Revisit Azur Lane

Zhou He blinked, only to be glared at by Xue Feng through gritted teeth. The latter patted the white wolf's back lightly and broke away from the main group again. A short while later, she looked back at the departing crowd, listened to the familiar sound of the waves, and couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness Zhou He, do you think that no matter how we disguise ourselves, we will never be able to adapt to ordinary life again?"

"How could that be? Why would you have such a thought?"

Zhou He, who had been somewhat lazy, suddenly became respectful. Thinking of the conflict between Yuudachi and Yukikaze a few days ago, he straightened up and pressed his hat down to cover his half-frowned brows.

"...Because we are far too powerful compared to ordinary ship girls."

Xuefeng's single sentence nearly made Zhou He lose his composure. He never dreamed he would hear such a thing: After all, he came from the proper Sakura Empire camp, so his brain is a little messed up... a little chuunibyou, and he likes to get stuck on trivial matters.

He cracked his knuckles, took a slight breath, and said, "I believe that a person's true strength lies not in how strong they are, but in their heart. No one says that strong people can't have ordinary lives. For example, compared to you, I'm practically weak. Would you care about that?"

Zhou He felt he hadn't spoken very well, so he repeated, "Xuefeng, would you care about something like this?"

"No, Your Highness Zhou He, you're not weak, are you?"

Xuefeng raised an eyebrow: "Can't you have a little self-awareness?"

"??"

Zhou He almost choked on his breath, and after holding it in for a while, he finally spoke: "What I mean is, it's not difficult to integrate into life. Ultimately, it depends on your own choices. You think you are a special existence, but in reality, everyone thinks they are a special existence. Every meeting, conversation, interaction, and even argument between you and me, and everyone in the port area, together constitutes your life. If you feel annoyed by this, then I think life here is indeed not suitable for you."

He never expected that the new meta ship girls would stay in the port forever, since the meta ship girls who appeared in the game's events and storylines and were related to the protagonist were scattered all over the place.

If Xuefeng really wanted to go out for a stroll, he didn't plan to stop him. After all, once someone has made up their mind to go, you can't stop them even if you kneel down and beg. On the contrary, it would make you lose face, so there's really no need for that.

After he finished speaking, there was a silence between the two. After a long while, Xuefeng lowered his head with a complicated expression and said, "Is that so? I understand."

Then she looked up at Zhou He on the screen, turned her head away and snorted, raising her voice three octaves: "I hate smooth talkers!"

"You've already said that once."

Zhou He offered a gentle reminder, but Xuefeng didn't take it seriously. She sat on the white wolf's back, swinging her fair and lovely legs, and hummed softly, "Although you are struggling even against the Sirens of the experimental mechanism, the feeling of living here is not bad. I want to stay here a little longer."

"That would be an immense honor."

Zhou He appeared relaxed and cheerful, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. Xuefeng was arguably his family's top fighting force and the reason why the Sirens were so wary of them. Without Xuefeng, they would be hampered in battle.

'I wonder when Zuikaku and the others will reach the strength of the Ember Ship.'

Seeing that Yukikaze seemed to be in a pretty good mood in the video, Zhou He glanced at Yukikaze's panel in the dock, his eyes widened suddenly, and he unconsciously craned his neck forward: when Yukikaze first joined, she recovered from her corrupted state, and her durability of 50,000 was reduced to just over 20,000. And now, Yukikaze's panel is actually starting to rise again!

The maximum durability has increased from 23,000 to 25,000, and parameters such as artillery fire, torpedo attack, and reload are also steadily rising—so even ship girls from outside the port area can experience an increase in strength?

And the growth rate of meta ships is just too outrageous, isn't it? Is it because their base stats are already very high?

He opened the panel of his initial ship, Yuudachi. Yuudachi's initial durability was 300, and now it is 1200. Her artillery damage has increased from 13 to 46, and her torpedo damage has increased from 105 to 359. What does this mean? It means that Yuudachi has now completely crushed Ashigara, a heavy cruiser who just joined the port, in terms of stats.

However, Yukikaze, who joined the port area less than a third of the time Yuudachi had, had almost twice the growth rate of Yuudachi.

too exaggerated!

'Is this the power of meta-transformation? I seem to have heard somewhere that the meta route isn't the correct evolution path for ship girls?'

Zhou He picked up his cup and began to carefully examine the changes in his ship girls' stats. By comparing the growth stats of Yuudachi, Hermione, Kursk, Zuikaku, and Tosa, he concluded that 'the higher the base stats, the faster the stat growth.'

He felt this growth formula was reasonable, but he also felt it was unfair to destroyers, light cruisers, and submarines.

This is contradictory; more likely, it's because he's greedy.

