Revisit Azur Lane

Zhou He felt this was a tricky situation. This was not someone he could persuade in one or two attempts. He decided to call it a day and stood up. "Get some rest, and so should you, Harman. I'll handle things outside."

After receiving Yorktown's response, Zhou He calmly walked out of the command hall, turned left to a corner of the building, squatted down where Yorktown couldn't see him, and pulled up the yellowing weeds with his hands.

"Commander? Please cheer up!"

Jarvis and Hermione, who had followed, exchanged a glance. The latter stepped forward and gently patted Zhou He on the back: "The Commander has already tried his best. Lady Yorktown seems to be someone who easily becomes self-deprecating when faced with difficulties. As long as the Commander leads Lady Yorktown through those difficulties, she will definitely become more confident."

"Thank you all. Actually, I was thinking about how to break through the Mirror Sea outside."

Zhou He wanted to let out a long sigh, but he couldn't. No matter how down he felt, he couldn't show it in front of his ship girls. He'd talk about it when he was alone tonight.

He was ready to let it slide, but Jarvis surprised him with her words. She looked at Zhou He and said, "Commander, being stubborn isn't good. You'll eventually run out of mental pressure."

"...I understand, but before that, the priority is to deal with the troubles outside."

Stared at by Jarvis's expressionless face, Zhou He only thought for half a second before giving up resisting. There was no point in arguing with the nurse. He did have a headache, but it was no use. He still had to do what he had to do. There was a saying in his past life: "When the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up." Now he was that tall one. After all, his port was not strong enough to make him a gigolo.

"The Purifier said that the core of this Mirror Sea deployment is the Builder: a Siren holding a doll and with jellyfish-shaped ship equipment. She was originally to our north, but now she seems to have lost contact."

Having regained his composure, Zhou He returned to the seaside with his two maids. However, this time he didn't stand but sat on the steps of the dock platform and explained the situation to the others who approached him: "The condition for removing the Mirror Sea is to eliminate the Builder."

"Out of contact? Even the commander can't find her, which means the Builder is most likely not here. Could it be that the core isn't her?"

The sound of cannons echoed from outside the island. The more warlike warships, such as Kaga, who couldn't stand the silence, went to search for the Sirens that they could reach in the safe zone. The rest of the ships were not interested in such inefficient operations. Hood seemed to have gone to eat. Only Bismarck was still waiting for the results. The one who spoke was Lingmin. She had returned after inspecting the No. 01 aircraft carrier. Because she was interested in the storm of the ominous entity, she did not go to work.

“I had the same idea. If we really can’t find the Builder, then we can only slowly find the core by sinking the Purifiers and Testers one by one.”

Zhou He hummed in agreement, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Yukikaze and the carrier-based aircraft who were running the map outside. Thanks to their efforts, the map was no longer a completely black area with the port area covered. Instead, there were many bright, twisted lines pointing outwards. There were also many mass-produced aircraft that hadn't died yet, and they were displayed as ordinary Sirens with no apparent changes.

More than these scattered Sirens, he was concerned about the situation on Xuefeng's side. While he was having his magical chat, she and Purification had already reached the original location of the North First District. There were still many Chaotic Sirens left there, which the two of them defeated one by one and slowly advanced.

'The Purifier said the ominous entity was sealed off in the Bermuda Triangle. This area of ​​the sea, where the resonance overlaps, isn't it the Bermuda Triangle itself?'

Zhou He attempted to deduce the situation using the intelligence he possessed, but the results were not significant, because he did not know what state the so-called Bermuda Triangle had been in. However, if it were truly that place, there should have been garrison troops coming to shatter this ominous sign.

"What if the core is that guy?"

Lingmin pointed outside and saw a black whirlwind that was affecting the celestial phenomena; it seemed to be approaching.

"...Then we can only try to break it. If we can't beat it, we can only wait."

This was the option Zhou He least wanted, because that thing manifested as a natural disaster. His family had such powerful weapons; could they possibly destroy it?

He'll still be surrounded by Sirens? Just kill them all!

"Are there any reinforcements?"

Bismarck became interested in Zhou He's meaningful use of the word "wait," which was clearly not the "wait" of waiting to die, but the "wait" of waiting for an opportunity.

"It will come, but the time it will take is uncertain."

Zhou He nodded. He currently has six cubes and 48 home coins. Including the attack mission rewards he hasn't claimed yet today, he will likely have 8 cubes and 80 home coins. If he builds all the cubes into ship girls, that's a daily benefit of 40 home coins, which is enough to buy a building in three or four days.

