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

"As expected of Yi Xian, no wonder she became the first marriage ship."

Having said all that, Marco Polo could only offer a few polite words before leaving. She hadn't been with the naval base for long, lacking both popular support and significant achievements. While her abilities were decent, they were no match for figures like Frederick the Great and New Jersey. Even compared to her allies Veneto and Littorio, she wasn't particularly outstanding. She was ambitious, but she was clearly just a runner-up. Marco Polo was unwilling to accept this. Even if she failed this time, she would prepare for her future challenge for the secretary ship position. Restoring Rome's glory was her duty.

Zhao He was a girl with silver-white and rouge-red hair in a yin-yang style. Although she was petite, she had a cute and charming round face and a beautiful figure. She watched Marco Polo's departing figure, crossed her arms, and snorted, "With Sister Zhenhai's information, we don't need this kind of cooperation."

“We have connections in the court, reaching directly to the emperor.” Hai Tian had beautiful silver hair that resembled a calligraphy brush. She was a literary girl, best known for her ability to quote classical texts.

"Zhenhai only told us the current situation. It's not like he's selling official positions. Ultimately, whether you get a secretary ship or something depends on your own competitiveness. There are a lot of competitors... Alright, we can't let this delay cooking. Everyone, come and help."

Yi Xian was well aware of her own abilities. It wasn't that she was underestimating herself, but rather that there were indeed many people more suitable to be the secretary ship than she was. Of course, she had to strive to become one, but she also needed to have self-awareness and give everyone a heads-up so that the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment.

Most of the ship girls in the White Eagles share similar thoughts. Not many of them really want to be secretary ships, especially since the two managing aircraft carriers, Enterprise and Essex, are both under the command of the commander. The others are either like New Jersey, strong but not involved in anything, or like Baltimore and Cleveland, who are helpful knights passing by, willing to lend a hand to anyone, but not interested in being leaders.

"New Jersey, I've voted for you! I want to see the Black Dragon Dance on a Summer Night!"

In the dimly lit bar, New Jersey, adorned with long rabbit ears, pursed his adorable rabbit lips and gave Omaha a thumbs up: "Awesome, Omaha! Now, let the biggest and strongest Black Dragon perform a summer night Black Dragon Dance for everyone."

As she spoke, New Jersey swayed her ample buttocks onto the small stage of the bar. Amid cheers from the crowd below, she twirled her perfect body around a long steel pole. In fact, New Jersey's dance had no real technique, but a beautiful woman only needed to display her confidence and sweat to be outstanding.

The Sea Knights, also known as the Cleveland-class sisters, sat together.

“Cleveland, look at her,” said Denver, a cute girl with short hair. “If you want to be a secretary ship, you have to fight for it yourself. The support of us sisters alone is not enough.”

"If I wanted to be the secretary ship, of course I would actively strive for it, but I'd rather not do it through such means." Cleveland waved her hand casually, then said with some helplessness, "What kind of younger sisters are you, signing me up behind my back? If you wanted to sign up, why didn't you sign up yourselves?"

Denver stuck out his tongue: "I can't do it, I definitely can't be the secretary ship."

“I think I can actually do it.” Columbia changed the subject, “but I’m guilty and I’m too ashamed to be the secretary ship. Come on, Cleveland, you can do it.”

Cleveland downed the drink in his glass in one gulp and stood up abruptly.

"What are you doing, Cleveland?"

"I can do pole dancing too, after all, I'm a girl too."

While New Jersey and Cleveland were dancing in bars, the Sakura Empire was holding a meeting just like the Royal Navy. As expected of an island nation, the content of their meetings is almost the same.

However, compared to the Royal Family, the atmosphere in the Sakura Empire was somewhat strange.

Mutsu kept praising his older sister Nagato, while Nagato, who looked like a complete child, tried her best to maintain a dignified demeanor, repeatedly saying things like "I have no other choice."

Mikasa was practicing typing and speech recognition with Jintsu's help. "This is too difficult! This invention is so inconvenient!" With each suppressed cry, Mikasa's smooth black hair was already a mess from her own grabbing. Jintsu was also somewhat helpless; it was indeed difficult for Mikasa-senpai to accept new things at her age...

