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Chapter 297 - 289: New Ocean Artificial Island

However, Lin Lan quickly remembered that the New Ocean Artificial Island was seized by the Eagle Union from the Goilia Consortium, so it's not surprising to find these medical supplies here.

He tried to struggle to sit up, but unfortunately, his body was very weak at the moment, and he could barely raise his hand, let alone get up by himself.

Fortunately, not long after, footsteps were heard from outside the door that hadn't been closed.

Enterprise, holding a steaming bowl of porridge, hurried in and sat back down at Lin Lan's bedside.

"Commander, sorry to keep you waiting."

Looking at the weak Lin Lan, a trace of sympathy flashed in Enterprise's eyes.

Alongside Enterprise entered the room a handsome black-feathered, white-headed eagle flapping its wings.

Seeing the eagle, Lin Lan suddenly remembered that most of the Eagle Union's aircraft carrier girls had their own pets.

For example, the Yorktown-class sisters, including Enterprise, Essex, and Independence, all had white-headed eagles as pets.

However, he hadn't seen Independence's white-headed eagle at the military base.

It seemed that these pets were also part of the girls' ship girl outfits, able to materialize or vanish at will.

As Lin Lan was helped to sit up, he looked at the white-headed eagle resting on the bedpost, folding its wings, and as he pondered, Enterprise brought a spoonful of porridge to his mouth.

As the hot porridge entered his mouth, Lin Lan finally began to feel his strength gradually returning.

He had to admit, the porridge made by Vestal was really delicious.

It was just strange that despite Vestal being an excellent cook in the game, every Valentine's Day when she made him chocolate, there would always be some kind of accident.

For example, the kitchen would suddenly explode, or the box containing the chocolate would suddenly start smoking…

Some players even joked that Vestal might actually be a master of dark cuisine, and eating her food might cause explosions.

Of course, now it seemed that those were just rumors. After all, besides making chocolates, Vestal didn't seem to make anything that could actually explode.

As she fed Lin Lan spoonful after spoonful of porridge, Enterprise noticed his face gradually gaining color, and she smiled gently in relief.

To be honest, three days ago when she saw the commander's deathly pale face as he was carried by Intrepid, her heart nearly broke.

Neither of them spoke, silently enjoying this warm moment together.

But the peaceful scene was broken when Enterprise, having lost her grip, spilled some porridge onto Lin Lan's collar.

"Ah, Commander, I'm sorry! I really… I'm still not good at taking care of others…"

Enterprise's face turned red, and in a fluster, she placed the porridge bowl on the bedside table and reached for a napkin on the nearby table. 

But Lin Lan simply smiled and reached out his hand, still attached to the IV, gently holding hers.

"Hahaha, it's okay. I'm already very satisfied to be fed by the Pacific Queen herself."

Lin Lan smiled at the graceful silver-haired ship girl in front of him.

After all, Enterprise's personality was that of a pure warrior, and a small mistake in taking care of others was totally normal.

In fact, that's what made her so endearing—after all, not everyone could enjoy such tender care from the once formidable Gray Ghost.

And indeed, when Lin Lan said this, a blush appeared on Enterprise's fair cheeks, and she averted her gaze slightly, her voice growing softer.

"Commander, if you like it this way, I could feed you like this every day…"

Hearing Enterprise say this, and seeing the shy look in her eyes, Lin Lan instantly woke up from his drowsiness.

Was this really the same Eagle Union, the battle-hardened warrior who only talked about fighting?

It was moments like this—such a charming contrast—that made her even more lovable.

"Hahaha, if you do that, I'd probably become a useless person. How about you first remove the needle in my hand? I can get up now."

"Mm… mm."

With a red face, Enterprise helped him remove the IV needle, and Lin Lan used his other hand to pull aside the beige curtains by the bed.

As soon as the curtains were pulled back, the bright morning sunlight streamed through the glass window, shining on Lin Lan's face, making him squint slightly.

It only took Lin Lan two seconds to adjust to the not-too-intense sunlight. When he finally saw the view outside the window, he couldn't help but take a deep breath and exclaim:

"So this is the New Ocean Artificial Island? It's so beautiful!"

