Chapter 13: Construction Related

Seeing Fushun off, Qin Ge nodded at the spacious room, "Looks like I'll have to spend the next two years here. I should tidy up my quarters first; otherwise, if my former instructor finds out how lazy I am, he'll surely jump up and give me a beating."

He said he would do it, and he did. Qin Ge first found cleaning tools in the bathroom, then began to clean and scrub the entire room. He thoroughly wiped down every surface of the furniture and every corner of the floor. Even at the end, to check his cleaning results, he took a white towel from the bathroom and rubbed it along the traces he had cleaned; wherever he saw a black mark, he marked it again. After finishing the inspection, he continued cleaning another round.

However, when he finally faced his bedroom bed, he was at a loss. Back at school, his blankets were the old military‑style ones that could be folded into neat tofu blocks. But faced with the double‑sized blanket on the bed before him, he could only helplessly spread it out flat and neat, for folding it into tofu blocks would make it too big.

Just as he had finished tidying everything and was putting his belongings into the cabinet and on the desk, Fushun knocked on his room door……

"'I say, do you have OCD? Or are you a neat freak? I've only just left, and you've already cleaned the whole room!' After Fushun walked into the room and saw the spotless, as‑new chamber, he said to Qin Ge in disbelief."

"'It's just a habit.' Qin Ge could only smile and tell Fushun, after all, once a habit is formed it's hard to change, even if it's a habit he forced himself to acquire."

"'That's impressive.' Fushun gave Qin Ge a thumbs‑up, then produced three sets of clothes and a document bag from somewhere, saying, 'Here you go!'"

Qin Ge took the clothes and document bag in surprise and said to Fushun, "Are you doing magic? You clearly had nothing in your hands just now, so where did these suddenly come from?"

"'Hehe, this is a unique ability of our ship girls, called the ship equipment space—it's where we normally hide the ship gear we carry. Although the space becomes a bit cramped after storing the ship equipment, there's still plenty of room for small items.' Fushun explained to Qin Ge."

"'That amazing?' Qin Ge exclaimed."

"'Of course, where else would we keep the ship gear we normally wear? It can't just vanish into thin air.' Fushun laughed and said, 'About that, you'll find out tomorrow after you summon your ship girl—just ask her directly.'"

"'By the way, I wanted to ask—are there any restrictions on the ship girl summoned tomorrow? Does it have to be a destroyer?' Qin Ge asked."

"'No, if it were only destroyers, the academy's teachers would just need to open a destroyer class; there'd be no need for so many classes. So it's definitely not limited to destroyers.' Fushun smiled at Qin Ge and said, 'The school will provide you with ten wisdom cubes and the corresponding supplies, all of course free. If after using those ten wisdom cubes you still can't summon a ship girl, then the subsequent supplies and cubes will incur a charge. Since commanders coming out of the academy have no savings, the school will deduct the cost from their future commander stipend compensation, but this fee will be rather high. Therefore, most commanders who lack confidence in their luck will choose to build light‑type ships, which consume fewer cubes and supplies.'"

"'I see.' Qin Ge nodded. 'You just mentioned light‑type ship construction—how many types of construction are there?'"

"'Actually, big build can be divided into three categories. The first is light‑type ship construction, which yields destroyer and light cruiser ship girls, requiring only one wisdom cube and six hundred specialized supplies. The second is heavy‑type ship construction, which yields heavy cruiser, battleship, and battlecruiser ship girls, costing two wisdom cubes and fifteen hundred specialized supplies. The third is special‑type ship construction, which yields aircraft carrier, submarine, and repair ship ship girls, also costing two wisdom cubes and fifteen hundred specialized supplies.' Fushun explained to Qin Ge."

"'Thanks, I roughly understand.' Qin Ge nodded. 'Then, if we build a ship girl without using up all the resources the school provided, do the leftover resources belong to the commander, or are they returned to the school?'"

"'What do you think?' Fushun didn't answer Qin Ge's question directly, but laughed and threw the question back."

Qin Ge thought for a moment and told Fushun, 'I think it's likely they'd have to be returned to the school.'

"'Wrong, the school won't take those resources back.' Fushun told Qin Ge, 'You haven't heard the saying that luck is part of strength, have you?'"

"'But wouldn't that be unfair to others? That way, lucky people would summon more ship girls, while the unlucky would only grow weaker.' Qin Ge asked."

Fushun shook his head. 'Don't you see this as a form of protection? Because lucky people who summon more ship girls bear greater responsibility and thus go to the front lines or even more dangerous places, since they have the strength. Meanwhile, the unlucky who can't summon more ship girls stay in less dangerous locales and undertake less hazardous missions. So in terms of the danger they face, they're roughly equal—wouldn't that be fair?'

"'Well… actually, if you put it that way…' Qin Ge nodded somewhat understandingly, 'A commander's luck during a big build is akin to his talent; those with good talent naturally far outshine ordinary people. It's just like being a soldier—some can become special forces, some can become the king of soldiers, but others, no matter how hard they train, still can't become the best.'"

"'So you'll gradually understand these things later.' Fushun smiled. 'Besides, among these three sets of clothes, one is a training uniform, one is the navy service uniform, and one is the navy dress uniform. The training uniform is worn when exercising and doing daily drills with the ship girls; the navy service uniform is worn for regular classes and daily affairs; and the navy dress uniform is worn for school events and such—don't mix them up. Also, inside that document bag are the soldier's medal, the assistant instructor badge, and some of the school's regulations—be sure to look them over when you have the chance.'"

"'Understood.' Qin Ge nodded."

"'Alright, I'm off then. Goodbye.' Having said that, Fushun left Qin Ge's room."

Qin Ge watched Fushun's retreating back, smiled a little, then returned to the room and began tidying up again……