Revisit Azur Lane

Kaga looked at Zhou He: "You two didn't plan this, did you?"

“I haven’t spoken to them yet today. I’m sure I don’t know much about the situation in New Jersey, but the New Jersey sisters were incredibly powerful. While they weren’t as powerful as Hood, they were world-renowned in their time.”

Seeing that he couldn't refuse, Zhou He could only spread his hands towards the two of them and say, "Don't rush to grab the title of strongest. I will launch an offensive against the Sirens next. You should observe New Jersey on the battlefield firsthand."

"Since the commander has said so, let's do it this way for now."

After being taken down by Bismarck's salvo, Kaga was no longer so blindly confident. Now she was more curious about New Jersey. In her time, battleships and big guns had already begun to decline, and even she herself had been converted into an aircraft carrier. She wanted to see what the strongest battleship of the post-era would look like.

"?"

Kaga's obedience made Zhou He feel uneasy. He looked Kaga over again and found that he was still the same as before. Had they changed people?

"The saying goes, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' Even I wouldn't be so impatient when facing an unknown enemy."

The white fox felt a little uneasy under Zhou He's gaze and couldn't help but let out a soft snort, offering a rather poetic explanation for its appearance.

"The most cultured episode ever. If you can apply these ideas to real-life combat, Amagi will definitely look at you with new respect when he sees you again."

Zhou He then smiled, patted Kaga on the shoulder, nodded to Tosa, broke free from the two sisters' encirclement, and returned to the still lively living room. He vigorously promoted his newly built seaside shop, emphasizing that it was still in the early stages of port development and that free purchases were still possible. Once the port was on track, new clothes would have to be redeemed using 'merits' earned from defeating the Sirens.

"Merit points? Is the Commander finally going to start refining the port regulations?"

The ship girls inherited a lot of modern knowledge when they were built, so they easily understood what Zhou He meant. Sitting on the sofa, Javelin next to Hood asked Zhou He in surprise.

"Yes, it's time to start making arrangements in this regard."

Zhou He nodded in response. According to his original intention, he would naturally hope that all resources in the port area would be provided to his own ship girls for free. However, such a large organization cannot be without any rules. Even if he just rambles on, he still has to list a few rules to make sense of it.

"I don't object, but please don't manage it too strictly."

It was Zuikaku who spoke; she was massaging Shoukaku's shoulders and immediately shared her opinion.

Zhou He didn't answer, but just looked at her with a mysterious smile, which made Zuikaku subconsciously shrink back: "Commander, don't make a fuss about this. Shoukaku and I really don't know anything about the situation in New Jersey. The clearest memory we have is our experience fighting against the White Eagle carriers. We weren't in charge of the battleships."

"That's it."

Zhou He thought about it and it seemed to make sense. During the Double Crane era, Sakura Empire was already at an absolute disadvantage in the war. They were already doing their best to fight against aircraft carriers like Enterprise and Essex, so they wouldn't have the mind to pay attention to battleship intelligence.

He was still too presumptuous. His own ship girls' knowledge of other ships was limited to the intelligence they knew during the war. Top-tier combatants like the Twin Cranes certainly knew more secrets, but not all of them. Going down the line, the intelligence they knew about battleships, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, destroyers, and submarines was probably even more limited. They might not even remember the opponents they had fought against.

This is actually quite good. The lower-level ship girls in the faction have limited information, and the memories they inherit are the experiences of the warships. Warships do not have subjective thoughts, so they are not the ones who bring the ship girls the impact. What they care about most is the enemy they often fight against, rather than the conflict between the opposing factions. After joining the port, it will not be so easy for factional conflicts to arise.

"It's alright if you don't know. Compared to that, what did you find when you went out to investigate this morning?"

Regaining his composure, Zhou He changed the subject—although he didn't know the New Jersey's combat record, he knew the New Jersey's current personality, and that was enough.

"this."

Zuikaku shrugged: "Shokaku and I conducted reconnaissance within a 200-nautical-mile radius. The Sirens don't dare approach our port area at all. The Sirens' fleets that came to reinforce from other directions have also been absorbed by the Sirens' base. They seem to be preparing for a decisive battle with us."

"I find something strange about this matter."

Zhou He nodded and offered his opinion: "Based on Xuefeng's experience, the Siren base over there is the production and transmission point that supports the number of Siren fleets in this area. Therefore, there must be a large number of Siren fleets stored inside that base that have not been released."