In a month or two, he can fill all the empty land here. After the prosperity value increases, the chance of attracting meta ships will also increase. If he can accumulate three or four more meta ship girls, he should have a chance.

We can definitely win a fight, it's just a matter of time.

"Uncertain reinforcements, perhaps a drifting ship like Yukikaze?"

Bismarck quickly realized that, unlike Tirpitz, Yukikaze had come directly to the same timeline as them and joined the port without hesitation. She knew that this special ability was guiding her.

"Yes."

Zhou He nodded, glancing at Xue Feng and the other person who had arrived in South Second District but had not found the Builder. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, then dialed a video call with Xue Feng. Looking at Xue Feng's furrowed brows on the other end, he asked, "Have you found the Builder?"

"Not yet. The Purifier went underwater, but my radar isn't detecting any enemies. The Builder isn't here."

Yukikaze shook her head. Normally, a ship girl's radar cannot lock onto individual Purifiers, but after her ship equipment evolved, the situation was reversed. She could lock onto the Siren of the Experimenters, while those Siren could not find her through radar or other target acquisition equipment.

So she already knew the Builder wasn't there before she even arrived, but the Purifier just didn't believe it and insisted on coming to see for herself.

"Just as I thought, things have become troublesome."

Zhou He took a breath. The Builder wasn't the core, which meant that shutting down this world would require extensive exploration, and with the Ominous Origin in the picture, it would be a very difficult task.

"It's not that bad. The Purifier said that there are several Sirens' combat bases left in this world, which seems to be a layout made to limit the ominous entity from going out of control."

Seeing Zhou He's distress in the video, Xuefeng's mood improved considerably. She conveyed the information the Purifier had revealed during his chatter to Zhou He, her tone earnest: "Activating those bases will allow us to produce a Siren fleet to confront the Omen entity. We might not be unable to defeat the Omen."

"Is there such a thing?"

Zhou He frowned slightly, sensing that things were not simple. After splitting the system interface in two, he browsed the urgent task in the task bar again: defeat the ominous entity.

Could it be that their encounter with the ominous entity wasn't a mistake by the Builder, but rather because the Builder's Mirror Sea area covered the port area, causing a spatial conflict with his system, which led to the overlapping experimental world being different from what the Purifiers had anticipated?

Or perhaps this is a 'newbie tutorial level' arranged for him by the system?

If that's the case, then the difficulty assessment of their system is indeed a bit too extreme.

Wow.

Not far from Yukikaze, the Purifier emerged from the water and wiped her face, her expression not very cheerful. She looked at Yukikaze and the gray projection in front of her: "The Builder is here, but her body has stopped functioning."

died?

Zhou He was greatly shocked. Why did the builder die? Was it because of the system?

If the builder died in the struggle against the system, then what is the core of this overlapping mirror world?

Is it the nearby Siren base? Is it the tester and the purifier? Is it the influence of the ominous entity, or the system's doing, or is it his own port area?

Using a simple process of elimination, he definitely can't blow up his own base, nor can he destroy the system. The easiest targets are the Testers and Purifiers. But if the core is the Omen entity, he'll need the help of the surrounding Siren bases, as well as the Testers and Purifiers, to defeat it.

So, rounding down, the first thing he needs to exclude is actually—

Ominous entity!

"I understand. Yukikaze, have the Purifiers drag the Builder's body back. I'll see if I can salvage it for research."

Zhou He had already understood that, whether it was due to the influence of the ominous entity or the system, he had to shatter the ominous entity in front of him.

Although he was very reluctant, he had no choice but to do it.

After speaking with Xuefeng, he ended the video call, accepted the urgent task, stood up, and scanned everyone present: "Are you all ready? It's our turn to take the stage."

"Please give the order."

Bismarck had been waiting for a long time.

Chapter 131 Exploration and Discovery

To defeat the so-called ominous entity, the first thing to do is to test whether its so-called mental pollution will have an effect on our own ship girls.

Therefore, after a brief moment of thought, Zhou He selected the people to launch this attack: he named them according to the order in which they were built.

"Yudachi, Hermione, Zuikaku, Kursk, Tosa, Hood, Cleveland, Z23, Bismarck, U556."

Using the dock's communication function, Zhou He gathered his ten strongest members, theoretically. Xuefeng was an exception; although she would be dispatched, her role was to escort the ship close to the storm and cover the group's return journey.

Before long, people who were at home and those who were wandering outside gathered at the seaside pier. Zhou He waited quietly for the people to arrive before looking at the girls in front of him with different expressions and calmly said, "The above ten are the people selected for this mission. The rest of you will be on guard in the safe zone. Shoukaku and Royal Ark, you two will assist in the safe zone."

