Revisit Azur Lane

Tosa's scattered gaze gradually narrowed, and his slender fingers tapped lightly on the armrest of the chair: "It's not that complicated. I'm just thinking about how to improve my abilities."

"!"

It has appeared: the ambition unique to ship girls.

Zhou He thought Tosa was thinking about the mess he inherited. Since that wasn't the case, he didn't need to worry about accidentally stepping on a landmine.

Hermione, having noticed through Yuudachi and Zuikaku that the Sakura Empire's ship girls were extremely warlike, wasn't particularly surprised. She leaned down and whispered, "Tosa-san, are you referring to an improvement in combat ability, or...?"

"Yes and no."

Tosa shook his head slightly, then turned his gaze to Zhou He, who was eavesdropping: "Even the commander, who is weak, is trying to improve. I'm wondering if I, who has already become strong, still have room for improvement."

"...If Tosa could be a little more humble, that would be a great improvement."

Zhou He, who was suddenly called out while drinking tea, almost burned his tongue. He swallowed the tea while breathing out hot air, put the teacup on the table, and responded in a deliberately indifferent tone.

"If there is someone better than me, I don't mind being humble."

Tosa wasn't buying it at all, a faint smile playing on his lips as he raised an eyebrow: "A commander who doesn't even have the courage to speak to me is still far from meeting this standard."

"Goo."

Zhou He felt as if he had been stabbed in the chest, and was inexplicably annoyed and wanted to retort, but swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue: "Everyone has things they are good at and things they are not good at. I can't guess what you are thinking, so naturally I don't dare to speak without permission."

He lacked eloquence, and he couldn't bring himself to utter flowery words out of shame—if he really had the courage to strike up a conversation with the expressionless man, he would be able to see through people's hearts, and he wouldn't have been lonely for twenty years before he transmigrated.

As for whether Tosa still has room for improvement, he glanced at the system and switched to Yuudachi's panel in the dock options. There were no level divisions, no skill upgrades, and no breakthroughs in this panel. However, there was one thing: the ship girl's parameter panel would grow.

For example, Yuudachi's initial lightning strike stat was 108, now it's 110, its durability has also increased by 20 points, and other attributes have also changed by 1 to 2.

Although it may seem like a small number now, with consistent attacks over time, Yuudachi's stats will eventually improve to the level of light cruisers. It might be a bit difficult for heavy cruisers, but it's not entirely impossible.

He didn't hear Tosa and the other two speak when he looked at the panel. After closing the system and looking again, he noticed subtle changes on their faces. He raised an eyebrow, puzzled, and pretended that nothing had happened before, saying, "Regarding the issue of room for improvement, you are actually in the adaptation and integration period with the ship equipment. As long as you fight the Sirens for a long time, you can increase your compatibility and improve various stats during combat."

Since the two probably wouldn't understand the explanation of the panel stats improvement, Zhou He made up a different story about compatibility.

"..."

Tosa frowned slightly. Yesterday, based on what Zuikaku and the other said, "Zhou He is very familiar with their existence," she presumptuously assumed that Zhou He had conducted a thorough study of them before taking office, so that he could naturally adjust to a harmonious relationship with them after meeting them. But the truth seems to be different.

Of course, she wouldn't say that out loud, but instead picked up where Zhou He left off: "Is that so?"

"You might not believe me if I just say it, but it's true. You'll understand as time goes on. Right now, you haven't been able to unleash the full potential of your ship's equipment."

Zhou He didn't want to go into detail; as long as the meaning was conveyed, that was enough to give Tosa some motivation.

In the game, Tosa is still very gentle after marriage, but before marriage, Tosa... is the one in front of him. He speaks very bluntly. Strong is strong, weak is weak. He doesn't keep strangers away, but if you are not strong enough, you will be mocked if you go there. And it is the kind of mockery that you cannot refute.

"Hmm, how about utilizing combat enhancements and ship equipment compatibility?"

Tosa's eyes flickered slightly. After obtaining the complete ship equipment, she thought she was already very strong. She didn't expect that this was actually her weakest period. This made her a little restless, and she hurriedly asked about their sortie plan.

'Oh no.'

