As it turned out, although the iron-blooded shipgirls were full of enthusiasm, they wouldn't actually let Lin Lan go hungry.
Using his hunger as an excuse, Lin Lan successfully defused a looming kidney-related crisis.
Once Roon finished preparing a sumptuous lunch and everyone had eaten at the lavish dining table, it was already midday.
Nimi and Z46, little destroyer girls from the Z-class, helped Roon clean up the table.
Meanwhile, U-81 and two other members of the Wolfpack took Sui Qiong and ran to the villa's pool to play in the water.
Akashi went out with Graf Zeppelin, Deutschland, and Admiral Scheer to find a church.
Since the little profiteer's phone had internet access and already had a map of Yunhai City downloaded, Lin Lan wasn't worried about them getting lost.
As for Lin Lan himself, he had returned to the villa's main hall on the first floor and was now sitting on the sofa.
Ulrich, August, Emden, and Ägir sat beside him, the scene filled with warmth.
He turned on the large LCD TV hanging on the wall, but the news being broadcast was all empty and uninformative, prompting him to look at Ulrich, who was peeling an apple, and ask:
"By the way, Brünhilde and the others should have arrived in Haifeng City by now, right?"
"That's right. Bismarck instructed them to avoid collateral damage as much as possible, so they'll attack immediately after confirming Ye Zhanke is inside the Battleaxe Building."
Ulrich explained calmly. Lin Lan nodded in response.
Once the Battleaxe Building in Haifeng City was destroyed and Ye Zhanke dead, it would undoubtedly become headline news everywhere.
It was best for Brünhilde's group to proceed cautiously. If Ye Zhanke didn't die this time, tracking him down later would become quite difficult.
"I'm going to take a nap. I didn't get much rest on the ship these past few days, and there's something important to take care of tonight. You can watch whatever you want on TV."
Afternoon sunlight streamed into the villa's first floor. The lighting was excellent, and with the underfloor heating turned on, the warm atmosphere made Lin Lan drowsy.
Stretching, he lay flat on the sofa.
But then, a pair of gentle, delicate hands lifted his head, and he found himself resting on a soft, silky "pillow."
Opening his eyes, he saw the stunning face of Emden, her blue eyes smiling sweetly down at him.
"Since dear human-san wants a good rest, please allow Emden to assist you, hehe~"
"Then I'll be in your care."
Since it was just a regular nap, the other iron-blooded shipgirls naturally wouldn't disturb him.
Lin Lan smiled faintly, gradually falling asleep to Emden's sweet, syrupy whispers.
…
United States of Orlan, offshore near Yunhai City, West Continent
Beneath rolling storm clouds, a large long-distance cargo ship sped through the rough waves, heading toward Yunhai City.
Five Pawn-class shipgirls had their rigging deployed, slicing through the huge waves as they escorted the cargo ship on either side.
"Damn it, we're almost at our destination and now we run into weather like this? What rotten luck!"
Inside the bridge of the cargo ship, a middle-aged man in the blue-and-white uniform of the Tianou Group glared through the reinforced glass windows at the massive waves and dark clouds, cursing in frustration.
"Yeah, Captain, it's nearly winter—there shouldn't be this kind of storm. Besides, we're so close to Yunhai City. Conditions like this shouldn't even be possible,"
Another sailor, burly and sporting a full beard, raised his head to glance at the waves slamming against the deck and echoed the sentiment.
"Everyone stay sharp. We're almost there. Who cares why this freak weather is happening—just don't screw up at the last step."
The captain, still in his blue-and-white uniform, looked grim as he shouted to all the sailors on the bridge:
"Things aren't peaceful lately. It's getting harder to hire shipgirls from the Navy Department.
Once we finish this run, I'm done until spring next year—let's see what the West Continent looks like then."
Due to the impending war between the Tianou Group, Battleaxe Military Industries, and the Navy Department, hiring shipgirls had become increasingly difficult.
And whether it was just his imagination or not, the number of accidents involving long-distance cargo and passenger ships seemed to be rising alarmingly.
So barring any surprises, this would be his final voyage of the year.
"Captain, my hometown's still on the East Continent. How am I supposed to get back for New Year?"
"Same here, my wife and kids are waiting for me. If you're not making a return trip, at least arrange a passenger ship for us."
Just like on Blue Star, the United States of Orlan, Liao Continent, and the Natlan Empire all had the tradition of returning home for New Year.
Now that the sailors had heard the captain wouldn't be going back to the East Continent before spring, they all voiced their concerns.
