Today's tutelary fort remains peaceful.

97. Samurai Girl

"Eat!" Ariaki filled two bowls of rice and placed them heavily in front of Kurohime and Omi, saying unhappily.

"Yes." The two men, whose heads were still aching, did not dare to say more. They took the bowls and started eating the seemingly sumptuous dishes on the table.

"Ugh..." After only a few bites, Omi frowned. She resisted the urge to spit out the food in her mouth and said with a bitter face, "It's the same taste again, this soft and mushy texture, and the weird seasoning... Ariaki, why do we always eat this kind of fast food in the morning?"

Heiji also had an expression of difficulty swallowing, and swallowed the food with great effort: "Omi is absolutely right."

Speaking of this, Arimi couldn't help but frown. She slammed her chopsticks on the table. Before she could say anything, she saw the two people moving back with horror on their faces. Omi was still shouting, "No! It's nothing. I didn't say anything just now!"

"Youming's cooking is the most delicious!" Heiji, who always speaks nonsense in ancient Chinese, also gave up her character and screamed.

Seeing them like this, Youming was furious but couldn't vent it. She puffed her cheeks in frustration and said helplessly, "It's all your fault. The first thing you do every morning is practice swordsmanship, and it takes a long time. It makes us miss the cafeteria's meal time. We can't cook, so we can only stay at home and eat instant meals that can be heated in the microwave."

"Ah..." The two were startled, then embarrassed. They had never thought that the root of the problem was actually themselves. After a moment of silence, Heiji defended herself, "But practicing kendo is like rowing against the current. Not a single day can be wasted. Besides, as the ancients said, 'Arise at the sound of the cock-crow,' and our morning exercises have already been delayed quite late."

"Yeah." Omi also echoed, "Early morning exercise must not be delayed!"

Youming said angrily, "Then why don't you get up earlier? At least leave enough time for dinner!"

"No!" Heiji flatly refused: "Sufficient sleep is the secret to a girl's supple skin. This is the only thing I will never compromise on!"

"I agree." Omi stretched out his fingers and slid them across his own delicate white cheeks, nodding with satisfaction. "Lack of sleep is a girl's biggest enemy."

"Then what else is there to say?" Youming picked up his chopsticks dejectedly, picked up a piece of soft meat and put it in his bowl, then swallowed it whole with rice. "You don't want to get up early, you want to eat delicious food, and you don't want to change your practice time. How can there be such a good thing in the world? Otherwise, you two should go learn cooking skills, or one of you can be thick-skinned and ask others to bring us a portion when they eat."

Omi and Kurohime looked at each other and shut their mouths tightly. Although they were proficient in kendo and had perfect control over weapons, the difficulty would be completely different if they replaced the katana with a kitchen knife.

In fact, Omi had tried to learn cooking. She had bought books and taught herself secretly, hoping to make a name for herself. However, when she cut all the fingers on her left hand, she decisively threw the book into the trash can.

As for the option of asking someone to bring them food, the two girls who considered themselves warriors really couldn't bring themselves to do it.

Helplessly, the girls ate their breakfast with sighs.

After the meal, Youming cleaned up the dishes and made a pot of tea. The three of them sat around the table and each took out their cell phones and started fiddling with them.

After a brief silence, Youming looked at the screen of his mobile phone. It was a private group created by the older sisters from the J department, and there were some interesting messages in it.

"Huh, I heard that the admiral brought Yamato back?" Ariaki said in surprise.

"Yamato... Yamato?" Omi was startled for a moment, then revealed an expression of excitement. She cast her gaze towards the two katanas placed on the knife rack in the living room and muttered to herself, "Has the Yamato shipgirl finally appeared? What kind of person is she? Is she really as powerful as everyone imagines?"

"I'm with you guys all day, how could I know something you don't know? But..." Youming curled his lips and handed over the phone, "Here, here's the photo. I don't know how strong she is, but judging by her appearance, she seems quite gentle. She should be a good person."

Omi and Kurohime moved closer out of curiosity and saw on Ariaki's phone a white-haired girl in a dark blue kimono sitting outside the house, tilting her head as if talking to someone.

This photo was obviously a candid shot, and the camera was unstable, so the girl's facial features were a little blurry. They could only vaguely make out that the girl seemed to be smiling very gently.

"It seems a bit like Shinano." Heiji said thoughtfully.

"Idiot, they're sisters, of course they look alike!" Ariaki rolled his eyes in annoyance, "But this hair color... I thought the Yamato would have a long, straight, black hair style like a princess."

