Night fell exceptionally early at sea, and a dark blue sky quickly enveloped the Asgard.
But for Kael, this tranquility had long been broken.
The lights in the command center were adjusted to a soft mode suitable for night work, and data streams on the main screen still flowed steadily.
Kael had just finished his routine communication with headquarters, rubbed his somewhat sore neck, and prepared to drink some water to continue monitoring the detection progress.
"Kael~ You've worked hard!" A steaming cup of bitter melon juice was handed to him. Theresa had somehow slipped to his side, a flattering smile on her face. "I specially went to the kitchen to warm it for you! It'll refresh your mind!"
Kael looked at the green liquid, his mouth twitching almost imperceptibly. He really couldn't understand Theresa's fondness for such extreme bitterness, but seeing her bright, expectant eyes, the words of refusal were swallowed back.
"...Thank you." He took it and symbolically took a sip. The familiar, instantly numbing bitterness indeed gave him a 'jolt' of energy.
"Hehe, isn't it delicious!" Theresa watched him drink it with satisfaction, then naturally moved her chair nearly half a meter closer to Kael, almost arm-to-arm with him. "Is there anything else you need help with? I, your 'consultant,' am very dedicated!"
Kael helplessly moved to the other side: "Theresa, maintain a safe distance. You're affecting my operation."
"Oh..." Theresa reluctantly moved her chair back a little, but her gaze remained fixed on him.
Just then, the blonde, blue-eyed female officer, Olivia, appeared again.
She carried a data pad, walked with standard steps to Kael, her voice as clear and calm as ever: "Captain, there's a 0.03% deviation in the data returned by the third and seventh detection units. It has been initially calibrated and requires your final confirmation."
Her appearance instantly captured all of Theresa's attention. Theresa immediately became like a kitten whose territory had been invaded, her fur seemingly bristling, staring warily at Olivia.
Kael took the data pad and quickly scanned it: "Hmm, calibration is correct. Note the reason; it might be deep-sea current disturbance. Well done, Olivia." He greatly appreciated this new officer's professional ability and efficiency.
"It's my duty." Olivia nodded slightly, her gaze quickly and subtly sweeping over Kael's lips, which were slightly pursed in concentration, then glancing at the watchful Theresa beside her. A faint, almost imperceptible flicker of displeasure crossed the depths of her emerald eyes.
But her demeanor remained perfectly flawless. She took the data pad Kael handed back, turned, and left, the entire process without any hesitation.
"Hmph! Such an act!" Theresa made a small face at Olivia's retreating back, then tugged on Kael's sleeve. "Kael, don't you think she reports too frequently? Even a tiny deviation has to bother you!"
Kael frowned: "That's her responsibility. Data is not trivial; any subtle deviation can affect the final judgment." He felt Theresa was being a bit too targeted towards the new officer today.
"But..." Theresa wanted to say more, but Kael interrupted her.
"Theresa, if you're bored, you can go to the lounge to watch a movie or play some games. I really need quiet here."
Kael's tone was a little helpless; he truly needed quiet.
Theresa was choked by his words. She looked at Kael's profile as he resumed work, pouted aggrievedly, but ultimately said nothing more. She just hugged her Haxxor Bunny pillow, huddled in her chair, and silently accused Kael of his "lack of romance" with mournful eyes... At midnight, Kael finally finished processing a stage of data and felt a pang of hunger. He instructed his adjutant to stand guard temporarily, then got up, preparing to go to the ship's mess hall for a late-night snack.
As soon as he walked out of the command center, he heard familiar footsteps behind him. Without turning around, he knew it was Theresa following him.
"I'm hungry too!" Theresa said self-righteously, quickening her pace to walk alongside him.
Kael sighed, too lazy to scold her again.
The mess hall was not crowded late at night, with only a few off-duty technical personnel eating quietly.
Kael ordered a simple fried rice, while Theresa enthusiastically ordered... bitter melon scrambled eggs with double bitter melon.
As soon as they found a seat, another figure appeared at the mess hall entrance—Olivia.
