Revisit Azur Lane

"but."

Hood interjected, his gaze sweeping over everyone present: "To fight an aircraft carrier fleet when outnumbered, we must find other ways to overcome our disadvantage."

"Yes, Commander, you should already have a plan in mind, right?"

Tosa raised an eyebrow and directly threw the topic to Zhou He. Zhou He was caught off guard. He had never fought against the Sirens aircraft carriers before, so he could only bite the bullet and answer: "I plan to have Zuikaku observe the number and configuration of the Sirens aircraft carrier fleet as much as possible, and then find an opportunity to launch an attack to sink or cripple the enemy's aircraft carriers first, so as to ensure air superiority and then gradually devour the remaining fleet."

"Just like today's battle."

Zhou He added.

"Can it be done?"

Tosa thought of the ridiculously detailed enemy distribution map drawn by Zhou He. With that level of intelligence, she was confident that she could go and fight, no matter what the enemy was, whether it was an aircraft carrier or something else.

"Sure, it will take some time."

Zhou He didn't think much of it. He wasn't actually afraid of the suddenly discovered Siren carrier because he had Zuikaku. As long as the enemy dared to appear outside the fog, he could have Zuikaku launch a precise preemptive strike.

Most importantly, he can replenish Zuikaku with ammunition and aircraft at any time during wartime. This means that Zuikaku can launch an unlimited number of aircraft if it is determined. It may seem like there is only one aircraft carrier, but the situation is quite different when it comes to fighting.

The idea above came to him when he was bored and was replenishing Yuudachi's torpedoes. Since he could replenish Yuudachi's torpedoes, why couldn't he replenish Zuikaku's aircraft?

"?"

Hood had a poor experience listening to the two men's cryptic conversation.

Fortunately, Hermione explained it to her in a low voice, but this still amazed her. Zhou He was actually able to observe the enemy fleet's position and formation in real time.

Isn't this a natural-born battlefield commander?

If she had had someone to help her earlier, would she have knocked Bismarck down with a single punch?

……

"Kursk and Zuikaku will be back soon. Hermione, why don't you take Hood for a walk? I'll go prepare lunch."

After the meeting, Zhou He was so relaxed that even the soreness in his body became mild. He said a simple goodbye to the group and went to the dining area outside the kitchen. Sure enough, Xi Li was already lying on the table, tilting her head and drawing circles with her finger. There was an empty dessert plate next to her.

Seeing this, Zhou He couldn't help but scratch his head. He went into the kitchen and started fiddling around. A delicious aroma wafted out. Xi Li, who was lying down, sniffed it and immediately sat up and ran to the kitchen to peek inside. She saw Zhou He wearing an apron and flipping a wok. Inside were eggs, rice, and some diced meat and side dishes, which looked very appetizing.

After staring at her for about ten seconds, Yuudachi quietly slipped into the kitchen, poured herself a glass of water, and then ran out again. She pushed the empty plates off the table and sat down, eagerly waiting. This caused Zhou He to turn around and see the radiant Yuudachi, who was so adorable that he couldn't help but smile.

"Fill your stomach first, then we'll prepare the main meal right away."

Zhou He placed the large plate of fried rice in front of Xi Li and smiled as he ruffled her hair, which felt wonderful to the touch.

"Commander, you've worked hard!"

Yuudachi squinted and rubbed against Zhou He's palm. Her words made Zhou He touch her a little longer. He now completely understood why the system had given him Yuudachi as his initial ship—this adorable dog was so healing just to look at.

Destroyer sisters and light cruiser ladies are still the best. If you want to get along with higher-class models, you have to use your brain and squeeze out his not-so-bright brain.

"Attack the aircraft carrier."

Releasing Yuudachi, Zhou He walked unsteadily into the kitchen. While preparing ingredients, he opened the system interface to check the missions. The mission was to defeat a 'battleship or carrier' and the reward was a Rubik's Cube.

This sortie mission didn't feel like a daily mission to him; it felt more like a beginner's guide mission. This made him very curious: after defeating the battleship and the carrier, what sortie mission would the system assign him next? Would it be to defeat the 'experimenter' or the elite monster known as the flag?

"Fighting elite monsters is acceptable, but fighting test subjects is not."

Zhou He muttered to himself, and after switching to the attack map to confirm that Kursk and Zuikaku had returned safely, he focused his attention on the newly opened sea area: ninety percent of the area was shrouded in clouds and fog, with only a triangular blank area at the very edge, where no sirens passed by.

"Where exactly did the system send me? There must be other humans in this world, right?"

Zhou He, who had fabricated his origins, was a little uneasy. The system's attack map expanded outward from the command center, with only divided areas outside and no special markings for the ocean or land. Looking at it once or twice was fine, but after looking at it for a while, he couldn't help but mentally calculate the actual distances, and he started to panic.

What if the world had no land and only oceans and islands?

The more he thought about it, the faster he worked. In no time, he had prepared the ingredients for the meal. After finishing, he patted his cheeks to clear his head, picked up the utensils, and started cooking.

Outside the command post, two figures arrived at the shore from afar.

"Huh? Where's the commander?"

Stepping lightly across the tide, Ruihe leaped onto the beach. She looked out at the command post gate. Zhou He would usually come out to greet them, but he was absent this time. Could it be because she complained last time that Zhou He was too idle?

"..."

Kursk glanced at her, then quickly returned to the command post without lingering.

The hall remained empty, but the sounds coming from the kitchen were quite loud. Kursk strode over and saw Yuudachi gracefully tasting fried rice with a spoon. Just one glance was enough to make Yuudachi choke, and she pounded her chest and gulped down a mouthful of water before she could swallow.

