Chapter 2

2. Africans should focus on hunting and not bet on ships.

"Is the admiral alright?"

Seeing her sister come out of the room, No. 111 couldn't help but ask, her heart full of worry.

"He's already asleep. There's no major problem. He just can't accept the sudden ups and downs and couldn't bear it for a moment. In a few days, he'll probably be fine. The admiral usually goes through this every month, so don't worry too much, No. 111."

Gently closing the door to the admiral's room, No. 110 pulled down her disinfection mask and forced a strained smile at her worried younger sister.

"Let's go. We'll talk as we walk. We were planning to have a celebration for you."

Taking No. 111's hand, the pale-faced secretary girl said softly.

Seeing her sister's forced smile, the umbrella girl in the elaborate twelve-layered kimono felt a lump in her throat. It was as if something was stuck in her chest, and the words of defense she wanted to say were stuck in her throat, unable to come out.

"Every month during the large-scale construction, it's like this. It was the same when Plan Ship No. 1 came."

Holding her sister's hand, No. 110 slowly walked along the dilapidated roads of the base.

Her steps were steady, her voice slow, and she walked with each step firmly planted.

Due to the lack of funds, which were all used for large-scale construction, the base had never been properly repaired. Everywhere you looked, there were peeling walls and exposed load-bearing structures. A subtle musty smell filled the corridor, making the girl wrinkle her nose in discomfort.

But seeing her sister's serious side profile, No. 111 didn't say anything. She pursed her lips, her eyes became determined, and she lifted her floral dress, following her sister step by step.

"The admiral first looked at the time, then clapped his hands, 'Ah, I won.' Then he rolled his eyes, gritted his teeth, and lay down. I was terrified, panicked, and with Montana, we had a hard time getting the admiral back to the bedroom. But before we could rest for two minutes, the admiral jumped up from the bed, ran around the base like a madman, and finally fell into a mud pit, still smiling and saying he had won, I don't know why."

"Then, when the time came and it was Plan Ship No. 1, the admiral jumped from the third floor, breaking his leg. The rest of us sisters pooled the private money we had saved by not reporting our injuries, bought some oil and aluminum, and sent it to Peace, who was sulking in the lounge, to get her to treat the admiral as an exception. That's how we barely avoided him getting a chronic illness. But who would have thought he would gamble again, and this time it was you. It's understandable that the admiral would go crazy like this, given the circumstances."

Seemingly mentioning a sad matter, No. 110's body trembled halfway through, and her voice quivered. Realizing her sister was right behind her, the girl sniffed hard, took a deep breath, and looked up at the ceiling for a while, waiting for her emotions to calm down before continuing to walk.

"Actually, the admiral is a very good person. Even though we're not what he wanted, he didn't dismantle us like other admirals. Instead, he would rather live frugally to support us. We are all very grateful to the admiral and want to help him, but we really can't."

"We only have numbers, not names, and our energy consumption is very high. We often don't have enough resources and go hungry. Including you, there are only five battleships and one aircraft carrier in the entire base. The admiral hasn't even formed a second fleet yet. It's not easy to make ends meet. The admiral has been living frugally, hoping to turn things around with better ships, but the more he gambles, the deeper he gets into it, and the more resources are consumed. Enterprise is even thinking about refusing to eat aluminum to avoid distracting the admiral, but even that is just a drop in the bucket."

"Is that so?"

Looking at the extremely dilapidated surroundings, remembering the admiral's disheveled appearance when she saw him, and seeing her sister's clean and new appearance, No. 111 was already about 70-80% convinced.

"Has the admiral... never even drawn a normal ship?"

Holding the hem of her elaborate twelve-layered kimono, No. 111 thought for a moment and hesitantly asked her sister.

"I've heard that those ordinary ships can be built easily. Has the admiral never drawn even one? Those that are built easily, just to survive?"

"…No."

The girl leading the way didn't go through the broken front door sealed with stone slabs but pried up a wooden board on the wall used to block the wind, revealing a large hole leading to another building. Seeing her sister's incredulous expression, she shook her head and sighed deeply.

"Not a single one. All unnamed numbered ships. For the admiral, or for all admirals, we are probably the least useful."

"How can that be!"

No. 111, looking aggrieved, closed the wooden board behind her and couldn't help but protest.

"My nickname is 'Super Yamato'! Theoretically, I should be even stronger than Yamato! I just don't have an official name, but if you hear the nickname, you know I must be stronger than Yamato, right? Super Yamato? The word 'super' means surpassing, doesn't it?"

"But you still don't have a name." Looking at her foolish sister with pity, No. 110 affectionately tapped No. 111's head and said softly.

"We are always Plan Ship No. 110 and No. 111."

"Without a name, a nickname is meaningless. Even Montana, who has a name, is very aggrieved. Although she has a name, she can't be found in any records, which only shows that we are actually very weak."

"Well, even if you say that, I still feel something is off. Theoretically, I should be very strong. I should be the strongest. How can this be..."

"Don't think too much about it."

Rubbing No. 111's head, No. 110 walked to a large door at the end of the corridor and said with a smile.

"How the admiral thinks is the admiral's business. We are indeed not what he wanted, but because of that, we need to get along well. The admiral is already so tired, and if we start arguing, he might go and kill himself."

"So, in terms of relationships, I think our base is the best."

Smiling at the confused No. 111, No. 110 pushed the broken door open with force.

As the wooden door creaked, a few confetti and a few small firecrackers exploded, covering the head of the stunned girl with a pungent smell of gunpowder.

"Welcome to our little family. Abandoned base, flagship of the Imaginary Fleet, Yamato-class battleship No. 4, No. 110, welcomes you. I hope you will join our ranks."

Holding out her hand to her completely bewildered sister, Secretary Ship No. 110 smiled.

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