RC 1076-1090 (Patreon)

Chapter 1076: Paying OutThe boss had been taken away for questioning, Statesec still owed her payment, and fuel costs had exceeded the limit during a previous mission…It felt as if all the bad luck had piled up at once. Even though she had successfully obtained the heavy weaponry she had long wanted from the scavengers, it did nothing to add color to Gentiane’s pale face.Fortunately, after arriving at this base, she had received long-term security contracts for the contaminated areas from surrounding towns and cities.Unfortunately, the payments were all deferred, and the transfers did not go directly into Gentiane’s pocket. Instead, they went into the boss’s account first, and then the boss would allocate funds to her. This was how the base’s operating funds, and even her salary, were supplied.The only good news was that she could still pick up some small jobs from wealthy people in the surrounding area.They were considered small because they were neither difficult nor time-consuming, though the pay was decent.For example, they might have her Tactical Dolls escort various groceries, chase away scavengers loitering near the town’s perimeter wall, or even serve as temporary security personnel.Yes, the tasks were largely the same, similar to what Griffin did when it had multiple districts, and the pay was about the same.The rewards from these small commissions did go directly into Gentiane’s hands, but she still needed to pay the Dolls’ salaries! The meager balance in the account was almost gone just from paying their wages!There was not enough money to refuel the command vehicle, replenish ammunition at the base, or even solve the problem of insufficient MRE reserves…“Tired. Destroy it all,” Gentiane muttered weakly. Her base was now completely at a dead end.It was almost as if she were trapped in this base, unable to get out…Taking the Tactical Dolls out to expand business was definitely out of the question. All of Griffin’s commissions were handled personally by the boss, and Gentiane did not know many people. Finding quality clients on the spot was simply impossible.The money from long-term commissions was stuck in the boss’s hands, and the money from short-term commissions was like a double-edged sword—it could help a little, but its effect was minimal, at best maintaining the current balance of income and expenditure without replenishing supplies within the base.This was clearly not a long-term solution. Although there was still some ammunition left at the base, it was continually consumed during regular missions. Furthermore, Gentiane had already suspended the Dolls’ daily live-fire training to avoid excessive ammunition use.That old man Havier! He kept saying he was a sponsor! So where was the money he promised?! Where was the money?! She had not seen a single penny!Was he going to transfer the money directly to the boss’s account and make her wait for the loan disbursement? He knew the boss had been taken away for questioning! Was he really going to do that now because he was senile?“Kalina! All-powerful Kalina! Think of something!”With that thought, Gentiane’s eyes lit up as she looked at Kalina, who was walking into the lounge, and she praised her dryly in a monotone voice.“Sorry, I can’t think of anything. You’ll just have to wait patiently. But instead of worrying about the funds, you could take a look at this. Maybe you’ll find something interesting.”“Me? Interested? Is it a new commission? Or the kind where they waive the deposit and you get paid in full up front?”Full payment up front? You’re dreaming!Kalina shrugged speechlessly. If such a good thing really existed, she would love to have more, but unfortunately, it was simply impossible.“What is this? WAVE TECH? Isn’t this the intelligence agency that provided us with a lot of information before? Now that they don’t have any requests, what have they sent this time?”Looking at the clearly visible intelligence agency logo on the tablet, Gentiane raised an eyebrow, frowned, and pressed her finger to open the encrypted intelligence file.Kalina also perked up her ears, standing behind Gentiane on tiptoe.However, after hearing the voices coming from the audio file, both Gentiane and Kalina frowned.“That’s… Ange’s voice?”The intelligence file contained a lot of information, but it was not coherent. She heard many familiar voices in the audio files, as well as unfamiliar ones.While careful consideration of this information would certainly be helpful to Gentiane, she was not interested in any of it right now.Regardless of what information the conversations in the file revealed, or what impact it might have on the world…The only thing that would not change was herself, and even less would it change her current predicament.Therefore, although Gentiane listened to these audio files containing a great deal of classified information and memorized the key points, she quickly put them out of her mind.Sometimes, it was better to stay simple; too much scheming ultimately led to no good.She was currently hoping to avoid learning more from these documents that only added to her worries. The person who sent this information was utterly wicked!“You look a bit worried. Isn’t it something to be happy about, returning to base safely?”Another sudden communication. Gentiane simply rolled her eyes listlessly.She did not even need to look to know that, at this crucial moment, who else but old man Havier would suddenly use Griffin’s internal lines to contact her?Sometimes Gentiane really wondered if Havier had spent a fortune to buy the entire Griffin network. Otherwise, why did he always use encrypted lines to contact her, leaving her no chance to verify?At least respect your employees’ privacy! Should she be thankful that she did not have any Griffin communication equipment in her room?“Huh? So? What’s up? Don’t bother me with anything other than paying me. I’m not in the mood for anything else right now.”“Perfect timing. I really did come here to pay you.”“Huh!?” Hearing the words “pay you,” Gentiane jumped up from the sofa and stood stiffly in front of the communicator in less than half a second.“How much!?”...“Just a little bit, please? Don’t be so stingy!” HK416 muttered resentfully, looking at Susanna standing behind the bar.“No, no, no, that’s absolutely not allowed! Miss Helian has stated this repeatedly!”Susanna raised her hand, making an X in front of her, firmly refusing HK416’s request to try a sip from the keg of stout.“Ugh!” HK416 glanced angrily at the warning sign on the liquor cabinet behind her.‘No alcoholic beverages or food provided to HK416!’Having been dragged to the warehouse by UMP40 to help move goods for ages, HK416 was filled with resentment and wanted a drink at the newly opened bar, only to be flatly refused by Susanna.Maggie and Catherine, standing nearby, both huddled behind the bar, peeking out to watch, afraid that HK416 would come and cause them trouble.Ultimately, the reason HK416 was strictly forbidden from consuming any alcoholic beverages by Helian was because Maggie and Catherine had accidentally shared a glass of whiskey and a small glass of wine with her last time…A glass of whiskey and a small glass of wine caused HK416 to get drunk, but not completely. In a semi-conscious state, she grabbed her weapon and staged a real Doll battle royale on the ship.According to Helian’s statistics afterward, several corridors on the ship were blackened by explosions, with shrapnel scattered everywhere. One Prowler and a dozen Dinergates were also damaged and sent to the workshop for repairs.The Dolls were unharmed, but P90 lost a batch of freshly spun fabric intended for making the Dolls’ everyday clothing.This inevitably raised suspicions that HK416 had used drunkenness as a pretext for revenge!“This is MDR from our station reporting for you…”“Hey! That’s enough! Don’t stand behind others pretending to be a narrator! I haven’t even settled the score with you for making me a slave to UMP40!”Turning around abruptly, HK416 glared angrily at MDR, who had somehow slipped behind her.This girl! Didn’t she ever have a moment of peace?!“Cough, cough, hehe, don’t be so angry. Helping out in the warehouse is better than dealing with animal waste at the farm. Look, M870 still has a stuffy nose.”Perhaps sensing the pointing and whispering, M870, sitting on the other side of the glass partition at the café counter, looked suspiciously at both sides while drinking an iced soda.Looking back at M870’s current miserable state, HK416 sighed helplessly. “Fine, just give me something to drink.”“Uh, okay.” Hearing HK416’s words, Susanna hesitated for a moment, glanced at Springfield across the counter, then carried over a large pile of colorful bottles from behind it.No labels.These were all byproducts of the family’s vertical farm crop processing—orange juice, tomato juice, strawberry juice, grape juice, and the like—all pure fruit juice without additives!The only clear bottle likely contained regular sparkling water, exactly the same as what M870 was drinking.Seeing this, HK416 gave a speechless smirk and picked out a bright yellow bottle. This had to be orange juice, right?“Honestly, CF05 and the others should consider other kinds of drinks. Just fruit juice makes the selection too monotonous.” MDR also pulled out a purple bottle; it was probably grape juice.“They said they’re too busy to handle it all. Making these fruit juices in their spare time is already their best effort.” Seeing HK416 calmly drinking her orange juice, Maggie emerged from behind the bar, holding her glass and taking a slightly tipsy sip.However, she kept her other hand protectively around the glass, as if HK416 might suddenly pounce and snatch it away at any moment.“Didn’t the Sangvis Ferri go over to help?” HK416 usually spent most of her time training, so she had not paid much attention to the vertical farm. She asked curiously.Logically speaking, with CF05 and NZ75 managing the vertical farm, other Dolls occasionally helping out, and a group of well-developed Sangvis Ferri Dolls having gone to assist before, the vertical farm should not be that busy, right?“Ah, yes, but the Rippers are already exhausted just dealing with the crops that keep increasing in yield every day. They simply don’t have any spare time.”“Every day? Increasing in yield?” Hearing this, HK416 was immediately incredulous.How could yield increase every day? It did not make sense! It wasn’t scientific!“Hmm, I had the same expression as you before I went to the vertical farm’s warehouse. Tsk tsk, if the crops from the ship’s vertical farm could be sold, we could lie on deck chairs and count money every day without doing anything!”Catherine jumped in, speaking with conviction. Recalling the mountains of unprocessed crops piled up in the warehouse, she could almost picture herself counting money every day.“Springfield! Springfield-neechan! The samples you requested are here!” Just then, they heard CF05 calling out to Springfield at the top of her lungs.Turning around, they saw CF05 and a Ripper carrying two massive sacks weighing at least a hundred pounds each as they pushed open the door to the break room.“Huh? Weren’t these supposed to be samples? Why did you bring two sacks?!” WA2000 exclaimed, somewhat startled at the sight.However, CF05 did not have time to argue about what “samples” actually meant. “Hehe! This is more convenient! Anyway, I’ll leave the stuff here! Let’s go! Let’s hurry back! Otherwise, NZ75 and the others won’t be able to handle it!”“Hey! Wait! Hey!” Before WA2000 could call CF05 back, she had already disappeared.Springfield then stepped forward, opened the two slightly damp burlap sacks, and saw freshly picked coffee cherries.Two whole sacks… completely filled with them…Even Springfield was dumbfounded. She had only casually bought some coffee seeds and given them to CF05 and the others to see whether they could grow them. Now… two whole sacks…She clearly remembered giving CF05 only six seeds. Even if all six had survived, how could there be so many…?Besides, how long had it been? Even if the coffee trees had survived, there was no reason for them to start bearing fruit so quickly, right?Still, coffee trees bearing fruit was indeed a good thing, but she had no experience handling two sacks of coffee cherries. And she did not have the equipment to process them…“So, this is what you meant by a surge in production?”“Yes, you see? Don’t be fooled by the fact that CF05 only brought two sacks; I guarantee there’s even more in the vertical farm’s warehouse!”While Maggie gestured excitedly, MDR had already picked up her phone and headed toward the vertical farm, seemingly planning to livestream the entire event.--Chapter 1077 Reception“Quick! Turn off the nutrient solution valve! Turn off the water valve too!”NZ75 was sweating profusely as she directed the Rippers who had come to help at the vertical farm while manually pulling the coffee cherries out of the culture medium.Don’t be fooled by the fleshy feel of the culture medium; it usually appears normal, but this is the result of Renault’s deliberate adjustments.However, when plant seeds are present, it becomes active. The seeds remain on the medium for a short while, then are absorbed, and a new seedling quickly grows.The reason they grow so fast… is largely thanks to their commander. After all, coffee trees take several years to go from planting to fruiting; if these little things didn’t grow quickly, they might have to watch over them for years without seeing any fruit.The results were encouraging. Only about half a month after planting, the coffee trees had begun producing fruit like crazy, shedding dozens of coffee cherries every minute. The floor of the vertical farm was now covered with a thick layer of coffee cherries.Walking became a delicate matter, requiring careful footing to avoid slipping.Except for two Rippers trudging toward the nutrient solution and water supply valves, the others carried sizable sacks and shoveled up the coffee cherries.Whether or not these coffee cherries would ultimately be processed into finished coffee beans by Springfield, this mess needed to be cleaned up.Fortunately, the Rippers cleaned the vertical farm grounds daily, preventing any other debris from accumulating.Furthermore, there were no insects in the vertical farm, so there was no need to worry about the coffee cherries being contaminated during processing.“Yes, Renault’s vertical farm has another bumper harvest! A new batch of unique and high-quality Arabica coffee beans is about to hit the market…”“No, no, no, these are just trial Robusta beans. The Arabica hasn’t been planted yet.” CF05 rushed back in, only to hear MDR standing at the door, muttering to herself while live-streaming on her phone to an anonymous user.“Huh? Oh? Is that so? Okay, let me change it… cough! Anyway, what I just said doesn’t count. The latest batch is Robusta… what was it again? What kind of beans were they?”“CF05! Come help! Pull out these saplings that have already started sprouting! Otherwise, the entire vertical farm will be overrun with coffee trees!”NZ75 called out in a panic.This special growing medium was a bit too much! The growth rate was just too fast!However, with the nutrient solution and drip irrigation switches turned off, the rate at which coffee cherries fell from the coffee trees slowed down considerably. After the Rippers and CF05 hurriedly gathered all the coffee cherries on the ground, the coffee trees—already over a meter tall—were still laden with fruit.It seemed this situation would likely persist for quite some time, but with this experience, future coffee tree cultivation would certainly be much smoother.The only problem was whether Springfield could actually consume so many beans.Probably… impossible, right?After all, the Dolls on the ship mostly preferred alcohol or soft drinks; very few liked coffee…Compared to the bitter taste of coffee, milk tea was clearly more to the liking of the Dolls on the ship, and CF05 and NZ75 had planted tea trees long ago, with plenty of roasted green tea and fermented black tea piled up in the warehouse.…Compared to Springfield, who was frowning and searching online for ways to process fresh coffee cherries, Gentiane was completely relaxed.With the funding issue resolved, Gentiane relaxed completely. She didn’t have much to do now, and there were obviously no large-scale scavengers near the base, at most a few petty thieves.The T-Dolls at home could handle this matter perfectly well, and they could also manage the smaller requests that followed. After all, they had plenty of experience with this, so there was nothing to worry about.She could now comfortably enjoy this non-holiday break. Ordering supplies took time, and it would take at least a week for her orders to arrive at Griffin Base.During this week, she didn’t need to supervise the Dolls’ training or stay on duty in the operations command center. If any emergencies arose, she could simply have the Dolls call her.Moreover, Persica, who had originally planned to sleep for a whole week, got up early. Clearly, she wasn’t so exhausted that she actually needed a full week of sleep to recover.Persica was obviously not one to sit still. Not long after getting up, she began developing a new fire-control and automatic loading system for the 88mm gun that Gentiane had secretly brought back.Fire-control systems were a piece of cake for Persica. With the advanced equipment in the research lab, a fire-control system suitable for the 88mm gun was completed in less than half a day.Ammunition supply systems were also straightforward. Persica simply modified some mature systems to fit the command vehicle perfectly, which had ample space and even allowed additional armor plating and a gun shield for the 88mm gun.With a clear vision, Persica’s drawings flowed effortlessly. After years of tinkering with Dolls’ minds, occasionally switching research directions was a welcome respite.On the third day of Gentiane’s relaxation, Persica and several Dolls were already at work. Some Dolls repaired the external armor plates of the command vehicle, while Persica and the others added a sunroof.Like Gentiane, Persica thought mounting the 88mm gun on the command vehicle’s roof was a great idea. After all, no other place was suitable for a turret; only the roof offered a good firing arc and allowed the command vehicle to take advantage of its large size.As for the minor issue of increasing the command vehicle’s vulnerable area, a turret would increase it by at most three to four percent—practically negligible!Seeing Persica’s enthusiasm, Gentiane couldn’t sit still any longer and immediately joined the engineering Dolls, single-handedly doing the work of four or five Dolls.Kalina, busy dealing with base finances with LAMMG, rolled her eyes in exasperation."Ignoring your proper command duties, you’re off helping Tactical Dolls move materials and weld? Are you sure you’re not just making things worse?”…“Madam! This is too dangerous! Come back quickly!” Several bodyguards in black suits stood on the beach, anxiously shouting to the elderly white-haired woman in the distance.However, the old lady in her surfing suit completely ignored them, grabbed her surfboard, plunged into the sea, and paddled toward the current.While paddling, she shouted energetically at the bodyguards."Stop talking nonsense! I’m still young! My body is much stronger than yours, you weaklings!”“I’m sorry, Mr. Graven, your mother insists on going… going surfing… we couldn’t stop her…”Seeing that Mrs. Graven had already paddled dozens of meters ahead and that a large wave was about to crash in the distance, the bodyguards on shore had no choice but to take out their phones and call their boss.However, when they mentioned that they couldn’t stop an old lady, their faces inevitably turned ashen…It was truly a disgrace! Four tall, muscular bodyguards couldn’t stop an elderly, thin-looking woman!