I, Yuhaka, am hungry!

"Unfortunately, I didn't receive any signal, and what's with this nickname 'Z23-chan'? It sounds weird."

Hearing Z23's words, Javelin scratched her cheek with an embarrassed expression and said to Z23:

"Haha... because it sounds more approachable that way..."

After hearing Javelin's explanation, Z23 looked a little embarrassed and said:

"Well... if that's the case, you can just call me 23. No need for honorifics. We were both destroyer students in the same year at the academy."

Hearing Z23's words, Javelin smiled brightly at Z23 and said:

"Okay! 23-chan!"

"That's why you shouldn't call me 'sauce'!"

Just then, Ayanami, who had been hugging her knees, stood up as if something had happened in the gloomy weather. Seeing Ayanami's reaction, Javelin, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but stand up and ask:

"What's wrong, Ayanami-chan? Did you find something?"

Upon hearing the question about the javelin, Ayanami narrowed her eyes, gazing at the distant scene, and spoke:

"Hmm... I feel like I just saw some kind of light..."

"Huh?! Where?!"

Upon hearing Ayanami's words, the ship girls present all stood up and looked in the direction Ayanami was looking. Unfortunately, due to the thick fog that appeared at some unknown time, they could not see the situation clearly. Z23, who was standing nearby, also tried to make contact via communication, but unfortunately, she did not receive any signal.

"No signal, Ayanami, are you sure you saw something?"

In response to Z23's question, Ayanami nodded with a very certain expression and said:

"Yes, I'm quite sure. I saw a flash of white light before the fog rolled in, but I couldn't see anything after the fog came in."

After hearing Ayanami's explanation, Z23 also fell into thought. After all, this was related to whether they could be found. Their current location was unknown because the sea chart they had could not find the location of this island. Although they did not know how they were moved to this place, they had previously been on a mission to destroy the Siren reconnaissance fleet in a certain sea area. But for some reason, when they were fighting the Siren forces, a strange light suddenly flashed, and then they appeared here.

After some thought, Z23 looked at Laffey and the others present and said:

"Ayanami and I will go and take a look. If they are searching for our comrades, I will fire a white flare. If it is a red flare, it means we are engaged in battle with the enemy."

Hearing Z23's suggestion, Ayanami nodded in agreement. After all, she had discovered the white light herself and was going to follow it to investigate. Javelin, standing to the side, looked at Z23 with a somewhat worried expression and said:

"Um, 23-chan, are you sure it's okay if it's just the two of you?"

Regarding Javelin's concerns, Z23 reassured Javelin by saying:

"That's no problem. Javelin, if it's just the two of us, we can save some fuel. We won't put all our hopes on this somewhat unclear reconnaissance. Of course, I'd prefer to find some clues."

Upon hearing Z23's words, Javelin hesitated for a moment before telling them to be careful. In response, Ayanami and Z23 gave each other a thumbs-up to indicate that they were okay. Then, the two transformed into their ship rigging and rushed out into the rain, jumping onto the sea and gliding across it like ice skaters.

Watching Ayanami and Z23 run off, Javelin looked at the thick fog on the sea in the distance with a worried expression. Although she didn't know why the fog would appear at this time, Javelin had a bad feeling.

Raffi glanced at Javelin, who was standing nearby looking very worried, and then looked up and yawned. But it was while Raffi was yawning that he suddenly noticed a peculiar twin-tailed shooting star in the distance.

"...A strange shooting star?"

Meanwhile, those who were worried about Ayanami and Z23's javelin did not notice this scene.

.................................................. ..............................

On Ayanami and Z23's side, due to the thick fog, the two couldn't help but move a little closer together to avoid getting separated in the fog.

Z23 looked around and couldn't help but be puzzled. Looking at the strange fog, he said:

"This thick fog looks a bit eerie... Ayanami, what do you think?"

Upon hearing Z23's words, Ayanami nodded in agreement and said:

"Yes, when I was looking at the sea earlier, I saw a white light, and then this thick fog appeared."

After receiving Ayanami's reply, Z23 looked at her with an incredulous expression and said:

"So, you only saw the thick fog emerge after that white light appeared, Ayanami?"

Ayanami nodded in agreement with Z23's question. After seeing Ayanami's nod, Z23 thought for a moment and then said to her:

"Well... in any case, it's best to be cautious with this operation. I have a feeling there might be something wrong with this thick fog."

Upon hearing Z23's reminder, Ayanami nodded in understanding. The two then accelerated, and soon after passing through a thick fog, they spotted a ship floating on the distant sea.

"Huh? What's that? A warship?"

Z23 looked at the distant warship with a puzzled expression, while Ayanami, standing beside her, looked at the distant warship with a somewhat surprised expression and said:

"That's... a Nagara-class light cruiser?"

