Revisiting Azur Lane

Bismarck was wearing the same military uniform as Zhou He. Perhaps it was in the morning, the sense of oppression she exuded was a little strong, and Zhou He felt a little flustered. He wanted to look away, but after so long, he had become immune to it. After taking a deep breath, he said, "The Siren's actions are a little unusual. It seems that she is looking for our port area."

"..."

Bismarck frowned upon hearing this, tilted his head to look at the entrance to the bay, then retracted his gaze and nodded: "It is indeed time to come."

"The Sirens for this operation are all mass-produced and there are a lot of them, so we still need to make some plans."

Zhou He nodded, and after a brief explanation, he invited Bismarck to the headquarters for a small meeting.

After that, Bismarck stepped forward and called to a halt the Z23 and U556, who were waiting for the order to launch: "Today's training will be replaced by actual combat."

"Yes!"

Z23 saluted very politely. U556 was a lively girl with short blue ponytails who looked a little silly. She was usually inseparable from Bismarck, but strangely, she could not run into Zhou He. She was swaying around the two of them and said, "The commander seems to have not given me any orders yet. Do you think the submarines are useless?"

"No, no, no, I don't think so."

Apart from a few encounters at the Siren Base, Zhou He had hardly spoken to U556. He had never expected that she would make such an important statement. He quickly waved his hand and retorted: "In my opinion, submarines are also very important members of the fleet. They are an important combat force to ensure underwater safety. They can be deployed covertly and can also conduct reconnaissance."

Seeing U556 listening attentively, Zhou He paused and continued, "I didn't give you any orders because Bismarck is more mature than me in combat command. You can play a greater role by following Bismarck's command than by me making arbitrary arrangements."

"Ah~ Commander, you are so modest. It seems that all Donghuang people have this habit."

U556 blinked after hearing this. She had asked Bismarck before what he thought of Zhou He. Bismarck's answer was that Zhou He was open-minded, good at employing people, had a strong sense of the overall situation, and had a promising future. Being able to receive such high praise from such a strict person like Bismarck, U556 instinctively thought that Zhou He was an excellent commander.

"Hahaha."

Zhou He laughed dryly. He was not being modest. Compared with Bismarck's tactical command, he was 20 years ahead.

"Oh right! Commander, how do you think I should act in this battle with the Sirens?"

As they walked, U556 suddenly clapped her hands, looked up and asked Zhou He. Zhou He didn't think too much about this question and gave an answer: "There are also many submarine teams among the Sirens that are attacking this time. I will arrange you in the direction where there are relatively more submarines. When the time comes, you just follow Bismarck and sink the submarines on the opposite side."

Before Zhou He traveled through time, he was a freelancer barely making a living. The biggest gain during his struggle was that he understood his own capabilities. When faced with something he was totally unfamiliar with, he would never challenge professionals. Therefore, when going out to fight in the port area, he would always only give simple reminders on the big picture and hand over the command to the right people. This was called stability.

"The commander is really smart!"

When U556 heard Zhou He tied her to Bismarck, she gave him a thumbs up with great joy, truly acknowledging the existence of Zhou He, the boss of his boss.

In response, Zhou He just smiled, and walked back to the headquarters with a few others along the same route they came - Hermione and Harman were faster than Zhou He. Hood, Shentong and Cleveland had already started drinking tea here, and only when they saw Zhou He arrive did they sit down with serious expressions.

"..."

Motioning Bismarck to take a seat, Zhou He spread his hands towards the crowd and said, "Although I really hope that everyone can rest for a few more days, the Siren clearly does not want to satisfy my desire... Just last night, the Siren infiltrated nearly 20 small fleets and entered the sea area we have occupied and recovered, and is currently searching the sea area in a spiral direction."

"The Sirens never learn their lesson. After we kill one batch, another batch comes. Commander, just give the order. I'm ready to sink them!"