“Hey! You little brats, are you talking about me behind my back?! Stand over there and learn from me!”Just then, Mrs. Graven stepped onto her surfboard and rode the wave…Watching the old lady effortlessly navigate the waves, the bodyguards were as anxious as ants on a hot plate.This was not a dedicated resort. There were no professional lifeguards along the beach. The area had already been designated a contaminated zone when Collapse Radiation was rampant.The drop in collapse radiation readings here was recent. They simply couldn’t believe that this elderly Mrs. Graven was so daring, especially considering her age!Wouldn’t it be better for her to enjoy retirement at home?!What was the point of going to such a dangerous place to surf?! Was she really tired of living?!She had said she was here for a business trip, but what kind of business trip was this?!Fortunately, after a few moderate waves, the sea seemed to have calmef down. Having waited for ages without seeing another large wave, Mrs. Graven had to return disappointed.Seeing the phone in the bodyguard’s hand, Mrs. Graven took it directly. “Hey, kid, this place isn’t bad. Buy it and develop it into a resort.”“Uh, okay, I understand, Mother. But you’d better hurry back. Commander Renault will be arriving at Universal Anything’s port soon. His… ship might need some help docking.”“Ha, you brat, are you sending your own mother to do your chores? Humph! Anyway, you’d better stay away from those Stasi, especially that Oberstein. Stay away from that old man! Getting too close to them won’t get you anywhere!”“Yes, yes, I know. I’m just going through the motions. I won’t get involved.”“That’s for the best.”Hanging up, Mrs. Graven casually tossed the phone back to the bodyguard and walked toward their car, surfboard in hand.Looking at the sprightly old woman before them whose white hair belied her youthful appearance, the bodyguards exchanged glances and sighed helplessly.How could there be such an energetic old woman in the world? Her energy surpassed that of these young people in their prime; even calling her strong as an ox would be an understatement. This old woman was simply not normal.Perhaps it was some kind of technology only the wealthy could afford… Had technology advanced this far already?Mrs. Graven’s car traveled smoothly, taking only a dozen minutes from receiving the call to returning to her lodging near the Universal Anything Company’s port.When the old woman arrived at the Universal Anything port, someone was already waiting there.Of course, it wasn’t Renault, because there was no sign of the spaceship yet, and the Universal Anything Company’s reception staff wouldn’t be so enthusiastic as to come out and greet her personally.Therefore, only one possibility remained.“Wright! Long time no see! What have you been up to lately?”Seeing the young man with his youthful face, Mrs. Graven patted him gently on the shoulder. Although she didn’t like the Stasi, she didn’t dislike this young man with clear eyes.“Uh, it’s been a while, Mrs. Graven. You know how it is—it’s all just trivial stuff.” Facing the elderly Mrs. Graven, who seemed like an elder, Wright smiled shyly.Although he had been with the Stasi for a while, he was still just a trainee. While his performance was excellent, he hadn’t participated in any important operations.He was only able to stand here waiting for Renault’s ship to arrive thanks to the recommendation of his senior colleague, J.He was still somewhat frustrated; after all, this was just handling entry permits for Renault’s security contracting company, nothing major… probably…“Hmm? Who’s this kid? Is it hot? You’re sweating buckets.” After greeting Wright, Mrs. Graven turned to look at another man standing beside him.Unlike Wright’s natural demeanor, the man next to him had cold sweat covering his forehead, giving off a weak impression at first glance.“This is my senior colleague. He’s always been very kind to me, you…”“J. Just call me J.”“Ah, these vague code names again. You people… never mind. Don’t be so tense. Renault is easy to talk to, as long as you don’t piss him off. Come on, let’s go inside and wait. We’ll see him as soon as the ship arrives, no need to stand here waiting like idiots.”Waving the two inside the Universal Anything port, Mrs. Graven led the way toward the control tower.“Phew! Wright, who is this old lady? How come you never mentioned that you knew her? Her aura is really a bit intimidating…” J raised his hand to wipe away cold sweat. When Mrs. Graven stood beside him just now, the hairs on his body stood on end.It was as if he were standing next to a brown bear on the Siberian tundra!---Chapter 1078 — Time Is Enough“She’s the mother of the chairman of Graven Shipbuilding. I’ve met the old lady a few times before. Hmm, it seems it was all because of Mr. Renault. Later, the old lady seemed to have given my sister her contact information, and she even sent a lot of food and drinks a while ago…” Wright scratched his head.To be honest, he didn’t know how his sister had gotten in touch with this old lady. He had barely run into her, yet the old lady still remembered him.“Graven Shipbuilding? It seems like it’s a shipbuilding company that moved here a year or two ago?”“Yes, that’s right.”I see.J nodded, but something didn’t feel right… If that was all, wasn’t the old lady’s aura a bit too exaggerated? Even standing in front of his angry boss, he had never felt this cold.However, Wright had already jogged to catch up. The old lady Graven was walking briskly ahead, and without jogging a little, it was hard to keep up.It was truly bizarre. At first glance, she looked like an ordinary old lady, yet she walked more nimbly than these young people.Even though J was completely baffled, he had to start chasing after her. While their authority here meant they could go almost anywhere, they still had to be more cautious when dealing with such large companies.Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been waiting in the parking lot near the entrance instead of inside the port. Standing in the parking lot was certainly less comfortable than waiting inside.J had initially thought he could only sneak in after Renault’s ship arrived, but instead, they were led inside directly by Granny Graven.As a partner of Universal Anything, Graven Shipbuilding naturally had a dedicated lounge at the port, usually used by its employees when discussing business with Universal Anything. It was currently empty.“Please sit down. It’s quite unusual—just the two of you. No other teams? It seems Renault’s job protecting Ulrich Hermann in Belgrade was true,”Mrs. Graven spoke, taking a bottle of water from the small refrigerator in the lounge and chugging most of it down.Watching Mrs. Graven drink so unrestrainedly, J winked. For a moment, he thought the bottle in the old lady’s hand wasn’t water at all, but a 500 ml bottle of vodka.However, what she said made J’s expression change slightly.This news should have been suppressed; no one else should know that Chairman Ulrich Hermann had returned safely.Furthermore, due to Paradeus’s interference with communications throughout the city, very little information had leaked out of Belgrade so far. Information about the city’s situation was limited to the tacit understandings of certain relevant organizations.Even if Granny Graven’s family company was indeed quite large, it was unlikely she would reveal this.“Alright, stop looking at me like that. It’s just a young girl from my family who now works for Renault. Hmm, no need to guess—it’s a Doll.”“Uh, this…” Hearing this, J swallowed back any further questions he was about to ask.That made sense. Chairman Ulrich probably hadn’t considered news control when signing the contract…After all, the situation was urgent, and too many conditions could have caused problems if Renault refused the commission…Fortunately, the news had only reached Granny Graven; no further information had leaked out, significantly reducing the workload for Stasi’s colleagues.Just ten minutes after Mrs. Graven and Wright had been chatting idly, the sky outside the window suddenly darkened.“Hmm? Ha! Looks like we’ve arrived! Honestly, I thought I’d be waiting for an hour or two again!”Seeing the enormous object blocking the sunlight in the sky, the old lady grinned and rushed out the door.“Is that Renault Security’s spaceship? Wow, it’s huge! How does it even fly?”Following the old lady out of the Universal Anything office building, J looked up at the behemoth slowly moving through the sky, searching for a landing spot, feeling goosebumps rise all over his body.“This? It doesn’t seem to be the same ship as before. I remember the previous one wasn’t this big. I can’t believe that questionable information in the intelligence was actually true.”Wright, however, didn’t share J’s agitation.Having seen Renault’s ships before, even though this one was much larger, he knew Renault wouldn’t use it like a rammed warship, so he wasn’t afraid.After all, they were following the rules. Universal Anything had just been notified that the area was open to Renault, and they arrived almost immediately. Clearly, they valued the conditions for docking in a normal city.The ship waited patiently for the port barges to move the obstructing vessels, a sight that relieved J. His biggest worry was that the owner of Renault’s security contractor was someone who didn’t care about the rules.But for now, it seemed there wouldn’t be any major problems……Unfortunately, it was actually the two pilots, wz.29 and P226, who followed the rules; Renault hadn’t said anything about it.So the two of them naturally followed the usual procedures. After all, wz.29 wasn’t exactly a free spirit; if she weren’t averse to management, she could definitely be Helian and M1 Garand’s best assistant.“Has Ulrich granted our personnel any movement permits?”“Yes, but only for the area around Bremen. Dolls are prohibited from entering the city,” Helian frowned. The conditions weren’t great, but they weren’t bad either, considering the port was quite far from the city.If it was just for resupply, the Dolls didn’t need to go all the way into the city; they could just find a nearby town.“Alright,” Renault nodded indifferently.He didn’t object to this. After all, while it was said to be prohibited, if the Dolls really wanted to go, they could easily change their identification information and blend in. Without significant effort and a dedicated task force to track them, it would be impossible to spot his Dolls in a crowd.All the Dolls in his house had been fitted with new bio-material bodies. Although their appearance remained unchanged, anyone could tell they were different from other Dolls.Just like the Nytos of Paradeus, they could infiltrate human society undetected simply by using their faces and some nano-camouflage devices.Now that all the Dolls in his house had bio-material bodies, even professional detection equipment wouldn’t be able to distinguish them from humans.“I’m not going. You take the Dolls out for a walk and clear your head. You’ve been working hard lately, and there’s no rush to find a place to stay.”Helian was about to say something—or rather, about to ask Renault to go out with her—but before she could speak, Renault waved his hand, looking uninterested and clearly not planning to leave the spaceship.Helian could only roll her eyes.What? Don’t want to go out? You’ll probably hide in the workshop when you get back, working on the engine and control system for that new mech that G11 and ME79 are tinkering with, right?She finally understood. Letting G11 and ME79 run around like that—it was obvious he wanted to build that thing himself!Helian had also taken a look at the new mech that G11 and the others were working on. Although she hadn’t examined the details closely, the two cannons sitting to the side that's not yet installed were already frightening enough.The cannon barrels were longer than her hand; with such a large caliber, the shells fired couldn’t possibly be anything simple!This firepower was comparable to current land behemoths and armored trains, wasn’t it?Moreover, this cannon was mounted on a mech, whose maneuverability was far superior to that of an armored train!“According to the plan, we’ll stay at the port for at least a week, but staying at sea outside the port afterward is also fine, as long as it doesn’t affect the cargo ships’ routes.”“So?”“That means we have plenty of time! We can stay here as long as we want—more than enough for you to manufacture that giant toy. Any questions now, Mr. Renault?”“Uh…” Seeing Helian suddenly start calculating, Renault opened his mouth, feeling inexplicably flustered.Seeing the unusual expression on Renault’s face—a look other than his usual blankness and smile—Helian’s eyes lit up."Then I’ll take the others out first.”With a smile, Helian waved and turned to walk toward the few eager little Nytos not far away.Leaving Renault standing there, scratching his head with a complicated expression.What… what triggered Helian? Why was she suddenly being so proactive? She was perfectly normal yesterday…“Hmm, we saw it! We didn’t expect Helian to have evolved so much! She can even handle Commander Renault now!”“Actually, we heard Mercurius holding a…”Hearing the Dolls’ whispers around him, Renault knew perfectly well that they had witnessed everything. His face darkened, and he shook his head helplessly.But, well, he was in a pretty good mood.“Renault! You’re so dense! Such a great opportunity! You’re just as clueless as my son!”Before Renault even reached the elevator, Mrs. Graven’s exasperated voice rang out. She had seen it all too, but Renault remained completely unmoved.“Hmm? Granny Graven, aren’t you catching up with RFB and M200?”“Hey! No rush. I’ll take them for a stroll in the city later! A little later won’t hurt.”Hearing Granny Graven’s words, J, who was following behind, sighed helplessly."Um, Mrs. Graven, Commander Renault’s Dolls aren’t allowed in the city…”“Oh? Dolls aren’t allowed? Come here, little girl. Tell this uncle if any Dolls are going to the city later.”Mrs. Graven pursed her lips, rolled her eyes, and turned to M1 Garand, who was walking a short distance away carrying a tablet and calculating what supplies she needed to buy.Seeing Mrs .Graven suddenly appear, M1 Garand first nodded to her. Mrs. Graven clearly recognized her, even though she had just switched to a bio-body and was only the size of a child. It was obvious Mrs. Graven recognized her at a glance.After all, they had met several times before.“No, all the Dolls at home will be staying home this time,” M1 Garand naturally understood what Granny Graven meant and immediately nodded cooperatively, feigning innocent ignorance.“Ah, ah? This…” J was about to say something more,ñ when he suddenly realized that although the girl who spoke looked somewhat familiar, like a certain model of a Doll, her demeanor was far too natural.Neither her expression nor her face showed any trace of Doll parts…J was shocked by this discovery and also impressed by the girl’s blatant lying.But what puzzled him most was whether the M1 Garand in front of him was actually a Doll.I can’t tell!?Wright tugged at J’s sleeve, giving Renault an awkward smile."Excuse me, Mr. Renault. This is the relevant clearance from Renault Contracting Firm. Please instruct your Dolls to comply with the regulations during your stay in port.”“Okay, I understand. Is there anything else?”“No, we’ll be right back…”Wright said, preparing to take his leave. After all, their mission was over, and taking further action on their own could obviously cause the situation to spiral out of control.However, Mrs. Graven reached out and pressed down on Wright’s shoulder. “Hey! Don’t rush off! We still have some things to move! Do you two young people really want to watch an old woman like me do all this work?”After pressing Wright down, Mrs. Graven turned and waved to Renault. “Now that business is over, why don’t you take me to see the ship? I’ve lived my whole life and never seen such a large spaceship!”Even among ships capable of navigating the deep sea, few were as large as Renault’s.Although Renault’s ship wasn’t particularly long—even shorter than some ordinary container ships—its width, height, and unusually square hull made its interior space far greater than that of normal vessels.---Chapter 1079 - Quite Unique"Let's go, but those two boys behind us—no, only the one with the squinty eyes—don't look around while walking."Ater calming his awkward mood, Renault waved his hand and said to Wright and J, who were following behind Mrs. Graven."Huh?" J was taken aback at first, but after seeing Wright already taking the lead, he tilted his head and muttered to Wright beside him, "Squinty eyes? Me? I have thick eyebrows and big eyes, okay!"Uh... hehe...Wright could only respond with a polite smile, indicating that those words weren't from his own mouth, and that if he had a problem with that, he should go find Renault, who had just spoken.Seeing the smile on Wright's face, J felt as if something was stuck in his throat, something he had to say!"Wait? Why? Why am I the only one being told not to look around?""Uh, maybe, perhaps it's because your physique is a bit..."Whoosh!Before Wright could finish speaking, a Prowler, with something on its fuselage, sped past them like the wind!"Vulnerable..."J didn't hear the rest of Wright's sentence, but that didn't stop him from realizing the extreme danger he was in on this ship.After all, as Renault had said, if he looked around and got hit by one of those Prowlers...He'd break at least three or four bones!"You look quite well now. What's wrong? Did you make a fortune in Belgrade? Or did something else go wrong?"Ignoring the speeding Prowler—its speed was no different from an ordinary person running past—Grandma Graven asked Renault as she walked ahead."I did make a little money, but it was just a one-off deal. It'll barely keep Doll busy for a while.""Ha, You're not telling the truth!" Mrs. Graven rolled her eyes at him. Although the commotion in Belgrade had been completely suppressed, she knew that even Ulrich had almost gotten herself into trouble this time.Plus, with an entire city of ELID infected needing to be eliminated, the reward for this commission definitely wouldn't be as "barely" as Renault claimed. And it was clear that Renault was in a good mood; otherwise, he wouldn't be so elusive."I heard from M200 last time that you were trying to find markets for the ingredients from the vertical farm. How's that going?""Without all those messy certifications, those guys don't even give it a second glance." He shrugged. "But we got a shipping order along the way, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.""Come on! I heard everything. You guys were eating and drinking your fill over there, making that manager so anxious she was practically green with envy before she finally set off to bring the goods back. It didn't even take a day for the whole trip! Just one trip and my shipyard made a month's profit!""After all, she paid for ocean freight, so naturally it was slower."As they spoke, they passed an open hatch leading to a warehouse filled with near-expiry products. These would be sold if given the chance; otherwise, they'd have to be scrapped.A few Sangvis Ferri Dolls who were resting looked up when Renault passed by, their eyes meeting those of Wright and J walking behind."Hey, there are over a dozen Sangvis Ferri here..." J whispered in Wright's ear.