Revisit Azur Lane

"Me too, probably on a higher level. Let's go up and take a look together."

New Jersey nodded. She was in charge of the second floor. Cleveland and Montpellier were in charge of the third floor. Yorktown and Long Island, as aircraft carriers, did not enter the building to prevent the enemy from suddenly appearing. Cassin and Bush were in charge of the fourth floor. Destroyers are fast and more suitable for exploring higher floors.

"Hmm, Commander, what's the situation outside?"

Cleveland responded, then greeted Zhou He with a smile. Zhou He wasn't sure if she meant outside the base or outside the test site when she said "outside," but he gave a general answer: "It's all under control. It just depends on whether you can find a quick way to break the deadlock."

"As expected of the commander, he really puts my mind at ease."

Cleveland gave a thumbs up and followed New Jersey upstairs. The staircase here was different from the narrow staircase at Zhou He's house; it was at least two meters wide on both sides, and there were murals on the walls, making it a typical wealthy family home.

Soon, they arrived on the fourth floor and saw Bush bouncing around. He waved to them happily, saying, "We found it! The liaison office has been set up next to the office, which is as big as the living room!"

"This is truly in line with the Royal Navy's style. It seems that the ship girls here are not just simple experimental subjects."

New Jersey nodded in satisfaction. Although the 'future' royal family in her memory had declined, the royal family's lifestyle was still very popular with the new generation of White Eagles, so she had learned a little about it.

"Ah, Commander, good morning!"

Bush ran over and greeted Zhou He cheerfully. The latter smiled and nodded, then followed New Jersey and the others into the office, which was the size of a living room and even had a balcony. The side door was open, and Cassin was sitting inside operating computers and other equipment. Noticing someone coming in, Cassin stood up, stretched, moved aside, leaned against the door, and pointed to the running electrical equipment: "I found the map of this test site in there, and the coordinates of the other bases are also in there. It's truly an idealized virtual world."

"Isn't it good to be idealistic? Our port area is on the road to this ideal future."

New Jersey instantly understood what she meant, chuckled and said "handsome," then glanced at Zhou He, only to find him looking somewhere else. She immediately pouted and asked, "Have you contacted White Eagle Base yet?"

"The contact request has been sent, but I don't know if it will be intercepted by the Sirens."

Kashin glanced at her. His own general was quite adept at handling things, but unfortunately, his commander was no pushover either. Getting along with him wouldn't be easy.

"The surveillance might be cracked, but it might not be intercepted."

New Jersey is very confident. Now is the critical period for the ship girls and sirens to fight in the test site. It is important for the ship girls to gather the survivors outside, but to pick up the survivors, they have to take risks. This is exactly the ambush opportunity that the sirens need.

As soon as she finished speaking, the call was connected, and a small pink-haired girl with slightly heaving chest appeared on the monitor.

"She is Saratoga."

Zhou He felt something was off; even in a futuristic world, Saratoga was still a little pink-haired girl.

"Senior Saratoga!"

New Jersey's eyes lit up. She had great respect for veterans like Saratoga and the Enterprise, and she sat down in front of the monitor with her chest puffed out: "Do you still recognize me?"

"I would recognize you even if you were reduced to ashes."

Saratoga narrowed her eyes. New Jersey was a big shot in the entire White Eagles, but now was not the time to talk about that. Her expression was very cold: "But you are not the New Jersey I know. Who are you?"

"As expected of a senior."

New Jersey's eyes flickered slightly, then he nodded seriously: "I sensed everyone's crisis, and I am a savior who has fallen from the sky!"

"..."

This joke silenced Saratoga, who sighed after a long pause, "You two are so alike. It's a pity she couldn't become the savior."

"Did the decapitation strike fail?"

New Jersey understood immediately. She frowned and asked, "How many people in the base are still capable of fighting?"

"There's not much left. What are you planning to do, and how do you need our cooperation?"

Saratoga's eyes showed surprise. No wonder they shared the same name; their ways of thinking were so similar.

The cooperation surprised even New Jersey: "The seniors don't suspect our origins at all?"

"Heh, it seems you've only been here a short time."

Saratoga was smiling, but the smile was not genuine: "If one day, a comrade who is very close to you suddenly says, 'You are all fake existences,' and starts a war, using methods you can't understand to instantly turn your other comrades into data, your ability to accept it will also become stronger."

"what?"

New Jersey looked puzzled: "Is turning people into data Tova's ability?"

"It's her, and it's not her."

Saratoga closed her eyes in pain, then opened them again, already back to normal: "We can't kill her at all, we can't even get close. At most, we can help you hold off that so-called proxy."