The topic shifted to the Sirens, and the atmosphere immediately became much more serious. Yorktown, who had been resting there with Harman, spoke up upon hearing this: "You mean, they're showing weakness?"

"That's possible. After all, they can't pinpoint our port's location. Even if they try to surround us again, they'll only be throwing away their own forces."

Zhou He nodded: "Assuming they are feigning weakness, there are two possibilities. One is that they want to lure us over to fight them, then switch from offense to defense and launch a surprise attack to catch us off guard. The other possibility is that they are on guard against Xuefeng's solo attacks and can transfer their forces to other sea areas at any time if they sense something is wrong."

The former still wants to challenge him, while the latter has essentially given up on this sea area. Therefore, Zhou He thinks the former is more likely. As for the latter, the observer wouldn't have assigned the purification branch to the archipelago to manage the Mirror Sea. Now the two places are in a pincer movement, allowing for both offense and defense.

It can only be said that the design of the Sirens was quite sophisticated, even more so than their command and combat capabilities.

"Commander, what do you mean?"

Hu De picked up the conversation and threw it back to Zhou He, who replied in turn: "In any case, this Siren base is a thorn in our side that we must remove. Starting tomorrow, I will arrange for you to launch probing attacks from multiple directions. Please be prepared for battle and act with caution."

In fact, as soon as the topic came up, everyone knew that a war was about to break out. After Zhou He confirmed it, Yorktown sighed quietly, "Another battle is coming." Zuikaku and the others were very excited and had great enthusiasm for the battle.

Zhou He gave his battle declaration, and the ordinary exchange session came to an end. Hu De asked Zhou He to take out the previously drawn sea map and began to look for a suitable route to attack near the twin islands where the Sirens base was located.

The objective is not to conquer Twin Islands, but to put maximum pressure on the Sirens base.

……

Choosing an attack route is not a simple matter; it requires considering operational and evacuation plans in case of an accident, which takes considerable time.

During this time, Yuudachi, who had been taking a nap in Zhou He's room, woke up and went downstairs. Bismarck, who had been assigned rooms at the Ironblood Mansion, also came over and joined them.

Similarly, New Jersey, feeling a bit bored after visiting the new dormitory, went downstairs and saw destroyers like Yuudachi, who weren't interested in the battle arrangements, playing around outside. Intrigued, she went over to say hello and tried to blend in.

It was a success, unexpectedly.

"Wow, New Jersey, you're so tall! You're even taller than the Commander."

Yuudachi is very enthusiastic about the new ship girl companions. In addition, she is also very cute. She quickly became friends with New Jersey. She held up her hand and stood on tiptoe to barely make her fingertips level with New Jersey's forehead and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

"After all, I am a battleship."

New Jersey lowered her head and touched Yuudachi's palm with her forehead, answering with a smile.

She was very pleased with her image; she was beautiful, powerful, and most importantly, able to move freely!

As one of the few warships to find a good home after the war, New Jersey remained docked on the shore of White Eagle as a museum and memorial until Zhou He's transmigration. She never imagined that she would have a body that could move freely like a human. The moment she 'awakened' after being built, she fell in love with herself and this world!

She decided to help Zhou He, who gave her this body, conquer the ocean of this world!

"Is there any secret to growing taller? Other people aren't as tall as me."

After touching New Jersey's forehead, Yuudachi smiled and withdrew her hand, taking two steps back and asking, "I want to grow taller too."

She was always held in Zhou He's arms when she slept, it was warm and comfortable. If she were as tall as New Jersey, she could let her commander experience it too!

"Hmm, go to bed early and get up early, drink more milk and exercise more?"

New Jersey pondered for a moment. She didn't know how to grow taller, but that's what everyone said, and that's what she said too.

"milk?"

Yuudachi blinked. She had only ever eaten cream cake, never drunk milk.

"...Drinking milk won't help. If you want to grow taller, you should go find that guy and have him do a second transformation for you."

Xuefeng, who was sitting on the lawn next to Bush, resting quietly, suddenly spoke.

"Secondary renovation?"

Yuudachi didn't understand such complicated things, but that didn't stop her from being very smart: "Yukikaze, have you been secretly drinking milk for a long time?"

"Even if you know, don't tell anyone, you idiot!"

Yukikaze's eyes widened, and he stared at Yuudachi through gritted teeth: "I've seen you after the modification; you'll be a little bit taller than you are now."

"Really? That's great!"

