RC 1161-1185 (Patreon)

First Half of the Day.

Chapter 1161: A Living Person?Upon hearing that M16's body had overheated, Gentiane raised an eyebrow. She immediately walked over to M16, frowned, and slipped her hand inside M16's collar."Huh? Huh!?"Startled by Gentiane's abrupt action, M4 and M16 cried out in alarm, especially M16.After serving as a Tactical Doll for so many years, this was the first time someone had done something like this to her!"I don't have any temperature-measuring equipment, so I had to use my hand. But four degrees Celsius above normal... tsk, that's almost hot enough to fry an egg! This is no small matter!"M16 was, after all, a member of the AR Team, and the body she used was undoubtedly among the best—at least within Griffin. Persica would never cut corners on the AR Team's bodies, especially with access to IOP's funding.Now that even M16 had nearly turned into an electric oven after being forcibly connected, what would happen to the other Dolls under her command? It wasn't hard to imagine. An immediate shutdown would probably be the least of their worries.Gentiane had hoped to sneak through the city while the rebels and that other group were fighting, then leave those annoying bastards behind with ease before reaching the designated location ahead of schedule to conduct reconnaissance and prepare an ambush...Now, however, safely crossing the city appears to be like a significant challenge."Uh, Commander, you're getting bolder and bolder these days." M16 shook her head.Gentiane's current demeanor was a far cry from the Commander she had first met. Where had that serious, meticulous Commander Gentiane gone?"This isn't being bold. Let's go. The train is already here, and I don't want to walk through this city."Gentiane's original plan had been to let the intercontinental train pass through the city along the tracks without anyone ever having to leave the carriage.The same plan still applied. In a city where T-Dolls might never return after being deployed, scattering them for reconnaissance was largely pointless, especially since the jamming here could easily cut off communications.Reconnaissance without timely feedback would be of little value under the current circumstances. Instead of wasting time, it was better to keep moving aboard the intercontinental train.As long as they slowed down near the Quarantine Wall and had RO and the others keep an eye on the automated defense systems, everything should be fine.If she hadn't obtained the external command module from Renault, she would have had to proceed with extreme caution to avoid accidentally wandering into the automated defense system's firing range and getting everyone killed.But there were no "ifs."This was the situation they were in. She didn't need to concern herself with the chaos in the city, much less with those mysterious Nytos who spoke in riddles and couldn't even form a normal sentence.The Nytos she had encountered in Belgrade had been exactly like that. They could quote famous sayings effortlessly, delivering them with such conviction that they sounded convincing at first, but upon closer examination, they were completely irrelevant to her.If she got dragged into their nonsense, she'd be finished...She was just an ordinary person earning a salary now. Although it was hard-earned, considering her profession, finding another job in the same field would be practically impossible!"Commander, should we send out a reconnaissance..."After Gentiane returned to the intercontinental train carrying M16, M4 was about to ask whether they should dispatch a small reconnaissance team.Before M4 could finish, Gentiane stopped her with a wave of her hand."No need. RO's external command module already shows the number and locations of the automated defense systems. There's no need."After setting M16 down and checking her temperature again, Gentiane turned back."Other than the Nyto forcibly connecting to you, did anything else unusual happen?"M4 shook her head.The forced connection had lasted only an instant. Before she could even react, the Nyto's signal disappeared, even though its signal strength had been strong when it connected.If they had truly intended to attack them, it shouldn't have vanished so quickly."Perhaps Renault did something to your Neural Cloud again while helping you separate the OGAS system?"Gentiane looked at M4 suspiciously but quickly dismissed the idea. If Renault had really made any modifications, he would have told her directly, unlike Persica, who always kept things to himself until it was time to show off his technology."Commander! There seems to be someone lying at the base of that building!" FN-49, who was on the roof of the train keeping watch over the surroundings, suddenly looked down and shouted into the carriage."A person? How could there be... a person in a place like this?"The city's purification towers had malfunctioned. The radiation level inside the city was almost the same as outside, if not even higher. The intercontinental train's Collapse radiation alarm had already sounded repeatedly.This place was practically a ghost town. There shouldn't be a single living soul here.It was possible that FN-49 had made a mistake, but it seems more likely that she had been hacked and was experiencing false visual data.However, when Gentiane leaned toward the window and looked in the direction FN-49 was pointing, she really did see a figure wrapped in a robe, cowering in the shadows beneath the building. She could even see the figure trembling.A T-Doll could be hacked, but what about her? Surely she wasn't hallucinating too."Commander! I'll go check on that person!" M4 said as she looked at Gentiane.After seeing Gentiane nod in agreement, she immediately jumped out of the carriage.M16 tried to stop her, but she was still barely able to move. By the time she managed to stand up unsteadily, M4 had already run dozens of meters away."Hawke, MG3, you two go with her and investigate. Kalina, stop the train for a moment."Gentiane didn't object. The figure was less than two hundred meters from the train. At that distance, nothing serious should happen."Alright!"As the three of them ran off, the Dolls waiting aboard the train all turned to watch.After all, finding a living person in a Red Zone city was an extraordinarily rare occurrence.However, as M4, Hawke, and MG3 approached the figure, they gradually came to a stop and raised their Imprint Weapons...---Chapter 162: This Is Your Choice!"I didn't expect you to arrive so early. I was prepared to wait here all day for you, Maggie."Clad in a bulky protective suit, Nikolai climbed out of the vehicle and slowly walked toward Maggie."Heh, you'd be mistaken. I've upgraded my equipment this time. Getting here was much more comfortable than driving," Maggie said, shaking the small flask in her hand. She almost took a sip from it."Oh?"Nikolai looked around but didn't see anything resembling a vehicle.Then again, not seeing one didn't mean it wasn't there.Otherwise, how had Maggie gotten here? She couldn't have walked, could she?Two Dolls carrying five massive supply crates—each large enough to fit several Dolls inside—all the way from the city center to this desolate Red Zone?What a ridiculous idea. It was simply impossible.The convoy leader beside Nikolai wasn't as foolish as he was to keep looking around.With Nikolai wearing a bulky protective suit and his vision partially obstructed by his helmet, his movements were more exaggerated than usual.Since no vehicles or transport equipment were visible, there were likely other accomplices nearby—and probably quite a few of them.The supply crates were enormous. Whatever they contained certainly wasn't fragile antiques. Their weight was probably substantial. Judging by how deeply the crates had sunk into the mud, each one likely weighed several hundred kilograms.Hidden?Thinking this, the convoy leader shifted his position, hiding behind the driver beside him. He then raised his hand to press the communicator, intending to check the surrounding area once more.The two vehicles that had just been dispatched reported that everything was normal. There were no signs of anyone lying in ambush nearby. The area looked exactly like an ordinary Red Zone.The Doll detection equipment hadn't reacted at all. Not a single Doll signal had been detected."Check again. Are you sure there are no signs of Dolls nearby? What about vehicles?""No, there's nothing here. Not even a single ELID infected, let alone a Doll."The smuggler member responsible for observing the perimeter surveyed the surroundings while idly kicking pebbles out of boredom. Being brought here by Nikolai had earned them absolutely nothing. Whether they would get a share of the profits after returning depended entirely on Nikolai's mood.That was why, despite specializing in Red Zone transportation, they disliked working with Nikolai.On other transport jobs, they could at least skim off some fuel, receive a kickback, steal a little cargo, or pocket something on the spur of the moment.This time, however, that was clearly impossible.Nikolai had come in person. Even if they wanted to tamper with the cargo, they'd first have to see whether he approved.After confirming the situation again, the convoy leader still couldn't relax. The circumstances were simply too strange. Those supply crates and those two people couldn't have appeared out of thin air...Wait... Dolls?The word "Doll" suddenly flashed through his mind.Startled, the convoy leader quickly looked down at his Doll detector.Nothing.There was no Doll response whatsoever—not even from the two standing in front of Nikolai.Besides, weren't they supposed to be Dolls? Why didn't either of them register as one?Not only were there no Doll signals, but they didn't appear to possess any obvious human characteristics either. Even after narrowing his eyes and examining them carefully, he couldn't identify anything that resembled a Doll on the hat-wearing person called Maggie.As for why Nikolai hadn't noticed...His attention was completely fixed on the supply crates behind Maggie. How could he have noticed anything unusual about the people standing in front of him?After all, civilian dolls posed less of a threat to humans than even a pet dog."Is this all the merchandise?""That's right. Five full crates. You'll need to think carefully about how to sell them before they expire. By the way, do you want to test the effects? I brought a few samples. After all, opening the crates in a place like this would be a hassle with all that Collapse radioactive dust to clean up, wouldn't it?"As she spoke, Maggie pulled a small box from her pocket containing three vials of antibody medication—the very samples Leone had specifically prepared for Nikolai to test.Testing the efficacy...Hearing Maggie's suggestion, Nikolai froze and instinctively turned toward the convoy leader and the driver.To be honest, the thought had never crossed his mind.He had never handled this kind of business before. Normally, he inspected goods visually or with equipment. When had he ever needed to prepare a mildly ELID-infected patient?Their convoy had been racing across the wilderness ever since leaving the city.Where was he supposed to find a mildly infected patient out here?Nikolai racked his brain but couldn't think of any way to inspect the merchandise on the spot.Yet if he didn't inspect it, what if Maggie deceived him again?After hesitating for a moment, just as Nikolai was about to grit his teeth and take the risk by saying, "No need to inspect them," a series of gunshots suddenly rang out in the distance!"What's going on!?"Nikolai was startled.The convoy leader and the driver immediately began contacting the other two vehicles."ELID infected! Damn it! Those things were hiding inside the building! We can handle them—we should... No, no, no! Retreat! Get back in the vehicles! There are too many!""We haven't run into any problems here. Everything is— Roar—! Aaah! Mutants!"As though they had coordinated the attack, the two Lawless Thief vehicles dispatched to scout the area were attacked by ELID infected and mutants almost simultaneously."Maggie! You tricked me again!?"Hearing the panicked voices and screams over the communicator, Nikolai's face turned deathly pale. His eyes widened as he shouted at Maggie in disbelief."Hey, hey, hey, this has nothing to do with me. I brought my merchandise here just as agreed, and you were the one who chose this location and these coordinates."Maggie spread her hands helplessly.This had nothing to do with her.If these people had simply come straight to the meeting point as planned, they would probably already be loading the crates into their vehicles.How could they have encountered those ELID infected?Hearing that, Nikolai opened his mouth but found himself unable to argue.Instead, he turned around and glared resentfully at the convoy leader.If this idiot hadn't insisted on sending people to scout the surrounding area, none of this would have happened!They'd been transporting cargo through the Red Zone for so many years. Were all of his subordinates complete idiots?!---Chapter 1163: AlrightCAWS looked at Maggie, who was absentmindedly running her fingers over the lid of her flask."Don't we need to step in? If only two vehicles are left, they might not be able to transport the cargo away alive."Hearing this, Maggie scratched her head before letting out a helpless sigh.She had no choice but to ask StG44 and M200 to help clear out the ELID infected and mutants.Otherwise, if Nikolai died here, the entire trip would have been for nothing."Alright. M200, StG44, how are things on your end? How many ELID infected are there?""Not many.""Same here. Only two mutants. These grizzly bear mutants have become really ugly," M200 said with a frown."Then I'll leave it to you. Just lend them a hand and make sure they don't all die."As long as at least one driver survived, it would be enough.The vehicles in Nikolai's convoy were all modified off-road vehicles.Two vehicles obviously couldn't carry all five supply crates. Ideally, each vehicle would transport a single crate since they also had to carry personnel, leaving little room for extra cargo.To be honest, Maggie had originally expected Nikolai to bring at least one truck.Instead, he had arrived with several small off-road vehicles.Fortunately, although the supply crates were large, they could still fit inside the vehicles.Just as the members of the Smugglers were desperately trying to start their vehicles, StG44 opened fire!StG44 was positioned directly behind the smugglers on the rooftop of a nearby building.From that vantage point, eliminating the ELID infected was effortless. Even target practice at the shooting range wasn't this easy.The modified armor-piercing rounds, loaded with enhanced propellant, easily penetrated the ELIDs' skulls from above.This sudden covering fire stunned the smugglers, who had been pouring bullets into the ELIDs' chests.More than thirty heavily silicified ELID infected, their bodies so distorted that they were barely recognizable as human, collapsed to the ground within moments.Things were even easier on M200's side.There were only two mutants.A couple of precise shots were all it took."Captain! We've been ambushed!""Snipers! High ground, five hundred meters away!"Only after the ELID threat had been eliminated did the surviving members remember to report the situation.They shouted into their communicators while keeping a wary eye on StG44 and M200."Those are your people?"Nikolai spun around and stared intently at CAWS, who was standing beside Maggie.The two smuggling teams had been unable to deal with the ELID infected, yet they had been wiped out in such a short time.Were these the Tactical Dolls employed by the security contractor?"What else would they be? You don't seriously think anyone else would be out here, do you? Alright, hurry up and bring those two vehicles back. One unlucky fellow seems to have had his protective suit torn open by a mutant. Congratulations—you already have a ready-made ELID patient."

In a place like this, without protective suits, it wouldn’t be long before anyone contracted ELID. Those with strong constitutions might survive a little longer, but those with weaker constitutions could become ELID carriers in no time.

Hearing Maggie’s words, both Nikolai and the convoy leader, who was about to start the car, turned pale.

The convoy leader immediately yelled into the communicator.

“A bunch of idiots! Come back now!”

“Yes, boss, but that guy...”

“Shut up! Bring that unlucky guy with the torn protective suit over!”

“Yes!”

A few minutes later, the other two cars that had previously separated rushed back, leaving a trail of dust.

As soon as the vehicles stopped, one of the smugglers with a ripped helmet and a large hole in his protective suit was kicked off one of the cars.

“Boss! Wait! I’m fine! Really! Cough cough! There are spare protective suits in the truck! Let me cough…”

Whether from the collapse radiation or from being hit by the mutants, the smuggler who had been kicked out of the truck coughed as he spoke. The scratches on his cheek, which had initially appeared minor, were now showing signs of festering.

“Bring him over.” Nikolai beckoned for the others to bring the unfortunate man over, while the convoy leader beside him stared intently, his hand already on the pistol at his waist.

He was ready to shoot the guy the moment he showed any signs of becoming an ELID carrier.

Maggie tossed a small box containing a sample of the antibody serum to Nikolai, indicating that he should use it according to the instructions.

No instructions were needed; it was just a regular needle-free injector with its own instructions. Anyone who could read wouldn’t have trouble using it.

“This guy’s really unlucky. M200 said he was standing right at the entrance to the mutant’s cave. When the mutants rushed out, he was just peeking into the cave like an idiot.” CAWS shrugged, looking at the smuggler who clearly had a fever.

