67: Chapter 67 Neutral Waters

"This is the sea area where we met last time..." Olena murmured to herself while comparing the camera footage, "A sunny day is really different from a stormy one."

To be honest, the scenery in this place was quite good.

The seawater was a pure blue, seagulls circled in the sky, and several small boats cruised nearby; some were conducting scientific research, while others were taking photos of them. A battlecruiser, serving as the special envoy's flagship, was the only discordant object under this sky.

As the capital ships of that fleet appeared to drive away the adventurers and journalists attempting to head south, the number of explorers and busybodies in this area had decreased significantly. Only a few die-hards remained, still trying to head south or hoping to catch another sighting of that fleet in these waters.

Olena didn't quite understand their behavior, but she chose to respect their choices.

Of course, this time she was following her Commander as an escort and guide for the leaders of the Ship Girl General Bureau, rather than as a decision-maker or key personnel.

However, from the look of it, the people from the Ship Girl General Bureau didn't seem very serious either?

Some were out blast fishing, some were trying to shoot seagulls with anti-aircraft guns, and others were conducting dangerous physics experiments on the ship without any isolation.

Although she had strictly ordered her own Commander not to get involved, it seemed he was currently treating her warning as thin air.

The ladies of the Ship Girl General Bureau did not have Commanders. Because of this, they were more neutral compared to Ship Girls who might be influenced by their Commander's nationality and stance.

Consequently, when the information reached the Ship Girl General Bureau, their first action was to temporarily suppress meetings with Federation officials. They held an internal meeting first and then decided to send their own people to make contact before making further plans.

However, so far, they hadn't discovered any flying objects or ships from that fleet.

"Olena? What are you thinking about?"

"Ah, Director?" Olena turned her head and saw a mature-looking Ship Girl with dark blonde hair.

For this negotiation, the Federation Branch of the Ship Girl General Bureau had dispatched two directors and four senior cadres, accompanied by a battlecruiser as a guide.

Compared to those third parties searching aimlessly, the Ship Girl General Bureau had obtained a detailed sea chart from Royal Fortune pointing to that massive island.

It seemed that fleet had made its home there.

"I was thinking about that Commander Lin," Olena replied. "He doesn't seem like a vanguard fleet Commander; rather, he's more like..."

"More like a spiritual totem," the Ship Girl finished her sentence. "He looks like a frontline officer, but he very skillfully diverted your attention and the conversation to unimportant matters, and..."

"Feiyan..." Olena frowned.

"Why, when Commander Finn mentioned the planes, did he proactively suggest another model would be more suitable while also revealing an intention to sell?"

The Ship Girl continued, "That is not the authority a vanguard officer should have. Furthermore, based on your description of him, he doesn't seem like the type who likes corruption. If your intuition is correct, then either that was unimportant information, or... he truly has the authority to decide whether to sell or not."

"Therefore," the Ship Girl continued, "he is definitely more than just a vanguard; he might even be a faction leader or someone close to that."

"Director Verres..." Olena hesitated for a moment, "Is such a conclusion perhaps a bit..."

"Too arbitrary," Verres interrupted her. "Of course, this is just my speculation. As for how it really is, I need to speculate further through the other party's actions."

"What do you mean?"

"I will specifically request to see Lin Yuming. If the other party makes excuses, then there's something fishy; if not, I'll observe further," Verres replied. "Olena, your sense of justice is quite good. If you hadn't been built by that boy Finn, I would really want to bring you under my command regardless of the cost."

"Director, you..." Olena felt somewhat helpless, "This is the fourth time you've said something like that."

"Has it been four times?" Verres blinked innocently, her usually shrewd light-gray eyes showing a hint of clear ignorance.

"Yes," Olena said. Although she didn't want to embarrass her, she still couldn't accept this behavior. "And you're getting more and more blatant!"

"Ahaha, sorry, sorry." Verres shrunk her neck and then leaned herself against the railing. "After all, a cute child like you is just too rare; I can't help myself."

Me? Cute? Olena looked down at her tall and curvaceous figure. Did she have anything to do with the word 'cute'? That word should be used for a Destroyer...

Seeing Olena actually pondering the word, Verres chuckled silently.

What a serious and good child, I really like that. Just like her former self who knew nothing; this is quite nice.

"Hmm?" Verres seemed to hear some discordant sounds. The sound of a warship's engine, the sound of waves breaking against the hull, and a strange roar of an engine?

Overhead?

She looked up. Not every Ship Girl had such sensitive hearing—the ability to perceive specific noises.

"Is that an aircraft?" She took a pair of glasses out of her pocket.

Olena looked up, squinting. It was indeed an aircraft, but it looked much larger than the ones she had seen before.

Is this some kind of new plane? From below, it looks like a square with wings?

A P-38L in the sky circled the battlecruiser. The battlecruiser didn't even have anti-aircraft guns, only a few 20mm rapid-fire cannons used for shooting at large targets like airships or warding off small vessels.

As for this thing...

Verres looked at herself and suddenly felt that it would be more practical if she could suddenly learn to fly and kick it down.

"Olena, go call the others. We should be seeing the main party soon."

"Okay, Director." Olena immediately went to call everyone else over.

Undoubtedly, Ms. Verres's intuition was correct. When the six diplomatic personnel and Olena, the escort, arrived on the water and deployed their rigging, two "mustangs" that Olena was familiar with flew over. They did not carry offensive weapons, but instead quickly climbed and released red smoke before turning around and flying toward the southwest.

After a short while, black smoke appeared on the horizon, and the silhouette of a giant warship slowly emerged.

It was that battlecruiser; the main party had arrived.

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