RC 911-920 (Patreon)

RC 911-920

--

Chapter 111: Let's Go Eat Barbecue Together!

"Huh, looking back, it’s really quite spectacular. Have we completely hollowed out a mountain?"

"Is there any need to ask? The soil piled up next to it is as high as a mountain. Fortunately, there are many open spaces in this area, so we don’t have to worry about where to pile these rocks and earth."

As Nagant Revolver and C96 were talking, MP40 drove the SCV and flew over from a distance.

"Excuse me, please!"

As she said this, she dumped the welding container filled with gravel and soil onto the earthen mound.

"Huh, this should be the last batch. The rest is to wait for Type 80 and G11 to finish," MP40 said as she opened the cockpit door of the SCV, just like Nagant Revolver and C96.

"Fortunately, we have SCVs. Otherwise, it would take several years just to dig this large area. Can we apply for a world record?" MP40 fanned her hands to let the heat in the cockpit dissipate.

Although the cockpit's protective measures were in place, when the SCV used a power drill to cut, some heat still transferred to the cockpit through the body itself.

Even though Renault had installed new engines on these SCVs so they wouldn’t run out of energy, and the dolls could turn on the air conditioning to the maximum, it was still difficult to solve the temperature rise caused by long-term work underground.

But it didn’t matter. This little heat didn’t even reach the limit temperature that humans could bare, let alone dolls with stronger tolerance. They were still dolls using Renault’s special sturdy body.

Except that it was a little hot, causing the bionic system to sweat more, it didn’t affect anyone’s work at all.

"Well, breaking the record is certain, but applying for a world record is unlikely."

No one applied for a world record for dolls these days, so they could only think about it themselves.

"By the way, where’s ME79? I didn’t see her just now." C96 looked around but didn’t see ME79. She should have been standing behind a workbench not far away, directing the construction, right?

"She went back with Super-Shorty to count the materials. She said she wanted to move all the materials for the next phase of the project here first because the warehouse in the industrial park is full."

As M870’s voice sounded, several SCVs came out of the huge cave entrance one after another.

Well, they came out. Although it was really fun to control the propulsion system behind the SCV when she first started, after M870 got stuck in the rock wall and almost couldn’t get out, she learned her lesson. Whenever she was about to reach a place or encountered a difficult spot, she would walk instead of flying.

It’s not that she was afraid of getting hurt. In fact, she wasn’t injured at all in the previous collision. Even the SCV only scratched the surface of the paint.

What she was really worried about was that someone would see her embarrassing situation and send it directly to MDR for money!

And afterward, MDR even said that they would open a special livestream on SCV driving, specifically recording those like her who didn’t walk properly and ended up hitting themselves into the wall!

If it weren’t for this, the dolls other than M870 would not learn from M870 and walk out honestly on the ground. They had to rush out directly in the SCV.

After all, they couldn’t be careless. If they still drove in the same way as before, I’m afraid the first sentence they would say when they met in the future wouldn’t be a greeting, but "Did you appear in the special livestream today?"

"Uh, oh, it’s started again. Won’t ME79 be tired?" MP40 sighed when she heard M870’s words.

Although sitting in the SCV cockpit, she only needed to move her fingers and arms to control the SCV, after a few days of repetitive work, although it wouldn’t make the dolls feel tired, it was still tiring! She wanted to rest!

"Don’t worry, she will definitely rest. She just went to confirm whether the materials are qualified. The next project will definitely start in two days," BM59 said. She naturally knew the situation of M1 Garand.

Although the factories in the industrial park were working non-stop, and the Sangvis dolls were taking turns working in batches, the machines in the industrial park were already a little overwhelmed.

After all, they were all old equipment, and the latest equipment was probably the product of seven or eight years ago. Under full-speed operation, it could persist until the first phase of the underwater dock was completed, which was very good.

"Huh, that’s good. I thought this situation would continue. It feels really good to not see SPAS-12 happily grilling on the other side of the reservoir." Hearing this, MP40 looked at the other side of the reservoir and confirmed that SPAS-12 was indeed gone before she sighed.

During this period, SPAS-12 drove her gunship to the open space beside the reservoir to grill whenever she had nothing to do.

Although they could also take advantage of it and eat a few bites from that guy, when they thought that SPAS-12 was grilling while they were eating, and she was still eating when they started working hard…

The difference in treatment between positions was too big! Why could a gunship driver be so leisurely!?

Well, that guy passed the intermediate driving test.

Although she was a little resentful, MP40 shrank her neck when she thought of the difficulty of the intermediate driving test.

Forget it. Driving an SCV is good. At least it is much simpler than driving an aerial vehicle.

Although SPAS-12 wasn’t as crazy as Simonov when she took the test, that was because Simonov passed the advanced test and SPAS-12 was only at the intermediate level.

If Simonov could drink less, I'm afraid the spaceship pilot wouldn't have anything to do with P226. After all, even wz.29 only passed the intermediate level of the aircraft driving test, which was the same as SPAS-12.

It's a bit of a waste to leave a senior pilot like Simonov unused.

However, when there is an important mission that requires Simonov, she believes the commander will definitely have a way to force Simonov to wake up.

After waiting for a while, G11 and Type 80, who were responsible for the finishing, also drove the SCV out of the ground. The gunship driven by SPAS-12 also happened to fly over.

At the same time, there were SCVs carrying containers full of structural parts, which looked a little shaky.

"Huh? Oh! These are the shift changers we agreed on before! They've been running the line between the storage center and the industrial park. Now we finally see them alive in front of us!" M1919A4 shouted excitedly.

"Well, can't we see them at home every day? What you said..." Hearing M1919A4's words, P38 immediately wiped her sweat, speechless. "Um, what I mean is, I saw them driving the SCV over here! Yes! That's it!"

After the gunship flew over, Nagant Revolver waved her hand at ME79 and AR15, who had jumped directly from the gunship to the land below. "How is it? Our chief engineer?"

"Well, the material is fine, but the equipment in the factory can't hold up. I'm afraid we'll have to stop for a while in the next few days to inspect and modify those machines," ME79 waved her hand.

After staying with the group of dolls under Renault for a few days, she had already learned this seemingly unsafe way of landing.

After all, jumping down like this is not only fast, but also a little exciting.

Most importantly, it looks very handsome!

"Actually, you just want to rest, don't you? Just now, I saw you standing in front of the two modified versions of Gloria, and you were almost unable to walk," AR15 spoke, also jumping down from the gunship.

Just now on the spaceship, she had taken advantage of SPAS-12 driving the gunship back to check the internal space to see if it could accommodate a modified Goliath mech.

If it can be accommodated, two slide rails will be installed on the top and bottom, and the gunship can also serve to deliver the Goliath Mech.

However, it may be necessary to remove some seats, which isn't troublesome. After all, those seats were designed to be quick-detachable from the beginning, and it's very convenient to fold or remove them.

Plus, it was SOP2's first time driving... It can't be said it was her first time driving an SCV through complex terrain like mountains, so she came to take a look.

In general, it was relatively stable. At least, there was no situation like hers and HK416's, where they couldn’t control it...

To be honest, it wasn’t that she couldn’t control the SCV, but she couldn’t help it when she saw the Zerg in the real training scenes.

As a result, because of this, she didn't pass the assessment, which led to her being only the driver of the Goliath robot...

Wait, this seems to be a good thing?

Just when AR15 was lost in thought, ME79 also explained the current situation.

To put it simply, they could stop work and take a holiday, but SOP2 and Vector needed to move all the structural parts produced in the industrial park to complete the work.

But it won't take long—only one to two hours at most.

"Hey, have you thought about what to eat tonight? How about barbecue?" SPAS-12 came over at this time, waved to Nagant Revolver and others, and asked everyone.

"Ah? Barbecue again? Haven't we been eating barbecue these days? Haven't you had enough?" Hearing SPAS-12's words, MP40 slapped her forehead immediately.

It has been so many days since the start of work. Why hasn’t this girl eaten enough barbecue?

Will she really never get tired of it?

"No, no, no! How can I eat enough! Humph! I have taken time to learn from G36 these days! You know, there are many kinds of barbecue in the world!" SPAS-12 said excitedly, and was about to count on her fingers to introduce the types of barbecue to everyone.

Just when everyone was talking about what they wanted to eat in the evening, AR15 was suddenly interrupted by the vibration of her mobile phone or distracted.

AR15 took out her phone, looked down at the caller ID, and frowned immediately.

RO635?

Usually, M4 would take the initiative to call her when there was something going on. Even M16 rarely called her, and RO635 called her even less often.

Thinking of this, AR15 did not hesitate and answered the phone directly.

Bang bang bang!

Just after putting the phone receiver to her ear, AR15 was startled by the gunfire coming from RO635. "What's going on!? RO!?"

"AR15! We also met those Paradeus people you mentioned before! These guys are simply endless! And this place is still a lawless area! Do you have time? Send something to support us!"

As soon as AR15 answered, RO635 on the opposite side couldn’t wait to shout loudly.

If she didn’t shout, AR15 might not hear her over the gunfire and explosions around.

"Okay, I'll contact the commander and send a general situation over there!"

"What? Speak louder!? I can't hear clearly here!" Maybe AR15's voice wasn’t loud enough, and RO635 obviously didn't hear her clearly.

"RO? Is that RO? What are you doing over there? Come to our place tonight and have a barbecue together!" 

Just when AR15 was about to raise her voice to reply, SOP2 came over at some point, leaned next to AR15's phone, and shouted to RO635.

Obviously, SOP2 didn't realize what was going on with RO635, and just thought they were conducting some kind of exercise or fighting ELID-infected people.

After all, she had called M4 and her friends before and naturally knew there were no decent enemies around the New Griffin Base where M4 and her friends were located. Usually, they just patrolled and dealt with some ELID-infected people who occasionally came.

And because RO635 didn’t hear AR15’s words clearly, she was holding the phone tightly to her ear at this time, intending to listen carefully to AR15’s response, but she heard SOP2’s words that frightened her.

Barbecue! What!? Let's have a barbecue together tonight!?

At this moment, RO635 could even hear the sudden stop of her bionic heart, and cold sweat broke out all of a sudden!

"RO! What are you doing? What did AR15 say?!" M16, using the mini Jupiter cannon in her hand as a shield, jumped over from the bunker next to her and shouted to RO anxiously.

"She... SOP2 said we'll have barbecue together tonight..." RO635 was still in a daze from PTSD, and when she heard what M16 said, she responded subconsciously.

"Huh? Eating barbecue? What is this? What did you tell her! AR15? What did you just say to RO? Why is she so stupid now?"

"M16? Uh, SOP2 just called here to eat barbecue together tonight... Although it was well-intentioned, it probably hit RO’s sore spot."

"Eating barbecue? Isn't this normal?"

M16 glanced at RO who had not yet recovered from her shock with some confusion, while using her free hand to replace the magazine of her weapon and scratching her head with the empty magazine.

"Uh, that's just a joke... It's from a tokusatsu drama which RO likes to watch the most. The protagonist or supporting character went to eat barbecue before a certain plot..."

"Uh? So what?" M16 who still didn’t understand asked immediately.

"And most of the characters who ate barbecue never came back..."

"Oh...Okay, I understand..."

------

Chapter 112: Yesterday's Reappearance?

"Uh? Again? Griffin is so..."

HK416 wanted to say that Griffin was so embarrassing now but caught a glimpse of AR15's not-so-pleased expression at that moment and immediately held back the second half of the sentence.

Now, the remaining three members of the AR team are all with Griffin being surrounded by Paradeus. It's better not to say these words, otherwise, it might irritate AR15.

But then again, Griffin's current state is indeed a bit unbearable for HK416.

Thinking back to the past, Griffin was considered a world-famous security contractor and a leader in that industry.

But now it's getting worse day by day...

No, it can't be said like that.

It can only be said that the enemies Griffin has faced before and after are indeed a bit beyond the norm.

Whether it’s Sangvis Ferri Manufacturing, capable of mass-producing military-grade dolls and weapons, the military rebels from not long ago, or Paradeus, which has only appeared a few times, these are far from being enemies that a mere security contractor can handle.

The usual maintenance of public order and occasional special infiltration operations are fine for Griffin.

At least the tactical dolls transformed by IOP can handle such tasks.

But then...

Whether it’s Sangvis Ferri or the military, or even the current Paradeus, these are all unconventional opponents—whether it's the crazy firepower by Sangvis Ferri droids, the various heavy firepower from the military, or Paradeus using Force Shields and beam weapons at any time...

How can any security contractor deal with this?

G&K wasn’t completely dispersed thanks to the command of Gentiane and the help of Renault several times.

She doesn't know what’s wrong with security contractor G&K. This is obviously something that regular officials should get involved in, but Griffin and the dolls are always at the forefront, which makes people wonder if there is some unspeakable secret behind it.

After receiving the call from RO635, AR15 immediately called Renault and rushed back on the gunship.

After SOP2 figured out the situation, she naturally ran back with them, and her share of the work was naturally passed on to others.

Originally, UMP9 also wanted to join in the fun, but she was stopped by MG42 and the others, including the SCV.

What a joke! There was already a lot of work to do, and it was understandable that SOP2 left. The members of the AR team were waiting for her to go over and put out the fire, and you, UMP9, wanted to take advantage of the chaos and sneak away?

No way!

G11 who saw this scene, spread her hands and had no intention of helping at all.

Wouldn't it be better to stay at home?

