Revisit Azur Lane

Cleveland followed for a few steps and frankly expressed her doubts. Then she noticed that Zhou He's expression had become somewhat strange. She looked down at the road surface that ended at the entrance and had a somewhat immature guess in her mind: "Could it be, Commander, that this is an illegal port area that has not been assigned a number?"

"That's a novel way of putting it. You could think of it that way too. We're far from the mainland, surrounded by sirens, and we have no way to contact the outside world. We have to rely on ourselves for everything."

Zhou He stroked his chin. The White Eagle during World War II was still reliable. Cleveland actually cared about construction and discipline. But he was just telling the truth. In fact, he couldn't help but grin because what he said was so outrageous. At the same time, he looked at Cleveland and extended his right hand again: "Do you feel like you've been tricked? It's not too late to change your mind now."

"What a reckless guy."

Cleveland walked over and shook Zhou He's hand again, winking as they looked at each other: "I don't care if it's a pirate ship or not. Now that I'm here, Commander, don't even think about kicking me out."

"Haha, welcome to the team."

Zhou He was also in high spirits, acting like a ruthless outlaw. However, he quickly snapped out of his joy at "reuniting" with Cleveland and, while showing Cleveland around the command center, gave instructions to Yuudachi and Kursk outside: "Activate the remaining two unactivated sea areas."

In this way, with just a little exploration and suppression, his observation range will be extended from 90 nautical miles to 150 nautical miles. Even a destroyer would have to run for four hours to reach the area around the port from outside the circle, greatly improving safety.

"Commander, is everyone else out on a mission?"

There were about ten rooms on the second floor of the command post. Cleveland found a room that she liked from the remaining few and asked Zhou He about it curiously as they went downstairs.

"Pretty much. They just finished a fight with the Sirens and are on their way back. You'll see them in a bit."

Zhou He gave a brief explanation, while quietly reminding Cleveland that she was currently the only White Eagle ship in the port area. Cleveland herself didn't seem to care: she had simply inherited Cleveland's memories, and no one stipulated that she could only communicate with White Eagle ships.

After chatting with Cleveland for a while, Zhou He returned to the kitchen and took out the large fish left over from the initial fishing. He also bought 1 Home Coin worth of ribs from the system store and then collected his daily Home Coins, which increased to 34 Home Coins.

"We've gradually become wealthier."

Zhou He was in an extremely good mood. He found an iron pot for making soup, put it on the stove, and started simmering bone broth after a big meal. He also chopped up the other ingredients and put them in the refrigerator. Humming a little tune, he carried the pot out of the command post and started looking for white seashells and big crabs lying on the beach.

"..."

Cleveland decorated his room, hung his nameplate on the door, and went downstairs to look for Zhou He. After searching for a while, he finally found Zhou He on the beach, playing happily like a child. The weight of the sand in the bucket far exceeded the weight of the food he had collected.

Is there anything I can do to help?

Cleveland, who could tell that Zhou He was looking for ingredients, squatted down next to him and found it interesting to watch him skillfully dig in the sand. She was eager to try it herself.

"Um…"

Zhou He dug out a clam the size of an egg and threw it into the bucket. He then looked at the huge stone wall at the edge of the bay, which had been washed by the sea, and handed the bucket to Cleveland, pointing in that direction. He said, "Go and see if there are any long, blue strips or shell-like creatures attached to the water near those stone walls. I think they're called mussels or blue mussels. I don't know if you know them."

After describing it briefly, Zhou He drew the approximate shape of mussels on the sand with his finger, indicating that they seemed to be in strings, and asked Cleveland to go and look for them.

"I see!"

Cleveland stood up with the bucket in hand, and after a few steps, he stepped onto the water, unfolded his ship equipment, and quickly approached Zhou He's designated area.

'Indeed, the vehicle you take when traveling is very important.'

Zhou He saw this and knew that even if it was just an ordinary fishing boat, he could go out to sea and cast his nets to catch fish. His family lived in the bay alone, and he could only catch fish once or twice a month, which was far more than he could eat.

"Speaking of which, Zuikaku promised to tow a destroyer back for me, it should be today..."

He glanced at the map and thought, "Good heavens, Zuikaku, which hadn't even made it to the front lines, is almost home. The destroyer thing is probably hopeless again."

However, this is all up to fate. If it comes, it comes; if not, we can manage. Exploring the island's resources might be a quicker way to make progress than going out to sea to fish. And the hot springs need to be put on the agenda.

"I'm so busy! I have to fight Sirens, develop, and explore. Can the system sell me some Manju? I really can't bring myself to just order girls around!"

