Revisiting Azur Lane

"..."

Kursk glanced at her and hurried back to the headquarters without stopping.

The hall was still empty, but the sounds coming from the kitchen were very loud. Kursk walked over directly and saw Yudachi tasting fried rice like a lady with a spoon. Just one glance at her made Yudachi choke. He pounded his chest and took a gulp of water before swallowing it.

"Hello! Welcome back."

Yuli was deeply impressed by Kursk. She was frightened when they first met and now looked a little scared, but she still greeted him bravely.

"Hello."

Kursk nodded at her in response and walked into the kitchen without stopping: "Commander."

"Hmm? Thank you for your hard work in the reconnaissance. I have already thought about the matter regarding the Siren aircraft carrier fleet. Do you have anything to add?"

Zhou He turned his head to take a look, then turned down the fire, wiped his hands with his apron, turned around and asked.

"The second seaplane discovered some strange buildings on the island when it approached it."

Kursk got straight to the point: “It looks like a ruin.”

"Building ruins?"

Zhou He's eyes turned, and he had a plan in mind: "I see, do you want to have dinner together later?"

"No need, just proceed as usual."

Kursk's answer was straightforward. He turned around and said, "I'm going to rest. Contact me if you need me."

"..."

Zhou He watched Kursk leave. He held an opposite opinion from Hermione: Kursk could attack alone normally, but not interacting with others in the port area was a big problem.

Although it's cool to have someone who only obeys your orders, Kursk doesn't have any diplomatic relations with other shipgirls...

"I hope the situation will improve after we build other Northern Alliance shipgirls."

Shaking his head slightly, Zhou He decided to support Kursk's own chosen lifestyle and turned around to continue cooking.

Zuikaku also arrived outside. She passed by Kursk who was leaving and came to the kitchen. However, she did not chat with Zhou He. Instead, she sat opposite Yuudachi and looked at her with a smile.

“…Do you want to eat too?”

Yudachi did not guard the food. She looked at Zuikaku and pushed the fried rice in front of her towards Zuikaku.

"You are still good to me, Yuuri."

Zuikaku naturally wouldn't fight with Yudachi for food, so he smiled and pushed the fried rice back to Yudachi, raised his hand and pointed to the kitchen with his thumb: "Is your commander who has returned to the beach?"

"Hmm."

Yudachi blinked: "Every time I come back, the commander is here."

"Humph~"

Zuikaku inexplicably felt like he was at a disadvantage, so he stood up and went into the kitchen: "Commander~ I'm hungry too, is there anything delicious?"

"Wait another ten minutes and the rice will be cooked soon."

The chef looked back at her and smiled. "Thank you for your hard work. Has the Siren over there come to investigate this way?"

"Yes, I led him away."

Zuikaku stepped forward and half-lay on the table in the middle of the kitchen: "Do you want to kill them?"

"Of course, it will depend on your performance then."

Zhou He put the stir-fried dishes on a plate and put them in the warmer. He turned around and gave Zuikaku a thumbs-up: "The most elite carrier lady in our port area."

"is it?"

Zuikaku raised his eyebrows and confidently raised his thumb towards himself: "I don't care what's on the other side, just leave it to me!"

Chapter 29: Not So Smart

Although it was called lunch, it was actually almost three o'clock in the afternoon when the meal started. Zhou He discovered that as long as his own ship girl went out to attack, the meal time on that day would be very unstable.

Even when he was a shut-in before he traveled through time, he wasn't so unstable. When the port area develops to a certain extent in the future, won't he have to come up with a way to provide catering around the clock?

"Hey~ It turns out the commander is the same as us. No, he should be even worse off than us."

At the dinner table, Miss Tosa accidentally "let slip" Zuikaku about Zhou He's origins. The latter was quite interested in this, and in turn looked Zhou He up and down as he was eating properly with his bowl in his hand, and made a teasing sound.

"I wouldn't say it's miserable. I'm actually much more comfortable here than before I came here."

Zhou He ate the rice that was cooked to the perfect firmness and slightly sweet, and casually replied: "Without all the messy worries and problems, as long as you are willing to work, you will have food to eat. As long as you kill the Siren, life will get better and better... What are you looking at?"

"Commander, it's been hard work."

Ruihe stood up and patted Zhou He's shoulder, with a gentle expression that was totally inconsistent with her style, which made Zhou He get goosebumps. Before he traveled through time, he had no worries about food and clothing, but he had no hope in life. He shouldn't be pitied like this, right?

"The more you hold something in your heart, the more you can speak it out freely."

Tosa glanced at him. He had never sensed that Zhou He had any troubles before. It turned out that they were all hidden. "Since you have no nostalgia for the past, just work here honestly. The port area is still counting on you to develop it."

