Revisit Azur Lane

Kursk.

Without thinking much, he waved and greeted the fox. The fox turned around, saw him, and nodded in response. Zhou He walked closer and glanced at the fox through the window. It was in much better condition than last night. The rice in the bowl next to it was scattered everywhere—it had started eating, which meant it was almost ready to be tamed.

"Kaga is really carefree, he caught me and just threw me away like that."

Zhou He casually made a comment and shifted the topic to Kursk. Considering Kursk's personality, he hadn't assigned Kursk to combat operations yesterday or today. Since they had met, he might as well ask him about it.

"If it's just about carrying out combat orders, there's no problem."

Kursk also saw the attacking force yesterday, but she returned very late the night before and got caught in the rain. After resting and waking up, she spent some time adjusting her physical condition. Just as she was about to talk to Zhou He, the people who went out returned. It seemed that they had suffered a defeat, which seemed quite troublesome, so she did not show herself.

"Is that so? Then... if there's a chance, I'll arrange for you to go out and fight with everyone."

Zhou He wanted to say that the battle had just started today and he could still catch up if he went now, but he hesitated and didn't say that. There were too many Sirens, and adding more combat personnel on the spot might disrupt the rhythm of other people's battles. It would be better to wait for the official announcement next time.

"it is good."

After receiving Kursk's response, Zhou He turned around and sat on the sofa. He stared at the dock icon of Shoukaku and started a video call. He connected unilaterally and saw Ms. Shoukaku, who was standing on the sea with a serious expression and her hair blowing in the wind.

The pressure in the air is immense.

Zhou He's eyes flickered slightly. In large-scale naval battles, air superiority, that is, the clash between aircraft carriers, almost determines the outcome of the battle. His family currently has three regular carriers and one light carrier, which is a qualified carrier battle group in terms of numbers. However, in the face of the endless Siren army, it can only be said to be barely enough.

Taking into account the beyond-visual-range combat capability of aircraft carriers, if we really start to develop our own mass-produced fleet, the top priority should be to build a few aircraft carriers for our own use in providing cover and seizing air superiority!

Unfortunately, the Sirens have now formed an encirclement, and even if we cripple their warships, we can't tow them back for dismantling.

"commander!?"

After half a minute of contemplation, Shoukaku finally discovered Zhou He's 'projection' when launching a new batch of carrier-based aircraft and couldn't help but let out a soft gasp.

Zhou He nodded to indicate that he had heard, and said, "I have discovered that the Siren fleet is moving south in a large-scale manner, which suggests that other forces may be approaching. If you have the capacity, you can observe whether this situation is present on the main battlefield."

"understand!"

Shokaku's gaze sharpened, and he quickly relayed Zhou He's words to the other three. Zuikaku was standing ten meters away from Shokaku, but was unable to come over to speak because he had to control the carrier-based aircraft to engage the enemy.

Zhou He didn't care about these things. Instead, he used his mind to rotate the video call's perspective, wanting to see the battle in progress. However, Xiang He and the others were far from the battlefield, at least seven or eight nautical miles away from the fighting outside. Zhou He could only see faint flashes of fire in the distance, and all he could see was the unchanging, churning sea.

"..."

Kursk turned her head to look when Zhou He started speaking. She couldn't see the video projection from her side; she could only see Zhou He himself staring intently ahead. The scene was so strange that she crossed her arms and tilted her head to admire it.

"If it were Bismarck, no, if it were Jintsu, they should be able to see the battle in progress."

Zhou He pondered to himself that when fighting in the waters outside the port area, he was like someone with divine eyes, knowing everything. But near the port area, he became like a blind man, unable to give any battle instructions, a veritable mascot.

We need to find a way to eliminate all the sirens here, and we also need to prevent similar island encirclements from happening again in the future.

The battle continued. Zhou He, who had cut off the video feed, kept a close eye on his ship girls' health bars and ammunition status, replenishing them from time to time, but mostly just spacing out.

"Commander, if there's nothing to do, going out for a walk or some exercise can help clear your mind."

This was the first time Kursk had observed Zhou He so closely and for such a long time as he 'waited' for their return. Apart from the occasional sharpening of his eyes, Zhou He mostly sat motionless. Although he knew that rest was a good thing, Zhou He's behavior was clearly not about adjusting his physical condition; he was simply waiting for time to pass, like an idle, empty-nest old man who had come from nowhere.

So, after a long time, Kursk took the initiative to suggest going for a walk, hoping that Zhou He would be more energetic.

"Well, you're right."

Zhou He composed himself, stood up, glanced at the dock, and quickly switched to the South Third District of the map. His eyes suddenly widened – the Sirens had completely blocked this area, but within this dense Siren territory, there was an anomaly.