“Yeah, it’s been going on for a long time. And just now, when we passed the cargo hold, a lot of Sangvis Ferri Dolls walked by.”Wright was referring to Scarecrow and Intruder. Although they had changed their clothes, Wright, having seen Scarecrow before and reviewed the internal files, recognized those former elite Sangvis Ferri Dolls.“Huh? Does that mean some Sangvis Ferri have already gone to the suburbs! Why didn’t you remind me?!”“Uh, I thought you were pretending not to recognize them…” Wright was a little embarrassed. After all, wasn’t this already certain before Renault arrived?Unless their superiors were determined to stop Renault, even if all of Stasi’s personnel were mobilized, they wouldn’t be able to keep all of Renault’s dozens of Dolls out."Tsk, at least we should remind the others not to have any inappropriate thoughts about these Dolls."J wasn't trying to call for people to stop the Dolls, but just wanted to remind the others in his department not to casually attack Renault's Dolls, otherwise, things might really escalate.Although, so far, J hadn't seen anything particularly difficult about Renault. After all, judging from the way Granny Graven spoke to Renault, he didn't seem like an unapproachable person.Leading the group to the third floor by elevator, the spaceship had several elevators, each leading to different floors.Of course, this wasn't to create trouble, but the area above the third floor contained the spaceship's power zone and some energy transmission pipelines and other compartments, all of which needed to be separated.Otherwise, given the mischievousness of the Dolls at home and the cats, who knows what kind of trouble they might cause.Just as the group passed the door of a cabin, they heard Doll's cheerful laughter coming from inside.Hearing the laughter, Renault raised an eyebrow.All the Dolls were out now, leaving only the Sangvis Ferri Dolls—except for Jaeger.And this cabin, if nothing unexpected happened…"Hmm? Hmm!?"Mrs. Graven and the other two who had reached the door were all drawn to the commotion inside the cabin and instinctively turned their heads.J then rubbed his eyes hard, as if he were hallucinating.He saw two Rippers riding on spring-loaded scooters, several Dragoons riding on spinning unicorns, and several Sangvis Ferri Dolls bumping into each other in bumper cars. Nearby, Vespid and Dinergates were sliding down a slide together…Besides the Sangvis Ferri playing, there were many more Sangvis Ferri Dolls gathered around, or perhaps in a queue?“My bagel must have expired this morning. How could I be seeing something so magical… huh?”As J lowered his hands from rubbing his eyes, he found the scene was still there. Even after rubbing them again, the Sangvis Ferri were still there.The only difference was that all the Sangvis Ferri had stopped and were looking at him with curious eyes, even the Dragoons on the spinning unicorn ride."Ah... this doesn't seem like a hallucination...""Sorry! Sorry! Please continue! Continue..."Feeling uncomfortable under the gaze of this group of Sangvis Ferri Dolls, Wright quickly pulled J away from the doorway. Mrs. Graven glanced at them and walked away, leaving the two of them standing there dumbfounded."Um, Renault, speaking of which, is your hobby..." Mrs. Graven had a clear view of the children's playground in the cabin.She truly hadn't expected Renault to have the ingenuity to set up such a cabin on the ship specifically for the Dolls to play in..."That was something Architect came up with herself; it has nothing to do with me."Well, even if Renault denied it outright, Grandma Graven wouldn't believe him at this point.If you didn't agree, would your Dolls really keep this children's playground a secret from you?Do you even believe it yourself?I certainly don't! X3The three of them followed Renault all the way, taking the elevator to the lounge, which was the location of Springfield's café and Maggie's bar.Renault was about to head towards the coffee shop when, unexpectedly, Mrs. Graven abruptly turned and walked straight to the bar, her eyes narrowing as she focused on the liquor cabinet behind it."Help yourself to something," Renault spoke, waving to Wright and J as he took the bottle of vodka the old lady had her eye on from the cabinet and placed it in front of her.Before Wright and J could react, Mrs. Graven had already unscrewed the cap and, just like when she was filling her water bottle, downed almost half the bottle without hesitation!Watching the old lady's actions, J felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as if his guess had come true…Fortunately, Wright wasn't particularly interested in taking a sip, and since he was still working, he only ended up grabbing two bottles from the juice-labeled section near the edge of the liquor cabinet."Phew! That's great! I didn't expect you to have so many kinds of alcohol. Do you have a lot in stock? This should sell very easily." Grandma Graven raised an eyebrow, shaking the bottle in her hand.Alcohol is obviously much easier to sell than fruits and vegetables. Those who enjoy it won't care too much about complicated certifications and certificates, unless it's for collecting. Otherwise, certificates and such are irrelevant."Of course, plenty. There are at least three hundred tons of high-proof alcohol on the ship right now, and various kinds. It would be great if you could help sell them."This three hundred tons doesn't include the vodka Simonov and her crew often drink; the rest is mostly various kinds of alcohol that Simonov and her crew have been experimenting with brewing.Besides these, there's also a batch of beer, no less than a quantity of high-proof liquor. If they could sell these things that are usually difficult to consume, they could empty at least three entire warehouses."Huh?" J nearly spat out the orange juice he'd just taken a sip of.Three hundred tons of high-proof liquor—even if sold at cost, the total value would far exceed the average income of a security contractor!"That's quite a lot, but three hundred tons should be manageable. I'll ask around when I get back; this amount should be sellable."Three hundred tons—if bottled in ordinary bottles, even after accounting for losses—would yield at least four or five hundred thousand bottles.With a little packaging, that quantity could definitely generate a fortune!"There are other things too, mostly ingredients. Not much is fresh; most have already been processed into canned goods for easy preservation. It would be great if you could help me clear out some of my inventory while you're at it."Helian hadn't included the canned goods in her report.As he spoke, Renault pulled a tablet from his pocket and placed the inventory list in front of Mrs. Graven.Looking at the dazzling array of products on the tablet, even though she had heard a lot about it from M200, Mrs. Graven was still shocked when she saw the catalog in person and took a big gulp of vodka.“I’m saying, why don’t you just transform the company into an agricultural enterprise? Selling these things would definitely make more money than being a security contractor.”“It’s not impossible, but as a security contractor, very few people will come looking for trouble.”If it weren’t for the security contractor label, probably many people would covet his technology.But with the security contractor label, it’s different. Even if someone is tempted, they’d have to consider whether they have the resources to quietly acquire an entire security contracting company.The reason no one’s causing trouble… it can’t just be because of the security contracting company, right?J wiped a bead of sweat, feeling a little embarrassed.If they saw you guys driving such a flying behemoth, unless they were completely insane, they wouldn’t even think of targeting a security contractor that can fly around everywhere, right?Even his boss had to carefully consider his words regarding Renault to avoid misunderstandings among his subordinates, lest someone act impulsively and think of targeting Renault and his associates.Not to mention the other ordinary businessmen...It's not because of the name of a security contractor, but because they're truly untouchable.In fact, the name Renault Security Contracting Fim is practically nonexistent in the industry.All the information has been blocked... The only information outsiders can find about Renault Security Contracting Firm is the ordinary security contracts they took on before they even had their spaceship.With that kind of track record, to those who truly need it, it's just an unknown little company, not worth hiring at a high price.Besides, J remembers that on Renault's official website, their hiring prices were far higher than their competitors, even significantly more expensive than the bodyguard services offered by Universal Anything.No reputation, no track record, and ridiculously high prices—it would be strange if business came knocking on their door...Anyway, these things aren't J's concern. After gesturing for Wright to listen carefully to the conversation between Renault and the old lady, J listlessly surveyed the lounge's layout.By the time Renault finished talking with the old lady, he hadn't remembered anything... except for one thing...Hmm, this orange juice was pretty good...---Chapter 1080: It’s Always Bad News“Come on, come on, move one of these!”Mrs. Graven said cheerfully as she lifted a box of canned food with one hand and tossed it straight into J’s waiting arms.Watching how effortlessly she moved, J assumed it couldn’t be that heavy. The moment it landed in his hands, he nearly threw out his back.Ouch! What is this thing?! Why is it so heavy!?The box was a plain cardboard carton with no markings at all. There were no labels, no orientation symbols, not even a stacking warning.Fortunately, it wasn’t sealed with tape, so J peeked through a gap to see what was inside.Tin cans were stacked neatly from top to bottom. The only clue to their contents was a small label that read “Beef.”Canned meat? There had to be thirty or forty cans in there. The box weighed at least thirty kilograms, otherwise his back wouldn’t have almost snapped.Wait… canned meat? Then what about all those other cardboard boxes in the warehouse…?J finally understood. He had previously toured the ship’s vertical farm and livestock facilities with Mrs. Graven, so he already knew what Renault produced. Officially, the company was a security contractor. In reality, it operated more like an agricultural enterprise.He had overheard Renault talking with the old lady earlier and assumed the remaining supplies were only a “small amount.” He had clearly misunderstood. “Small amount” didn’t mean small in volume—it meant small compared to the total stock filling several warehouses!Several hundred tons of liquor alone were already worth a fortune, and there were still countless other food products piled up around them.“Come on! Another case of this!”Mrs. Graven ignored his complaints and handed over yet another box. J’s hands started trembling.“Ugh! I can’t take it anymore! I can’t carry any more!” he shouted, veins standing out on his arms.What was wrong with Renault?! Why were these boxes so big?! Wouldn’t smaller ones be more reasonable?!“Hey, Wright, you take this!” She shoved two cases into Wright’s arms.Wright carried them easily, making J stare in disbelief. He had never realized his younger brother was this strong.“If you’re this capable, why didn’t you say so earlier?!”Luckily, flatbed trailers were always available in the ship’s storage area, so J didn’t have to carry the boxes all the way off the ship himself.Besides the canned goods, Renault helped move several boxes of fresh vegetables and added multiple large cases of drinks.This amount of cargo was nothing to Renault. The ship produced more than that in a single day.“Need help transporting it?”“It’s fine, I’ll have someone handle it!” Mrs. Graven waved dismissively. Moving supplies wasn’t something she needed to trouble Renault with.A few bodyguards were more than enough; they didn’t even need the shipyard’s transport team.After several trips back and forth, the vehicles were packed to the brim. Each one carried at least a ton or two of cargo before loading finally stopped.Even J received two large boxes. Wright’s share was delivered directly to his home since it wasn’t far from Mrs. Graven’s residence.“Hm? What exactly were we supposed to be doing again? I don’t remember being told we were coming here to pick up goods.” Watching Wright shove the boxes into the trunk, J suddenly felt uneasy. What bothered him more was how calm Wright seemed. Didn’t he think anything about this was strange?“I’m only here to greet Mr. Renault. More precisely, I’m delivering documents to him. And… Senior J, these ingredients… well, let’s just say they might have some effects on the body. Don’t spread that around.”Wright had no desire to end up in a research institution being dissected.Sooner or later Renault would sell these products publicly anyway. It was safer to let other people discover their effects first.That way, if researchers became interested, there would be no reason to drag them into laboratories.It might not be entirely fair, but for his own safety—and his sister’s—it was the best option he could think of.“Effects? Huh? These can’t be expired, can they? Aside from the vegetables, everything’s vacuum-packed or canned. How could they go bad so easily?”“Just… when you notice the effects, don’t tell anyone. Otherwise, you might wake up one day lying on an autopsy table.”“Huh? How could that happen? These are just ordinary ingredients! Maybe expensive, but they can’t possibly make people sick!” J clearly failed to connect the food with Wright’s ridiculous physical strength.After all, physical ability came from training and exercise. How could someone improve just by eating and drinking? No one would believe that.“But I have to say, the selection here is amazing. They even have watermelon? I haven’t eaten watermelon in ages!” Apples, pears, strawberries—almost every common fruit was available.There were vacuum-packed pastries too. The packaging made them look a little rough, but the variety was impressive, mostly cookies and biscuits.Of course, Mrs. Graven hadn’t only given J snacks. There were plenty of meat products and drinks as well.Even though hauling everything had been exhausting, J was thrilled to get so much for free. His impression of Renault rose significantly.If he had tried to buy those two boxes himself, he probably couldn’t even find the items, let alone afford them.…“Hey, Renate, is it really okay for us to just walk around like this? Before, I was…”Leone walked close beside Renate like a frightened bird, completely unlike UL-Nurse who drifted around like a carefree butterfly.After all, Leone had gone to great lengths to escape the Galatea Corp. Not much time had passed since then. What if they were still searching for her?“Relax, Leone. You’ve asked that at least eight times since we came out. And you already finished researching those radiated epiphyllum flowers, right? The information you saw before is outdated now. There’s nothing to worry about.”Renate rubbed her temples. This girl really was too timid. Working under Renault meant she no longer had to live in fear. If anything went wrong, she could simply call for reinforcements.“Um… but I brought all the research data with me…” Leone lowered her voice. She wasn’t the first person to study that kind of epiphyllum, but her findings on its practical applications were the result of her own hard work. She couldn’t bring herself to leave them behind.“All of it? There’s no backup at Galatea?”Renate’s eyes widened. She had only just learned this herself.Galatea had funded the research. Leone had run off with not only confidential documents but also the entire dataset.No wonder they were chasing her so relentlessly...“Um… I didn’t really think that far when I ran away…”“You didn’t think that far? Then why did you delete the backup?”“No, no! I never kept electronic data at all. That was their requirement.” Leone waved her hands hurriedly.How could she keep digital records of research involving weaponized radioactive epiphyllum?If backups existed, someone malicious could discover everything through electronic means.“That’s not a normal requirement. It doesn’t sound like legitimate research at all.” Renate sighed. Researching radioactive epiphyllum specifically for weaponization made it obvious who was likely behind it.And yet Leone had accepted the commission anyway.“Well… I really needed money at the time…”Renate shook her head helplessly. After hacking into the nearby Doll network and confirming that Stasi personnel were still monitoring the area, she patted Leone’s shoulder.“Don’t worry. There aren’t any Galatian personnel nearby besides Stasi agents.”More precisely, there were also Paradeus “people”—Nyto capable of disguising themselves.“Stasi!? They’re still following us!?”“Who said they’re following you? They’re here to make sure we don’t go on a killing spree outside the city.”A killing spree!? Did they really sound that terrifying? The suburban residents hadn’t done anything to them.Meanwhile, other Dolls were scattered around the city in small groups, wandering wherever they pleased.A few dozen Dolls blended into a city this size were barely noticeable. The population of Dolls here might not reach millions, but it certainly numbered in the hundreds of thousands, especially among civilians.Some Dolls, like M1 Garand and others, had even chosen faster-acting child-sized bodies before arriving. With so many tiny, energetic figures running around, who would dare provoke them?Originally designed as punishment for MDR, these small bio-bodies had unexpectedly become fashionable. Those who hadn’t experienced them couldn’t understand—but once they tried…People on the street offered to buy them clothes, and even a little cuteness attracted crowds wanting photos! MDR and Carol were immediately jealous.Especially MDR. Her smaller size made it much easier to go unnoticed, which was perfect for her research. Because of that, she had already started considering whether to ask Renault for reverse aging.…While Renault’s Dolls wandered around collecting whatever interested them, Gentiane was equally busy back at the Griffin base.The current task was installing a new turret on the command vehicle.After days of preparation, the modification work progressed rapidly. This time, Persica joined voluntarily, which was unusual for her.She seemed to be using the intense workload to distract himself from the fact that two members of her AR team had been lured away.M16 and M4 found her behavior puzzling. AR15 and M4 had been with Renault for quite some time, yet Persica had never seemed especially concerned before. Why was she suddenly so affected now?With Persica's help, the retrofit went smoothly. In less than a week, the 88mm gun Gentiane had brought back was mounted on top of the command vehicle.If not for the limited supply of captured shells, Gentiane would have tested it immediately.After all, it was artillery! She rarely had the chance to handle something like this, and now it sat right on their vehicle.Just imagining Dolls’ combat echelons receiving artillery support anywhere at any time filled her with satisfaction.Unfortunately, one certain old man always had perfect timing when it came to ruining the mood. Just as Gentiane admired the new weapon, Havel’s communicator rang again.“Good afternoon, Commander Gentiane. You seem to have quite a bit of free time lately. How about taking your Dolls on a field mission?”“No, please find someone else!”---

