Just now, through his investigation, Illustrious had discovered that the Swan before him was a Free Ship Girl. Being a Free Ship Girl meant she had no Admiral, which meant he could'salvage' this Swan and bring her into his base.
However, although she was very grateful for Illustrious's kindness, Swan felt she had to leave. "Thank you very much for your kind invitation, but if I don't leave now, she will catch up."
Swan stood up tremblingly and intended to depart, but was stopped by Illustrious's hand. "Who is this'she' you're talking about? Can you explain things more clearly?"
"Yes! If you speak up, perhaps we can help you," Belfast agreed.
"No, this is my business; I can't involve you all." Swan shook her head. "Illustrious, you saved me, and I am very grateful. If I'm still alive in the future, I will definitely repay you."
"I have a dream, and that is to make all cute Ship Girls wear happy smiles." Grabbing Swan's slender hand, Illustrious said solemnly, "Sorry, Swan, until I see a happy smile on your face, I won't let you leave."
Swan, who didn't think she was cute at all, said plainly, "B-but, I'm not a cute Ship Girl! So please just let me leave!"
Illustrious said with sincere emotion, "Don't underestimate yourself. You are extremely cute. If I had to give your cuteness a score, I would definitely give it a 100."
With a soft pop, Swan's face instantly turned bright red, and she cupped her cheeks shyly. "Am I really that cute?"
Seeing that Swan was thoroughly enjoying the praise, Illustrious pushed a bit harder. "Of course you are. So you need to be more confident; only then can you fully display your cute charm."
Following Illustrious's frantic praise, Swan completely lost her bearings. Her favorability toward Illustrious had already risen to the level of a friend.
Illustrious asked why Swan was in such a hurry to leave, and Swan didn't hide anything, immediately telling her the reason... Swan was a Free Ship Girl, and she had a good friend named Cupid. Cupid was also a Free Ship Girl, and both she and Swan were members of the Ship Girl Association East Pacific Branch.
Usually, whenever there was a mission in the association, Swan and her friend would team up to complete it.
Although the missions were exhausting and dangerous, they felt extremely happy after receiving the mission rewards.
Swan originally thought she could live peacefully forever, but reality taught her a lesson: "Life is like the surface of the sea; it's not always calm."
A month ago, Cupid went missing. After trying to call her and visiting her home without finding her, Swan began to search for her like crazy.
Finally, her hard work paid off. Swan found Cupid in a black market auction house called "Big Whale" in Cangkong City.
Though she had found her, Cupid was in trouble; she was scheduled to be auctioned off by the auction house in two days.
At night, Swan sneaked into the Great Whale Auction House and reached the place where Cupid was being held.
Upon seeing Cupid, Swan asked her why she was being auctioned. Cupid recounted her experience: she had originally gone to the supermarket at 8:00 PM to buy ingredients for hotpot, but on her way home, she was intercepted by two strange Ship Girls and knocked unconscious. When she woke up, she found herself locked in a cell.
Knowing that Cupid had been kidnapped and trafficked, Swan naturally wouldn't stand by and do nothing.
The people who came to buy Ship Girls were all wealthy individuals. They couldn't possess Ship Girls like an Admiral normally would, so they resorted to buying them through such means.
These wealthy people bought Ship Girls for only one reason: they wanted to experience what it was like to have a Ship Girl. Some would even scrap the Ship Girl to obtain Wisdom Cubes after they were done, and then sell them a second time.
Originally, auctioning Ship Girls was illegal, but unfortunately, where there is a market, there are sales, and there are always people willing to take risks.
The most representative of these was the Great Whale Auction House. The power behind it was not simple, as it was an industry of the Deep Sea Cult.
The Deep Sea Cult had grown increasingly powerful—to the point where even the Military Police under the Governor did not dare to easily destroy them.
If Cupid were left in the cell, she would be auctioned off in two days. To prevent this, Swan immediately opened the cell to rescue Cupid.
The moment Swan led Cupid out of the cell, the alarm sounded. Hearing the alarm, Swan knew their time was limited, so she quickened her pace to flee the prison area.
The Great Whale Auction House was a property of the Deep Sea Cult, so the cult would dispatch powerful experts to guard it. Unsurprisingly, the alarm alerted South Dakota, the powerhouse guarding the auction house.
