Revisit Azur Lane

Kaga's first impression of Zhou He was that he was a pretty boy, but then she thought that maybe Zhou He was quick-witted.

In hindsight, her judgment was correct!

Chapter Seventy-Five: Traditional Sparring

It was a new day, and before the sun had risen, Zhou He, who was lying on his side in bed, opened his eyes.

I got up as usual and went into the bathroom. I glanced at the sky through the window and sat down at the table to review the few lines of notes I had left before going to bed yesterday. After repeatedly thinking about them to make sure I hadn't missed anything, I got up, changed into a crisp white navy long-sleeved suit, and opened the door.

Ding Deng Deng.

The command post was paved with tiles, and people walking or running on it would leave small or noisy footsteps. Zhou He walked down from the third floor and happened to run into Miss Harman, who was walking in a slightly hurried manner. Whether she had gotten up late or was still half asleep, she was pulling the zipper on the side of her skirt as she walked, her head down and her long ponytail swinging, full of youthful energy.

Early bird gets the worm.

Zhou He silently clasped his hands together in his heart and politely greeted, "Good morning."

"Uh-huh."

Harman reacted reflexively, but when she finally realized what was happening after straightening her skirt zipper and looking up at Zhou He, she took two steps back, hugged her arms, and blushed, asking, "Commander... when did you get here!?"

"Just now."

Zhou He smiled and pointed to the third floor, then spread his hands towards her: "Harman, didn't you suggest that I get up early to have breakfast with you guys before coming back to work? Now you can be sure I didn't sleep in, right?"

"Goo."

Hearing this, Hammanman remembered, but she couldn't help feeling that Zhou He, who was smiling in front of her, was not right. She puffed out her cheeks, snorted, and held out her beautiful palm: "Today is only the first day. If you want to prove yourself, you'll need at least five days!"

"Haman is really strict."

Zhou He naturally didn't want Harman to hold him accountable for what had just happened, so he casually gave a reply and turned to continue walking downstairs.

Not to mention five days, his biological clock has now been completely adjusted to the shape of this world. He wakes up on time every morning, and because he is quite adept at his daily life and work, his only pressure is how to make his ship girls' lives more fulfilling. Therefore, his mental state is also excellent.

This kind of life is even more healthy than when he claimed to be 'health-preserving' in his previous life.

Seeing how natural he seemed, as if he hadn't taken what had just happened to heart, Harman assumed that Zhou He hadn't seen anything. After following him downstairs for a few steps, she suddenly realized that Zhou He must have seen it, but he had no interest in her body at all. She was so shy, what an idiot! So she got a little angry and, after going downstairs, lightly kicked Zhou He and ran away in a huff.

"Cute guy."

Having found something good early in the morning, Zhou He sat contentedly on a chair in the lobby, rubbing his calves. Harman's resentful kick still hurt a bit.

"Ah Lala~"

Hamman stormed out of the main entrance, naturally attracting the attention of others. Shoukaku, who was strolling outside, took two steps back and glanced into the hall. He noticed Zhou He's awkward posture and smiled faintly, "Did the Commander offend Miss Hamman?"

"It's hard to understand what girls are thinking."

Zhou He gave a vague answer.

He did see the perk; Harman was wearing white pants today, so it was reasonable for him to be kicked, otherwise he wouldn't feel at ease.

"That's quite an interesting argument."

Shoukaku blinked. She was the first to disbelieve that Zhou He could bring together so many ship girls from different factions without understanding their thoughts.

Moreover, Zhou He's expression was quite relaxed, clearly indicating that she was in a good mood. She could guess what kind of misunderstanding had occurred between the two of them after a little thought. However, it was impolite to pry into other people's affairs, so she paused briefly and then changed the subject: "Today, in the sparring match between Tosa and Kaga-senpai, which side do you think will win, Commander?"

"I do not know either."

Zhou He shrugged. He was just a logistics guy; how could he comment on such professional matters? He stretched his neck and turned left and right to make sure that neither Tosa nor Kaga were there before whispering, "I think Kaga has a better chance of winning."

