Revisit Azur Lane

'I remember you could exchange Home Coins for meat?'

He recalled that there was meat in the homestead shop. The system's products should contain more energy, or be more suitable for the needs of the ship girls, right? Otherwise, if everyone eats so much, wouldn't he have to go fishing at sea every day to make a living?

Zhou He was troubled, but Xi Li was obviously unaware of this. He was overjoyed to know that there would be meat to eat and followed Zhou He around happily.

……

After a quick breakfast, Zhou He watched Xi Li leave the port. Looking up at the bright sun, he turned and went into the command post to bring out all his and Xi Li's personal belongings from the warehouse to air them out.

With only one ship girl, Yuudachi, there wasn't much to do in terms of logistics. Before long, Zhou He sat on the grass next to the command post and started checking the Home Mall. One good thing about this mall was that daily necessities were sold very cheaply. The binoculars he bought yesterday only cost 1 yuan, an ordinary bed only cost 1 yuan, and 30kg of rice only cost 1 yuan.

Yuudachi also had a piece of meat that she had been longing for, and everyone was treated equally; one yuan could buy ten kilograms.

More expensive items are those with technical content. For example, you can exchange 5 Garden Coins for an acre of vegetable garden, 10 Garden Coins for a large game console, and between 20 and 50 coins for professional medical and experimental equipment, or even a sports car. The cheapest speedboat costs 70 coins.

This price-performance ratio is not only incredibly fair, but it's also a truly conscientious choice in the industry.

However, Zhou He was poor enough that if he couldn't find a way to increase the number of ship girls in his home, he would have to spend all his home currency just to maintain his daily life with Yuudachi.

"Is this the pressure from family?"

Zhou He closed the online store and rested with his eyes closed. Before transmigrating, he only needed to support himself, but here he had to support an entire family…

No, think about it carefully. Home coins are given based on the number of ship girls. To put it simply, the ship girls work, and then the system gives him money to spend. The more ship girls he has, the more pocket money he gets.

Shocking! He was the one being kept?

"..."

Zhou He remained silent for a moment, then decided to check on Xi Li's work progress.

Chapter Nine: The Battle That Was Faster Than Expected

Yuudachi is very efficient. In about two hours, he has already left his mark on the four areas around the command post. What is reassuring is that two areas are blank, without any Sirens' faction icons. Only the area backed by the command post island has Sirens.

From an overall perspective, the Sirens have surrounded the island from the north and south, making their attack very powerful. However, conversely, the Sirens on these two sides may belong to two separate squads, and the northern squad might not be notified while the southern squad is attacking.

'Oh well, I'm bound to get caught if I keep attacking the Sirens like this. The Sirens are a large and powerful group, and taking out these small squads shouldn't attract the attention of the Observers in the short term. I just need to use this time to develop as quickly as possible.'

Zhou He had found the answer in his heart.

Short-term survival is for finding a better path to the future, but if a better path cannot be found, then there is no point in surviving for a long time. On the contrary, it will wear down one's fighting spirit and make one hesitant and timid when it comes to actually doing something.

So he stared at the operational instructions for the outgoing fleet and selected the 'update command', instructing Yuudachi to abandon exploring the back of the island, that is, the northern area with Sirens, and instead explore the other two areas without Sirens first.

"Seriously, it feels a bit like playing a game."

Looking at the 3D Xiaoyuda on the map, which paused for a moment after hearing the command and then turned around, Zhou He propped his elbow on his hand and stroked his chin, switching the view to the area where the Sirens were located in the south. The Sirens' branches there were different again. A total of four Sirens appeared in the bright area, wandering around like idle street urchins.

"Oh?"

Originally, Zhou He only intended to observe the situation, but this glance revealed something different to him: the two destroyers were smaller and faster than the light cruisers. After turning at sea, they left the light cruisers a considerable distance behind, not by much, but only about three or four nautical miles according to the scale of the game map. The two destroyers and the light cruisers were at right angles, and if there was no external force, the gap would quickly return to normal once the light cruisers turned and caught up.

