RC 1186-1200 (Patreon)

Chapter 1186: It Was Really Just Incidental

"Hey! Closer! Closer! Ouch! Who's pushing me from behind!? I almost fell!"

A Vespid clutched a pole and stood nervously by the hangar door, anxiously complaining to those behind her.

"Then hurry up and hook it on! The air quality here is terrible! A cloud of dust hits me as soon as I open the door! I just washed my hair! Special hair cleanser is expensive, you know!"

"Stop rushing me! Just watch!"

Listening to the incessant chatter of the Sangvis Ferri Dolls nearby, M16, who had only managed to buy a hanging ticket, stared blankly into space. Being treated like a salted fish made her want to shut down immediately, drift off into a deep sleep, and avoid seeing anything.

Just as M16 was feeling utterly miserable, Gentiane naturally witnessed the scene from below.

"No wonder the pilot tests are so difficult. In this situation, if it were Simonov, would things be much better?"

"Of course. Simonov should be able to control the gunship without being affected by crosswinds and even keep M16 hanging perfectly still without any swaying, but..."

AR15 rubbed her temples in exasperation, clearly disapproving of SOP2's current approach.

"But what?"

"Sigh... I think anyone else would have thought of simply placing M16 on the open cargo ramp. That doesn't even require altitude control. Sangvis Ferri and the others could unload M16 with ease..."

"Ah..."

The cargo ramp at the rear of the spaceship was enormous. When lowered, it provided more than enough space for M16 to land. Parking the aircraft on the ramp was obviously impossible, but simply setting M16 down on it posed no problem at all.

In short, it was both safer and far more convenient than what they were doing now.

However, SOP2 had already spent so much time working above the hangar entrance that it was best not to dampen her enthusiasm.

"Forget it. M16 will be fine. We have Scarecrow and the Commander watching things at home. Commander Gentiane, BM59 just reported a large number of Nytos moving toward the train. Have you ordered the other Dolls to shut down all communication interfaces?"

"Of course. I shut them down a long time ago. Besides, all the Dolls are on the train now, and they won't need the communication protocol for a while. It's better to shut everything down and let the Nytos watch helplessly than to leave the interfaces open and wait to be forcibly hacked."

Earlier, when Gentiane learned that M4 and M16 had been attacked through electronic warfare, she immediately ordered all the Dolls to shut down their communication ports. While this couldn't guarantee complete protection against forced connections, it would at least prevent the Dolls from collapsing without so much as a warning after being attacked.

"That's good. But seriously, shouldn't we consider speeding up the train? At this speed, by the time we pass through this city, the rebels will probably have already taken over the base next door."

"Wouldn't that be perfect? The original mission was to keep the rebels occupied at that base for a while. If they can capture it before I arrive, wouldn't that fulfill Statesec's and Havier's wishes?"

Gentiane shrugged. As for what Havier had told her before—that the rebels planned to activate something called the Starfish, awaken the Ruin weapon from the lockdown, and threaten world security—

That sounded rather alarmist. She might have believed that the world's safety rested entirely on her shoulders when she had just graduated from the academy.

But now...

If Statesec and those behind Havier truly wanted to stop the rebels, they probably had dozens of ways to do it.

The reason they chose Griffin...

....was likely because it minimized losses.

After all, it was only a rookie commander, Griffin, and a large number of T-Dolls, each costing an average of just 200,000 rubles.

As for why Havier was in such a hurry, it was probably related to Statesec's previous crackdown on other security contractors. Of course, it might also have had something to do with his own business. If Griffin lost too many of its remaining T-Dolls during this mission, the T-Doll market would likely disappear.

Furthermore, if Griffin, a security contractor that relied on T-Dolls, suffered another major setback, it might also affect his influence among the higher-ups.

Thinking about it, Gentiane scratched her head. It felt itchy, as though her brain was about to grow back, just like M16's earlier.

"Fine, you're Griffin's commander anyway, so it's your decision. We're just lending a hand while passing by." AR15 spread her hands. After spending so much time aboard Renault's ship, she had inevitably picked up some of Renault's habits.

For example, AR15 had grown increasingly reluctant to involve herself in overly complicated matters.

In the end, the eloquent people were always the ones in the right, and no one would stand with Dolls like them—except perhaps Commander Renault and, now, Gentiane.

However, Gentiane herself was currently in dire straits. She would clearly be much safer under Renault's command.

At least she wouldn't constantly be pushed into a fire pit the way she was now and forced to struggle through it.

"Yes, yes, we just happened to be passing by and lending a hand..." Gentiane said, glancing at the Dolls outside—some clad in power armor, others with lightsabers hanging from their waists—and gave a speechless smile.

They've mobilized practically everyone, and they still have the nerve to say they just "happened to be passing by and lending a hand"? Even I, the beneficiary, wouldn't believe that!

Seeing Gentiane's unconvinced expression, what could AR15 say?

After all, she and SOP2 had indeed come to help voluntarily. The other Dolls were merely accompanying them to keep watch, and their primary objective was to locate the Griffin Headquarters Dolls Gentiane had mentioned.

It was just a pity that Gentiane's Dolls hadn't suffered any damage so far. Helian's wishful thinking probably wouldn't work out as well as before.

"Hey, stop chatting. Those Nytos are here, and they're obviously after M4. Instead of wasting time talking, you should think about how to deal with them."

HK416 then knocked on the carriage door from outside, alerting Gentiane and the others that a large group of Nytos had arrived.

---

Chapter 1187: Comfortable

"They don't seem like much of a threat. They're more like bystanders. And I told you the train was moving too slowly. Look—they can keep up with it on foot!"

"Besides, they're just standing there watching. What's there to worry about?"

Renault's Dolls chatted casually as they watched the Nytos simply stand beside the train or jog alongside the freight cars. They made no attempt to attack or eliminate them immediately.

It wasn't that they had never fought Nytos before or couldn't bring themselves to do it. It was just that... the Nytos were merely standing there watching. They couldn't very well walk up and slap them, could they?

Besides, these Nytos looked thin and frail, hardly sturdy at all. Many of the Dolls were wearing power armor. What if they made a move and accidentally knocked a Nyto over? It wasn't out of kindness.

