Revisit Azur Lane

The innocent little puppy almost made Zhou He lose his composure. He turned away from the question, lowered his head, buried his face in Xi Li's hair and sniffed it. Satisfied, he released her hands, pressed down on the blanket with one hand to separate the two of them, and sat up and left the warm bed before Xi Li's head could peek out.

"Ah~"

After peeking in, Xi Li discovered that Zhou He had already left the bedroom and let out a regretful sound. However, she quickly came up with a plan: Zhou He's erection wasn't just in the morning; in fact, it would happen even when he was asleep at night. She thought she would touch it again next time when Zhou He was asleep and hadn't woken up.

Zhou He entered the washroom, first washed his face with cold water, looked at his slightly disheveled reflection in the mirror, and tapped the mirror with his finger: "Don't worry, I'll be right there."

Having convinced himself once again, Zhou He returned to his bedroom after washing up and returning to normal. Xi Li had already gotten up and changed her clothes. She nimbly jumped off the bed, clapped hands with Zhou He, and they swapped places before heading into the bathroom, while Zhou He was getting dressed.

It took them a while to get up. Zhou He pushed open the door and took only a few steps before he saw the office with the door wide open and the lights on inside. He frowned and walked over curiously, and saw a beautiful figure with long blue hair that fell to her knees.

So early?

Zhou He was amazed at how incredibly diligent his ship girl was. Luckily, New Jersey didn't go to his bedroom, otherwise she would have seen him and Yuudachi writhing on the bed as soon as she opened the door.

cough…

Putting aside his strange thoughts, Zhou He reached out and knocked on the door: "Good morning, New Jersey."

"Yes, good morning, Commander."

New Jersey turned around in the office. Today, she obediently didn't wear the black jumpsuit and trench coat, but instead wore a beige turtleneck sweater and straight blue jeans. She even changed her high heels to sneakers. She was a little shorter than yesterday, but looked even prettier. She even exuded a captivating youthful vibe while chatting and laughing. Holding the port district calendar personally written by Zhou He, she looked just like the beautiful senior students often seen in comics and novels.

Compared to yesterday, New Jersey has changed so much that Zhou He felt an indescribable visual shock. After a while, he turned his head and pinched his brow: "Our port area has only been established for a short time. There aren't many events worth recording, and they aren't very detailed. It might look a bit strange."

Although he was somewhat dazed, his words were not wrong. Although he asked each member about the specific battle situation after each battle, the information he pieced together was too complicated and unclear. In this case, he would write it according to the overall development of the battle. For example, for the Ominous Event, he wrote that 'He was tricked by the Sirens and entered the Mirror Sea. He encountered the corpse of the Sirens, which was the common enemy of the Sirens and the Council. He was forced to cooperate with the Sirens Purifier to annihilate the Ominous Entity. Afterwards, he eliminated the Sirens Testers and closed the Mirror Sea.'

Asking him to break down an event into N chapters like a game's memoir is really asking too much; this concise style suits him better.

“That’s not true. The commander’s records are easy to understand. However, the Sirens and Ominous entities recorded here are our current enemies. But is this ‘Council’ friend or foe? The name seems to suggest that it is a management organization composed of high-ranking officials.”

New Jersey wasn't flattering Zhou He; she was simply stating the facts. She believed that anyone with normal intelligence could understand the past of the port area and the situation between friend and foe after reading the diary.

After getting closer to Zhou He, she pressed her finger on the three words "Council" and raised her question. This name was obviously the name of an organization that humans would use. The Sirens were enemies, and the Ominous Entity was an enemy. Logically speaking, the Council should at least be half an ally, right?

"I haven't encountered this organization yet, but according to unreliable intelligence, the Council is one of the remaining human organizations in this world, also fighting against the Sirens and the Ominous Entity."

Zhou He reached out and took the diary, closing it as he spoke. He then turned to the back page, which contained many reliable and unreliable intelligence notes he had summarized. Among them were notes such as, "To eliminate the Sirens, we need to find and destroy the mainframes of the Sirens' main combat forces hidden in different independent spaces," and "Ominous entities can be directly attacked and destroyed."

These annotations were more detailed than the event descriptions on the front. New Jersey was surprised and took the diary back to read it again. He hadn't expected Zhou He to start writing on the back before finishing the front. His behavior was not as honest and simple as he seemed.

"Just put it back after you're done reading. We'll go downstairs now. The emergency operational meeting will be held in the living room downstairs."

