Revisiting Azur Lane

Zhou He put down his pen and looked at Tosa, his tone calm: "Our port area is currently unable to contact the outside world. Although there is no shortage of supplies, they are all ordinary ingredients that need to be cooked on the spot. If you don't take the time to prepare them, you will need to cook for yourself on your long journey. In comparison, I think it is more efficient to prepare dry food before going out."

"Logistics? I see."

Tosa thought for a moment and realized that she definitely couldn't cook, and neither could Zuikaku and Yudachi. Only Hermione looked like she could cook. In addition, cooking itself took up a lot of time, and the smoke from cooking could easily be discovered by the enemy, so it would be better to bring dry food.

"That's it. Well, I just happen to need help with something here. If you're interested, Tosa, come with me to chop down some trees."

Zhou He looked down at the design of the hot spring house he had drawn, stood up and spread his hands towards Tosa and said, "I need wood to build a hot spring house."

"..."

Tosa's eyes fixed and he wanted to refuse, but then he thought of Zuikaku who was out fishing. He was also quite free. After looking at Zhou He's not-so-strong body again, he turned around and walked out of the office: "You have tools for chopping trees, right? My knife is not for chopping trees."

"Of course, it's in the warehouse on the first floor."

Zhou He closed the drawings on the table and quickly caught up with Tosa.

When the two arrived at the first floor, Yudachi and Zuikaku were still in the hall fiddling with fishing nets, with Hermione instructing them. They looked very experienced. When they saw Zhou He coming down, Zuikaku protested immediately, "Commander, can you assign me other work? Fishing or something like that? If the seniors knew about it, they would definitely laugh at me."

"Hey, it's obviously an easy job. I'm going to chop down trees with Tosa. Do you want to come too?"

Zhou He noticed that Hermione seemed to know something about fishing boat skills, so he didn't force Zuikaku and casually hooked his hand at her.

Zuikaku's face fell immediately. "Isn't there a more serious job? Like fighting with Sirens or something."

"If you can accept coming back hungry after fighting the Sirens, I will arrange for you to go on an expedition."

Zhou He's answer was very ruthless. He exclaimed and pointed his finger: "I have already found the location of the hot spring pool. How about you dig a way to get there, Ruihe?"

"This is different from what I imagined life in the harbor to be like. Ah, I see. I'll go catch some fish."

Among the four choices Zhou He gave, Zuikaku chose fishing. It was not because he disliked the tiring work of chopping trees, but he simply felt that if Hermione stayed at home, she could have snacks when she came back. If she went out fishing, everything would be ruined.

"come on."

Zhou He smiled and patted her shoulder, then turned around and went into the warehouse with Tosa to pick out axes, saws and ropes for chopping trees. When they came out, Yudachi and Zuikaku had already left, and only Hermione was still standing in the hall, as if waiting for orders. Zhou He thought for a moment and said to her, "Hermione, you should take care of the housework at home and prepare some snacks. Zuikaku and the others should think so too."

"I understand."

Hermione then smiled with relief and bowed slightly to Zhou He and the others: "Please be safe at work."

"Well, let's go."

Zhou He waved his hand, and left the command center with Tosa and headed straight for the forest on the island.

Today was also a warm sunny day. The refreshing breeze blowing on Zhou He's face made him feel very comfortable. He glanced at the lawn which was even deeper than when he first arrived, and thought that he would probably have to buy a lawn mower. Otherwise, with the growth of weeds, it would be very troublesome later.

"Commander, why did you choose to work here?"

Tosa followed Zhou He all the way. Yesterday, she observed the terrain here. It was a perfect port location. Even if she had no proper combat memories, she knew that this was a strategic location. However, such an important place was theoretically a must-fight place for all countries. But now Zhou He was the only one defending it, and he even lost contact with the outside world. This was very strange, and it was the thing she couldn't understand the most.

"Who knows? It's just interest."

Zhou He had no way of saying that he was abducted, but he was now very clear about one thing: "Isn't it exciting to be able to grow and develop under the siege of the Sirens, and even launch a counterattack?"

