Revisit Azur Lane

'This is really difficult.'

Zhou He put his hands in his coat pockets, wondering if he was too shy. Before he transmigrated, he would unconsciously avoid eye contact if a woman glanced at him. But he could make eye contact with Hood and even Bismarck naturally. Why didn't it work in Tosa?

Before he could find the answer, Zhou He saw Yuudachi running out from the command building to greet him. Her little face had an irresistible, adorable smile. Zhou He couldn't help but smile too, reaching out to gently pat Yuudachi's head and asking with a smile, "I'm back. Has Yuudachi had dinner yet?"

"Welcome home~ I haven't had dinner yet, I'm waiting for the Commander to come back so we can eat together!"

Not only her smile, but also Yuudachi's lively demeanor and energetic voice were incredibly healing to Zhou He. The fatigue he had accumulated from going up and down the mountain seemed to disappear at that moment. Zhou He smiled and pointed at Yuudachi: "The fried pork cutlet you ate at noon looked delicious. I'd like to try it later."

"Oh! That was really delicious, and the extra-thick roast beef too! Ah, the meat sandwiched between the two buns was also yummy! And there was more..."

When it came to eating meat, Yuudachi's eyes lit up instantly, and she began to enthusiastically recommend the things she thought were delicious to Zhou He. Unfortunately, they were all meat. Zhou He listened and laughed, saying that he would have Manju make a copy of everything Yuudachi had mentioned.

"Great!"

Yuudachi's joy was palpable; she grabbed Zhou He's arm and pulled him toward the restaurant.

"Hey~ Where did you go? Did you find Kursk?"

Although it was dark, it was only a little past six o'clock. There were still quite a few people moving around inside the command building. Zuikaku and Jintsu came out of a room on the first floor, talking to each other. When they saw Tosa standing outside the door, Zuikaku said goodbye to Jintsu in a low voice and then came over. His shadow stretched long as he stood at the door.

"found it."

Tosa glanced at her: "We exchanged a few words. Want to know?"

"I don't want to, but you won't tell me anyway."

Zuikaku spread her hands, her smug expression making Tosa's eyebrows twitch. Not wanting to stoop to her level, Tosa headed straight for the restaurant. Unexpectedly, Zuikaku followed her in a few steps and whispered mysteriously, "Tomorrow the Commander has arranged for me to accompany the destroyers on an exploration mission. Do you want to come along? We might run into some clueless Sirens on the way."

"Since this is an exploration mission, we should focus on avoiding the enemy. We haven't figured out the operating rules of those new Sirens outside yet, so let's not cause any trouble."

Tosa did enjoy going out to fight, but she fought prepared battles, not just randomly attacking whoever she could find.

“You’re right. But before we discovered the new type of Sirens, even large-scale battles didn’t attract them, which suggests that they may not have a direct connection with 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."

"...It was Jintsu who told you, wasn't it?"

Tosa was slightly surprised, but quickly figured out the connection. Zuikaku wasn't too stupid, but she was just an average person. Usually, she only thought about asking Zhou He to apply for a fight and thinking about Shoukaku joining the port. She wouldn't consider things that were more profound, or rather, she wasn't interested in them.

Then it must be supernatural power; this newcomer doesn't seem simple.

"It was a decision we made through discussion!"

After proclaiming his importance, Zuikaku turned to Zhou He in front of him and said, "I'll talk to the commander about this in a bit. If you want to go, just let me know."

"It depends on the circumstances."

Tosa's eyes flickered slightly. She wouldn't accompany Zuikaku in his private operations, but if she gained Zhou He's approval, that would be a different story.

The number of Sirens is not unlimited; every time you kill one, there are fewer. If she wants to become stronger than the others in the port, she has to kill more Sirens.

"Alright—Commander! I have something to say."

Zuikaku snapped his fingers and darted out to stop Zhou He, who had just entered the restaurant. Bismarck was having dinner with U556 and Z23 in the main hall of the restaurant. His hat was placed aside, but when Zuikaku called out to him, he put it on and nodded to Zhou He as he entered.

"Why are you shouting so loudly? Keep your voice down and don't disturb their meal."

Zhou He was also startled by Ruihe. It was a rare sight to see Bismarck in her hatless form, but Ruihe's shout ruined it. He patted Yuudachi's shoulder and told her to go find Manju to order food before turning around and lecturing Ruihe in a bad mood.

"Sorry sorry."

Zuikaku clasped her hands together in apology to Bismarck and the other two. After that, she found a seat and beckoned Zhou He to sit opposite her. Zhou He, who wanted to see what she was up to, sat down as she asked, resting his elbows on the table and clasping them together. His gaze was deep: "Speak, what is it?"

