Chapter 449: Insufficient Strength

The shipgirls and the Sirens actually share the same origin, something Qin Ge had never even considered before.

He had once thought the shipgirls might have been created by the Sirens, or that shipgirls and Sirens were fundamentally two different beings. But the Observer's words plunged him into thought; he would not doubt their truth, for one who has reached the Observer's level would not deign to speak.

Moreover, the shipgirls and Sirens seemed to have been created by the same person, and the Observer called that person the Creator. This Creator's identity puzzled Qin Ge, so he asked the Observer.

"Then who is the Creator who made the shipgirls and you Sirens?"

The Observer smiled and said, "This question cannot be answered for you, because even if you knew the Creator, with your current strength it would be of no use."

This remark left Qin Ge speechless, but what the Observer said was also true; even if he knew who the Creator was, could he contend with the Creator? Could he change this rule, change this world?

Impossible.

Qin Ge couldn't help but wryly laugh; finally he thought of a very important question and said to the Observer, "I want to ask, can I still go home?"

At this moment, all of Qin Ge's shipgirls involuntarily lifted their spirits, for they knew their commander had come from another world to this one. And long before, his commander had always sought a way back, which is why he became commander and thus built such a mighty fleet.

His purpose was simply to ask the Sirens in the deepest part of the sea clearly; and now the Observer is right before him, he still asked this question, and the Observer's answer will concern their future.

However, Hao and Fanji didn't pay much attention, for they thought Qin Ge's question was about whether one could leave the Mirror Sea to go home.

The Observer gave a slight smile, then shook her head, moving the corners of her mouth; these words were transmitted only to Qin Ge's ears.

"Not for now, oh, because even we cannot grasp the multiverse, and the commander as a whole is an excellent research subject—how could we possibly let you leave here?"

Qin Ge gave a wry smile, "Indeed, have I been deceiving myself all along?"

"Do you really want to go home that badly?" the Observer smiled, "Abandon everything you have in this world? Although I don't know what you possess in that world, can you truly abandon your shipgirls, your friends?"

Qin Ge stared, speechless for a good while.

"So ask yourself, if I truly told you you could go home, would you go home?" the Observer smiled, "The bonds you humans call, the emotions you humans call—all of it, are you willing to sever?"

"I understand." Qin Ge took a long breath, and suddenly his heart felt enlightened.

Whether he could go home had always been a knot in his heart; now that he knew the answer, he felt much lighter. Perhaps everything has long been fated in the dark; since he cannot return for now, it would be better to properly manage his fleet in this world and, together with these shipgirls, fulfill their mission.

"Then what is your purpose? Collecting combat data, using the whole world as a test field—if there were no earth-shaking purpose, you surely wouldn't boredly do these things." Qin Ge asked.

"I can't tell you, oh; the reason is the same as before—even if you knew, what could you do?" the Observer smiled.

Qin Ge was speechless, "So the reason for everything is simply lack of strength?"

"Yes, although you perform extremely strongly among humans and have now surpassed all human commanders, but to us you are still tiny."

So tiny that, were it not for your special nature, we wouldn't even notice you; thus when your strength reaches a certain degree, you will naturally come to know many things you've long been puzzled about.

And when your strength hasn't reached that level, even if you knew these things, what use would they be? They would only become your burden, your excess, making you lose the drive to move forward." the Observer said with a smile.

"Well then, do these questions count as rewards for clearing these stages? May I ask another question?" Qin Ge asked.

"Yes." the Observer said.

"If we can't pass these six stages, will we die here today?" Qin Ge asked.

"Yes, oh." the Observer said without hesitation, "Although you are special, you won't be special enough to alter all of our experimental progress, so do you understand?"

Qin Ge couldn't help but laugh at this answer, "Really ruthless—I actually thought you'd say something pleasant."

"This is merely the most basic fact, so strive—let me witness your strength. As special treatment, Commander Qin Ge, the Siren fleets you encounter will be one to three times more numerous than others'. So whether you can survive depends entirely on yourself." the Observer smiled.

Qin Ge couldn't help but be speechless—this really is special treatment. The enemy fleets one encounters are one to three times those of an ordinary commander, meaning others might meet a large Siren fleet, while one would encounter two or four.

"What preferential treatment—I'm truly grateful." Qin Ge said helplessly.

"Alright, this meeting ends here. I believe the supplies we've given will let you develop for a long time. Keep creating miracles, Commander Qin Ge—I look forward to our next meeting." the Observer smiled.

She said this to everyone, not just Qin Ge could hear it; others could hear it as well.

In the blink of an eye, behind the Observer and the Testers etc. a vortex appeared; the vortex then slowly swallowed the two, together with the Purifiers' heads, and in an instant vanished above the sea surface.

Immediately after, the bright sky suddenly darkened, stars and the moon appearing in the heavens; at that moment a voice came from the communicator on the command ship.

"Commander, please acknowledge receipt, please acknowledge receipt!"

Qin Ge glanced at the outside sky, gave a faint smile, picked up the communication device and replied, "Received, report your positions."

"Commander, is it really you?" Obviously, the voice on the other side suddenly became excited, clearly somewhat disbelieving.

"It's me." Qin Ge glanced at the radar, then told the communication device, "Our current coordinates are xx, xxx—notify everyone to come over, and we'll explain in detail after gathering."

"Yes, Commander!"

Having said that, the other end hung up the communication, evidently to inform the others. Qin Ge then said to the shipgirls still on the sea surface, "Everyone, you may return now."

"Yes, Commander!"