Revisit Azur Lane

Zhou He didn't know how to answer this question. He could only say that when Huang Ji was creating the character's personality, he only thought about adding a personality. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Generally speaking, that's how it is. But even in the most lively family, there will be people who prefer quiet. Perhaps when we get to know each other better, Kursk will come back to have a meal together."

This was a generic answer, but Hermione smiled slightly and winked at Zhou He: "Then Commander, you'd better do your best!"

"Haha, I'll try my best."

The two chatted idly as they cleaned the kitchen spotlessly. As dusk fell, Zhou He stopped and told Hermione to rest. He then went to the refrigerator, opened it, and looked at the prepared seafood and the remaining vegetables and meat. After a moment's thought, he spent 2 Home Coins (17 remaining) from the Home Shop to buy a vegetable set (potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, etc., totaling 20 jin) and 10 jin of beef, which he neatly placed in the large refrigerator.

"Let's take a look at it next."

After confirming that his ship girl wouldn't be without food to cook if she woke up in the middle of the night, Zhou He turned around and found a seafood cooking guide to look through. He found a recipe for smoked fish, which could preserve the fish for longer and saved him the trouble of handling live fish, although it was a bit time-consuming.

"After a ship girl sets sail, she consumes a lot of stamina, so this is probably just barely enough to get by. Beef jerky and fried dried fish are snacks, hmm..."

Ship girls can go out to work and fight at any time by consuming stamina, but this also increases their basic energy intake. In terms of sorties, this is worse than using fuel, but the resupply speed is not as fast as using fuel, so it can be said to have both advantages and disadvantages.

Zhou He pondered for a moment, then took out a two-pound, pre-processed fish from the refrigerator. After marinating it, he went to the fireplace. The recipe said that smoked fish could be marinated and then smoked directly over a fire with grain bran, or it could be fried in oil before smoking. He had plenty of time, so he decided to try smoking it directly over a fire today and see how it went tomorrow morning.

Following the recipe, Zhou He hung the marinated fish by the fireplace and slowly fanned it with a small fan to let the smoke rise.

"If we want to expand outwards in the future, we'll probably need to establish bases on islands outside the city; it's not very realistic to start from home."

Through the small fire, Zhou He thought about exploring the outside world in relation to the problem of cooking rice. The area was 60 nautical miles in diameter. Now, it would take 90 nautical miles to go out from home to explore the map. Even if Yuudachi went at full speed, it would still take three hours. Not to mention the time needed for exploration and searching for the Sirens. If he went out in the morning, he would not be able to return until late at night at the latest.

To expand outwards with maximum efficiency in the future, we must proceed cautiously, building wherever we go, and dispatching elite fleets to establish strategic footholds in the outermost known sea areas.

"You're overthinking it. We haven't seen any islands here yet. Hopefully, we'll find one if we expand outwards a bit more."

Despite saying that, Zhou He had already tacitly agreed to the future development path.

"We're back~ Hmm? Is the Commander still cooking?"

As dusk fell, Zuikaku and Yuudachi, who had gone for a walk, returned. The little dog seemed to have caught a whiff of the aroma and peered out from outside the kitchen. Zuikaku yawned and followed, glancing over. "Is that it? The Kursk dinner."

"Too cunning, actually asking the commander to give them special treatment."

Yuudachi stood on tiptoe, trying to see what Zhou He was doing, but the table blocked her view. She could only see a little bit of rising smoke, and then she exclaimed as she saw Zhou He standing up.

Listening to the two of them talking back and forth, Zhou He felt a little helpless. He glanced back at the smoke in the fireplace, and after confirming that there was no safety hazard, he walked out of the kitchen and beckoned to the two of them: "I'm studying the rations for your upcoming sorties. There's something I need to ask you first. Can your ship's equipment space store other things?"

"May I?"

Yuudachi looked up and asked Zuikaku, who simply shook her head: "Commander, you'll have to ask the ship's equipment designer about this."

"That means it's not allowed."

Zhou He felt the same way. Zuikaku didn't even know how to resupply her ship equipment with ammunition, so how could she possibly have extra space to put things in? The game didn't mention that ship girls have their own personal space either. He probably read too many novels.

'Anyway, I have storage space, so it's not a big problem.'

Thinking of his empty system warehouse, Zhou He stopped thinking about the problem, turned off the kitchen light, glanced back at the fireplace one last time, and left with the two of them.

……

After a long day of work, Zhou He bid farewell to the two of them, went back to his room to wash up, and fell asleep immediately. However, when he woke up the next day, his thighs, waist, and arms were all sore, and this soreness reached its peak after breakfast.

"The wind is a bit noisy today."

After adding some grain to the fireplace, Zhou He, exhausted, leaned against the entrance of the command post like a salted fish, looking at the sky, which had changed from its usual clear skies to a gloomy one. Gray clouds drifted in the sky, as if a downpour was about to fall at any moment. The sea breeze had also become much colder, blowing the grass on the lawn to one side.

