“America?”
After hearing what I said, Yoo Seong-cheol asked back through the radio. Then he started releasing the information that the Joint Chiefs of Staff currently had.
“To get to the point, the federal government has collapsed. It seems like some of the surviving state governments are taking action, but… I can’t really get in touch with them because of the urgent internal situation. By the way… Are you planning to go to the United States?”
“Yes. They say in Elvenheim… a huge mountain range has formed in Arizona.”
I told him that I needed a higher grade of reinforcement stone, and that I needed to find a craftsman dwarf in America to get it. I also said that he didn’t have to worry about anything since I could always come back using the portal.
But Yoo Seong-cheol gave me a new worry that I hadn’t even thought of.
“Don’t get on the transport plane I gave you last time. It doesn’t have enough range to get to America.”
“Then aren’t there any other flights? Any that can get to the U.S.…”
“I can charter a passenger plane for you, but I’m against it. It would be suicidal.”
Yoo Seong-cheol’s firm voice. He even used extreme language to try to dissuade me from going to America.
“I told you about the situation in the U.S. earlier. In fact, right after the destruction began, the U.S. in Korea decided to withdraw. Well, they couldn’t help it. The situation in their home country must have been terrible at the time… But among all those U.S. troops in Korea, not a single one set foot on U.S. soil.”
It was a fact I didn’t know. The United States, our ally, had decided to withdraw from South Korea. What’s more, the famously powerful U.S. military failed in its withdrawal operation.
Yoo Seong-cheol continued speaking in a cautious voice.
“Some of the pilots returned to Korea because they couldn’t bring themselves to cross the Pacific.”
“… What on earth is in the Pacific?”
The monsters of the sky that brought down the mighty U.S. Air Force.
Yoo Seong-cheol, who had been picturing that scene in his head for a moment, made a suggestion to me.
“Please take a look yourself. There is a recorded video.”
The Joint Chiefs of Staff Headquarters in Yongsan, entered through the portal. The interior was filled with white lights as usual.
“Here it is.”
The video analysis room we entered following Yoo Seong-cheol.
Wheeing.
When I pressed the power button, the computer made a dusty fan noise.
“Everything here is still fine.”
“It’s all thanks to Colonel Kim. The generator, the fuel… Right now, we’re the only military in the world that can conduct information warfare like this.”
The benefits came back to me as well. The monsters roaming the Pacific can now be identified with a few clicks of the mouse.
Opening the video file in the folder, Yoo Seong-cheol added,
“This is the footage left on the fighter jet that was flying at the time…”
A video containing a quiet blue sky. Through that sky, creatures dotted with dots began to approach.
And shortly thereafter…
“… Is that it?”
“That’s right. The American pilots call them ‘suicide bombers.’”
A guy with a purple body appeared. A mouth full of sharp teeth and a tail curled up like a shrimp. Wings with claws on both sides.
Click.
Yoo Seong-cheol had stopped the video.
“… These guys need to be a little faster.”
Even in the still images, the ‘suicide bombers’ were just afterimages. The entire body was shaken as it was filmed, and the busy wings looked like a smoky stain. It’s like watching the hot flapping of a hummingbird’s wings.
But…
Phew!
The true nature of the suicide bomber was revealed only when it collided with the transport plane ahead.
A heat wave that blooms crimson. A transport plane with half its body blown away fell off the screen, emitting smoke. The next target was the fighter jet that was taking the video. The magpies’ eyes glow brightly towards the screen. Dozens of magpies swarmed the cockpit.
Wedge!
Wedge!
A screen that rotates and flips repeatedly. Explosions going off all around. The relentless pursuit of the suicide bombers was torture to watch.
“… What happened to this pilot?”
“I survived by ejecting. The fighter jet crashed into Gangneung Beach. I barely managed to get the footage.”
Yoo Seong-cheol’s conclusion was simple.
“Those suicide bombers are not easy to get to even with a fighter jet. It’s even more absurd to cross the Pacific with a passenger plane. Of course, I know that Colonel Kim has a lot of safety measures in place… but I still want you to be careful.”
A flying suicide monster. And an aircraft that can move faster than them.
As I began to get a grasp of the situation, I couldn’t help but think of one person. Actually, it’s been like that ever since I heard about America in Elvenheim.
Mechanic James. It was the moment he was needed.
.
.
.
Phew!
James looked closely at the scene of the transport plane explosion. But soon he shook his head and turned around.