What if they merely raised a hand to scratch an itch and ended up swatting away all the spectators who were just there to "eat melons"? That would be incredibly embarrassing.

"Why does it feel like there's no tension at all now that you guys are here?" Gentiane asked numbly as HK416 and AR15 impatiently shoved several heads back after they tried to squeeze onto the train.

"What tension? They're unarmed right now. All they can do is bully T-Dolls that lack electronic warfare capabilities by using their virtual imagery abilities. As long as the Dolls shut down those unnecessary communication interfaces, these people are finished."

HK416 spoke nonchalantly. Shutting down every communication interface meant nothing to Renault's Dolls. After all, when they first received their biomaterial bodies, they had all spent days unable to connect to the communication network.

Now that Griffin's Dolls had lost their communication network, they were either running around like ants on a hot plate or huddling together, chattering as they repeatedly confirmed their mission objectives.

RO635's megaphone had finally found its purpose. Whenever Gentiane issued new orders, RO635 immediately became a messenger, shouting them through the megaphone as she ran from carriage to carriage.

As for why she didn't use the megaphone's recording function... perhaps RO635 felt that would be too perfunctory. Carrying around a megaphone that endlessly replayed recorded messages was less satisfying than simply shouting a few more times. After all, Dolls didn't mind straining their voices.

"That's true, but my Dolls aren't as capable as yours. With so many Nytos around, if you weren't holding them back, I probably would have already ordered everyone else to attack them."

While these Nytos were indeed, as HK416 had said, almost completely devoid of combat ability beyond electronic warfare, their modified bodies and anti-gravity systems still posed a significant threat.

At any moment, these Nytos might silently produce weapons capable of threatening the T-Dolls. Moreover, their overwhelming numbers were themselves a weapon. Even if they couldn't engage in melee combat effectively, they could still shove, grab, and scratch.

If these Nytos were allowed to charge the T-Dolls, a stampede could easily occur as the Dolls attempted to stop them.

Boom!

The siege tanks' cannons roared—not at the approaching Nytos, but at a hidden automated defensive turret along the railway.

With RO635 now serving as the train's messenger, dealing with the automated defensive turrets along the route had fallen to P38 and StG44.

"We're riding around in tanks. It just doesn't feel right if we don't fire a few shots!"

Hearing the artillery outside, Gentiane couldn't help but look enviously at the two siege tanks locked in fierce combat.

This is what it feels like to have heavy firepower and armored units.

"It's so reassuring!"

Before AR15 arrived, Gentiane had been racking her brains trying to deal with those sneaky automated defensive turrets, but now?

Ha! Sweep them all away! Forget strategy! Forget tactics! Just blow them all up! Blow them all up!

The booming guns of the siege tanks sounded like celebratory fireworks to Gentiane.

"My heart is bursting with joy!"

Suddenly, even the Nytos outside, who should have been giving her a headache, seemed almost adorable. Although they all wore blank expressions and had deathly pale faces—a sight that would terrify most ordinary people—Gentiane found nothing particularly frightening about them.

After all, that was simply how they looked. Their expressions were undoubtedly controlled by Paradeus and had little to do with the Nytos themselves.

Moreover, after learning from Persica that these Nytos were also victims who had been forcibly modified, Gentiane couldn't help but pity them. Unfortunately, she had no way to save them.

However, the reason these Nytos had gathered...

"M4?"

Only then did Gentiane realize that M4 had fallen silent. Hadn't she just been talking with OGAS?

After the initial embarrassment and anger, the conversation between M4 and OGAS had become relatively smooth. They hadn't discussed much, merely asked about each other's recent circumstances.

Now that they had finished, had they simply run out of things to say?

Puzzled, Gentiane turned around and saw both M4 and OGAS standing perfectly still, their eyes completely unfocused.

"Hey! AR15! Come quickly! Something's wrong with M4 and OGAS!"

"What!?"

...

"That Persica... is she using you as a petri dish? Why is she leaving the OGAS system inside you?"

Looking at the data on his screen, Renault spoke helplessly. The OGAS system inside M16 had undoubtedly been left there intentionally by Persica.

Otherwise, given the Parapluie virus's transmissibility, the other Griffin Dolls would probably have been infected by now.

By limiting the spread of the OGAS system within M16, yet deliberately leaving the parasitic OGAS system inside her Neural Cloud, Renault couldn't think of any explanation other than Persica doing it on purpose.

The Parapluie virus inside AR15 had been detected by Griffin's technicians, so there was no reason Persica should have been any less capable.

"Forget that excuse about avoiding detection. The OGAS system's consciousness has already begun to take shape. Think about it yourself. Do you want to delete it outright, or isolate it the way you did with M4?"

---

Chapter 1188: Focus, Okay?

"Any reaction? Any reaction?!" M1919A4 shouted as she sprinted back to the Noise Tank from half a street away.

After walking for over ten minutes down this deserted street, aside from the group of people who looked like Nytos they had just seen, they hadn't found any sign of any Dolls.

To be precise, they had seen quite a few ordinary Dolls, but those Dolls were now nothing more than wreckage, their bodies covered with a thick layer of dust.

Clearly, those ordinary Dolls had been lying there for many years, and even if they were recovered, it would be impossible to wake them again.

"Hey! Don't shake it! These signals are too weak! I can't see them if you keep shaking me!" the Dragoon driving the vehicle shouted impatiently at the two people clinging to the door while squinting at the few faint signal responses on the detection system.

"Can't the image be synchronized? Doesn't this device have that function?" C96 leaned over, but M1919A4 had already occupied the viewing window. Unless she completely abandoned her dignity and pressed herself against the screen, she could only see one corner of it.

"It doesn't have that function. Commander Renault installed this screen in a hurry..." Otherwise, she'd have to drive with a data cable hanging around her neck.

Although Scarecrow had recently helped her replace her body with the previous-generation alloy steel model used by other Dolls, and her Neural Core had also been upgraded, she was still just an ordinary Dragoon.

Driving while simultaneously processing data from the detection system would probably make her Neural Cloud crash on the spot.

As she spoke, the Dragoon drove the Noise Tank toward the location indicated by the detector.

The weak signal had nothing to do with whether the Dolls still retained consciousness. This was a voiceprint recognition system; only targets with at least a 90% similarity to a Doll would trigger a response.