After finishing the task, she added: "Remember to arrange more attack plans. There are only so few people in the port area. How can we fight the Sirens?"

"Yes Yes."

Zhou He was probably used to Tosa's straightforward way of speaking, so he responded helplessly.

Xili, who was standing next to him, looked around and felt that he should do something, so he stood up and helped Zhou He pick up a large piece of braised pork: "Commander, eat more!"

"Thank you Yudachi."

Looking at Yuli's cute and silly look, Zhou He smiled and touched his head with his hand, and Yuli also laughed.

Compared to the three people who were more active, Hood and Hermione just watched Zhou He being "taken care of" implicitly. What they were thinking in their hearts was impossible for outsiders to guess.

After dinner, Zhou He wanted to go out for a walk, but the water on the grass had not yet receded and his trouser legs would be damaged if he went out. He could only walk around the command center, and finally returned to the office, took out his notebook and added a few more notes.

"The next plan is to scout the enemy first."

Putting away the notebook, Zhou He checked the system map as usual. There was not a single Siren in sight within a radius of ninety nautical miles, and he could not see anything further away. Fortunately, Kursk had already activated a piece of the outer territory today, so Zuikaku could send a plane to run the map.

"Since Zuikaku and the others are so belligerent, they should be able to attack continuously, right?"

Zhou He planned to let Zuikaku go to run the map tomorrow, but he was worried about the accumulation of fatigue. This was not like playing a game where it was no problem to attack a hundred or eighty times a day. Managing the physical condition of the ship girl was also something he, as the logistics director, should do well.

"Just ask her."

After thinking for a while, he switched the system interface, found Zuikaku in the cabin and turned on the video. What came into view was a spacious, bright place with rising hot air, and Zuikaku himself had half of his body soaked in water. As the saying goes, when you look at a mountain from the side you see a different peak. Zhou He cut off the video the moment his brain reacted, then covered his head and slammed it on the desk.

I just decided this morning to use the video function less when I’m at home, how come I forgot about it in the blink of an eye.

Zuikaku is the same, doesn't he know that taking a bath right after eating is bad for the body - ah, today Zuikaku came back from the attack and went to the kitchen to chat with him, without going to rest.

"Excuse me, Commander, what's wrong with you?"

There was a knock on the door. Zhou He turned his head and saw the maid walking over. He inadvertently compared the size of Zuikaku and Hermione. After he realized what was happening, he banged his head on the table. After he regained consciousness, he looked at Hermione, who was raising her hands and looking a little bewildered, with a red forehead. "It's okay. I just don't understand something."

"Compared to this, I want to ask, Hermione, what do you think about continuous attacks?"

Taking a deep breath, Zhou He put his hand on his forehead and asked, "Zuihe has already attacked today. If I arrange another attack mission tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, isn't it too frequent?"

"Hey, Ms. Zuikaku, should everything be alright?"

Hermione was stunned for a moment, thought for a moment, and gave an answer with her hands spread out: "Commander, you should know that we consume physical energy when we deploy our ship equipment, but in actual combat, different tasks consume different amounts of physical energy. For example, every time Miss Yudachi attacks, she is responsible for attracting the attention of the sirens. She needs to keep moving at high speed, which consumes a lot of physical energy. She will be very hungry every time she comes back."

"Is that what happened?"

Zhou He made a surprised sound. He thought Yuli was just greedy, but it turned out that he was exercising too much.

If calculated this way, the energy consumed by the ship girls in the back row, who have less physical activity, when attacking is actually less than that of the ship girls in the front row?

This is amazing.

"Yes, Ms. Zuikaku controls the planes to attack, which consumes energy faster than physical strength... Ms. Zuikaku is full of energy, as long as she gets a good rest at night, she should have no problem making multiple attacks during the day."

Hermione paused for a moment, thinking back to Zuikaku's performance these days, and said sincerely, "Rather, if the commander arranges more sorties, Ms. Zuikaku will be happier."

"Well, I see."

Zhou He actually had the same feeling, but it was a pity that Zuikaku was taking a bath, otherwise he would have asked her directly - he would go and confirm it later, but Zuikaku should not have noticed his peeping just now, right?

Hopefully nothing is discovered.

It would be a lie to say that he had no thoughts about so many beautiful ship girls in his family, but this idea faded ever since he and Tosa came back from cutting trees. He valued his own life more than the color storm. There were no doctors or hospitals on the island. If he was accidentally hit hard, the consequences would be disastrous.

"Commander, commander?"

Seeing Zhou He suddenly lost in his thoughts, Hermione called out to him in vain. She had no choice but to move closer and touch Zhou He's shoulder with her fingers, which woke Zhou He up from his thoughts: "I'm listening. Hermione, just tell me what you want to say."