"Is such that…"

Zuikaku repeated what she had said to Tosa, and Zhou He had also thought about the question she was addressing: there had been large-scale battles before, but the Sirens in the third ring block had not been attracted. What was the reason for this?

"The operating systems installed on the mass-produced Sirens and the Executor Sirens are different?"

Zhou He thought about it and felt that this possibility was quite high. After all, the mass-produced type was in the form of a warship, while the executors were humanoid elite monsters. It was not surprising that they had an independent system to directly command the observers.

Amazed by this conjecture, Zhou He's gaze fell on the system interface and he switched to the attack map, locking onto the South Third District and observing the Siren icons inside. He could see that the executors inside were motionless, while the mass-produced ones were wandering around like small fry.

This alone reveals the difference in the underlying instructions between the two.

After thinking for a moment, he nodded to Ruihe: "This conjecture is worth verifying. Tomorrow I will arrange for a few more people to follow your team to clear out the mass-produced sirens scattered around. I will inform you of the specifics tomorrow."

"it is good."

Zuikaku readily agreed, then turned her gaze to Tosa, who had just entered, and waved: "Would you like to have a meal together? I haven't eaten yet either."

Tosa glanced over, then walked past Yuudachi, who had returned from ordering. He found the steward, Nagato, explained what he wanted for dinner, and then sat down on the right side of Zhou He's empty seat. Together with Yuudachi and Zhou He, they faced Zuikaku.

The four people were separated by a table; if they were in a sealed room, a completely different story could unfold.

"?"

Ruihe also sensed the subtle feeling in the space, but she didn't have any relevant knowledge. She only felt that Zhou He was more popular than herself, so she smiled and exchanged compliments with Zhou He.

Soon after, Manjiu began serving a large amount of food. The table was filled with the aroma of meat, and Zhou He, who was starving, ate three large bowls, even finishing his portion for tomorrow's breakfast.

After dinner, Zhou He, who didn't have to wash the dishes, played with Xi Li in the lobby of the command building for a while before going upstairs to shower and rest.

……

Upon waking up, Zhou He immediately threw off the thin blanket and went to the bathroom. After washing his hands, he went to the window to observe the outside. There was nothing inside the bay, but outside the bay, there was a lot of fog, which even obscured the rising sun, with only a few rays of light shining in.

Zhou He had seen this situation before; after sunrise, it would be a beautiful sunny day suitable for a thorough cleaning.

Having confirmed the weather, Zhou He sat down at his desk, opened his notebook, and listed his sixteen ship girls. Excluding Akashi, there were 15 available combat personnel: one submarine, four destroyers, three light cruisers, one heavy cruiser, one battlecruiser, three battleships, and one light carrier and one regular carrier.

Listed out like this, just looking at Zhou He, one can sense that this is a formidable naval force.

"The planned expedition involves Zuikaku and four destroyers. Considering the possibility of miscalculations leading to the executors, the number of accompanying personnel for elimination cannot be small, hmm..."

Zhou He referenced the western positions and distances of the system's attack map executors and wrote them down below the accompanying fleet. The newly added supernatural power could be taken out for a spin by Barth, followed by Cleveland and Tosa.

After weighing the options between Hood and Bismarck, Zhou He chose to have Bismarck lead the team for the final flagship position. U556 was one reason, but more importantly, he felt that Bismarck was more stable. Of course, Hood and the others weren't idle either.

They are responsible for guarding the port area, and can also provide support when the fleet encounters combat situations that cannot be dealt with in a timely manner.

Looking at his assigned team, Zhou He nodded in satisfaction.

Chapter Sixty-Five: Hypothetical Situation

After completing his preparations for the day, Zhou He went downstairs at nearly seven o'clock, which is what Tosa and the others call a lazy person who gets up late.

Of course, that's not the point. The point is that the lobby was unusually quiet when he came downstairs today. Usually, there would be two or three people wandering around and resting here when he came down at this time, but he didn't see a single one today.

"You all went next door for breakfast, so you don't like this place anymore?"

Just then, two figures appeared at the entrance. The one in front was Hermione, dressed in a regular maid outfit and carrying a tray, while the one slightly behind was Haman, who looked like a maid but was not actually one.

Good morning, both of you.

Zhou He naturally stepped forward to greet them, only to be stared at by Hammanman with a scrutinizing expression. Hermione, standing beside him, responded with a light smile, "Good morning. I've prepared some breakfast for the Commander. I wonder if it suits your taste today."

As she spoke, Hermione placed the plate on the table in the hall and lifted the lid. Inside was a bowl of rice noodles with a generous amount of side dishes, and on the side were a small plate of fried eggs and some pickled radishes.

"I think it's very good."

Zhou He felt hungry just from looking at it. He thanked Hermione and sat down without ceremony, asking her to pour him a cup of hot water.