South Dakota was an Intermediate Cultist. She had originally been a Ship Girl at a Naval Base. Once, her Admiral made an unspeakable request. Regarding this request, South Dakota believed their relationship was merely that of superior and subordinate, so she refused without the slightest hesitation.
The rejected Admiral was extremely dissatisfied with her, so he framed her by claiming she was a member of the Deep Sea Cult. To make it convincing, the Admiral even placed a Deep Sea Holy Book—which cultists are supposed to read with reverence every day—in South Dakota's wardrobe.
With both witnesses and physical evidence, South Dakota was unsurprisingly expelled from the Naval Base and faced the crisis of being captured and scrapped by the Military Police. Fortunately, she had good luck and successfully escaped. However, because South Dakota was labeled a traitor, no Naval Base dared to take her in.
Some Admirals at other Naval Bases even wanted to capture her to claim credit. After nearly dying several times, she decided never to look for a new Naval Base again.
While homeless, she accidentally saw a recruitment flyer for the Deep Sea Cult. To take revenge on the humans who had hurt her, she made a crazy decision: "Since you all say I'm a Deep Sea Cultist, then I'll show you that I can be one."
After joining the cult, South Dakota worked hard. In less than three years, she rose from an Apprentice Cultist to an Intermediate Cultist. Seeing that she was now a Three-Star Epic Ship Girl, the organization sent her to manage a branch of the Great Whale Auction House.
She had been at the branch for a year, and she thought her life would keep getting better, but today it was interrupted by the alarm.
Learning that someone dared to snatch a person from her territory, South Dakota immediately set off to find Swan and the other.
While fleeing halfway, because their strength was no match for South Dakota, Cupid was heartlessly sunk by her.
Swan's eyes nearly split with rage, and she wanted to avenge Cupid, but she ended up being heavily damaged.
Knowing her strength was no match for South Dakota, Swan chose a strategic retreat without any hesitation.
South Dakota naturally wouldn't let Swan go, but just as she was about to chase Cupid, she encountered the Military Police.
Swan saw that the strongest members of the Military Police were only Gold-Plated Ship Girls and knew they definitely couldn't defeat South Dakota, so she hurried to escape.
After dealing with the Military Police, South Dakota found that Swan had vanished. However, she wasn't worried about being unable to find her, because when she met Swan, she had left a soybean-sized Aura mark on her clothes. Through the mark, she could find Swan immediately.
After sensing the location of the mark, South Dakota resumed her pursuit.
Swan had very good luck; whenever South Dakota was about to catch up to her, she always managed to turn danger into safety.
In this way, even though Swan was just a White-Tier Ship Girl, she stubbornly stayed alive after being hunted by South Dakota for seven days and seven nights.
After hearing about Swan's experience, Illustrious couldn't help but give her a thumbs up. "You're amazing! To actually evade the pursuit of a Three-Star Epic Ship Girl for seven days and seven nights with only the strength of a White-Tier Ship Girl."
"So, after hearing my story, do you still dare to keep me here?" The enemy could catch up at any time, and Swan wanted Illustrious to back down. After all, Illustrious was her savior, and she didn't want to involve her.
"Keep you? Of course I'll keep you!" Illustrious said domineeringly, "Hmph! That South Dakota is merely a Three-Star Epic Ship Girl. Killing her would be a piece of cake for me."
Swan looked at her with admiration. "So you're actually that powerful. Then please, save me. As long as you can drive away that South Dakota, I'm willing to agree to any request you have."
Illustrious became excited, and three ideas popped into her head.
Idea A: Have Swan join the Naval Base and become her Ship Girl.
Idea B: Give Swan a Maid Outfit and have her be her maid for a month.
Idea C: Forget the fancy stuff and go for something practical. If Swan can agree to any request, then it's obviously to ask to go making small boats with her!
With a girl willing to agree to any request, what would Illustrious do? She thought about it carefully and finally made her choice.
—Choose Idea A.
Illustrious pointed her finger at Swan. "Swan! After I help you drive away South Dakota, I want you to join my Naval Base."
Swan immediately said, "That's simple. I promise you."
Belfast pulled Illustrious to a side and whispered, "Admiral! Is it really okay? You should know the opponent is a Three-Star Epic Ship Girl!"
"Put your heart at ease! I can handle a Three-Star Epic Ship Girl in just a couple of moves," Illustrious said with great confidence.
