"Sui Qiong, Nimi, Akashi, Agir, August, you five stay by my side."
"Ulrich, take the others and wait before entering the building. When the time comes, blend into the crowd and follow us."
Lin Lan saw that Sun Dewang was guarding the entrance of the building, ensuring that every person entering downloaded the app on their phone.
He then gave instructions to his fleet girls.
"No problem, Commander."
Ulrich nodded, and the other Iron Blood fleet girls dressed in normal civilian clothes had no objections either.
Lin Lan then led August and the other five out of the car, holding umbrellas as they walked toward the crowd waiting in line in front of the building.
Most of the people in the line holding umbrellas were dressed in white naval commander uniforms from the Naval District port area, with some even bringing their fleet girls along.
In addition, there were some people in luxurious suits, and Lin Lan guessed they were likely senior company officials from Yunhai City, arranged by Tian'ou Group to attend the lottery.
Though Lin Lan didn't think much of the fuel filters he had provided, they were still purple gear in the game, after all.
Even a dead camel is bigger than a horse; the basic attribute bonuses still made a difference.
Compared to the current environment in Orland, where most of the gear was white and a few pieces were blue, the fuel filters could still provide the fleet girls with enormous attribute boosts, something the Naval District had previously struggled to achieve.
Tian'ou Group couldn't be unaware of its value, but they didn't dare to seize these ten fuel filters directly.
Jian Qian'ou had personally seen the power of Ulrich and Lin Lan, and this old man didn't even know how many such terrifying fleet girls Lin Lan had in his port area.
That was why Sun Dewang had asked him yesterday if Tian'ou Group could participate in the trade event.
After all, according to the rules Lin Lan had set, participating in the trade event, obtaining the fuel filters, and then reselling them to the Naval District at a high price made perfect sense.
The line of people ahead quickly entered the building, with some naval district commanders chatting while holding umbrellas as they waited.
This fleet gear product trade event allowed many naval district commanders from the Western Continent to gather, making it one of the few gatherings of commanders, apart from the year-end Naval District competition.
However, most of Lin Lan's classmates were in the Eastern Continent's naval districts.
During their time at the academy, his closer classmates, besides Luo Tao who was also unfortunate enough to be assigned to the Western Continent, were all interning in the Eastern Continent.
After the Siren Disaster, the networks between the Eastern and Western Continents were not shared, so Lin Lan had been unable to contact his Eastern Continent classmates.
However, Lin Lan and his five fleet girls still caught the attention of many commanders around them.
After all, most of the fleet girls in Orland were destroyers or light cruisers, with even light aircraft carrier fleet girls being rare.
Even Yunhai City's naval district only had two pawn battleship fleet girls, and they were the white type in the game.
The commanding aura of the Witch August and the God of the Wasteland Agir, both Iron Blood Fourth-Phase Research Fleet, was so imposing that it couldn't be ignored, even if they didn't intentionally flaunt it.
Many naval district commanders secretly wondered if Lin Lan might be directly connected to some high-ranking official in the Naval District, which would explain how such a young man could have such extraordinary fleet girls.
"I wonder where Qi Yue is, I'll call her once we go in and ask."
Lin Lan wasn't particularly concerned about the stares from those around him. After all, he was here for fun, so he let them guess all they wanted.
"Yuan... oh, this young and promising commander, hello, welcome to the Fleet Gear Product Trade Event, please scan the code to download the app to enter."
When Lin Lan reached the entrance, he saw Sun Dewang and several Tian'ou Group female employees in black suits greeting the guests.
As soon as Sun Dewang saw Lin Lan, he immediately felt his legs go weak, instinctively wanting to kneel.
But after receiving a sharp glare from Lin Lan, Sun Dewang hastily changed his mind, showing a flattering smile as he stepped forward enthusiastically.
"Ah, Brother Sun! It looks like you've been reinstated and are up for a promotion—congratulations, congratulations!"
Lin Lan smiled as he walked up to Sun Dewang. He exchanged a few polite words, then suddenly lowered his voice and said to him:
"Let my other fleet girls in later. If anyone asks, tell them they're bodyguards hired by Tian'ou."
