Episode 309: Advancement and Collapse
The video feed from the ＜Jumper＞ moving through the forest suddenly went haywire.
With a jolt, it spun in an unexpected direction, shaking violently.
Then, it fell to the ground, and the video transmission cut out.
“Big sis, this is the latest footage~”
“Something’s subtly showing up, isn’t it~”
Utsugi and Erika reported to Eve. The members of ＜The Tree＞ were racking their brains over the situation where the Jumpers they sent to the front lines were being lost one after another.
“Look, look~ Big sis, this, this.”
“It looks like a hand, doesn’t it~”
They zoomed in on the part of the footage where what appeared to be the culprit’s hand or foot was visible.
It closely resembled the five-fingered hand or foot of a primate, like a monkey.
“A monkey… perhaps?”
“From the palm to the fingertips, it’s about 15cm. That’s pretty big~”
“Maybe we should switch to an omnidirectional camera~. It’ll strain the communication bandwidth, though…”
“…We might have to lower the resolution…”
The Jumpers weren’t equipped with advanced information processing devices.
This was because they were deployed with the expectation of loss, and the lack of communication capacity prevented the use of high-precision sensors.
“If we spread electromagnetic waves too wildly, we might attract unwanted attention!”
The communication capacity, or rather, the strength of the electromagnetic waves, was limited under Asahi’s supervision. By randomly changing the bands used and reducing the strength, they tried to lower the probability of detection from afar.
Given the nature of reconnaissance, they had to prevent attracting dangerous creatures by scattering microwaves all over the place.
“If they’re stand-alone, we can’t share information when they’re lost…”
They might need to consider a method of specializing in stealth, sealing off information, and advancing independently. However, there was also the problem that if they were destroyed for any reason, they wouldn’t be able to bring back information.
“If we deploy too many, we might disrupt the ecosystem and cause a huge mess!”
“That’s a ＜Stampede＞, right? If we get hit by a tsunami like that, we’re done for.”
If the Demon Forest was disturbed, it could unintentionally trigger a large-scale migration of monsters.
If something like that were to avalanche into the forward base under construction, it would undoubtedly be annihilated.
They had no idea what would happen, how it would affect things, or to what extent.
Who would have imagined that the disappearance of just a few Wyverns could cause a Stampede of monsters over a wide area?
Well, there was a high possibility that the Wyverns were special.
Besides, it wasn’t just the Wyverns; a massive threat creature called the ＜Mountain Boar＞ was also involved.
“For now, is the primary target for elimination the owner of this hand?”
“Yep! Umm, the classification is monkey-type monster, and the species name is ＜Black Monkey＞! The glimpses we’ve caught look like pitch-black monkeys!”
According to Erika.
Black Monkeys were monkey-type monsters less than 1m tall, living in groups and possessing territories.
Given that they had the power to destroy Jumpers, it was certain that they were enhanced by magical (fantasy) power.
“It seems like the Jumpers are being preyed upon, too.”
Of course, the Jumpers were lumps of metal and plastic. Apparently, remains had been found that suggested they were being gnawed on.
Omnivorous, or rather, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them gluttonous.
“It doesn’t seem like they’re actively eating them, though~”
In any case, the current situation was that the Jumper reconnaissance units were being destroyed little by little.
Increasing the number of deployments was easy, but it didn’t seem like the information gathered would improve dramatically.
“It would be great if we could observe the monsters without being noticed and figure out their ecology~”
“All the cameras we set up randomly got destroyed~. It’s like, ‘Eliminate foreign objects!’ or something.”
They planned to build a forward base and extend roads from there.
That was the plan, but it seemed difficult. If possible, they wanted to gather solid information first.
“…I guess we have no choice but to advance first. Deploying Jumpers only tells us that there are aggressive monsters…”
“Okay~. I think I’ll try advancing about 500m~”
“It’s a shallow area, and it’s the first base, so let’s try it out~”
◇◇◇◇
And so, after several days of advancing heavy machinery to the front lines for base construction.
They were able to build a 500m long road and move wheeled heavy machinery to the front lines.
Currently, they were clearing the surrounding area in a circular shape to secure land for base construction.
“The ground is noisy?”
“Yes, Onee-sama. It seems that a considerable number of monsters are active underground…”
As a result of the geological survey, they were able to detect multiple sources of noise.
And it seemed that it was probably the sound of some small creatures digging underground.
“Like earthworms?”
“That’s… there’s no match. It’s predicted to be a new species.”
However, it didn’t seem to be that frequent. They would have to proceed with construction while being cautious.
And two more days after advancing to the front lines.
The construction of the microwave power transmission tower was completed without any particular problems.
“Microwave power transmission was convenient, but maybe we should think about something else…”
“When advancing into the Demon Forest, we might want to consider something else.”
With just this one tower, the power supply range would expand by several kilometers. Using the power supply drones in the sky would greatly expand the range, but the energy loss due to diffusion would be significant, so they wanted to use ground-based transmission towers.
Diffusion meant that microwaves would be scattered over a wide area, which meant that the risk of attracting dangerous creatures would increase.
“Internal combustion engines have the highest energy density and are the best, but the noise…”
“If you’re thinking about quietness, electrical energy is better.”
While Akane and I were having such a conversation.
A warning alert icon popped up on the development map.
“…Onee-sama. An anomaly has occurred in the foundation of the power transmission tower.”
“Hmm?”
The yellow icon flashed several times. After that, the icon turned urgent red.
“Hmm!?”
“Anomaly detected in the foundation structure. The power transmission tower is tilting.”
The image switched. The local work machinery showed the power transmission tower in question.
In the image, the tower seemed to be standing without any problems at first glance.
“…Seriously, it’s really tilting!”
Image analysis showed that the tower was tilted several degrees more than it should have been.
It was impossible for automated machinery operating with perfect control to manufacture such a defective structure.
In other words, the foundation tilted due to external factors after construction was completed.
“…The tilt is increasing. The anomaly in the foundation is expanding. The buried foundation piles are being destroyed.”
This power transmission tower was a simple structure, and the main body was fixed by driving multiple foundation piles into the ground. The foundation piles were arranged with strict calculations, and the design was sufficient to cope with natural deterioration and expected natural disasters.
However, if intentionally destroyed, it would not be so robust.
In particular, if only one side was continuously destroyed, the holding force would be twisted, and there was a high possibility that it would collapse all at once.
“Ah!”
In front of Eve’s eyes, the power transmission tower slowly tilted as it was. The underground structure was exposed along with the tilt, dust billowed from the entire tower due to the collapse, and the wires for structural support snapped and flew off.
“The power transmission tower has collapsed.”
The automated machines retreated all at once from the collapse range of the falling tower. The dropped structures fell onto the empty ground that had been created.
“…………”
“…………”
The power transmission tower collapsed only a few hours after completion. It was quick to build, but it was also quick to break.
No, I certainly didn’t want such a rapid rise and fall.
“…Find out the cause and prevent recurrence. I’m counting on you…”
“Yes, Onee-sama.”
Thinking about ecosystems is fun!!
I want to put out all sorts of things~.