She had been working non-stop for many days. Now, in addition to wanting to go back for a non-barbecue dinner, she just wanted to lie down and rest for a while.

Besides, there was no extra space on the gunship. After Renault agreed to AR15's request, Scarecrow and Renault had already started modifying the two gunships and two Goliaths.

Thanks to the modular design planned from the beginning, it was not difficult to add weapons and additional injection systems to Goliath, and this equipment was already prepared.

The only trouble was adding slide rails and locking buckles to the floor of the gunship and the top of the cabin, but that wasn’t a difficult task. Renault and Scarecrow were both veterans, and it took less than five minutes to get it done.

"Okay, it should be fine. It will definitely be able to handle this mission. If there’s any problem, just wait until you come back to fix it. And! Simonov! I’ll go with you in a while. Do you know how to do it?"

Renault clapped his hands and said, then turned around and stared at Simonov, who was tiptoeing to climb into the driver's seat.

Gu!

Hearing what Renault said, Simonov froze and subconsciously wanted to cover her stomach with both hands.

Of course, she didn’t have a stomachache, but just hid a little something in her stomach.

Well, a little something. She put on a flight jacket to look more handsome, but wasn’t it just to be able to sneak something in?

Besides, she didn’t get drunk every time! She was not like A-91, okay? And it was just a few sips, which didn’t affect anything at all!

Unfortunately, she only dared to mention this in her neural core a few times. If she went against Renault at this time... Tsk tsk, she might be stuffed into the training device again and not be able to get out.

So how did she pass the advanced flight driving test? It was all blood, sweat, and tears!

Two Goliaths, equipped with heavy armor, and the two pilots AR15 and HK416 who went with them, would sit in the cockpit of the Goliath in advance and not occupy the only remaining position on the gunship.

This way, the two gunships can carry five people—two co-pilot seats and three gunner seats. The new gunship has only one gunner position because it only has one Concord gun, unlike the previous gunship, which needed to control several machine guns and two tank guns.

Although the number of weapons has been reduced, the power is not much less. At most, it can’t carry out fixed-point attacks at dangerous distances.

Among the remaining five people, in addition to Renault and SOP2, UL-Nurse, CAWS, and Renate, who just changed their bodies, are also brought.

As for why CAWS, Renate, and UL-Nurse, a non-combatant, are brought?

Naturally, CAWS and Renate are to be tested in actual combat to see how much the difference between the two sides' bodies is.

Although there are theoretical values, actual tests are still necessary.

UL-Nurse naturally has to stay on the gunship to monitor the physical conditions of the two.

"Commander, you don’t have to go in person this time, right? We can just call UMP45." HK416 frowned as she watched Renault put on his patched coat.

It’s not like there are other dolls at home now.

Renault can’t go with her every time she goes on a mission, right?

This is not good, very bad. If it happens too many times, other dolls will definitely become lazier and lazier!

The boss works every day, but his subordinates sit at home eating and drinking all day? Is this reasonable?

"No, I'll just go exercise and try out new toys."

"Toys?" Hearing this, HK416 raised her eyebrows and looked at the Goliath robot behind him.

Can this big mech only be regarded as a toy in Renault's eyes?

Obviously, HK416 misunderstood Renault's meaning. Although these two modified Goliaths are indeed just toys in his eyes, what he meant wasn't the Goliath but some small items he carries with him

.

After AR15 and HK416 entered the cockpit of the Goliath, Renault and the others also entered the gunship, and Scarecrow immediately began to direct AR15 and the others into the engine room of the gunship.

It was impossible to enter standing, so they had to squat and slowly lean until the buckle in front of the Goliath fuselage was fixed in the slide rail on the floor of the gunship cabin.

It took less than ten minutes to install the propulsion device and weapons on the Goliath and to secure the slide rail and lock on the gunship, but it took AR15 and HK416 nearly a quarter of an hour just to enter the gunship cabin.

By the time the gunship took off, it had been half an hour since RO called AR15.

Their current location was not close to Griffin's new base, with a straight-line distance of nearly 2,500 kilometers, not to mention that they had to bypass several air defense zones on the way, so they had to take a long detour.

By the time they arrived, two hours might have passed. Could M4 and the others hold out for another two hours?

AR15 was really unsure, because, according to what M16 said, the Paradeus that Gentiane and the others encountered this time was not the same as the Paradeus that Renault faced. There were only some light infantry and "jumpers" equipped with mobile devices, codenamed Rodeleros in Paradeus.

M16 seemed to have encountered a large mecha, similar to the military's Minotaurus. Not only was it equipped with a Force Shield generator, but its firepower was even higher than that of the military's Minotaurus.

When she thought of this, even AR15 couldn't help but sigh. Griffin must have been unlucky. Otherwise, they would have been torn to pieces by the military rebels and then encountered Paradeus, whose armament level appeared almost the same as the military's.

"Hold on tight! There may be a little bump in a while!" Simonov said, pushing the propeller of the gunship engine to its maximum.

The gunship, which was originally at normal cruising speed, instantly began to accelerate!

In just a few seconds, Simonov and SPAS-12 pushed the gunship to its maximum speed, and it began to tremble violently.

Fortunately, the parts inside the gunship were very strong, and the slight vibration caused no other side effects except for making the dolls a little irritated.

However, this violent turbulence was barely enough for CAWS and Renate to endure. Although it wasn't Renate's first time on a gunship, the violent turbulence now nearly made her vomit.

CAWS wasn't much better. She gripped the seatbelt tightly with both hands and closed her eyes with a sullen face. She was afraid that if she opened her eyes, she'd see the scenery outside the window. If that happened, she'd probably vomit immediately.

Neither of them noticed that UL-Nurse had been paying attention to their physical and mental conditions.

Although it was a real-life test, it was obvious that UL-Nurse's observation and monitoring of the two had already begun as soon as they sat in their respective seats. Presumably, the discomfort the two felt from the violent shaking of the gunship would soon be noted in UL-Nurse's report.

---

---

---

"It's like yesterday all over again! Why do we always have to encounter such outrageous and out-of-scope people!" Gentiane grabbed her hair and shouted angrily.

Isn't this the same as before?! At first, they couldn't beat Sangvis Ferri, so they called in Renault, but now they can't beat Paradeus, so they have to call Renault again! Did she come to Griffin just to be Renault's pager?!

Although she wanted to set Renault aside and fight the Paradeus without care, she was the commander and couldn't—and wouldn't—allow herself to do such irrational things. This was no different from allowing the dolls under her command to commit suicide!

"It seems you're in some trouble, Commander Gentiane."

Just when Gentiane was annoyed, Havier's communication suddenly rang from the combat command room.

Hearing Havier's voice, Gentiane was not happy at all, but a little angry. "You'd better explain clearly, where did these guys with weapons more advanced than the regular army come from? Some of them have Force Shields, and they're equipped with large mechas! What is Griffin's intelligence department doing?!"

To be honest, such a large-scale enemy force, whether in terms of mobilization or transfer, would definitely make a lot of noise. Whether it's IOP or Griffin's intelligence department, there's absolutely no reason they wouldn't notice such a large-scale personnel transfer!

What's more, the enemy also has mechas, which are completely prohibited items. How could these things move freely around her new jurisdiction without her realizing it until the battle started?

This kind of thing! I'm afraid the intelligence department is just venting with their nostrils!

"This is indeed our negligence, but don't worry. I have contacted the people at Svarog Heavy Industry, and they will provide a large-scale electromagnetic pulse bombing in ten minutes." Havier spoke confidently, not worried that Svarog Heavy Industry would let him down.

"Electromagnetic... Wait! How far is the effective range of this bombing?!"

After hearing this news, Gentiane did not feel relieved. Instead, she frowned and asked Havier cautiously.

This issue concerns the dolls under her command, so she had to be cautious.

"Don't worry, the effective range isn't large, and this is a targeted fixed-point bombing. There’s no need to worry that your dolls will be hit together with others."

"It better be!" Gentiane heard this but still had doubts in her heart.

After all, many troops had entered into close combat with Paradeus. The bombing from the sky would be offset by a decimal point or half a second slower.

At that point, it would definitely not only be Paradeus suffering serious attacks. The dolls under her command would definitely be affected, and the impact would be significant.

Havier already mentioned that it would be a fixed-point bombing to target Paradeus, but he didn't say that those bombings wouldn't affect the dolls under her command.

Besides, Havier mentioned that it was an electromagnetic pulse bombing, or in other words, an EMP attack.

If this attack affects the dolls fighting Paradeus, they might not be able to wait for Renault's reinforcements. At least, the dolls under her command currently have no means of resisting EMP attacks.

------

Chapter 113: Everyone Has It! Only We Don’t!

"Why haven’t AR15 and the others arrived yet?" After repelling several Paradeus shooters who rushed forward, RO635 retreated to the bunker, looked at the sky, and muttered with some anxiety.

"Well, Renault and the others must be hiding somewhere. Conservatively speaking, we’ll have to wait for about half an hour?" M16 scratched her head.

Before this, when she was chatting with AR15 and SOP2 on the phone, M16 hadn't deliberately asked AR15 where they were.

After all, this kind of thing is generally not something that can be casually brought up, right?

"Half an hour!? In half an hour, we’ll have used up all the ammunition we have! If those guys still can’t break through the defense line..."

To be honest, Griffin's current base has a lot of weapons and ammunition stored, thanks to Kalina's hamster habits and her exaggerated rhetoric. She managed to get a lot of equipment from IOP to arm the dolls.

Of course, she still has her small business, and she usually takes advantage of the dolls.

As for the ammunition Kalina has stored, under normal circumstances, this amount of ammunition would be enough for all the dolls in the base to go out and fight a small-scale war.

After all, Kalina had faced the Sangvis Ferri army before, and after dealing with a large number of enemies, she was about to develop PTSD.

It’s a pity that this time, they are not facing Sangvis Ferri or the iron lumps of the military, but the Paradeus enemies equipped with small Force Shields.

Even the easiest shooters among the Paradeus combat units were equipped with the lowest level of Force Shields. Although their protective capabilities were completely incomparable to the Force Shields of the Rodelero and Doppelsoldners, they still made a difference.

Even when bullets hit them, the outline of the Force Shield wasn’t clearly visible, but the low-level Force Shield still played a role, turning those Strelets—who could be knocked down with a single shot—into enemies who would take at least two or three shots to fall.

In this case, the only one who shared RO635’s concerns was Gentiane. She was now standing in the combat command room, slapping the table helplessly. "What the heck! Why are all these guys equipped with Force Shields? Don’t Force Shields cost money!?"

Even the military wasn’t rich enough to install Force Shields on every military doll, yet these Paradeus guys who appeared out of nowhere all had one!

Even the lowest-level shooters had force shields! Although it was only the lowest-level version, it was still much better than the bulletproof vest she was wearing!

"Persica! Persica! When can you get this thing out and put it on the dolls?!"

When the situation was stable, it became a habit for Gentiane to argue with Persica, and Persica was indeed a little anxious.

Of course, it wasn’t because Gentiane was urging her, but because she was also in the base! If those Paradeus guys really broke in, who knew if she, as a researcher, would still be alive?

In fact, before following Gentiane here, Persica had considered the safety issue. But at that time, there were both Sangvis Ferri and military rebels. After bouncing between the two, she decided that staying in the city of the Green Zone wasn’t necessarily completely safe.

Instead of staying in a city where agents might be lurking everywhere, it would be better to build a new laboratory directly in Gentiane's base.

Besides, the previous incident had come to an end. The rebels had gone into hiding, and Sangvis Ferris had been almost wiped out. Also, the location of Griffin’s new base wasn’t dangerous, even though it was close to the yellow zone.

But according to Griffin’s remaining strength, dealing with some ordinary ELID-infected people wasn’t a problem. So, Gentiane’s base was undoubtedly a very safe place.

Who would have thought? No military rebels, no agents to follow, no boss to constantly urge the progress of work, and it was even more unlikely for ELID-infected people to break into the base...

But something happened! These Paradeus enemies seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, surrounding Griffin’s base!

There were a large number of them, fierce firepower, and even a Force Shield generator on each person!

Could these guys be enemies from the future who traveled through time and space!?

Now that Gentiane had shouted like that, Persica couldn’t hold back anymore. "How should I know?! Can you at least bring me some samples!?"

"Then tell me what the force shield generator looks like!"

"How should I know! I haven’t seen those guys' equipment! Can’t you just find a device like the force shield and bring it back? It’s not like no dolls have used it before!"

There were indeed a few dolls equipped with the Force Shield, but the number was too small compared to the total number of dolls under Gentiane’s command.

Moreover, when the Force Shield is activated, it not only consumes a lot of energy but also causes the doll body equipped with the shield to overheat, which can only last for a short period.

Persica hadn’t studied the Force Shield in depth. The Force Shields equipped by those dolls were all developed by other researchers within IOP, and most of the dolls' Force Shields were built into their bodies and couldn’t be seen from the outside.

If the Force Shields used by Paradeus are also built-in... then I’m afraid I can only bring back a few knocked-down shooters directly...

Rodeleros are of course, a different story, but those guys are often the focus of machine gun and rifle dolls' concentrated fire. After a few seconds of appearing, they’ll be pierced by a large number of armor-piercing bullets and shot into a sieve.

The weapons in these guys' hands are really too threatening. Once one or two Rodelero soldiers rush to the front, it won’t be enough to knock down just one or two dolls...but high-energy beams equipped by these units are likely to take down an entire line of dolls in a short time!

"You said that!?"

