Raised in that pampered hothouse, eighteen-year-old Son of Lin Zhentian became a full-fledged rake.
He brandished the 'Deep-Sea spy' accusation to abduct beauties, drag them to his room, and 'inspect' every curve.
If they resisted, he threatened them and their families with his father's power.
He targeted only the powerless; most broke and submitted.
He always promised to release them afterward—then reneged.
Morning light would find him asleep beside a exhausted girl.
The few who refused were pinned by his bodyguard's aura, gagged with drugged tea, and still violated.
By the next dawn those resisters were carved to pieces and fed to the Deep-Sea.
"Refuse me? Become Deep-Sea dung!" he'd laugh.
Today on Tianhai Island, bored with ordinary prey, he noticed Zuikaku and Shokaku.
Learning they were mere azur lane wanderlings, he lusted without fear.
Everyone knew azur lane was just a guild of homeless Ship Girls, poor and unprotected.
Unlike those kept by an Admiral, they lacked resources, clothes, security.
So he swaggered in, ready to 'board' them.
Declaring his father's name, he grinned as the crowd hushed and the sisters shook.
"Sister, let's fight them," Zuikaku whispered. "We're Gold-Plated Ship Girls—without his Epic Ship Girls here, we can take that bodyguard."
No... judging by the terrifying aura coming from that female bodyguard, she's definitely an Epic Ship Girl.
Shokaku was flustered and desperate, but she couldn't let Zuikaku see that her big sister had also lost her composure and confidence.
What! An Epic Ship Girl? Strategic assets like that are supposed to be hidden away and protected. That sleazeball's father really is willing to spend them.
Zuikaku exclaimed, her face full of shock.
Zuikaku's astonishment was understandable. Not long ago the sisters had personally watched the East Pacific branch chairwoman of the Ship Girl Association fight the Abyssals.
Back then the chairwoman had also been an Epic Ship Girl, and merely watching from the edge of the battlefield had been exhausting; step inside the combat zone and you would die on the spot.
Below Epic, all are ants—that isn't just a saying.
Advancing from a Gold-Plated Ship Girl to Epic is fraught with peril. During the breakthrough, the girl's consciousness is drawn into an inner world to undergo the Epic trial, leaving her body defenseless. If someone attacks now, the best outcome is a failed advancement and an even harder breakthrough next time; the worst is qi-deviation and death.
Therefore, a Gold-Plated Ship Girl usually finds a trusted companion to stand guard while she breaks through.
Once the trial is passed, she condenses a blue Epic core in that inner world and steps into the Epic rank.
After becoming Epic, advancement continues through three, four, and five stars. A newly advanced Epic is a Three-Star Epic Ship Girl. Inside her consciousness the blue Epic core gives birth to blue Ship Qi.
Ship Qi contains terrifying energy and is divided into Supreme Ship Qi, Precognition Ship Qi, and Armed Ship Qi.
Only one in a hundred Epic Ship Girls awakens Supreme Ship Qi; with a burst of aura she can cripple anyone below Epic, leaving them paralyzed and helpless on the ground.
Precognition Ship Qi, as the name implies, lets her read the enemy's next move in battle.
When Armed Ship Qi is used defensively, a Three-Star Epic Ship Girl can wrap herself in a Ship Qi Shield; break that shield or deal no damage at all.
Used offensively, Armed Ship Qi is even more fearsome—no Gold-Plated Ship Girl can survive a single blow.
By fighting, a Three-Star Epic Ship Girl fills her blue core until it reaches a critical point; the core turns purple and produces purple Ship Qi, signalling the step up to Four-Star Epic.
The chief difference between Four-Star and Three-Star is, first, that purple Qi is stronger than blue, and second, that a Four-Star can condense wings of light, shrug off gravity, defy Newton, and soar through the sky.
A Four-Star Epic Ship Girl must comprehend her core to awaken its unique ability; success means promotion to Five-Star Epic, and every girl's awakened power is different.
Which star rank is she? Even the lowest Three-Star is beyond me... When did Epic Ship Girls start roaming the streets? And of all the luck, we had to run into one. Are we doomed today? Zuikaku thought, anxiety gnawing at her as she lowered her head, her face clouded.
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