Revisit Azur Lane

He could have bought it directly from the store, but he didn't. Essentially, he was a little panicked, worried that the program no longer existed in the world.

On the other hand, there's the hypothesis that humanity in this world hasn't all died out, and he recorded the channel. Could this leave a trail that allows the Sirens to break through the cognitive barrier and discover this place?

Zhou He disapproved of the Sirens' behavior, but he acknowledged that their technology was exceptionally brilliant, and therefore he would pay close attention to that aspect.

"Well."

Hermione couldn't figure out Zhou He's thoughts, so she chatted casually with the topics he brought up. While he was drinking tea, she found an opportunity to ask, "Commander, you brought me here for more than just tea, didn't you?"

"Haha, Hermione, you've guessed wrong this time."

Zhou He didn't bring it up himself, wanting Hermione to ask first. He licked his lips and couldn't help but smile, "I was just thinking that you haven't rested since the mission started, so I specially brought you here to sit for a while."

"..."

Seeing Zhou He's cheerful expression, Hermione paused for a moment before smiling slightly: "So that's how it is. It distracted the Commander. But, shouldn't we step aside for a bit? Miss Yukikaze seems to really want to come out."

"Don't worry, I believe she has other ways."

Zhou He naturally noticed this. While he and Hermione were talking, Yukikaze and Yuudachi in the room could easily hear them. Judging from Yuudachi's appearance, he would probably have to sleep with him again tonight. Yukikaze probably tried to dissuade Yuudachi from making a scene in his room, but to no avail.

Thinking of Yukikaze, he took a slight breath: "Many ship girls undergo drastic personality changes after wandering far from home. In this respect, Yukikaze was not affected much, which makes me very fortunate."

Many of the meta ships have deep-seated grudges, and he simply cannot handle the level of conflicts between ship girls at this stage. It's great that Yukikaze, who is 'easy to take care of,' was the first to arrive.

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he lowered his voice and asked, "Hermione, what do you think about my recruiting ship girls from outside the port?"

"Ok?"

Since it was a serious question, Hermione sat up straight and looked at Zhou He, answering earnestly, "Because he's the Commander, it doesn't surprise me at all."

"That's not the answer I wanted."

Zhou He took off his hat and placed it on the coffee table, looking at Hermione with equal seriousness: "Recruiting ship girls from outside the port area could very well shake up our port area's existing system. It might just be a matter of my words, but it would be very difficult for you to implement them."

"Yes."

Seeing this, Hermione stopped pretending to be stupid and said after considering it, "I believe in your foresight, Commander. Even if we let ship girls from outside the port join the port, it will definitely be more beneficial than harmful to the port."

"I see."

Zhou He understood. Hermione meant that since he had brought the ship girls back from outside, he had to take good care of them until they were fully integrated into the port. If any conflicts arose, he would have to resolve them himself and take all the blame.

In that case, he'll have to do some research before he encounters other ship girls, and he can't just get all excited when he sees a free offer notification, lest he end up suffering together with everyone else.

"This is indeed something that needs to be emphasized."

Suddenly, a crisp sound came from the door. Zhou He turned his head and saw Xue Feng walking in with a calm expression. He thought to himself that she had probably been forced to jump out of the window.

Yukikaze naturally had no idea what Zhou He was thinking. She took three steps at a time and looked down at Zhou He: "Even among the meta ship girls, there are many who remain sober but are completely insane. If you recruit even one of those people into the port, it will be a disaster for the original ship girls."

"Yukikaze, you know a lot about what's going on outside. Do you know about that organization called Ember, the one led by Enterprise Meta?"

Zhou He naturally understood the difference between meta ship girls and ordinary ship girls, but this difference wasn't so obvious in his family.

"Ember? Never heard of it."

Xuefeng glanced at the empty coffee table, shook his head decisively, and turned to leave.

"Never heard of it?"

Zhou He clicked his tongue in amazement. Could it be that the individuals in the Embers were causing a great disturbance in the main game world, but were actually not particularly noteworthy in the many experimental worlds?

Chapter 124 A Sudden Realization (?)

Xuefeng didn't stay long, only briefly responding to Zhou He's questions before leaving. Zhou He, facing Hermione, wanted to chat about something, but was surprised to find himself unable to find a topic to talk about.

