After Essex and the others got out of the car, Lin Lan and the group walked into the basketball court.
He saw that besides Cleveland, Second Uncle Columbia, Third Uncle Montpellier, Fourth Uncle Denver, Sixth Uncle Birmingham, and Twelfth Uncle Biloxi were all here as well.
Just enough to form two teams of three players each.
As Lin Lan got closer, he noticed that the Eagle Union Sea Knight girls clearly had just finished playing basketball.
Their sports T-shirts were soaked with sweat, radiating youthful energy. Cleveland even had a white towel with a stars-and-stripes pattern hanging around her neck.
Originally, the Cleveland-class girls were known for their top-notch physiques from frequent exercise.
Among the light cruiser ship girls in the port area, they combined both handsomeness and beauty.
Plus, since they had just finished exercising, their sweat-soaked tight T-shirts clung to their bodies, outlining their figures perfectly, paired with their very short shorts.
This scene made Lin Lan unable to look away for a moment as he approached.
"Hey there, great hero Commander! You've only been awake a day but already can't stay still and had to come out for some activity? How's your health?"
Cleveland, completely unaware of how much they were tempting Lin Lan right now, laughed heartily and approached him first, teasing.
"My health is fine... but what did you call me, 'great hero'?"
Hearing that strange title from Cleveland, Lin Lan was taken aback for a moment.
Isn't that Enterprise's nickname? How did it get transferred to him?
He immediately recalled the words Enterprise said to him when he woke up yesterday morning.
During his unconsciousness, these Sea Knights and the Benson-class little chibis had widely spread the story of opening a teleportation portal for him, exaggerating it as if he were a superhero reborn from a movie.
"I already explained at the party yesterday where my abilities came from. I really am not any kind of hero. What kind of exaggerated rumors have you been spreading?"
"That's not an exaggeration at all! Commander, in our eyes, you truly are a great hero! Right, everyone?"
Cleveland turned around and loudly asked the approaching younger sisters. All the Sea Knight members smiled and answered in unison:
"Yes! Commander is everyone's great hero!"
Even Anchorage and Eldridge joined in the cheer:
"Teacher, yes, great hero, everyone's, uh-huh!"
"Commander, hero."
Lin Lan twitched at the corner of his mouth as he looked at this lively group of Eagle Union ship girls.
He realized that no matter how much he explained, it was probably useless.
The 'great hero' hat was firmly stuck on his head.
"Click!"
Gridley took the opportunity to snap a photo, capturing Lin Lan's stiff smile alongside the joyful expressions of the Eagle Union ship girls.
Well, whatever, he might as well just give up trying. Enterprise didn't say anything about it, so he couldn't really refuse.
Enterprise then explained to Cleveland and the others about the Commander's plan for a day trip to the back mountain and their purpose of coming here for lunch and rest.
"I see, then you've come to the right place! Today, besides the usual boxed lunches, the vending machines here also have ice cream!"
Denver, wearing a white T-shirt and looking like a tomboy, grinned and pointed to the vending machines in the shade.
At this moment, her figure was perfectly displayed, no longer looking like a tomboy at all—she was completely a lively adolescent girl.
Hammann, Gridley, Maury, and Eldridge took on the task of fetching lunch. During this time, Lin Lan went to the shady area with the Eagle Union ship girls.
Seeing the basketball placed on the ground, Lin Lan recalled some memories.
In middle and high school, he often went to the basketball court to play with classmates. Although he wasn't very interested in basketball, he was somewhat a decent player.
But after entering university, those close classmates all went their separate ways to different parts of the country, and there was no longer a chance to gather and play basketball.
Noticing Lin Lan staring at the basketball absentmindedly, Cleveland smiled and invited him:
"Commander, do you want to play a game of basketball with us after lunch? There are enough of you, it'll be lively."
Lin Lan couldn't help but feel a little tempted by Cleveland's invitation—after all, what man could refuse an invitation to play basketball?