"But Admiral! Your strength is only that of a Gold-Plated Ship Girl. Even if you fight above your level, you can't beat a Three-Star Epic Ship Girl!"
Illustrious spread her hands and said matter-of-factly, "I never said I'd fight her!"
"If you don't fight her, how are you going to drive her away?"
"I have my own clever plan; just sit back and enjoy the show."
Ten minutes later, a massive battleship sailed into the harbor.
On the battleship, a South Dakota dressed in a white formal gown approached Illustrious.
Upon seeing South Dakota, Swan immediately hid behind Illustrious in fear.
Illustrious patted her head, telling her not to be afraid. "Don't worry, I'm here. She won't dare do anything to you."
When South Dakota saw Swan, she immediately cursed, "You little bitch, you're quite the runner. Go ahead, keep running now!"
Looking at the South Dakota nearby, Illustrious said calmly, "I see you're a beauty; you should speak more like a lady, otherwise it ruins your image."
South Dakota stared Illustrious up and down, and after realizing she was only a Gold-Plated Ship Girl, she became very disdainful. "Just a Gold-Plated Ship Girl. I advise you not to meddle in others' business, or I'll deal with you as well."
South Dakota beckoned to Swan. "Little bitch, I am a very gentle and kind person. I'll give you two choices: first, come over here yourself and I'll take you away. Second, I'll personally beat you half to death and then take you away."
South Dakota had no intention of letting Swan die easily; she planned to take her back and torture her thoroughly. Once she was done playing, she would sink her directly. Only then could she make an example of her to prevent any more incidents of Ship Girls being snatched from the auction house.
Illustrious said coldly, "Sorry! Swan is a Ship Girl I've reserved. Her business is my business."
South Dakota's killing intent flared. "Are you really going to meddle?"
The killing intent rushed toward her, yet Illustrious's expression didn't change in the slightest. "You're right, I'm definitely meddling in this."
Seeing Illustrious actually withstand her killing intent, South Dakota began to wonder if the Ship Girl in front of her wasn't a Gold-Plated Ship Girl after all.
She had heard that powerhouses liked to hide their strength and play the pig to eat the tiger. If this Ship Girl's strength was higher than hers, wouldn't she be walking into a trap?
Once the thought of Illustrious hiding her strength surfaced, South Dakota felt it was very likely. After all, she had never seen a Gold-Plated Ship Girl remain so calm after being subjected to her killing intent.
South Dakota began to act politely toward Illustrious. "I am South Dakota, the person in charge of the Great Whale Auction House in Cangkong City, East Pacific. May I ask how to address your Excellency?"
Seeing that South Dakota wasn't fighting but instead chatting with her, Illustrious was naturally happy to oblige. "I am Illustrious, the Admiral of this Naval Base."
"Illustrious! Good, I'll remember your name." South Dakota shifted her gaze from Illustrious to Swan. "Swan, for Illustrious's sake today, I'll let you go. But don't let me see you again, or I'll kill you without fail."
South Dakota turned to leave, walking toward the battleship nearby.
After walking about ten meters, South Dakota suddenly turned around and flashed back to stand right in front of Illustrious.
Her fingers clenched into a fist as powerful ship energy rapidly condensed upon it. Then, South Dakota swung her fist violently toward Illustrious's face.
Facing that terrifying punch, Illustrious's expression still didn't change one bit.
When the incoming fist was only 0.01 centimeters away from hitting Illustrious's face, South Dakota abruptly stopped it.
Boom!
The powerful wind from the punch blew Illustrious's hair back. She said faintly, "Can I interpret this as you provoking me?"
Using her Divine Sense to probe Illustrious, South Dakota found she was still a Gold-Plated Ship Girl, yet she still didn't dare to make a move.
South Dakota laughed. "Hahaha! Just a joke, I hope you don't mind. Well then, until we meet again."
Glancing at the battleship nearby, South Dakota started walking toward it.
After boarding the battleship, South Dakota steered it away from the Illustrious Naval Base.
Seeing South Dakota truly leave, Illustrious couldn't help but marvel at how clever the woman was to know when to retreat.
!!...?..!!!?...!!?!!!!!?...!?!!!!.?!!...?...!!?...!?
Although her own strength couldn't compare to a Gold-Plated Ship Girl, she could summon Taihou with a snap of her fingers. Taihou was a Four-Star Legendary Ship Girl; she could kill South Dakota with a single breath.
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