Chapter 1081: So Sour!

"Hmm? CAWS?"

"Eh? What's wrong?"

"You look so distracted. What are you thinking about?" Type 80 turned to look at CAWS beside her. The girl had been like this ever since they left the ship.

Although there wasn't a mission right now, her demeanor made one worry she might get lost if not careful.

"Um... well, I feel a little uncomfortable without anything in my hands." CAWS scratched her left hand. Before, whenever she went on missions or anywhere really, she always carried a shield and her weapon.

Even with her weapon holstered, she usually kept the shield in her hand. Now with her hands empty, she really wasn't used to it.

"Huh? You didn't carry anything on the ship either. What's there to be uncomfortable about?" Type 80 tilted her head curiously. This was the first time she'd seen a Doll look so lost without something in her hands.

"It's so different on the ship compared to outside..."

After leaving the port, the Dolls dispersed in different directions. Most didn't head toward the city center closest to the port. Instead, they wandered through the streets and alleys nearby.

Only M1 Garand and G36, who needed to purchase supplies, found transportation to the city center.

RFB and Ouroboros definitely went too. That's where they could buy the latest equipment and games.

But Dolls like Type 80 and CAWS weren't interested in the city center. A casual stroll was enough.

Without even visiting the nearby bustling streets, Type 80 and CAWS spontaneously decided to stroll along the seawall, eventually meeting up.

Meanwhile, Springfield and WA2000 had just crossed the city center's perimeter wall. They intended to check out the city's secondhand market.

"Wouldn't it be better to buy new? Used equipment always has problems, right?" WA2000 asked puzzled. Springfield wasn't going to the secondhand market for everyday items. She wanted to see if there was any used coffee roasting equipment.

"No, no. Buying new equipment would be wasteful. I just plan to buy one machine, use it briefly, and figure out how it works."

Before coming, Springfield had done her research. The coffee roasting equipment on the secondhand market would definitely be small. Medium and large machines would never appear there. They were too big, and even if for sale, they'd probably sit in the manufacturer's warehouse.

"Well, it's up to you. But we'd better hurry, or we won't have time for the dessert shops in town."

Even if they did have time, WA2000 felt they probably wouldn't find anything good.

Compared to CAWS strolling aimlessly and Springfield's group with clear goals, some of the Dolls...

Well, saying they had clear goals might be an exaggeration. But they definitely had something in mind.

...

"Ugh! This shop isn't open yet! The other shop only had beer! Not enough!"

Executioner pushed open the shop door, pointed her thumb behind her, and complained dejectedly to Simonov and AK47, who were arm in arm.

"Looks like regular shops in the city are short on stock too. Thinking about it that way, maybe we can get a good price for our products!" Maggie stroked her chin, already calculating the right price for the drinks on the ship.

Before this, they had visited several bars. Some were closed during the day. Others had limited selections or no drinks at all. This wasn't isolated—all the bars faced the same situation.

However, thanks to the industry downturn, Catherine had left her phone number with a few owners. If interested, they might actually sell some drinks.

While Maggie pondered this, the group of heavy drinkers jogged arm in arm toward another bar, forcing passersby and Dolls to make way.

After all, Executioner and the Judge were both quite large, and their all-black attire made them look intimidating.

Add A-91 constantly drunk and clutching her jug, and passersby would immediately label the group as 'drunkards who could cause trouble at any moment!'

As Renault's Dolls dispersed, they caused considerable trouble for the Stasi agents following them.

With so many Dolls, they needed at least a dozen agents to monitor them individually. But the Dolls' movements were completely unpredictable, and their physical forms seemed strange enough to render standard tracking systems ineffective.

This strained the Bremen branch's manpower. Wright and J had completed their assigned tasks and were supposed to hand over their shifts and rest. Instead, they got immediately recalled and sent out again to monitor two of the Dolls.

"A music store? These Dolls have such diverse tastes... Hmm, Wright, aren't you going to eat? These scones taste fresh out of the oven. They're really delicious. That Doll on Renault's ship is quite something!"

Because they were on surveillance duty, they naturally had no time to eat. Fortunately, J's car held two large boxes of food and drinks brought from Renault's ship, so they wouldn't go hungry.

"Hmm, those two Dolls should be Sangvis Ferri's saboteurs. I remember only one back then—they called her Maria. I didn't expect another one now..."

Maria and Destroyer looked exactly alike, as if made from the same mold. Even twins wouldn't look so similar. If not for their different outfits...

Even with identical outfits, Wright couldn't tell which was Maria and which was Destroyer.

"Um, isn't Renault worried his Dolls might cause trouble in the city? Sangvis Ferri's elite Dolls... they're practically military-grade, aren't they?"

"Based on past intelligence, Mr. Renault's Dolls are quite stable. So far, there's never been a case of them injuring anyone in a busy area."

"Well, that's true. But we still need to watch them. It's routine."

J glanced at Maria and Destroyer in the music store, both wearing headphones and beaming with satisfaction. She wondered if the news about Sangvis Ferri was a bit exaggerated.

Most Dolls were actually aware of the Stasi's surveillance—even the two seemingly unsuspecting Destroyers. They had already learned about the situation from others through the Dolls' communication protocols.

Helian had instructed G36 to ignore the Stasi personnel. Of course, if they acted aggressively, she shouldn't hesitate to retaliate. Having worked for Renault so long, Helian certainly had the confidence.

While the Dolls remained unmoved by this surveillance, people were a different story... well, specifically Leone.

After all, besides Helian, Leone was her only family member.

Furthermore, Renate and UL-Nurse's constant reminders about where the Stasi agents were and their disguises made Leone extremely anxious.

Already worried about arrest by the Galatea Group, Leone was now on the verge of tears. She regretted coming with Renate and UL-Nurse!

Wouldn't it have been better to stay home researching new antibody drugs? Why did she have to come out and suffer like this!

Even walking a few more steps or staying with the other Dolls would have been better than being with these two! Why did she agree to UL-Nurse's invitation the moment she asked?!

"Hey, don't look so gloomy, Leone. This is a rare chance to get out. You can't keep your head down like that!"

Hearing UL-Nurse's words, Leone was practically in tears.

However, Renate didn't immediately add to Leone's psychological pressure. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and glanced at a few pedestrians in the distance.

She had joked about Leone being hunted by the Galatea Group. But she hadn't expected it to actually be true.

What she sensed wasn't anything else—it was the identification signal of Paradeus's Nyto. Clearly, those people who looked like ordinary pedestrians were all Nytos in disguise.

So far, those individuals hadn't shown any intention of approaching. They merely loitered in the distance, seemingly not planning to capture Leone here.

After observing the Nytos for a while and realizing they were just keeping watch like the Stasi, Renate finally relaxed.

Clearly, the other side still had reservations. This city wasn't like Belgrade. It didn't have as many ELID infected. For Paradeus to cause the kind of city-wide chaos they'd seen before would be extremely difficult.

However, Renate was now curious. If these individuals dared to make a move here, would Renault directly confront Paradeus's publicly known Galatea Group in the city?

Probably.

...

