Chapter 1446
Kotaro: Captain! I miss your food!!!
However, everyone understands.
The vice-captain sat down next to them, his tone softening: "Alright, the captain needs to rest too. Think about it, the captain basically never rests..."
“Yes,” a female team member said softly. “The captain gets up early every day to cook for us, then leads the team in training and missions, and then has to write reports when he gets back. I’ve never seen him sleep more than five hours a night.”
“Last time I was on the night shift, I saw the captain cleaning his gun at three in the morning,” another team member chimed in. “That guy… he doesn’t need to sleep at all.”
Higashi Kotaro fell silent.
Kirisaki also put down his bowl.
Hey……
The cafeteria was quiet for a few seconds, with only the hum of the air conditioner running.
But without Cui Ming, everyone is without a leader!
"I just..." Kotaro Higashi scratched his head, his voice lowering, "I just feel especially at ease when the captain is around. No matter what kind of monster or alien we encounter, as long as the captain is standing in front of us, I know we'll be fine."
“Me too.” Kirisaki was unusually serious for once. “The captain’s back view… looks reliable.”
"That's why!" Kotaro Higashi slammed his fist on the table again. "The captain needs rest even more! He's brought us all out here; what if he collapses from exhaustion?"
"Weren't you just complaining that the food wasn't good?" Kirisaki raised an eyebrow.
"Food is food, and the captain is the captain!" Higashi Kotaro glared at him. "They're two different things!"
"..."
The vice-captain watched the two bickering and a smile curved his lips.
"Alright, everyone, let's eat. With the captain away, we need to do our jobs even better. When he comes back, the best gift will be for him to see that we haven't been slacking off."
"Yes!"
Everyone responded in unison, though their voices were weak, they at least picked up their chopsticks.
Kotaro Higashi poked at the fried rice and sighed again.
"Captain...please come back soon."
"We... really miss you."
At this moment, Choi Myeong, whom they had been longing for, was accompanying Frederick the Great and Musashi on an inspection of the latest equipment.
In TPC's equipment depot, rows of brand-new shipboard components were neatly displayed on metal racks, gleaming with a cold luster. Cui Ming stood in the middle, holding an inspection report in his hands, his gaze sweeping over the complex parts and energy cores.
Frederick the Great stood to his left, her long, straight black hair reaching her ankles, her deep red pupils radiating an unapproachable majesty under the lamplight. She wore a black and red Gothic gown, the ship's rigging at her back unfolding like enormous black wings, exuding a bio-mechanical ferocity. She leaned slightly forward, gently lifting a piece of armor plate with her baton, a signature smile playing on her lips—a smile that was both maternal and domineering.
“My child, these new gadgets… they look delicious.”
Cui Ming didn't even look up, his voice flat: "Test first, then eat. Last time you guys directly ate that batch of experimental cannon barrels, and you got diarrhea for three days straight."
"That was an accident." Frederick the Great chuckled, twirling his baton between his fingers. "The purity of this energy should be enough for us to enjoy."
Musashi stood to the right of Choi Myeong, also with long, straight black hair, but her demeanor was completely different from Frederick the Great's. She wore an elegant battleship uniform, her posture upright, her eyes carrying the unique majesty and grace of a battleship. She reached out and picked up a piece of main gun core, sniffed it, and then frowned.
"Commander, the taste of this batch of cores is a bit strange."
"Strange?" Cui Ming finally raised his head and looked at Musashi. "What's strange about it?"
"It's too sweet." Musashi handed the core to Cui Ming like a picky cat. "It tastes like it has saccharin in it. Although we ship girls eat equipment, we don't just stuff everything into our mouths."
Cui Ming took the core, tapped it with his fingers, and it made a crisp sound. He was silent for two seconds, then put it back on the shelf.
"This batch is substandard and needs to be reworked."
"Eh—" Frederick the Great drawled, his ship rigging drooping slightly like a large dog whose snack had been stolen. "My child, can't I really eat this? I'll just lick it?"
