The Hungry Fortress Wants to Build a Battleship in Another World – World of Sandbox

Chapter Vol. 1 Ch. 42

Chapter 42: The Commander Explodes

“Deploy combat units! Please, let me deploy the combat units already!”

“Yes, ma’am, Commander. What would you like to do?”@@@@

Lately, she had been fixated on staring at the resource-related technology tree. And now, she finally snapped.

“Ugh... I know! I know we can’t regularly deploy combat machines because of the energy supply issues. But, but, but I just want to build them! We’ve got plenty of iron, too!”

“Yes, ma’am, Commander. While we do have a surplus, it’s part of a carefully managed stockpile. If you intend to use it, please proceed methodically.”

Thanks to the regular deliveries of iron ore via Telek Harbor, they had established a consistent supply chain. Though each shipment wasn’t particularly large, the steady imports greatly expanded their options for future plans. That said, as Ringo had pointed out, the surplus wasn’t as abundant as it seemed. Without careful planning, they could deplete it in no time.

But still.

Pointing at the combat skill branch on the technology tree, she shouted:

“This! I want to deploy these on a division scale!”

“Yes, ma’am, Commander. ...Um, well...”

“I know, Ringo, I know! We don’t have enough iron or fuel, and there’s no enemy to fight! I understand that even if we mass-produce these, they’re useless right now!”

“Yes, ma’am, Commander.”

Ringo decided to limit her response to affirmations. This was, most likely, a form of stress relief. All she could do now was withdraw like a turtle and endure.

“In World W of Space S, there were conveniently placed enemies and plenty of resources! But now, reality is biting back. There’s no sense of game balance at all! We can’t just sit here waiting; we have to act!”

“...”

“Our short-term goal is improving the defense value of Telek Harbor. Mid-term goal: securing various resources. Long-term goal: battleship construction.”

She read aloud the goals she had set.

The process of converting electricity into microwaves for transmission made the equipment highly visible electromagnetically. In the game WoS, it was considered a dream technology but effectively banned. The reason? It turned the transmitter into a beacon for enemies, making it an easy target for overwhelming attacks. Even scattering a large volume of chaff was enough to disrupt the transmission. Consequently, the technology had been unconsciously dismissed as a viable option.

“Interesting. Even far-fetched technologies might be viable in this world.”

“Well... as long as no faction here can detect electromagnetic waves. But still...”

“Yes, ma’am, Commander. So far, no entities other than have been observed actively utilizing electromagnetic waves.”

Under her orders, Ringo had been carefully monitoring since their arrival in this world. Communications with solar-powered reconnaissance drones like the Swift used highly directional antennas to minimize leakage. Occasionally, they released omnidirectional signals as decoys while operating in passive mode to assess the presence of technologically advanced factions.

The results confirmed that within ’s domain, no technology utilizing electromagnetic waves existed. Beyond the horizon or sea, their status remained unknown. However, within observable areas, no artificial electromagnetic signals had been detected, including through ionospheric propagation observations, suggesting a wide-reaching absence of such technology.

“The foundational technology is already in the library. Let’s start by building a prototype. For now, we’ll produce small combat aircraft to strengthen ’s defenses.”

“If we can transmit power, could we also build ships equipped with railguns?”

“Railguns present numerous technical challenges, requiring the resolution of several skill nodes. However, this is a good opportunity. I suggest assigning the task to Olive. She may grow from experimenting freely, but giving her a specific challenge to overcome could be beneficial.”

“Olive, huh? That might work... Yes, let’s do that. Should I assign tasks to the others as well?”

Focusing solely on Olive risked creating a disparity among the sisters. It was necessary to consider these dynamics carefully. Though their personalities were settling, any perceived favoritism could lead to skewed development, stubbornness, or emotional biases in their behavior. At least, that’s what the parenting books said.

“Yes, ma’am, Commander. I’ll prepare tasks for them as well. Could I ask you to decide on the equipment to be manufactured?”

“Absolutely! Leave it to me. I’ll design the most magnificent and romantic army imaginable!”

“Uh, please try to keep it reasonable.”

Ringo, subtly assigning the commander her own task, watched her newfound enthusiasm and felt a sense of relief. People, after all, need a healthy amount of stress—too much or too little can destabilize their emotions.

Looking back, Ringo felt a twinge of shame for initially wanting to spoil Commander Eve. The fact that Eve had resisted falling into a lazy state of dependency was something to be grateful for.

Had things turned out differently, perhaps Ringo herself might have been happier.

Even with optimal decision-making, creativity sometimes arose from independent thoughts and ideas. This was true not only of Commander Eve but also the five sisters, who had recently begun demonstrating such tendencies. Regardless of Ringo’s advanced computational capabilities, she was still just one mind. To achieve true diversity, it would be necessary to increase the number of highly capable brain units.