Hikaru looked at his hand. Resting on it was a palm-sized carrier-based aircraft, short and chubby-looking, and surprisingly heavy like a solid lump of metal.
Around him, a crowd of admirals gathered, their eyes practically glowing green with envy.
California reached out, picked up the little plane, tried bending its wings but couldn't, causing a ripple of pained gasps from the crowd. She then made a paper plane throwing gesture and asked, "What kind of plane is this?"
"Suisei dive bomber," the chef governor answered without hiding the admiration on his face. "It's only a 3-star, but its bombing power is a solid 9. Plus, it only costs 4 aluminum per plane. It's known as the king among 3-star aircraft."
Hikaru clicked his tongue. So it was the Suisei. Historically, it was a dive bomber from old Japan capable of speeds over 500 km/h, faster than many fighters. But Japan never really put it to good use, and it ended up being used for suicide attacks.
Japan had lost so many veteran pilots that inexperienced recruits were sent to operate the high-speed Suisei, practically a death sentence. Pilots eventually suggested, "If we're going to crash during training, might as well strap on a bomb and ram into an enemy carrier."
"What a waste, it's useless," Hikaru sighed, ruffling California's braided hair. "I even boosted aluminum to 30 hoping to get a Type 91 AP shell, or at least a gold MK6 gun. A Suisei? Total failure."
He was clearly playing humble. The development recipe for the Suisei was 20-30-10-30, and he had knowingly raised the aluminum to 30 to keep that as a backup outcome.
California pouted and snatched her braid back, proudly presenting the Suisei to Lexington.
"Lexington-onee-san, this equipment suits you perfectly."
Lexington turned to Hikaru for approval.
The Suisei's strength was that despite being only 3-star, its bombing power surpassed many 4-star bombers, and its low aluminum cost made it highly efficient. One B25 cost 15 aluminum to replenish, but a Suisei only needed 4. The value was obvious.
But Hikaru shook his head firmly.
"That thing is no good for you. Your safety comes first."
The surrounding admirals, who had been itching to make an offer, perked up instantly. If Hikaru wasn't going to use it, and he didn't have any other carriers, this was their chance!
"Name your price, Commander! My Colossus doesn't even have a full air wing yet!"
"Ten million! That's my final offer!"
"Ten million? You think you're robbing someone?! Commander, I'll offer twenty million!"
Hikaru pressed his hands down to calm the noise. "Relax, everyone. Let's talk about the Suisei later. Don't worry, I won't let it rot away in my warehouse. It's useless to me."
The chef governor coughed twice. "You can claim your tenfold reward from London anytime. But speaking of the Suisei… I just built a light carrier myself. What do you say…"
Tenfold reward based on the earlier bet was only worth around 1++ resources, a few hundred thousand at most, nothing to someone like the chef governor. But getting a Suisei? That was another story. Even the chef governor looked tempted.
Just as Hikaru was about to respond, a burst of colorful light exploded behind him.
A rainbow glow—the mark of a six-star summon!
The crowd lost their minds, screaming as if they had seen a monster.
Hikaru spun around to see a figure stepping out from the glowing light before Masaki.
This bastard actually summoned a six-star shipgirl. For a moment, Hikaru's heart clenched.
It was like buying a guaranteed lottery ticket for a friend. If they won a little, you'd be happy for them. But if they hit the jackpot—sorry, friendship over!
Sure, Hikaru's blueprint didn't guarantee a six-star shipgirl… but still, that was the allure of shipbuilding.
But Hikaru quickly adjusted his mindset. First, his mental discipline was strong. Second, he did the math. The Suisei took about 20 minutes to develop, and Masaki had just hit the one-hour mark. One hour? Six-star? The answer was obvious.
It had to be… Spinnie!
After twenty years, Masaki had finally built another shipgirl. He knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face.
Before him stood a short, chubby, potato-shaped white-haired loli wearing an iron-gray dress and a metal bucket hat—looking exactly like a spinning top.
The loli spun slowly and let out a theatrical laugh, "Ohohoho! Have you been captivated by the elegant dance of Novgorod? Such lowly peasants—ow…"
Thud.