"You want me to accept a new commission from Statesec? Then make them pay off their previous debts! Did you think I worked for free in Belgrade last time?!" Gentiane slammed her hand on the table angrily, speaking to Havier.

Although she said this, her tone had clearly softened somewhat. The funds Havier offered were substantial—not only enough to replenish the base with various supplies but also enough to cover the deficit from overspending on the command vehicle's fuel.

Moreover, there was a large surplus. Although it wasn't as much as the commission fee initially promised by Statesec, it would ensure Gentiane didn't have to worry about funds for the time being.

Statesec's actions were truly infuriating. But life had to go on. She couldn't just quit because of one commission from them.

"Yes, of course. I'll remind them over there. But time is of the essence. You need to get moving, or at least get your Dolls moving."

Tsk!

"So where are we going this time?"

Always running around. The mission location is completely unrelated to our current base. What's the point of setting up the base here?

Just to collect gatekeeping fees from those rich people?

Besides, there isn't even a single aircraft here. Getting anywhere is inconvenient!

"It's a reconnaissance mission. Don't rush. Let me explain..."

...

"Wow! Are all Renault's Dolls this rich?"

Watching Maria and Destroyer shop like they were buying merchandise, J suddenly felt like the orange in her mouth had turned into a lemon!

"Well, Mr. Renault's company probably has the best treatment for Dolls in the world." Wright shook his head helplessly. Not long after his first encounter with Renault, he saw Renault taking his Dolls on vacation.

Unexpectedly, the situation seemed unchanged. Renault's Dolls were still on vacation.

Compared to these Dolls, they didn't even have time for lunch before continuing their work, keeping watch.

And they sat in their cars watching those Dolls spend money lavishly... The record store owner's mouth was practically stretched to his ears. What could be more enjoyable than encountering two customers who spent money like water and never haggled?

Besides Maria and Destroyer, Wright and J soon spotted another group of Dolls also on a shopping spree, carrying at least a dozen bags.

Meanwhile, J's colleague watching that group followed closely behind with a pained expression.

But then J suddenly noticed Renault's Dolls seemed to be converging. "They're grouping up. Is there some kind of operation going on?"

Wright glanced at his communicator and shook his head helplessly. "Well, you could say that. They've probably planned to go out to eat together..."

"Eat... I have a bad feeling about this..." Looking at the Dolls of varying sizes gathered outside the car, most carrying several shopping bags, J frowned. Something felt off.

"Wait... wait! What are those people behind us doing? They can't be ours, can they!?"

---

Chapter 1082: Where Did They Come From?

"Is this really okay? Several groups of people have already followed us here. If this keeps up, a fight is definitely going to break out soon, right?" M14 nervously turned her head to look out the window.

Of course, she didn't look directly out—just glanced out of the corner of her eye. Even if someone saw her turn her head, they would assume she was looking at the cakes displayed in the dessert shop next door.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. These guys have ulterior motives, and we have Stasi's people following us. They should be the ones to make a move first." Type 56 picked up a sausage with her fork and devoured half of it, completely ignoring the knife.

Although it was lunchtime, apart from Renault's dolls, there were very few other customers. Only an elderly man and a middle-aged man in a worn-out suit were eating in the restaurant.

The arrival of a group of dolls undeniably brought life back to the long-dormant restaurant.

Didn't you see the elderly owner, sweating profusely yet still sporting a smile?

"Hmm, I think he's actually happy that people are coming to help him clear out his inventory?" Type 56 frowned, glancing at the owner, but then shook her head helplessly.

The food itself was fine, but most of it had been frozen for a while, so the flavor couldn't compare to the fresh ingredients they ate at home every day.

"Alright, if there's food, don't be picky. Consider it a change of pace. Besides, the sauces here are completely different from G36's recipes. It has a surprisingly fresh taste!" Buzzsaw waved her hand. It was rare to be out eating, and since she didn't have to work in the restaurant, there was no point in fussing.

"Hey, hey, we were just talking about those guys following us, weren't we? How did we suddenly veer off-topic?" M14 said, somewhat exasperated, as the conversation shifted toward the ingredients.

"Yeah, look, those two outside—they seem itching to come in!" MG42 suddenly leaned over from the next table, blatantly pointing out the window.

Two figures had just gotten out of a car and were walking toward the restaurant.

"Huh? Uh, those two are from Stasi, okay? And didn't we see them when we disembarked? One of them is Wright, the guy from Mrs. Graven's cruise ship."

"Cruise ship vacation? We hadn't even boarded the ship yet!"

"But what about just now? Those two humans are so conspicuous—they couldn't have completely missed them, could they?"

Just as M14 and MG42 were bickering, Wright and J pushed open the restaurant door and walked in.

After the two pushed open the door and nodded to the shop owner who greeted them, they began to scan the shop. With so many dolls here, even if they were to speak, they should at least find someone who looked like they had authority, right?

After all… at least half of these dolls were tiny, less than 1.4 meters tall.

Looking left and right, Maria and Destroyer, who had been with the two of them before, didn't seem suitable. M14 was also too small, and MG42 and MG34 were also tiny.

After searching around, it seemed that only Type 56, who looked to be of normal height, was somewhat reliable, even though she was currently chewing on the ham she had just stuffed into her mouth.

Although her eating manners were a bit rough, she should be reliable, right?

"Um, hello, I am—"

Seeing J facing her as he spoke, Type 56 immediately held out her hand to stop J from continuing, while pointing to BM59 at another table next to her.

"Hey, stop. If you have anything to say, talk to BM59. She's the leader. I'm just the cook."

"Huh? Ah?" J, who was mid-sentence, widened his eyes in surprise, looking at BM59 in the direction Type 56 was pointing.

She wore a slightly oversized red beret, had two long, knee-length blonde pigtails, and those big, bright eyes that blinked as she looked up at him…

Oh my! This was a doll!? Why was she so cute!?

No, no, no! Now was not the time to think about these things!

"Ahem, um, it seems there are some armed individuals of mixed backgrounds outside who are watching you. Should you leave for a while?"

"Leave? Can't Stasi help take care of those guys? Besides, if they make a move here, I think we should be able to fight back." BM59 blinked, showing no intention of readily agreeing to the request.

However, upon hearing BM59's words, the two ordinary customers sitting in the shop and the shop owner, who was serving stewed beef, were all startled upon hearing the name Stasi.

But then they became worried about these young girls. Were these little children really going out to make a living on their own? And being targeted by criminals?

While the two customers were worried about the dolls' safety, the shop owner immediately snapped out of his daze, his face paling slightly.

After all, being targeted… and having to fight back… his little shop might be reduced to ashes in the ensuing battle!

But… that kid who just spoke was so young, yet she said she could fight back? Wasn't that… a bit too naive?

"Um, but… I don't see any of you carrying weapons…"

J had noticed this when the dolls disembarked; these dolls coming down from the Renault ship weren't carrying any weapons at all. He had checked again after entering the shop.

A group of unarmed dolls facing professional doll dealers or thugs… it seemed highly unlikely they could win, right?

Those guys definitely have some equipment that can instantly incapacitate dolls. After all, without such things, how could they kidnap normal dolls?

"Those guys outside aren't carrying any other weapons, just melee weapons. They can't do anything to us," BM59 shook her head.

Even if they didn't have weapons, and most of the dolls were still like children, dealing with ordinary people who only had melee weapons at most was still manageable. If they couldn't handle this, they'd probably be sent for extra training when they got back.

"But, no, even if they only have melee weapons…" He wanted to say that those people might have jamming devices targeting dolls, but he noticed the three ordinary people in the shop and swallowed his words.

After all, he'd never been to this area before, and he didn't know how these three ordinary people viewed dolls.

What if these three were also extremely opposed to dolls? If he revealed that BM59 and the others were all dolls, who knew what trouble might ensue.

"Someone's already walking toward this shop. Didn't you tell your colleagues to take care of these guys?"

"Take care of…"

Hearing BM59 utter such a sharp word, J really couldn't bear to look at BM59's seemingly youthful face.

Despite the strong incongruity in his words, J couldn't see anything about BM59 that resembled a doll…

"Hmm? Is the TV malfunctioning?" The elderly man, sipping his coffee, suddenly noticed that the TV screen behind the island counter had turned into a screen full of white static.

"No way? I just had it fixed a couple of days ago!"

Just as the shop owner turned around, looking suspiciously at the TV screen, Wright and J's hearts skipped a beat.

Jammer!

These guys even had jamming equipment!?

BM59 wasn't surprised. If they were doll traffickers, wouldn't it be normal for them to have signal jammers? How could they abduct dolls without cutting off communication signals?

Just as the shop was being jammed, several people who initially appeared to be pedestrians on the street suddenly started walking toward the shop entrance.

There were four or five in the lead, and at least seven or eight following closely behind—a considerable number! At least twice as many as Stasi's currently deployed people here!

Suddenly, several people started walking toward the restaurant entrance, and their communicators went silent.

Several Stasi agents hidden nearby immediately rushed over, intending to stop these seemingly ill-intentioned individuals.

…

Shaking his head helplessly, Renault skillfully disassembled the damaged parts of the Dragoon's body.

Although the dolls had gone out, there was still a large group of Sangvis Ferri on board. As their mental models had gradually taken shape, quite a few of these Sangvis Ferri had become reckless.

On average, the two Scarecrows had to repair about ten Sangvis Ferri dolls each day. This was just an average; sometimes more, sometimes less.

Undeniably, this work took a considerable amount of time, especially after some Sangvis Ferri dolls had their bionic modules replaced.

Now that both Scarecrows had gone ashore for a change of scenery, Renault naturally had to take over this work. Otherwise, by the time the two Scarecrows returned, these damaged Sangvis Ferri dolls would likely be completely out of commission.

And it wasn't just the work in the workshop; other cabins on the ship also needed his attention…

For example, the vertical farm where coffee trees had recently been planted. Although they'd already tried planting coffee trees once, the new trees had just been planted, and he had to check on them regularly.

He had to avoid the newly planted coffee trees ending up like the previous ones, with unstoppable growth and the entire vertical farm littered with naturally fallen coffee cherries.

While visiting the vertical farm, a quick trip to the animal pens was also necessary to check on the stray animals.

In short, there was a mountain of things to do. The plan was to prepare new engines for G11 and ME79's new mechs, but there was simply no time to actually do it.

"Commander, BM59 and Leone are being followed in the city."

M1 Garand's voice rang out. With the dolls' communication protocol in place, those cheap or low-powered jammers couldn't possibly interfere with the dolls' communication within Renault's home.

Therefore, the moment the followers appeared, M1 Garand had already sent a message to Renault via his mobile phone.

Hearing this, Renault had no choice but to pause his work. He took out his phone, connect to the ship, and use the ship's detection system to see who was so audacious as to target his dolls in broad daylight.

However, the detection system was less effective this time, because those targeting the dolls weren't Paradeus, nor were they Sangvis Ferri. Those tracking the dolls were all ordinary mortals.

In other words, those targeting BM59 and Leone were just ordinary people?

Hmm? Were doll dealers here this brazen now? Committing crimes in broad daylight?

"Just remind them to be careful. They're just ordinary humans—no threat to them."

---

Chapter 1083: Who are you

“You're Dollnappers?!!?”

The Stasi operators outside the restaurant were taken aback when they saw these oddly dressed and obviously suspicious individuals approaching, with three already touching the doorknob.

However, just as the Stasi operators took a few steps forward, several unidentified individuals wielding batons sprang out from behind and struck at the backs of their heads without a word!

Already on a mission, they were on high alert when these unidentified individuals suddenly appeared. Although the attacks came from behind, only one unlucky operator was hit with a baseball bat.

However, it had no effect whatsoever because he knew he might be in trouble, so he had inserted a bulletproof plate into his back before the mission.

Seeing their sneak attack fail, the group immediately dropped the pretense and pounced on the Stasi operators.

In the blink of an eye, the Stasi operators were locked in a fight with a dozen or so unidentified individuals outside!

Meanwhile, the shop owner, who had just been wondering why the television had suddenly malfunctioned, saw the three strangers enter his shop.

When he saw them, the shop owner immediately turned incredulously toward the group of Dolls inside and exclaimed in disbelief.

He hadn’t noticed at all! And since when did Dolls develop such large appetites?! Even when normal civilian Dolls eat, shouldn’t they only take a few bites to taste the food?

“Hm? Probably… sort of. Do you know these guys, shop owner?” BM59 stood up, somewhat surprised by the shop owner’s exclamation.

“This… to be precise… the whole street is their territory. Ever since they started openly kidnapping civilian Dolls, the whole street has become deserted…”

“Ha! Stop flattering yourself! If this street was originally bustling, do you think there would only be a few regulars eating here by now?”

“You!?”

“Hey, hey, hey! Can you at least put on some respectable airs before you speak! Look here! Everyone, put your hands up!” Just as the shop owner was turning red-faced from the first man’s outburst, J opened his jacket, drew his gun, and flicked off the safety with his thumb.

“Damn it!”

These guys aren’t bodyguards!? They’re cops!?

Seeing J holding a gun in one hand and pulling out an unidentifiable document in the other, the three men who had been smugly pleased with themselves were instantly dumbfounded!

Although they didn’t know whether the document was real or fake, the fact that he dared to pull out a gun in public meant these guys were definitely not ordinary bodyguards! Carrying guns was strictly prohibited in the city!

Bang!

Just as the three men cautiously prepared to raise their hands with their eyes wide, a deafening gunshot rang out from the street!

“What!?” J was momentarily distracted by the gunshot because it wasn’t the sidearm of a Stasi colleague! It was the sound of a shotgun!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sudden gunfire was like opening Pandora’s box! After the first shot, a flurry of gunfire erupted simultaneously!

Inside the store, one of the three men facing J immediately lowered his hand and reached for his lower back!

Faced with this situation, Wright didn’t hesitate. He drew his gun from its holster and fired!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three bullets fired in sequence struck the left chest first, then the heart, and finally the forehead!

The other two men, instead of drawing their guns, lunged at BM59 and the terrified shop owner!

They didn’t want to be caught! These days, prison was no place for humans! Even if the guards wouldn’t physically abuse them, the other inmates wouldn’t give newcomers any mercy!

