Revisiting Azur Lane

Zhou He felt that he had asked the wrong person, but wasn't Yuli too clingy to him? She thought about him at home and when she went out. Wasn't she completely his——

Putting aside the strange thoughts, Zhou He looked down at Tosa and said, "Won't you feel bored during the voyage?"

"It will not happen."

Yudachi answered rather quickly: "Because I am carrying out the mission given by the commander, I am full of motivation! Besides, it is very interesting to fight with the Sirens!"

"is it?"

Zhou He wrote down the answer and planned to ask Hermione, Cleveland and the others later. Although it was a spur-of-the-moment idea, perhaps he could find suitable job assignments for the ship girls of each camp through this inconspicuous aspect.

……

"Really, it's so inconvenient."

Accompanying the trip, Zhou He truly experienced the pain of rushing. After running at a speed of 25 knots for three hours, he still hadn't reached the target island. Cleveland and others who had just chatted with him had already got off the boat early to join the alert, and even Yuudachi got off the boat.

As a result, Zhou He could only make pastries in the kitchen area to pass the time.

Three hours passed in the blink of an eye. He was even able to dig a twenty-meter road in the port area, but he could only stare blankly at the sea. Because he was not out for fun, he could not stop in the middle of the sea for some temporary sea fishing to add to the fun. When he saw a whale emerging from the sea, he could only watch from a distance.

"It's too inefficient. We have to find a solution."

Zhou He kneaded the dough vigorously, thinking in his heart whether he could get a few extremely fast speedboats to carry the ship girls out, and then get off the boat and deploy ship equipment to carry out the mission after arriving at the designated location.

He even thought about whether he could create some portals to allow his own ship girls to reach the battlefield instantly.

"commander."

Hermione in the cab leaned over and looked at Zhou He who was mumbling, and smiled slightly: "Zuihe sent a message saying that a Siren team was spotted ahead."

"Well, let me see."

Zhou He checked the attack map and found the Siren fleet closest to them - it was too far away, at the very edge of the explored map, and did not appear in his map in its entirety. However, the direction of movement of this fleet would indeed pass by the abandoned island.

After a brief thought, he threw the dough on the table and said, "Let Zuikaku inform us of the exact number and combination of the fleet. It doesn't matter if we are discovered. We will go at full speed and take a rest after arriving at the island to intercept the fleet!"

"Understood~"

Hermione took the order and left. Zhou He found something to pack the dough, sealed it and put it aside. After washing his hands, he sat down on the sofa. He opened the map and observed the adjacent maps on the left and right. There were also a small number of sirens, all in the marginal areas.

"Why not take advantage of this attack to explore further outside?"

Zhou He narrowed his eyes.

Chapter 47 Special Treatment

After issuing the order, Zhou He began to actively pay attention to the comings and goings of the Sirens at the edge of the map.

It has been two days since we cleared the western area, and there is a possibility that a large-scale Siren fleet may approach from somewhere far away. Even though our own ship girl has pseudo-invincibility (instantly replenished after being damaged) maintenance operations, we must still act with caution.

The shock that Yudachi was almost sunk by a single shot was beyond words. He believed that his ship would surely win the encounter, but at the same time he was also worried that it might be unable to be repaired in time due to the intensive fire from the Sirens.

"As expected, it's still the problem of insufficient personnel and firepower."

Pinching his brows, Zhou He stood up and walked outside to feel the sea breeze that had become fierce after speeding up. Looking at the scene where the water and sky merged into one at the end of his sight, he wondered if he could have a few more aircraft carriers to support him, and he also wanted some submarines underwater.

In his opinion, only when one can dominate underwater, on the surface and in the air can one be called complete.

"Ok?"

While thinking, Zhou He suddenly saw his own ship girl appear in his sight, and quickly moved away. Before he could go over to talk to her, she was distanced and turned into a villain. He was puzzled for ten seconds before he remembered that the normal speed of this patrol boat was 40 knots, and it could run at full speed to 45 knots. His fastest Z23 and Yuudachi could not keep up with this speed, not to mention that they had to maintain formation in addition to speeding up.

