Azur Lane Under the Stars

Page 458

They were all Princess Taiping.

"Oh, this... please accept my condolences." The crowd expressed their pity.

"Wait a minute, didn't that big shot bring a ship girl with him? She looks like she's from Sangvis Ferri?"

"That aloof-looking ship girl? Does anyone have any inside information?" The bald man seemed to have gotten used to it and quickly shook off the gloomy atmosphere, asking.

"I do know that, but are you sure you want to know?" the composed commander, no longer acting recklessly, asked.

A chill ran down everyone's spine, but unable to resist their curiosity, they all asked, "What is it?"

"Curiosity killed the cat... Never mind, Hu Teng, the Iron-Blooded Hu Teng, have you heard of him?" the commander said.

The scene fell silent instantly; everyone stood frozen in place, as if a pause button had been pressed.

"Curiosity killed the cat..." After a long while, someone sighed softly.

…………

"What's happening over there?" Ren Shuo couldn't help but ask, noticing the obvious low pressure over there.

Because Hu Teng was a ship girl, she could hear the conversation over there, so her smile was a little strange: "It's nothing, Commander. Everyone's sadness is different. Maybe they're starting to feel sad."

Ren Shuo gave Hu Teng a strange look: "Why are you speaking so formally today... Never mind, I wonder what activities are going on tonight?"

"I don't know either... Sha Bai said it's a secret, that he's going to give us commanders who came to participate some kind of surprise..." Alice flicked her ponytail.

"We'll find out when the time comes anyway. Aren't you going to talk to those commanders?" Ren Shuo asked.

Alice stuck out her tongue: "I got blacklisted because I can't help but show off my boat all the time."

This little lucky girl always likes to cause trouble, and over time, many commanders have started to avoid her. However, she's quite capable when it comes to serious matters, and she'll still communicate when necessary.

"You like sunning your boat? I don't feel anything for it?" Ren Shuo scratched his head.

"Senior, do you think any of the commanders can show off their ships in front of you?" Alice asked with a hint of resentment.

Ren Shuo also gave an awkward laugh and said, "It seems so."

Sigh, being invincible is truly lonely.

While everyone was chatting, Queen Elizabeth arrived in full regalia, accompanied by the Germans walking side by side.

The two directors of the maritime bureaus went up on stage together, seemingly to give speeches.

"Germany has come too?" Ren Shuo was somewhat surprised.

"After all, it's an event organized by Ironblood and the Royal Family together," Alice said softly.

The lights in the meeting room dimmed, leaving only the stage lights bright. Two beams of light shone on the two bureau chiefs, making them appear dignified and authoritative, unlike their usual interactions.

Ren Shuo suddenly realized something very interesting: the several maritime bureau directors he had met, including Béain, Silber, and Deutsche... were all flat-chested and short.

Ren Shuo thought with some malice.

"Ahem, first of all, welcome everyone..." Queen Elizabeth, as the host, began her long speech.

It's just the same old official rhetoric, and after that comes the German version of events.

The speeches on both sides were pretty much the same, basically about the royal family being one big family, everyone needing to work hard, protecting the coastline, and fighting the Sirens.

The last topic made Ren Shuo feel a little guilty, but he quickly regained his composure.

He's practically raised the enemy boss himself, doesn't that make him the number one fighter against the Sirens?

"...In short, everyone can have a good exchange and learn from each other. Let's get to know each other today. Everyone must be present tomorrow night. There are benefits and rewards prepared jointly by our two maritime bureaus."

Queen Elizabeth made a final statement and then stepped down along with Germany.

I don't know if it was just Ren Shuo's imagination, but when the two bureau chiefs stepped down from the stage, their smiles were much more genuine than when they were giving their speeches. They seemed to be saying, "It's time to go home, I'm off!"

It's just an illusion.

Ren Shuo scratched his head.

Alice went to chat with a lot of friends. Although she was blacklisted from showing off her ship, there was more to it than just this one topic, right? The commander's circle is still very important, unless you are the kind of ruthless person who can take on an entire faction by yourself.

In the past, Belfast and the others would communicate with the ship girls from other ports, and I would at most meet with the commander on the other side at the end. But this time, I will have to go myself.

However, Ren Shuo was not an unapproachable person, and he quickly became friends with several commanders.

At this banquet, Hu Teng, who had come along, sat quietly in a corner by himself.

