Elder brother's garrison

Page 2794

Chapter 3941 Black Tower Challenge

When Xiaobai and Chao Yamato returned to the temporary naval base, they happened to see Nia squatting in front of the gate. She was holding a straw in her hand, idly poking at the pebbles in the corner, looking completely idle.

Before Xiaobai and Chaoda could even call out, Nia seemed to sense something. She paused for a moment, immediately put down the straw in her hand, and stood up to look at Xiaobai.

"Hey! Little White!"

A girl's eyes will light up when she sees someone she likes.

This is what Nia looks like right now.

The moment she turned around and caught sight of Xiaobai, a radiant smile and bright light instantly bloomed on her face. She ran happily towards him, like a gentle breeze carrying the fragrance of flowers, and without hesitation, she threw herself into Xiaobai's arms.

"Little Bai! You're back! I knew you were back!"

Nia was a head taller than Xiaobai and much fuller-figured. Logically, if the two were to hug, the taller Nia should be the one embracing the petite Xiaobai. But at this moment, Nia nestled in Xiaobai's arms like a little bird, savoring the feeling of being in his embrace like a child, her face full of uncontrollable joy.

"Nia, I'm back."

Xiaobai put her hands on Nia's shoulders and smiled at her.

Nia is Xiaobai's partner stationed in Chapter 8. Now, with Xiaobai's help, she has become a top ten admiral. Due to their mutual trust, she is also entrusted with the daily affairs of the temporary naval base. Xiaobai returned to the newbie naval base for a while, which hasn't been too long, only about two weeks at most. But when Nia rushed into her arms, Xiaobai inexplicably felt as if they hadn't seen each other for several months.

Ok……

That familiar sense of fullness, and that inexplicable, human-like simplicity...

It's been so long!

Little White smiled at Nia.

"Nia, why didn't I see you go to sea to fight today?"

"Little White, all the missions I took on today are related to the 8-4 sea area." Upon hearing this, Nia gently left Little White's embrace and then smiled as she said to Little White, "But the 8-4 sea area is sealed off, so Veneto and I can't go on the expedition. We can only come back to rest and wait for the Admiral's Guild to send in the next news."

"I see." Xiaobai said knowingly, "As for the 8-4 sea area, it should be unsealed soon."

"Really?" Nia was surprised, then looked at Xiaobai's expression and immediately understood. "Oh... I, I know, this is news from within the Admiral's Guild!"

"That's definitely quite insider information."

"Oh dear, don't talk about this kind of news outside. If someone hears it, it will be leaked..." Nia quickly pulled Shiro towards the temporary naval base, calling out to Shiro and Super Yamato as they walked, "Shiro, Super Yamato, let's go in quickly!"

Xiaobai and Chaoda exchanged a glance, and Nia pulled them into the temporary garrison.

Actually, Xiaobai doesn't mind if the news that the 8-4 sea area will be unsealed soon gets out, but since Nia said so, there's no problem in going along with her.

Upon entering the temporary garrison headquarters, one is surrounded by a familiar landscape.

On the plaza of the temporary naval base, a considerable number of ship girls were moving around freely. Some were jogging to warm up, some were chatting in groups, and groups of destroyers were playing games, chasing each other, and laughing non-stop. In the distance of the training ground, near the drill ground, a continuous, faint rumbling sound could be heard, sometimes low and sometimes high-pitched, like waves rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern.

Under the shade of a tree not far from Xiaobai and his companions, the Veneto sisters of Nia's Garrison were chatting about something with their arms crossed.

Upon hearing the sound of the temporary naval base opening, the Veneto-class ship girls all turned their heads to look. After seeing Shiro, their faces lit up with bright, sunny smiles, just like their admiral's, and they immediately ran over with smiles.

"Commander! You're back!"

"Admiral Lu Lin, you're back too!"

"Admiral Lu Lin, it's been a long time! How was your rest at the naval base?"

"..."

The Veneto-class ship girls greeted each other with smiles, their voices full of warmth.

Logically speaking, most admirals are quite resistant to their ship girls showing a close relationship with admirals from other naval bases.

—However, Nia probably doesn't fall into this category.

At least for Xiaobai, Nia genuinely hopes that her ship girls can be as close to her as possible.

Seeing the Veneto-class ship girls' attitude towards Xiaobai, Nia couldn't help but feel proud. She took Xiaobai's arm and smiled down at her.

“Xiao Bai, while you were away from Chapter Eight, Veneto and the others often said they missed you.”

"Hey, hey, hey! Commander, you can't just say things like that!" Upon hearing Nia's words, Veneto immediately waved her hands in a panic, her face flushed.

“That’s right, Commander, you can’t just say things like that.” Littorio, with long green hair and a tall figure, stood next to Veneto and smiled as he spoke.

“That’s right…” Veneto nodded to Littorio.

