"You want to take care of her?"
Lin Lan looked at the slightly flushed face of Hipper in surprise. He hadn't expected her to voluntarily ask to adopt Sui Qiong.
"It's not that I'm unwilling, but you should think it through carefully. She needs to be fed a META crystal every day. Setting aside the fact that using META crystals can harm your body—"
"The most crucial point is that Sui Qiong was created using a Wisdom Cube.
I saw it with my own eyes at the time. No one knows whether prolonged contact with her will expose you to the Cube's corruption."
After hearing Lin Lan's words, Hipper froze for a moment before letting out a deep sigh.
Though she was a bit headstrong, she wasn't unreasonable. She could tell that the commander was genuinely looking out for her.
Seeing Hipper looking somewhat dejected, Lin Lan reached out and gently ruffled the blonde bangs of the flat-chested elder sister of the Hipper-class cruisers.
He was speaking sincerely.
Despite her outward roughness, Hipper was actually quite thoughtful and well-suited for taking care of Sui Qiong.
However, the fact remained that Sui Qiong was born from an Origin Cube, making her fundamentally different from any of the shipgirls in his port. He had to be extra cautious.
"Don't be too down. Even if you can't take care of her full-time, you can still bring her over to my place often, let her get familiar with the port, and introduce her to the others.
That's no problem at all."
Seeing the reluctance on Hipper's face, Lin Lan thought of a compromise.
Hearing this, her expression brightened somewhat.
"Commander, Commander!"
Just as Lin Lan continued discussing with Hipper about when to take Sui Qiong out each day, he suddenly heard Sui Qiong calling for him.
"The commander is right over there, little cutie. He hasn't gone far."
Prinz Eugen smiled as she pointed toward Lin Lan's location for Sui Qiong.
She had already noticed that her elder sister had pulled the commander aside for a private conversation.
Given her understanding of Hipper, she had a good idea of the reason.
"I'm right here. What's wrong, Sui Qiong?"
Lin Lan bent down, puzzled, as the petite white-haired mechanical girl ran over and clutched his hand tightly, as if afraid he would disappear.
"Sui Qiong wants to take a flight. Commander, do you want to fly with Sui Qiong?"
The moment she spoke, Lin Lan's doting expression froze.
Last time, he had only let Sui Qiong take him into the air out of necessity in the Mirror Sea. Even when he returned last night, he was still a little shaken by the experience.
Having spent years in the engineering field, he naturally wasn't afraid of heights.
But being yanked into the air at high speed, experiencing the sheer weightlessness and visual shock—that wasn't something mere fear of heights could explain.
"Ahem, Sui Qiong, listen..."
Though Lin Lan was a bit apprehensive, he didn't want to reject the girl's enthusiasm.
So, he turned his gaze toward Hipper.
"Didn't I already experience flying last time? This time, why don't you let your new companion try it instead?"
"...Huh?"
Hipper's expression shifted from confusion to shock.
Seeing that Sui Qiong seemed to accept the commander's words and was now looking at her, Hipper was about to refuse outright—but the words got stuck in her throat.
If she turned down the mechanical girl's invitation now, wouldn't it make it harder to get closer to her in the future?
Noticing her sister's hesitation, Prinz Eugen strolled over with a teasing smile and fanned the flames:
"Big Sis, didn't you hear the commander? He already experienced it once. If even the commander wasn't scared, what are you afraid of?"
Brünhilde, who followed behind, also chimed in excitedly:
"Big Sis, if you don't want to go, then I'll take your spot! Commander! Commander! Can I have this opportunity instead?"
Faced with her two younger sisters' teasing, Hipper's face instantly flushed red with embarrassment.
"Don't worry, Big Sis. I'll be escorting you with my carrier-based aircraft the entire time. Just relax and go for it, heh heh."
Finally, the reassuring words from Weser made Hipper resolve herself.
"Hmph... Sui Qiong, I'll be counting on you then."
As the crowd stepped aside to give Hipper and Sui Qiong space, Lin Lan couldn't help but glance at Prinz Eugen.
Sure enough, as expected, Eugen, her face full of schadenfreude, exchanged a knowing look with him and even gave him a thumbs-up behind her back.
Well, well. The proud Hipper family's tradition of throwing their eldest sister under the bus—he was finally witnessing it firsthand.
Meanwhile, poor Hipper stood there anxiously, allowing Sui Qiong to take her hand.
She looked every bit like someone heading off to her doom.
Feeling uneasy, she turned her emerald-green eyes toward Weser, silently pleading for help.
"Alright, alright, Big Sis. Just relax."
Meeting her sister's gaze, even Weser felt a little awkward.
With a wave of her hand, the short-haired light aircraft carrier summoned her massive dragon-like rigging, sending a few carrier-based planes into the sky ahead of Hipper and Sui Qiong.
Just as Hipper was about to sigh in relief at seeing the planes take off, a roaring engine noise from beside her made her pupils contract sharply.
"Big Sis, don't be scared! Show them the dignity of an Admiral Hipper-class lead ship!"
Prinz Eugen cheered her on with a perfectly timed smirk.
"Yeah, yeah! Big Sis, you're not just the pride of Iron Blood—you're the first shipgirl in the entire port to fly! That's a historic achievement!"
Brünhilde, just as clueless yet eager, joined in on the encouragement, looking at Hipper with sparkling eyes.
"Meow~! Camera, camera! We need to capture this moment! This is one for the history books!"
Magdeburg, catching on to the excitement, immediately asked Akashi for a camera, eager to capture Hipper and Sui Qiong's takeoff.
"That'll be five red gems, meow~."
"You're extorting me?! Ugh, fine! Five it is! Put it on my tab—just get the camera already!"
"Hehe, here you go~! A premium Eagle Union press-grade camera, meow. Don't break it—I only brought one from Eagle Union!"
Akashi handed over a silver-gray metal camera, her merchant instincts fully satisfied.
Meanwhile, though Ulrich rubbed her temples in exasperation, her dark-golden eyes remained locked onto Hipper.
At the very least, Brünhilde had a point—this was likely the first time in shipgirl history that a heavy cruiser had taken flight.
It was, indeed, something for Iron Blood to be proud of.
"Hipper, at least smile! The camera's ready."
Lin Lan grinned as he joined in on the teasing.
"You idiot! How am I supposed to smile right no—"
Hipper snapped in frustration, but before she could finish her sentence, a powerful gust of wind cut her off.
Lin Lan and the gathered shipgirls watched as deep blue flames erupted from the black wings on Sui Qiong's back.
In the next instant, both Hipper and Sui Qiong vanished from the ground.
Magdeburg, quick on the draw, pressed the shutter at the moment of takeoff.
Everyone looked up, watching as Hipper was pulled high into the sky. Their faces were filled with astonishment.
"A heavy cruiser... a heavy cruiser just took off!"
For some reason, as Lin Lan watched the two figures soar higher and higher, an old internet meme suddenly popped into his mind.
And in this moment, there was no phrase more fitting.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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