Boom!
With the last shell fired.
The mass-produced Aircraft Carrier Siren was heavily damaged and sank to the bottom of the sea.
The Kamikaze Squadron defeated Sirens several times their number, achieving a complete victory without any casualties on their side.
"We... won, Commander. Did you see it?"
Kamikaze looked up at the high platform.
Indeed, Jack's gaze was currently focused on them, and he was applauding them.
"An excellent drill, keen autonomous combat awareness. Thank you for allowing me to see your abilities more clearly. You've worked hard. Now, please rest here and observe the wonderful performances of your other sisters."
The Commander finally focused his gaze on them!
The joy of that moment almost made the Kamikaze girls jump for joy.
But they held back.
Sweet feelings are best kept hidden in one's heart, to be savored slowly in a private place.
The five little ones held hands and came ashore from the water battlefield, then went to another formation.
That was where the Shipgirls who had completed their parade were seated.
...
"So, this is what Affection means."
Jack understood some things when he saw how hard the Kamikaze girls were working.
Once, when he was an Azure Lane player, to give a Shipgirl a wedding ring, he needed to increase Affection through sortie missions, Secretary Ship signboard, and other methods.
From Stranger, to Friendly, to Like, and finally... Love.
He originally thought that was the Shipgirls' Affection for the Commander.
But after actually coming to this world, he found that many Shipgirls who should have been "Stranger" or "Friendly" looked at him with eyes full of love.
This situation, which didn't match the game's description, initially confused him, but the longer he stayed in the Azure Lane World.
The longer he connected to the Shipgirls' Mind Network, the more he understood where the "Stranger" in the game truly was from this surrounding love.
It wasn't that the Shipgirls' feelings for him were unfamiliar; on the contrary, it was his unfamiliarity with the Shipgirls that caused this strangeness!
In other words, that Affection was his, the Commander's, Affection for a single Shipgirl, and it was he who needed to cultivate the relationship, not the Shipgirl.
These Shipgirls, born from the Mind Cube, had an Affection level of 100 or more for him from the very beginning to the end!
...
In the far sea.
Observer had already released countless batches of mass-produced Sirens to add some real combat fun to Jack's parade ceremony today.
If it was a group like the Kamikaze Squadron at the beginning, it was fine.
They fought an evenly matched battle, showcasing the Shipgirls' prowess and maximizing the Sirens' role. Dealing with them only resulted in the loss of one or two Siren squads, which didn't significantly impact the inventory.
However, this parade was for all Sakura Empire Shipgirls.
That meant even those like Yuudachi and Ayanami, who had reached the Shipgirl limit (level 125), would participate in the drills.
Just one Hakuryuu could almost make Observer, who was still an original Boss, lose face. There's no need to even mention the mass-produced Sirens she collected; they were directly blown up in large quantities by the Torpedo Demon Yuudachi.
Soon, Observer sent a message to Jack on the internal channel, saying that the Siren inventory was insufficient.
[Observer: Commander, my Sirens are almost gone. If we keep fighting, I'll have to go in myself~]
On the viewing stand of the parade ceremony, Jack subtly nodded towards the distant sea and replied.
[Jack: Then I'll let them rest for a bit. I'll go to my world with you and catch some more mass-produced ones.]
[Observer: Uh... About that, Commander, I don't think you need to go to such trouble.]
[Jack: What do you mean?]
[Observer: A message just came through my Siren communication channel. It seems that because I've gone offline, new Sirens have been dispatched, and they'll be arriving in this sea area soon.]
New Sirens?! Interesting, they're coming directly to us then.
Jack immediately stood up from his seat.
Nagato looked at him in confusion.
Jack instructed, "The situation has changed. After this, temporarily stop the parade. You organize the team. I'll leave for a bit and be right back."
After giving his instructions, Jack put on his Navy coat, and his figure instantly vanished into the void.
Musashi and Shinano exchanged glances.
The Commander they saw wasn't as flustered as he appeared; in fact... there was even a hint of surprise.
As Shipgirls who knew he had a high-level humanoid Siren ally, they guessed that for the Commander to react this way, something must have happened on that side.
...
Whoosh!
Jack, stepping on the clear breeze, appeared directly beside Observer.
"Woah! How did you suddenly appear? Don't you need to command the scene?"
"They are all very disciplined Shipgirls. With Nagato and the others there, there's no problem. Tell me about the situation on your end."
Jack patted Observer's head.
Observer smiled and spread her hands, "Give me snacks! I saw them, their seats after the parade were filled with afternoon tea. I've been working for so long, I shouldn't be hungry!"
"Haven't you stolen enough from the Navy Cafeteria?"
"That's a separate matter! You know, those were all things I stole with my own skill!"
Observer puffed out her chest.
Flat, but righteous.
"Tsk!"
Jack clicked his tongue, then had no choice but to pull out the loli-specific sweets he had habitually prepared—lollipops.
"Tell me, which Siren is coming, what's their troop strength, and where are they now?"
"Wow! This is so sweet! Thank you, Commander!"
Observer immediately hugged Jack and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.
After leaving a sticky lip print on Jack's face, she began acting as an informant.
"The Siren coming is your, no, our old friend Tester."
"Commander, you know I actually snuck out to play a few days ago. Recently, it's probably because my boss and the others wanted to assign me a mission but couldn't find me, so they sent Tester."
"I don't know!"
Jack glared fiercely at Observer.
This idiot Observer, she didn't even tell him about such an important matter.
Although Jack wasn't afraid of an all-out war with the Siren forces, her incomplete loyalty deserved a good scolding.
Hiss!
Observer shrunk her neck, feeling a chill.
"Um... Commander, you're not angry, are you~"
"I'm not angry, continue."
"Oh, oh, then I'll continue."
Observer moved half a step away from Jack, although this didn't give her a sense of security.
"From the message, it seems the force appearing this time is enough for a large-scale battle. Besides coming to find me, Tester is also tasked with eliminating the 'Outer World Virus'."
"Because my signal disappeared in the Sakura Empire Port area, they believe I might have encountered an attack from the 'Outer World Virus' and thus fell into another world, losing my signal. They should arrive here in about three hours."
"What is an 'Outer World Virus'? Has that term appeared before?"
"No."
"Then I understand. Is there anything else?"
"No more. I didn't dare to fully open my reception device, afraid of being discovered by them."
"Good, you did well on that point. I won't pursue the matter of you not fully disclosing the information for now, but, don't let it happen again!"
Jack glared at Observer.
Observer breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, a fawning smile appearing on her face.
"Hehe! Observer knew Commander wouldn't blame Observer. I love Commander the most, most, most...!"
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