Behind the door was a vast underground cavern, at least fifty meters high, its end invisible to the eye.
The cavern was brightly lit, and in the center stood a production line, with countless workers bustling back and forth along its length.
The director led everyone to the side of the production line, and as they approached, they finally saw what was being made.
It was something that looked like a bathtub, with a glass canopy on top.
About four meters long, one meter wide and tall, with many Magic Power Jets situated around it.
“This is our Magic Flying Device that’s already entered mass production,” the director introduced.
“It uses the same Magic Power Jets as the Elite Warrior Automaton for propulsion, allowing ordinary people to fly through the sky like mages.”
Like a mage, flying through the sky?
Everyone looked a bit confused at the director’s words, unable to imagine what exactly the Magic Flying Device could do.
Seeing their puzzled faces, Qin Yu explained, “You can think of it as a carriage that can fly in the sky.”
“Oh—” Everyone nodded in sudden realization.
The director had been struggling to find a fitting description for the Magic Flying Device, but after hearing Qin Yu’s explanation, he quickly agreed, “Yes, yes, just as Her Highness said.”
There were still doubts about whether the Magic Flying Device could actually fly, so everyone circled it again and again, carefully examining every corner.
“Um… can this thing really fly?” Lysieltine asked the question on everyone’s mind.
“It can, but… the accident rate is a bit high…” the director replied.
Qin Yu carefully examined the Magic Flying Device.
Its shape was angular, with a metallic sheen to its exterior.
She patted its skin, and it produced the unique sound of refined iron.
She then observed the Magic Power Jets; the nozzles were about five centimeters in diameter, made of refined iron and a refined gold alloy, built to withstand the tremendous thrust of magic power.
The Magic Power Jets were positioned on the bottom, sides, and rear of the device, spread over four surfaces.
Each surface was fitted with a group of nine Magic Power Jets, producing massive thrust.
Inside the device, there was a seat, and in front of the seat was an instrument panel that resembled the cockpit instruments of airplanes from her previous life.
The director opened the canopy of the Magic Flying Device and said, “Everyone can come and give it a try…”
Before he’d finished speaking, Qin Yu and Lysieltine dashed forward, each eager to secure a spot.
Behind them, Luo Shangyu and Lumia Kriat turned away, unwilling to watch the two behaving like eager children.
Seeing how anxious the two were, the director hurriedly said, “We also have a twin-seater. Your Highnesses may experience it together…”
***
After some bustling, Qin Yu and Lysieltine climbed into the twin-seater Magic Flying Device, which was parked at the test field in the courtyard of the National Academy of Research.
Behind the device, several Magic engineers were meticulously checking its status.
Inside, Qin Yu and Lysieltine sat side by side at the controls, waiting eagerly for the signal to take off.
In her previous life, Qin Yu had over 300 hours in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, but had never actually flown a real airplane.
Now, for the first time, she was about to fly an aircraft—even if it was a fantasy-world version, quite different from what she knew—her excitement was impossible to contain.
The canopy was open as the director stood outside, repeatedly explaining the controls to the two inside.
“We got it!” Qin Yu and Lysieltine could only answer the same thing over and over.
Finally, the engineers finished checking the device and signaled the pair that they were cleared for takeoff.
The Magic Flying Device had dual controls, so either of them could operate it.
As soon as Qin Yu saw the signal—before Lysieltine realized what was happening—she yanked the control stick, and the lower Magic Power Jets roared, launching the craft straight up into the sky.
“Ah—!” Lysieltine was overwhelmed by the sudden acceleration, clutching her head and curling up in the seat.
“Wuhu, takeoff!” Qin Yu guided the Magic Flying Device in a soaring climb, piercing through the clouds and rising above them.
Though it was lightly snowing today, above the clouds the sky was clear and the sun shone bright—a scene of radiant daylight.
The feeling of riding in the Magic Flying Device was very different from flying by her own magic.
Lysieltine gradually sat up straight, immersing herself in the new experience.
Qin Yu carefully maneuvered the craft, gliding above the boundless sea of clouds.
“How high are we now?” Lysieltine glanced at the instrument panel, answering her own question, “Over three thousand two hundred meters already?”
“This is the highest I’ve ever flown…” Lysieltine marveled, “I have to say, magic technology is really something!”
Soaring above the clouds filled both of them with delight as they feasted their eyes on the endless vistas.
But on the ground, someone was burning with anxiety.
“Director, we seem to have found a problem with one of the Flying Devices…” an engineer, drenched in sweat, rushed over.
“Which one?” the director replied without turning, squinting into the mist, still searching for any sign of Qin Yu’s craft.
“It’s… Her Highness the Crown Princess’s device…”
“Oh.” The director didn’t care much at first, but then, in a heartbeat, he cried out in horror, “What! Did you say the Crown Princess’s Flying Device has a problem?”
