Capítulo 24: Chapter 24: The Faction Flagships
"That's right, the Commander has been missing for so long; we should at least see him first, shouldn't we?"
Voices in the room were talking one after another. Lin Lan quickly understood that if he didn't show up soon, Frederick the Great might not get out of this unscathed today.
"I completely understand your concerns. I'll arrange for the Commander to communicate with you all as soon as possible."
Frederick the Great sighed softly before continuing:
"However, the issue of our dwindling oil supplies is becoming increasingly severe. Even our Ironblood Fleet can no longer easily undertake transoceanic voyages."
Mentioning the oil problem caused the room to fall silent.
Lin Lan was baffled.
Really? The conversation just went cold like that? He remembered that he used to have so much oil in his reserves that it was almost overflowing. Had they really used it all up?
But after thinking it over, Lin Lan realized it wasn't so hard to understand.
Even though he had a lot of oil in the game, once his shipgirls came into this world, the game's daily supply of oil was no longer available.
Plus, any fixed commissions and mail deliveries were gone too, and most of his oil reserves had been stored in those mails.
It was frustrating that the game had such a low oil storage limit, forcing players to store extra oil in their mail.
"Darn you, Yellow Chick."
Without the main source of oil, no matter how much they had, it was bound to run out eventually.
"In that case, Comrade Frederick, please make sure to take good care of the Commander for us. As soon as he recovers, arrange for communication with us immediately."
The one who called Frederick "comrade" was likely none other than the Northern Union leader, Sovetsky Soyuz, the Big Brother of the North Union.
(Sovetsky Soyuz)
"Hehehe, don't worry. I will certainly take good 'care' of the Commander."
Frederick's voice carried a hint of smugness, but it was clear her words annoyed someone.
"It's precisely because you say things like that we can't trust you! Damn it!"
A sound of someone slamming the table echoed through the room.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. We should trust our Ironblood allies, at least for now—they did manage to bring the Commander back, after all."
It seemed to be the Royal faction speaking, with Elizabeth sounding quite frustrated.
The one comforting her was probably Warspite, the Queen's loyal knight.
(Warspite)
Elizabeth, after all, was the forever eleven-year-old loli queen, and Frederick's words made her blood pressure skyrocket.
However, the others seemed used to Elizabeth's temperament and didn't pay much attention.
Lin Lan listened with a smile, relieved that the shipgirls in the port seemed to be doing okay, easing some of his worries.
As for the oil shortage...
Lin Lan thought about it—right now, he's an intern commander of the Orlan Federation.
Once he officially starts at the assigned port, the resources used for expeditions can be reimbursed directly by the Navy Department.
As an official commander of the Orlan Federation, he would also have the authority to take on long-distance commissions from local companies and government, earning rewards.
After all, being a commander in the Orlan Federation is a well-paying job.
As long as the shipgirls built with cognitive cubes in the port are strong enough, it would be easy to dominate the area.
The Orlan Federation, though not as resource-rich as other countries, was once a commercial powerhouse with goods spread worldwide.
Even after the Siren calamity forced them to retreat inland, the nation's oil reserves were still vast.
Moreover, before he arrived, Lin Lan had heard from Tirpitz and the others that the Ironblood fortress had established connections with the military of several cities in the Eastern Sea of the Orlan Federation.
He figured that using these connections, they could find a way to get more oil.
While he was calculating how to secure oil from the Orlan Federation, he didn't notice someone slowly approaching him from behind.
"Commander, what are you daydreaming about here?"
Bismarck's voice came from behind, accompanied by a light tap on Lin Lan's shoulder.
"Whoa!"
Lin Lan's thoughts were suddenly interrupted. Already feeling guilty about eavesdropping, the sudden tap startled him, making him jump and shout out loud.
And just as quickly, he realized—uh-oh.
"Hmm? It sounded like the Commander's voice, didn't it?"
Inside the room, Elizabeth's voice carried a tone of suspicion.
At this moment, even a fool could tell what was going on, and Bismarck, standing behind Lin Lan, was no fool.
For a moment, there was dead silence inside and outside the room. In those few seconds, Lin Lan felt like years had passed.
Eavesdropping can really get you in trouble. I should have just gone in openly! Now things are so awkward.
But soon enough, Frederick the Great's calm and gentle voice broke the silence:
"Bismarck, have you brought the Commander here? Perfect timing, everyone's here. Commander, please come in."
Lin Lan's anxiety eased, and he felt a deep sense of respect for Frederick.
What could have been an awkward situation was smoothly explained by Frederick as Bismarck simply bringing him to the meeting. It was flawless.
After straightening his clothes and calming his nerves, Lin Lan put on a composed expression as Bismarck opened the door, and he stepped into the room first.
Before him was a spacious and bright conference hall, with a large black-and-red round table in the center.
Around the table were life-sized, flickering holographic projections—these were the flagships of each faction in his port.
Including Frederick the Great, who was seated at the round table, there were a total of eight shipgirls, all with their eyes fixed on him.
"It's really the Commander! Commander, Commander! You're finally back!"
The pink-haired, flat-chested... carrier Saratoga's eyes sparkled as she was the first to react, waving excitedly at Lin Lan.
She wanted to rush over and hug him, but unfortunately, as a projection, she couldn't do that.
"You... Where on earth did you disappear to? Do you even know how to come back?!"
The blonde-haired loli with a small crown on her head, Elizabeth, also had tears in her jewel-like blue eyes, as if she were immensely wronged.
"C-Commander, where did you go... Is your body alright now?"
The flagship of the Sakura Empire, a black-haired, fox-eared miko loli battleship Nagato, dressed in a red and white shrine maiden outfit, looked at Lin Lan with concern.
(Nagato)
She had a lot to say but was so emotional that she could barely speak coherently.
Lin Lan was taken aback. He hadn't realized that three of the flagships in his port were lolis.
"Sorry, but I'm back now. My health is fine, so don't worry, everyone."
Lin Lan greeted them while walking to the round table, sitting down next to Frederick the Great.
The old him would have had a hard time handling this situation. But thinking about how he had known these girls for almost ten years and bought countless outfits for them, he felt no pressure at all.
But then, Lin Lan suddenly noticed something on the conference table—a creature he never thought would appear in this world.
A Commander Cat?
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