The next day, when Lin Lan woke up, he noticed that it was raining outside.
It was already winter, but instead of snow, there was a light rain. This surprised Lin Lan a bit.
However, it was his first time in Yunhai City, so he wasn't sure whether it was normal or unusual for it to rain at this time of year. He didn't pay it much attention.
Since it was raining, he decided to stay inside the villa today and not go anywhere.
Although it wasn't snowing, the temperature outside was still very low, and there was a biting cold wind blowing, making it not a good day to go out.
Fortunately, the villa's heating system was very powerful, and even wearing just a thin shirt, he couldn't feel the cold.
After giving the adorable white-haired shipgirl a little cuddle and finishing up the meta-stabilization process, Lin Lan washed up and then took Sui Qiong downstairs from the holographic corridor that stretched across the grassy plains.
Roon had already prepared breakfast, and the three little wolf pack girls were on the couch, pestering Z46 to tell them stories.
Previously, Z46 had borrowed a number of books from Lin Lan's office, so this little literary goddess had successfully learned a lot about the cultures of other countries.
The white-haired Eastern swan, Emden, was lazily lying on the couch watching TV, and the LCD screen on the wall was showing a scenic documentary about the United States of Orlan.
As for the others, they probably hadn't woken up yet.
"Commander, good morning."
The first to spot Lin Lan and Sui Qiong coming down the stairs was Nimi. She immediately happily took off her apron and ran to Lin Lan's side.
Z23, wearing a blue hat and an apron, had clearly just helped Roon in the kitchen.
"Good morning, Nimi. Good morning, everyone."
Lin Lan reached out and gently stroked the soft cheeks of his starting shipgirl, then greeted the other Ironblood shipgirls.
What a warm scene, Lin Lan couldn't help but think.
After a hearty breakfast of bread, cereal, and sandwiches, Lin Lan sat on the couch, petting the little pink-haired U81 shipgirl, who had come over, while opening his phone.
The first headline that caught his eye was about a devastating attack on the Battleaxe Military Industry building in Haifeng City last night.
Including the owner of Battleaxe Military Industry, Ye Zhanke, all senior staff from Haifeng City's Battleaxe Military Industry had gone missing, and a full-scale rescue operation was currently underway.
Lin Lan clicked on the news and saw a video attached beneath it.
When he opened the video, he saw the Battleaxe Military Industry building in Haifeng City being destroyed by a massive explosion in the middle of the night, turning it into a pile of rubble in mere seconds.
The scene reminded Lin Lan of the footage he had once seen back on Blue Star, of the White Eagle NY Towers being attacked and collapsing.
But the destruction of the Battleaxe Military Industry building was far more devastating than that of the Towers, and the entire event took less than half a minute, making it extremely efficient.
Here, he had to give credit to Brunhilde and Peter for executing such a ruthless and efficient operation.
Even the media couldn't determine where the attack came from or who was responsible.
"Commander, Commander, did Brunhilde and Peter succeed?"
After the video ended, the adorable little pink-haired U81, who had been lying on the couch next to him, blinked her golden eyes and asked him.
"Yes, it seems everything went smoothly. The Battleaxe Military Industry is finished."
Lin Lan nodded and patted the little shipgirl's head.
The senior officials of Battleaxe Military Industry were probably already in a state of paralysis, leaderless.
Jin Qian'ou must have started reaching out to the regional agents of Battleaxe Military Industry in various cities, using both coercion and inducement, just as Lin Lan had instructed him.
Ye Zhanke was undoubtedly an ambitious person, and he had the will and power to match his ambitions.
However, in order to realize this ambition, Ye Zhanke chose to build it on the backs of countless ordinary people from Orlan West.
Lin Lan knew very well that once the civil war in West Orlan started, it would be a catastrophe.
The Navy and Tian'ou Group would not sit idly by and would certainly fight back to the death, which meant that the war could very likely become a prolonged one.
The longer the war dragged on, the more it would affect the lives of ordinary people and could even lead to widespread suffering.
Although Lin Lan was an outsider, he still didn't want to see such a thing happen.
Moreover, the Battleaxe Military Industry had already offended him. Lin Lan usually didn't hold grudges, but when he could, he dealt with them on the spot.
As for Tianou Group, he still hadn't forgotten that debt.
Lin Lan then saw another headline.
"Shock! The Yunhai City Naval Equipment Trade Fair will unveil a batch of brand new and mysterious powerful equipment..."
"Heh, Sun Dewang really knows how to create a headline, it has the right vibe."
Lin Lan couldn't help but laugh. Yesterday, he had asked Sun Dewang to build hype for this trade fair, and it seemed the man had really put in the effort.
With such a headline, the trade fair tomorrow would surely be bustling.
Just then, Lin Lan received a call from Qi Yue, the female commander from the County Port Area of Yaliang City.
"Ah, it's Senior, yes, yes, I'm already in Yunhai City. I'll be attending tomorrow, I know the address. Okay, Senior, see you at the trade fair then."
