"Commander, after learning that you were found by the Ironblood faction, we immediately called back the sisters stationed farther away from here.
The military base in Anna City is the furthest base from the Artificial Island."
"After receiving the news that you were captured by the Observers, we were about to set out again to find you, but before we could depart, we got word that you had safely arrived in Anna City."
"That's why everyone is now back on the island. Since you've returned, there's no need for us to go out again."
"As for the bases scattered around the Eastern Continent, although no one is currently stationed there, all those bases have automated defense systems built in, and mass-produced fleets still patrol regularly.
Through the central control network on the Artificial Island, we can clearly monitor the status of all the bases."
Hearing Enterprise's explanation, Lin Lan finally understood.
It seemed that if he hadn't come back, his Eagle Union ship girls would have had to disperse across the Eastern Continent to look for him again.
While Enterprise was explaining, Essex had already summoned two Orlan cars by phone.
The group then got into the vehicles and set off for the Artificial Island's back mountain.
"For the first stop, let's visit the military equipment warehouse on the back mountain. Commander, I'm sure you'll be most interested in this."
Since only Enterprise and Essex could drive, the two carrier ship girls each took a car, and Lin Lan chose to sit in the front passenger seat of Enterprise's car.
"A military equipment warehouse, huh? Fine, I want to see what gear you brought from the port."
After confirming that Anchorage and Eldridge in the back seat had their seat belts fastened, Enterprise started the vehicle. Lin Lan smiled and said this.
He remembered that during his visit to the Ironblood Fortress, it was with Bismarck and Friedrich accompanying him that he toured the underwater assembly line warehouse.
That was also the first time he discovered the existence of the strange creatures called Manjuu.
With so many ship girls in the Eagle Union faction, their military warehouse must be much larger than the Ironblood faction's.
Enterprise's driving speed was much better than New Jersey's wild speed yesterday, clearly showing that even though Enterprise didn't say it, she really took care of him carefully in many little ways.
On the road, Lin Lan also noticed many small shops along the roadside resembling convenience stores, and vending machines at intervals.
"Usually, Commander, if you're hungry but too lazy to go to the mess hall, you can buy food from those fast food shops or vending machines.
The food inside is always fresh because the Manjuus restock them daily."
Enterprise's silver hair fluttered in the breeze as she patiently explained this to Lin Lan like a careful tour guide.
"That's pretty convenient. It sure saves a lazy guy like me a lot of trouble."
Lin Lan smiled, but Enterprise said seriously,
"You're joking, Commander. Aside from you, I really can't think of any sister in the port who's more diligent and responsible."
"After you disappeared from the port, Elizabeth, who was your secretary ship, kept it a secret from everyone for a while.
But after just a week, the pressure became unbearable and she had to reveal the truth." (*)
Enterprise's words made Lin Lan pause in surprise. Elizabeth actually dared to hide the news of his disappearance from the other factions?
This plot sounded exactly like a fan comic from a game he'd seen before.
Who would've thought this naïve queen would actually pull off something like that?
But with Helena and Helena Meta 's SG radar, they would've discovered his disappearance immediately, not to mention the presence of meta ship girls like Queen Elizabeth Meta who are like nuclear weapons in the port.
His disappearance couldn't have been hidden for long; the truth was bound to come out.
If anything, the fact Queen Elizabeth kept it a secret for a whole week was a miracle...
Besides, regarding Enterprise's praise that he was the most responsible person in the port, Lin Lan felt a bit embarrassed and smiled.
Before, he only needed to tap on his phone screen and could responsibly log in daily to clear his routine tasks.
Well, now things weren't as simple as before, but to keep up Enterprise's good impression of him, he'd have to try hard.
Soon, the two cars drove out of the mountain-top building area, and Lin Lan's view cleared as the tall buildings disappeared, revealing a wide open space.
From the mountain top, he could clearly overlook all the scenes of the back mountain on the Artificial Island.
Halfway up the mountain, there was a leveled area dedicated to an outdoor baseball field and a basketball court.
Besides that, there was a flat rooftop building area with white canopies on the back mountain, presumably the Eagle Union military equipment warehouse Enterprise mentioned.
The plain at the foot of the mountain surprised Lin Lan. Apart from large sports arena-like buildings—which he guessed included the racetrack—there was also a large, separate wilderness area.
The bushes and grass in this wilderness were yellow, and scattered utility poles and buildings resembling a Western-style Eagle Union town from the last century stood in the wilderness, completely out of place compared to the mountain scenery.
He even vaguely saw a herd of wild horses running across the wilderness!
No wonder Anchorage said there was a cool Nevada horseback riding spot on the back mountain; the Eagle Union ship girls had actually built a Western-themed town here!
Lin Lan laughed to himself.
Since there's a Western town here, maybe he could ask Hornet and Nevada to teach him some Eagle Union-style iaijutsu (quick-draw swordsmanship).
He'd long admired Eagle Union-style iaijutsu and had seen plenty of cowboy quick-draw contests on short videos before.
He was sure both Nevada and Hornet were masters at this skill.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Enterprise soon drove the car up to the fence in front of the Eagle Union military equipment warehouse on the mountainside and stopped.
"Chuu chuu chuu! Chuu chuu!"
Two adorable Manjuus guarding the gate bounced over and humanely opened the car door for Lin Lan.
He was already used to this — after all, Manjuus are creatures that can eventually evolve into the "Bulin" sisters in the future.
After Essex's car arrived with Maury, Hammann, and Gridley, Lin Lan followed Enterprise inside the Eagle Union military equipment warehouse.
Upon entering the fenced area, Lin Lan immediately heard the loud roar of machinery, though outside the walls there was no noise at all.
Anchorage even covered her little ears.
Lin Lan turned his head and asked Enterprise in surprise,
"Do these walls have soundproofing? The effect is so good that I can't hear any noise outside."
"This is because every so often, the walls are equipped with noise absorbers we created using Cube technology. It's to avoid disturbing everyone's daily life."
Enterprise smiled lightly as she explained the reason, and Lin Lan was once again amazed by the Eagle Union's mastery of Cube technology.
"Inside the warehouse, besides the ammunition production workshops and equipment storage on the ground floor, there's also an underground oil reserve area inside the mountain."
As the group slowly walked toward the warehouse workshops, Enterprise explained in detail to Lin Lan,
"At first, we stored oil outside, but as we collected more and more, the outside space became insufficient. So we hollowed out the mountain and transferred all the oil storage inside."
Hearing this, Lin Lan's expression stiffened.
For there to be so much oil that the storage area couldn't contain it, his Eagle Union ship girls must have siphoned an enormous amount of oil from the Eastern Continent.
When he was in Lihu County, he thought the many oil shipments from the Tianou Group were already a lot.
But compared to the Eagle Union ship girls, he and the Ironblood faction were still too inexperienced.
Seeing Enterprise's proud smile, Lin Lan quietly sighed.
Indeed, the Eagle Union is the faction that has collecting oil ingrained in their DNA — even the Eagle Union ship girls are like that.
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(*) There is a manga based on this plot actually, "Azur Lane Queen's Orders", go read it if you have free time.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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