Ch.104Reconnaissance

# Chapter 104: Reconnaissance

A week had passed ‘again’ since then.

Just as we had barely managed to control the chaotic domestic and international public opinion, and were about to catch our breath…

“Your Excellency, the experiment was successful.”

Right after receiving a report that somehow felt like a treacherous minister informing a dictator about a successful secret nuclear test…

My vision was once again blocked by a newly appeared event message.

[Pause]

-Ding♪

After pushing away the event message that appeared uncomfortably close to my eyes, accompanied by that familiar notification sound…

I began to carefully examine the contents of the new event message.

[Event: Beyond the Infinite World!]

[After investing countless resources and manpower, the survey team has finally succeeded in creating a small hole in the spatial barrier of the sealed gate.]

[The survey team seeks your permission to investigate what lies beyond the sealed gate through this hole.]

[Option 1: Begin the investigation immediately (Random event occurs, linked event progression)]

[Option 2: Send unmanned drones first, just to be safe (Random event occurs, linked event progression)]

‘Another choice event, huh.’

And of all things, it had to be mixed with ‘random’ events, which made me sigh involuntarily.

Random events were precisely those where you couldn’t predict what would pop up…

Fortunately, this time there was a safe option available, so I decided to choose option 2, which seemed most appropriate.

[Option 2: Send unmanned drones first, just to be safe (Random event occurs, linked event progression)]<Selected

After releasing the pause…

“Understood, we’ll deploy the research drones first.”

As I watched the survey team deploy the drones through the real-time communication link, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘Wait, isn’t this something the survey team could handle on their own without making it an event?’

If this were truly an event worthy of my attention, shouldn’t it be asking about what to do after deploying the drones, rather than whether to use drones or people?

…Such thoughts filled my mind, but after a while, I decided to stop thinking about it.

‘These events have always dumped everything on the user anyway, so it’s strange that I’m even questioning this now…’

Of course, once this matter is concluded, I plan to dismiss everyone on that survey team.

If they need to ask me about deploying drones, are they really qualified to lead a survey team, or are they just biological drones themselves?

With such thoughts, I was watching the screen transmitted through the cameras installed on the drones, but…

-“Breaching the gate now.”

No sooner had the survey team finished speaking than the screen broadcasting from the drone suddenly went dark.

Of course, during gate travel or hyperspace jumps, all communications and radar would go dead, so the screen should come back on shortly, but…

One minute, two minutes.

Even after five minutes, the screen never came back on.

-“P-please wait a moment.”

Faced with this sudden situation, the survey team began frantically operating something, their bewilderment evident even through the communication link…

Shortly after, they reappeared trembling like a rain-soaked chihuahua, immediately bowing their head to me and continuing.

-“I apologize, Minister! All drones deployed into the gate have lost communication!”

“…”

-“I have no excuse for wasting imperial assets!”

-*trembling*

To see a middle-aged man of considerable build bowing his head and trembling before someone like me who barely looked to be in my twenties…

How would that look from an outsider’s perspective?

It would appear no different than a parachuted third-generation chaebol heir berating an innocent, pitiful middle-aged family man.

In fact, Riel, who was nearby, seemed to think similarly, making subtle gestures and expressions while looking at me from an angle not visible on screen.

Seeing all this, I let out a deep sigh and spoke again.

“Well, this sort of thing happens all the time, so don’t worry too much about it.”

-“…!”

“Before saying such things, wouldn’t it make sense to deploy additional drones to collect information…?”

-“Of course, I’ll follow your instructions, Minister!”

-Communication terminated

As soon as the communication ended, I called Riel over from her blind spot.

“Riel, is that man perhaps of noble birth?”

When I pointed to the survey team leader who had appeared on the communication screen, Riel thought for a moment… then nodded and said:

“Yes, after searching the database, he’s a typical noble parachute appointment… but he’s actually younger than you, Minister?”

“…?”

“His appearance is due to a hereditary disease in his noble family that causes accelerated aging. He’s actually about 10 years younger than you.”