Faced with the sudden request from Tosa, Zhou He's heart skipped a beat. The recent requests from Yuudachi and Zuikaku alone had given him a headache, and now there was another Tosa who would argue with him. He could only manage a sheepish laugh, "Let's talk about it after this rain stops..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yuudachi's excited shout came from outside the door: "Commander, come and see! The rain has stopped, and there's a rainbow!"

"..."

Zhou He's cheeks twitched, and he silently picked up his teacup and walked out of the reception room. He saw Xi Li wagging her tail and smiling amiably, and his heart was instantly healed. His voice also became gentle: "Where is the rainbow? Let me see it too."

"there!"

Xi Li jogged over to pull Zhou He along, but seeing the teacup he was holding, she didn't dare to use force. Instead, she tugged at his sleeve and walked ahead to point him in the right direction. Zhou He followed Xi Li with a smile to the main gate. The rain outside had stopped, and even most of the dark clouds had dispersed. The rainbow that Xi Li had mentioned was right at the entrance to the bay, like an illusory bridge connecting the two sides.

"Really beautiful."

Zhou He praised it, saying it was the first time he had ever seen such a solid rainbow. Or rather, he had never paid attention to this natural phenomenon before he transmigrated, as he had been engrossed in playing on his phone.

"Mmm, so, Commander~"

Yuudachi nodded repeatedly, her hands clenched into claws in front of her, smiling sweetly: "Zuikaku and I want to go out to sea~"

"Going to play with the Sirens, huh?"

Zhou He casually turned his gaze to Ruihe, who was leaning against the wall and whistling. He had experienced this variation of the routine countless times in the past few days, but he didn't know why Ruihe always pushed the matter of volunteering to Yuudachi.

"Is such that."

Yuudachi recounted his promise to "volunteer if a rainbow appears," and looked expectantly at Zhou He, awaiting his reply.

"Then let's go out and take a look."

Zhou He's gaze lingered on Zuikaku for a moment, then he freed one hand to touch Yuudachi's hair, finding it to be of excellent quality: "There is a Siren fleet of about ten ships to the west of our port area. The largest ship is a heavy cruiser. You and Tosa will go and deal with them."

"Great!"

Yuudachi cheered happily, tiptoed and rubbed against Zhou He's palm, then ran happily to the reception room to inform Tosa. At this moment, Zhou He looked at Zuikaku again: "I have a guess, I don't know if it's right, Zuikaku, do you think I'm a lolicon?"

What does "lolicon" mean?

This stumped Zuikaku. She hadn't inherited some of the more advanced common sense, and she spread her hands, saying, "If you're referring to Yuudachi, shouldn't a sortie request be relayed through a secretary ship?"

"That's surprising, Zuikaku, you actually care about such details."

Zhou He nonchalantly skipped over the topic of lolicon, and sighed with considerable surprise.

"No, no, no, I'm the one who should be asking the Commander what kind of person you take me for! Even if it's me, I still follow the rules, okay?"

Zuikaku opened her eyes wide and defended herself, feeling very wronged.

Zhou He realized he had made a mistake and nodded in apology: "Yes, I'm sorry, I said something strange."

"Hehe, I forgive you."

Zuikaku magnanimously let Zhou He off the hook: "But why did the Commander let us pass so easily today?"

"I'm not in good shape today, and I don't have the motivation to debate with Tosa."

Zhou He sighed: "Today, Zuikaku, you will be the flagship. Take good care of Tosa and Yuudachi. I will have Kursk follow you to help later. You don't need to contact her; just let her act alone."

"Oh, so even the Commander has people he can't handle."

Zuikaku immediately understood. Tosa was probably a volunteer for war, just like them. He had been persuaded by Zhou He yesterday, but he couldn't persuade him today, so he had to let them go. Thinking this, she immediately smiled happily.

"The main reason is that the number of Sirens approaching has decreased in the past two days, so I think we can take this opportunity to explore further outwards."

Zhou He shook his head. Tosa was indeed difficult to deal with, but he really didn't want to attack. No matter how much pressure Tosa put on him, he wouldn't let them go.

"That's it."

Zuikaku thought for a moment, then smiled and patted his chest: "No problem, I'll take care of the reconnaissance. Commander, just let me know if you have any specific arrangements."