She seemed a bit tired, her golden ponytail slightly loose. Her gaze swept around the mess hall, and when she saw Kael, her eyes seemed to brighten. Then she walked straight to the serving counter and ordered a simple sandwich and coffee.
Then, under Theresa's almost fiery gaze, Olivia carried her tray and very "naturally" walked to the empty table next to Kael's and sat down.
"Good evening, Captain, Ms. Theresa." She greeted them politely, then elegantly took small bites of her sandwich, as if it truly was just a coincidence.
Kael nodded in response and continued eating his fried rice.
Theresa, however, had completely lost her appetite. She fiercely poked the bitter melon on her plate with her fork, her eyes fixed on Olivia beside her. If looks could kill, Olivia would probably have been pierced countless times.
Olivia seemed completely oblivious to the hostile gaze. She ate quietly, occasionally looking up, seemingly unintentionally, in Kael's direction, her gaze focused and... profound?
When Kael occasionally looked up and met her eyes, she would immediately lower her head, her earlobes seeming to flush slightly.
Kael found it a bit strange but didn't think much of it, only assuming this new officer might be more introverted and shy.
Theresa, however, saw it clearly: that was not shyness at all! The look in her eyes made her feel a great sense of crisis! This woman definitely had improper thoughts about Kael!
The late-night snack ended in an extremely bizarre atmosphere. Kael only felt that this meal was particularly tiring; the air pressure on both sides was quite off... The next morning, the detection mission entered a critical phase.
However, just then, the battleship's main communication array suddenly experienced strong but unknown interference, and contact with some units became extremely unstable.
"Captain, report! Interference intensity is still increasing! Signal attenuation is severe for units 3, 7, and 11!" The communications officer reported anxiously.
"Attempt to switch to backup frequency, activate anti-interference protocol!"
Kael frowned, quickly issuing orders. If data from these units were lost, the effectiveness of this mission would be greatly reduced.
Technical personnel became busy, but the interference was unusually stubborn, and the backup frequency had little effect.
Just as Kael was considering whether to risk surfacing to reduce the interference, that cool voice spoke again: "Captain, perhaps we can encrypt communications. I can provide algorithm support."
It was Olivia. She had already stood next to the communication control console at some point, her fingers rapidly operating on the auxiliary light screen, bringing up an extremely complex but seemingly highly efficient encryption algorithm model.
"Does the hardware here support it?" Kael was somewhat skeptical.
"A slight adjustment will suffice. Please grant me level three operational authority."
Olivia's tone carried an undeniable confidence, her emerald eyes looking at Kael, sparkling with professional light.
Kael hesitated for only a second, then, thinking of her excellent previous reports, nodded: "Authority granted. Try it immediately!"
Olivia's fingers danced across the light screen, so fast they almost blurred, lines of complex code flowing into the system. A few minutes later, she looked up: "Algorithm loaded. Attempting connection."
"Communications team, attempt to connect to units 3, 7, and 11 using the new protocol!"
Soon, the communications officer reported excitedly: "Connection successful! Signal stable! Interference effectively shielded!"
A slight sigh of relief echoed in the command center.
Kael also breathed a sigh of relief, looking at Olivia with genuine admiration: "Well done, Olivia. We owe you a lot this time." This assistance was indeed timely and crucial.
"It's my honor to be of help, Captain."
Olivia bowed slightly, her expression still calm, but when she looked at Kael, the barely concealed sparkle in her eyes grew brighter.
Her gaze casually swept over Theresa, who was fuming like a puffed-up bun, and a faint, almost imperceptible, victorious curve appeared at the corner of her mouth.
Theresa stood by, watching Kael show an appreciative expression to that "ill-intentioned" woman, watching that woman's seemingly humble but actually smug demeanor, and felt a surge of anger rush to her head.
She stomped her foot fiercely but was helpless, as the other party had indeed solved a major problem this time.
She could only glare angrily at Olivia, conveying a "stay away from Kael" warning with her eyes.
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