“Well, you couldn’t really call it unlucky. He has the antibody serum, so he’s actually quite lucky. At least he’s alive.”

With the antibody serum in hand, Nikolai didn’t hesitate. He ripped off the man’s damaged helmet and injected one dose into his neck.

“Neck? Is this okay?” CAWS raised an eyebrow.

Was it really all right to inject the antibody serum into the neck?

“It should be fine. Even if there are problems, it doesn’t matter. According to Leone’s calculations, even if it’s injected in the wrong place, it won’t be fatal.”

As the antibody serum was administered, the smuggler who had been coughing involuntarily and whose body temperature had been rising let out a long breath, his breathing was no longer as rapid as before.

“Hey, how are you feeling now?” Nikolai patted the other person on the shoulder, trying to get an answer.

“It’s...okay...much easier than before, but...I’m just a little weak...”

As he spoke, the unfortunate fellow shakily stood up.

Seeing this, all the Smugglers present, including Nikolai, were amazed.

An immediate effect! It was simply miraculous!

Seeing this, although they didn’t know whether there were any side effects, at least it was true that this thing could save lives!

Nikolai immediately nodded and discussed the payment with Maggie.

-----

Chapter 164: Remember to Pay

“Consider the Sardis Gold from before as a deposit, 10% of the total price. The remaining 70% should be transferred to Renault Security Contracting Firm’s account before the antibody serum wears off. Is that alright?”

After verifying the quantity and price of the antibody serum, Maggie took a satisfied sip from her small flask. The rich, alcoholic aroma made her eyes crinkle with satisfaction.

Looking at the seemingly sincere expression on Maggie’s face, Nikolai nodded.

While the Sardis Gold he had invested was considerable, compared to the antibody serum before him, the price was clearly very favorable.

Therefore, Nikolai naturally had no complaints.

The price of the antibody serum was set, but the selling price of these serums could certainly be increased!

Those wealthy people living comfortably in the Green Zone have so much money in their pockets; why not share some?

Thinking of this, Nikolai’s eyes lit up, and a confident smile returned to his face.

“Of course, no problem, Miss Maggie. It’s a pleasure doing business with you, and I wish your company continued success.”

“Thank you for your kind words.” Maggie smiled, turning her head and nodding to the side.

Having received the signal, Stg44, who had approached nearby, casually emerged from behind cover.

Although they already knew that there were others hiding on Maggie’s side, neither Nikolai nor the team leader expected that the other party would approach them so silently, without any warning.

It was as if it had appeared out of thin air...

As Stg44 appeared, the SPAS-12, which had been waiting in the distance, fired up the gunship, linked up with M200 at the high vantage point, and flew in behind Maggie and CAWS, slowly opening the cabin door.

The smile that had just appeared on Nikolai’s face was first startled by Stg44, and then completely frozen in place by the sudden appearance of the gunship.

Thankfully, he was wearing a helmet; otherwise, the others around him would have seen the cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Stg44 and CAWS naturally didn’t care about Nikolai’s expression, but Maggie still had to say something to avoid scaring him.

“The cargo has been delivered, so we won’t stay any longer.” Waving to Nikolai, Maggie turned around, just in time to see Stg44 leap onto the cargo door, which was still seven or eight meters above the ground.

Wow!

This action made the group of smugglers instinctively shrink back.

This... this is a Tactical Doll? No way? Are Tactical Dolls really that powerful?

Turning around, Maggie took a few short running steps and then gracefully leaped up as well, followed by CAWS, who held her shield.

Back on the gunship, Maggie turned around, pressing the hatch release button as she waved to Nikolai.

“Remember to pay! My current boss is pretty good at collecting debts!”

“Hey, Nikolai, aren’t you saying that Doll was just a conman?” The convoy leader stared at the gunship, which had vanished from sight in an instant, and demanded of Nikolai.

“Ah, at least when I knew that woman was just a conman...”

This woman, now she’s really latched onto a powerful figure, tsk!

He definitely need to investigate this Renault Security Contracting Firm thoroughly when he gets back.

Those T-Dolls are ridiculously strong, and they even have these flying vehicles that look like armored units.

How could they possibly be some unknown security contractor! Everything that mercenary who leaked information about Renault Security Contracting Firm said was true!

“What about the payment? Did we really transfer the full amount?”

“Dennis, sometimes excessive greed can attract real demons.” Nikolai rolled his eyes at the guy. He’d already laid everything out on the table; was he really expecting to get something for nothing?

“Tsk! What are you standing there for! Move the stuff! Have you no sense of propriety?!”

Hearing Nikolai’s words, Dennis, the convoy leader, suddenly realized he couldn’t really argue. He could only turn and shout at the Smugglers standing nearby.

“Be careful while moving! If anything inside the boxes breaks, you couldn’t afford to pay for it even if you were torn apart from head to toe!”

...

“Speaking of which, Maggie, how much money do you actually owe them?”

“Hm? Well, all in all, it’s about fifty kilograms of Sardis Gold.” Maggie scratched her head. Although she hadn’t counted it, the amount of Sardis Gold on the train was definitely more than that.

Most of it was Nikolai’s “investment,” and the rest was her and Catherine’s secret stash.

“That... that’s a huge sum of money.” CAWS blinked, somewhat surprised, but quickly calmed down.

After all, she had overheard Maggie and Nikolai’s discussion; fifty kilograms of Sardis Gold could only be considered a ten percent deposit.

So clearly, if this batch of antibody drugs were actually sold, its value would definitely exceed one hundred million!

Just five boxes of antibody drugs were already worth twenty times the price of all the canned food sold recently.

“It’s all right, actually. If we were a bit more unscrupulous, the antibody drug price could be even higher.”

Those five large boxes contained a full 30,000 doses of antibody drug. She’d heard from Leone about the cost; it was basically just some everyday food ingredients, extracted using specialized equipment and then diluted with water.

30,000 doses of antibody drug—the material cost was really just a large pot of potatoes from home.

If it weren’t for the fact that the target customer this time was Nikolai, the a smuggler, Leone would have sold it for only a few dozen dollars per dose.

Meanwhile, Catherine sitting in the gunner’s seat was already happily calculating how much commission she and Maggie could earn. Even if it was only 5% of the total price...

Hehehe! That amount was already several times more than all the money she’d earned in all those years before!

M200 and Stg44 weren’t interested in the price; after all, they had more pocket money than they could spend, and the cost of the goods was irrelevant to them.

SPAS-12, sitting in the pilot’s seat, was equally unconcerned. Her mind was completely occupied with the crab burger she’d had for lunch.

She’d eaten crab roe soup dumplings for breakfast, so surely she’d saved some crab meat?

She was on a mission today, so ordering a crab burger or crab pizza from G36 shouldn’t be a problem, right?

----

Chapter: 1165 Worry

“Leone, the video you requested.”

When they returned to the spaceship, Leone was already waiting in the hangar.

As soon as the gunship came to a stop, she immediately ran toward the hatch.

CAWS also took down her own filming equipment and handed it to Leone.

“Did those guys really test the antibody’s effectiveness on the spot?”

Leone was naturally overjoyed to have the equipment, but she still frowned awkwardly when the topic of testing came up.

After all, taking ELID patients to the red zone and then directly testing the antibody’s effectiveness there is practically no different from murder, isn’t it?

“Yeah, there was this unlucky guy over there who got his protective suit torn by a mutant. He almost had a stroke on the spot; otherwise, we might not have been able to get any footage.”

“Really? That’s great! Since it’s just those Smugglers, it doesn’t matter!” She was worried that some ordinary residents from the yellow zone would be dragged into it.

“But I heard the antibody drug is priced very low. Won’t they lose money?”

“Of course not. They’ll always make a profit. Even with packaging costs, it’ll be more than enough.”

After all, all the production equipment on the ship is fully automated, and the equipment itself was manufactured by the ship’s factory department.

The materials for manufacturing the equipment were practically free; it was zero cost. If you include the water used, then there would be some cost.

After all, the water on the ship is all purified, and obtaining it requires a certain amount of time and effort.

Hearing Leone say this, CAWS was speechless.

The antibody drug sold to Nikolai for several thousand dollars per dose, and the biggest cost was actually just some of the ship’s drinking water?

“Well, I’m going to disinfect first. Don’t forget, otherwise, if you get caught by the Sangvis Ferri from the cleaning department, they might have to carry you into the decontamination room.” CAWS waved her hand, gesturing toward the elevator door as she spoke.

Someone who was rushing to the restaurant to order food was now being dragged away and carried by a group of Sangvis Ferri.

“Wait! Put me down! I just forgot! I’ll go by myself!”

SPAS-12 struggled, on the verge of tears. She couldn’t use too much force, lest she damage one of the Sangvis Ferri’s the cleaning tools, and next time she returned in her gunship, no Sangvis Ferri would be willing to service it.

...

“Take... us... back...”

M4 froze, staring at the person repeating these words—a Nyto, or rather, someone who resembled Nyto.

At first, she had expected to see a living survivor, or perhaps a Doll lying there, never imagining it would be a Nyto.

And after repeating those words several times, the Nyto, leaning against the wall and slumped down, fell completely silent.

Hawke mustered her courage, stepped forward and poked the Nyto’s arm with the muzzle of her gun.

“Hello? Is she still alive? Hello?”

After confirming that Nyto was completely unresponsive, Hawke shook her head at M4 and MG3.

“She’s dead. Should we take her back to the Commander to check on her? Or should we leave her here?”

Seeing the tattered Nyto sitting there all alone, the group couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity.

Although she was lifeless, at least she wouldn’t have to die like this...

Before MG3 could speak, M4 nodded. “Hm, let’s take her back and see. She seems a little different from the Nyto we encountered before.”

Although her face looked almost identical to Nyto’s, it was clear that these three fallen Nyto girls still bore some traces of humanity.

When M4 carried the Nyto girl back to the train, Gentiane scratched her head helplessly.

"Why did you bring her back? We can’t afford to bury her right now.”

Besides, back in Belgrade, they had taken down quite a few Nyto, and back then, M4 and the others had never felt any pity for those Nyto wielding weapons.

“This... um, Commander, I feel like she looks a little different from the Nyto from Paradeus...” M4 said somewhat awkwardly.

After all, although no battle had taken place yet, the rebel armored train was not far away, and gunfire was still ringing out in the distance.

This was not the time to think about such things.

“Um, before Nyto died, she said something to me. It seemed she wanted me to take them back somewhere?”

As soon as M4 said this, M16, who was sitting nearby cooling off, narrowed her eyes. Her remaining eye, fixed on Nyto on the floor, began to glare with hostility.

“Go back? It can’t be back to Griffin, can it? Or back to Paradeus’s lair? Do they think you’re the same as a Nyto?” Gentiane said, stepping forward and pinching M4’s cheek.

Perhaps due to the slight pressure, M4’s stern face contorted slightly, tears welling up.

“Yeah, that’s it, still that weak, easily bullied look. It can’t possibly be a Nyto in disguise!”

“Commander! What are you doing, Commander!” Free from Gentiane’s grasp, M4 covered her cheek and cried out in a slightly aggrieved tone, leaning closer to M16.

“Yeah, seriously, okay? This isn’t the time for jokes. I can hear the gunfire getting closer and closer; those guys seem to be heading our way.”

“Yeah, they’ve probably gotten into the city too. Let’s go. Since we can’t figure anything out and there are no clues, let’s put it aside for now.” The Quarantine Wall has more than one gate; it’s only a matter of time before the rebels get into the city.

The presence of this mysterious Nyto seemed somewhat out of nowhere, but Gentiane didn’t want to dwell on such things. After all, with the rebels already present, the appearance of a few Nytos wasn’t unusual.

Besides confirming Paradeus’s involvement in this mission, there was no other useful information.

However, she had anticipated this. Therefore, focusing on the main task of this commission—ensuring her Dolls returned safely with her—was the most important thing.

Meanwhile, Havier, listening to Gentiane issue orders to the Dolls via the intercontinental train’s communication equipment, sighed helplessly.

Gentiane’s change in attitude was far too rapid. She was clearly impatient with his communications, rendering his prepared remarks useless.

----

Chapter 1166: It’s Very Simple

“That’s strange. We’ve made a lot of money these past few days, and sold a lot of inventory, so why isn’t the stock in the warehouse decreasing?"

M3 drove her forklift. She looked at the boxes in the warehouse with some confusion and asked P38, who was in charge of inventory.

“Hm? Do you want to listen to what you’re asking? Have you lost your mind? You’ve been helping to deliver the inventory that’s only three months old every day. With so much inventory here, which one didn’t you contribute to?”

P38 slapped her forehead. M3 is probably addicted to driving forklifts. She's been driving around the warehouses all day long, taking away most of the work that used to be done by Prowlers and flatbed trucks.

Many Prowlers are now just waiting near the charging stations. She guess that’s a good thing.

“Uh, is there that much?” Although that’s what she said, P38 clearly saw M3’s lips curl into a smile; the guy was secretly pleased.

She had retrieved the forklift from the port square a couple of days ago. It originally belonged to Universal Anything, but when they found it, it was burned to a crisp, leaving only the frame.

Luckily, the engine was still intact. After some minor repairs, it became M3’s personal vehicle.

Universal Anything probably didn't care much. After all, they'd lost quite a few security personnel. Losing a forklift was nothing unusual, especially one that was completely beyond repair.

"Alright, stop gloating. This truckload should be the last batch. The rest of the inventory is probably products less than three months old. We can't sell those goods at clearance prices."

P38 knew a bit about this. Various ingredients and products less than three months old had the effect of enhancing physical fitness, and these things obviously couldn't be sold casually.

Of course, it wasn't that they couldn't be sold...

They'd just have to pay more.

Moreover, while Viktor's goods were still selling well, they weren't being bought in the large quantities they had at the beginning.

Those in the surrounding area who had money and wanted to stock up had mostly bought enough, while those with less money, seeing that Viktor's goods seemed endless and were available every day, immediately lost any impulse to buy.

Anyway, it's not far.

'I can buy it when I have some spare money. I'm not worried about not being able to find it.' is the mentality of some.

"Uh, okay." M3's smile faltered upon hearing P38's words, and she nodded with some regret.

It was only these past few days that she needed to sort and inventory the long-expired stock from various warehouses, which required her to drive the forklift around constantly. Once that stock was moved, there was nothing left for her to do.

After all, moving these things was mostly the work of the Sangvis Ferri Dolls and the Prowlers.

"Come on, what's there to regret? You're probably addicted to being a mover!" P38 spoke irritably.

She's clearly a T-Doll, and now she's even using the new Biomass body, so why is she willing to be a mover every day like the other Sangvis Ferri Dolls?!

