Elder brother's garrison

Page 1510

"Look?" Xiaobai asked curiously.

"..." Barbarossa picked up a card, held the side with the content facing up, and quietly admired it.

"...It seems Miss Barbarossa is a collector..." Xiaobai chuckled helplessly. "Actually, Miss Barbarossa, this deck of cards isn't just for looking at; there's a specific way to play it too."

"How to play?"

"Hmm... the rules will change depending on the number of people." Xiaobai paused slightly, then smiled at Barbarossa. "Want me to teach you?"

"..." Barbarossa silently observed Little White, and after a while, he nodded slightly, "...Okay."

"Alright, let me check if the cards are all there." Little White moved closer to Barbarossa and reached into Barbarossa's card box.

Just as Xiaobai sat down beside her, Barbarossa frowned slightly. She didn't seem to like being so close to Xiaobai. However, when Barbarossa looked at Xiaobai as if she wanted to say something, she found that Xiaobai's attention was entirely focused on the card box. Barbarossa remained silent and said nothing.

"Hmm, the cards are all there." Xiaobai counted Barbarossa's cards, then pursed his lips at Barbarossa. "Let me see... there are four of us here, so what are the rules of the cards..."

"Don't take her." Upon hearing this, Barbarossa pointed to Hindenburg, who was sleeping on a mat, and said to Little White.

"Huh? Aren't you bringing the Deepsea Hindenburg?"

"She'll ruin the cards."

"Oh... okay then." Xiaobai smiled, glanced back at Chaodahe, and waved to him, "Chaodahe, do you know how to play cards?"

"I know a little..." Super Yamato nodded. Although Super Yamato joined the rookie naval base quite early, Deep Sea Yamato had taught her how to play games quite a bit, whether it was video games or board games. Even if Super Yamato wasn't very good at them, she at least understood the rules.

Xiaobai is actually pretty much the same.

Xiaobai doesn't play poker very often.

During the Chinese New Year, the elders in the family would gather together to play cards for leisure. Occasionally, if someone needed to go to the toilet and there was no one to replace them, Xiaobai's mother would call Xiaobai away from the TV and ask her to play a couple of rounds.

"That's good." Xiaobai said, while fiddling with the cards with his fingertips and shuffling them in front of Barbarossa. "Miss Barbarossa, there are three of us now, so let's play a poker game that's popular where we're from? Two people will play the Deep Sea Frigates, and one person will play the Deep Sea Dean... We call this Dou Dizhu (Landlord).

"Dou Dizhu...?"

"Let me explain the rules to you..." Xiaobai dealt the cards smoothly and carefully explained to Barbarossa, "First, we take out three cards, and the remaining cards are divided equally among the three of us. Regarding the cards in our hands, except for one and two, the higher the number, the stronger you are, and the more cards with the same number of digits, the stronger you are..."

Dou Dizhu, a card game known to everyone, is probably only unfamiliar to the Deep Sea Dean in the whole world. But the good thing about card games is that the rules are simple and easy to learn, so even a novice like me didn't spend much effort teaching Barbarossa the basic rules of Dou Dizhu.

"Miss Barbarossa, did you understand?" After explaining the rules, Xiaobai asked Barbarossa.

"Hmm." Barbarossa looked down at the cards laid out in front of him, his eyes flickering with emotion.

The playing cards in Barbarossa's hand were things he found by chance in the city.

Life in the city is very dull and boring. The deep-sea deans living here will find something to do. For example, Kamikaze likes to wander around the city and find some nice things to decorate his residence. Hindenburg likes to wrestle with the deep-sea destroyers.

Barbarossa's predicament was these playing cards in front of him.

For many years, Barbarossa had treasured these playing cards, carrying them with her every day to play with and admire them, adding fun to her dull and boring life. Gradually, it became her unique habit and hobby. Before, Barbarossa always thought they were just a collection of uniquely artistic ornaments. It wasn't until now, when Little White told her in person, that she finally understood the purpose of these playing cards and the meaning of the symbols and patterns on them.

It's been a hundred years.

I finally felt like I truly owned these cards.

Barbarossa gently touched the patterns on the cards, his eyes sparkling.

"Miss Barbarossa, may I try it out now?" Little White smiled slightly as he looked at Barbarossa's focused expression.

"……Um."

“Then I’ll play a three first.” Little White tossed a card and placed it in front of Barbarossa. “Miss Barbarossa, you just need to play a card that’s bigger than mine.”

"A royal flush." ​​Barbarossa searched through his hand for a while before carefully pressing down two cards.

"...You're the boss. You can continue playing your cards."

“A four.” Barbarossa drew another card and carefully placed it in front of Little White, adjusting its position with his fingertips.

"……"noob.