Seeing this, Zhou He smiled and gave a reminder before turning around and leaving with Xi Li.

It's a bit strange, but of the thirty-six ship girls in the port area, no more than ten have ever been to this office. He doesn't even work here. This place is more like a document storage room.

"?"

New Jersey clearly hadn't expected this turn of events; she thought it was a meeting in the office. After reading and understanding the contents of the diary, she put it back on the bookshelf, turned off the light, and closed the door.

……

"For today's operation, I will only emphasize a few key points."

After breakfast, as the sun rose, Zhou He addressed the participants and observers: "First, this is a test of the Sirens' true nature. Do not aim to inflict maximum damage on the enemy. Second, do not approach the Sirens' base to avoid being attacked by unknown weapons. Third, this is also a joint operation. I will not be giving on-site command. You should discuss specific action plans before the battle begins, at least to make it look like a joint operation."

After finishing his third point, Zhou He clapped his hands to get everyone's attention, and then said seriously, "In this operation, I will have Bismarck and New Jersey act as my eyes and ears to observe and record your operations. I hope you will take this seriously."

The third point is that he genuinely felt there were problems with the cooperation, and he was also laying the groundwork for a 'factional exercise'—it's unrealistic to expect the Sakura Empire and Eagle Union factions to live together if the cooperation is poor, but if it's a combat exercise, he believes both sides will put in their best effort.

The same applies to royal and iron-blooded forces.

However, how to promote it at that time still needs to be thought out. The process needs to be clever, otherwise it is easy to create a situation of opposing camps. Zhou He sighed inwardly that he was still too naive. He always thought too idealistically when doing things. If the camps were to be opposed and checked each other, his management would be simpler.

Unfortunately, he preferred a port where all factions could coexist harmoniously.

After stating the three points, no one objected. Zhou He then began to name the flagships: Sakura Empire's Shoukaku was the flagship, with Jintsu and Tosa as assistants; Sakura Empire's Yorktown was the support, with New Jersey as an auxiliary; Ironblood's flagship was Bismarck, with Hutten assisting; Royal Navy's Hood was the flagship, with London as the adjutant; Jean Bart followed the Eagle Union; and Kursk was in charge of the main roaming.

During wartime, command still involves mutual discussion, and whoever's plan is considered the best will be given command.

During the roll call, Zhou He already felt that his port was full of talented people, with many suitable to lead troops. The downside was the scarcity of mid-level combat power. As long as he increased the number of ship girls, his fleet's combat power would be extremely strong!

"Yukikaze, just stay on the sidelines and keep watch. Don't go into battle unnecessarily. Follow my orders."

Finally, Zhou He called on Yukikaze, who was craning her neck curiously as to why she hadn't been mentioned yet. Yukikaze chuckled, thinking that she was now Zhou He's personal guard, free from the orders of others, and even more so than Yuudachi!

Soon, the meeting ended, and the members began to gather and exchange ideas. Kaga BB once again mentioned his senior's prestigious status regarding the flagship, but it was useless. People who had been with Zhou He did not care too much about seniority. The reason was that Zhou He had a high status, but he kept a very peaceful attitude and treated everyone as friends.

It's already quite polite of Kaga BB to be addressed as 'senpai' (senior) within the Sakura Empire faction. People like Zuikaku are too lazy to add the suffix "senpai" to their titles. These are minor matters and not the point.

The ship girls of Zhou He's family were all used to going out to fight. As they left the command building and headed to the coast, they gathered into small teams and deployed their ship equipment in order, standing on the sea.

"Commander, don't you have anything to say?"

The slow-moving U96 had long since gone to sea to lie in wait along with U556. After New Jersey deployed its ship equipment, it immediately set its sights on Zhou He, who was seeing it off, with a smile. Zhou He, who was called out, also very skillfully offered his blessings: "I will prepare a banquet at home for you. I hope you will have a successful start and come back soon to hold a banquet!"

"Commander, do you prepare a large banquet for every sortie we launch?"

London was about to follow the group, but upon hearing his words, he immediately turned back. Zhou He nodded honestly, "This is all I can do for you."

"Is that so... I understand."

London has figured out why its own people would hold a banquet on an aircraft carrier.

"The banquet, I'm really looking forward to it."

New Jersey nodded with her arms crossed; she really enjoyed participating in these lively events.

"Hehe, I'm going to be the first one home today!"

Yuudachi responded with a grin, while Yukikaze glanced at Yuudachi, not wanting to get involved in such childish things as competing for first place.

