Chapter 636: That

Looking at the somewhat dejected shipgirls before him, Qin Ge let out a long sigh, "Alright, I know you're feeling a bit down right now, but this isn't the time to talk about that."

The two Sirens that just appeared were obviously the arbitrators mentioned by Bismarck earlier. Although we had predicted their strength beforehand, when we actually met them face to face, we still found them rather shallow.

Fortunately, this battle resulted in no casualties, and according to them, their target wasn't us but the so‑called Key Point G.

So there's no need to worry about them coming back for revenge, after all, in their eyes we're no different from other commanders and shipgirls—just ants.

Although being called that is indeed infuriating, anger changes nothing, and despair changes nothing either. Since they have appeared in this world, they are our future target.

We can make up for the gap in strength, but we must never let our morale be crushed by it. No matter how strong the enemy, we must keep the confidence and determination to win; although future battles will be tough and sacrifices great, ultimate victory will always be ours.

Understand?

"Yes, Commander!" Qin Ge's words swept away the gloomy atmosphere on the command ship; all the shipgirls answered earnestly, their eyes shining with bright light.

Qin Ge smiled slightly at this sight; back when he studied at the Naval Command Academy in his original world, he had once discussed this very question.

What makes an excellent commander?

Back then the discussion was heated, and the instructor's summary of those points has always been the standard he demands of himself in both worlds.

First, always keep a calm mind; second, have a strong sense of responsibility and duty; third, in every battle be victorious without arrogance, defeated without despair; fourth, continually improve your own technical skill and overall quality; fifth, adjust your command strategy at any time according to changes in the forces you lead.

It is precisely because of this standard that Qin Ge has consistently held himself to it, striving to become an excellent commander.

And now, when this powerful enemy appears and brings despair, as a commander he must never show despair; he must find hope and lead his shipgirls forward toward it.

"Very good, keep up this momentum; our road is still long." Qin Ge smiled and said, "Next, get in touch with Bismarck and her side to see exactly how things are there."

"Yes, Commander." Zhenhai replied and went to contact Bismarck's communicator, but was stopped by a voice.

"No need, I've already returned."

Everyone turned toward the sound and saw a group standing at the boarding hatch of the command ship, at their fore was Bismarck, who had just appeared.

She quickly stepped forward, and upon reaching Qin Ge's side she said apologetically, "Sorry, Commander, we came too late; I've already learned everything that happened here—if we had been present…"

Qin Ge smiled and shook his head, saying to the returning crew, "It's fine; this world has changed, things we couldn't imagine have appeared, but this also serves as a warning to us."

We'll talk about that later; how's your situation? Have you taken the Siren base? Is anyone else hurt?

Bismarck shook her head. "No one's injured; everyone remains combat‑ready. We've already captured that Siren base, extracted the useful data and equipment, and then destroyed the base."

That's why our advance was a bit delayed, and we only arrived here now. Also, let me introduce a shipgirl who will be staying temporarily in our port.

Qin Ge followed Bismarck's gaze and saw a shipgirl who looked very much like Gneisenau standing there, except that unlike Gneisenau she was dressed all in black, her expression somewhat stern, and her posture a little off.

"Gneisenau? No, is this the Gneisenau from another world you mentioned in your earlier report?" Qin Ge spoke up.

"Yes." The one answering Qin Ge's question was not Bismarck but the Gneisenau standing before him. "Hello, Commander Qin Ge; for certain reasons I may need to stay temporarily in your port—sorry for the trouble."

Qin Ge shook his head. "No problem, I'm very glad you could come to our port. As for your arrangements, Bismarck will handle them entirely; if you need anything, just find her."

"Thank you very much." Gneisenau nodded.

Qin Ge also nodded at Gneisenau, returning the greeting—just as he would with a free shipgirl, he was neither overly enthusiastic nor cold; everything felt natural.

"Commander, we found a rather peculiar dossier at that Siren base," Bismarck said.

"A dossier? We've also found several in the other three bases; if nothing unexpected happens, they're probably a set," Weineituo said immediately.

"Oh?" Akagi beside her smiled, "There's a strong whiff of conspiracy in this."

Qin Ge nodded. "Yes, I feel the Sirens' actions this time seem deliberate, as if they wanted us to find these."

"What do those dossiers your child found describe?" Emperor Frederick asked with a smile.

"They concern the Tunguska explosion and the energy cube; however I can tell it probably didn't happen in this world. As for which world it did occur in, we're not sure yet—we've only examined three dossiers, so we can't speculate." Qin Ge replied.

"Ah, I see. I remember you mentioning when the Purifiers left our port that you deliberately told us to pay attention to research on the Wisdom Cube. Now all the dossiers point to the cube, so it seems the answers we've been seeking are all there." Bismarck nodded.

"Hmm, we'll discuss that later; first let's talk about the current situation." Qin Ge told everyone, "If we go by what Bismarck said, we've cleared all five Siren bases in this sea area, so the Siren tide affecting our port should be over."

"Exactly, and because of the Siren tide, the Siren fleets that used to be active in this sea have completely vanished; now this sea has finally returned to peace," Peter Strasse said.

"Then Commander, what do you decide to do next? Return to port for rest, or continue fighting?" Bismarck asked.

Qin Ge pondered and said, "Actually I'm more worried about the situation in Donghuang and the Sakura Empire; earlier Yixian sent me a message I can't ignore."

Hehe, that's fake, you know…