Darkstone Code-Chapter 879 - 877: Airplanes
"Airplane!"
In the crowded meeting room, Mr. Truman’s voice seemed to dominate, his fingers forcefully tapping the edge of the table. The sound struck people’s chests, making them feel an invisible power.
He repeated again, "Lynch’s airplane!"
Then he began to explain, "Earlier, a manager from Darkstone Security, codenamed Senior Soldier, told me that if they encountered trouble, they could seek my help. Initially, I didn’t understand what I could do in this matter."
"But just now, when the President mentioned that we couldn’t conduct an effective search at sea, I suddenly thought of a solution."
"And that is an airplane!"
The President was somewhat surprised to realize that he played a critical role in this; he actually reminded Truman of what to do!
Suddenly, he felt that Mr. Truman was truly a trustworthy person, someone dependable, someone worthy of... someone.
Anyway, a good person.
"I won’t bother to introduce whether the planet under our feet is square or round. Airplanes allow us to see a broader range from a higher position, and the technology is already mature."
"I’ve heard that with an extra fuel tank, it can fly nearly a thousand kilometers, which is enough to relay back important information for us."
"Moreover, it is faster, and there’s no need to consider the impact of reefs and ocean currents on speed. It was not only developed to detect submarines but also born for reconnaissance in various environments!"
The hands that the President placed behind Mr. Truman were tightly clenched into fists. Damn, now they could get through this dangerous situation, fantastic!
Of course, he didn’t show it on the surface, just nodding calmly, which suited his image as a "wise" and "elderly" person, even though the former wasn’t actually related to him.
After resolving the huge crisis, at least with great hope of solving this huge crisis, the President’s talent for acting also emerged.
He interjected during the gap in Mr. Truman’s speech to demonstrate his status and value, "So, what should we..."
Mr. Truman understood the President well; if he didn’t understand this person, he wouldn’t be the President’s Staff Officer. He knew what the President wanted, and immediately provided it, "We should now go to Lynch’s research institute to inquire if the airplane is ready."
The President nodded with satisfaction and dignity, "Ladies and gentlemen, what are we still waiting for here?"
A shipful of wealth disappeared, with some people watching those wealthy individuals, and others keeping an eye on the police or military, but some were also watching the President.
When the President, along with a large group of staff from the President’s Mansion, stepped out, they instinctively followed closely behind.
Soon, they arrived at the research institute on the outskirts of Bupen, near the Warning Zone.
The Chief Engineer of the research institute had been waiting for a long time; if it weren’t for the President’s assistant calling him, he wouldn’t even have known that Mr. Lynch had disappeared along with a ship.
Simultaneously, he also understood the purpose of their visit.
"We’ve met before!" The President, with a serious expression, shook hands with the Chief Engineer. There were reporters from the media around, and he couldn’t afford to appear nervous at this time as it would cause trouble for him.
He acted as if his father, who had been dead for years, climbed out of the grave and boarded that ship, saying, "Let’s skip the meaningless pleasantries, is the airplane ready?"
The Chief Engineer nodded nervously, leading the President and the crowd to the back of the institute.
The back of the institute was where the factory was, which had already started production.
Currently, the main technical difficulty in airplane production lies in the engine, not the fuselage.
For an all-aluminum alloy fuselage, as long as there is enough metal raw material, it can be cast into shape. Even if there are some burrs and rough spots, it doesn’t matter.
Even a wooden airplane covered with sheepskin can fly, so an all-aluminum alloy one is already great, nearly perfect.
The real technical difficulty of the aircraft lies in the engine. So far, they have manufactured six units, handling line debugging and production simultaneously, including two initial test models, making eight in total.
"Too few!" The President was very disappointed to hear only eight, "Is there a way to speed up production?"
If this question was posed by the Emperor of Gafura to their Merchant, those Merchants would even go bankrupt, borrow money, and ensure the task is completed.
However, in the Federation, the situation was different.
The Chief Engineer played a little trick, "We’re out of money."
The President was momentarily stunned, turning blankly to look at Mr. Truman. He now only trusted this man.
Mr. Truman cleared his throat and said, "The Congress is still reviewing the budget, so the funding hasn’t been released yet..."
Understood!
No money to make a Priest?
"These bureaucracies!" The President gritted his teeth, looking as though he uttered a complaint, which was precisely captured by the reporters, who merely thought it would make a good story.
