Revisit Azur Lane

"Hmm~"

Hu De smiled faintly without offering any opinion, while Zuikaku seized the opportunity to launch herself and leap onto the lawn below the steps. Turning to Zhou He, she patted her chest and said, "Commander, more than these little life tips, I'd like to know about our upcoming operational plans. You see—I can't stand being chased back in such a panic by those guys."

"..."

Zhou He's eye twitched. Because it was covered up so well, he had no idea what Ruihe wanted him to see.

However, before they arrived home, Zhou He did come up with a simple plan. He glanced at Bismarck and Hood and noticed that they were listening attentively. So he pretended to ponder for a moment and said, "Yesterday I explained the internal structure of the Sirens to you. The new type of Sirens you discovered today are elite Sirens called Executors."

"Judging from their aggressive pursuit of carrier-based aircraft and their grouping up to maintain vigilance after completely losing sight of their targets, it can be determined that their aggression and organization far exceed those of mass-produced Sirens."

Zhou He took two steps to the side and then turned around so that he could observe the reactions of everyone in his group before continuing to speak: "Currently, these guys are entrenched to our north, east, and south. If we want to defeat them and reclaim the sea area, we must first determine their individual combat strength and fighting style."

"Therefore, based on their proactive pursuit and attack characteristics, you should maintain your current team configuration for now. If there is an opportunity, I will arrange for you to separate the executors who are following us from the east and west directions and conduct actual combat observations. As for the specific timing of the attack, I will determine it."

Although there are many Sirens in the Southern Third District, Zhou He can still find opportunities to divide and attack the Sirens by observing from a god-like perspective, thanks to the fact that Long Island and Zuikaku have dispersed much of the fog.

Seeing that Ruihe was eager to try, Zhou He added, "Don't even think about it today. We don't know the enemy's combat capabilities yet. If you can't eliminate the invading executors in a short time after you attack, then their main force is very likely to hear the news and discover this port area."

Yes, this is the key point of Zhou He's dilemma. It's 90 nautical miles from the South Third District to here, which sounds far, but for the Sirens, who don't know what time is, it's really too close. At most, it will take three hours. If the opposing aircraft carrier takes the initiative to send out planes to scout, then the Sirens will know that there is a gathering place for ship girls in his area in less than an hour.

He had no intention of abandoning such a prime port location.

"Of course, this is just my personal opinion. You are welcome to share your thoughts. Through collective discussion, we may be able to come up with a better solution."

Finally, Zhou He turned the conversation to the people in front of him—he couldn't count on Ruihe, but the other four were all formidable figures skilled in both literature and martial arts, more than capable of outperforming him, a half-baked commander.

"The commander's judgment is reasonable."

Bismarck agreed with Zhou He's arrangements. As the saying goes, "Plan before you act, know when to stop and you will gain something." It is quite commendable that Zhou He, as a newly appointed commander, could consider this aspect.

"I have no opinion."

Tosa glanced at Zuikaku. She was confident in her abilities, but if she could win more easily, she would naturally choose the latter.

"Me too."

Jintsu followed Tosa's lead and spoke at the opportune moment. Although she had been keeping a low profile on the way, she was determined to speak after Zhou He made his statement. She didn't need to be too conspicuous; she just needed to let everyone know that she had also been identified by Zhou He as a member of the military group.

"I also agree with the commander's arrangement."

After agreeing, Hood hesitated for a moment, then frowned and finally decided to say something more: "Commander, I have some preliminary thoughts about the western part of the port."

The port area is surrounded by enemies on three sides, but there is no particular problem on the west side. Her idea is to explore the westward area in depth. If land is discovered, it can be used as a new base to launch an offensive against the Sirens at sea without any scruples.

"Land?"

This problem had troubled Zhou He for a long time. Since he had no outside intelligence sources, he didn't even know if there was land in this world or any other 'allies' fighting against the Sirens.

After a moment's thought, Zhou He turned to Zuikaku and said, "Zuikaku, you like dealing with the Sirens outside. Tomorrow I'll arrange for Yuudachi and the other destroyers to explore to the west. You can help them scout ahead and explore the way, how about that?"

"In that case, wouldn't it be safer for me to use a reconnaissance plane to search for it?"

Although she really wanted to go back and settle scores, she still had to listen to Zhou He. Ruihe expressed her opinion on the matter of finding land. Because the density of sirens in the vicinity was too high, her reconnaissance aircraft would start to avoid them as soon as they were detected, and never went to the maximum distance to take a look.

"That's certainly safe, but you might miss some things. Anyway, as long as you protect Yuudachi and the others, there's no danger."