These tedious things are better left untouched; just thinking about them makes Zhou He unable to hold back. He clearly has a system, which is considered to be 'activated,' but in reality, he is equivalent to not having it activated. He is just an ordinary person, let alone fantasizing about having a silver party. He has to fall asleep as soon as he does a little work.

However, the system completely ignored Zhou He's wails. Instead, Cleveland, who had run to a distance, seemed to have noticed something and waved in this direction. Zhou He quickly waved back to indicate that he had seen her, and then selected Cleveland from the dock to activate the video function. The girl in the distance instantly appeared in front of him.

"Whoa! Commander, how did you do that?"

Cleveland, who was watching Zhou He, noticed the video screen appearing almost immediately. She looked at Zhou He, who seemed a bit off, with surprise: "Commander, are you alright? Did you get pinched by a crab?"

"I wouldn't make such a basic mistake. How's it going on your end? Did you find it?"

Zhou He raised his hands to prove he hadn't been hurt by the crab, then glanced down at Cleveland. Cleveland exclaimed, then used the protruding metal support of the ship's foot to poke and flick the water. He turned slightly, grabbed a string of densely packed black mussels from the air with his left hand, and waved them in front of the video: "Is this what the Commander is talking about? Are they really edible? They're everywhere here."

"It's edible, and it tastes pretty good."

Zhou He's eyes widened slightly. Cleveland's ship equipment wasn't particularly heavy, but it certainly wasn't small either. He never imagined that a ship girl with her ship equipment deployed could perform such delicate movements.

“Then take some back. Oh, right, there’s another kind of shell here, which also attaches to rocks, but they’re all single ones. Commander, take a look.”

Cleveland used the same trick again, grabbing a few strings of mussels and putting them in the bucket. He then guided Zhou He to look at the large oysters clinging to the rocks. The latter grinned and said, "Let's leave these for now. We'll have the destroyers harvest some later when we have the chance."

Although it's just a rumor, Zhou He has absolutely no desire to taste any food that can enhance his abilities. Putting aside the effects, he's just afraid that eating it will make him overthink things. Besides, he now has a whole host of animals at home, including a beast-eared sister, an obedient maid, and an older woman. Although no one is deliberately giving him any perks, he read quite a few ship girl doujinshi before he transmigrated—saying more would be a bit bad for his health.

"It would be good as reserve food."

Cleveland thought about it and agreed, so he asked Zhou He if there was anything else he wanted to collect. However, Zhou He himself was not a long-time resident of the coast, and he only knew about beachcombing and finding mussels by watching videos. He did want to get some seaweed to try, but he didn't know where to get it, and he hadn't seen any washed ashore, which was a great pity.

"Then I'll head back, okay?"

As Cleveland turned to leave, he suddenly noticed a strange reaction on the radar. He adjusted his direction and looked out of the bay, where he saw Zuikaku heading straight for the port. He turned to Zhou He and asked, "Is that someone from our port?"

"Yes, that's Zuikaku from the Sakura Empire, you should know it, right?"

Zhou He had just checked; Ruihe was the closest to home, so there wouldn't be anyone else.

"Of course! The guy who clashed with Enterprise several times was one of the few formidable opponents in Sakura Empire at the time."

I didn't know who he was just by looking at him; I recognized him instantly when I heard his name. He answered with a smile.

"I really don't know if Zuikaku is happy or unhappy to hear this evaluation. Speaking of which, if Cleveland saw the ship girl who was your enemy in your memory right now, what would you think?"

Zhou He retorted with a sarcastic question. Based on the settings and responses he got from Yuudachi and Hermione, his ship girls didn't seem to have inherited the hatred of the old era, but such things couldn't be 100% certain.

"Yes, I'll go and catch up with them."

Cleveland thought for a moment, then winked at Zhou He: "This is a rare opportunity, it would be a shame to talk about fighting and killing again."

"I think this is a good thing."

Zhou He switched perspectives and saw Hood and Bismarck not far apart on the map. He really hoped that the two of them could also catch up peacefully.

Although there doesn't seem to be much to say about it.

Chapter Thirty-Eight User Manual

"We have fulfilled our mission and returned victorious!"

As Ruihe approached the beach from afar, she quickly came to Zhou He's side. The confidence and pride she exuded when she spoke were almost dazzling.

Opposite her was Zhou He, who was holding a small shovel. Looking at Ruihe, who didn't seem to have just returned from a fight, he smiled and nodded, saying, "Ruihe, I've seen your performance this time. It exceeded my expectations. You're remarkable."

