Chapter 693: Meeting

The sound of artillery shells lingered in my ears unnoticed, and the carrier aircraft's wailing never stopped.

As the leader of White Eagle, Enterprise had not gotten a proper sleep for nearly a month. Each day's frontline battle report made her heart sink further, and the hopes she once held are now gone.

Before the Siren Tide even started, Qin Ge had told her that this possible incoming Siren Tide offensive would be stronger than ever, and they needed to be ready for timely defense and vigilance.

Although her sister also agreed with Qin Ge's analysis, White Eagle, as an equal and free faction, could not let Enterprise decide alone—especially a decision as big as factional strategy, which certainly couldn't be made by one person alone.

Thus, in the high-level meeting, they decided by vote. However, it seems that because Qin Ge's name mostly carries ill will among White Eagle's high command—after all, he stole the glory that should have belonged to Sakura Empire—most people dismissed his suggestions with disdain.

The final vote result was clear: the vast majority agreed to follow the previous defense strategy, while only a handful were willing to carry out Qin Ge's suggestions.

Thus they missed the best time to set up defenses, and when they later followed the original strategy and encountered the Siren Tide, they were struck and lost their bearings.

Afterward, the tactical arrangements and defense strategies also completely failed. Wanting to reverse the defeat, even though Enterprise herself had gone to the battlefield many times, one person's power is always limited; while she could have a positive promoting effect on the battlefield, she could not be decisive.

Now White Eagle has reached the most urgent moment, yet she is powerless, able only to act like a cornered dog jumping over a wall, choosing a desperate, all‑or‑nothing strike together with the other major factions.

If it weren't for her sister Yue Ke Cheng bringing the news that Qin Ge was coming to reinforce, she would probably now be heading to the Siren base waters with a resolve to die.

As Enterprise's thoughts were racing, the office door opened and a familiar figure appeared before her.

"Enterprise, they've arrived." Yue Ke Cheng looked at Enterprise, who looked somewhat weary beside the desk, and said with a hint of heartache.

Enterprise jumped up in surprise, saying, "That fast? I thought it would take another two days."

"Commander Qin Ge is naturally a tactical master, so speed is essential—this principle is especially evident in his execution." Yue Ke Cheng said.

"Where are they now?" Enterprise asked.

"Aisaikesi brought them to the meeting room of the temporary headquarters; I haven't let anyone disturb them, after all, their reception level isn't sufficient.

"Besides Qin Ge's fleet, there are also reinforcements from Sakura Empire and Donghuang, so this involves not just two factions but now three high‑level commands meeting—you should personally attend." Yue Ke Cheng said.

"Hmm, I understand, and since others are helping us while we are the ones being helped, if we had to stand on ceremony over this, it would be…" Enterprise trailed off, but Yue Ke Cheng opposite her understood her meaning.

"You're not wrong; it's just that some people in this faction's high command are mistaken. This time it's clear that in urgent decisions we must hold the decision‑making power.

"Otherwise, if everything were decided by vote, it would likely lead to wrong judgments. And look—after this happened, those people fled faster than rabbits, leaving us and those commanders to bear the front." Yue Ke Cheng said angrily.

"Sister…" Enterprise looked at Yue Ke Cheng and smiled wryly. "This is the bitter fruit of our own making; perhaps this Siren Tide won't reveal its flaws until the next one, so we must also go through this.

"This is actually not bad; at least the situation can still be salvaged. Come on, let's go see Commander Qin Ge together—I've heard his name many times and even joined video conferences with him, but I've never met him in person.

"Don't worry, I won't let you down." Yue Ke Cheng smiled.

The two exchanged a smile and quickly left the office toward the war conference room.

At that moment in the war conference room, Qin Ge was drinking tea brewed by White Eagle's Harman, waiting together with his shipgirls and the representatives of Sakura Empire and Donghuang for White Eagle's high command to arrive.

Meanwhile, Harman stood beside Aisaikesi, curiously looking at Qin Ge and his shipgirls beside him.

"Aisaikesi," Harman whispered, "that shipgirl looks somewhat like a White Eagle one—I've never seen anything like her."

Aisaikesi followed Harman's gaze and then quietly explained to him, "That is indeed a White Eagle shipgirl, and moreover our White Eagle's new‑type battleship, Xin ze xi."

"Xin ze xi? Is that the biggest, strongest black dragon?" Harman exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, according to Takenduroga, she is the same sea‑legend‑rank shipgirl as Xinong and Emperor Frederick." Aisaikesi said.

"Ah, how impressive—too bad we don't have her in White Eagle." Harman said regretfully.

Aisaikesi could only give a helpless smile at Harman's words. She also wished such a fleet could appear in White Eagle, but that is merely a wish; in reality it's impossible.

At that moment, the conference room door was knocked, and several figures walked in.

Qin Ge took a close look; besides the relatively familiar Yue Ke Cheng, there were some shipgirls who were both familiar and strange.

Based on their ship equipment, Qin Ge could recognize Enterprise, Washington, and Saratoga, among others.

Seeing the White Eagle arrivals, Qin Ge naturally stood up, for if he remained seated it would be somewhat impolite to them.

Leaving his seat to approach Enterprise, Qin Ge and Enterprise stood face to face. Looking at the somewhat weary Enterprise, Qin Ge extended his palm and said, "Although we've seen each other many times in video conferences, this is the first time we meet in person.

"Hello, Enterprise."

"Hello, Commander Qin Ge, Ninghai, Zuikaku. I, on behalf of all White Eagle, thank you for your arrival." Enterprise said, shaking Qin Ge's hand.

Having been a leader for so many years, Enterprise naturally had her discernment. As they exchanged greetings, the Donghuang and Sakura Empire representatives were clearly standing to Qin Ge's left and right. Thus it was confirmed that this support was centered on him, so Enterprise naturally placed Qin Ge at the forefront, rather than Sakura Empire or Donghuang.

"The situation is urgent, so let's skip the pleasantries. As Yue Ke Cheng told me earlier, you're planning to join other factions to counter‑attack the Siren base waters—why don't you first outline your plan for us?" After letting go of the hand, Qin Ge skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.

Enterprise nodded and said, "All right, let's sit down and talk.

"Hmm."