Amagi was having a voice conference with Akagi and Kaga, getting firsthand information about the commander's surroundings through her two younger sisters.

The Sakura Empire's leader leaned against the window, looking at the cherry blossom trees outside that had already passed their blooming season. Intelligence analysis told Amagi that even the first round of selections would not be easy, but she also had an intuition that it didn't seem too complicated, because the commander didn't seem to take it too seriously.

What is the truth?

Tiancheng decided to take a gamble—not on the fate of the nation, but on psychology.

Chapter 56 Wings like yours don't exist!

Ying Tian was unaware of the situation at the garrison headquarters, but he didn't sense anything particularly unusual about the situation around him.

Those who wanted to play games played games, those who wanted to exercise exercised, and those who wanted to pray prayed. It seemed that even those who signed up for the secretary ship selection did not show any difference.

In the evening, Yingtian went hiking with Enterprise and Essex. Even in the hilly areas at low altitudes, the summer night was still quite hot and humid, not to mention the noisy cicadas and thirsty mosquitoes. It wouldn't have been a pleasant experience if you weren't with someone.

Yingtian's physical fitness is actually quite good. Based on his previous level, even if he ate a diet of unbalanced carbohydrates, he could still carry bricks and mortar on the construction site. Even the most unscrupulous contractors couldn't find fault with him. Now that his nutrition is balanced, his weight has gradually become normal from being underweight. Theoretically, his physical fitness should be even better.

In fact, after running about half the distance, Essex reached out to Yingtian, who was supporting himself on his knees, and asked, "How are you, Commander? Can you still hold on?"

Ying Tian took a deep breath, grasped Essex's cool, slender hand, and was pulled up by her: "It's alright, just rest for a bit and catch your breath."

"Commander, you really should start exercising."

"..."

Ying Tian wanted to say that his body was really in good shape. He had spent the whole night with Belfast, enjoying the head maid's tenderness and affection time and time again. He was still full of energy the next day. However, perhaps it was for this reason that he was now a little tired after running a few kilometers of mountain road. He couldn't blame anyone else. It was because he was greedy for the beauty of Belfast's body. The perfect and elegant head maid naturally put her master's will first.

"Yes, I need to go to bed early and get up early from now on, and I should exercise more when I have time."

"We should definitely go to bed early and get up early."

Essex continued, then couldn't help but recall what she had heard that night, saying, "If you can go to bed early, you can naturally wake up early. You're just a normal person, not a ship girl, like that..."

Essex stopped abruptly, wondering why she was bringing up such a thing. It wasn't a wedding, nor any other intimate relationship, so she had no right to offer advice.

"What does it look like?"

"It's nothing, just remember to take care of yourself and exercise more."

"Isn't this what I'm doing right now?"

Essex wanted to say something, but suddenly realized she was still holding the commander's hand, soft, warm, and slightly damp with sweat. She didn't want to let go at all, so she decided to just walk slowly instead of running.

"Never mind, we just finished dinner. I remember Shangri-La saying that strenuous exercise right after eating is bad for the kidneys. Let's walk slowly for a while."

"Is that so?" Ying Tian might have scoffed at such a statement in the past, but now he dared not take it lightly. Sure enough, for married men, strengthening the kidneys and boosting virility is an eternal theme. After all, as the old saying goes, if a man's waist is weak, everything else is meaningless.

"I don't know either. What Shangri-La said doesn't really matter to ship girls."

"It's best to be careful, but the company has already disappeared somewhere."

"Given the speed of the company's predecessors, they're probably home by now."

In fact, no. When the two walked hand in hand to the top of the mountain, they saw the company standing on the edge of the cliff, seemingly waiting for them.

The man, dressed in a tracksuit, smiled with what appeared to be a sense of relief when he saw Essex and Yingtian holding hands.

Essex quickly released Yingtian's hand and explained, "Senior Enterprise, please don't misunderstand. The commander couldn't walk any further on the road, so I helped him."

Ying Tian: "..."

Essex, we were just walking hand in hand, completely in sync. You don't think I didn't notice you holding my hand, so I didn't let go either, and now you're suddenly turning your back on me? That's too much.

The company blinked and said, "What could I possibly misunderstand?"

"Yes, what's there to misunderstand?" Ying Tian said innocently. "It's just holding hands, what's the problem?"

"Um...no problem."

Essex rubbed her forehead, wondering what was wrong with her. She didn't seem like herself at all. It was probably still a lingering effect from that night with Kaga on the air conditioner unit.

Ying Tian smiled, thinking that there was nothing to worry about. The sisters were very close, and it didn't mean that being a commander meant being so domineering and expecting everyone to revolve around him.

He patted Essex on the shoulder, walked over to the company, and found that from this spot, he could see the main building of Binjiang University with its neon lights, and under the deep night, the lights of thousands of homes flickered and shimmered, and even with the noisy chirping of insects around, it was still very quiet.

Standing on the Yingtian side, looking at the night view, the company representative said, "Isn't it a beautiful night view?"

Ying Tian nodded, then shook his head and said, "I rarely stopped to look at scenery like this before, but to be honest, I think it's pretty ordinary."

"It's just these ordinary lights in every home that make people feel at ease. A world without war is pretty good too."

"It's not a world without war, it's just a country without war," Ying Tian said casually. "We just came back from Africa, and you saw the situation there. What seems like an ordinary scene of thousands of lights is because someone is silently protecting it. Here is our country and army, and in another world, it should be you ship girls who are protecting it. In fact, you are more entitled to enjoy this tranquility than I am."

Essex stood on the other side of Yingtian, sandwiching him between Enterprise and her, and said, "So the Commander has such awareness?"

"Of course I have. I was very apprehensive before."

"Fear?"

"Yes, it was fear." After experiencing a series of events, Ying Tian could now frankly express his feelings. "At first, I didn't want to accept the identity of commander. Besides finding it hard to believe, I was also filled with fear—the fear of someone who has gained something without working for it. I always felt that I didn't deserve all of this."

Essex pursed her lips, feeling as if she were seeing a more real, yet more powerful, commander. She naturally asked, "And now?"

"Right now, I'm still apprehensive because I have to do a good job as commander. As for whether I'm qualified or not..." Ying Tian said confidently, "Since you think I'm qualified, then I am naturally qualified."

The company smiled and said, "A commander is a commander; there's no question of whether he's qualified or not."

"That's right, everyone recognizes me, so if I don't deserve it, who does?"

The company stated, "It's about having this unwavering belief so that people can draw strength from you."

“Yes, I will be your support.” Ying Tian said, naturally taking the hands of the company and Essex. “Let’s work together.”

"Ah."

"It's always been like this, and it's even more so now."

This time, Essex did not loosen its grip. The company's focus was no longer on the lights of thousands of homes in front of it, but on the lifelong sustenance of those around them.

"We've rested enough, let's continue running."

Faced with the company's proposal, Ying Tian blinked. The atmosphere had finally gotten to this point, and I hadn't even said that you were all my wings yet.

Essex nodded and said, "I won't lose to my corporate predecessors this time."

"Then prove yourself!"

With that, the two turned around, sped up, and started running.

Ying Tian didn't even have a chance to react, because the two of them were still holding his hands and pulled him directly onto the road.

"Commander, should we slow down a bit?"

Is this speed acceptable?

Looking into the sparkling eyes of the two beautiful women in the night, Ying Tian gritted his teeth and said, "Absolutely no problem."

If you ask a man if he's capable, how else can he answer?

Of course, that's fine.

Then Ying Tian experienced what it meant to fly close to the ground.

You two are truly my wings. Everyone else runs, but you two, like an aircraft carrier, fly. Are you trying to exhaust this commander to death?

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Unexpected Yet Reasonable

The villa was peaceful and quiet...maybe.

Taihou was temporarily released. She was only placed in solitary confinement and was not prohibited from other activities. Naturally, she was allowed to use her phone. She did not have the same sense of guilt as Columbia. In any case, she signed up for the selection of the secretary ship.

So far, she has only received one vote, which, needless to say, was cast for herself.

"Damn it, these pests must be afraid of me, afraid that I will take back the Commander who rightfully belongs to me. The fault isn't mine, it's this world!"

Taihou bit her lip, glancing at the Prince of Wales and then at Belfast. Her hands clenched into fists and then unfolded into blades, as if she were planning whether to slash them across the neck or punch them in the face that was trying to seduce the Commander... Well, that was just wishful thinking. In reality, Taihou couldn't beat either of them.

"So everyone at the naval base reacted this strongly?"

Although separated by an entire world, Ying Tian still had some ways to understand the situation in the garrison. After all, by asking Zhenhai, the Prince of Wales, and Richelieu, he could get a general idea.

Ying Tian never expected that the naval base would be filled with factionalism and even coercion over the voting. They said things like, "If you vote for me, I will reciprocate and I will definitely promote you after I become the secretary ship. If you don't help me, then I'll be sorry when I become the secretary ship."

Even that's nothing. Within half a day, an underground industry chain had formed in the naval base. It is said that there are people who specialize in collecting the voting rights of those ship girls who come in to fill in the numbers. They are clearly priced at 100,000 yuan per vote, with no deception and cash on delivery. It is said that they sell very well. Some wealthy people buy more than a dozen votes at a time. Sellers exclaimed that they were generous, and buyers exclaimed that they were cheap. Reputable merchants love it.

The Prince of Wales said, "The main reason is that everyone values ​​the position of secretary ship, and you have also added the privilege of being able to travel between the two worlds every month, which has made many people even more enthusiastic."

Upon hearing this, Ying Tian clenched his fist and exclaimed, "Damn it! If I had known that these unscrupulous merchants would make the money, I would have preferred to let our own people do it!"

Prince of Wales: "..."

"Just kidding, no need to be so serious." Ying Tian waved his hand with a smile and said, "Small tricks won't affect the big picture. Besides, I know that everyone is going all out for the position of secretary ship. The person who is elected will definitely cherish this hard-won opportunity and fulfill his duties well. In a sense, it's not a bad thing."

"Commander, you're quite magnanimous."

"I have a bottom line. As long as this bottom line is not crossed, this level of level is not a big deal."

In truth, Ying Tian had been waiting. Ultimately, the selection of the secretary ship was overseen by the commander himself, and Ying Tian was curious whether anyone would see through appearances and directly bribe him, the examiner. He hoped this would allow him to showcase his noble character, accept the bribe, and then retaliate, putting his weaknesses to the test. Unfortunately, it seemed no one did. Even last night, Enterprise and Essex didn't discuss the topic; instead, they left him quite exhausted.

"Commander!"

A seductive body passionately threw itself into Ying Tian's arms. After being confined for more than ten days, Da Feng's incredibly mature body exuded a beautiful and alluring charm. Fortunately, Da Feng was simply expressing her love. If she had pulled such a "bribe" in a secluded place, Ying Tian would probably have had to exert a lot of effort to overcome his weakness.

"Commander, please let me advance! As long as Taihou becomes the secretary ship, Taihou will fulfill any request you make!"

Ying Tian pulled Da Feng off his body. He looked at Da Feng's beautiful face, which was gorgeous but not seductive. Beneath her cascading black hair were snow-white and delicate skin and two large, firm mounds like ripe peaches. Every part of her was perfect for him. It was precisely because of this that Ying Tian could not bear to punish her too severely. Perhaps he was a little willful, but Da Feng was not a bad person at heart. It was just that her love was too passionate.

However, making her the secretary ship is absolutely out of the question. Putting aside whether anyone would respect her, how could a ship girl whose mind is only focused on sticking to the commander all day long handle daily affairs?

Yingtian then said, "Does that mean you won't carry out my requests if you don't become the secretary ship?"

Taihou paused for a moment, then quickly said, "That's not what I meant. Whether I become the secretary ship or not, Taihou will always be the commander's, and she will do whatever is asked of her."

"That's it, thank you Taifeng, but you only have one vote, so you can't advance."

Taihou bit her red lips, unable to speak. She was completely the Commander's property, so she couldn't ask him for anything in that regard.

Mercury Memorial whispered to Kariyong, "Wow, she got Taihou under her thumb with just a few words. She's such a difficult person."

"What's so strange? Haven't you noticed that Akagi hasn't gone crazy in a long time?"

"At this crucial moment in the election for secretary ship, how dare she act crazy? Aren't she afraid of scaring the commander out of his wits? By the way, Kalyong, how many votes do you have? Can you advance?"

"Me, hahaha... I'm just joining in the fun anyway."