Who could say such a thing? Zhou He thought it would be Zuikaku, but it turned out to be Kaga who spoke. A very fanatical expression appeared on her face, almost indicating that she was also a battle maniac.

"I called you here to attack and meet the enemy, but before that, I have a hypothesis that I want to confirm, and I need your cooperation."

Zhou He was not surprised. He clapped his hands and continued, "We are clearly in the sea area that the Sirens may have once controlled. Logically, the Sirens must know that there is an island here. But now they are using this spiral search method to tell me that they are very likely unaware of the existence of our island."

"What kind of experiment does the commander want to do?"

Hood sat very gracefully, but Hermione, who was usually by her side, ran to Zhou He today.

"Is such that."

Zhou He nodded and repeated his thoughts.

Everyone present frowned.

Chapter 82 It Must Be a Destroyer

The experiment Zhou He wanted to do was very simple, which was to release a few sirens close to the island port area to determine whether the sirens would recognize the existence of this port area.

This experiment sounds very strange and risky to carry out. After all, letting the enemy approach their base is not a normal behavior. The Siren may not have discovered that there are people and port areas hiding on this island.

Zhou He did not look down on the Siren, nor did he intend to overestimate it. It was just that his ship girls had been active here for a while. If the observers and testers paid close attention to the number and frequency of the damage to the mass-produced and executors here, they would know that there was a "resistance" hideout here.

So he felt it was strange that the Sirens were doing this kind of carpet search. He had doubts in his mind, but no one helped him to solve them. He could only do the experiment on his own. What if his port area was actually protected by the system and the Sirens could not find it at all? Wouldn't his operating space be infinitely expanded instantly?

He still has the courage to do experiments of this level.

"Since the commander has such an idea."

After Zhou He finished describing the experimental project, the scene was silent for nearly a minute. The first person to speak was Bismarck. Her expression did not change when she spoke or was silent, and her tone was also very calm: "Just control the dangerous variables within a manageable range."

"what…"

Hood, who was originally hesitant, touched his forehead helplessly when he heard her say this: "Commander, the so-called war is about reality and illusion. The best solution is to keep the Sirens away from our core port area as much as possible, so that they will be suspicious and cautious. Your approach is really too risky."

“Ideally, that’s how it should be.”

Zhou He smiled and spread his hands, not continuing to speak.

After all, nothing can go smoothly according to the unilateral ideal state. The current situation is that the size of the Sirens unilaterally crushes them. As long as the Sirens besiege from all sides, this port area will be destroyed within a few days.

Since we are all jumping around under the enemy's nose anyway, we might as well test the value of the system. After all, this entire island was created by the system, so it's not surprising that it's a bit special.

"Yes, in this case, we need to arrange two groups of personnel, one to go out to meet the enemy and the other to defend the port area. The commander should have an idea, right?"

Hood put down her hands, clasped them on her legs and looked at Zhou He. The latter did not disappoint her and quickly divided the people.

This time the Sirens attacked from three sides, but from the attack map, we can observe that there are no sirens approaching from the south, and the number in the west is relatively small, and the executors are not moving - it may also be that the north and east have been explored the farthest, so the number of sirens seen is the largest.

Therefore, Zhou He's plan was to let the Sirens in the west approach the port island, while the Sirens in the north and east would be left to the outbound fleet to deal with.

"Among the members who have been taken in, there are Akashi, Reimin, Nagashima, Kursk, Yudachi, and Jean Bart. Cleveland, you will continue to follow Hood, Kaga, Shokaku, you will follow them, Zuikaku and Tosa, you will follow Bismarck. Your two teams will move together and look after each other."

Zhou He simply divided the troops into groups and emphasized that this would be a protracted war and that they should not rush into killing all the Sirens. He would give additional instructions later, asking them to clear out the Sirens according to the approximate locations he had given.

"I understand."

Although Ruihe always complains about Zhou He, that is just a naughty move in a relatively relaxed atmosphere. This time Zhou He is so serious that he suppresses Hood's persuasion and conducts the experiment, which is enough to show that he is in a very serious state now.