…………

After the banquet ended and everyone dispersed, Ren Shuo made an appointment with several commanders to get together again the following evening for a chat before they all went home.

Ren Shuo drank some wine, not much, but he was still a little dizzy. Seeing this, Hu Teng had no choice but to help him back.

Chapter 512 Seals

"A new day!"

Ren Shuo woke up feeling refreshed. The slight intoxication from last night hadn't made him sleep soundly; on the contrary, he slept very well.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I instinctively reached for the glass by the bedside. The water inside was still warm, just the right amount to gulp down in one go.

Even without Belfast by her side, Dido is now able to do her job very well.

"Is Master awake?" Diddo knocked on the door, seemingly having heard the commotion inside.

Every day, the maid on duty who accompanies Ren Shuo when he gets up will always stand at the door. In the port area, because of the soundproofing, Ren Shuo would press a button after getting up, and then a maid would come to help him make the bed and so on...

Although most of the time it's the wedding ship that stays overnight that cleans up, or Ren Shuo doesn't want to trouble the maids to clean up themselves.

However, this temporary building didn't have the same good soundproofing as the port area, so Deido could hear Ren Shuo as soon as he got up.

Ren Shuo said, "Daido, good morning, come in."

Dido pushed open the door and entered, only to see Ren Shuo tidying up his blankets. She quickly went over and took the blankets from Ren Shuo's hands.

“Master, you can leave these things to us maids. You don’t need to do them yourself.”

"It's alright, I have hands and feet, I can handle this myself," Ren Shuo said, scratching his head.

Dido pouted: "Does that mean Master doesn't want me anymore? A maid without a job shouldn't have any reason to exist, right?"

Seeing that Dido was gradually sinking into a low mood again, Ren Shuo decisively stuffed the quilt in his hand into Dido's hands: "I'm going to wash up, you help me tidy up the quilt."

"Understood, Master." Dido smiled sweetly.

…………

"Hu Teng, did you make plans to go to the exercise with Emden again today?" Ren Shuo asked, looking at Hu Teng who had already started eating breakfast.

"Hmm, we made an appointment yesterday... Does the Commander have something for me to do today?" Hu Teng swallowed the bread in his mouth and asked.

"No, you're free to do as you please. Originally, this trip was supposed to be on official business, but it's really just to bring you guys out for fun." Ren Shuo took on the socializing himself, which made Hu Teng and Dai Duo's job much easier; they mainly just had to keep things going.

"Alright, Commander, do you need me to help salvage the ship?" Hu Teng asked with a smile.

Ren Shuo coughed lightly, feigning an effort: "I'll do my best."

Hu Teng smiled, picked up the milk and gulped it down, then prepared to leave: "I'm about to go out. Commander, contact me if you need anything."

"Wait a minute," Ren Shuo suddenly called out to Hu Teng.

Hu Teng turned around in confusion and saw Ren Shuo walking up to him with a tissue in his hand.

Ren Shuo raised his hand and gently wiped Hu Teng's mouth, then said, "Girls should be more careful, there are still bread crumbs and milk on your mouth."

Hu Teng blushed for the first time ever, and hurriedly said "I'm going out" before leaving.

"How innocent you are, don't you think, Dido?" Ren Shuo asked, watching Hu Teng's retreating figure.

Dido withdrew her envious gaze and echoed, "Yes, Master is right."

What should we eat for breakfast?

"Daido went to the cafeteria and bought soy milk and fried dough sticks. Does that suit your taste? If not, Dido also bought bread and cakes..."

"Let's have soy milk and fried dough sticks."

"Yes, Master."

…………

Apart from the first day's exchange meeting, which is fixed to start in the evening, from the second day onwards, you are basically very flexible in terms of time. Even for the evening banquet, you can choose to go or not.

However, most commanders would go, since they could eat and drink for free, and the food was much better than in the canteen. Although it was a female cook, the ingredients were of a different price.

In addition, there were many Maritime Bureau ship girls or student ship girls working part-time at the academy, so many commanders would choose to try their luck, which couldn't hurt.

During the daytime, the commanders would meet up in small groups at cafes or go fishing at the docks, where they would also discuss future cooperation in the port area or share their experiences.

In the morning, Ren Shuo invited two commanders to go fishing. It is said that these two commanders have been developing in their respective ports for nearly 8 years. They can be said to have passed the newbie stage and become veterans, and are now striving to return to the newbie stage.

