Revisiting Azur Lane

This was the first time Zhou He heard the scream of a tree. Tosa's kick was like a sledgehammer. The powerful impact broke the remaining half of the trunk on the spot. The overflowing wind pressure made Zhou He squint his eyes and lean back tactically.

After a sharp sound, the first tree lay peacefully across the stream.

"..."

The fallen tree was right in front of him. Zhou He looked at the tree and then at Tosa, who looked as usual. He suddenly felt that what he said before was indeed too immature. It was too dangerous to suppress the playful ship girl in a short period of time. He had to take it slow.

"What's wrong? Just continue after you've rested."

Tosa glanced at Zhou He, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly: "Or is the commander too tired to move?"

It has the flavor of a game.

Zhou He vaguely remembered that Tosa's lines in the game had a somewhat sarcastic tone, but it sounded funny in the game, but why did it sound a bit high blood pressure when listening to it in real life?

After taking a breath, Zhou He picked up the axe and quickly found another tree of similar thickness. With the practice of the first tree, his aim was much better this time. He cut half of it in one breath. He took two steps back and looked at Tosa, just in time to see her draw her sword and chop the spicy strips that fell from the tree next to her into two pieces. He couldn't help scratching his head.

“It’s a bit dangerous here.”

Tosa swung her sword, and the blade reflected light without any trace of pollution. After she put away the sword, she looked at Zhou He and said, "Commander, take a rest first. Just mark a few more trees for me."

"Uh, okay."

Zhou He did not try to be brave. He dragged the axe and found four similar trees and left marks. He turned around and handed the axe to Tosa who had kicked the second tree down. He then ran to the stream, picked up a saw and began to deal with the branches of the two fallen trees.

Tosa glanced at him, and suddenly his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a figure flashing by in the distance, then he withdrew his gaze and turned back to chop down the tree.

……

With Tosa's help, the task of felling the trees was completed with almost no effort. Kursk, who was hiding in the distance, saw that the situation had calmed down and emerged from the forest, holding a dozen wild fruits that looked like apples but were completely different.

"Thank you."

Zhou He was a little thirsty, so he took the fruit, washed it with stream water, and took a bite. It tasted sour and sweet, but he couldn't tell what kind of fruit it was, but it was very satisfying.

"You didn't even hesitate at all. Haven't you ever thought that this is fine for us, but poisonous to you?"

Tosa also had the same one in his hand. He frowned slightly at the defenseless Zhou He, and his words made Zhou He choke. He quickly patted his chest, coughed twice to the side, and wiped his mouth: "I never thought that Kursk should know what I can eat and what I can't eat."

"Our bodies are very similar to humans, and toxins will have certain effects on us. I have tried them and they are edible."

Kursk did not leave, and responded to Tosa's vigilance.

"I made a mistake."

Glancing at Kursk in surprise, Tosa also took a bite of the fruit, which tasted delicious.

After resting for a while, Zhou He clapped his hands and stood up, looking at Kursk who was about to leave: "Wait a minute, Kursk, you are exploring this forest, right? After the exploration, can you tell me about the situation here? I can plan the renovation project here."

"understood."

Kursk paused, turned around and pointed in a direction deeper into the forest: "Commander, if you are interested, you can go over there and take a look. Maybe you will gain something."

"What's there? Ah."

Zhou He wanted to ask more, but found that Kursk had disappeared. He could only turn his head to look at Tosa, who pointed at the wood on the ground and said, "Deal with these first and then go over."

"okay."

Zhou He happily picked up the one-handed saw and vigorously sawed off the branches of the tree lying on the ground one by one, leaving only six cylindrical woods of similar shape about three and a half meters in length.

This step took nearly an hour. Tosa, who was waiting, was wiping her knife. When she saw Zhou He stand up and wipe his sweat, she sheathed her knife and stood up: "Let's go."

With his hands clasped together and stretching, Zhou He followed Tosa into the dense forest again. Compared with the flat section entering the forest, this section of the road was more difficult to walk on. There were height differences everywhere, and there were many strange creatures in the piles of dead leaves on the ground, including rabbits and foxes. There were also several spicy strips two or three meters long. The closest one was used by Tosa as a whetstone.

The two walked in the dense forest for a while, and suddenly the view in front of them became clear. They came to a huge rock area under a cliff. If they wanted to go up, they had to take a detour.

"over there."

The clever Tosa saw the protruding rocks and guessed Kursk's thoughts first. After reminding Zhou He, he jumped between the rocks and came to the highest rock. He looked down with his eyes flashing and no words.

Compared to Tosa's ease, Zhou He was in a more embarrassed state. He almost fell down while climbing the rocks, and it was Tosa who pulled him up.

"Thanks, I'll see if there's anything good here."

Zhou He felt embarrassed after being helped by Tosa again and again. He sat on the stone and found his balance before standing up. At a glance, he saw the dense and vibrant forest, the headquarters standing on the windy grassland, the beautiful concave bay and the mountains that protected all of this. Looking down, an indescribable emotion surged in his heart.

“What a great place.”

