Revisit Azur Lane

"I really hope others can see how you bully people, Commander."

Ruihe understood, but she was used to it. She crossed her arms, tapped her fingers lightly on her arm, and sighed.

“I didn’t bully you. In Shoukaku’s opinion, it should be you who made things difficult for me.”

Zhou He didn't push his luck. Instead, he smiled and nodded to Xiang He, who was watching from a distance. He then took his binoculars and walked past Zuikaku, saying, "None of that matters. I need your cooperation on something, Zuikaku. Come with me."

"...I always feel like the you I see is not the same person as the you that other people see. Never mind, what's up?"

Zuikaku also exchanged a glance with Shoukaku, and could clearly feel the oppressive feeling contained in Shoukaku's gaze. He pouted and followed Zhou He down the slope.

Ignoring Ruihe's complaints, Zhou He squinted and gazed into the distance. He couldn't see anything with the naked eye, but with binoculars, he could spot the Sirens slowly sailing on the sea. He pointed and said, "There's a Sirens squadron over there. Ruihe, find a few men to sink them and come back."

"Aha?"

Zuikaku shielded her eyes from the sunlight and peered out. Sure enough, she spotted the Siren fleet. She pointed in other directions and said, "Commander, you're not wrong, are you? We're surrounded by Sirens now. Aren't you afraid of being attacked by them if we do this?"

"If I'm not afraid, what are you afraid of?"

Zhou He coughed softly. He wanted to see just how strong his island's cognitive distortion ability was. As for the Sirens around him? The dozen or so ship girls around him were enough to crush a mass-produced fleet of thirty or forty people. He wasn't afraid at all.

"You said it yourself, so don't blame me if anything goes wrong."

After applying the exemption armor again, Zuikaku, having shaken off her humiliated state when facing Zhou He, walked towards Shoukaku with high spirits, rubbing her hands together. After explaining to her, she approached Tosa, Jintsu, and Yuudachi, while the others formed a five-person team to attack. However, her actions were noticed by Cleveland, who approached her to inquire and then actively joined the battle.

"Okay, you can proceed with the attack like this."

When Ruihe returned to report, he received Zhou He's approval. Zhou He didn't care how many people went out to fight; his main concern was whether the system's cognitive distortion ability could directly cause the 'target-locked' Siren fleet to 'lose its target'.

If possible, he would have much more room to maneuver; these Siren fleets hovering near the port are pure experience points.

-

With Zhou He's permission, the eight-person team from Sakura Empire and Eagle Union went to the coast, unloaded their ship equipment, and set sail. Bismarck, who had come back to check on the situation, stayed by Zhou He's side and watched Zuikaku and the others' performance.

While Zuikaku and his crew were sailing near the island, the Sirens outside remained completely unmoved. They didn't even react when the carrier-based aircraft took off. It wasn't until the aircraft reached a certain critical point that the Sirens in the distance seemed to smell blood and set up their anti-aircraft guns for self-defense.

The same applies to Yuudachi and Cleveland in the front row; they were only discovered and attacked by the Sirens after leaving the island and reaching a certain range.

"Five li."

Bismarck silently calculated in her mind and gave a precise number: if they moved within five miles of the island, they would not be discovered by the Sirens outside.

This technology is incredible, but she couldn't find any hidden equipment bases in the command building, the port area, or along the way. This made her realize that this matter was most likely related to Zhou He's existence.

Having gained the upper hand and with overwhelming numerical superiority, the Sirens' mass-produced fleet was wiped out before it could put up a fight.

Then, something unexpected happened.

A figure emerged from the backdrop of the explosion that caused the annihilation of this small fleet.

Chapter Ninety-Eight: Detour Ahead

"what?"

Zhou He held up his binoculars and saw the ship girls emerging from the flames of war. For the first time, he felt a sense of unfamiliarity with the system's kill drop rate.

Before, I fought to the death outside and only lost a few ships, but this time I went out to test it out and I lost one. Moreover, the ship that lost was not an ordinary ship. The main body of this ship's equipment is a black and red living mechanical dragon (fish?) carrying multiple ship guns. Another mechanical dragon extends from its main body. It is shaped like a scythe and is very huge. The huge ship gun is raised high on its head.

The ship girl herself was sitting on a platform that extended out like spider legs from her main body. Black was the main color of her outfit, with red engravings on the collar of her coat, and a pair of small red horns on her head.

"Bismarck, that's a ship girl from your Ironblood, Ulrich von Hutten, a battleship born from the world line where Project Z was successfully implemented."

Zhou He recognized her at a glance, not because she was a colorful ship in the game, but because Hutten (Ulrich)'s ship equipment was too easy to recognize, making her a unique presence in Iron Blood.

