“Forget it, no more fighting. Our strength has pretty much been tested. Continuing will only waste time and resources for no reason.” Hornet watched her Ship Girls being shot down one by one in the sky, feeling a pang in her heart.
After all, the loss of Ship Girls used during drills, while not affecting the Ship Girls themselves, means that every damaged Ship Girls requires resources to replenish its rigging.
Unlike battleships that can conduct drills with blank ammunition, there's no such thing as blank ammunition in Ship Girls combat. I wonder if it can be counted as sortie loss for reimbursement...
“Indeed, there’s no need to continue fighting.” Soon, Hornet and Essex began ordering their Ship Girls to cease fire, quickly withdraw from combat, and return to base.
Glorious clearly sensed their intentions. Tomcat also stopped attacking, drawing complex arcs in the sky, disengaging from the enemy Ship Girls, and turning into streaks of light as it began its return.
Glorious counted the returning Ship Girls and secretly breathed a sigh of relief when she found there were almost no losses.
With the current unclear situation and difficulty in replenishing resources, it's better to save whatever resources can be saved. Although she had never worried about resources in the port before, the situation was clearly different now.
Hornet and Essex looked at the scattered Ship Girls flying back, feeling a pang of heartache. They hadn't encountered such significant losses in years.
Standing before Glorious, looking at the elegant figure standing on the vast sea, even though they knew she wasn't an enemy, a chill still ran down their spines. Her strength was simply too formidable. They hadn't expected that what Wang Yu had said was actually true; it was simply incredible.
Despite being beaten so badly, there was no resentment in their hearts. They could tell that Glorious had held back, barely attacking after controlling the situation, and intentionally avoiding critical areas of the Ship Girls during intense combat. However, her attack power was simply too strong; even a glancing blow was more than their Ship Girls could withstand. This was a true disparity in strength, and the losses were unavoidable.
They just didn't know how high her combat level truly was.
They looked at Glorious, who had a slight hint of embarrassment, with complex emotions. They didn't know what to say. They couldn't exactly say, 'We can't blame you, we're just too weak.'
After all, they were also main Ship Girls of the Headquarters. Even without Commander skill bonuses, losing so badly, how could they possibly say such a thing?
And, it's us who need comfort more...
“We will report the results of the battle truthfully to the superiors at Headquarters. Thank you, Miss Glorious, for cooperating with our drill. Let’s head back now; your Commander might have woken up.”
...
Wang Yu woke up again to find himself in a hospital room. He saw blue curtains, a white world, a transparent IV bag above him, dripping steadily, and the faint scent of disinfectant in the air.
After looking around, he saw a busy figure near him.
“Ah, you’re awake. How are you feeling?” He didn't see his Ship Girls, only a young woman, like a doctor, taking care of him.
“I feel like I don’t have much strength.”
“It’s just a normal reaction after exhausting your strength; nothing serious.” Wang Yu watched the young woman in the white coat stop her work, guessing that this was probably Nvzaoshen, whom York had mentioned earlier.
The first time he had fainted, he had already been arranged into a room upon waking. He had thought he wouldn't have a chance to meet her, but unexpectedly, after all the twists and turns, he finally did. He didn't have time to ponder whether he had developed an indissoluble bond with the infirmary after transmigrating.
He now had a more important question to ask.
“Where are my Ship Girls? My last construction should have been successful, right?” Wang Yu asked Nvzaoshen.
He was incredibly eager to know this news. Although he felt he had succeeded, he still wanted a more accurate answer.
“Are you referring to Miss Glorious? Essex seemed to have something to do with her; they went out together earlier.”
Glorious? Wang Yu recalled the blurry voice before he fainted, and the soft sensation on his head at the end. It seemed it was indeed Glorious, no mistake. That feeling, like facial cleanser, was indeed the feedback a Glorious-class should have.