After hearing what Gentiane said, Persica came back to her senses and rolled her eyes, speechless. "Yes, yes! I said it!"

But for now, the research on the Force Shield must be put aside for later. Her main job now was to set up the third Heavy Ordinance Corp and send them into battle immediately.

The previous BGM-71 team and the 2B14 mortar team that were sent out not long ago are now doing their best to suppress the large Doppelsoldner mechas.

Five Doppelsoldner mechas have been destroyed, but in the distance, there are still several Doppelsoldner mechas suppressing the defense line with their firepower.

Fortunately, the attack from these Paradeus forces is relatively disorganized, and their appearance one after another is making them a bit anxious.

But it is precisely because of this that the dolls can hold on.

Otherwise, if the Paradeus forces were organized and the Rodeleros formed a cluster to attack the front line of the base, the dolls on Griffin's side might not have time to engage these foes.

When the high-energy beam weapons sweep over, the simple bunkers that have just been built in front of the base will be easily obliterated.

Without the bunkers to rely on, the dolls can't stand in the open field against the Paradeus shooters for an evenly matched duel.

Besides, this is not a battle of equal strength, and Griffin is really at a disadvantage.

"Don't they have enough bullets?!" FNC hid behind the bunker and shouted in a state of collapse. While shouting, she stuffed snacks into her mouth.

Looking at the packaging bags, it was obvious that this girl had sneaked them out of the warehouse.

"The weapons they use are particle weapons similar to those of Sangvis! Of course, they can't run out of ammo! And FNC, why are you still eating at this time?!"

"You have to eat now! If you don't eat now, you won't have a chance later!"

"Bullets!? Are there any bullets left?? And the barrel! The replacement barrel..." As the dull sound of M2HB's gun stopped, M2HB shouted loudly, but the two dolls beside her had fallen, and now there was no assistant shooter or ammunition bearer to help her pass the ammo belt.

"Tsk!"

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Just as M2HB bent down and pulled out the new ammo box from under the doll, a series of dull roars sounded directly from her side!

It was a doll team she had never seen before, but the weapons in their hands did not look like the ones dolls often use. Instead, it was a... grenade launcher?

When did Griffin get this? Oh! It must be something that Persica made again!

Boom boom boom!

The roar of grenade explosions soon sounded from a distance. Although the armor-piercing ability and the effect against the Force Shields were not ideal, this level of power was just right for dealing with those seemingly endless shooters and Rodeleros! Not a waste at all!

……

"The detector has responded. It can be confirmed that it is the combat unit of Paradeus."

"Where is the command center?"

"Cannot be confirmed. They used a different communication method than before."

Renate frowned and looked at the silent communication signal detection. "It is also possible that the combat units did not communicate at all."

"Well, looking at the messy attack methods of those guys, this possibility cannot be ruled out," CAWS added, looking at the dense enemy symbols on the detector. She couldn't help but purse her lips.

Although she was not sure whether the number of Paradeus units here was as many as when they attacked the industrial park before, she was sure that the number had definitely reached four digits.

The number of units alone was enough to rival an expanded battalion-level battle group, especially if the combat effectiveness of the Paradeus units and the large mechas mixed in those units was taken into account.

This scale of combat force would have no problem fighting a small-scale war.

Could Griffin actually hold out for more than an hour under this level of attack?

She have to admit that CAWS had underestimated Griffin before. She had only thought that Griffin was just an ordinary security contractor. Now, it seems that calling them a large-scale mercenary group is not enough to describe Griffin's combat effectiveness.

"First, lock on those heavy armored units of Paradeus, and immediately deploy Goliath when they reach the war zone."

Hearing what Renault said, AR15 and HK416 nodded. It seemed that they were asked to deal with those mechas...

"You two should destroy those Paradeus infantry units as soon as possible, and leave those mechas to the gunship. SOP2, do you know how to use the gunship's artillery?"

"Of course! Leave it to me!" SOP2 patted her chest confidently and said.

Although she also wanted to rush down to support M4 and the others as soon as possible, the efficiency of rushing down by herself and using artillery support from the gunship was obviously not at the same level.

"Eh? Will I have to control the machine gun later? I'm medical staff," UL-Nurse spoke helplessly at this time, because she was sitting in the gunner's position on the gunship.

CAWS was next to her, and Renate was sitting in the co-pilot seat.

"Ah, don't be nervous. From a biological point of view, the Paradeus below are all dead, so there’s no need to have any psychological burden. What's more, you just need to make sure that the crosshairs of the aiming system lock the enemy, then pull the trigger, just like playing a game," Renate turned back with a smile, as if to comfort UL-Nurse.

Hearing this, UL-Nurse did feel a little eager to try, but she still pulled the corner of her mouth speechlessly. She had to focus on the biological data of Renate and CAWS.

As a result, she really had to change careers and play a cameo as a gunner.

Life in Renault is really colorful...

Just when Griffin's dolls were busy dealing with the enemy, two gunships appeared in the airspace above the Griffin base with a deafening roar.

The two gunships almost dived down to the battlefield on the ground!

SPAS-12 held the control stick, and there was already cold sweat on her forehead. She didn't expect Simonov in front of her to do this. Although they hadn't discussed it beforehand, she could only follow her now.

Fortunately, this was not a real dive bombing, and the gunship was not a winged aircraft. Although it felt a little scary, according to Simonov's oral instructions, SPAS-12 slowly reduced the speed of the gunship.

After the flight speed reached the safety threshold, the tail hatches of the two gunships opened almost at the same time.

The two Goliaths in them had also released the locks on the slide rails. CAWS and SOP2 on the two gunships also pushed the two Goliaths respectively.

There was no time to install the electric ejection equipment, so now they could only launch them manually.

As the two gunships passed over the war zone, two huge black shadows fell directly from the sky above M4 and the others!

To avoid deviation from the landing point, the additional jet system installed behind the Goliaths had been activated.

Under the deceleration of the jet system, the two Goliaths fell vertically from a height of hundreds of meters!

Boom!

"This is AR15 and HK416, support has arrived, and the battlefield data is being synchronized."

---

Chapter 114: Refund the Money! Must Refund the Money!

Griffin's communication protocol is very familiar to AR15 and HK416, and Renault has also reserved a compatible port for the communication protocol for Goliath.

In fact, before AR15 spoke, the Goliath controlled by the two had already started data synchronization with the Griffin communication protocol.

The thrusters installed on the back of Goliath blew over a group of Paradeus shooters around, and at the moment of landing, the 30mm machine guns equipped on both sides of the body were immediately activated, pointing at the most threatening Rodelero soldiers in the two people's shooting range.

Although the caliber is still 30mm, the same as the machine guns used in the previous power armor, this machine gun is not the old one that Renault bought before to save trouble, but one that Renault made himself.

Brand new, 30mm caliber, combined with magnetic rail acceleration technology and a new charge, the power of this machine gun far exceeds that of the old machine guns on the power exoskeleton armor.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The dull sound of machine guns rang out instantly! There was also a faint sound of electric current flowing, but it was covered up.

"Wuhu! Haha! That's it! Blow all these bastards into pieces!"

Seeing the two Goliaths below, opening fire like a broom and sweeping away a large area of Paradeus swordsmen and shooters, SOP2 immediately jumped into the gunner's position, patted the console, and tried to start the Concord artillery on the gunship.

"Don't be in a hurry! Take it easy!" Seeing SOP2's rough movements, Simonov shouted helplessly and at the same time strimprint out her hand to start the transformation program of the gunship, allowing the artillery under the gunship to be deployed.

"The targets are those mechas, and the other targets are left to Goliath. Understood?" Seeing SOP2's excited look, Renault had to speak up to warn her so she wouldn’t waste artillery shells on those ordinary Strelets later.

"Yeah, I understand!"

Although she agreed quickly, SOP2 still had some regrets. It was obvious that she preferred to use artillery to bombard those ordinary Paradeus shooters rather than attacking those Doppelsoldner mechas.

...

...

...

"Tsk, it's on time. This is much faster than the bombing from Svarog Heavy Industry," M16 said, looking at the two Goliaths that were wreaking havoc among the Paradeus unit group not far away.

Although Gentiane had mentioned before that IOP had contacted Svarog Heavy Industry, and they could provide a certain degree of air support, they still didn't know what kind of support it would be. At least the speed wasn't on the same level. Two hours had passed since Gentiane mentioned this matter, and there was no sign of the plane.

Instead, Renault, whom they contacted, appeared on the battlefield first.

As she spoke, M16 patted M4's shoulder and said, "Okay, don’t be so nervous. Since AR15 and the others are here, there won’t be any problems."

After M16 said this, she was also stunned. She didn’t know when she had started to feel that Renault was extremely reliable, as if once Renault appeared, there would be no accidents.

But the fact seemed to be true. Whenever Renault and the others appeared on the battlefield, no matter what the combat target was, Renault seemed to have never failed.

Although in M16’s opinion, the heavy firepower that Renault had at hand accounted for at least half of the success factors, but... he had it anyway...

Unlike Griffin, who didn’t have everything they wanted... Even if they equipped heavy firepower, they had to go through various complicated reviews from different departments.

M16 remembered that a few years ago, Griffin was even reviewed by Statesec because they equipped dolls with high-performance armor-piercing bullets. Later, when the dolls were equipped with heavy machine guns and the shotgun dolls with external armor plates, there were several reviews.

Although Kryuger had managed to fool them each time through his connections with the military, when the military rebels tried to capture Kryuger before, wasn't it under the guise of illegal doll modification?

It was obvious that the doll modifications had all been done by IOP, and they couldn’t do anything to IOP. However, they ended up pointing their guns at Kryuger, a major tactical doll customer of IOP.

This also showed that it wasn’t easy for Griffin to equip some heavy firepower equipment, just like the single-soldier Jupiter cannon she had been holding. Unless she was really in a crisis that could completely destroy the AR team, her root protocol agreements prohibited her from using this equipment that she never leaves with at will.

Persica... set the activation conditions a bit too harsh...

Of course, not all the root protocols were set by Persica, and some of them came from Statesec...

"Huh, it's safe now. Although I don’t want to complain, our luck is a bit too bad, right? Do those Paradeus guys have to make such a big fuss?"

"They should be droid units like Sangvis Ferri. Their way of acting is a bit like droid dolls..." M4 sat on the ammunition box and let out a long breath.

After fighting for several hours, at least thousands of these Paradeus combat units had been destroyed, which is still a small number, not counting the Paradeus that were bombed by heavy firepower.

But after several hours of fighting, M4 felt that the barrel of her imprint weapon was about to be scrapped. After continuous long-term shooting, she felt that what she was holding was not an assault rifle, but a machine gun.

However, her situation probably wasn’t the most serious. After all, her hit rate was relatively high, and most of her shots were landing on the heads of the shooters and Rodelero soldiers.

The ones who suffered the most were the echelons of machine gun dolls. Even though Gentiane had made arrangements in advance based on the losses of each machine gun doll, there were still several instances when the machine gun teams failed to fire.

"Droid units... That being said, these guys are very likely not dolls..." M4 and RO may not have noticed, but M16 didn’t ignore the fallen Paradeus.

Although these Paradeus combat units had protective clothing, shields, and even some light armor, when the bullets tore through their bodies, M16 could feel that a large part of them was still flesh and blood.

Though it might sound outrageous, M16 couldn’t shake the feeling. It was completely different from the usual training target shooting.

"No?"

"Hmm? Why? Didn’t you two take a good look at the information AR15 sent you? Aren’t there close-up pictures of the Rodelero...?"

Before M16 could finish speaking, she noticed the blank expressions on M4 and RO’s faces.

Clearly, neither of them had looked carefully at the information. After receiving the message, they had been busy talking to AR15 and merely glanced at the information before passing it on to Gentiane.

"If it’s not deleted..."

"M16, how’s the situation over there? If possible, try to get closer to the base. The bombing from Svarog Heavy Industry is coming soon."

Just as M16 was about to make the two take a closer look at the photos, Gentiane’s voice came through the communication protocol.

Although Renault and the others' support surprised her, Gentiane quickly realized it was likely summoned by M4 and the others. After all, AR15 was leading the charge, so it made sense.

However, support was one thing, but the bombing from Svarog Heavy Industry couldn’t be canceled. Havier had no good solution. The bomber’s fuel was already accounted for, and if the bomber didn’t drop the electromagnetic pulse bombs installed in the fuselage, they might run into trouble on the return trip.

The pilots of Svarog Heavy Industry weren’t going to risk their lives for such a mission.

And it was just an electromagnetic pulse bomb. These things would only burn some nearby electrical appliances at most. There was no harm to humans, and no pollution would occur.

"I understand, but what about AR15?" Hearing Gentiane’s voice, M4 responded immediately, still with some concern.

After all, AR15 and the others were still on the battlefield, and the bombing from Svarog Heavy Industry might affect them...

"Don’t worry, we’ve already notified them. Renault came in person this time. He just said there’s no problem, so don’t worry about them."

"Okay, let’s withdraw first. Boss Renault really has some amazing equipment. He’s not afraid of even this kind of bombing." M16 strimprint out her hand to pull the two up, gazing at the two gunships attacking the Doppelsoldner mechs in the distance with amazement.

She hadn’t expected Renault to come in person this time...

...

"Cease fire first, and we’ll talk after the bombing." Renault sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, halted the attack from the two gunners, SOP2 and CAWS, after receiving the reminder from Gentiane.

As for the amateur gunner UL-Nurse? This girl had done nothing from the start.