Interesting…

Hearing that, I finally understood why someone who had risen to the position of survey team leader would ask me about something as basic as deploying drones.

‘He really was a complete newbie.’

Realizing this, I felt a certain pity for that middle-aged… no, prematurely aged baby.

Thanks to this revelation, I decided to abandon my plan to purge… I mean, dismiss the entire survey team.

However, I made a mental note to find out who had parachuted such a person into that position and have a deep conversation with them soon.

But shortly after…

I realized through additional incoming communications that I was in no position to be thinking about such matters.

-“M-Minister Arto! We just attempted to deploy 35 drones simultaneously for exploration… but somehow they all disappeared as soon as they entered the gate!”

“…All 35 of them?”

-“Yes! That’s correct!”

If it had been one or two, I could have understood.

It could have been a malfunction due to poor maintenance, or perhaps they were unluckily caught in spatial distortion.

Or maybe just an operational error.

In any case, a reasonable number that could be understood if they became inoperable.

But 35?

Thirty-five high-grade research drones, built with the Empire’s finest technology to function in any situation, all malfunctioning simultaneously?

The probability of that happening was essentially the same as Riel growing taller due to stimulated growth plates…

Faced with this impossible situation, I was about to request the survey team leader to conduct additional situation assessment, but…

At that moment.

[Pause]

-Ding♪

[Event: Unknown Danger Beyond]

[You attempted to assess the situation by deploying drones.]

[However, for some reason, no matter how many drones you deploy, connection with them is severed as soon as they enter the gate.]

[Judging that continuing to send only drones would be a waste of resources, you have decided to choose one of two methods to explore inside the gate.]

[Option 1: Deploy a research vessel! Investigate thoroughly with specialized equipment! (Random event occurs, linked event progression)]

[Option 2: Deploy a research battleship! The ignorant masses won’t know the difference! (Linked event progression)]

Seeing the new choice event that appeared before me, I pressed option 2 without hesitation.

[Option 2: Deploy a research battleship! The ignorant masses won’t know the difference! (Linked event progression)]<Selected

[Pause released]

‘This is clearly a trap in option 1. No need to lose a research vessel and all those scientists.’

Whatever was happening inside, if it could simultaneously destroy 35 high-grade drones, it must be incredibly dangerous.

Or perhaps communication simply couldn’t connect between our universe and beyond the gate…

So I requisitioned a research battleship that had been handed over to the planetary defense forces and was being used as their flagship.

“Oh no, please! If you take our flagship, what will we do!”

“It wasn’t your ship to begin with.”

…Choosing to ignore the planetary defense forces wailing like street vendors being forcibly evicted.

I sent it straight to the Cardian Black Hole, allowing it to fulfill its original purpose after a long time.

-“At last, this ship returns to its true role.”

“Indeed, I’m counting on you.”

-“Fear not, this vessel’s capabilities would allow it to survive even against a ‘dragon’.”

“Don’t go too far, just find out what’s beyond the gate.”

And after watching the heavily armed and excessively fortified vessel pass through the hole in the gate…

I decided to go to bed, anticipating the information the ship would bring back the next day.

But the next morning…

What greeted my eyes as soon as I woke up was…

[Event: Research Battleship Destroyed!]

[After continued communication failures with the drones, you chose to deploy a heavily armed large vessel to overwhelm with force.]

[As a result, you have definitely learned what lies beyond the gate.]

[Surprisingly, the space beyond the gate contains dozens of times more nanomachines than when previously entered.]

[The problem was that all these numerous nanomachines were in an activated state.]

[And these activated nanomachines immediately began to devour and disassemble the ship indiscriminately.]

[Fortunately, the crew managed to escape through internal escape pods, but the research battleship’s power source protective facilities were eaten away… leading to a massive explosion that ended its short, unfortunate life.]

‘…What the hell.’

The extremely expensive research battleship, built with costly resources, capital, and time, had been completely obliterated in just one day without even leaving scrap metal behind—what delightfully refreshing news.