Chapter 7: Chapter Seven Azure Lane Commander Academy

Woo…… woo……

With two long whistles, a huge passenger liner docked at the pier of Shenhua City's harbor. And in the cabin, Qin Ge also heard this sound; he had already packed his belongings that morning, nodded and greeted the passengers in the adjacent berth, then picked up his things and followed the crowd off the ship.

Leaving the port, Qin Ge bought a map of Shenhua City at a newsstand by the gate. Compared to the previous Minghai City, Shenhua City is obviously much larger; it is said to be the largest coastal city in Donghuang. This is also understandable, because the Azure Lane Commander Academy is located in Shenhua City, making this place where commanders are most concentrated and also the safest coastal area in Donghuang.

Opening the map, Qin Ge immediately spotted the location of the Azure Lane Commander Academy—or rather, it was hard to miss, since it occupied the largest portion of the map near the coast. Qin Ge had previously learned about the Commander Academy; its composition is very complex, just as Xu Xin said, not everyone can be called a commander.

Faced with those who hold lofty ideals but cannot become commanders, the Commander Academy does not simply discard them. Therefore, the Azure Lane Commander Academy is not only a place to train commanders, but also to train scientific research, logistics, shipbuilding, and other personnel related to naval warfare, so that those who cannot become commanders can also strive for their lofty ideals.

Thus the Azure Lane Commander Academy is divided into several major zones. The first major zone is the largest main study area, where commanders and shipgirls are trained. Because shipgirls need to conduct drills and other practical operations in daily training, this zone has the greatest land area and the best facilities.

The second major zone is the Science and Technology Zone, which cultivates scientific and technical talent; the communication facilities between commanders, the image transmission data system, sea area coordinates, and a series of other complex scientific achievements are all produced here.

The third major zone is the Shipyard Construction Zone. Although human warships cannot fight the Sirens, commanders are not shipgirls who can glide on the sea at any time, so they also need vessels for travel. Currently, most of the command ships of Donghuang come from here; after completing the graduation test, every commander receives their first command ship from this zone for their command career.

The fourth major zone is the Logistics Supply Zone. Here, petroleum produced from land and sea is received daily, processed by special means into fuel usable by shipgirls. It can be said this is the busiest zone, with twenty‑four‑hour rotating shifts, so that all shipgirls can have combat capability.

After confirming the direction of the Azure Lane Commander Academy, Qin Ge hailed a taxi at the port gate and headed toward the academy.

The driver was a very enthusiastic person. Upon learning Qin Ge's destination, he knew Qin Ge was not a local of Shenhua City. All along the way he introduced fun spots and tasty, economical places in Shenhua City, which improved Qin Ge's impression of the city as a newcomer.

However, no matter how long the journey, there is an end—especially since the Azure Lane Commander Academy is not far from the civilian port area. While chatting with the driver, they arrived at the destination without noticing. After getting out of the car, Qin Ge saw the academy's main gate for the first time; the imposing giant anchor standing in the middle of the square between the gates gave this earth‑born person a sense of novelty.

After all, such sights are not uncommon on Earth, but the academy gate does not have a ten‑story‑high anchor. Feeling this novelty, Qin Ge crossed the square in front of the gate and walked toward the entrance.

Since school had not yet started, the academy gate was very quiet. He came to the guardhouse at the gate to inquire about enrollment procedures, but instead of the imagined duty guard, he found a girl who looked like a junior high school student.

Her sand‑brown hair was tied into two ponytails, a special 102 hair clip fastened on her bangs, she wore a white naval uniform, and a red five‑pointed star on her waist belt shone brightly.

Facing the girl who gave him a somewhat familiar feeling, Qin Ge smiled and said, "Hello, may I bother you for a moment?"

"Huh? Who are you?" the girl asked, looking at the suddenly appearing Qin Ge with some confusion.

"Hello, I'm Qin Ge. I came here wanting to become a commander, but I don't know the exact procedure, and enrollment is coming up soon, so I came to ask." Qin Ge smiled at the girl.

"Oh, is that so? I'm Fushun, the second ship of the Anshan‑class destroyer, Fushun." The girl—no, Fushun—first introduced herself to Qin Ge, who was astonished to see this girl; he didn't expect to encounter her, the renowned Fushun destroyer, so soon after arriving at the Commander Academy—could this be considered meeting an old friend in a foreign land?

"What's wrong?" Obviously Fushun also noticed Qin Ge's surprised gaze and asked doubtfully.

"Nothing much; I've also seen an Anshan‑class destroyer before, so I'm a bit surprised." Qin Ge told Fushun, adding silently in his mind, "Museum……"

"Oh, I see, that's nothing special; there are still many Anshan‑class shipgirls in this world, so meeting one isn't strange." Fushun smiled and said, "Now let's get down to business."

"Mm." Qin Ge nodded, listening attentively to Fushun's following words.

"To become a commander, one must first pass the compatibility test between a commander and the Wisdom Cube, after which one can register as a probationary commander. Moreover, registering as a commander incurs no cost, and after becoming one, one can enjoy a monthly stipend; finally, one studies and grows at this Commander Academy. If one fails, there's no need to be discouraged—we also have suitable research and logistics training here, allowing one to contribute to the Donghuang faction's commander force." Fushun said very concisely.

"Then I'd like to ask, how do I test my compatibility with the Wisdom Cube?" Qin Ge asked.

"On the day of registration, come to the school gate; there will be specialized equipment to check your compatibility with the Wisdom Cube. Because only with the corresponding compatibility can one summon their own shipgirl from the Wisdom Cube; without it, summoning is impossible." Fushun explained to Qin Ge.

"I see……" Qin Ge nodded, suddenly recalling the letter of introduction from Xu Xin, and asked, "What if I have a handwritten letter of introduction from another already‑graduated commander?"

"Oh, you actually have another commander's letter of introduction?" Fushun looked at Qin Ge with some surprise; according to her knowledge, people who have such letters usually don't ask such basic questions, because the person giving the letter has already explained all the common‑knowledge points. Moreover, those with letters usually first go to the Maritime Affairs Bureau, not the gate of the Commander Academy.

"Yes, I do." Qin Ge nodded, took out the letter of introduction that Xu Xin had given him from his upper‑pocket, and handed it to Fushun.

Fushun glanced at the signature at the end of the letter of introduction and softly read, "Xu Xin…… that name sounds familiar."