He could see the other person's 3D figure directly. To put it simply, it was a beast-eared girl wearing a black dress. Although it was somewhat different from the image in the video, Zhou He recognized that she was Yukikaze.

The Siren fleet was approaching south, while Yukikaze was moving north against the flow of the Siren fleet. As she moved, the Siren reactions around her kept disappearing. The speed was not fast, but it was very stable and continuous.

"A wild Yukikaze in this world? No, Yukikaze isn't that strong, and the direction she's heading... could it be this way?"

Zhou He was surprised. The people he had met before, such as Tirpitz and Akagi, were all encountered through the Mirror Sea. But this Yukikaze was different. She was a real person in this world and seemed to have discovered his other teammates who were fighting, so she was moving towards this side.

"Could it be that she is...?"

As if he had just thought of something, Zhou He switched the system interface and entered the 'meta followers' section of the research system. The previously empty interface was now filled with character avatars resembling a dock.

The silver-haired girl in the black frame is Yukikaze.

No, it would be more appropriate to call it Yukikaze.META.

However, below the profile picture frame of Xuefeng.meta, there was a line of text that Zhou He would want to vomit blood upon seeing: Limited time 46:18:20, and the last second hand was still dropping backward.

"Another limited-time offer!?"

Zhou He couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice. Admiral Hipper was also limited to a limited time, as were Akagi and Kaga. These three disappeared for a limited time because they were not from this world. This snow wind was about to rush to his house, so why were they still limited to a limited time?

Does this mean we have to fight someone first, just like in the game, before we can get the main body?

This is a genuine META ship! A super ship girl who can roam freely in the Siren faction, how can his small force possibly defeat her?

"No, we can't let her go."

In a flash, Zhou He made up his mind and immediately switched to the dock interface to give Bismarck, Hood, Shokaku, Yorktown, Cleveland and others the order to 'return immediately'.

Regardless of whether he could defeat this meta ship that had come to his doorstep, just considering the possibility of a battle with a meta ship, he had to act cautiously and ensure the safety of his ship girls. If this Yukikaze was a berserk meta ship like the Soryu in the story, and it fired a few shots at his ship girls head-on, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to save them.

"Damage control is the next research and development goal for Akashi and Lingmin."

Faced with the sudden change, Zhou He's long-dormant thoughts suddenly erupted, and he realized that his family had not made adequate preparations in various aspects.

"Commander, what happened?"

Kursk went for a walk with Zhou He, but the latter stopped after taking two steps, muttering to himself without saying a word, exuding a sharp and striking aura.

"I've made a rather unusual discovery. I've already sent the rest of you back to base. Kursk, you should also prepare to launch an attack. If a battle breaks out this time, the enemy's strength will be extraordinary. Even with my long-range repairs, there's still a high chance of casualties."

Zhou He hummed in agreement, and his speech quickened.

The appearance of Yukikaze.meta alone, and the fact that he managed to recruit Yukikaze, directly boosted the port's combat capabilities. He could easily defeat a mere mass-produced fleet. Even if he couldn't take Yukikaze down, he would still use her exaggerated combat abilities to reduce the strength of the nearby Sirens' fleet as much as possible.

"What? I understand."

Kursk raised an eyebrow slightly. This was the first time Zhou He had spoken so seriously since joining the port, but she was always prepared to face the enemy, retreat, or even die in battle, so she did not have much emotional fluctuation.

Zhou He didn't say anything more. He simply 'long-pressed' Yukikaze's avatar on the meta interface and quickly entered her personal profile. The first thing he saw was that her durability was nearly fifty times that of Yuudachi, and her artillery reload speed was also more than ten times higher. Then he saw her personal resume, which was very long.

After reading it patiently, Zhou He frowned deeply.

He guessed right. This Yukikaze meta was a berserk meta-transformed ship. This Yukikaze was not a ship girl from this world, but came from another world invaded by the Sirens. The Sirens in that world launched an exceptionally fierce offensive against Sakura Empire, causing Sakura Empire to suffer repeated defeats. Yukikaze, born in a time of crisis, survived one battle after another that was destined to be lost.

Her incredible luck allowed her to survive the war, but during a certain "major overhaul," she unknowingly became a test subject for the Sakura Empire Navy's attempt to gain greater power. The end result was that ten destroyers, including Yukikaze, entered an irreversible state of metamorphosis. Perhaps due to the influence of her incredible luck, or perhaps due to Yukikaze's inexplicably strong will, she used her out-of-control body to shoot down the other nine ship girls and eventually left the Sakura Empire homeland.

Knowing everything, Zhou He heard the clear sound of wind chimes.

He skillfully switched to the task interface, where a new task had already appeared.

Dispel Calamity: Defeat the berserk Yukikaze who came seeking fame. (META)

Reward: Yukikaze.