"Alright, alright, don't worry—you'll get your tickets. We're not like those greedy corporate bastards at Goilia and Noah Desin. When have we ever treated you unfairly?"
"If we make it ashore safely, I'll pay out of pocket for your bonuses. Let's make sure you have a good New Year!"
Hearing this, the sailors burst into cheers.
"Hell yeah! I should've moved to the West Continent a long time ago. The East is no place for decent people!"
"Captain is wise! Long live Tianou Group!"
The middle-aged captain smiled helplessly at the cheerful crew.
He had once worked for the Goilia Consortium.
After graduating from the maritime academy, he had applied for a job and ended up being sold by Noah Desin's shell company to Goilia—becoming a miner instead.
He'd toiled in the mines for over a decade, hadn't saved a cent, and had developed a slew of occupational diseases.
If not for a relative doing well in the Tianou Group and giving him this shipping job after hearing his story, he might have been bled dry by Goilia for life.
So he understood well why the sailors felt such gratitude. Working in the West Continent really was worlds better than the East.
"Captain, don't you think…it's getting darker?"
Just then, a sailor's voice interrupted his thoughts.
Snapping back to reality, he looked around and noticed the visibility was indeed getting worse, the sky growing darker by the minute.
It felt like the storm clouds above were about to descend upon the sea itself.
It was barely past 1 PM, yet it looked like 7 or 8 in the evening.
Gigantic waves crashed against the ship with increasing violence, making this enormous cargo vessel toss about like a leaf in a storm.
"This really isn't right. I've run this Yunhai City route dozens of times—never seen sea conditions like this…"
"Holy shit! Captain! Look at ten o'clock! Why hasn't that wave come down?!"
Just as unease gripped his heart, a sailor's terrified scream rang out, and the captain looked toward the indicated direction.
And what he saw shattered everything he'd learned in maritime school.
At their ten o'clock position, several waves, each over ten meters high, were standing tall.
That alone would've been strange enough. But these waves weren't crashing down—instead, they were splashing seawater outward in all directions.
Within those waves, faint red glows flickered—unnerving and unnatural.
Staring intently at the water cascading from the unmoving waves, the captain suddenly felt a chill up his spine and realized what those "waves" truly were.
"N-no, those aren't waves! There's something in the water!"
He stumbled back in horror, his scalp tingling.
"Captain! T-Tentacles!"
Boom boom boom! Boom boom boom boom…
Before he could even finish speaking, another sailor screamed in terror, followed by the sudden roar of shipgirls' rigging cannons opening fire, the thunderous blasts echoing through the bridge.
But the sound of the cannons did nothing to ease the crushing fear in his heart.
"Tentacles where? Don't talk nonsense—"
GRAAANNNNK!
Before the captain could finish his sentence, the reinforced steel ceiling of the bridge emitted a terrifying screech as it twisted and bent under pressure.
In the next instant, a massive, algae-covered, ringed, dark green tentacle smashed through, its immense force obliterating everything inside the bridge.
The massive long-range cargo ship was torn in half by that one thick tentacle. With explosions and flames erupting, it slowly sank into the dark ocean.
The surrounding Pawn-class shipgirls tried desperately to dodge the ink-colored tentacles rising from the sea…
But there were just too many!
Every inch of visible ocean was filled with madly writhing dark green tentacles!
One by one, the shipgirls were struck down and dragged helplessly into the depths.
ROOOAAARR!
A strange, low, eerie roar echoed across the sea.
As if declaring absolute dominion over this ocean.
ROOOOOAAAAARRR~~~~~~
Following that roar, more and more howls rose from all directions, growing louder, like a call to arms from a king to its kin.
All the "waves" that had been splashing sea water revealed their true forms beneath the surface.
Ugly crimson eight-eyes, dark green rugged hides, monstrous gaping jaws…
Leviathans—more than ten of them.
And in the center of this terrifying horde of sea monsters, a colossal purple Leviathan slowly emerged from the sea, all eight of its eyes glowing golden.
As it surfaced, purple lightning began crackling through the dark clouds above, and torrential rain fell amid the roaring winds.
All the surrounding green Leviathans bowed slightly, as if showing deference to this massive golden-eyed purple Leviathan.
This enormous beast paid no attention to its brethren. It slowly turned its vast body, casting its eight golden eyes toward the distant horizon—
In the direction of Yunhai City.
_______
50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
_______
If any of you noticed an error, please point it out in comments!