Chapter 139: Workshops and Shops in the Port Area (Part 2)

In the end, under the fierce gazes of the three Iron Blood ship girls, Akashi could only honestly explain that it was Manju who had taken Magdeburg's tools while cleaning the workshop.

She thought Magdeburg wouldn't notice, so she planned to sell the tools back to her.

"Hehe, since the Commander is here, I won't bother with you. But if you dare do it again, we'll organize a special zero-dollar shopping event for White Eagle at your store!"

After Akashi obediently handed over the tools, Magdeburg waved his fist in front of Akashi and threatened him.

Upon hearing the term "zero-dollar purchase," Akashi shuddered and quickly forced a smile:

"Akashi promises not to do something like this again, meow."

Seeing that the matter had been resolved, Lin Lan smiled and said, "I think we've been standing outside long enough. It's about time you take me on a tour."

The group of girls finally snapped out of their thoughts and led him into the store, which also served as the Muscle Manjuu production workshop.

The first thing that caught Lin Lan's eyes was the rows of neatly arranged shelves, filled with a dazzling array of props and snacks.

With the store's decor reflecting the Sakura Empire's style, Lin Lan felt as if he had stepped into his favorite childhood grocery store.

That is—if not for the Manju sweeping dust off the items with feather dusters and the shelves stocked with Mind Cubes and quick-construction tools like drills.

"Commander, since this is your first time visiting our store, you can have free snacks, meow~"

Akashi, always the opportunist, leaned over at just the right moment to show his hospitality.

"Unbelievable. The stingy one is actually willing to be generous today."

Hearing Akashi's words, Deutschland shot her a look of surprise.

Lin Lan had already picked up a bag of spicy strips when he suddenly remembered something.

"Wait, Akashi, what currency do you accept here? It's not Oran currency, is it?"

"Of course, it's Red Gems. What are you thinking, Commander?"

It was Magdeburg who answered him.

Lin Lan's brain short-circuited at that answer.

Red…red gems?

Did he hear that wrong?

"Since today's purchases are on me, Commander, get me three bottles of Oxy-Cola. My treat."

After Magdeburg spoke, he took out a small red diamond from her ship storage space and tossed it to Akashi.

Lin Lan stared at the small diamond in Akashi's hands—it looked all too familiar. His hand, still holding the spicy strips, trembled slightly.

"Wait, Akashi, let me see that Red Gems."

"Meow? Commander, you want to see it, meow?"

After handing three bottles of Oxy-Cola to Magdeburg and the Deutschland sisters, Akashi passed the Red Gems to Lin Lan.

Lin Lan took a deep breath, carefully examined the red diamond, and was momentarily stunned.

The small, exquisite gem seemed to radiate a unique energy, sparkling even in the dim store lighting.

This was the first time he had seen Red Gems since arriving in this world.

His shock was understandable.

Because Red Gems were the currency players used in the game to exchange for paid skins and items at Akashi's store.

"Commander, if you want, you can exchange Oran coins for Red Gems with me now, meow. Akashi welcomes all customers, meow~"

Seeing Lin Lan lost in thought, Akashi flashed her signature profiteer's grin.

Hearing her words, Lin Lan suddenly recalled something.

When he first bought premium items with krypton gold, it was Akashi who gave him the Red Gems.

And now, she was trying to trick him into spending money again!

What a profiteer!

"Hey, lower creature, the workshop is this way."

After returning the Red Gems to Akashi, Lin Lan heard Deutschland's voice calling from deeper inside the store.

However, he didn't notice Akashi's puzzled expression as she took back the gem.

Lin Lan followed Deutschland's voice, walking past the shelves.

A wooden door in the corner of the store stood open.

After stepping through, the space suddenly widened, and the lighting brightened.

This must have originally been Akashi's storage room. Now, however, machine parts and sleek black-and-red Iron Blood-style equipment were scattered across the floor.

At the far end, over a dozen completed Muscle Manjuus stood in two neat rows.

Lin Lan approached the nearest worktables, where numerous scribbled machine sketches—completely unintelligible to him—were spread out.

Deutschland and Spee stood beside him. With her chest puffed out, the Iron Blood princess picked up a blueprint and proudly explained,

"These blueprints were designed by me and the others in Iron Blood. We put in a lot of time and effort to transform that ugly, bulky robot into a Muscle Manjuu."

The thick stack of blueprints on the table proved her words were no exaggeration.

Over this period, nearly all Iron Blood ship girls in the port had helped with the project.

The birth of the Muscle Manjuu was inseparable from their hard work.

As the leader of it all, Deutschland must have contributed tremendously.

Thinking of this, Lin Lan couldn't help but reach out and pat the Iron Blood princess on the head.

"Thank you for your hard work, Deutschland. You've done an excellent job. The birth of the Muscle Manjuu wouldn't have been possible without you."

"Heh~ As if I'd be happy from the praise of a lowly creature."

Although Deutschland said this, the delighted expression on her face betrayed her true feelings.

After that, Lin Lan followed Deutschland and Spee as they toured the workshop.

Magdeburg also demonstrated a crucial step in the Muscle Manjuu's creation.

The black-haired, red-eyed beauty carefully placed a Mind Cube into the chest of a nearly completed Muscle Manjuu.

Slowly, the Muscle Manjuu sat up from the lathe, looking at its arms in confusion, as if it had just gained life.

Seeing such a sci-fi scene, Lin Lan couldn't help but think of the robot movies he had seen before.

This also confirmed that the creation of each Muscle Manjuu required a Wisdom Cube as a cost.

But his port had thousands of Wisdom Cubes.

Even though he had yet to meet other factions, the Iron Blood camp alone must have had hundreds.

Using just a dozen to create Muscle Manjuus? He barely felt the loss.

As noon approached, Lin Lan and the others prepared to leave the workshop and Akashi's store to head to the cafeteria for lunch.

Just as Akashi pulled down the shutter of her store, the little profiteer, noticing Lin Lan wasn't standing with the Iron Blood girls, made a sneaky gesture for him to come closer.

"What is it, Akashi?"

Curious about her secrecy, Lin Lan leaned down to listen, assuming it would be some money-related scheme.

But what Akashi said next made him freeze, holding his breath.

"Meow... Commander, I've never seen that tattoo on the back of your right hand before. Did you get it after visiting Yalang City, meow?"

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