Revisit Azur Lane

"Bismarck".

Zhou He knew that Bismarck cared a lot about her younger sister, but because they had never met, she didn't know what to say. Although it was a pity that he couldn't use these people's help to advance the map, he could still consider it a gain if he could make his ship girl feel happier. He stood on the other side of the portal and looked at the two sisters facing each other, saying, "You are the older sister, aren't you?"

"...Yes, that's right."

Bismarck sighed softly upon hearing this, speechless at her own clumsiness. Even so, she didn't know what to say, so she simply raised the flag in her hand towards Tirpitz: "Tirpitz, I am so proud when I hear that you are the one leading them. Take my place and lead them forward. Don't lose to anyone, my sister."

clang.

Tirpitz waved his flag, which clashed with Bismarck's. His eyes, hidden in the shadow of his silver hair, were no longer cold: "So alike, clumsy indeed."

"Yes."

Bismarck's eyes reflected Tirpitz's gentle smile. She seemed to know what she wanted to say, but it was something that could not be done. Saying it would only add to her troubles, so she could only choose to remain silent.

"Be prepared what you want to say before we meet again."

Tirpitz, seeing this, lowered the flag and walked past Bismarck: "A sad expression doesn't suit you, sister."

"Yeah."

After the excitement subsided, everything returned to calm.

Chapter 55 Today we're having barbecue.jpg

"What a pity."

Inside the underground control room, Zuikaku glanced at the closed portal, then turned to look at Zhou He, who was sitting astride a chair, head bowed, his dejection palpable: "While I can understand how you feel, Commander, it's not to this extent, is it? I haven't found Shoukaku either, so we're pretty much in the same boat."

"What do you know."

Zhou He took a breath and sighed softly: "The sense of accomplishment from salvaging a ship is completely different from that from salvaging a ship."

Zuikaku scratched her cheek, not quite understanding what this guy was talking about. However, when she turned her gaze, she noticed that Yuudachi was standing around the table looking at Kursk's coat. She went over to take a look and made an "oh~" sound. Unfortunately, the person cooking at home was not in a good mood, so she was too embarrassed to urge them to cook.

"Hermione, shut down the testing range. We don't need it for now."

However, Zhou He was not disappointed for long. He stood up and looked at the others: "That's all for today's exploration. Do you want to rest in the patrol boat or here? I'll go and make some preparations."

The group exchanged glances and decided to return to the ship to rest. The reason was that they felt uncomfortable staying in the Sirens' basement, and more importantly, they couldn't see the sun when they woke up, which seriously affected their physical and mental health—when given a choice, everyone was quite picky.

"Then let's go back together."

Zhou He smiled and waited for Hermione to shut down the testing grounds. After all the screens on the walls went dark, he picked up Kursk's coat and the mountain delicacies and walked out of the control room.

"Hey, where's Kursk? I just saw her here."

As the crowd moved about, Zuikaku suddenly realized someone was missing. Looking around, he discovered that Kursk had left sometime earlier.

"what?"

The others were slow to realize what was happening. Cleveland even ran back to the control room to take a look, then came back and shook his head to indicate that no one was there. He was quite disappointed: "It's rare to run into Kursk, but I didn't get to say a few words to her."

"The reason we were able to meet is because the Commander only opened one door. Sooner or later, people who join the port but don't know she exists will appear."

Tosa glanced at her. She had been staring at Kursk when they met up, but she was distracted by Bismarck and the others' farewells, and when she turned around, she could no longer see them.

Even legendary ninjas probably weren't as good at concealing themselves as she was.

"Hopefully, it won't become an urban legend in the port area."

Hermione smiled and joined the conversation. Long Island, who was standing nearby, was also drawn over and came over to ask about the situation with interest. The Magician also quietly pricked up his ears to eavesdrop. Unfortunately, everyone's situation was similar. They could only be seen occasionally when they were on a mission, and they were nowhere to be found at home. They would leave early and return late without a trace.

We all live in the same place, on the same floor.

"I always manage to spot her; the commander frequently sends her out to assist in combat."

Zuikaku gave himself a thumbs-up, feeling very proud of it, even though it wasn't anything to be proud of.

"Wow, this is already at the level of an urban legend."

Long Island exclaimed in amazement, and Jintsuu even defined Kursk as a rare creature, as difficult to encounter as the 'Wild Tsuchigumo' (legendary creature) of Sakura Empire.