"An opportunity? Should we give it a try?"

Zhou He suddenly had these words pop into his mind. After a brief moment of thought, he unilaterally connected to Yuudachi's video call: "Yuudachi, can you hear me? The light cruiser we were watching yesterday appeared at a 60-70° angle to your southwest, about 20 nautical miles away. Do you have a way to attract it?"

"Huh? I know, I'll give it a try."

Yuudachi was getting bored and wanted to yawn when Zhou He's words suddenly came to her ears, which made her perk up. She recognized the direction Zhou He gave her and immediately started to speed up. While running, she raised her right hand and paused to remind Zhou He: "Commander, cut off the communication. I'm about to fire. It's too noisy."

"fire?"

Zhou He immediately understood and said, "That light cruiser is closest to you. The two destroyers behind it are not far away, but they need time to turn around. If you attract the light cruiser, try to penetrate its ship as quickly as possible, targeting its vital positions such as the engine room and ammunition compartments, and let it die slowly. Got it?"

"understand!"

Yuudachi licked his lips, his eyes gleaming as he grinned, revealing a battle-hungry smile.

To be honest, she didn't care whether the opponent was one, three, or four. She only retreated yesterday because of Zhou He's orders, but these guys weren't so lucky today.

"Don't forget to be careful. Once you've succeeded or if you sense something is wrong, retreat immediately. Remember not to let yourself be outnumbered."

Before cutting off the video, Zhou He gave some serious instructions—from yesterday to today, Xi Li had listened to him very well, so he felt much more at ease after he said those words.

"Commander, you really worry."

Upon hearing this instruction, Yuudachi muttered something under her breath, raised her right hand to adjust the ship's cannon on the back of her hand, and after supporting herself with her right wrist with her left hand, she chose the furthest possible position to fire.

'boom! ’

A thunderous sound erupted from the small muzzle of the ship's guns, followed by billowing white smoke. Birds flying overhead scattered in panic as the shells whistled and hurtled into the distance. Despite the immense recoil, Yuudachi's speed remained unaffected as it continued its advance through the drifting smoke.

As the cannonballs flew through the air, a menacing light cruiser, its body jet black and covered in red lava-like material, could be seen sailing steadily on the sea. A few seconds after the cannonballs landed and exploded in the water, the cruiser, as if having completed its search, stopped its course and headed straight for the area where the cannonballs had landed.

Meanwhile, the three destroyers further away, like dogs that had smelled gunpowder, changed course at the same time.

……

"Yuudachi fired, but what's with these Sirens? Can they hear the sounds? Or are they feeling the vibrations?"

Zhou He looked at the sirens moving in sync with the map and couldn't help but gasp.

He was hoping that Yuudachi, positioned on the very edge, could draw the attention of the light cruiser, but his hopes were dashed after just one shot.

"Will Yuudachi work?"

Watching Yuudachi head straight for the Siren light cruiser, Zhou He's expression turned serious, and his fingers clenched together.

He felt he had been a bit reckless, but when he saw the Sirens' formation, he had a clear feeling that he could take action. Opportunities are fleeting; if all else fails, he could have Yuudachi escape and shake off the Sirens before coming back.

After all, there was a large area of ​​sea where sirens did not roam, providing space to retreat without worrying about being blocked by sirens during the retreat, thus reducing the danger.

The shortest distance is a two-way journey. The distance of twenty nautical miles was shortened to ten nautical miles or even closer in just five minutes. On Zhou He's map, Yuudachi almost bumped into the Sirens.

The truth is that Yuudachi and the Sirens encountered each other:

A nearly 200-meter-long behemoth roamed the sea, while its counterpart was the Yuudachi, whose ship equipment was less than 1.7 meters tall. After entering a range of 10 nautical miles, the two began to exchange fire, with a large number of shells falling on the sea surface and exploding into towering waves.

