Revisiting Azur Lane

"..."

Sometimes Zhou He also found it difficult to understand the behavior of his own ship girl, but since Akashi and Yudachi both wanted to bask in the sun, then let the two little guys bask in the sun. It was enough to have Kursk and Tosa follow them just to survey the terrain.

So he patted Akashi's back gently and said with a smile: "Get along well with Yuudachi."

"Meow?"

Mingshi looked up and saw Zhou He waving his hand in a nonchalant manner and walking alone into the deeper part of the building.

"what!"

Yudachi was basking in the sun comfortably on the bench. She opened her eyes lazily when Akashi came over, only to find that Zhou He was gone. Then she realized that Zhou He had just said that he wanted to go up the mountain, but she invited Zhou He to bask in the sun with her.

"Well, I'm so stupid."

Yuli patted her cheeks, trying to wake herself up, but the light here was so great that she wanted to lie down and take a nap.

"You're definitely not smart, meow."

Akashi silently agreed in his heart.

……

"This mountain is steeper than I thought."

After crossing the construction area, Zhou He came to the foot of the mountain next to the bay, and looked up at the wall-like peak. This mountain was not as gentle as the mountains on the island. The slope was about 30°. There was no complete road up the mountain, but there were many rocks embedded in the mountain that could be used as footholds and reference points.

The good thing is that there are not too many trees, so even if you look up from below, your view will not be blocked, and the weeds are not deep, so you don’t have to worry about being scared or hurt by various things that suddenly come out.

"Hurry up and go up. If you're lucky, you can see the sun set."

Zhou He warmed up and started climbing the mountain with great anticipation. After climbing about twenty meters in the expected direction, he looked back and suddenly found that he seemed to have gone astray. He did not see any of the expected marking points. Even because he was on the mountain, he could not see far whether he looked up or down.

However, the climb was finally over. After finding a place to rest for a while, Zhou He continued to climb the mountain, and finally stopped in a forest with many fallen leaves and no weeds.

"Hmm? Are there any trees on this mountain?"

Zhou He grasped a sapling that was barely big enough to fit in his hand, and he deeply realized that seeing things from a distance and seeing them up close are two different concepts. Moreover, he felt a little embarrassed to say it - he was probably lost.

"..."

Observing the completely unfamiliar scenery around him, if Zhou He had not walked up here himself, he would have really thought that he had walked into the wrong set. After a moment of silence, he decided not to make the mistake and decisively dialed Kursk's video call.

The system interface flashed, and a familiar figure appeared in his sight: Kursk was squatting on a tree, observing Tosa not far under the tree. The place looked familiar?

While Kursk was not paying attention, Zhou He determined the location of Kursk and the other person and cut off the video. He walked back with light but heavy steps. The leaves were rustling under his feet. The trees of different thicknesses but similar shapes kept changing in his sight. Among them, Tosa's figure flashed by, causing him to stop and walk over.

Zhou He made quite a lot of noise, so Tosa naturally noticed it. He loosened his grip on the hilt and joined Zhou He, looking him up and down: "Commander, why did you leave Yudachi and the others down there and come up here by yourself?"

"I want to go to the top of the mountain to see if it's suitable for deployment. But Tosa, have you seen Kursk? I rarely climb mountains, and my sense of direction is not good in these places."

Zhou He felt that he was too stupid at this moment. He walked to a tree, patted the trunk and shook his head.

"Tsk."

Tosa's tongue-tickling attitude said it all. Zhou He couldn't help but smile: "Okay, okay, why did you target Kursk? It's not because of what I said, is it?"

"No."

Tosa breathed in to regain his composure and brushed past Zhou He, who began to lead the way up the mountain. He said in a rather casual tone, "I just think that girl's concealment skills are pretty good, and I want to see how far she can go."

"Really? She's a hunter, and such skills should be her hunting instinct. Tosa, do you want to practice them as well?"

Zhou He agreed with this statement. Kursk could really make her disappear in the blink of an eye.

"..."

Tosa, who had her back to Zhou He, did not respond. If this skill was so easy to master, she would not have been slipped away by Kursk until now: "I will find that guy in my own way, Commander, please don't interfere."

"Yeah, yes, come on."

Zhou He looked back and saw Kursk swinging on some thicker branches nearby and landing smoothly on the ground. The sound he made was even louder than the sound of the wind and nature. It was truly terrifying.

Giving a thumbs up to Kursk, Zhou He followed the footsteps of Tosa and said, "If I get lost in the mountains, can you find me quickly?"

"Your movement is obvious."

Tosa, who was walking in front, gave the answer: "You realized you were lost and left traces on purpose."

"Haha, have you been spotted?"

Zhou He laughed awkwardly. It was really dangerous to get lost in the mountains, because the island was full of mountains. If he was unlucky, he might end up on the other side of the island.

Tosa responded with a hum, as usual.

In this way, the three of them continued to climb, divided into the front, middle and back. Zhou He finally reached the top of the mountain before the sun set. There were not many trees, but more gentle slopes, flat land and huge rocks that had been worn away by time.