Hearing Ayanami's words, Z23 looked at her with a puzzled expression and asked:

"Ayanami, do you recognize that warship?"

Regarding the question about Z23, Ayanami nodded to indicate that she recognized it. After all, it was a Nagara-class light cruiser from the Sakura Empire, and Ayanami was naturally familiar with her comrades from the same faction.

"Well, she is, after all, a member of the Sakura Empire, but... why is she here?"

When Z23 heard Ayanami's question, she had the same question. After all, the area where they were carrying out their mission was under the jurisdiction of Ironblood, so it was unlikely that Sakura Empire ships would come. So why would a Nagara-class light cruiser come to this place?

Could it be that they ran into the Sakura Empire region?

This made Ayanami and Z23 even more puzzled, since they never acted alone, but this time the other side was only one person... or rather, a ship? Anyway, something just felt off.

Z23 then glanced at the Nagara-class light cruiser floating on the sea and said:

"Fine, let's go investigate anyway. We'll have to find out whether it's a trap or something else."

Upon hearing Z23's suggestion, Ayanami nodded in agreement, since there weren't any other good options at the moment.

Volume 1 [Lazy Chapters]: Chapter 1264 [Superior Anti-Ship Missile]

As Ayanami and Z23 headed towards the Nagara-class light cruiser, Z23 tried to contact the Nagara-class light cruiser anchored on the sea. Unfortunately, the communication was as silent as a rock sunk to the bottom of the sea. This puzzled Z23, who then spoke up:

"How strange... why can't I connect to the internet?"

Upon hearing Z23's words, Ayanami stopped and looked at Z23, saying:

"Can't get in touch? I'll try."

As she spoke, Ayanami also tried to contact the Nagara-class light cruiser in front of her, but unfortunately, just like Z23, Ayanami's communication failed to reach the Nagara-class light cruiser, which made Ayanami feel puzzled.

"How about it?"

"I can't get in touch with them, it feels weird. Why can't I contact them?"

After exchanging a glance, the two men also felt that the Nagara-class light cruiser in front of them was strange. They thought it was very likely a trap set by the Sirens. Even so, they decided to board the ship to investigate, just in case someone needed rescue.

As the two approached the Nagara-class light cruiser, suddenly, strange red patterns lit up all over its body. Ayanami and Z23 were stunned by this sight. They hadn't expected the Nagara-class light cruiser to glow like that. Then, when they saw the enemy's turrets begin to turn in their direction, they immediately realized that the enemy was at large!

The two separated abruptly and launched an attack on each other with their ship-mounted cannons. After all, they understood the principle of striking first. However, just as their cannons were about to hit their opponent, a strange field of several hexagonal points suddenly lit up on the enemy ship, instantly neutralizing their cannon attacks. Seeing this, Ayanami and Z23 were dumbfounded. Although they had seen the energy shields on the Sirens' fleet before, Z23 knew very well that the energy shields were completely different from the Sirens' energy shields they had seen.

"That energy shield looks like something I've never seen before in the records. Is it some new technology from the Sirens?!"

Regarding the Z23 question, Ayanami shook her head, indicating she didn't know, and said:

"I don't know, but—if it's an energy shield, then there must be a limit to the number of attacks it can defend against!"

Upon hearing Ayanami's words, Z23 nodded and said:

"That's right, the opponent's energy shield does have a limit to the number of attacks it can withstand. Just attack with all your might!"

As they spoke, Z23 and Ayanami's ship-mounted torpedo tubes were ready. At the same time, the enemy's artillery fire came. Z23 and Ayanami easily dodged the attack. After all, for two destroyers like Z23 and Ayanami, such sparse barrages were unlikely to hit them. They were ship girls who had participated in several battles and were used to facing storms of bullets.

After the two dodged the barrage of attacks, Z23 instructed Ayanami to launch torpedoes with her to deliver a torpedo attack to the enemy. Upon hearing Z23's command, Ayanami indicated that she understood, and the two then launched a salvo of torpedoes at the Nagara-class light cruiser.

As the torpedoes flew in a fan shape toward the Nagara-class light cruiser, the Nagara-class light cruiser also noticed the torpedo attack from Z23 and Ayanami. However, the Nagara-class light cruiser did not take the attack seriously. The enemy slightly changed direction to try to reduce the area to be hit by the torpedoes. However, the torpedoes launched by Z23 and Ayanami were launched from two different positions, presenting an intersecting trajectory. It was basically impossible to dodge the torpedoes launched by the two people at the same time.

