Chapter 233: A Conversation with Jingang

Although Ou Gen Qin Wang said that, it's actually just a kind of provocation tactic.

Actually, no matter which commander, it's impossible to ignore a max-level, max-experience shipgirl. Qin Ge naturally couldn't escape that, after all, max experience represents her having strong power, and strong power on the battlefield is the foundation of survival.

A shipgirl who can increase battlefield stability and the survivability of all shipgirls in one's own fleet— which commander wouldn't want to vie for her?

So Qin Ge and Belfast headed together toward the third level.

After entering the dangerous sea zone, the several commissioned shipgirls began carrying out grouped patrol and escort duties. In their free time, they were either in their own dorms or in the control room.

Although they had exchanged a few words with Qin Ge and the others, it was still relatively little; generally they kept a greater distance.

Those two arrived at the third level; the control room now only had three people: Jingang, Fu Sang, and Xin Yue.

"Huh? It's Commander Qin Ge and Belfast."

"Hello, Jingang, Xin Yue, and Fu Sang." Qin Ge smiled. "What about the others? I remember the ones on ship patrol are Chuannei and Feilong, right?"

"Mogami, Fengxiang, and Gaoxiong are currently resting in the dorms, and they probably went to find Lady Mikasa, so only the three of us are here." Jingang stood up and smiled.

"All right." Qin Ge gave a small smile. "Today Belfast made some sweets and things like tea; we brought some up for you, hoping you'd like them."

"Tea? Hehe, back when I was with the Royal Navy, I still liked drinking it a lot, so thank you, Commander Qin Ge." Jingang also didn't stand on ceremony, directly taking it from Belfast's hand and then distributing the sweets and tea-like items to the three people present.

"Right, Commander Qin Ge and Belfast, you two have a seat." After handing out the things, Jingang greeted Brother Qin.

"Thank you." Qin Ge gave a small smile, then sat down, and Belfast naturally stood behind him.

"You're too polite." Jingang smiled. "I think this is the easiest escort mission we've ever done—not only do we have a luxurious command ship, but also such delicious food, all thanks to Commander Qin Ge."

"This is what I should do, after all we also ran commission missions before, so we know what you need." Qin Ge smiled.

"Oh? Commander Qin Ge, aren't you the tactics course instructor at the Commander Academy? How come you're still running commission missions?" Jingang asked.

Qin Ge laughed and shook his head. "The Dean was indeed right—now as a tactics course instructor, this title obviously carries more weight. But my actual identity is that of a first-year student at the Commander Academy; after this summer I'll be a second-year."

"Huh? There's actually such a thing?" Jingang exclaimed in surprise. "But I see your strategic strength shouldn't be something only a first-year would have—at the very least, commanders who have fought for over ten years don't have your kind of power."

"This is a special case, can't be taken as a rule." Qin Ge waved his hand. "A year ago I entered the Commander Academy; at that time I didn't even know what a shipgirl was, I only had a vague understanding."

"Afterwards all sorts of things happened; one could say my current achievements are entirely due to circumstance and opportunity."

Seeing Qin Ge speak so vaguely, Jingang didn't press further about what circumstance or opportunity. Because the reality is that Qin Ge's fleet is now very strong; if we used a first-year as the standard, his achievements would be unprecedented and unmatched.

"I'm curious about one thing: how did Commander Qin Ge get our front-line famous Guanghui to join your fleet?" Jingang asked with a curious face.

After being asked this, Qin Ge paused slightly, then said to Jingang, "Fate must have arrived; she just joined my team like that."

"Commander Qin Ge, if you don't want to say it, you don't have to." Jingang gave a look of "don't try to fool me" and complained to Qin Ge.

"Well, really." Qin Ge said. "Actually, speaking honestly, even now I don't know why Guanghui joined my fleet, but she just naturally entered my fleet like that."

"Back then I didn't think too much about it, after all for a shipgirl, joining a fleet means entrusting her life to that commander, so I also had no need or reason to ask her why she chose me."

Jingang laughed and shook his head. "I originally thought you were hiding it, but now I know you really don't know."

"Then what do you think Guanghui joined my fleet for, based on your understanding of her personality?" Qin Ge asked.

Jingang couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You've asked me about my skill; you might as well just ask Guanghui directly."

"This, sometimes it's embarrassing, I can't bring myself to ask." Qin Ge said awkwardly.

Seeing Qin Ge's embarrassed look, Jingang gave a small smile. "Perhaps it's because you're rather shy?"

Qin Ge was instantly speechless, a black line flashing across his forehead. "I think that's impossible."

"Hehe, just joking." Jingang laughed, then glanced at Xin Yue beside him and said to Qin Ge, "Commander Qin Ge, if there are still free shipgirls who want to join your fleet, would you be willing?"

Qin Ge smiled. "Of course I'd be willing, after all a shipgirl never minds having too many commanders."

"Even if her level and experience aren't high?" Jingang asked.

"That's fine, after all every summoned shipgirl starts with low level and experience, and they're cultivated bit by bit—this is completely normal." Qin Ge smiled.

"Even if that shipgirl's rarity isn't high?" Jingang continued asking.

"War isn't a one-person fight; it's a group effort. If we always had to rank someone, there would definitely be a first place and definitely a last place—does the last place just not survive?" Qin Ge smiled.

"So a shipgirl's rarity isn't an issue, just like our school's Lanli instructor and Assaulter instructor—they're merely ordinary practice-level shipgirls in the traditional sense."

"Could it be that because their rarity is low we deny their contributions in war? I believe shipgirls differ only by ship type; rarity and such don't make much difference."

Jingang looked at Qin Ge, his eyes showing a different gleam. "Hehe, Commander Qin Ge really is quite a unique person."

Jin Gang looked at Qin Ge, his eyes showing a different light, "Hehe, Qin Ge Commander really is a very peculiar person, right?"