Revisit Azur Lane

It was the first time Hu De had ever sat on the ground, and he found it very novel. He leaned back slightly and looked up at the sky, supporting himself with his hands on the ground as he felt a strange sense of openness in his heart.

"Hmm~"

Zhou He glanced at Long Island in the middle of the bay, then looked back at Hermione who was drying clothes and blankets next to the command building, and felt a little more relaxed.

After coming into this world, the thing he did most was wait. The more anxious you are, the more likely you are to make mistakes. It is important to keep a calm mind.

After a while, Long Island ran back from the middle of the bay with a bitter face. When he saw Zhou He and Hu De slacking off, his eyes widened: "Commander, my planes have all been shot down. Where is the resupply point?"

"They were all shot down?"

Zhou He pulled himself out of his reverie, switched system functions to resupply ammunition to Long Island and the other personnel who had launched the attack, and then focused his gaze on Long Island: "Have you seen the situation with the White Eagle Fleet?"

"I saw a bit~ but I'm a little thirsty right now, Commander, could you please prepare a bottle of carbonated drink?"

Long Island felt his empty hangar replenished, and while marveling at the wonder, he immediately deactivated his ship equipment and ran back to the shore. In a flash, he sat down on the steps leading up and down the dock, and asked Zhou He with a grin.

"Carbonated drinks? I haven't had one in ages. There aren't any drinks being produced in the port area yet. Let me get you a cup of tea."

The familiar words startled Zhou He. He remembered that this thing was sold in the Home Mall. One Home Coin could buy a bottle of Oxygenated Cola, which was very expensive. He couldn't afford it now, so he got up, dusted himself off, and headed towards the command building.

"Commander, could Hermione bring me a cup too?"

Upon hearing the word "tea," Hu De instantly perked up.

"Row."

Zhou He shook his hand and headed straight for the command building. He ran into Hermione, who was carrying a broom and heading out to sweep the road in front of the building. He approached her with a smile on his face.

On the beach, Hood turned his head to look at Long Island, who was staring blankly with his hands covering his face. After a moment of thought, he asked, "Long Island, were your carrier-based aircraft shot down by the Sirens, or by someone else?"

"..."

Long Island paused for a moment: "Yes, both."

After tidying up his words, Long Island briefly explained the situation: "The situation in the north is somewhat complicated. It's not just the Sirens and Eagle Union fleets; it seems that the Sakura Empire fleet is also involved. Several of my reconnaissance planes were shot down by them."

"There's also Sakura Empire?"

This left Hood speechless: Eagle Union is fighting the Sirens, and Sakura Empire shot down Long Island's carrier-based aircraft ≈ Sakura Empire is eyeing Eagle Union covetously, or both sides are in a state of war.

However, this pattern felt somewhat familiar to her: "Let me confirm, is the Eagle Union fleet simultaneously fighting against both the Sakura Empire and the Sirens? Are there any Sirens attacking the Sakura Empire fleet? Are there any units in the Eagle Union or Sakura Empire fleets mixed with the Sirens?"

"Well, I'm not too sure either. The situation there was too chaotic, especially in the air. There was a three-way battle between aircraft. I was chased and attacked as soon as I got close, so I couldn't observe the specific situation on the beach at all."

Long Island wasn't lying; she really only saw one thing: "There's... ha, I can't recognize anyone in the White Eagle Fleet."

As she spoke, Long Island turned her back and braced herself on the ground with her hands, her entire background turning into a gloomy tone. Hood was stunned for a moment before realizing: without the other ship girls' self-introductions, they couldn't tell who was who at all.

This created a somewhat awkward situation. Hu De didn't know what to say for a moment, so he could only use his humanistic experience to calm the disheartened Long Island while waiting for Zhou He to return.

About ten minutes later, Zhou He came out of the command building with Hermione, carrying a plate and chatting happily. When he got closer, he noticed that the atmosphere between Hood and Long Island was a little awkward. He poured a cup of tea for each of them and then sat down in the middle: "What's going on between you two?"

"It's okay."

Long Island blew on the steaming teacup, then put it down when it felt a bit too hot, clasping his hands together on his lap: "Commander, you should know what the others look like, right?"

"Yes, I know most of them."

Zhou He blinked, then smiled knowingly, "It's alright. Long Island, describe what the White Eagle ship girls you observed look like, and I'll guess."

"There were two aircraft carriers with pink hair, like sisters. One of them was short, and the other was blonde, wearing clothes that looked like pajamas—then there was a silver-haired, menacing-looking battleship, and..."

Long Island thought about it carefully. Zhou He felt that it was very abstract. This was much more difficult than guessing people from pictures. However, he blindly guessed that the two pink-haired sisters were Lexington and Saratoga. After all, there weren't many short White Eagle carriers, and there was only one pink one. The blonde one might be Hornet, but Hornet wasn't pajamas.

As for the silver-haired, menacing battleship, it might be Washington.

"Sakura Empire also has several aircraft carriers, but I haven't seen the main body of any of them."

