Revisit Azur Lane

Zhou He simply smiled at this and walked back to the command post along the same route they had come from. Hermione and Harman were faster than Zhou He; Hood, the Incredible, and Cleveland were already drinking tea there. They only separated and sat down seriously when they saw Zhou He arrive.

"..."

After gesturing for Bismarck to sit down, Zhou He then faced the crowd and spread his hands: "Although I really hope that everyone can rest for a few more days, the Sirens clearly do not want to satisfy my desire... Just last night, nearly 20 small fleets of Sirens infiltrated into the sea area that we have already occupied and recovered, and are currently searching this sea area in a spiral direction."

"The Sirens never learn their lesson. We kill one batch and another comes. Commander, just give the order. I'm ready to sink them!"

Zhou He had assumed it would be Zuikaku who said such a thing, but it turned out to be Kaga. A rather fanatical expression appeared on her face, almost indicating that she was also a battle maniac.

"I called you here to prepare for an attack, but before that, I have a hypothesis I want to verify, and I need your cooperation."

Zhou He was not surprised. He clapped his hands and continued, "We are clearly in the seas that the Sirens may have once ruled. Logically speaking, the Sirens should definitely know that there is an island here. But now they are telling me with this spiral search method that there is a high probability that they do not know that our island exists."

"What kind of experiment does the commander want to conduct?"

Hood sat very dignifiedly, but Hermione, who was usually by her side, was standing next to Zhou He today.

"Is such that."

Zhou He nodded and explained his thoughts.

Everyone present frowned.

Chapter 82 It still has to be a destroyer

Zhou He's experiment was simple: release a few sirens near the island's port area to determine whether the sirens would be aware of the port's existence.

This experiment sounds and is quite bizarre and risky. After all, letting the enemy get close to your own base is not a normal thing to do. The Sirens may not have even discovered that they and the port were hiding on this island.

Zhou He neither underestimated the Sirens nor intended to overestimate them. However, his ship girls had been active here for quite some time. If any observers or testers paid attention to the number and frequency of mass-produced and executor ship damage, they would understand that there was a 'resistance' stronghold here.

So the fact that these Sirens were conducting such a thorough search struck him as odd, and he had his doubts. Since no one was there to help him, he had no choice but to conduct his own experiment. What if his port was actually protected by the system and the Sirens couldn't find him at all? Wouldn't that instantly expand his room for maneuver infinitely?

He still had the courage to conduct experiments of this magnitude.

"Since the commander has this idea..."

After Zhou He finished explaining the experimental project, the room was quiet for almost a minute. Bismarck spoke first, her expression unchanged whether she was speaking or silent, and her tone was very calm: "Just keep the dangerous variables within a manageable range."

"what…"

Hood, who had been hesitant, touched his forehead helplessly when he heard her say this: "Commander, war is all about deception and strategy. The ideal solution is to keep the Sirens away from our core port area, so that they will be suspicious and wary. Your approach is far too risky."

"Ideally, that's how it should be."

Zhou He smiled and shrugged, not continuing the conversation.

After all, nothing can proceed smoothly according to one's ideal state. The current situation is that the Sirens' size unilaterally overwhelms them. As long as the Sirens attack from all sides, this port area will be destroyed within a few days.

Since we're just jumping around under the enemy's nose anyway, we might as well test the system's capabilities. After all, this entire island was created by the system, so it's not surprising that it's a bit special.

"Yes, in that case, we'll need to assign two groups of personnel: one to engage the enemy and the other to defend the port. Commander, you should already have that in mind, right?"

Hu De lowered her hands, placed them on her lap, and watched Zhou He. The latter did not disappoint her and quickly divided the personnel.

This time, the Sirens attacked from three sides, but from the attack map, it can be observed that no Sirens approached from the south, and the number from the west was relatively small, with no movement from the Executors—it is also possible that the north and east were explored the farthest, so the largest number of Sirens were seen.

Therefore, Zhou He's plan was to bring the Sirens in the west closer to the islands in the port area, while leaving the Sirens in the north and east to be dealt with by the fleet that was out on the move.

"The members we've taken in are Akashi, Ryouto, Nagashima, Kursk, Yuudachi, and Jean Bart. Cleveland, you'll stay with Hood. Kaga, Shoukaku, you'll go with them. Zuikaku and Tosa, you'll go with Bismarck. The two teams will move together and look after each other."

