"We just went past 10,000 feet! Commander, are you okay? There's the oxygen tank right there!" Page said as she had taken the initiative to pilot the experimental makeshift aircraft which the Grey Bears dubbed the Rocket Coffin considering how delicate the plane was in appearance.
"I am fine! Continue to push forward and maintain gliding!" Jin said as he used his Maqi to control his lungs as well as cover them so that the air pressure would not be so drastic that he will faint from the external pressure.
"This is the first time I should be grateful that I am a Mechanoid?" Lynn chuckled as she too used her generated chi to aid Jin so as to alleviate the stress of diverting his Maqi around his body.
"At least for once, this thing is-" Everyone shouted at Diaz to tell her to shut up, despite the fact that they were all Mechanoids and human's perception of luck and karma should be irrelevant at least to them. Perhaps, Jin had rubbed them all too much that they mimicked the ways of being human.
But what Diaz said was within since they did not expect to escape the battlefield while riding such a rickety aircraft out of the mountain. The distraction that Old Fammet had put up was definitely a first class act. Jin could not be any more delighted that there was no anti air fire against them at all. It did come at a huge cost considering Jin and the other Mechanoids including the Grey Bears had to work doubly hard to get not only the Rocket Coffin to completion and also the Mountain Cannon which should have been decommissioned after its fierce consecutive firing against the enemies when they were advancing towards Mount Sunn.
Of course, the System played a little trick or two as well by analysing the essential parts that needed to be replaced with alternatives. The only problem was that the System guaranteed that the mountain cannon could never work ever again, and a complete replacement was required after the invasion or else there could be a risk of an internal explosion which would detonate within the mountain workshop itself.
This was really its last straw and Old Fammet decided that since it was one of his biggest creation's last use, he might as well make it a little more fancy than usual. Increasing the range by overheating and discharging more power to the laser's output would induce the melting of its internal components to extending blast radius by haphazardly mixing explosives with the barrel. Such improvised yet primitive ways of increasing the output was suggested by Nie and Old Fammet decided to give his remaining apprentice the honour of pressing the fire button.
The moment Rocket Coffin had blasted out of Mount Sunn, the Mountain Cannon did the very same thing by discharging its last beam, allowing the energy signature to cover the Rocket Coffin's heat signature from their standard radars. Thus, the bright light combined with the heat and sound made it the perfect distraction for everyone within the area but the aftermath was horrendous. The temperature in the workshop rose to a degree that was beyond uncomfortable. The cooling section of the main control console was beeping with red lights so hard that the only way to turn it off was to literally rip the console out.
But its blaring because the cooling systems within the workshop was working as hard as it could to dispense the heat from the mountain cannon. And since the workshop was also on a lockdown, most vents were sealed to prevent intruders from coming out and this caused the internal heat temperatures to skyrocket as well. The only place where most of the heat was dissipating out to was from where the Rocket Coffin had ascended as well as the window where the cannon had just shot. Both were truly not the best venting procedures for a makeshift cannon that had been upgraded to do massive amount of damage.
It was so hot that the surrounding rooms and corridors to the mountain cannon had to shut off to prevent it from allowing friendly Mechanoids to enter or else it was possible that they disintergrate from the heat. Certain circuitries had also been destroyed and Nie who was at the main console was rushing to make sure enough power was being diverted so that the workshop internal defences were still working in case a few leaked through the System's dungeon instance.
Thankfully, it was the same for the enemies. The thermic beam burned everything on its path and that included the land underneath the beam, causing a trail of fire on already burnt land. The main headquarters was hit at its rear as if the enemy knew where its ammunition and temporary oil depots were being placed, causing the huge explosion at their side as well, leading to many support team members to be killed off or injured. This huge ruckus allowed the Rocket Coffin was able to safely move away from their danger area since there were other things on the plate of the enemy, enabling them to move unhindered.
And in order to avoid further detection it was best to move to as high as possible and maintaining at that altitude so that they could move without much restriction as well. The only problem was that Jin could not stay in that altitude and speed for a long time since he was a 'human'. The only fortunate thing was that he was not just any human but someone who had gone through bouts of trials both physically and mentally; not to mention, a few good tricks under his sleeve as well. (Well, the only thing he could not fight well against was time, fatigue and the need to be lazy. But as a certain wiseman once said, to be eternally lazy, one had to work hard towards that goal first.)
"How long more to our destination?" Jin asked and Tellie replied that they would be halfway there should the output of the rockets continued to be stable. And so, the entire Grey Bear squad rode in this box of flying metal in hopes that they could reach their destination peacefully so that they could fulfil their counter attack much easily.