Yuudachi was about to argue that Yukikaze wasn't stupid, but upon hearing the rest, she immediately beamed with joy. It turned out she really could still grow taller!

"Just a little bit."

Yukikaze snorted softly, muttering in dissatisfaction... Apart from her, Yukikaze in every world was small, weak, and powerless.

"A little bit is enough!"

Yuudachi knows how to be content, so she is happy.

New Jersey, whose conversation with Yuudachi was interrupted by Yukikaze's sudden appearance, sat down next to Bush while the two were talking. He was a little curious as to why Yukikaze referred to Zhou He as "that guy." Did they not get along? Bush heard the question, stood up, leaned close to New Jersey's ear, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered that Yukikaze was from outside and was very powerful.

"Oh? There are other port areas outside the main port area?"

New Jersey immediately perked up; Zhou He hadn't mentioned this when he explained the situation to her before.

"do not know."

Bush shook her head. She had heard Zhou He and the adults talk about those profound things, but she didn't understand them. She didn't ask, and Zhou He didn't explain them to her.

"Yes, but it's in a very, very far place. There are no other port areas nearby."

Yukikaze answered the question on Bush's behalf, glancing at New Jersey's tall, perfectly proportioned figure with envy.

"Thank you, but in that case, we're now only facing the enemy known as the Sirens?"

New Jersey could sense that Yukikaze seemed to have some prejudice against her, but that didn't stop her from asking Yukikaze for advice.

"perhaps."

Yukikaze hesitated for a moment when faced with this question. In the main world, there were indeed only Sirens, but after entering the Mirror Sea, there was a high possibility of encountering attacks from ship girl chess pieces, or even fleets from other worlds, so she was not sure.

"..."

New Jersey twirled a strand of blue hair that fell beside her with her fingers, feeling a strange unease. Why were the answers to every question she asked so inaccurate? Was it due to limited information? Or were the matters too complex to be explained in a few words?

It seems that if we want to know the situation, we still have to go directly to Zhou He.

Without hesitation, she stood up, said goodbye to the three men, and headed straight for the command building. Along the way, she exchanged greetings with Bismarck Kaga Cleveland and others who were coming out of the command building. She found Zhou He and the others in the lobby, who were sketching a map and looked like they had just finished a meeting.

"Oh? You've come at the right time, New Jersey."

Zhou He looked up and saw New Jersey still wearing her bodysuit and stockings. He tightened his expression and waved to her: "Just like I said before, I will arrange for you to engage in combat with the Sirens tomorrow. Since it will be your first time fighting the Sirens, Yorktown will be in charge of the flagship. What do you think?"

"great!"

New Jersey approached and smiled, giving Yorktown a thumbs-up: "Yorktown, I've always hoped to fight alongside you, and this time it's finally happening. Let's do our best together tomorrow!"

"Ah."

Yorktown originally wanted to give the flagship position to New Jersey, but Zhou He refused, so she could only reluctantly take it. Looking at New Jersey, who exuded strong confidence and faced combat missions as if she were going out for a walk, she couldn't help but marvel. It was unbelievable that such a perfect person was her junior.

"commander!"

New Jersey raised her hand, and Zhou He looked up to signal her. So New Jersey didn't hide anything and said, "I have some questions that I need the commander's help to answer."

Chapter 168 The Top Student Copyes Homework

"Hmm, that's how it is, I understand."

Inside the command center, New Jersey sat leaning against Yorktown, while Zhou He sat on the sofa to his left, hands clasped to his chest, listening intently to his explanation of the situation. Her eyes sparkled, and with the corners of her lips turned up, it was as if she had heard something interesting and new.

"You don't need to worry too much. We'll handle things according to the specific circumstances. If we encounter other ship girls or forces on the battlefield, I will give instructions accordingly."

Looking at the other person while speaking is polite, and Zhou He took the opportunity to take a good look at New Jersey. There's no need to say more about her beauty; what's more striking is her figure. Wearing what appears to be a bodysuit with tights, New Jersey's figure is accentuated to the fullest. Although she is taller than the average woman, her proportions are still perfect, a classic example of a slender figure with a full bust. In addition, she has a strong aura, the kind that ordinary people can perceive, but without any sense of oppression. She has the air of a capable and sassy older sister next door.

"Will the commander personally go to the battlefield, aboard one of those two aircraft carriers outside?"

Zhou He's additional remarks made New Jersey frown slightly. Zhou He was the only one in the port area, and if something went wrong, it would be disastrous.