Long Island added a final sentence that made Zhou He's head spin.

What's going on? Isn't it White Eagle and Siren Tatakai?

Why are there still people from the Sakura Empire?

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Support Mission Confirmed

"A three-way battle between the White Eagle, Sakura Empire, and the Sirens?"

Upon hearing Long Island's precise explanation, Zhou He tilted his head, stroked his chin, and exchanged a glance with Hu De. Although it felt strange, he seemed to have recently mastered the ability to perceive information from people's gazes.

For example, Hood's current thought is similar to his: this three-way battle might actually be a simple two-way battle, just like the situation inside the Siren test site before, except that this time the Mirror Sea has changed from a closed test site to an open combat experiment.

"I was originally planning to hold back, but I'm still curious about the specifics."

Some thoughts arise in one's mind, and if one doesn't understand them, it's like a cat scratching at one's mind. Zhou He looked at Changdao, who was sitting on the steps, blowing on his teacup: "This encounter happened not far from our port area. Even if the target of the battle is not us, we need to take self-protection measures. Changdao, you will launch carrier-based aircraft to circle around from the west to the area where the White Eagle Fleet is located in the east."

As for Zuikaku, Zhou He does not plan to reveal her existence for the time being. Such a large-scale operation in the real world could easily cause damage to the port area if not handled carefully. In addition, he does not have control over this mirror sea area, so for the time being, he should focus on observation and defense and not rush into the battlefield.

"Yes~"

Long Island sipped the hot tea in his slightly tilted teacup, exhaling a breath of hot air as he responded in a relaxed manner.

Although some ship girls seem unreliable, they are actually very reliable when they take action. Zhou He nodded and looked at Hood, who was also sitting and holding tea: "If this encounter is also caused by the Sirens' Mirror Sea, then this place is very likely an area where the Sirens conduct experiments. It will probably be extremely difficult to actively search for land outside."

Yuudachi and the others, who are exploring the western fourth district, are also very likely to be forced back by the Siren's defensive lines or testing grounds.

"Yes."

Hood nodded slightly. Ever since she joined the port, the mass-produced sirens moving toward the port have never stopped. If this is also an experimental incident in the mirror-like sea, then the expansion plan will have to be re-planned.

They currently have a considerable number of combat personnel in the port area, but if they are seriously besieged by the Sirens, they will have no place to survive in this sea area full of testing grounds.

"Build defensive fortifications, increase combat personnel, and construct living areas in the port area. Prioritize these logistical tasks."

Zhou He spoke first about what Hu De was thinking about: arranging for people to expand outwards was one of his strategies for operating the port area, but if there was a risk of destroying the port, then he could only focus on improving his own infrastructure first.

However, after saying this, he couldn't help but glance at the East Third District and the North Third District, and then looked at his own mission board. Defeating the Siren Fleet would give him a Magic Cube, and exploring the Mirror Sea would also give him a Magic Cube. By getting involved this time, he could earn at least 5 Magic Cubes, and his reserve combat personnel could have one more squad.

If I could get a wild ship girl...

"Tsk."

Zhou He suddenly clicked his tongue, recalling King George V's ship girls, which were practically his for the taking. Admiral Hipper had even run into his shipyard for a limited time and then flew away.

The others are one thing, but what's with Hipper? Does she mean that if you want to salvage the ship girls you encounter in the Mirror Sea and bring them home, you need to interact with them to make them join as temporary members, then put them in your team to raise their affection level like in a game, and then use the system's divine power to pull them out of the Mirror Sea?

It has a very game-like style, but how exactly can he max out someone's affection level in such a short time? In the Mirror Sea, an area where battles are taking place everywhere, he can't even go there in person unless he encounters a ship girl like Yuudachi who is famously easy to win over, and he can just bring her back through video chat.

"So far, the system hasn't provided any useless functions. Since there's a limited-time option to join, there must also be a possibility of permanent joining. Things that can't be completed in a short time—could it be that the released ship girls will have a comeback?"

Zhou He's thoughts drifted further and further away. To save his energy, he even sat down, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes.

"…commander?"

Long Island watched Zhou He go from standing with a frown to sitting down with his arms crossed in thought without saying a word, which made her unconsciously nervous. She got up and walked around to Hu De's side, asking in a low voice, "Will the battle over there have a serious impact on us?"

"It's hard to say. If the war spreads to our side, it will indeed be very difficult to deal with."

Hu De was used to Zhou He suddenly entering deep thinking mode. Seeing that Long Island seemed frightened, he used Zhou He's performance to urge her to investigate seriously: "The main problem is that we can't judge whether the ship girl teams that have appeared will be hostile to us. In addition to dealing with the Sirens, we also need to make second- and third-hand plans."

"Phew, so that's how it is."