Everyone followed Zhou He's instructions on what to do and when. After the meeting, the crowd dispersed. Some people went to find and notify those who did not participate in the meeting, and the rest followed Zhou He to the third floor. In the office, they watched him draw the current distribution and distance of the Siren and the port area on a large white paper.

"Has the Commander ever performed similar actions before coming here?"

Hood watched as Zhou He first marked the location of the port area, then used it as the core to mark the size, then marked the current positions and directions of the many sirens with small arrows, and then added specifications notes next to them. He was so skilled that even she was a little surprised.

Zhou He is very good at searching for enemies, but if this ability is given to other people with poor expressive ability, they will probably need some time to understand it. Zhou He's simple diagrams and marks are clear at a glance and they don't need to worry too much.

“I occasionally draw some reference maps myself.”

Zhou He answered casually that when he was a writer, he would sometimes draw maps of the area where the protagonist was on a whim. Of course, the drawings were very abstract, and he never thought that they would be useful here after traveling through time.

“Nice habit.”

Hood complimented.

She was very satisfied with Commander Zhou He. Apart from his lack of common sense of war, there was basically no fault to be found with him. He had never held them back in combat and the help he provided was quite effective.

To sum up, she unilaterally believed that Zhou He was already a qualified commander.

"..."

Hood was not the only one watching the drawing. Bismarck was also nearby. Shentong also appeared at the table with a very low presence, observing the situation.

Seeing the signs on the map becoming increasingly dense, Bismarck's eyes narrowed slightly. "Commander, can you be sure that there are no experimenter-level sirens among these sirens?"

"It is certain that even an experimental-level siren cannot evade my enemy-detecting radar."

Zhou He responded confidently. He said that he had already discovered the Tester and the Purifier the moment they appeared in the Mirror Sea, and there was also an Observer who had disappeared. After his family members killed the Tester and the Purifier, he thought that the Observer would appear next, but the Mirror Sea was suddenly closed.

After a brief pause, he stopped writing and added, "Of course, you can't let your guard down. I will pass on any information I discover during the battle to ensure that you don't face unexpected enemies."

"Ah."

Bismarck frowned. She looked at the map and clearly felt something unusual. The Siren knew that they were active in this sea area, but they did not send out flying reconnaissance aircraft or the like to investigate. Instead, they let the mass-produced aircraft conduct a carpet search.

This reaction most likely means that the Sirens have already explored this sea area quite thoroughly, and are even now exploring it through unknown technology, but none of their reconnaissance equipment has found the existence of this island. In other words, they know that they are in this sea area, but cannot clearly detect the specific location, so they can only use this ancient screening method.

"If the commander's speculation is true, this port area, or even the island itself, must be operating equipment and technology unknown to us."

Bismarck thought silently in her heart, she didn't have many interests and hobbies. Training and living with the Iron-Blooded Ship Girls was one of them, and another was to master science and technology that was at the forefront of the world and could make herself and other Iron-Blooded Ship Girls stronger.

The latter said it was an interest, which was more like an instinct for her, but she thought the process of acquiring technology was quite interesting, so it became an interest.

'When this battle is over...'

"Big sister, everyone is ready."

U556 poked her head out of the door and trotted over to Bismarck, interrupting her thoughts. Bismarck glanced at her, then looked at Zhou He: "Commander, we're leaving first."

"Go."

Zhou He also stopped writing, rolled up the drawing and handed it to Bismarck: "Victory can only come second to me. Your safe return is my greatest hope."

"Will do."

Bismarck took the drawing and turned around with the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously. U556 saw it carefully, waved to Zhou He, and happily followed Bismarck out of the office.

"Regarding this point, I would like to remind the commander not to use the long-range repair ability too frequently, as this will cause everyone to lose their sense of crisis."

