Revisit Azur Lane

However, as she squatted on the ground to dust off herself, her forward-leaning posture accentuated her advantages, revealing her curvaceous figure and impressive physique. Zhou He felt that he could sit on her without much trouble—of course, he wasn't confident enough to be that arrogant yet. Instead, while she was busy, he got up and looked around at the surrounding tents.

There were many people resting inside the warehouse, but fewer people here. For example, Hudson and Bismarck were here, as were London and Earl Spee. Elbe's exclamation seemed to wake some of them up. Zhou He saw someone sit up, then pull open the tent chain and peek out, making eye contact with him.

"Commander, please take a rest as well."

It was London. Without her glasses on, she glanced at Zhou He and then at Yi Bei, who seemed to be touching the zipper of his shirt on the back. She mumbled something and went back to her tent to lie down, leaving Zhou He with a mouthful of complaints.

'Damn, my image here in London is probably the worst in the eyes of everyone in Hong Kong.'

Zhou He took a deep breath, looked up and covered his face with his hands. How could it be such a coincidence? At first, he had tacitly acknowledged his relationship with Xi Li, but he had been wronged several times in the past, and hadn't even had a chance to explain. If he tried to explain afterward, it would probably be even more difficult to explain.

He couldn't hold it in any longer. He decided to find an opportunity to explain things to London. Whether she believed him or not was her business, but keeping it bottled up wasn't good for his physical and mental health.

"Commander, oh, what's wrong?"

Yi Bei, having finished her work, got up and came to his side, looking around nervously and lowering her voice: "I think I heard someone talking just now. Oh no, I hope Miss Bismarck wasn't woken up too."

"I'm not entirely sure, but it's better to be careful... Um, Yi Bei, you should rest too. I'm not used to sleeping in unfamiliar beds, so I'll keep an eye on things for you for a while."

Zhou He was a little annoyed, but not angry. Despite their brief contact, he had already figured out Yi Bei's situation. This girl, who looked arrogant and rebellious like a little delinquent, was actually a super well-behaved girl!

In the early stages of the game, all the Ironblood ship girls had somewhat human personalities. Later on, it seemed that the developers were going to introduce some normal people. Now it seems that they have indeed introduced some, but not completely. In terms of personality alone, Yi Bei is very normal. However, as an Ironblood ship girl, isn't it also a kind of abnormality for her to have such a personality?

"Really? Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Yi Bei's first sentence was a question about Zhou He's statement, and the second sentence was a response to his suggestion. After speaking, she immediately shook her head: "No, it's too hard to keep watch alone. Commander, you should go and rest. If there is a battle outside while I'm on watch, I can provide support immediately."

After listening to Yi Bei's complete statement, Zhou He smiled and did not argue. Instead, he returned to the campfire, lay down on the ground, and looked at the starry sky, which he couldn't tell if it was real or not: "Then let's go together."

"So the Commander can relax like this too. Your clothes are going to get dirty. Ah, the projection doesn't need to wash clothes."

Yi Bei didn't sit down immediately, but instead walked around to stretch her body. Seeing Zhou He's casual manner, she couldn't help but say a few words. However, to others, it sounded more like she was talking to herself. Zhou He listened and wondered if Yi Bei was a rare chatterbox ship girl. If so, it would be too torturous for her to stay by Bismarck's side. Of the other six, probably only Z23 would pay attention to her. U556 and 96 might also be able to, but the possibility was not high.

However, listening to the people around me muttering to themselves, the experience was surprisingly good. Could it be because Yi Bei is a beautiful girl?

After the activity, Elbe sat down to add firewood to the campfire, and then chatted with Zhou He casually. She mentioned that she usually only watched Zhou He from afar, but meeting and talking with him today was indeed different from what she had imagined. She also mentioned Bismarck and his group, saying that although they were usually cold and seemed to be bullying her, they were actually concerned about her... and so on. Zhou He listened to the conversation until he got tired. His biological clock was already set to go to bed early and get up early. He rarely stayed up late in the port area, let alone forced himself to stay up late for no reason. Several times he closed his eyes without realizing it.