Zhou He took out a telescope and quickly found Zuikaku and Yuudachi who were huddled together with Hermione on the bay. It seemed that they were taking a break from their busy schedule to eat some snacks.

After a moment, he put down the telescope and said, "Let's go, it's time to go back."

"Don't you want to share some thoughts that fit the situation?"

Tosa glanced at him. Zhou He touched his chin after hearing that. After a moment, he smiled and shook his head: "I am satisfied with the current situation and have no extra feelings."

"Boring guy."

Leaving a comment, Tosa followed Zhou He down the rock and disappeared into the woods.

Chapter 23: Three people make a tiger (?)

"Ah - my waist..."

Using ropes, the six processed wood were pulled back to the headquarters, at the designated location of the hot spring house. Zhou He leaned forward with his hands on his lower back and let out a sour groan.

He had helped chop firewood in his hometown before he traveled through time, but mostly he was helping relatives, and he used a car to haul the wood back home. Although there was a "boat" to help today, Tosa was sometimes kind and sometimes strict with him. She tried hard to pull the wood back, but not with all her strength. Halfway through, she even thought of sitting on the pile of wood to increase the difficulty for him.

All I can say is that she is indeed a fox-type ship girl, and she really makes him unable to tell her true colors.

"Since you realize you are not capable enough, how about just asking for help?"

Tosa stood not far away and looked at Zhou He sideways. Compared to the latter whose white clothes had become gray and dirty, this man's clothes were so clean that he didn't look like he had been busy climbing a mountain in the forest.

"I do not want it."

Zhou He pounded his lower back and took a few steps forward. His answer seemed to be in anger, but it was not. He paused and continued, "If I push everything to others, I will feel relieved, but I will also lose the opportunity to improve myself. Will you accept me who can only give orders?"

This sounds a bit like chicken soup for working people, but Zhou He really thinks so. He has experienced the hardship today, and he will be more proficient in doing the same thing in the future. This is progress. If he does nothing and only gives orders, not to mention his arrogance, he will become lazy sooner or later, and will not have confidence in facing his hardworking ship girls. That is not the future he expects.

"Who knows."

Tosa's narrow fox eyes were half-narrowed, and although the expression on her face did not change, she gave people an unusually beautiful feeling of smiling. Her eyes swept over Zhou He again, and she turned around and walked away without stopping.

"…horrible."

Zhou He put his hands behind his back and grasped each other's wrists. He felt that he could withstand the cold and mischievous Tosa, but he really couldn't stand the half-smile on his face just now. He was frightened just by looking at it, as if he would be eaten in the next second.

But he quickly reacted and looked back at the piles of wood. He really didn't have the energy to fiddle with these things now. Tosa was gone - so he could only shake the others.

……

After returning to the headquarters and taking a shower, Zhou He lay down on the bed, feeling refreshed. Something bad had happened. He squinted his eyes and didn't want to move. But he had to go to the kitchen to help Hermione cook. So he gritted his teeth, climbed up, went downstairs, and sat at the bottom of the stairs in the hall to think about life.

"Yahou Commander, thank you for your hard work."

After an unknown amount of time, footsteps were heard outside the headquarters. Ruihe walked in with brisk steps and greeted Zhou He. He then went into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. After a while, he came out and found Zhou He still squatting there. He approached him curiously and said, "Commander, what's wrong with you? You look a little dazed."

“I’m just thinking about something.”

Zhou He was too lazy to even look up. In fact, he suddenly realized that the spacing and height of the stairs were really good. Sitting on them felt like he was sitting on a small bench in his hometown. It was so comfortable that he didn't want to get up.

Zuikaku was not as naive as Yudachi. Zhou He was usually very energetic, but now he looked obviously tired. However, she was not stupid enough to expose Zhou He's past, so she squatted beside Zhou He with her legs apart like a Japanese little girl, pointed outside and said with a smile: "Just now, Yudachi and I stood at the entrance of the bay with the net, and it seems that we encountered a school of fish. Now Hermione and the others are helping to untie the net. Commander, do you want to go to the scene to give us some guidance?"

"So lucky?"

Zhou He's eyes rolled. If he encountered a school of fish, how many fish would he catch? No wonder Ruihe smelled like seafood. He became angry and stood up on his knees to get a big bucket from the kitchen. He called Ruihe and ran outside. Ruihe followed him with a smile.

Arriving at the beach, Zhou He saw Yuudachi and Hermione struggling with a fishing net full of fish. Neither of them was very skilled. Tosa was also standing nearby, saying a few words from time to time. Zhou He walked quickly and heard the last few words, which roughly meant to not go through so much trouble, just cut the net and the fish would naturally come out.

Yuudachi and Hermione ignored her. This fishing net is an important production tool in the port area. How can it be used as a disposable one?

“This is a great harvest.”

When Zhou He arrived at the scene, he saw the fishing nets piled on the beach and various marine creatures on the nets. The dragging marks on the beach behind were still very obvious. The net was strong enough. There were many large rocks hanging underneath, but they were all pulled up by Ruihe and others without being torn apart.

——He had never been a fisherman in his previous life, but he believed that he was also a potential fisherman. He did not care that he had just taken a shower, but rolled up his sleeves and joined in. He also called Zuikaku to go to the beach to fill the bucket with some water.

