Revisit Azur Lane

"..."

Sometimes Zhou He also found it hard to understand the behavior of his ship girls, but since Akashi and Yuudachi both wanted to sunbathe, then let the two little ones sunbathe. It was just a survey of the terrain, and Kursk and Tosa were enough to accompany them.

He then gently patted Akashi on the back and said with a smile, "You should get along well with Yuudachi."

"Meow?"

Akashi looked up and saw Zhou He waving his hand dismissively, walking alone into the depths of the building.

"what!"

Yuudachi was comfortably sunbathing on the bench when Akashi came over. She lazily opened her eyes and found that Zhou He was gone. Then she realized that Zhou He had said he was going to go up the mountain, but she had invited him to sunbathe with her.

"Ugh, I'm so stupid."

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

'Not very smart, meow.'

Akashi silently agreed in his heart.

……

"This mountain is steeper than I imagined."

Crossing the building area, Zhou He arrived at the foot of the mountain by the bay. Looking up at the wall-like mountain peak, he saw that it was not as gentle as the mountains on the island. The slope was about 30 degrees. There was no complete mountain road, but there were many rocks embedded in the mountain that could be used as footholds and reference points.

The good thing is that there aren't many trees, so your view won't be blocked even when looking up from below. Also, the weeds aren't very deep, so you don't have to worry about being startled or hurt by things that suddenly pop out.

"Hurry up and we might get lucky and 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 around and suddenly realized that he seemed to have gone astray. He couldn't see any of the expected markers, and because he was on a mountain, he couldn't see very far up or down.

However, once you start climbing, that's it. After finding a place to rest for a while, Zhou He got up and continued climbing, eventually stopping in a grove of trees with lots of fallen leaves and no weeds.

"Hmm? There were forests on this mountain before?"

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

"..."

Looking around at the completely unfamiliar scenery, if he hadn't come up here himself, Zhou He would have really thought he had wandered into the wrong film 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 below the tree. The location looked somewhat familiar.

Taking advantage of Kursk's inattention, Zhou He confirmed the location of Kursk and the other person, cut off the video, and walked back the way he came with light but heavy steps. The leaves rustled under his feet, and the trees of different thicknesses but similar shapes kept changing in his line of sight. Among them, the figure of Tosa flashed by, which made him stop and walk over.

Zhou He's commotion was quite loud, so Tosa naturally noticed it. He released his grip on the hilt of his sword and rejoined Zhou He, looking him up and down: "Commander, what are you doing running up here by leaving Yuudachi and the others down there?"

"I'd like to go to the top of the mountain to see if it's suitable for defense. By the way, Tosa, have you seen Kursk? I rarely climb mountains, and I have a bad sense of direction in these places."

Zhou He realized he had been incredibly foolish. He walked to a tree, patted the trunk, and shook his head.

"Tsk."

Tosa's astonished attitude said it all, and Zhou He couldn't help but chuckle: "Alright, alright, why are you eyeing Kursk? It's not because of what I said, is it?"

"No."

After taking a deep breath and regaining his composure, Tosa brushed past Zhou He and began leading the way up the mountain, his tone quite casual: "I just think that guy's stealth skills are pretty good, and I want to see just how far she can go."

"Really? She's a hunter. Such skills must be hunting instinct. Tosa, why don't you go and train with her too?"

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

"..."

Tosa, with her back to Zhou He, did not respond. If this was such an easy skill to master, she wouldn't have been able to be outmaneuvered by Kursk until now: "I will find that guy in my own way. Commander, please don't interfere."

"Yeah, yeah, keep it up."

Zhou He glanced back and saw Kursk swing on some thick branches nearby, landing smoothly with a sound even less than the wind and the whisper of nature—truly terrifying.

Giving Kursk a thumbs-up, Zhou He followed Tosa's lead and asked, "If I get lost in the mountains, will you be able to find me quickly?"

"Your movements are quite obvious."