“It’s clearly Veneto who keeps saying she misses Admiral Lu Lin,” Littorio said. “But I still have Rome. It’s different for the three of us in the Empire. We can bury this longing deep in our hearts.”

"Ahhh, Littorio, you...you...shut up, shut up!"

As if he had been exposed for something he couldn't tell anyone, Veneto immediately pounced on Littorio in a frenzy, repeatedly pressing his palms against Littorio's mouth.

Littorio, of course, was not so easily subdued. She retreated, letting out a hearty and joyful laugh.

Empire watched her two older sisters entangled together, and couldn't help but yawn. Then she gently turned her head and rested it on Rome's shoulder.

Rome smiled gently at her two older sisters, then looked at Xiaobai, her smile becoming even warmer. She then bowed slightly to Xiaobai.

"Admiral Lu Lin, welcome back."

"Hmm, Rome, you seem to have a very good relationship with the Empire," Xiaobai said with a smile. "Just like my family's Empire and Rome, you have a particularly good relationship."

Rome turned its head to look at the empire resting on its shoulder, its gaze gentle.

“Admiral Lu Lin once mentioned that, even when I was still a wisp of soul, I seemed to have already given up the opportunity to become a ship girl, relinquishing it to the Empire… Although Admiral Lu Lin passed on the relevant memories to me afterward, looking back now, those memories are just vague sounds and images to me, lacking any real feeling. I have no way of knowing why I made that choice back then, nor do I understand what I was feeling at that time.” Rome said softly, “However… even if I don’t understand… with these days of getting along and fighting, I can indeed feel a soft feeling in my heart when I look at the Empire.”

"That's fine too." Xiaobai nodded.

Rome gently withdrew her gaze, her unique heterochromatic golden and silver pupils slightly closed. Lost in thought, she gracefully nodded to Xiaobai, a smile appearing on her face.

Xiaobai looked at the four Veneto sisters of Nia's family, smiled, and looked away from Nia.

"Nia, your Veneto-class ship girls are as energetic as ever."

“That’s right.” Nia nodded, then asked Xiaobai, “Xiaobai, what exactly happened in the 8-4 sea area? Why was it suddenly sealed off by the Admiral’s Guild, and why were you called back?”

"Ah... well..."

"Is it convenient to say? If it's not convenient, you don't have to say it," Nia explained immediately.

"It's not that it's inconvenient." Xiaobai smiled and shook her head. She took Nia's hand and said gently, "This news wasn't supposed to be censored in the first place, so it's fine to talk about it... Actually, about Chapter Eight..."

Xiaobai briefly described the black tower that appeared in the 8-4 sea area and its characteristics to Nia.

Nia was stunned for a moment after hearing what Xiaobai said.

"Huh? The Black... Black Tower?" Nia's eyes widened in surprise. "A mysterious, large structure has appeared on the sea. It will suck the ship girls in. Inside, the ship girls will have to face challenges set by the Black Tower. Only ship girls who successfully complete the challenges can be released and receive a lot of rewards. Ship girls who fail the challenges will be trapped inside forever?"

"You've summarized it very well," Xiaobai said with a smile. "That's roughly the idea."

"Oh... so that's what happened. No wonder the 8-4 sea area was sealed off..." Nia pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked at Xiaobai as if she had thought of something, "Xiaobai, then tell me... can I go and challenge it?"

"Hmm? Nia, you're interested?"

"It's not about whether I'm interested or not... Didn't the Black Tower say that if I succeeded in the challenge, they would give me a lot of supplies?" Nia said.

“That’s true.” Xiaobai nodded.

The supplies you get after successfully challenging the Black Tower once... are probably equivalent to what an ordinary admiral would get after four or five consecutive days of expeditions.

From a cost-effectiveness perspective, as long as you can win, challenging the Black Tower is definitely a worthwhile investment.

But what if it fails...

Thinking of this, Xiaobai secretly glanced at Nia and the Veneto-class ship girls behind Nia.

Ok……

It shouldn't be a big problem?

At least in Xiaobai's experience, the challenges she had faced before were not very strict. Although there were many waves of challenges, the first few waves were just ordinary deep-sea minions of the eighth chapter level. Only the final boss was slightly stronger, but that was all.

At least looking at Chapter 8, most admirals' naval bases have full-strength main fleets capable of handling the final boss.

Needless to say, Nia's situation was even more complicated.

She's a top ten admiral, after all. With four waves of build-up, when the fifth boss appears, her Veneto will probably just charge up and unleash a barrage of ship-mounted bullets to wipe the boss out.

Chapter 3942 Working Hard

So... considering that most of the naval bases in Chapter 8 have the strength to pass the Black Tower's test... does that mean the Black Tower is actually doing charity?

Xiao Bai thought that was not the only thing he was thinking.