The machine guns mounted on the two Goliaths were more than enough to deal with those ordinary infantry, and there was no need for the machine guns on the gunships to support them. Besides, they were facing the Doppelsoldner mechas with large Force Shields.

The machine gun shells didn’t have much effect. Of course, if the machine guns on the Goliaths had been replaced, it would have been different. The weapons on the gunship piloted by SPAS-12 hadn’t been updated yet; they were still using the previous inventory.

Why stop the firepower? Of course, to save shells and prevent the electromagnetic pulse from Svarog Heavy Industry from firing and directly burning the Paradeus combat units. Wouldn’t that waste a lot of ammunition in advance?

Of course, the two Goliaths couldn’t stop. They were relatively close to Griffin’s position, and once they stopped, the remaining Paradeus Strelets and Rodeleros could likely rush directly into the defense line.

A few dozen seconds later, as all the dolls retreated to the defense line at the gate of Griffin Base as per Gentiane’s order, the bombers from Svarog Heavy Industry arrived on schedule.

Gentiane in the combat command room for a long time, finally had a chance to relax. But as soon as she did, she suddenly felt dizzy because she had been standing for too long.

But it wasn’t time to rest yet, not until all the Paradeus units had fallen.

"Commander... about the cost of this bombing..."

Before Gentiane could let her mind slow down, Kalina’s words, like the whisper of a devil, suddenly rang in her ears.

Though the voice wasn’t loud, to Gentiane at that moment, it felt as though a huge bell was ringing in her ears.

"Expense... expense...? Wait... Havier! I have to pay for the bombing from Svarog Heavy Industry myself?!" Thinking of this, Gentiane jumped up from her seat, disregarding any rest. She felt a surge of blood rush to her head!

"I’m afraid so... And don’t forget Mr. Renault’s dispatch fee..."

That money-grubbing man! He would definitely take this opportunity to get a lot of money from them!

Kalina grumbled in her heart, her little face scrunching up next to Gentiane’s.

What was the difference between Gentiane’s wallet being emptied and her own? Anyway, Gentiane’s money would end up in her pocket!

It was happening now! First, there was the cost of the bombing by Svarog Heavy Industries... the cost of dispatching the bomber, the personnel costs, fuel costs, and the dozen or so EMP bombs that had just been dropped...

Apart from bankruptcy, Kalina couldn’t think of any other possibilities.

Bankruptcy meant no money, and no money meant no equipment, ammunition, or supplies... The dolls at home would go hungry. Not only that, without ammunition and equipment, they couldn’t get new jobs, and without new jobs, they’d have no money...

It was a vicious cycle!

Bang! Bang!

The EMP bombs didn’t make much noise when they exploded, at least not as loud as the Goliath mechs driven by AR15 and HK416 when they landed.

The explosion from the EMP bomb was also quite inconspicuous. There was a dull blast at the start and a little smoke and dust, but otherwise, the EMP bombs seemed like duds.

There was no fire, no shockwave...

But the effect... was equally ineffective!

Gentiane who expected to see Paradeus combat units falling down like wheat being harvested, can only stare wide-eyed and even rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

This scene was truly outrageous... These Paradeus units... completely ignored the electromagnetic pulses, just like Renault and the others!

What was the principle behind this?

No! Now was not the time to dwell on this! The important thing was that these electromagnetic pulse bombs had no effect at all!

So much money was spent for nothing! In the end, they just heard a few muffled sounds!?

"Havier! Come out! Tell Svarog Heavy Industries to refund the money! Refund the money! Refund the money!"

Gentiane shouted directly, and Kalina beside her even joined in, speaking up to echo Gentiane.

-----

Chapter 115: Take it Out

"Ah, this..."

To be honest, Havier had never expected this to happen.

He had thought of several scenarios after the bombing. It could have been that, after the bombing, Griffin's dolls were still evenly matched with those from Paradeus, or it could have been that Gentia had commanded the dolls to avoid the collateral damage from the bombing and switched to a defensive position...

But he never expected this to happen... The electromagnetic pulse bomb, specially developed by Svarog Heavy Industry, was actually ineffective?

This is obviously a bit outrageous because this is not a test product that just came out of the laboratory. The combat effectiveness of these electromagnetic pulse bombs had been tested in actual combat. As long as the equipment on the battlefield was hit by one, it had never been able to continue operating within the range of the electromagnetic pulse bomb.

When the military had besieged Griffin before, he had asked Svarog Heavy Industry if this device could be used to attack the military rebels. Even if Griffin’s situation wasn’t optimistic, it would definitely be much better than it was now.

But unfortunately, Svarog Heavy Industry had rejected his proposal without hesitation. Obviously, not everyone is willing or able to intervene in such an incident as blatantly as IOP.

This time, because Paradeus had nothing to do with the military, Svarog Heavy Industry had naturally agreed.

But he didn’t expect the electromagnetic pulse bomb, which was considered invincible during the Third World War, to fail this time...

"Wait! Wait! What money do you want to return? I haven’t even collected your money yet!?" Havier’s thoughts were churning in his head. He finally came to his senses and roared at the two people causing trouble.

Seeing Havier was angry, Gentiane and Kalina immediately looked away and pretended that nothing had happened.

This was Griffin’s main financial sponsor. If they really pissed this old man off and cut off all the logistics supplies to the base, the two of them might have to consider changing jobs.

But if they change jobs, what jobs could they find? Jobs these days aren’t so easy to come by, especially for Griffin’s front-line combat commanders.

It would be almost impossible to find a similar position with other security contractors because only Griffin had started using a large number of tactical dolls produced by IOP.

Even if other security contractors had dolls among their combatants, the numbers were never large.

Because they didn’t have a license, Kryuger got G&K’s permission through his own connections.

And now, as the main force of Griffin, the dolls led by Gentiane were almost the only remaining force of Griffin, the security contractor.

Fortunately, the neural data of the dolls were all intact, and those dolls lost in the previous rebel encirclement and suppression could soon be rebuilt and brought under Gentiane’s command.

Of course, it would cost money...

Sometimes, Gentiane couldn’t figure out what kind of business Havier was doing. Most of the funds for this Griffin base were provided by Havier, but this old man still charged money for selling doll bodies to them.

Giving money while collecting money, in the end, it was nothing more than transferring money from one hand to the other... What was the point of this?

Gentiane always felt confused about the reason, but since it had nothing to do with her as a worker, she threw these messy thoughts out of her mind for the time being and focused her attention back on the Paradeus forces.

It must be said that the electromagnetic pulse bombs from Svarog Heavy Industry weren’t completely ineffective. Gentiane had actually noticed the slight difference between the electromagnetic pulse bombs before and after they were detonated.

The surprise, however, was very small—so small that it could easily be overlooked. The Paradeus combat units, who had been fearless in the face of gunfire and rain of bullets, when hit by electromagnetic pulse bombs, experienced a slight delay in their movements of less than half a second.

If you didn’t look carefully, you wouldn’t notice the difference at all. In addition, the speed at which those Paradeus Strelets fell was significantly increased compared to before.

The Paradeus shooters, who originally fell within two or three meters of the machine gun shell explosion range, were now having their combat uniforms and helmets torn apart by explosions at a distance of five meters.

Their Force Shields were ineffective!

When she thought of this, Gentiane’s eyes lit up. However, she looked at the Griffin dolls that had withdrawn to the base defense line and felt conflicted. She shook her head helplessly.

Now was not the time to show off and compete with Renault and the others for credit. Not to mention that these Paradeus forces were completely unprovoked disasters for her—how could she claim any credit?

The dolls’ ammunition and energy were seriously depleted. In this situation, regardless of the actual circumstances, it was obviously not a wise choice to rashly order the dolls to launch a counterattack.

What’s more... AR15 and HK416 didn’t need any support at all...

The two Goliaths that had been reinforced and modified by Renault were a complete dimensionality reduction attack against these Strelet and Rodelero warriors with only light armor. Combined with the already impressive shooting skills of the two and the aiming system equipped on the Goliaths, this battle might not last more than a few minutes.

Of course, this was under the condition that no other reinforcements from Paradeus arrived afterward. Otherwise, even if AR15 and HK416 used up all their ammunition reserves, they might not be able to stop these Paradeus forces.

Fortunately, SPAS-12 and Simonov had seen it clearly from the sky.

"Those giant Doppelsoldner behind should be the last of them. Commander, should we go find out where Paradeus' base is?"

Sitting in the co-pilot seat, Renate asked Renault after confirming that there were no more Paradeus units except the Doppelsoldner.

"No rush. Since we’re here, let’s clean this place up first." Renault raised his eyelids and waved his hand helplessly.

Originally, he had come out with them this time because he planned to find a few good targets to try out the curved light battle blade he had just made.

But the Paradeus forces below were either small minions or giants like the Doppelsoldner. It wasn’t that he couldn’t cut down the Doppelsoldner, but it felt wasteful to use the psionic energy he had finally recovered on these mechas that could be destroyed by tank rounds.

When he first heard that Gentiane was besieged by Paradeus, Renault had assumed that there must be one or two high-level Paradeus command units among these combat units.

But now it seemed there were obviously no such units. Even if there were, they were probably not very advanced. The combat command of these Paradeus forces was truly lacking.

After sitting on the gunship for more than an hour, Renault’s excitement had long passed, and the eagerness he had felt after recovering his strength gradually subsided

.

He didn’t have the energy to jump out of the gunship and chop down those Paradeus forces with the warp blade. Instead, he quickly asked CAWS and SOP2 to fire a few more shells. Once those Doppelsoldner were dealt with, the job would be done.

Of course, the most important point was that he hadn’t discussed remuneration with Gentiane before accepting this mission, and he estimated that Gentiane wouldn’t be able to offer any.

Gentiane was not Helian. Now that Griffin’s scale had shrunk sharply and there were only a few people left, there was no need for an agent to help with stuff. Therefore, all the issues related to funds were handled by Kryuger himself, and Gentiane didn’t have the authority to freely take out funds to hire Renault.

"By the way, the bomber that just flew over our heads should belong to the old owner of ME79, right?"

UL-Nurse looked at the Doppelsoldner mechas that were hit by Concord's artillery and tank guns one by one, tilted her head, and recalled, "Yeah, Svarog Heavy Industries, I don’t know how much money they spent on this sortie. Their bombing doesn’t seem to be very effective."

Listening to the conversation between UL-Nurse and Renate, CAWS, who had been controlling two tank guns, was sweating all over.

Controlling two turrets at the same time was really exhausting. It wasn't because the aiming system was difficult to use, but when SPAS-12 drove the gunship, the fuselage’s vibration amplitude was large. Although the aiming system could be fine-tuned, SPAS-12 obviously hadn’t taken into account that CAWS was a novice.

Fortunately, the first time CAWS had to face it, the enemy wasn’t an ordinary-sized unit, but a huge Paradeus mecha nearly ten meters high.

"Ha! These Paradeus mechas! Compared with our Goliath, they are just large toys! They are too slow! Even with a Force Shield, these guys are still just targets!" SOP2 didn’t have the trouble of not being able to hit accurately.

Because Simonov controlled the gunship very well, even though the gunship was still moving, SOP2 didn’t feel any turbulence at all.

Simonov sitting in the driver's seat didn’t even focus on driving. This smooth driving had now become second nature to her.

Even though Simonov had only one hand on the rudder, and even though alcohol was constantly churning in her stomach, it didn’t affect the stable flight of the gunship at all.

The subsequent support from the Doppelsoldner mechas was not affected by the recent electromagnetic pulse. The force shield generators on their bodies were still operating normally, and there was no effect on the Concord artillery used by SOP2. The Doppelsoldner’s force shield was still like paper.

But CAWS faced more trouble. Even though the shells were armor-piercing, the force shield reduced their penetration power by half. Often, nothing would happen after one shot. The second shot would damage the mecha's armor, and the third shot could destroy it.

Due to CAWS’s unskilled skills and SPAS-12’s rough driving, it took an average of four shells to destroy a Doppelsoldner.

As a result, CAWS’s efficiency was directly surpassed by SOP2, and it consumed a lot of shells.

In fact, only a little over ten Doppelsoldner had been destroyed, and CAWS had only destroyed a small half of them.

Now, more than ten Doppelsoldner were coming to support. At this scale, with proper command, even the military would have been overwhelmed, let alone Griffin.

But who would have thought that with so many Paradeus combat units, no commander with any brains was sent out? Instead, they were carelessly pushed in front of Griffin like discarded trash.

It can’t be said that there’s no plan, only that there was no brain at all...

When the Doppelsoldner mecha was first designed, it was obvious that no anti-aircraft considerations were made. Moreover, there was no extra space on the mecha to carry anti-aircraft missiles. The machine guns in the hands and the grenade launcher on the shoulders alone filled the entire load capacity of the Doppelsoldner mecha.

As for the air gunship, especially this outrageous armored gunship, I doubt any normal person would have imagined such an indestructible iron turtle appearing in the sky.

It’s not that the Doppelsoldner mechas hadn’t tried to attack the gunship with their machine guns, but those machine gun shells either smashed into the gunships or bounced off due to the incline of the armor.

Aside from adding some scratches to the gunship’s paint, no dents were left.

As the fight continued, CAWS adapted. There was no need to rush at all. They could just take it step by step.

Anyway, the enemy couldn’t do anything to them. Fighting these Doppelsoldner mechas was like playing a game on the gunships.

SOP2 on the other side also calmed down at this point, not excited at all.