After all, the memories of their own battleship Kaga are different from those of Tosa. It seems that Kaga has experienced many sparring battles. In comparison, Tosa is already very skilled at fighting Sirens, but it has never actually engaged in one-on-one battles, so it lacks experience.

"The commander's orders are indeed based on some basis."

Shoukaku put his hands in his sleeves and smiled faintly.

Given Kaga's obsession with the title of Tosa, this matter definitely needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. If Kaga's strength is greater than Tosa's, then the so-called sparring is just giving Tosa a reason to acknowledge Kaga.

What if Kaga loses?

She needs to think of a more interesting way to tease the defeated Kaga.

"It was just a spur-of-the-moment decision."

Zhou He waved his hand, mainly because Tosa and Kaga's personalities were well-suited to this method. If it were Hood and Bismarck back then, he would never have allowed the two to compete against each other. Whoever won or lost would be the one to suffer the consequences as the logistics officer.

"Who is Shoukaku with...? Huh, Commander, you're up so early today too?"

Last night, Shoukaku was assigned a room, but at Zuikaku's insistence, Shoukaku stayed in Zuikaku's room for the night. The two slept together and woke up early together. Zuikaku, who was practicing 'sword techniques' outside, found that Shoukaku was missing. When she looked for him, she saw Zhou He and was quite surprised.

"I just woke up a little later than you guys, okay?"

Zhou He raised an eyebrow slightly, got up and stretched a bit. Feeling that he was not affected, he walked out of the hall and turned to look at Zuikaku, who was standing very close to Shoukaku: "Compared to this, you didn't do your morning training with Tosa today?"

"Yeah, Tosa ignored me this morning. He's probably thinking about how to spar with Kaga later."

Zuikaku spoke in a rather casual tone, not even using a respectful title when mentioning Kaga, which was quite different from the polite Shoukaku.

"Hey~"

Zhou He thought that Zuikaku had forgotten his friends after having an older sister, but it turned out that something went wrong on the Tosa side. He looked up at the figures moving in the bay and said, "I hope that Tosa and Kaga can get along well."

He didn't have any particular feelings, and after saying that, he asked Zuikaku and Shokaku if they wanted to have a meal together.

"Even a little bit more is fine, it's the same as training after eating."

Zuikaku thought about it and agreed. She sheathed her sword and told Shoukaku about Tosa's situation. At first, Tosa was quite polite to her, but since Bismarck joined, he has become more and more casual. After finishing, she sighed and said that battleships ultimately prefer to play with other battleships.

Zhou He held back his complaints, because Xianghe was right next to him, and he couldn't tell the truth.

"By the way, Commander."

Zuikaku suddenly turned to Zhou He and patted the sword at his waist: "Yesterday I saw the two Kaga sparring. When you're in close combat with the enemy, it's definitely too late for us to use our planes to intercept them. In that situation, wouldn't it be more appropriate for me to use my sword to fight back?"

"...I would rather you not let the enemy get close to you easily. I don't want you to put yourself in danger unless it's an extreme situation."

Zhou He's expression was somewhat subtle. Although the game's PV animation did show Zuikaku wielding a sword to cut down the Sirens, he felt that even a fool wouldn't agree to such a proposal to actually send an aircraft carrier into enemy lines for close combat.

"In other words, this is how it can be done in extreme situations."

Zuikaku has a strong understanding and smiled happily: "Then I still need to practice more, it might come in handy in the future."

Zhou He had nothing to say about this. He glanced at Xiang He, who was radiating a doting aura towards her younger sister and had no intention of stopping Rui He at all. Perhaps she thought that such an extreme situation was unlikely to occur.

The three moved to the restaurant, which was much livelier than the command post. The temperature there was about four or five degrees higher than at the command post and outside. Hood was eating with Javelin, while Bismarck was eating with Z23, U556, and others. Hammanman was just taking a plate from Manjuu when she saw Zhou He. She immediately bristled, baring her teeth and showing a more standard cat-like alertness than Akashi. It was hard to believe that this person wasn't from the Sakura Empire Zoo.

