Revisit Azur Lane

It was a strange instruction, but it did reduce the pressure on Tosa.

The battle continues.

Chapter 53 Friends Staying at Home

"This battle is really abstract."

Zhou He watched what was happening on the monitor screen: his own ship girls had infiltrated the formations of both sides in the battle, and the two sides of the chess pieces only symbolically tried to drive them away before ignoring them, letting them destroy the mass-produced Siren warships and fight desperately against the other side.

However, sinking so many regular warships is truly difficult.

Nearly an hour has passed since the start of the battle, and both fleets are still so large that they stretch for several kilometers, making it impossible to monitor the exact number of ships even with surveillance cameras.

"commander."

A sudden sound startled Zhou He, who was engrossed in watching the game, and he broke out in a cold sweat. Turning around, he saw Kursk walking in from outside the door, carrying his coat. He breathed a sigh of relief and waved, "Welcome back. Have you found anything on the island?"

"No, the only part of the island that has been modified is this base. There are no rare mineral resources or equipment inside. But this, could it be of any use?"

As Kursk spoke, he moved closer and unfolded the contents of his coat in front of Zhou He. Inside were mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and other fungi covered in mud, as well as wild vegetables that Zhou He didn't even recognize.

Although he didn't recognize it, the earthy smell that greeted him invigorated Zhou He, who had been sitting for a long time. Instead of asking pointless questions like "Will eating this make me bedridden?", he stood up, took the food, and replied with a smile, "Of course, tonight's dinner... will come in handy for a late-night snack."

"That's good."

Kursk nodded slightly, crossed his arms, and looked up at the ongoing melee: "Is this what makes me uneasy? It really is a hidden battlefield."

"You can even sense the battlefield? That's amazing."

Zhou He folded the clothes and ingredients on the table next to him, then turned his head to observe Kursk, who was wearing a black sportswear bodysuit. Without a doubt, she was also a heavyweight mature woman. Her beautiful figure and cold face combined to exude a charm that made people want to approach her even though they knew they would be rejected.

She is an excellent ship girl who is both beautiful and practical.

"Only battlefields of this caliber can make me feel uneasy."

Being able to say such things so naturally is also part of personal charm. Zhou He smiled and pointed to the eight figures that had been separated from the battlefield: "These people are the best of the best who have emerged from this experimental battlefield. They are ship girls similar to you but different. After the battle ends, we may face a battle with them, or we may have normal talks. Kursk, what do you think?"

"Take the initiative."

Kursk's eyes flickered slightly: "Is there a new mission for me?"

"Yes, thank you for your help this time too."

Over the past few days, Zhou He felt that Kursk and he had a very good compatibility in thinking. Even if Kursk spoke in a riddle-like manner, Zhou He could quickly understand him. He wondered if it was because Kursk was too honest, so his thoughts were easy to guess...

In short, after chatting and resting with Kursk for a while, Zhou He opened a door near the battlefield and sent Kursk over. The roar of the explosion even reached the control room, which shows how intense the battle was.

……

The battle lasted for a full three hours and was not yet over, but it was very close to being over: almost all the mass-produced Sirens were sunk, with only a few still firing at each other. The main focus of the battle had shifted from large-scale warship clashes to small-scale ship girl duels.

On the fiery battlefield at sea, swift figures created strong winds that caused the flames to move with the wind. Even more eye-catching were the carrier-based aircraft in the sky, which, accompanied by ear-piercing sounds, launched shells into the battlefield, exploding and creating huge waves.

"Ugh, why can't we just die peacefully? If it were the two senior members of the First Carrier Division, they would probably say that."

The carrier-based aircraft was controlled by Zuikaku, who was at the very back of the battlefield. At this point, there were no more surviving aircraft carriers on the battlefield, and air superiority was in her hands. She could even make poor imitations when chasing down her pawns, showing that she was in complete control.

As for why she simulated the two seniors eating and drinking, it's because she sank many ships this time, but still couldn't get her beloved Shoukaku-nee to reveal anything. If she didn't distract herself like this, she probably would have already started to give up.

"..."

"Ugh, this feeling is really uncomfortable."

Others deep in the battlefield were also engaged in a chase, and Cleveland sank a piece with damaged power, but then sighed deeply.

In this world, they only need to focus on dealing with the Sirens, a formidable enemy of the century, but because of the Sirens' perverse sense of humor, they are forced to clash with these pawns, just like the battles in their memories.

