Although the gap in the clouds split open by Odin in the sky closed up again after just a dozen seconds, everything was already over.
The rain had unknowingly stopped, and the sea breeze gradually became calm.
From the dim sea surface in the distance, shafts of light pierced through the clouds, gradually dispelling the oppressive atmosphere.
The storm had ended.
And on the sea surface, aside from the Orlan puppet shipgirls and the Iron Blood fleet, no enemies remained alive.
Countless wrecks of Siren mass-produced Type II models and Leviathan's massive body lay piled near the coast of Yunhai City, destined to be salvaged and studied in the future.
"It's finally over."
Lin Lan finally let out a long sigh of relief. The difficulty of this battle had far exceeded his expectations.
If not for the fact that Friedrich der Große and her group had encountered Helena META and redirected their course toward Yunhai City, the city would likely have faced inevitable destruction.
Though many buildings within the city had been destroyed by Siren bombardment, and despite the casualties among Orlan's puppet shipgirls, the Siren fleet and Leviathan's assault had ultimately been repelled.
"Sirens..."
Lin Lan murmured softly to himself, realizing that he had indeed underestimated the threat the Sirens posed.
In this parallel world, the Sirens could also harness local powers to augment themselves.
Like the sea lord Leviathan, who lived in the Teaching Nation and had been turned into an unkillable monster under the control of the Sirens using a Wisdom Cube.
Without the intel provided by Braun, they probably wouldn't have been able to kill it even if they ran out of all their ammunition.
He couldn't afford to keep slacking anymore. As everyone's commander, he needed to learn more about this parallel world to better protect his shipgirls.
"Commander, looks like there's no need to vote for this operation's MVP."
Ulrich's amused voice came through the communicator, making Lin Lan smile.
"Indeed, I guess no one but Odin could take the MVP this time. But you all did great too. Is everyone alright?"
"Hahaha, just a mere Siren Type II fleet. What could possibly happen to us? Their shells couldn't even dent our armor. But you, better start thinking about tonight."
Agir's laughter came through the communicator, bringing a smile to Lin Lan's face.
With Friedrich and the others also returning, tonight would surely be lively.
Just as Lin Lan was about to suggest they all return to the villa to rest before the naval command staff made it back to the coast—
"Commander! Watch out!!!"
Clang!
A shrill cry from Sui Qiong beside him made Lin Lan's breath hitch.
Before he could even turn around, he heard the metallic crash of something striking—and a coquettish loli giggle.
The next second, he suddenly realized his body was being bound by several black-gold tentacles—even his neck was tightly constricted, leaving him completely immobilized!
His communicator fell to the ground beside him. Ulrich, having heard Sui Qiong's alarm, shouted anxiously through the speaker:
"Commander! What happened over there?!"
Lin Lan struggled violently, trying to break free from the tentacles, but his efforts were in vain.
He could only watch helplessly as he was dragged backward.
Then with a sharp crack, the communicator behind him was crushed under a delicate, bare white foot.
"Heehee~ Checkmate~"
The icy tentacle tightening around his neck made Lin Lan ignore the loli's voice as he clenched his teeth and turned his head toward where Sui Qiong had been.
The mecha-girl Sui Qiong's petite figure was sprawled on the ground. At first glance, she didn't appear seriously injured.
She held an energy blade, struggling to raise her head. Her wide azure eyes were filled with despair as she reached toward him, seemingly trying to stop him from being dragged away.
But her body appeared paralyzed, completely incapable of stopping him. All she could do was watch as he was pulled further and further away.
As for Father Braun, he too collapsed beside her—his condition unknown.
"Damn it! What the hell is going on?!"
Seeing that Sui Qiong wasn't in immediate danger, Lin Lan resumed struggling to break free, even activating the power of the Hero—but it was useless.
The cold tentacles on him were like mechanical constructs, refusing to budge no matter how hard he tried. The one at his neck was beginning to suffocate him.
"I knew the Purifier and Compiler were hiding something from me, but I didn't expect... it'd be finding you~"
"The results of the AL-06 test site weren't entered into their database... I'll deal with them later. For now..."
"Using the sacrifice of the entire AL-04 test site to capture you—what a worthy trade."
At that moment, the loli voice that had been giggling beside his ear turned icy, chilling him to the soul. Lin Lan's pupils shrank.
That voice...
Two cold, pale arms gently wrapped around him from behind. A pair of soft, cool hands caressed his cheeks.
Before he could react, an extraordinarily beautiful white-haired loli with glowing golden eyes appeared above him, wearing black fox-ear accessories and a seductive smile—she pulled him into an embrace.