A weak signal most likely meant the Dolls were hidden somewhere that concealed their presence, such as tall grass, flowerbeds, water, or piles of debris or garbage.

"It's really strange. Do Dolls these days like hiding in places like this? Why isn't there one lying in the middle of the road for us to pick up?"

"Listen to yourself. Since when could anyone casually lie in the middle of the road during street fighting?"

"We Sangvis Ferri could!"

"No wonder Griffin wiped you out."

"It's all Architect's fault! We were just following orders!"

"I found them! I found them! These girls really know how to pick a spot! They're completely soaked in mud! Hopefully, their bodies are waterproof!" M3, who had been running alongside the vehicle, dashed ahead toward an open area.

That open area had once been a green belt. Unfortunately, Collapse radiation had turned all the trees and flowers there into silicified remains. After years of weathering, only a few upright stone-like spikes remained, marking where trees had once stood.

Meanwhile, the green belt's sprinkler system continued faithfully performing its duty where the Griffin Dolls had collapsed, turning the now vegetation-free area into a muddy swamp.

"Hmm! This mud pit smells awful! Luckily, StG44 isn't..." C96 said as she pinched her nose, only to suddenly remember that although StG44, the cleanliness-obsessed neat freak, wasn't here, the head of the cleaning department certainly was.

Noticing that all the Dolls present had turned to look at her, M1897, who was standing on the hood of the Noise Tank, blinked curiously before casually strumming a chord and asking, "Why are you all looking at me?"

"Um, M1897, after seeing this mud pit, don't you feel like doing something about it?" Shorty asked hesitantly, blinking as she pulled a poor Doll whose head was buried in the mud out of the puddle.

"Of course not. That's the Tallinn City Sanitation Department's job. Why should I bother?"

"Um... I see..."

Seeing that M1897 showed no signs of her obsessive-compulsive tendencies acting up, everyone, including BM59, breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, if M1897's OCD flared up now, wouldn't the entire city have to be cleaned before she could calm down?

But cleaning this city was simply impossible. The Quarantine Wall wasn't active, and no one even knew whether the purification tower was still operational. Under such conditions, radioactive Collapse dust continued falling from the sky every moment. Cleaning it all up would be nothing short of a miracle.

There were five Griffin Dolls lying in the mud pit. They appeared to be a reconnaissance team, or perhaps an advance scouting unit. Besides the five main Dolls, there were also eight Dummy Dolls buried in the mud.

However, BM59 and the others ignored the Dummy Dolls entirely. They had no use for them back home. Bringing Dummy Dolls aboard the ship would only create more chaos, and compared to the Dolls at home, these Dummy Dolls were far too fragile. Even if they brought them back, they'd probably break down within a couple of days from various accidents.

"These Dolls look unfamiliar. Shorty, do you know them?" BM59 asked while wiping most of the mud from their faces, but she still couldn't identify them.

"I recognize these two—Stechkin and OTs-12. I don't recognize the other three. They're probably newer Dolls from headquarters." Shorty pointed at the two Dolls lying at her feet. One had a distinctive detachable lightning bolt-shaped ahoge on her head, while the other had a noticeable white braid.

As for the other three, their appearances weren't particularly distinctive. The only thing they had in common was that their skirts were billowing in the wind, and—

The Dolls present all turned their heads and stared at BM59.

"Huh? What? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Ahem. Anyway... their hairstyles are pretty similar to yours, BM59."

"Huh? No! Those two are one thing, but that one over there definitely doesn't have twin tails, okay?"

"Yes, yes, not twin tails. So could you help us remove the Neural Cores from these unfortunate girls? Their physical condition isn't looking good."

First they collapsed into a mud pit, then they were continuously soaked by the sprinkler system. These scouts were definitely not in great condition.

---

Chapter 1189: Who Would Believe That!

"Disassemble the Neural Core?"

"Can you do it?"

"I can't."

Seeing the blank expressions on M3's and M1919A4's faces as they shook their heads at each other, SpectreM4 was instantly dumbfounded, her eyebrows knitting together in disbelief.

What a miscalculation! She should have brought SOP2 or G11 along!

BM59 also scratched her head awkwardly. She had never disassembled a Neural Core before. The Commander had always done it personally. Even maintenance for Sangvis Ferri Dolls was handled by Scarecrow and the others. There had never been any need for a half-baked amateur like her to do it.

"I'll do it!"

Just as the group of Dolls stood there staring at one another helplessly, a Ripper standing atop the Noise Tank raised her drumsticks high and shouted excitedly before jumping down.

Bang!

Hearing Ripper's heavy landing, the group blinked. They knew she had already switched to the previous-generation alloy steel body, making her one of the more mature Sangvis Ferri Dolls.

After all, giving an immature Sangvis Ferri Doll an alloy steel body would be like handing an excavator to a spoiled child—even several acres of land wouldn't survive.

"Hey! Don't worry! I've worked part-time in the workshop with Scarecrow and the others! Disassembling Neural Cores? I know it like the back of my hand! Look—I even brought my tools!"

As Ripper patted herself down, producing a series of metallic clanks, everyone noticed the tool bag hanging from her waist, packed with tools of every size.

"Uh... those look more like auto repair tools, don't they?"

Looking at the large wrenches hanging from Ripper's waist, especially the oversized ratchet and long socket wrenches, Shorty couldn't help worrying about the five Griffin Dolls lying on the ground.

"Hey! These are the real Doll repair tools!" Ripper declared as she patted the pouch on her other hip, unzipped it, and showed everyone its contents.

Seeing the smaller screwdrivers, pliers, scalpels, and various precision tools inside, everyone relaxed a little. At least those looked professional.

"Alright. Do you know how to use this?" SpectreM4 asked as she pulled out a temporary Neural Core power supply from her backpack and handed it to Ripper.

"Of course! Absolutely! Leave it to me!"

After helping repair so many Sangvis Ferri Dolls in the workshop under Scarecrow's guidance, removing a Neural Core was practically second nature to her.

As she spoke, Ripper crouched beside the nearest Doll. There was no need to inspect the body's condition. These bodies would be replaced later anyway, so directly removing the Neural Core would be much more convenient. Besides, most Dolls back home eventually ended up inside a Dinergate or a rice cooker anyway—it was practically routine by now.