Zhou He briefly divided them into groups and emphasized that this would be a protracted battle. He cautioned them against being reckless and trying to wipe out all the Sirens. He would provide further instructions later, instructing them to clear out the Sirens according to the approximate locations he had given them.

"I understand."

Although Ruihe often teases Zhou He, it's always in a relatively relaxed atmosphere. This time, Zhou He is so serious that he ignored Hu De's persuasion to conduct the experiment, which shows that he is quite serious now.

Everyone followed Zhou He's instructions regarding when to do what. After the meeting, the crowd dispersed, and some went to find and notify those who had not participated in the meeting. The remaining people followed Zhou He up to the third floor, where they watched him draw the current distribution and distances of the Sirens and the port area on a large sheet of white paper in his office.

"Did the commander engage in similar behavior before coming here?"

Hu De watched as Zhou He first marked the location of the port area, then used it as the core to mark the size, then marked the current position and direction of the many sirens with small arrows, and then added the specification notes next to them. His skill was so good that it surprised Hu De.

Zhou He has a strong ability to locate enemies, but if this ability were given to someone who is not good at expressing themselves, they would probably have to spend some time to understand it. Zhou He's simple diagram and markings make it clear at a glance, without them having to put in any effort.

"I occasionally draw some reference maps myself."

Zhou He casually replied that when he was a writer, he would sometimes draw maps of the area where the protagonist was located on a whim. Of course, the drawings were all very abstract, and he never thought that they would be useful here after he transmigrated.

“Nice habit.”

Hu De made a compliment.

She was quite satisfied with Commander Zhou He. Apart from his lack of common sense about war, there was basically nothing wrong with him. He had not held them back in combat and the help he provided was quite effective.

In conclusion, she unilaterally believes that Zhou He is already a qualified commander.

"..."

Hood wasn't the only one watching the drawing; Bismarck was also nearby, and Jintsu appeared at the table in a very inconspicuous manner to observe the situation.

As the markings on the map gradually became denser, Bismarck's eyes narrowed slightly: "Commander, are you sure there aren't any Siren from the Experimenter class mixed in among these Siren?"

"It's certain that even a Siren at the Experimenter level can't evade my detection radar."

Zhou He responded confidently that he had already discovered the Testers and Purifiers the moment they appeared in the Mirror Sea, as well as the Observers whose whereabouts were unknown. After his own people killed the Testers and Purifiers, he thought the Observers would appear next, but then the Mirror Sea suddenly closed.

After a brief pause, he put down his pen and added, "Of course, we cannot let our guard down. I will relay any discoveries I make during the battle to you to ensure that you do not face any unexpected enemies."

"Ah."

Bismarck frowned. Looking at the map, she clearly sensed something was amiss. The Sirens knew they were active in this area, but instead of sending reconnaissance aircraft to investigate, they had mass-produced aircraft conduct a thorough search.

This reaction most likely indicates that the Sirens have thoroughly explored this sea area, and are even currently using unknown technologies to explore it. However, none of their reconnaissance equipment has detected the existence of this island. In other words, they know that their group is in this sea area, but they cannot pinpoint the exact location, so they can only use this ancient method of investigation.

'If the commander's speculation is true, this port area, and even the island itself, must be operating equipment and technology unknown to us.'

Bismarck pondered silently in her heart. She didn't have many hobbies. Training and living with the Ironblood ship girls was one of them, and another was mastering the world's most advanced science and technology, which could make herself and the other Ironblood ship girls stronger.

The latter said it was an interest, which was more like an instinct for her, but she found the process of acquiring technology quite interesting, so it became an interest.

'Wait until this battle is over…'

"Boss, everyone is ready."

U556 peeked out from outside the door, jogged over to Bismarck's side, interrupting her thoughts. Bismarck glanced at her, then looked at Zhou He: "Commander, we're leaving now."

"Go."

Zhou He also stopped writing, rolled up the completed drawing, and handed it to Bismarck: "Victory is only second to me. My greatest wish is for you to return safely."

"Will do."

Bismarck took the blueprints, and as he turned around, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up. U556 saw this clearly, waved to Zhou He, and happily followed Bismarck out of the office.