Then I was startled awake by a 'warning' message popping up in the dark, which made me even sleepier.

He was dozing off in a daze when Yi Bei, who was next to him, stopped talking. When he woke up again, Zhou He turned his head and found Yi Bei sleeping soundly with his legs curled up and his arms wrapped around his lap.

"Good heavens, what time is it?"

This cheered Zhou He up. He got up from the ground, washed his face with some fresh water, and then opened the system map to observe the situation. The problem with his system was that it didn't provide the time and date. Without the ship girl by his side, he could only guess and judge the time based on the angle of the sun.

In the system map, the size of the fog did not change, and the two teams dispatched by our own side were still wandering around outside. The only difference was that there were many traces of executors in the edge area. It was not from a single angle, but from three directions, with more than ten executors in each direction. It was unknown how many more were in the fog.

"A night raid? That's so uncivilized. The Sirens must have already gone berserk."

Zhou He's spirits lifted, but he wasn't in a hurry to wake up his crew. First, they were still far away, and second, the night not only affected his ship girls but also the Sirens. Releasing carrier-based aircraft from a distance without any reference points could easily cause them to deviate from their course. Judging from the fact that none of these guys were leading the team, they were unlikely to be able to synchronize with the Black Tower's data, so there was no immediate concern.

My ship girls will be fighting tomorrow, so I need to get plenty of rest.

Zhou He stayed up late with the siren, and after those few short rests when he almost fell asleep, his energy had recovered considerably. Before transmigrating, he was a man who usually went to bed at 2, 3, or 4 o'clock. How could he not even be able to stay up all night here? He wasn't some kind of superhuman.

Listening to the crackling of the campfire and the sounds of the wind and insects, Zhou He waited until his patrol team was ready to gather. Unexpectedly, the outer enforcers did not continue to approach, as if they were waiting for something.

Is it almost 2 o'clock?

Zhou He narrowed his eyes, reached out and gently patted Yi Bei's back to wake her from her deep sleep, and then heard the classic chant of "sleep for five more minutes." He was amused by this in the middle of the night, and after thinking for a moment, he leaned close to her ear and said that Bismarck was about to wake up.

"!!"

Yi Bei was terrified. He suddenly opened his eyes, looked around, and instinctively wiped his lips, his face serious: "I wasn't asleep!"

"Yes, neither of us could sleep."

Zhou He replied with a smile, then lowered his voice: "Now I'm going to pretend I'm asleep, but I'm woken up by Bismarck and the others getting up. You cover for me and say I fell asleep while chatting with you here."

"understood!"

Yi Bei didn't know why, but Zhou He was such a good person that he would never harm her and Bismarck, so she readily agreed. Then, she rested her chin on her hand and watched Zhou He sit down, lie down, and close his eyes.

Not long after, conversations came from the warehouse, and then the people in the tent gradually woke up, each one like a human alarm clock, and began to walk out of their resting place, making the quiet camp lively again.

"Why did the commander get here?"

Ruihe yawned as she walked from the warehouse to the camp. She saw Zhou He lying by the campfire, covered her mouth, turned around, and went back. She wasn't keeping watch; she had only come out to check on Zhou He since he wasn't there.

The others had similar thoughts, and everyone focused their attention on Yi Bei. Yi Bei kept her promise to Zhou He, and although she was quite flustered, she still managed to hide the fact that Zhou He was not asleep. In fact, in Yi Bei's memory, Zhou He had fallen asleep earlier than her, and had already fallen asleep while she was babbling on and on.

Therefore, she believed that she was not lying, but she didn't know why Zhou He was hiding the fact that she had already woken up.

"Hmm? Is it time for the shift change?"