Only Mr. Truman knew that the President was, on one hand, sharing the blame—The airplane’s inability to fly was not his fault, it was the problem of the Congress Senators not approving the funds, and he was not wholly responsible.
On the other hand, it’s also laying the groundwork for future political transactions and compromises—look at the mess you made last time, I can let you off, but shouldn’t you show some acknowledgment?
Some people are born for a certain position!
He turned his head and faced those cameras directly, but what he truly wanted to ask was Truman, "I remember, as President, I have the power to use my privileges in special times, to initially approve certain budget proposals, right?"
The latter nodded, and he continued, "Call them immediately to allocate funds, I want more planes to appear in the West Ocean faster!"
What a dedicated President he is, his noble sentiments are truly admirable.
The Chief Engineer laughed so heartily that his eyebrows slipped to the sides, actually, this was his own idea, Lynch wouldn’t lack this bit of money, he was merely worried the Congress wouldn’t allocate funds, then they wouldn’t get dividends.
Lynch buying his own things isn’t considered buying, when he finishes building the planes and takes them away, there are no shares, one always has to guard against the capitalists, don’t they?
With the guarantee of this fund allocation, the Chief Engineer immediately assured that he would go all out to complete the manufacturing process of the engines.
Meanwhile, under people’s gaze, eight planes sequentially parked on the runway.
However...
"Will there be any accidents?" The President looked at several workers still working on a plane’s landing gear and suddenly felt a bit worried.
Truman reassured, "Rest assured, they wouldn’t risk their lives joking with us!"
Under the watchful eyes of numerous media and cameras, the eight planes successfully took off amidst people’s gasps and quickly headed towards the West Coast.
"Gentlemen, in just four hours, our planes will reach the military base on the West Coast and start searching for the missing ships."
"If it hasn’t sunk, we will surely find its traces..."
A swarm of reporters crowded over, realizing this would be the plane that changes the world order.
Planes are no longer suicidal toys that rise but can’t land, they’re truly destined to conquer the sky!
At this very moment, Lynch, who is being speculated by the Chief Engineer that he’s sunk with the cruise ship, is watching an unexpected situation not far away.
Not everyone can remain calm knowing they might be in huge trouble; jumping in to clarify everything now isn’t really a timely move.
Just like now, a young man in his twenties, with a baby face, stood on the second-level deck, angrily questioning the chief mate.
He couldn’t tolerate the pervasive and terrifying pressure now, so he clarified the situation, first demanding to see the captain, then demanding the captain come to the second-level deck.
How is that possible?
The situation on the ship is so complicated, what if there’s an assassin?
The captain hasn’t appeared in public these days to avoid assassination—it sounds pointless, yet it is indeed valuable.
The benefits of assassinating the captain are exceedingly high.
The captain dispatched the chief mate to solve the problem, but the young man couldn’t hold it and directly clarified what he believed to be true, demanding the chief mate to dock the ship and let them disembark.
That’s foolish.
All the older ones haven’t expressed any opinions so far, not due to cowardice, but because they know it’s foolish to act this way.
Firstly docking is unrealistic; even ignoring whether or not the captain would dock, it’s now a problem as to where to dock.
The captain can only roughly determine their current location within some range on the nautical chart, he doesn’t dare to guarantee his judgment is correct, the navigational instruments are discarded, only using a compass.
Who knows if those things have been tampered with by the people lurking on the ship?
Furthermore, the atmosphere on the ship is indeed very oppressive, if someone proactively jumps out, it instead becomes a vent for people’s emotions.
Seeing that fool yelling at the chief mate, even walking up to slap him, Lynch knew this guy wouldn’t have a good time.
The captain and Every Moment dare not offend all the wealthy people, but if offending one can somewhat ease the others’ emotions, then it’s obviously worthwhile.
Without hesitation, the chief mate kicked the young man in the belly, sending him flying back to crash against the wall, then heavily fall to the ground.
He held his belly, his face pale, displaying pain, but the chief mate indifferently walked over and kicked his head hard, kicked him, making him lie on the ground, clutching his head, crying and shouting that he wouldn’t dare next time.
Subsequently, the crew dragged the young man away, neither giving him a chance to return but instead dragging him to the third or even fourth deck.
Not long after, Lynch’s exclusive manager appeared outside Lynch’s cabin.
-
①: Priest Eight: A term from a tabletop game, offering sacrifices to eight main gods requires a lot of offerings, often used to describe the vast amount needed.
