21: Chapter 21 The Shipwreck

"Alright, Commander. We've arrived. The shipwreck is about 50 meters below us," Fujian reminded him, pulling Laffey out of Li Ming's arms.

It definitely wasn't because she was jealous—no, definitely not!

"Understood." Li Ming stood up and looked out the window. They were near another small island. It had just rained, and now the rain clouds were scattering with the wind, leaving the waves a bit calmer than before.

"Does everyone have their equipment?" Li Ming asked as the Ship Girls gathered around him.

Seeing them nod in confirmation, Li Ming thought for a moment and continued, "Then let's meet on the deck in half an hour. I'm going to change into my gear as well."

"Commander, are you coming down with us too?" Z23 expressed her concern.

"Of course. How could I miss out on a group activity like this?" Li Ming replied decisively. He glanced at Fujian and, seeing her worried expression, chose a softer tone. "I'll stay behind you all. You can't just leave me alone on the ship, right? ...Come on, it's just a little adventure. It's not like Observer would plant a booby trap down there, right?"

At this moment, Li Ming really hated that he wasn't good at coaxing people; his verbal skills were terrible. But at least they agreed to let him tag along. However, as a condition, Javelin and Lanshan had to stay by his side at all times to ensure his safety.

Li Ming accepted this. An adventure with beautiful girls—though he was shy, he was looking forward to it.

——————

Half an hour later.

Li Ming changed into an Eagle Union Navy Mark V diving suit. After ensuring everything was in order, he carried his helmet onto the deck, only to freeze in his tracks.

"Wait, are you guys sure you're going diving?"

Li Ming looked at the four little girls waiting for him by the gunwale in their skimpy outfits, looking utterly dazed. He strongly suspected they were just going to play in the water...

In contrast, Hu Jian's diving gear was a bodysuit. While it looked a bit more normal... Li Ming immediately looked away to stop himself from fantasizing further.

"The Commander's outfit is... a bit bulky." Z23 looked at Li Ming's fully armed appearance and chuckled. Realizing her Commander actually needed it, she felt relieved. "Don't worry, Commander. If necessary, we can just use our rigging. We don't need extra diving gear."

Thinking of how Bismarck could be retrieved from underwater by U-556, Li Ming was suddenly enlightened. Ship Girls were just that illogical; what could he do?

"Let's get ready to head down then." Li Ming took the headset Fujian handed him—brought from the Core Ship, it was one of the few high-tech devices on the massive vessel that could penetrate the thick copper hull to communicate with the outside. He put it on, then donned his helmet. After Z23 confirmed everything was fitted correctly, he lowered the ladder from the Destroyer's side and slowly entered the water.

Finally, he could observe the underwater world while still being able to breathe. The water in this area was quite clear, and there were various sea fish around that Li Ming had never seen before. It was truly a novel experience.

With several splashes, the Ship Girls jumped in one after another. Soon, Li Ming saw Lanshan and Javelin approach him, holding their armaments. Aside from Hu Jian, who still carried her heavy-looking rigging bow, the other three each took a harpoon just in case.

———They couldn't exactly throw depth charges while the Commander was underwater.

"Shall we go, Commander?"

Fujian was the chief Commander now. Li Ming gave her a thumbs-up to show he was ready, then clumsily moved his body to swim downward.

"...Has the Commander ever learned how to dive?" Z23 looked at the Commander's clumsy movements and turned to Fujian with a worried face.

Fujian shook her head. For the past few months, it had all been land-based training and theoretical study. She really hadn't expected her Commander to actually listen to Observer and come here to dive.

Any unexpected event made her feel uneasy...

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Fujian followed him down. Before long, the shipwreck became clearly visible.

It wasn't a massive ship; its total displacement was estimated to be around 10,000 tons. It looked like a cruise liner, but for some reason, it had sunk here.

After observing for a while, Li Ming shouted into his headset, "I'm wondering if we should have the Manjuus organize some small boats to check around the area and the islands!"

"Sure, Commander!" Fujian replied quickly. "I'll arrange it right away!"

"Roger! Then let's get ready to go inside and take a look!"

"Commander, Commander, stay behind us!" Javelin reminded him at the right moment.

"Don't worry, I know." Li Ming acknowledged. No one could see him nodding inside the diving suit.

Fujian tied up her hair before following them inside at the very back.

Li Ming frowned. After entering the cabin, there were drowned remains everywhere. The only certain thing was that the structure was still relatively intact and hadn't been picked at by fish. Seeing the Ship Girls turn on their lights, Li Ming took an Iron Blood-designed Experimental Underwater Rifle from Z23 and switched on its attached flashlight.

Judging by the decor in the corridor, although the ship might not have been carrying high-ranking officials, it clearly wasn't a slave ship either. Li Ming couldn't understand why it would sink in such a desolate place.

They searched through the doors one by one. Z23 and Laffey followed Hu Jian to clear the way ahead.

For Li Ming, the occasional precious metals they found were rare treasures. He could melt them down and convert them into energy to fuel the base's development.

They moved through the first floor, dismantling things along the way. The underwater pressure caused Li Ming's physical strength to drain quite quickly, and he felt uncomfortable because he couldn't reach the itchy spots where he was sweating.

"Wait for me, I need to catch my breath," Li Ming said to the two girls beside him. He paused for a moment before continuing to follow them.

Seeing them touch the remains without any reaction, Li Ming, who had initially felt a bit nauseous, was influenced and pulled himself together—his prying speed increased.

He pried off bits and pieces like watches and jewelry, and there were even gold and silver items. Li Ming felt that this trip was worth it; adding everything on the ship together, they could probably gather quite a lot.

There were also some boxes and identification documents. Li Ming wasn't sure if there was anything good in them.

Thinking this, Li Ming looked at the numerous cabins. He realized his diving suit could only support four hours of work at most. At this rate, he didn't know how long it would take to finish searching everything...

"Fujian, how is the search going on your end?"

"Progress is limited, Commander. We're planning to break a window and enter the Bridge directly from the outside."

"Alright, then we'll continue in the cabins. I plan to surface in two hours."

"Understood, Commander."

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