"Today isn't a good day to go out. I'd like to go out and play with the sirens."

Ignoring Zhou He's literary remarks, Ruihe crossed her arms and leaned against the wall not far away, her clothes and ponytail trembling in the wind.

'You want to go play with the sirens every day.'

Zhou He mentally complained, leaning the back of his head against the sturdy wall and tilting his gaze to the system panel, opening the map: After the Sirens were wiped out on a large scale the day before yesterday, surprisingly not many Sirens have been replenished in the past two days. Counting them up, there are only two Siren fleets wandering around, one in the north and one in the west, with a total of 27 ships, including three heavy cruisers, but no battleships or aircraft carriers.

"Could it be that the Sirens in this area have been mostly wiped out?"

He felt a bit curious, but thinking about it, it made sense. He had sunk dozens of Sirens' destroyers and light cruisers in two waves of attacks. No matter how powerful the Sirens were, it was impossible for them to have large fleets with aircraft carriers or battleships all over the world, right?

Once the weather clears up, let Zuikaku and the others defeat these two fleets one by one, and then we can try to expand outwards. The larger the area that can be observed on the map, the more active his forces will be.

"Zuikaku, before it rains, could you do me a small favor?"

After turning off the system panel, Zhou He stood up, wincing and hissing. He felt his muscles were tense; it was fine if he didn't move, but his whole body ached with any movement.

The work was done yesterday, but the physical consequences have been postponed until today.

Seeing Zhou He's trembling figure, Zuikaku couldn't help but smile: "Commander, your body is too weak. You need to exercise more."

"Even when you're exercising, you still have to eat one bite at a time."

Zhou He patted his stiff thighs, feeling almost completely numb. It took him a while to recover before he and Ruihe arrived at the left side of the command post, where the wood from yesterday had been placed. However, there were already guests there. Yuudachi was jumping around on the stacked wood, while Tosa sat on the grass next to him, looking at the sky, seemingly lost in thought.

Seeing Zhou He approach, Yuudachi jumped off the log and ran over. After circling Zhou He twice, she looked at him and thought for a moment before saying, "Today, you're the commander in your old man form."

puff.

Zhou He heard the laughter, and the culprit was right in his line of sight, shrugging behind him. This made him grit his teeth but he was helpless. He could only say that his system was not good enough, and it could not strengthen his body. Even as a commander, one needs a very strong body!

Facing Yuudachi's bright gaze, Zhou He pointed to the stack of wood: "Yuudachi, you and Zuikaku help me arrange these six pieces of wood into a rectangle so I can see the actual size inside."

"understood."

Upon receiving the order, Yuudachi turned around and ran over to untie the rope, but the stacked structure was well-maintained and did not collapse.

Next, Zuikaku and Yuudachi easily carried the logs and arranged them into a rectangle, about seven meters long and a little over three meters wide. The space inside was about the same as Zhou He's slightly larger rental room before he transmigrated. If it were a small hot spring, it would be quite cozy if decorated, but it was clearly not enough for a large hot spring.

Then Zhou He had Xi Li and the other person arrange themselves into a rectangle that was twelve meters long and six meters wide, and they immediately felt the rhythm.

"Okay, do you think we can make a raft with these pieces of wood?"

With a general framework in mind, Zhou He could easily calculate the amount of work and material requirements. In an instant, he thought of other uses for these few pieces of wood. He could buy a speedboat with Huajiayuan coins to go out to sea, and he could also make a raft and have someone pull it to go out to sea, saving money!

"Commander wants to go to sea?"

The two guessed his thoughts at the same time, and simultaneously denied Zhou He's intentions. Ruihe put away his frivolous expression and shook his head seriously: "I do not recommend that the Commander take a raft out to sea. Even with us by his side, it is too dangerous. The danger of the sea far exceeds the Commander's expectations."

Yuudachi chimed in, "If the commander accidentally falls into the water, we might not be able to rescue him in time."

Zhou He was quite surprised. He hadn't expected that neither of the two ship girls could guarantee his safety when he went to sea. It seemed that he had indeed underestimated the dangers of the sea. So he nodded and said, "I understand. I was too naive. I'll think about going to sea again."

"Uh-huh."

The two nodded, and then Zhou He pointed at the wood and said, "Then you should move these pieces of wood under the eaves of the command post. It looks like it's going to rain soon, and it'll be quite troublesome to dry dead wood after it gets rained on."

"This is simple."

Although Zhou He was a semi-otaku, he was still an adult male. He would be exhausted carrying just one of these 30cm thick, three-meter long logs. But these logs were like ordinary twigs to Zuikaku and Yuudachi, who were ship girls. Zuikaku originally wanted to carry two logs back at once, but after Zhou He reminded her that she would get her clothes dirty, she chose to carry them back with Yuudachi. Yuudachi held the logs high above her head, while Zuikaku lifted them to her chest.

"The ship girls are all born with superhuman strength."

Zhou He couldn't remember the specific settings of the ship girls in the game, but the ship girls in front of him were top-notch even without their ship equipment deployed. They could easily carry him without any problem, if not uproot a willow tree.