Tosa paused when he heard this, and looked at Zhou He who was walking in front of him with an axe in one hand and a rope in the other: "There is some truth in this. Is this all the ambition you mentioned?"

"That's not the case. Counterattacking Siren is just something I do by the way. My top priority is to build a luxurious and prosperous port area, or a maritime kingdom."

Zhou He answered casually that the various functions of the system are directly linked to the number of ship girls. To accommodate a large number of ship girls, the port area must be developed on a large scale. By the way, it can also attract black series meta ship girls from other worlds to serve as security guards. As long as there are enough meta ship girls in charge, they can fight against the high-end combat power among the Sirens and ensure that their own home will not be cleared out.

Everything is interconnected, and he is just at the beginning.

"It sounds like a child's fantasy."

What Zhou He said was natural, but Tosa felt that it was not as interesting as the counterattack against the Siren because the target was too far away.

"Really? Tosa, whichever one do you think is more interesting? That's my ambition."

Zhou He had not thought about chatting with Tosa for so long. Tosa in the game seemed to be the kind of person who was unique and aloof, and would not bother to pay attention to people who were not acquaintances. But after chatting with him in real life, you will find that he is not arrogant to that extent. As long as what you say and do is correct, Tosa will not target you.

"Mere verbal statements are meaningless. Only firm and unwavering practical actions can convince people."

Tosa narrowed his eyes and rejected the choice Zhou He offered: "There is some truth or falsehood in what you said, and the answer will be clear by then."

"..."

Zhou He wanted to take back his comment. Tosa was indeed difficult to deal with.

But what he said was true. It would be better to say that he could only and had to take that path, otherwise this port area would be liquidated by the Sirens sooner or later - the experimental agency and arbitration agency that appeared in the game plot did not look very smart, because they were all failure scripts deliberately designed by the game officials.

Apart from anything else, if he now attracts the attention of experimenters from any experimental institution, it will be a fatal disaster for the port area.

"Let's cut down the tree first."

Zhou He ended his thinking. He didn’t like to imagine what he would discover in the future. Today’s things should be done today, and tomorrow’s things should be dealt with tomorrow. The more he thought about it, the more mistakes he would make. Just do what you can do.

After finishing their conversation, the two men quickened their pace and came to the outskirts of the dense and tall forest that could be seen from a distance.

After stopping, Tosa glanced at the hand-made saw in his hand, then at the axe in Zhou He's hand, and frowned slightly: "I don't mean to question the commander's judgment, but judging from the current situation, it seems that the tools we prepared cannot obtain wood."

“…I was careless.”

This was also Zhou He's first time in the forest. He looked at the tall trees in front of him, the thinnest of which was nearly half a meter thick, and his eyes twitched slightly. Trees of this level could only be cut down with an electric saw. He might die of exhaustion if he just used an axe before he could cut down a tree.

Tosa was watching from the side, and suddenly asked, "What should we do? If we go back like this, the commander's excuse of cutting down trees to make them believe that it was a joint effort will become a misunderstanding that 'the commander asked me to cooperate with him and deceived their trust with such an excuse, and used extra work to exploit their labor'."

"I'm not that untrustworthy in their eyes."

Zhou He's eyelids were twitching. He was almost confused by Tosa's long speech. He hurriedly confirmed his image in the minds of Zuikaku and others.

"Really? Then how can we bring back a tree to prove our innocence?"

Tosa continued to ask calmly.

"..."

Zhou He walked forward silently and touched the slightly dry bark of the tree, then took a few steps back and said, "Tosa, you can use the artillery fire."

"..."

Tosa was silent after hearing this, and spoke after a while: "The land is not suitable for deploying the ship's equipment. Why don't we go in and take a look? There should be new saplings growing near the water source."

"That makes sense. Wait a minute."

A barely perceptible smile flashed across Zhou He's eyes. He opened the system interface, stared at Kursk's portrait from inside the dock, and chose a video call.