Zhou He shook his head. Ruihe was very useful for scouting enemy forces on the water, but it couldn't detect the special features of the mirror-like sea. In some ways, these places were even more important than the land.

Ruihe scratched her head. She knew that Zhou He's terrifyingly accurate target acquisition function was indeed more useful than her reconnaissance aircraft in terms of reconnaissance, so she nodded: "Alright then."

Snapped!

A crisp sound came from Zhou He's clasped hands. He then looked at everyone and said, "Alright! That's enough for today. I had Manjiu prepare your lunch in advance. It's about time, so go and eat."

He understood a principle from the time of Yuudachi: planning is one thing, but actually taking action is another. So he would not make a detailed report before actually taking action. If Hu De and the others asked him about the details, he, being a half-baked expert, would not be able to keep up the act.

"Hmm, the Commander seems to have a high opinion of those 'Manjuu' restaurants, which makes me look forward to it too. But if they're not as delicious as I imagine, the Commander will have to work overtime~"

Among the group of people present, it was always Hu De who first brought up the topic with Zhou He. Although there was a problem with the logic of her statement, Zhou He felt that working overtime was not bad because Miss Hu De was very charming. He smiled and praised Man Qiu's cooking skills, assuring everyone that Man Qiu would definitely satisfy their imagination of the dishes of their own faction.

"Is it really that powerful?"

Zuikaku, who had just been complaining that she couldn't swallow her anger, had forgotten what she said and beckoned to Zhou He with her finger: "Those strange-sounding creatures are better cooks than you, Commander?"

"Each one has his own merits."

Zhou He wanted to stop her fingers from stroking him, and put one hand on his hip and said, "You could say that everyone's cooking will taste different. Just like me, Hermione, and Shoukaku who will be joining the port in the future, if you don't like Manju's standard dishes, you can come back and continue to eat my cooking."

"Then I'll eat the food that Sister Shoukaku makes."

Ruihe made his decision without hesitation, and Zhou He nodded in agreement: "I'll also have Xianghe cook for me."

"That won't do. Shoukaku is mine. Commander, you should do it yourself!"

"What does it matter? I've been feeding you for so long, it wouldn't hurt to share some with me."

"no--"

The two of them started arguing for no reason. The people around them shook their heads speechlessly at the nonsensical conversation. They hadn't even joined the port area yet, and they were already making reservations.

"Hermione would be heartbroken if she heard what the Commander said."

Hu De turned to the side and covered his cheek with the back of his hand, lowering his voice slightly. However, Zhou He was standing very close, so he heard everything clearly. He scratched his head, chuckled, and stopped the awkward conversation. He greeted the others and walked into the building complex: "I'll go inform the others. You guys go and take a look first."

"..."

"Zuikaku, do you think the Commander is trying to comfort you by using words to guide you and creating the image of an excellent older sister? Actually, your sister's personality is similar to yours. As sisters, how big can the difference in personality be?"

Watching Zhou He leave, Tosa turned his head to look at Zuikaku, who was returning victorious, and suddenly became more aggressive.

"Uh, I don't know either."

Zuikaku's expression froze for a moment, but she quickly smiled and took a few steps forward to Tosa's side, saying with a grin, "Could it be that you're envious, Tosa? I know Kaga-senpai is quite ruthless; it's a real shame she's not a gentle older sister~"

"I'd like to see for myself just how inhuman she really is. Do you know about supernatural powers?"

Tosa raised an eyebrow and asked Jintsu, "Zhou He had previously said that Kaga, who was converted into an aircraft carrier, was very similar to her. Could it be that I am also inhuman?"

"I know a little bit, but it's not appropriate to judge Kaga after she becomes a ship girl based solely on her historical deeds. Perhaps she will radiate some humanity after she gets a real body?"

After thinking for a moment, Shen Tong decided to adopt a realistic approach.

"..."

Tosa frowned slightly, then relaxed with relief, and reached out to pat Zuikaku on the shoulder: "Sorry, I misspoke just now. There must be sisters in the world with very different personalities."

"I do not know."

For the first time, Zuikaku realized that she seemed to have seen through Tosa's thoughts, but surprisingly, she did not feel superior. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I remember the commander said that Kaga-senpai, as a battleship, was quite interesting. As a true sister ship, perhaps in the commander's opinion, Tosa, you are also quite interesting."

"Absolutely impossible."

Tosa spoke with certainty that Zhou He's attitude toward her had changed in the past few days, but at the beginning, he was genuinely uneasy because of her presence.

"Ok?"

Zuikaku tilted her head and crossed her arms. In her opinion, Zhou He was trying very hard to get close to Tosa, wasn't that because he was interested in her?