It's as bizarre as Maria helping to peel potatoes in the kitchen!

Kitchen.

"Huh? Destroyer, did you call me?"

Maria took off one earphone, blinked, and asked Destroyer across from her, who was also wearing earphones and listening to music.

"Huh? No? You must be hallucinating."

"Oh, I guess so."

After a brief exchange, they put their earphones back on, humming a similar tune as they skillfully pushed the crab meat out of the crab legs they held.

Meanwhile, not far away, Hawke and Narcissus, who had just arrived, were huddled together, their short legs helping them move the washed and disinfected plates and bowls.

Hawke was getting a little used to being idle all day, and since Type 56 was almost always busy in the kitchen, she figured she might as well come and help out.

Narcissus shared the same thought. While HK416 and the others brought her back to teach her fighting and power techniques, this was easy for a Doll—simply installing the modules was enough.

However, since Hawke had been fitted with a Biomass body, teaching this kind of knowledge required some hands-on demonstration. Narcissus, whose body hadn't yet reached its original size, naturally couldn't spar with HK416 and the others.

"How about it, Narcissus? I told you Commander Renault's work here was way too easy, didn't I?" Standing on a stool, Hawke placed the pale plate she was holding on the counter, turning around somewhat speechlessly to take the plate Narcissus handed her.

"Uh, well, I guess. I feel… it's still a bit difficult…"

As she said this, Narcissus glanced back at Type 56 being stir-fried over a high flame on the stove.

A large wok, a meter in diameter, moved with the agility of a small household frying pan in Type 56's hands. The spatula in her other hand, clearly a digging shovel, was handled with the same effortless skill.

The technique was truly exceptional; you'd never find a Doll with that level of skill among ordinary Dolls.

Besides Type 56, the master chef, G36 and G3 were also busy. The subtle aromas wafting from the ovens, along with the rich scent of milk, added layers of complexity to the kitchen's ambiance.

If she worked in a kitchen like this, just smelling the aroma would be a treat, wouldn't it?

Hawke followed Narcissus's gaze, about to retort with a defiant "I could do that too!", when she saw Type 56 looking at her with a mocking gaze.

Hawke swallowed those three words like a snack. Ahem, quite a few people here knew her skill level; she'd better not embarrass herself. What if she got sent by Commander Renault to wield a spatula every day like Type 56 because of her delicious cooking?

She still hoped to continue down the path of a tactical doll.

Of course, Type 56's gaze toward Hawke was somewhat mocking, especially after Hawke's body returning to normal. The realistic training in the training room would definitely let Hawke experience what true "ease" really meant!

As for now? She'd better not spoil it beforehand, otherwise, Hawke's expression later wouldn't be so interesting! She was still waiting to sell photos to MDR and make some more money!

Compared to the sluggish and relaxed Hawke, the newly arrived Narcissus was more perceptive.

She clearly sensed something else lurking in Type 56's smile.

----

Chapter 1167: Daydreaming

"Hey? HK416, why are you learning to drive tanks?" UMP9 asked curiously, looking at the live feed on the training pod.

"Of course it's useful," HK416 spoke, carefully studying the siege tank driving manual in the virtual reality environment. AR15 next to her was doing the same; the two clearly intended to compete in this area.

Meanwhile, SOP2 wasn't as tense as the two engaged in their competition. She was currently teaming up with OGAS, driving two Hellfire tanks and charging left and right through a swarm of Zerg.

Amid the excited shouts of OGAS and SOP2, UMP9, the only one in the training room who hadn't yet entered the training pod, could only shake her head and activate it.

While everyone else was having fun, she figured she'd better go practice with the Protoss. G11 had mastered it; she was sure she could too. It would just take a little more time.

As for why HK416 and AR15 were competing again, it was because Narcissus couldn't provide instruction. Without training subjects, the two could only go back and review previous training videos.

This time, they discovered some hidden, usable tools in the videos.

Most were vehicles, like Goliaths, siege tanks, or even Vulture armored vehicles—all possessing some degree of mobility.

If they could drive these vehicles, they might indeed be able to go further in the simulation training, and perhaps even surpass G11's record.

While life on Renault's ship was settling down, Gentiane was still battling wits with the ELID infected in Tallinn.

...

"Which genius planned this operation? Hmm? So many ELID infected... Am I actually carrying out a cleanup mission in Tallinn? To help this city see the light of day again?"

Standing at the command post, Gentiane spoke irritably, her words clearly carrying a hidden meaning.

Kalina who was standing beside her, shrugged, indicating that this had nothing to do with her. This was a mission assigned from above, and as a logistics officer, she had no say in it.

Because he had been maintaining a one-way communication, Havier heard Gentiane's words clearly. His old face flushed slightly, not out of embarrassment, but out of anger.

Gunshots rang out continuously from the other carriages of the intercontinental train. The Dolls, using the intercontinental train as natural cover, kept sniping at the ELID infected that were surging toward the train.

The journey through the city proved several times more difficult than Gentiane had anticipated. It wasn't just the deeply concealed automated defense systems to contend with, but also the ELID infected that kept surging forth like a tide.

The noise of the intercontinental train acted like nighttime lights, triggering the ELID infected to surge toward the source of the sound.

"Commander, let's go find the control equipment for the city's automated defense systems. At this rate, our ammunition will run out," M16, now back to normal, suggested somewhat helplessly while taking down the ELID infected heading toward the command section from the train car doorway.

"No, these ELID infected, though numerous, are merely expendable obstacles. The real threat lies with the Nyto, who remain hidden until now."

The Nyto's electronic warfare attacks are virtually impossible for the T-Dolls to withstand, except for M4. Sending the Dolls into the surrounding fog to carry out a mission now is tantamount to sending them to their deaths.

The city's terrain and facility locations are completely unknown to them.

Heaven knows where the city's automated defense system control center is; but Havier hasn't provided any information.

Even if he did, Gentiane wouldn't choose to attack rashly.

After all, the rebels have also entered the city, and the chaotic gunfire in the distance has never ceased. It's unclear whether those unidentified individuals are engaging the rebels or dealing with the ELID infected.

"Commander Gentiane, well, it's time to be frank. Yes, we did entrust another team with this mission in parallel, but the current situation is dire. Without cooperation, it's impossible to successfully traverse this city."

Perhaps unable to hold back any longer, or perhaps because the other team's situation was dire, Havier abandoned any guessing games and got straight to the point with Gentiane.

"Ha! What does this have to do with me?"

Gentiane wasn't going to be foolish enough to believe him just because he was straightforward, even though Havier, the owner of IOP, was a benefactor of Griffin.

Havier's words clearly indicated he had heard M16's earlier suggestion, and his next words essentially suggested two possibilities: either she would merge with the other intercontinental train, or the other train would begin moving toward her, allowing her to take over its combat forces.

In any case, there would definitely be two commanders on-site, and if any disagreements arose, Havier might very well have something to say about it.

For her, it was simply an unnecessary complication, offering no benefit whatsoever.

If that's the case, she'd rather continue wasting ammunition on these ELID infected.

M16 frowned, glancing at M4, who was assisting in the attack on the ELIDs. This wasn't good news for her either. She had a good impression of Commander Gentiane, since all of Gentiane's current orders were to ensure the safety of her Dolls.

However, the other commander might not be so forgiving, and might even force Gentiane to send Dolls on difficult missions.

If this kind of mission fell to M4, then she…

“Commander Gentiane, the situation is extremely dire. The rebels have other armored trains heading toward Paldiski via different railway lines, and they've probably arrived ahead of schedule. If you continue to delay at your current pace…”

“Then give me more support! Electronic warfare support! Long-range heavy fire support! I refuse to believe you don't have any other arrangements besides hiring Griffin!”

The rebels have even deployed armored trains. This is clearly no small matter. 

If Havier and Statesec are still dreaming that their security contractor team can win this battle, then why should she drown in these deep waters with them?!

----

Chapter 1168: Not Someone Else

"What are you afraid of, Commander Gentiane?" Havier sighed helplessly. "Given your current physical condition, there's absolutely no need to worry about your safety. This mission shouldn't pose any danger to you at all."

Both Havier and Statesec were aware of Gentiane's unusual physical condition. At the very least, it had allowed her to conduct unprotected operations in contaminated areas on multiple occasions.

However, afterward, both she and Kalina remained in completely normal physical condition, showing absolutely no signs of ELID.

Although Statesec suspected that Gentiane's constitution was somewhat unusual, they didn't directly associate her and Kalina with those immune to Collapse radiation. After all, their previous medical examination results clearly showed no similarities to those with complete immunity.

"Ha! That sounds nice! No danger whatsoever? Before saying that, where are all the other members of the Statesec besides Ange in this barren wasteland?"

Seeing that Gentiane remained unmoved, Havier could only back down. After all, the G&K combat commander they had found this time was unreliable. The only one truly capable was Gentiane, the commander who had risen through the ranks from the S09 area.

“Alright, but you need to understand that although Statesec has made thorough preparations, those preparations are for dealing with the rebels, and command authority has nothing to do with Statesec.”

“Then what exactly do you mean by tricking me into coming here? Is this some kind of joke?”

“No, Commander Gentiane. These are simply the rules of the game. We can only pry open a small gap at the top of the scales.”

Hearing Havier's words, Gentiane pursed her lips, her expression no longer showing anger. However, Kalina and the others from M16's team standing beside her all sensed that Gentiane hadn't calmed down. She had merely suppressed her anger.

Gentiane now resembled a hand grenade with the pin pulled but the safety lever still firmly held. The slightest relaxation of her grip would send the pin flying and the striker crashing into the primer…

“Alright. Bring me all the relevant intelligence on this city first. I don't believe you can't even obtain the blueprints for the city's automated defense system.”

With Statesec's authority, this should have been a simple matter of accessing the necessary files.

The only reason they hadn't produced them earlier was that they had hoped her Dolls could compensate for the lack of intelligence through sheer numbers.

“…Alright, but that will take some time.” After a moment's thought, Havier nodded in agreement.

"It doesn't matter. I'll speed things up as soon as I get the intelligence."

"Understood. But there's one more thing I need to ask. The combat personnel aboard the other three intercontinental trains will abandon their trains and head in your direction. If possible, please provide them with support."

After all, they were still valuable combat personnel, and it would be a waste for them to be wiped out along with the intercontinental trains.

"Where did they even find this security contractor? Heh. They'll have to survive crossing the city first."

Not only did Gentiane have no intention of supporting those unknown individuals, but M4's encounters with the Nytos and M16's forced connection in the Quarantine Wall control room had already proven that the dangers lurking within the city were not limited to the rebels and the ELID-infected.

Those Nytos were skilled in electronic warfare and capable of manipulating the city's underlying network. They posed a far greater threat to the T-Dolls than either the ELID-infected or the rebel androids, both of whom could simply be shot.

"These days, capable security contractors are hard to find. It's just the T-Dolls from G&K headquarters and a newly appointed Griffin commander."

After saying that, Havier ended the communication for good. He needed to find someone who could obtain detailed intelligence on Tallinn, and continuing to stand in front of the communication device wouldn't accomplish anything.

Bang!

After hearing Havier's final words, Gentiane froze for a moment before angrily slamming her fist onto the table, leaving a clear fist mark in the metal surface.

...

Watching the Sangvis Ferri Dolls rapidly activate and rush out of the intercontinental train to confront the Paradeus combat units, Angelia found herself deeply troubled.

She had initially assumed that these Sangvis Ferri Doll reinforcements were insignificant to the overall situation, but now it appeared that this entire trainload of Sangvis Ferri Dolls was the faction's lifeline.

Wait a minute... Since when did Sangvis Ferri become this weak?

The battle between Sangvis Ferri and Paradeus was far more intense than Angelia had anticipated. She had genuinely expected Sangvis Ferri to engage the rebels first before Paradeus suddenly intervened.

Instead, it seemed the order had been reversed, and she had overestimated the current strength of Sangvis Ferri's forces.

After Renault stole most of the elite Dolls, Sangvis Ferri's current combat strength was clearly inadequate. Aside from Sangvis Ferri's Mastermind, who had yet to appear, the familiar elite Dolls—Dreamer, Judge, and Agent—were already fighting on the front lines.

The new Doll that had appeared in Belgrade previously also hadn't shown up yet, just like Sangvis Ferri's Mastermind.

It was highly likely that all three were guarding Sangvis Ferri's Mastermind to ensure her safety. That suggested Sangvis Ferri's Mastermind was personally present this time rather than operating through a detached puppet.

"Paradeus's combat units are much more diverse than before," AK12 remarked, half-opening her eyes as she observed the Paradeus mechs rampaging through the Sangvis Ferri Dolls.

Compared with the Rodeleros they had encountered before, these newly manufactured mechs lacked long-range firepower, yet they still posed a serious challenge to the Sangvis Ferri Dolls' heavy armor and high-energy force-field shields.

The heavy firepower that had once been nearly unstoppable against Sangvis Ferri's elite dolls now felt like little more than scratches against these mechs.

Judge's weapons were especially ineffective. Firing at the force-field shields was practically useless, while Judge herself possessed an extremely powerful force-field shield generator, leaving both sides locked in a stalemate.

"While gathering intelligence is important, shouldn't we be focusing on finding a route through this war zone?"

Angelia peered out from the bunker, surveyed the surrounding terrain, then turned back to AK12 with a hint of exasperation.

"Of course. We've already found one. However, that route also happens to be one of Sangvis Ferri's key defensive positions. If we sneak through there, we'll probably run into Sangvis Ferri's Mastermind head-on. Ange, you decide."

---

Chapter 1169: Overtime Over?

"This should be the last batch for a while, Mrs. Graven."

"Hehe, you little rascal, always so polite!" Mrs. Graven reached over and ruffled M200's hair. After receiving her new body, even M200's hair had become much softer and healthier. Renault really does care about his Dolls.

Mrs. Graven had heard about M200's biomass body replacement from M200 herself, but she didn't understand much about it and had no intention of asking further. After all, she was satisfied as long as M200 was doing well with Renault.

"Come to think of it, you haven't been here very long this time, have you? Is Renault already leaving again? Has he received another mission?"

"No. We're about to move to another city. Commander Renault plans to settle down in one location. After all, there are still a lot of things to sell back home, and with so much time spent flying, he doesn't receive many commissions. Besides, the ship is still docked at Universal's port, and it wouldn't be good to leave it there for too long."

"Oh, that's good. Don't forget to let me know your new address once you've settled in."

"Okay, I won't forget."

After exchanging a few more words with Mrs. Graven, the M200 waved and drove away.

While the M200 was delivering goods to Mrs. Graven, Viktor and Andrei were busy hauling various goods back to their rented warehouse.

