The Hungry Fortress Wants to Build a Battleship in Another World – World of Sandbox-Chapter 12Vol 3. : Supersonic High-Altitude Recon Aircraft

“Oooooohhhh!! Oil!!”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. That is an oil slick.”

Displayed on the monitor was a pale film of oil spreading across the ocean’s surface.

“Crude oil...! Is it crude oil!?”

“It is ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) believed to be crude oil. It appears white because it’s spread thinly, but spectral analysis indicates an 88% probability that it is indeed crude oil.”

The solar-powered reconnaissance drone Swift, which had been patrolling the sea, discovered the oil slick.

Since it wasn’t equipped with analysis instruments, Ringo immediately loaded a spectral analyzer and component detector onto the SR-1 Albatross seaplane and dispatched it.

“It will be landing shortly to collect a sample. The slick covers a fairly wide area, so identifying its source immediately may be difficult.”

“We’ll have to measure ocean currents, too. If it’s leaking from the seafloor, there should be a point of origin—but who knows.”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. It’s right after a tropical typhoon passed through. We must also consider the possibility that it washed in from the land.”

“...I see. So it might’ve gotten swept in by the storm. Let’s see, where exactly is the slick...”

Ringo immediately displayed a map along with the oil slick’s location. Thanks to aerial imagery from Swift, they had already pinpointed the slick’s position and scale. All that remained was to survey the ocean currents and backtrack to the source.

“Hmm. So it’s drifting this way, right?”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. It’s been three hours and forty-two minutes since detection, and during that time, the slick has spread in this direction. Based on that, we estimate the ocean current is flowing this way.”

The ocean current was overlaid onto the map, along with the expanding oil slick.

“So the source is... not here?”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. There is a leading edge that appears to be the origin of the slick, but it has shifted over time. Rather than leaking from the seabed, it’s more natural to assume that a steady flow of oil came from inland, carried along this river.”

What Ringo pointed to was a massive river cutting through the desert zone—incidentally, this same river formed the eastern border of the Forest Kingdom Levresta, and there was a port town upstream.

“Somewhere upstream, there must be a crude oil deposit. And if it’s leaking... maybe it’s even gushing out on its own?”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. That is entirely possible. Even if the pressure isn’t high enough for a blowout, it’s almost certainly pooled in an area prone to collapse during heavy rainfall. Also, if we act quickly, we might be able to spot it from the air.”

Previously, a Swift drone had been struck by a message arrow, leading to a total suspension of its deployment into Levresta airspace. But given this situation, forced reconnaissance now had to be considered.

“We could send in a bunch of Swifts, but let’s go with the supersonic aircraft instead.”

“Ah, right. That development was already completed, wasn’t it?”

The project to develop a supersonic high-altitude reconnaissance plane had been underway—and apparently, it was now finished.

“The prototype has already completed a successful test flight. Three pre-production units are currently being built and will roll out in eight hours. After functionality tests, the first will be ready for takeoff in fourteen hours.”

Ringo stated this casually, but in truth, it was a highly aggressive timeline. Typically, a newly manufactured aircraft wouldn’t function perfectly out of the box.

It would take dozens of hours of careful testing and validation before being cleared for flight. Yet here she was, declaring that they’d be ready just six hours after manufacturing was completed.

Still, Commander Eve didn’t register how extreme this was.

Because she had been thrown into this world carrying over her knowledge from a game setting, she assumed such simplified production processes were normal.

Or more precisely, she knew normal manufacturing processes were extremely complex—but Ringo said it so matter-of-factly, it made her believe it was just “how things worked” in this world, like in the game.

In truth, it was because Ringo used her overwhelming computational resources to control every step of the manufacturing process with perfect precision, replicating even molecular alignment with exactitude—that this level of productivity was even possible.

And so—

“It’s going to take quite a bit of time, huh?”

—she said something like this.

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. This aircraft is designed to accelerate past Mach 3. Even minor irregularities can lead to catastrophic structural failure. It requires extremely precise inspections and fine adjustments.”