Strange, is her intuition wrong?

Chapter Sixty-Two Style

Thanks to Zhou He's efforts, he found each of the people playing hide-and-seek on the port platform and brought them back to the newly built restaurant in the port area.

Everyone paid considerable attention to Manju, a creature that was both doll-like and full of life. In particular, Yuudachi was almost killed by Manju, who was holding up a sign, if Jean Bart hadn't grabbed him by the back of his collar.

Of course, in the end, Yuudachi caught the Manjuu and, after confirming several times that the Manjuu only looked like a chicken and was not actually a chicken, he released it after giving it a good squeeze in disappointment.

As for the dining experience, unlike Zhou He's singular culinary skills, Manjiu followed instructions to create different cuisines from the four factions: Sakura Empire, Eastern Empire, Iron Blood, and Royal. Although some dishes did not look very appealing, Zhou He observed that the person in question seemed quite pleased with them.

"Commander, why are you just standing here watching? Aren't you going to eat with us?"

Ruihe picked up a golden-brown fried pork cutlet with a fork, pointed at it, and casually asked Zhou He, "What do you think of this delicious-looking cutlet?"

"Before you came back, I tested the cooking skills of these barbarian chicks for you."

The meal was arranged with separate tables and seating, while Zhou He sat at an empty table to observe. When asked a question, he covered his lips with his finger and rubbed them lightly, then smiled after releasing the finger.

Ruihe lowered her head and took a bite of pork chop, squinting her eyes and making a soft "woo-woo" sound. Zhou He couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable with her happy little expression. He moved his chair away, got up, walked to the door, supported his lower back, took a deep breath, and felt much more awake after exhaling. He then strolled around the courtyard outside the restaurant, taking the opportunity to observe the open space between the restaurant and the command post. He felt that he could set up a small courtyard here for Hu De and the others to hold tea parties.

"Ok?"

As Zhou He walked, he saw a figure appear from the command post. Turning his head, he found it was Akashi, whose clothes were loose from sleeping and who was even yawning as he walked. Even before he transmigrated, he had never been as lazy as Akashi.

"Is this what a cat is? How enviable."

Zhou He actually envied Akashi's personality, which allowed him to rest so much that he didn't care about anything else. Before he transmigrated, he would think about what part-time job he could do to supplement his income as soon as he opened his eyes every day. Now, he has to think about his schedule every day as soon as he gets up. Even though he has intelligent and capable people like Bismarck and Hood around him, why does he feel like he is the one making all the decisions?

Is it a problem with the secretary ship?

He squinted at the sun. When he played the game, he would occasionally trigger the secretary ship storyline. The secretary ship seemed to do everything, just like a proxy commander.

Why not try assigning Yuudachi's secretary ship position to someone else?

Zhou He briefly imagined Yuudachi, who was always around him, as Hood, Bismarck, or Tosa, and his eyebrows immediately furrowed. That kind of life was really too much for him.

"What is the Commander thinking, meow?"

Yawning, Akashi noticed Zhou He wearing the Pain Mask and casually took a few steps over. However, because her clothes were too disheveled, Zhou He instinctively reached out to help straighten them. Then, he poked Akashi's smooth and elastic cheek with his finger, instantly feeling healed, and laughed, "I'm thinking about how to be lazy."

"Meow? That won't do. If the Commander doesn't work, we can't slack off, meow."

Upon hearing this, Akashi's eyes widened, and she waved her sleeves in a serious manner, trying to stop Zhou He's slacking off: "The Commander promised to take care of my cat, so you can't go back on your word, cat."

"Haha~"

Looking at Akashi's adorable appearance, Zhou He couldn't help but chuckle. When playing games, he didn't pay much attention to small ships like destroyers, but in reality, the innocent little guy was indeed easier to get along with.

Yeah, people like Zuikaku and Cleveland are pretty easy to get along with.

The main problem is with highly educated intellectuals like Hu De. When he's with them, he feels like a husky with a pack of wolves, and he'll be exposed as a wolf if he's not careful. Even though he's already been exposed, he just can't seem to have a normal conversation with them.

Forget it, there's no point in thinking about it so much.

Zhou He composed himself and pointed to the restaurant next door: "Of course I won't go back on my word. Akashi, are you hungry? I had Manjue reserve your lunch. Everyone's back now."

"So-so, meow."

Akashi rubbed her stomach. She had eaten a lot of dried fish before her afternoon nap. In fact, it was because she was full that she couldn't resist the attraction of the bedding!

"Hmm~ That's perfect, come hiking with me."