Lin Lan hung up the phone and smiled.
This senior really seemed to want to buy him equipment to thank him for saving her life.
Just based on that, he had already decided to let this senior play the role of the "European" for once.
After all, he couldn't be too ruthless, could he? Since she was so grateful, if he took advantage of her, that would be going too far.
After the other Ironblood shipgirls and Akashi woke up, Lin Lan spent most of his day chatting with everyone and playing games with the wolf pack.
Of course, there was also the chance for everyone to experience Akashi's lottery software.
As for what happened to Akashi after everyone had tried the lottery software, let's just say she got a good amount of scolding.
What surprised Lin Lan, though, was that the rain outside kept going all day, and even intensified as it went on, showing no signs of stopping.
From the emergency weather forecast on the TV in the living room, he learned that rain during this season in Yunhai City was quite rare, a very uncommon occurrence.
Given this situation, it seemed tomorrow would still be the same kind of weather.
Lin Lan wasn't worried, though. The trade fair was being held inside a large building in downtown Yunhai City, and no amount of rain could stop it from taking place.
After dinner with his shipgirls, a convoy from Tian'ou Group arrived at his villa's doorstep to pick up the equipment, braving the heavy rain.
Luckily, Nimi had already prepared umbrellas and other necessary items for everyone before they went out.
Lin Lan held an umbrella and watched as Akashi took out a mountain of blue equipment boxes from her ship equipment space.
There were easily several hundred of them.
"I have to admit, the paint on these equipment boxes is all waterproof. Otherwise, if the rain soaked them, it would be pretty embarrassing, wouldn't it?"
While watching Tian'ou Group's laborers and robots move the equipment boxes onto the transport ship in the rain, Lin Lan couldn't help but whisper to Akashi, who was also holding an umbrella beside him.
"Heh heh, if you're going to hide something, you need to make sure you've done your homework, meow~"
The little trickster was quite proud of her perfect creation, wearing a smile.
Although these boxes appeared to be blue-quality equipment boxes, in reality, if they were opened, it was highly likely that 99% of them would contain only white-quality equipment.
If there were one or two blue items, that could only be a mistake from Akashi and Shiranui, not a sudden act of conscience from these two little merchants.
"If I catch you or Shiranui painting the equipment boxes again in the future, I swear I'll pull all your cat fur out."
"They, they said it was all Shiranui's idea, meow!"
"One hand can't clap. Anyway, Shiranui isn't here right now, so you're just pushing the blame onto her."
"Meow..."
Lin Lan said this in jest, but he had no intention of blaming Akashi. She, of course, knew that and was fearless in retorting.
As the two of them watched the blue equipment boxes being loaded onto the transport vehicles in the rainy night, Akashi finally waved her hand and placed ten purple fuel filters on the rain-soaked ground.
"These ten fuel filters are the key equipment for tomorrow's finale. You must handle them carefully. If one gets damaged, your boss will probably kill you all."
Lin Lan seriously addressed the Tian'ou Group's convoy leader.
Upon hearing this, the convoy leader, who was working in the rain while wearing a reflective vest, immediately became fully alert.
He didn't even dare let the laborers move the fuel filters and only allowed the robots to do the job, carefully watching as they loaded the ten fuel filters onto the transport vehicle.
"You've all worked hard. When you go back, make sure the brothers stay warm and don't catch a cold."
After all the equipment boxes and fuel filters were moved, Lin Lan, holding an umbrella, walked to the entrance of the villa and said seriously to the convoy leader.
"Ah, sir, thank... thank you for your concern. We will."
The convoy leader, still standing in the rain, turned in surprise and looked at Lin Lan deeply.
Then, he boarded the last transport vehicle and, through the car window, flashed a smile and waved goodbye to Lin Lan.
"Commander even had to remind him. He's really kind, meow."
Hearing Akashi's comment as she stood beside him, Lin Lan smiled lightly, turned around, and took the little trickster's hand.
He had just seen the reflection of his past self in the convoy leader.
Back then, when he was exhausted on the construction sites of Blue Star, he had wished someone would show concern for him, but all he got were heavier tasks or excuses from coworkers to delay shift changes.
That's why he was so sincere in his care for the convoy leader.
Sometimes, a simple kind word can bring comfort to someone who is tired.
Standing in the cold rain that night, with raindrops hitting his body, Lin Lan felt the warmth from the chubby little merchant's hand in his. His heart felt warm.
Fortunately, he was no longer alone.
"Heh, what kindness? It's just respect between people. Let's go back, we should sleep early tonight and go to the trade fair tomorrow to enjoy the fun."
"Heh heh heh, I can't wait, meow~"
Minutes later, as the two of them smiled and returned to the villa...
On the rain-soaked road, only the sound of raindrops hitting the ground could be heard, and faintly, a seductive little laugh floated in the air.
"Yes, I'm already looking forward to it too. Heh heh, heh heh heh..."
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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