"enough."

New Jersey understood, and she clapped her hands, making a clear sound. Her brows relaxed and a smile appeared on her face: "Thank you for your hard work, senior. Leave the rest to us."

"Don't address me so formally. If I didn't mishear, you wouldn't even know who I am if the person next to you hadn't reminded you."

Saratoga glared at her: "Get to the point, what are you planning to do?"

"Join up with Sarah and the others, and fight side by side to take down Tova."

Hearing his name mentioned, Zhou He, who was listening in, raised his hand and stated his plan: "We'll handle Tova; you just need to deal with the executors and agents for us."

"it is good."

Saratoga nodded in satisfaction. She liked the name, even though she didn't understand why New Jersey would be with the Easterners. But that was precisely why she chose to trust these strange outsiders.

Strangely enough, it wasn't until she heard Zhou He's 'reminder' that she suddenly realized that she had never seen any of the ship girls from Donghuang in all these years, nor had she ever heard any news related to Donghuang.

She has memories of Donghuang and subconsciously believes that Donghuang exists in this world.

But in reality, there is no Donghuang in this world.

Chapter 192 Specialized Route

Zhou He felt rather heavy-hearted after cutting off communications with Saratoga.

There are many kinds of Sirens' testing grounds. There are testing grounds like Tirpitz, where chess pieces without their own will are constantly simulated to fight each other with unclear objectives. There are also data life forms like the ship girls in front of us, who clearly have their own will, but still cannot escape the control of the Sirens.

Furthermore, the world he inhabits is likely one of the largest testing grounds. The humans and ship girls here possess their own civilization, making it one of the few testing grounds that has given rise to a civilization organization capable of challenging the Sirens. Like the Ominous, it has broken free from the Sirens' control, leading the Sirens to deploy numerous combat units, including the Arbitration Agency, making this place a permanent battlefield.

But that's not the point. The point is that the arbitrator named Tova has the ability to make the ship girls here simply turn into data and disappear. No wonder that in less than a month, the ship girl forces in the entire test site have been wiped out by Tova. She is invincible by nature. I just don't know why she didn't just wipe out the whole map, but instead sent her subordinates to fight everywhere.

The Purifier said that Towa's ability is related to data. Could it be that the Purifier wants the Executors and the ship girl survivors to fight each other and accumulate new experimental data?

"The arbitration body is a terrifying bunch of people. Even counterfeits are so troublesome."

Zhou He frowned. When playing the game, he felt that the Sirens were a bunch of idiots, but when he actually faced them as enemies, he could only feel that they were truly unfathomable. Their terrifying combat power and background were like a mountain.

It will take him quite some time before he can truly launch a counterattack against the Sirens.

"Commander, does that Arbitrator's ability also work on us?"

After confirming the basic situation within the White Eagle base, New Jersey cut off communications and left the opulent mansion with the others. She remained silent on the way, pondering the intelligence Saratoga had provided, but she couldn't come up with a solution for the most crucial point and could only ask Zhou He for advice.

She was a subordinate, and Zhou He was a superior. When she couldn't make up her mind, she had to consult her superior!

"It's highly unlikely to work. You're not data lifeforms in this world, and she doesn't have the authority to delete you."

Upon hearing this, Zhou He stroked his chin, looked at New Jersey through the video projection, and then smiled, "You are my creations. No matter how powerful the Arbitrator is, it is impossible for him to alter your existence."

More than worrying about his own ship girls being digitized and deleted, he was concerned that Tova might flip the table when he couldn't win: digitize the space they inhabit.

He remembered very clearly that when Frederick the Great led his men to destroy the Builder's host in the game, the entire sea area was almost 'reset'. He didn't know whether the life forms in the space went to an unknown otherworld after the space was reset, or simply disappeared.

'I'll have to make sure Yukikaze is ready to finish off the enemy.'

Zhou He pondered for a moment, then nodded to New Jersey: "Next, I will contact the other teams. The meeting point is on the west side of the base. We will go directly to meet up with the people from the White Eagle base."

"I understand, then..."

New Jersey responded, and she looked at Zhou He as if she wanted to say something, but then she saw that the projection had been cut off, and she rubbed her hair in annoyance.

"The battle isn't over yet, and you're already thinking about taking credit?"

Cleveland, who was following behind, laughed heartily at the sight, and New Jersey, unconcerned, also laughed and replied, "It's normal to want to be praised, isn't it? Didn't the Purifier say before that she would transfer the ship girl parameters here to us after the battle? So, do you think we can also use this data to reproduce the ship girls here in our own data world?"

