Elder brother's garrison

Page 2542

"It's not as simple as just sisters..." Xiaobai smiled wryly.

“She’s in charge,” Bismarck interjected at this point. “Just listen to her.”

“In that case, I understand.” Director Lu looked at Bismarck, his eyes brightening, then turned to Xiaobai and said, “Miss Lu, actually, besides wanting to express my respect and gratitude to you, I also have a few requests to make…”

"A request? What request?"

“It’s like this.” Director Lu straightened his collar, took a deep breath, and glanced at the steps where Bismarck had just sat. “Regarding your performance, I really think it’s such a pity that it only happened once. This museum’s traveling exhibition will stay here for another six days. I was just thinking how wonderful it would be if this grand art performance could continue until the very end…”

“Bismarck probably doesn’t have that kind of time,” Little White replied.

“Yes, I know that too,” Director Lu quickly replied, pressing one hand to his chest with a serious expression. “A grand artistic performance is only truly perfect in its very first iteration; all subsequent attempts to replicate it are merely superficial and crude imitations!”

"...Your understanding is quite profound."

“So this is what I’m thinking,” Director Lu said, pointing to the steps where Bismarck had just sat. “As you can see, these steps are covered with photos taken by the guests during your performance. Although your performance is over, these photos will serve as witnesses to that performance! If we fence off these steps and cover the walls with photos, perhaps people in the future will know about this performance! What do you all think?”

Director Lu looked nervously at Xiaobai as he finished speaking.

Xiao Bai blinked subconsciously.

"So you mean to display these photos? As part of the art exhibits here?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean!" Director Lu rubbed his hands together eagerly and asked, "Is that alright?"

"Um..." Xiaobai looked back at the ship girls behind her, especially at Bismarck who was reconnecting after being disconnected, before finally looking at Curator Lu and smiling helplessly, "Alright... since Bismarck doesn't object, you can do whatever you want with these photos."

"Thank you so much!" Director Lu exclaimed excitedly. He looked at the photos on the wall with great enthusiasm and continued to ask Xiaobai, "So, what name would you like to give this artwork?"

"Do we need to name it?"

"Yes!"

“Well… Bismarck doesn’t seem to know how to get it either, so you can get it,” Xiaobai said.

"Huh? You're going to give me this precious opportunity to name my child?" Director Lu suddenly froze, then his eyes blazed with intense happiness. "Really???"

"Come and get it yourself," Xiaobai said with a wry smile.

"Well, that's great!" Director Lu was suddenly encouraged. He excitedly turned to look at the photos on the wall, clenched his fist and waved it for a while before tentatively turning back to Xiaobai and saying, "Then... can I name this artwork... 'She Came'?"

"Okay, okay, that's the name." Xiaobai nodded.

Actually, Xiaobai didn't know whether the name was good or bad, but this so-called modern performance art was originally just Bismarck's accidental phone use. The fact that playing on the phone could develop into such an exaggerated result has far exceeded everyone's expectations. As for joining the ranks of artworks and participating in traveling exhibitions... Xiaobai could only say that as long as Director Lu was happy, that was enough. She and Bismarck did not intend to interfere or express anything further.

After naming the photos covering the wall, Director Lu finally smiled with satisfaction, as if he had ascended to heaven.

"Alas, I never imagined that my greatest achievement in this life would come here," Director Lu said with emotion. "To be able to name such a magnificent work of art, destined to be remembered for generations, I would be willing to die right now."

"..." Xiaobai scratched his cheek.

"Miss Lu, regarding the remuneration for exhibiting this artwork..." Director Lu changed the subject and spoke to Xiaobai.

"Hmm? Do you still have money?"

“Ah, it’s like this. Generally speaking, there’s no payment for participating in art exhibitions,” Director Lu said to Xiaobai. “But as you’ve seen, your artistic performances have had a huge impact, so as the director of the Modern Art Museum, I believe I need to pay you for this performance according to the museum’s regulations…”

"about how much?"

"Um, is it usually a symbolic five hundred yuan?"

"Then let's forget it, let's forget it." Xiaobai waved her hands repeatedly, "It's not good to talk about money."

"Sigh, you're right. Compared to the price later, this performance fee shouldn't be a big deal," the curator said with a sigh after hearing Xiaobai's words.

"Huh? The price in the future?" Xiaobai suddenly paused, "What price in the future?"

“This exhibit rightfully belongs to you, so after it’s exhibited in the traveling exhibition, someone should be willing to pay a high price for it,” Director Lu said, looking up at the photos on the wall. “Although the exact price is unclear, based on my understanding of the industry, this exhibit is probably worth between several million and tens of millions.”

"Duo Shao?" Xiao Bai exclaimed in surprise.

For a moment, Xiaobai wondered if there was something wrong with her ears, causing her to mishear the price.

what?

