The Hungry Fortress Wants to Build a Battleship in Another World – World of Sandbox-Chapter 25Vol 3. : Loss of Combat Capability

AI in Isolation Mode.

This refers to a state in which, upon detecting some kind of problem, the AI autonomously severs all data connections.

Wireless and wired communications are completely shut down, and even data collection from various sensors is distorted through specialized filters, isolating the AI from all incoming information.

This is to eliminate the risk of security breaches via electromagnetic waves of various frequencies, or even sound waves.

Because of this, in Isolation Mode, the AI’s ability to gather information drops drastically.

Moreover, it stops analyzing friend-or-foe identification signals, and thus to prevent friendly fire, its attacks will shift to prioritizing warning shots.

Naturally, all external attempts to access it are ignored.

Isolation Mode will not be lifted until the AI itself determines the problem has been resolved.

In the worst-case scenario, Isolation Mode may persist until the AI is destroyed.

“If the situation does not improve, abandoning the drill plant must also be considered an option. In Isolation Mode, the AI begins to allocate a large amount of resources to environmental analysis, which drastically reduces combat capability. That’s why all the AIs made the decision to retreat.”

“...Th-this is turning out to be a seriously bad [N O V E L I G H T] situation, isn’t it...?”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. Combat capability has dropped to 14%. It is projected that the balance of power has deteriorated from 10:3 to 10:22.”

“That’s a guaranteed loss...”

The power balance is based on data collected thus far and does not account for unpredictable magical or fantasy-type threats.

It’s possible the actual balance has worsened even further.

“The strategic AI stationed at Oil Port has reported a potential unauthorized access attempt targeting front-line machines—particularly the Brain Units. There were slight discrepancies in the timestamps of the Isolation Mode activations across units. The first report came from the one that made contact on the front line, but the others entered Isolation Mode in concentric circles centered on Tefen. It is inferred that some form of approach was initiated from Tefen.”

“...Wait, we got hacked? Is that even possible...?”

“I apologize. Any further speculation would be unfounded and no better than delusional conjecture, so I must answer: unknown.”

“...Yeah. You’re right. Better to stick to the facts. So—Tefen?”

Noticing how apologetic Ringo sounded, Commander Eve repressed her agitation and sat back down.

There wasn’t much she could do from here anyway. All she could do was watch.

Even if abandoning Oil Port became unavoidable, they could return with a much larger force next time.

They’d cut their losses on oil and pour everything into developing the seabed mineral deposits. Resin raw materials could be synthesized chemically or produced via algae cultivation.

Efficiency would suffer, but it wasn’t impossible. The plan had already been drawn up. It had only been shelved because of the high cost compared to extraction.

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. At present, there is no movement. The swarm has advanced slightly—about seven meters in total—but all that happened was Tefen taking a single step forward. They’ve remained stationary since.”

“...Feels like it just leaned forward a bit out of surprise or something... No, just an impression. Forget I said anything.”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am.”

Now then.

The fuel-air explosive bomb deployed this time was also a recycled warhead found inside The Tree. If manufacturing a new bomb of equivalent class, they would use thermobaric explosives.

This one, well—was stock clearance. It wouldn’t have yielded much even if dismantled, so they’d simply decided to use it and shipped it to Fortress No. 2.

“The missile has separated its warhead. The missile body will shift trajectory and fall around the Oil Port. The fuel-air explosive bomb is deploying its airbrake and adjusting its entry angle based on image analysis.”

Under normal circumstances, terminal guidance would use GPS signals, but in the absence of satellites, that wasn’t an option.

There might be a minor deviation from the impact point, but it was, literally, within the margin of error.

“Five seconds to detonation. Three... two... one... now. Explosion confirmed.”

In the long-range footage, the warhead descended from above and detonated. An orange flash burst out, engulfing Tefen and the entire swarm.

The fuel-air explosive bomb used this time had an effective radius of about 200 meters. Large enough to completely engulf Tefen and the entire swarm.

“...I wonder if it actually inflicted any damage?”