“No.” Cui Ming’s tone was flat. “Once you lick it, you won’t be able to stop, and then you’ll have devoured all the equipment in the warehouse.”
"...We've been discovered." Frederick the Great retracted his baton, crossed his hands in front of him, and gave an innocent smile.
Musashi chuckled softly beside her, her long, straight black hair swaying gently with her movements: "Your Majesty, you always use this trick. The Commander saw through it long ago."
"Shut up, Musashi." Frederick the Great glanced at her, a dangerous glint in his deep red eyes. "You were in a much worse state than me when you stole the energy cell last time."
"That was an accident." Musashi turned his face away, the tips of his ears turning slightly red. "Besides, I only ate one piece."
“One piece?” Cui Ming looked up from the test report, his gaze calmly falling on Musashi. “One piece? You mean that energy battery that burned out half the warehouse's lighting system?” “…”
Musashi fell silent, her long, straight black hair obscuring her expression, but Choi Myung could see that her shoulders were trembling slightly.
It wasn't fear, it was trying not to laugh.
"Alright." Cui Ming closed the test report and glanced at the two of them. "The next batch of equipment will arrive tomorrow. If it passes the test, you can share it."
"Really?" Frederick the Great's ship rigging instantly unfolded, like a blooming black datura flower. "My child, you truly love us the most."
"Stop being coquettish." Cui Ming stuffed the report into his pocket, turned and walked out of the warehouse. "Eating the equipment is fine, but you have to write a usage report for me after you finish. Including the taste, energy absorption rate, and whether there are any side effects."
"...Write a report?" Musashi caught up, her brows furrowed like a pretzel. "Commander, we are ship girls, not researchers."
"Then become a research fellow's ship girl." Cui Ming's voice came from ahead as he continued walking. "Either write a report, or don't eat. Choose."
"I'll write it!" Frederick the Great and Musashi said in unison.
The two exchanged a glance, and at the same time saw a gleam in each other's eyes that seemed to reflect a kind of "foodie's awareness."
Cui Ming walked ahead, a slight smile playing on his lips, but his steps remained steady.
Outside the warehouse, the sun shone brightly, and the TPC base gleamed with a metallic sheen in the distance.
Frederick the Great and Musashi followed behind him, one tapping his palm lightly with his baton, the other twirling the end of his hair with his fingers, both calculating how much of the equipment they would receive tomorrow.
“Musashi,” Frederick the Great suddenly spoke, his voice low, “if you don’t have enough equipment tomorrow, I’ll rob you, don’t cry.”
"It's not certain who will steal from whom, Your Majesty." Musashi sneered, his long, straight black hair fluttering in the wind. "My main gun has a larger caliber than yours."
"A large caliber doesn't mean it eats quickly."
"Shall we give it a try?"
"Let's give it a try."
Cui Ming walked ahead, listening to the bickering between the two behind him, and shook his head.
Ship girls.
Increase your strength by consuming equipment.
He still hasn't fully gotten used to this setup.
But since they're following me, I have to follow the rules.
Eating is fine, but it must be done in a disciplined manner, with reports submitted, and in a way that puts the team leader at ease.
After all, he didn't want to deal with the mess of "ship girls getting sick and their combat effectiveness decreasing" again.
He wrote a full ten pages for that report.
Ten pages!
Just thinking about it gives me a headache.
“Commander,” Musashi suddenly leaned in from behind, his voice softening, “Could you give me an extra piece of equipment for tomorrow? Just one.”
"Look at the quality of the report."
"……it is good."
Frederick the Great also leaned in, a certain expectation flickering in his deep red eyes: "My child, what about mine?"
"Same."
"So indifferent."
"I've always been like this."
Cui Ming continued walking forward, the sunlight stretching his shadow long.
Behind him, the two ship girls glared at each other, then quickened their pace to catch up with him.
In the equipment depot, the batch of cores deemed "too sweet" lay quietly on the shelves, awaiting rework.
And tomorrow, the new equipment will arrive. (End of Chapter)