"..."

Zhou He found it difficult to empathize with the situation because he frequently visited Kursk, but hearing everyone say this, he couldn't help but feel a special sense of 'I'm different,' so he didn't join the conversation.

As for how to deal with Kursk's unsociable behavior, he already had a general idea.

However, as he listened to the discussion of the crowd behind him, his attention shifted to the taskbar page of the system interface. The "One-Click Claim" button on the four tasks was very eye-catching. He hadn't felt anything when playing the game, but now looking at it, he felt as nervous and excited as if he were about to enter the bridal chamber with his wife.

He glanced at the daily Home Coin task ②. To maximize the benefits, it would be more reasonable to use all the cubes for construction before claiming the rewards. However, since he was outside the port area, his conditions were limited, making it unsuitable for large-scale construction. He could only claim a few fewer Home Coins.

'Claim with one click'

With a thought, Zhou He calmly accepted the rewards for all four tasks simultaneously. As the task list switched, a reward list popped up:

8 Mind Cubes, 12 Home Coins, 3 Aircraft Carrier Research Blueprints, 6 Selectable Research Blueprints, 3 Carrier Aircraft Components, 6 Selectable Ship Equipment Components, and 1 Furniture Selection Box.

Harvest!

Even if we disregard the research blueprints and ship equipment components that are not currently needed, this voyage exploration has already yielded a huge profit from the Mind Cubes and Furniture Selection Boxes.

"Eight Rubik's Cubes, tsk."

This number made Zhou He shake his head. He really couldn't understand how Tirpitz and the others could be teleported to another world when the base was here and the Mirror Sea was here.

Could it be that this base, this mirror world, comes from another world?

Is this reasonable?

He switched to the attack map interface, and the black vortex that had been there had disappeared.

……

It was already dark when I left the basement, but it wasn't completely dark yet.

Perhaps the power supply system had been repaired, because all the streetlights on the surface of the base that had not been destroyed were lit up, making the road leading to the sea brightly lit.

"If only this were a properly functioning base."

Listening to the faint chirping of insects, Zhou He looked up at the star-studded night sky, his mood gradually calming down. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and he turned to the group of people walking out of the command building, opening his arms: "How about we have a barbecue tonight?"

After he finished, he looked at his somewhat bewildered girls and smiled as he pointed to his finger and explained, "It's just skewering meat, vegetables, and these side dishes and grilling them over a fire. The taste is quite addictive. Of course, I will also prepare some side dishes, but you can eat normally if you don't like them."

"Agree!"

When Yuudachi heard about meat, he immediately raised both hands in agreement. Although the others didn't quite understand barbecue, seeing Zhou He's strong reaction, they figured it must be pretty good, so they all agreed. Hermione even went up to Zhou He to ask for advice, and Zhou He was very generous: "Anyone can barbecue as long as they master the technique, but to make it delicious, you still need to have a certain level of skill."

The reason Zhou He was in such high spirits was because he suddenly remembered that he hadn't had barbecue in a very long time. Before he transmigrated, it was expensive to eat outside, and it was boring for a lonely old man to eat alone. Now, it was just right.

Back at the seaside, the tall patrol boat exuded comfort and security from afar. The waves crashed against the seawall, creating a noisy sound. Zhou He told the others to go to the patrol boat to shower and rest, while he wandered among the ruins of buildings on the shore, searching for and moving stones suitable for a grill to the still-standing and stable windbreak wall to assemble them.

While he was busy, he suddenly sensed something and turned around, only to see Kursk standing in the shadow of the wall in the distance.

Anyone else from the port area would have been terrified, but Zhou He was already used to this guy's unpredictable appearances. After putting down the stone in his hand, he walked to Kursk's side, spread his hands, and smiled, "Give me a hand, and I'll make you some mushroom soup in a bit."

"?"

Kursk was quite surprised that Zhou He could find her, but thinking of the ingredients she had gathered that had turned into a hot soup, she nodded and followed Zhou He out of the shadows. Under his direction, she began to pick up and arrange some long stones that Zhou He couldn't move.

"Kursk, you guys are really amazing. You can lift such heavy things with ease."

Zhou He looked at the concrete block, which Kursk held in his hand like an ordinary wooden stick and weighed dozens of kilograms. He had no doubt that Kursk could carry him around. He was very envious of this superhuman physique.

