Revisit Azur Lane

As for whether Yukikaze will be defeated by the Sirens—his mission is to defeat Yukikaze Meta, and it wasn't specified how much durability he had to reduce. Given the speed at which the Sirens reduce her health, Yukikaze probably won't be killed until the countdown ends tomorrow, so he doesn't need to worry at all.

Thinking about it carefully, the difficulty isn't particularly high, no wonder the system's rewards are visibly reduced.

"Yeah."

Jean Bart stroked his chin, gritted his teeth, got up, tossed the toothpick aside, and stretched: "Then I'll go take a nap first. Wake me up when it's time to strike."

"Sure, but don't oversleep then!"

Zhou He responded with a smile. When Jean Bart heard this, he turned around and beckoned to him with a smile as well: "Commander, you better not get caught by me and dragged to bed, or you won't be able to explain yourself."

"Haha, I'll pay attention."

Zhou He didn't care. He had only been with Barr for a short time, not to the point of forcibly dragging him to bed. In fact, he couldn't think of anyone in the port area who would forcibly drag him to bed.

Hermione wouldn't say that either, and Zhou He was quite glad that Hermione didn't say things like "warming the master's bed is also a maid's duty" or "dealing with the master's XY is also a maid's duty," otherwise he would have to put several locks on the door when he went to sleep at night.

Soon, Jean Bart disappeared from sight. Zhou He also got up and looked at the setting sun that was gradually being obscured by the mountains. He then began to take a walk, wondering if his order to withdraw his own people today was too hasty. At Yukikaze's speed, it was obvious that his own ship girls could fight to their satisfaction before returning to port.

"Tsk tsk, people's thoughts change so quickly. They can think in completely different ways in the morning and afternoon."

As he pondered, Zhou He put his hands behind his back and cleared his mind of the questions—since he had given the order, there was nothing to regret. He was the same person he was this morning, and even if his way of thinking was different, what he was thinking would definitely not change.

The port area is usually quite lively at this time of day, but it's unusually quiet today. Could it be that everyone went to bed early like Jean Bart?

"We'll see how things go tonight, and then have a symbolic exchange with Yukikaze. We'll launch a full-scale attack when it's light tomorrow."

Zhou He naturally didn't want his ship girls to play a game of "the brave wins when they meet a numerical monster" at night. Winning would be a stroke of luck, but losing would be a huge loss. He preferred a more down-to-earth approach with a guaranteed minimum return, and he wouldn't do anything like this.

The walk led back to the command post, where a few people were still there. Count Spee was still reading, and Jarvis was feeding the fox in Kaga's place. This nurse seemed to be good at taking care of not only people, but also small animals.

After finding a place to sit down, Zhou He continued to observe the situation on Xuefeng's side. Originally, she was heading straight from south to north, but there were too many Sirens blocking her way, and her course was veerging to the west. What he was most concerned about was that the Executors and the mass-produced ones were mixed together. It was impossible to count the exact number of enemies unless the map was zoomed out to the maximum, but if it was zoomed out to the maximum, the overall trend would not be observable.

It's quite troublesome.

"Ok?"

As Zhou He watched, he noticed that the previously chaotic mass-produced fleet suddenly seemed to have a brain and began to gather and encircle. The massive fleet completely surrounded Xuefeng, rendering him unable to move.

This change invigorated Zhou He, who immediately began switching areas, from South Zone 1 and West Zone 1 to South Zone 3. Finally, in the area where the Siren base was located in West Zone 4, he found three huge red dots. Based on the small human figures on the red dots, he immediately recognized them as the 'Tester,' 'Purifier,' and 'Eliminator' of the Siren Experiment Agency. He had even beaten the first two to death a few days ago, so he recognized them at a glance. Only the Eliminator, after some hesitation, rang out.

"The Sirens have actually deployed their veteran officers. Looks like they want to capture my Yukikaze and make her work illegally?"

Zhou He was slightly alarmed. A single Siren officer was nothing to fear, but if three attacked together, his ship girls wouldn't be able to kill them all in one go. There was a high chance they would be ambushed by their high-tech weapons, and Yukikaze, who was out of her mind, would definitely suffer a great loss!

Should I take action?

He was calculating that a disorganized Siren fleet was not strong, but if it had a controller, its strength would at least double.

Looking at Yukikaze's personal panel again... the damage level is still increasing rapidly.

"What's wrong, Commander? Your furrowed brows make you look older."

Just then, Kaga led Tosa into the gate. Seeing Zhou He's bitter face, Kaga found it amusing and went up to chat. Zhou He had nothing to hide and directly told him about the appearance of three Siren officers.

"Siren cadres?"

Kaga tilted her head and thought for a moment before finally recalling that when she first joined the port, she had indeed defeated an individual that was different from the other Sirens.

It felt pretty easy fighting that one, but now being chased by a bunch of mass-produced sirens is extremely frustrating.

"What is the status of the Sirens around the port area?"

Tosa asked, explaining that yesterday she had overheard Nagashima muttering something about how defeating powerful enemies could yield more and rarer items.