Chapter 154 Feast and Special Treatment

Time always slips away silently, and the night sky, bathed in the gentle moonlight, overlooks the sea, bringing a touch of dreaminess.

The artillery fire from the north had ceased for a long time, but the black smoke rising into the sky lingered. The wreckage of destroyed warships was everywhere, and the occasional bursts of fire highlighted the cruelty of war.

Far from the battlefield, a massive aircraft carrier marked with the number 02 sailed smoothly on the sea. From the outside, not a single light could be seen, and it was as quiet as a ghost ship. But inside, it was bustling with activity. More than thirty ship girls were celebrating the victory of their exploration and combat mission. Their voices and boasts filled the air.

"Ms. Hood, we have only been separated from the enemy for a long time. Isn't it too lax to hold such a lavish victory celebration at sea at this time?"

In the crowd, a dark brown-haired girl wearing a white coat stood beside Hood, her cherry-red eyes behind her glasses scanning the entire cafeteria, and she leaned down to whisper 'advice' in Hood's ear.

"A great victory naturally needs celebration to embellish it."

At this moment, Hu De was simply sitting at a table in the canteen, but her posture and demeanor exuded an air of elegance that made even the most ordinary table feel like a high-end establishment. Her back was as straight as a ruler, and she spoke with a calm smile on her face, her gaze fixed on London: "This is a celebration, but also a rest. The commander will take care of the reconnaissance work for us. There is no need to fear enemy attacks. Just continue as usual."

"Yes."

London didn't quite understand how the commander in the port area could help them with reconnaissance, but seeing how certain Hood was, she guessed that this was definitely not the first time, so she stopped insisting and took two steps back to find a place to sit down, observing Bismarck, who was sitting opposite Hood and had no smile on his face.

After withdrawing from the battlefield, she learned from Javelin and others that Ironblood had also joined the port. However, when she actually saw Bismarck sitting face to face with Hood, she was still shocked. At the same time, her respect for Hood deepened. To be able to dine and chat face to face with the enemy who had sunk her was a testament to the magnanimity and inclusiveness of the Royal Navy, something she could not match.

'However, the commander who summoned us—Iron Blood, Sakura Empire, and Eagle Union—was actually from the Eastern Empire.'

London sighed inwardly. Her memories contained a strong impression of the Eastern Empire's troops. Unfortunately, after that, the London never went to the Eastern Empire again. Only three months before her retirement did she hear the news that the Eastern Empire had declared its founding.

This is a country whose resilience is astounding to the world.

"..."

"The Sirens recruit troops from the north, there is a port area in the southern archipelago, there is a stronghold blocking the way in the east, but only the nodal base is a thorn in the side in the west."

Hood Bismarck and his companions consolidated the intelligence gathered from their expedition. Besides a sense of accomplishment, they were mostly amazed that they had truly penetrated deep into enemy territory, and that the port could still thrive so vigorously despite such pressure—it was simply incredible.

"Today we'll use this for reconnaissance and exploration. Tomorrow we can check where there are many fish along the way—Bismarck, are there any suitable places to the east?"

After gathering the intelligence, Hood changed the subject to the fishing competition where participants could choose their own mansions, asking Bismarck, who owned the only submarine in the entire port.

Do you think I would do something like aiding the enemy?

Today's chefs are three maids. Bismarck cuts a medium-rare steak, and after eating, she wipes her lips with a napkin, revealing a striking red hue.

"Of course not, but I believe you can see the nature of this competition. If we want to win, the only way is through cooperation."

Hu De smiled faintly. She was at least 90% confident in doing something. The Royal and Ironblood teams had the fewest members, and it would be difficult to win the competition if things continued like this. Cooperation was the only way to have a chance.

Unfortunately, she was wrong.

"I don't care about winning or losing this match."

Bismarck put down her knife, her eyes reflecting the light, and said, "The Commander has never liked creating factional conflict, but without conflict, there is no motivation in holding competitions. It may seem like a competition to win first place, but in essence, the Commander hopes that we can improve our factional cooperation through such activities."

"...I agree with what you said, but I want to win."

Hood agreed with Bismarck's deduction, after all, Bismarck was, like her, the most renowned flagship of the Ironblood, with the deepest understanding of the way of governance and the deepest understanding of Zhou He's thoughts.

"You want a base?"

Bismarck looked at Hood, who nodded: "I want it."

'So you were so nonchalant last time?'

Bismarck didn't understand the royal nobles' obsession with saving face, but since Hood had asked her for this, she had to give some feedback. She nodded slightly and said, "I understand. I'll ask 556 after the meeting."

"I will pay you a visit after I win."

Hood was quite pleased with herself, because even when she had nothing to do, she would often stroll around the Ironblood Mansion, more frequently than Bismarck herself.

