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

Commander might sound a bit childish, but Master is a bit more formal and formal.

"And you need to keep your tails in check. As for your ears and horns, they don't matter; they'll probably be seen as cute decorations. But you all have official status now, so you don't need to worry about these things."

Throughout the journey, Ying Tian explained the precautions to everyone in China. Finally, three days later, the plane landed on the runway of Binjiang International Airport.

As soon as I got off the plane in Yingtian, I felt the bright sunshine and saw a vibrant scene of life and everything thriving. The air in my motherland is still the sweetest.

"We've finally arrived, my Canaan!"

Louis IX's words were not a sigh of emotion, but rather ecstatic joy. If it weren't for the strong will of the princess knight, she might not be supporting Yorktown now, but rather spitting in her face.

"Are you okay?"

"It's nothing, ugh... sob..."

Louis IX pursed his lips tightly, his face bearing the expression of a saint being tortured.

"Commander, Louis is fine, let's get out of here quickly." Richelieu's complexion was also not good. Apart from aircraft carriers, it is really difficult for ship girls who travel the sea to endure in places like airplanes, which are far from the ground.

"Yes, I'm leaving. I miss Shokaku-nee so much."

"It's been so long since I've seen St. Louis, I definitely have to have a drink with her."

"I wonder if Ayanami has lost weight."

As Ying Tian listened to everyone's discussion, he couldn't help but smile. Seeing familiar people and familiar things again made him overjoyed. This was probably what it felt like to come home.

After checking their identification and completing the security check, Ron and St. Louis were seen holding up signs high at the exit.

We welcome the employees of Zhengang Import and Export Trading Co., Ltd. to visit and work in China.

"Shokaku-nee! I miss you so much!"

"I missed you so much too." Shoukaku hugged her younger sister who had jumped into her arms, stroking her long dark brown hair. "You've been working so hard with Akagi-senpai and the others. I've prepared your favorite tempura for you."

"It's not actually that hard..."

Shoukaku pays close attention to the Commander, and also to Akagi, but even more so to the relationship between the two. Well, it's neither too close nor too distant, which is good, very good.

"St. Louis, you're a bit of a loser. You haven't managed to take down the commander after all this time."

"Oh, so that means you've already taken down the Commander, Bumblebee?"

"Haha...hahahaha..."

Bumblebee crossed his arms and laughed heartily, though somewhat awkwardly.

"I knew it! The Commander would definitely bring everyone back!" Reno excitedly moved closer to Ying Tian, ​​his eyes practically sparkling. "The Commander always has a way. That's what a superhero is all about."

"It's alright, it's mainly thanks to everyone working together."

"Stay away from the Commander!"

As soon as Ying Tian replied, the exhausted Da Feng immediately mustered her strength and stood in front of him, determined not to give Lino the chance to touch the commander.

Although Lino was a fangirl, she was a well-behaved girl who knew when to advance and retreat, biting her lip and remaining silent.

However, some people wouldn't give Taihou any face. Ron walked straight up to Yingtian, opened his arms, and his short, peach-pink hair fluttered: "Commander must be very tired. Let Ron heal your heart."

"No, Commander, I'm enough."

"Oh? You want to stop me?"

"You want to be a pest too?"

Taifeng and Ron faced each other, their equally firm and full breasts pressed tightly together, creating a soft, alluring cleavage.

Seeing the two facing off, Mercury commemorated himself, "Wait a minute, there should be one more person."

"What? There's another person?" Shangri-La asked curiously.

“Akagi didn’t even join in.” Mercury Memorial couldn’t help but chuckle. “These three are together, and they’re all by the Commander’s side. Oh right, there’s also Junyo. This is going to be quite a show.”

Shangri-La understood Mercury Memorial's meaning and said, "I'm more worried about the Commander."

"Don't worry, Commander. You'll see after a few days. Commander is very capable."

After answering Rino, Ying Tian was patting Ayanami's head and talking to her when he saw Taihou and Ron confronting each other. He decisively separated the two and then gave Ron a big hug.

"It's so good to see you again."

"Yes, Ron has been waiting for you to come back, he waits every day."

"Commander, sir!" Da Feng looked at the two people embracing each other, and said, as if she were squeezing out words from her throat, "She seduced you first, didn't she!"

After spending time together, Ying Tian realized that Taihou was just being stubborn. Like a child, she desperately tried to attract the attention of her loved ones with words and actions, and she would bare her fangs at anyone who tried to take away her candy. However, the entire naval base, including light cruisers and destroyers, was not afraid of Taihou actually taking action, so all that was left was her stubbornness.

