Azur Lane Under the Stars

Page 520

"I'll leave you here. I still have patrol duties to perform. Please wait here for a moment and don't wander off, it will cause trouble. Someone will come to pick you up later," Memphis warned.

"Understood," Shinano said.

After the four ship girls left, everyone looked around.

Shinano subtly made his dream butterflies temporarily invisible, dispersing them in all directions.

After a while, he finally let out a breath.

"How is it?" Yi Xian asked in a low voice.

Shinano said, "Don't worry, there's no one around, and if I wanted to, I could easily steal these surveillance cameras and replace them with ours."

Yixian nodded, "That's fine then."

"Speaking of which, isn't this being a bit too cautious? There are already more than a dozen surveillance cameras right at the entrance."

Perseus seemed quite unhappy about being watched by these surveillance cameras.

“Let’s make plans after we’ve gathered some information… Besides, we don’t really know what the situation is like in this world,” Richelieu reassured him.

Honestly, Perseus should feel a bit aggrieved. Logically, they should be able to easily sweep through the enemy lines, so why are they being so subservient (in their own opinion)?

Yi Xian and Richelieu thought it best to avoid fighting and leave after obtaining the information. But could they really be sure there was no danger just because they were told there was none? Arrogance is the worst thing one can do.

This port area is clearly extremely powerful, but it is overly cautious.

On one side are reckless individuals, and on the other side are those who prioritize safety and maximizing their own interests, which is why there is a disagreement.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I am the ship girl in charge of guiding people in this city. My name is Langley."

A somewhat serious voice rang out, and everyone looked over to see a short ship girl in high heels and an office lady uniform walking over.

Seeing the familiar attire, everyone smiled knowingly. Langley.

"Now, I'll tell you about the current state and history of this world, otherwise you might find it difficult to move around in this world."

Langley said.

"This world was a completely normal old history... You should have known this when you were born; it's something ingrained in every ship girl's bones."

"Then, on the high seas, a terrifying adversary was discovered: the Sirens. The overwhelming power of technology forced humanity to abandon the seas and retreat back to the land..."

Langley was about to lead the way while continuing her eloquent conversation when Shinano interrupted her chanting: "This... Miss Langley? We knew all of this when we were first born as ship girls."

"Why are you in such a hurry, child? Fine, since you're all like this, I'll just tell you directly about the current state of the world and what you need to be aware of..."

Langley rolled his eyes at Shinano.

Shinano clenched her small pink fists, but because of her wide sleeves, it was not immediately clear what was happening.

Whom do you call a child?

Do you think you're Frederick the Great?

Langley didn't notice Shinano's emotional change: "Let me tell you, you girls whose training level is still in the single digits, don't run around outside recklessly, it's very dangerous. Also, it's best not to trust those wild commanders or commanders who come to visit from other cities. Absolutely not. This is advice from an old lady who has lived for 200 years and experienced the Dark Ages."

Well, compared to you, we who were only born a few years ago really are just little girls...

Hmm, thinking about it this way, isn't our commander in a bit of danger? Making a vow with a little girl who's only a few years old... Shinano suddenly started having all sorts of wild thoughts.

But I'm still a little concerned. Why shouldn't we trust the commanders outside? Could it be that commanders in different regions are somehow different? And the Dark Ages? What's that?

It didn't exist in the original world.

The group exchanged glances, seemingly having grasped some crucial information.

Chapter 568 Poor Strencus

He led the women to a place that resembled a conference room, and Langley gestured for them to sit down so he could speak slowly.

"Where to begin... Oh right, let me first tell you why you shouldn't run off with the commanders outside."

Langley gave a cold laugh and said angrily, "Most of those commanders outside, without our city's certification, cannot be called commanders. To be precise, they are more like warlords or mercenaries from the old history."

“If you follow them, you’ll have a very hard time in the future.”

"Warlords? Mercenaries?" Shinano frowned. "What do you mean?"

Langley said, "You should know about the appearance of the Sirens, the human resistance, and later the appearance of ship girls that helped humanity stabilize the coastline defenses, right?"

“We know that…” Shinano nodded slightly.

"The problem lies here: the actual rulers of the various human factions at that time were either war fanatics, or those who pursued science to the extreme, or some conspiracy theorists... So even when the situation on the front lines was very tense, and the Sirens could break through the coastline at any time, they were still making small moves behind the scenes."

The girls present all frowned.