Hearing Hud's theoretical analysis, Nagashima realized that now was not the time to slack off. She quenched her thirst and jumped into the water to unload her ship equipment, launching all her carrier-based aircraft as she ran. She tried her best, but she only managed to launch 21 carrier-based aircraft in total, including reconnaissance planes, fighters and bombers, which was far less than Zuikaku's full load of 72 aircraft.

This is the huge difference between a regular aircraft carrier and a light escort carrier, but if used well, a light escort carrier can also defeat a regular aircraft carrier.

……

"Another unidentified mixed fleet of aircraft has appeared. They are definitely our planes. Is there an island base of ours nearby?"

In the midst of the ongoing battle, a blonde woman with two tentacle-like ahoge on her head and wearing a black jacket looked up at the sky, which was completely invisible. Her plane had caught sight of the Long Island aircraft group approaching from the west, and she asked the others around her.

"What are you thinking? How could the Sirens allow our base to exist in the Mirror Sea? It's probably some other team that went out on a mission and stumbled in by accident."

The person who answered her was a petite girl with long pink hair tied up with a black bow. In her hand she held a scepter-like ship rig, with a flight runway extending from the top of the scepter, making the whole thing look like a fluttering flag.

"I never expected those two from Sakura Empire to actually side with the Sirens. When I get back this time, I'm definitely going to have a good talk with those guys from Sakura Empire. I won't let them off the hook until I show them some real sincerity!"

Saratoga was furious. Today, her superiors sent intelligence that a group of sirens was escorting important documents and that they needed to intercept them. Since the others were fighting elsewhere, she, Lexington, Hu Feng, and a few others formed a team to intercept them. However, they were pulled into the interior of the Mirror Sea as soon as they made contact with the sirens.

That's not all. She never expected that the manager of this Mirror Sea was actually the First Carrier Division of the Sakura Empire. She had wanted to get on their good side and ask them to let her leave, but instead, Akagi led her into a deeper part of the Mirror Sea and then sent Sirens to attack them. Clearly, they didn't intend to let them leave safely.

"Let's talk about this when we get back."

Shells whistled past the group, exploding with a sharp sound. A serious-looking ship girl with shoulder-length silver hair ran past Saratoga. Because of her strong presence, even in her revealing crop top, she still exuded a heroic aura.

"Yes, Hu Feng, what is that unfamiliar carrier-based aircraft group doing?"

Because they were at the rear of the fleet, the capital ships were doing their best to analyze the battlefield situation while fighting. Lexington did not complain. While engaging the enemy carrier-based aircraft, she asked Hu Feng, who frowned and said, "They have infiltrated our fleet. Most of them are heading towards the Sakura Empire, while a small number are entangled with the Sirens. They seem to be here to scout rather than help."

"Are they assessing the situation? It seems this isn't our main fleet. Let's provide some cover. Once they find out what's happening here, they should be able to escape the Mirror Sea and communicate with the military for assistance."

Lexington quickly analyzed the situation and made a judgment: although he had received information that the Sirens would place similar pieces in the Mirror Sea, those pieces were mindless and would not go out of such confusing and complicated situations.

"That's the only way."

Hu Feng responded, completely unaware that in Changdao's eyes, she was a strange person who went to the battlefield in her pajamas.

After a brief discussion, the group retreated while fighting. In addition to the four capital ships, the Eagle Union fleet also included more than ten destroyers, light and heavy cruisers, who were engaged in combat with the Sirens and the Executors respectively. The large number of mass-produced ships did not put too much pressure on them, but the Executors were in a difficult situation because Akagi had brought Sakura Empire's 'people' mixed in with them, and Saratoga and the others were focusing their efforts on fighting them.

At this very moment, on the other side of the battlefield, two girls dressed in light Japanese clothing, with fox ears on their heads and tails on their backs, similar to those in Tosa, stood on the water.

"As expected of the White Eagle's elite fleet, they are indeed very troublesome."

Akagi, dressed entirely in red, gazed at the battlefield ahead. As she spoke, a slight smile played on her lips as she praised the other person, but her crimson eyes held a lazy and indifferent expression. She turned her head to look at Kaga, who was dressed similarly to her but exuded a cool and aloof aura: "Have you found out why they ran in here?"

"No, they appeared in the test area without any warning. It's most likely the observers who did it."

Kaga frowned slightly: "Are we really going to sink them here? Our experiment hasn't even started yet..."

"Are you worried about the White Eagle's reaction? It's alright, our 'predecessors' may not have any other special skills, but they are quite adept at distancing themselves from others."

Akagi's gaze fell on Kaga, his eyes half-closed, and he put his long, slender fingers to his lips in a shushing gesture, an unnamed flame burning in his eyes: "The White Eagle's fleet intruded into the Sirens' Mirror Sea and was completely annihilated, isn't that quite interesting?"

"..."

Seeing this, Kaga knew he couldn't persuade Akagi, so he remained silent and waited for her performance to end before speaking: "Twice, White Eagle formations flew over from outside our controllable range."

"what?"

Akagi's eyebrows twitched, but her gaze relaxed as she looked around: "It's alright, the observers will handle it."