Chapter 229: Flight (part 4)

Ling’s control range was three meters, with a thirty-meter existence limit.

Wu Qingsong felt there was a lot more to explore here. He let her rest while he gathered various items and quickly started the second experiment.

This time, he used the wooden bucket that Liuli had been playing with. Over time, the harpies had become very familiar with flying Wu Qingsong around in the bucket tied with four ropes.

Wu Qingsong adjusted the ropes, making them easier to attach to protruding objects, then had Ling use her ability again.

“Stop as soon as you feel the lift,” he instructed her.

This time, instead of a simple sphere, he had Ling create a spindle-shaped, hollow sphere with four large tail fins at the back. While he didn’t know the exact reason, he knew that most airships he had seen were this shape, which must be for a reason. So, he adopted this design out of practicality.

Soon enough, the vacuum sphere began to float upward under the pressure of the atmosphere.

Wu Qingsong had Ling maintain the status quo, then attached the bucket to the sphere. He then instructed Ling to continue expanding the vacuum sphere’s size, while gradually adding pre-prepared stones to balance the lift and weight.

He had never imagined that the substance Ling created could become so large. However, as the sphere continued to expand, it became increasingly difficult for her. The external atmospheric pressure multiplied by tenfold or even a hundredfold as the sphere grew. It made it harder and harder to enlarge it further. Ling could feel the continuous, intense pressure impacting her mentally.

This mysterious material was, after all, created by her. All the pressure and attacks it endured were fed back into her mind.

“Approximately three hundred kilograms?” Wu Qingsong estimated the weight of the stones in the bucket. 

The bucket itself and the ropes also had weight, but the total shouldn’t exceed twenty kilograms. So, the maximum lift Ling could create was around three hundred and twenty kilograms.

“Ling, slowly reduce the size until it feels manageable,” he instructed, while gradually removing stones from the bucket.

The sphere became much smaller than before, and its outer wall grew significantly thicker. Under these conditions, the atmospheric pressure outside no longer posed a significant threat to the material. She could maintain the existence of this sphere for an extended period.

The result was that it could handle around two hundred kilograms. If Ling had to split her focus to create a large propeller to drive this small airship forward, the vacuum sphere’s size would have to be reduced further, and the lift would also decrease. However, it should still be enough to carry both of them in flight.

“Ling, take a good rest today. We’ll do a test flight tomorrow,” Wu Qingsong said.

The next day, thanks to Liuli’s big mouth, everyone gathered again to see how they were planning to fly.

Wu Qingsong had replaced the wooden bucket with a large bag made from shark skin and shortened the ropes, at least slightly reducing the weight.

Ling began her work again, and the large spindle shape slightly surprised everyone. But what really astonished them was seeing it rise into the air, carrying Wu Qingsong and Ling in the bag, smoothly lifting off the ground and floating nearly ten meters above.

There was no bumpiness, no shaking, and even no noise. What pleased Wu Qingsong the most was that the lift was entirely controlled by the size of the vacuum sphere Ling created.

Once the weight reached equilibrium, to make it ascend, all it needed was a slight increase in volume, and to make it descend, just a slight decrease. Compared to the users of previous airships, this convenience would probably make them cry in frustration.

There was a slight breeze in the air, causing the airship to sway a bit. However, its large size also provided some resistance against the wind.

If they could build an airborne giant as he imagined, a typical strong wind might not affect it at all.

But that was a bit too exaggerated. No matter how hard Ling tried, she couldn’t create that much material out of thin air.

“Ling, let’s keep going up!” he said.

Ling nodded, and the airship ascended silently, with the harpies cautiously flying around them, ready to help at any moment.

Since Wu Qingsong hadn’t called for a stop, the airship continued to rise. This made Ling a bit scared, and she couldn’t help but close her eyes. However, in the cramped space, being able to lean closely against Wu Qingsong’s chest made her feel very safe.

“We’re good,” Wu Qingsong suddenly said.

Ling opened her eyes. They had already risen above the first layer of clouds, with a faint white blanket of clouds below them. This sight amazed her. From this height, the entirety of Gale Island was visible, and the people below looked like tiny black dots, barely discernible.

“Let’s try using the propeller,” Wu Qingsong suggested.

She nodded and quickly followed his instructions. The large blades spun rapidly in the air, creating a backward airflow that pushed them forward.

At Wu Qingsong’s request, the speed gradually increased, but the harpies were still able to keep up with them effortlessly. Towards the end, however, they seemed to struggle a bit and started to exert more effort. At this point, the ropes and the shark-skin pod began to make some unsettling noises.

Wu Qingsong had Ling slow down the speed slightly.

It was hard to judge the speed they could reach, as there were no reference points. They could only estimate it based on the flight state of the harpies nearby.

Wu Qingsong estimated that their top speed should be around sixty to seventy kilometers per hour. However, it felt a bit risky, even though Ling’s summoned material could hold up, the pod seemed to struggle.

He then set the stranded reef as their target and had Ling fly there at a normal cruising speed. Through this method, he estimated that their current cruising speed was about forty kilometers per hour. This speed was much slower than the airplane he initially envisioned but much faster than a sailing ship.

After all, even the fastest ship, the Black Pearl, could only reach a top speed of about twenty kilometers per hour under the best conditions, with an average cruising speed of twelve to thirteen kilometers per hour.

‘If we continue to improve the materials and shape of the pod, and further refine the shape of the airship’s balloon, perhaps the speed could be increased even more?’

At this speed, flying from Orgrimmar to Nina’s camp would take just one night. If undetected, reaching the imperial capital would only take three to four nights. If Gale Island wasn’t too far off course, it should take about five to six days to reach.

In that case, this island could become a part of the resources he could utilize, playing a significant role.

“We did it!” Wu Qingsong could confidently announce to Ling, who suddenly blushed.

Seeing her reaction, Wu Qingsong, in his good mood, couldn’t help but recall a TV show he watched as a child. The protagonist of that show had once been his role model.

“Mission accomplished…” he shouted loudly, but looking at Li’s innocent face, he couldn’t bring himself to say the rest of the words.