This is completely different from their history. In their world, the rulers at the time were probably very broad-minded or very tolerant, throwing out one bill and measure after another.

The result is the current peaceful situation, where ship girls and humans live and work together in harmony, creating a thriving scene.

But this world... Richelieu and Yatsen immediately understood why there were so many ruins.

Looking at the somewhat somber expressions on everyone's faces, Langley continued, "They don't know that ship girls, in a sense, cannot be explained by science. Rather, they are more like conceptual beings."

"Therefore, all human drugs, weapons, and even lies and conspiracies are useless in front of ship girls."

"No matter how powerful you humans are, can you really change the concepts and rules of this world?"

"So, at that time, some evil spirits tried to control this restless power in their eyes, which is us ship girls. Some tried to use drugs, and some tried to use all sorts of despicable methods, but the final result was extremely tragic."

"Those ship girls who were considered experimental subjects were unharmed, but they completely lost trust in humans and chose to go into seclusion or even scuttle themselves instead of protecting humans."

"The result was that they didn't know any of the ship girls' secrets, but they suffered the consequences of their own actions, making their already precarious defenses even more vulnerable."

"Finally, one line of defense has been breached. Those ambitious individuals who were previously filled with fear are now preparing to negotiate with the ship girls. Perhaps everything can get better, but..."

Langley's expression turned disdainful: "I was one of the ship girls who witnessed it back then. The Sirens that breached the coastline retreated immediately, as did some of the coastal cities that were lost later."

"It seems that the Sirens only wanted the sea and the coast, and did not choose to continue to push inward."

"After testing and observing, those guys became bolder again. So what if they lost the coastline? They still have land. So they unilaterally ended the negotiations."

"Over time, some free-spirited ship girls were born on the high seas and were tricked and lured away by these guys. Although they eventually gave up on researching ship girls, they still managed to lure these free-spirited ship girls away, and after they recognized a commander, they treated them as mercenaries or machines in civil wars..."

"That's why I said that being tricked into a ship girl leads to a miserable life. Every day is an endless war, and a war of killing at that, not a war against the Sirens. As a result, many ship girls, after experiencing all this, suffer a mental breakdown and choose to scuttle themselves..."

"This is the dark age."

Langley's expression was very somber.

"Are these people out of their minds? Why would they choose internal strife when there are external threats?" Perseus looked disgusted and incredulous.

"Who knows? Maybe there are idiots every year, but there were just a lot of them in that era?" Langley sneered.

"Fortunately, many humans later came to their senses and began to cooperate and plan with us ship girls. Under the call of the most prestigious humans and ship girls at the time, ship girls and humans who hated war gathered together and formed one city after another. They selected commanders from among them and surrounded the coastal cities. This is the unconquered area."

"As for those ambitious people, with ship girls in their hands, they can occasionally trick some naive girls into going back to them. So over time, in the last one or two hundred years, it has become a situation of warlordism in the interior."

"So, while there are minor inland skirmishes, it's also a delicate balance, isn't it?"

Langley took a breath and paused for a moment: "So, keep your eyes open. Don't be fooled if you're not a commander certified by us... I've lived for so many years, and I can tell that you don't have the mark of a human commander. So, after you leave here, just move around the city as you please. If you have any difficulties in life, contact the Maritime Bureau."

After explaining some precautions for living in the city, Lanli slowly left, and Shinano and her group were taken to a small building as a temporary resting place.

Once inside the small building, Shimakaze and Perseus immediately drew all the curtains, and then Shinano released Yumecho.

After confirming that no one was watching them, everyone began to express their opinions.

Avant-garde was about to slam his hand on the table in front of him, but Egil grabbed his wrist. Just kidding, in his rage, that slap would probably destroy the table.

The avant-garde also realized what was happening, but still snorted: "No wonder those sirens said this world is beyond saving. They're in dire straits, yet they're still thinking about fighting for territory?"

"No wonder the observer said that if we had seen so many worlds, we would know that our current world is simply paradise."

Yi Xian rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. On one hand, she saw the ship girls as guardians of humanity, and on the other hand, she treated them as machines of war…

It's just a pity for the girls in this world.

Richelieu asked, "So, what do you mean? Call the commander over?"

Yi Xian shook his head: "Let's wait a little longer... Shinano, you should tell the commander about the situation here first."

Shinano nodded and went to the side to make a phone call.

