Revisit Azur Lane

In short, the world Zhou He lives in is a world where the Council, the Sirens, and the Omen are in a tripartite balance of power. The Omen is the most dangerous entity and is being jointly sealed off by both sides. Meanwhile, the Sirens and the Council are in a state of hostility, and the few battles they have every day are considered minor skirmishes.

"What? There are actually opponents in this world that you can't defeat? You're really useless. But regarding the ominous signs, they know about the same things as I do."

As the Purifier recounted the world's格局 (格局 refers to the overall structure or structure of a world) in a storytelling manner, Xuefeng scoffed, mocked the Purifier, and then gave Zhou He his reply.

"There really are still living humans in this world."

On the other side of the video, Zhou He felt a strange mix of emotions. He was both relieved that other humans existed and amazed by the state of this world. He hadn't expected that this small experimental world would be so full of hidden talents. But it also confirmed one thing: as long as there were enough meta ship girls, even the Sirens would not be able to win easily.

By the way, this world is currently in the Gregorian calendar year 54, which translates to October 26, 2051 in the Eastern calendar. In a few days, it will be the beginning of winter, officially marking the start of winter.

"We've had quite a haul today."

Zhou He happily wrote down the day's events in his notebook. His original plan was to go to the human port area in the South Third District and the Siren base in the West Fourth District to find this intelligence. Unexpectedly, due to a mistake by the builder, the Purifier delivered the goods directly to his door.

"Ahem, is it my turn to ask a question now?"

As Purification watched Yukikaze interact with the projection in front of her, she couldn't help but assert her presence: "Yukikaze, who are you talking to? Is it a human?"

"? Can't you see it?"

Yukikaze was somewhat surprised. This was the second time the Purifier had asked this question. Shoukaku and the others could clearly see it, so what was going on with this guy?

"can not see."

The Purifier shook his head decisively: "I can only see a gray figure. You've done a good job keeping it a secret."

"Ah."

In response to her praise, Xuefeng merely curled her lip: "How far is this council you're talking about from here?"

"You want to contact them? Well, I'll tell you, it's about five thousand nautical miles, or even further."

Purification wanted to make a joke, but with Yukikaze pointing the cannon at him, he didn't dare. He cracked his knuckles and gave a rather uninteresting reply: "The scale of wars in this world is completely different from the wars you are used to. Our mainframe and the Council's headquarters are both independent of the world, just like here. Without a guiding beacon, it would be impossible to reach them."

"...Beacon?"

Yukikaze remembered that she had managed to reach this world thanks to that thing in Akagi's hand. She didn't know if the beacon belonged to the Sirens, the Council, or the Zhou family. In any case, she could never go back.

"That's about enough! Next, we need to deal with the ominous signs."

Purification had said all she could say, and this was all the help she could offer: "Let me make this clear first, even if my body dies, this Mirror Sea will not disappear. You must deal with the Builder before you can leave."

As they talked, the thin fog dissipated. Without the fog, Yukikaze and Shoukaku, who were on guard at the border, could clearly see the scene outside: the sky was a terrifying crimson that seemed to be burning, and countless damaged warships lay on the azure sea, their wreckage engulfed in flames. A huge black storm swirled in the ruins, mingling with the flames of the sea and the crimson sky, as if the end of the world was approaching, sending chills down their spines.

“It seems we have been warned by the ominous signs. If we do not act now, your companions will be in danger once He gets close.”

The Purifier stared at the black storm with a somber expression. Aside from the ominous entity itself, the greater threat to her was the fleet that had been stripped of its command. Part of the fleet could not withstand the ominous interference and was damaged and exploded from within, while the remaining part had begun to descend into chaos and started attacking each other.

"Where are the builders?"

Xuefeng had never observed the ominous sign so directly before. If she were still in her previous state of wandering, she would probably have been infected by now. But she still maintained a calm mind, which meant that Zhou He had completely removed the hidden danger from her body.

"follow me."

The Purifier acted as a guide, leading Yukikaze northwards. During this time, she received a message from the Tester, who also emphasized the importance of the ominous signs and inquired about the Purifier's whereabouts, preparing to join forces. However, the Builder remained unreachable.

"If the builder is underwater, can you handle it?"

Ignoring the exchange between the purifier and the tester, Xuefeng followed Zhou He's question and asked it.

"Of course—just the Builder's physical strength, to be honest, is much stronger than mine. The Cleanser is the most suitable to deal with her."

With a meta ship by her side, Purifier was no longer in such a hurry. She wasn't good at fighting the Ominous entity, but she still had a chance of winning against other members of the experimental organization.

"Enough with the nonsense, lure her to the surface and I'll handle it."

Yukikaze's face was cold. She was the one who killed the Cleanser, which was enough to prove that she was more powerful than the Cleanser. Even the concentrated beam cannon could not penetrate her armor.