Thinking this, Ripper opened the access panel on the nearest Doll, pulled a scalpel from her tool pouch, and immediately began cutting through the synthetic skin.

Bang!

Thump!

"Huh?"

Feeling a sudden impact on her forehead, Ripper froze with the scalpel still in her hand, not even realizing what had happened.

It took everyone a moment to realize that the sound they had just heard had unquestionably been a gunshot. Looking around, all the Dolls were standing there unharmed.

Opposite them stood a Griffin Doll with her Imprint Weapon raised, smoke still curling from its muzzle. C96 stood beside her awkwardly, one hand gripping the weapon's slide.

"I... got shot?" Ripper blinked, pointing at herself with a trembling finger.

"Yeah... you did," everyone replied in unison.

Who could have expected this? They hadn't regarded these Griffin Dolls as hostile targets. When they dragged them out of the mud, they naturally hadn't paid much attention to the Imprint Weapons still clutched in their hands.

They were all Dolls. Normally, they would identify the target before opening fire.

Unfortunately, Griffin's Doll clearly hadn't shared that sentiment. Seeing someone who looked exactly like a Sangvis Ferri Ripper, carried a Sangvis Ferri identification code, and was, in fact, a genuine Sangvis Ferri Ripper raising a scalpel and stabbing her companion in the abdomen, how could she possibly refrain from shooting?

Ripper blankly reached up and touched her forehead. Sure enough, there was a noticeable dent.

Her body was perfectly fine... but why didn't it hurt?

Seeing Ripper's bewildered expression, M3 scratched her cheek.

"You didn't disable the haptic feedback system for your head, did you?"

"Uh... I forgot. Back in the workshop, Scarecrow always liked smacking me on the head, so I temporarily turned off the pain feedback for it..." As she spoke, Ripper subconsciously reactivated the pain feedback for her head.

An intense wave of pain struck her instantly—far worse than any smack Scarecrow had ever given her.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

Watching Ripper clutch her head and groan, Shorty glanced at the Doll C96 was restraining.

"That gun... it's Desert Eagle, right? So what do we do now? Continue removing the Neural Core?"

If these Griffin Dolls had been completely disabled, that would have been one thing. But they were still conscious. Removing their Neural Cores in front of them felt... inappropriate.

"Forget it. It's only a scratch. Since we can't remove the cores, let's quickly check their physical condition instead. And don't forget to change your identification codes, or the others might wake up and put a few more dents in your foreheads."

BM59 sighed, rubbing her forehead. What a terrible start. She had thought they could immediately recover five Neural Cores, but now it seemed these girls would most likely return to Commander Gentiane after waking up, since she had originally been their Griffin commander.

"Oh... even Scarecrow never hit me this hard..." Reminded of the cause, Ripper immediately turned off her pain feedback again and pouted at Desert Eagle, making a face at the Doll who had just shot her.

Meanwhile, Desert Eagle, still gripping her Imprint Weapon, stared in disbelief at Ripper's forehead, then at the flattened bullet lying on the ground.

But that wasn't the most unbelievable part.

What was truly absurd was that she had just watched this Sangvis Ferri Ripper, carrying a Sangvis Ferri identification code, transform into an "Unknown" model Griffin Doll in her system.

Seriously?! Are you kidding me?! Saying she's a Griffin Doll?! Who would believe that?!

---

Chapter 1190: Okay

"Where exactly are you Dolls from?"

Desert Eagle frowned as she watched the Ripper examine the remaining Doll bodies. Although the identification codes on these Dolls had all been changed to Griffin's codes in a short time, the Dolls' specific model numbers were completely garbled.

It was impossible to confirm any specific information.

"Hmm? Renault Security Contracting Firm, huh? Don't you know them?" M1919A4 tilted her head, asking curiously.

It wasn't that she was assuming anything; they had cooperated with Griffin several times before. They couldn't possibly be completely unknown, could they?

"You all have Griffin's and Sangvis Ferri's identification signals on you." Desert Eagle wasn't that forgetful; that Ripper had changed her identification signals right under her nose.

"That's true, but our appearance shouldn't have changed much, right? Griffin's database should still have our information, shouldn't it?" C96 asked, somewhat puzzled.

Surely they couldn't have deleted all the data just because they switched jobs, right?

Among those present were people like PK and Shorty, who had switched jobs mid-career.

They hadn't even formally submitted their resignations. Even if they didn't have mind maps, Griffin should still have their basic identification data, right?

Hearing C96's question, Desert Eagle pursed her lips, unsure of what to say. Knowing every Doll in Griffin wasn't a required course for Dolls. She naturally recognized the Dolls she frequently worked with and often saw at headquarters, but C96 and M1919A4...

She didn't remember seeing them at headquarters, and Commander Gentiane's database certainly didn't contain their information.

"Well, don't worry. Just don't keep shooting at our mechanics. Here you go." Seeing Desert Eagle's conflicted expression, C96 shrugged and handed back Desert Eagle's Imprint Weapon.

"Mechanic? Can't you use a different word? How about a repair technician or technical expert? That sounds more impressive!" the mechanic Ripper spoke as she stood up, clapped her hands, and put a bandage on her forehead.

"Why are you carrying bandages...? These should be medical supplies from the infirmary, right?"

"Hey, better safe than sorry. You guys go through a lot of trouble anyway, so I brought some spares. These girls are alright, just temporarily down. They'll wake up soon enough if we leave them alone. It's just that Stechkin's unlucky." Ripper said, patting Stechkin's head as though she were patting a watermelon.

After speaking, she patted the heads of the other two unidentified Dolls.

"By the way, this is S-ACR, and this is AUG-SMG. But it looks like they probably won't join us. Should we just leave them here and let them find Commander Gentiane's intercontinental train themselves?"

"That's probably the only option." SpectreM4 shrugged, slinging her backpack full of Neural Core power supplies back onto her shoulder.

Forcibly dragging them away was obviously impossible and pointless. The Griffin Dolls who were still mobile and not completely without options would most likely continue carrying out their current orders.

The fact that Springfield, for example, voluntarily staying on the ship with a group of Dolls was unusual for Griffin Dolls.