Having made a considerable amount of money selling goods recently, Viktor had generously rented a warehouse to store the various ingredients he had bought cheaply from Renault.

This time, Viktor moved more than half of the ship's inventory in one go; this amount of goods would be enough for him to sell for quite some time.

After the initial frenzy of dumping, their business stabilized. Daily sales had decreased significantly, but thankfully, there was still a steady stream of business.

As long as Renault could deliver goods regularly, or once Renault's operations in other cities stabilized, he could restart his convoy and source goods directly from Renault.

After all, while food isn't exactly a necessity, it's practically one. The number of people who could live on bread every day without getting tired of it isn't very large. This is the outer city. Those who are destitute wouldn't risk coming here to make a living.

Even refugees waiting for relief supplies would occasionally grit their teeth and patronize his business, because the prices here were genuinely very reasonable.

"What a pity, our truck hasn't even been able to drive out of the cargo hold once yet!" M1911 spoke regretfully, looking at the nearly completed transforming truck beside G11, which was only undergoing minor adjustments.

"Well, there'll definitely be a chance later, no rush." G11 calmly tightened the wrench, completely indifferent to whether the Transformers truck could actually be driven out.

After all, its practical combat value was uncertain; it might even end up being completely useless after being driven out.

Anyway, she just wanted to finish the truck so it could look cool in the hangar or cargo hold!

Hearing G11's tone, which completely treated the transformer truck like a giant figurine, M1911 shrugged speechlessly.

G11 is right, though. Rushing things won't work.

Commander Renault might not get a proper security assignment for months at a time. Combat missions are inevitable, but they won't be frequent.

They're already looking for a place to stay in a city in the Green Zone; where will they find so much fighting? They can't expect every city they go to to experience a situation like Belgrade's, can they?

That's simply unrealistic.

"Speaking of which, has M1897 gotten a little carried away these days? Do they rehearse every day? They can't be thinking of taking that car out for a performance, can they?"

Watching M1897 showing off her skills on that noisy battle vehicle not far away, M1911 sighed and rubbed her forehead, somewhat speechless. Her apron and electric guitar looked rather incongruous.

“Yeah, because Catherine mentioned it when she passed by, something about using it for advertising while selling goods, and they all got really excited. What, is the factory short-staffed again?”

“Of course, always short-staffed…”

Their casual conversation didn't last long. Soon, the announcement of the spaceship's imminent takeoff came over the loudspeaker.

The T-Dolls on board began methodically securing the necessary equipment.

Just in case—and, of course, just in case—P226's piloting skills were now quite proficient, so the takeoff wouldn't be too bumpy.

Aside from the T-DDolls on Renault's ship, the Stasi agents, who had been working overtime since Renault and his Dolls arrived, breathed a sigh of relief as the massive cargo door slowly closed.

"Phew, these guys are finally leaving. Now I can finally go home normally. If Renault had stayed here any longer, I probably wouldn't have been able to resist demanding overtime pay from K."

J also breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the massive ship's engines gradually light up. Although Renault's Dolls were quite well-behaved in both the outer and inner city areas, he had seen what they were like when they started fighting.

They were all little Doll monsters. Without heavy equipment, he had no confidence in suppressing them, not to mention he didn't know if heavy equipment would even be effective against them.

He was constantly on edge, afraid these Dolls would cause trouble in the city.

Even the Stasi agents couldn't use any force against Renault's Dolls.

Dare to act? Renault and his ship were waiting!

"That's not necessarily true," Wright shook his head, a wry smile on his face.

The surveillance of these Dolls hadn't been entirely fruitless; at least they knew what Renault was planning next.

To find a city to settle down in.

While that sounded normal, if Renault's ship was involved, it was no laughing matter.

An enormous war machine landing near any city would be extremely dangerous.

After all, no one could guarantee that Renault wouldn't accept commissions from those with ulterior motives. If the ship directly attacked the city's Quarantine Wall or other important facilities with its cannons, they would have no means of stopping it.

The only thing they could probably do was try to take the entire city down with them, hoping to destroy the spaceship together…

----

Chapter 1170: Self-Funded Purchase

“The expansion plans for the vertical farm and the breeding farm are almost complete.” Helian sighed. “The girls at home are a bit too efficient.”

More importantly, the production speed of these two areas increased directly because of the additional space they occupied within the spaceship. If Renault hadn't adjusted the growth rate of the culture medium in the newly expanded areas, she would already be considering throwing the excess products directly into the recycling furnace.

“Just stockpile them. Just remember to remind MG3 and the others to feed them less fresh material.” That way, the growth rate of the animals at the breeding farm would also slow down. M500 did just that, successfully preventing the spaceship from being completely taken over by the cats.

“That’s true, but Vespid and the dragoons responsible for transporting the plant stalks obviously can’t tell the difference yet. CF05 and NZ75 are already quite busy.”

“Busy? I remember CF05 was secretly making hot pot ingredients in the kitchen last night?”

Hearing Renault’s words, Helian sighed and facepalmed.

"You said it was the middle of the night. She always does this during the day. This morning G36 even complained to me, suggesting that CF05 be given a dedicated kitchen so that the fumes from making hot pot ingredients wouldn’t contaminate the pre-made semi-finished ingredients.”

Hearing Helian's words, Renault's face remained expressionless as he shifted his gaze.

"Don't look anywhere else! Look at me! All the Dolls on the ship are busy right now; only you have your hands free. Can you put aside your work and stop fiddling with those big toys for a while?!"

Feeling Helian's hands on his cheek, Renault blinked.

"Okay."

Watching Renault get up and leave, Helian breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't that she disliked spicy food, but waking up early with everything she ate and drank mixed with spice was definitely not a pleasant experience.

Spicy pancakes, spicy bread, and spicy mayonnaise...

But after relaxing, Helian suddenly remembered what she had just done—she had just grabbed Renault's head! And made him look at her!

Ouch—!

Thinking of this, Helian involuntarily raised her hands to cover her increasingly flushed cheeks.

But as she covered them, Helian remembered her actions again—those very hands...

Seeing Helian covering her face with her hands, looking embarrassed and making strange noises, Carol and MDR exchanged a glance and simultaneously raised their phones. Even Vera, following behind, discreetly pointed her camera at Helian.

This is probably a case of "one is influenced by one's company."

As for Helian's reaction after discovering her embarrassing past was being recorded, or after noticing the strange looks from the other Dolls…

MDR thought it best not to imagine. What if Murphy's Law kicked in?

Helian's state didn't last long; she quickly returned to normal, and the three of them took the opportunity to slip away. Everyone was safe and sound.

There weren't many Dolls wandering around the spaceship like the MDR trio. While they might also be slacking off, at least RFB and Ouroboro faithfully completed their task: guarding the armory.

To ensure the loyalty of these two guys (G11 and Narcissus) to their posts, Renault, at Helian's suggestion, made some minor modifications to the armory.

If anyone attempted to open the armory, all excess power lines in the entire armory would instantly shut down, and the network connection would be blocked.

Therefore, to prevent losing save data due to sudden power outages while playing games, or being disconnected while playing online, these two even built their own alarm system to prevent anyone from stealing weapons from the armory.

In addition, Hawke and Narcissus, who had been on Renault's ship for three days, were immediately added to the staff.

The irresponsible training room administrator G11 was dismissed, and Narcissus rightfully took over G11's duties, also providing combat instruction to the Dolls who frequently visited the training room in virtual reality.

Hawke... well, she was naturally being bossed around by Type 56 and CF05, running around helping in the kitchen one minute and playing the role of a farmhand at the vertical farm the next.

Compared to Narcissus, who only had to manage the training pods in the training room every day, Hawke now really wanted to strangle herself for saying two days ago that the work at Renault was easy and simple.

What a jinx! How could this incredibly busy work be easy?!

However, although it was busy, it was only enough to draw a few minor complaints, and CF05 and NZ75 seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a bit.

Plus, the treatment at Renault... Hawke's initial thought of returning to Griffin faded away.

Yes, three days later after the thought.

It's not even in the same league; Griffin can't compare.

...

“Wasn’t the boss arrested for questioning? What happened?" Kalina looked at Gentiane with some confusion, her heart filled with worry.

If the boss had been arrested, how were the Dolls at headquarters mobilized, and how did the new operations commander get hired?

“Isn’t it obvious? Even without Kyuger, there’s still Sir Griffin ahead,” Gentiane spoke, pulling a helmet from the armory and putting it on.

The operations command center also contained some equipment, originally intended for human employees.

Unfortunately, it was all outdated—plain body armor and helmets, the bulletproof plates old-fashioned, their expiration dates unknown.

"Ugh! They didn't even bring a full set of protective gear; are they expecting me to buy it all myself?"

"Um, well, since I haven't really used these things, I haven't thought about updating the equipment..." Seeing the disdain on Gentiane's face regarding the helmet, Kalina scratched her cheek somewhat sheepishly.

After all, T-Dolls don't need body armor. Their bodies and the ballistic silicone inside them are far more effective than these old-fashioned body armors, and they don't hinder their movement.

She had used all the funds in the branch base to replenish the various parts and ammunition needed by the Dolls, and hadn't paid attention to these things.

After all... besides Gentiane, there was no precedent in Griffin for a commander fighting alongside a T-Doll.

Chapter 1171: Hasn't it appeared yet?

"Alright, next time... never mind, maybe there won't be a next time." Gentiane was about to tell Kalina to remember to buy some protective suits next time, but then she shook her head.

"Um, the situation shouldn't be that bad, right? And if it's the headquarters' dolls coming, wouldn't that be a good thing for us?"

"Probably, I can't say for sure. Don't forget, besides the headquarters' dolls moving towards us, there's also a new commander along with them."

It's uncertain who will be in command.

As soon as Gentiane said this, M16's expression became even more gloomy, leaving M4 somewhat confused, but also starting to worry.

After all, judging from Commander Gentiane's words, the commander who was coming might not necessarily be on Gentiane's side.

"Hmm? Don't worry about anything, these things have nothing to do with you."

Noticing the worry on M4's face, Gentiane waved her hand helplessly. The worst-case scenario was simply handing over command...

Watching the constant stuffing of magazines, grenades, stun grenades, and other equipment into her body, M16 was also somewhat at a loss for words.

Judging from Gentiane's actions, she clearly appeared ready to flee...

"Commander, Ms. Persica's communication!"

Just as Gentiane was busy arming herself and preparing to escape, Kalina noticed the communication request on the command system and called out anxiously.

"Ah, Commander Gentiane... Whoa! What are you doing all armed like that!?"

When Gentiane arrived in front of the holographic image, Persica, who was in the base's laboratory, was startled, her coffee cup trembling in her hand.

"Isn't it obvious? Be prepared to run away. If the new commander from headquarters turns out to be a hothead and tries to do something else, I'll have no choice but to abandon the job and run."

"Tsk, what about the Dolls under your command, and my AR squad?"

Hearing Gentiane's frank words, Persica frowned and, forgetting about her coffee, immediately put her thumbnail in her mouth, gnawing on it like a hamster.

The new G&K commander who dared to take on this mission was either truly capable, mentally unstable, or incredibly reckless.

But now they've had to abandon the intercontinental train and begin moving towards them. Obviously, the first possibility is unlikely; a smart person wouldn't be foolish enough to crash directly into a military armored train.

The remaining two possibilities, either way, are not good news for her, especially without knowing who currently holds the highest command authority at Griffin.

Hearing that Gentiane wasn't necessarily going to run away, both Kalina and Persica breathed a sigh of relief. Even M16 relaxed considerably; after all, the presence of an excellent commander could completely determine whether the AR team could survive this mission.

Just as M16 relaxed slightly, a faint phantom appeared before her.

"You're not her… Don't stop us… We just want to go back…"

She wanted to say it was nonsensical… but M16 had already confirmed that what she saw was merely a phantom connected to her through the secondary level. She simply rubbed her eyes and remained silent.

In fact, after returning to the intercontinental train, several of these phantoms had appeared intermittently, all saying roughly the same thing. She now roughly understood why her body had suddenly overheated.

She just hadn't expected the OGAS within her mind to inherit her underlying protocol, realize that she might shoot M4, and begin preparing to melt down her core?

This is really...

M16's strange behavior was concealed by her rubbing her eyes, and even M4 beside her didn't notice her unusual behavior.

Gentiane, who was talking to Persica, naturally didn't see it either.

"So, this city is just a giant experimental base? For testing complete immunity or something else?"

Hearing the information from Persica, Gentiane frowned and looked out the car window at the thick fog.

Moreover, besides the experimental subjects abandoned by Paradeus, this city also possessed a large secondary level capable of connecting all of Nyto's virtual perceptions. This was hardly good news for her and her Doll.

"That's about right. Anyway, overly detailed information can't be explained in just a few sentences. If there's a chance, I can explain it when you get back. That's roughly my intelligence. It probably won't be of much help to your operation. Also, remember to keep a close eye on M4. Make sure she doesn't merge with the consciousnesses of those level-two planes!"

"It's better than nothing. But M4 seems to be in pretty good condition right now. Those Nytos only forced a connection with her once."

And after the forced connection, the nearest Nyto seemed to die immediately.

Could it be that Renault installed something in M4's mind? Something that can help her resist those forced connections from the level-two planes?

"That's even better. Remember to come back. That's all." Persica finished speaking and hung up the communication.

Gentiane sighed helplessly. Although Persica's intelligence was indeed quite detailed, as she said, it wasn't actually very helpful for the operation.

What she needs most right now is the blueprint for the city's automated defense system. Even without the blueprints, just a location for the main control system would be helpful.

"FN-49, what's the situation around here? Have you seen any other Dolls from Griffin's search group?"

"No! No! Only a few scattered ELID infected!"

So slow!

Three hours have passed since Havier notified her that the headquarters Dolls had started moving towards her. In that time, at the speed of the Dolls, they should have already covered dozens of kilometers.

The reason she still hadn't seen those Dolls yet was probably the new Griffin commander.

Human movement speed clearly could not match the Dolls.

Moreover, there's still thick fog outside, and it's possible those guys got lost, not to mention the unknown number of ELID infected and Nyto within the city.

That guy, could he have crashed halfway there?

----

Chapter 1172 Is it a trap?

Bang! Bang bang bang!

The heavy machine gun fired in incessant short bursts, repeatedly picking off the Dolls who had already turned their backs on them.

"Too easy. Could there be a trap?"

Although Griffin had engaged them in combat for a while, it had merely been a precaution. While their forces were plentiful, they couldn't afford to waste them needlessly, especially on a target like Griffin.

Furthermore, to ensure their armored train wouldn't be blocked by Griffin's intercontinental train, they had even assisted them by using the train's artillery to breach the Quarantine Wall gate, facilitating Griffin's escape into the city.