After sitting quietly for a while, he stood up, washed the teacups they had been drinking from, put them away, and turned around, saying, "Let's go back too."

"Ah."

Hermione obediently got up, and the two walked to the door. Zhou He suddenly remembered that there was someone else in his room, so he asked Hermione to wait a moment, turned around and went into the bedroom, where he arrested Yuudachi, who was tidying up the messy bed.

"Hey~"

Yuudachi tried to get away with being cute, but Zhou He gently tapped her on the head and lectured her in an annoyed tone: "The bed is not a place for roughhousing. I'll forgive you this time, but it won't be so easy next time."

"remember!"

Yuudachi, who had been covering her head and looking aggrieved, immediately hugged Zhou He's arm with a grin upon hearing this. She had heard this kind of sentence many times before, which meant that Zhou He was not angry.

Zhou He, naturally, couldn't resist the affectionate little puppy at all. He reached out and stroked her hair, then pinched her ears, which felt wonderful. He really admired the person who came up with the 'Beast Girl' series. How could they be so ingenious as to combine two wonderful things into one?

The two went out like that, and Hermione, who was waiting, smiled and said, "Commander and Yuudachi have such a good relationship."

"Hehe, right?"

Zhou He didn't say anything, but Yuudachi was overjoyed. She leaned against Zhou He, rubbing her head against his arm: "Commander, it smells great, I like it!"

"well enough."

Zhou He naturally liked Yuudachi as well, but he had to put on a show. He couldn't suppress the smile on his lips, which made it clear that he was just being stubborn.

However, this was a scene that Hermione was already used to, and she stepped aside to wait for Zhou He to pass by before following him.

By this time, the sun outside had been obscured by the high mountains surrounding the port area. Only the area in front of the command building still had the glow of the setting sun; the surrounding area, including the new dormitory, was already quite dark.

"It gets dark so fast, what time is it now?"

Looking at the azure sky, Zhou He guessed that it was a little past five o'clock.

"Ten minutes until 5 p.m."

Hermione answered, her brows furrowing slightly: "It's getting dark much faster than usual now, and it's getting light much later. If this continues, we'll have less and less time to go out during the day."

"Yes, we need to get rid of these Sirens outside as soon as possible."

If he didn't think about launching an attack, Zhou He wouldn't feel any pressure, but as soon as these things were mentioned, he felt very troubled.

In short, let's proceed according to plan tomorrow and see how it goes.

After walking a few steps outside, the three of them naturally arrived at the restaurant. It was quite lively there today, with several tables full as they entered. Cleveland, who was sitting with Yorktown and the others, greeted Zhou He enthusiastically, "Commander, would you like to join us?"

"I definitely will next time."

Zhou He glanced at Yuudachi, and Cleveland understood. She continued talking to Yorktown, who, while seemingly talking to Cleveland, was actually focused on Zhou He. Aside from when he first joined, Zhou He seemed somewhat mysterious to her.

Walking through the port area, Zhou He always attracted attention from all directions, so he didn't notice Yorktown. He led Yuudachi to a seat, then gestured for Hermione to sit opposite him before calling the Manjuu waiter to take their order. However, just as Yuudachi ordered meat, he suddenly realized that the ingredients here might be running out.

"..."

Food is essential for life, and no matter how much Zhou He wanted to be 'frugal,' he couldn't skimp on this aspect. So, after saying he was going to 'go check the kitchen,' he got up and found the head chef, Manjiu, who was directing the work, to inquire about the supply of ingredients. He then saw Manjiu pull out a piece of paper from its four-dimensional pocket, which recorded the required amount of meat, vegetables, and even seasoning packets. A quick count revealed that it would cost nearly 20 Home Coins.

Last time, Zhou He had cut the budget very hard, but this time he had a lot more money, so he didn't think too much and just replenished the ingredients in the different refrigerators according to the list given by the head chef. The original 50 Home Coins instantly dropped to 30.

Actually, that's quite a lot; it's enough to buy at least two large hot spring pools.

Slightly pained, Kōshūga washed his hands and comforted himself as he returned to the dining area, which was decorated with a red carpet and had very comfortable lighting and feel. Because each table was spaced apart, there was no obvious cross-contamination of aromas. However, Yūdachi was a dog in the Chinese zodiac, and in the short time he was gone, Yūdachi had already moved to the table with the Shōkaku sisters and Ayanami and the others.

