Revisit Azur Lane

Zhou He planned to have Zuikaku go map exploration tomorrow, but he was worried that she would accumulate fatigue. This is not like playing a game where you can launch a hundred or eighty sorties a day without any problem. Managing the physical condition of the ship girls is also something he, as the logistics minister, should do.

"Just ask her directly."

After thinking for a moment, he switched the system interface, found Zuikaku in the cabin, and turned on the video. What came into view was a very spacious, bright, and steamy place, with Zuikaku half-submerged in the water. As the saying goes, "a mountain range looks different from different angles," and Zhou He cut off the video the moment he realized what was happening. Then he covered his head and slammed his head on the desk.

I just decided this morning to use the video function less when I'm at home, how come I forgot in the blink of an eye?

Zuikaku, doesn't she know that taking a bath right after eating is bad for her health? Ah, today Zuikaku came back from her mission and went to the kitchen to chat with him instead of taking a nap.

"Excuse me, Commander, what's wrong?"

A knocking sound rang out, and Zhou He turned his head to see the maid strolling over. He inadvertently compared the size of Zuikaku and Hermione, and after realizing what had happened, he banged his head on the table repeatedly. Once he came to his senses, he looked at Hermione, who was standing with her hands raised and seemed a little lost, with a bright red forehead: "It's nothing, I just had some things I didn't understand."

"Instead of that, I'd like to ask Hermione, what are your thoughts on continuous attacks?"

Taking a deep breath, Zhou He put his hand to his forehead and asked, "Zuihe has already launched an attack today. If I arrange another attack mission tomorrow or the day after, wouldn't that be too frequent?"

"Oh, Miss Zuikaku, you should be alright, right?"

Hermione paused for a moment, thought for a moment, and then shrugged and replied, "The Commander should know that deploying our ship equipment consumes physical energy, but in actual combat, the physical energy consumed varies depending on the mission. For example, every time Miss Yuudachi is deployed, she is tasked with attracting the Sirens' attention, which requires her to maintain constant high-speed movement, consuming a lot of physical energy. She is always very hungry when she returns."

"Is that what happened?"

Zhou He exclaimed in surprise. He had thought that Xi Li was simply a glutton, but it turned out that she had been exercising too much.

Based on this calculation, the energy consumption for back-row ship girls, who require less physical activity, is actually less than that for front-row ship girls.

This is amazing.

"Yes, Miss Zuikaku is piloting an attack aircraft. Compared to physical strength, energy is consumed even faster... Miss Zuikaku is full of energy. As long as she gets a good rest at night, she should be able to launch multiple attacks during the day without any problem."

Hermione paused slightly, recalling Zuikaku's performance over the past few days, and said sincerely, "In fact, Miss Zuikaku would be even happier if the Commander arranged more sorties."

"Well, I see."

Zhou He actually had the same feeling, but unfortunately Ruihe was taking a bath, otherwise he would have asked her directly. He should go and confirm it later. But Ruihe probably didn't notice him spying, right?

Hopefully, nothing has been found.

It would be a lie to say he had no thoughts about all those beautiful ship girls in his crew, but ever since he and Tosa went out to cut down trees, those thoughts had faded. Compared to the color storm, he valued his own life more. There were no doctors or hospitals on the island, and if he were to be seriously injured, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Commander, commander?"

Seeing Zhou He suddenly lost in thought, Hermione called out softly to him but to no avail. She had no choice but to approach him and gently touch his shoulder with her finger, which finally brought Zhou He out of his reverie: "I'm listening. Hermione, just tell me what's on your mind."

"Yes, I just hope the commander won't push himself too hard."

Hermione looked at Zhou He with gentle eyes: "In the future, there will be more areas in the port that require the Commander's guidance, so the Commander should not pay too much attention to what others say. Just live at your own pace."

Zhou He opened his mouth, overwhelmed by the encouragement and comfort he had received today. Having lived a solitary life for half his life, he didn't know how to reciprocate to Ruihe-Hermione and the others. He could only nod with mixed feelings, "Thank you, I'll remember."

Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door. Zuikaku, who had just finished bathing and changed her clothes, with her hair still wet and hanging loosely behind her, appeared at the door and shouted before even entering, "Commander, did you contact me just now? Is there an order for an attack?"

