Chapter 984: Normal, Everything as Usual

"Commander, Bisimai sent a battle report." Zhenhai walked to Qin Ge's room door with a document, knocked, and said.

For Qin Ge, going a few days without sleep while fighting continuously was fine, but obviously the shipgirls around him wouldn't agree. Moreover, the battle wasn't urgent, so after one night Zhenhai urged Qin Ge to rest.

Although it was rest, Qin Ge slept very lightly, so when Zhenhai knocked on the door, he suddenly woke up.

"Come in." Qin Ge said at the door, then stretched out both hands and rubbed his face hard.

Zhenhai opened the door and entered upon hearing Qin Ge's voice, immediately seeing Qin Ge making himself awake, and couldn't help but smile wryly: "I really don't want to disturb the commander now, but some things in this document must be reviewed by you personally."

Qin Ge nodded. "So Bisimai and the others won?"

He threw off the blanket and sat on the edge of the bed, taking the battle report from Zhenhai's hand and opening it while asking.

"We won, but we also paid a price." Zhenhai said, since she was the first to receive this report, so she was quite familiar with its contents.

"Any casualties?" Qin Ge asked.

"That's not the case, but the ships are damaged, with many heavily damaged shipgirls. Across several fleets combined, it's already over thirty, so even though we've won, the advance needs to slow down." Zhenhai said.

"Just slow down a bit; you can't eat a fat guy in one bite. The battle hasn't reached the decisive moment. As long as we keep expanding our current gains, the ultimate advantage will remain in our hands." Qin Ge said while reading.

"The commander's morale is good." Zhenhai couldn't help but laugh.

Qin Ge lifted his head and smiled: "We've come this far; rushing now would be useless, and I don't expect to end everything quickly. Let's keep things as they are, nibbling away at them bit by bit—that's the best outcome."

Besides, aren't you tired standing there? Have a seat—although this battle report isn't long, making you stand there all the time isn't right.

"Hehe." Zhenhai laughed, didn't hesitate, and sat down right next to Qin Ge.

"Some things are also better whispered; the commander is quite perceptive now."

Listening to Zhenhai whispering in his ear, Qin Ge laughed and said, "I've always been perceptive, haven't I? And you've been busy in the command center all this time—just consider this a rest."

"Hehe." Zhenhai smiled slightly, his eyes falling on the marked prominent text Qin Ge was looking at, then asked, "So what do you think of this result, commander?"

Qin Ge couldn't help but chuckle: "So you rushed to give me this document just for this matter, right?"

"Huh? Why do you seem not surprised at all, as if everything was expected? Could it be you already knew they'd turn out this way?" Zhenhai's expression showed slight surprise, because Qin Ge's reaction was fundamentally different from what she had guessed.

After quickly scanning the entire battle report, Qin Ge closed the document and said, "If it's just this, tell Bisimai not to overthink—everything is as expected. They're trustworthy; their current behavior might seem a bit odd, but it's definitely not what she imagined."

"It seems the commander knows something we don't; could you tell me? If possible, I'd also like to analyze with the commander whether this is really what you think." Zhenhai said with a smiling, narrowed eyes.

Qin Ge smirked. "There's no way I could say this out loud. If the shipgirls found out, their morale would drop a lot, and the whole battle would become a joke."

Whether it's the Sirens, the Arbiters, or Yujin, these people could become allies or supporters in the future, so I can't afford to offend them—managing relations must start now.

"There are some things I can't tell you now, because even if I did, it wouldn't change the outcome. One thing is certain: they haven't developed the situation Bisimai imagined, and toward me they only offer help." Qin Ge said to Zhenhai.

"So the commander really knows something we don't?" Zhenhai said with a laugh, "But you've always been with us, and even when you're with them there's someone accompanying you—by rights that shouldn't be possible."

"Hehe, there are many ways to transmit information in this world, not just face-to-face." Qin Ge laughed and said, "But I can be certain the information I received is correct, so there's no need to be full of doubt."

"Moreover, do you think they wouldn't know? Hai Lun Na's ability is information control; perhaps she already knew when you received this information."

"I do have some awareness of that, so upon receiving this information I came straight to the commander. If even the commander thinks it's unnecessary, then I can relax."

"But how should I reply to Bisimai? I believe they're still waiting." Zhenhai asked.

Qin Ge stroked his chin and said, "Normal, everything as usual."

"I understand, then I won't disturb the commander's rest." Zhenhai said, laughing as he stood up and walked out of the door.

Qin Ge looked at her retreating back, smirked helplessly, then lay back down on the bed and pulled the covers over himself.

Inside the Siren fortress, leaders of several factions had gathered in the meeting room.

Continuous combat had already been exhausting, but what they discovered forced them to be this cautious. Even though it was late at night, they remained fully prepared and gathered here.

Taking off the headset of the long-range communicator, Bisimai turned over with a somewhat surprised expression.

Wuzang asked somewhat strangely, "How is it? Your expression looks a bit surprised."

Bisimai composed her expression, nodded to the several people, and said, "Indeed, I thought the commander would be very surprised upon receiving this information, but it seems I was mistaken. Zhenhai just sent me this; the commander's opinion on the matter is only a few short words."

"Normal, everything as usual."

"Normal? Could it be that Yujin and the commander have an agreement? Or that the commander ordered them to act this way?" Enterprise wondered.

"Unclear, but this result is enough. Whether it's an agreement between Yujin and the commander or the commander's own order, it can now explain what we've been doubtful about." Bisimai said, "So now everyone can relax their guard a bit and hurry back to rest, because times like this for recuperation will be rare going forward."

"Mm."