Leisurely Days

Thanks to Tu Tu Tu's command, Wang Dong and Tu Tu Tu took their two bare-bones ships on a wide detour around the battlefield and successfully ambushed the enemy legion's flagship, making a huge contribution to the team's victory.

After the battle, Wang Dong acted decisively, deploying his peerless, patient persuasion tactics until he convinced Tu Tu Tu to give him some guidance on piloting warships.

Perhaps, just as Tu Tu Tu later revealed, she was a student at the Royal Sky Patrol Higher Education Academy.

In the one-on-one training battles that followed, Tu Tu Tu fully demonstrated her systematic, solid knowledge of fleet combat theory and her piloting techniques.

That training battle opened Wang Dong's eyes and showed him the direction in which he needed to improve.

After that, Wang Dong's practice in Star Sea Expedition finally became real training.

He started with the basics: controlling the ship's movement, strafing, and firing. Then he moved on to more advanced maneuvers, such as fine-tuning the ship's speed, changing its orientation, and dodging unpredictably. After that came a few simple tactical maneuvers.

Even though it was only a virtual game, many of the controls still had something in common with piloting a real ship.

Over the next year, Wang Dong steadily built up his foundation. His win rate in the game gradually climbed from less than fifteen percent to nearly fifty percent—a qualitative leap.

The benefits of this training became fully apparent after Wang Dong took command of the War Axe following his rebirth.

Without the skills he had developed in Star Sea Expedition, he would never have been able to hold out for so long while the Jin Family's warships pursued him.

When it came to piloting warships, Tu Tu Tu could absolutely be called Wang Dong's first teacher.

So Wang Dong was deeply grateful to Tu Tu Tu.

Both then and now.

And as Wang Dong made rapid progress under her tutelage, Tu Tu Tu felt the same sense of accomplishment as a teacher.

As a result, their relationship grew closer and closer.

Without really meaning to, Wang Dong let Tu Tu Tu in on a few things about himself.

A gentleman had nothing to hide. It was only a game, after all; there was no need to keep secrets.

When Tu Tu Tu occasionally let a few details about herself slip, she wasn't particularly guarded, either.

Their relationship had started to feel like something more than that of ordinary online friends.

If they happened to be online at the same time in the game, Tu Tu Tu would often invite Wang Dong to team up with her or challenge him to a one-on-one duel.

Of course, Wang Dong's win rate in those duels remained... zero.

Whenever Tu Tu Tu challenged him, Wang Dong would smile and reply with his usual line.

"Same deal as always: sing me a nice song, and I'll lie back and let you beat me up."

"Pfft, shameless. Tonight, I'm not beating you up, just to spare your fragile self-esteem.

Come on, hurry up and thank your kind and upright Sister Rabbit for her boundless grace~"

Tu Tu Tu smiled, feigning annoyance.

"Shouldn't that be 'thank you for your rabbit grace'?"

Wang Dong fired back with a little quip.

"Nyah-nyah-nyah~ Whatever the grace, just thank me already."

Tu Tu Tu switched into "taking things out of context" mode and easily defeated Wang Dong.

"If only my comebacks were even a fraction as good as Lu Shu the Great Demon King's."

Wang Dong had been KO'd in one hit. He couldn't blame the enemy for having a Gundam; he could only blame himself for being such a loser.

Verbal sparring was one of Wang Dong's weak points.

"By the way, Little Bunny, you said you were a student at the Royal Sky Patrol Higher Education Academy in the Purple Thorn Kingdom. Is that true?"

Suddenly remembering something, Wang Dong decisively changed the subject.

"Little Dongzi, you really can only last one round. You're already using your escape-by-changing-the-subject technique. You're exactly the kind of weakling you called yourself—nyah-nyah-nyah!"

Tu Tu Tu first gave Wang Dong, who was already flat on the ground, a good hard stomp, then answered his question anyway.

"Your Sister Rabbit is who she says she is: a first-year student at the Royal Sky Patrol Higher Education Academy in the Purple Thorn Kingdom! Of course, in a few months, I'll be a second-year veteran.

What's up, Little Dongzi? Are you thinking of sending your Sister Rabbit a gift? We have a fully enclosed, militarized campus, so you can't get in~"

"Uh... Actually, I just wanted to ask if all the students at the Royal Sky Patrol Higher Education Academy are as strong as you."

Wang Dong had originally wanted to ask Tu Tu Tu if she was up for meeting in person or something like that.

But before he could even get the words out, she shut him down.

"Keep dreaming. Your Sister Rabbit is one of the top three students in the whole year, overall. I'm not just some random nobody you can compare yourself to."

Tu Tu Tu replied as if it were only natural.

"Top three overall? My respects, my respects. So you're a Little Rabbit like that."

Wang Dong instinctively quipped.

"Even the smallest rabbit is still your big sister. Little Dongzi, if you don't like it, come fight me. Like we agreed, I'll even let you adjust your orientation engine once."

Tu Tu Tu gave a haughty little snort.

Wang Dong: "Emmmm... Let's talk about Yang Yong's new book instead."

He promptly backed down.

KO'd in one round again.

Yang Yong was a bestselling author from the Golden Snapdragon Federation, known for his delicate prose.

"Starry Sky Dragon Slaying Chronicle—I know that one. Hahaha, but I haven't read it. I haven't read any of Yang Yong's books."

"If you haven't read any of them, how do you know about it?"