These girls were all Dolls from Griffin headquarters. It was headquarters, after all; it couldn't be worse than the branch where C96 and the others had been based, right?

Besides, Helian, their former Griffin agent, was no longer here to interfere and help siphon Dolls away from Griffin. To keep the Dolls they had painstakingly brought back from running away, it was better to focus on those who were no longer capable of moving.

That way, once they brought back their Neural Cores and Commander Renault deleted the underlying agreements, those Dolls would have no choice but to accept their fate. Tsk, tsk. Thinking about it that way, it felt a bit like being villains.

...

"Tsk!" Helian frowned, clearly displeased with the message from SpectreM4. Although this was expected, it wasn't good news for her.

Several Griffin Dolls that had gone down had been found, but these girls would wake up soon...

What's the difference between that and not finding them at all? Those Nytos in this city were being far too lenient... Cough, cough! No, no, how could she think like that!

Helian quickly shook her head, banishing the evil thoughts that had surfaced in her mind. Hoping for the complete annihilation of the Griffin headquarters Dolls was too absurd.

Impossible. It wasn't her idea at all!

Perhaps she should simply change her target and persuade Gentiane to take her Dolls and switch sides. Wouldn't that be faster?

"Nimogen? What's wrong?" While pondering how to persuade Gentiane to switch jobs, Helian noticed Nimogen beside her staring blankly at the screen above, which displayed images of Nytos swarming around the intercontinental train like ants.

"Eh? No, nothing... I'm just... a little afraid of ending up like those girls..."

Her prosthetic arm, attached to her shoulder, unconsciously rose as she reached up to touch the long-healed scar on her head. It marked the place where the Paradeus communication network interface, which Renault had removed long ago, had once been. Its internal structural components had been removed, leaving behind only a barely noticeable scar.

As her body continued to grow, the scars on either side of her skull gradually shrank. She estimated that in another four or five days, the fingernail-sized scars would disappear completely.

Seeing the worried expression on Nimogen's face, Helian sighed and gently rubbed Nimogen's chubby cheeks.

"Alright, don't think about all that nonsense. You're different from them now."

"Mm."

Just as she finished comforting Nimogen, Helian's communicator rang.

At this hour, it was undoubtedly a call from one of the Dolls below, most likely SpectreM4, who had just messaged her.

The other Dolls weren't interested in that...

They were having a blast down there; they had no time to contact her through the ship's communication channels.

"Helian, the Desert Eagle I just found wants to speak with you," SpectreM4's somewhat helpless voice said. Clearly, the unfortunate Griffin Doll hadn't obediently carried her companion toward the intercontinental train, nor had she remained behind to wait for the other Dolls to recover from their malfunction.

"Alright."

Upon hearing Desert Eagle's name, Helian paused for a moment before nodding.

She did have some impression of this Doll. She was quite a serious Doll.

----

Chapter 1191: What's This Called?

"Alright, it's done. This new OGAS mind will stay here for now. Of course, if you don't want her, I'll just replace her body and leave her on the ship."

Renault patted the rice cooker containing the new OGAS mind beside him, then reached out and unplugged the data cable connected to the device around M16's neck, signaling that she could stand up now.

"Um, what if I want to keep her?"

"Then take this rice cooker. It's made of alloy steel, bulletproof and waterproof. Anyway, you're already carrying a small Jupiter Cannon around all day, so carrying another rice cooker won't hurt."

Ah...

Looking at the unpainted rice cooker beside Renault, M16 felt that he was mocking her. Moreover, the camera on the front of the rice cooker rotated when it heard Renault's voice, clearly indicating that the separated OGAS system mind was now conscious.

Still, Renault actually had the mood to joke with her at a time like this, which meant he was in a good mood. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have bothered talking to her. He would have simply unplugged the rice cooker, shoved it into her hands, and urged her off the ship.

"Hmm, Boss Renault, I think this thing should stay with you. It might be a bit inconvenient to carry around during the upcoming operations."

Although M16 didn't doubt Renault's description of the rice cooker—bulletproof and waterproof—and while it was a bit cumbersome, it could certainly serve as a bulletproof shield.

However, more than bulletproof protection, she didn't want the rice cooker to slow her down. That was far more important to her than carrying around a rice cooker that could only function as a shield, especially since most of her military-grade body was already bulletproof.

"Sure, but since she's staying here, forget about taking her back to Griffin. Don't blame me when Persica asks you for her later."

Renault raised an eyebrow with a smirk. He was clearly pleased. After all, this OGAS mind, cultivated from M16's neural cloud, was different from the one on M4.

M16's neural cloud was more mature than M4's. Combined with the longer time it had coexisted with OGAS and the fact that it hadn't been significantly influenced by other unidentified minds within the neural cloud, the OGAS mind separated from M16 was already quite mature.

With a new body, she would become a brand-new Doll possessing most of M16's experience.

Wasn't this exactly the kind of Doll that could stand on her own?

It was like receiving a pillow just when you were getting sleepy. BM59 and the others had to worry about whether Griffin Dolls would become troublemakers, but the OGAS from M16's side had no such issue.

"Of course, but whether I can stop Persica is another matter. After all, I'm just a Doll."

"That's my problem. But you'd better be careful from now on. Without the OGAS system, your electronic warfare defenses are no different from any other Doll. Don't blame me if you get taken down."

Hearing this, M16, who had just picked up her equipment, scratched her head.

"Ahem... um, Boss Renault, since you've put it that way, there must be a solution, right?"

"Of course. I'll remove the base-root protocols and install a firewall. That'll solve it. Want me to do it?"

Upon hearing this, M16 immediately looked embarrassed.

It was indeed a solution, but unfortunately, once she accepted it, she would have to say goodbye to Griffin forever. And without the protocol restrictions, Statesec wouldn't trust them either.

Seeing Renault's amused smile, M16 smiled helplessly.

"Boss Renault..."

"Heh. Those external command modules are in that cabinet. Just wear one after it's been authenticated. But since they're external modules, there's a limit to how much electronic warfare they can withstand. If you're attacked, retreat immediately—or eliminate the source."

"Understood!"