The Sirens light cruiser had a longer range than the Yuudachi, and its number of guns was nearly twice that of the Yuudachi. From a high altitude, the light cruiser was directly opposite the Yuudachi, its turrets spewing out white smoke and firing a dense barrage of shells, while the Yuudachi swayed precariously amidst the waves. Occasionally, the Yuudachi would be seen retaliating, but each of its counterattacks landed precisely on the hull of the Sirens. The firepower of the destroyers was weak and depended on the target. Against a heavy cruiser, it would be like a tickle, but against a light cruiser, each explosion would cause flames to rise from the deck, gradually accumulating.

"You can't hit me, idiot!"

Amidst the hail of shells, Yuudachi gritted her teeth, raised her head, and fired another shot. After observing the positions of the three destroyers appearing on the edge through radar, her gaze changed. With a click, the torpedo launchers on both sides of her body adjusted their orientation and aimed at the light cruisers. Eight oxygen torpedoes fell into the water one after another with a series of puffs. Yuudachi herself made an extreme right-angle turn to avoid the shells and then reloaded the torpedoes. In less than half a minute, she launched another torpedo, releasing all 16 torpedoes on her body.

The dogfight continued, and three destroyers approached from the left and right flanks, about to complete their encirclement. Remembering Zhou He's instructions, Yuudachi looked around, scoffed, and turned to run.

The instant she turned around, a series of explosions erupted from the bottom of the light patrol vessel; a quick count revealed ten explosions!

The light cruiser's armor was simply unable to withstand the direct impact of such a number of torpedoes, and was immediately torn open with terrifying rips. The surging seawater poured in without restraint, destroying the warship's weakest point, and the entire ship lost its power function on the spot, almost listing to one side.

Originally, during World War II, the Sakura Empire's torpedoes were known for their extremely low hit rate. However, when battleships were anthropomorphized, the torpedo launch coverage area became controllable and tight. Furthermore, the opposing battleships were incredibly large. Within the extreme range of five nautical miles, the hit rate was miraculously increased countless times!

Destroyers should be at a disadvantage against light cruisers, but after the ships were anthropomorphized, their smaller and more agile size caused the enemy's shelling accuracy to drop sharply, giving them a certain advantage!

"The commander was indeed too cautious with opponents of this caliber. How should we deal with these guys next?"

Although she was running away, Yuudachi was thinking about how to fight back.

She was determined to win a resounding victory and earn Zhou He's praise!

Chapter Ten: Buy One Get One Free

"How's the battle going?"

At the command post on the bay, Zhou He paced back and forth, worried about Yuudachi. He could see the map of the explored sea area from a god's-eye view, but he couldn't tell the battle process from the 3D little figure icon. The battle had been going on for a long time, and none of the Sirens had been lost in his sight. Moreover, the destroyers that were chasing after them had even surrounded Yuudachi from both sides, and there was a faint tendency to cover up her little figure icon.

He frowned, but he could no longer relay instructions to Yuudachi or make video calls during the war, so he could only keep an eye on those few icons.

Finally, before the Sirens could completely encircle them, Yuudachi's little figure began to retreat. Zhou He breathed a sigh of relief and was about to give Yuudachi instructions when suddenly a Sirens icon appeared on the map in an area that Yuudachi had only explored halfway through and that should not have had any Sirens.

This means that the area that was supposed to be Yuudachi's safe retreat route is no longer safe, and the suddenly appearing Sirens are not on the map, but are outside the fog that he cannot observe.

"hiss--"

Zhou He's gaze fell upon the three blocks near the command post—east, south, and north—all covered by Siren icons. He gasped, his eyes widening in shock for a few seconds before he recovered and began to consider countermeasures:

The Sirens outside the fog were most likely attracted by the sound of gunfire. At this time, the Sirens in the north were not moving, indicating that the Sirens' maneuvering range was not particularly large. Yuudachi had already attracted the attention of another or several Siren fleets. The most important thing to do now is to stay away from the north to prevent the Sirens from encircling from three directions. It would also be best to draw the new Siren fleet out of the fog so that he could observe and analyze countermeasures.