"It is better to build a few more transport ships."

Zhou He, feeling very delicate, got into the boat again and locked his sights on the gradually approaching island and the black vortex about five nautical miles away from the island. The island ruins had been checked in advance by Kursk and there would be no danger. Bismarck fell in the vortex area and was not sent into the mirror sea. As long as it did not get close to the core area, there should not be much risk.

"Hermione, what did Zuikaku say?"

The boat was running fast and still shook a little, although it was very slight. Worried that he might get seasick, Zhou He held on to the table and chairs on the wall and came to the cockpit. Standing here, he could see the sea in front of the ship through the window. Zhou He stared at the sea surface where the waves collided irregularly for a while, and when he felt a little dizzy, he frowned and raised his eyes.

"Ms. Zuikaku only said that the scale is not small, but she hasn't specified the exact number."

Hermione said as she looked at Zhou He: "Commander's enemy-detecting radar can't cover that area?"

Zhou He looked at the attack map and counted them before saying, "The search range is very limited. I only saw 9 destroyers, 4 light cruisers, 3 heavy cruisers, and submarines. The threat is not great with just these. I am just worried that there are more Sirens further away."

"…That's enough. Ms. Zuikaku is already protesting."

Hermione showed a subtle smile, stopping Zhou He from speaking any more, but her words made Zhou He look sideways: "Can Zuikaku hear what I say through you?"

"Yes."

Hermione patiently explained the principle, which was basically that certain functions could be used even if the ship girl's ship suit was not unfolded, such as the contact and conversation function. Two people could communicate as long as one of them unfolded the ship suit.

Zhou He couldn't hear what Zuikaku said because Hermione hadn't deployed her ship equipment, so the sound couldn't spread through the equipment to Zhou He's ears.

"Really? By the way, what did Zuikaku complain about?"

Zhou He let out a "hehe" sound. It felt like when he was video chatting with someone and no one else could see. It was clearly just black technology, but it was made to look like a mysterious technology.

The maid smiled slightly and said, "She said that the commander stole her lines and she was wondering why the commander could even find submarines. Ah... just now, Ms. Zuikaku told me not to report these things to the commander."

Just by reading these few sentences, Zhou He had imagined Zuikaku yelling and shouting. He chuckled softly, "I only found these Sirens here. Let Zuikaku fly behind that fleet to see if there are other Siren teams."

If not, then the number of Sirens is not that large, and he can take this opportunity to prepare some simple lunch.

While answering the question, an obstacle appeared in Zhou He's sight of the endless sea. An island smaller than their port island appeared. Compared with his island with excellent terrain for both offense and defense, this island can be said to be mediocre. There are no high mountains on the island, no high cliffs on the edge of the island, and the height difference between the rocks and the sandy soil is also ridiculous. The vegetation grows very wild. The slopes behind the sand are covered with weeds, and the number of trees is sparse. There are quite a few trees, but there are quite a few in the cracks between the rocks near the sea.

"..."

Zhou He touched his chin. Most islands are probably of this standard. It would be really strange if there were islands suitable for being naval ports everywhere.

The patrol boat was moving very fast. It broke through the waves and circled the island for a short while. Then a not-so-perfect concave terrain appeared in Zhou He's sight. The terrain was not perfect, but everything else was very beautiful. For example, there was a complete landing dock here. The foundation was raised with concrete and looked very solid. On top of the foundation were many buildings like a small town. It was a pity that a large area of ​​buildings near the sea were destroyed, and even large areas of weeds grew among the ruins. The tower crane at the dock was also damaged to the point that half of it collapsed and fell on the ruins of a building, and the remaining half was covered with rust.

"This is the base that was abandoned not long ago?"

What Zhou He saw during his video chat with Kursk before were relatively intact buildings. But now, seeing how desolate it is, he would not believe it even if someone told him that this place has been abandoned for five or ten years.

"Without human maintenance, the equipment will age quickly. This base was probably abandoned in the last six months."