She doesn't care about rarity; what she cares about is the possibility of ship girls dropping after defeating the Sirens. Kaga was blasted out by her in a critical moment. If a similar situation occurs again, there's a high probability that a senior who protects her juniors will appear, namely the perfect Amagi!

"It's hard to say, but it's clear that a large portion of them were involved in the interception operation. The exact number requires aerial reconnaissance."

Zhou He's gaze narrowed slightly. If it were a mass-produced type and an executor, even if the battle went on until tomorrow, Yukikaze wouldn't run out of durability and have to dismantle its ship equipment. However, with the intervention of the experimenters, the firepower would be on another level. Even if he didn't want to admit it, tonight was probably the most suitable time for him to launch an attack, cooperating with the Siren experimenters to take down Yukikaze in one fell swoop, and incidentally kill those three idiots.

"Great! Let's go find Zuikaku."

Kaga nodded slightly. The aircraft carrier she was familiar with and had the best relationship with was Zuikaku. Shoukaku was more capable than Zuikaku in all aspects, but their relationship was not very good. Shoukaku would sometimes say some strange things to her, and sometimes she would speak up for her, which was very strange.

Before Zhou He could say anything more, Kaga led Tosa up to the second floor. Zhou He leaned back on the sofa and looked at Tosa, who was following Kaga. This morning, Kursk made her first appearance at the meeting, and Kaga had also met Kursk without any effort, thus fulfilling her promise to Tosa.

The two had by then become true sisters.

"Is Zuikaku also resting so early?"

Zhou He was quite surprised. She was usually very capable. Could it be that she wanted to show off her skills again tonight?

If that's the case, then he can take a look at the aircraft carrier's combat capabilities at night!

Chapter 111 Just click it

The bright moon hung in the sky, its reflection in the sea constantly changing with the ripples of the waves.

Along the beach, where the lights of the tower occasionally pass by, groups of people gather in several small groups.

"It's alright! Commander, don't worry about it. The reason why aircraft carriers are not good at night operations is because the training and cost of pilots and aircraft are expensive and cannot be wasted. The aircraft we are sending out now are all unmanned, and it is not difficult to replenish them. Don't worry, we will go and take care of those Sirens' officers and bring Yukikaze back to you!"

In the crowd, Ruihe, who had changed into a coat because she had been told to, was now trying to persuade Zhou He, who was about to speak. She placed her hands on Zhou He's shoulders and looked at him earnestly.

"...I haven't said anything yet."

Zhou He subtly looked away, unable to withstand Ruihe's 'enthusiastic' gaze, and reached out to pull Ruihe's hands down and tugged at her collar: "What I'm trying to say is, if there's really no other way, you should just sink Yukikaze completely to prevent the Sirens from taking her body away for experiments."

"Oh, is that so?"

Zuikaku blinked, then suddenly hugged her arms and rubbed them together, looking around as if she hadn't said anything at all: "It's a bit cold tonight, Commander, remember to wear more clothes so you don't catch a cold."

"Hmph? No wonder the Sirens ignored us and went to attack Yukikaze. It seems the Sirens' research on us wasn't as thorough as we thought."

Ignoring Zuikaku's attempt to build a castle with her toes, Hood made a sound that was difficult to understand. Her fingers lightly stroked her smooth chin. She was not surprised that Zhou He would issue this order: to prevent Yukikaze, who had abnormal combat abilities, from falling into the hands of the Sirens, so that she could rest in peace.

Since it was already close to 11 o'clock, the latest operation since the completion of Zhouhe Port Area, everyone seemed a bit more relaxed than during the day. Many people hadn't even bothered to style their hair. However, Miss Hu De was still dressed very elegantly and gracefully as always.

"At this moment, according to the commander, Yukikaze is located 35 to 40 nautical miles west of the port area and is surrounded by Sirens."

Bismarck clearly didn't try to figure out what the Sirens were thinking about their research, but instead directly discussed the steps of this operation with Zhou He: "But before that, we need to wait for the experimental Sirens hidden in the mass-produced fleet to fight with Yukikaze first, and then launch a surprise attack to sink the experimental Sirens. After that, we will deal with Yukikaze and the mass-produced fleet, prioritizing the Sirens, and then destroying Yukikaze."

"Correct."

Zhou He glanced at the system map, where it was clearly visible that the three testers had approached within ten nautical miles of Yukikaze. Under their command, the mass-produced fleet, advancing wave after wave, had reduced Yukikaze's durability to less than 20,000.

Yukikaze's durability dropped faster and faster as the battle progressed. Within half an hour of waking up his ship girls and gathering them here, Yukikaze's durability had plummeted from 23,000 to just over 19,000. At this rate, Yukikaze's durability would be reduced to zero in less than two hours.

In addition, since the durability of a ship girl is linked to the condition of her ship equipment, Yukikaze must be in poor condition in terms of both combat power and physical strength at this time. Therefore, he speculated that the three veteran officers would most likely capture Yukikaze during this period, rather than kill her directly.

