Revisit Azur Lane

Judging from Elbe's attitude, he was probably the most rebellious member of the entire port area when it joined.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Commander. You certainly put on a good show."

However, contrary to his rebellious appearance and speech, Yi Bei politely bowed to Zhou He between sentences. Then, his beautiful eyes, with a rose-red base and blue highlights, were half-closed, and his smile was very elegant, with a noble air that was even somewhat similar to that of Hu De. However, Zhou He vaguely sensed something was wrong. He had a considerable prejudice against the mental state of Ironblood members, so much so that he saw a bit of naivety in Yi Bei's smile.

After a brief moment of consideration, he said politely, "Thank you for the compliment," and introduced the person next to him to Ibbe: "This is Bismarck from Ironblood..."

"Huh!? Miss Bismarck?"

Before Zhou He could finish speaking, Yi Bei reacted as if to a reflex to the name 'Bismarck,' his smile vanished, he took two steps back, clasped his hands in front of him, and bowed deeply to Bismarck, apologizing profusely: "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't expect you to be here. Please forgive my rudeness!"

"..."

Zhou He was speechless. He turned his head to look at Bismarck and found that her expression was also a little tense. The two of them had planned to judge Yi Bei's general personality through simple probing communication. They never expected that this girl, who seemed to speak rebelliously, would behave like a well-behaved girl from the royal family. No, even the royal family might not be able to raise someone who respects their superiors so much.

"I'm not angry, just stand still."

Bismarck, of course, wouldn't get angry over such a trivial matter. He raised his hand to stop Elbe's apologetic gesture: "From today onwards, Elbe, you are a member of our port district. Please try not to cause trouble for others."

"Yes, I understand!"

Elbe bowed on the spot. Not to mention Zhou He, even Hu De next to her was puzzled. Historically, she had died a day earlier than Bismarck, but she had never heard of Ironblood having an aircraft carrier. This aircraft carrier, built several years later, still showed great respect to Bismarck. She was a little envious.

"Commander, my fleet does not have any air power. Please grant Yi Bei permission to join my fleet."

Bismarck was quite satisfied with Elbe and would accept her orders without hesitation, so he turned to Zhou He for instructions.

"Okay, I give you permission. Elbe, you will be working with Bismarck from now on, is that alright?"

Zhou He knew that Bismarck was putting on a show for him, so he nodded and looked at Ibe, who nodded without hesitation and replied, "I can."

“Very good, on behalf of everyone in the port area, I welcome you.”

Zhou He was in a good mood. He had thought Yi Bei would be a difficult person to deal with, but he was surprised that Yi Bei was so obedient. So he didn't need to worry about him.

With the arrival of the long-awaited new member, Zhou He was eager to personally show her around, but Yukikaze and Yuudachi's presence was simply too strong. He had no choice but to entrust the responsibility of guiding her to Bismarck, while he himself mediated the issue of Yukikaze and Yuudachi's attempt to 'fight to see who was right and who was wrong':

It wasn't that he was worried Yuudachi couldn't beat Yukikaze, but rather that Yukikaze would wipe out Yuudachi with a single shot. The meta ship's design was too mysterious, and he didn't want Yuudachi to suffer.

His physical conditioning technique was very effective. It activated Yuudachi's competitive spirit, and he grabbed Yukikaze's arm and made a face at him, which made Yukikaze's eyes widen in anger. Yukikaze turned around and walked away in a huff.

"You guys."

Zhou He, the middleman, was also at a loss for words. He never thought that he would become part of Yuudachi's boasting. He was initially feeling a little helpless, but when he turned his gaze to Zuikaku, who was watching the show and secretly laughing, he immediately thought of something happy and revealed a subtle smile.

"Eek! Commander, please stop laughing, okay?"

When Ruihe realized that Zhou He was watching her, her hair stood on end. She quickly waved her hands and then covered her mouth.

However, it was all in vain. Zhou He had already arranged everything in his mind. Facing the dozen or so members who had not yet dispersed, he pointed to the sky with one finger and laughed: "Rest today. You can go out to explore tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. The day after that, I plan to hold a 'fishing competition'. Everyone in the port area must participate. Whichever camp catches the most fish by nightfall, I will arrange for them to receive a brand new optional building."

"Fishing competition? New optional buildings?"

This term was unfamiliar to most ship girls, and only a few at the event knew anything about the sport. However! Their attention quickly fell on the keywords that followed:

"Can the available buildings be made to the same level as those on the Ironblood side?"

Because Hu De's gaze fell on Jinqiu, the latter asked sensibly, and Zhou He nodded in affirmation, directly bypassing the middleman and looking at Hu De: "Okay, if you win, you can choose a royal estate of the same size."

Ms. Hood fell into deep thought. This reward was very precious to her, and even more so to others. A certain Fifth Carrier Division sister, who had always emphasized that her sister's past work should not be revealed since her sister joined the port, raised her hand and said: "Commander, since we can choose a big house, can I choose a small house too?"