Just as the other side had expected, when Z23 and Ayanami's torpedoes hit the Nagara-class light cruiser, the strange energy shield blocked their attacks. Seeing this, Z23 and Ayanami couldn't help but show a shocked expression. Clearly, the energy shield of the Nagara-class light cruiser was showing a capability that was truly astonishing to them.

"Isn't the defensive capability of this energy shield a bit too overpowered?!"

Ayanami commented on the defensive capabilities of the Nagara-class light cruiser's energy shield, while Z23 looked at her with a serious expression and said:

"No, that's unlikely. There must be a limit to the damage they can withstand. It's impossible for them to be able to keep attacking us indefinitely!"

Then, Z23 suggested to Ayanami:

"Once the torpedoes are ready again, we'll fire another salvo. But before that, we need to use artillery to reduce the enemy's energy shield limit as much as possible."

Hearing Z23's words, Ayanami nodded to indicate that she understood, but soon she noticed something and spoke to Z23:

"Um... Z23, I think we've really angered them."

"?"

Upon hearing Ayanami's reminder, Z23 looked puzzled. However, when Z23 looked towards the direction of the Nagara-class light cruiser, she saw that some parts of the Nagara-class light cruiser were opening up. Seeing this, Z23 felt that it looked familiar. Soon, Z23 realized something, and then, just as she thought, the parts opening up on the Nagara-class light cruiser were vertical missile launchers.

As missiles soared into the sky, Ayanami and Z23 both showed surprised expressions. They clearly hadn't expected the Nagara-class light cruiser to launch missiles. After all, this was an unprecedented case. The Sirens fleet mostly relied on various laser and plasma weapons for attacks, and they didn't really care about missiles.

Or... maybe they don't intend to use it at all?

After the missiles took off, they split up and chased after Ayanami and Z23. Seeing this, Z23 and Ayanami started strafing the anti-aircraft guns while simultaneously retreating. As some missiles were destroyed by the anti-aircraft guns, the missiles seemed to know that Z23 and Ayanami could destroy them, and they began to fly in different directions, their flight paths becoming unpredictable. This caused Z23 and Ayanami to show expressions of shock, clearly not expecting that the missiles could be remotely controlled after being launched.

Furthermore, the constant firing and torpedoes from the Nagara-class light cruisers made things difficult for Z23 and Ayanami. Just then, two different guns suddenly fired a series of fireballs from different positions on Z23 and Ayanami, shooting down the missiles that were trying to attack them. Seeing this, Z23 and Ayanami looked in the direction of the attack and saw Javelin waving at them and Laffey looking serious.

"23-chan~ Ayanami-chan~ We're here to help!"

Upon seeing that it was Javelin and Laffey, Z23 and Ayanami looked at them with surprise and said:

"Javelin, Lafite?! What are you doing here?!"

After all, the two hadn't sent a signal flare to Laffey and the others yet, and Javelin and the others' ability to arrive so quickly surprised Z23 and the others. Javelin explained their confusion: after Z23 and the others entered the fog, Javelin tried to contact them using communication, but the communication seemed to be interfered with, preventing them from reaching them, so they followed after them.

After hearing Javelin's explanation, Z23 understood why Javelin and her team were able to get to them so quickly; that was the reason.

"Alright, no matter what, let's quickly take care of that strange Siren ship!"

Upon hearing Z23's words, Javelin and the others nodded in understanding. Just as they were about to make their move, a streak of silver light fell from the sky, striking the Nagara-class light cruiser right in front of them.

P.S.: It seems like not many people have joined the group. As for what the group is for, well, it's for posting extra chapters, of course! OwO

Volume 1 [Lazy to Divide into Chapters]: Chapter 1265 [YuYu-chan Mistaken for a Submarine]

With a deafening crash, the Nagara-class light cruiser before Laffey and her companions seemed to snap in two. The mysterious shields on the Nagara-class, capable of withstanding several torpedoes, were easily torn apart like paper. The Nagara-class cruiser was slammed into the sea by the massive projectile, creating huge waves. Laffey and her companions quickly regained their balance, as they had learned this in school. They knew that areas with Siren fleets rarely had good weather; wind and rain were commonplace, and in severe cases, extreme conditions like tornadoes and tsunamis could occur. Even battleships and aircraft carriers had to tread carefully in such environments.

Raffi and the others stared blankly at the bubbles rising on the sea. Clearly, they were also stunned by this sudden attack that stole their kill. They had been prepared for battle, but they never expected to have their kill stolen by this unknown attack.

Z23 looked completely bewildered at what she was seeing. She had just thought it was going to be a tough battle, but suddenly someone had snatched it away.

Most importantly, what was that thing that attacked the Nagara-class light cruiser? Because it was so fast, Z23 only saw that it had a silver exterior and looked like some kind of huge aircraft, not like a missile.