Revisit Azur Lane

Meanwhile, in the bay directly in front of the command post, Hood stepped onto the damp sand and observed the terrain of the chosen port site, quite surprised: "This place is really great."

……

Zhou He overestimated his physical abilities, or rather, underestimated the "Poaching the Land" project. The paths in the homestead system are 1.5 meters wide, which seems like a short distance, but in reality, you'll find it difficult once you start working.

After mentally calculating ten meters, he stood with his hoe on his back, his lower back stiff and about to burst, and his arms and hands ached and he couldn't exert any strength.

"That should be about right. Now we just need to move the soil away."

Seeing the three people in front of him pointing and gesturing at the little thing in the soil, seemingly finding it quite novel, Zhou He smirked and asked, "Is it ten meters yet?"

"Ok?"

Hermione glanced sideways, but Tosa was quicker, pointing and giving his answer: "Just dig up the spot where you're standing, that'll be enough."

"real or fake."

Zhou He glanced at it, gritted his teeth and worked for a few more minutes. When he finished, he said to the three of them, "There are carts in the warehouse. Can any of you help me push them over? There are also shovels."

"Yes! I'll go!"

Yuudachi excitedly raised his hand, turned around and ran into the command post. Hermione thought for a moment and followed. Tosa looked at Zhou He and their eyes met. The latter smiled and said, "I'd like to trouble you, Tosa, to find a place where we can put the soil. This soil may come in handy later."

For example, building vegetable gardens or mud stoves.

"Starting to use honorifics again?"

Tosa walked a few steps toward Zhou He, shook his head at Zhou He's awkward smile, turned around and circled around a few times. He noticed several forcibly left markings near the command building, knowing that this might be the route for future development. So he walked a little further away and found an angle on an uphill slope. When he turned back, Hermione had already started shoveling soil into the cart, while Yuudachi was massaging Zhou He's back as he stood up.

"So, what about the paving materials?"

She didn't mind Zhou He slacking off. Humans' physical abilities couldn't compare to those of ship girls in any way, and it was clear that Zhou He couldn't even lift his arms anymore.

"No, oh, I mean I have another way of paving the road."

Zhou He answered on the spot, his mind going blank for a second before he quickly added, a smile that seemed both proud and expectant on his face: "I will definitely surprise you."

"A boring trick."

Tosa snorted and turned to help Hermione, giving Zhou He a chance to steal a moment to focus on the system interface and check Zuikaku's reconnaissance results. He was shocked by what he saw.

Yesterday's shrouded new section has been 70% explored, and the open areas now show the Sirens' fleet insignia: destroyers, light cruisers, heavy cruisers, as well as battleships, aircraft carriers, and submarines that were not previously seen. Without further categorization, it is almost a full complement of ship types.

There were many different kinds of ships, and their numbers were also surprisingly large. When they were grouped together in twos and threes, there were nearly thirty ships. If you include the foggy areas that had not yet been explored, there were probably as many as forty ships.

"With this many, a direct assault won't work. Should we lure them down one by one?"

Zhou He's brows, already furrowed due to his physical discomfort, furrowed even more. The map showed islands, but only one corner was visible; the rest was shrouded in fog. The Siren carrier strike group was located here, the largest Siren fleet. It seemed that Zuikaku had also determined that it was impossible to approach.

However, while ordinary Siren fleets drift and patrol aimlessly, this carrier fleet has been lingering near the island. Could it be that the ruins on that island have some special significance?

He still remembered Mission 3 on the mission interface: explore and capture the Siren base, with the reward being materials used to activate the research ship.

Speaking of research ships, he discovered in the battles of the past few days that the condition for defeating a hundred identical sirens is actually the simplest one in scientific research. The rest requires blueprints, ship equipment parts, and ten Rubik's Cubes!

Ten Rubik's Cubes—what does that even mean? He can only get Rubik's Cubes from sortie missions now, and the conditions are extremely harsh. This alone is enough to extinguish any hope he has of the research vessel.