And as soon as he saw this golden-eyed loli's face, Lin Lan's heart skipped a beat.
He knew this little girl.
She was a high-ranking Siren—and not just any high-ranking Siren, but the supreme authority of the entire Siren experimental system—
The Observer!
And from her words, Lin Lan instantly understood everything.
No wonder the Sirens' assault had ramped up in difficulty. No wonder they had deployed the sea lord Leviathan, their so-called secret weapon.
The entire attack hadn't been to test Leviathan's combat abilities, nor to destroy Yunhai City or the Orlan Federation.
The whole purpose from the beginning had been to lure his shipgirls away—the real target had been him!
"Observer! Let me go right now! Or they'll never forgive you!"
Now that he'd grasped the truth, Lin Lan began struggling frantically again, trying to threaten the high-ranking Siren who had captured him.
"Heehee~ Still hoping they'll come save you? How enviable, that bond~"
But the Observer simply giggled, turned to face him, and leaned in close.
Seeing her so near, Lin Lan squeezed his eyes shut in despair.
Not even Ulrich or Friedrich der Große could make it in time now.
This high-ranking Siren had no honor. She cheated. She ambushed him, an old veteran commander.
This was it. Everything was over...
Just as Lin Lan closed his eyes and waited for death, he suddenly felt a soft, cold touch on his lips and a creamy scent wafted into his nose.
His eyes shot open in shock.
The alluring white-haired Siren loli was pressed against him, their gazes locked—
She was kissing him!
What the hell was this?!
Lin Lan felt like his brain CPU had overloaded.
Several seconds later, the Observer finally broke the kiss, pulling back with a look of blissful satisfaction.
Her golden eyes stared down at Lin Lan, now lying bound and helpless on the ground. She even licked her lips, savoring the taste.
As if not yet satisfied.
Seeing the bewildered expression on his face, the Observer smiled seductively and said:
"You know, without you, many aspects of the 'Judicator Project' can't continue~"
"So to keep 'them' from going completely off the rails, don't think you're getting away from me again."
Before Lin Lan could even process the massive information bomb in her words, an overwhelming drowsiness swept over him.
"You... what... are you..."
His eyelids grew heavier, but just before he lost consciousness, his gaze landed on Sui Qiong, who was crawling toward him.
"Don't... hurt her..."
With that final line, Lin Lan finally succumbed, losing consciousness to the Observer's soft giggling.
——
"Old Lin! Hey, Lin! My man, Lin the Engineer! Get your ass up! If you're late to the morning meeting again, the boss is gonna skin you alive!"
In a daze, Lin Lan heard a man shouting in his ear.
"AH!!!"
The moment he regained consciousness, Lin Lan sat bolt upright, clutching his chest.
The short-haired, scruffy man in a tank top and shorts beside his bed jumped back in fright, stammering:
"Jesus, Lin! Don't scare me like that. Don't tell me you're still drunk from last night?!"
Lin Lan stared blankly at the short-haired man in a green reflective vest beside his bed. The familiar face made him pause and instinctively blurt out his identity:
"Old Yang?"
As he spoke, Lin Lan rubbed his eyes and took in his surroundings.
Cramped quarters held two bunk beds. The walls were made of cheap white prefab panels, and the floor was littered with cigarette butts, drink bottles, and beer cans.
Two clotheslines were strung between the beds, holding his familiar clothes and a dusty green safety vest.
This was clearly the dormitory at the construction site where he slept every day—his "kennel."
"At least you still recognize me. You probably don't have time to wash up. Get dressed and get to the morning meeting. I'll bring you breakfast from the cafeteria."
Relieved that Lin Lan hadn't lost his memory, his roommate Old Yang spoke casually while grabbing a red hard hat from the battered desk and heading out.
"Did I drink last night? I don't remember..."
"Morning meeting... crap! I'm really running late!"
Lin Lan saw the sky outside was already turning pale. Cold wind blew in through the open door, jolting his shirtless body awake. He didn't have time to dwell on last night's events.
He quickly jumped out of bed, threw on his clothes, slipped on the reflective vest, and grabbed his charging phone from beside his pillow.
But just as he turned on the phone and headed for the door, he froze in his tracks.
Unlocking the phone, he flipped through his apps again and again, searching for something—but found nothing.
A deep sense of dissonance surged in his mind. He felt like something he was used to doing every day was suddenly missing.
Turning off the phone screen, he stared at the scruffy, malnourished face reflected in the black screen and sank into deep confusion.
In a hoarse voice, he murmured to himself:
"What did I forget... Come to think of it, I had such a long, long dream last night... I haven't slept that well in ages..."
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With that, the Ironblood Arc has come to an end..
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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