Upon hearing this, Bismarck turned her gaze away from the distance, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she looked down at Zhou He: "Commander, your memory observation range is so wide, won't it put a burden on your body?"

Previously, Zhou He had spoken eloquently about other timelines of Sakura Empire. Later, the arrival of Battleship Kaga confirmed the existence of other timelines unknown to them. Now, another new timeline involving Ironblood has arrived. Is such a massive amount of information really something that ordinary humans can accept and process?

"Hmm? Oh, it's alright. I'll only get knowledge related to you, and I won't know about the changes and trends in those worlds."

When asked this question by Bismarck, Zhou He was taken aback for a moment before smiling and explaining.

In reality, he was just reading out the personal information in the system's dock. He recognized Hu Teng only because he had played the game, so there was no physical burden involved.

If he had to say something, it would be that he hadn't really gotten to know Hu Teng, and he felt a bit awkward facing a strange woman. But as strange as the Ironblood people were, they all had one thing in common: as long as you treated them seriously and attentively when you first met them, you were sure to be right.

"That's good."

Bismarck scrutinized Zhou He to make sure he wasn't lying before turning her gaze back to Hu Teng, who had joined up with Ruihe's squad. She felt a subtle sense of pleasure; it seemed their Iron-Blooded family had more members than she had imagined.

"correct."

Distracted by Bismarck, Zhou He almost forgot to give Zuikaku a new order. He quickly informed Zuikaku through the dock that she should lead the team to find the next nearest Siren fleet, and not sink them all at once. Instead, leave a few ships to let them get close, and then retreat back to the island to observe whether they would chase after them.

As for Hu Teng, Zhou He said: if she wants to fight with the team, then she can join the battle; if she doesn't want to fight, then she can return to base and reunite with him.

After finishing, he shut down the system and began to descend the slope towards the coastline.

"Commander, wouldn't it be too risky to go now?"

Hermione followed Zhou He's side, not directly stopping him but asking questions from the side. Zhou He smiled and waved his hand: "I believe that Ruihe and the others will neutralize the approaching sirens."

Even so…

Hermione actually wanted to persuade him further, but she didn't say it, trusting Ruihe and his group whom Zhou He trusted: "I understand."

At this time, apart from the members who went out to fight, there were 6 people accompanying Zhou He. Their safety goes without saying. What needs to be paid attention to is the stray bullets that fly in from the battlefield. The battlefield is more than ten miles away from the island. Even battleships would need to aim carefully to hit them. Zhou He is extremely cautious when sending his own ship girls out to fight, but he does not give rigorous and thorough consideration when he acts on his own.

This is due to his personality, and it is also a flaw in his character.

When they were far away, they couldn't see clearly, but the closer they got to the coastline, the more Zhou He could catch the outline of his own ship girl on the sea with his naked eye, even though there was only one of them.

……

"When we first met, everyone called me Commander."

Faced with the tall, slender girl whose ship equipment had dissipated after landing, and who scrutinized him with her pale gold eyes, Zhou He boldly stepped forward to strike up a conversation, introducing the people around him.

"Commander Zhou He."

Hutten picked out the name that Zhou He had deliberately omitted and read it aloud, but did not say much afterward. He simply saluted Zhou He and said, "Ulrich von Hutten, you are hereby appointed to the port district today."

"Welcome."

Zhou He hadn't been addressed by his first name in a long time, and being called by Hu Teng even felt a sense of novelty. After confirming that the other party was willing to join the port area, he relaxed and smiled, spreading his hands: "Then, from today onwards I will call you Hu Teng, is that alright?"

"Of course, only titles that can be used by the commander have value as names."

Hu Teng's speech made Zhou He unsure of the distance between him and this ship girl, but he sensed a familiar feeling from those few words: simple words mixed with a touch of elegance.

Facing the first colorful ship in his own port, he had many questions, such as combat strength and whether it had any special abilities. However, considering that she did not have a 'skill' panel, he figured she wouldn't be too different from the others. So he simply talked about the recent battle between the port and the Sirens.

Further away, Zuikaku and Shoukaku located the second unfortunate Siren fleet and launched an air attack. This Siren fleet consisted of one battlecruiser and two heavy cruisers, a configuration Zhou He had encountered when he advanced to the second round of the region. Now, it was just loitering near his home.

It is worth noting that the two sisters encountered strong resistance during their air raid – shortly after the air raid was launched, a group of Sirens arrived at the scene from afar, and the two groups of aircraft collided.

"Tsk, that's a pretty quick reaction."

Zuikaku had anticipated this situation, as it had happened the last time they confronted the Sirens. After dealing with the first wave of the Sirens' fleet, the Sirens' carriers converged from all directions, making it a real headache for her and Shoukaku to deal with.

