird and fly over countless mountains to be with you. However, the world is vast and I cannot do so for the time being. I can only express my longing with this letter...

……

Everything is well in the port area. The cherry trees I planted in the courtyard have already passed their blooming season, and I am deeply regretful that I could not enjoy them with you while drinking. However, there are beautiful sights where I think of you, and I can appreciate the wonders of the universe with you. Even though we are separated by heaven and earth, I can still find peace in my heart.

May you drink when thirsty, rise during the day, and sleep soundly at night. Though I miss you dearly, my heart will be at peace.

Words cannot express the depth of my feelings, and I pray for your continued well-being.

Your humble servant respectfully submits this message and bows in reverence, awaiting your reply.

After reading the letter, Ying Tian felt as if the image of an elegant and refined ancient lady had leaped off the page, fresh and unconventional, leaving a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth.

"Isn't this normal? A Yamato Nadeshiko, still a literary girl. Akagi's classical Chinese is quite good. It seems she has put a lot of effort into learning Chinese culture. It's just that it's a bit troublesome for me to write a reply. I'll have to use semi-vernacular Chinese."

Shoukaku watched in disbelief. Although she liked the sarcastic Akagi, she wouldn't stoop to such a despicable act as peeping at someone else's letter. So she never expected the letter to contain such a thing. Wasn't it supposed to be something like "Commander, you are mine alone" or "Commander, I'll get angry if you flirt with other women"?

"Commander, I'm really not making this up." Shoukaku looked like he was about to cry.

Ying Tian could only say, "Perhaps there's some misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?...I know, it must be Akagi-senpai who's manipulating you, Commander, you have to believe me."

"I understand, I definitely believe you."

"Commander, you mustn't fall for this."

Before Shoukaku could say anything more, Reno's voice came from inside the room: "It's working! Commander, come quick!"

Chapter 50: The First Contact with the Naval Base

Naval Base, dormitory building.

Although it was daytime, the suite belonging to the three sisters of the Ironblood Graf Zeppelin-class aircraft carrier was kept dark by heavy curtains. Zeppelin sat on the sofa, gently swirling her wine glass, and said only one thing to her sister Peter Strasser as she entered:

"close the door."

"You can close the door, but you must open the curtains."

As Strasser spoke, he walked to the window, drew back the red curtains, and let the sunlight fall on his sister Zeppelin's beautiful but somewhat pale face.

Zeppelin squinted and said, "Weren't you debugging the machine? How come you have time to come back?"

"Machines are not such inconvenient things; once they are debugged, just let them run."

Strasser casually agreed, but his gaze was fixed on his youngest sister, Auguste von Passeval.

A mature woman who called herself a witch sat cross-legged at the dining table. Her long, slender legs, encased in semi-transparent black stockings, were crossed, and her delicate ankles were adorned with high heels, revealing the graceful curves of her heels. Her purple bangs covered half of her eyes, but what was even more dazzling than her pretty face was the half of her round, firm breasts that were exposed, truly making her as eye-catching as a witch.

"August".

"What's wrong, Peter?"

Did you also attend the parade organized by Marco Polo the day before yesterday?

"Ah."

Strasser gently rubbed his forehead and said, "You shouldn't get involved in this kind of thing; it's a complete waste of time."

“Wasting time?” August said, his thin lips barely moving. “I’ve only seen the predetermined fate, followed the trajectory, and waited for the man called Commander to challenge me. His time and attention will become the witch’s meal.”

"...The witch's obsession?"

Strasser sighed softly, lay down on the sofa next to Zeppelin, and thought to himself, how could someone as meticulous as him have these two riddle-solving sisters? They were both more troublesome than the other.

She took out her phone, opened the chat app, and saw that the commander's account was still grayed out in the member list, indicating that Reno, who had gone to another world, had not yet set up the communication device.

Strasser was somewhat conflicted. As the machine she designed herself, she naturally wanted to prove its reliability and stability. However, her rigorous scientific approach also told her that the probability of putting it into practical use immediately without sufficient experimentation and testing was extremely low.

Moreover, if Reno fails to debug, then it would be only natural for her, Peter Strasser, as the inventor of the device and the former commander, to debug it in the world of the past.

Reno's technical skills are not the highest in the research group. One of the most important reasons for sending her there is that her identity and affiliation are more suitable, and White Eagle has a much higher say.

"It's true, efficiency has been sacrificed because of compromise."

Strasser rubbed his delicate brows and looked at the topics discussed in the naval base's group chat. He flipped through a few pages and, as expected, they were still discussing the previous parade.

Marco Polo: Don't label me. I'm not trying to undermine the unity of the naval base. Are all the sisters who follow me trying to undermine the unity of the naval base? Of course not.

Marco Polo: We just want the truth, the right to access it. The time-travel device shouldn't belong only to the higher-ups; it should belong to every sister in the port who has worked so hard.