"Hey--"

A sudden shout from behind made Cleveland turn around. The chess piece that had exploded into a ball of fire had somehow become occupied by a loosely dressed black-haired girl in a blue coat. What was striking was that she was wearing headphones with a model airplane on the top of them.

"Looks familiar."

This was the first time Cleveland had encountered a ship crash. She turned around and circled the newly appeared girl twice, finally confirming that she was using a White Eagle aircraft and should be a White Eagle ship girl. So she stopped, smiled, and spread her hands towards her: "Hello, I am Cleveland, currently on a combat mission. And you?"

"Oh, it's Cleveland. He's just as handsome as I remember him."

The girl let out a soft gasp, then smiled and waved her right hand, hidden by her sleeve, at her chest: "I'm Long Island. I may not be as famous as you, Cleveland, but you should still remember me, right?"

"Being famous is such an exaggeration... But why did Long Island think I was handsome first thing to do?"

The two tried to chat on the battlefield, but a passing piece grabbed it and fired a cannon at them. Cleveland, who reacted faster, positioned himself in front of Long Island, maneuvering the ship's rigging on his left to act as a shield, while the ship's cannon on his right launched a thunderous counterattack.

Both sides are ship girls, and the target is too small, so the hit rate is very low. Almost 90% of the shells hit the water surface, and the splashes of water obscured the figures of the two, while the pieces on the other side were forced to leave by the shelling of others.

As the water splashed down, Long Island, who had been soaked to the bone in less than three minutes, flicked her sleeves and looked at Cleveland, who was standing in front of her, with a smile and tilted her head: "Why is it handsome? Isn't it obvious?"

"what?"

Cleveland heard this, but was still puzzled. If it was because of her actions—wasn't what she did what every light cruiser should do?

"Cleveland, stop chatting with the newbies and get this fight over with. I want to go back to sleep!"

Zuikaku's urging voice reached Cleveland's ears through the team's voice chat. Her resentful tone made the latter chuckle dryly to comfort her. Then he turned to Long Island and said, "Long Island, you can't tell friend from foe right now. I'll send you away from the battlefield first."

The two left the center of the battlefield one after the other, and the battle camera turned to the others. Yuudachi was having a duel with a royal expulsion piece. As if awakened by hunting instincts, Yuudachi was quite excited. With the help of Zhou He's powerful logistics capabilities (?) and the opponent's close-range output, water splashed around the two of them. In the end, the piece's cannon barrel overheated and exploded. Yuudachi seized the opportunity to fire two more shots, turning it into a ball of sparks.

The others completed their 'hunt' at roughly the same time, and the once bustling battlefield suddenly fell silent, with only the burning flames and the explosions of the remaining ship hulls remaining.

Before long, groups of two or three people left the battlefield and gathered together.

"Whoa, another new companion has joined us!"

Originally, there were eight people who rushed into the battlefield, excluding Zuikaku and including the underwater U556. After the battle, they regrouped and became ten people!

"Nice to meet you. I am Jintsu, a light cruiser of the Kawauchi class in the Sakura Empire. It's strange that I suddenly appeared on the battlefield... Never mind, I look forward to your guidance in the future."

The speaker was a fox-eared girl with beautiful blue hair. Her fluffy tail, ears, proud forequarters, and long, beautiful legs under her skirt were all incredibly alluring. As a fox spirit, she far surpassed the expressionless Tosa beside her.

"I am Long Island! My primary duty is to escort merchant ships and support the logistics fleet. Although I can use carrier-based aircraft, please don't have any expectations of me!"

Long Island, soaking wet, said something quite energetically contrary to his attitude, attracting most of the people present, before laughing and hiding behind Cleveland.

"That's basically it. What's the next step?"

Cleveland, who had been used as a shield, looked somewhat helpless. She looked at Bismarck, who was the main reason why she was able to establish a cooperative relationship with the pawn. The specific arrangements also needed to be communicated by Bismarck.

"Hood and I will go to our respective camps to lobby and determine whether the remaining people can live as normal people. You should be ready to provide support."

The increased strength of her own forces allowed Bismarck to make a more assertive decision. She believed that Zhou He would approve of her arrangements. After exchanging a few words with the others, she turned around and approached the Ironblood participants with Z23 and the underwater U556. Hood smiled and also led Hermione toward the Royal Navy camp.

"The situation seems complicated."