Zhou He couldn't resist the urge to climb up one of the rocks, overlooking the area below. He was almost certain of his guess - when the system created these mountains, it deliberately left large areas suitable for setting up defensive outposts. For example, this mountain seemed to be separated by all kinds of rocks and messy things, but as long as everything was moved away, it would become a huge natural open space, which was excellent for setting up outposts or camping and sightseeing spots.

“Nice view.”

Tosa walked to the cliff at the entrance of the bay. Looking down, she could see the command building and many other things. She focused her eyes and turned to look for Zhou He. She wanted to say something, but her eyes were attracted by Kursk who was walking beside Zhou He. She walked over directly and said, "Kursk, you have been following us all the time, right?"

"Correct."

Kursk had returned to her usual calmness by now. She also stared at Tosa: "Your concentration is amazing, but it also exposes your intentions. Restraining yourself may have a good effect."

"Yeah."

Tosa frowned slightly and turned to look at Zhou He who was strolling around on the top of the mountain: "Everyone else in the port area is very curious about you. As long as he and I know, you are not the kind of person who is afraid to meet people."

"That's good."

Kursk's eyes were calm. She was not good at communicating with others, but more importantly, she didn't want the personal emotions that arose after getting along with others to affect her own combat rhythm and judgment.

This is the most comfortable environment for her.

"..."

After just a few short conversations, Tosa already understood Kursk's thoughts. She had no intention of persuading Kursk to communicate with others, but instead looked at Zhou He, who was busy in the distance, with interest: Normally, when such an outlier appeared in the port area, the commander should try to mediate, but Zhou He had no intention of admonishing Kursk at all, and instead let her act on her own.

Is this commander of ours really brave, or did he foresee the outcome early on and choose the simplest way to handle it - or did he simply think it was troublesome and so ignored it?

In the distance, Zhou He, who was being speculated by Tosa, turned around and saw Tosa and Kursk standing together without communicating at all. He couldn't help but think: "There should be a kind of friendship in this world that can be achieved without talking, right?"

Regardless of whether he was comforting himself or not, Zhou He thought so anyway.

Just now, he compared the parameters of the scientific research main gun and the anti-aircraft gun in the system with the actual parameters and made calculations. There is no problem in placing twenty anti-aircraft guns in a camp. However, the coastal defense guns are not suitable for installation on the top of the mountain because the angle adjustment will be limited.

He would have to take some time to stroll around the hillside facing the sea to find out where it would be suitable to be placed. It would probably take some time before the island's defenses could be finalized.

"take it easy."

Stretching towards the sun, Zhou He switched to the system attack map and took a look at the executors in the South Second District. After confirming that they did not continue to follow up, he checked the status of the East, South and North Districts.

"Oh?"

Surprisingly, the group of sirens doing salvage work in the north seemed to have finished their work, and the documents disappeared with them.

It’s not a sting operation?

Zhou He thought about it, but didn't take it to heart.

Find an opportunity to test the executor's combat capability, and then expose their hideout. Aren't all those documents and information his?

Chapter 64: Guessing and Testing

The sun had already started to set when Zhou He climbed to the top of the mountain. When he turned around and walked halfway down the mountain, it was already completely dark. If it had been a few days ago, Zhou He would probably have had to buy a flashlight for lighting.

However, after the ship port platform appeared, the cranes and lighthouses on the platform shore began to work on their own at night, and the lights on the roadside also lit up automatically, dispelling the darkness in the port area. Zhou He, who was halfway up the mountain, took advantage of the lights that occasionally swept in, and went down the mountain safely in the half-light with a curious mood.

"It's the same at the Siren base and here too. If these lights are on at night, they'll be easily discovered by the Siren, right?"

Coming down from the mountain, everyone's shoes were stained with a lot of mud. Tosa stood at the edge of the concrete road and kicked the ground with her toes to knock off the mud. Her eyes swept over the bright street lights. Their port area had attracted a large number of Sirens today. It was difficult to guarantee that those executors would not move in the middle of the night. As long as a reconnaissance plane passed by the island, it would discover this place.

Zhou He was standing under the street light, looking up at the mosquitoes surrounding the light, feeling the familiar modern atmosphere. When he heard Tosa's words, he exclaimed, thought for a moment and nodded: "Indeed, I will go and see if there is any adjustment in the control room tomorrow."

After saying that, he tilted his head and looked at Tosa: "How about we go look for it now?"

"what ever."

Tosa turned sideways and adjusted the strap of his sword. The sword needed to be tied tighter when going up and down the mountain, but it didn't need to be so tight on land. It would be best to be able to feel the slight shaking of the sword while walking.

There's nothing special about it, just her personal preference.

The two of them made some minor adjustments and blended into the complex. Based on their memories of the daytime visit, they headed for a place that looked very much like a control building. As for the rest of Kursk?

It disappeared after reaching the foot of the mountain. Tosa still felt very annoyed about this, annoyed that he didn't notice when Kursk disappeared.

——With the two of them, or rather Zhou He's reasoning, they found the control console in the center of the platform. The system here used Donghuang characters. Zhou He easily turned off most of the night lights, but left the rotating signpost lights of the crane and lighthouse.