Leonardo da Vinci: That's right!

Marco Polo: @Joan of Arc @Aurora, you are also pioneers of freedom, say something!

Joan of Arc: I have always believed in the naval base; haste will only cause division.

Karlsruhe: Why are you tagging them? Tagging me would have given you some encouragement.

Hood: What trouble are you causing now, @Bismarck? Keep an eye on your Ironblood ship girls, they're all ruining the overall situation of the naval base.

Commander: This is a test message.

Commander: Can you receive this?

The pursuer: ?

New Jersey: ??

Atago: ? ? ?

Magdeburg: Who changed their nickname and profile picture to deceive people again? Saratoga, is it you again?

Saratoga: ?

Saratoga: I will never use the same prank twice. Don't question my professionalism, Saratoga.

Haruna: I don't believe it. Haven't you heard the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"?

Suruga: When you tell someone you won't use it a second time, but you do, it's actually a kind of prank.

Saratoga: Believe it or not.

In another world, Ying Tian looked at the names and messages flashing on the screen, and a strange sense of familiarity welled up in his heart. It was as if he could really see the figures chatting in front of him, not through some ethereal signal or chat tool.

Reno handed the brick-like phone to Ying Tian and said, "Commander, why don't you say hello to everyone?"

"Ah."

Ying Tian considered it for a moment. After all, it was an online chat, so he didn't have to face such a large group of people directly, and it wouldn't make him as nervous as meeting them in person.

Commander: Hello everyone.

Commander: This is probably my first time meeting everyone. It's a strange feeling. Although I don't know how to face everyone yet, I think we can become friends.

San Francisco: Wow, that's pretty similar.

Admiral Hipper: Keep bluffing.

Commander: (Voiceover) It's me, a message from another world.

Admiral Hipper: Voice changer scam.

Bremerton: (voiceover) Wow, you're so well prepared. I'm a little touched. How about we really make him the commander? What's that saying again... Right, we must have a Lich King.

Kumano: Commander, say you like me. If you say it, I'll believe you.

Suzuya: Kumano, you can fool your sisters, but don't fool yourself.

Atago: No, you're not allowed to say it to anyone. Pranks are okay, but you can't say things that might cause misunderstandings.

Commander: It really is me.

Strasser: The office sent Reno with a communication device to the Commander's world before, so this really is the Commander.

Admiral Hipper: The two of them teamed up to deceive.

Frederick the Great: It's not a lie, Hipper. My colleagues and I in the joint meeting did indeed make a decision to have Reno take the communication device made by the research team to the Commander's world. However, we were unsure whether the device would be lost during the journey or whether the communication would be successful, so we didn't say anything.

Prince of Wales: I can attest that it was indeed the Commander's voice.

Prince of Wales: Welcome, Commander.

Yi Xian: Is he really the commander?

Then, in the group, an account with the nickname "Commander" posted a selfie. It showed Ying Tian trying to force a smile, along with Ron, Shoukaku, Ayanami, and others who were also in the picture.

Commander: Hello everyone, it's nice to meet you all.

Admiral Hipper: !

Taihou: Commander!

Kongo: It really is the commander.

Ding dong~ Ding dong~ Ding dong~

In an instant, the phone's message notifications seemed to be in a superposition state, beeping incessantly, and the messages in the chat tool were refreshing at an extremely fast speed. Not only that, but countless private chat messages also popped up all at once. Ying Tian casually tapped, and a selfie that made people blush and their hearts race appeared, followed by two, three, dozens of photos... and then nothing happened. No new messages popped up on any interface, whether in group chats or private chats.

Ying Tian asked, "Rino, what's going on?"

Reno quickly came up to check and said, "Too many messages were received at once, the bandwidth is overloaded. We'll just have to wait for the equipment at the naval base to be adjusted."

In the other naval base world, a similar bombardment of news had also ensued.

North Carolina: Why isn't the commander saying anything?

Tallinn: Too many messages, can't keep up?

Victory: Why is the Commander's avatar grayed out? Did he disconnect?

Salt Lake City: Where's the research team? Help the research team!

Strasser: Wait, let me check the instrument that is sending the signal.

After a while—

Strasser: Sending too many messages at once is overwhelming the bandwidth. Everyone, please send fewer pictures, especially @Dafeng, you sent 32GB of pictures at once, you've saturated the bandwidth.

Taihou: (sticking out her tongue)

Ise: Good heavens, 32 gigabytes! Taihou, what kind of picture did you send that's so big?

Taiho: It's nothing.

Taifeng: Just a little selfie.

Chapter 51 The False Commander and the Real Commander

"Commander, you can look if you want, don't be shy."

St. Louis chuckled softly and directly pointed out Ying Tian's deliberate act of swiping away the image interface.

"It's just to recognize people, otherwise it would be very awkward if we didn't know who was who."