"Waiting for good news."

Bismarck didn't want to eat the cake, and felt she couldn't have it anyway. She glanced at Jean Bart, who was drinking tea with the Sakura Empire group, and closed her eyes, thinking of Kursk, who hadn't shown up at the party—even though the Sakura Empire wasn't a very good country, its generals were surprisingly excellent.

……

As night deepened, the port area was brightly lit, a stark contrast to the pitch-black sea.

The sound of the tide rustling and splashing was continuous. Waves crashed against the pier and onto the beach. Zhou He, wearing an overcoat over his military uniform, enjoyed the dim light as he walked along the beach, leaving footprints one by one.

"What are you doing out for a walk so late, Commander? Everyone's almost home!"

The research duo, whose biological clocks were all messed up, went out of the restaurant after eating and saw Zhou He taking a walk on the beach. Lingmin was a little curious, while Akashi lazily replied, "No, wait, when everyone comes back, the Commander's clothes will be all neat and tidy, meow."

Akashi pointed out that Zhou He was dressed casually, and was not even wearing a hat, indicating that he was not on official business, but was out for a walk at his own discretion.

"Akashi, you're amazing! You can analyze things to this extent through details."

Lingmin was quite surprised that this big cat, who slept like a puddle of water, was so good at observing and understanding the thoughts of its superiors.

No wonder he's never participated in any combat operations since joining the port area; he's truly skilled.

"It's very simple, meow, you can do it by observing more, meow."

Akashi wasn't proud at all; this was like an instinct for her. Half-closing her eyes and touching her belly, she turned into the command post, ready to sleep in the big bed for the first time in a long time—and so did Reimin.

As for why Zhou He was taking a walk outside?

One of the main reasons was that he wasn't used to his ship girls spending the night outside and felt uneasy, so he came out to relax and also help with some reconnaissance.

An unexpected bonus in this battle was the drop of the Royal London outfit. This guy was an old acquaintance; when he changed his clothes, he gave off a completely different vibe. To this day, he still doesn't know if the outfit London changed into belongs to the maid outfit category.

Another reason is that he is now standing and looking towards the entrance of the bay, where a white figure stands out conspicuously in the dead of night.

The Sakura Empire and Eagle Union fleets headed north to support Hood and her group, and during this time they reunited with Bismarck's group. As a result, Yukikaze broke away from the group and, after lighting up the southern 7th district, she went straight back to base, running for more than six hours straight, and she actually made it home.

"This stamina is incredible... wait, something seems off?"

As the girl drew closer, Zhou He sighed and then suddenly noticed the white wolf panting like a dog with its tongue lolling out beneath her. He immediately understood that it was the wolf that had ultimately borne the brunt of everything. As Xuefeng approached the shore, he called out to her to take the white wolf ashore. Then, he reached out and touched the white wolf's forehead and above, his voice deep and serious: "Thank you for your silent sacrifices for Xuefeng."

"Huh? What nonsense are you talking about!"

Xuefeng leaped off the wolf's back, staring at him with considerable displeasure, while the white wolf merely nudged Zhou He's palm before turning into specks of light and dissipating into the air.

"Welcome home. So, it turns out that ship equipment can leave you after all?"

Zhou He clenched his fist, confirming that the White Wolf was a biological ship with its own will, and then greeted Yukikaze, asking her questions while leading her around the restaurant.

"Living ship equipment can move on its own within a certain range, which I find quite strange. Why would ship equipment that was originally an inanimate object have self-awareness?"

Yukikaze raised his hand to rub his temples, trying to dispel his drowsiness, and casually said, "I remember in some worlds, the ship equipment of Ironblood and Northern Alliance was more and more exaggerated, making it seem like they could fight on their own without our command."

In closing, she quipped, "If we have that kind of technology, why make it part of the ship's equipment? Wouldn't it be better to mass-produce it and fight the Sirens?"

"Haha, I think so too."

Zhou He smiled, thinking of the meme about Bismarck getting skins and having to work to buy dragons. In the game, Ironblood's ship girl dragons aren't big enough, so it's embarrassing to go out without them. Their tech tree choices are really bizarre.

"Humph?"

Xuefeng couldn't completely shake off his drowsiness and didn't hear Zhou He's words clearly, so he just chuckled meaninglessly to get by. When he entered the restaurant, he was attracted by the fragrant aroma and perked up. He sat down at the table and slammed his hand on the table: "Serve the food!"

"Please wait a moment."

Zhou He smiled, went into the kitchen to tell the barbarian chicks to start cooking. The prepared ingredients were quickly pushed into the pot and stir-fried into cooked dishes. Zhou He served rice to Xuefeng, put the dishes on a plate, and brought them to the front of the table, placing them in front of Xuefeng.