Barbarossa's poker skills are really at a beginner level.

-4

night.

Hindenburg, who was sleeping on the mat, rolled over, stretched, and sat up contentedly.

Hindenburg from the Deep Sea said she slept very soundly and comfortably today, feeling as if all her ailments had left her behind. She tentatively stretched her limbs, and apart from still not feeling the power of the ship's equipment, there were no other obstacles to her movement.

"Admiral? Barbarossa?" Hindenburg remembered what happened at noon and quickly got up to call out to her. Sure enough, she saw the three of them, Xiaobai and his companions, huddled together furtively not far away.

"Three belts and one."

"Crush him to death."

"Four twos."

"You're older."

"Shunzi!"

"...You're older."

"I only have one card left."

"..."

Strange noises came from the middle of the three.

Hindenburg blinked and curiously crawled up behind the three of them.

"Admiral?" Hindenburg moved closer to Xiaobai from behind and looked towards the middle of the three.

Between the three of them, Xiaobai, Chao Yahei, and Barbarossa, there was a square cushion piled high with Barbarossa's cards. Xiaobai was holding a card in his hand and placing it on the cushion.

"I won again," Xiaobai said.

"..." Barbarossa held the thick stack of cards, remaining silent.

"Admiral, you're amazing!" Chao Yamato put down his cards and applauded Xiao Bai with heartfelt admiration.

"Hehe, it's alright, actually I'm not very good at it either." Xiaobai scratched his head, about to say something, when he suddenly noticed Deep Sea Hindenburg staring at him from behind, so he chuckled at Deep Sea Hindenburg, "Deep Sea Hindenburg, you're awake."

"Admiral, what are you doing?" Hindenburg asked, his face full of curiosity.

"I'm playing a game."

"Games? Take me with you! Take me with you!"

"Ah... this might not be suitable..." Xiaobai said apologetically, her gaze shifting to Barbarossa. "Um... Miss Barbarossa said that if you play with her, you might break the cards, so she won't let me bring you..."

"Ouch..." Hindenburg of the Deep Sea fell to the ground with a thud, looking aggrieved. "I was the one who brought the admiral here."

"Uh...this..."

"The admiral... is fickle and easily bored."

"Huh?" Xiaobai exclaimed in surprise, "Deep-Sea Hindenburg, you can even use such advanced vocabulary?"

"I want to play, I want to play, I want to play..." Deep Sea Hindenburg rolled around on the ground.

"This... sigh..." Xiaobai looked at Deep Sea Hindenburg with a wry smile. She was about to say something when she suddenly seemed to remember something. She turned to look at the sky outside the window and smiled at Deep Sea Hindenburg, "Ah... it's getting late. Hmm... Chaoda and I have to go home and rest. Deep Sea Hindenburg, let's play again next time we have time, okay?"

"Is the Admiral going home?"

“Yes, neither Chaodahe nor I have the habit of staying overnight at other people’s houses.” Xiaobai finished tidying up the cards, put them back in the card box, and handed them to Barbarossa, who was looking down. “Um… Miss Barbarossa, it was a pleasure playing cards with you. How about we play again sometime? Hmm… I’ll take my leave tonight.”

After Xiaobai finished speaking, he stood up, said goodbye to the silent Barbarossa, and left with Super Yamato.

Under the watchful eye of Hindenburg in the deep sea, Little White and Super Big quickly left.

Hindenburg lay on the ground, pouting as he watched Little White and Super Big's departing figures.

"Admiral..." Hindenburg murmured softly.

Barbarossa held the card box in her arms, her head down, her long hair obscuring her eyes, and she didn't turn her head to look in the direction Little White had left.

He suddenly covered his wife's scar and went to see the doctor.

Barbarossa remained as calm and peaceful as ever.

But beneath his white hair, Barbarossa's eyes were red and brimming with tears.

If you ask why this is the case...

because……

One afternoon.

—The whole afternoon.

Barbarossa has never won a single game.

Chapter 2026 Fools Have Good Fortune

After leaving Barbarossa's residence, Shiro and Super Yamato headed towards their own home.

On the road.

Xiao Bai hummed a song with a relaxed expression, her steps light and quick.

"Admiral, are you in a good mood?" Chao Yamato followed behind Xiaobai, and seeing Xiaobai's unusually cheerful appearance, she couldn't help but ask curiously.

“Yes.” Xiaobai turned around and nodded at Chaodahe. “After all, there was an unexpected surprise today.”

"An unexpected surprise... does that refer to Barbarossa?"

"Hmm," Xiaobai sighed, "I never imagined we'd stumble into Miss Barbarossa's love triangle..."

"But Admiral, you've been beating her all afternoon... Won't Barbarossa be angry?" Super-Big asked cautiously.