A flash of light passed by, and Zhou He saw Kursk squatting on a tree, overlooking the herd of wild boars foraging below. Kursk had spotted the video almost the moment it unfolded, and he kicked his legs hard and jumped swiftly on the branches of many large trees, and finally landed steadily beside a stream more than one meter wide. Under the sunlight, he responded to Zhou He in the video projection: "What's the matter?"

"Is such that."

Zhou He's heart was pounding because of his handsomeness. He simply told the story. Kursk thought for a moment and said, "I understand. I'll pick you up."

The video cuts off, and Zhou He gives Tosa a thumbs up: "Kursk said she knows where there are trees that can be cut down."

Although he had heard about Zhou He's "privilege" from Zuikaku and the others, seeing it with his own eyes was completely different from hearing it. Surprised, Tosa just nodded slightly: "That's good."

Chapter 22 Simple Communication

The forest area on the island covers a large area. Zhou He doesn’t recognize the species of trees, but they are all lush and leafy. Sunlight can only shine into the forest through the gaps between the leaves, and the temperature is several degrees lower than other places.

While waiting for Kursk, Zhou He walked around the outskirts of the forest and found that the forest was not as tangled as he had imagined. The distance between the trees was enough for many people to pass through together. There were fewer weeds than fallen leaves. It was unexpectedly clean and tidy, not as complicated as he had imagined, with a mess of weeds and poisons.

"By the way, Tosa, our goal this time is not to cut down enough trees to build a cabin. We only need... 5 to 10 trees."

Returning to Tosa, who was also looking up at the trees, Zhou He explained the purpose of his visit. Building a hot spring house that could accommodate more than a dozen ship girls to take a bath together would require a huge amount of materials. This time he came just to get a few pieces to roughly estimate how much wood would be needed.

The main reason for building the wooden house by himself was to save some Home Coins. You should know that the cheapest wooden house in the mall costs 100. He now needs to save up for 20 days to get enough money. Therefore, he would like to make things that can be made manually by himself. Only the necessities of life and things that require technological intervention are more worthy of using Home Coins.

"understood."

Tosa responded casually. She could probably guess what was going on. After all, Zhou He had been very casual when he mentioned cutting down trees before coming.

"Ah."

Hearing Tosa's answer, Zhou He breathed a sigh of relief. Tosa's sudden question just now almost made him sweat profusely. Fortunately, he had a quick mind and did not get confused by Tosa. He was worthy of being a fox-type person. He could fool people without blinking an eye.

The two of them exchanged brief words when the sound of leaves crunching underfoot came from the woods. Looking over, they could see the tall Kursk walking out. Today he had also changed his clothes, from the original white coat to a tan long-sleeved hunting suit, and tight shorts of the same color on the lower body, which just aligned with the long boots that wrapped around his thighs.

It is an ordinary and even somewhat abrupt outfit, but it looks very natural on Kursk. With the dagger tied to his leg and other items, it even feels like a fashion show.

"follow me."

Noticing that Zhou He and the other man were converging their gazes, Kursk stopped approaching, left a few simple words and turned back into the depths of the forest. Zhou He hurriedly called out to Tosa to follow quickly - there was a small problem with the system's map. He could see the positions of the ship girls that were attacking outside, but he couldn't see inside the headquarters, which was the enlarged map of the island, so he couldn't accurately know the specific location of each ship girl.

This system actually takes the privacy of the ship girls into consideration. Really, what can a 3D character see?

So numb.

Once they entered the forest, their senses changed immediately. It was not a reaction of suppression, but an unnatural feeling when their vision was blocked. Zhou He was clearly following Kursk closely, but sometimes he could not see Kursk in the blink of an eye because of the cover of trees and branches or changes in the terrain. He had to concentrate on finding Kursk's location.

"This guy…"

Tosa, who was following Zhou He, felt it even more strongly, and her eyes were more solemn. She was clearly staring at Kursk, but her perception of Kursk's presence was intermittent, as if he would merge into the forest at any time. If she had not been sure that Kursk was a friendly force, she would have grabbed Zhou He and evacuated the forest long ago.