"That's for sure. As long as we win, you can choose whatever you want."

Zhou He readily agreed. He currently has three furniture boxes in hand. Originally, he planned to wait until he needed them before choosing the appropriate buildings to deploy. However, considering that his prosperity level was linked to the attractiveness of the meta ship girls, he decided to use two of them after careful consideration.

With one champion for this fishing competition and a reward, there's no need to worry about too many people not participating—we can do it again next year if there's an opportunity, since his resources will definitely be abundant by then.

As for why it's a fishing competition and not some other kind of competition?

All he could say was that since Zuikaku didn't want Shoukaku to know about his dark history as a fisherman, he would create an activity that would allow Zuikaku to fish with peace of mind!

Of course, the main reason was that he wanted to prepare some seafood before it got completely cold and put it in the refrigerator so that he wouldn't have to spend money to buy it later.

He believed in the system; the port area would surely be covered in snow after winter arrived!

Chapter 148 No one can resist an adorable dog

After issuing the event declaration at the dock, Zhou He turned around and went to the workshop where the Builder ship equipment was dismantled. In just a short while, Akashi and Lingmin had dismantled most of the outer shell armor of the Builder ship equipment. At this moment, the two of them huddled together and pointed out the internal structure and circuits of the machine.

“Doing research isn’t like playing video games; you can’t expect results so quickly.”

Zhou He stood at the door and looked around, suppressing his curiosity about the Siren's abilities. He put his hands behind his back and left the workshop. He followed the road to the steps connecting the shipyard building area and the lawn. His gaze followed the steps to the end, where he saw a high mountain with not much greenery.

The port area is surrounded by mountains. Normally, these mountains, which would serve as a shield, would be sufficient to build some military structures. However, since the enemy wouldn't be able to discover this area and the battle wouldn't reach it, these mountains could be used as an extension of the port area.

For example, he plans to film the amusement park here, about five or six meters away from the steps he's standing on. He plans to use a road to separate the port's construction area from the amusement park. Later, when he has more money, he plans to rebuild this construction area, whether as housing or as a sports field. In any case, it's not going to be left empty. In the future, his family will have at least six hundred people. Considering mobility, each person will need to have at least three places to live in different parts of the island.

"Isn't this too extravagant?"

Zhou He reviewed his planned project, but quickly put it out of his mind. The island was so big that he could fill up all the houses near the command building if he just wanted to live there. But his port area wasn't some kind of working-class base, so why make it so compact?

Since he's going to spend his whole life here anyway, wouldn't it be a good way to pass the time to spend ten or eight years transforming the entire port area?

'A life where you can see the end from the beginning.'

Zhou He grinned. Building his own home felt really great.

He was enjoying himself, but to others who were aware of it, it felt extremely strange. For example, Montpellier, who was practicing dribbling with her older sister on the smooth road, saw Zhou He grinning to himself from afar and couldn't help but stop and whisper to Cleveland, "Big sister, is the Commander's mental state a bit unstable?"

"Yeah, that's normal. Usually, this happens when the commander comes up with a good idea and is very happy."

Cleveland had been following Zhou He for quite some time. She often saw Zhou He smile after thinking (daydreaming). At first, she found it a bit strange, but later she realized that Zhou He's reaction was a manifestation of his strong spirit. He was always thinking positively and his emotional state was incredibly stable.

"is it?"

Montpellier nodded upon hearing this, then looked at Zhou He again. The latter had already suppressed his smile, and after noticing their gaze, he waved to the two of them, seemingly without any qualms.

……

Although Zhou He did not specifically publicize it, the news of the external exploration and fishing competition quickly spread throughout the port area through word of mouth.

Exploration of the outside world has become the norm in the port area. However, the competition that followed has attracted more attention: as ship girls, even if many people have never seen what a fishing boat looks like, they know the general situation. This behavior of sending warships to fish has drawn a lot of criticism from Zhou He.

Despite the complaints, many people, like Cleveland, were curious about this new activity. Others, like Zuikaku, weren't particularly keen on fishing, but out of a competitive spirit, they were prepared to participate and see how it went: such as Kaga.

Since this is a faction competition, discussions about it are conducted within each faction. Even though the event hasn't started yet, there's already a subtle atmosphere of competition in the port area.

Zhou He had dinner at the restaurant and chatted with Xiang He about the situation at the Siren Base in the West Fourth District. After returning to the command building, he felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange. There were fewer people than usual, which was not a big deal, but the small groups that usually hung out together were also separated. He asked and found out that they were having a 'tactical' discussion to carry out a secret operation to prevent intelligence from being leaked.

"You guys, competition is competition, but don't forget you're going on a long trip tomorrow, so remember to get some rest early."

For the first time, Zhou He felt that his ship girls were particularly proactive. However, since he was the one who proposed the competition, everyone's enthusiastic response made him feel quite good. He just needed to be careful afterwards, so as not to create any antagonism between the different factions because of this entertainment-oriented activity.