She skillfully maneuvered her fighter jets to shoot down the Sirens' carrier-based aircraft. After a cursory glance at the Sirens fleet, which had been crippled by their air raids and reduced to two destroyers, she decisively relayed the order to the others: "The objective has been achieved. Do not attract too many Sirens. We are retreating."

"Aha!?"

Upon hearing this, Yuudachi, who was charging towards the enemy position, slammed on the brakes and nearly fell. But an order is an order. Yuudachi glanced regretfully into the distance, drew a beautiful semi-circular white line on the sea, and began to move away from the Sirens. Along the way, she joined up with the Cleveland sisters, who were a bit slower. Listening to the distant sound of artillery fire, she caught up with the Tosa, who was also turning back. Finally, she joined the Fifth Carrier Division sisters, who were standing still, operating their formation and wrestling with the Sirens.

"Shokaku-nee, we're retreating too. Be careful not to sink the Sirens, in case new members appear and we get directly into a crisis."

Ruihe had been teased by Zhou He more than once for not getting a ship, which gave her a feeling that "it will be her turn soon." So every time she retreated, she stopped attacking the Sirens' fleet with all her might to avoid actually getting a ship but being unable to provide support because the Sirens were in their territory.

"Zuikaku, you've grown a bit more; you've become a little more attentive."

Seeing the fallen Shoukaku after killing the enemy, Zhou He quickly understood and praised Zuikaku while ordering the carrier-based aircraft to return to base. Zuikaku was so happy that three of its carrier-based aircraft were shot down by the Sirens on the spot. Zhou He quickly composed himself and assisted the other carrier-based aircraft in returning to base. Even though Zhou He could resupply indefinitely, he would still try to recover as much of his personal property as possible for peace of mind.

She added, "The commander instructed us to wait until the Sirens' planes or warships get close before entering within five miles of the port island to observe whether the Sirens will follow us in."

"As expected of a commander, the orders he issues are things that ordinary people cannot understand."

Cleveland knew that Zhou He was testing his guesses, but hearing these words from Ruihe still made her laugh and complain.

"It raises questions about his thought process in conducting such an unusual test."

Montpellier unusually echoed Zhou He's statement, mainly because what they did this time was too dangerous. Even if the Sirens couldn't find their port location, weren't they afraid that the Sirens' ships or carrier-based aircraft would follow them into the airspace above the port during the battle, causing their anti-reconnaissance protection to fail?

"Haha, if the commander's orders are too normal, I'll start to wonder if he's abnormal."

Ruihe joined the group chat, and when it comes to Zhou He's strange commands, she definitely has the most say.

"...Your way of thinking is a bit strange too."

Montpellier felt that Ruihe was being a bit extreme. After all, Zhou He's instructions had never gone wrong, so he shouldn't be belittled like this.

Others shared similar feelings, and after a brief exchange, it was Ruihe who sighed, realizing once again that there was a huge difference between the image of Zhou He in the eyes of others and the image of Zhou He in her eyes.

Although the Sirens fleet was following closely behind, the group was not worried at all, because they could turn around and wipe them out at any time. Retreating was just a task assigned by Zhou He.

Soon after, they returned to the vicinity of the island's starting point and saw Zhou He standing on the shore, chatting and strolling with others. Ruihe was so startled that she almost screamed, thinking to herself that she must give Zhou He a good talking-to this time.

After Zuikaku and Shokaku abandoned the battle for air superiority, the Sirens' carrier-based aircraft quickly caught up and were about to launch a dive attack when Zuikaku and his crew successfully entered within five miles of the island.

Surprisingly, the group of sirens that were diving down abruptly stopped their attack, circled in the air once, and then flew away.

Chapter Ninety-Nine: High-Quality Vehicle

"Wow, it's just as the commander predicted."

On the shore, Hammanman, the only White Eagle girl who hadn't joined the attack, watched the dispersing Siren fleet with an indescribable expression.

Zhou He just smiled and didn't say anything more. He suddenly remembered that when he first transmigrated, the system popped up a cutscene with the message "Arrange your game time reasonably and enjoy a healthy life." At the time, he complained about what the system was doing, but now it seems that he had misunderstood the system.

Although he didn't know if there had ever been an event in Kantai Collection or Kantai Collection R where the Abyss attacked a player's port, it hadn't happened in Azur Lane. In other words, the port was set up as the safest place, and for him, this island was a 'safe house' created for him by the system.

"So this is where it's located."

Zhou He couldn't help but laugh a couple more times. Before this, he felt that his system was just at a normal level, but now he truly understood what it meant to have a cheat code.