Upon hearing Zhou He's call of names, several of the unnamed personnel appeared rather displeased, but Zhou He ignored them and instead focused his gaze on Zuikaku, Hood, and Bismarck, continuing, "The mission for this sortie is simple: approach that conspicuous black storm and search for the possible core area."

Yes, since the system can say that this ominous entity can be defeated, then whether it appears as a natural disaster storm or in other forms, it must have a fatal weakness that can destroy it. Although Azur Lane is a game with a magic and black technology background, it is still more technology-oriented. It is impossible for there to be an invincible monster that does not need energy supply but can wreak havoc everywhere, right?

"I know, but Commander, I don't think I played much of a role in this operation."

Zuikaku glanced at the storm in the distance, where the wind was affecting the clouds, and raised her hand to express her opinion. She could grit her teeth and send the plane out to participate in the battle at night or on a rainy day, but with such a big storm, no matter how well she controlled the plane, it would be bounced away by the storm, right?

"I'm letting you participate not because of force, but because you have a strong will and are well-suited for this mission."

Zhou He glanced at her. Xuefeng had previously said that the Omen was the origin of all ship girls' meta-transformation. If they were injured by the Omen's counterattack, their internal energy might go berserk. Therefore, he sent his strongest group of people to attack, mainly because these people had the highest stats and more combat experience, and were not so easy to be seriously injured.

"...Really? I don't get the feeling that this isn't your true thought."

Ruihe's sixth sense kicked in, and he scratched his head, not quite believing Zhou He's statement.

"Just go when I tell you to. On the way, remember to fly around in the reconnaissance plane, just like before."

Zhou He glared at her, glancing at the still-black map out of the corner of his eye: "That's fine. I'll have Xuefeng go out with you to explore. Any individual that attacks you on the way will be sunk."

"That's right, I understand."

Ruihe smiled slightly. So it was about running around on the map. She was good at that; she was very familiar with it.

"If there are no problems, let's set off. It will be too late to go out and explore once that thing gets close to our port area."

Taking a breath, Zhou He stood up and gave a summary.

No one raised any questions. Bismarck's gaze shifted to Count Spee sitting by the sea, then he nodded to Hutten: "Protect the Commander."

"You don't need to tell me."

Hu Teng stood at the edge of the crowd, his left hand holding his right arm, and responded in a flat tone.

The others made similar remarks. For example, Tosa suddenly stabbed Kaga in the kidney with the hilt of his sword, and said in a flat tone amidst the latter's grimacing expression: "You're not a brat anymore. You should know the basic common sense of obeying orders."

"I know, please don't be so violent, it hurts."

Kaga BB rubbed her kidneys. Her younger sister was smart and capable, but her personality was just too strange. She hadn't even said she wanted to come along yet, and she was already stabbed. She grimaced and hissed, "Even I wouldn't do something like threatening the Commander."

"It's just for prevention."

Tosa's lips curled up slightly as he turned his back to her and walked towards the beach. Kaga caught this moment in time, and her back pain disappeared. She stepped forward and bumped shoulders with Tosa, raising her hand to give him a thumbs up: "Tosa, you look really good when you smile."

"Freeze said."

Tosa moved aside to create some distance. For some reason, she could occasionally see a shadow of Zuikaku in Kaga. Was it because he was too straightforward, or because he was too casual? He had no sense of hierarchy. It was hard to imagine that this guy would become as cautious as the aircraft carrier Kaga in the future.

"Shy?"

Kaga bb joked, then felt a chill on his waist. He instinctively covered his unaffected waist and jumped back several steps. Looking at Tosa slowly adjusting his sword, he couldn't help but grin: "No wonder the Commander is so wary of you."

Tosa glanced at her, then stepped onto the sea without stopping and deployed his ship's equipment.

The same goes for the other members who were named. Before going into the sea, Yuudachi asked Zhou He for a hug and is now happily spinning around in the bay. Her innocent and cute appearance makes people smile.

"..."

After watching the team leave, Zhou He licked his lips and looked at Shen Tong beside him: "I don't think I said this mission was very dangerous, did I?"

Why do all of his family members look so forlorn?

"It's because the commander's order this time was issued very hastily and forcefully."

Shen Tong glanced sideways. She was the thirteenth member to join the port, considered one of the more senior members. It was indeed the first time she had seen Zhou He issue such a forceful order. After a brief pause, she added, "Please have the Commander explain this before we depart."