After receiving the instructions, M16 immediately opened the cabinet. Seeing the dusty external command modules inside, she grabbed every one of them without hesitation. She then used her foot to pry open the small refrigerator in the workshop and stuffed the vodka confiscated from AK47 and the others into her pocket.

"Taking things and helping yourself to food... your temper is far too good."

After M16 ran out of the workshop, the OGAS, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly spoke in a disdainful tone, clearly disapproving of M16's behavior.

"I wouldn't get angry over something so trivial. You probably already understand the situation. Have you decided what you want to do here?"

"I want to protect M4."

"Uh..."

...

"Want to go with BM59 and the others?"

That was rather unexpected.

"Isn't your mission reconnaissance and ensuring the safety of the route to the Gentiane intercontinental train?"

Hearing that Desert Eagle wanted to accompany BM59 and the others, Helian was immediately surprised. This clearly contradicted the orders issued by Griffin Headquarters.

"We've already encountered... BM59 and the others. The route ahead is definitely safe, so we need to return to the commander as soon as possible to provide protection."

"Oh? That makes sense. Then go with them. Anyway, BM59 and the others are only dealing with Dolls that Griffin can't recover or repair. As long as we don't interfere with their operations, it's fine."

Helian nodded.

Although Desert Eagle's words made it sound as though the commander was overly timid, Helian wasn't surprised. After all, Griffin's combat commanders were there to work, not to die.

Back when Griffin had a large number of combat commanders, issuing orders like this was commonplace.

As for whether having Desert Eagle, a Griffin Doll, accompany BM59 and the others would affect their subsequent operations, it certainly would. However, they weren't pressed for time, so they could proceed slowly.

As for the safety of BM59 and the others, was that even a concern?

Even if they charged head-on into the military's armored train, whether they could destroy it was uncertain, but they could definitely fight their way out of the military's android army. If they wanted to escape, with the military's current weaponry, no one could stop them.

"Come on, load these unlucky guys onto the vehicle next to the drum. Maybe all the shaking will wake them up."

Desert Eagle had barely put down her communicator when Ripper and C96 were already directing the others to toss the still-malfunctioning crew onto the noise tank.

---

Chapter 1192: Don't Just Stand There Like an Idiot!

"Keep these guys in the vehicle until they wake up. But if they're still unconscious by the time we get back... you know what happens, right?"

Hearing C96's words, Desert Eagle forced a stiff smile.

She wanted to nod, but then she thought about what C96 was implying.

Seriously... stealing Griffin Dolls right in front of a Griffin Doll?

She wanted to tell her to at least be a little more tactful, but then she realized that if AUGSM and the others never woke up and C96's group didn't take them away, the only outcome would be for them to remain here forever—either becoming decorations in this dead city or eventually being dismantled by the ELID-infected and turned into scrap metal, becoming part of the city in another way.

Seeing Desert Eagle nod, C96 gave BM59 an OK sign.

Of course, this was probably only temporary, at least until they confirmed the unknown Griffin commander's attitude.

After all, Griffin Dolls always placed orders and missions above everything else. That was written into their underlying protocols.

Even if Desert Eagle agreed now, it didn't really mean anything. Once Griffin Headquarters issued an order, she would still carry it out without hesitation.

After Desert Eagle was helped into the vehicle by a Ripper, the Dragoon driver stepped on the accelerator again, heading toward another Griffin intercontinental train.

Standing in the middle of four Rippers, Desert Eagle wished she had no sense of hearing at all.

The pounding of four drums right beside her ears was unbelievably stimulating.

Yet Stechkins and the others below still hadn't woken up despite all that noise.

They really could sleep...

If a system crash counted as sleeping...

...

Bang!

"Wow! This is getting interesting! Has William really staked everything on this?"

As a particle beam blasted through the concrete around the corner, Angelia quickly pulled back behind cover, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

On the opposite side of the cover, AK12 stared intently at the Sangvis Ferri and Paradeus forces blocking their advance.

There were simply too many of them.

Even if every member of Task Force DEFY could eliminate an enemy with every shot, they still couldn't possibly wipe them all out.

Not to mention that they had already expended at least half of their ammunition breaking through Paradeus' blockade.

"Angelia, this isn't looking good. At this rate, we might run out of ammunition before we even reach the central area."

And in a place like this, the only way to replenish ammunition was by trying their luck.

"Don't worry. It's not as bad as you think. This place isn't just a research facility. We can take a slightly longer route and check the ammunition depot. Unless we're incredibly unlucky, we'll have plenty of ammunition."

Angelia replied while checking her remaining ammunition.

She was doing fine. She had only fired a few shots while dealing with the mechs and still had more than half of her ammunition left. For now, ammunition wasn't an immediate concern.

However, when she thought about the sheer number of Paradeus troops, Sangvis Ferri forces, and possibly the military waiting ahead, her current supply suddenly felt laughably inadequate.

If possible, finding some usable old stock in the ammunition depot wouldn't be a bad idea.

After all, neither Sangvis Ferri nor Paradeus weapons could be used by humans.

They either required a Doll to supply power or an identification code to unlock the trigger mechanisms. Even if she managed to steal one, it wouldn't be nearly as useful as a crowbar.

Thinking about it, Angelia genuinely missed the tin-can-like power armor from Renault's old house.

Those suits not only provided an incredible sense of security, but their carrying capacity far exceeded that of a Doll. Hauling around a large ammunition crate was effortless for one of those power armor suits.

Even if you ran out of ammunition, the power armor itself was a weapon. Those steel fists the size of a human head were far more effective than the military knife she carried.

"Luck? Are you sure your luck is that good, Angelia?"

AK12 withdrew her gaze from the enemy, closed her eyes, and asked with a hint of amusement.

As far as she knew, Angelia's luck...

How should she put it?

It wasn't merely bad.

It was terrible.

Especially judging by everything that had happened along the way.

"Tsk! You still have time to joke about resupplying?! Move! This way!"

Angelia glared at the teasing Doll irritably.

Although she had never been inside this base before, its facilities were laid out according to a standard pattern, so locating the ammunition depot wasn't difficult.

After Angelia led Task Force DEFY into another passage, the number of enemies they encountered dropped almost immediately.

In particular, there wasn't a single Sangvis Ferri Doll in sight.