"Well, I just hope the Commander won't push himself too hard."

Hermione looked at Zhou He with gentle eyes: "In the future, the port area will need more guidance from the commander, so the commander should not pay too much attention to what everyone says. It is enough to live at a pace that suits you."

Zhou He opened his mouth. He had received so much encouragement and comfort today that he, a lonely man for half his life, didn't know how to give feedback to Zuikaku, Hermione and the others. He could only nod with mixed feelings: "Thank you, I'll remember that."

Suddenly, hurried footsteps were heard outside the door. Zuikaku, who had just finished taking a bath and changed his clothes, with his hair not yet completely dry and hanging down behind him, appeared at the door. Before he came in, he shouted, "Commander, did you contact me just now? Is there any plan for an attack?"

"No."

Zhou He raised the corner of his mouth slightly, half-closed his eyes and answered very straightforwardly.

"Huh? Am I wrong?"

Zuikaku scratched her hair in confusion. She clearly felt a familiar gaze, but she was too comfortable in the bath to open her eyes immediately. Was it an illusion caused by being too relaxed?

"..."

Hermione, who was standing by, looked at Zhou He, whose expression changed at the speed of light, then looked at Zuikaku, who had obviously just come out of the bathhouse. Combined with Zhou He's strange behavior just now, she understood instantly, clapped her hands and smiled, "By the way, the commander is actually discussing with me whether Miss Zuikaku can attack continuously."

"Is there really a plan to attack?"

Zuikaku opened his eyes wide, walked up to Zhou He, put his hands on the table and looked at him: "Continuous attacks are nothing, even if I go out and fight the Sirens for three days and three nights, I have no problem!"

"That's too much. I just want to ask... I was wondering if you can go out and investigate the situation around the Siren aircraft carrier fleet tomorrow."

The table was not big. Zhou He could only smell the scent of shampoo. If he looked straight ahead, he would be facing Zuikaku's chest. He could only lean back and look up at the energetic Zuikaku: "I heard from Kursk that there is an island near the Siren aircraft carrier fleet. There are ruins on it. There may be information we need left inside."

"Building ruins? I see. Reconnaissance, right? I'll go check it out as soon as I, um, get up tomorrow morning!"

Zuikaku's eyes sparkled, and she wanted to make a boast, but it was almost dark, and she couldn't detect anything at night, so she changed her words decisively.

"Then please."

Seeing that Zuikaku was so enthusiastic, Zhou Heyao followed suit: "But you also need to take a rest. You are an important...important member of our port area. I don't want you to get tired because of showing off. Do you understand?"

I wanted to say combat power, but it didn’t feel right so I changed it.

"Don't worry, Commander. This little thing won't tire me out."

Zuikaku raised the corner of his mouth and gave a thumbs up confidently.

After getting a satisfactory answer, Zuikaku happily left the office. Zhou He, who had no more questions to ask, opened the "Port Construction" notebook and stopped at the page about hot spring construction:

Including the 6 Home Coins that he has not received today, Zhou He already has 24 Home Coins. He has nine Home Coins left after purchasing the large hot spring pool for 15 Home Coins. It will take about 3 to 4 Home Coins to pave the road from the back door of the headquarters to the designated location of the hot spring. He still has five Home Coins left as a backup, which means he will have 11 Home Coins if he includes tomorrow.

"Well, does Hermione have plans for later?"

After doing some calculations, Zhou He decided to dig and pave the road tomorrow if it didn't rain, but he still felt a little uncomfortable and wanted Hermione to give him some relief.

"Follow the commander's orders."

Hermione had a charming smile.

Soon, a howling sound was heard from the third floor of the command center. Kursk was alarmed and came out to check, thinking that some strange creature had run into the house.

……

"Sure enough, muscle soreness won't heal so easily."

Waking up from the bed, Zhou He, hugging a blanket, turned around and looked at the snow-white ceiling. He got up, stretched his still sore arms, and went into the bathroom. After that, he changed into a set of active casual clothes, stood by the window and looked at the sky. The sun was not obvious, so it was likely to be a cloudy day today.

As long as it doesn’t rain, it will be fine. It rained yesterday and moistened the soil, so it will be much easier to plow the land today.

'First, pave the road, then redeem the hot springs, and then lay the foundation according to the size of the hot spring pool.'

This was the plan he had made before going to bed last night - Hermione's second massage still made him feel so good that he didn't know whether it hurt or felt good. Anyway, he fell asleep right after taking a shower, and it was a great sleep-aiding effect.

How about making this a daily relaxation activity in the future?