"Da Feng, don't be ridiculous. You're still a criminal."

"Commander..."

"You've worked hard too, go back and rest with everyone first."

Yingtian also gave Dafeng a hug and gently patted her back. Feeling the commander's presence, Dafeng's eyes immediately became misty. The innocent Dafeng was so easy to please; as long as she was given a little something sweet, she wouldn't cause any trouble. Sometimes she was annoying, and sometimes she was quite cute.

The large number of people gathered at the airport has already attracted a lot of attention. Even in ordinary attire, the beauty of the ship girls cannot be concealed. Many people are also wondering, is this an import and export trading company or a live-streaming company?

"Alright, everyone, let's talk about this when we get back. Let's not crowd around here."

Ying Tian asked St. Louis, "How is it? Is everything arranged?"

St. Louis said, "Don't worry, Zhenhai and I have rented a villa in advance, which is located on Cuiping Mountain nearby. The bus to pick everyone up is parked outside."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, and Zhenhai too." Ying Tian turned to everyone and said, "Let's go, let's go home."

"walk home."

Chapter Twenty-Six: Prelude to the Storm

Because they notified the domestic authorities a week in advance, St. Louis, Shokaku, and Zhenhai had prepared almost everything perfectly.

The villa is located halfway up Cuiping Mountain next to the school, only a little over a kilometer away from our old neighborhood. It's quiet but not too remote. The four-story building has twenty-one rooms, enough to accommodate everyone. We did a thorough cleaning beforehand and bought a lot of daily necessities, which were piled up in the living room on the first floor. We even prepared several stacks of cash and put them in the shoe cabinet so that people could just take them when they went out. As for things like cell phones, we'll buy those later. Anyway, everyone has legal status and can get a SIM card directly with their passport.

Ying Tian lay down on the sofa in the villa. As an ordinary person, he was truly exhausted.

Physically, he was alright; the main problem was the psychological tension. As the backbone of the team, he was under constant scrutiny, and he wouldn't show any weakness to worry everyone. Now that he was back in the absolutely safe country, fatigue was gradually creeping in.

I'm lying down now, do whatever you want.

“Commander, you didn’t bring us any gifts.” Mercury Memorial rested her chin on her right hand, looking at Ying Tian from the armrest of the sofa. “You didn’t bring any when you came back from England, and you didn’t bring any when you came back from Africa either. That’s a bit much.”

Ying Tian weakly reached out and pinched Mercury's delicate cheek, then pulled it to the other side, instantly turning into a strange expression.

"Wow, Commander, what are you doing?" Mercury Memorial blushed.

"This is a gift for you."

"What kind of gift is this?"

Ying Tian said righteously, "I've been working hard outside without a single day of rest, while you've been enjoying air conditioning and delicious food made by Xianghe and Zhenhai at home every day, without being able to help at all. Shouldn't you compensate me?"

"This is what you're supposed to do; you're our commander."

"You're still my ship girl."

"I don't care, you have to give me a present anyway." Mercury Memorial hugged Ying Tian's arm and shook it playfully, making a cute but fierce expression. "Otherwise, I'll bite you!"

"you dare?"

"I dare."

Ying Tian replied dismissively, "What?! Where are my guardian saintess and paladin?"

Princeton, who had just finished choosing his room, said, "Louis IX drank some water and lay down. Joan of Arc, who had been stubbornly holding on, lay down even faster than Louis IX."

“I didn’t expect my saintess and paladin to be so open already.” Ying Tian was being swayed by Mercury Memorial, constantly bumping against her firm and full breasts. “Fine, bite me if you want, just don’t bite my face… Also, you’re showing.”

Mercury Memorial then noticed that one strap of her tank top had slipped down, revealing her rounded shoulders and beautiful curves. Her cheeks flushed red as she covered them, and she whispered, "Perverted Commander!"

Longfeng walked past the sofa carrying a bed sheet and said, "It's almost time to eat. Commander, do you have the energy? Or would you like to rest first?"

Ying Tian struggled to sit up straight and beckoned to the little girl standing next to him: "Ayanami, come here."

"Commander, is something the matter?"

Give me a kiss.

"Hey hey hey hey?" Mercury Memorial exclaimed excitedly.

"it is good."

Ayanami remained her usual adorable, taciturn self. After agreeing, she pouted her thin, pink lips, stretched out her fair neck, and gently kissed Yingtian's face.