Hermione turned and headed towards the kitchen area, leaving Hammanman and Zhou He staring at each other. Feeling a little uncomfortable being stared at, Zhou He blinked and laughed, "Hamanman, are you perhaps learning from Hermione, um, observing the maids' work?"

"certainly not!"

Harman retorted loudly at lightning speed, but then seemed to realize she had been too excited. Her face flushed slightly as she fell silent and turned to look at Zhou He: "I just heard from everyone that you, Commander, are a lazybones who wait until everyone has had breakfast before getting up, so I came along to confirm it myself."

"...I feel like someone is slandering me."

Zhou He could sense a joking tone in what others said, but Harman seemed to genuinely believe it. He felt he needed to clarify: "Actually, I got up quite early too, but I was thinking about today's arrangements, which is why I only came downstairs at this time."

"The commander's job looks easy, but it's actually quite a headache."

Zhou He rubbed his head. He had never said these words to anyone else before. His ship girls' personalities all matched some of the game's settings, but their personalities were more vivid and complex. For example, the girl in front of him, Harman, was cute and arrogant, but he could clearly feel that she was very sensitive, serious and earnest.

While others might laugh it off, there's no need to hold back with Harman. Rather than relying on a long period of interaction to make Harman realize his situation, it's better to explain things directly to him and avoid potentially damaging interpersonal relationships.

"Oh, is that so?"

Sure enough, upon hearing Zhou He's words, Harman immediately realized she had been overthinking things. She opened her mouth in a panic, wanting to say something, but just then Hermione walked over from the kitchen carrying a cup of hot water. In her haste, she puffed out her cheeks: "Of course I know about that kind of thing! It's all the Commander's fault for not explaining things clearly to everyone, which is why these strange rumors have appeared!"

"Well, actually I've mentioned it occasionally, but people may not have noticed, since I really rarely eat breakfast with everyone."

Faced with Harman's sudden outburst of anger, which sounded more like a coquettish tantrum, Zhou He took it seriously and explained with a smile.

"Commander, can't you come down earlier and have breakfast before you start working?"

Hamman wasn't angry at all; in fact, she even offered Zhou He some advice. As for her idea, Zhou He had also considered it, but he felt that planning ahead would better highlight his composure and confidence. No one else had seriously discussed this with him, but Hamman brought it up seriously, which made his heart skip a beat.

After thinking for a moment, he thanked Harman and said, "I understand. I will consider coming down earlier to have meals with everyone in the future."

"It's good that you know, hmph~"

Harman felt she had played an important role and proudly raised her head, her silver hair swaying around her. Her innocent and adorable appearance whetted Zhou He's appetite. He took the water glass Hermione handed him, blew on it, took a small sip, and began to enjoy his breakfast.

With her pride waning, Harman looked at Zhou He eating and Hermione smiling beside him, pouted, and ran away.

"Miss Hamman is quite strict with the commander."

Hermione was unaware of the background, but she overheard the last few sentences and roughly guessed what was going on. Hamman interacted very naturally with others, but her emotions fluctuated wildly when facing Zhou He, which showed just how much Hamman cared about Commander Zhou He.

"Hmm, very cute."

After swallowing, Zhou He took a moment to comment. Hermione's eyes flickered upon hearing this, but she quickly regained her composure: "Haman is indeed very cute."

After a quick breakfast, Zhou He sat down to digest and rest for a while. During this time, he used the system map to observe the distribution and movements of the Sirens and Executors in the South Second and Third Districts and the West Second and Third Districts. The purpose of this dispatch was twofold: exploration and experimentation. Target Two had a higher priority, so he needed to find a route of action that focused on Target Two.

Whether there is intelligence sharing between the mass-produced type and the executors can be determined by the simplest scenario: if the mass-produced type engages in combat outside the executors' vigilance range but not too far away, the executors will move the moment the battle begins if there is intelligence sharing. Conversely, if there is no intelligence sharing, the executors will remain stationary until the mass-produced type is completely wiped out.

"It's quite risky. If we guess wrong, we can just consider it a test of the executor's combat capabilities."

Before long, Zhou He found a similar route. At the same time, Yuudachi and Zuikaku also arrived after hearing the news. Both of them were warmongers and were still quite concerned about the fact that they had only made a brief encounter with the enemy yesterday before retreating. Now that they had received permission to 'go to war', they were eager to have a big fight.

“You two, look at Tosa and Jintsu, they know what it means to balance work and rest.”

Surrounded by the two, Hermione couldn't get close. Zhou He was quite helpless. When he played the game, he had to do daily sorties to level up every day, but here, he wished he could go out and fight one ship and then block the port for a while. Fortunately, his ship girls didn't need oil to travel, and their ammunition could be replenished by the points obtained from fighting Sirens.

Otherwise, his family would most likely have run out of resources to launch attacks after Ruihe joined.