Zhou He was 'wake up', rubbed his eyes, sat up, looked up at everyone, and then squinted and waved: "The second half of the night may be more dangerous, so you all have to be careful."

"clear."

Bismarck did not look down at Zhou He, but instead knelt down on one knee in a rather dashing manner to keep eye to eye with him. After responding, she looked at Yi Bei and said, "You've worked hard on the night watch. Get some rest."

"Yes!"

Elbe was truly walking on thin ice in front of Bismarck, and his obedience was so extreme that even Zhou He was puzzled. It could be said to be respect, but it was also not far from being fear. It was quite strange.

While they were discussing serious matters, Hood noticed Hermione's confusion and whispered to her, "Why did Zhou He come out alone?" Hermione was helpless about this—she had originally planned to keep an eye on Zhou He, but she didn't know if it was because she was sleeping in the same place as Zhou He that she became too nervous, and as a result, she relaxed and fell asleep after a few minutes.

In short, after discussing it, the group set off on the sea to take over the shift. Yi Bei, who was seeing them off, happily invited Zhou He to crawl into the tent, but Zhou He declined. He was still conscious, but that didn't mean he wasn't tired. He knew he wouldn't be able to stay until the exploration ended the next day, but he had to find a way to leave, at least after he had figured out the situation.

He started searching in the mall and eventually found a batch of drinks to help him stay alert, but he didn't know if they would work on the projected entity.

……

Chapter 185 The Actors Are Here!

"Why haven't these Sirens attacked yet?"

As the sky began to lighten with the first light of dawn, Zhou He, his eyes dry, observed the Executors who were constantly amassing troops around him. One wave would come in the first half of the night, and another in the second half; their numbers were already approaching sixty, yet they still did not attack.

Is this about upholding martial ethics or not?

Fortunately, he was the only one who suffered from internal strife; the others got a good rest. The New Jersey and Nagato group, who returned late at night, are still not up, which shows that his ship girls are not used to battlefield life because of his care.

"Commander, you didn't sleep all night, did you?"

Someone came to his side and watched the sunrise with him.

It was Zuikaku. Usually, she would wear a neat single ponytail when she went out, but today, having just gotten up, her hair was still hanging straight down, covering her face and ears, making her look less heroic and more feminine. Zhou He glanced at her, then turned to look at Shoukaku, who was walking over while calling for Zuikaku to do her makeup. Although the two had different hair colors and temperaments, Zuikaku had long, straight hair and looked about 60% like Shoukaku. The two sisters looked much better than Tosa and Kaga BB.

"Sister, you're too serious. Even at a time like this, you're still so concerned about your clothes and hair... This will make everything look better in no time."

Before Ruihe could get a reply from Zhou He, she was pestered by Xianghe. In response, she had to give a quick demonstration by tying her hair into a single ponytail. Her movements were crisp and neat. From Zhou He's perspective, it wasn't much different from usual, except that the hair tie wasn't as pretty as usual and the strands of hair on her side weren't as smooth.

"No! As a girl, especially when you're with the commander, you need to pay attention to your appearance so that others don't look down on you."

However, Xianghe did not agree. After turning her head to greet Zhou He, she pulled Ruihe to sit down on a stone bench and carefully combed her hair again. She even wiped her face with a handkerchief. But to be honest, she looked much prettier and more energetic than before with the simple styling.

"I'm sorry for making a fool of myself, Commander."

After finishing, Xianghe smiled and struck up a conversation with Zhou He. The latter, of course, didn't mind watching the heartwarming little sisterly drama, and smiled back, then pointed into the distance: "Over there, there are twenty-three executors."

"What!?"

The two were immediately surprised, but Zhou He continued to point in other directions: "There are 18 executors here, and 16 behind the island."

"How could so many suddenly appear... Could it be that they appeared last night?"

Ruihe was speaking when she suddenly remembered her question from earlier. Zhou He was answering her question!