After observing for a while, Hermione took over the conversation: "Commander, Ms. Zuikaku said that there are no more Siren fleets."

"Well, let's park the boat first."

Zhou He withdrew his attention and made a simple calculation based on the distance between his own fleet and the Siren fleet on the attack map - the Siren's wandering speed was not fast, about 20 knots, and it was still nearly nautical miles away from the island, while his fleet was already approaching the island. He could choose to take the initiative to attack, or he could pick a position and wait for the enemy ships to approach and launch a surprise attack.

The enemy was in the open while I was in the dark. The map was fully open and we had the advantage of firepower and air superiority. After a moment's thought, Zhou He chose to take the initiative. He raised his hand and used the sea map on the patrol boat to explain to Hermione their movement route and attack location, and asked her to inform others.

"correct."

He paused and moved his finger to draw the area covered by the black vortex on the map: "Be careful not to get close to here."

"Yes, I will tell everyone."

Hermione did not ask the reason. She parked the patrol boat at the extended dock and came to the rear deck with Zhou He and bowed slightly to him: "Commander, please do not walk too deep. If you find anything unusual, please call Zuikaku for air support immediately."

"I see."

Because the altitude was right, Zhou He, who was amused by the idea of ​​calling for air support, raised his hand and stroked her head, saying with a smile: "Hermione, you too, be careful during the battle."

"..."

Hermione leaned forward slightly to allow Zhou He to touch her head better. She waited until he took his hand back before straightening up with a cute and charming smile on her face: "Hermione understands."

The road extending from the dock was just level with the rear deck of the patrol boat. Hermione stepped away from the patrol boat, frowned slightly, and glanced at the buildings that showed no signs of life. After making sure there was no danger, she jumped lightly off the dock. The ship's suit appeared in mid-air and allowed her to float on the water. She turned and bowed again to Zhou He on the rear deck. Under his gaze, she walked away and reunited with Yuli and the others who had run over.

"A gentle and virtuous maid is really nice."

Zhou He closed his eyes. The only people who could bring him a sense of healing in the port were Yudachi and Hermione. These two were the most tolerant of him among all the ship girls. Unfortunately, the system did not display the "favorability", so he did not know the specific degree.

Anyway, let’s get to work.

After stretching, Zhou He went into the middle level, took out the ingredients he had bought on the road and started to work.

……

"Haha, I find that the sirens I encounter are becoming less and less resistant to attack."

Above the sea, which was refracting beautiful colors under the sunlight, Zuikaku sighed and complained to his companions.

She was very excited before the interception battle began, but she was completely discouraged after two rounds of air strikes, because the fleet of more than ten Siren ships was destroyed in less than half an hour after the battle started. If it weren't for the submarines, Yudachi and Z23 and other front-line ships would not even have a chance to participate in the battle.

"The wrong statement is that we have become stronger."

Tosa corrected Zuikaku's statement. Even though she had won a great victory, she still remained serious. "Not only that, the previous battles also allowed us to understand the wartime performance of the various types of Sirens. We are growing, while these Sirens are standing still. Humph, what a boring opponent."

"..."

No one else interrupted the conversation between the two because the topic was too delicate. If they had the advantage of air superiority, firepower and intelligence, and were to get into a tough battle with the Sirens, whose fleet was of a similar size to theirs.

They were probably too embarrassed to go back and see Zhou He.

"Haha, come to think of it, is there another member in our port area? It must be Miss Kursk, who didn't join the battle today."

Cleveland ended the two Sakura Empire battleships' childish remarks with a smile, and mentioned a mysterious companion whom he had only seen a few times since joining the port.

However, in fact, even Yudachi and Hermione, who were the first to join the port, had never seen Kursk many times, and could not follow up on this conversation. Only Zuikaku tilted his head and said, "As for Kursk, I just noticed that she was with the commander."

"Hey! I want to be with the Commander too!"

Yuli suddenly became noisy. After a moment of chaos, Hermione changed the topic and mentioned that Zhou He had kneaded dough to prepare for lunch. The atmosphere of the conversation suddenly became harmonious.

