Azur Lane Under the Stars

Page 482

"The main thing is that when I was running a mission, I pulled a big box out of the sea. It was full of gold and silver treasures, and the box was brand new. It even had our port's logo on it!"

"So I thought maybe it was some supplies that we missed in our port area, and we managed to retrieve them. The commander rewarded me with quite a lot of things! That should be enough to pay off the debt!"

Kewei was secretly delighted, feeling that next month's album was secured.

Guanghui felt something was off; why did this feel...so familiar?

…………

This is a secret base on the beach at this time.

“Didn’t you say you were hiding some treasure? We got a new game console, and you play it too, shouldn’t you contribute something?” Jean Bart said to Drake.

"Heh heh heh, let me show you my treasure-hiding skills!"

ten minutes later……

"My treasure! Where has it gone!"

Drake was crying and rolling around on the beach.

Chapter 534 A World Where Only Drake Is Wounded

"What's going on now? Why is Drake acting like this again after the formidable and indomitable incident ended?"

Ren Shuo arrived at the seaside. On a certain rock on the beach, Drake sat quietly alone, staring blankly at the distant sunset, with an expression that said, "Life is not worth living."

"Life is as lonely as snow; you never know whether the next second or an accident will come first..."

Drake suddenly uttered a profound reflection on life.

"What happened to you?"

Ren Shuo asked Jean Bart, who was standing with his arms crossed, as if he had seen a ghost.

Jean Bart smiled casually: "Isn't this... a setback?"

“What kind of blow could Drake possibly suffer from? She’s always been an optimistic pirate lady…” Ren Shuo scratched his head, indicating his incomprehension.

"Go ask her yourself." Jean Bart shrugged. "Anyway, Vicious's calling me to play games, it's a brand new console... Commander, want to come along?"

"I'll pass. I'll see what's going on with Drake first," Ren Shuo politely declined.

Jean Bart didn't insist, and with his long, slender legs, he left gracefully.

Ren Shuo secretly moved closer to Drake, who was talking to someone.

"I once swore that I would create an era for pirates."

"Drake Pirates are the freest species on the sea, and also the most honorable ship girls..."

No, you're telling me pirates are aboveboard? Ren Shuo was dumbfounded.

"So no matter the cost, Drake will eventually defeat the thief!"

No, what does this have to do with thieves?

"Waaaaah, my treasure chest, my treasure chest, it's gone, it's gone!"

Drake suddenly curled up, hugged his knees, and rolled back and forth on the beach like a child throwing a tantrum after being injured.

Ren Shuo looked at Drake with a subtle expression. Did this silly girl... not know I was here?

And why does this scene feel so déjà vu?

"Ahem, Drake, what happened?" Ren Shuo coughed, trying to get his attention.

Drake's eyes seemed to have lost their sparkle.

"Ah, Commander, I'm fine, I was just expressing my feelings."

Are you saying this out of genuine feeling? You're about to be buried!

"What do I care about? Tell me, it's just the two of us," Ren Shuo continued.

Drake pursed her lips and then slowly said, "Commander, this is a friend of mine..."

"Yes, your friend."

Ren Shuo was incredibly dismissive. "Your friend... are you talking about yourself?"

"Don't laugh, it really is a friend of mine!" Drake panicked, feeling like he was trying to cover something up.

"Okay, okay, I won't laugh. You can continue."

Drake carefully chose his words: "My friend... likes to collect gold and silver treasures, and he likes to exchange his spare wages for shiny things and store them in his treasure chest..."

"The treasure chests are all buried in the most secret places we know, maybe in the sea, or maybe under the sand..."

"Then one day, my friend excitedly went to check on his possessions, and bam! They were all gone...all gone... Waaah..."

Drake hugged his knees again and began to sob uncontrollably, his grief impossible to conceal.

Ren Shuo also thoughtfully squatted down and gently patted Drake's back, silently comforting her.

"Ahem... I'm sorry for being rude, I'm just too heartbroken over this friend." Drake finished crying again, coughed to cover his embarrassment.

"It's alright, it's alright, I understand." Ren Shuo was understanding.

"Then, tell me, what should I do as a friend?" Drake looked at Ren Shuo expectantly.

What could Ren Shuo do? He could only offer some words of comfort: “In our Donghuang, there’s a saying, ‘Misfortune and fortune are interdependent.’ It means that if something bad happens, something good might happen afterward… Perhaps, something good will happen to your friend.”

"Really?" Drake asked, his anticipation tinged with a hint of doubt.

"Really, if you don't believe it, just wait and see."

Ren Shuo has already come up with some ways to make Drake happy again.

"Then I'll take the Commander's good wishes..."

Sensing Ren Shuo's ambiguous gaze, Drake looked away: "It was a friend of mine who used your kind words."

After offering a few more words of reassurance, Ren Shuo bid farewell to Drake. The setting sun disappeared completely beneath the coastline, leaving behind a tranquil night and a sky full of stars.

While taking a walk, Ren Shuo ran into Ke Wei again, who was boasting to his sisters about his good fortune in finding a treasure chest in the sand and the sea, thus paying off his debts in one fell swoop...

Wait a minute? This script looks familiar...

Ren Shuo's expression changed. "Damn it, this unlucky kid didn't think that Drake's entire fortune was a gift from nature and then used it to pay off his debts, did he?"

I thought this was Akashi and Furuichi taking control of Formidable and starting to persecute him, but I never expected that while I was in the basement, a world where only Drake was injured was born.