But there's no way to figure this out. When she came to her senses, she found Nia watching her cautiously.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Xiaobai nodded to Nia and said with a smile.

“Ah! If Xiaobai says I can do it, then I can!” Nia nodded happily immediately.

"Thinking about it carefully, there's nothing dangerous about the Black Tower. Even if someone fails the challenge... Ah, I'm not saying you failed, Nia, I'm talking about everyone else," Xiaobai said to Nia. "If someone fails the challenge, the worst outcome is that the ship girl is trapped inside the Black Tower. As long as anyone clears the challenge, they can rescue the ship girl again... From this point of view, the consequences of failing the challenge are much better than failing in the deep sea."

“That’s right, the rewards for challenging the Black Tower are higher than those for going on a campaign, and the penalties for failure are also less severe.” Nia nodded. “The Black Tower really is a good thing.”

“I will carefully consider your evaluation, Nia.” Xiaobai nodded and said with a smile, “Nia, you can now go and prepare to challenge the Black Tower.”

"Eh? Now?"

"Hmm... I'll go back to the dorm later and write a report about the Black Tower. After I submit the report to the Admiral Headquarters, the guild can open up the 8-4 sea area." Xiaobai said, rubbing his chin. "However, only the sea area itself will be opened. As for the Black Tower in the sea... although its characteristics, information, and internal combat details will be released, the guild's current attitude is not to recommend that any admiral approach it."

"Not recommended, which means it's still okay?" Nia understood.

"That's exactly what I mean," Xiaobai smiled.

“I understand!” Nia immediately grasped the meaning.

Nia secretly longed to spend more time with Xiaobai... She really felt like she hadn't seen Xiaobai in a very long time. As soon as she saw Xiaobai, her whole body felt warm inside and out, and she couldn't wait to hug Xiaobai and rub her body against Xiaobai for a while... But when she thought about Xiaobai's upcoming business with the Black Tower, even though Nia was reluctant to leave Xiaobai, she didn't want to disturb Xiaobai's mood while she was doing her job. So she could only call over the Veneto-class ship girls, say goodbye to Xiaobai, and then leave with them to choose the lineup for challenging the Black Tower.

Xiaobai watched Nia leave, and then sighed with emotion.

"Nia has been very busy lately too."

“…Hmm.” Super Dahe spoke up from behind Xiaobai.

"Super Yamato, before we go back to the dorm, shall we go and see Yamato-neechan and the others?" Shiro asked Super Yamato.

"Ah... this..." When Super Yamato heard that Shiro wanted to go see Deep Sea Yamato, she immediately frowned and became a little nervous.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Admiral...outside...outside..."

"What do you mean 'outside'?"

“There are people outside…” Chao Da and Xiao Chuo said in a low voice.

"Huh?" Xiaobai was taken aback. She glanced back at the tightly closed door, then pointed at it. "This?"

"Hmm... Just now... Someone was lingering outside the door, they probably haven't left yet." Chao Dahe lowered his head, carefully fiddling with his fingers, and said in a low voice.

Who is it?

Xiao Bai murmured softly as he walked to the gate of the temporary garrison and gently pushed it open.

Rumble…

Xiaobai pushed open the heavy door, creating a gap just big enough for one person to pass through.

Xiao Bai had just pushed the door open a crack when he saw a furtive figure loitering next to the stone lion outside.

Well... perhaps calling this figure sneaky isn't quite accurate... actually, it's a figure pacing back and forth behind the stone lion, seemingly debating whether or not to come up and knock on the door.

Xiao Bai looked toward the figure.

She was a girl with a long, radiant golden ponytail, tied with a prominent yellow bow at the end. In stark contrast to her golden hair was her form-fitting black cloak and combat dress adorned with red accents. Beneath the dress, her long legs were encased in black stockings that perfectly matched the texture of her black dress. Her black bodycon dress wasn't long, the hem only covering half her thighs, leaving almost her entire legs exposed. Despite the black stockings, her legs appeared exceptionally long and agile, thanks to her outstanding proportions.

"oops……"

Xiao Bai was surprised to see the person outside the door.

This person... isn't he the same Ticonderoga from before?

At this moment, Ticonderoga was pacing back and forth outside the door, her usually resolute face now showing a rare look of confusion, embarrassment, and uncertainty about what to do.

Although it's quite fun to peek like this... since they're already here, I should at least say hello.

Thinking of this, Xiaobai slipped out of the gate of the temporary garrison and waved to Ticonderoga with a smile.

Ticonderoga!

"Ah!" As soon as Xiaobai's voice rang out, Ticonderoga, who was pacing outside, immediately seemed to be struck by lightning. His whole body trembled violently, and he immediately stopped and turned to look at Xiaobai. "T...Admiral, you're out..."

The moment Ticonderoga saw Little White, his expression was quite interesting; it was a strange expression as if he had been caught red-handed.