Right now, besides exchanging fire, taking a hostage was clearly the safest option! With a hostage, they could make their escape before the professionals arrived!

“Back off.” BM59 frowned and pulled the elderly shop owner behind her. Then she raised her fist and punched the first man who lunged at her straight in the face with her chubby little fist!

Thump! Crack!

The first sound was the impact of BM59’s small fist striking the man’s nose. The second sound, of course, was the strain on the man’s neck as it twisted violently to the other side!

Meanwhile, the other man looking for a hostage targeted Maria, who was wearing headphones and seemingly oblivious to the tense atmosphere in the shop…

“Huh? Who are you?!”

Unlike BM59 who was using her fist, Maria clearly didn’t understand the concept of holding back in a fight.

Coupled with the man’s sudden lunge, Maria instinctively used all her strength!

She slapped him across the cheek!

Splash!

It was like popping a water balloon!

The man who had been standing in front of the shop owner and loudly mocking him suddenly had his head smashed into a jumble of unidentifiable matter and went flying toward the other tables in the shop!

“Ugh! Disgusting! Watch out! Maria! Your brains almost landed in my bowl!” Type 56 glared at Maria, then picked up her plate and dodged the onslaught of debris.

In less than ten seconds, the three members of the Doll dealer gang who had been standing there were lying on the ground!

The shop owner, pulled away by BM59, was completely bewildered!

The first guy killed by the Stasi personnel was one thing, but what about the others? One’s neck was twisted more than eighty degrees, and the other was even worse—his head had been slapped into a mixture of white and red sauce?

“Phew! Wow… at my age, to witness such a thrilling scene!” The old man who had been sipping coffee in the shop let out a long sigh of relief.

Seeing so many people gathered here, he had initially thought there would be plenty of excitement today, but well… he wasn’t done living yet…

“Hurry up! You guys get out of here first! My shop’s here, they won’t do anything to me,” the shop owner urged the group of Dolls.

So what was the connection between having a shop here and those dangerous people not daring to touch him?

Just then, J and Wright, guns in hand, rushed out of the restaurant to support the others because there were simply too many gunshots outside and it wasn’t even certain whether the people out there could handle it.

---

Chapter 1084: Is This the Main Point?

"This!? This... Ah, I..."

The owner stared at the restaurant, now a complete mess. Shielded behind BM59, he was utterly speechless. Disgust, anger, and sadness twisted together on his face, leaving his expression a tangled mess.

BM59 sighed helplessly. "Sorry, shopkeeper, we've made a mess of your shop. Shall we clean it up for you?"

Huh? Huh?

The two customers deliberately turned their heads, refusing to look at the mess on the floor. When they heard BM59’s words, fear jolted straight through them.

Do you even hear what you’re saying?

A person’s head’s been smashed, and all you’re talking about is that the shop got dirty?!

And the young women beside them—every single one—looked completely unfazed… Seriously… what kind of people are these… no, what kind of Dolls are they?! How can they stay this calm after seeing something like this?!

The two regular customers cursed inwardly. Suppressing their discomfort, they edged toward the back door of the restaurant, planning to slip out from the rear. A fight was raging right outside; running out the front would be suicidal!

At BM59’s words, the shop owner’s hands twitched violently before dropping back down. He forced himself to calm down. A deep breath filled his lungs with the pungent, sweet-and-sour stench of gunpowder, snapping him back to reality.

"Forget it. This isn’t the time to argue about that. You should leave first; it’s too dangerous here..."

Hearing this, BM59 snapped out of her daze. The shop owner wasn’t a Doll; in a situation like this, of course he wouldn’t care about whether the shop was dirty.

Realizing her slip of the tongue, BM59 wanted to apologize, but the shop owner had already turned and rushed to the back door. He pulled out a key and unlocked it.

"I was mentally prepared when those Doll dealers showed up on this street, but I didn’t expect this day to come so soon!"

Since he was usually the only one in the shop, the back door stayed locked for security and was only opened when he needed to go in or out.

As he spoke, he pulled the door open. Only the two regular customers hurried out. BM59 and her group didn’t move toward the exit at all.

“Ah? You guys! Get out of here! They outnumber us! Those two won’t last long!”

The Doll dealers roaming this street were outrageously numerous; even he didn’t know how they had slipped into the city. The two men with pistols clearly didn’t have much ammunition, and reinforcements would soon come in waves!

"Don’t worry, shopkeeper. You go take shelter first. We’ll lend them a hand, then come back and clean up after we’ve dealt with those guys!" Type 56 swallowed the last bite of food, waved at the shopkeeper, stepped over the corpses, and strode straight toward the main entrance.

"Huh? No? You guys!?"

Type 56’s words perfectly captured how the Dolls felt—especially Buzzsaw, who had been talking so much she barely had time to eat.

They had finally gone out for a meal, and before they could even enjoy it, someone ruined it! People who attack while others are eating are the absolute worst!

Maria and Destroyer were already following behind Type 56, rolling up their sleeves as they walked. Maria, in particular, had her hands full of grenades.

Good thing she hadn’t brought a grenade launcher—otherwise, the street would probably already be a sea of fire!

…

“Whoa… I didn’t expect even this city to be this unsafe? It’s already on fire over there!?”

Leone pointed into the distance in shock as she spoke to Renate and UL-Nurse.

Although this wasn’t within Bremen city proper, she had never thought the surrounding area would become this chaotic.

Could it be that these people started causing trouble because Renault arrived?

“Oh dear… Helian’s going to have a headache later. Vector seems to have run into a rather unsavory protest group…”

Renate slapped her forehead. UL-Nurse beside her frowned, her expression grim.

Through the Dolls’ communication network, they had already learned that Vector, after seeing someone throw a Molotov cocktail, had excitedly rushed over.

Not to join the rioters—but to snatch the Molotov cocktails from their hands!

After all, those people had been throwing Molotov cocktails at Vector from the very beginning!

"Huh? What are you talking about? What happened to Vector?" Leone couldn’t access the Dolls’ communication network, so she naturally had no idea what Renate and UL-Nurse were referring to.

But she wasn’t foolish. She knew about Vector’s peculiar hobbies. And judging by the crimson sky in the distance, it wasn’t hard to guess that the burning area was probably Vector’s doing.

"Um, it can’t be that Vector just turned around and set the parade on fire, right?"

"Eh? Leone, you’re actually sharp for once! That’s right—just like you guessed, Vector took down all the thugs who attacked her, piled them together, threw several Molotov cocktails at them, and then started doing a shamanic dance!"

"What!? What!? No, no, no! This can’t be real! You’re joking, right, UL-Nurse? Huh?"

"Hmm, not bad. You’ve gotten smarter. It is a joke—but only the shamanic dance part. The rest is real."

"Hiccup—!" Hearing the first half of UL-Nurse’s sentence, Leone, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, was so startled she hiccupped.

"Looks like our leisurely holiday is coming to an end. Let’s go—back to the spaceship."

Setting fires in the streets and using rioters as fuel was a serious matter; even the Stasi probably couldn’t cover this up.

The Dolls’ safety wasn’t the main concern. Even if those in the outer city couldn’t find transportation, they could run back on their own.

The real problem was the Dolls who had already entered the city’s isolation wall. Once the gates were sealed, they probably wouldn’t be able to get out.

“Yes, yes! Let’s go! Let’s hurry back! We can’t run into those thugs running around!” Leone stood up, grabbed her bag, and turned to leave.

But a large, dark crowd had already gathered at the intersection behind them, blocking their way back.

---

Chapter 1085: Only One Option

"Wait—since when did Doll dealers dare to openly fight the Stasi? People who crawl around in society’s filth actually have that kind of nerve? Have you ever seen anything like this?"

"Ugh!" SPAS-12’s eyes went wide as she shook her head. It was impossible to tell whether she was agreeing with CF05 or simply choking on her fried meat pie.

"Well, anyway, let’s go help—"

"Stop, stop, stop! I finally managed to buy this stuff! I can’t let it go to waste! NZ75, put it down first!" P90 lunged forward and grabbed NZ75 before she could charge out without another word.

P90 had no idea how much help NZ75 would actually be if she rushed over. But one thing was certain—whether NZ75 went or not, the other Dolls inside the shop wouldn’t just sit there.

The moment NZ75 spoke, Maria had already dashed out!

Maria followed Type 56 through the door, ready to lend a hand and vent her frustration.

The instant she stepped outside, a stray bullet slammed into her forehead!

A standard 9mm round. It didn’t penetrate, but her newly switched bio-body hadn’t fully stabilized yet. The impact made her forehead swell red at once.

A lump visibly bulged out!

"Damn it! You filthy Doll dealers! Die!" Maria roared. She grabbed the shop owner’s advertising board from the entrance and charged.

The wooden billboard—half a meter wide and nearly a meter long—turned lethal in her enraged swing. Solid wood exploded into splinters!

The Doll dealer holding something like a Sten gun—or some crude homemade submachine gun—had half his skull crushed instantly!

Even though the board shattered, the two wooden supports stayed in Maria’s hands. She didn’t hesitate. Gripping them like clubs, she swung at the two men flanking the still-standing vendor!

Thud! Crack!

In Maria’s grip, the sturdy oak beams performed perfectly as blunt weapons, snapping both men’s necks before breaking apart themselves!

Maria wasn’t the only one who stormed out.

Type 56 at the front weren’t about to stand around and watch.

As Maria crushed one skull and broke two necks, several Dolls grabbed whatever was nearby and rushed forward!

Buzzsaw had originally planned to draw her Imprint Weapon. But the thought of repairs afterward—and scrubbing blood off it—made her immediately put away the dagger-gun. Instead, she snatched up a parasol pole and swung the metal shaft straight at the Doll dealers!

To J, none of this was surprising. Tactical Dolls had all undergone varying degrees of modification. Being more combat-efficient than ordinary people was simply part of the design.

One-sided suppression wasn’t the issue.

The real problem…

was the figures on the rooftops that looked like tiny specks!

What was with that mobility?! Did they grow up strapped to jetpacks?! That was at least twenty meters high! How did they leap up there in one jump?!

This was completely unreasonable!

The Dolls were only out for leisure. Most weren’t carrying weapons—not even Imprint Weapons.

Even so— their physical strength alone was terrifying.

A random brick picked up from the street became, in their hands, as precise as a crafted blunt weapon.

Billboards. Car doors. Umbrella poles. Folding stools. Bricks. Chunks of concrete ripped from building edges—

Anything within reach instantly became a weapon!

Moments earlier, the Doll dealers had pinned Stasi agents behind cover, forcing them to keep their heads down.

Now they were helpless against this chaotic barrage of improvised weapons.

The luckiest walked away with broken bones.

The worst were reduced to mangled remains!

In just over ten seconds, only Renault’s Dolls and the Stasi agents were still standing.

Seconds earlier, the Doll dealers had rooftop fire support. Now they were all down—most already dead. The few still alive were being finished off by J and his team.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With the rooftop support gone, the street battle ended just as abruptly.

M14 and the others who had leapt onto the rooftops dropped back down.

After several dull thuds, MG42 casually tossed aside the Doll dealer she had dragged down. She smirked and clapped her hands.

"Seriously, these guys must be insane. Why else would they try to grab Dolls in broad daylight? But speaking of which… do we even look like Dolls anymore?"

She rubbed her nose and glanced down at herself suspiciously.

After switching to bio-bodies, the Dolls no longer resembled mechanical constructs at all. It was a mystery how those dealers had identified them!

"Alright, MG42, enough talking. Help clean up the shop owner’s place. We haven’t even finished eating."

…

"Hmm. At least they’re not all fools. Whoever’s behind them knows how to command those thugs. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have slipped over here so easily." Renate showed no surprise at the men in black blocking their path.

Gathering that many mildly ELID-infected patients and pushing them into the streets took someone capable.

"This isn’t the time to analyze! Think of something! Our way out has definitely been exposed!"

"Way out? We’re just out having fun. There is no route. This could just be a coincidence."

"Wait… why are you two still sitting there so calmly? At least find a safe house to hide in!"

Leone stared at the endless tide of rioters, fear tightening her chest. She didn’t dare move.

What if someone suddenly pulled out a heavy weapon and opened fire?

---

---

Chapter 1086: The Road Is So Wide

Heavy weapons were clearly out of the question. While Stasi’s control over the outer city was somewhat fragile, it wasn’t so weak that ordinary thugs could get their hands on heavy firepower.

Renate and UL-Nurse were completely unfazed by the thugs blocking their way.

The street was wide enough. Although the thugs occupied most of the road, there were still other lanes. If they insisted on causing trouble, they could simply find a car and ram them.

At least, that was what Renate thought. UL-Nurse’s opinion was uncertain, but compared to carrying Leone—this chubby woman—up to the rooftops to become a thief—no, a rooftop doll—Renate preferred finding a car. The van over there looked suitable.

“Well, no need to be so nervous. These guys are just protesting. There’s no reason to worry so much. By the way, has Renault arranged any work lately? I heard your antibody drug is ready for production?”

“Um, production is possible. The antibody drug itself is fine. What we’re lacking now are disposable needle-free syringes. Renault said they’ve already arranged production… I’m not sure if it’s being made at the factory or in Renault’s workshop.”

Hearing UL-Nurse mention the antibody drug, Leone’s attention was immediately diverted. She frowned and looked distressed, seemingly forgetting that a large group of rioters was smashing everything nearby.

“By the way, Renate, didn’t Helian say she was moving some equipment into the bio-lab? Could it be those devices?”

“Yeah, that’s right. But I’ve been busy cleaning the rooms these past few days. The document is still on the desk in the bio-lab.”

“Huh? No? So that’s why I haven’t found the equipment all this time…”

“Ahem! No need to rush. Look, Renault isn’t worried at all, so don’t fret unnecessarily. Here, try this hazelnut cocoa ice cream. Nuts have been hard to come by lately. We don’t even have hazelnut trees on our ship.” Seeing Leone’s expression change, Renate quickly pushed the dessert toward her, trying to change the subject.

“This… you’ve already eaten it, haven’t you…”

Leone looked speechlessly at the spoon’s scratches and dents, then at Renate’s smiling face.

Snap!

“Ouch!”