After all, meta ship girls are quite rare, especially those in berserk mode. Taking them back and repairing them would be excellent, whether for testing data or as watchdogs.

"If you lose, just withdraw. I have a backup plan."

After thinking for a moment, Zhou He added another sentence.

Although it was a limited-time event, Yukikaze Meta eventually appeared in his dock. He had the right to repair her. If all else failed, he would repair Yukikaze and restore her to her peak combat power so she could beat up the Sirens. He would figure out a solution tomorrow.

"understood."

Bismarck nodded slightly, and the people around him relaxed a little. It was their first night raid, and they were sure they could win, but there would still be pressure.

"For this operation, well, everyone should go early and come back early. If you want to have a late-night snack, you can sign up with me in advance, and I'll prepare it for you."

Zhou He wanted to say something to boost morale, but then thought better of it and shrugged, smiling as he spoke.

"I want something cold and icy!"

When it came to food, one person in the crowd raised his hand without thinking. Zhou He looked over and, unsurprisingly, it was his little glutton. But what exactly did "icy and refreshing" refer to? Was it something hard like ice cream or something soft like jelly?

"Don't take the bait!"

Kaga, who was next to Yuudachi, pressed down on Yuudachi's head. She even wanted to scold Zhou He to be more serious, but when she saw his smiling face, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over her. In the end, she pouted and turned away: "After the battle, I'm only going to the victory celebration. Tosa, let's go!"

"Don't order me around."

Tosa retorted, glanced at Zhou He, and then turned to follow Kaga.

"These two are actually too shy to say what they like to eat, so please prepare a late-night snack for them as well, Commander."

Jintsu, who had already become familiar with the Sakura Empire members, smiled and explained for Kaga and Tosa. Then, he spread his hands and beckoned to Yuudachi, Ayanami, and Haguro before gesturing to Zhou He: "Well then, let's set off too."

"Okay, Zuikaku and Shoukaku, you two go too, and keep an eye on them for me."

Zhou He nodded, exchanged a few more words with Bismarck, Yorktown, and others, watched his fleet members depart, and before turning his gaze away, glanced at Kursk and Lingmin standing at the edge of the crowd…

Ok?

He rubbed his eyes and looked at the nimble figures surrounding Kursk. When did they sneak in? He hadn't even noticed them. Were they hidden from view by Kursk's figure?

"You didn't even say hello to Lingmin. Next time, let's meet in a well-lit area."

Zhou He thought to himself, then turned and walked toward the brightly lit command building. He glanced at the unlit new dormitory and the Iron Blood Mansion. Now that he had a place to live, it felt like there were fewer family members. Such a big house, yet it lacked the warmth of human connection.

"Will the large-scale construction continue tomorrow?"

Zhou He muttered to himself.

……

Raising the gaze, the sea, which should have been calm and reflected the beautiful moonlight and starry sky, was invaded by a massive fleet that was pitch black and scarlet, exuding an ominous aura. Wisps of black smoke stretched from the south to the west, more than a hundred nautical miles away. Beneath the black smoke floated and burned the wrecked warships, which had not yet completely sunk and were still radiating residual heat.

The area where the battle was taking place was actually quite simple: a figure that stood out conspicuously in the darkness, surrounded by a large number of warships, its form obscured by smoke and seawater from exploding shells. It could only be observed for a few seconds after emerging from its concealed position.

It was a young girl with long, white, silk-like hair draped over her shoulders. She wore a black dress that looked as if it had been painted and red shoes. She sat sideways on a white giant wolf that was about 1.5 meters tall and more than 2 meters long with lifeless eyes. The wolf's body was covered with simple ship rigging. On both sides of its shoulders were several nearly destroyed ship cannons, and its legs were strapped with empty torpedo launchers.

At this moment, the white wolf's fur was burned black and it was covered in wounds from the continuous shelling, but there was no blood. Yukikaze herself was not harmed at all. The reason was that a protective layer composed of visible blue and white light spots surrounded her. Whether it was the cannonballs from the warship or the explosives from the sky, they would be blocked by this protective layer. However, with each attack, the giant wolf under her would have more wounds.

Thus, the scene unfolds as follows: Under the moonlight, a young girl rides a giant wolf across the sea, dodging oncoming warships and launching a counterattack.

"That's strange. Yukikaze seems to be unconscious, but the dog she's riding seems to have its own consciousness and wants to escape our encirclement."

The Purifier, hiding inside the fleet, observed Yukikaze's condition. Several hours had passed, and Yukikaze's main body hadn't made any move; only the dog was running around incessantly—who exactly was the main body?

She had seen quite a few meta-version ship girls, and some of them did have bizarre changes to their ship equipment. However, when they went into berserk mode, they would basically attack anyone they saw, and would not run away like the one in front of her.

"There has never been a precedent for ship equipment to take the lead in everything. This ship girl probably lost consciousness shortly before she appeared here. Her mind had not yet completely gone berserk, and the ship equipment is carrying out her last orders."