"Hello, young lady! I wonder if you could return the Ship Girl next to you, Shokaku, to us?" Illustrious said to Hood with a smile.
"That's right! Release my sister quickly, or else you'll have it coming!" Zuikaku issued a warning to Hood.
"Eh! What nonsense are you talking about? This is a spy sent by the Deep Sea! You actually want me to release her? That won't do!" Hood feigned ignorance with a sarcastic tone.
"Forget it! Zuikaku, just leave! You are no match for them. Don't worry, Sister will be fine."
Sister! How could you be fine?! You'll be defiled by that big pig-head named Son of Lin Zhentian and become a plaything!
"Hmph! What Deep Sea spy? Sister and I have always been ordinary Ship Girls wandering outside. It's nothing but your slander! Release my sister at once!" Zuikaku trembled with rage. It was clearly just that creepy man wanting to kidnap a girl, yet he had so many excuses.
Hearing this, Hood burst out laughing and shook her head, finding Zuikaku's naive words ridiculous. She said coldly,
"You, oh you... how do you still not understand? I don't know whether to call you naive or stupid. This isn't a matter of you saying you aren't; it's a matter of us saying you are! If we say you're Deep Sea spies, then you're Deep Sea spies."
"You... you, you're going too far! By what right?! Is there no justice?" Zuikaku said, indignant at Hood's tyranny.
Hood clenched her fist and showed it to Zuikaku. "By the right that my fist is harder and stronger than yours. Therefore, we are the law, we are justice."
"I was going to let you go because of your sister, but since you've come back on your own, you can stay with her!"
"Enough. I know you won't release her easily, but what if I give you this?" Illustrious interrupted their argument, taking a glowing blue herb out of her rigging space. The glowing blue herb floated above Illustrious's palm.
Seeing Illustrious take something out of her rigging space again, Azuma was shocked! How did the Admiral have so many treasures? First the azure crystal, and now a glowing blue herb.
No, when they got back, she had to drain the Admiral and make her lower her guard, then act spoiled and cute to get her to hand over all the treasures. Otherwise, she would definitely use them to pull for more ships! Even if they were used, she should be the one to hand them to those Ship Girls. Only then would they know her status as the Wife Ship in the Admiral's heart.
On the other side, Son of Lin Zhentian kept staring at Illustrious's and Azuma's chests and legs, drooling constantly, wanting to bring them into his harem. However, when he saw Illustrious take out such a piece of trash blue herb to trade for his Ship Girl, he didn't even think before snorting in his heart—no way!
"You think taking a piece of rotten grass will make us release a Gold-Plated Ship Girl? Is your head screwed on right?" Son of Lin Zhentian mocked. "Hood, am I right?"
Son of Lin Zhentian noticed that Hood hadn't responded, so he turned his head and called out again: "Hood—?!"
There was still no response. Son of Lin Zhentian saw Hood's eyes shining; she licked her red lips and swallowed hard, staring intently at the glowing blue herb floating in Illustrious's hand. It was as if a wolf had seen a grazing sheep and wanted to devour it in one bite.
Could it be that he was mistaken? This wasn't a piece of rotten grass, but a very precious treasure. Otherwise, why would Hood be so entranced by that blue herb?
"Shut up! Stop embarrassing me! I'm starting to wish I didn't know you! That glowing blue herb is called moon spirit grass. Its grade is Blue-Tier. After a Three-Star Epic Ship Girl consumes it, it can 100% break the barrier of a Four-Star Epic Ship Girl, allowing for an easy breakthrough."
If the blue epic core in a Three-Star Epic Ship Girl's conscious world is already filled with blue Ship Qi, she can break the barrier to become a Four-Star Epic Ship Girl.
But the barrier isn't something that can be broken just like that. The success rate is only ten percent. If one accidentally fails the first breakthrough, the next time the success rate is only five percent. If that also fails, don't worry, you have one last chance, but the success rate drops to one percent.
If you're really unlucky and fail three times, then congratulations—you'll remain a Three-Star Epic Ship Girl for the rest of your life.
Over the years, countless Three-Star Epic Ship Girls have failed their breakthroughs and remained stuck at that level forever.
And Hood had already failed twice! She didn't dare to attempt a third breakthrough lightly. With only one percent success, what was the point? If she failed a third time, she'd be finished! She would never be a Four-Star Epic Ship Girl in this lifetime!
Hood had heard a legend that in the ruins of Azure Island, there was a vast treasure, and among the treasures was a magical, glowing herb called moon spirit grass. Its grades were Blue-Tier, Purple-Tier, Red-Tier, and Gold-Tier respectively.
A Blue-Grade moon spirit grass is something that, when consumed by a Three-Star Epic Ship Girl, will 100% break the barrier to becoming a Four-Star Epic Ship Girl, allowing her to break through with ease. moon spirit grass is just that miraculous.
moon spirit grass was extremely precious; the Governor-General's Mansion only had a few stalks. With such a rare treasure, the Governor didn't even have enough for himself, so how could he possibly give one to Hood's Admiral? Even if he did, it wouldn't be given to Hood because she had failed twice, disappointing her Admiral. If there really were one, it would be given to other Ship Girls instead of her. Over the years, she could only rely on herself to find moon spirit grass, but she had failed to find any after searching for so long.
But now, one was actually in Illustrious's hands; Hood was so excited she was almost moved to tears! She could finally become a Four-Star Epic Ship Girl! She looked at the Blue-Grade moon spirit grass in Illustrious's hand and then thought about her own strength. Since Illustrious was currently nothing more than a Gold-Plated Ship Girl, hahaha, she was set! She would definitely be able to get that Blue-Grade moon spirit grass.
"Seeing how sincere you are, I agree! However, give me that Blue-Grade moon spirit grass first, and then I'll release Shokaku," Hood said happily.
"Fine!" Illustrious said indifferently.
"No! You can't give it to her, she'll..." Seeing that Illustrious was about to give the moon spirit grass to Hood, Shokaku immediately remembered Hood's character; she definitely wouldn't keep her promise. Just as she was about to speak out to stop her, she felt Hood tap her on the shoulder, after which she was unable to speak.
"It seems Shokaku has a bit of a misunderstanding about me! You should know that I am someone who keeps my promises, right?" Hood said with a smile. "Well, I'll take your silence as an admission!"
Just as Shokaku was about to speak, Hood tapped her shoulder directly, using her own Ship Qi to seal her voice. The seal would lift in twenty minutes, which would keep her from talking too much and ruining Hood's grand plan.
Illustrious didn't care about Hood's actions. With a wave of her slender hand, encased in a white silk glove, the Blue-Grade moon spirit grass slowly flew toward Hood on the Battlecruiser opposite her.
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