Jiang Xia broke the silence. "Because the engine fell off?"
"But an engine's fuel is usually supplied separately... Ah!" Hashimoto Maya suddenly realized it halfway through his sentence.
—An aircraft had several fuel tanks, and they were normally separated from one another. But to keep the plane flying steadily, it was sometimes necessary to open the valves between them and balance the fuel levels on both sides.
And when the fuel tanks were connected like that, as long as there was a leak anywhere, the fuel in the other tanks would eventually drain out through that breach as well.
The valve should originally have been closed, but not long ago, Irish had accidentally knocked it open. Although Jiang Xia had pointed it out immediately, Irish had thought it was just time to switch fuel tanks. To make the landing smoother, he had not closed the valve right away.
Judging from the dashboard, the transfer valve was still open, and fuel was rapidly leaking out through the fallen engine.
Jiang Xia found the button Irish had touched earlier. "You shut it off from here, right?"
Seeing no objections, he reached out and mimed closing the valve. Then he looked at Hashimoto Maya and Irish, then at the fuel level displayed on the dashboard, and seemed to belatedly realize something. "Why do you both look so grim? Is there really not enough fuel to get us to the ground?"
Hashimoto Maya nodded, his expression incomparably heavy. If the plane could not hold out until Hakodate Airport cleared its runway, then they could only crash, or glide into unfavorable terrain and smash to pieces. Either way, the result would be catastrophic.
Jiang Xia's expression immediately turned grave as well.
He looked at Irish, seeming to want to speak but holding back. In short,