The Tosa, who was walking ahead, replied, "You realized you were lost, so you deliberately left these marks, didn't you?"

"Haha, you figured it out."

Zhou He chuckled awkwardly. Getting lost in the mountains could be really dangerous, because the island is made up of mountains, and if he's unlucky, he might end up on the other side of the island.

His response was a soft hum from Tosa, as usual.

And so, the three of them climbed in stages, one after the other. Zhou He finally reached the top of the mountain before sunset. There were not many trees, but mostly gentle slopes, flat ground, and huge rocks that had been worn away by time.

Unable to resist the urge, Zhou He climbed up one of the rocks and looked down, almost confirming his guess—when the system created these mountains, it deliberately left large areas suitable for setting up defensive outposts. For example, this mountain, which looks like it is blocked by various rocks and messy things, is a natural and huge open space as long as you move everything away. It is excellent for setting up outposts, camping, or setting up sightseeing spots.

"Nice scenery."

Tosa walked to the cliff at the entrance of the bay. Looking down, she could see the command post and many other things. She turned to look for Zhou He, wanting to say something, but her attention was drawn to Kursk, who was walking beside Zhou He as if taking a stroll. She strode over to him directly and said, "Kursk, you've been following us the whole time, haven't you?"

"Correct."

Kursk had regained her usual cool demeanor and was also looking at Tosa: "Your concentration is amazing, but it also reveals your intentions. Restraint might be more effective."

"Yeah."

Tosa frowned slightly and turned to look at Zhou He, who was wandering around on the mountaintop: "Everyone else in the port is very curious about you. As long as he and I know, you're not the type to be afraid of people."

"That's good."

Kursk's gaze was calm. She wasn't good at communicating with others, but more than that, she didn't want her personal emotions arising from interacting with others to affect her fighting rhythm and judgment.

This is the most comfortable environment for her right now.

"..."

In just a few brief exchanges, Tosa understood Kursk's thoughts. She had no intention of persuading Kursk to communicate with others, but instead looked with interest at Zhou He, who was busy with something in the distance. Normally, when such an anomaly appears in the port area, the commander should mediate, but Zhou He had no intention of advising Kursk at all, and instead let her do things her own way.

Was our commander exceptionally courageous, or had he foreseen the outcome and thus chose the simplest solution—or perhaps he simply found it troublesome and therefore ignored it?

In the distance, Zhou He, who was being scrutinized by Tosa, turned around and saw Tosa and Kursk standing together without exchanging a word. He couldn't help but think: 'Surely there must be a kind of friendship in this world that can be achieved without speaking?'

Whether he was trying to comfort himself or not, that's what Zhou He thought.

He had just compared the parameters of the main research gun and the anti-aircraft gun in the system with reality and calculated that it would be no problem to put twenty anti-aircraft guns in a camp. However, the coastal defense guns were not suitable for installation on the mountaintop because the angle adjustment would be limited.

He'll have to take some time to explore the hillside facing the sea to find out exactly where it's best placed; the implementation of the island's defensive fortifications will probably take some time.

"take it easy."

Stretching towards the sun, Zhou He switched to the system's attack map and glanced at the executors in the South Second District. After confirming that they had not continued to follow up, he checked the situation in the East, South, and North Districts.

"Oh?"

Surprisingly, the group of sirens in the north who were doing salvage work seemed to have finished their work, and the documents had also disappeared.

It wasn't a sting operation?

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

Find an opportunity to test the executors' combat capabilities, then turn around and destroy their hideout. What documents and materials? Aren't they all his?

Chapter Sixty-Four: Speculation, Testing

The sun had already begun to set when Zhou He reached the top of the mountain, and by the time he was halfway down the mountain, it was completely dark. If this had happened a few days ago, Zhou He probably would have needed to buy a flashlight for illumination.