There was only one railway line leading into the city, but once inside, the situation would be different. They could even use the train's artillery to destroy Griffin's intercontinental train.

Quartz had originally planned exactly that. Compared to sacrificing their own soldiers and highly mobile androids, firing a few shells from the armored train was far more convenient.

Even if the cost of the train cannon shells exceeded the value of an entire squad of droids.

But now was clearly not the time to worry about finances. Wasting a few shells would save a great deal of time.

However, G&K's resistance appeared rather weak. They were simply sending their Dolls to snipe from the train windows...

Huh? What did that foolish Griffin commander think that intercontinental train was? Did he mistake that civilian train for a military armored train?

And they were all crouching by the train windows, as if the three of them were brainless ELIDs?

They didn't even need the armored train to cover the Dolls' advance. The Hydra's machine guns and grenade launchers inflicted devastating damage on those foolish Dolls aboard the intercontinental train.

If just three or four grenades penetrated the windows and landed inside a train car, every Doll inside would be rendered useless!

Less than ten minutes after the captain gave the order to eliminate Griffin, Griffin's intercontinental train came to a stop after its engine was damaged.

"Inspect the cars."

The Cyclops units, already prepared to charge, rushed into the wreckage of the intercontinental train upon receiving the order.

They hadn't even heard a single gunshot. If the Cyclops units hadn't carefully inspected the cars through the gaps in the train, they would have thought something terrible had happened.

Clearly, their autonomous Dolls had determined that no threatening Doll units remained inside. All that was left were the wreckage of Tactical Dolls and puppet Dolls.

"No Griffin commander found. He escaped."

Hearing this, Quartz raised an eyebrow. Their combat ability wasn't particularly impressive, but their ability to escape certainly was. It seemed the Griffin commander had already fled while the Dolls were still standing by the windows.

Besides those exceptional escape skills, he clearly remembered that the previous Griffin commander had also been a formidable fighter, always managing to minimize Griffin's casualties.

After every battle, their gains were limited to destroying most of the enemy's dummy Dolls. The Tactical Dolls' original bodies were never carelessly abandoned.

Thinking this, Quartz glanced down at the half-buried Doll that had apparently been blasted to his feet by the explosion.

The Doll hadn't completely shut down. Circulation fluid flowed from her severed limbs, and sparks still flickered across her damaged circuitry.

Quartz wanted to finish off the unfortunate Doll, but he didn't think these Griffin Tactical Dolls were worth wasting a bullet on. Half of her original body was already gone; complete shutdown was only a matter of time.

"Push this vehicle off the tracks. The mission continues."

...

Nine-Leaf Gor quickly received news that Griffin's intercontinental train had been destroyed and that most of the Tactical Dolls had been eliminated.

However, the report arrived much sooner than he had expected. Even though the Griffin commander had escaped, he still had his doubts.

Was this really the same G&K commander who had once halted their advance with such meticulous tactical deployments?

Perhaps... that commander's luck had finally run out?

However, Yegor quickly dismissed the thought.

Luck? Absolutely not!

The former Griffin commander would never allow herself to end up in such a situation. If she were truly desperate, she would most likely have called in the Renault Security Contracting Firm...

Just thinking about Renault Security Contracting Firm made Yegor grit his teeth. That security contractor was a complete troublemaker. Even now, neither Statesec nor Carter's side could figure out what Renault was planning.

Renault's ship had practically become a shadow wandering the skies, threatening to descend upon them at any moment while carrying a massive cloud of Collapse Particles.

Unfortunately, neither Statesec nor their side had the willingness or the capability to investigate Renault's motives.

Yet the fact remained that Renault had repeatedly sabotaged their operations, as though his sole purpose was to oppose them.

But if Renault were on the opposing side... with that ship's capabilities, even their large force of armored units and armored trains would amount to nothing more than disposable minions.

The power of the ship's main cannon outside Belgrade had already been demonstrated. It far surpassed the armored train's main cannon.

Even the latest force shields couldn't protect an armored train from such an attack.

"Captain, those Sangvis Ferri forces look like they're about to collapse."

"Understood."

The report interrupted Yegor's chaotic thoughts. Regaining his focus, he nodded, checked his equipment, and immediately led his men and the autonomous Dolls toward Paradeus.

…

"By the way, why do you still keep your original Imprint Weapons? Shouldn't the weapons Mr. Renault created be more powerful than your original ones?"

Narcissus looked at the Imprint Weapons in HK416's hands with some confusion. Even though they had been modified, their power still couldn't compare to the weapons displayed in the training pod.

Especially in terms of raw power.

"Uh... maybe it's... habit?"

---

Chapter 1173: A Villain

"These Imprint Weapons are easier to use. Commander Renault seems to have directly integrated the relevant functions and data of the imprinting system into our Neural Cores."

Just as HK416's uncertain reply trailed off, Hawke, who had come over to join the conversation, skillfully twirled her gun in front of Narcissus, demonstrating his rapid reloading technique.

"That's true, but things have changed. These weapons have been modified. Their power, recoil, and other performance characteristics have changed, and the imprinting system is starting to fall behind," AR15 said with a nod.

Before their Neural Cores were replaced, the weapon imprinting system had been incredibly helpful to the Dolls. Nearly seventy to eighty percent of a Tactical Doll's combat capability was concentrated in her Imprint Weapon.

But with Renault, things were different. Renault didn't care what weapons the Dolls used.

For example, SPAS-12, while piloting the Gunship, now found the Barrier-Breaking Axe much more comfortable than her own Imprint Weapon. In combat, she practically transformed into a berserker.

"You guys are really bored, arguing about all this nonsense. Hey, AR15, when are we going to disembark and go somewhere else to play?"

"You... the ship only just took off. Why didn't you say that before we even left port?"

"If you're really bored, go to the amusement park downstairs and play with Mercurius and the others. I think that amusement park would suit you quite well."

"No way! I'm not that giant baby Architect! Aren't you ashamed to spend all day playing with a bunch of kids?!"

OGAS raised her hands and crossed them in front of her chest, refusing righteously.

Clearly, her thoughts were similar to Nimogen's. She simply didn't want to go to the amusement park.

However, the main reason was that Gager kept checking on Architect's behavior, which made her somewhat uncomfortable.

“Architect? She’s not there all the time. What’s there to worry about?”

Architect isn’t one of those Nytos. While she might be unreliable, compared to those immature Nytos and Sangvis Ferri Dolls, she’s still an elite Sangvis Ferri Doll, so she definitely has work to do.

“Ugh, I just don’t want to go!”

“Then stay put, or we’ll have G36 or M1 Garand assign you some work!”

Hearing this, OGAS immediately became obedient, shrinking her neck and sitting in her chair to watch G11’s training session.

“AR15! AR15! Something’s wrong! M4’s in trouble!”

Just as AR15 finished speaking, SOP2’s shout suddenly rang out from the corridor outside.

It grew louder as she approached, sounding frantic and clearly indicating that something had happened.

“What happened?” AR15 frowned. Before SOP2 even appeared, she had already pulled out her phone and begun scrolling through her call log. If M4 was really in trouble, she might have received a message.

However, after checking several times, she found no messages from M4. Their last exchange had been nothing more than casual conversation, and there was nothing suspicious about it.

It was true that M4 was on a mission with Gentiane, but that didn’t mean she would run into trouble every time she went on a mission, right?

The AR Team had operated together many times before, and not every mission was filled with complications.

In fact, they completed far more missions successfully than they encountered problems.

“No? M4 didn’t message me?”

AR15 looked at SOP2, who was running toward her, with some suspicion, wondering whether SOP2 simply missed M4 and wanted to use this as an excuse to go find her.

“It’s not a message! It’s from SOP2.JR! That little guy has intercepted at least thirty forced connection attempts! The alert messages have already been sent!”

Hearing this, AR15 finally took the situation seriously. She knew about the little device SOP2 had given M4. Although SOP2 had built it herself, Renault had also helped, and Renault had designed its communication system.

It worked on the same principle as their phones, so it wasn’t surprising that it would send alerts directly to SOP2.

But with so many forced connection attempts, hadn’t M4 noticed?

“Let’s go! Find Commander Renault!” AR15 said, grabbing her phone and rushing out of the training room.

“Hey! Wait! Wait for me!” Seeing AR15 run off, OGAS quickly chased after her.

…

“Whoa! Listen to this! What kind of thing is this? ‘Dear Ms. Andrea, you wouldn’t want your husband to collapse like this, would you?’”

Listening to the “test records” relayed by Maggie, Leone exclaimed in shock to UL-Nurse and Renate beside her.

This guy named Nikolai practically had the word “villain” etched across his face!

“Well, he did help you test the effectiveness of the antibody drug, didn’t he? If you had gone yourself, you might not have been able to convince the other party to accept an antibody drug of unknown origin.” Renate spread her hands with a smile as she spoke.

Although Nikolai’s methods were despicable, the speed with which he expanded his business into the Green Zone sanatoriums in just a few days was undeniably impressive.

Of course, what was even more satisfying was the Bee Sting System. It was practically omnipresent, capable of monitoring even places like nursing homes for the wealthy and powerful from every angle.

Besides surveillance, it could even directly monitor the target’s vital signs. For Leone, there was no better source of clinical observation data.

“That’s true, but this is so different from my original idea of distributing these antibody drugs to ordinary people...” Leone said with a hint of resentment.

However, that was only a small part of it. After all, she knew that idea was unrealistic. Some people might support free distribution, but what would happen afterward?

Build a giant factory and supply the entire world for free?

Impossible. That was never going to happen. Even she wouldn’t do something so foolish. It would be the equivalent of openly declaring war on every major pharmaceutical company and then shamelessly waiting for them to retaliate.

Simply put, an antibody drug capable of treating Collapse radiation sickness represented an enormous market. Those willing to do anything for money would never let such a cash cow slip away.

----

Chapter 1174: Don't Even Think About Getting Rid of Me!

Looking over the antibody drug sales report Maggie handed him, Renault nodded. Although entrusting Nikolai with selling the antibody drug seemed somewhat absurd, his methods had undeniably produced a good start.

Although the drug had initially been sold through coercion, its effectiveness was unquestionable. Even after a month, despite its potency having declined by nearly half, it remained remarkably effective.

Its immediate effects were unaffected. One dose could instantly wake an unconscious patient. Another could enable someone suffering from excruciating pain to stand and walk a few steps. Those with milder symptoms, such as fever, would recover almost immediately after a single dose.

In short, although the first patients had been forced at gunpoint by Nikolai and his men to pay for the drug, they became remarkably devoted to him afterward.

Even Nikolai himself hadn’t expected that his plan to make a fortune by selling the drug at exorbitant prices would require coercion only for the first few patients.

In the morning, he was forcing people to hand over their money. By the afternoon, people were showing up carrying suitcases full of cash, eager to buy the drug.

Meanwhile, Helian frowned as she read the report before reviewing the video footage Maggie had gathered through the Bee Sting System.

After watching patients run, jump, and even eat five large bowls of rice in a single meal, she felt that asking Leone to raise the price of the antibody drug might have been a mistake...

The price should have been even higher! That brat Nikolai had made a fortune this time!

But they had only set a fixed price...

What a loss...

“Renault, if Leone produces another batch of antibody drugs, have her reduce both the efficacy and the dosage... Cut it in half—no! Reduce it tenfold!”

Hearing Helian’s determined tone and seeing the unusual gleam in her eyes, Maggie awkwardly adjusted her hat.

Strange. Helian wasn’t a Doll, so why did it seem as though money signs were shining in her eyes?

“Let’s leave it as it is for now. The potency doesn’t matter. The more obvious the effects are, the easier it will be for more people to learn about it.”

Otherwise, even if reducing the efficacy tenfold still allowed it to treat ELID radiation sickness, it obviously wouldn’t be nearly as effective as it was now. The drug already lacked a reputation, and if its effects became less noticeable, it might ultimately prove less appealing than the treatments and medicines already offered by the sanatoriums.

“Okay.” Helian immediately nodded after hearing Renault’s suggestion. She had indeed become a little carried away. After all, no manufacturer liked watching distributors earn more money than they did.

“Actually, it’s uncertain whether Nikolai’s business can continue. Quite a few people already have their eyes on these antibody drugs.”

Maggie didn’t think Nikolai could maintain such extraordinary profits for long. Aside from the sheer quantity of antibody drugs they possessed, the sanatoriums in a single city simply couldn’t consume that many.

At most, he could probably sell around three thousand doses in one city. At Nikolai’s prices, they were well beyond the reach of ordinary people.

That meant he would have to travel from city to city, visiting at least ten of them to sell all of his antibody drugs.

Even though communication between the Green Zone and the White Zone remained smooth, freight and transportation were no longer as convenient as before.

With only convoys and freight trains available, Nikolai had to race against time to distribute the drugs.

After all, the antibody drugs gradually lost their potency over time. Without that limitation, he could have stockpiled them, sold them at his leisure, and slowly driven the price even higher.

Unfortunately, that strategy simply wouldn’t work.

If he delayed for too long, the drugs would lose too much of their effectiveness, and those wealthy buyers who had paid astronomical prices might turn around and make trouble for Nikolai.

Even the Smugglers wouldn’t fare much better under those circumstances.

“That’s their problem,” Renault said. “Just don’t let it affect our payments.”

He had no intention of supporting Nikolai and the Smugglers. If Nikolai couldn’t do it, there would always be someone else.

“Commander!”

At that moment, AR15 suddenly appeared at the lounge entrance. The moment she spotted Renault and Helian, she stopped briefly before rushing inside.

“What is it?” Renault asked instinctively. However, seeing AR15’s anxious expression and SOP2 rushing in behind her, he had a rough idea of what had happened.

It was probably nothing more than M4 from the AR Team running into trouble again—or ending up locked up somewhere. The Dolls of the AR Team were exceptionally close to one another.

“Um… M4 might be in some danger. SOP2 and I are thinking of going over to check it out… and maybe offer some support…”

“Just the two of you? That’s easy. SOP2 can just fly you there in her Viking.” While the Viking’s cockpit can only hold one pilot, that doesn’t mean it can’t carry passengers.

There’s still room outside the fuselage. SOP2 can fly the fighter, and AR15 can wear a suit of powered armor and be attached to the underside of the fuselage.

“Huh?”

Seemingly surprised that Renault agreed to her request so easily, AR15 was momentarily taken aback.

However, she immediately nodded. “Okay, let’s go prepare now.”

Before she could even leave, OGAS suddenly jumped out from behind her.

“No! I want to go too! You guys went to see M4 without me! No way! Absolutely not!”

With that, she grabbed AR15’s leg and wrapped her entire body around her, determined not to let go until AR15 agreed!