"On this point, I would like to remind the commander not to use long-range repair capabilities too frequently, as this will make everyone lose their sense of crisis."

Hu De had intended to follow, but upon hearing Zhou He's words, he stopped, turned around, and added, "Commander, you may not have seen it, but the members of Sakura Empire are extremely aggressive in battle."

"Yes, I will use it as appropriate."

Zhou He nodded in response. Hu De stared at him for a few seconds before turning to leave. Jin Tung followed Hu De with remarkable ease, preparing to leave together, but Zhou He stopped him: "Jin Tung, I can't see what's happening on the battlefield, so you'll be my eyes. Come back and tell me how Tosa and the others fought against the Sirens."

"Yes."

Shen Tong turned around, bowed slightly, took two steps back, and left the office.

"Whoo~"

Zhou He rested his hands on the table. He considered himself to be relatively obedient to advice. Hu De's statement was correct. For the scientific growth of his ship girls, he should use the 'manual infinite health' function less.

However, he was really panicked when he saw his ship girl losing health. Unlike in the game, where ship girls can gain a lot of damage reduction and a very high evasion rate after leveling up and surpassing the level of the Sirens, this place is different.

Given the reality that each ship girl only has one life, since he has the ability to lock health, he must use it frequently.

……

After making preparations, Hood and Bismarck led the main force away from the port. Zhou He watched them leave from the bay, then turned to look at the happy Yuudachi, the listless Nagashima, and the yawning Jean Bart.

He reached out and touched Yuudachi's hair, his gaze sweeping across the map of the western region. The nearest fleet had already reached the edge of the western second district, about 90 nautical miles from the port. It would take more than two hours for a destroyer to move at full speed, and about three hours for a fleet with capital ships. He still had plenty of time to prepare.

"Yuudachi, in every battle you participated in before, did you always charge into the Sirens' lines?"

Time wasn't tight. After taking a few steps away from the beach area, Zhou He sat down and looked at the bay reflecting the sunlight. His casual question excited Yuudachi, who squatted down next to Zhou He with a grin: "It's not that exaggerated. It's just that I sometimes run past my destination while on a mission."

"Occasionally?"

Zhou He chuckled and poked Yuudachi's smooth cheek with his finger: "Yuudachi, you can count the number of times you've gone out to attack on your fingers. You can't just charge into battle recklessly from now on. I'll be heartbroken if you get hurt."

"Yes~"

Yuudachi answered softly, grabbing Zhou He's arm with both hands and rubbing her cheek against him. Her puppy-like behavior made Zhou He unable to resist pulling her into his arms and whispering a warning: "Even acting cute is not allowed. From now on, I will record the number of times you are hit by artillery fire during an attack. If it exceeds ten times, I will punish you."

"what--"

Hearing Zhou He's serious warning, Xi Li realized he was serious. She couldn't help but stretch out her hands to recall how many times she had been hit in the Mirror Sea. She found that she couldn't even count on her ten fingers. She wondered, "Wait a minute, why did I get hit so many times?"

"It's good that you know it's wrong."

Zhou He grinned. Yuudachi is a destroyer, the most fragile model among regular warships. It can actually take more than ten shells in a battle. Should we say that the data is a bit inflated by the system, or that he protects it well and heals it quickly?

"Commander~ What interesting things are you talking about~?"

Looking at Yuudachi and Shugo sitting together, Nagashima wandered over like a ghost, stood behind Shugo, and pressed his shoulder with his hand: "We really don't have any entertainment facilities in our port area, not even a TV."

"You can make your own recreational facilities if you don't have any. For example, you can put a fishing net on the beach and then play beach badminton."

Zhou He knew that Nagashima was a true otaku, and by looking up, he could see her slightly undulating little mounds—in Azur Lane, a figure like Nagashima's was a rare resource, and even Yuudachi in his arms was more voluptuous than Nagashima.

"...Commander, what are you looking at, H!"

Because it was a scarce resource, Zhou He couldn't help but take a few more glances, which led to him being spotted by Long Island. He was then smeared in the face with a long sleeve and heard some rather domineering lines.

“H?”

Yuudachi didn't quite understand these things. She turned her body to look at Nagashima and found him covering his chest with both hands, his cheeks puffed up like a hamster.

"We're talking about the helipad."