“No, Jeonggyeom. Even if you strengthen that, it won’t hold up.”
You could tell at a glance that it had sharp edges. An attack that even his reinforcements could not withstand. The plan to use passenger aircraft to cross the Pacific was an impossible one from the start.
James grumbled at the list of orders I had laid out.
“So what you want is an airplane that’s fast, strong, and can fly far, right?”
James spoke passionately, mixing in some pouting here and there. He came to a conclusion.
“Oh, shit, Jeong-gyeom. That doesn’t exist in the world.”
“I don’t know about anything else, but the flight distance is because of the fuel, right? I can supply fuel midway.”
Is there a reason why there are aerial refueling tankers that drop straws on fighter jets? Special measures for traveling long distances. However, if you use a subspace portal, you can supply infinite fuel even in the air.
James also nodded quietly, perhaps understanding the meaning.
“Then I just have to make it fast and strong.”
“Is it possible?”
“That’s possible. It’ll be damn difficult, though.”
James, who asked me to take him to America. As much as he could travel through the portal, if he could just land me on American soil, he too could return to the garage he so desperately longed for.
“Just provide enough materials.”
James took out a large piece of paper from his front pocket. Then, he started swinging his pen and designing a new means of transportation.
And…
“However…”
James, who had been designing without rest, suddenly stopped.
“I don’t know if anyone can drive this.”
“That’s it…”
There couldn’t be anyone else.
Delivery driver Lee Yong-su. Because he was the best person to transport my portal.
He was the first person to transport my portal. A relationship that started with the brave goodwill of someone who wanted to bring me to my family. That relationship has continued even after quite some time has passed.
Thanks to that, he was able to meet all his family members, and Yong-su was also able to safely accommodate his wife and daughter in the subspace.
As I achieved my initial goal, I was curious. What kind of mind is Lee Yong-su currently having, and what is he doing?
“That’s right…”
He answered my questions while sipping his fruit juice.
“Sometimes Yujeong asks me, ‘What do you do outside?’ In the old days, I used to say that Dad was someone who brought things that people were eagerly waiting for. There are times when I forget when I work… but when I think about it like that, it’s true that it’s rewarding in its own way.”
He was reminiscing about old times, quite a while ago. A daily life where everyone peacefully waits for the package to arrive at their home. The leisure of people asking when the dress to wear to a wedding or the game CD I bought last week would arrive. But with the destruction, he too was forced to find a new role.
“These days, people often say that I am the one who brings the world that people are waiting for. Actually, that is a bit grandiose. In reality, I am just driving Jeong-gyeom to his destination. But I think that is not wrong. Jeong-gyeom’s subspace is filled with everything that people are waiting for…”
Widely!
With those words, Lee Yong-su put down his glass. Then he picked up the blueprint lying on the desk.
“My ability is to gain proficiency in transportation…”
He had driven all types of transportation, whether cars, helicopters, or transport planes, but this time, the situation was different.
Phalang.
A unique shape drawn on top of a blueprint. What James envisioned was a new concept of transportation that had never existed before. From basic driving methods to detailed operation methods, it is structurally completely different from the existing one.
“I guess I need to come up with my own design.”
Lee Yong-su did not give in.
“… What does ‘driving’ mean in this machine?”
Just someone to add that.
A few days later. After working day and night, James finally announced the ‘completion’ of the vehicle.
“Hey…”
“This is…”
Operations Headquarters Chief Yoo Seong-cheol, Lee Yong-su, and I. In front of the finished work, everyone stuck out their tongues.
It was a huge investment of a wide variety of materials, from helicopters and transport aircraft that were already in our possession to fighter jets and passenger aircraft newly provided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“… Is it okay to make it like this?”
“It feels a little bit rough…”
It was something that was somewhere between remodeling and manufacturing. Perhaps because of this, it had a strong steampunk feel similar to what we saw in Gigant a while ago, but when we actually looked closely at the outer armor, we could see that it was meticulously finished without any gaps.
“First of all, we paid some attention to minimizing the pressure on the pilot. This aircraft is intended for long-distance flights, which is not appropriate for the subject matter. We also installed a refueling device inside the cockpit…”
Long-haul flights of 10 hours or more. If the pilot continued to fly at Mach while being attacked by the demons all that time, it was clear that he would be worn out and crushed by gravity. Therefore, it was necessary to provide stability similar to that of a passenger aircraft, even if it meant reducing the speed of the aircraft.