"Commander! How long will this amount of fish last for us?"

Yuudachi is not a patient ship girl, but when it comes to edible things, her patience is greatly enhanced. The fish in the net have been transformed into braised and steamed fish through visual filters.

"Just a week, you guys are really helpful."

Zhou He was not sure either, but these fish did not necessarily have to be served on the table. They could also be made into smoked fish, which, like beef jerky, was convenient for the ship girls to carry when going out. All they needed was a pot of hot water to turn it into a simple and delicious meal.

"Ahem."

Hearing Zhou He's praise, Yuli's eyes narrowed into slits with joy, and he understood the true meaning of Zhou He's words "food obtained through one's own labor will be more delicious."

This big net contains the most species of snappers, as well as a lot of golden pomfret, grouper and other species. In addition, there are also non-fish marine creatures, such as crabs, prawns, octopuses, sea urchins, and oysters attached to corals and rocks. However, what caught Zhou He's attention the most was that there were actually two large lobsters of different colors in it!

"That's true. We'll eat them tonight."

Zhou He thought that the non-fish mixed with the stones at the back should have been caught directly by Zuikaku and Yudachi when they dragged the net ashore. Letting the ship girls cast the fishing net really worked wonders.

"Steamed or braised?!"

Yuli's eyes lit up instantly. When she first came, she and Zhou He caught a bunch of crabs, and brought dipping sauce and barbecue sauce for her to eat. Unfortunately, the crabs on this beach were much less after that time. She wanted to go around to the beach outside to pick up crabs, but felt it would be boring without Zhou He, so she never had another seafood meal.

"All."

Zhou He was very generous, but these were all ordinary ingredients, and they could not replenish much energy. The ship girls all ate them like big rice... They were good at eating, so he had to get some meat from the system for the main meal.

"..."

Tosa was standing by and watching Zhou He and the other three people gathered together, chatting and laughing as they separated the fishing line and the net. He didn't do anything but felt that he was fully involved.

……

After bringing back the fish and non-fish seafood separately, Zhou He spent some Home Coins to buy a seafood cooking book from the store on the spot. For the sake of quality of life, this was a necessary expense (the balance was 19).

"Hey, Tosa, did you and the commander run into Kursk today when you were cutting down trees?"

Zhou He and Hermione were busy in the kitchen, while the remaining three members of the Sakura Empire were chatting outside. Zuikaku put her hands on the table and casually started a topic. After all, they were companions from the same port area. She was not used to not seeing them for two days, and they hadn't spoken a word to each other, which made her very uncomfortable.

"Ah."

Tosa nodded, thought for a moment and curled his lips: "The commander said that she and I are the same kind."

"Really? Then he's a reliable guy."

Zuikaku propped herself up and looked at Tosa. She had seen Tosa's fighting posture. Although there was no control group, Tosa's combat effectiveness as a battleship was unquestionable. Kursk, which was of the same type as Tosa, must be no worse.

"You also think that she and I are the same?"

Tosa raised his eyebrows. Did these two people trust Zhou He too much?

"what?"

Zuikaku and Yudachi, who was chewing beef jerky, looked at each other and waved their hands on the table: "Since the commander said so, there must be a basis for it."

"The commander is very good at judging people."

Yudachi spoke more directly than Zuikaku. The two of them expressed their approval of Zhou He's remarks. However, it was this reaction that made Tosa suddenly realize something. His eyes alternated between Yudachi and Zuikaku, and finally he snorted and closed his eyes: "That guy has strong observation and action abilities, and is meticulous. As long as he doesn't hinder us in combat, he can be considered reliable."

"Hey, Tosa, you're not praising yourself in disguise, are you?"

Zuikaku's words made Tosa's eyes open suddenly. Why are these guys so perceptive in this regard? Praising Zhou Hexing, but she can't praise herself. What's wrong with that? Bullying, right?

"Hahaha, Tosa, you should be able to sense that the commander is very familiar with us. Since he said that Kursk is very similar to you, then there is a high probability that you two have similarities, but they are not apparent because you have not been together for a long time."

Zuikaku looked at Tosa's reaction, smiled and gave a serious analysis.

"Uh-huh."

Yuli said, "Me too."

Tosa frowned slightly when she heard this. This was true. After working with Zhou He today, although he did not show any special qualities that convinced her, she felt very comfortable talking to him. Even if she stayed with Zhou He all the time, she would not feel repulsed.

This discovery made Tosa's brows relax, and he began to think in his heart: "Disguise? No, that guy doesn't have such deep scheming. Is it vision? Is it talent?"

Obviously, this was not a question she could draw a conclusion about at this stage, but one thing was certain, Zhou He was qualified as the commander of the port area.

Tosa narrowed his eyes and looked at Yudachi: "Yudachi, you are the commander's initial ship. Is this world very thorough in our research?"

"Oh? I don't know."

Yudachi held beef jerky in his mouth and shook his head innocently when asked: "When I came here, the commander had already taken office. At that time, the commander seemed to be troubled by the choice of the initial ship, so I ran over."

"..."