Chapter 53: The Shopping Mall

The tall shopping mall standing at the commercial intersection was still bustling with activity, even though it was almost midnight.

After Lin Lan helped the Deutschland sisters out of the car, he looked up at the towering building and the lively commercial streets around it.

The street was filled with people, including many wearing hats. 

These hat-wearing individuals, whose animal ears or horns were concealed and who looked like ordinary humans, were actually immigrants from Liuzhou.

Due to the sea routes to Liuzhou being cut off by sirens, these Liuzhou demi-humans who had come to Aolan for work had become part of Aolan's society.

Fortunately, Aolan is an open-minded country, and these Liuzhou people are generally not discriminated against by the local population.

However, some individuals or organizations still harbor prejudice against other races.

"Let's go buy clothes and supplies," Lin Lan said to the two young and curious girls beside him.

"Hehehe, this place looks pretty good. It's quite lively for lower-class creatures," 

Deutschland said with a satisfied smile, then turned her gaze to Lin Lan and said, "Servant, pick me up."

Lin Lan was taken aback. Seeing Deutschland already close to him, he instinctively responded with a confused "Huh?"

"Princess carry! Don't you remember your title, Mount 2?"

Lin Lan quickly remembered that in the game, when he swore an oath with Deutschland, he had been given this extra "honor."

Noticing Deutschland's increasingly stern look, Lin Lan flinched and immediately crouched down to lift the petite girl in her black dress.

He held her smooth thigh with his right hand and supported her slender waist with his left hand, carrying the little iron-blooded princess in a princess carry.

Deutschland's petite frame wasn't heavy. Although she and Spee were pocket battleships, they appeared smaller than many light cruisers.

If destroyers and submarines are considered elementary school level, then they would be approaching high school age.

For Lin Lan, who was used to regular exercise at the naval academy, carrying Deutschland while walking was a bit tiring but manageable.

If it were his body before crossing over, he probably wouldn't be able to hold out for long.

"Hehehe~ Good servant, you're very obedient. I'm quite satisfied!" Deutschland said, comfortably resting against Lin Lan's chest, smiling happily, and wrapping her arms around his neck, rubbing her cheek against his chest.

Deutschland's affectionate behavior brought a faint scent of milk from her.

Fortunately, in this busy commercial area, many couples were engaging in similar affectionate acts at night.

So, Deutschland's bold behavior didn't attract much attention.

"Let's go, Mount 2! Let's buy food and clothes! Iron-Blood Fleet, go!"

Deutschland enthusiastically pointed towards the shopping mall and gave her orders.

"Why couldn't the player change this title during the oath...?"

The title of Mount 2 made Lin Lan quite embarrassed, but he was afraid that if he complained now, this little shark would bite him on the face.

Having bite marks on his face would be far worse than on his hands.

So, he kept his thoughts to himself.

After signaling Spee to follow, Lin Lan carried Deutschland and walked towards the mall entrance.

The sight of the lively, black-haired, energetic girl in his arms naturally drew the attention of passersby, but seeing Lin Lan's military uniform, they soon understood.

It's not unusual for a commander to go shopping with their shipgirls, but Deutschland and Spee's appearance and demeanor were different from the usual shipgirls.

However, people came and went, and while they noticed, they didn't pay much mind.

New shipgirls joined the navy regularly, so encountering unfamiliar faces was normal.

"By the way, Deutschland, your gun..."

As they approached the security check, Lin Lan suddenly remembered and asked Deutschland quietly.

"Mount 2, don't worry. That's my ship outfit; I've already put it away."

With Deutschland's reassurance, the three of them smoothly passed the security check and entered the mall.

Upon entering the lobby of the mall, they saw a central, open design with escalators going up layer by layer.

The lobby was busy, with many young people just starting their nightlife.

"Let's see, the first to seventh floors are for clothing, the eighth to thirteenth floors are for general merchandise, the fourteenth to nineteenth floors are for entertainment, and the twentieth to twenty-fifth floors are for food."

Holding Deutschland and with Spee beside him, Lin Lan checked the floor directory near the escalators.

"Servant, let's go buy clothes first!" Deutschland said excitedly upon seeing the clothing section.

Lin Lan, hearing this, instinctively thought of the red pointers from the game where he bought outfits for shipgirls.

That annoying déjà vu.

But now, he didn't need any red pointers to buy clothes.

After setting Deutschland down, Lin Lan took the two girls up the escalator to the second-floor clothing area.

Lin Lan's savings were considerable. As a student at the naval academy, he received financial aid from the academy.

Previously, as an excellent student, he had earned a significant amount in scholarships.

After crossing over to this world, his income had mostly been from working on construction sites far from the city, leaving him little to spend. 

Combined with family debts, Lin Lan developed a habit of not wasting money, except for occasional spending on Blue Ocean.

Furthermore, while he was on the East Continent, the young master of the Sky Star Group would frequently create "accidents" for their naval academy students.

This resulted in Lin Lan accumulating a considerable amount of savings.

His savings card, issued by the navy, could be used throughout Aolan and wasn't subject to freezing by the Zhuhai Commercial Association.

The Zhuhai Commercial Association was a temporary alliance focused on profit, with internal divisions, and the navy had close relations with many of its high-ranking members.

Upon arriving at the second floor, Deutschland and Spee were immediately drawn to the various stylish clothing stores.

The shopping malls in Aolan usually featured unmanned stores, which was another difference from Blue Star.

Seeing even the usually silent, silver-haired Spee eagerly anticipating the stores, Lin Lan suddenly thought of something.

For real-world girls, he had bought too few clothes for his shipgirls in the game.

Besides the less popular shipgirls, even Mainz, who was a research ship, hadn't received a new outfit in years, leaving her as the "barely clothed" leader of the group.

No wonder, when Lin Lan mentioned buying clothes for them, the usually serious and meticulous iron-blooded light cruiser Mainz's eyes lit up with excitement.

However, it's a case of "drought or flood" — the scarcity of outfits from Lin Lan was a problem for most shipgirls, except for the officially designated Four Great Families and a certain pink-haired destroyer.

Oh, it's the pink-haired aircraft carrier.

But as Lin Lan pondered with his hand on his chin, he realized it wasn't entirely his fault.

He had a point — it wasn't that he didn't want to buy clothes; it was actually the official lack of releases. Blame should go to the game developers.

Who wouldn't want their favorite shipgirls to wear beautiful qipaos, wedding dresses, pajamas, and swimsuits?

Ahem, never mind.

Seeing Deutschland eagerly pulling Spee into a formal wear store, Lin Lan quickly followed.

For most men, accompanying girls on a shopping spree can be quite a painful experience.

But what if the girls are shipgirls you've carefully nurtured in your game, and who have a good impression of you?

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