Interviews! The Second Phase of the Empire's Investigation (usagipost)

*After the mysterious outbreak of the mechanical animal constructs, the Yabounousagi Empire swiftly went to work dispatching the machines that trespassed on their territory. Several remains of the constructs were sent to the empire’s Army Technical Research Office and Naval Technical Research Office, immediately initiating an official investigation into the constructs’ capabilities and origin. This was within a few hours of discovery.*

*The empire’s investigative efforts into the strange brass constructs had yielded useful results. The constructs were determined to be visual recording and listening devices, immediately distinguishing them as tools for espionage. They possess two orb-like cameras capable of recording images and video, a hastily assembled integrated circuit connecting various chips, including a microprocessor and an internal storage device. A fungus was found growing on a few chips on the integrated circuit, as well as the construct’s exterior. Fungal testing determined it as a fungus found in abundance in most forests throughout the empire, and that the mycelium network of the fungus was used to record audio and send the data directly to the storage device.  A rudimentary artificial intelligence was found on the microprocessor, assumed by imperial engineers to be most likely employed to allow a high-accuracy movement and decision-making mimicry of the animal it was disguised as.*

*From the origin determined from the individual components, the fungal samples inspected and the data initially uncovered by imperial electrical engineers and corrupted data reconstructed and stored on magnetic tape by Black Iron’s cryptographers, imperial intelligence managed to partially retrace the path travelled by the mechanical seagull and narrowed the scope of their investigation down to three persons of interest: Victory Industries, New Exhillia and the United Provinces of Frost, due to the curious oddity of the majority of the mechanical constructs appearing around the southern hemisphere, the results of the soil analysis and the suggestion that the constructs travel from south to north. At this point, less than 24 hours had passed since both the start of the investigation and the discovery of the animal construct outbreak.*

*However, more information must be collected before the empire can confidently accuse any state or entity of spying on them. Thus, the investigation moved towards its second phase. A meeting was arranged with the CEO of Victory Industries, the New Exhillian leadership and the UPF leadership, who agreed to send a representative to meet the imperial diplomats instead. Two imperial airliners were prepared at Saizumi City International Airport, one bound for Cat Tail City and another for New Exhillia. A Fugaku transport plane was being prepped for departure to the United Provinces of Frost at a classified Imperial Okuno Air Service airbase, as it was the only aircraft capable of flying towards the UPF without refuelling. 2 tons of Okunoshiman rice and 2.3 tons of canned fruits and vegetables were also loaded into the transport plane, intended to alleviate their food shortage in the very short term. It can carry greater amounts of cargo, but that would reduce range. A diplomat and a few armed guards, members of the elite Imperial Personal Guard, boarded their respective aircraft. 25 minutes after the diplomats arrived at Saizumi City International Airport and boarded the planes, the airliners took off from the airport and flew towards their end destination. An hour later did the Fugaku followed suit.*