After they were done, the two walked on the road that had no night lights but only moonlight. Without the light, Zhou He instantly felt that the temperature here had dropped a lot. Because Tosa didn't speak, he looked back from time to time to see if this guy had slipped away by himself. After looking a few times, Tosa raised his eyebrows and asked, "Are you really afraid of the dark?"

"No, who told you that I'm afraid of the dark? It's just that it's too quiet here, so I'm a little uncomfortable with it."

Zhou He, who was caught, blushed. The main reason was that this platform was only realized today, and he was not used to the fact that his port area had suddenly become so large. He did not have the sense of security that he usually had when he stayed in the command building at night.

"It's best if you don't have it, but it doesn't matter if you have it."

Tosa didn't want to think about whether what Yudachi said was true or not. She glanced at the cold-toned buildings and public facilities under the moonlight and said, "Since you're not used to it, then you should hurry up and make it lively. As long as there are enough people, this place can be put to good use, and there's no need to worry about being attacked by the enemy in the middle of the night."

"Makes sense."

Zhou He also had this idea, but this matter had to be done slowly. For example, he could build the remaining four Rubik's Cubes directly now, but he had no tasks to arrange after they were built - it was like a new person came to his company, and he recruited him but did not give him a corresponding position.

The time period doesn't matter, but after a long time it will give people a feeling of being ignored. He has experienced it and it's quite uncomfortable.

Well, he still needs to work harder to make this port area presentable.

After the brief exchange, Zhou He also relaxed. Soon he left the building complex and stepped onto the familiar lawn. Looking at the two buildings with lights on in the distance, he turned sideways and invited Tosa if he wanted to have dinner together. The latter looked at him as usual, which suppressed Zhou He's frivolous energy.

'Not at all.'

Seeing Zhou He showing a retreating attitude again, Tosa really wanted to make such a comment, but she has also come to terms with it recently. As their commander, Zhou He has no obligation to take risks to attack and defend against the enemy. Moreover, although this guy occasionally becomes frivolous when he gets emotional, he is still very serious most of the time. There is no need to dampen his enthusiasm.

So in Zhou He's eyes, Tosa withdrew his gaze as usual and snorted, as if he was dissatisfied with his reaction, but there was no more sharp comments.

This made him even more confused. He thought that if he acted more assertive he would get Tosa's approval, but in practice there were many problems.

"It's really difficult."

Zhou He put his hands in his coat pockets, wondering if he was too thin-skinned. Before he traveled through time, he would unconsciously avoid looking at women when they looked at him - but he could look Hood and even Bismarck in the eye naturally, so why didn't it work in Tosa?

Before he could come up with the answer, Zhou He first saw Yudachi running out from the command building to greet him. On her little face was an irresistible cute smile. Zhou He couldn't help but smile as well. He stretched out his hand and placed it on Yudachi's head, rubbing it gently and asked with a smile, "I'm back. Has Yudachi had dinner?"

"Welcome home~ I haven't had dinner yet, I'm waiting for the commander to come back and eat together!"

Not only the smile, but also Yudachi's lively posture and energetic voice were quite healing to Zhou He. The fatigue accumulated from going up and down the mountain seemed to disappear at this moment. Zhou He smiled and pointed at Yudachi: "I saw that the fried pork chop you had at noon looked delicious. I want to try it later."

"Oh! That is really delicious. There is also thick roast beef. Ah, the meat sandwiched between two pieces of bread is also delicious! And there is also..."

Speaking of eating meat, Yuli's eyes lit up instantly, and she kept recommending to Zhou He the things she thought were delicious. It was a pity that they were all meat. Zhou He listened and laughed, and told Manju to make everything Yuli mentioned.

"Great!"

Yuli's joy was beyond words. She grabbed Zhou He's arm and led him towards the restaurant.

"Ah~ Where have you been? Did you find Kursk?"

Although it was dark, it was actually just past six o'clock, and there were still quite a lot of people walking around in the command building. Zuikaku and Shentong came out from the inner room on the first floor while talking, and saw Tosa standing outside the gate. After whispering goodbye to Shentong, they came over and stood at the door with their shadows stretched out.

"found it."

Tosa glanced at her and said, "We talked a little bit. Do you want to know?"

"No, you won't tell me anyway."

Zuikaku spread his hands, and his provocative look made Tosa's eyebrows twitch. Not wanting to argue with this guy, Tosa walked straight towards the restaurant. Unexpectedly, Zuikaku followed her in a few steps and whispered to her mysteriously: "The commander has arranged for me to go out with the destroyers for exploration tomorrow. Do you want to come along? We might encounter blind sirens blocking our way on the way."

"Since this is an exploration mission, we should focus on avoiding the enemy. We haven't figured out the rules of action for those new Sirens out there yet, so don't cause any trouble."

Tosa does like to go out and fight, but she fights prepared battles, not just random attacks on whoever she catches.

"You are right. However, before we discovered the new Sirens, even large-scale battles did not attract them. This means that there may not be a direct connection between them and the mass-produced Sirens."

Zuikaku held the back of his head with both hands, raised his chin slightly, and spoke with a confident smile: "If we can confirm this discovery, it will definitely play a significant role in future operations."