"Just now, I asked if, after we get our identification documents sorted out, we can choose to go to other cities, or if there are other unoccupied areas..."

Yi Xian said.

"Also, once we have this identification, Shinano can send a copy back using Dream Butterfly, and then Akashi can make a copy of it. When everyone arrives, they will all have one, and the Commander can go from being an 'illegal resident' to a normal resident."

“You’ve thought this through…” Richelieu agreed, based on the intelligence gathered by Shinano Yumecho in this city.

It's not a particularly large city. If you want more information or advice, you have to go to the larger area next door. And it's said that there are some relatively powerful ship girls guarding that area.

Over the next few days, Yixian and the others found a place to stay and waited for Mingshi's identity documents to be copied over.

Once the "delivery" from Akashi arrived, Yixian and the others set off immediately.

After finding a deserted island and clearing out all the nearby sirens, they began constructing a portal.

With Akashi's help from the outside and Shinano's Yumecho providing the coordinates from the inside, opening a portal is quite easy for the port area right now.

However, compared to the Sirens' ability to open and close at any time, serving as a permanent entrance to space, this technology, which can only exist for one day, is still inferior.

Besides the accompanying ship girls, Essex was also carrying a lifeless-looking Strencus.

With that dog-ear-like headdress and that pitiful little expression, anyone who didn't know better would think that the lady of the house was abusing her dog again.

"How did they all end up together?"

Richelieu looked at Strencus, who was lying on the beach, staring blankly at the sky, too lazy to move, and asked in a low voice.

Ren Shuo said, "Isn't Essex guarding the exit? After this girl came out, Essex immediately started fighting. Half of the firepower restrictions were lifted, and with the Sirens' wedding ship modification, it was more than enough to take down this Strencus, so... she was captured."

"They said they don't want riddle-solving people, so hurry up and explain everything that's happening in this world."

Richelieu looked at Strencus with pity.

From the conversations with the Dream Weaver and Builder on a regular basis, it is clear that this dark-skinned girl is one of the few honest people in the arbitration body. She basically works hard without making a sound, and she completes any unreasonable work requests from her superiors without saying a word.

Then this time, not only was he betrayed by his colleagues, but he was also brutally beaten by Essex. It was truly a miserable experience.

"So, what exactly happened in this world? Can it be explained?"

Frederick the Great helped Strencus up, and like a child, cleaned the sand off her body, asking softly.

Although Strencus was a tall, dark-skinned, and sexy woman, she really looked like a child in front of Frederick the Great, who was nearly two meters tall.

“…Alright, the experiment is over anyway, the data has been sent back, and the Dreamweavers have agreed to let me speak.” Strencus looked somewhat aggrieved.

"In other words, this world is actually a possibility that we are observing..." Strencus began to explain in detail.

"Because our young master has found a world that is perfect for him to live in, our mission has changed. The young master and the Creator wish to live a peaceful and ordinary life together from now on."

"So we are looking for ways to ensure that ship girls and humans can coexist peacefully after the Sirens disappear or after the Sirens are no longer a threat, or to ensure that their peaceful lives are not disrupted."

"That's why I've observed one world after another. This world is a key point because it has variable factors."

"In this world, the program we input into those mass-produced entities is to only destroy coastal cities and occupy the ocean, but never to enter the inland areas. Let's see what the final result will be."

"So, what was the result?" Ren Shuo asked.

Strencus shook her head: "The result is very bad. As I said, this is a world with no future because of the inherent flaws of humanity. Even if the Sirens are not a threat for the time being, this world is still rife with war."

"This world is no longer suitable for survival. For some reason, this world is about to burn out... What you see now is just the tip of the iceberg. Many places inland are no longer suitable for human habitation. Nuclear bombs and germ warfare have turned those places into hell on earth."

"I can tell you with certainty that this parallel world is not the main world after all. Its foundation has been shaken, and it is estimated that this parallel world will perish within a hundred years."

"The preliminary conclusion is that only when the Sirens and humans reach a delicate balance can world peace and tranquility be guaranteed."

Strencus said.

"Okay, can you let me go now?"

Seemingly unaccustomed to speaking so much for the first time, the dark-skinned young lady asked awkwardly.

"What do you mean, let you go! From now on, you're one of us. Come back to the port with us and keep Empres company."

With a wave of his hand, Ren Shuo decided the future of Strencus.

"But I also have other worlds to observe..."