It was really boring... Aim, pull the trigger, aim, pull the trigger...

Repeating the same action over and over again could destroy the enemy... This leisurely state was so dull that no wonder Renault who sat in the co-pilot seat wasn’t excited at all.

If SOP2 hadn’t had a thermos cup in her hand, she probably would have wanted to drink a beverage while firing at the Doppelsoldner.

Speaking of one-handed...

"Commander! Simonov wants to steal a drink!"

SOP2 caught a glimpse of Simonov’s one-handed driving. Just as the Doppelsoldner had been dealt with, she immediately raised her hand and shouted loudly.

"Eh!?" Simonov, who was holding the rudder with one hand, was startled and turned her head to look at Renault next to her. "No, no, no! I just touched it! I didn’t even unscrew the bottle cap!"

"Give it to me." Renault spread his hand and hooked his finger at Simonov.

Hearing what Renault said, Simonov pouted in grievance, took out a cylinder of liquid from her clothes, and handed it to Renault.

However, Renault didn’t keep it and threw it to SOP2.

After staying at home for a long time, SOP2 started to use her brain.

Maybe SOP2 just remembered that she would meet M4 and M16 soon but suddenly realized she had forgotten to bring something for M16. Embarrassed, she didn’t want to ask Simonov for it.

"Keep it. Go directly to SPAS-12 later, and wait for a while at Griffin Base with Renate and the others. Simonov and I will go check out the Paradeus base."

------

Chapter 116: Too Similar

"Hey!"

Jumping from the open engine door, SOP2 rushed directly into the engine room of another gunship.

Steady... a little shaky, after all, it weighs several hundred kilograms...

"Commander, don’t you need our help?" Renate asked Renault with a smile.

Paradeus had basically been cleaned up, so there was no need to be so nervous. Not to mention, the word nervous seemed to have nothing to do with them from the beginning.

"No, and before you talk about help, let’s take a look at the remaining ammunition on your side."

Hearing this, Renate turned her head in surprise and looked at CAWS.

CAWS who had also heard Renault’s words through the communication system, raised her hand awkwardly and strimprint out three fingers.

"There are still thirty shells left?"

"Three..."

"Ah, this..." Hearing this, Renate was immediately embarrassed. She hadn’t paid attention to the gunships. After hearing this, she asked SPAS-12 with some disbelief, "Is the gunship’s ammunition load really that small?"

"Small? Do you have any misunderstanding about the word small? There are a full 120 shells in the ammunition depot on the gunship! This is already a lot!" SPAS-12 replied with wide eyes.

Those shells weren’t small things. One hundred and twenty shells—honestly, SPAS-12 hadn’t expected Renault to be able to stuff so many shells into such a small gunship

.

In addition to these shells, the gunship also carried a lot of machine gun ammunition, plus the gunship’s own armor and internal power equipment... Fortunately, the gunship’s external armor plate used a modular design, or else she wouldn’t have been able to handle it alone.

"A lot? I remember that tanks carry 50, 60, 70, or 80 shells. One hundred and twenty rounds isn’t a lot..." Renate scratched her head in confusion.

After hearing Renate’s words, SPAS-12 really didn’t know what to say and could only think...

Ah, right! When we get back, Renate can handle the maintenance! Isn’t she sitting in the co-pilot seat?

The co-pilot is also a member of the crew! I won’t have to do the maintenance work alone this time! And there’s also a gunner!

Thinking this, SPAS-12 immediately turned around and smiled at CAWS, which made CAWS shudder for no reason.

After the transfer at SOP2, the two gunships also changed direction. SPAS-12 carried Renate and the others to Griffin's base and AR15, while Simonov took Renault toward the direction where Paradeus appeared.

"Commander, there’s nothing else on the detection device except for a facility left over from World War III with no energy reaction. Did those guys really come from there?" Simonov drove the gunship with one hand. She was able to do many other things after freeing one hand.

Just like now, while flying, he activated the gunship’s detection device and carefully scanned the old building from decades ago.

"We’ll know when we get there. It won’t take long anyway. Are there any other places besides that one?"

The detection device installed on the gunship was not the equipment used by Griffin. It was a device made by Renault himself. It could not only detect the surrounding terrain and various ground and mechanical-units nearby, but also detect all nearby energy reactions.

Under normal operating power, all conditions within a ten-kilometer range around the gunship could be seen clearly.

Of course, distant situations could also be detected, but they wouldn’t be as clear as at close range.

And it wasn’t just the gunship’s detector. Renault had already used his psionic power to detect the area. The base, only five kilometers away from them, did have some residual dissipated energy when they first rushed over.

But it was just some residue, likely the traces left by the Doppelsoldner mechas when they came out of the abandoned fortification.

"I’ll go down first. You watch from the gunship."

It was a fortification hidden in a small hill. There should have been two turrets on the side, but now they had been blocked from the inside and could only be accessed from the front door of the fortification.

In front of the main gate, there were dense footprints all over the ground, along with pits believed to have been made by the Doppelsoldner mecha.

Simonov nodded.

It seemed like it was the right place. This should be the base of those Paradeus.

She didn’t expect it to be so close to Griffin’s base. The straight-line distance between the two was less than 15 kilometers. However, since the building was located in a wilderness with no one around, it wasn’t surprising that Gentiane hadn’t found it.

From above, it looked like just an ordinary hill. Aside from the camouflage at the door, if you didn’t look carefully, you couldn’t tell there was a building buried underground.

Moreover, judging by the signs at the door, it was obvious that Paradeus had arranged some camouflage equipment here to deceive the drone in Gentiane’s hand that was used to detect the surrounding area.

The drone couldn’t find any clues, and the 15-kilometer distance was obviously beyond the detection range of the doll’s normal daily patrol.

Even if it were focused on detection, it would have been done near the main road, due to Griffin’s commission, instead of searching in this wasteland with nothing around.

Just as Simonov was inspecting the fortification, Renault had landed and walked directly toward the rusty door.

"Commander, there should be a small door next to it." Simonov looked at the topographic map on the detector and reminded him.

"It’s useless. It has collapsed. Those guys detonated it before leaving." Renault turned his head and glanced at a small door on the side of the gate. Normally, that would be the entrance and exit for personnel.

But now it is obviously impossible to get through. Although the external door does not appear to have changed or deformed and still looks very solid, Renault's psionic power tells him that the passage has completely collapsed.

He walks over and opens the door. Except for the rubble and broken cement blocks that have been poured out, there is nothing else.

"Uh, then... Commander! I will blow up the gate with the Concord artillery! Wait! I will be there soon!" Hearing Renault's words, Simonov's mind turned, and she immediately took the hover button that P226 had not found on the main console. Then, she unbuckled her seatbelt and jumped into the gunner's seat.

"No, it's too troublesome."

Although it is a fortification, the gate in front of him is rusty, but the style of this gate is obviously the kind of protective equipment specially used to resist nuclear strikes, and the thickness is definitely more than half a meter.

This kind of gate, even if it is a Concord artillery, will likely take a lot of ammunition to leave a hole in the gate.

And rather than letting Simonov waste ammunition, he prefers to cut a hole in the door himself.

He takes out the curved light battle blade that was just made not long ago, and as Renault raises his hand, a straight red psionic blade instantly extends from the top of the curved light battle blade.

Although it is a curved light battle blade, compared with a scythe or condensing the psionic blade on the wrist, this kind of lightsaber-like use method is more suitable for him.

And his psionic color is still red; holding a lightsaber is more interesting, isn't it?

"Wait! Wait! Commander!? What's that in your hand!?" Simonov who had just turned on the screen while sitting in the gunner's seat and had not yet started the fuselage transformation program, rubbed her eyes in disbelief. After confirming that she was not half asleep, she exhaled and confirmed that he was not drunk. She immediately asked Renault in surprise.

"The curved light war blade, or the psi-blade, is not something you haven't seen before. Is there any need to make a fuss?"

Renault spoke, swinging the curved light war blade in his hand and slashing at the metal door in front of him!

Zi...

After a very slight sound, the metal door slashed by the curved light war blade was like a hot knife cutting butter, with two red sword marks!

Then Renault raised his foot and kicked the metal door. The door, with the triangular mark chopped out, was directly dented under Renault's kick!

Then a deep hole was revealed.

"I never thought that I would use this thing as a flashlight one day." Holding the warp blade in his hand, Renault stepped directly into the gate through the gap.

Seeing Renault enter the gate, Simonov scratched her head. If she didn't know that Renault had never been to the world of Star Wars, she would have thought that Renault was actually a Sith Lord who came out of nowhere.

When she was training in the training device, she did see many fanatics of the Protoss and Dark Templars, but the psionic blades and warp blades they used were either blue or green... red... This was the first time she saw them, and the shape was a bit too similar to the lightsabers in the movies, right?

But, well, write it down, write it down, and send it to other dolls after returning...

Speaking of which, she didn't have any idea about the warp blade of the Protoss, but now seeing the one in Renault's hand, tsk! She has to find a way to ask the commander to make one for her!

……

"M4!" As soon as SOP2 jumped off the gunship, she rushed towards M4. Fortunately, she had experience, so she did not jump up and pounce on M4 again. Instead, she rushed to M4 and picked her up.

"Eh? SOP2!" Seeing SOP2 lift her up and start spinning in circles, M4's cheeks suddenly turned red. This feeling... why did she feel like she turned into a child being held by someone!

"Hey, M4! I brought you something!" After putting M4 down, SOP2 reached into her bag and fumbled around.

"Something?" After tidying up her clothes, M4 was also a little curious, curious about what SOP2 had brought from Renault this time.

The next moment, SOP2 held a little thing with the same yellow hair in front of M4, "SOPMOD2 JR! Hehe! When I'm not around, you can let her play with M4!"

"Eh? Uh, thank you..."

Play?

Although SOP2 was kind, M4 didn't think she had time to play... and... this appears to be just a simple doll, and this little SOP2... appears to be moving?

"M16! I have something for you too! Here! I just got it from Simonov!" SOP2 said, and directly handed the wine bottle she had just stolen from Simonov to M16.

"Oh!? It's just in time! Hiss! This taste!" M16 took the wine bottle, unscrewed the lid immediately, and took a deep breath at the mouth of the bottle.

RO635 saw that M4 and M16 had taken something one after another, and subconsciously looked at SOP2's carrying bag, hoping that SOP2 could continue to take something out of the bag.

"RO! This is the tokusatsu drama you said you wanted last time! This is what WA2000 and the others bought on the black market!"

"Oh, oh, oh! It's the anniversary limited edition!?" RO635 exclaimed even louder than M16, attracting the group of dolls who were preparing to clean up the battlefield to look over here.

Just at this time, Gentiane had already walked out of the combat command room and walked towards the gunship.

Renate here also smiled and greeted her, "Hello, Commander Gentiane, it seems that thanks to Commander Gentiane, Griffin has almost no losses."

Although many dolls fell around, they were all puppets of the dolls, and the dolls themselves did not suffer much damage. The slightly injured and seriously injured dolls had been taken away for repair.

This kind of damage, which only lost some puppets, was indeed not a serious loss for Griffin.

It must be said that Gentiane was definitely good at resisting the firepower of Paradeus for so long and keeping the battle losses to a very low level.

"Renate? Didn't your commander come? I just heard his voice." She saw clearly that two gunships came, and the other gunship was now unknown.

"Renault went to check the Paradeus base. He should be back soon."

"Paradeus base? Is he alone?!"

Hearing this, Gentiane was also shocked. The strength of the Paradeus organization is obviously not to be underestimated. If it was just Renault, wouldn't he be afraid of danger?

"And Simonov drove the gunship. They should have no problem. The surrounding Paradeus units have all been silent, and it is unlikely that there will be any danger."

Just as Renault and Gentiane were greeting each other, CAWS also walked out of the cabin, stood next to the gunship, looked at the tactical dolls around, and turned back to look at Gentiane.

She had originally intended to submit her resume to Griffin after completing the mission, but who would have thought that she would be kept there by Renault?

Now that she had really seen these dolls of Griffin, CAWS was somewhat curious.

After all, Griffin was a well-received security contractor among the dolls because the dolls in Griffin were the best paid.

But now it seemed that even their best pay would not be as good as Renault's...

A new body, a new neural core, this kind of configuration, in other places, would be unthinkable for dolls...

------

Chapter 117: Go and Come Back Quickly

As early as when she was acting as an independent mercenary, CAWS had deeply experienced how difficult it was for a doll to act alone.

Weapons, ammunition, and equipment were easy to get. As long as there was money, it was not difficult to replenish them. The difficult part was finding a safe place to stay and a repairman who could maintain the body.

Forget about the repair pod. Entering a repair pod without weapons was almost like handing your life over to the owners of the pod.

She had seen several dolls who borrowed repair warehouses from people on the black market because they needed repairs, but they never came back and disappeared completely...

Therefore, when performing tasks, CAWS always paid great attention to the protection of her body. She would not go into anyine else's repair pod if she could avoid it, and would repair herself if she could.

But this would not work. The body needed maintenance, after all, and the money she had to spend to find a reliable and trustworthy maintenance person would almost empty her savings every time.

Without backup and without anyone to support them, dolls had no room for bargaining when facing sky-high prices. They either paid the money honestly or risked being dismantled and sent elsewhere...

"I really don't know what outrageous things Renault will come up with when I see you next time. This mecha... is it built by Renault himself?"

Looking at the two Goliaths parked next to the gunship, Gentiane smacked her lips. "It's getting more and more outrageous."