"babble--"

Suddenly, Yuudachi changed from patting his back to massaging his waist, which made Zhou He shiver. The strange sounds he made made Yuudachi chuckle behind him, and even Tosa and Hermione gave him strange looks.

"Ahem, Yuudachi, stop massaging for a bit and take a break."

Zhou He covered Yuudachi's hand on his waist with his own, but Yuudachi turned it around and held both of his hands in hers. Moving from behind to the side, Yuudachi held Zhou He's hands and stared at them intently as she stroked them. Despite the roughness of his hands, they made her feel safe and warm.

She looked up at the bewildered Zhou He: "Commander, do you know magic!?"

"No, uh, I should know a little."

Zhou He was puzzled, but considering the functions the system provided to him, they must be like magic to others.

Anyway, Azur Lane is jokingly called the "magic lane," so it's normal for him to have some magic skills.

"Oh! I knew it!"

Yuudachi was pleased that his guess was correct. He placed Zhou He's hand on his head and squinted his eyes, thoroughly enjoying himself.

"..."

Zhou He thought he understood Yuudachi very well, but now it seems he's still far from understanding girls' thoughts. In any case, he'll just pretend to be calm for now.

Just as he was patting his head, Tosa had already emptied two carts of dirt, leaving two tire tracks on the grass. He turned back to look at the smiling Zhou He and Yuudachi, frowned, and didn't know what to say.

Hermione is not only good at housework, but also quite professional in physical labor. She shoveled several cartloads of soil without getting her maid outfit dirty. After shoveling the mud away from Zhou He's feet, Hermione stepped aside and asked, "Commander, the soil has been removed. What should we do next?"

"Ah."

Zhou He switched the system to the Homestead Shop, selected the cement road surface he had found earlier, and spent 1 Homestead Coin to purchase it (23 remaining). Then, he selected Preview in the warehouse, and instantly a huge, straight phantom road appeared in his vision. This phantom would move as his gaze changed. After trying it out for a while, he understood how to use it. After canceling the preview, he nodded to Hermione and the other: "Let's go a little further away."

The two were very obedient and followed Zhou He back several steps. Tosa, who was pushing the cart and turning around, also looked over.

Preview, locate, confirm.

In one fluid motion, Zhou He raised his hand and stretched it out as if to cooperate. Dense, bright but not dazzling blue light appeared in the pit in front of him. A standard cement road solidified from in front of Zhou He and spread throughout the pit. In less than ten seconds, the muddy pit was covered by a solid and clean road, slightly higher than the grass on both sides, just right. If it rained, the water would flow down the road and into the grass on both sides.

"Wow, that's amazing! Commander is so incredible!"

Yuudachi's eyes widened instantly, and she stepped forward, jumping and running back and forth on the gray pavement. The sheer solidity of the surface made her gasp in surprise.

"As expected of a commander."

Hermione was much calmer. From the moment she met Zhou He, she was prepared to accept everything he had to offer. It was just building a road, a small matter.

"low profile."

Zhou He withdrew his hand, glanced furtively in Tosa's direction, and found that the latter was not too surprised, which made him a little disappointed.

This small movement was caught by Tosa. As a swordswoman (?), she had excellent dynamic vision. She noticed Zhou He's slight head tilt. She suppressed her initial surprise. This was the benefit of keeping a cold face for a long time. Even if you are very surprised, it will not show on your face because of the delay.

……

With roads in the real sense, the entire port area seemed to come alive. Yuudachi, who had been unable to go out because of the rain, unleashed his playful nature on the road. The sun, which had been hidden by the clouds, also peeked out. Exhausted, Zhou He lay peacefully on the chaise lounge that Hermione had brought out and basked in the sun.

He's already exceeded his workload for today, and he plans to pave the rest of the road later.

"So everyone was here all along."

After visiting and inspecting the bay, Hood returned and heard a commotion outside the back door. He went over and saw the only road in the harbor area. His eyes lit up: "This place is quite nice too. I'd like to hold a tea party here today. Would you like to join us?"