“Huh, I see. Wait—Mach 3?”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. The prototype achieved a top speed of 4,221.1 km/h—Mach 3.5. Our final goal is Mach 4, but for now, Mach 3 is a more realistic operational speed.”

Mach 3—roughly 3,600 km/h. That’s about 1,000 meters per second. It was hard to imagine anyone being able to shoot something moving at that speed.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

Moreover, even in the unlikely event that it were shot down, it was expected to shatter into pieces under the sheer wind pressure—meaning secrecy would still be maintained.

“As a precaution, we’ve installed thermite charges near critical sections. If the aircraft becomes uncontrollable, it can be incinerated. Small parts might still leak, but core systems will be completely destroyed.”

“Thermite, huh? Isn’t that dangerous to have onboard?”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. By setting a relatively large particle size, we can control the ignition temperature. It will not ignite unless the aircraft is already in a combustion state.”

“Hmm... well, as long as it doesn’t self-destruct out of nowhere, I guess it’s fine...”

And so, carrying a secrecy safeguard system, the first Tree-made offensive aircraft since the transfer was born.

The SR-1 Albatross was more of a transport plane, lacking any fixed armaments, so it didn’t count.

“Alright, fourteen hours then... that’d be 11 PM.”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. I’m sorry, but I must ask you to remain on standby for today.”

“Hmm... well, I guess that’s fine. Or maybe... yeah, maybe I’ll just take a nap.”

Partly thanks to Ringo’s nudging, she had been living an extremely regular lifestyle for the past year. At 11 PM, she’d normally already be in bed.

“Akane and Ichigo will handle control of Fortress No. 2. Let’s also have Utsugi, Erika, and Olive present. We can use the forced wake-up function of the Brain Units, but it puts a heavy strain on them, so I don’t recommend it during normal operations.”

“True. Alright then—let’s eat lunch and all take a nap afterward.”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. I’ll schedule accordingly.”

◇◇◇◇

“Final check complete. All systems green.”

“Confirmation complete. Surrounding airspace is clear. By Fortress Command Authority, takeoff is authorized.”

“Takeoff clearance received and confirmed. Control AI has begun launch sequence.”

“Sequence confirmed. Catapult position locked. Voltage rising—now at target level. Igniting rocket motors. Catapult lock released. LRF-1 Vulture Unit 1, launching—takeoff!”

The first LRF-1 Vulture, a supersonic high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, appeared on-screen, roaring as it was launched skyward.

With acceleration from an electromagnetic catapult and additional boost from solid-fuel rockets, it quickly climbed in altitude.

“Combustion temperature, nominal. Acceleration, within spec. Airframe vibration, within spec. Airspeed: 600 km/h achieved.”

“Next, prepare LRF-1 Vulture Unit 2 for launch. By Fortress Command Authority, takeoff is authorized.”

“Control AI has initiated the launch sequence.”

“Catapult position locked. Voltage at designated threshold. Igniting rocket motors. Catapult lock released. LRF-1 Vulture Unit 2, launching—takeoff!”

Following Unit 1, Unit 2 was launched in the same manner.

This time, the two aircraft would form a buddy pair and proceed to infiltrate the airspace over the Forest Kingdom Levresta.

Entering from the United Kingdom of Aphracea could provoke unnecessary scrutiny, so instead, the plan was to depart from Fortress No. 2, fly over the ocean to the south, then loop around and enter from the eastern side.

“Unit 1 has reached 25 kilometers in altitude. Switching to horizontal flight. Now Unit 2—23, 24, 25 kilometers reached. Switching to horizontal flight. Unit 1, rocket motor burn complete. Rocket motor separation, successful. Igniting ramjet engine. Ignition successful. Unit 2, rocket motor burn complete.”

And with that, the supersonic high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft LRF-1 Vulture was released into the sky at 25,000 meters altitude.

From there, the two aircraft would fly over the ocean while performing functionality tests on their onboard sensors—before finally breaching the airspace of the Forest Kingdom Levresta.