As the organizer, Zhou He did not interfere with the ideas of any faction. He simply gave a few instructions and then went upstairs to wash up and go to bed.

"commander."

At the entrance on the second floor, Zhou He encountered Jean Bart, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, blocking Zhou He's way with just his long legs.

"...I'm listening."

Zhou He glanced at Jean Bart and noticed that he usually wore tight-fitting clothes. Even though the temperature difference between day and night was significant, he was still wearing hot pants that barely covered his upper thighs, which allowed Zhou He to see Jean Bart's perfectly toned and long legs.

I'm frustrated because I feel like I've gotten a free pass even though I'm being blocked.

Unaware of Zhou He's ulterior motives, Jean Bart lowered his leg from the stair railing, walked to the corner of the stairs, and pointed downwards with his finger: "Can I choose a group I like to help with the fishing competition the day after tomorrow?"

"Huh? Okay."

Upon hearing this, Zhou He quickly understood and nodded: "This event may not be reasonable for you, Jean Bart, but more... Vichy Church or Free Iris ship girls will join in the future. When you have proper communication, you will be able to officially participate."

"Ha, there are indeed many irrational things in the world, but for me, anything that I can choose based on my own will is reasonable."

Jean Bart's lips curled into an enigmatic smile as she looked at Zhou He: "Commander, do you know a lot about me, about 'us'?"

Does this refer to the schism between the Free Iris and the Vichy Papacy?

Zhou He shook his head. Most of his knowledge about foreign warships came from memes derived from games, and a few came from popular science videos he occasionally saw on the homepage due to big data analysis. He knew a lot about major factions such as Royal Navy, Iron Blood, Sakura Empire, and Eagle Union. However, he knew very little about the development of the naval fleets of factions like the Sardinian Empire, Iris Liberty, Vichy Church, and even the Northern Union, as well as the battles in which these countries participated.

"Really? That's good, no, it's excellent!"

Jean Bart's eyes flickered slightly, and his mood improved. He stood up and patted Zhou He's shoulder using the height difference caused by the steps: "I was worried that you would be long-winded and nagging, Commander. This is just right. Whether it is the Vichy Church or the Free Iris, the source is the same camp. Even if someone has objections, it's just a matter of fighting and seeing who is stronger."

"Haha, I do hope you can resolve this peacefully."

Zhou He chuckled dryly, not understanding how he had suddenly gained Jean Bart's approval, but it didn't matter. There would definitely be conflicts between the two camps in the future. At worst, he could put the Free Iris and the Vichy Church together, and then put two churches together to see who could persuade whom.

Moreover, by the time these two factions have enough personnel to fight each other, he, as the commander, will be able to retire, so it's not a problem he needs to worry about now.

"Of course, I will persuade them."

Jean Bart gave a smile that lacked any real mirth.

After some conversation, Zhou He finally got past Jean Bart, but when he was going up to the third floor, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to knock on the door of a certain room.

"..."

After a silent wait, the door opened from the inside, and Kursk, with her hair in a single ponytail, appeared in front of Zhou He. She nodded to him and stepped aside, saying, "Please come in."

"excuse me."

As Zhou He walked in, a gust of cold wind blew in his face, which invigorated him. He turned his head and realized that Kursk had not closed the windows, and the temperature inside the room was not very high.

"Is there a new task that requires my assistance?"

Kursk gave the only chair to Zhou He and sat by the window where the blankets were neatly folded. The mechanical dragon tail stretched across the bed, touched the wall, and sticked up, which looked unusually cute when paired with the taciturn Kursk himself.

"Well, I plan to continue exploring tomorrow. Considering the dangers of the Siren base, I hope you can infiltrate the White Eagles, that is, Cleveland's team, and assist them."

As Zhou He spoke, his gaze swept past Kursk and landed on the trench coat hanging on the wall.

He wanted to look Kursk in the eye when he spoke, but the man's attire was really too revealing. It seemed that he had just finished exercising and showering, or that he had put on a white fleece bathrobe because of him. The cleavage of his chest was so deep that he was not confident that he could keep his gaze from looking down when he spoke.

To be fair, Kursk's room was simply decorated, but it had a lot of his personality. For example, there were many nice stones and wooden tools piled on the table next to him. In addition to the trench coat hanging on the wall, there were also many sticky notes and hand-drawn drawings. It was a pity that he could not read the Northern Union script, but he could barely make out the drawings. They seemed to be a map of the terrain of the forest and mountains behind the island.

"I see."

Kursk quickly nodded in response. After several operations by the Siren officers, she gradually got used to acting with the team. Usually, the only communication was about combat intelligence, which did not interfere with her thinking.

"Well, there's one more thing..."

Zhou He almost tacitly agreed that Kursk would agree, and naturally brought up another topic, namely the fishing competition. He didn't know if Kursk would like this kind of activity, but it was necessary to inform and remind her. As for her faction, she could either form her own team or, like Jean Bart, choose to help people in other factions.