Clearly, Sangvis Ferri had concentrated all of her forces along the route leading to the main control center, abandoning the longer and narrower side passages.

However, the Paradeus units left behind showed no mercy.

The moment they spotted Angelia's group, they immediately opened suppressive fire.

Whether they could kill them was secondary. Their objective was simply to keep the enemy pinned down, preventing them from advancing and fulfilling their mission of stopping the intruders from reaching the heart of the base.

Without a Paradeus command unit directing them, these ordinary combat units had little chance of annihilating the enemy.

Their rigid, inflexible movements meant they could only rely on superior firepower to delay the intruders.

Of course, they were merely delaying them.

Their defeat was only a matter of time.

But that was irrelevant to these Paradeus combat units, which possessed little self-awareness. They were simply expendable assets used to stall the invaders.

"There are fewer of them, but these guys are still firing at us like crazy. They're even blasting the steel reinforcement bars out of the concrete."

RPK16 spread *her* hands helplessly as she looked at the shattered concrete walls.

"This passage is too narrow. There's no way around them. Well, it's not impossible, but the other routes have far more Paradeus forces. Otherwise, Angelia wouldn't have chosen this one."

"Stop talking nonsense and get to work. A few Paradeus units shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm working on it. There are quite a few of them, but thankfully they haven't taken control of the base's servers. Otherwise, I'd really just be standing here doing nothing."

Although RPK16 said that, outwardly she didn't appear to be doing anything at all.

"The way you're standing right now really does look like you're just standing there doing nothing..."

---

Chapter 1193: What Are the Plans?

"It's going smoothly, but what's the point? The rebel armored trains are probably already at the Quarantine Wall exit by now," HK416 said, glancing at Gentiane, who was sipping a cup of hot cocoa she'd snagged from Maria.

What was the point of being anxious? The people in charge of the mission weren't worried at all.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it. My boss's opinions aren't very reliable. Right now, it's probably his partner directing things remotely. They're counting on the other Griffin commander to shine, so naturally I have to wait."

Holding her cup with an air of composure, Gentiane could tell HK416 was anxious. But that was the situation. Havier wanted her to rendezvous with the other Griffin commander, so she readily complied.

Otherwise, what was the point of rushing in? To get attacked? To get beaten up? Or to become a target for the rebel artillery?

"I'm back! Come on! There's something good!"

As they were speaking, M16's voice suddenly rang out. She rushed into the command center carrying a large number of bags and packages. However, the most conspicuous items were the huge pile of external command modules wrapped in plastic bags in her arms.

"Oh, aren't those the external command modules that were gathering dust in the workshop? Did you bring down the entire workshop inventory?" Maria asked, a little surprised to see the modules in M16's arms, though she didn't think much of it. After all, these things were no different from toys to the Dolls at home.

The large bag M16 was carrying contained about thirty or forty modules. Renault had originally made them as an emergency measure for Dolls who temporarily couldn't reconnect to their neural cloud after receiving replacement bio-bodies.

For those Dolls, they were roughly equivalent to training wheels on a child's bicycle.

Unfortunately, although they were effective, their usefulness was short-lived. Less than an hour after wearing them, the Dolls could reconnect to the neural cloud on their own.

A whole batch had been produced, but only a few were ever used, leaving the rest sitting in the biology lab.

"Hehe! Renault said I could take them myself, so I figured I'd take a lot!" M16 said before placing the external command modules on the table beside Gentiane. She then turned to call M4 and RO over to grab some food.

"I think you just went to Renault's place to stock up on supplies..." Looking at the bags hanging from M16, filled with drinks, snacks, and all sorts of treats, Gentiane smacked her lips. The hot cocoa in her hand no longer tasted quite as sweet.

"Who told those Sangvis Ferri Dolls at Renault's place to be so enthusiastic? I hadn't even asked, and they'd already stuffed all this into my hands!" M16 replied cheerfully, showing not the slightest bit of embarrassment because it was the truth.

Thankfully, most of the Sangvis Ferri Dolls at Renault's place weren't wearing standard Sangvis Ferri equipment like tactical goggles or helmets. Otherwise, she felt she wouldn't be able to bring herself to fight them if she encountered them again.

"Hey, Maria, doesn't this count as destroying evidence?" Destroyer tilted her head and quietly asked Maria.

"Yeah, seriously. I didn't expect them to get this clever. If they dump all the leftovers on M16, they won't get caught. And if they don't get caught, nobody will find out they're sneaking food back to the dorms. Ugh, those girls!"

Hearing Maria's words, Gentiane felt a little better. After all, it was just leftovers from the Sangvis Ferri Dolls.

Tsk! Why is it so hard to get leftovers from Renault's Sangvis Ferri Dolls here?! Where did all my salary go?!

Harboring a growing sense of resentment, Gentiane unconsciously turned her gaze toward Kalina, the logistics officer.

Although Kalina noticed Gentiane staring at her, she simply maintained an indifferent expression. Taking advantage of M16 handing out snacks, she reached into one of the bags and pulled out a milk pudding.

After the commotion subsided, Gentiane retrieved the external command modules from M16 and distributed them, making sure each Doll in her echelon received two or three, while each echelon leader received one.

This temporarily solved part of the Dolls' communication issues, allowing them to coordinate operations independently if necessary.

Unfortunately, although the problem was solved, reconnaissance was no longer necessary.

Dolls equipped with the external command modules could directly access far more accurate battlefield intelligence through Renault's shipboard detection system.

Compared to that, Gentiane, who had previously relied on Dolls for reconnaissance, felt like a clown, and so did Griffin as a whole.

'Is Renault's shipboard detection system really this extensive?'

Looking at the battlefield data M4 transmitted to the tablet through the external command module, Gentiane was almost moved to tears.

If Griffin had something like this...

Never mind. That was impossible. Even if they did, equipment of this caliber would never be issued to ordinary combat commanders.

"It's always been like this ever since Renault got his own ships. The detection range just expanded significantly after the new ships were added," HK416 recalled before nodding.

"Well, I think Persica is about to cry. All her hard work developing tactical support fairies can't compare to the real-time detection system on Renault's ship."