Especially when invited by such friendly and beautiful girls?
However, despite the temptation, Lin Lan's reason reminded him to stay calm and not be deceived by Cleveland's beauty.
The recent "murderous" volleyball match at Lihu County port hadn't been that long ago.
Although he knew Cleveland and the others wouldn't take revenge on him like Deutschland might, given his skill level, it would still be difficult for the Sea Knights to accommodate his playing experience during the game.
As always, the physicality of humans and ship girls couldn't be generalized. As their commander, Lin Lan was naturally well aware of this.
"No thanks, I'll just watch you play later. It's been too long since I last played basketball."
The Sea Knights were not surprised at all by Lin Lan's polite refusal.
After all, in their impression, the Commander seemed never to have played basketball personally while in the port.
Even though he said yesterday that he only accompanied them through the game screen, to them, those memories of the Commander's presence were very real.
While Lin Lan chatted with the Sea Knights, Enterprise leaned against the nearby wall, silently watching with a smile.
Such a warm scene hadn't appeared for a very long time since the Commander disappeared from the port.
Essex, standing next to her, also noticed Enterprise's rare relaxed smile. She first looked stunned, then glanced at Lin Lan and clenched her fists.
"Just wait, Senior Enterprise. This afternoon, I will definitely beat you in front of the Commander in motorcycle skills and earn the Commander's personal recognition.
And at night, I will also… I will also get to the Commander before you, Senior Enterprise…"
Thinking this, Essex's face turned red. She quickly covered her face and shook her head wildly.
"Essex, you…"
"Ah! Nothing! Nothing at all!"
Enterprise's caring voice came, making the flustered Essex look like a scared little rabbit, babbling nervously.
Seeing the blush on her junior's face, Enterprise just gave a faint, thoughtful smile and didn't press further.
At this moment, Lin Lan, surrounded by the Sea Knights, naturally didn't notice the exchange between Enterprise and Essex.
He looked at Second Uncle Columbia, who had beige long hair tied into a ponytail, and asked:
"Columbia, didn't you say before that nobody in Anna City played games with you? Now that we're back on the artificial island, you finally have someone to play games with, right?"
"Mm-hmm, I do, but I'm already tired of playing with them. It's definitely more fun playing adventure and challenging games with friends from other factions."
Columbia tidied the little tuft of hair on her head and mischievously said to Lin Lan.
"Friends from other factions… You don't mean Ayanami and Tirpitz, do you?"
When it came to other factions' game-loving ship girls, besides the Northern solitary queen Tirpitz, who had bought a bunch of games and consoles in Lihu County before, the first one Lin Lan thought of was the Sakura Empire's destroyer Ayanami.
Ayanami, nicknamed the "Demon Slayer," "Nuclear Sword Saint," or "Ghost God."
As one of the official "御四家" (the Four Great Lords) ship girls, Ayanami's nicknames came from her terrifying torpedo stats enhanced by her remodeled skills, and her huge battleship sword rig contrasting her petite body.
But Lin Lan knew that in daily life, Ayanami was a true otaku game fanatic with extremely strong gaming skills.
"Looks like the Commander is really familiar with everyone in the port. They're all my online old friends," Columbia happily said upon hearing Lin Lan mention those two ship girls' names.
"Wait, wait, wait! That cold and aloof Iron Blood northern queen Tirpitz actually likes playing games like you do? Is that for real?"
Except for Columbia, the other Sea Knights were stunned as if they had just learned that Tirpitz actually did such a thing.
The speaker was Third Uncle, the silver-haired beast-eared girl Montpellier.
She looked at Columbia in shock, then at Lin Lan, as if hearing something unbelievable.
"Well, how to put it… hahaha, ahahaha…"
Seeing Columbia's embarrassed smile and evasive laughter, Lin Lan instantly understood everything.
No matter how clueless he was, he realized that he had accidentally destroyed the long-established persona of Tirpitz in the port.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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