"No."

Zhou He smiled slightly and answered very decisively with his eyes half-closed.

"Huh? Am I imagining things?"

Zuikaku scratched her head in confusion. She clearly felt the familiar gaze, but she was too comfortable in the bath to open her eyes immediately. Was it just a hallucination caused by being too relaxed?

"..."

Hermione, watching Zhou He's face change in an instant, and then looking at Zuikaku who had clearly just come out of the bathhouse, combined with Zhou He's strange behavior just now, instantly understood. She clapped her hands lightly and laughed, "By the way, actually, the Commander and I were just discussing whether Miss Zuikaku could launch consecutive sorties."

"So there really is a plan to launch an attack?"

Ruihe opened her eyes wide, took a step forward and stood in front of Zhou He, placing her hands on the table as she looked at him: "What's a series of attacks? I could fight the Sirens for three days and three nights without any problem!"

"That's an exaggeration. I just wanted to ask... I was wondering if you could go out and scout out the area around that Siren carrier fleet tomorrow."

The table wasn't big, and Zhou He could only smell the fragrance of shampoo wafting towards him. If he looked straight ahead, he would be facing Zuikaku's chest. He could only lean back and look up at the energetic Zuikaku: "I heard from Kursk that there is an island near the Siren carrier fleet with ruins on it. There might be some intelligence we need left inside."

"Architectural ruins? I see, reconnaissance, right? I'll go check it out right away, yes, I'll go check it out as soon as I get up tomorrow morning!"

Ruihe's eyes lit up. She had wanted to make a boast, but it was getting dark and she wouldn't be able to find anything at night, so she decisively changed her mind.

"Then please."

Seeing Ruihe's enthusiasm, Zhou Heyao went along with it: "But you also need to take care of yourself. You are an important... important part of our port area. I don't want you to overwork yourself, understand?"

I was going to talk about combat strength, but it didn't feel quite right, so I changed it.

"Don't worry, Commander, this little thing won't tire me out."

Ruihe smiled and confidently gave a thumbs up.

Having received a satisfactory reply, Ruihe left the office happily. Zhou He, now free of external issues, reached for the 'Port Area Construction' notebook and stopped at the page on hot spring construction:

Including the 6 Homestead Coins that haven't been claimed yet today, Zhou He already has 24 Homestead Coins. After purchasing the large hot spring pool for 15 coins, he still has 9 left. He needs about 3 to 4 coins to pave the road from the back gate of the command center to the reserved location of the hot spring, so he still has 5 Homestead Coins left for backup. If he includes tomorrow, he will have 11 Homestead Coins.

"Hmm, does Hermione have any plans for later?"

After doing some calculations, Zhou He decided that if it didn't rain tomorrow, he would go and dig up the road to pave it. However, he still felt quite unwell and wanted Hermione to massage him again.

"Follow the commander's orders."

Hermione had a charming smile on her face.

Before long, a howling sound came from the third floor of the command post. Kursk was startled and came out to check, thinking that some strange thing had run into his house.

……

"As expected, muscle soreness doesn't recover so easily."

Waking up in bed, Zhou He, clutching a blanket, turned to look at the snow-white ceiling. He got up, stretched his still-sore arms, and went into the bathroom. After finishing, he changed into a set of more comfortable casual clothes, stood by the window, and glanced at the sky. The sun wasn't shining brightly; it was likely to be a cloudy day.

As long as it doesn't rain, it'll be fine. Luckily, it rained yesterday and moistened the soil, so it will be much easier to cultivate today.

'First, pave the road, then access the hot springs, and finally lay the foundation according to the size of the hot spring pools.'

This was the plan I made before going to bed last night—Hermione gave him his second massage, and he still couldn't tell whether it hurt or felt good. Anyway, after taking a shower, he fell asleep immediately, and it had an excellent sleep-inducing effect.

How about we make this a regular relaxation activity from now on?

With his eyes half-closed, Zhou He went out and glanced at the office. After confirming that no one was there, he strode down to the first floor. The hall was still empty, but no longer deserted. Tosa-san seemed to have turned this place into a temporary dojo, wielding her katana with incredible speed, the flashes of silver light dazzling. Yuudachi sat on a small stool, holding several steaming hot buns in her hand.

