When it came to establishing a base…
or a place to live…
Red Alert had already provided the standard solution.
First solve the energy problem: drop a power plant.
Then raise a mine to secure resources.
Next build barracks and heavy factories to spam units and protect the base.
If you still had spare capacity, research high technology…
the battle lab.
Building the capital followed the same logic.
The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight touched the sea, the chatter of Manjuus and the noise of shipgirls filled the air.
Everyone stood in neat ranks on the open ground, waiting for assignments.
“All right, time to assign construction duties.” Adam looked over his starting team.
Thirty shipgirls, three hundred Bulins, and countless little yellow chicks…
every last one from the Azur Lane world.
“Essex, Albacore, Archerfish…
take some Bulins and Manjuus out to sea.
Head to Athens and Nicaea and set up mines and smelters there.” He marked several zones on the map.
The Balkan Peninsula had always been rich in minerals; that was one reason he had chosen Constantinople as the capital.
The distance to Athens was nearly a thousand kilometers, but shipgirls could travel by sea with ease.
“Understood.” A shipgirl in a tight trench coat with purple twin-tails nodded, gathered her Bulins, and set off across the waves.
The two submarine girls dove in and vanished, leaving only a trail of bubbles on the surface.
“Yat Sen, Ning Hai, Ping Hai…
go to the Golden Horn.
Have the Bulins and Manjuus assemble the naval base first.
We need a proper port as our foothold.” Adam turned to the three Dragon Empery shipgirls.
When they left the Port, an entire naval base had been dismantled, packed into containers, and brought along.
All that remained was to put the pieces together.
“Understood.” Yat Sen gave a quiet nod and led the two younger sisters north across the waves.
“Formidable, Taihou…
take some Bulins and Manjuus and clear the surface.
We’ll be building the city on land later.
“As for the area… about this big should do.” He drew another circle on the map.
“That’s almost fifty thousand square kilometers?!
Commander, how big a city are you planning?!” Formidable nearly jumped out of her skin.
The marked zone was close to fifty times the size of the Port and more than three times larger than a typical historical capital.
Adding the outer agricultural zones and airports would make it even more absurd.
There was no doubt…
this would be a true mega-city.
“This is only the initial plan.
We’ll expand later, so don’t get worked up.
“Besides, this is going to be our capital.
Bigger is only natural, right?” Adam waved the concern away.
“This isn’t just ‘a little bigger’… some small countries in South America aren’t much larger than this…” Formidable was stunned by the man’s ambition.
“Ah… as expected of the Commander.
“Whatever the Commander orders, I’ll do it without question…” Taihou still wore her yandere expression, both hands propping up her chin as she gazed at Adam with soft, melting eyes.
Adam wondered whether she had actually heard the assignment at all.
If most shipgirls started with an affection level of fifty, a few colder ones at thirty, and warm types like Belfast or Yat Sen somewhere between seventy and eighty, then Taihou was already shooting hearts from both eyes…
love at first sight, ready for the marriage registration office.
“If the Commander would come work with Taihou, I’d be even more motivated…” The Sakura Empire carrier’s eyes shimmered.
She fixed him with a lingering look and, almost casually, adjusted her clothes, tugging the collar of her kimono a little lower to show off her figure.
“I’m a brand-new carrier with specially reinforced defensive armor.
I can handle any kind of work.
Look at this flight deck, look at this enclosed hangar…
impressive, right?
“Are you satisfied with Taihou’s body?” … What flight deck was that big and that pale?
Any carrier plane would crash straight into the mountains!
Adam complained internally.
Only Saratoga got to be a flight deck, thank you very much.
“Not just carrier planes, you know.
If the Commander wants, you can use… other things as well…” Taihou’s voice was soft and alluring, every word seeming to tug at the heartstrings.
“???” Adam felt a fire kindle somewhere inside his chest.
Suddenly a cool voice spoke from behind her.
“Put your rigging away and go work with Formidable.” Richelieu…
flagship of Iris Libre and cardinal…
forced Taihou’s clothes back into place, wrapping her up tightly.
“The Commander will be helping us build the naval base.
“Please finish your task with Formidable quickly.
Don’t delay the schedule.” “You?!” Taihou glared daggers at Richelieu.
“What are you scheming?!” “Nothing.
I simply believe the work comes first.
In the early stages of establishing a settlement we shouldn’t scatter our attention.” Richelieu’s tone was firm and upright.
“We should cooperate and get development here on track as soon as possible.” … Several other shipgirls who had been quietly stirring lowered their heads.
She was right.
They had come to help Adam rebuild civilization.
Compared with the flagship’s broader view, their own focus had been narrow.
“Mm…” Taihou thought it over and, for the moment, accepted the explanation.
She took the assignment with Formidable.
“Commander, if you have free time, come find Taihou, okay~~ “Whenever you want, I’ll be waiting on the bridge.
Absolutely, absolutely no pests will disturb us~~” The remaining shipgirls received their own tasks…
terrain surveys, cooking, patrols and reconnaissance, and the rest.
At the end everyone suddenly noticed that only Richelieu was still free.
“What’s your assignment?” Taihou asked, puzzled.
She had just heard the cardinal insist on putting the big picture first and stop clinging to the Commander…
yet it seemed Richelieu had given herself no work at all.
“As flagship of the fleet, I will serve as the Commander’s secretary ship from now on.
“I’ll take care of his daily needs and everyday life.” Richelieu answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Any objections?” “…” “Huh?!” Taihou and several other shipgirls stared at one another for a few seconds.
“I’ll fight you for it!!!”