Seeing Sun Dewang nodding frantically like a chicken pecking at rice, Lin Lan took out his phone, pretended to scan the code to download the app, and led Sui Qiong and August into the building.
Once inside the lobby of the first floor, Lin Lan felt the temperature around him rise several degrees due to the air conditioning.
At this point, the lobby had been transformed into a large exhibition hall, with various new products from the Western Continent Science and Technology Institute displayed in glass cases for people to admire.
Lin Lan glanced around and saw more than a hundred naval district commanders from the Naval Department.
With the fleet girls and Tian'ou Group staff, there were at least three or four hundred people.
Luckily, the building was spacious enough, and despite the large number of people, it didn't feel crowded.
"So many Naval Department commanders—if a Siren battleship were to fire a shell here, wouldn't it wipe out the whole Naval Department? Hahahaha!"
Agir lightly tossed her silver hair, looking at the crowd, and whispered to Lin Lan.
"Hey, don't joke, it's really possible. At least half of the Eastern Sea Six Cities Alliance would probably fall."
Lin Lan, hearing Agir's teasing, looked around carefully. It did seem quite plausible.
"Familiar spirit, should I use Thought Control now and take control of everyone's minds?"
August also smiled faintly, suggesting to Lin Lan.
"Meow, why are you Iron Blood so extreme, meow? You really have a wicked mind, meow!"
Before Lin Lan could respond, even the little merchant Akashi couldn't hold back, complaining to August.
"Hehehe, little kitty, you shouldn't talk like that. Your Sakura's Akagi isn't much better than us, you know?"
"She's much better now, meow, but you're getting worse, meow!"
While Lin Lan was listening to his fleet girls chatting and getting ready to call Qi Yue, he suddenly heard someone from the side shout his name:
"Lin Lan, you finally arrived!"
He turned toward the sound and saw a female commander in a white Naval Department uniform.
"Ah, senior, it's raining heavily today. Sorry I'm late."
Lin Lan smiled faintly. Qi Yue had also brought her fleet girls along, and two young commanders followed her as they walked over.
"You must be Lin Lan, Luo Tao's classmate. Truly promising at such a young age, nice to meet you!"
The drama Lin Lan had imagined, with someone coming up to provoke him, didn't unfold.
These two commanders actually greeted him with friendly smiles.
Seeing how warm they were, Lin Lan had no choice but to smile and shake hands with both of them.
"Hehe, they're both county port commanders from Yalang City.
They come from good families. Luo Tao specifically asked us to help you buy equipment," Qi Yue said with a light smile, introducing the two commanders.
Only then did Lin Lan understand why these two commanders were so enthusiastic toward him.
It turned out to be Luo Tao's arrangement. These two were trying to return a favor to him or perhaps invest in him.
It seemed that his good friend Luo Tao had already firmly established himself in Yalang City, with so many people willing to do him favors. Lin Lan felt more at ease.
"This is the exhibition area on the first floor, and the fleet gear trade event will begin on the second floor soon.
Let's go up and take our seats. This event is using a lottery format, which is quite rare."
After exchanging pleasantries about the usual port district work and complimenting each other's fleet girls, Qi Yue glanced at her watch and said to Lin Lan.
"Yes, this is my first time attending a trade event. I thought they always followed this format, but today I'll be relying on your senior guidance."
Lin Lan acted like a truly humble junior, calling them "seniors" repeatedly.
Except for Qi Yue, who smiled calmly and said nothing, the other two commanders' opinions of Lin Lan improved significantly after hearing him call them that.
After all, being polite always brought people closer together. Even if they were planning to invest money in Lin Lan, seeing him so courteous made them feel more comfortable.
Only Lin Lan's fleet girls behind him slightly lowered their heads to hide their expressions, especially Agir, who puffed out her cheeks, desperately suppressing a smile.
If she weren't one of Lin Lan's fleet girls, she would have believed it.
Great acting, Commander!
The four commanders, along with their respective fleet girls, took the elevator in the center of the hall and headed up to the second floor of the building.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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