A few hours later, Lin Lan lay in bed, gently stroking the little head of the starter ship snuggled against his chest. Even in her sleep, her lips curled into a sweet smile.
Seemingly enjoying his touch, Nimi rubbed herself affectionately against him twice in her dreams.
"I'll never let my shipgirls be in danger. Even if I'm not strong enough, as their commander, I must protect them with flawless planning."
Looking at Nimi's adorable sleeping face, Lin Lan swore silently in his heart.
He thought about how the Arbiter Organization had actually expelled all the meta shipgirls from his port out of this world, and a shadow flickered across Lin Lan's face.
"Arbiter Organization..."
He began recalling how he used to fight the Arbiter Organization back in the game.
And the attributes, attack methods, and weaknesses of each Arbiter member.
He understood that in the game's large-scale monthly operations, the true strength of the Arbiter Organization had never been fully revealed.
In the future, if he wanted to bring the meta shipgirls back to the port, he would inevitably have to battle the Arbiters.
To protect his shipgirls from being heavily wounded and to defeat the powerful Arbiter Organization, he had to recall more details about them from the game.
And be even more cautious moving forward, seeking more ways to increase his power.
While planning for the future, Lin Lan, holding the little girl in his arms, also drifted into a deep sleep.
——
United States of Orlan, Western Continent Sea Area, Siren Fortress.
In this mirror sea, whose waters shimmered an eerie shade of purple unlike any ordinary ocean, five or six massive black metallic devices stood on the surface of the sea.
Numerous Siren Type II Executors of various ship classes patrolled the waters between these devices, controlling ship rigs glowing with a ghostly blue hue.
From time to time, bubbles would rise from the purple waters inside the black metal constructs.
As if something was being refined from the seawater.
Aside from the large number of Explorers, Pursuers, and Ocean Dominators nearby—
Four tall women with silver, straight, long hair, expressionless faces, and translucent green data screens floating before their right eyes patrolled the area like machines.
Behind them were ship rigs that resembled long-legged Japanese spider crabs, with ghostly blue coloring and ferocious appendages.
The several exaggerated large-caliber main cannons on their rigs marked their model:
Experimental Organization Battleship Executor: Breaker II Type.
Breakers were among the most powerful Executors of the Experimental Organization, often tasked with guarding vital Siren strongholds.
However, at this Siren fortress, these four Breakers were not the strongest presence.
In this deathly silent mirror sea, like a cold weapons factory, a panicked girl's voice suddenly rang out:
"We're doomed, we're doomed, we're doomed! Compiler, help me quickly!"
By a black metallic device, the Purifier flailed as she clumsily tried to control her hammerhead shark rig, descending slowly from mid-air.
Nearby, a petite Siren girl with white hair, golden eyes, and bare feet, who had been intently working on the device, let out a long sigh and looked up at the flustered Purifier.
With a frosty tone, Compiler said coldly, "You should know the consequences of disturbing my work."
"Forget your work for now! The Observer is calling me—you gotta help me handle this!"
Hearing the Purifier's desperate plea, Compiler blinked slightly in surprise.
"The communication system on her side is restored? By our estimates, the link with Huan Yang City shouldn't be restored for at least another 46h21min."
Seeing the troubled look on the Purifier's face as she landed her rig in front of her, Compiler realized she wouldn't be joking about something like this.
So, two mechanical tentacles extended from the purple seawater around her, connecting to the hammerhead shark rig beneath the Purifier's feet.
In the next second, a floating digital screen appeared in front of the two of them.
"Hehehe, good evening, Compiler, Purifier."
With a sweet chibi giggle, the smiling face of the Observer gradually appeared on the screen.
"Good evening, Observer! Long time no see—how's life on land treating you?"
The Purifier's earlier anxiety vanished, replaced with a radiant smile as she greeted the Observer on the screen.
"Hehehe…"
The Observer didn't answer Purifier's question, only gave a series of cold chuckles that sent chills down her spine.
Compiler, however, remained expressionless, silently watching the Observer.
"Did you two think I wouldn't contact you until 46h19min later?"
After her laughter subsided, the Observer zoomed in on the screen, narrowed her eyes, and continued with a smile:
"If I hadn't taken a moment to glance at the report logs, I'd still be completely in the dark, wouldn't I?"
Hearing that, Purifier's heart sank, her face turning pale in an instant.
Though honestly, her face was already pretty pale to begin with.
She glanced sideways at Compiler, but the latter's expression hadn't changed in the slightest.
"Now tell me—why did the AL02 and AL06 experimental fields fail?"
Just when Purifier thought their sneaky behavior had been exposed, the Observer's question made her breathe a sigh of relief.
If it was just about accountability for failed work, she wasn't worried at all.
As if the Observer knew anything about the golden value of a rolling meat cleaver.
As Purifier calmed herself, Compiler answered the Observer flatly through the screen:
"In the final step of AL02's experiment, the subject acted too flamboyantly, attracting interference from subjects of the previous world.
The tester was overwhelmed in battle, resulting in the failure of the experiment and destruction of the experimental field."
"As for AL06, the experiment subject underwent excessive meta transformation due to a Prime Cube, and the mirror sea could no longer suppress its self-destructive tendencies.
Hence, the experiment failed."
After Compiler's explanation, Purifier quickly nodded like a pecking chick and added:
"Yes, yes, exactly! The subject of AL06 couldn't handle the power of the Prime Cube and perished along with the mirror sea!"
When her voice fell, the Observer said nothing, seemingly deep in thought.
Purifier and Compiler exchanged glances—neither of them knew whether the Observer would buy their story.
They knew well that the Observer was the highest authority of the Experimental Organization.
Even though she wasn't physically present, they could still feel immense pressure just from the screen.
About half a minute of silence passed before the Observer slowly spoke:
"Compiler, your work location has been changed.
Come to the Eastern Continent immediately. Purifier, stop causing trouble in the AL region—you'll now be in charge of the LD region."
Hearing the Observer's assignment, Purifier's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but ask:
"You're transferring both of us? What about the AL04 experimental field? The tester still hasn't returned—who's going to manage AL04 if we leave?"
For the first time, Compiler's face showed a hint of emotion. She looked at the smiling Observer on the screen with surprise.
She, too, couldn't fathom why the Observer would suddenly transfer both of them away.
Just as Purifier finished speaking, the transparent screen flickered into static.
The Observer had cut off the communication.
As the two high-level Sirens stood there confused, a sweet and playful chibi voice suddenly came from behind them like a ghost:
"Of course, I'll be personally taking over."
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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