"Doesn't Akagi already have this attribute?" Omi said, "I think this long ponytail and white hair are great. Hmm, but her skin color seems a little too white, without any blood color at all. Is her health that bad?"

"You think so because you have a long ponytail like this, right?" Heiji complained.

"Emden looks sickly all day long, but if you let her deploy her ship armor, she can still easily blow up a building." Ariaki tapped Omi's head gently. "How can we treat our shipgirls with ordinary people's eyes? Besides, who is she? She's the Yamato. Even if her training level is low now, her basic attributes are definitely not weak. Just pick up a few high-powered main guns from the warehouse, and after a few days of intensive training, she can be the main force of the assault team."

"That's true." Omi casually spread his legs, leaned back, and looked at the ceiling. He spoke carelessly, "I heard that when Wisconsin first arrived at the tutelary fort, he was less than level 50, but he led the team to destroy the attacking deep-sea flagship. Who was the deep-sea flagship in charge of that operation? Hmm... I can't quite remember."

"That kind of thing is not important at all." Heiji stared at the girl in the picture, a fiery flame gradually burning in her eyes: "Yamato... I really want to compete with her."

"That's a good suggestion, I was thinking the same thing." Youming held his chin, thought for a moment and said, "I heard she's living with Shinano now. How about... we go visit her and invite her to practice?"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Omi jumped up excitedly. She rushed to the knife rack in the corner and took the two katanas placed on it. She said excitedly, "Let's go. We've heard that the Yamato is the most powerful battleship. Let's go and meet her. Maybe... we can break the legend!"

Ninety-eight, chance encounter

After breakfast, Lexington arrived as scheduled, and London came with her, who came with gifts to apologize.

At first, Xue Cheng refused the gift box handed to him by London, but when he found out that it was just a common chocolate gift box on the market, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and accepted it.

It can be seen that London did not seem to have had a good rest last night. Her mental state was extremely bad and she looked dazed. It was obvious that what happened yesterday had dealt a great blow to her. Xue Cheng had no good solution for this. He could only comfort her with a few words, watched her solemnly promise to herself that she would work hard to improve her cooking skills, and then said goodbye and left.

Because of the banquet last night, the ship girls who were originally planning to visit canceled their plan. Seeing that there was still plenty of time in the morning, Xue Cheng simply took Lexington and Reputation to Shinano's residence, intending to test yesterday's guess.

"Master, please walk slower." Walking on the road, Shengwang followed behind Lexington and Xue Cheng like a real little maid. She didn't care at all about Lexington's action of holding Xue Cheng's arm, and seemed to have no sense of competition.

"I'm fine now." Xue Cheng stopped and twisted his foot gently. His injury was not serious to begin with. Besides, he was young and had a strong recovery ability. After taking the medicine, he was no longer in serious trouble. If he walked slowly, there would be almost no impact.

"Don't be careless." Lexington said with concern: "It's always better to be careful. You can't be careless about your ankle injury, otherwise..."

Lexington's eyes rolled around, and his smile was a bit mischievous: "I'll carry the Admiral over."

"..." Xue Cheng was speechless. Looking at Lexington's expression, he scratched his head and said helplessly, "Let's not talk about what happened yesterday."

"Why didn't you mention it?" Lexington asked, feigning confusion. "Is it because you feel embarrassed to be carried like a princess by a girl, or is there something else that embarrassed you more?"

Having said that, Xue Cheng knew what Lexington was thinking. He sighed and said, "Lexington already knows."

"I know this Admiral finds it strange, right?" Lexington said with a smile, "You know Kong well. Do you think she's a girl who can keep her feelings to herself?"

"Obviously, she's not." Xue Cheng spread his hands. "But she's a fool. She didn't bring up this matter right away yesterday, so it was obviously forgotten. There must be some reason for her to suddenly bring it up today. Let me guess... Is there someone behind this, fanning the flames? Like Wisconsin?"

Lexington looked at him in surprise: "How did you know that, Admiral?"

Xue Cheng shrugged. Wasn't it obvious? He'd broken his promise to Wisconsin yesterday, and while the blame lay with him, it was King Kong who took it. How could Wisconsin, always a troublemaker, just let it go? Whether from a personal perspective or simply out of love, Wisconsin had every reason to screw King Kong over.

"How is King Kong now?" Xue Cheng asked.

"I heard that many people came to find him. He must be on the run now, right?" Lexington chuckled.

"Also?" Xue Cheng expressed his doubt.

The reputation interface said: "Miss Lexington should be referring to Hancock, right?"

"It's been so long, and they still won't let Hancock go?"

