Chapter 481: An Encounter on the Beach

No one knew what happened after that day in the Headquarters Office; in short, from then on Qin Ge and Zhenhai's relationship improved.

However, whenever the two met, Zhenhai would unconsciously blush. It must have been something truly unforgettable that day; otherwise he wouldn't act like that.

That day, after the two finished patrolling the Gangqu, they had planned to return to the office for a few rounds, but when they passed a beach, Qin Ge saw Enterprise launching her carrier aircraft there.

So he said to Zhenhai beside him, "Why don't you go back to the office first? I'll go check it out."

Zhenhai glanced at Enterprise in the distance and nodded, saying, "Although having this enterprising mindset is a good thing, you also need to balance work and rest, so that'll trouble the commander."

Qin Ge smiled and said, "What's the trouble? Perhaps this is exactly my duty. Alright, I'll head over now."

"Mm." Zhenhai nodded, then left, while Qin Ge walked toward Enterprise.

Because Enterprise had launched her carrier aircraft, when Qin Ge approached she already noticed. So she took the opportunity, as Qin Ge came over, to retract her carrier aircraft.

The carrier aircraft that flew down from the sky turned into a bald eagle in midair, letting out a long sharp cry before landing on Enterprise's arm.

After doing that, Enterprise turned her head and smiled, saying, "Commander, how did you come here?"

"I should be asking you," Qin Ge asked Enterprise, "it's clearly your off‑time, why are you running over here?"

Enterprise smiled, stroking the feathers of the hawk on her arm, and said, "I've grown accustomed to the sortie lifestyle; these days the commander hasn't left as planned, so I've been restless and came here to practice a bit."

Qin Ge looked at Enterprise and frowned, saying, "But you're already at max proficiency; doing this kind of training won't increase it much."

"It's fine," Enterprise said, "proficiency isn't the main point; the important thing is to find something to do. Otherwise I'd just be idle there, which wouldn't look good to others."

Qin Ge laughed helplessly, "Why do you think that way? When you have nothing to do, isn't everyone the same? And it's not because Li Chenming left; I also assigned you his patrol duty, didn't I?"

"We do have that patrol mission, but it's only once a day."

"It's just that the waters around Gangqu are now very peaceful, so early on the chance of encountering the Siren Fleet is very low; moreover, each sortie is a group of three to five people, and rotating takes a long time," Enterprise said.

Looking at Enterprise's serious face, Qin Ge asked, "So besides combat, do you really have no other hobbies?"

"Does feeding the little eagle count?" Enterprise asked Qin Ge.

Qin Ge broke into a sweat, "There's plenty of time without combat; are you really spending all of it feeding the little eagle?"

"Can't I?" Enterprise asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Of course not," Qin Ge said, exasperated, "if you keep feeding it like that, it'll eventually become a fat eagle. Besides, don't you have your sister in Gangqu? Don't you two usually play together?"

"Bumblebee, she kind of likes the feeling of being unrestrained; when she's with me she always feels some inexplicable pressure, so she spends more time with Bunker Hill and a few others."

"Also, White Eagle's Envoy Aisaikesi often likes to come here, but when she does it's only to talk about battle matters," Enterprise told Qin Ge.

"Alright, it seems I now know what your usual lifestyle is like," Qin Ge said.

"Huh?" Enterprise looked confused.

"Well, I don't have anything to do right now; how about we go for a walk together?" Qin Ge said.

"Since it's the commander's invitation, I certainly won't refuse," Enterprise smiled, then extended her arm, and the little eagle perched on it shot up into the sky.

"Now it's possible."

Qin Ge nodded, "Let's go."

"Mm."

The two sat side by side on the beach, a bald eagle circling above them.

"Come to think of it, since I summoned you, we've never really had a proper chat; looks like that's my fault," Qin Ge said apologetically.

"It's fine, Commander; everyone knows the situation in Gangqu, so I won't blame you for this," Enterprise smiled.

"Even though you don't blame me, this is indeed my negligence and mistake," Qin Ge said.

"Actually, compared to this, I'd rather the commander pay attention to the other people in Gangqu; since I've experienced more combat than they have, I have some self‑regulation ability, whereas others like some destroyers really need companionship," Enterprise said.

"Don't worry, I've always been keeping an eye on them," Qin Ge smiled, "but right now the most important thing is you—combat is combat, life is life, and life isn't all about combat."

"Keeping this posture all the time would be tiring; occasionally relaxing is also necessary."

"But the sea surface isn't calm yet, the war hasn't ceased, and enemies still remain on the ocean," Enterprise said to Qin Ge.

Qin Ge shook his head, "This battle won't end that quickly; do you remember what I told you before? The Sirens turned this world into an experimental field, and how long that field lasts is entirely up to them."

"Even if we break that experimental field, can you guarantee no one else will come after them? They might be even more cruel than the Sirens, or even more heartless."

"This..." Enterprise hesitated, "What is the commander's idea or plan? Are we just going to keep the status quo and watch countless commanders and shipgirls go to their deaths? Isn't that a bit too heartless?"

Qin Ge took a deep breath, "My current thought is to respond to change with constancy—first raise our strength to the point where we can talk with the Sirens as equals."

"Then we ask them what all this is for—why they made this world an experimental field, and whether besides this world there are any other experimental fields."

"What is the relationship between shipgirls and Sirens, who exactly is the so‑called Creator, and which world did they come from? And so on..."

Enterprise lifted her head, looked at Qin Ge, and said, "So when the commander knows all these answers, what will you choose?"

"I don't know, I haven't figured it out yet," Qin Ge said bluntly.

"Ah?"