“Hey!? You! Stop messing around! Time is of the essence! I don’t have time to play around with you!” AR15 frowned, trying to pull OGAS off.

However, OGAS hadn’t been eating those nutritious konjacs for nothing, and with the rapid growth of her new Biomass body, OGAS was now quite strong.

With her current grip, tightly clinging to AR15’s leg, unless AR15 decided to smash her to the ground, it wouldn’t be easy to pull her off.

“Hey? Going out on a mission? Can I go with you? Hiccup!”

Having probably heard OGAS’s shout, AK47 suddenly popped out from the doorway, grinning at them, though letting out a hiccup as she spoke.

----

Chapter 1175: Makes Sense!

“Is this really a good idea? SOP2, that SOP2JR, should be able to continuously intercept forced connections for M4, right?” Helian asked Renault with some concern.

Was it too reckless to just let AR15 and SOP2 go and help M4?

If only the two of them went, what danger might they encounter?

“There shouldn’t be any problems. Their current physical bodies are fine, their strength is more than enough, there won’t be any danger.”

Helian naturally knew Renault was referring to the sturdiness of AR15 and SOP2’s physical bodies, but was that what she was asking?

Even if their physical bodies were sturdy, so what? Could they possibly fight against those heavy mechs?

Besides, the Dolls are all Biomass now; they bleed when injured, unlike their old steel bodies!

“But... but sending just the two of them is still a bit too much, isn’t it?”

Barely enough?

Hearing Helian’s words, Renault looked at her suspiciously, wondering if she’d been so busy she’d forgotten about the Biomass bodies of the Dolls at home.

But upon reflection, he really hadn’t mentioned this to Helian, nor had Leone and UL-Nurse in the biology lab. It was understandable that she wasn’t aware of the current defensive capabilities of the Biomass bodies.

Helian probably saw the Dolls at home getting scrapes and bruises while running around and assumed these Biomass bodies were as fragile as mortal beings?

“If you’re worried, have them take a few more people. AK47 wants to go too,” Renault said, pointing to AK47, who had volunteered. He didn’t see anything wrong with it.

“AK47… this girl's obviously drunk…”

“They sober up quickly, unlike HK416, who sleeps all day after just one drink.”

Hearing this, Helian immediately remembered this fact. After all, AK47 might be drunk, but the work at the brewery had never been delayed. If she didn’t sober up quickly, the work at the brewery would have piled up long ago.

“Commander! I want to go too! I haven’t been on a mission in ages!” Simonov, who had her arm around AK47’s shoulder, waved and called out.

Judging from her flushed face, she had obviously drunk quite a bit.

“You can’t operate a gunship like that.”

“No, no! I’m not firing a gunship this time! It’s time for Simonov to make a name for herself with her lightsaber skills after all this time!” She even brandished the bottle in her hand like a lightsaber hilt.

She’s drunk quite a bit…

“Are you kidding me! How are you going to go in this state?! We’re going to support M4, not go for a picnic and drinks!” AR15 yelled, somewhat exasperated, at the two drunkards blocking the doorway.

OGAS, that tagalong, hadn’t been shaken off yet, and now two more drunkards wanted to come along!

This isn’t a mission issued by Renault! Even if you two go, you won’t get any compensation!

And judging from the way Helian and Renault were talking, they clearly intended to bring these two drunkards along!

“This won’t do!”

“Sure! Simonov! With you two helping out, M4 will definitely be safer!”

Unfortunately, AR15 thought it was unreliable, while SOP2 thought the more people who went, the safer it would be! Her eyes lit up and she agreed!

“Simonov! Simonov! AK47! Where did you two go! Keep drinking! Another round!”

Before AR15 could refuse, the two Executioners shouts rose and fell, and then, each carrying a jug of liquor, they appeared swaying behind Simonov and SOP2.

The doorway was even more blocked...

And it was probably their shouts in the corridor that drew the attention of the curious Dolls around.

Even Springfield from next door peeked out from the café doorway, curiously observing the situation.

“Hey, hey, is there a mission? Why isn’t anyone saying anything on the comms?”

“Come on! The Commander’s about to issue a mission!”

“What!? A mission! I’m coming!”

“I want to go too!”

Once is never enough. Perhaps the repetitive work on the ship was indeed a bit boring. As soon as someone mentioned the word “mission” on the communication channel, a large group of Dolls immediately gathered at the door, shoving the four drunkards who were standing outside into the lounge.

“This isn’t a mission, it’s just AR15 and SOP2’s individual mission. Everyone else can leave if they don’t have anything else to do.” Seeing so many Dolls clamoring for a mission, Helian was taken aback, then quickly explained.

She had never seen this scene at Griffin and Kyuger. The Dolls at Griffin were never this enthusiastic about missions. Even though they would all carry out missions willingly, it was clearly only because of the underlying protocol orders.

“Eh? Individual mission? Then can’t I come along?” C96 scratched her head helplessly. It would be a real shame if she couldn’t go.

“Sure! The more the merrier!” SOP2 was all fired up, waving excitedly, practically begging Renault to command P226 to fly the ship directly to M4.

Upon hearing SOP2’s words, Helian paused. She  realized that while the Dolls at home were certainly enthusiastic, their excessive enthusiasm was a bit much to handle.

“AR15 and SOP2, take OGAS and find someone to take a Gunship. The rest of you can decide.”

Renault’s words immediately set a maximum number of personnel for the mission. After all, the number of Dolls a Gunship could hold…

Was quite considerable.

A Gunship wasn’t just for a small squad! As long as they didn’t cram any large equipment into the cabin, even forty Dolls could squeeze in!

“You might as well just say everyone should go!” Helian rolled her eyes at Renault, annoyed by his words.

Just as Helian finished speaking, G11 slipped in through the door at some point, made her way to Renault’s side, and cheerfully began massaging Renault’s shoulders.

“Hehe! Commander, um... since they can all go, how about I give that truck a try this time? Our Optimus Prime β hasn’t had a formal test yet!”

Optimus... Optimus Prime? And β?

“G11! Stop causing trouble!” Helian rubbed her temples, looking at G11 with a headache. Why were they all so mischievous these days?

It’s all your fault for spoiling them!

Just as she was about to glare at Renault, G11, like a slippery eel, slipped away from Renault and moved to Helian’s side, tiptoeing to whisper something in her ear.

Hearing G11’s words, Helian’s furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and her eyes lit up.

“That makes sense! Renault, let’s send the ship directly to M4! That will save time, and we can also check if the Dolls at home have neglected their training!”

-----

Chapter 1176: Let’s Go!

“Um... um? Checking on Dolls’ training?”

You? Are you perhaps a little... clueless?

Renault blinked. Although Helian had taken over most of the management work, she hadn’t really paid much attention to Dolls’ training. Why was it suddenly brought up today?

Seeing Renault’s strange look, Helian cleared her throat somewhat embarrassedly.

Well, this excuse was obviously unconvincing, and besides, it wasn’t a bad thing anyway, so she might as well just say it directly.

Anyway, she still agreed to fly there in the spaceship.

“Um, actually, I think that although the situation on M4 is still unclear, every time Griffin fights, they lose some Dolls. If we go, we might be able to bring back some Dolls that Griffin and IOP can’t repair.”

Renault naturally understood. He hadn’t expected Helian to have this kind of plan, but it wasn’t wrong. Griffin’s actions, in total, had already lost a considerable number of Dolls.

While they could replenish them later, it was simply a matter of recreating new Dolls using the mental cloud map in the server.

However, since his trip to Beleglad, he hadn’t been keeping as close an eye on Griffin T-Dolls. Gentiane was now protecting her T-Dolls very well.

After Beleglad’s battle, her T-Dolls only lost some puppets; at worst, they might lose an arm or a leg—far from being able to rebuild Dolls.

If nothing unexpected happened, Gentiane would continue this approach, so constantly monitoring them wouldn’t likely entice many Dolls to join him.

Given the underlying agreement, it was highly unlikely that Griffin T-Dolls would choose to come to his side voluntarily.

In previous instances, it was more likely that he forcibly detained them, and Helian approved the Dolls’ defection applications. Otherwise, even CF05 and the others would have had to return to Griffin headquarters to dismantle the fire control core before they could defect.

It was purely accidental that only Springfield managed to get to Renault’s ship with a few Dolls that Griffin couldn’t repair.

The idea of going to Griffin to retrieve Dolls was definitely G11’s idea, but he didn’t think Gentiane’s Dolls would suffer much damage, so this trip was likely a waste.

Since Helian had already agreed, he naturally wouldn’t spoil the mood. After all, Helian was handling the job of finding a place to stay; since Helian herself was willing to stop her work to join in, what else could he say?

“Since you put it that way, let’s go. Just tell P226 to change direction. I’ll go to the work area to prepare some Neural Core storage modules.”

When they brought Hawke back, they didn’t have any Neural Core storage modules on hand. Since they’re going out to collect Dolls this time, having a dozen or twenty extra is just right.

Seeing Renault stand up, G11 excitedly waved and turned to give M1911 a thumbs-up in the crowd!

“Alright! Don’t gather here! Everyone back to your standby positions! Warp in five minutes!”

“Okay!”

Upon hearing this, a group of Dolls cheered and rushed out, heading toward their locked positions or finding nearby fixed positions.

Meanwhile, the ship’s internal alarm system went off!

Both Sangvis Ferri and the Dolls dropped what they were doing and began preparing.

…

“What’s this? An alarm?”

“What’s going on? Has someone broken in?!”

Narcissus and Hawke asked nervously. Hawke even considered running out of the training room to see what was happening.

However, Hawke had barely taken a step when HK416 pulled her back and shoved her into the training pod.

“Behave yourself. It’s not a breach. The ship is just starting to accelerate. Lie down, or you’ll get seriously injured in the corridor. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

HK416 spoke, locking the training pod door from the outside. Narcissus was then shoved into the pod as well.

These training pods also served a securing function, and were even more effective than regular fixed seats. For Dolls like Hawke and Narcissus, whose Biomass bodies hadn’t fully developed, lying in these pods was much safer than sitting in fixed seats.

After securing the two individuals, HK416 pulled out an emergency restraint seat from the nearest wall and fastened the safety buckle.

Listening to the excited chatter of the other Dolls on the communication channel, a smile involuntarily crept onto her face.

This was completely different from training in the training pod. Now that the entire ship had been deployed, it was clearly a golden opportunity to test the results of their recent training!

“Hey, Narcissus, did you hear anything strange? I think I heard a monkey’s call?”

Hawke, still somewhat bewildered, scratched her head, seemingly confused. She thought she heard some strange noises, like someone chattering in her head and someone imitating a monkey’s call.

“Um, I think I heard that too. Is it just my imagination?”

“Of course it’s not a delusion, that’s the internal communication channel. After sometime, we can naturally hear other T-Dolls talking in it. That wasn’t a monkey’s cry just now; that was Architect making that weird noise.”

“Huh—?”

Hearing HK416’s words, Hawke and Narcissus both tilted their heads in surprise. Isn’t the body they are using a Biomass one? Why would it have a Doll communication channel? Shouldn’t that be a feature of the Doll communication module?

“Well, don’t worry about the details. Just know that it works the same as the original Doll communication protocol. Once you’re familiar with it, you can even switch between Doll channels and Sangvis Ferri channels. Griffin’s communication channels are also compatible.”

As for more information on electronic warfare, HK416 herself wasn’t very clear, so she didn’t mention it. If they were really interested, they could ask UMP45 or UMP40 later.

A few minutes felt rather long to HK416.

Just as she was about to lose patience and unfasten the safety catch to go back and pack her combat equipment, the spaceship suddenly accelerated!

“Huh? Huh? I feel like I’m floating!”

“Are we going to crash?!”

“HK416! What’s going on?! Say something!”

-----

Chapter 1177: Wait, Not Now

“Hey, busy man, want to get together with Wright tonight? Just got some good stuff from Renault!”

J leaned back in his office chair, beckoning to Kevin, who was rushing back to the office.

Shortly after Renault’s spaceship left Universal Anything’s port, these field personnel returned directly to headquarters, and even took a long vacation—well, actually just three days.

However, for them, who worked almost year-round without a break, this was already a very rare holiday.

As for why J would stay in the headquarters office even though it was a holiday?

Well, it’s because he had nowhere else to go. Wandering around the city would only drain his already meager wallet. Rather than staying home doing nothing, he’d rather come to the office and listen to his colleagues’ gossip.

“Kevin, aren’t you on vacation?”

“Yes, I am, but I couldn’t sit still for more than half a day at home. Nothing to do! Anyway, want to come to the party tonight? Tsk tsk, it’s top-quality stuff from Renault! The kind that makes you strong and healthy!”

“Uh, what a weird adjective...”

“No, it’s true! Absolutely! Schneider just had a small hot pot dinner at Renault, and when he came back, even his nearsightedness was cured! His belly muscles are starting to show!”

"No? Huh? What kind of strange logic is this? Just a hot pot meal, and it can have this effect?

What is this? Some kind of magical prank?"

K shook his head, dismissing the strange thoughts from his mind. "No, I have something to do here."

"What is it now? Did you catch another sly mouse, or did some big shot do something outrageous?" Hearing K's words, J immediately perked up, sitting up straight and sliding his office chair closer to K.

"It's about that Renault you just mentioned. His ship was finally photographed after taking off. At least we managed to get the first set of image data, and I need to send it to the intelligence analysis department."

K didn't try to hide anything. After all, it was just a video recording. Many people had already seen Renault's ship, and even those who hadn't would probably just think it was some kind of fabricated image.

"Hmm, and then?"

"And then what?"

"Well, after the data is sent, didn't you say you had something else to do?"

"Nothing else, just this."

K replied, immediately loading the storage medium and beginning the data transfer to the intelligence analysis department.

His movements were practiced, clearly indicating this wasn't the first time he'd done this, but the progress bar on the screen was moving much more slowly than Kevin had expected.

"Wait a minute. Is this thing really that slow? It's just a video. Is it really that big of a file?"

"Besides the video, there's also the corresponding collapse particle storm calculation data. Otherwise, why do you think I used this thing to store it?" K tapped the book-sized storage medium, sounding somewhat helpless.

If it weren't for the collapse particle storm data, he wouldn't even need the storage medium. He could've sent the data with a flick of his wrist.

Now he couldn't. All he could do was sit there and wait.

"Isn't this supposed to be footage of Renault's ship? What does it have to do with the collapse particle storm?"

"That's the problem. Why did Renault's ship's mere acceleration cause anomalies in the collapse particle cloud and, at the instant the ship disappeared, even trigger a small-scale collapse storm?"

"The ship disappeared? How could it disappear?"