"Yes, these guys are gathering suspiciously in the distance, I don't know what they're up to. I'm going to make breakfast now, you guys get ready to attack."

Zhou He calmly made the arrangements, turned and walked towards the camp. After a few steps, he turned back and waved to Xiang He—he was walking a little unsteadily and needed someone's help.

After a flurry of activity, the camp members gradually got up and gathered, and the patrol team that had been outside returned. Zhou He didn't rush to announce the situation, but waited until everyone had eaten and drunk their fill and rested for about ten minutes before speaking about the situation outside.

"It must be because of that black tower that the Sirens discovered our tracks!"

Ruihe was so impatient that she sat there waiting for Zhou He to finish speaking before jumping up and pointing at the spire on the island.

She thought for a long time. If the Sirens didn't know they were here, they definitely wouldn't have gathered here. They even deliberately waited until dawn. As the top aircraft carrier in the port area, Zuikaku had the right to speak at the meeting. She looked at everyone and said, "The Sirens here must be under higher command. They didn't launch a sneak attack in the middle of the night. Perhaps they wanted to defeat us fair and square."

"..."

Her statement was somewhat nonsensical. Everyone here knows what kind of creatures the Sirens are. When they were outside, the testers couldn't find their own lair, otherwise they would have been wiped out long ago.

However, it cannot be denied that there must have been a reason why these sirens waited for them for half the night.

For this reason, Zhou He, who had been silently observing the Sirens' movements, suddenly raised his hand: "I know who is commanding these executors."

He saw it, a familiar icon leading the team charging towards him from the front – Purification.

Zhou He wasn't surprised that she was in charge of this matter, after all, the Purifiers had already infiltrated this Mirror Sea area. However, what concerned him was that the Purifiers dared to lead a team to cause trouble head-on. Did the Type II Executor give her such confidence?

"The Purifier? Ah, the guy who raised the white flag?"

Most people present recognized the name. New Jersey and Nagato had never experienced an ominous event, so they were puzzled by it. The person being questioned patiently gave an answer.

"A Siren cadre who would surrender? Aren't we mortal enemies?"

New Jersey found this unbelievable. They thought about how badly the Sakura Empire had been beaten by the Eagle Union; if it weren't for the two great treasures they'd thrown in, who knows how much longer they'd lasted.

With such a powerful background, how could the Sirens' leaders surrender to their 'weak organization'?

Is there some conspiracy?

"They are mortal enemies, but this guy's mainframe seems to have some unique algorithm, and it doesn't seem to treat us as mortal enemies."

Zhou He shook his head. It seemed that there were a few traitors in the experimental mechanisms in the game, but he couldn't expect the game to reflect reality. So after a brief explanation, he began to arrange the deployment: "Yukikaze will deal with the Executor fleet on the back of the island. The remaining two fleets will be dealt with by you (Sakura Empire + Eagle Union, Iron Blood + Royal Navy). Shoukaku, you should pay attention to the Purifier's movements. If she attacks with all her might, then take her down. If her behavior is suspicious, then keep a backup plan."

After the order was given, Zhou He felt inexplicably dazed, and his thinking became sluggish.

"commander!?"

After a while, Yuudachi's call brought Zhou He back to his senses. He looked at the red system warning that appeared before him: "Continuing the projection will excessively consume your mental energy. Please cancel the projection and engage in healthy gameplay." He smirked, reached out and ruffled Yuudachi's hair, who was supporting him, and said to Yukikaze, Hermione, and the others who also looked worried, "It's nothing, it's just that the projection time has been too long, and my condition can't be stabilized. I estimate that this projection will be forcibly canceled in another two hours. Before that, I hope you can deal with this wave of Siren fleet. The Purifier may be the key to breaking the deadlock."

"Understood!"

Bismarck's eyes sharpened. He turned his head to meet Hood's gaze before standing up and calling to the rest of the team: "Attack immediately!"

"We're off too!"