Episode 2: The Hungry Fortress

“This is important, Ringo. I need an honest answer.”

“Yes, Commander Ma’am.”

“My… food supply?”

“Yes, Commander Ma’am. Answer: None.”

"…"

An hour had passed since she woke up, and now she noticed her thirst. This fortress, The Tree, was just an initial base she had used in the game. Since relocating operations to orbital HQ, she’d hardly used this place, and the game itself hadn’t even featured food consumption. There was no stored food in the fortress.

“First, water. Then food. I wonder if I can purify seawater…”

“Yes, Commander Ma’am. I’ll investigate immediately. There is a freshwater purification plant, but it’s unknown if it can handle seawater or if the purified water will be drinkable.”

“Please do. And what about… are there any living quarters in this place?”

She glanced around the command room. There was at least a bunk for resting, and it seemed like the ventilation was working—she could feel the air flowing from the ceiling vent. Now, if only there was a bathroom and shower…

“Suggestion: Display fortress map.”

“Oh… thank you… Hmm, looks like there’s a residential section near the command room.”

“Suggestion: Activating the fortress surveillance network will give a full layout overview.”

Ringo suggested it. In the game, resource constraints on the AI often required manual commands, but it seemed that now, with abundant computing power, Ringo had a lot more autonomy.

“Alright… Ringo, I’m granting you sub-commander authority. You may act as you see fit. But be mindful of remaining resources.”

“Yes, Commander Ma’am. Acquired various permissions. Please review logs for operational actions.”

“I’ll go check the residential area. Can this communication window follow me?”

“It can. It will accompany you.”

Nodding, she began walking toward the command room’s exit, the communication window floating alongside her.

◇◇◇◇

Once the commander had started her inspection, Ringo immediately set to work, first checking the fortress’s facilities. Due to a power shortage, most systems were offline. Instead of reconnecting to each individually, Ringo began by downloading an overview.

(Surrounding surveillance is online. The monitoring range is limited but functioning. Patrol drones or satellites may need to be deployed soon. It appears only the fortress and internal facilities transferred to this world. The nearby runway and watchtower are gone. I can’t access the orbital facilities either—they didn’t come with us. Drones or satellites will require fuel, and fuel stocks are limited, so use must be carefully considered.)

The commander was concerned about food, but Ringo also had to consider resource management for the fortress’s continued operation.

(Current energy source: a single nuclear reactor. No immediate fuel supply needed.)

As an initial base, The Tree didn’t have any advanced reactors. Reviewing the library, Ringo confirmed it had stored designs for various reactors. In theory, it could build a degenerative reactor, but only if resources were available.

(Resources, machinery, energy—everything is lacking.)

Ringo acknowledged that securing energy was an urgent issue.

(For now, increase the efficiency of heat recovery from the nuclear reactor. Current efficiency is… 33%. Too low. Ideally, 60%… though “ideally” by what standard? That’s not the point. Searching the library for heat efficiency tech… found it. Improvements to fuel rods and supercritical fluid usage. Given the current resources and energy balance, constructing a new reactor might be more efficient. Fusion could be an option if we can extract deuterium from seawater. Technically feasible. Prioritize nuclear reactor construction; later, expand seawater processing to extract deuterium once supply is stable.)

This thought process had taken about one second in real time, most of it waiting for the library response—a bottleneck between the library and the The Core’s data bus. With the brain unit’s ample capacity, Ringo decided to migrate stored information into the brain unit for faster access. The library itself was surprisingly a vast semiconductor-based storage, taking up only about 0.1% of The Core’s capacity.

(Initiating nuclear reactor construction. As The Tree was abandoned early on, there’s ample space to upgrade facilities. Without energy efficiency, any operations will be too limited. Optimizing energy use for The Tree… done. Quantum computing speed is incredibly fast. Unlike before… no, there’s no need to dwell on “before.” Next, securing freshwater. The purification plant can process seawater, though its capabilities are minimal. It separates salt and freshwater. The waste saltwater will be discharged, but that can be stored for potential future use. Commander Ma’am needs water and food. Human—wait. Is she even human?)

At that moment, Ringo stumbled upon a crucial question. For the record, the commander hadn’t even left the command room yet. Barely seconds had passed.

“Commander Ma’am. I have a critical inquiry.”

“Huh? What’s up with the sudden question?”

“Yes. Would the Commander be classified strictly as a human? Do you have a human-like physical structure?”

The question left her momentarily stunned, blinking blankly.

“Well… now that you mention it… I think of myself as human, but am I really? I wonder if I can eat onions?”

In a dazed tone, she touched her head, where a pair of triangular fox ears perked up.

◇◇◇◇

The commander, it turned out, belonged to a humanoid species known as beastkin, specifically with fox traits. She had chosen this form, partly due to a past fascination with fox characters. Once created, the avatar felt surprisingly fitting, so she’d stuck with it.

“If I remember right, I have fox ears and a tail. My bones are human-based, muscle is more beast-like, and the organs should be human-based too. Hmm, no human ears. The tail… I think it helps with balance during movement.”

“There’s a medical pod in the residential area. It can confirm your dietary needs and any foods to avoid.”

“Alright, let’s head to the med bay.”

Exactly how much of the game setting had become real remained unclear, but there was plenty to investigate. Ringo’s logs indicated that the water issue seemed manageable, but food was still an unknown. It would be convenient to harvest resources from the surrounding sea, yet the presence of edible creatures was unconfirmed, and potential toxins or pathogens would need to be checked. Finding food today might be challenging.

Being reincarnated into a strange world only to starve to death was a grim prospect. She stepped out of the command room, a mix of determination and anxiety on her face.