Bab 67: Chapter 67: The Storm Calms
In the final explosion, the Purifier finally fell silent.
From the explosion cloud, a round object was ejected and landed on the sea.
The once-powerful Siren flagship Purifier and her massive hammerhead shark battlesuit had been destroyed on the water.
With the Purifier gone, the remaining Siren fleet began a mechanical, full-scale retreat.
The previously turbulent sea began to calm, and the rain gradually lessened.
It was as if the destruction of the Purifier had also stopped the storm.
However, the dark clouds in the sky did not dissipate; they still hung heavily overhead.
When Brunhilde and the Iron Blood fleet arrived a few minutes later, the eerie scene almost made her eyes go black.
"I told you not to use my head as a ball! You really went too far!"
"Honor can be killed but not humiliated! If I didn't have questions for you, I'd self-destruct right now! You'd better listen to me properly!!!"
Except for the despondent white-haired girl Elbing, who was squatting on the side, drawing circles with her already damaged parasol on the sea, Magdeburg and three Iron Blood submarine lolis were happily kicking a round object on the water.
The round object was continuously emitting the Purifier's distressed wails.
Upon closer inspection, it was the Purifier's head.
"Hey! You started kicking it without me! Wait for me to join in too!"
The pink-haired evil dragon girl, Prince Rupprecht, had heard from her Iron Blood comrades that the Purifier's head could be kicked around like a soccer ball.
But she had never experienced it herself, which had always left her feeling envious.
Seeing the scene, she eagerly dragged Elbing to join in.
As Rupprecht and Elbing, both with mischievous smiles, joined the kicking game, the Purifier's wails grew louder.
After a few minutes, Brunhilde noticed that they seemed to have tired of the game, and the Purifier's head hadn't chosen to self-destruct yet. She sighed deeply and said:
"Alright, stop fooling around. Let me ask this guy what she wants to say."
Upon hearing this, the Purifier, whose face was now covered in shoe prints, immediately brightened up with a joyful smile.
She had endured disgrace and finally heard this question.
Magdeburg presented the Purifier's head to Brunhilde.
"I know that the main body of your high-level Siren flagship isn't here; it's all in your data terminal core storage tower. Right now, you're just one of your machines."
"Purifier, what exactly are you plotting, and why did you appear here?"
Brunhilde spoke with calmness, which clearly set her apart from the other Iron Blood shipgirls around her.
But then again, this should be the normal Iron Blood style—it's the others who seemed out of place.
"Hmph, I can certainly answer your question, but in return, you must answer mine!"
Despite only having a head left, the Purifier still wore a smug expression.
"Huh? Are you saying your brain got kicked silly?"
Magdeburg was shocked to hear the Purifier still trying to negotiate, her face showing disbelief.
She grabbed the Purifier's white hair and swung it around like a flail.
"Wah wah wah wah wah! Stop swinging! I'm getting dizzy!"
"I'll talk, I'll talk now!"
After being swung around at least a dozen times, the Purifier finally relented, her eyes spinning in circles.
"I advise you not to play any tricks. Don't think I don't know how cunning you Sirens are."
Hearing this, Magdeburg finally stopped the spinning, holding the Purifier's head up to meet Brunhilde's gaze.
"I came here to assist with the smooth progress of the experiment. As for the specific details of the experiment, I truly don't know."
The Purifier appeared much more subdued this time, but her words still didn't reveal anything substantial.
"Experiment? There's no sign of a mirror sea here. Are you trying to play us for fools?"
While Brunhilde pondered, Magdeburg looked at the Purifier's head with a displeased expression.
Seeing that Magdeburg was about to start swinging the "flail" again, the Purifier hurriedly added:
"Who said the experimental site has to be in the mirror sea! Your thinking is too shallow!"
At this, a hint of surprise appeared in Brunhilde's eyes.
"Then tell me, where is your experimental site?"
Hearing this, the Purifier stubbornly replied:
"I really can't say. Otherwise, the main host will dispose of me before I even have a chance to self-destruct!"
"You won't give up until you see the coffin!"
Magdeburg, not believing the Purifier's words, began to swing her head around again.
"It's okay if she doesn't say anything. I've already seen the direction the Siren fleet was heading."
Elbing came over with her rainbow-colored eyes looking at the Purifier's head, smirking as she spoke.
"Did you hear that? So, I really wasn't lying to you!"
Upon hearing Elbing, the Purifier snorted and turned to Brunhilde:
"So, I've already answered your question. Now, you need to tell me why you're here instead of returning directly to the Iron Blood fortress. Could it be that..."
"When did I say I'd answer your question?"
Brunhilde looked slightly surprised.
Hearing this, the Purifier's eyes widened, stunned.
After a moment, she yelled angrily:
"So you were all just playing me? What kind of game is this..."
"Hey, get lost!"
The poor Purifier never got to finish her sentence before being kicked skyward by Magdeburg, who was wearing sports cleats.
"Remember this! I'll be back!!!"
"Boom!"
The Purifier's threatening wails grew fainter until, with a final explosion, she self-destructed in the sky.
Watching the Purifier's machine being completely destroyed, Elbing put away her mischievous smile and spoke with concern to Brunhilde:
"The direction the fleet was heading is towards the temporary port location of the Commander."
"What did you say?"
Magdeburg was stunned by Elbing's revelation.
Brunhilde also turned with a grave expression, looking towards the direction of the new port area that Zeppelin had sent her.
"Wake up Lutzow. Don't worry about the mass-produced models for now. Everyone, activate your ship equipment and head to the new port area at full speed."
