Laffey's voice was lazy. "If Laffey wants to, Laffey can become very, very heavy. But normally, there's no need to deliberately control it. After falling asleep, Laffey is just like an ordinary person."
"Then, Laffey, I remember when we first met, you said you could launch shelling attacks. When you do, do you just deploy your rigging and fire directly like in the anime?"
"Mm." Laffey lay sprawled across Ye Ming's back and replied, "Deploying the rigging lets Laffey launch shelling attacks. If it isn't deliberately controlled, a Ship-Girl's weight becomes that of a real warship after deploying her rigging. But that can be controlled too."
"Then are the shells fired the same as in the game? Did the equipment from the game come into this world with you? Are there limits on the number of bombardments, their duration, things like that?"
Ye Ming fired off a whole series of questions in one breath. What man didn't like massive ships and huge guns?
Hearing so many questions, the already sleepy Laffey was clearly a little dazed. The little girl rubbed her eyes and thought for a long while before answering, "Shells don't need replenishing. Shelling only consumes stamina. Once Laffey runs out of strength, Laffey can't fire anymore. Laffey needs a good sleep to recover stamina. Laffey has always carried the equipment Commander gave Laffey properly."
"Huh? Ship-Girls don't need to drink oil before sorties? And if they get hurt, they don't need oil and supplies to recover?"
"They used to, but after coming to this world, it seems they don't anymore. Laffey hasn't been hurt, but Laffey can feel it."
As she spoke, Laffey held out her hand before Ye Ming. "Commander, look. This is Laffey's naval gun."
Hearing that, Ye Ming glanced at Laffey's hand and discovered a tiny golden ball of light floating in her palm. Inside it was a glittering little model of a naval gun, identical in shape to the one from the game.
Ye Ming jumped in fright and hurriedly covered the little girl's hand. "Put it away, quickly. It'll be trouble if someone sees it or a camera catches it."
"It's okay. Only Commander and Laffey herself can see Laffey's rigging."
As she said that, Laffey flipped her hand over. The golden ball of light in her palm immediately changed, and the naval gun inside became an anti-air gun.
Ye Ming looked around and found that no one had noticed the golden light in Laffey's hand. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"Laffey, can you let me touch it a little and get a proper feel for it?"
After getting Laffey's permission, Ye Ming cautiously reached into the golden ball of light and touched it. The small anti-air gun model was smooth and delicate. Perhaps because the little girl had just taken it out, it still held a trace of warmth. It was hard to imagine that such a tiny model could fire terrifying shells.
Ye Ming remembered that in the game, he had equipped Laffey with a golden Twin 114mm Dual-Purpose Gun, a Quintuple Magnetic Torpedo, a golden Twin 113mm Anti-Air Gun, a Purple Repair Toolkit, and a rainbow torpedo stick. He had also upgraded them all to level ten from the start.
Ye Ming was a little curious. How much stronger was level-ten game rigging than real destroyer shells?
According to the game's rules, golden rigging upgraded to level ten had to be countless times stronger than unenhanced white-grade rigging. But in reality, that would be difficult to verify.
Ye Ming couldn't exactly start a war with someone just to test it.
Then again, if Ye Ming were a battle maniac, and all four hundred-plus Ship-Girls from the game came to the real world, with so many aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, submarines, repair ships, and transport ships appearing openly, even the strongest country would be frightened by that force.
Of course, that was just idle fantasy. Ye Ming had no intention of sending his girls to war. Besides, Laffey was the only Ship-Girl by his side now. No one knew whether any of the other girls would be able to come to this world.
"Laffey, can the skills from the game be activated in this world?"
Ye Ming asked again. The reason he had given Laffey the Twin 114mm Dual-Purpose Gun was for her skills and barrage attacks.
"Probably."
Laffey thought for a moment before answering.
Ye Ming was instantly stunned. Damn, if skills from the game could really trigger, wouldn't Nagato be invincible? In the game, Nagato's barrage covered the whole screen. What kind of effect would that have in reality?
But Ye Ming quickly thought of another serious problem.
"Laffey, could Sirens appear in this world?"
Sirens, the monsters of Azure Lane, were roughly equivalent to Honkai Beasts from Genshin Impact's world, or hilichurls and slimes from Genshin Impact. If those monsters appeared, the resulting disaster was easy to imagine.
"No."
Laffey answered with certainty. "Laffey can feel that this world is terrifying. There seems to be an unnamed great power capable of harmonizing everything, rejecting all forces, good or evil, that don't belong to this world. Laffey could come here, survive here, and use a Ship-Girl's power only because of Laffey's connection with Commander."
"My connection?"
Is there something special about me?
Ye Ming didn't understand, but Laffey's answer still made him feel relieved.
When Ye Ming was younger, he had also fantasized about traveling to an anime world or having anime descend upon reality. He had imagined picking up a transformation belt, or simply becoming light. But those had only ever been fantasies.
Now, he only wanted to enjoy a peaceful daily life with his girl. Of course, it would be even better if there were just a few more girls, turning one girl into girls, and if there were a few more capital ship girls he could enter the adult world with.
Ye Ming felt that with the healthy physique he had built up while mixing concrete at construction sites, he could handle a few more girls without any problem.
Happy Things
"Commander, Commander, chocolate. Laffey's chocolate."
The moment she saw the supermarket entrance, Laffey, who had been listless before, immediately came back to life. She wriggled around on Ye Ming's back. "Down, Commander. Put Laffey down."