"You're still the same."

Cleveland shrugged: "Always wanting to try these fantastical things."

"is it?"

New Jersey, with one hand on his hip, looked up at the distant sea and said, "I think it's pretty normal."

……

Zhou He's haste to cut off the video wasn't because he was avoiding New Jersey, but because Anchorage had returned after circling the training area twice and firing a few shots. He couldn't attend to both at the same time, so he switched the video to first convey the assembly order to Hood and the others, then stood up, patted his butt, rubbed his ears, and watched Anchorage run back from a distance.

"teacher!"

Anchorage waved to Zhou He, gradually slowed down, and stopped two meters away in a sideways position. He pointed to the training belt and asked him, "Are there any standards for training? I don't know what constitutes a passing grade."

"qualified?"

Zhou He exclaimed "Ah!" and then gave the standards with a smile: "The passing score for this training is to pass without touching the line at the fastest speed. Secondly, you need to hit the target nine times out of ten in moving artillery fire. There are more difficult tutorials later. Anchorage, you should familiarize yourself with your ship equipment first. I'll find you two opponents to practice real combat when I have the chance."

"I see!"

Anchorage really only came over to ask him about the passing score. After receiving the answer, he turned around and ran away. However, this time he ran more skillfully and freely than before. As he watched, he started circling on the sea, looking just like someone riding an electric scooter at top speed and trying to drift. Zhou He put one hand on his hip and couldn't help but sigh that the fewer thoughts one has, the happier life is.

While Anchorage was playing by itself, Zhou He took the opportunity to have a brief video call with the Sakura Empire, Royal Navy, and Iron Blood factions, informing them of the intelligence he had obtained and learning about their gains.

Hu De and his group acquired a lot of daily necessities in the semi-paralyzed city, and indulged in shopping that had been restricted by Zhou He's family's poverty. Xi Li and the others had a great time at the beach amusement park, and also enjoyed desserts with automatic ice cream, as well as drinks and snacks produced by machines. It was truly a fun and enjoyable time.

Bismarck, however, chose a military facility far from the city, where only coffee was provided for sustenance, but he reaped amazing results.

The exploration of New Jersey only revealed a way to contact other bases, but Bismarck learned about the entire base inside the military base: the city was powered by a Rubik's Cube, operating in a semi-mechanized and semi-automated manner, with complete industrial and agricultural production lines. While not extremely efficient, it could easily provide for the needs of several hundred people.

In addition, the base has a complete dock and weapons production area. The dock has a production line for mass-producing warships without human intervention, and the armory is specially designed to develop ship equipment for ship girls. Its intelligence and ultra-modernity have even exceeded Zhou He's expectations. There are even novel equipment such as floating cannons for ship girls. However, the dock and armory here have been destroyed by the Sirens, making them the most damaged areas in the entire base.

"Is there any research data related to long-range missiles?"

Zhou He was quite surprised when he heard Bismarck's report, but then he thought that his own family seemed to have unlimited energy. As long as he bought the equipment for the store, he could use it. Once the construction was completed, it would be almost done.

"missile?"

Standing in front of the massive control panel, Bismarck displayed superb information processing skills. Her search techniques were so proficient that Zhou He couldn't even see her movements clearly. Then, the red X that appeared on the screen, as if saying "No such item found," left him speechless.

The use of missile technology in Azur Lane is really rare. Among the ship girls, only the guided destroyer of the Eastern Empire has been implemented. It only appeared once in the story and was even described as a weapon of the 'old era'.

He wasn't unable to understand that energy weapons like beams were indeed more sophisticated than missile technology, but both had their advantages and disadvantages. This side was focusing on energy weapons while completely ignoring missile research. He figured that it was precisely because the development of technology was so unbalanced that both the Sirens and the ship girls kept coming up with outrageous things.

A perfectly good science and technology route has been turned into a magic route.

Zhou He sighed, "It's a pity I wasn't there, otherwise I could have copied all the parameters back."

"In this regard, Commander, I have some proposals for the Purifiers."

After confirming that there was no more usable data in the database, Bismarck shut down the host, turned around, found Count Hutten Spee and the others, and left. She then spoke with Zhou He about the cooperation with the Purifiers: so-called cooperation is either equal between the two parties or one party is oppressed. In the Ominous Event, they and the Purifiers were considered equals, but this time, the Purifiers came alone, made empty promises, and wanted to win without lifting a finger. They even deliberately provided vague information, which was really unacceptable.