"It may be that Miss Hancock herself refuses to go back."

The three chatted and laughed. Although their pace slowed down considerably, delaying their journey, they didn't feel bored. After walking for a while, they could already see the courtyard of Shinano. Suddenly, three girls came towards them. When they saw Xue Cheng, they were stunned for a moment, then excitedly waved their arms and greeted him, "Admiral!"

Reputation said, "It's Arimiya and the others."

"Ariaki? Oh, it's battleship No. 13." Xue Cheng looked at the girl who came first. She was wearing a student uniform from the Taisho era. Her graceful legs were covered with seductive black stockings. Her hair was cut short just past her chin, and she wore a round hat on her head.

Xue Cheng thought about it and realized that the Battleship No. 1922 seemed to be a contingency plan for the last four battlecruisers in Japan's Fleet plan. However, since Japan joined the Washington Naval Treaty in , the Battleship No. only remained on paper and was not built.

After being implemented in the game, Battleship No. 13 performed well in the game due to its excellent panel attributes and relatively outstanding skills. It was also chosen by Xue Cheng because of its cute illustration and became the wedding ship.

"Admiral, long time no see!" Battleship No. 13 walked over and took Xue Cheng's arm, showing him a bright smile: "Admiral, you haven't come to see me for so long since you came back. Youming must be very sad."

"You are smiling so happily, you don't look sad at all. Besides, even if I don't go to find you, Youming can come to me." Xue Cheng shrugged, and then found that his arm was being held tightly in the girl's arms. The action at this time seemed to be suspected of taking advantage.

Fortunately, the other party didn't seem to notice, or perhaps didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Battleship No. 13 sighed bitterly, pointed at the two girls who followed, and said helplessly: "I can't help it. I have to take care of those two idiots and can't get away at all. Besides, how can you expect girls to take the initiative? Admiral, what a fool."

Idiot... Xue Cheng narrowed his eyes and looked at the two girls carefully.

One of them had a hairstyle similar to that of Battleship No. 13. He had a calm temperament and no expression on his face, which made him look a bit old-fashioned. However, he was wearing fashionable short-sleeved shirts and hot pants, exposing large areas of snow-white skin to the air.

She also had two katanas slung around her waist. Just by looking at the swinging of the katanas when she walked, you could tell that they were real ones, and definitely not the props you saw at the comic convention.

65.

Xue Cheng quickly guessed the girl's identity. This was a super-A-type cruiser designed by Japan during World War II. It belonged to the Maru 5 plan of the Japanese Navy. It was envisioned to play a key role in the night combat force of the fleet's decisive battle. However, it was not actually built and remained in the planning stage until the end of the war.

After being implemented as an activity reward in the game, its stats of 65 are only considered below average among battlecruisers, its survivability is poor, and its skills are only effective on small and medium-sized ships. Its employment direction is narrow and it is rarely useful.

Xue Cheng didn't pay much attention to her. He had the impression that this girl seemed to call herself "Heiji" in the lines?

"Hello, Heiji." Xue Cheng greeted.

"..." 65 stared at the arm of Battleship No. holding Xue Cheng for a while before looking away and saying seriously, "Hello, Admiral. It's been a long time."

99. Equivalent Exchange

After greeting 65, Xue Cheng turned his attention to the last person.

The girl also carried two katanas and wore a set of female warrior outfits commonly seen in Japanese games. She wore over-the-knee socks on her legs and her long hair was tied up. She looked cool and neat. She had a red devil mask on her face. Through the holes in her eyes, you could see that she had rare heterochromia.

"Hey, Admiral, what a coincidence." The girl took off her mask and greeted him cheerfully.

"Omi." Xue Cheng waved his hand. The girl in front of him was also a product of the 88 Fleet plan. She was the eighth and last battleship in the plan, ranking twelfth in the entire plan. Like the No. 13 battleship, they were all planned ships that were terminated due to the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty.

Omi has a good basic panel in the game, a high speed of 30 knots, and skills that can also UFF herself and teammates. Her strength is excellent. From her lines, we can see that she is a carefree tomboy. Compared with the attitude of other ship girls towards players after marriage, Omi seems more like a good brother.

Xue Cheng looked at Omi and 65 curiously. Due to the popularity of martial arts dramas when he was a child, he had been interested in swords since he was a child. Whenever he picked up a stick, he would play with it for a while. When he grew up, although he had the conditions to buy an unsharpened ornamental sword, he felt it was a waste of money. Seeing Omi and 65 equipped with real weapons, he immediately felt itchy to try his hand.