“……”
The engineer’s silence confirmed it.
“What’s going on?” The director quickly composed himself and got ready to handle the situation, knowing that panicking would solve nothing.
“It seems the Magic Power Jets on her device were from a batch of defective parts. They can’t be used for long…”
“Defective?” The director thought for a moment.
“Get Her Highness back immediately. Defective parts shouldn’t cause a crash right away. As long as the flight isn’t too long, there won’t be a problem. Ground station, inform Her Highness of her current situation at once!”
“Yes!”
The ground staff received the order, contacted Qin Yu’s craft, and informed her of the truth.
“So we need to go back?” Qin Yu told Lysieltine about the situation, seeking her opinion.
“Of course, safety first!”
Qin Yu worked the control stick, rolling the device right as she slowly descended.
Lysieltine stared at the instrument panel, watching the altimeter needle spin counterclockwise again and again.
“Two thousand meters!” Lysieltine called out the current altitude.
“Roger!” Qin Yu replied, fully focused on piloting.
But as they dropped to eighteen hundred meters, an ear-piercing alarm blared through the cabin, and harsh red lights began to flash.
On the instrument panel, the indicator lights for the lower Magic Power Jets changed from green to red, flickering rapidly.
With the alarm sounding, their rate of descent increased—it was clear that the lower Magic Power Jets had failed.
Lysieltine tried to open the throttle, but suddenly a sharp whine erupted from below, and the device shot upward with a burst of acceleration.
However, the climb lasted only a few seconds before a deafening explosion rang out from beneath.
On the instrument panel, most of the indicator lights for the lower Magic Power Jets went out, leaving only two still lit.
With too little thrust, the device stopped climbing and began to sink again.
Just two Magic Power Jets were nowhere near enough for a safe landing.
While Lysieltine was at a loss, Qin Yu suddenly realized something serious.
“Lysieltine, there are still some Magic Power Jets running underneath us. Do you think their thrust is off-center? Will the whole device start to spin?”
Lysieltine: Σ( ° △ °|||)︴
The wide-open, pale blue eyes of the girl said everything.
Just as Lysieltine tried to find words to agree with Qin Yu, the device began to tilt, faster and faster, until it was spinning full circles in the air like a washing machine drum.
Only the seatbelts kept Qin Yu and Lysieltine from being thrown out.
“Quick! Shut off all the Magic Power Jets!” Qin Yu shouted.
“I can’t reach it!” With the violent spinning, Lysieltine couldn’t even reach for the switch.
“You have to abandon the craft!” the director’s voice crackled over the communicator.
Qin Yu scrambled for the canopy release, but with the craft spinning like a washing machine, she couldn’t manage it either.
The scenery outside whipped past, the device plummeting rapidly toward the ground.
“We’re really going to crash!” Qin Yu groaned, a song echoing in her ears: It’s been a long day/ without you my friend./ And I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again.
Just as Qin Yu wondered if she was about to become this world’s Kobe, Lysieltine drew her Magic Staff and shattered the glass canopy with a Fireball.
“Jump!” Lysieltine urged.
“Alright!” Qin Yu unfastened her seatbelt, and hand in hand with Lysieltine, they leapt from the open craft.
Lysieltine cast Magic of Atmosphere in midair, lifting them with magic as they soared away.
In the end, under Lysieltine’s control, the two of them landed safely.
The Magic Flying Device hit the ground ahead of them, smashing to pieces.
Seeing the two of them land safely, everyone breathed a sigh of relief: ‘Thank goodness the Crown Princess hadn’t crashed.’
The director hurried over to Qin Yu, falling to his knees, “This servant deserves death a thousand times over!”
Seeing this, Qin Yu quickly helped the director up and said, “You already told us this Flying Device had a high failure rate. We chose to try it, so we must accept the risk. This isn’t your fault. But if we hadn’t been mages, we’d be dead now. Next time, you must check everything carefully before takeoff!”
“Yes!” The director bowed deeply, “We will check thoroughly!”
He breathed a sigh of relief—thankfully, Qin Yu didn’t blame him.
Qin Yu was the heir to the throne.
If she had made a serious issue of nearly dying in a crash, the director thought, he’d have to die ten times over to atone.
Qin Yu walked over to the wreckage of the Flying Device and inspected it.
Unexpectedly, the craft was sturdily built; falling from such a height, it hadn’t disintegrated.
“‘Magic Flying Device’ is too long. Since it’s a flying machine, let’s just call it an airplane,” Qin Yu said.
“Yes!” the director nodded at once.
“And this airplane shall be called the ‘Mamba’!” Qin Yu declared, pointing to the crashed wreckage.