Chapter 171 The Most Turtle-like Episode

Seeing off his ship girls was a routine thing. After everyone left, Zhou He went home, skillfully took off his military uniform and changed into casual clothes. He went downstairs to the kitchen, took out the fish basket stored in the system warehouse, and selected some of the better-quality sea fish to process.

The system warehouse can store items redeemed from the home shop. If it's a storage item, it can even store the contents of the internal storage in the system warehouse. It can even help keep the items alive, like the sea fish that Zhou He took out, which was still lively and jumping around. Fortunately, Zhou He had already killed several fish and had experience. After a chaotic mess, he put the various parts he had processed into the refrigerator and then packed up some parts that looked inedible and gave them to the red fox next door that was emitting a 'fragrant scent' and had gradually become rounder after being fed by everyone.

"The fact that you can observe the changing seasons after taming a wild animal is truly amazing. Nature is indeed amazing."

The red fox was eating, and the fishy smell around it was so strong that Zhou He had to open the window next to him to ventilate the room and hurriedly leave the pet room. Finally, he sat on the steps at the entrance of the command center and looked out at the beautiful and peaceful sea and sky in the distance.

"Is it almost time?"

After staring blankly for a while, Zhou He finally turned his attention to the system and opened the attack interface.

……

The Siren base is to the west, and the entrance to the bay is to the south. The members who went out were divided into two teams. Sakura Empire and Eagle Union were gradually approaching within a hundred miles of the Siren base, while the Iron Blood and Royal Navy teams took a detour and were still far from the Siren base.

However, the first to engage the Sirens were the Ironblood Royal Fleet, which was heading north and making a detour, and they encountered resistance from the Sirens' fleet sailing south from the north.

Unlike their usual practice of gaining the upper hand in combat, this time the Sirens fleet reacted with incredible speed. When the Royal Ark and Elbe's aircraft entered the reconnaissance range of a Sirens fleet along the way, that fleet chose to retreat immediately. In contrast, the scattered Sirens fleet within a hundred nautical miles around began to rapidly converge on this side. The Sirens carriers, distributed in three different locations, simultaneously released interceptor aircraft, arriving on the battlefield while the Royal Ark was conducting dive bombing.

"Such rapid reinforcements!"

The Royal Ark, who was piloting the carrier-based aircraft, changed from a relaxed expression to a grim one. He decisively relinquished some control of the aircraft and began loading fighter jets onto the ship's equipment for takeoff, reporting the situation to Hood.

"It seems the Siren officers have been waiting for us for quite some time."

Hood and Bismarck walked side by side, several dozen meters apart. After sharing intelligence, they both frowned slightly, but were not too bothered. After quickly exchanging opinions, the fleet continued to advance, except that Elbe sent out a reconnaissance plane to fly towards his own port.

However, not long after their distress aircraft took off, Zhou He had already issued orders to Bismarck: the two aircraft carriers, 01 and 02, had locked onto the enemy carrier and launched a reinforcement squadron, which would arrive in a few minutes.

"The commander has already learned of the enemy's intelligence. The Sirens have only just discovered our location and do not know our personnel configuration or have locked onto us. We need to regroup and repel the first wave of enemy aircraft. Once the commander's reinforcements arrive, we can seize air superiority."

Bismarck swiftly relayed the instructions to everyone in the squad, his tone calm and powerful, his words possessing a reassuring charm.

Hood's announcement followed immediately. Under the command of the two, the fleet members, who were preparing to fight independently, began to converge and form a circular defensive formation. A few minutes later, a giant steel bird appeared in the sky, blocking out the sun, and nearly thirty Siren bombers swooped down to drop bombs on the fleet.

This was a rare attack on Zhou He's fleet by a swarm of Sirens, proving Bismarck's training plan to be effective. Unfortunately, the training was not yet in full swing. Faced with the Sirens' air attack, the anti-aircraft capabilities of the dozen or so ship girls were very limited. The anti-aircraft guns could not shoot down a large number of carrier-based aircraft due to insufficient firepower. Even when the Royal Ark's newly deployed fighters arrived to intercept them, most of the team members were covered by explosives falling from the sky. The booming sound of the explosions and the splashing water all around reduced the anti-aircraft firepower by 50%.

"Ptooey, ptooey, Enterprising, Hermione, are you alright?"

Javelin, hit in the face by a shell, emerged from the water column's cover, soaked to the bone and swallowing several mouthfuls of seawater. Fortunately, its rigging was undamaged, and it remained combat-ready, anxiously contacting the rest of the team.