Yeah, I'll talk to that unlucky kid later and tell him not to act all innocent after getting the benefit, or Drake will find out...

The fitting of the human-nature-matter model has just been completed, and who knows, we might have to kill a formidable one to add to the excitement.

Ren Shuo silently took out his phone, sent a message to Kewei, and then returned to his office.

Let's make some preparations, so that Drake, that unlucky kid, doesn't get hurt alone.

I turned on my computer and logged into the Commander interface...

Hmm, I don't even have that much salary? Including the card Aunt Saint gave me…

Ren Shuo estimated that making an identical treasure chest shouldn't be a problem, right?

"Commander? Why are you still in the office so late?"

Zhenhai appeared in the office and looked at Ren Shuo, who was pointing at the computer, and couldn't help but ask.

She had forgotten something in the office. Seeing the light on, she didn't think much of it, assuming it was one of her secretaries working overtime. Little did she know it was Ren Shuo.

Ren Shuo looked up: "Zhenhai, what's wrong? Forgot something?"

He saw a bag on Zhenhai's seat.

"Yes, I came back to get something. What is the commander doing? If there is any emergency, just call us. You don't need to do it yourself."

With graceful steps, Zhenhai walked up to Ren Shuo's side, her fitted black cheongsam being quite eye-catching.

While Ren Shuo was enjoying the sight, he recounted the incident involving Ke Wei and Drake.

After hearing this, Zhenhai couldn't help but smile: "This is really interesting. So, Commander, are you thinking of... compensating Drake with your own salary?"

Seeing what Ren Shuo was doing, Zhenhai immediately realized what was going on.

While clicking the mouse, Ren Shuo said, "Yeah, we can't just let Kewei return the stuff. I was thinking of helping Kewei, but Guanghui won't let me pay for the renovations. But if I help Kewei pay back Drake, Guanghui shouldn't have to take responsibility, right? Besides, she doesn't even know."

Ren Shuo pulled a trick of changing the subject.

"I can't let Drake's girl suffer, but I also want to help Ke Wei. So I'll make my salary come in handy, since I don't usually need it anyway."

“Zhenhai, I’ll get the things purchased from St. Louis later, and then you can take them to Drake for me. Just say that your things were accidentally brought up during a salvage operation in the port area,” Ren Shuo said after thinking for a moment.

Zhenhai nodded, then continued, "So, what about the one on the beach?"

Ren Shuo pondered for a moment, then said, "Just say that I was playing games with the children and accidentally found it. I thought no one wanted it, so I confiscated it. Now I'm giving it back to her."

“Alright…” Zhenhai did not object.

"But Drake will be very touched then. Does the Commander also have feelings for Drake?" Zhenhai teased, his eyes gleaming.

Ren Shuo was a little embarrassed: "I do have feelings for you all... but that's not why I'm compensating Drake..."

The main reason for the visit was to see the children frolicking and rolling around on the beach; it was quite pitiful.

"So the commander has feelings for me too?"

Suddenly, Zhenhai hugged Ren Shuo's neck from behind and gave him a headbutt.

Ren Shuo felt very comfortable with the softness behind him, and his nose was filled with the fragrance of plum blossoms.

"Of course, Zhenhai, you have a great figure, you're beautiful, you're reliable, you're smart, and you're gentle yet independent... You're amazing, okay?"

Ren Shuo's skin has become incredibly thick through experience.

"Stop, hold on... It's kind of embarrassing to hear you say that." Zhenhai's pretty face flushed red.

She unconsciously tightened her arms around Ren Shuo.

Ren Shuo patted Zhenhai's arm lightly: "I'm telling the truth. You're both my capable assistants."

"I'm not married yet," Zhenhai said with a huff.

"It's only a matter of time." Ren Shuo rubbed against Zhenhai's chest mischievously.

Zhenhai gave a coquettish laugh and took a step back shyly. Although she was indeed good at some things, she was still a virgin and had a sense of shame.

However, we still can't afford to lose face.

Zhenhai pretended to be annoyed and spun Ren Shuo's swivel chair around so that Ren Shuo was facing him, then deliberately messed up Ren Shuo's hair.

"Hmph, let the Commander explain who's really in charge here."

Ren Shuo smirked and suddenly pulled Zhenhai's arm. Caught off guard, Zhenhai fell into Ren Shuo's arms.

He said deliberately and menacingly, "Of course, it's my port area, and I make the decisions!"

He wrapped his arms around Zhenhai's slender waist. Zhenhai struggled for a moment, but then stopped struggling. Instead, he narrowed his phoenix eyes and rested his head in Ren Shuo's arms.

"I always feel that this way I can calm my mind."

"Because my arms are your ship girls' haven." Ren Shuo said without batting an eye.

Zhenhai opened his phoenix eyes and rolled his eyes at Ren Shuo: "What a character..."

However, the Commander is the ship girls' haven, and everything to them...

"Has your little Kiev not been with you lately?" Zhenhai asked abruptly.

Ren Shuo said, "No, recently Little Kiev was taken by Tashkent and the others to go on an expedition. When they were leaving, she clung to me and wouldn't let go."

“So clingy… What about Emden?” Zhenhai asked.

Ren Shuo looked down in surprise: "How did we get onto Emden?"

"They said that once you join the port area, you're not against oaths and such." Zhenhai was a little annoyed. How dare someone who just joined act like this? Although it's possible, but...

I'm still a little jealous.

"Jealous?" Ren Shuo chuckled.

Zhenhai nudged Ren Shuo with his head: "No."