"Yes, yes, Yukikaze, your personality hasn't changed much after you became a meta-transformed."

Yukikaze doesn't like to talk, but Purification Queen loves to chatter. Her two little floating sharks circle around Yukikaze like flies.

"..."

Ignoring Xuefeng's silence, the Purifier continued to speak, mentioning the anomalies in the area where Zhou He was located. Including this time, three Mirror Sea areas had been linked to other worlds because of this singularity. Such a dense and uncontrollable anomaly phenomenon was among the most advanced in all of Siren's experimental areas.

"Shut up...tsk."

Xuefeng wanted to stop her, but Zhou He found it very interesting, so Xuefeng could only click her tongue and listen as he continued to ramble on, his ears drooping down to cover his face.

Boom boom boom!

They moved forward, and behind them came a violent roar, but the two of them didn't look; that wasn't something they needed to pay attention to.

……

"Is that a bad omen? It certainly looks like a bad omen."

As the fog cleared, Zhou He, standing on the beach, saw the black storm swirling in the sky through his binoculars. While muttering to himself, he glanced at the 'Urgent Mission: Defeat the Ominous Entity' pop-up in the mission log. The rewards were outrageous: 2-10 Wisdom Cubes, 2 selectable furniture boxes, and unconditionally unlock the material progress for a planned ship, greatly increasing its appeal to meta ship girls.

He didn't accept: he wasn't New Jersey, with the courage to bravely break through typhoons. This was clearly a task his ship girls couldn't do, and he wouldn't risk their lives for something so trivial.

However, while he couldn't defeat the main body of the Ominous, his ship girls could still handle the remaining scattered Sirens outside. He relayed the order to Shoukaku, captured the Royal Ark who was slacking off, and found Yorktown, who was trembling for some reason. He hoped that they could use their carrier-based aircraft to bomb the Sirens without leaving the safe zone. He hadn't forgotten the buff that increased the drop rate of ship girls inside the Mirror Sea.

He didn't want the number of his ship girls to grow too fast, but he figured he might as well take any ship girls he could get without using cubes!

In the end, only the Shoukaku sisters and Royal Ark took action. Yorktown was clearly inexplicably afraid of the ominous sign in the distance. Zhou He didn't force her, but instead helped call a nurse: "If you're not feeling well, rest. Jarvis, take a look at Yorktown."

“Understood, Ms. Yorktown. Please don’t be nervous. Let’s sit down over there and take a deep breath following my voice…”

After joining the port area, Jarvis did what he did best for the first time, mobilizing Harman to bring Yorktown back to the command building for a simple diagnosis and reassurance.

"This is the first time I've seen Yorktown like this. If the company were here, it would definitely rush out and smash that thing outside!"

Because of Zhou He's orders, apart from Yukikaze and the Shoukaku sisters who were specifically named, no one else from the Royal Ark was authorized to attack. After Cleveland and Montpellier were on guard at sea, they instinctively felt disgusted by the black storm and ran back.

"Haha, that's a company."

While listening to the Purifier's speech on the other end of the video, Zhou He smiled. However, even a company might not be able to break the storm, but a black company would definitely be able to.

"Aren't we needed to participate in this battle?"

Ashigara, who was picking crabs on the beach, came over with Haguro. She really wanted to improve and wanted to go out and fight the Sirens for three hundred rounds.

"It's not necessary for now. The situation outside is beyond our capabilities at this stage. If we encounter it again in the future, I will make appropriate arrangements for our actions based on your strength."

Zhou He patted Ashigara's shoulder with a smile. Although it was only their second meeting, he thought highly of Ashigara. She had a very upright attitude towards life and could become stronger if given the right opportunity. She was also good at socializing and was really easy to take care of.

"understood."

Ashigara answered earnestly, and then Haguro pulled him along to collect seashells.

Other violent girls like Kaga and Jean Bart also greeted Zhou He one by one. His reply was that he could go find enemies he could attack without leaving the safe zone to have some fun, but going out was definitely not allowed.

Zhou He was very wary of the Omen's inherent contamination ability. If his ship girls were injured by the contaminated Siren fleet and then infected with energy erosion, the consequences would be unimaginable. He was unsure whether the system could repair the damage and contamination caused by the energy erosion of the ship girls, and he dared not send anyone to try. He would wait until he had the strength and confidence to try to trigger the Omen.

Hood, Bismarck, and the others did not come over to inquire. They knew the outcome just by looking at those who had failed in their requests to fight, and they obediently continued their discussions while watching the distant scenery.

"commander!"

Jarvis soon came out from the command building and reported to Zhou He on the situation in Yorktown: it was not a physical ailment, but a mental wavering. The reason for her wavering was simple: looking at the black storm reminded her of the scene of Yorktown sinking in her memory.