However, Ren Shuo, this newbie, had long since become a "newcomer" among newbies, a shark in the fish pond.

"Ren Shuo, you're so young, how did you manage to run the port so well? So many ship girls, you're a legend in our community now."

A commander with a Western face and a strong, muscular appearance asked, his words tinged with envy.

This is a commander that Ren Shuo recently met, named William. He is said to be a distant relative of Alice and has some kind of title, but he is a very nice person.

The other blond-haired, blue-eyed guy was William's old classmate, also a lazy bum, but he had to be called "European dog" before "lazy bum," and his name was George.

There aren't many hidden rules among commanders. If they like you, they'll address you by your first name, regardless of honorifics. As for those they don't like, they can just smile and nod, but they won't become close friends.

"Yeah, share your experience with us, we want to learn. Sigh, there aren't many ship girls in the port, and their combat strength is just average." George seemed quite annoyed.

"You're kidding me. You call that a port with few ship girls? Ten isn't enough? And you say its combat strength is average? Come on, Ren Shuo, you be the judge. You're telling me that the Prince of Wales has average combat strength? I'm telling you, I'm almost dying of envy."

William wished he could pick up his boots and kick some people's asses hard.

Ren Shuo wanted to say that the Prince of Wales was indeed not strong, but seeing the extremely excited William, he held back, after all, he didn't want to get his butt kicked.

"Sigh, you don't know how lucky you are. Look at me, you envy me?" George was speechless. "I envy you more. Look at the harbor, Gloucester and Edinburgh, two big maid ships! Maid ships! Who in the entire Royal Navy wouldn't want a maid ship?"

"Speaking of which... Ren Shuo's port district has Dido's, right? And Belfast's, right? Even... a maid squad?"

Upon hearing this, both George and William's expressions changed.

Ren Shuo quickly changed the subject: "So, how do you manage a port area, right? Let me tell you, the most important thing is resources. With resources, the port area can be built very well. And if the port area is well-managed, wouldn't it be more attractive to the Freedom ship girls?"

George and William exchanged a glance, finding it quite reasonable: "Then how do you manage to have so many supplies?"

"I don't know about that. I just brought back a St. Louis property, and then their company came under the jurisdiction of the port district..."

The two covered their faces, realizing that this guy's port district also had a wealthy woman who was incredibly shrewd in business.

Even if you tell me your experience with this kind of thing, I can't replicate it.

"By the way, how's your defense line doing lately?" After chatting for a while, it was time to get down to business.

William said, "On my side, after we basically assembled the fleet, we were able to barely reach the fourth sea area, but that's only the beginning of 4-1. It will be a bit difficult to go further. The main reason is that I'm worried about the girls getting into trouble, so to be on the safe side, I didn't continue to clear out the areas further."

George said, "You've already made it to the fourth sea area? I'm still in the third or fourth."

"No way, your port is much stronger than mine, how did you only reach level 3-4? Even a salted fish doesn't have your salted fish method!" William was shocked.

"The problem is, for some time now, I don't know what's gotten into the Siren's Purifiers, they keep coming over here, making me afraid to start exploring," George sighed.

Ren Shuo thought for a moment, it seems that the Purifier has already returned. He seemed to have seen him in the port area a couple of days ago. It is said that he came back to rest for a while because he couldn't find his mother.

"You don't need to be afraid about this. We recently sank the Purifier in our port area, and since then, we don't know what's gotten into her, but she keeps wandering around here and getting sunk," Ren Shuo said.

"Really? Why hasn't anyone heard anything? If it's true, I can start clearing the land in peace," George asked hurriedly.

This matter must be confirmed; it is a matter of responsibility to our port area.

"Really, our maritime bureau will send a notice to headquarters later. I guess they're busy these days and have put it on hold for now."

As Ren Shuo spoke, he said that he had made arrangements with the Sirens and various flagship secretaries in the port area, and spread the word that his port area had held back intelligent Sirens such as Observers and Purifiers, which could be considered a deal with the Maritime Bureau.

We don't let these people run around, so you turn a blind eye to certain things.

"That's good. I'll ask someone at the Maritime Bureau for you later..." William was a nobleman after all, so it was possible for him to find someone to know some new information in advance.

"Thank you very much then..."

"Your fish has taken the bait."

Hey hey hey! The guys are here!