After nodding to Harman to calm down, Zhou He found a seat nearby. Hermione, dressed in a maid outfit, arrived even earlier than the barista. She was more professional than the barista, immediately serving each of the three of them a glass of milk and apologizing to Zhou He for not being able to greet him earlier.

"I got up early today, but I'll be coming down at this time for the next few days. I'll make up for today's mistake with tomorrow's service."

Zhou He picked up his milk, took a sip, and smiled to comfort Hermione. Hermione then revealed a bright and comforting smile: "Understood. What kind of breakfast would the Commander like to try today? The Barbarians here have prepared a lot. Breakfasts from all the factions in Asia and Europe can be sent up."

"No need for such an extravagance, just a serving of xiaolongbao and a bowl of noodles will do."

Zhou He thought for a moment and then said.

Actually, he wanted to drink porridge today, but we'll add more later.

"OK, just a second."

After inquiring about the breakfast preferences of the Zuikaku and Shoukaku sisters, Hermione bowed to the three of them while holding the tray, took two steps back, and then turned to leave and enter the kitchen.

"It's professional-grade."

Shoukaku believed that this was the best she could do.

"Hermione is amazing, she can solve any problem... Commander, you didn't secretly give Hermione any strange orders, did you?"

If Ruihe still approved of Hermione, she picked up her cup, took a sip of milk, and casually asked Zhou He a question.

"I'm a respectable person."

Zhou He glanced at her. He remembered how Yuudachi had refused to stay in his room and how Hermione had refused to help him with his bath.

With his willpower, how could he possibly have strange thoughts about his subordinates?

Of course, more importantly, the ship girl's physical abilities are somewhat superhuman. Hermione had already made him numb when she massaged him earlier, so he doesn't dare to give strange orders. If he accidentally hurts himself, that would be a huge loss.

"Hmm~ They say the more serious a person is, the weirder their ideas are."

Ruihe wasn't buying it at all, and what she said made Zhou He almost lose his composure: "What do you guys usually talk about? Harman too, you guys have really fooled me into thinking I'm a lazybones."

"Sigh~ This is not my fault. Why didn't you come downstairs sooner, Commander? When Harman asked about this, I could only answer truthfully."

Zuikaku leaned back, pretending it was none of her business.

"..."

Zhou He finally realized who was spreading rumors about him. It made sense; besides Ruihe, who else would openly say such strange things about him?

He sighed and looked at Shoukaku, who was smiling to the extreme with her eyes narrowed: "Shoukaku, you'd better keep a close eye on her. I don't want all sorts of strange rumors about me circulating in the port in the future."

"Yes, please rest assured."

Xianghe thought she should grab Ruihe's head and press it onto the table to apologize with her, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, so she could only weakly reply to Zhou He.

Manjiu's speed in serving food is super professional. We had only been chatting for a short while when different plates were brought over by Manjiu waiters. Of course, Zhou He received VIP service and was served by Hermione herself. In addition to noodles and xiaolongbao, there were some side dishes and a bowl of rice porridge.

"Hermione saw right through me again."

Zhou He was a little surprised, but not particularly surprised, because Hermione really could do many things that he could hardly imagine. He picked up the rice porridge, took a sip, and felt even more relaxed, so he praised Hermione's excellence.

Hermione accepted the compliment without hesitation.

Before long, the sun rose as usual, and the temperature outside gradually rose. Hood took his javelin to the courtyard to admire the flowers. Recently, the temperature difference between day and night has been getting bigger and bigger. In just a few days, many flowers in the restaurant courtyard have already shown signs of withering.

"Is winter already approaching?"

Zhou He felt the direct sunlight streaming through the window and clearly felt his body temperature rise. When he transmigrated, he estimated it to be autumn, and the temperature difference wasn't this pronounced then. Even now, if it rained heavily, he felt he would need to put on more clothes.

Does it snow on the island in winter?

His thoughts quickly drifted off, and he imagined that if it snowed, everyone would stay at home to keep warm or go out to play in the snow, which would definitely make it more lively.

Unlike the leisurely and carefree him, Zuikaku, after having breakfast and resting for a while, dragged Shoukaku outside, drew his sword in the sun, struck a pose, and asked Shoukaku with a grin if he thought it looked cool.

"commander."