The location of the battle was not far from the island where Zhou He was. However, it took everyone less than half an hour to get close to the abandoned base. At the same time, they also saw Zhou He fiddling with tables and chairs on the rear deck. Conversely, Zhou He also saw them - and the huge monster they were dragging behind them.

It was a Siren light cruiser that had been beaten to the point of being unable to take care of itself and was awaiting a slow death.

—Zhou He welcomes everyone’s joyful dividing line—

Zhou He skillfully dismantled the Siren light cruiser on Tosa and obtained a large amount of building materials and applause. The exploding stardust was extremely beautiful even in the daytime. Everyone present, including Bismarck and Hood, showed a look of approval, which made Zhou He think about collecting a batch of Siren ships at home and setting them off as fireworks during festivals.

Back on the patrol boat, Zhou He brought the prepared lunch to the dining table on the rear deck. Due to limited time, the dishes he chose were very simple: a pot of fish, a pot of meat and potato stew, plus a variety of stir-fries and cold dishes. The staple food was hand-rolled noodles.

Fortunately, although there are many people at home, no one is picky about food, so we can get away with a simple lunch.

"Commander, the Sirens I've encountered recently are getting weaker and weaker. If this continues, when will I be able to meet Sister Shokaku?"

After eating and drinking, Yudachi, who couldn't sit still, and Bismarck and others who were concerned about the ruins of the base went out for a walk. Zuikaku, who was not interested in this, lazily leaned against the railing of the deck and said something meaningless. Zhou He, who was cleaning the table, tilted his head and glanced at her: "The strength of the Siren has nothing to do with the probability of the birth of a ship girl. It's better to say that the weaker the Siren, the more you sink it, and the greater the probability of Shokaku appearing."

"Is that right?"

Zuikaku was quite surprised: "Can an aircraft carrier be born by sinking a destroyer?"

"You were the one who fell when Yudachi sank the light cruiser. Don't you know that?"

Zhou He actually couldn't understand how an aircraft carrier could be dropped when attacking a light cruiser, but there were too many things he didn't understand, so he simply regarded it as the rule of the world.

"Probably. I can't remember clearly."

Zuikaku closed her eyes and thought about it. When she came here just now, her mind was very confused and she didn't pay attention to the things around her and went to fight with Siren.

After she finished speaking, she opened her eyes and found that Zhou He had already walked away with the plate. She yawned, put her hands behind her head and hummed a little song from her hometown.

Inside the cabin, Hermione skillfully washed the dishes and tilted her head to observe Zhou He: "Will the commander meet up with Miss Kursk later?"

"Ok?"

Zhou He was startled and said casually: "No, I will act with you. Kursk said she wants to investigate something."

This answer was within Hermione's expectations. She lowered her head and said, "Miss Kursk is highly regarded by the commander."

"I trust you, Hermione, too."

Zhou He also thought that his indulgence of Kursk might cause some problems. He washed off the foam on the plate with water and thought for a while, "Just like I met Kursk's proposal to carry out the mission alone, if Hermione has personal problems that cannot be discussed with others, you can also raise them to me. I will meet your needs within my personal ability."

"…Has the Commander said this to anyone else?"

Hermione glanced at Zhou He out of the corner of her eye, and the latter smiled and shook his head: "The only things I can do for you are your daily life. I dare not make such a guarantee for others."

"I think the commander could be more confident."

The corners of Hermione's lips curled up, her voice as gentle as always.

Chapter 48: Unclear Speech

After cleaning up the dishes and taking a short rest, Zhou He couldn't wait to get off the boat and stepped into the unfamiliar dock that was suspected to be the Siren's temporary base.

"The materials used here are quite solid. Isn't Siren fully mechanized? How were these construction bases built?"

Unlike his own port area which was covered with lawns, the foundation here was fully covered. Zhou He walked on the road and touched the collapsed building stones. There were almost no signs of aging, and the load-bearing columns inside were also made of steel bars. If it was just for living, there would be no problem at all.

This should not be the kind of 3D printed house he knew, as it used many techniques.