Lin Lan couldn't help but be amazed. The room he was in was in a high-rise building atop an island's central hill. 

Through the window, he could see most of the island basking in the light of the rising sun.

This artificial island, created by the Goilia Consortium, looked no different from a natural island in terms of scenery.

Lin Lan carefully observed.

Whether it was the lush forests on the island, the meticulously trimmed lawns and shrubs, the artificial lakes reflecting the morning sunlight, or the vast, pristine buildings, the large amusement park, or the port with mass-produced warships docked at the edge of the island…

This New Ocean Artificial Island far exceeded his expectations in both size and beauty.

The Goilia Consortium's ability to create such a beautiful artificial island on the ocean was truly a masterpiece.

Well… maybe the later renovations weren't done by the Goilia Consortium, as he had already spotted many buildings with distinct Eagle Union ship girl features.

For example, outside a few large venues, he vaguely saw the Eagle Union faction's emblem.

"By the way, Enterprise, how did you all manage to arrive so quickly, and even find out that we were being pursued by Siren forces?"

Lin Lan turned his head and asked the silver-haired, purple-eyed ship girl, who had just removed the needle from his hand and was hurriedly holding a clean piece of gauze to his wound to stop the bleeding.

When the commander asked about her area of expertise, Enterprise's face showed that familiar confident and dignified smile.

She looked at Lin Lan and explained without reservation:

"That's because after hearing that you arrived at the Anna City base, we all relied on our ship girl outfits to travel and didn't stop for a moment to rush here."

"And as for how we found out you were being chased by Sirens, that's thanks to Helena."

As Enterprise spoke, she helped Lin Lan move his legs to the ground, supporting him as he stood up.

"Her SG radar picked up the sudden appearance of your signal and detected that your situation was dire, so we immediately launched the air squadron to assist you."

With Enterprise's careful support, Lin Lan finally stood firmly on the ground.

Her white-headed eagle also flapped its wings and flew up, circling above them for a moment before landing on Lin Lan's shoulder.

Its yellow claws tightly gripped his freshly changed, white, clean commander uniform.

The sharp eagle claws didn't pierce the fabric, and the handsome white-headed eagle, which Lin Lan had only seen in documentaries, behaved very well, even rubbing affectionately against his cheek.

This particular white-headed eagle also had historical significance.

Its name was "Reaper," inherited from the Yorktown-class aircraft carrier's "Reaper" squadron, and after the sinking of the Yorktown, it was passed down to Enterprise.

Now, it seemed that this intelligent white-headed eagle had become the ship girl embodiment of Enterprise's outfit.

After hearing Enterprise explain the details to him, Lin Lan finally understood.

No wonder when Saratoga told him they would only meet the next day, he and the others were still surrounded by Sirens, yet the Eagle Union fleet that set out from here arrived at the battlefield to assist them ahead of time.

It turned out that the Eagle Union ship girls had never stopped, not even choosing to use mass-produced ships, but instead traveled at full speed using their ship girl outfits.

Thinking about this, Lin Lan turned his face to look at Enterprise and said, touched:

"You all worked so hard. Thank you… I'm glad you arrived in time. Otherwise, I might have been captured by the Sirens."

Enterprise, the silver-haired Eagle Union ship girl, smiled in a heroic manner, and teasingly replied:

"Come on, Commander, don't exaggerate. I heard from Intrepid and South Dakota about your amazing abilities. I didn't expect you to have such strange powers."

"On the way back, the Benson-class kids and the Sea Knights already spread the word about your ability, and now you're considered a hero by everyone."

Hearing Enterprise's words, Lin Lan's expression of gratitude froze.

Wait, how did he become a hero?

He was chased by the Sirens across the sea and collapsed for three days after opening a portal?

That's not a very heroic story, is it?

"Ahem, don't believe rumors. If we're talking about heroes, I can't compare to you."

Lin Lan awkwardly smiled and shook his head. But before he could ask Enterprise anything else, he heard footsteps approaching outside the door.

Then, two familiar voices, similar in tone but completely different in attitude, came through:

"Enterprise! Enterprise! Me and Yorktown are here to take over! Is the commander still asleep?"

"Shh, Hornet, don't wake up the commander."

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