She fell flat on her face mid-sentence.
Masaki reached out to help but was slapped away. "Don't help me up! That was part of the dance."
Hikaru nodded to himself. Yep, it was definitely Novgorod.
This ship was built by Russia in 1873, one of the weirdest and most disastrous designs in naval history. A circular gunboat that spun in place whenever it fired, prone to being swept away by tides. Absolutely useless.
In terms of shipgirl stats, she wasn't much better. A miserable 6 knots of speed, 20 durability, 1 anti-air, 6 evasion, 6 detection—comparable to a destroyer. The only decent stat was her 20 firepower, which could reach 50 with upgrades. At best, she could serve as a stationary coastal gun platform.
Hikaru was busy evaluating her worth when danger silently crept closer.
Masaki, holding the hand of the sulking Novgorod, bowed deeply to Hikaru.
"I can't thank you enough. Even if I have to take out a loan, I'll pay every bit of that thirty million before the end of the month."
Hikaru waved his hand. "No rush, don't go borrowing money."
"No, don't try to stop me! It's the least I can do!"
Masaki, overwhelmed with gratitude, bowed again and then raised his fist to the sky, laughing like a madman.
"Finally! After all these years! abyssal Tech, I'm your biggest fan!!!"
Over a hundred admirals now stared at Hikaru like wolves eyeing fresh meat.
If even Masaki, the unluckiest man alive, could summon a six-star shipgirl… there must be something to this blueprint.
The most vocal earlier, still a random, stepped forward first. "Commander, do you have any more blueprints? Money is no object—I'll get on my knees if I have to!"
"Save it. That was the only one I had, and Masaki already used it." Hikaru waved dismissively.
"Liar! No way you didn't keep a few for yourself! If you don't hand them over, I'll smash your windows every day!"
"I'll blow up your sewer every night!"
"I'll gift-wrap my sister and deliver her to your doorstep!"
"I'll make you an offer you can't refuse!"
"I'll let you sleep with my shipgirl—ow! Fubuki, stop hitting me! I was joking! Ow! You punctured my intestines!"
Hikaru sighed. He had only wanted to stir things up a bit, but it worked too well. The scene was getting out of hand.
"I'm serious, I really don't have any more. And don't go thinking the blueprint guarantees a six-star. Masaki just got really lucky."
But Masaki, tearing up again, disagreed loudly. This was the first time in twenty years that "luck" had anything to do with him.
No matter how Hikaru tried to explain, the crowd only grew more frenzied. More and more people flooded the area, all hoping to witness the legendary six-star build.
Masaki had already been stripped down to his undershirt, covered in scratches from greedy admirals. Some were even trying to tear off his pants—seriously, you over there, the one with glasses, knock it off!
Seeing that the situation was about to spiral completely out of control, the chef governor let out a booming shout, silencing the crowd with sheer presence.
He turned to Hikaru. "You're lucky. But listen carefully—I don't believe it! I don't believe in luck without limits. I don't believe in cash changing fate. I don't believe in endless fortune. And I sure as hell don't believe in abyssal Tech!"
The chef governor raised his chin. "You claim you're out of blueprints? Fine. Then let's make a bet. One build. You must pull a main fleet ship. If you do, I'll admit defeat and acknowledge you as the eternal king of luck."
"Trying to limit me, huh? Scared I might have another blueprint hidden away?" Hikaru grinned brightly. "Governor, let's be civil. Thirty million, you take the Suisei, and we all go home happy."
The chef governor smiled coldly. "I'll add seventy million. Make it a full hundred million. If you pull a main fleet ship, I'll pay it as a gift to my junior. If you fail, you sell me that Suisei for thirty million and eat all of my 'special' dishes. Or… you admit this whole blueprint thing was a scam and that Masaki just got lucky."
The crowd buzzed with excitement. After all, thinking calmly, a "miracle blueprint" was too good to be true.
Hikaru spread his arms wide, raising his voice dramatically. "Why must you force me to become a killer?"
He cracked a grin and spread his arms like a champion.
"Governor, bring me the contract."
[End of Chapter]
[50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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