Revisit Azur Lane

There are still many things we can't understand.

Cleveland understood, picked up the potato, squeezed it, and handed it to Z23, saying, "In short, it's the Commander's special ability?"

"Yes."

Zhou He was also quite troubled by the origin of these void creations. The system did not restrict him from explaining the relevant functions, but his cheat system was very different from the system that Cleveland and others understood, so he had to explain it in more understandable terms.

However, no matter how he explains it, there will always be illogical aspects to this kind of creation from nothing. Regarding these loopholes, he can only hope that his ship girls won't pry too deeply, because he himself can't explain them.

I'm too clumsy with words.

Zhou He glanced at the silent Z23 and tapped the table: "As for this ship, it was redesigned using materials I obtained from dismantling the Sirens yesterday, and there were no extra expenses."

"Able to do these amazing things..."

Z23 still couldn't understand, but the facts were right in front of her. She looked up and carefully observed Zhou He, then frowned and guessed, "Commander, could it be a secret humanoid weapon being researched and hidden by the Eastern Empire?"

"...You can understand it that way too."

Zhou He's lips twitched slightly. He didn't care about the wording, as long as his ship girls could accept his settings.

"Haha, the commander is working hard too."

Cleveland observed Zhou He's changing expressions and guessed that Zhou He himself might not have fully understood his abilities or privileges. He smiled and patted Z23 on the shoulder: "Although it is very functional, the commander is still human, you know."

"Yes, I'm sorry, Commander."

Z23 honestly apologized, and Zhou He clapped his hands with a smile: "It's okay. Understanding each other is also very important. If you have any questions in the future, you can ask me directly, and I will definitely give you the answer I know."

The discussion ended in an 'adult' manner, with Zhou He asking Z23 and Cleveland about their food preferences, but he didn't get much of a response. Both of them thought the Donghuang cuisine was very good, with good presentation and taste.

Zhou He was quite pleased with the comments, so after chatting for a while, he turned around and stuffed the refrigerator with the vegetables and meat he had just bought, and also bought a dessert set, spending 3 Home Coins, leaving him with 18 coins.

"When will I become a rich guy?"

Seeing these impoverished numbers made Zhou He feel a little sad, but he quickly cheered up. As long as he could conquer this unknown mirror sea area, the number of ship girls under his command would 'skyrocket' again, and the amount of home coins he could obtain would also increase.

Instead of focusing on these empty numbers, let's think about what the port area needs.

Which port is the ship docking at? Should the entertainment facilities continue, or should more dormitories be added in advance?

"Commander~"

Zhou He was standing there in a daze when Yuudachi got up from the sofa, ran over, grabbed Zhou He's arm, and pulled him outside: "Commander, is this your first time at sea? The sea is beautiful."

"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it."

Pulled by Yuudachi, Zhou He got up and walked out of the second-floor hall. Standing at the entrance, he could see the command post and the island that were almost invisible. It was the first time Zhou He had ever looked in from the outside. On both sides of the bay entrance were towering cliffs and mountains, like guardian deities protecting the bay entrance. Spreading to the left and right, in addition to cliffs and steep slopes and green plants, the whole place was pleasing to the eye.

"This time, after returning from the sortie... no, our port islands are really beautiful."

Zhou He almost blurted out a flag, but luckily it felt too strange, so he stopped halfway through. He smiled and praised the port island that the system had created for him, saying that he would definitely explore and develop it thoroughly, both inside and out, when he had time.

"right!"

Yuudachi wagged its tail happily and went down to the aft deck with Zhou He. Leaning against the railing, it pointed to the deep sea area below: "I've seen schools of fish jumping out of the water several times when I went out to sea. It's such a pity."

"Really? Then we should try casting a wide net when we have the chance."

Zhou He chuckled, touching Xi Li's hair and ears, quietly watching the island grow smaller and smaller and the blue world stretching endlessly in his vision—looking up at the sky can make one feel one's own insignificance and enter a state of mental emptiness where one forgets all worries, but the sea is different. When the sea is calm, it can make you feel the awe-inspiring grandeur, but if you think about the worst, it can make you feel a chilling fear.

However, with the system and ship girls by his side, Zhou He never thought he would encounter danger. The novelty of going to sea gradually took over his thinking. After staying on the aft deck for a while, he ran to the highest third deck. Half of it was open-air, and the other half was a rest area. Standing on the open deck, Zhou He saw more scenery: seabirds fishing, waves crashing against each other, and Bismarck and the others escorting the patrol boat.

