Chapter 56: Mingshi Grocery Store

The two chatted along the way, arrived at the cafeteria, and in the smile of a day, after finishing their meal they sat at the same table, eating while chatting.

"By the way, Qin Ge, after you built them, you still have a lot of Wisdom Cubes and supplies left, right?" Li Chenming asked.

"Yes, there are still 9 Wisdom Cubes and 6900 supplies." Qin Ge nodded and said.

"Ah!" Li Chenming said doubtfully, "Didn't you say you used three Wisdom Cubes? How come there are still nine left?"

Qin Ge smiled and, facing Li Chenming, began to recount the promise previously given to him by the Prince of Wales.

After hearing Qin Ge's account, Li Chenming's mouth hung open, and only after a while did he utter, "European Dog!"

Qin Ge laughed and shook his head, "No way, maybe it's just luck."

Li Chenming clicked his tongue, then solemnly said, "So your shipgirls' equipment probably isn't fully equipped, right?"

Qin Ge nodded, "That's right. Although earlier Dean Prince of Wales issued a directive, I borrowed two fighter jets and an anti-aircraft gun from the training field at Anshan, but aside from their main weapons, my shipgirls' equipment is empty there."

"Are you interested in stopping by the grocery store later? I heard Mingshi Grocery Store has opened." Li Chenming said.

"Oh, I hadn't noticed that; it turns out Mingshi Grocery Store has already opened." Qin Ge said, somewhat surprised.

Mingshi Grocery Store—he had long been yearning for it, having heard that it carries much equipment suitable for shipgirls, as well as other gear, and even specially made clothing for shipgirls.

Although shipgirls can wear ordinary clothes, ordinary clothes aren't suited for combat, so during battle they still need to change back into their original ship equipment clothing.

However, the clothing bought at Mingshi Grocery Store has no such drawback; shipgirls can wear it and go into battle at sea anytime without issue.

Moreover, the key point is that the opening of Mingshi Grocery Store means his Banrenma and Nengdai can now undergo their first breakthrough. And each time a shipgirl breaks through, her power undergoes a qualitative leap.

"Commander." Indeed, Banrenma and Nengdai turned toward Qin Ge, looking at him with eager anticipation.

"Hehe, no rush. Let's finish our meal first, then go together to Mingshi Grocery Store." Qin Ge laughed and said to the two of them.

"Good!" Banrenma and Nengdai said with some delight, since a breakthrough greatly helps their strength growth, so afterward the two ate their meals much faster.

Qin Ge turned his head to look at Li Chenming opposite him, "Judging by your appearance, are you also preparing to go later?"

"Of course." Li Chenming nodded, "I plan to exchange oil for some supplies to upgrade my Z1's equipment."

"Oh, I see." Qin Ge nodded.

At the Commander Academy, oil can be exchanged for supplies, though the ratio isn't high; this also counts as a form of assistance for new commanders.

Usually the oil-to-supplies exchange ratio is 1:5, meaning one unit of oil can be exchanged for five units of supplies.

However, this is relatively popular among early-stage new commanders, because at this point shipgirls need to form combat capability, so equipment support is necessary.

By the time of the second year's later stage, the use of oil becomes evident.

Whether undertaking commissions or sorties, every shipgirl needs oil support to possess full combat power. Thus at that time oil is the most scarce resource, and few people would exchange oil for supplies then.

"I intend to exchange 100 units of oil, then see what 500 supplies can buy—at minimum I need to outfit my Z1 with a blue-quality main gun or torpedo." Li Chenming said.

"Let's go together later to have a look; if after giving them their breakthroughs there are still leftover supplies, we'll see if we can buy something good." Qin Ge said.

"Wait, a breakthrough?" Li Chenming asked Qin Ge doubtfully.

"Yes, my Banrenma and Nengdai can already undergo their first breakthrough, so I need to go to Mingshi Grocery Store to do the breakthrough." Qin Ge told Li Chenming.

"How long have your two shipgirls been built?" Li Chenming wondered.

"A little over a week, that was when I just arrived at the academy." Qin Ge said.

"Can they break through that quickly?" Li Chenming exclaimed in surprise.

"Hmm." Qin Ge nodded, "Isn't that the case?"

Li Chenming shook his head, "I previously asked many second-year commanders; their first shipgirls usually only undertake the first breakthrough after more than half a month. Yours, at just over a week, is really too fast."

"Hehe, maybe they trained harder." Qin Ge smiled and said.

"That's right; many commanders, after building their shipgirls, first cultivate feelings with them, and only after establishing a foundation do they go for specialized training, which wastes some time." Li Chenming said.

Qin Ge chuckled, looking at Banrenma and Nengdai who were eating, "I haven't deliberately paid attention to these things; I simply face them as my true self, and I feel this is actually not bad."

"Hmm, I think this is fine too; if one deliberately cultivates the shipgirls' favorability, it becomes overly scheming." Li Chenming said.

"Agreed." Qin Ge laughed; at that moment, Banrenma and Nengdai beside him had finished their meals, their eyes full of expectation as they looked at Qin Ge.

Thus Qin Ge said to the already-finished Li Chenming, "Then let's all go to Mingshi Grocery Store together."

"Hmm." Li Chenming nodded, taking Z1 who was drinking a carbonated cola, and together with Qin Ge left the school cafeteria.

The distance between Mingshi Grocery Store and the cafeteria isn't far; following the main road from the cafeteria entrance, after passing a fork, you arrive at Mingshi Grocery Store.

Although it's now lunchtime, there are still people at Mingshi Grocery Store.

Qin Ge and Li Chenming, bringing their shipgirls, had just entered the store when a person turned from beside the counter and said to them, "Hi, welcome~!"

The two turned their heads and saw a shipgirl with rabbit ears sitting beside the counter, expressionlessly gazing at them; that welcome remark was indeed hers.

Looking at this figure, both unfamiliar and familiar, Qin Ge immediately realized that this shipgirl was the Sakura Empire destroyer Shiranui appearing in the Shipgirl Compendium.

Just as Qin Ge was about to greet them, a shipgirl with green hair and cat ears turned from the shelves, saying to the two, "Hello, commanders, welcome to Mingshi Grocery Store, meow! I am the shop owner, Mingshi Meow!"

Upon seeing this shipgirl who called herself Mingshi, Qin Ge inexplicably shuddered.