After walking for about twenty minutes, a stream appeared in front of the three people, and the sunlight shone down because there was no obstruction.

"If we go further upstream, the trees on both sides will be younger, which should meet your needs, Commander."

Kursk walked to the stream and casually jumped to the other side, then turned and pointed to the upstream area. She noticed the look in the two people's eyes and paused for a moment before saying, "Sorry, in a place like this, I will instinctively restrain my breath so that my prey won't notice me."

"Ah, it's okay, don't worry about it."

Zhou He finally realized that it was not because of his poor eyesight but because Kursk was too good at hiding. He quickly waved his hand to indicate that he was fine. Then he changed the subject with a flash of inspiration: "I think I saw a herd of wild boars here? Our port area currently has no stable food source. Kursk, don't rush to hunt them. I want to keep them in captivity and tame them."

"Taming the wild boars?"

Kursk thought for a moment and nodded: "I understand. I will pay attention. I haven't explored this forest completely yet. Commander, you should also pay attention and be careful not to be targeted by poisonous creatures."

"what."

After a brief exchange, Kursk disappeared into the woods, leaving Zhou He and Tosa walking upstream along the stream. They soon found a suitable tree. The trunk diameter was about 30 cm, and it was five or six meters high including the thin branches at the tip. Without the branches, it was still about three meters high, which was enough as a reference.

"I'll try it with the axe first. Tosa, can you help me keep an eye on the surroundings, Tosa?"

After identifying the prey, Zhou He first observed the surrounding environment, and then turned back to work after determining the landing point. Then he found that Tosa was a little absent-minded.

"I heard."

Tosa gathered his thoughts and glanced at Zhou He. He placed the saw on a rock by the stream, held the knife handle at his waist with one hand, and said to Zhou He who was rubbing his hands and picking up the axe, "That guy just now was pretty good, but why did he keep hiding from us?"

"Kursk likes to be alone. You should understand that, Tosa. You are very similar."

Zhou He got into position, took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and swung the axe hard at the base of the tree, causing the tree to tremble with a thud.

"Commander, are you prejudiced against me?"

Tosa glanced at the fallen leaves and the startled birds from the tree, and was speechless about Zhou He's evaluation.

Having inherited Tosa's memories, she does harbor resentment for the unfair treatment, but she is not so withdrawn as to hide in the forest without communicating with anyone.

dong dong dong~

After several consecutive swings, Zhou He stopped, feeling a little uncomfortable in his palms. He walked to the stream and rubbed the sand: "I am just an ordinary person. Based on the impression of the first meeting, personal prejudice is inevitable."

Tosa was somewhat amused by these words: "Commander is surprisingly vindictive."

"…Can this be called holding a grudge? Normal people are like this, right?"

Zhou He didn't know how to complain. He was indeed misled by Tosa's label in the game, but not to that extreme.

"A normal person? Haha."

Tosa looked at Zhou He with a meaningful smile, which made the latter feel a chill down his spine. He wondered if he was being too straightforward and should be more roundabout.

While chatting casually like this, Zhou He swung the axe and hit the tree with all his strength. Unfortunately, although he put in a lot of strength, his aim was a bit off, and he made many small cuts up and down. It took him more than 20 minutes to cut most of the depth of the trunk of the tree, and he was exhausted.

"Is that not enough? Was the commander also a big shot before he took office?"

Tosa looked at Zhou He, who was panting while leaning on the axe, and walked up to him and tapped lightly on the tree with his fingers. The tone of his voice was quite casual, which made Zhou He a little uneasy.

Without waiting for Zhou He's response, Tosa pointed to the other side of the stream and said, "Let's pour it over there."

"Yes, it's better not to hit other trees."

Zhou He, panting, deeply felt the hardship of chopping down trees, but there were only a few trees in total, so he could grit his teeth and persevere, but his waist might be a little sore when he wakes up tomorrow.

"Ah."

Tosa responded, looked for the direction beside the tree, raised his foot and kicked -

Click!