"tea party?"

This term was unfamiliar to Zhou He and the others. Tosa, who was wiping and maintaining his sword, tilted the blade to check for any oversights in the sunlight and casually replied, "Is this a new operations meeting?"

"Any sortie missions?"

Yuudachi immediately understood and moved closer to Zhou He to ask.

"No, don't you know? A tea party is that, right? It's a royal gathering where people drink tea and eat snacks."

Zhou He half-opened his eyes. The little customs of the royal aristocracy should be common knowledge. It seems that his own ship girls are not familiar with the common sense of those outside their own faction.

"Then I want to participate!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Yuudachi chose to eat some snacks, while Tosa lost interest in them, stood up, swung his sword twice, and then, as if finding his rhythm, sheathed it and looked at Zhou He: "Is there no sortie order today?"

"We haven't found out the situation with Zuikaku yet, and there are no new Sirens approaching near the command post... If you're feeling bored, why don't you and Yuudachi go take a look further south? I'll have Zuikaku do some scouting for you."

With his mind completely relaxed, Zhou He's thinking also became more relaxed: "Go early and come back early, and we can still make it to lunch and tea party."

"Reconnaissance? Let's go."

Tosa closed and opened his eyes, completing the emotional switch, and walked away. Yuudachi greeted Zhou He and cheerfully chased after him.

"They actually sent battleships out to conduct reconnaissance."

Watching the two depart, Hu De walked to Zhou He's side, looking up at the distant forest and mountains: "Could it be that the commander's search range is not just 90 nautical miles?"

"I will be able to locate the enemy wherever you go."

Facing the older generation of Hu De, Zhou He sat up and gave a serious answer: "Moreover, it was not I who commanded Tosa and the others to attack, but rather they who wanted to attack. I was just using the information I had to help them determine whether or not to attack."

"Yes, I was rude."

Hu De smiled slightly, about to say something, when he heard Zhou He continue, "Hu De, you mentioned holding a tea party, so you must know a lot of dessert recipes, right? Could you tell me some? I'd like to learn how to make desserts too."

"..."

Even the composed Ms. Hu De had a hint of panic in her eyes at this moment. She had just blurted out because she found a good place, and it was only when Zhou He asked her that she realized she didn't seem to know how to make desserts.

"Commander, the hot water is ready. You sweated a lot during your exercise, so I think it would be good for you to take a shower."

Hermione's voice approached from afar, temporarily relieving Hood's crisis. She naturally chimed in, "Hermione is right. Commander, your health management is extremely important. Please take it seriously."

"Ah, I see."

Hearing Hu Dedu say that, Zhou He mumbled a couple of "ah-ba-ah-ba" sounds on the chair, then obediently got up to take a shower.

"Phew, please wait a moment."

After seeing Zhou He off, Hu De breathed a sigh of relief and called out to Hermione, who was about to leave, "Hermione, do you know how to make the desserts for the tea party?"

"A tea party? I remember some of it. Should we start preparing now?"

Hermione paused slightly, then asked politely.

"No need, you can go ahead and do your work."

Hood saw Hermione off with a gentle smile.

Chapter Thirty-One: Slow Progress

"Hermione, don't scare me like that again."

After taking a bath, Zhou He, feeling his fatigue disappear, walked out of the bathhouse and looked at Hermione, who was sitting obediently by the door waiting. His eyes were full of helplessness.

He usually showers in his own room, but today Hermione had prepared water for the bathhouse on the first floor. He figured the rest of the family wouldn't be coming in to rest, so he wanted to soak for a while and enjoy himself. But as soon as he took off his clothes, Hermione followed him in, almost petrifying him. He hurriedly chased her out.

"Yes."

Hermione's delicate face showed a hint of grievance and disappointment.

She felt that helping with bathing was part of a maid's job, but she missed the opportunity a few days ago. Today, she was ready to show off her skills, but Zhou He kicked her out, which was a great pity.