Chapter 54: Li Chenming

Because they had just finished a long class, the academy gave the commanders a twenty‑minute break, which made Qin Ge think of his own schedule back at the Naval Command Academy.

After chatting with the Prince of Wales and her group, Qin Ge escorted them out of the Grand Lecture Hall together with Mikasa, who had a class later, and only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

"How come you weren't nervous while lecturing earlier, but after seeing off the Dean and Enterprise you let out such a big sigh?" Mikasa asked with a smile.

"It's not that I saw them nervous; I'm afraid of letting them down," Qin Ge said.

"Ha ha, be more confident in yourself—your theoretical knowledge is not lacking compared to others; in fact, it's far better," Mikasa said.

"Knowing something and being able to explain it are two different things, but fortunately I lived up to expectations and achieved the expected result," Qin Ge said with a laugh.

"Mm‑hm, when the commander lectures up front, I watch from below as others listen attentively; the commander is truly amazing," the nearby Banrenma said admiringly.

Even the usually quiet Nengdai nodded, saying, "Indeed, your lecture was very successful."

Qin Ge smiled at his own shipgirls and said, "If you think it's good, that's the greatest encouragement for me."

At that moment, the preparatory bell began to ring; some first‑year students started returning from outside the classroom with their shipgirls, while most of the second‑year students did not come back.

"My class is about to start—find a seat and begin listening." Mikasa, hearing the preparatory bell, also told Qin Ge.

"All right, Senior Mikasa's class—I've been looking forward to it for a long time," Qin Ge said with a smile.

Since the front rows were already full, Qin Ge found a seat farther back, sat down with his shipgirls, and prepared to listen to Mikasa's battleship lecture.

Then a young man approached from the side—handsome, with a refined elegance, polite and courteous—and upon reaching Qin Ge said, "Assistant Teacher Qin Ge, nice to meet you. I'm also a first‑year commander like you; my name is Li Chenming."

Seeing Li Chenming come over, Qin Ge found him rather interesting. Because of his assistant‑teacher status, many commanders unintentionally keep their distance from him, yet this Li Chenming who came over seemed especially intriguing.

"Hello, I'm also a newcomer like you, so there's no need for formalities—just call me Qin Ge," Qin Ge smiled.

Li Chenming was taken aback by Qin Ge's attitude, then laughed, "Well, I'll be casual then—I thought you'd be hard to get along with, but you're surprisingly easygoing."

"Really? I don't see myself as hard to get along with at all," Qin Ge asked, somewhat puzzled.

Li Chenming scratched his head and laughed, "Maybe during the opening ceremony, lots of people noticed you were an instructor, and instructors are generally… you know. So that rumor spread."

Qin Ge couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head, causing the Banrenma and Nengdai sitting on the other side to barely suppress their laughter.

"By the way, I forgot to introduce—this is my shipgirl, Z1." Li Chenming said, stepping aside to reveal the Z1 standing nearby.

Qin Ge looked over and saw a girl with messy silver hair wearing a military cap, sitting upright beside Li Chenming. Upon hearing Li Chenming introduce himself, she turned her head toward Qin Ge, nodded, and greeted him.

Qin Ge gave a slight smile, nodded at Z1, then told Li Chenming, "These two are my shipgirls, Banrenma and Nengdai."

Following Qin Ge's introduction, Banrenma and Nengdai each gave Li Chenming a polite nod, then turned their heads away.

Li Chenming nodded, his feelings complex, and said to Qin Ge, "I'd looked you up in the manual before, so I knew—it's really great."

Qin Ge observed Li Chenming's strange state and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Actually, I originally wanted to build an older‑sister type, but after pouring the ten Wisdom Cubes and supplies the academy gave me into the build, nothing appeared. In the end I borrowed a Wisdom Cube and supplies from Ninghai and managed to construct Z1…," Li Chenming said, somewhat pained.

Qin Ge looked at the somewhat resentful Li Chenming, smiled, and encouraged him, "Z1 is still very strong."

"It's not a matter of strength or weakness—I just wanted an older‑sister type," Li Chenming said with a hint of resentment.

"Commander, put your heart at ease—Z1, the great one, is invincible." Z1 turned her head and said to Li Chenming without showing any weakness.

Li Chenming turned his head, saw Z1 nodding in relief, then turned back, withdrew his resentful gaze, and said to Qin Ge, "Qin Ge, when you built those two shipgirls of yours, how many Wisdom Cubes did you use?"

Qin Ge felt a little embarrassed and said, "About three Wisdom Cubes."

"Pap—"

Li Chenming fell backward straight away, but the quick‑reacting Z1 grabbed him. After steadying himself, he stared at Qin Ge and said, word by word, "Qin Ge, I hope you never tell anyone this number—otherwise someone might really stab you to death!"

"Is it really that exaggerated?" Qin Ge said, speechless.

"Exaggerated? This is no exaggeration at all." Li Chenming straightened his clothes, seriously told Qin Ge, "Do you know there's an unwritten rule among commanders about shipbuilding?"

"I actually don't know that." Qin Ge shook his head, indicating he truly didn't know.

Li Chenming said with a solemn expression, "When a Big Build yields normal shipgirls and rare shipgirls, we call those commanders African Commanders. When a Big Build yields elite shipgirls, we call them Asian Commanders.

When a Big Build yields super‑rare shipgirls, we call those commanders European Commanders; when a Big Build yields a super‑rare shipgirl within ten pulls, we call them Euro Emperors.

If someone gets a super‑rare shipgirl within five pulls, we call them European Dogs. And you—pulling two super‑rare shipgirls in just two attempts—are the public enemy of all commanders, an intolerable outrage!

Qin Ge couldn't help but be speechless, "You guys are really boring."

As soon as Qin Ge said that, Li Chenming's spirits dropped, "There's nothing to be done—this is just a tradition passed down from the early commanders. That said, sitting alongside someone like you really puts pressure on me."

"Heh heh, this pressure might last a while—at least we'll have to stick together for two more years," Qin Ge said with a smile.

"Right then, let's consider ourselves friends—please continue to guide me over the next two years." Li Chenming smiled and extended his hand to Qin Ge.

Qin Ge also grasped Li Chenming's outstretched hand with a full‑face smile, "Sure, please continue to guide me in the time ahead."