Without hesitation, he immediately used the 'Change Instructions' function to relay the situation to Yuudachi and gave the order to 'Move West,' pulling the Sirens to the relatively safe west for further action.

……

"Ugh, what an annoying bunch."

Just as Yuudachi had pulled the three pursuing destroyers out of the light cruiser's gun support range, she hadn't found an opportunity to counterattack when she received a message from Zhou He. She muttered impatiently, temporarily abandoning the idea of ​​counterattacking, and urged the ship's equipment beneath her feet to accelerate at full speed. After creating some distance between herself and the destroyers behind her, she made a sharp U-turn, pushing the agility of her human form to the limit. She ran out of the radar's tracking range right in front of the nearest destroyer, and the flying shells didn't even leave her in the dust.

Meanwhile, Yuudachi was thinking that he had just thrown all the torpedoes, otherwise he would have crippled the ship with them.

In the distance, Yuudachi passed the area where the paralyzed light cruiser was located. Black smoke was already billowing around it. Having been hit by ten lightning bolts, it had almost no chance of survival. In just ten minutes of pursuit, it had already completely tilted, and it was only a matter of time before it sank to the bottom of the sea.

A sudden encounter ended with the sinking of the Siren light cruiser—which is not an exaggeration. However, the Sirens do not have human captains or the thinking abilities of ship girls. They are carrying out orders to the death. After losing sight of Yuudachi, the three destroyers did not stop the pursuit but followed the direction in which Yuudachi disappeared.

The battle took place to the southeast of the command post. Yuudachi ran westward, and the Sirens chased after her. Zhou He, who was standing at the entrance of the command post, first saw Yuudachi running towards him with her hands gesturing with peace signs through his binoculars. Then he saw three large, black and red Siren destroyers that looked disgusting cross the road. Fortunately, these guys had no interest in this suspicious island on his side.

"Now we're really cornered at our own doorstep."

Zhou He put down his binoculars and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead. He hadn't expected his first attack to end up in such a miserable state. He would have to be extra cautious in future attacks and at least be prepared for the worst-case scenario of being surrounded by the Sirens from three sides.

With Yuudachi temporarily safe, Zhou He turned his attention to the Siren light cruiser on the map, which hadn't moved for a long time. He was surprised by Yuudachi's explosive power, but also somewhat delighted. As long as this ship sank, he could immediately obtain the Wisdom Cube to build. Yuudachi was very passive in a 1v3 situation, and it was at a disadvantage in a 2v3 situation.

"Grandpa Dahai, hurry up and kill it!"

Zhou He prayed silently while constantly switching between the system's sea map to determine the distance between Yuudachi and the Sirens, and to observe whether any Sirens appeared outside the fog.

Time ticked by, and Zhou He, thirsty from waiting outside, crawled back into the command post to pour himself a glass of water. Just then, he heard a faint, clear sound. A surge of inexplicable excitement welled up inside him, causing him to choke on his water. He covered his mouth, bent over, and coughed for a while before recovering. He then sat down and switched to the mission interface.

① The fleet launches an attack and defeats the Siren flagship from the sea. Reward: 1 Wisdom Cube - available for collection.

② For every healthy ship in the port area, a corresponding amount of Home Coins can be collected on the day of the mission.

③ Explore this mysterious ocean, discover and capture a Siren base. Rewards: T1~T3 ship blueprints, T1~T3 ship parts.

Two of the three tasks were available for him to claim. Without hesitation, Zhou He claimed the reward for task ①. Task ① vanished instantly, replaced by a new task:

① Destroy the Siren fleet with a heavy cruiser or light carrier as its flagship. Reward: 1 Wisdom Cube

"Difficulty increases, but rewards don't?"

Zhou He angrily slammed his hand on the table next to him. The last mission almost caused Yuudachi to be surrounded by Sirens, and they are still being chased. This mission actually asks him to go and cause trouble with Siren heavy cruisers and aircraft carriers. Isn't this sending him to his death?

"Tsk."