However, it had to have considerable mobility. Suicide bombers that were difficult to deal with using existing fighter jets. Because it required extraordinary maneuverability to freely evade their attacks while reducing speed.
The method designed to do so is…
“Oh…!”
Wheein.
Airplane wings that move with the push of a button. The two wings that had been stretched out to the sides were moving towards the back of the body.
“Transformation…! It’s a transformation!”
“It was designed as a variable wing. The wings can move forward and backward, up and down, so there is freedom of movement. Of course, it would be a pain in the assemblage to pilot…”
But that wasn’t all. James, who was inspired while creating the K-Book Line a while ago. Among the items he requested during production was a magic scroll. It was a two-circle magic that caused an instantaneous explosion on the spot, called ‘Explosion.’
“I’ve attached a blade to the top and bottom of the wingtips. When you press the button, the magic will come out automatically… It’s not for attacking, but you can use it when you need to make a sudden change of direction.”
What James provided was…
“… I’ve basically just smashed everything I could do with my two wings.”
The pilot had complete freedom. Allowing the plane to move like my body. After James successfully presented his presentation, we decided on a name for our new vehicle. The name that came to be like that is…
‘P-22’
It was Pax FC’s next-generation delivery vehicle, named after the world’s strongest fighter jet.
Wheaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Although it was reduced compared to a fighter jet, this was still an incredible speed. Unlike me, who had entered the subspace with a portal installed in the backseat, Yong-su Lee was sweating profusely and dodging the attacks of the suicide bombers flying in real time.
Phew!
Phew!
Suicide-destructing demons explode on the spot behind the brushing wings. Even though the dizzying high-altitude flight had already knocked down a dozen or so hawks, hundreds of hawks were still following closely behind the P-22.
Crunch!
Wheeeeee!
CLANG!
Both wings rise up like stairs. Despite the incredibly ignorant movements, a dozen or so magpies swooshed past the sinking fuselage.
Gulp.
Yong-su Lee’s sweat flowed down like water. Reduced fighter speed and reduced maneuverability. That maneuverability had to be supplemented by the erratic movements of the wings. Despite the fact that it required genius-level control, such as avoiding obstacles made of bombs in real time rather than just knowing how to use them, Lee Yong-su put all his effort into carrying out the nearly impossible mission.
An outrageous design that drastically reduces the size of the fuel tank. I was occasionally loading fuel that I had prepared in advance into the tanker mounted inside the cockpit. Even though I was in the portal, I was still nervous. The moment something goes wrong, you will need to quickly trigger a product recall to save Yong-su Lee from danger.
In my hand, I was holding the lunchbox that Lee Yong-su’s wife, Oh Ji-soo, had given me. But…
-Please tell him I ate it. Otherwise, he’ll be mad…
I couldn’t enjoy the luxury of sharing food with him while he was sitting in the driver’s seat like I usually did.
Crunch!
Drrrrrrrr!
Percussion!
His hands were too busy to even wipe the sweat from his nose. Further…
“How many hours has this been going on…?”
Although there were breaks in between, Lee Yong-su showed superhuman concentration for hours on end. The expected flight time from the departure point, Elvenheim, to the destination, Arizona, was approximately 10 hours. But thanks to Lee Yong-su’s driving, the American continent began to come into view in just 8 hours. Before I knew it, I had reached my destination…
Kaaaak!
Kaak!
Behind us, hundreds of suicide rakes were in hot pursuit.
Phew!
Phew!
The magic injection machines installed throughout the wings shone once again. I used the successive explosions to dodge the attacks of the rakes flying towards my wings.
PENGURURURUR!
It started to rotate 360 degrees. The surrounding scenery of a fighter jet spinning around. That whirlwind scene was sweeping across the face of the vast continent that was America.
“… They really all came.”
There was no time to land properly. There was no way to shake off the hundreds of magpies that were chasing after them. Fortunately for us, crashing was just another name for landing. So I looked out at the portal crashing down to the ground…
‘Product recall.’
Swaaaaaaah!
It sucked up the water supply immediately.
Bang!
I accepted him as he was roughly sucked in and rolled on the floor with him in shock.
Sweat beaded excitedly on my forehead.
Even my body was completely exhausted.
He looked like a delivery man, and he added in a barely audible voice:
“…It was definitely delivered.”
Arrived.
In the west.
The next step was up to me to ensure safe delivery.
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