Before, it was heavy power exoskeleton armor, and now it's this kind of large body. They all have this technology. If Renault really wants to, plus the dolls he kidnapped, I'm afraid it won't take long to create a mechanized army.

"Yes, Renault has a lot of technology on hand. This kind of mecha is probably just the kind that is casually placed in a drawer." Renate shrugged and said nonchalantly.

There is no doubt that these two Goliaths are completely different from the Goliaths that Renate saw in the training device. Although they are roughly the same in shape, they are much smaller than the Goliaths that are fighting in the Koprulu Sector.

These two Goliaths could definitely be regarded as fully enhanced versions. Well, in terms of defense, the original ordinary transparent cockpit was directly replaced by Renault with an alloy steel armor layer, and a panoramic system was installed inside, which could take in everything around the cockpit.

In addition, the original exposed pipelines and body joints are all covered with a layer of armor. Coupled with the additional injection system at the back, these two Goliaths look more than twice as bloated as the original Goliath.

In terms of cost alone, the value of these two Goliaths is definitely several times more than the original Goliath robots.

It's a pity that the word "cost" does not appear to exist in Renault's dictionary. After all, all the raw materials used to make these two Goliaths were "picked up."

And the labor cost is infinitely close to zero. How could there be any cost for a doll? What? Are you talking about the salary of a doll? That's pocket money for the dolls—how can it be counted in the construction cost of the body?

"Speaking of which, what exactly is going on? How did you fight with Paradeus?" AR15 had already jumped out of the cockpit and stood in front of M4 and M16, asking in confusion.

"Hey, who knows what's going on? We saw a few Paradeus shooters chasing some refugees, and we wanted to stop them. As a result, you saw that these guys rushed towards the base like crazy." M16 spread her hands, holding the wine jug in the air, sipping the liquid in it.

"Refugees? Where are those people?" HK416 frowned, feeling that there must be something else going on here.

"I don't know. After the fight, we couldn't take care of those guys at all, not to mention that the distance between us and those guys was several hundred meters from the beginning."

God knows where those guys are now.

Fortunately, Griffin only needs to control the ELID-infected people wandering around, and some occasional scavengers and bandits with bad intentions. Those fleeing people are not under their jurisdiction.

Even if they break through their defense zone, there will be other people to deal with them, and it has nothing to do with them.

"If possible, it's better to check it out. What these Paradeus do always feels not so simple. I always feel that these guys are now as ubiquitous as Sangvis Ferri in the past."

"If conditions permit." Hearing HK416 say this, Gentiane shrugged her shoulders and said helplessly.

This battle really destroyed the ammunition inventory inside the base. If they want to replenish it, I'm afraid they'll have to wait several days. IOP's transport aircraft is not as strong and durable as Renault's gunship. There is no confidence like the gunship to go wherever it wants. After applying to IOP for ammunition replenishment, IOP's transportation department first needs to prepare a suitable transport plane, then start negotiating with the controllers of the nearby airspace, and finally finalize the transportation route and time.

This process often lasts one to two days, and with the slow speed of the transport plane, it may take four or five days for the supplies to arrive.

Therefore, the current situation inside the Griffin base is actually very empty. It is true that the dolls have weapons, but they have no bullets, or not many bullets.

In this case, if Paradeus makes a comeback, Gentiane will have to think carefully about whether to run away with the dolls or stay here to complete the commission.

In fact, when the scale of the battle was not as big as it was just now, Gentiane had already tried to let RO635 and M4 and others find Paradeus's command node. But even RO could not catch any Paradeus command node. They could only find ordinary Paradeus shooters and Rodelero warriors.

To be honest, when the Doppelsoldner appeared on the Paradeus side, RO635 really felt that they might be in trouble this time.

Fortunately, AR15 and the others arrived in time; otherwise, the Griffin base would have become a ruin by now.

"Commander, where should these relatively intact Paradeus soldiers be taken?" While several people were talking, Papasha came over, dragging a Paradeus Strelet.

"Oh? Just send it to Persica's laboratory." Gentiane said, but she noticed that Papasha didn't leave at all and was staring at the wine pot in M16's hand.

Well, it seems that this girl came to ask where to send it, and her intention was all about the wine!

She must have smelled it, so he dragged the shooter over to ask.

Looking at Papasha's expectant eyes, M16 stood there awkwardly, hesitating for a long time with the wine jug in her hand, then handed it to Papasha. "One sip, just one sip!" she said. "I don’t have much! This was taken from Simonov by SOP2!"

Hearing this, Papasha immediately took the wine jug from M16 with joy, raised her head, and took a big sip! Her cheeks bulged.

"Ah! Hey!"

...

Just as the Griffin dolls were cleaning the battlefield and recycling reusable materials, the gunship driven by Simonov also flew back. Renault had already figured out the situation of the Paradeus base.

In general, it was of no value.

At least, for Renault, it was.

Whether it was the Paradeus research facilities inside the base or the biological cultivation equipment used for cloning, these were all things Renault couldn't use.

Originally, he thought that with so many Doppelsoldner mechas, he might find some usable materials from the other side’s base.

However, this base turned out to be a training facility for Nyto. Most of the facilities inside were equipment related to biological research, which had no recycling value.

When the relevant personnel in charge of this base left, they directly destroyed those clones that had not yet been born and turned the research facility into a morgue with hundreds of corpses.

The research log had been taken away, and the relevant equipment had been completely destroyed. Aside from some photos, Renault had nothing else to do.

Seeing Renault jump off the gunship, before Gentiane had time to say hello, the phone in her pocket vibrated.

"What is this?"

"These are the only photos of the interior of the Paradeus base. Those guys seem to be very sure that someone will come to support you, so from the beginning, they didn’t intend to rely on such a few number of combat units to completely wipe you out."

"So few?" Hearing what Renault said, Gentiane's face suddenly tightened.

"So few" Paradeus? This is a matter of life and death for her! If there really is someone commanding, by the time Renault arrives, her dolls will probably be almost dead...

However, Renault doesn't think there is any problem with this. Although there are many Paradeus, Gentiane is not a pushover either. Just look at the war damage on Griffin’s side—all the losses are dummy dolls.

The tactical dolls themselves are almost fine. They only need to replenish a batch of ammunition supplies and some dummy dolls. These tactical dolls under Gentiane can continue to perform their due combat functions.

Even if there is someone commanding on the Paradeus side, when Renault arrives, Gentiane will definitely be able to defend her new base.

As long as Paradeus fails to rush into the base, kill Gentiane, and destroy the main server storing the doll neural cloud map, Gentiane’s dolls can go into battle again at any time.

It was precisely because of this inference that the manager of the Paradeus base decisively destroyed the research data and ran away.

Gentiane frowned when she heard this and looked through the pictures sent by Renault.

The various instruments and equipment that were violently destroyed were not unusual, but the biological culture tanks...

"Are those... all human?"

"Cloning, and some other experiments. Seeing these, it is not hard to guess where these combat units of Paradeus came from."

As he spoke, Renault shook his finger at the HK416 group, signaling that they should leave.

"This... ah, by the way, about the commission fee this time..." Seeing that Renault seemed to be planning to leave, Gentiane hurried forward and cleared her throat. She was a little embarrassed and didn’t know how to start.

After all, even for her, it was a bit difficult to say, "I don’t have money; can I owe it first?"

But after all, Renault is a money-grubber. None of the previous commissions were free. If she doesn't ask for it now, when Renault comes back to collect the debt, the situation may not be very good.

"Let AR15 negotiate with you later. This time, AR15 called it. AR15 can decide the fees by herself."

He had just been in a momentary mood, but he still had to pay for the appearance fees of the other dolls. If AR15 couldn’t negotiate the commission fee, then the subsidy for the other dolls would be deducted from AR15’s share.

Seeing Gentiane looking at her, AR15 shrugged her shoulders, indicating that she could not help. This had been agreed with Renault before coming. Although they had a good relationship, relationships were relationships, and business was business.

But AR15 didn't worry about Gentiane’s wallet. After all, this kind of "surprise" would surely be paid by IOP or Gentiane's boss, Kryuger. Whether it was Havier, Kryuger, or the Lord Griffin behind Griffin, none of them were short of money. AR15 certainly wouldn't be polite in this regard. After all, Gentiane was a pauper and definitely couldn’t come up with the money.

After SOP2 and M4 said goodbye, the two Goliaths were restarted and controlled by AR15 and HK416 to enter the engine room of the gunship.

As quickly as they came, Renault and others left.

The whole operation took only about a quarter of an hour. If all the Paradeus hadn't fallen, Gentiane would have felt that Renault and others had never been there.

"What is this! Gentiane! What's going on with these Paradeus! I asked you to move the body here, not some corpse!"

Just when Gentiane was thinking about how to ask Havier of IOP for funds, Persica's frantic voice rang directly through the communication channel.

Papasha who helped drag the Paradeus shooter over, still puffed out her cheeks and blushed as she looked at the body of the Strelet she had dragged over.

It was not because she was afraid or shy, but because she just didn’t want to swallow the wine in her mouth so quickly.

Persica had already used tools to open the combat uniform on the surface of the Paradeus shooter.

However, unfortunately, what appeared in front of her was not a high-tech doll body, but a smelly skeleton of a severely infected person that kept dripping with an unknown liquid...

------

Chapter 118: There Are Substitutes

How Persica cleans her lab bench has nothing to do with Renault. After all, Griffin also has the same model of M1897 dolls. As cleaning dolls, they can definitely clean Persica's lab.

They just don’t know if Persica will be able to eat tonight...

On the other side, Renault and the others returned to the industrial park where their spacecraft was located after more than an hour of flight.

Simonov immediately sent the footage she had seen to MDR after Renault left the hangar.

"Hey, MDR! Look at this! Is the commander's hand the new thing he wants to test this time!?" While talking to MDR through the communication protocol, Simonov walked down from the gunship and looked up to check the damage on the outside of the gunship.

Although she could confidently guarantee that there was absolutely no dent on the gunship’s external armor plate, checking her vehicle after the operation and preparing it for the next mission was something emphasized in every driving tutorial. Simonov, who had successfully passed the advanced driving skills assessment, had gotten used to this routine inspection.

Even if there were only a few scratches on the body that had scraped off the paint, she wouldn’t feel at ease without checking it again.

"Oh? What did you take a picture of? Oh? Oh, oh! Is this a lightsaber!? When did the commander make it!? No! He must make one for me too! Wait! First, I need a set of clothes! P90! P90! Come on! Hurry up! Make me an identical set of clothes based on this design!"

MDR shouted like this, and after the voice fell, Simonov could no longer hear MDR's voice. Obviously, MDR had unilaterally cut off the communication.

"Ah? Hey!" Seeing this, Simonov was a little annoyed. MDR really refused to admit her mistake after getting the things! Forget it. From what MDR said, it was obvious she was going to ask P90 to order some clothes.

After she checked the gunship, she would go directly to P90. No, she would go back to the dormitory first and take some inventory!

Anyway, there wouldn’t be any field missions for a while.

Walking around the gunship and checking it up and down, Simonov whistled easily and took out paint of the same color as the gunship from the warehouse. In an orderly manner, she began repainting the gunship’s armor plate.

As for SOP2, who was on the same ship with her, Simonov certainly didn’t call her. After all, preparing the gunship was the crew’s job.

But it was obvious that the current professional pilots were only herself, SPAS-12, wz.29, and the novice P226.

The gunners on the gunship were all temporary guest appearances.

Besides, Simonov didn’t intend to let others intervene in the work of preparing the gunship because only she, who had passed the professional driving course, knew how to complete the preparation of a gunship quickly, efficiently, and economically. If an outsider helped, it might only make things worse.

Well, just like SPAS-12 next to her.

"Here! Here! Pull it out hard!" SPAS-12 hurriedly commanded CAWS to help remove an external armor plate.

Obviously, the gunship driven by SPAS-12 was in much worse condition than the one driven by Simonov. Not only was the external armor plate of the turret dented, but there were also some dense scratches on the side of the fuselage.

Clearly when dealing with those Doppelsoldner mechas, SPAS-12 was completely unable to avoid the weapons in the hands of those Doppelsoldner, causing half of the gunship to be hit by machine gun shells.

Seeing this, Simonov couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows in a smug manner.

This is the value of the advanced assessment. If you don’t pass the advanced assessment, you’ll never understand why it’s important to avoid any attack on the main vehicle, even with armor!

In the primary and intermediate assessments, it is indeed mentioned that the rational use of the heavy armor parts of the fuselage can make the combat efficiency more effective.

Unfortunately, this approach would be directly discarded as useless after further improvement in driving skills because, in the advanced assessment battle, it’s very likely that even a small pit could be enough to destroy her machine and kill her.

"Tsk tsk tsk." Putting away the used tools, Simonov walked towards SPAS-12 and CAWS with a smile before leaving the hangar.

"Look who’s here? Isn’t this SPAS-12? She’s here to do sheet metal work again today?"

Hearing Simonov’s voice, CAWS also looked at the gunship driver standing aside with her arms folded in surprise.

During her time with Renault, she and Simonov hadn’t interacted much. In fact, she wasn’t very familiar with most of the dolls on the ship and had only seen Simonov who spent most of her time hiding in corners drinking alcohol a few times.

"Simonov! You guys have time to chat over there, but you won’t come over and help me!" Hearing Simonov’s words, SPAS-12 immediately rolled her eyes. Simonov still remembered that she had made the seat full of oily handprints!

"Hehe! Forget it, it’s better to do it yourself. Come on, you’re CAWS, right? Don’t be busy, let’s go! I’ll take you for a drink!"

With that, Simonov walked up directly, picked up the equipment bag that CAWS had placed aside with one hand, and put her arm around CAWS’s shoulders with the other hand, dragging her towards the hangar door.

"Eh? But... do you really not need help?"

"Hey, you are really an honest doll. Didn't you see that those two cunning guys, UL-Nurse and Renate, ran away?"

Except for those two, AR15 and HK416 were still in the hangar at this time, but they had to check the conditions of their own vehicles—namely, the two Goliaths. Naturally, they had no time to come and help SPAS-12 with this sheet metal work.

"Ah, hey! Wait..." SPAS-12 wanted to say something, but before she could finish, Simonov directly pulled up CAWS and rushed out of the hangar with an acceleration!

Immediately, SPAS-12 sighed helplessly.

Looking at the armor plates that needed to be replaced and repaired in front of her, she had a headache. It's not an easy job to deal with these armor plates, but it's not tiring either. At most, there are only a few more steps.

If she were alone...

...

...

...

"Hey, MDR, can you please not add more work to my workload? Do you still expect to see something like COS suits on Commander Renault's ship? Forget it, it's impossible." Looking at the photos sent by MDR, P90 rolled her eyes unhappily.

There are now 20 SCV drivers at home. Because these 20 guys need to deal with the giant underwater dock hidden at the bottom of the reservoir with ME79, some of their original work has been transferred to other dolls.

Originally, P90 only went to the kitchen to help occasionally and made some clothes for the dolls on the ship. The workload was not large, and making clothes was also her hobby, so she was naturally happy to do so.

But now, there are 20 fewer dolls, so the remaining workload will be shared by the remaining dolls. So, she doesn't have time to make a Sith Lord COS suit for MDR.

"No! Look at this! Look at this! Don't you want to make one too?" Seeing P90's attitude, MDR quickly took out her mobile phone, pressed a few times, and sent the image that Simonov had just sent to her to P90.

"Hmm? Is this the commander? It looks like him, but it's impossible, right?" Looking at the back of the man holding a red lightsaber in the image, P90 had to admit that she was indeed a little tempted.

It's a pity that this was modified by MDR to attract attention, right?

When can our commander use a lightsaber? This is not a movie.

"No, no, why don't you get it! Don't you want to make one for yourself? And this is not a lightsaber! This is clearly a psi-blade! The kind seen in the training device!"

MDR naturally knew that her commander would definitely not know the Force, but he knew psionic power! It's not like she hasn't seen psionic blades before! It is obviously not impossible for Renault to make it into a lightsaber style!

"Psionic... blade? Wait, wait, is it really possible for psi-blades and warp light glaives to reappear in this world? Moreover, aren't these two weapons blue and green?"

"That's right! Although that's what you said, the commander's psionic power is red! You saw him use it before!"

"Oh, it seems to be the case... but what does this have to do with making clothes?"

"Of course, it's to fool the skin on the command ship, and then take a set of pictures and send them to..."

"Please go to the sewing machine. I won't see you off." Upon hearing what MDR said, P90 rolled her eyes, sat back in front of the sewing machine, and continued to mend the damaged clothes of a doll.

The few Sangvis dolls who had been waiting for P90 beside her heard what she said and immediately stared at MDR with displeasure, almost pushing MDR out of P90's workshop.

Being stared at by so many Sangvis Dolls, MDR couldn't continue to pester them, so she retreated helplessly and scratched her head. Obviously, at this time, the Dolls at home couldn't accompany her to make trouble for such useless things.

"No! This is good materials! Wouldn't it be a loss if we don't use them!"

MDR thought about it and finally felt that if she wanted to persuade P90, she had to win over a few more allies!

And it was rare that Renault hadn't said that it couldn't be sent out in the internet. It would be a pity if she didn't take this opportunity to attract fans!

She did it as soon as she thought of it. MDR turned her eyes and ran directly to the direction of the lounge. The first two guys were RFB and Ouroboros. If it was them, they might be interested in her plan!

...

On the other side, Renault didn't pay attention to what commission price AR15 discussed with Gentiane and the others, but directly called ME79 to check the renovation status of the equipment in the industrial park.

During the few hours when Renault and his team were away, ME79 had already checked all the equipment in the industrial park and listed a list of fairly qualified modifications.

Therefore, Renault was not idle either. He went straight to the factory in the industrial park with a lot of tools. If he wanted to keep the construction progress of the dock, there must be no problems in the factory. Therefore, the durability of those pieces of equipment was naturally listed as the primary requirement.

Since ME79 had already made a modification plan, the modification of the industrial park equipment did not consume too much of Renault's time.

It only took a few hours at most. Before dinner, Renault and ME79 finally repaired and upgraded all the equipment in the factory.

"That should be enough. Are we going to start work now?" ME79 wiped her sweat and turned to Renault and asked.

Since she changed to a new body, ME79 had developed a habit that she didn't know whether it was good or bad—well, she would put a towel on her neck to wipe her sweat anytime and anywhere.

"Wait a minute, don't be in a hurry. I just said I would give them a holiday, but the holiday hasn't passed yet."

Renault was not in a hurry now. The holiday was only one or two days, so it was obviously not a good idea to start the work in a hurry.

"Well...eh?" ME79 nodded, and was about to say something, but her eyes caught a glimpse of an image sent by MDR in the communication protocol.

It didn't matter if she didn't look at it, but when ME79 saw it, her eyes couldn't move away. She stared at the figure standing in the image.

There is no doubt that this familiar back is definitely Renault! She didn't even know! Her commander can actually use lightsabers! It can't be that he just wanted to role-play on a whim, right?

"Commander! I want the same one!" Without waiting for Renault to look out to see what was going on, ME79 stood in front of Renault with shining eyes, staring at him with expectant eyes.

"Hmm? When did Simonov get to MDR?" Renault raised his eyebrows, a little surprised, but it didn't matter. Even the military couldn't do anything to them now, and Renault wouldn't get angry over such a small matter.

It was just a little unexpected. He was surprised that the blade in his hand was so recognizable. He didn't think of this when he modified it before, but he didn't expect to see it from the images taken by the dolls.

"It's probably impossible to be the same. This is my equipment driven by psionic energy. Without psionic energy, this thing is just a stick in your hands." 

Renault said, while taking out a different "lightsaber" and showing it directly in front of ME79.

"Then... is there any difference?" ME79 asked hesitantly. After all, from what Renault meant, it must be some kind of substitute, right?

"Yes, but the power is definitely not as ideal as the psi-blade. At most... it can only be regarded as a toy."

Speaking of this, Renault thought of the doll weapon transformation plan that had not been promoted before.

The imprint weapons in the hands of the dolls not only used different types of bullets but also had different powers. Some could only tickle the military's protective clothing, while others could directly penetrate the protective clothing of those guys.

------

Chapter 119: Just the Right Power

"In addition to these three types of enemies, does the white force, that is, Paradeus, have any other types of combat units?" Gentiane looked at the photos in the report and rubbed her eyebrows with a headache.

The sudden appearance of a force with a large number of super-level armed forces is definitely not a good thing for her...

Moreover, with the sudden appearance of these forces, Gentiane also felt that she and the dolls under her command appears to be falling into an unknown and already set spider web.

It was not that she jumped in on her own initiative, but that the web approached so plainly and then enveloped her, an inconspicuous little bug.

The things about Sangvis Ferri, the things about M4, and the military rebels afterward...

A series of actions happened one after the other, and she, the commander of Griffin, was like an ant caught between elephants, directly affected by the fights of many parties. She had ultimately been forced to retreat to such a remote place.

This base is not bad, but it is not great either. It has complete infrastructure and is not much different from Griffin's large base in S09. It has all the necessary facilities.

Large servers for storing doll neural cloud maps and other equipment are also available.

But the problem is that the location of this base is too close to the yellow zone and the red zone. Although there is no shortage of commissions in such places, the rewards are far from those in the previous jurisdictions.

Moreover, a large part of the previous commissions were outsourced by Statesec or the military, and the rewards were absolutely sufficient. But the current commissions are different. Most of them are provided by businessmen or companies.

The scale is completely different from the previous commissions.

Although Kryuger has been running around soliciting sponsorships and accepting commissions, the results have been minimal.

After the military rebellion, many security contractors were liquidated by Statesec. The security contractor business has now become more and more difficult to do.

"According to the intelligence from AR15 and the others, in addition to the three known Paradeus combat units, they also encountered an infantry unit using machine guns, and another type of mecha."

M4 said as she sent the photos AR15 had sent her to the screen of the combat command room.

Seeing these clear photos, Gentiane immediately frowned. Although the Paradeus units in the photos, whether infantry or mecha, all looked like they had been beaten to pieces, the protective equipment on these units caught her attention. Not only is there an armor layer made of new materials, but Gentiane could also be sure that these units are definitely equipped with Force Shields.

When she thought of the words "Force Shield," she felt a headache because these things are not something that dolls can easily deal with by simply changing armor-piercing bullets.

The combat power of the Paradeus dolls is superior to that of Sangvis Ferri dolls, and when their armor plates and Force Shields are added together...

In short, the combat power of these Paradeus units is definitely much higher than that of Sangvis Ferris they encountered before.

Although there are dolls among Sangvis Ferris who are also equipped with Force Shields, only Sangvis Ferri dolls with good body performance can be equipped with them. Even if Sangvis Ferris are assembled in the same batch, there are slight differences in performance.

The number of Force Shields equipped is not as exaggerated as that of the Paradeus side, and their performance is not as good.

The Force Shields used by Sangvis Ferri dolls are often effective. When the Force Shield is turned on, it can indeed cause a lot of trouble for the tactical dolls. But that is when it is turned on. Once the Force Shield is turned off, those Sangvis Ferri dolls will naturally not pose a threat.

However, the routine of the Paradeus side is exactly the opposite of Sangvis Ferri side. They reduce the equipment requirements of the Force Shield and minimize its effect, just to ensure the Force Shield equipment works continuously throughout the battle.

Even though the effect is not as noticeable compared to other Force Shields, it is enough to deal with small-caliber weapons. Combined with the armor that most Paradeus units have...

The combination of the two is enough to give Griffin's tactical dolls a headache.

"This new mecha... I don't see any weapons equipped. Could it be a melee model?" If so, then Gentiane might have to re-evaluate the specific combat capabilities of Paradeus.

"There are weapons, but this mecha, codenamed Gladiator, should use melee weapons. The armor looks very thick."

Needless to say, the Force Shield is definitely standard.

Rubbing her brows with a headache, Gentiane sighed, but did not notice that M4, who was standing opposite her, also frowned inadvertently at that moment, and her hands holding the weapon trembled slightly.

Unfortunately, everyone present was focused on the information about Paradeus, so M4's secret actions went unnoticed.

When Gentiane put down her hand and raised her head, M4 had returned to normal. Although she felt a little strange recently, M4 only thought that some feedback modules had been damaged in the previous battle, which should not be a big problem.

Afterward, she would definitely be fine if she took some time to lie down in the repair warehouse.

As for Persica, the great technician of Griffin? She is probably still busy analyzing the equipment from Paradeus.

Although bones were dug out from the Paradeus combat units, Persica's research goal was not how these units moved.

After the dolls cleaned up the Paradeus shooters and Persica's laboratory, Persica immediately devoted herself to researching the Force Shield.

With Persica's technology, the research and development of the Force Shield is not difficult. After dismantling seven Strelets, three Rodeleros, and the remains of a Doppelsoldner, Persica found the breakthrough.

It is easy to understand the technology used by Paradeus, but it is a pity that this technology is a bit difficult to implement in tactical dolls.

First of all, Gentiane doesn't have that much money, and IOP obviously won't help at this juncture.

Furthermore, it is impossible for the energy core of the tactical doll to successfully carry a Force Shield generator module. In addition to the energy core, even most tactical doll bodies cannot withstand the heat generated by the operation of the Force Shield generator.

Unless the dolls carry a large battery pack and an external Force Shield transmitter when in action.

But in that case, these tactical dolls, let alone carry out tactical actions, will be overloaded, and the energy circuits in their bodies will definitely not be able to hold up.

If you want to install the Force Shield, you would have to remove a lot of extra modules on the doll. But in that case, wouldn't the tactical doll become something like the military iron lump?

Just when Persica was thinking hard about how to solve the problem of insufficient energy storage in the doll energy core and how the doll body couldn't withstand the side effects of the Force Shield's operation, Renault, who was in his own spaceship, was stopped by SOP2 and UMP9. They wanted a light sword exactly like the one in Renault's hand.

Of course, they were referring to the modified warp blade that Renault had used before.

However, unfortunately, both the warp blade and the psi-blade are powered by psionic energy. To use these weapons, you must at least have psionic energy in your body.

If you don't have psionic energy, you need to ensure that there are sufficient energy crystals in the weapon.

But both psionic energy and psionic crystals do not exist in this world.

Therefore, it is highly unlikely that the dolls would want a lightsaber exactly like the one in Renault's hand.

As Renault had mentioned before, he could only settle for second best and make some weapons that looked like lightsabers, or toys, using other principles.

And why are they called toys? Of course, the kind of weapon made by trickery is one that cannot break the dolls' bodies.

Besides, whether it was the old high-strength alloy steel or the new biomass body, both could block the toys that Renault brought out.

In addition to SOP2 and UMP9, who were very playful, many other dolls also came to ask about lightsabers, and most of them mentioned to Renault that they really wanted a lightsaber to play with.

Although Renault couldn't always respond to requests from dolls, he often agreed to their requests.

For example, the SOPMOD2JR that SOP2 had wanted to create before: the energy system used by that little thing wasn't the typical doll energy core but rather the energy engine that Renault used on dolls.

SOP2 naturally would not bother with the engine, but fortunately, Renault made a miniature energy engine for SOPMOD2JR during his free time.

I'm sure that neither Persica, M4, nor M16 ever thought that the SOPMOD2JR SOP2 handed to M4 just to be a playmate was equipped with a huge energy source that could support its activities for hundreds of years.

But it doesn't matter. Renault was just trying to save trouble. He had enough materials on hand. If he had to use another energy system, he would have to prepare the materials again, which would take a lot of time going back and forth.

For the little project SOP2 had tacked on in a rush, he wouldn't...

It's not like he has nothing to do all day...

"Tell me, you've never come to me on your own initiative. What's the matter?" Although Renault's attention was focused entirely on the parts in his hands, he could still feel someone peeking at the door of the studio.

Just like Architect standing at the door now. Since the replacement of the body, Architect hadn't come to Renault's workshop again.

After all, the new body was made entirely of biomass. If there were any bumps or bruises, Architect had to ask UL-Nurse in the biological laboratory to help treat the wounds. Moreover, the new body had good recovery speed, and minor injuries could heal quickly, so there was no need to run to the workshop to find Renault.

"Hey, Renault, look, can you help Gager modify her previous weapon? Her weapon is now completely unusable." Architect said, rolling her eyes.

"Hmm? And your weapon, right?" Although only Architect's head showed, Gager was actually outside the door, holding two large weapons that were almost as tall as they were.

Renault didn't think it was strange. When using Gager's weapon, it needed to use an energy transmission port on the hand to charge the weapon. Most of Sangvis Ferri weapons have this function.

Of course, some weapons used by dolls don't have this function, such as Architect's launcher and the grenade launcher used by the destroyer.

Gager's weapon could still be used even without the charging port, but once the internal energy was depleted, it had to be recharged. And the lightsaber on the weapon... huh? A lightsaber?

Thinking of this, Renault suddenly remembered that the light-based on Gager's weapon seemed to be quite powerful, but he didn't know how it consumed energy.

"Hehe, this is just convenient. No, it's on the way!"

"Okay, let Gager bring the things over." Renault put down the parts in his hands and placed them in the storage box on the left side of the workbench, then waved to the door.

Hearing what Renault said, Gager came out from behind the wall and handed the two large weapons in her hands to Renault.

The length of these two weapons... really puzzled Renault. Although Architect and Gager were generally not short, was such a huge weapon really necessary?

Was it just because it looked cool? Or was it because of power requirements, so it could only be made this big?

But whether it is Executioner's pistol, Hunter's double guns, or even the particle weapons equipped on the drone used by Scarecrow, they are not actually large in size, but their power is still acceptable.

Let's not talk about Architect's launcher for now. After all, it is a launcher, and a larger size is still within a reasonable range.

But Gager's...

First, Renault took apart Gager's weapon. After examining it for a few moments, he had to admit that he was wrong. This weapon really needed to be this big. The entire weapon was full of energy circuits for particle beam generators.

Due to technical limitations, this weapon could only achieve considerable power if it was larger. If it were smaller, it could only become a toy, barely hot enough to make an impact on people...

But it just so happens that if it is reduced, it could be used as a toy for the dolls.

------

Chapter 120: The Span Is a Bit Large

"To be honest, I really can't think of any reason to modify your two weapons. Wouldn't it be better to just change them?" After checking Gager's weapon, Renault shook his head helplessly.

Especially Architect's weapon. The spare ammunition she brought from Sangvis Ferri had been used up long ago. To make special ammunition for this weapon, you would either need a printing device to print them out one by one, or you would have to modify the ammunition production line on the ship.

Neither option is time or labor-efficient. Besides... this weapon only looks good when it's carried on the shoulder. In reality, when held in the hand and without a special warhead installed, it looks no different from a black fire stick at first glance.

If Gager's weapon is still worth modifying, then Architect's weapon is completely redundant. He doesn’t expect Architect to carry dozens of rockets around. Besides, Architect had never done such an outrageous thing while she was with Sangvis Ferri. Dozens of rockets, even without an ammunition box, would weigh hundreds of kilograms. While her original body wasn’t bad, it still seemed like a waste of energy to carry such a heavy object everywhere.

Now... it hasn’t been long since she switched to the biomass body. Let alone what Renault thinks—if he were to ask Architect herself, she would definitely not be willing to change from a biomass body to a mechanical one.

"Well..." Hearing what Renault said, Architect scratched her head helplessly. She also felt that she didn't mind when she was still using the mechanical body, but now, it was different.

Carrying something weighing over ten kilograms everywhere, although it’s nothing for her now, this lazy person would never sit if she could lie down. While she liked her weapon, compared to the cost of carrying dozens of kilograms of things all day, it would indeed be better to switch to a lighter one!

"What about Gager's weapon?"

"Her weapon is easy. I'm planning to make some small toys for other dolls. The samples have already been made. However, they’re a little dangerous for other dolls, but Gager should be fine."

Renault directly ignored the particle weapon part of Gager's weapon.

That part was purely a bonus. Architect’s weapon also had one, but its power was no different from the particle pistols used by Hunter. Finding a substitute was easy. There were plenty of them in the warehouse, even in Renault’s drawer.

Of course, it wasn't a particle weapon, but rather a pistol that Renault made specifically for those in heavy protective clothing.

However, even though this live ammunition weapon needed a magazine and extra spare rounds, the combined weight was still much lighter than the large weapon Gager had used before.

"Sample?" Hearing this, Gager finally reacted. She tilted her head and looked at the handle-like object Renault had pulled from the drawer with curiosity.

"It’s a sample—or a finished product. It’s a little less powerful. Compared to the particle beam you used before, it should be stronger."

After taking the black hilt from Renault, Gager examined it, then pressed the switch.

Buzz.

With a gentle buzzing sound, a bright blue beam of light shot out from the top of the hilt. The dazzling light instantly made the lights in the workshop seem much dimmer.

"Oh! Uh... Woo..." Seeing Gager holding the lightsaber, Architect exclaimed immediately, but then frowned in distress.

Hearing Architect's strange reaction, Gager looked at her in confusion.

"What's the problem?"

"Uh, I always feel... if the original weapon is gone, it seems like the soul of Gager is gone!" Architect clapped her hands and exclaimed.

Gager, hearing this, awkwardly tugged at the corners of her mouth. What does she mean by “soulless”? I'm right here, standing in front of you alive. How could I have no soul?

"It means that the lightsaber is too small. Holding such a weapon, it looks a little lacking in momentum." Renault shrugged. He knew exactly what Architect meant.

Gager used to hold that large weapon, which gave people a visual impact just by looking at it. Now, switching to such a lightsaber, while bright and trendy, just loses the original grand momentum.

After listening to Renault’s explanation, Gager was stunned. She hadn’t expected that Architect wasn't concerned with the power of the lightsaber, but with its appearance...

"Uh, don’t look at me like that. What I said is the truth..." Facing Gager’s stare, Architect raised her hand helplessly.

"Okay, get familiar with the feel of it. If there’s no problem, you can use it for now. When I have time in the future, I’ll make you a special one. Of course, you can decide the style."

After Renault’s words, Gager didn’t say much. She just waved the lightsaber a little. After confirming that it felt fine, she nodded and was promptly dragged away by Architect, who said she wanted to find a place to test the weapon’s power.

It's not really a test of power—more likely a chance to show off in front of the other dolls.

With Architect's big mouth, the news that Gager got a lightsaber sample from Renault spread in less than five minutes.

Simonov and Nagant Revolver quickly blocked the door of the workshop with a large group of dolls, including G11 and MDR.

"Commander! Why can Gager get it first? It’s obviously us who mentioned it first!" Nagant Revolver pouted and shouted with a wronged look, but in reality, her eyes were darting around, searching the workshop for something similar to a lightsaber.

After all, Renault had already produced a sample. With the equipment on the ship, it shouldn’t take long to make a complete version, right?

Unfortunately, she was wrong this time. Renault hadn’t made a complete version of the lightsaber and had further weakened its power, turning the next batch into toys that were just a little hot.

Because the lightsaber... how should he put it? Unlike ordinary cold weapons, the lightsaber has no weight except for the handle. If you don’t exercise regularly, have excellent body control, and sufficient experience with cold weapons, a lightsaber in the hands of a novice is equivalent to a dangerous item that could easily chop off your head if you're not careful.

It might be that you casually make a sword flourish, but the result is that you cut your elbow, or when you draw it, you don’t have the correct posture and end up chopping your knee.

Although the sample Gager received was weakened and posed no threat to the high-strength alloy steel used in spacecraft and doll bodies, the bionic layer on the doll body would still be damaged if it were cut.

It might be okay for the dolls who have switched to biomass bodies. Their skin is slightly resistant to lightsabers, but it can only prevent them from being slashed by a lightsaber like a hot knife through butter.

Injury is inevitable.

This is the main reason Renault only gave Gager one lightsaber. After all, most of the dolls at home are children. If he had rashly given them such a weapon—something very unfamiliar to dolls—who knows how many equipment damage reports M1 Garand and G36 would have filed?

"In the cabinet on the right side, against the wall. Take it and divide it up."

Renault didn’t say those were just toys, but when these troublemakers end up burning their clothes and bionic skin, they would surely thank him.

Renault knew these dolls were just curious about the new "toy"—whether they really wanted to fight the enemy in close combat was another story.

There were so many dolls on board. Besides Executioner and Alchemist, only Gager, who used a lightsaber, paid attention to the close combat training modules in the training device.

As for the others... SPAS-12, the lazy one, would only think of using the breaching axe while wearing power armor. The others weren’t to be relied on for close combat. Though each of them carried a weapon like a folding axe or a saber, few actually used them.

No one was thinking about fighting the enemy in close combat all day long... Oh, G11 was no exception. She only wanted to fight up close occasionally, out of interest, but she still used firearms most of the time.

"Great! Hurry up! Give me two!"

While Renault was thinking, the dolls rushed over and pulled the box full of "toys" out, dividing the lightsabers among themselves.

However, since not all the dolls had come, almost everyone took at least two lightsabers.

Seeing this, Renault rolled his eyes. "Don’t mess around in the workshop!"

Hearing Renault’s scolding, the dolls immediately shrank their necks and rushed out again.

"You spoil them too much." After all the dolls were gone, Helian came over and shook her head helplessly.

"It’s just a few days off. Where’s the Nytos? Had they calmed down?" Renault wasn’t talking about Nyto, who was familiar with Helian, but the two who had been caught earlier. One was a little stubborn, and the other was a little st.

After they were brought back, their weapon systems were locked. It couldn’t really be called a weapon system, but the power of the two Nytos was reduced so that they could only use the same power as ordinary people.

Although they weren’t completely immobile, they were almost harmless to the dolls on Renault’s ship, and even to Helian.

Ordinary people simply can’t survive on Renault’s ship!

After staying with Renault for so long, Helian had clearly realized this.

If her physical fitness hadn’t been improving recently, she’d probably have to be on guard every time she passed a corner, fearing a doll would suddenly rush out and break her ribs.

"They’re behaving now. I suddenly realized that G3 is good at coaxing children. If they serve a plate of hot egg tarts or cookies and a cup of chocolate sundae, those two guys would be so happy they wouldn’t know what to do."

While speaking, Helian shook the tablet in her hand. Thanks to G3, otherwise, she’d probably still be trying to persuade the two Nytos.

"Here, this is the new interior design. See if there are any problems. If there are no issues, I’ll ask Scarecrow to start preparing."

"Interior? Isn’t it a bit early for that? The main structure of the spacecraft has just been completed."

After taking the tablet and looking at it, Renault scratched his head in surprise. To be honest, he hadn’t even thought about this. It didn’t really matter whether the decoration was done early or late.

"It’s not too early at all. Since the hull construction plan has been confirmed and won’t change, the decoration issue can be addressed now. Otherwise, it’ll take twice as long to prepare after all the spacecraft processes are finished."

Anyway, the equipment transformation in the industrial park is underway. In addition to transforming the equipment, there are some items not in use at all. It’s the perfect time to prepare things for the interior decoration of the spacecraft in advance.

"Okay, you have the final say." Renault wasn’t going to refuse if it could shorten the spacecraft’s completion time.

"Well, since you’re saying so, do you have any ideas about the company’s next operational plan?"

"Operational plan?"

To be honest, Renault had never considered this. The vertical farm and breeding farm had been set up on the ship due to a food shortage. He never expected the situation to develop this way.

Now, except for occasionally needing to buy items for the dolls, the spacecraft was pretty much self-sufficient when it came to food and drink.

Renault didn’t have an urgent need to make money—at least, not right now. When he didn’t have enough money to spend in the future, he would still take the initiative to find work.

"Of course, you don’t still think your security contracting company is just a small workshop, do you?"

Seeing Renault’s indifferent look, Helian immediately put her hands on her hips and squinted at him.

"Of course I know that, but it doesn’t matter, right?"

Hearing Renault’s response, Helian had to admit it was true. If Renault wanted to make more money, he could simply expand the vertical farm on the new spaceship.

So, was she now switching from a security contractor to an agricultural enterprise?

---