Not everyone was so lucky. For example, London and Hood were grazed by the explosives. London's right side was damaged and crackling with electricity. Her right side was covered with deep wounds. Her glasses fell into the sea, and blood covered half of her face. At this moment, she covered her left side with one hand and swayed on the sea, looking very disheveled.

Hood fared slightly better; she was hit, but her armor was strong enough that she was only pushed far away by the explosion and did not suffer any serious injuries.

The Ironblood team was in better condition, suffering only minor scratches. They quickly reported their positions and continued their anti-air combat.

Royal Ark and Elbe were not in the main force, but about ten nautical miles behind, having escaped the air attack. However, they were extremely anxious and could only call out to confirm whether their own force had suffered any casualties, while trying their best to control the carrier-based aircraft.

They were already at a disadvantage as soon as they started fighting—but the situation was changing rapidly. London, who was seriously injured just a minute ago, was quickly recovering from her injuries under a mysterious force, and she was even a little dazed. Meanwhile, more than a hundred carrier-based aircraft flew over the Royal Ark and Elbe in a goose formation and joined the battle.

01 and 02 are combat programs implanted by the system. Although they are not even weak AI, the carrier-based aircraft they released are surprisingly agile. In less than ten minutes, they dealt with the Sirens' fleet, which was running out of fuel. At the same time, they counter-pressed and reinforced the air battlefield ahead. A large number of bombers and torpedo bombers broke through the blockade and headed straight for the three Sirens aircraft carriers.

With the aerial crisis resolved, the Royal Ironblood Fleet, fueled by the rage accumulated after the air attack, began its rapid advance. The vanguard, upon discovering the Sirens' convergence, plunged in like spikes. The mass-produced Sirens were clearly not as advanced as the 0102; after receiving the observer's order to 'spread out and encircle,' they did not spread out but only executed 'encircle,' converging and attacking Earl London Spee and his men.

Faced with formidable aerial attacks, even Bismarck and his crew, whose stats had increased, could only suffer in silence. However, the terrifying power of their stats became apparent when facing sea enemies within artillery range. The Sirens' vanguard fleet was practically destroyed at the first contact. Under the fan-shaped bombardment of Bismarck and Hood Hutten's main guns, the Sirens' warships were like moths to a flame. A couple of hits within range would cripple most of their combat effectiveness; their armor was as fragile as paper.

The campfires burning on the sea gradually spread as the Royal Ironblood Fleet advanced. The Sirens' mass-produced fleet collapsed so quickly that even the observers at the Sirens base didn't have time to react. The dozen or so observation screens that were originally lit up turned to white with a series of bangs. The last screen showed the main battleship, which had been blasted in the side by a torpedo. The view gradually tilted, and finally it was finished off and disappeared completely.

"These guys."

The observer opened and closed his fists, then turned his head to look at the tester sitting in another part of the command room, who was wary of the other fleet and remained silent. He said, "The data you brought back from your test is too short-lived."

“My test data will be updated even without the insertion of the ominous entity.”

It's normal for a tester to encounter setbacks while performing new tasks, but to suffer repeated setbacks like this, and even not knowing where the mass-produced clones have died, is a first for them.

She was certain that with the current performance of her mass-produced mechs, she simply couldn't complete the data testing on Zhou He's ship girls. If she died and went back this time, she would definitely make the mainframe send elite individuals to take over.

“That’s true. The Purifier who came back from there didn’t explain it clearly either. According to her, there are four production bases there. Your individual numbers alone shouldn’t have caused you to die so quickly.”

The observer, no longer paying attention to the sinking outer fleet, leaned against his beloved octopus-shaped ship and casually remarked.

"That individual's death was most likely due to following his duty to fight the enemy, which is why he was defeated so quickly."

The tester knows herself quite well; in fact, she was born to collect data on ship girls, and naturally, she will die frequently as a result, though the number of deaths will vary.

"Hmph~ So, you're saying that you stayed here because you couldn't measure the parameters of these ship girls, which is why you chose not to go and die?"

Playing with the octopus tentacles, the observer asked a sharp question, but before the test subject could answer, he changed the subject, a smile playing on his lips: "After they retreat today, you will have another chance to get their data."

"You're going to abandon this place?"

The tester then turned to stare at the observer: "You never participate in combat. If I leave here, you certainly won't stay."

"Hehe, that's not important. The things in this base can at least keep them safe until next spring. What's important is what happened to the Purifiers and whether another singularity will be born here."