The cool, pudding-like kiss and the slightly shy and helpless expression on Ayanami's face instantly energized Ying Tianqiang: "With the energy Ayanami gave me, I'm all fired up. Let's go eat."

Mercury watched Ying Tian's retreating figure as he walked to the restaurant with Ayanami, and murmured, "Why does the Commander seem a little different than before?"

"What's different?" Longfeng asked curiously.

"It seems like you were a little more proactive," Mercury Memorial said after thinking for a moment. "The Commander used to be less likely to initiate these kinds of physical contact, let alone let someone kiss him. He did it so naturally just now."

Longfeng smiled as she recalled the time she had spent with the commander these past few days: "That means the commander is closer to us now."

"Maybe."

"This is all thanks to us, the Sakura Empire."

"?"

Mercury Memorial raised his fist, as if to say, "Do you think we, the North Union, are invincible?"

Then she realized, well, she was indeed the only Northern Alliance ship girl here. You Sakura Empire people are numerous, so I won't bother with you for now, but I'll remember this grudge.

Many of the Sakura Empire ship girls can cook, while only Yorktown and Shangri-La among the Eagle Union ship girls have some culinary skills. With everyone's help, a welcome meal was quickly prepared. Considering that everyone was tired, the meal was not prepared to be too lavish, but rather to allow everyone to eat their fill and then take a shower and rest.

"Master, your room is on the second floor. It's the first room on the left after you go up the stairs."

"The second floor?"

"The second floor is in the middle, so it's relatively safer."

"It's actually quite safe in China... That's all, I trust Belfast's arrangements." Ying Tian stood up after finishing his meal and said, "I'm going back to my room to rest and adjust to the time difference. There's something I'd like to ask you for help with this afternoon."

“Please do as you command.” Belfast followed him up from the table and said, “Should I wake the master?”

"No need, it won't matter even if you sleep until night, you should rest first."

The two walked up the stairs one after the other, which aroused the curiosity of the people who were still eating.

"What is it that you have to do as soon as you get back, and you need Belfast's help?" Canglong said while clearing the dishes. "My intuition tells me that this is not a simple matter."

Shangri-La supported her chin with her index finger and thumb, making the standard detective gesture: "First of all, we can determine that this matter requires more than two people to do, otherwise, given the commander's personality, he would not ask others for help if he could do it himself."

“Hmm, that makes sense.” Essex nodded. “Go on.”

"Furthermore, Belfast is the commander's head maid and a ship girl he is very close to. Choosing her instead of someone else suggests that this matter is difficult to talk about, which is why he needed the help of someone he trusts."

"Shangri-La is something else."

"Call me 'sister'!" Shangri-La glared at Kaliyong and continued, "Besides, the head maid's perfect elegance is universally acknowledged, so this matter may not be easy. Otherwise, why would it be Belfast, and not Shoukaku or St. Louis?"

"In conclusion, I can reasonably deduce..."

Shangri-La paused for a moment, deliberately creating some suspense. That's how great detectives are; they always keep people in suspense before revealing the answer.

Unfortunately, Mercury commemorated the moment and blurted out, "Commander has hemorrhoids?"

"puff--"

Zuikaku couldn't hold back and sprayed a whole bowl of miso soup onto Kaga's face.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Zuikaku hurriedly looked around for a towel to help Kaga wipe herself down. Shoukaku thought to herself, "Zuikaku, you did a great job. As expected of my sister, I fight Akagi, and you fight Kaga. We, the Fifth Carrier Division, all have a bright future." So without Shoukaku's help, Zuikaku couldn't find a towel for a while.

“I…” Kaga brushed the seaweed sprout off her forehead, soup dripping from her white bangs. She stood up and walked toward the bathroom. “I will pay you back tenfold. I didn’t mean you, Zuikaku. I meant you, Mercury Memorial.”

"Huh? What does this have to do with me? I was just making a guess, it's not like I sprayed you in the face... Are you out of your mind?" Of course, Mercury Memorial said the last sentence very softly. She didn't dare to mess with Kaga. Other foxes are fox spirits, but Kaga is a hunter among foxes.

Bumblebee said gloatingly, "Of course it's none of your business. Who told you to talk nonsense?"

"Then what else do you think the commander is planning to do?"

"I won't tell you, just ask me if you want to know."

"Tch, isn't that what Shangri-La wanted to say? Go ahead and say it."

Shangri-La seemed hesitant to speak, and the suspense I had painstakingly built up suddenly turned into a farce. A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated.