Today's tutelary fort remains peaceful.

"Then I'll leave the Admiral to my reputation," Andrea Doria said reluctantly. Seeing Xue Cheng open his eyes and look at her, she immediately folded her arms and turned her face away. "If I let this idiot live alone, I'm afraid he won't be able to survive."

Xue Cheng smiled and said, "But if Ai Li is with me, I can not only take good care of myself, but also make Ai Li plump and white."

"Who is Ellie? I'll hit you if you scream again!" Andrea Doria waved her little fist vigorously. She understood the implication of Xue Cheng's words.

"Okay, let's go out and leave the Admiral alone for a while." Lexington took the remote control, adjusted the air conditioner temperature to a suitable value, covered Xue Cheng with a thin blanket, and said softly: "Admiral, we are leaving. If you need anything, just call for reputation and counterattack."

"Okay, see you tomorrow." Xue Cheng nodded, watched the girls leave, and slowly closed his eyes.

Xue Cheng was not actually sleepy, he was just tortured by the handmade cookies in London and wanted to calm down. However, when he closed his eyes and lay down for a while, he actually fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, it was completely dark outside. The sound of insects chirping mixed with the rustling of leaves in the wind came in through the window. In a trance, Xue Cheng thought he had returned to his own room in his hometown.

Xue Cheng rubbed his eyes, and his chaotic consciousness gradually became clear. The room was pitch black. He sat up and groped for the bedroom light switch.

"Master, you're awake." A flat voice came over. In the shadow beside the window, Shengwang stood up from the chair. She walked to Xue Cheng and pressed the switch. A soft light fell from the ceiling, illuminating the room.

"Reputation?" Xue Cheng looked at her in surprise, then shifted his gaze to the chair in the corner. "Have you been here the whole time? Why didn't you turn on the light just now?"

"We can't disturb the master's rest." Shengyu smiled faintly. She supported Xue Cheng, took a pillow and placed it behind his back, and asked with concern: "Is the master hungry?"

Xue Cheng touched his stomach and found that he had vomited out his dinner long ago. As the effect of the cookies made in London wore off, his hunger and appetite gradually returned. When he heard about his reputation, he actually felt a little hungry.

"I'll go prepare some food. Master, please be patient." Shengyu understood and walked out.

95. Night Raid

In the living room, Shengwang held his chin up and saw Xue Cheng quickly sweeping away the food on the table. A smile crossed his lips and he handed him a cup of warm water: "Master, have a drink."

"Thank you, reputation." Xue Cheng took the water cup and drank it all in one gulp, then took a long breath. "Only after tasting the London craftsmanship and then eating these foods can you understand what a delicious meal is."

"Who made the master dare to challenge London's handmade cookies?" Shengyu covered his mouth and chuckled. In fact, based on his past understanding of Xue Cheng, he should have rejected London's request, but he unexpectedly agreed and actually ate it.

"What should I do then?" Xue Cheng said helplessly, "Should I really let her cry while looking at London? Or should I let her go back and cry her heart out somewhere alone after being rejected by me in public?"

Reputation looked at Xue Cheng in surprise and said softly, "It's hard to imagine that the master would say such a thing. This is a little different from the master I know."

"Does Shengming think I've changed?" Xue Cheng put down his chopsticks. Shengming's reaction didn't surprise him at all. After all, those behaviors that seemed normal to him when playing games had left a largely negative impression on Kancolle. She actually said that she was worried about London just now. Anyone would find it strange.

Reputation hesitated for a moment and shook his head: "I don't know. Perhaps the Master has really changed, or perhaps we have never truly understood the Master."

"Maybe. After all, I was always away from the harbor before. But it doesn't matter. You'll have plenty of time to get to know me later."

The head maid revealed a rare hint of cunning: "I have no problem, but the master is nowhere to be seen all day, and she doesn't give the reputation a chance to get to know you."

Xue Cheng asked curiously, "Didn't I already give it to you?"

Reputation was stunned for a moment, then laughed helplessly: "So the master has discovered it."

Xue Cheng shrugged. "Of course I know my body well. That fall was indeed quite severe, but it's not to the point where I need help walking."

"Then why didn't the master expose it?"

Xue Cheng blinked. "Why would you expose it? Shengwang lied because he wanted to be with me. He wasn't doing anything bad. Besides, I also want to be alone with Shengwang."

The head maid's cheeks flushed, she felt embarrassed at having her little plan discovered, but also shy as a young girl. Although she was already the master's wife, Xue Cheng had never expressed his intention to be with her.

But she was a dashing head maid after all, and after a brief moment of shyness, she quickly calmed down and looked at Xue Cheng with a smile: "Then, Master, do you need me to sleep with you tonight?"

Now it was Xue Cheng's turn to look embarrassed. After all, he still hadn't fully adapted to his current identity.

With the help of Shengwang, Xue Cheng simply wiped his body with a wet towel, rejected Shengwang's joking invitation to sleep together, and then returned to the room to rest.

At midnight, a figure appeared silently outside the prestigious villa, walked through the half-open door and came to the front of the villa. He took out a key from his arms, opened the door, and walked in.

The figure seemed fearless. After entering the room, he calmly changed into slippers, and the shoes he took off were actually placed there openly.

The figure was obviously familiar with the layout of the room. He tiptoed to the second floor with the moonlight shining in from the living room window, roughly identified the direction, and then walked towards the master bedroom.

Just as the man's hand touched the doorknob of the master bedroom, before he could even enter, a voice suddenly rang out from behind him: "Stop it! I knew someone would attack us tonight, but I didn't expect that person to be you..."

"The Prince of Wales!"

"You knew it a long time ago?" The figure slowly turned around. In the moonlight on the other side of the corridor, one could vaguely see that it was a girl wearing a red strapless dress with an eye patch on her eyes.

"Reputation, why are you stopping me?" The Prince of Wales asked in a low voice after a moment's silence.

The woman in a maid outfit walked out from the shadows. She sighed slightly and said, "For the Master."

"If it's for him, you shouldn't have stopped him," the Prince of Wales said. "You know that guy's character. This kind of thing is simply what he wants."

Reputation smiled bitterly and shook his head.

The Prince of Wales raised an eyebrow at this. She hesitated, her face darkening. "Is it because you don't want me to get there first?"

"Why do you think so?"

"Then why is that?" The Prince of Wales' voice was very soft. She looked at the door of the master bedroom. She didn't want to wake the admiral before she had an argument with Renown.

"Because the master doesn't like this." Shengyu said, remembering the joke she made when she sent Xue Cheng back to rest. She knew very well that if the master had agreed at that time, that sentence would not just be a joke.

The Prince of Wales scoffed. How could she not know the moral character of her own admiral? As a veteran who had been with the admiral since the founding of the naval base, she had long seen through the admiral's nature of falling in love with every woman he met.

"I'm not kidding. The master is really different after he came back this time." There was a bit of confusion in Shengyu's eyes. Compared with the past, the image of the master in his eyes was much clearer and more vivid. It was no longer like before, as if there was an invisible barrier between him and he could only watch passively.

However, although the distance between the two sides seemed closer, Mingyu could inadvertently feel the alienation hidden under Xue Cheng's polite smile.

"Go back." Reputation persuaded again: "Even if you really go in, nothing will come of it... Although I have no basis for it."

The Prince of Wales looked at her deeply, turned around silently, and slowly left.

"Sigh..." Mingyu pressed his temples with a headache. Although he persuaded one person to leave, there were still uninvited guests in the room.

"The Prince of Wales has left, so you should leave too."

There was silence, and she received no response to her reputation message. However, she didn't intend to scare the newcomer away with just one word. She took out a high-intensity flashlight from the pocket of her maid outfit, lit it, and shone it overhead.

"Wow!" A low cry was heard. The girl in a black tights, clinging to the ceiling like Spider-Man, was dazzled by the sudden bright light and could not open her eyes. She screamed subconsciously.

"Reputation, how did you know I was here? I clearly arrived earlier than you and didn't make any noise!" Ticonderoga climbed down quietly, rubbing her eyes as she spoke.

Reputation sighed: "It seems that you have learned a lot from that "Special Agent Professional Skills Guide."

Ticonderoga's eyes widened. "How do you know about that book? No, how do you know I've read that book? Could it be that..."

"Have you ever wondered why that book appeared in the library of the tutelary fort?"

"..."

Ninety-six, Competition

"Sleeping until I wake up naturally, this is the life of my dreams." Xue Cheng rubbed his eyes and sat up from the bed. He didn't have the habit of being attached to one bed, so he could still sleep soundly even after changing rooms.

However, he was woken up by some noise in the middle of the night yesterday. He seemed to hear someone talking in a daze, followed by a muffled sound, and then there was no sound. Xue Cheng, who was dizzy from sleep, didn't care, turned over and fell asleep again.

He walked to the window and opened the curtains. The dazzling sunlight rushed in with the breeze. Xue Cheng subconsciously squinted his eyes. It was a good day today.

"What should I do later?" Xue Cheng shook his feet. The reputation ointment was very effective. After a night, his sprained ankle had recovered a lot. Although it was still a little stinging when he walked, it no longer affected his movements.

Xue Cheng stroked his chin and thought: "Work? Slack off? Or work and slack off at the same time?"

"Master, you're awake." Shengyu pushed the door open and walked in. She looked at Xue Cheng, whose eyes were deep, as if he was thinking about some important decision, and smiled slightly: "Breakfast is ready."

"Thank you for your hard work, Xiangyu." Xue Cheng withdrew his gaze and twisted his stiff neck.

"Master, what are you thinking about?" Shengwang walked over and stood behind Xue Cheng naturally.

"I discussed something with Lexington yesterday. I'm going to do it after breakfast." Xue Cheng explained without waiting for the reputation to ask, "It's about the Deep Sea Garrison. You know, even if those deep-sea ship girls are gathered together, their strength will be greatly reduced. If we can use the equipment stored in the warehouse to arm them..."

"No wonder Lexington just called and said they'd come visit today." Reputation's eyes lit up. "If it succeeds, that would be great. I heard Leipzig and Vesta are often troubled by the lack of space for their equipment warehouses."

"Is it only Lexington who called?" Xue Cheng was a little surprised. Didn't Richelieu say yesterday that he would send a representative to visit?

"And London." Xue Cheng's body trembled at Mingyu's answer. She pursed her lips and lowered her head slightly, otherwise Xue Cheng would see a hint of cunning in her eyes. "London said on the phone earlier that he would come to apologize for what happened yesterday. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be here soon."

"No need to apologize." Xue Cheng shuddered and said with lingering fear: "Just don't ask me to help her taste test again."

"That shouldn't happen again," said Fame. "I heard that after returning home yesterday, London was severely scolded by King George V and his men. Until her cooking skills return to normal, this kind of thing shouldn't happen again."

Xue Cheng felt a little guilty. "I don't want to hurt her feelings, but London's cooking skills and understanding of ingredients are so distorted that I can't accept it. Can you imagine? That cookie yesterday actually made me realize what life is all about."

"Life?"

"Sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty, a small piece of cookie actually contains such rich flavors. I never thought of it before yesterday." Xue Cheng sighed.

"Well, let's come back sometime to hear Master's thoughts on London cuisine." The head maid glanced at the clock and said, "It's getting late. Master, please clean up first, change your medicine, have breakfast, and then go to work."

Under the help of the head maid, Xue Cheng quickly cleaned himself, changed into a new set of clothes, and had breakfast.

Placing the food on the table, the girl with chin-length hair and a strong Taisho-style outfit looked at her two companions sitting upright before her and sighed helplessly, "I know you don't know how to cook, but you can still do something as simple as helping with the tableware? You're just staring at each other so early in the morning."

"No, Ariaki, what we're doing isn't just a simple eye contact." One of the girls, also with short hair and dressed in a sharp outfit, said sternly, "This is a clash of momentum and a test of wills. Omi and I have a pact: whoever blinks first will be the loser."

"..." Youming's expression froze. After a long moment, she covered her forehead and said weakly, "It's my fault. I shouldn't have expected you to achieve anything other than fighting and kendo. Okay, today's competition ends here. Eat breakfast first. Then, whether you want to continue or go to the dojo for training, I don't care."

"Ooooo..." Even with her long, jet-black hair tied up in a ponytail, it still spread out like silk as she sat. Omi, wearing a kendo uniform, had her eyes wide open, bloodshot, and groaned. "Kurohime, as Ariaki said, let's call today's match a draw. How about that?"

"Yes." Heiji gave a brief answer without blinking.

"Then why doesn't Heiji want to look away?" Omi had obviously reached his limit, his eyelids were trembling wildly, but he still suppressed his instinct with great willpower and refused to blink.

Heiji was also at the end of her strength. She reluctantly said, "Omi can terminate it first."

"Haha... Hei Ji is indeed cautious, worthy of being a master of kendo."

"It's Omi's secret military tactics that we must be on guard against."

"Enough!" Unable to bear it any longer, Youming slammed the table. The sudden loud noise broke the girls who were already on the verge of collapse. They both fell on the tatami, covering their eyes and wailing in pain.

"Omi's resolve is truly unwavering." The wailing soon ceased. Heiji rubbed her aching eyes and climbed to her feet. Although tears welled up uncontrollably, she spoke seriously, "Of course, I was ultimately superior in skill. Omi, who blinked before me, has already lost this competition."

"I'm a little uncomfortable with what Heiji said." Omi pressed a tissue against the corner of his eye, wiping away the tears that welled up in his eyes, and chuckled, "I just watched carefully, and it was clearly Heiji who fell before me."

"No, I didn't blink at that time. On the contrary, Omi failed in the next move, so I should have won this competition."

"Well, since we all have a dispute over the results of the comparison test, why not ask Mingdai to be the judge? What do you think?"

"Then let Youming decide the outcome of this competition."

"Oh, really." Youming showed a broken smile: "Just because of this childish game...you all should stop it!"

"Bang! Bang!" After two muffled sounds, the furious Youming swung his fists without mercy, punching each of the two on the head and knocking them to the ground.