"Well."

After experiencing the vast world for a while, Zhou He looked at the silent Tosa who were hurrying on their way and asked Yuudachi, "What did it feel like when you went out to sea?"

When he was directing the sorties from home, he felt that a lot of time was wasted on traveling. Even he, an outsider, felt this way, so the ship girls must feel it even more deeply.

"Ow?"

Yuudachi blinked and snuggled up to Zhou He: "When I'm at sea, I'll be thinking about completing the Commander's mission, and when I'm returning, I'll be thinking about meeting the Commander soon."

"..."

Zhou He felt he had asked the wrong person, but wasn't Xi Li being too clingy? She thought about him at home, and she thought about him when she went out; hadn't she completely become his?

Suppressing the strange thought, Zhou He looked down at Tosa and asked, "Won't you get bored during the voyage?"

"It will not happen."

Yuudachi answered quite quickly: "Because I'm carrying out a mission given by the commander, I'm full of motivation! Besides, it'll be a lot of fun to fight the Sirens!"

"is it?"

Zhou He noted down the answer. He would ask Hermione and Cleveland later. Although it was a spur-of-the-moment idea, perhaps he could find a suitable assignment for the ship girls of each faction to launch an attack through this inconspicuous aspect.

……

"It's really inconvenient."

Accompanying him on the trip, Zhou He truly experienced the pain of traveling. At a speed of 25 knots, they had been traveling for a full three hours and still hadn't reached the target island. Cleveland and the others who had initially chatted with him had long since disembarked and joined the guard team, and even Yuudachi had disembarked.

This meant that Zhou He could only pass the time by making pastries in the kitchen area.

Three hours passed just like that. He could even dig a 20-meter-long road in the port area, but he could only stand there blankly at sea. Since he wasn't out for fun, he couldn't stop in the middle of the sea to do some impromptu sea fishing to add some fun. When he saw a whale emerging from the sea, he could only take a peek from afar.

"The efficiency is too low, we need to find a solution."

Zhou He kneaded the dough vigorously, thinking about whether he could get a few high-speed speedboats to take the ship girls out, and then disembark them at the designated location to carry out their ship equipment and perform their missions.

He even wondered if he could create some teleportation portals to allow his ship girls to instantly arrive at the battlefield.

"commander."

Hermione peered into the cockpit and smiled faintly at Zhou He, who was muttering to himself: "Zuihe sent a message saying that a Siren troop has been spotted ahead."

"Well, let me see."

Zhou He checked the map of the attack and found the nearest Siren fleet—it was too far away. Even at the very edge of the map, it wasn't fully visible. However, the fleet's course of action would indeed pass by the abandoned island.

After a moment's thought, he slammed the dough onto the table: "Have Zuikaku inform us of the exact number and composition of that fleet. It doesn't matter if we're discovered. We'll proceed at full speed, rest briefly after reaching the island, and then intercept the fleet!"

"Understood~"

Hermione accepted the order and left. Zhou He put the dough away in something, sealed it, and placed it aside. After washing his hands, he plopped down on the sofa, opened the map, and observed the adjacent maps. There were also a small number of sirens, all in the edge areas.

"Why not take advantage of this raid and explore the area further out?"

Zhou He narrowed his eyes.

Chapter Forty-Seven Special Treatment

After issuing the order, Zhou He began to actively monitor the Sirens' movements at the edge of the map.

Two days have passed since the western area was cleared, and there is a possibility that a large-scale Siren fleet may approach from elsewhere. Even though our own ship girls have pseudo-invincible repair capabilities (instantly healing when injured), we must proceed with caution.

The shock of nearly sinking Yuudachi with a single shot was indescribable. He believed that his ship girls would win the battle, but he was also worried that they might be caught in a siege by the Sirens and unable to be repaired in time.

"As expected, the problem stems from insufficient personnel and firepower."

Pinching his brow, Zhou He got up and went outside to feel the sharp sea breeze that had become even more intense after the speed increase. Looking at the horizon where the sea and sky met, he wondered if he could have a few more aircraft carriers to support him, and he also wanted submarines underwater.

In his view, only domination of the underwater, surface, and air realms can be considered a complete system.