No man hasn't fantasized about possessing superhuman strength; what is desirable but unattainable is the most alluring.

"..."

Kursk paused for a moment before responding to Zhou He: "Commander, you can do it too if you train more."

"Really? Then I'll have to put exercising on my schedule."

Zhou He knew he wasn't cut out to be a sports student, but he smoothly accepted Kursk's explanation, smiled, and walked to the side to find some weeds that could be used to start a fire, wove them into a ball, and then bought a box of barbecue charcoal from the home store (he had 29 coins left). After finishing, he put them all into the fire pit and stroked his chin.

How do I start a fire?

He thought for a moment, then gestured with his hand to Kursk to indicate the length: "Kursk, go find some thick logs and firewood of similar length. We'll need them for making soup."

"it is good."

Kursk nodded, turned and disappeared into the darkness. Zhou He took the opportunity to run back to the patrol boat. In the middle hall, Yuudachi, Z23, Cleveland and others were lying down chatting and resting. When they saw Zhou He enter, they almost stood up. Just in time, Zhou He was short of logistical help, so he waved to them and led them to the kitchen table to take out the food from the refrigerator to defrost: "I'll teach you how to skewer the food."

"Oh! Can we help too?"

Cleveland found fishing very interesting last time, and when he heard Zhou He's explanation, he came over with great interest. Yuudachi and Z23 were also very interested in observing Zhou He's techniques.

Soak the meat in water to thaw it. Meanwhile, use flour to soak the mountain delicacies brought back from Kursk. Then, cut and arrange the vegetables. Once the meat is almost thawed, cut it into large chunks and skewer them with the patrol boat's own iron skewers. Hand them to the three of them to observe: "That's about it. Cut and skewer as much as you like. I'll go out and start a fire. When Hermione arrives, just tell her the steps."

"Good~"

The ship girls were also quick learners. After watching Zhou He's tutorial, the three of them tried it out in a very professional manner. After watching from the side and seeing that there were no problems, Zhou He picked up the lighter on the table and prepared to leave. When he passed by the living room, he saw Zuikaku with her hands behind her head, looking at him peacefully. He stopped and pondered for a moment.

"I understand. What can I do?"

Before Zhou He could even speak, Ruihe raised her hands in surrender and sat up. She already knew from the time Zhou He arranged for her to fish that Zhou He was an unconventional person who didn't treat her, a regular aircraft carrier, as an aircraft carrier at all. Now that he was staring at her, she had already resigned herself to her fate.

"you…"

Zhou He was a little uncomfortable with Ruihe's initiative, but it was a good thing that someone was willing to help, so he pointed to the casserole in the kitchen: "Look for a rope and help me take that pot out."

"okay."

Ruihe obediently went over, while Zhou He went off the boat and returned to the barbecue grill. He lit the grass clump with a lighter, placed the charcoal next to it, and then explored the surroundings. He pulled up all the weeds that could be used to start a fire and threw them into the small fire. Only after seeing the charcoal start to burn on its own did he slow down and use an iron skewer he had taken from the kitchen to stir the charcoal clump together so that the heat could be fully transferred.

“Commander, I’m here. Hermione said you should be able to use these things, so I brought them with me.”

When Ruihe approached, she saw Zhou He squatting in the corner and couldn't help but smile. She placed the clay pot, rope, and cooking oil and other cooking utensils next to him, then found an empty seat and sat down, resting her arms on her lap and looking up at the sky.

Neither of them spoke, and a moment of silence fell.

After a long while, Zhou He, having confirmed that the charcoal had been successfully produced, began to fiddle with the bottles and jars that Zuikaku had brought out, and casually remarked, "Zuikaku, you were dropped by the Sirens, but Shoukaku might not necessarily be born from the Sirens."

"Yes."

Zuikaku exhaled a breath. She had sunk a large number of Sirens, but not a single ship girl had fallen, let alone Shoukaku. Her gaze shifted to Zhou He, who was looking down: "However, Commander, you also said that carrying our longing might help us reunite sooner. Perhaps we can see her on the next sortie."

"Yes, I'll help too."

Zhou He responded. There are so many ship girls who haven't joined the port area. The chance of him getting Shoukaku in his next construction or sortie is either 99% or 1%. It's like trying to get the character you want from the game's permanent pool. If you're lucky, you get it in one go; if you're unlucky, you'll have a stroke.