"It's Barbarossa's fault for insisting on being the landlord every time, even though her skills are obviously not good..." Xiaobai could only shake his head at this. "To be honest, with her play style of turning two bombs into two three-of-a-kinds with one extra card, it's hard for her not to lose."

“…That’s true.” Chao Dahe nodded.

Dou Dizhu is actually a card game that is 70% skill and 30% luck. While luck is certainly a key factor in determining victory or defeat, card skills are also crucial.

Let's set aside Xiaobai's card skills for now.

Super Yamato's card-playing skills are actually considered to be on the beginner level. When playing with other Deepsea Deans in the Newbie Town Hall, Super Yamato is always outmatched by Deepsea Yamato and the others. But even though Super Yamato is such a newbie, she has never been worse than Barbarossa.

It can only be said that there is always someone better.

"Anyway, Miss Barbarossa doesn't seem like a petty person. We even taught her how to play cards today, and she's so grateful to us that she wouldn't be angry with us at all." Xiaobai turned to Chaoda and explained with a smile, "Don't worry about these little problems. At least we're proceeding according to plan in the big picture."

"Yes, Admiral!" Chao Dahe nodded with fighting spirit, encouraged by Xiaobai.

Although most of Xiaobai's plan involved improvisation, to put it bluntly, it involved infiltrating this ruined city, occasionally poaching talent, and creating a more comfortable environment for the newbie ship girls in the naval base to conquer.

In fact, Xiaobai's plan was indeed progressing very smoothly.

Xiaobai and Chao Yamato have been in the ruined city for three days. In these short three days, Xiaobai has managed to turn two of the seven Deep Sea Deans in the ruined city against their will, cripple one, and resurrect one using Edo Tensei. Of the remaining Deep Sea Deans, Kamikaze's relationship with Xiaobai is still unclear. Barbarossa's conquest storyline has also made a good start. If this trend continues, Xiaobai probably feels that in another two or three days, the day when he truly usurps Frederick the Great's power is not far away.

Xiao Bai felt quite happy just thinking about this.

Before the ship girls on shore could have dinner, Shiro and Super Yamato returned to their residence, riding the black vortex back to the villa. The ship girls in the villa were used to Shiro and Super Yamato's unpredictable appearances every day. If anything, the only ones who really lost out were Constellation and Saratoga, who abandoned their beds and sofas at home to come and keep Shiro company in Chapter 8, but never saw him all day.

Life on shore had been quite monotonous lately. Around dinner time, Elizabeth arrived promptly at the villa in the newbie naval base. After having dinner with the ship girls, Xiaobai went for a walk in the evening and did some light exercise. When it was time, she took Lexington back to the naval base.

Lexington seemed to have been given a stern warning by Akagi. This time, when Xiaobai accompanied Lexington back to the naval base, Lexington behaved quite conservatively. Even when it was almost eight or nine o'clock in the evening, Lexington took the initiative to suggest to Xiaobai that it was about time and that Xiaobai should go back to the eighth chapter.

In this regard.

Although Xiaobai was a little disappointed, he still obediently listened to Lexington's words, even though he was slightly addicted to Lexington's maternal embrace and warm, fragrant bed.

The next day, everything was business as usual.

After finishing up the matters on the shore in Chapter Eight early in the morning, Xiaobai pulled Chaoda, who had just woken up from his sleep and was still groggy, back to the ruined city.

"Great, another day full of energy!" Xiao Bai stood at the entrance of the lobby on the first floor of his residence, looking at the sunlight that was obscured by a layer of black mist, and said with great satisfaction.

"Admiral, someone's there..." Just as Xiaobai stood with his hands on his hips at the main gate, Chaoda, who was standing next to him yawning, glanced at the road in front of him, suddenly paused, and then reminded Xiaobai, "There..."

The huge object points in one direction.

Xiao Bai looked in the direction Chao Da pointed and saw a quiet figure sitting in the shadow of a building at a bend in the waterway not far away, gazing in this direction.

Although the figure occupied a rather inconspicuous spot, it seemed that she herself did not make any deliberate effort to hide her aura. It was just that Xiaobai had been focusing all her attention on the sky, which was why she had not noticed the figure standing at the corner not far away.

"Huh? Is that...Miss Barbarossa?" Xiaobai stared curiously at the figure in the distance. "Ah...it really is...Huh? How did she get here?"

Just as Shiro was peering in that direction, Barbarossa finally made his move. Barbarossa stepped out of the shadows and walked towards Shiro, finally stopping in front of Shiro's house and looking up at Shiro and Super Yamato.

"Hey... Miss Barbarossa? What a coincidence!" Little White blinked and waved at Barbarossa. "Um... were you just passing by, or..."