The remaining group rested where they were. Yuudachi, mimicking Hermione's method of contacting Zhou He with smoke, ran across the sea. Of the remaining four, Nagashima, though speaking of troubles, showed no sign of distress, inquiring about the current port situation. Jintsuu also wanted to ask Tosa about the situation, but faced with Tosa's cold demeanor, she could only remain still and use her excellent hearing to overhear Cleveland's explanation. Ultimately, she chose the keyword 'Commander' to ask Tosa: "May I ask, what kind of person is our Commander?"

Tosa glanced at her: "She's a dreamy but surprisingly down-to-earth person."

"...Yes, is that so?"

This answer left Jintsugu with a rather complicated feeling. He didn't know whether Tosa was praising or belittling the commander, and he also didn't get any useful information because Tosa's emotions were too stable, making it impossible to guess what kind of feelings he had towards that commander.

However, the commander who can command ship girls like Tosa as weapons should not disappoint too much.

Tosa wouldn't work, so she could only try to find Yuudachi, a companion she knew. Then she saw a strange light screen appear around Yuudachi, and Yuudachi herself was excitedly talking to the light screen, her tail wagging like an electric fan. This must be what you call a loyal dog.

Hmm? A loyal dog?

With a surge of energy, Jintsuki knew who Yuudachi would wag her tail for, being a loyal dog. She immediately took a step forward and approached Yuudachi. Through the video screen, she saw the black-haired youth opposite her, who had a gentle smile and a calming presence.

"Ah! Sister Jintsu, you're here. This is the Commander."

Yuudachi noticed Jintsu's approach and considerately turned to the side so that Jintsu could look Zhou He in the eye from a distance.

"Ok?"

In the video, Zhou He and Shen Tong looked at each other and were initially puzzled. Then they remembered that Kursk had also met with him via video before. It seemed that the person on the other end of the video could see him, while the people on his side could not see the person on the video.

What a subtle setup.

This was perfect. He nodded slightly to Shintsu: "Hello, Miss Shintsu. It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard that you have exceptional planning skills. Although I apologize for being so presumptuous, could you please offer your advice for me and for the future of the port area?"

"Yes~ Helping you solve your problems is the stepping stone for this humble woman to realize her life's value... However, my abilities are also very limited, and my way of handling things may confuse you. Please forgive me then."

The feeling was magical. The moment Shen Tong saw Zhou He, she understood everything and naturally accepted Zhou He's praise.

Of course, she wasn't confident enough to accept all of Zhou He's expectations, because she had just met the Iron-Blooded Bismarck, the Royal Navy's Hood, and even her Sakura Empire colleague Tosa was no ordinary person. Being too high-profile would only make her fall more hurt.

"Well, let's work hard together."

Zhou He felt that the first half of the divine power seemed to have said something extraordinary, but it was a bit awkward. In short, it was about accepting his invitation! So they smiled and encouraged each other. Afterwards, they saw the little Long Island figure overlapping in the crowd through the system map, so they suggested going to Yuudachi for a trip.

He did not directly contact the newly added U556, Shintsu, and Long Island, because there were people around their birthplace who could guide them, and the guidance of their companions was more heartwarming than his commands.

"Good~"

Yuudachi was quite obedient. After greeting Jintsu, she ran to Cleveland and the other person. The two people who saw the video were filled with respect. Cleveland took the initiative to introduce Long Island to Zhou He. Just as she was about to introduce Zhou He, Long Island herself came up to the video screen and touched it with great curiosity: "Wow, amazing~ Is this the legendary future technology?"

"No, compared to that, you are the future of technology."

Zhou He was jolted backward by Long Island's sudden outstretched hand. This guy was also a veteran of the game's launch. He remembered that he had similar attributes to Himouto! Umaru-chan, but this guy was too socially awkward. He couldn't stand it. He would find an opportunity to conduct a surprise dormitory inspection later.

"Ah, that's true."

Long Island chuckled, carefully examined Zhou He, and then suddenly asked, "Commander, do you like Ghosts?"

"If it's a cute girl, I really like her."

Zhou He answered smoothly, explaining that the extent of his imagination was beyond the comprehension of normal people, and that ghosts and such were child's play.

"Uh-huh."

Long Island nodded in agreement: "I feel that I will get along well with the Commander."

"I think so."

Zhou He also felt a sense of familiarity with Changdao Island, and it would feel even more familiar if Changdao Island were a place where people stayed at home.

It's a pity there are no anime to watch in this world, otherwise his life after retiring early would definitely be great.