The prototype ship is a warship with enough experience, and after transforming into a ship girl, it will be relatively mature and able to master the combat methods more quickly. However, because of the long period of experience, ship girls like Yorktown will inherit too many memories and become deeply involved with the prototype ship. As a result, at certain times or when looking at a certain scene, they will suddenly remember the moment when the prototype ship died. This is both a shackle and an expression of the ship girls' emotions.

"I understand. Please take good care of Yorktown."

As Zhou He spoke, he suddenly had an epiphany and turned to stroll towards Yorktown—this was the perfect opportunity to make a good impression and demonstrate his humanistic concern, so he had to make good use of it.

However, he felt a sense of unease when he heard the Purifier talking to the test subject.

Can killing the Builder really break the Mirror Sea? Or, to put it another way: is the Builder that can't be contacted really inside the Mirror Sea?

Chapter 130 Just do it!

"Commander, I am very sorry to have made you see me in such an embarrassing state."

Before Zhou He could speak upon arriving at the command center, Yorktown, sitting on the sofa with a pale but warm complexion, apologized with a forlorn expression. Yorktown's fragile appearance, however, exuded an unusual beauty, striking a chord with a deep-seated attraction within Zhou He.

He nodded slightly to Harman, whose eyes held a hint of expectation, and sat down two seats next to Yorktown. He spoke gently and reassured her, "Everyone, including myself, has things they're not good at. That's human nature. Even the world-renowned Lady Hood couldn't suppress her competitive spirit when she met Bismarck and had a private conversation with him."

After a brief pause, a hint of a smile played on his lips: "In that case, I should apologize to Yorktown."

Before anyone could react, Zhou He continued speaking: "Everyone in the port area, whether living in the port or fighting outside, has shown great maturity. I, with my limited abilities, often worry about whether I can truly call myself your commander. When I saw that you, Yorktown, also have things you are not good at, I actually felt a sense of joy. So I want to thank you, Yorktown, for making me realize that you also have your own vulnerable side, and for helping me find what I really need to do."

"..."

"..."

Zhou He's words were not particularly skillful; they were entirely sincere. However, this statement made Harman and Jarvis Hermione, who had followed him before, feel quite uneasy, as if they sensed that 'Zhou He has exposed himself, but the effect is probably not very good.'

However:

"The commander is indeed very capable."

After listening to Zhou He's account, Yorktown clasped her hands together in her lap, leaned slightly forward, and looked down at the ground. Strands of her hair obscured her expression, and her gentle voice trembled slightly: "Even though the Commander is working hard for everyone, I've fallen into despair on my own. My cowardice has caused the Commander trouble. I really am..."

"It's fine."

Zhou He answered first, his hand landing beside Yorktown under Hammanman's sharp gaze. He also moved slightly closer, adopting the assertive attitude he had developed during his month or so in charge of the port: "Yorktown, you are someone I acknowledge, so whatever choices or actions you make, I will accept them all. Even if you are afraid, it doesn't matter. Everyone in the port, including myself, will be by your side. You will protect me, and I will protect you."

Before his transmigration, Zhou He never dreamed he would utter such a cringeworthy statement that only happens in the world of anime. But he had no choice; people are forced to do things this way. If he didn't do this, he wouldn't be able to resolve the mental dilemma of his ship girls.

He had no choice but to 'improve'.

By the way, he didn't really notice that Yorktown had such a serious "NetEase Cloud Music depression" complex when he was playing the game. Maybe he just hadn't paid attention to Yorktown for a long time and forgot. The character design of Yorktown II was full of sunshine and confidence. Compared to the past, he can be considered to have grown up.

"commander…"

Yorktown seemed to sense something, raising its head to look at Zhou He, its beautiful sky-blue eyes shining brightly: "Please grant me a request."

"Uh-huh."

Zhou He was startled. It seemed that his conversation skills had improved. Then he heard Yorktown's gentle voice, which was so soft it could make one's ears pregnant: "Please save this kindness for me, Commander, and share it with Enterprise and Hornet, who will also join the port in the future. I am already very satisfied to have met a Commander like you, but my sisters should know better than me that there are many more things worth experiencing and cherishing in this world besides war."

"..."

Zhou He was about to collapse, but he quickly adjusted his mindset and smiled: "Don't worry, no matter what happens, I will always be me. Whether it's Yorktown, you, the Enterprise, or Bumblebee, as long as you join this port area, you are all treasures that I will do my best to protect. I will accept all the value you bring, and I will also take care of all the troubles you have."

Although it was only a few words, Zhou He had already forgotten why he came here. Was it to appease Yorktown? But something seemed off.

"Okay, that puts my mind at ease."

Yorktown placed his hands on his chest, his expression as if he were making his final arrangements, finding a good home for the Enterprise and Bumblebee before he died.

“…I understand that you care about your sisters, Yorktown, but right now you should focus more on your own feelings.”