If they were to break into his bedroom at night, it wouldn't be a question of whether he wanted to resist or not.

"...What am I thinking?"

Zhou He tapped his head, glanced at the serene Tosa, and didn't dare to approach. He planned to find a place to lie down, but before he had taken two steps, a light drizzle began to fall. He quickly turned back to the command post.

The rain came quickly, and Tosa didn't have the habit of taking a bath in the rain. He got up, brushed off the weeds behind him, and went to the eaves of the command post. He then entered the command post through the back door.

"What's wrong with Tosa? He seems even less motivated than me."

As Yuudachi and Zuikaku ran over carrying the last log, Zhou He helped secure it with a rope and asked them in a low voice.

"I don't know, maybe the cloudy weather brought back bad memories for her."

Zuikaku glanced at the torrential rain outside, rolled up her sleeves, and said that they had inherited both good and sad memories, such as the moment when Zuikaku lost Shoukaku.

"Yeah."

Zhou He thought about it for a moment. Historically, Tosa was built only halfway before construction stopped and it became a target for artillery fire—wasn't that all bad? He couldn't even imagine what 'good memories' Tosa could inherit.

The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier, and Zhou He and the other two were forced to go into the command post. Zhou He wanted to go and talk to Tosa, but halfway there he suddenly remembered that Kursk might still be in the forest in such heavy rain. He quickly started a video call through the dock.

The video call unfolded, revealing a surprisingly clean room in the background, where Kursk was conducting self-training. During the second video call, Kursk acted naturally, stopping his workout and sitting on the floor to wipe the sweat from his brow with a towel: "Commander, is there anything I can help you with?"

Kursk remained calm, but Zhou He was a little unsettled. Kursk was wearing a gray sports bra, and his well-trained yet flexible body made Zhou He unsure where to look. He could only force himself to remain calm and say, "It's raining. Let me see where you are."

"Thank you for your trouble, Commander."

Kursk glanced at the heavy rain outside the window: "The weather isn't suitable for going into the forest today."

"Well, see you later."

After exchanging a few words, Zhou He smiled and cut off the video call. Then he took a deep breath and decided to use video calls less often at home; it was a bit too stimulating.

Chapter Twenty-Five: The more people there are, the bigger the headache.

The heavy rain was still falling outside, and the view through the door was a white expanse. After Zhou He cut off the video call, he searched for Tosa's whereabouts on the first floor and found her in the reception room. Surprisingly, Hermione was also there.

"Ah, Commander~ Would you like a cup of hot tea?"

Hermione had just poured a cup of tea for Tosa when she noticed Zhou He's arrival. She asked him this question, but she had already poured the tea and placed it on the table. It was called a reception room, but it was actually just a spacious room with two tables and four chairs on each side. Nowadays, many empty rooms in the command post were not in use, so any room with a few tables could be used as a reception room.

"Thank you."

Zhou He had come to test Tosa's intentions, and serving tea would make the conversation even more appropriate. So he nodded and sat down at the table, with a table and a chair between him and Tosa. The distance was just right to prevent Tosa from taking advantage of his almost broken body if he was unhappy.

"Give me... um, Yuudachi, do you think there will be a rainbow after the rain stops?"

Zuikaku also wanted to drink tea, but before she could say anything, Zhou He frowned and gave her a wink, instantly grabbing Yuudachi, who wanted to go inside with him. He led her to the front door of the command post to watch the rain. The innocent Yuudachi was naturally distracted. Rainbows were quite a romantic sight, and she exclaimed with anticipation, clenching her paws: "I heard that there's a high chance of a rainbow after the rain, there will be, right!"

"If the rain stops and a rainbow appears, how about we ask the commander for permission to go out and search for the Sirens?"

The topic shifted here, and Zuikaku started talking about the Sirens again. Defeating the Sirens had a chance of spawning ship girls, and there was a chance of bringing back Shoukaku. If she weren't following Zhou He's orders, she would have rushed out and fought the Sirens to the death long ago.

As it happened, Yuudachi was also a restless person. Upon hearing her words, he clapped his hands lightly in front of him and then prayed for the appearance of a rainbow after the rain.

While the two were plotting their schemes, Zhou He in the reception room was also pondering how to strike up a conversation with Tosa. It was Tosa who spoke first yesterday and the day before. Faced with such an unfathomable and aloof woman, he really didn't know how to start a conversation. He could only pretend to blow on his teacup while glancing at Tosa out of the corner of his eye from time to time.

Zhou He thought he had hidden it well, but in reality, his actions were extremely obvious and full of loopholes. Tosa didn't notice or realize it for the time being, but Hermione did. After a moment's thought, she walked over to Tosa and, under the guise of refilling her tea, casually asked, "Miss Tosa, is something bothering you today?"

"Nice!"

Although he didn't understand Hermione's motives, Zhou He mentally clenched his fist and pricked up his ears, waiting for Tosa's answer.

"trouble?"