“Unknown, Commander Ma’am. It is more likely the blast was completely negated.”

The scorpions’ defensive membranes were capable of fully deflecting direct hits from several artillery shells.

From analysis of the battle with Rain Kroin, it had been determined that the defensive membrane, while active, functioned almost perfectly—dispersing any pressure that could cause harm to the user.

The explosive pressure of the fuel-air bomb spread evenly across the kill zone, but its duration was short.

It was hard to believe its lethal effect could be maintained long enough to breach the membrane’s protection.

“Even so, it serves as a deterrent. It’s a demonstration that we have this kind of offensive capability.”

Eventually, the smoke and dust stirred up by the explosion began to clear.

What appeared from the cloud was a completely unharmed Tefen.

And scattered among the wreckage were scorpions—some flipped over, some piled on each other.

“No visible damage to Tefen. The rest of the scorpions don’t appear to be dead or seriously injured either. It’s safe to conclude the blast was completely neutralized by the defensive membrane.”

“...Ah. They're moving.”

A flipped-over scorpion twitched its tail and pincers, trying to right itself in a panic. Some still lay motionless—it was possible they had lost consciousness from the shockwave.

“...We have confirmed individuals assisting others. As expected, they appear to be sharing information.”

After a short while, the entire swarm began to move.

Even the ones that had likely passed out were rolled over and roused by their companions.

Their legs stirred en masse, and they began to advance.

“O-oh? Whoa. They’re climbing on Tefen!”

The scorpions began crawling up Tefen’s body as it lowered itself to the ground, perhaps to make boarding easier.

Once all had mounted, Tefen slowly turned and began to walk away.

“They’re leaving...”

“For now, we’ve avoided an immediate flashpoint. Let’s continue development of the drill plant. The remaining issue is the AIs in Isolation Mode.”

“Can we lift it?”

“Insufficient information to say. However, if Tefen was the cause, it’s possible that its retreat will prompt the AIs to re-evaluate and lift the mode. Our attack may have appeared to injure Tefen, triggering a withdrawal.”

“Hmm...”

Letting out a sigh, Commander Eve rose from her chair.

“I’m going to go see the girls. Their stress levels are within tolerance, correct?”

“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. I am conducting follow-up protocols as needed. Though they are under tension, levels remain within acceptable bounds.”

◇◇◇◇

A barren wasteland, vast yet poor in prey.

That was how it had perceived this place. There wasn’t much to gain—not worth integrating into its territory. It had left it alone. freewēbnoveℓ.com

But recently, it seemed a new swarm had arrived.

A scouting familiar sent to investigate had encountered them. A larger body than itself. Attacks of unknown nature.

There was at least enough intelligence to issue a threat display. Judging by the appearance, this swarm was from a different force than the one next door.

As long as they didn’t encroach on its territory, there was no problem.

But experience had shown that leaving things alone never ended well. A first strike was necessary—to determine whether coexistence or hostility would result.

It gathered its familiars and began moving.

Something small flew overhead—possibly a familiar of this new swarm.

This was the first time it had encountered another swarm not of its own kind.

There had been no other swarms nearby, but it vaguely understood that other species existed elsewhere. Maybe this one had come up from the sea.

While it mused on such idle thoughts, it faced off against the familiars of the new swarm.

It sent out a probing signal to determine intent—but the moment it did, the enemy retreated like a receding wave.

It froze in surprise.

It had been attacked, but the shots were deliberately aimed to miss.

Apparently, all of the familiars were capable of such long-range attacks. However, there seemed to be no intent to engage directly.

And then—

Something dropped from above. The moment it noticed, its vision turned blood red.

Apparently, it had been attacked. Though it was only startled and unscathed, some of its familiars seemed to have lost consciousness.

It judged the attack to have covered a wide area.

There was no aggressive intent, but if its territory was infringed upon, full force would be used to eliminate the threat.

That was the will it sensed—and so it withdrew.

As long as they weren’t here to carve up its territory, that was fine.

If anything, since their arrival, prey had been increasing.

With that thought, it returned to its nest—resolving to expand its patrols.