Ye Ming crouched halfway and let Laffey down. "What does Laffey want for dinner? Tell Commander, and Commander will buy the ingredients and cook it for you."
"Huh? Commander can cook?" Laffey was very surprised.
"Of course. You might not believe it, but when Commander was in fifth grade, Commander's parents had something to do and weren't home. Commander lived alone for over half a month. That was when Commander started cooking for himself."
Ye Ming was very proud. "Commander has lived alone all these years, rarely eats takeout, and cooks for himself often. After being single for so many years, Commander won't brag about anything else, but his cooking will definitely satisfy you!"
Laffey blinked her big eyes and tilted her head cutely. "Huh? Is Commander really that amazing?"
"Of course. Just tell me whatever you want to eat!"
Ye Ming was brimming with confidence.
"Then, Laffey wants beer-braised duck, beer-braised beef with potatoes, beer chicken wings, beer-braised pork belly, beer-chilled bitter melon, beer-braised eggs, red wine chicken wings, red wine ribs, red wine..."
Laffey counted them one by one on her fingers, and Ye Ming's head started to ache just listening. "Stop! Forget it, Commander suddenly changed his mind. You'll eat whatever I make."
Of course, even though he said that, Ye Ming still bought a bottle of beer while picking out ingredients. He planned to make beer-braised beef with potatoes for the little girl when they got back. He also bought two pounds of ribs. After all, Laffey's red wine from yesterday was still hidden under the bed, so he could make red wine ribs too.
After buying the ribs and beef, Ye Ming also picked up some tomatoes, scallions, and eggs, then went to find Laffey.
In front of the shelves, Laffey had just finished choosing her chocolate. Seeing the ingredients Ye Ming was carrying, she curiously opened the bag and took a look.
"Commander, Laffey wants chive and egg pies. Can Commander make them for Laffey?"
The little girl's eyes shifted as she drew out her plea.
Ye Ming found it a little strange. "Why do you suddenly want that?"
"Because Laffey had some Belfast made before. They were delicious."
Laffey answered without blinking, but in her mind, she recalled a scene from the Port District.
"Akagi, Akagi, Sirius said you've been going to Commander's office these past few days to bring him chive and egg pies. She asked Laffey to tell you to know when to stop. Don't ruin Commander's health, or she'll be rude to you."
In the corridor leading to Commander's office, Laffey stopped Akagi and relayed Sirius's words.
"Oh? Sirius? Hehe, does Laffey mean that bootlicking maid Sirius, who's terrible at housework, cooking, and cleaning, useless at everything, but number one when it comes to fawning over Commander?"
Akagi spoke in a gentle tone while belittling Sirius. Her tender smile was frightening. "Don't worry, Laffey. Commander will definitely be happy when Akagi brings him pies. As long as Akagi keeps at it for a few more days, Akagi will succeed. Then, as long as Akagi can be alone with Commander in a room at night, very happy things will happen."
"Happy things?" Laffey looked completely confused.
"Mm, happy things~ Things so happy that they'll make Akagi and Commander tremble in body and soul, unable to stop themselves from crying out."
As she spoke, Akagi stuck out her tongue and licked her crimson lower lip.
Little Laffey didn't understand what Akagi meant, but she firmly remembered those words in her heart.
Laffey liked Commander the most, and she wanted to experience happy things with Commander too.
That was what Laffey thought, but she didn't want to tell Ye Ming her thoughts yet, because she wanted to give her favorite Commander a surprise.
"Commander, can't you?"
Laffey raised her little face and looked at Ye Ming pitifully.
"Uh, I can, but..." Ye Ming was a little embarrassed.
"But what?" Laffey asked curiously.
"Uh, nothing. Forget it. If you want to eat it, then we'll buy it. I'll make it for you when we get back."
Of course, Ye Ming couldn't explain the reason to Laffey.
Honestly, as a healthy single man, and one who rarely relieved himself, he really didn't want to eat chives. He might wake up needing to change clothes, which was honestly troublesome. But since it was Laffey's request, Ye Ming naturally wouldn't refuse.
At worst, he could make less and simply not eat any himself.
After buying the ingredients and some snacks for Laffey, it was nearly six when they got home. The moment they entered, Laffey changed into slippers and threw herself onto the sofa, lying there like a lazy cat to catch up on sleep. Ye Ming put the ingredients in the kitchen, then went to check the second bedroom. Fu Hua still hadn't returned.
Ye Ming sent Fu Hua a message. A few seconds later, she replied that she was having dinner with friends and would be back very late that night. After sending the message, she also sent a photo. Besides Fu Hua, there were two girls in it. One was the pink-haired girl who had called herself Yae Sakura that morning. The other was also pink-haired, with delicate features and a pair of amber eyes as clear as snowy mountain pools. Ye Ming casually glanced at it and vaguely felt that the latter girl looked familiar.
He didn't think much of it. He put away his phone and started cooking.
After finishing the meal and making several chive and egg pies for Laffey, Ye Ming called Laffey to wash her hands and eat.
But for some reason, even though Laffey had said she liked the pies, she stopped eating after two bites and pushed all the rest to Ye Ming.
They couldn't be kept overnight, and Ye Ming didn't want to waste them, so he simply ate them all.
By the time they finished eating and washing up, it was already eight in the evening. Laffey was so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open.
"Can Laffey sleep with Commander tonight? Laffey likes Commander's scent."
Laffey made the same request as last night.
"Mm, sure."
Before you continue