Azur Lane Under the Stars

Page 621

"At first we thought it was a joke..." The women looked at each other, then quickly pulled Zhenhai aside and asked, "Could you tell us exactly how long it will take?"

"What do you take me for? A prophet?" Zhenhai said, both amused and exasperated. "I did have a feeling before... that we wouldn't see the Commander for more than half a month, right?"

"More than half a month? That's not so bad."

The women breathed a sigh of relief; as long as they didn't see each other for a month or two, or even several months, it was fine.

"It's only about half a month." Azuma looked at the calendar hesitantly. "Does that mean the Commander won't be able to come back for Christmas?"

"I suspect it's... Yorktown..."

Joan of Arc looked at Yorktown with concern. Several secretary ships knew that Yorktown had knitted a scarf for the commander this Christmas.

Yorktown, on the other hand, was quite relaxed: "We can just give it to them when the commander comes back. Besides, if Christmas isn't possible, there's New Year's Day, and if all else fails, there's always Chinese New Year, right?"

Seeing Yorktown smiling brightly, the women breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that Yorktown wasn't feeling down.

"Alright, enough chit-chat, let's get back to work. We need to take good care of our families before the Commander returns."

Duke Abruzzi clapped his hands and said.

The women responded in agreement and immediately got to work.

…………

"This is it... This is the first time I've ever seen a fissure like this. It feels a bit like something out of a fantasy... Do you think there's any abyss or anything like that inside? Or maybe some kind of monster?"

Ren Shuo stroked his chin, looked at the crack that shot straight into the sky, and said.

Radiance, standing to the side, covered her mouth in surprise and said, "Such a big crack, but we couldn't see it at all at the edge... Why is that?"

"This involves some things that are difficult for us to understand. Akashi originally wanted to study it, but he was directly discouraged. The reason given was that someone who works in science doesn't expect to understand theology?"

New Jersey, arms crossed, explained from the side.

"But little master, you're being quite absurd. This is the narrow space where your mother lived... Your mother was a creator god of chaos and goodness, so there could only be good things inside, not bad things..."

The Dream Weaver said, somewhat speechless.

"This inevitably brings to mind the story of the world created by the Creator being invaded, and then, in a fit of rage, beating up the three pillar gods..." The observer chuckled.

Ren Shuo pursed his lips. Although he had heard similar stories before, he still felt that his mother was really awesome.

"Enough said, meow. The instruments here can detect that since the Commander arrived, the barrier of this crack has been visibly dissipating, meow."

Akashi was pointing at a tablet.

"So, how long will it take to get in?" Ren Shuo asked.

“It will probably take about a week, meow,” Akashi said.

"Then why did you make me come so early? Didn't you say it would be two or three days?" Ren Shuo was stunned.

“Back then, when we contacted the commander, we hadn’t yet discovered that the barrier existed. And if the commander wasn’t around, it would naturally dissipate, which would take several more years,” Nagato said.

"That's quite a big leap..." Ren Shuo was speechless.

"So, what do we do now?" The ship girls present looked at the Dream Weaver.

The Dream Weaver squinted and said, "It requires the young master's blood, which can accelerate the dissolution of the barrier's energy, just like two opposing forces colliding and canceling each other out..."

"...What kind of fantasy setting is this? Blood oath? Or inheritance?" Ren Shuo said.

The Dream Weaver said nonchalantly, "The main thing is, bodily fluids will do. If you want, you can soak it here, or lick it with your tongue, but you'll need a lot. Of course, if you want to use it as an air defense measure, that's fine too."

She said something shameful in a very serious tone.

"...Then I'll have my blood drawn."

After saying that, Ren Shuo bit his finger and froze.

Kewei couldn't help but ask, "Brother-in-law, what's wrong?"

“...It hurts, it’s not broken yet.” Ren Shuo said, looking aggrieved.

Glorious sighed: "Really, it can't be broken like this... Akashi, bring the blood-drawing equipment over."

"Okay, meow."

"That's how it's written in novels..."

"You should read less of these kinds of novels."

"Oh."

Chapter 658 Entering the World

After a little while of fooling around, Akashi finally brought over the blood collection equipment.

The whole process was quick, it was over in a short while, and I didn't feel much of a sensation.

If I had to say, the most distinct pain was actually from the bite I took earlier that lingered.

"It's all set up, meow." Akashi looked at the Dreamweaver beside her. "How do I use it, meow?"

"Just put it directly onto the barrier," the Dream Weaver said.

"Oh."

Akashi nodded and sprayed the barrier directly with the syringe.

Then, in complete silence, the barrier began to shimmer with an eerie light and began to dissolve at a visible rate.

Akashi pulled out her tablet and started monitoring: "The energy is really dropping at a precipitous rate that is visible to the naked eye, meow."

"Is that all..." Ren Shuo muttered.

"What? What kind of noise do you want, little master?"

The observer chuckled and said.

Ren Shuo stroked his chin: "Actually, I think it shouldn't be something like, 'A secret treasure appears in the world, causing an earth-shattering event,' or 'A golden light shoots straight into the sky, and the entire world can feel this profound and mysterious enlightenment.'"