Tens of millions?

Bismarck playing on his phone can sell for that much money?

Is this number a joke?

"A conservative estimate is around this number," Director Lu said earnestly to Xiaobai. "Selling performance art is generally quite difficult, but fortunately, this exhibition has ample video footage to support it, so performance art can be sold in large quantities in the form of pictures and photos. As long as you add personal signatures, it should be able to generate a lot of profit."

"..." Everyone silently turned around and looked at Bismarck.

“?” Bismarck met the gazes of the others.

"Sigh, is this what they mean by God chasing after you to feed you? I understand now," Xiaobai sighed. She said to Director Lu, "The art world is really amazing."

“…” Bismarck looked at Little White, who nodded in agreement, her head adorned with a dotted circle. “Mm.”

……

In short, since Director Lu said that the performance was worth nearly ten million, Xiaobai directly handed over the consignment sales rights of the art exhibits to Director Lu, letting him, an industry insider, handle the subsequent sales.

Upon learning of this, Director Lu was moved to tears on the spot. He was breathless and covered his face, sobbing as he said that not only had Bismarck and Xiaobai given him the opportunity to name such a great work of art, but they had also entrusted him with the sales rights of such a precious work of art. He had never felt such trust and kindness in his life except from his parents, so he would do his best to help Bismarck and Xiaobai promote this work of art and live up to their expectations...

Xiaobai could only give an awkward laugh.

After all... the art world is so big, and the newbies and ship girls are basically outsiders. Even if Hood among them does have some understanding of art, it's only from the perspective of an "audience" rather than an operational perspective. If Bismarck's artworks really need to be converted into real profits, then Curator Lu is indeed the best candidate.

As for the issue of trust...

Xiaobai felt that it didn't really matter.

Firstly, Xiaobai could indeed sense through the Admiral Network that Director Lu's words were sincere. Secondly... if Director Lu really was greedy and wanted to do something with the profits from Bismarck's works, Xiaobai felt that his status as the world's number one admiral would be enough to give him a hard time.

As for whether Bismarck's works are works of art or simply playing on his phone...

Before Director Lu said the artwork was worth tens of millions, Xiaobai genuinely thought Bismarck was just playing on her phone.

But after Director Lu revealed that the artwork was worth tens of millions, Xiao Bai's thoughts changed slightly.

What are you doing, playing on your phone!

You're just spouting nonsense!

This is clearly my great artist unleashing her inspiration!

No one is allowed to spout nonsense about my beloved great artist!

Chapter 3567 Profound Schemes

all in all.

After discussing the next steps with Director Lu, Director Lu repeatedly told Xiaobai and his group that he would definitely give them the best possible result in order to repay Xiaobai's trust in him.

The group gradually felt themselves becoming more and more noticeable in the exhibition hall. The gazes coming from all directions made them feel uncomfortable, so they left the museum under the escort of Director Lu and the security guards.

Director Lu escorted Xiaobai and his group all the way to the museum entrance.

"Miss Lu, you all have truly moved me deeply today." Before seeing Xiaobai and her group off, Director Lu spoke slowly to everyone in a weathered tone, "To be honest, when I first received instructions from my superiors to bring the mobile exhibits to the Admiral Circle's museum branch exhibition, I was very reluctant—I genuinely felt that even humans only have a small percentage who can understand high art, so how many ship girls could understand it? Moreover, the pressure of life is the greatest enemy of art. Admirals are so busy and tired with their work, it's even less likely that they can understand the realm of art. So I was originally pessimistic about this art exhibition."

"So, Director Lu, do you mean your opinion has changed now?"

"Yes." Director Lu nodded emotionally, her eyes reddening. "Now I realize that I've been living in a well all along. What about ship girls and humans? True artistic talent is never confined to race. Ship girls are no less talented than humans. Their unique insights and attitudes towards art are actually more profound and tolerant than many vulgar humans. That's exactly what I should learn! I want to thank you, Miss Lu. You've taught me a lesson!"

"That's enough, that's enough, Director Lu." Xiao Bai raised his hand awkwardly.

Director Lu bowed to Xiaobai and his group to express his gratitude, finally said goodbye to them, and returned to the museum.

Xiaobai and her group finally breathed a sigh of relief. They looked at each other, and apart from Hu De, whose eyes were lifeless and who seemed to have a shattered worldview, the others couldn't help but chuckle.

“A great artist!” Lexington patted Bismarck on the shoulder and smiled at her.

“Congratulations, Bismarck,” Iowa said with a smile.

“…Who?” Bismarck looked at Lexington in confusion.

“You, a great artist.” Lexington chuckled, covering his mouth. “Alright, from now on, Bismarck, you’ve got a fortune to rely on. You’ll never have to worry about money again in your next life.”