"Good morning, Commander."

Hermione walked out of the kitchen as if she had timed it perfectly: "Breakfast is ready. Would you like to eat now, or wait a moment?"

"Now."

Zhou He glanced at Tosa. With the help of the giant fox's gorgeous appearance, his daily morning exercise turned into a magnificent sword dance, which was heroic, handsome and beautiful.

Perfect with a meal!

Today's breakfast consisted of seafood and meat buns made by Hermione herself, along with warm milk and some stir-fried vegetables—a very hearty meal.

"Is this kind of breakfast to Hu De's liking?"

Zhou He squatted by the kitchen doorway, eating and watching the Tosa 'dance'. He thought of Ms. Hood, who had joined the group yesterday. She gave him a strange feeling. Like Yuudachi, Hermione, and Zuikaku, these girls all had memories of the ship, but Hood was unbelievably mature. Although she didn't show it, her every move exuded an elegant aristocratic air. She was clearly deeply influenced by the memories of the 'Hood'.

Is there any reason for this difference?

He pondered silently in his heart.

"Yes, Ms. Hud praised the Donghuang cuisine inventions, saying that she had become interested in them during her tour and was finally able to taste them today."

Hermione helped carry the milk and described in great detail Hood's reactions during the meal.

"Did the imperial tour actually pass through Donghuang?"

Zhou He was somewhat surprised. When his aunt was active, Donghuang didn't seem to be on the list.

"Hmm, I don't know either. I probably heard it from sailors or diplomatic personnel who had served in Donghuang?"

Hermione thought for a moment: "After all, Ms. Hood has traveled all over the world, and her knowledge is far beyond that of ordinary people."

"possible."

Zhou He thought it made sense. After all, it was Aunt Hu De, an ancient figure whose active service in the fleet was longer than his entire life. What she said must be reasonable and well-founded.

Otherwise, would Auntie just ramble on about Donghuang for no reason?

Chapter Thirty: Mismatched Major

After a quick breakfast, Zhou He went into the first-floor warehouse to search, and finally came out carrying a hoe.

"Commander, have you rested enough?"

After a vigorous workout, Tosa only had a few beads of sweat on her forehead. Looking at Zhou He, who looked like he was about to do some heavy work, she sheathed her sword and spoke.

"That's about it. I'm pretty bored at home, so I'll find something to do."

Zhou He replied casually, turning around and leaning back: "I've paved the way to the hot springs, consider it exercise."

"Not bad."

Tosa nodded slightly, turned around and went into the kitchen to ask Hermione for breakfast. Yuudachi, who was squatting in the corner, blinked, got up and jogged to catch up with Zhou He.

Although it's called paving a road, what Zhou He actually does is dig the soil a little deeper and then cover it with the road from the Homestead Shop. Yesterday's rain moistened the land, and now when you step on it, the weeds stick to the ground and can't get up.

"Approximately how deep do we need to dig?"

Arriving at the back door, Zhou He looked down at the threshold, which was slightly higher than the ground: "The standard 25cm? But our port area isn't accessible by car, so lowering the standard to around 15cm would be fine."

15cm is roughly the depth of a hoe strike.

This was also a small experiment for him, to see if the roads provided by the Home Store had a fixed thickness or if they were filled according to the depth you dug. If they were higher than expected, he would try to add guardrails to both sides of the first road in the port area to make sure that they wouldn't protrude too much and affect the aesthetics.

With this in mind, Zhou He took a few steps with the hoe, turned around to face the back door, spread his feet apart, used his waist to lift the hoe, and used the downward momentum to drive the hoe into the soil. Then, he grabbed the stick and lifted it up, easily loosening a piece of soil.

Back in his hometown before he transmigrated, Zhou He would occasionally help with hoeing the fields. Although he didn't know how to grow vegetables, he was good at manual labor.

Once he got started, Zhou He began hoeing away, uncovering many small creatures hidden in the ground. The fresh, earthy smell gave him a wonderful sense of peace.

"It looks quite professional."

Tosa brought breakfast to the back door and gestured for Yuudachi, who was curiously watching the commotion, to move aside. He then sat down and watched Zhou He work.

Just like when Zhou He watched her wield the sword.