"Are you reading a fantasy novel? All this talk about the Four Valleys and Eight Desolations... This is a secret operation, we're on blockade. If you make such a big fuss, you'll be exposed. What will you do then?" the observer said irritably.

Ren Shuo said seriously, "When the time comes, I will just hoist the cannons and shoot at you. I'll just say that we came out to explore the land and happened to run into you sirens, so we started a war."

The observer glanced at Ren Shuo and said, "As expected of you, young master."

"Likewise," Ren Shuo said modestly.

"Alright, Observer, stop talking nonsense. Little Master, you can go in now... But we don't know exactly what it's like inside, so you should think it over carefully."

The Dream Weaver, who was still focused on practical matters, said to Ren Shuo with a serious expression.

Ren Shuo pursed his lips and then said, "As we agreed before, Shinano, Belfast and I will go in. As for the others, the security outside will be your responsibility."

"Rest assured, Commander, leave it to us." Nagato replied solemnly, "We will not fail the glory of Sakura Empire."

Ren Shuo nodded: "Then, see you later."

Shinano and Belfast had already been standing behind Ren Shuo, fully armed, their ship equipment space crammed with all sorts of things in case of emergencies.

Akagi and Ron didn't jump out and cause any trouble either. At this moment, they just needed to quietly watch Ren Shuo's back.

Ren Shuo gazed at the now fully opened crack, feeling as if she were calling to him. He took a deep breath, grasped Shinano and Belfast's small hands, and took a step forward.

The moment they touched the crack, the intense light caused all the ship girls present to involuntarily close their eyes, but they still felt a stinging sensation in their eyeballs.

The purifier, courting death, covered his eyes and rolled around in the sea, screaming, "It hurts! I'm going blind! I'm going blind!"

When the light faded, everyone opened their eyes.

The observer, annoyed, kicked the rolling Purifier into the sea and said, "The rest of the time is just waiting."

"Akagi, Kaga, you two will assist Hikari and the others with their night patrols," Nagato instructed.

"Yes, Lord Nagato." Akagi nodded and went directly to discuss the defense line with Radiant.

"I feel like Akagi has grown up too..."

Mikasa, with the air of someone who's been through it all, sighed.

"It's not fair to say she's grown up. If it weren't for her arguing with other ship girls about the commander, Akagi would always be a reliable member of the First Carrier Division," Nagato said.

“That’s true…” Mikasa nodded and said to Fusō and Yamashiro beside her, “Then, you will stay here 24 hours a day for the next few days. Report anything that is wrong immediately.”

"Yes, Lord Mikasa." Fusō bowed.

“Then, shall we go and take a look around?” Mikasa stretched and invited Nagato.

“Hmm, okay.” Nagato agreed.

…………

On the other side, Ren Shuo and the others also felt a blindingly bright light and a feeling of weightlessness as they fell downwards.

He was initially a little flustered, but the two women holding his hands tightly on either side gave him a sense of security.

Fortunately, this feeling of weightlessness comes and goes quickly.

With the three of them working diligently, the bright light dissipated.

It smells so good...

The three couldn't help but open their eyes, and what greeted them was a riot of colors, just like springtime.

All kinds of flowers, both familiar and unfamiliar, are blooming in this world.

Belfast carefully examined the space.

The blank sky is completely white, without clouds or sun, yet it gives one the illusion of a bright and sunny day with no clouds in sight.

Beneath this screen of light lies a sea of ​​flowers in the heart of spring.

The fragrance they smelled was this natural aroma.

"This place...is really beautiful."

Shinano also opened her phoenix eyes wide, constantly taking in the surrounding scenery.

This feeling always makes people feel relaxed... but the two women didn't relax at all; instead, they subtly protected Ren Shuo in the middle.

"As expected, communication is not working." Belfast looked at the communicator the Dream Weaver had given him, as well as the communication system that Akashi had invented herself, but there was no response.

Ren Shuo also closed his eyes. In his commander network, although everyone was there, he could only contact Belfast and Shinano in front of him.

"We've been waiting for a long time... for our guests... or rather, our hosts."

As they were looking around and thinking about what to do next, a vibrant voice rang out.

Belfast and Shinano were startled. When did they get so close?

Instinctively, they summoned their ship equipment.

"Don't be so nervous... I'm here."

The three looked in the direction of the sound and saw a little girl.

She had short gray hair with a red highlight on her forehead, and her cute face was covered below her nose by a scarf. She wore a black dress with a fluffy skirt.

The chest is printed with an Ironblood badge, and the white pattern on the skirt looks like a grinning mouth.

What's even more eye-catching are her small hands, which are enveloped by large, somewhat ferocious-looking iron claws...

This outfit.

“Count Spee?” Ren Shuo hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Oh, right, but not entirely. I'm Little Spee, nice to meet you, Commander. Little Spee has been waiting here for a long time. How about a hug to mark our first meeting?"

Little Spee looked eager to try.

However, Belfast and Shinano stood silently on either side, preventing Little Spee from getting close.

"You... call me Commander? Why?" Ren Shuo asked curiously.

"Hmm, I don't know. Anyway, my master told me to call him that. He said that if a handsome young man comes into this world with two girls, he will be my commander."

Little Spee tilted his head and said.

"I see... Did she tell you what I should do next?" Ren Shuo asked.