"right!"

After being praised by Zhou He, Ruihe's smile became even brighter. She nodded to Cleveland, who was standing not far away, stepped forward, hooked her arm around Zhou He's neck, turned her back to him, and lowered her voice: "Commander, didn't you say you had no more construction resources? What's the deal with that handsome newcomer? Don't tell me you found her while digging for crabs."

"So, didn't you go out and destroy the Sirens' fleet?"

Zhou He's eyes were somewhat unfocused. He finally managed to gather his attention but didn't know how to explain the system's void creation. After thinking for a moment, he said, "You can think of me as a military base. As long as you defeat the enemy, I can obtain additional supplies from them. That's how the construction materials came about this time."

"Who understands what you're saying?"

Ruihe couldn't help but complain, but the facts were right in front of her. Zhou He always made preparations before letting them attack. If it could increase their combat strength, he certainly wouldn't hide it. But comparing him to a mobile military base was a bit... well, it didn't seem like a bad thing.

Warships like theirs require supplies and maintenance to be completed in naval ports, but Zhou He can do it easily. He can also build new ships and prepare roads that require engineering teams.

They were born as ship girls, so why can't Zhouhe exist as a mobile naval port?

"hiss."

Thinking about it, Zuikaku suddenly understood, but she didn't show it. Instead, she glanced at Zhou He and asked, "So now you're not building any resources again?"

"Gone."

Zhou He's answer was very certain: "Not a single one left."

"Then when we launch another attack against the Sirens, will you be able to 'collect' the building resources?"

Ruihe continued to ask, and Zhou He nodded honestly: "If you can tow the ship back for me, I should be able to dismantle it into different resource reserves."

"what."

Upon hearing this, Ruihe remembered the incident, her expression turning awkward. She released Zhou He's grip and reached out to straighten his collar, saying earnestly, "I'll definitely do it next time!"

"...I hope so."

Zhou He had already concluded that Zuikaku's talents were mostly consumed by his combat prowess, and relying on him to tow the ship back was a mistake. He should have entrusted this task to someone more capable of using their brain, such as Hood or Bismarck, who had just joined the port.

Hermione, Tosa, and Cleveland should also be fine.

"..."

Zhou He patted Ruihe on the shoulder and sighed, "Keep it up."

"??"

Zuikaku felt as if she was being slighted, but Zhou He didn't give her a chance to retaliate. Instead, he turned around and introduced Cleveland to her. After the two got to know each other, he continued, "You should have noticed that two new ships appeared after the annihilation of the Sirens. They are Ironblood's Z23 and Bismarck."

"Ah, um? Bismarck? Is that the one I know?"

Zuikaku was recalling matters related to the White Eagles when she heard Zhou He's words. It took her a few seconds to react, drawing curious glances from Cleveland beside her. Zhou He did not disappoint her, nodding and saying, "It's Bismarck. She has already joined up with Hood."

"Ugh."

Zuikaku wore an indescribable expression. In her memory, she had at least fought a few rounds with the elite fleet of the White Eagles and parted ways amicably. In comparison, the encounter between Hood and Bismarck was nothing short of a disaster.

Now, it's the same. The two sides suddenly meet and talk without knowing each other, and then... It's too hellish. She doesn't even want to think about how Hood is feeling right now.

Cleveland, who was standing nearby, understood why Zhou He had asked the question earlier and couldn't help but speak up: "Commander, my answer just now was only for my personal experience. Instead of chatting, shouldn't you be more concerned about the situation at sea?"

"To be honest, I don't know how to deal with it either."

Zhou He brandished the shovel in his hand. In the game, Hood was quite magnanimous about that defeat, but that was only because of the game's setting. His own Hood was visibly affected by Royal Glory. Now, facing Bismarck, who had ended the legend of Royal Glory, he couldn't say whether he could still be magnanimous.

Even so, he would still try his best to win them over. He smiled at the two of them and said, "The one who tied the knot must untie it. In any case, let's observe the situation first. There aren't many fish left in the refrigerator. Ruihe, why don't you take Cleveland and make another trip?"

"Commander, you are inexplicably calm."

Faced with Zhou He's candor, Ruihe suddenly felt that there was nothing wrong with Hu De and Zhou He meeting, but: "But is it really appropriate to let a great hero who just returned from a great battle go fishing?"

"Fresh fish soup tastes better."

Zhou He shrugged: "Perhaps after Hood and Bismarck had their victory celebration, they suddenly reconciled."

"Ha! To actually let an aircraft carrier be used as a fishing boat twice, Commander, you'll get your comeuppance!"