“…” Bismarck blinked, thought for a moment, and said to Lexington, “But I don’t need money right now.”

"I know, I know—"

The group joked with Bismarck.

Bismarck herself was still not clear about what had happened in the past half hour; she simply turned to look at Hood.

Hu De was the quietest among them. She sighed softly, touching her smooth, white forehead, her eyes filled with desolation and loneliness.

"What's wrong?" Bismarck asked Hood.

"No, nothing..." Upon hearing Bismarck's voice, Hood's desolate and lifeless eyes suddenly lit up, and she clenched her fists angrily, gritting her teeth, "I, I just suddenly lost hope in the art world..."

“Yes, I don’t understand those either,” Bismarck nodded. “Looks like we’re in the same boat.”

"Don't say anything!"

Enraged by Bismarck, Hood raised his little fist and started punching Bismarck's chest repeatedly.

Hood's small fist wasn't very strong, about the same as the force a real human woman would use to punch someone.

Bismarck silently endured Hood's fierce attacks. Her chest armor was thick enough that she felt not only unharmed, but also as if she were being tickled.

Bismarck turned his head to look at the crowd.

"What's wrong with her?"

"This..." For a moment, no one knew how to explain, so they could only laugh awkwardly. "It's very complicated..."

Bismarck didn't dwell on complex matters.

After Hu De hammered away, he also started panting, holding his back.

Bismarck took out a bottle of mineral water from her ship's storage space and handed it to Hood.

Seeing this, Iowa smiled and said to Xiaobai, "I didn't expect the first stop of this trip to be so dramatic, Admiral."

“That’s right.” Xiaobai nodded in agreement, then continued to ask Iowa, “Where are we going next?”

"The ship girl amusement park in Chapter 8 has just been renovated and reopened. It should be bustling with activity there by now. Shall we go check it out?" Iowa said with a smile, pulling out the amusement park tickets.

The group's next stop was the Ship Girl Amusement Park.

Speaking of this ship girl amusement park, Xiaobai remembers that she originally wanted to visit it when she went out with Abyssal Yamato last time.

However, Shenhai Yamato clearly lacked experience when making travel plans, so much so that when the two arrived at the amusement park entrance, they found that the amusement park was closed for renovations, and had to go to a nearby internet cafe to play online games until the afternoon.

Although playing games with Deepsea Yamato was indeed quite fun... I thought I wouldn't have many more chances to visit this amusement park, but I didn't expect to make up for it today.

It was nearly noon when everyone arrived at the amusement park, which was indeed bustling with activity.

After paying the tickets and entering the gate, the entire amusement park was decorated like a festival. In the distance, there was a towering Ferris wheel, a winding roller coaster, a bouncy carousel, a drop tower, a log flume, a haunted house challenge, and a wide variety of other facilities. Groups of ship girls holding cotton candy could be seen everywhere. There were also various food vendors along the way, selling things like goldfish scooping, shooting games, ring toss, sugar figurines, and hand-painted cartoon portraits. The vendors stayed at their stalls and hardly made any purchases, but there were still quite a few ship girls queuing up in front of each stall.

Looking at the lively scene, Xiaobai had a fleeting thought: "Is today New Year's Day?"

But soon, Xiaobai couldn't help but marvel at the diversity of Chapter 8.

This amusement park covers a huge area...

Although it seems that only Chapter 8 has such a large entertainment venue, the thought that it is also the front line of the battle against the deep sea gives it a strange and absurd feel.

"The ship girls living in Chapter 8 are probably living the best lives of all the city chapters," Lexington said to Shiro with a smile.

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Xiaobai said with deep feeling. “Apart from the ship girls, I feel like there’s no difference between this place and a real human city.”

"There are shooting stalls over there," Bismarck said to the crowd after scanning the surroundings and fixing his gaze on a particular stall.

"Bismarck, do you want to go take a look?"

"Ah."

It was rare to see Bismarck showing interest in anything, so the group went to the shooting booth and looked at the colorful balloons displayed there, along with the various prizes behind them.

At amusement park booths, there are usually lines of ship girls, but the booth that Bismarck chose was one of the few without any ship girls in line.

As soon as the stall owner saw Xiaobai and his group arrive, he immediately greeted them with a smile and began to introduce the stall.

"Ladies, wanna try your hand at shooting? Popping the corresponding little balloons will earn you points that can be exchanged for prizes!"

"Oh, it's a points reward system." Xiaobai listened to the shopkeeper's words, looked at the balloons tied to the stall with interest, and then glanced at Bismarck, who was staring intently at the balloons. "How much does it cost to participate?"

"Ten bullets per person, fifty yuan!"

"Oh~" Xiaobai nodded.

They say all amusement parks are rip-offs, and this one certainly lives up to its reputation for being ridiculously expensive...