"Ok?"

While he was thinking, Zhou He suddenly saw his own ship girl appear in his line of sight and quickly move away. Before he could go over and talk to her, she turned into a tiny figure. He was puzzled for about ten seconds before he remembered that the patrol boat's normal speed was 40 knots and it could reach 45 knots at full speed. Even his fastest ship girls, Z23 and Yuudachi, couldn't keep up with that speed. Moreover, in addition to speeding up, they also had to maintain their formation.

"We should definitely build more transport ships."

With a rather complicated feeling, Zhou He climbed back into the ship and focused his gaze on the approaching island and the black whirlpool about five nautical miles away. The island ruins had been inspected by Kursk beforehand and were not dangerous. Bismarck had fallen into the whirlpool area and was not seen being sent into the Mirror Sea. As long as he did not get close to the core area, there should not be too much risk.

"Hermione, what did Zuikaku say?"

The ship was rocking a little as it went faster, though only slightly. Worried that he might get seasick, Zhou He leaned against the wall and chairs and went to the cockpit. Standing there, he could see the sea in front of the ship through the window. Zhou He stared at the irregularly crashing waves for a while, then frowned and raised his gaze because it was a little dizzying.

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

Hermione looked at Zhou He and asked, "Can't the Commander's radar cover that area?"

Zhou He glanced at the attack map, counted them, and then said, "The search range is very limited. I only see 9 destroyers, 4 light cruisers, 2 heavy cruisers, and 3 submarines. If that's all, the threat isn't great. I'm just worried that there might be more Sirens further away."

"...That's enough. Miss Zuikaku is already protesting."

Hermione gave a subtle smile, stopping Zhou He from speaking further, but her question made Zhou He look at her sideways: "Can Ruihe hear me through you?"

"Yes."

Hermione patiently explained the principle, which is that ship girls can use certain functions even when their ship equipment is not deployed, such as this communication and dialogue function. Two people can communicate as long as one of them has deployed their ship equipment.

Zhou He couldn't hear what Ruihe was saying because Hermione hadn't deployed her ship equipment, so the sound couldn't reach Zhou He's ears through the equipment.

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

Zhou He chuckled. It felt like he was video chatting with someone and no one could see him. It was just high-tech, but it was being made to look like something from the mystical side.

The maid smiled faintly: "So you're saying the Commander stole her lines, and she's also wondering why the Commander could even spot the submarine. Ah... just now, Miss Zuikaku told me not to report these things to the Commander."

Just from those few words, Zhou He could already picture Zuikaku yelling and shouting. He chuckled softly, "I've only spotted these Sirens here. Have Zuikaku fly behind that fleet and see if there are any other Sirens."

If not, then there aren't many sirens, and he can use this time to prepare a simple lunch.

As Zhou He was answering the question, an obstacle appeared in the vast sea in his line of sight. An island, about the size of their port island, appeared. Compared to his excellent terrain, which was both offensive and defensive, this island was quite ordinary. There were no high mountains on the island, no high cliffs on the side, and the difference in elevation between the rocks and sandy soil was ridiculously chaotic. The vegetation grew wildly, with weeds covering the slopes behind the sandy areas and sparse trees, although there were quite a few trees in the crevices of the rocks near the sea.

"..."

Zhou He stroked his chin. This is about the standard for most islands. It would be really strange if every island was suitable as a naval port.

The patrol boat was really fast, cutting through the waves and circling the island for a short distance. A not-so-perfect concave terrain came into Zhou He's view. The terrain was not perfect, but everything else was very beautiful. For example, there was a complete landing pier. The foundation was raised with concrete and looked very solid. On the foundation, there were buildings like a small town. It was a pity that a large number of buildings near the sea were destroyed. Large weeds even grew among the ruins. The tower crane at the pier was also damaged and half of it collapsed on the ruins of a building. The remaining half was covered with rust.

"This is the base that wasn't abandoned for long?"

When Zhou He had video chatted with Kursk before, he saw relatively intact buildings. Now, looking at the desolation, he would believe it even if someone told him that the place had been abandoned for five or ten years.

"Equipment that loses human maintenance will age quickly. This base was probably abandoned in the last six months."

After observing for a moment, Hermione picked up the conversation: "Commander, Miss Zuikaku said that there are no more Siren fleets coming."

"Okay, let's moor the boat first."