However, after the ship port platform came into existence, the cranes and lighthouses on the shore of the platform began to work on their own at night, and the roadside lights also lit up on their own, dispelling the darkness in the port area. With the help of the occasional beams of light, Zhou He, halfway down the mountain, descended the mountain safely with a sense of wonder in the dim light.

"The Sirens' base, and this place too, these lights, when on at night, would make them easy for the Sirens to spot, wouldn't they?"

Coming down from the mountain, their shoes were covered in mud. Tosa stood at the edge of the cement road and lightly kicked the ground with his toes to knock off the mud. His gaze swept over the bright streetlights. Their port had just attracted a large number of Sirens today, and it was hard to guarantee that those enforcers wouldn't move around in the middle of the night. As long as a reconnaissance plane passed over the island, it would be discovered here.

Zhou He was standing under the streetlight, looking up at the mosquitoes swarming around the light, feeling the familiar modern atmosphere. Hearing Tosa's words, he exclaimed "Ah!" and nodded after thinking for a moment: "Indeed, I'll go and see if there's any control room that can be adjusted tomorrow."

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

"what ever."

Tosa turned to adjust the strap of his sword. He needed to tighten the strap when going up and down the mountain, but not so much on land. Ideally, he should be able to feel the sword sway slightly while walking.

There's no particular explanation; it's just her personal preference.

After a brief adjustment, the two blended into the complex and, based on their memory from the daytime visit, searched for what looked like the control building. As for the rest of Kursk...

After descending to the foot of the mountain, it disappeared. Tosa was still very annoyed by this, annoyed that he hadn't noticed when Kursk had vanished.

—Through the deduction of the two, or rather Zhou He, they found the control console in the center of the platform. The system here uses the Eastern Huang script. Zhou He easily turned off most of the night lights, but left the rotating directional lights of the crane and lighthouse on.

Afterwards, the two walked along the road without any streetlights, relying solely on the moonlight for illumination. Without the light, Zhou He instantly felt that the temperature had dropped considerably. Because Tosa didn't speak, he would occasionally turn around to see if the guy had slipped away. After looking at Tosa a few times, he raised his eyebrows: "Are you really afraid of the dark?"

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

Caught red-faced, Zhou He blushed. The main reason was that this platform had only materialized today, and he hadn't gotten used to his port area suddenly becoming so large. He didn't have the same sense of security as when he stayed in the command building at night.

"It's best if it's not there, but it doesn't matter if it is."

Tosa didn't want to think too much about whether Yuudachi's words were true or false. She glanced at the buildings and public facilities area with their cool tones under the moonlight: "Since you're not used to it, then hurry up and make this place lively. As long as there are enough people, this place can be put to use, and you won't have 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 taken slowly. He could build the remaining four Rubik's Cubes directly, but he wouldn't have any tasks to assign to them after they were built—it was like when a new employee came to his company, he had hired them, but there was no corresponding position for them.

The time period doesn't matter, but if it lasts too long, it gives people a feeling of being neglected. He's experienced it before, and it's quite uncomfortable.

Yes, he still needs to work harder to make this port area look decent.

After a brief exchange, Zhou He relaxed and soon left the complex, stepping onto the familiar lawn. Looking at the two buildings with lights on in the distance, he turned to Tosa and invited him to have a meal together. Tosa, as always, looked at him, his flippant attitude putting him back down.

Absolutely not.

Seeing Zhou He show signs of retreat again, Tosa wanted to comment on him, but recently she had come to terms with it. As their commander, Zhou He had no obligation to risk his life to fight the enemy. Moreover, although he could occasionally become frivolous when he was emotional, he was serious most of the time, and there was no need to dampen his enthusiasm.

So, in Zhou He's eyes, Tosa, as usual, withdrew his gaze and gave a light snort, seemingly dissatisfied with his reaction, but without offering any further sharp comments.

This left him even more confused. He had thought that by acting assertively, he would gain Tosa's approval, but in practice, he encountered numerous problems.