"Does the Admiral like it?" Omi saw what Xue Cheng was thinking and casually took off a katana from his waist and threw it into Xue Cheng's hand. "Take it. Although the crescent moon is an important item, if it's from the Admiral...it doesn't matter."

"Wow, it's so heavy!" Xue Cheng caught the sword and felt it was heavy in his hand. He suppressed his excitement and pulled out the sword. He felt that the arc of the blade was graceful and slender, and the edge of the blade was flashing with cold light. It was obviously not a toy model, but a real weapon that could hurt people.

It seemed to him that this sword was modeled after the famous Mikazuki Munechika, making it a truly renowned sword. Xue Cheng cautiously stepped back, clumsily executed a sword flower, and then struck a self-proclaimed handsome pose, looking at the head maid and Lexington. "How is it? Handsome, isn't it?"

Lexington covered her mouth and laughed softly. The elegant head maid was able to control her emotions very well. The corners of 65's eyes kept twitching. Only Battleship No. held her cheeks and looked at Xue Cheng in a trance: "The Admiral is so handsome!"

"Hahahaha... so stupid." Omi pointed at Xue Cheng without any hesitation and laughed heartily. Looking at the embarrassed Xue Cheng, she simply walked up to him, hugged him from behind, and put her hand on his arm: "Admiral, although I don't know much about the swordsmanship of the Celestial Empire, I can see that there are three mistakes in your sword flower movement just now. Come, follow me... and your starting posture just now, your arms can't be placed here, yes, and your legs, bend them a little, stupid, it's not like this..."

Watching the girl clinging to Xue Cheng without any scruples, teaching him how to make sword flowers and poses, Lexington seemed to be lost in thought. The head maid's expression remained unchanged, 65's eyes were filled with murderous intent, and Battleship No. 's face was so gloomy that it seemed as if water could drip from it.

"Okay, Admiral, you should have learned it, right?" Omi didn't notice how ambiguous her behavior was just now. She looked a little unnatural, but more because she was excited about learning a new trick. Xue Cheng touched her chin and said, "Admiral, do it for me once."

"Let me try." Xue Cheng held up the Crescent Moon and made a sword flower again.

After all, he was a beginner. Although Xue Cheng's movements were more standard and smoother than before, they still seemed slow. However, Xue Cheng was not discouraged. As he repeated it again and again, the speed of his sword flowers became faster and faster. When he completed a sword flower in a standard way and performed the starting posture taught by Omi, he was immediately greeted with cheers.

"Very good, Admiral." Omi jumped to Xue Cheng's side, punched him hard on the shoulder, and laughed: "I think the Admiral is very talented. Do you want to practice kendo with me?"

"That's more like it. A hard-working admiral is so handsome." Lexington also offered praise.

"Hehe..." Xue Cheng smiled embarrassedly, put the Crescent Moon into the scabbard and handed it back to Omi.

"If the Admiral likes it, I'll give it to you." Omi pushed Xue Cheng's hand back nonchalantly and patted the other katana on his waist: "Anyway, I only know how to use Onimaru, so there's no point in keeping it. I don't plan to switch to two-sword style."

"This..." Xue Cheng was delighted at first, but then he frowned. From some works he had read, Japanese swordsmen cherished their swords even more than their own lives. It would be a great insult for others to touch them. Moreover, according to the setting, this sword seemed to be a gift from Omi's sister. It didn't seem right for him to take it away by himself, right?

"Oh, just take it. You're not being polite at all." Omi pushed Mikazuki into Xue Cheng's arms and said nonchalantly, "Although my instinct tells me that this sword seems to belong to my sister, I've been here for so long and she hasn't shown up. Maybe the so-called Suruga-class No. 1 ship doesn't exist at all?"

Xue Cheng was still a little hesitant. "What if Omi's sister comes to our tutelary fort and sees that you gave Mikazuki away? What are you going to do?"

"Oh, it's so precious. If I give it away casually, it'll be troublesome if my elder sister comes." Omi touched her chin. Just when Xue Cheng thought she was going to take the Crescent Moon back, she saw the girl clench her fist and tap her palm lightly. A flash of realization crossed her brows. "I can't lose money. Otherwise, if my elder sister finds out... Well, let's put it this way. I gave the admiral such a precious gift, so why don't you give me something?"

"Uh, what do you want?" Xue Cheng blinked. Although the bank card he opened in another world could still be used here, the amount in it was really shabby. A famous sword like the Crescent Moon obviously could not be bought with tens of thousands of dollars. Apart from the savings, the only thing on his body that truly belonged to him was his mobile phone.