Zhou He picked up his cup, took a sip of hot tea, and gave his goal: "Find out if there are any other islands."

We'll be fighting the Sirens today, so expanding the map is probably out of the question. But we can send Zuikaku out to check outside the area. If there are any islands, we'll prioritize expanding towards those areas.

"Order."

Zuikaku was full of energy. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tosa and Yuudachi come out of the reception room. She leaned over and nudged Zhou He with her shoulder, asking him in a low voice when he would tell them about the world outside the port.

"I'll tell you after you explore another area."

Zhou He had no idea what was going on in the world. He only knew about the area within 90 nautical miles of this port. But making up stories would be too disrespectful to his own ship girls. No, he had a headache.

"Ok!"

Zuikaku gave a thumbs up, turned around and conveyed the target of this sortie and the Sirens. Tosa had no objection to Zuikaku being the flagship. She had undergone surgery during her construction, and if it hadn't been terminated, she would most likely have been an aircraft carrier. Naturally, he knew that aircraft carriers were far more capable than battleships.

"Wait a moment, I'll draw you a diagram."

Seeing that they had finished their conversation, Zhou He was a little worried about letting Ruihe go out to scout the enemy situation alone, so he ran upstairs to his office and drew a map of the number, types, and movement routes of the Sirens in the west and north, and then handed it to Ruihe.

"Then let's set off. Commander, don't worry, we might bring back another new recruit today."

Zuikaku looked at Zhou He's hand-drawn map, so detailed that she could launch an air raid without any reconnaissance, and patted Zhou He on the shoulder with a smile. She then cheerfully led Tosa and Yuudachi out the door, stepping across the puddled grass.

"Commander, are you sure you don't need me to come along?"

Hermione approached Zhou He and asked in a low voice, but he shook his head slightly: "I want to see how strong Zuikaku's fighting power is when combined with Tosa's."

Regarding the anti-submarine issue, Zhou He felt that there were no submarines roaming near his home. If there were submarines, they should be displayed on the system map, so it wouldn't be a deliberate trap left for him.

After finishing, Zhou He added, "I'll have Kursk go with me, don't worry."

"I hope everyone can return safely."

After learning of Zhou He's thoughts, Hermione didn't say anything more. It was dangerous for Ruihe and the others to attack like this, but it would also allow Zhou He to understand their combat capabilities more thoroughly, which would be of great reference value for future tactical planning.

Chapter Twenty-Six contains information about Europe___

After the rain, the bright sunshine pierced through the clouds and spread across the earth. The grass was full of small puddles. At the entrance of the command post in the center of the grass, three figures walked out one after the other. After a brief exchange, the tall woman wearing a coat took the map and left quickly.

"commander…"

Hermione watched Kursk leave, a question lingering in her mind. The sea was not a place for lone wolves. She could understand Zhou He letting Kursk be a loner, but letting Kursk act alone in combat was too dangerous.

"No need to rush, I already have a plan for Kursk's location."

Zhou He raised his hand to stop Hermione, giving a vague answer.

Each ship girl has a unique personality. As the commander, he cannot and should not erase their personalities. In his view, the most correct approach is to find the tasks and positions that these ship girls can perform within the scope of his control.

As for Kursk, he plans to assign her to the position of mobile security guard. When he is unsure about the deployment of the team, he will have Kursk accompany and help. He will also assign similar ship girls to this position in the future.

The ship girls all have extremely high combat proficiency. They know what they should and should not do based on known intelligence. Even ship girls who are not sociable can cooperate without meeting each other, as long as he can issue orders at any time and share the battle situation.

"It turns out the commander had already made arrangements; I was overthinking it."

Hermione put aside her doubts, thought for a moment, and stepped forward to lightly touch Zhou He's back with her fingers. The latter was startled and turned around abruptly, only to see Hermione smiling and withdrawing her hand, saying, "Commander, your work yesterday has overworked your muscles. I happen to know a little about massage relaxation techniques. I wonder if the Commander would be willing to give me a chance to show off?"

"massage?"

The unfamiliar term startled Zhou He for a moment. He hadn't expected to experience this kind of service. After a brief moment of restraint, he nodded and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Hermione."

"It's an honor to serve the Commander!"

Hermione humbly stepped back and turned to welcome Zhou He back into the command post.

……