"Elbing, have Rupprecht immediately call Zeppelin, tell her to send us the Commander's location, and also have her gather all available forces to head to the Commander's side immediately."
Seeing Magdeburg and Elbing carry out the orders without hesitation, Brunhilde clenched her fists in front of her chest.
After hearing the Purifier's words, she was struck by an ominous premonition.
With their years of experience dealing with the Sirens, they knew the Sirens would never do anything without a purpose.
They had to get to the Commander immediately.
Otherwise, something unpredictable and dangerous might happen to the Commander!
…
At the same time that Brunhilde's fleet discovered the Purifier's fleet.
When Lin Lan, along with Ulrich and Mainz, arrived at the large factory where the entire Liuhu County's Liuzhou people were detained, all the Liuzhou people had already been freed.
With Z23 and Z46 present, even though the two looked harmless and quite cute, once they revealed their ship equipment, the guards led by Zhao Hu immediately surrendered.
What a joke, no matter how powerful your knives and guns are, they can't be more powerful than ship equipment main guns.
Moreover, before they arrived, the people from the outer district had already debunked the rumors.
The rumor that Liuzhou people were the source of the Sirens' troubles was nothing but a baseless lie.
The outer district residents who came later sincerely apologized to the freed Liuzhou people.
And at Nimi's request, they took the initiative to admit their mistakes.
Fortunately, most Liuzhou people were kind and simple-hearted. After learning the truth, most of them expressed understanding and did not pursue the matter further.
However, a few Liuzhou residents, due to excessive damage to their property or severe beatings during resistance, remained deeply resentful.
When Lin Lan arrived and learned about the situation, he first requested the outer district residents to crowdsource sufficient compensation for these resentful Liuzhou people.
When Zhao Long and his group arrived, they all, led by Zhao Long, knelt down to apologize and earnestly asked for forgiveness.
They also promised to take care of the injured or disabled Liuzhou people's daily lives in the future.
To Lin Lan's surprise, these injured and disabled Liuzhou people, upon receiving Zhao Long's sincere apology and assurances, sighed deeply and chose to agree.
Moreover, Lin Lan could see that these Liuzhou people were not simply afraid of future retaliation from Zhao Long and his group but genuinely trusted them.
It seemed Zhao Long and his group had a good reputation in the outer district before this incident.
It was only due to a closed-off environment and malicious rumors spread by the inner district's business association that caused resentment towards the Liuzhou people.
Fortunately, no Liuzhou person had died due to this upheaval.
Thus, Lin Lan resolved the outer district's turmoil with the Liuzhou people.
Many Liuzhou people and Orlan people bid farewell to Lin Lan and returned to the outer district.
In the now-empty abandoned factory, a dozen or so Liuzhou people still remained.
With the weather clearly indicating an impending storm, they planned to wait in the factory until the rain passed before returning to the inner district with Lin Lan.
"Commander!"
As Lin Lan smiled and patted the heads of Nimi and Z46, raindrops began to fall in the factory.
A joyful shout came from a young Liuzhou couple carrying Riko with gratitude.
They were finally reunited as a family.
"Commander, we really don't know how to thank you and your shipgirls."
"If it weren't for you, we might never have reunited with little Lili."
Riko's parents, upon reaching Lin Lan, put Riko down and even tried to kneel to thank him.
Lin Lan immediately stopped them from doing so.
"This is what the Commander should do. It's just that the previous Commander might have encountered some issues and couldn't do it."
He then looked down at Riko.
The black-haired cat-eared girl was squinting with an immensely happy smile.
This reminded Lin Lan of the Sakura girls from his old port. How were they faring now?
After gently patting Riko's little head, Lin Lan chatted briefly with Riko's parents and waved goodbye to the family.
"Can I come visit Sister Nimi again in the future?"
As they reached the factory door, Riko, holding her parents' hands, suddenly turned and shouted at Z23.
"Nimi, she's asking you."
Lin Lan smiled at Z23, while Nimi, after a moment of surprise, took off her blue hat and smiled, waving her hand.
"You're always welcome. I'll prepare some Iron Blood bread for you myself."
"Yay!"
As Lin Lan watched Riko's family walk farther away in the increasingly heavy rain, he turned to look at the remaining Liuzhou people from the inner district.
"You just said that the inner district's Orlan people didn't trust the county head's words, and you were forcibly taken by his soldiers?"
A well-dressed Liuzhou man with dog ears cautiously approached Lin Lan and explained:
"Commander, this county head is actually just an agent sent by the Zhu Hai Commercial Association."
"Since he took office here two years ago, many Liuzhou people in the inner district have mysteriously disappeared, which is why you see that most Liuzhou people live in the outer district."
Another dog-eared white-haired Liuzhou elder with glasses also spoke to Lin Lan:
"I also heard from a junior who worked in the administrative building that this county head is capricious and… often kills people without reason, leaving no trace of their remains."
"Since he personally visited the Navy office in the county, no one has come out of there again."
Upon hearing this, Lin Lan was taken aback:
"What did you say?"
Boom!
A thunderclap sounded outside the factory as the heavy rain began to pour down.
Mainz suddenly drew her naval command sword, looking grave as she spoke to Lin Lan:
"Commander, Weser reports that ten previously unseen mechs are heading this way and are expected to arrive in a few minutes."
"And…"
Lin Lan noticed that Mainz, usually so precise, was hesitating and pressed:
"And what?"
Mainz, after double-checking Weser's report, looked at Lin Lan with a serious expression:
"And one of Weser's aircraft crashed above the highest building in the inner district."
"The last moment before the crash, Weser said she saw the attacker as a mass of black fog."
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