Just as Renate was about to say something else to distract Leone, the dessert cup suddenly exploded!

Crushed nuts and shards of glass, along with splattered cream, landed directly on Leone’s face!

Renate, with her elbows resting on the table and her chin in her hand, wasn’t spared either. She managed to dodge slightly and avoided serious injury, though her clothes were splattered with white spots.

Her previously cheerful face darkened instantly. She narrowed her eyes and turned to look at the thugs looting freely nearby.

Several armed men pointed their pistols at Renate and taunted her.

Looking around, she saw that most pedestrians and customers had long since fled. Even the shop owners along the street had run away.

After all, even roller shutters couldn’t stop the sheer number of thugs. Wherever they went, it was like a locust plague, destroying everything in their path.

“Let’s go. Get away from these guys before we cause trouble for Renault,” UL-Nurse sighed, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe the shards off Leone’s face.

Fortunately, Leone’s body was in good condition now. Her skin seemed tougher, so the glass shards didn’t hurt her face—just stuck to it like bits of nuts.

Hearing this, Renate curled her lip indifferently. It was only because Renault wasn’t here. Otherwise, those guys’ skulls would have been shattered by bullets!

“Seriously! Why is the outer city so chaotic? Why hasn’t anyone come to deal with these guys yet?” Leone complained, her face covered in cream. Her earlier worries had long since vanished.

All she wanted now was to grab a breaching axe and charge over there to give those thugs a good beating—just like SPAS-12!

Renate frowned, but just as she was about to stand up, the doll received a message relayed through their communication protocol by M1 Garand.

“Just tell them to be careful. These humans pose no threat to you.”

Hearing this, Renate’s brow relaxed immediately. Renault hadn’t given any orders to hold back. Which meant? She could do whatever she wanted to the people blocking her way.

“Um, Renate, why are you smiling so… normally?” Leone initially thought her smile looked odd. But upon reflection, even at home, Renate’s smiles had always been a bit fox-like.

“Well, I guess I got permission from Boss Renault,” UL-Nurse shrugged. Having spent so much time with Renate, she could roughly guess what she was planning, though she didn’t know exactly how she intended to carry it out.

“Of course I wasn’t thinking about anything. I just got a little bored. We can head back now.”

“How are we getting back? Should we take a different route?” Leone frowned, looking around at the thugs moving toward them, searching for an escape.

But this was just a normal street, and the thugs—who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere—had completely blocked both ends of the road. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be firing recklessly in their direction.

“A detour? No, no. I’ve already walked enough today. Let’s just drive back,” Renate said with a smile, waving her finger.

“Huh? A car?”

They hadn’t driven out yet.

“Look, isn’t there still a lot of stuff over there that hasn’t been smashed yet? Since it’s going to be destroyed sooner or later, I think we can borrow one,” Renate pointed toward the roadside, clearly referring to the parked cars.

“Uh, okay then…”

Before Leone could ask how to get to the car, Renate had already started walking toward the thugs.

She didn’t seem to be heading to the roadside to drive.

Hmm?

Just as Leone wondered why, the parked cars—unable to start without drivers or keys—began to move one after another!

Vroom!

---

Chapter 1087: It Can't Get Any Cheaper!

"The isolation wall is closed?" Helian frowned, genuinely surprised.

It wasn't that she was surprised the wall would close, but rather at the speed of the authorities' response.

Normally, unrest this far from the wall shouldn't have prompted the guards there to close it so quickly. At the very least, they would have given the civilians some time to evacuate.

"Yes, not long ago, a similar disturbance occurred in the outer city outside the wall. But because they wanted to give the residents of that area time to evacuate, some unscrupulous individuals managed to infiltrate, which is why they reacted so quickly this time."

"Uh..." Hearing this, Helian was speechless.

What was this? An undeserved disaster? Or pure bad luck?

M1 Garand sighed, somewhat exasperated. "Anyway, should we head back now? I have a feeling the timing of those thugs' appearance was a little odd."

They didn't come earlier, and they didn't come later, but they made their move right after they entered the city.

Helian had a similar feeling, but it shouldn't be a big problem. The Dolls mostly operate in small groups, and they often eat together, so safety isn't a concern.

Neither Doll traffickers nor Paradeus are a problem for the Dolls. This is a city, after all. Even Paradeus can't easily deploy several echelons of heavily armored combat units in a place like this.

"Forget it, let's wait a while. Maybe the situation will be resolved soon."

This is a large city after all; city control isn't as prone to collapse as in those cities on the outskirts of the red zone.

“Alright, I’ll inform the Commander first. Looks like he’ll be cooking for himself today,” M1 Garand said, glancing toward G36 and the others.

G36 and G3 were both here; without them, the other Dolls certainly wouldn’t take on the cooking duties.

As for the kitchen assistants, Type 56 and QSB-91, they probably wouldn’t voluntarily return to the ship to work unless the Commander forcibly recalled them.

Take Type 56, for example. Feeding her is no problem, but cooking is a completely different matter. If the ship weren’t genuinely overwhelmed, Type 56 would never normally stand in front of the stove.

“Hmm.” Hearing M1 Garand’s words, Helian nodded, inexplicably thinking of Renault standing in front of the large pot, wielding a spatula.

...

Of course, if Renault were alone, he would definitely not cook, just grab whatever was in the refrigerator to fill his stomach. He wouldn't even bother making instant noodles.

After instructing M1 Garand, Renault stopped monitoring the situation in the city. After all, the Dolls roaming around now all had new bio-based bodies, and they were secretly carrying lightsabers, so Renault wasn't worried about their safety at all.

He was joking; if those wielding lightsabers were vulnerable to Paradeus's attacks, the battle in Belgrade wouldn't have been so one-sided.

And what weaknesses did he have besides the Dolls potentially being targeted?

A ship full of ordinary Sangvis Ferri Dolls?

First, they would face the incredibly thick and devastating ship armor plates.

These were designed to counter the overwhelming firepower of interstellar warfare; neither the military nor Paradeus's smaller vessels could penetrate them in a few decades.

Sometimes, however, the most impossible things are the most likely to actually happen.

Universal Anything's port is located not far from Port William. Because it's an expanded deep-water port, it usually houses large container ships with only a few people on board, mostly carrying cargo.

The number of ordinary people isn't nonexistent, but it's extremely limited. Of course, most port work is automated, and a large portion of the work has been replaced by numerous Dolls. In reality, there are only a handful of living people in Universal Anything's port.

Just as Renault was eating canned meat produced on the ship, pondering how to replicate the Thor mech's power system, a large number of people surged toward the port.

These people were dressed in a motley collection of clothes, clearly not regular soldiers. Combined with the signs and slogans they carried or wore, Renault could easily guess their origins with a single glance through the observation window.

Unfortunately, Renault had no time to concern himself with the progress of Universal Anything's port operations. He went straight back to his new workshop and began tinkering with the Thor mech's power engine.

This Thor mech naturally wouldn't use the same power engine as the previous Goliath mechs or Viking fighters.

The Thor mech, at least several times larger than the Goliath robot and SCV, definitely needed a much more powerful engine.

All the engine's safety features needed to be perfected before it was installed on the still-unfinished Thor mech frame; otherwise, if this task were left to G11 and her team, who knows what kind of trouble it would cause.

It wasn't that they didn't trust G11's current technology; it was simply that there were too many uncertainties back home: the mischievous Dolls and Nyto, and those cat assassins who could sneak out from under M500's nose every now and then to cause trouble.

Thanks to the ship's thick armor plates, the soundproofing inside and outside the ship was excellent. Neither the restless Sangvis Ferri Dolls on board nor Renault, busy in the workshop, noticed the large group of thugs who had broken through Universal Anything's security and stormed into the port area.

...

"Yes, yes! That's the model! Can you make it cheaper? We'll take them all!"

Springfield spoke confidently, clutching the "pocket money" Renault had given her over the past few months.

"Uh... no, miss, this is a scrap metal recycling station. We can't make it any cheaper!" Hearing that Springfield still wanted to haggle, the scrap metal recycling station worker was on the verge of tears.

WA2000, standing nearby, looked away sheepishly.

She hadn't expected Springfield to be so fond of haggling when buying things... that worker was practically in tears!

---

Chapter 1088; Not Troublesome at All

"Phew!" Seeing the scrap metal yard worker, wearing a sour expression, place the baking equipment—bought for less than its original price—into the cargo area, Springfield finally breathed a sigh of relief with a satisfied smile.

"Satisfied now?" WA2000 stood speechlessly to the side, arms crossed, completely baffled as to why the usually reliable Springfield would be so persistent about something like this.

"Yeah! Of course, but now we need to figure out how to get all this equipment back to port intact."

"That's true, but surely no reckless driver would be working like this right now, right?" WA2000 and Springfield had naturally received the message from M1 Garand, but the location was still quite far from them, so Springfield wasn't overly worried.

"Hey! What's going on? What's happening?! Why is the barrier gate, which usually stays open for weeks, suddenly closed?!"

Just as Springfield and WA2000 were talking, the recycling station's driver, who was about to drive out, saw the closed barrier gate in the distance before he even reached the gate.

"If possible, I suggest you close the recycling station gate and hide in the warehouse or office building," Springfield suddenly reminded the recycling station workers.

They had just given her such a big discount; she couldn't just watch them run around like headless chickens and run into a group of thugs, could she?

"Huh? Why do you say that... Is something happening outside?"

Hearing this, not only the recycling station driver, but also the workers nearby and the Dolls working at the recycling station all looked at Springfield curiously.

"I guess so. It seems some rioters are marching in groups. I don't know whether they've reported their actions, but the streets they've passed through have been badly damaged." WA2000 shrugged.

That's all she knew. What other questions did they have? What weapons did they have? How many of them were there?

M1 Garand didn't even mention those questions. This clearly indicated that those guys posed no threat to them, even if it was just the two of them—WA2000 and Springfield.

"Wh! What!? Rioters!? Those guys…!? No, no, you two! You should leave that junk there and come to the recycling center to lay low! That stuff isn't worth anything. Those rioters definitely won't want those baking machines…"

The baking machines Springfield bought were mostly old-fashioned. Before World War III, these old-fashioned baking machines might have had some collectible value due to their brand reputation.

Unfortunately, few people care about collectible value anymore. Even if someone does like it, they are willing to pay a high price to acquire it.

The problem is, given the extremely inconvenient transportation and limited connections between cities, no one wants to waste precious transport capacity on these old items that are only of collectible value.

“Hmm? No, thank you for your concern, but we can handle it, even if… Oh? Looks like there’s nothing to worry about. A friend of mine has already found a truck; she can help me pick these up on the way.”

As she spoke, Springfield quickly moved the baking equipment one by one to the roadside outside the recycling center, clearly intending to wait for a truck.

“Alright, you should close the door quickly. Those guys over there sound like they’re getting closer.” WA2000 urged, even pulling the recycling center door halfway shut.

Hearing WA2000 say this, the staff member wanted to persuade them further, but the truck driver had already jumped out of the vehicle, put his hand on the staff member’s shoulder, and shook his head.

Seeing this, the staff member had no choice but to abandon his plan to forcibly pull WA2000 and Springfield into the recycling center.

Just as he and the driver slammed the recycling station door shut and locked it, the driver lowered his voice, "Alright, don't worry, they're not little girls anymore. Didn't you see those two lift all that equipment by themselves?"

"Huh? Huh!?"

Reminded of this, the recycling station staff member snapped back to reality, suddenly remembering that those machines had been moved over using a forklift.

But those two girls… wait… those were hundreds of kilograms of equipment! How could they move them like they were casually lifting a cardboard box?

"Are they Dolls?"

"How should I know? They don't look like Dolls to me. They don't have any Doll characteristics…"

The whispers between the staff and the driver inside didn't escape WA2000's ears, but they'd heard this kind of thing many times before, since similar situations had happened a few times when they disembarked from the ship.

"Renate said she found a car? Why is she suddenly so eager? Did she get into some trouble and want our help to sort it out?"

"Well, don't always think the worst of people. Maybe she was just passing by and casually asked?" Springfield didn't think anything of it. What trouble could she have gotten into?

They were just ordinary thugs; they could handle them even with their bare hands. How could this be considered trouble?

...

Whoosh!

The driverless vehicle, its motor whirring wildly, accelerated from a standstill to a speed capable of sending a person flying in just a few seconds!

Bang!

The thug, who had been smugly walking towards Renate and her group, didn't even have time to turn her head to see what kind of vehicle had knocked her down before she was spinning in mid-air!

And her takeoff was just the beginning.

There weren't many cars parked on the roadside, but these days, those parked on the side of the road couldn't possibly be decades-old vehicles. After all, old cars need gas, and fuel prices are exorbitant these days; without enough money in your pocket, it's simply unaffordable.

Suddenly, the cars accelerated as if they'd been given the soul of a bulldozer, ramming head-on into the thugs!

Seeing this, Leone's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets! She really hadn't considered using this method!

Dozens of cars surged forward as they rammed through the area! Not to mention the thugs who weren't sent flying but were instead knocked to the ground!

Turning her head to look at Renate, whose face still wore that sly smile, Leone felt a chill run down her spine for no apparent reason.

---

Chapter 1089: A Turn of the Head and It Exploded

“Wait? You’d already wrecked them like that, so why didn’t you just go back to the port?”

Looking at the scenery rushing past the truck window, Leone asked Renate, who was driving, in confusion.

“Hmm? Well, of course it’s because I didn’t want to get all messed up. You didn’t think those vehicles were undamaged after hitting those people, did you?”

Hearing this, Leone suddenly understood. Indeed, those vehicles had run over many thugs, but the vehicles themselves were also smashed up. Some even had their windshields completely torn off.

If Renate drove straight through them now, even if the three women in the cab weren’t injured due to their physical abilities, they would definitely end up in a miserable state.

Even if she wasn’t covered in shards of glass, she would still be splattered with blood. If she was unlucky, she might even end up with small bits of internal organs stuck to her face…

The thought of limbs flying everywhere made Leone feel nauseous.

Ugh!

Just as Leone clutched her chest to calm herself, she watched helplessly as Renate drove straight past two intersections leading back to the port. She seemed to have no intention of returning.