"I can't explain it to you. Watch it yourself." K shook his head at Kevin's question, immediately playing the recording and pushing the screen toward Kevin.

Kevin squinted. All he saw was Renault's massive ship, though it occupied only a small portion of the frame. It was obvious this fixed-angle camera hadn't been intended to film Renault's ship.

Fortunately, the footage could be zoomed in. After zooming in, the ship, which had been moving slowly, suddenly accelerated, and within a few seconds, its speed reached a terrifying level.

Then... nothing.

Renault's spaceship seemed to twist in midair, causing the surrounding sky to distort before it abruptly vanished into the sky.

Just as K had said, it disappeared.

Kevin narrowed his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things. He rewound the video and watched it again, only to see the exact same footage. He rubbed his eyes and watched it once more...

"Alright, it's the same no matter how many times you watch it. That spaceship just vanished into thin air."

"This... perhaps Renault activated the spaceship's cloaking system? After all, that spaceship does seem to have that capability."

"It does, but that would be pointless. He already has our clearance, so there's no need for him to hide."

"Then maybe it's to guard against Statesec?"

"Same reason. Statesec doesn't want to deal with Renault's spaceship right now."

That thing is beyond Statesec's capabilities. Unless the Relics Department agrees to revive its old Relics technology, dealing with that spaceship is simply a pipe dream.

Hearing this, Kevin paused for a moment before sliding off the desk.

"Forget it, forget it. Instead of worrying about this headache, I think it'd be much more efficient to just go straight to Renault and ask him directly. Oh, five percent already. That's not slow at all. Looks like you'll make it to Wright's place for a free meal tonight!"

Go directly to Renault? That didn't seem like a bad idea.

The problem was how to ask for information without making Renault dislike the Stasi. Help him? Or perhaps offer something in exchange...

...

"I should've brought a car." Gentiane shook her head helplessly as she watched the intercontinental train slow to below fifteen kilometers per hour.

The fog surrounding the train remained thick, and ELID-infected individuals occasionally appeared, but the tactical Dolls from Griffin headquarters that Havier had mentioned were nowhere to be seen, nor was the Griffin Commander whose name they didn't even know.

"Commander... maybe..."

"Stop! Don't say things like that. Wanting to do something is fine, but not now. Even if we really have to move, we should at least wait for Havier to provide more intelligence."

Seeing the hesitant expression on M4's face, Gentiane immediately raised her hand, stopping M4 from speaking any further.

-----

Chapter 1178: Since We're Here

"Ugh! Ugh! I feel like I've been turned inside out!"

Hawke gagged, her face pale as her hands gripped the table. Narcissus beside her was in a similar state, though her complexion wasn't as bad as Hawke's—just a little pale.

"That's what happens when you have a weak constitution, huh? There's nothing I can do about it. You probably don't like spicy konjac, either, right?"

HK416 picked up her Imprint Weapon from the table beside her as she spoke, then walked straight toward the door.

After the warp, the alarms had stopped, meaning the ship wouldn't be making any major maneuvers. Hawke and Narcissus wouldn't be in any danger aboard the ship. Besides, they only looked like children; they weren't actually children, so she didn't need to follow them around all the time.

"Yeah, it's too spicy... Ah, where are you going?" Hawke replied, looking up just as HK416 reached the door.

"Going to get ready, of course! Otherwise, we might not even get a sip of soup if we're late! You two can do whatever you want on the ship—just don't stand in the middle of the hallway!"

With that, HK416 stepped through the door and immediately broke into a sprint, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in less than half a second.

By the time Hawke and Narcissus stumbled to the doorway, HK416 was nowhere to be seen.

And many Dolls like HK416 were sprinting at full speed...

They were all racing down the corridors one after another!

Even if Helian wanted to stop them, she couldn't. Before she could even say anything, they were already gone. Even if she shouted now, they might only barely hear her.

The Dolls' eagerness left AR15 dumbfounded, despite her own anxiety.

Although she was also one of those racing through the ship, she was hurrying to support M4!

What were the others rushing off for? They didn't even know what the situation on M4's side was like!

SOP2 hadn't thought that far ahead. She intended to contact M4 on the way to assess the situation before deciding what to do next.

But under the current circumstances... travel time had been virtually eliminated. The Gunship's journey, which would normally have taken dozens of minutes, had been reduced to just five.

All that remained was for the Gunship to serve as a transport, carrying the Dolls from the ship down to the ground.

If P226 had gone a step further and lowered the ship's altitude, they might not even have needed the Gunship. A bunch of Dolls could've simply jumped down...

So... since they were already here, they could just find out what had happened after arriving. The ship was right above them anyway, so what was there to worry about?

...

"Hmm?"

"Captain?"

"Nothing." Yegor had simply experienced a bad feeling. He didn't elaborate, but what he had just sensed felt undeniably real.

The sky above Tallinn seemed to distort for a moment, and he felt as though something were pressing down on him.

"What's the status of the base's automated defense system?"

"It's still operational, but access has been transferred. We may need to force our way in."

Yegor frowned.

"Then pass the order down. Prepare for a forced breakthrough."

With that, Yegor donned his helmet and walked toward the rear of the armored train, where his vehicle was parked inside the hangar.

Although the armored train could dock directly at the base's station, the base itself was enormous, and the intense collapse radiation throughout the area meant communications would be severely hampered if they moved too far away from the train.

If the base's access hadn't been transferred, they could've used its internal communication lines, but that wasn't an option now. The communication repeater on AA-02 would truly come in handy this time.

As Yegor boarded his personal mech, Angelia secretly regretted not bringing more armor-piercing weapons and heavier firepower.

Paradeus had far too many mechs!

"This many! It's amazing those Sangvis Ferri can still hold out! Even the regular army can't match their numbers!" Angelia muttered in annoyance as she reloaded her revolver after checking how many armor-piercing rounds she had left.

"Who told you to choose that thing on a whim? If you'd brought a normal rifle, you could've at least borrowed some of our spare ammunition." AK12 fanned herself with one hand. The constant movement and fighting had raised her body temperature considerably.

"Come on, I took down three!" Angelia snapped the magazine back into place, a smirk playing across her lips as she proudly held up three fingers.

AK12 and RPK16 immediately scoffed.

Angelia wasn't wrong. The four of them had just fired well over a hundred rounds to barely take down four mechs, and two of them weren't even destroyed—only their energy conduits had been damaged, temporarily paralyzing them.

Angelia, however, was different. Although her RSH-12 was an old relic, its upgraded materials and armor-piercing ammunition, combined with her reckless willingness to get right up close before firing, made it incredibly effective.

All three mechs she had destroyed had their power cores pierced. Even if they were towed back for repairs, they certainly wouldn't be fully operational again anytime soon.

"A portion of Paradeus has split off and is beginning to surround us," AK15 said sternly, checking her remaining ammunition while keeping track of the route they had taken.

She used different ammunition from the other three members of Task Force DEFY, so she had to calculate her remaining supply more carefully.

Of course, it wasn't that the others didn't need to manage their ammunition, but they weren't under as much pressure as she was. Even so, the ammunition consumption during this operation was simply too high. If they wasted all their rounds on those heavily armored behemoths, they would run out of ammunition very quickly.

"Let's go, then. Let's keep moving. I also want to see what the Sangvis Ferri Mastermind is up to right now."

Angelia hadn't chosen the easier route earlier. Sangvis Ferri's strength was no match for Paradeus at the moment; they were barely holding on.

If they eliminated even more Sangvis Ferri, who knew whether that would lead to Paradeus completely wiping them out? That was definitely not what Angelia wanted.

Maintaining the current stalemate was the best outcome. That way, they would have both the opportunity and the time to penetrate deeper into the base.

With that, the group leaped out from their hiding place, quickly taking down several Paradeus marksmen who approached first before using the terrain to shake off the pursuing Paradeus forces.

-----

Chapter 179: It's Up to You

"Seriously... why aren't they ever this enthusiastic when it comes to routine work?"

Watching the Dolls rush past one after another, Nimogen pulled several Nyto beside her back to stop them from impulsively joining in.

The Dolls at Renault's house were on an entirely different level. They had no chance of keeping up.

Once all the Dolls had run off, Nimogen released Mercurius's prosthetic arm, finally letting the dozen or so Nyto go.

Of course, she only let go after confirming they weren't about to run toward the hangar. Otherwise, who knew what kind of trouble they might have caused?

The Nyto searched as they went, checking the dining room, the lounge, and the storage rooms. The Dolls they usually saw were all gone. Beginning to panic, they immediately turned and headed for the bridge.

There was no one in those areas, but there would definitely be people on the bridge. It might be the two pilots, UMP45 lounging near the communications equipment, or Helian busy with her work.

Seeing Mercurius and the others in such a panicked state, Nimogen breathed a sigh of relief. Helian was indeed on the bridge, and at Helian's request, Renault had temporarily blocked Mercurius's and several Nyto's communication channels.

Otherwise, if they were allowed to listen in on all the Dolls' communications in the communication channels, it wouldn't be long before they started going astray.

The only result would be four more troublemakers in the house, and Helian would end up wasting countless brain cells dealing with them.

Following Mercurius and the others at a leisurely pace, Nimogen raised her arm and examined it.

It wasn't Scarecrow's prosthetic arm anymore, but her own arm, which had regrown.

It was absurd.

When had the human body gained regenerative abilities like a gecko regrowing its tail? Even the bones had grown back. And it wasn't just her arm; lately, she had inexplicably felt something growing inside her torso as well.

But UL-Nurse's examination had shown that everything was perfectly normal...

"What are you thinking about?"

"Eek!"

The sudden voice startled Nimogen, who had been lost in thought. She turned her head and saw UL-Nurse leaning in close, wearing a sinister smile that made her look anything but trustworthy.

"Phew! Don't scare me like that! What's with you? Aren't you a doctor? Why are you joining in the fun?" Nimogen took a deep breath to calm herself before noticing that UL-Nurse had changed out of her usual nurse's uniform and into a white combat suit.

Nimogen wasn't unfamiliar with the outfit. It was displayed in the infirmary's cloakroom, where both UL-Nurse and Renate each had a set specifically for wearing medic power armor.

"Hmm, something interesting like this? Let's go for a walk. Think of it as sightseeing. Last time we went into town, we barely got to look around before we had to come back."

"Wait, didn't you all go shopping for clothes together afterward?" Could it be that all those designer clothes piled up in the infirmary's cloakroom were fake?

"That's just shopping—nothing special. Besides, after those riots, all the interesting stores in the outer city closed down. All that's left are those identical showrooms in the city center. Where's the fun in that?" UL-Nurse shrugged, clearly looking down on the steel-decorated shops in the city center.

"Right, right. Then don't forget to bring me back some local specialties." Hearing that, Nimogen waved helplessly before hurrying after Mercurius and the others, who had already gotten quite far ahead.

"Hmm... local specialties. I wonder what actually counts as a local specialty in this city."

...

"Step back! This time, the infantry goes first! All armored units, stay back!"

"Why?! What kind of infantry are you?! Who carries a lightsaber and still counts as infantry?!"

"Exactly! You're obviously high-ranking Templars! You should be the last ones in!"

"Hey! G11! Say something! This time..."

"No! This time, our transport team goes first! We're the MVPs for this operation!"

UMP40 had been trying to pull G11 aside to get her to back her up against G43 suddenly looked around but couldn't find her anywhere.

To her complete surprise, G11's voice rang out from the truck that had already driven up to the entrance of the hangar.

UMP40's eyes widened.

Before she could say anything, MG42, already wearing power armor, jumped up indignantly, shouting while stomping her feet, the heavy metal boots of her armor clanging loudly against the hangar floor.

"The fighting hasn't even started yet! Where did you even get that MVP title?! G11, don't think you can sneak away!"

"Isn't that obvious? Nobody knows this operation better than I do!" G11 replied, immediately letting go of the steering wheel and standing up through the window, gesturing dramatically with both arms like an orchestra conductor.

Although G11 was exaggerating a little, it was undeniable that she had been standing right beside Helian and Renault. She had even persuaded Helian to join the operation, though she had spoken so quietly that no one else had heard what she said.

Realizing this, the group of Dolls immediately began discussing it among themselves, until someone suddenly pointed out.

"Wait... weren't we arguing about who goes first? How did this turn into arguing over who gets to be the MVP?"

The fully armed Dolls immediately resumed arguing, while the two Scarecrows standing at the back shook their heads helplessly.

"SpectreM4, it looks like the next operation will be up to you." Scarecrow Number One raised her hand and patted the air in front of her. Although it looked like empty space, someone was actually standing there.

"Uh... what are you two doing?"

Startled by Scarecrow Number One's pat, SpectreM4 immediately uncloaked, looking at the two Scarecrows in confusion.

Judging by their expressions, it didn't seem like they intended to stay aboard the ship.

“Provide technical support.”

The two Scarecrows spoke in unison, but as soon as they said those words, SpectreM4 stared at them in shock.

Technical support? Since when did you two diligent workaholics start thinking about slacking off?!

Could this be the mental mutation that's been spreading wildly on the *Anonymous Board*?!

“Don't get the wrong idea. Just know that we have other work to do.” Scarecrow #2 patted SpectreM4 on the shoulder and handed her a bulging backpack.

----

Chapter 1180: Who Knows What's Inside?

“Hey, hey, hey! Why are you leaning forward?” MDR grabbed Carol by the back of her collar and pulled her back.

Even though Carol had the same face as she did, MDR didn't care. Besides, she had now experienced the same feeling as Boss Renault, and, well, it felt pretty good.

“Wait, aren't we leaving soon? Why aren't we moving?” Carol asked, holding her Imprint Weapon with a puzzled expression.

Why weren't MDR and Vera... wait...

“Huh!? Huh!? What are you two carrying on your waists!? You two! When did you pass the lightsaber proficiency test without telling me!?”

Although MDR and Vera weren't carrying firearms, hanging from their waists were none other than the lightsabers that almost every veteran Doll in their family possessed.

Carol had never seen either of them use one before. She had never even seen them practice in the training room.

So they hadn't failed after all—they had already passed and had been hiding it from her!?

“You never asked! Do you really need to think about it? You've seriously gone crazy after spending so much time with Griffin. Come on, let's wait until everyone else has gone down before we leave.”

“Why?”

“Idiot! You're not some fake Carol, are you? Did those Griffin technicians stuff some idiot's mental model into you? We're not even in combat. We're just going down to take notes. Why are you so eager?”

Take notes...?

Hearing that, Carol looked suspiciously at the phone in MDR's hand and the camera in Vera's hand.

These two were really excluding her from the combat sequence...

Then again... what MDR said wasn't wrong. They had so many powerful Dolls at home that they certainly didn't need the combat strength of the three of them.