Hood wanted to follow him, but when he heard Zhou He's words, he stopped and turned around and warned him: "Commander, you may not have seen that the people of the Sakura Empire are very aggressive in fighting."

"Well, I'll use it as appropriate."

Zhou He nodded in response. Hood stared at him for a few seconds before turning away. Shentong followed Hood very smoothly and was about to leave together, but was stopped by Zhou He: "Shentong, I can't see what's happening on the battlefield. You can be my eyes. Come back and tell me how Tosa and the others fought against the Sirens."

"Yes."

Shentong turned around, bowed slightly, took two steps back and left the office.

"Whoo~"

Zhou He put his hands on the table. He thought he was still quite obedient. Hood's words were correct. For the scientific growth of his own ship girl, he should use the 'manual unlimited blood' function less often.

But he was really panicked when he saw his own ship girl losing blood. This was not like in the game. After the ship girl was upgraded and her level exceeded Siren, she could get a significant reduction in damage and an extremely high dodge rate.

In this reality where this ship girl only has one life, since he has the ability to lock blood, he must use it frequently.

……

After making preparations, Hood and Bismarck left the port with their large forces. Zhou He watched them leave at the bay, then turned to look at the happy Yudachi, the unmotivated Nagashima and the yawning Jean Bart.

He reached out and touched Yuudachi's hair, his eyes scanning the map of the western area. The nearest fleet had arrived at the edge of West District 90, about nautical miles away from the port area. A destroyer would take more than two hours at full speed, and a fleet with battleships would take about three hours, so he still had a lot of time to prepare.

"Yudachi, in the battles you participated in before, did you always charge into the Siren's line?"

Time was not tight. Zhou He took two steps away from the beach and sat down to look at the bay reflecting the sunlight. The question he asked made Yudachi quite excited. He smiled and squatted beside Zhou He: "It's not that exaggerated. I just run too far when performing a mission occasionally."

"Occasionally?"

Zhou He poked Yudachi's smooth face with his finger and laughed: "Yudachi, the number of times you have attacked can be counted with your fingers. Don't charge into the battle casually in the future. I will feel bad if you get hurt."

"Yes~"

Yudachi answered softly, grabbing Zhou He's arm with both hands and rubbing her cheek against it. Zhou He couldn't help but pull her into his arms with her puppy dog-like behavior, and warned her softly: "It's not okay to act cute. I will record the number of times you are hit by artillery fire in the future. If it exceeds ten times, I will punish you."

"what--"

After hearing Zhou He's serious warning, Xili realized that he was serious. He stretched out his hands and recalled the number of times he was hit in the mirror sea. He found that ten fingers were not enough to count. He began to wonder, "That's not right. Why was I hit so many times?"

"It's good to know it's wrong."

Zhou He grinned. Yulichi was a destroyer, the most fragile type of regular warship. It could take more than ten shells in a battle. Should we say that the data added by the system was a bit inflated, or that he was well protected and his blood was replenished quickly?

"Commander~Are you guys talking about something interesting~"

Looking at Yudachi and Zhou He sitting together, Changdao came over like a ghost, stood behind Zhou He and pressed his shoulder with his hand: "We really don't have any entertainment facilities in our port area. We don't even have TV to watch."

"If there are no entertainment facilities, you can make them yourself. For example, you can put up a fishing net on the beach and play beach badminton."

Zhou He knew that Nagashima was a genuine homebody. He raised his head and could see the slightly undulating mounds of earth. In Azur Lane, a figure like Nagashima's was a scarce resource. Even Yudachi in his arms was more plump than Nagashima.

"…Commander, where are you looking at, H!"

Because it was a scarce resource, Zhou He couldn't help but look at it twice more and was discovered by Changdao. Then his face was covered with long sleeves and he heard some very kingly lines.

"H?"

Yudachi didn't quite understand these things, so he turned his body and looked at Nagashima, and found that he was covering his chest with both hands, with his cheeks puffed up like a hamster.

"We're talking about the tarmac."