Hello! Welcome back.

Yuudachi was deeply impressed by Kursk. She was frightened when they first met and still feels a little scared now, but she bravely greeted him.

"Hello."

Kursk nodded in response and walked into the kitchen without stopping: "Commander."

"Hmm? Thanks for your hard work on the reconnaissance. I've already considered the matter of the Siren carrier fleet. Do you have anything to add?"

Zhou He glanced at the stove, turned it down, wiped his hands with his apron, and then asked.

"The second seaplane spotted strange buildings on the island as it approached."

Kursk cut to the chase: "It looks like ruins."

"Architectural ruins?"

Zhou He's gaze shifted, and he made up his mind: "I understand. Shall we have dinner together later?"

"No need, just do it as usual."

Kursk's answer was straightforward. After saying that, he turned around and said, "I'm going to rest. Contact me again if you need anything."

"..."

Zhou He watched Kursk leave. He held the opposite view to Hermione: Kursk could usually go on a solo mission, but his lack of interaction with others in the port was a big problem.

While it's cool that there are people who only obey your orders, Kursk doesn't establish any diplomatic relations with other ship girls...

"Hopefully, the situation will improve once other Northern Alliance ship girls are built in the future."

Shaking his head slightly, Zhou He decided to support Kursk's chosen lifestyle and turned back to continue stir-frying the vegetables.

Outside, Zuikaku arrived as well. She brushed past Kursk who had left and came to the kitchen, but instead of chatting with Zhou He, she sat opposite Yuudachi and watched her with a smile.

"...Do you want some too?"

Yuudachi wasn't possessive of her food. She glanced at Zuikaku and pushed the fried rice in front of her toward Zuikaku.

"You're still the best to me, Yuudachi."

Zuikaku, of course, wouldn't compete with Yuudachi for food. She smiled and pushed the fried rice back to Yuudachi, pointing to the kitchen with her thumb: "Your returning commander is at the beach, right?"

"Hmm."

Yuudachi blinked: "The Commander is always here every time I come back."

"Humph~"

Zuikaku inexplicably felt she had been cheated, so she stood up and went into the kitchen: "Commander~ I'm hungry too, is there anything good to eat?"

"Wait ten more minutes, the rice will be cooked soon."

The head chef turned and glanced at her, smiling. "You've worked hard. Have the sirens been scouting this way?"

"Yes, I lured them away."

Zuikaku stepped forward and half-lay on the table in the middle of the kitchen: "Should we kill them?"

"Of course, we'll see how you perform then."

Zhou He plated the stir-fried dishes, placed them in a thermos, and turned to give Ruihe a thumbs up: "Our port's most elite aircraft carrier lady."

"is it?"

Zuikaku raised an eyebrow and confidently gave himself a thumbs-up: "I don't care what's on the other side, leave it to me!"

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Not Very Smart

Although it was called lunch, it was actually almost 3 p.m. when they actually ate. Zhou He noticed that whenever his ship girls were deployed, their meal times were very unpredictable.

Even when he was a shut-in before he transmigrated, he wasn't this unstable. Once the port develops to a certain extent, shouldn't he come up with a way to provide food all day long?

"Hey~ So the commander is just like us, no, he's even worse off than us."

At the dinner table, Miss Tosa inadvertently let slip Zhou He's background to Zuikaku. Zuikaku was quite interested in this and looked Zhou He up and down, who was eating his rice properly with his bowl in hand, and made a teasing sound.

"It's not exactly miserable. I'm actually much more comfortable here than before I came here."

As Zhou He ate the perfectly cooked, slightly sweet rice, he casually replied, "Without all the messy worries and problems, as long as you're willing to work, you'll have food to eat. As long as we take down the Sirens, life will get better and better... What kind of looks are those?"

"Commander, you've worked hard."

Ruihe stood up and patted Zhou He's shoulder with a gentle expression that was completely out of character for her, which made Zhou He's skin crawl. Before he transmigrated, he had no worries about food and clothing, but his life was not very promising. He didn't deserve such pity.

"The more something is kept to oneself, the more freely one can speak it out."

Tosa glanced at him, realizing he hadn't noticed any troubles Zhou He might have had before, but it turned out they were all hidden away: "Since you have no attachment to the past, just work here honestly. The port is counting on you to develop it."

After she finished, she added, "Remember to plan more attacks. There are only so few people in the port area. How can we fight the Sirens?"

"Yes Yes."

Zhou He had become accustomed to Tosa's blunt way of speaking and responded helplessly.

Yuudachi, who was standing next to him, looked around and felt that she should do something, so she stood up and put a large piece of braised pork on Zhou He's plate: "Commander, eat more!"

"Thank you, Yuudachi."

Seeing Yuudachi's adorable and goofy appearance, Zhou He smiled and patted his head, and Yuudachi laughed along with him.

Compared to the three who were more proactive, Hood and Hermione simply watched Zhou He being 'taken care of' with quiet reticence, their thoughts completely unfathomable to outsiders.

After the meal, Zhou He wanted to go for a walk, but the water on the grass hadn't receded, and his trousers would get wet if he went out. So he could only wander around the command post. Finally, he returned to his office, took out his notebook, and added a few more strokes to it.

"The next plan is still to first run the map and scout out the enemy's situation."

After putting away his laptop, Zhou He checked the system map as usual. He couldn't see a single Siren within a radius of ninety nautical miles, and he couldn't see anything further away either. Fortunately, Kursk had activated a piece of the outer map today, so he could send Ruihe to run planes to explore the map.

"Since Zuikaku and the others are so warlike, they should be able to launch continuous attacks, right?"