“Look at those guys. They're all fully armed—siege tanks, power armor, and mechs! Who do you think you, a little girl carrying an Imprint Weapon, can beat?”

It was the truth, but sometimes the truth hurt the most. Carol's face immediately twisted in frustration.

Fortunately, Carol was still Carol, and her resentment quickly faded.

Fine. No fighting, then.

“Ahem! Anyway, our mission is to serve as battlefield recorders, faithfully documenting the girls' heroic battles...”

“And maybe record some embarrassing moments too, right?”

“I... how can you say something so blunt out loud!?”

MDR quickly pulled Carol behind an ammunition crate to keep them from being noticed by those sharp-eared girls.

Even if everyone in the family was already accustomed to embarrassing records, actually being filmed still annoyed them.

...

“Commander, this situation might be a little complicated. Shouldn't we warn the others?”

UMP45 frowned as she looked at the information from the detection system and asked Renault with some concern.

“No need. We'll talk about it if they ask.”

Renault glanced at the potential threat units displayed on the detection system and waved dismissively.

If you become overconfident, you're bound to suffer. They might indeed take a beating—but only if the rebel armored trains spotted the dolls first and concentrated their fire on them.

At the moment, the city's terrain was too complex. Only one armored train had entered the city, while the other two remained outside. Unless they were willing to bombard the city indiscriminately without regard for the cost or consequences, they were unlikely to accomplish much.

Besides, Renault felt that the bombers lurking high in the distant sky posed a far greater threat than the rebels' armored trains.

The distance was still too great, and it was impossible to determine exactly what the other aircraft was carrying.

If those people discovered their arrival and decided to make a decisive move, then he would have to show them what Terran technology was truly capable of, even through a mere layer of collapsing particle clouds.

Seeing Renault's calm expression, UMP45 relaxed considerably. The other Dolls might not know what Renault did all day, but as a frequent visitor to the bridge, she certainly did.

The extra equipment piled beside the nearby cannon emplacements clearly showed that Renault had been crafting various gadgets for G11 while continuously expanding the ship's firepower.

“This... this deployment is a bit excessive, isn't it?” Helian muttered after staring at the tactical display for a long time, looking bewildered as she confirmed the various forces lying in ambush around the city below.

Her original plan had simply been to accompany the mission, help M4 and Gentiane, and salvage a few Griffin Dolls from the battlefield. After all, moving to the new ship would require more personnel to manage its various facilities and departments.

Although she had many Dolls back home, a large portion of them simply weren't suited for patient administrative work.

When G11 had suggested it earlier, Helian had agreed without much thought. She never expected Gentiane's mission to be on such a ridiculous scale.

The rebels' four armored trains and several reinforced battalion-sized combat groups were merely the most obvious threats Gentiane would encounter.

There were also large numbers of Paradeus units throughout the city, countless ELID infected, the city's automated defense systems—some of which might still be operational—and an entire squadron of bombers circling overhead.

Near the nearby base, an enormous force of regular troops stood ready.

Inside that base, the sheer number of Paradeus units was so overwhelming that they practically painted the tactical map red.

The Sangvis Ferri forces mixed among them barely stood out.

“This...” Helian rubbed her forehead, feeling her head throb. The scale of this operation had far exceeded her expectations. This was no longer something a security contractor should be involved in.

Regular troops, rebels, Paradeus, and Sangvis Ferri—all these factions had converged here, turning the battlefield into complete chaos.

Unfortunately, caught in the middle were Gentiane and her T-Doll subordinates—a group of... well... low-level henchmen?

“What are the boss and Sir Griffin thinking? Sending Gentiane and the others here under these circumstances is practically suicide!”

Renault said nothing.

After all, he had no idea what those people were thinking either. Who knew what was inside their heads?

Maybe if someone cracked their skulls open, they'd find Patrick Star instead of a brain.

-----

Chapter 1181: Nothing's Wrong, Is It?

“What's going on? Why is this little guy suddenly yelling like that?”

SOP2JR, who had been hiding inside M4's carrying case, suddenly began shouting repeatedly that something was approaching... hiss.

Yet neither Gentiane nor the other Dolls detected anything obviously dangerous approaching the intercontinental train.

There were a few ELID infected nearby, but they posed no real threat.

“I... I don't know either...” M4 said while holding the still-shouting SOP2JR, looking both amused and exasperated. The constant yelling made her suddenly want to tie the little guy up.

“Has this ever happened before?”

Looking at the equally troubled Gentiane, M4 innocently shook her head.

Ever since SOP2 had given the little guy to her, she had always been well-behaved. This had never happened before.

“Uh... it's probably another strange function SOP2 installed. If nothing else works, we can just call her and ask,” Gentiane said, scratching her head.

Fortunately, the situation wasn't urgent, and there was no need to conceal their position. The little guy was just extremely noisy—the kind of noise that gave people headaches.

“Alright, alright, little guy. We heard you. Can you please stop yelling?” M16 said helplessly, covering her ears as she addressed the little fellow in M4's arms.

“Okay~!”

Uh... huh?

The annoying shouting stopped immediately, and Gentiane and the others could still hear SOP2JR's childish reply echoing in their minds.

“So... M4, didn't you tell this little guy to stop? More importantly, what's approaching?” Kalina asked quietly as she leaned closer to SOP2JR.

“This ship is approaching. Estimated arrival time: twenty-three seconds... twenty-two seconds... twenty-one seconds...”

This time, instead of shouting, the little guy calmly began counting down.

Gentiane blinked.

This ship? Estimated arrival time?

Could it be...?

Thinking of something, Gentiane immediately rushed out of the carriage, leaned out the train window, and looked up at the sky.

The others quickly followed.

The already overcast sky was now dominated by an enormous black silhouette. Brilliant blue exhaust flames trailed behind it, illuminating a large section of the sky.

“This... no way? Why is Renault here? Commander, did you call him?” M16 asked in disbelief as she looked at the massive shadow descending overhead.

“So our Commander Gentiane can actually afford Renault's support fees now?”

“Me? Impossible! I'm broke! I've worked diligently at Griffin for years and haven't managed to save a single penny!”

Gentiane slapped her thigh in frustration as she denounced Griffin's inhumane treatment of its employees.

Hearing that, Kalina immediately looked away, pretending to be deep in thought.

Salary recovery plan?

She had never heard of such a thing.

Even while everyone was talking, SOP2JR's countdown never stopped.

The moment everyone pulled their heads back inside the carriage, the little guy spoke again.

“Approaching designated altitude. Personnel deployment commencing!”

The words had barely left his mouth when everyone heard the metallic clang of a spacecraft hatch opening overhead.

Then—

“Whoosh—! Charge—!”

A chorus of Dolls shouting echoed from above, growing louder by the second.

“M4—!”

The loudest voice belonged to SOP2.

Boom!

After all, she was flying down in a Viking fighter. It was practically the equivalent of shouting through a megaphone.

The Viking landed heavily not far in front of Gentiane and M4, accidentally crushing an ELID infected that had been shambling toward the intercontinental train.

Gentiane and the others stared blankly at the Viking as it landed before them, their heads turning as the train continued rolling forward.

“Hey! Wait! Wait for me! M4! Don't run off! What enemies did you run into here!? Tell me! I'll fly over right now and wipe them all out!”

SOP2 shouted while controlling her transformed Viking fighter, keeping pace alongside the moving train.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Besides SOP2's landing, the sounds of heavy objects striking the ground echoed one after another.

Without question, they were the sounds of the other Dolls from Renault's ship landing.

Hearing those impacts, cold sweat immediately appeared on Gentiane's and Kalina's foreheads.

That definitely didn't sound like reinforcements arriving...

It sounded like Renault was smashing open their safe with a crowbar.

Good heavens!

Where were they supposed to get the money to pay Renault?

If they couldn't pay him back, would he simply kill them?

“How much money do we have?”

“This much.”

Faced with Gentiane's question, Kalina sheepishly held up one hand.

“Five million?”

Seeing the gesture, Gentiane's heart leaped with hope.

If it was five million, it still wasn't much by Renault's standards, but perhaps a few kind words could appease him.

“Fifty thousand...”

“...”

The hope instantly vanished from Gentiane's eyes. Her face started to lose all life as she slowly turned her head like an ELID infected, staring at Kalina with lifeless eyes.

“Um... I can explain, but could you please keep those tiger claws under control?”

Seeing Gentiane's hands already curled into claws, Kalina wiped the sweat from her forehead and spoke cautiously.

“Doesn't everything look normal? SOP2, is your alternate account malfunctioning?”

After SOP2, who had arrived first, AR15 also appeared at the train car door.

Unlike SOP2, however, AR15 wasn't carrying any particularly outrageous equipment. She was simply wearing the latest P90 combat suit with a C-10 rifle slung across her back beneath her cloak.

“AR15!” M4 exclaimed happily as AR15 appeared, while M16 waved enthusiastically from beside her.

-----

Chapter 1182: Family Reunion?

Nothing was more reassuring than seeing familiar faces, especially under circumstances like these.

They wanted to move through the city as quickly as possible, but they had become completely lost, unable to make out the city's infrastructure.

Whenever they tried to increase their speed, headquarters ordered them to slow down and wait for a group of headquarters Dolls who might be retreating.

Among them was even an unfamiliar combat commander of unknown origin.

Trying to push deeper into the fog to scout ahead, speed up the rendezvous, or investigate the city's control facilities risked losing communications or falling victim to electronic warfare.

They were completely stuck.

At this critical moment, the arrival of SOP2 and AR15 was like a shot in the arm for the bewildered Gentiane and her team.

Snap!

“Ugh! That's disgusting! Couldn't you have just stomped on it? We'll have to clean the power armor when we get back!” StG44 crossed her arms and frowned at the ELID infected head that had been crushed into a solid, gooey mess in the power armor's hand.

“Huh? I don't see it that way. Most of its head is covered in siliconized crystals anyway. Just rinse it off and disinfect it when we get back.” MG42 didn't care in the slightest.

At this range, they didn't even need to use their weapons.

“Can you two stop worrying about something so trivial? Where's the big battle? Where's the enemy? There are only a few ELID infected here. Griffin really can't manage without me. They can't even deal with this small fry anymore.” G43 stood up from the cockpit, looking around the deserted streets with a helpless sigh.

“Well, let's just treat this as a fun outing. Look at M1897 and the Rippers over there. Aren't they having a great time?”

Leaning against the open hatch of another tank, MG3 pointed toward the “noise tank” not far away.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A Dragoon was driving while four Rippers rode exposed on top, with M1897 standing at the front and strumming her guitar to generate powerful low-frequency vibrations.

She had actually wanted to join the siege tank crew as a machine gunner, but unfortunately, there weren't any machine gunner positions on the siege tanks.

“Hmm, not a bad idea—provided you're willing to let the tank get riddled with bullets.”

“Riddled? Probably not. Didn't the Commander already coat the hull? It should be able to stop ordinary bullets, right?”

Although she hadn't actually tested it, M3 didn't think the coated hull was that fragile.

“The hull is coated, but the paint isn't. You'll have to repaint it yourselves. Sangvis Ferri and the others aren't going to do it for you.” BM59 shrugged. Although repainting wasn't difficult, and the Dolls could easily handle it, it was still a bit of a hassle.

After all, you still had to sand the surface and ensure a smooth finish while repainting.

It wasn't difficult, but it was labor-intensive and time-consuming, often requiring repeated adjustments. Especially for these "novice mechanics" aboard the ship, it was a real nuisance.

“Exactly! Spray painting is easy! You guys can just apply a couple of coats yourselves! Especially when it comes to matching the color—you'll have to handle that on your own!”

Since everyone was on the communications channel while working, BM59's remarks were naturally heard by the Rippers who were drumming.

One of them even stopped what she was doing, raised her drumsticks, and shouted toward BM59.

“See?” BM59 shrugged. “Painting is unpredictable. If the color code and paint thickness were fixed from the start, there wouldn't be any of these problems. Unfortunately, the Dolls back home always paint on a whim. A fresh coat is fine, but when it comes to touch-ups... even they probably don't remember how they mixed the original color.”

“BM59, we found something over here. Want to come take a look?” C96 suddenly interrupted the conversation about vehicle maintenance. They had discovered something interesting.

“You found them? Did you locate any of the Griffin headquarters Dolls?”

“No. We haven't seen a single Griffin Doll yet, but we did spot quite a few who look like Nytos. They seem... off. They're acting absentmindedly, just wandering in the same direction.”

“Is that so?”

Hearing this, M3 immediately became curious and followed BM59 toward the street where C96 and M1919 were waiting.

Although they had split into three search groups, they were actually only separated by a single street. At BM59's pace, it would take less than ten seconds to jog there.

“Wow... there really are! So many Nytos! Helian would have a real headache if she saw them!” M3 exclaimed in surprise as she looked at the Nytos floating or stumbling along the street ahead.

There were well over three hundred of them. Besides the ones visible at a glance, there were undoubtedly many more hidden throughout the surrounding streets and alleys.

“Um... while we do have Nytos at home, Commander Renault wouldn't just accept any Nyto, would he?” Shorty scratched her cheek awkwardly.

What was M3 thinking? Did she really believe Commander Renault would simply wave his hand and take in all these seemingly absentminded Nytos?

Even if he did, who would take care of them?

There were already five Nyto units at home, and four of them clung to Helian like little children. If even more Nytos joined them, Helian probably wouldn't have time to do anything else. From the moment she woke up until she went to sleep, she'd be busy looking after them.

“Well, let's notify everyone first, and remind Commander Gentiane as well. These Nytos don't appear to be hostile, so even if they all come over, there shouldn't be any problems, right?” BM59 nodded.

Aside from their tattered robes, the Nytos were completely unarmed, with no signs of carrying any weapons.

That was the main reason C96 and M1919 hadn't attacked them.

As for the Nytos' electronic warfare capabilities, BM59 and the others never even considered them. Ever since Renault had replaced their bodies, forced neural connections had become a thing of the past.

It simply wasn't something that came to mind anymore.

...

“By the way, why are you driving, G3? Where's SpectreM4? She drove pretty smoothly last time.” StG44 looked down at G3 in the driver's seat, puzzled by the change.

“She went with the Neural Core Emergency Preservation Device and the search team. But right now, they probably haven't even noticed there's an extra person in their group,” G3 replied while keeping the siege tank moving at roughly the same speed as the intercontinental train.

Even so, her foot itched to press the accelerator harder. Opportunities like this were rare, and driving so slowly was rather frustrating.

Then, in a brief moment of distraction, G3 stomped on the accelerator.

The siege tank, which had been crawling along at less than twenty kilometers per hour, suddenly surged forward, lurching violently ahead.

---