Chapter 109 A Code within a Code

"Dispel Calamity, that's a pretty good name, but what about the meta suffix for the reward? You're trying to confuse me."

Looking at the new task, Zhou He couldn't help but mutter to himself for a while.

Judging from the stats of Yukikaze's meta, this character is definitely not someone who can be easily defeated. If you were to actually defeat her, she would be a nuclear weapon in his current port. However, this reward Yukikaze has no suffix, so he has reason to suspect that the system will give him an average-level Yukikaze, or perhaps a Yukikaze meta that has been reduced to its initial form.

Just like in the game.

"How can you do things like this?"

Zhou He felt helpless; his own system truly possessed a kind of back-to-basics beauty.

But what can he do? He still has to fight. At least he can get a Yukikaze if he fights. If he doesn't fight, there will be no reward, and two days is enough time for this Yukikaze meta to wipe out all the Siren in the surrounding area. Afterwards, she might not even leave. The system's countdown is very likely the time when the Yukikaze meta can be 'saved'.

If that's the case, he'll still have to fight after this countdown, but then Yukikaze really can't be saved, and his first meta ship will just slip through his fingers.

"..."

Frowning, Zhou He began pacing back and forth on the beach of the bay, occasionally checking Yukikaze's location on the system map and her panel—he could see from the meta system that Yukikaze's durability bar (health bar) was decreasing, but very slowly. She had 50,000 durability, and had only lost less than 1,000 along the way. Her armor was even light, her artillery damage was a terrifying 700, and her torpedo damage was even more outrageous, reaching an incredible 2,000!

When Yuudachi first appeared, her torpedoes had a strike value of just over 100. With a precise hit, one salvo could cripple a light cruiser. With a strike value of 2,000, a light cruiser, or even a heavy cruiser, would likely be sunk in one hit. Zhou He reasonably suspected that her torpedoes were not torpedoes at all, but rather antimatter weapons disguised as torpedoes.

"A single shot from this would leave a battleship covered in bruises."

Zhou He glanced at Bismarck's shelling value, which was close to 200. Yukikaze's shelling value was more than 3.5 times that of a single destroyer.

The comparison of enemy and friendly stats made Zhou He question the reality of the world. He had heard the saying that a corrupted ship is ten times stronger and a cleansed ship is three times weaker, but seeing it in front of him was absurd. However, considering that meta ships are ship girls that have reached their maximum potential and then 'sublimated', he felt that the values ​​were not high enough.

"My delicate state of mind."

Zhou He sighed and tapped his head to stop himself from overthinking. What he needed to think about now was how to defeat Yukikaze Meta.

"commander."

Kursk looked at Zhou He and saw that he had returned to the familiar appearance she had when he first joined. With a subtle feeling, she asked, "What kind of enemy are we going to face next?"

Since it has been confirmed that the Sirens cannot recognize their own port area and islands, they are naturally invincible. Why is Zhou He still so on high alert? Could it be that the attack is something they have to fight back against?

"It's a ship girl."

Zhou He's words made Kursk's eyes narrow, but then he heard him continue: "She is a Sakura Empire ship girl from another world who has gone mad for unknown reasons. She is only a destroyer, but she has individual strength that can crush all of you. She is not to be underestimated. I need all of you to cooperate to defeat her and bring her back for treatment."

Kursk nodded, understanding that the purpose of this battle was not 'annihilation' but 'rescue'. The difficulty of the two tasks was vastly different, and given the strength of the opponent, it was no wonder that Zhou He was so cautious and needed to mobilize all of them.

Their conversation was always simple. The scene fell silent except for the sound of the waves crashing, until a figure appeared at the entrance of the bay. Only then did Zhou He finish his thoughts and look at Kursk, who was standing beside him.

"This operation is very important, and I'm here as an observer."

Kursk spoke with a calm expression, and Zhou He doubted his ears. Since Kursk joined the port, she had never formally participated in pre-war meetings, whether it was closing the Siren Mirror Sea or rescuing the White Eagle Fleet. This time, she actually chose to sit in.

"Any questions?"

Kursk's bloodshot eyes were fixed on Zhou He. She usually stayed out of missions because she thought others could handle them. But this mission required Zhou He's great attention and mobilization of everyone. Since they were going to cooperate properly, she had better be there.

Anyway, she wouldn't say much; just standing next to Zhou He would suffice.

"No, that's for the best."

Zhou He couldn't fathom Kursk's thoughts, but her choice to listen in was a step forward for him, and he should just let things take their course.

And so, the two greeted Shoukaku and Zuikaku, who were the first to arrive at the beach. The four from Long Island and Yorktown were confused by Zhou He's order to return. After landing, Zuikaku strode over, glanced at Kursk, and asked loudly, "Commander, why are we being withdrawn?"