“Wait a minute? There shouldn’t have been anyone on those two streets, right? Why didn’t we turn?” As she spoke, Leone awkwardly adjusted her position. Being sandwiched between UL-Nurse and Renate made her extremely uncomfortable.

Moreover, this was a compact truck. While the cargo bed hadn’t been reduced, the cab was clearly not designed for three people.

The passenger seat was slightly wider than the driver’s seat, but it was still far too narrow for Leone and UL-Nurse to sit together.

Inevitably, Leone found herself leaning half her body against Renate’s arm.

“I should’ve stayed in the back of the truck…”

“Please pick up Springfield and WA2000 on the way. They called me over when they heard I was driving a truck while on the run.”

“Uh, okay… Well, I’ll stay in the back of the truck for a bit…”

Because the thugs were running around, the streets were empty—or rather, they were usually empty anyway. With few vehicles around, Renate could drive very fast. It shouldn’t take more than five minutes to reach Springfield.

…

“Why isn’t Renate here yet! Aren’t these guys scared at all!?” WA2000 yelled frantically, clutching the weapon she had snatched from the thugs.

The same was true for Springfield beside her. These thugs obviously didn’t have good weapons. Springfield only had an ordinary-looking AK74u, while WA2000 held a G3.

Besides those two guns, there were various pistols and submachine guns, about a dozen in total.

The only problem was limited ammunition. WA2000 fired a few shots with each weapon before running dry, not even having time to get used to their handling.

The two guns they carried already had the most ammunition. The others were empty and tossed aside.

“Well, they were just wandering around. We’re already on the edge of the city, so there’s definitely some distance. Let’s wait patiently,” Springfield said calmly, her voice gentle. Her frequent glances toward the equipment in the distance, however, revealed she wasn’t as indifferent as she appeared.

The equipment was still sitting beside the entrance to the junkyard. Since Springfield and WA2000 had charged directly into the crowd of thugs at the beginning, they had grabbed a few weapons before moving the fight to the next nearby block.

After several minutes of fighting, the two women had already taken down at least twenty armed thugs. Those people seemed utterly brainless, refusing to back down despite the situation.

Normally, in such a prolonged siege, they should have paused to assess the situation or call for backup.

But these thugs were stubborn, determined to fight to the death, one wave after another.

“That’s true… but these thugs… won’t they just stay here and block Renate’s way?” How would they move anything then?

“It’s alright. These thugs are just ordinary people. Their weapons and equipment are very limited. This is their limit.”

In the end, the weapons these people carried were different from the ones Dolls used—weapons manufactured by IOP using new materials and equipped with imprint systems. These thugs’ weapons were genuine antiques, the kind produced decades ago.

Weapons like these were notoriously unreliable. If they were in good condition, they worked fine. If not, jamming, parts falling off, loss of accuracy, or even a barrel explosion were all possible.

There was a reason Springfield and WA2000 had so much ammunition for their own weapons. A worn-out gun might fail after firing a hundred rounds or so. Who would bother gathering spare ammunition for such unreliable weapons?

These thugs couldn’t even find a few decent guns, so they were almost certainly incapable of bringing out heavy firepower. Of course, it couldn’t be ruled out that they might suddenly produce a hundred-year-old Panzerfaust or an M24 stick grenade.

Or, more realistically, a few oval grenades. These guys couldn’t possibly pull out RKG-3 anti-tank grenades just to deal with the two of them, could they?

Springfield had overestimated the thugs. The number of armed men was dwindling, and they no longer dared show their faces. Those arriving later carried homemade crossbows, some likely not even machine-made.

It was a miracle they could find people with that kind of skill.

Thinking this, WA2000 lowered her weapon. Like Springfield, she saw movement between the buildings. Although she had a chance to fire, she decided against it, considering the reliability of her weapon and the distance of over two hundred meters.

She had no intention of waiting for the thugs to close in and forcing hand-to-hand combat like some other Dolls, so conserving ammunition was better.

If she were using her original Imprint Weapon, or even one maintained and modified on the ship, she would be one hundred percent confident in hitting them.

But this G3 in her hands… forget it. Out of ten shots, five bullets veered off course unpredictably. Clearly, these people weren’t using quality ammunition.

After an awkward five-minute standoff, WA2000 finally heard a vehicle approaching in the distance.

Using the Doll communication protocol, she and Springfield already knew Renate’s location. They weren’t worried that the arriving vehicle carried reinforcements for the thugs.

The electric truck came to a smooth stop beside the junkyard entrance. Renate turned and nodded toward Springfield and WA2000.

It wasn’t appropriate to greet them verbally at that moment. Her deliberate slow stop to avoid noise would otherwise have been pointless.

“Let’s go, help load those things onto the truck.”

Hearing Renate’s deliberately quiet voice, Leone nodded repeatedly. Her eyes still darted around since she couldn’t immediately see Springfield or WA2000.

The drying equipment Springfield bought from the junkyard wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small either. It weighed at least several hundred kilograms.

However, it wasn’t difficult for Renate and UL-Nurse. Leone helped carry smaller items. After eating on the ship for so long, her physical condition was vastly better than when she was being hunted by the Galatea Group.

She couldn’t lift several hundred kilograms, but several dozen kilograms was no problem.

“What? Are all young girls this strong now? Or have all the items we just sold been completely dismantled, leaving only shells?”

“Nonsense! I just got those things back yesterday. I didn’t have time to dismantle them. Besides, I don’t know how!”

Of course, it couldn’t really be called “buying things,” because he hadn’t spent a penny. He only paid for gas and charging Dolls, and he even made a profit of several hundred yuan from the other party’s large-item disposal fee.

Then today, Springfield came to buy all that equipment, making a fortune in the process.

Such good business didn’t happen every day. Sometimes it was even rarer, maybe once a month. Most of the time, the items brought to the junkyard were eventually dismantled into parts by the Dolls and sent to the central recycling center for processing.

While loading, Leone listened to the two people muttering inside the recycling center and felt that Springfield had been ripped off. Was it really necessary to buy all this stuff from a junkyard? Couldn’t they just buy new equipment?

The three of them quickly loaded all the equipment piled by the roadside into the truck in less than thirty seconds.

Leone also jumped into the back of the truck. Standing inside, she followed Renate’s gaze and finally spotted Springfield and WA2000 standing guard on the roof of a small building.

It was mainly because the two of them jumped down. Otherwise, she might not have seen them at all.

Seeing Springfield and WA2000 armed and carrying assorted weapons and ammunition in net bags they had picked up somewhere, Leone couldn’t help asking,

“You guys? Really went to buy supplies?”

The net bags were overflowing with everything: weapons of all sizes, used magazines, and unopened ammunition boxes. Anyone seeing this would assume the two had just come from a gun shop.

“No, no. These were just taken from those thugs. I thought Nagant Revolver would like these things, so I brought them back for her.”

“Oh, okay.”

Nagant Revolver loved freebies. From household items to weapon parts, she would collect almost anything that seemed useful.

However, it had to be admitted that Nagant Revolver had a good eye. Many things she picked up could be put to use, and even if they couldn’t be used immediately, they could be repaired and made practically new.

If not for Renault and Scarecrow’s repair skills, Nagant Revolver’s dorm room would have been filled with unusable industrial scrap long ago.

“Move over,” Springfield gestured for Leone to take cover. She then crouched down, holding her AK74u, and without hesitation pulled the trigger toward the street corner.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Those thugs who realized something was wrong and were about to rush out instantly fell to the ground, while the few lucky ones behind them scrambled back.

“Phew! Surprisingly, it’s quite satisfying to get some action now and then!” Springfield let out a long breath. She checked her spoils and, after confirming she hadn’t embarrassed herself, pulled back the bolt to inspect the chamber, removed the magazine, and tossed the weapon into the pile of “collectibles.”

“Should we consider hiring a few more helpers for the coffee shop? That way, we’d have more time for training or missions, right?” WA2000 didn’t lower her weapon. In the current situation, completely relaxing made her uneasy.

…

“Hmm?” Just as Renault was busy working on the mech’s engine, a strange vibration suddenly shook the room, causing parts on the table to tremble.

Noticing this, Renault immediately raised an eyebrow and looked suspiciously out the window.

With the spaceship’s shock absorption system, such a vibration was practically impossible, especially since the ship was still parked securely on the ground. Unless there was an earthquake, this should have been unthinkable.

As for whether he had bumped the table himself, that was clearly impossible. He wasn’t so forgetful as to overlook his own movements.

However, what Renault saw next surprised him greatly. The seemingly sturdy port tower not far away was now engulfed in flames, and part of its wall had begun collapsing toward the ground.

Clearly, the tremor just now must have been caused by the port tower suddenly exploding!

But the port tower couldn’t just explode for no reason. This wasn’t a military base, and there wasn’t an armory inside. How could it suddenly explode like that?

Then Renault saw those ant-like thugs… quite a few of them, several hundred at most…

--

Chapter 1090: Neglecting Their Duties

“Hey! Renault! What’s the situation at the port? I heard there are a lot of rioters heading there!”

“I’ve seen them. Looks like Universal Anything’s security isn’t very reliable. Those guys blew up the port’s multi-purpose control tower. Instead of worrying about my situation, you should be more concerned about how your shipyard is doing.”

While on the phone, Renault walked toward the bridge. WZ.29 and P226 were out for a stroll, of course. This was a rare vacation; usually, when the other Dolls were resting, these two dedicated pilots rarely got a chance to rest themselves.

After all, even if they wanted someone else to cover their shift, they couldn’t. Simonov already had a lot of work, so much so that WZ.29 and P226 felt embarrassed to bother her any further…

“Ah! That makes sense! But the shipyard is properly guarded by the military and police. It shouldn’t be as easily breached as Universal Anything’s port, right? But since you’ve brought it up, how about this: once you resolve things on your end, could you go and check on my shipyard? There will definitely be a reward that satisfies you!”

Mrs. Graven said confidently, causing Renault to raise an eyebrow. Her tone clearly indicated she was certain her offer would satisfy him.

“Okay.”

Accepting Mrs. Graven’s verbal request, Renault went straight to the bridge and headed directly for the gunner’s position.

Although the spaceship was currently flying only within the atmosphere and didn’t yet need to be armed in all directions like a battlecruiser, Renault had still installed two quadruple laser arrays on the hull for safety.

The original intention behind them was to counter missiles—especially those that had just been launched—or armored trains on the ground.

However, he had no other choice at the moment; besides these two laser arrays, he had no other shipborne weapons with smaller calibers.

While deploying the laser weapons, Renault also closed the stern hatch.

However, he only noticed the rioters after the explosion. Some oblivious individuals had already rushed into the cargo hold, shouting and yelling.

“Seriously… things seem to be getting a bit lax lately. What’s going on?”

Sighing helplessly, Renault rubbed his neck. Since his family’s spaceship appeared, it felt like a long time since he’d had a real fight with anyone.

The cargo hold door closed, and the isolation hatch slammed shut, trapping the thugs who had rushed into the spaceship.

However, the cargo hold and hangar were still connected, where several Sangvis Ferri Dolls were busy at work.

Of course, while the Sangvis Ferri Dolls had become somewhat naive as their minds matured, they weren’t stupid. A few seconds after seeing the isolation barrier in the cargo hold drop, the Sangvis Ferri Dolls in the hangar manually opened the observation windows.

These observation windows were essentially no different from the isolation barrier itself. The only difference was that they had transparent panels, allowing those in the hangar to observe the situation inside the cargo hold.

“Should we go down and take care of those intruders?”

“Take care of them? With what? A wrench? Or the mop I’m holding?”

“Yeah, I forgot where I put my weapon. Has anyone seen it?”

While working on the ship, they obviously didn’t need Sangvis Ferri particle weapons, and they didn’t carry heavy weapons around all the time. As a result, most of the Sangvis Ferri Dolls in the hangar were currently unarmed.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true, since their original arms were made of metal. Unfortunately, many Sangvis Ferri Dolls had already replaced their original arms with more sensitive models for better tactile feedback.

“Everyone, do your own thing. Don’t try anything reckless. Even if you really need to fight, wait for the Commander’s orders!”

Among the chattering Sangvis Ferri Dolls, a few more serious ones noticed someone trying to use the elevator to reach the cargo hold and immediately stopped them.

“Oh, okay.” Hearing someone mention the Commander, the group finally quieted down.

Just as Renault locked onto his targets and gave the order for the two laser arrays to fire freely, he turned and ran toward the cargo hold, grabbing a gun from the table as he passed the armory.

An AK-15, likely taken from military Dolls, was stored in a locked gun cabinet beside the table. It could be retrieved once identity verification was complete.

The number of intruders inside the spaceship wasn’t large, around thirty or so. That was the count when Renault closed the cargo hatch. It was uncertain whether anyone else had risked climbing in while the hatch was closing.

…

“Retreat! Retreat! What is security doing?! Why wasn’t there any warning?! Not even a warning signal before these guys broke in!?”

The Universal Anything port manager, looking disheveled, shouted as he retreated toward the control tower’s basement under the protection of two Dolls.

The port’s external security personnel had inexplicably disappeared, leaving those working in the control tower only enough time to evacuate the tower itself. There was simply no time to escape the port entirely.

There were just too many rioters outside.

Hundreds of rioters were attacking the control tower alone, and several hundred more were heading toward the ships docked at the port. Others were targeting the warehouses inside the port area, as well as cargo containers that had just been moved to the transshipment zone and had not yet been stored.

Of course, the spaceships parked on the largest helipad in the port area were no exception.

However, at this point, they were already in dire straits themselves and had no time to notify Renault on the ship.

Even if they wanted to contact him, they would need communication equipment. Now that the entire multi-purpose control tower had been destroyed, the equipment inside it had been destroyed as well.

Boom!

Just as a group of Universal Anything staff rushed into the basement and turned to close the gate behind them, another violent explosion rang out!

It was even louder than the one that destroyed the control tower.

And it wasn’t just one explosion. Immediately after the first blast, a series of identical explosions followed.

The entire basement shook violently from the continuous barrage.

Dust billowed down from the ceiling, causing the staff in the basement to hold their breath, fearing the ceiling above them might collapse at any moment.