Nvzaoshen saw Wang Yu's reaction and remembered that he had come to the infirmary due to exhaustion from construction, and instantly understood something. Commanders, after all, getting absorbed in construction was a very normal thing.
It was just that this Commander's body seemed a bit too weak. Although Glorious was indeed a very rare and powerful Ship Girls, fainting after just one construction was too embarrassing for a Commander. He was practically the weakest Commander she had ever seen.
So she earnestly said, “For a Commander, taking care of your own body is also one of your most important responsibilities. Your body is really too weak; you can’t completely rely on Commander skills. Necessary exercise is still essential.”
“For the entire port, the Commander is the bond that connects the Ship Girls, the lighthouse of the port. The Commander and the Ship Girls together form a port. If the Commander's body is not well and he needs others to take care of him, then how can he manage a port well, and how can he take good care of the Ship Girls?”
She was also accustomed to often taking care of some cadet Commanders in the Commander Academy infirmary. After all, the Commander Academy was a subordinate organization of the Naval Headquarters.
She had seen many cadet Commanders in her daily life. Such educational words came to her without thought.
Wang Yu felt a sense of déjà vu listening to her words; it seemed Shangri-La had said something similar to him before. He had collapsed after just one construction; it seemed his physique was indeed too poor. With such a physique, how could he accomplish great things with the Ship Girls?
It seemed he really should exercise more.
Nvzaoshen was still chattering in his ear, and Wang Yu just took her for a doctor's habitual garrulousness.
Then she mentioned Commander skills, and he suddenly remembered he had another way to ascertain his current state.
He acted on the thought immediately.
He seemed to have connected to some Commander network during construction. He subconsciously called out to the Commander System in his mind.
Instantly, a sky-blue control panel appeared in his mind.
Wang Yu pondered for a moment and turned his attention to the newly appeared Tianqing Port section. This should be his port. Even if all Commanders in this world had systems, he still had a unique golden finger.
He first opened the fleet module interface; only the icon of Glorious remained, alone, in the list of Ship Girls.
Since Glorious was currently just out with Hornet and the others, there shouldn't be any major problems, so Wang Yu didn't delve into what Glorious was doing. He could find out when she returned.
He was now eager to know more about Commanders, so he redirected his attention to the forum section. As soon as he clicked in, he only read a few posts. As expected, he saw the content he anticipated.
“From Beginner to Burial: A Complete Analysis of Commander Equipment!”
“Which Destroyer is Best? Soft Voice, Supple Body, Easy to Push Down!”
“Port Survival Guide: Don’t Let Your Secretary Ship See This!”
...
Just a cursory glance at a few posts, Wang Yu felt something was off; these Commanders didn't seem very reliable.
Wang Yu felt that as the chief Commander of Azure Lane, he naturally couldn't be as vulgar as other Commanders, but it was still very necessary to figure out what kind of people they were. This would help him understand them better, so he could keep his distance from them in the future, avoid getting involved in any bad relationships with them, and prevent his Ship Girls from misunderstanding.
Before he could properly investigate, he felt the hospital room door open. The midday sun shone through the window, the light deflecting towards the doorway. He saw a young woman in a white dress, standing quietly in the light and shadow.
He thought he would never forget this scene in his life.
It seemed she had walked a bit hastily earlier; he could even see the blush on her face and the faint beads of sweat on her forehead.
A strange sense of familiarity washed over him.
Wang Yu naturally understood what was happening, without anyone needing to tell him.
He had indeed imagined many scenarios for his first meeting with his Ship Girls. Those imaginations had kept him from eating or sleeping for days, tossing and turning.
But when this scene truly unfolded before him, he felt his heart was incredibly calm.
He looked at the young woman bathed in the sunlight, at the incredibly bright sunshine outside the window. He felt like he had countless things to say, but the words he had once thought of, now on the tip of his tongue, he didn't know how to utter them.
Finally, he gazed steadily at the warm sunlight of early summer and that figure, even gentler than light.
“Good afternoon, Glorious.”