Meanwhile, Hermione across from him had inexplicably transformed into Mrs. Hood, wearing a napkin and cutting a steak to an unknown doneness. Her movements and demeanor were impeccable, truly befitting the epitome of nobility. It was only after sitting for a short while that his own Hermione stood up again.

"What's matter?"

With Hermione's help, Zhou He took his seat. His gaze gradually moved upwards from the steak, past the rather large but well-covered chest, and finally landed on Hood's naturally elegant face. He waited for her to finish chewing, swallowing, and wiping her mouth before asking her a question.

"The Commander just informed us that he seems to be looking for Bismarck. Is it because of the latest intelligence from the Sirens?"

Hood put down his knife and fork and stared at Zhou He, but to be honest, Hood's sense of oppression was not as direct as Bismarck's. Zhou He didn't feel anything at all. After grunting, he said, "On the way back from dismantling the ship, I found the fifth Siren officer. I just wanted to remind you to avoid being ambushed when we go out to attack."

"This is quite a problem."

After a moment's thought, Hu De understood why Zhou He said he was going to find Bismarck but didn't actually do so. It wouldn't make much difference to say it before the next attack, except that there was one more enemy cadre, and the work they needed to do became relatively more complicated.

"Our goal is to destroy the Siren base, seize the data stored inside, and disrupt the nodes for interaction in the Mirror Sea. Before that, we need to deal with these officers."

Having already said that, Zhou He directly asked Hu De if he had any way to win.

"The enemy outnumbers us many times over. The only way to win is to divide and conquer them. If they join forces, our chances of winning are close to zero."

Hu De didn't think it through, but he knew how to handle it.

In land warfare, the probability of winning with fewer troops is very low, but it is not impossible. In naval battles, especially against enemies like the Sirens who rely solely on overwhelming resources, even though the Sirens are currently strong enough to crush a Siren fleet twice their size, it is still not possible.

But precisely because they are strong enough, they still have a way to scatter the Sirens and defeat them one by one.

"I had the same idea."

Zhou He nodded. This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment idea; he had been considering this possibility ever since he learned from Xianghe that the number of Siren aircraft carriers couldn't overwhelm them.

Tomorrow he plans to launch another attack while the Siren aircraft carrier's supplies are not yet in place, to see if he can teach these guys from the experimental unit a lesson.

"Very good."

Hood was very satisfied. He picked up his plate of steak, got up, and left. Zhou He stroked his chin, stood up, and smiled as he switched the two chairs opposite him. Then he stood behind the new chairs and looked at Hermione, gesturing for her to sit down.

"The commander is acting a bit strange today."

Hermione said this, but still obediently took her seat—while Zhou He just smiled and said, "People always have times when they want to do strange things."

Sitting back down, Zhou He carefully examined the somewhat bewildered Hermione: "Ever since you joined the port, Hermione, you've been helping me with my work, but lately I feel like that's not good. I've realized that my understanding of you is limited to your work, so I want to get to know you better."

"!?"

Hermione sat up straight upon hearing this, her hand unconsciously touching her loose hair. Her gaze darted left and right before finally settling on Zhou He. She pursed her lips and asked, "What does the Commander want to know?"

"Yeah, everything outside of work."

Zhou He answered quickly because he realized this about twenty minutes earlier, during the time he and Hermione were sitting in the living room. When he tried to find a topic to talk about, he suddenly realized that usually it was Hermione who initiated conversations with him, while he only approached Hermione because of work.

After all, she was his personal maid whom he had spent so much time with, yet he couldn't even find a topic to talk about, which made him very disappointed in his communication skills.

"Well."

Hermione frowned slightly, thought for a long time, and then gave up: "I'm sorry, I'm only good at helping the Commander. I'm not very clear about other things."

However, she didn't come away empty-handed. A playful smile appeared on her lips as she winked at Zhou He: "But if the Commander isn't so averse to my personal services, perhaps he'll get to know me better?"

Please don't say such frightening things.

Zhou He recalled his chaotic memories of being dragged into the bathhouse by Hermione, and instantly became upright.