Battlefield data collection, real-time communications support, and localized tactical command were the primary functions of the tactical support fairies Persica developed. Unfortunately, capabilities that were incredibly valuable to Griffin were practically meaningless aboard Renault's ship.

"Huh? What's this? Is that the signal from the BM59s that headed out earlier? Why are there several more Griffin signals around them now? Have they already met up with the other Griffin commander?"

"Really? Didn't they just run into a Griffin reconnaissance echelon?"

Kalina also walked over and looked at the tablet in Gentiane's hands. It clearly showed that, besides the BM59s and the crew aboard the noise tanks, there were now two full Griffin echelons surrounding them.

"About half of them should be from the reconnaissance team we found earlier. The other five were probably encountered afterward. It shouldn't be a problem—we should hear something soon. But... HK416, does Renault really not have any plans at all?"

"Plans? What kind of plans?"

---

# Chapter 1194: The Unlucky Ones

"Well... what happens next?" Gentiane asked hesitantly.

"What's next? Probably cooking a big meal. Type 56 and G36 both came down today, and there's nobody cooking on the ship. Unless we want to eat the Rippers' sandwiches, Renault will have to cook himself."

Before HK416 could answer, UMP9, who had somehow wandered over to join the conversation, suddenly spoke up. Her eyes darted around as she talked, seemingly already thinking about what to eat.

"I..."

Hearing that, Gentiane choked on her own words. Her expression twisted awkwardly as she found herself at a complete loss for words.

HK416 shrugged.

In a sense, UMP9 wasn't wrong. Renault really hadn't planned what came next. Helian was handling everything for the time being.

"Instead of asking about Renault's plans, we should ask Helian which city we're scouting next. She's been looking for a suitable city to settle in recently."

"Settle in?" Hearing that, both Gentiane and Kalina tilted their heads in surprise.

Renault was actually thinking about settling down in a city?

Would any city these days really be willing to let Renault's spaceship remain parked there for an extended period?

"Well, mostly to make buying supplies more convenient. Otherwise, it's not very safe to keep purchasing everything in bulk and piling it up in the warehouse."

HK416 shrugged again.

Every time they made a large purchase, the Dolls back home would spend days organizing everything. They also had to inspect the warehouse regularly to make sure nobody was stealing anything.

It certainly created a lot of extra work.

Even if the ship's industrial facilities allowed Renault to manufacture most necessities, he couldn't exactly manufacture toothpaste and toothbrushes himself.

That would be far too troublesome.

Making things more convenient...

What kind of future plan was that?

If Statesec knew Renault was currently circling overhead simply because of daily necessities, countless people would probably be stunned.

Shaking her head, Gentiane felt as though she was slowly being assimilated by Renault's Dolls.

They were on a mission!

She absolutely couldn't become like Renault's Dolls!

Her mind couldn't be filled with nothing but food and drink!

"Let's think about that after the mission is over. There are still rebel armored trains watching them from a distance... well, maybe not. Given Griffin's size, they're probably not even worth a second glance from the rebels."

"Ah, we've received news from BM59's team. They found another entire Griffin team."

"That matches perfectly. But since their signals are still detectable, those Dolls probably weren't taken back to Renault immediately, right?" Gentiane scratched her cheek.

Although they were Dolls under Griffin Headquarters, she was still a Griffin operations commander, and naturally wanted as many Dolls under her command as possible.

At the same time, she was a little worried.

She worried that the Griffin Headquarters commander, who still hadn't appeared or even established communication, might try to reclaim command authority over those Dolls.

In that sense, Renault taking Headquarters' Dolls away might not necessarily be a bad thing.

She wouldn't know until BM59 and the others finally located the commander dispatched by Griffin Headquarters.

"I don't know yet. Of the reconnaissance team we found earlier, only Desert Eagle was conscious. The other Dolls are still unconscious. If these Dolls are in the same condition, hehe, Helian's probably going to have another headache arranging dormitory space."

HK416 chuckled and spread her hands, as though she could already imagine Helian's headache as more Dolls continued arriving.

This...

...

"So unlucky? Just how unlucky do Dolls from Griffin Headquarters have to be to roll into a drainage ditch while unconscious?"

Looking at the Dolls completely submerged in filthy water, M3 subconsciously pinched his nose, staring at the mud-covered figures with visible discomfort.

"They probably noticed the Isomers moving around and tried to avoid them by hiding in the drainage channels below," BM59 said with a frown.

She hadn't expected the drains to smell this terrible after the city had been abandoned for so long.

It seemed she had been too optimistic.

The stench rising from the sludge was almost unbearable.

PK had dragged the Dolls out herself, gritting her teeth as she climbed down into the drain.

Those boots really were excellent...

Maybe she should buy a pair the next time she went shopping.

"Isomers? What are those?"

"Those Nyto-looking enemies in this city."

Desert Eagle looked puzzled by C96's question.

Did they really come here without any intelligence about the city?

The intelligence Griffin Headquarters had received clearly listed those Paradeus enemies under the codename "Isomers."

"Oh, so they're called Isomers. We always just called them Nytos since they look almost identical." C96 nodded and waved her hand dismissively.

It was just a name.

It didn't really matter to them.

"Ugh! These girls... should we set up the decontamination room now?"

The Rippers sitting in the drummer's seat all grimaced at the sight of the mud-covered Dolls.

Stechkins was one thing. Although she had also fallen into puddles, at least she didn't smell awful. Having her nearby had been fine.

But these girls...

They smelled like rotten salted herring that had just been opened.

Put them at our feet?

No way!

Absolutely not!

"Let's wait a little longer. What if the next Dolls we find look like this too? We can clean them all together and save ourselves the trouble," M1897 said as she turned and pointed toward the storage compartment on the side of the truck, where she had already prepared several bags.

Putting the Dolls inside those bags would eliminate the smell problem.

Meanwhile, Desert Eagle could only watch helplessly as the Rippers, together with PK, stuffed the five mud-covered Dolls into body bag-like anti-static bags.

The bags were then tied to the truck's rear bumper with rope, and one of the Rippers solemnly took out an air freshener and sprayed the bags.

---

Chapter 1195: Can't You Be a Little More Anxious?

The five unlucky dolls covered in mud were just the beginning. Accompanied by bursts of guitar music from M1897, the noise tank easily located the reconnaissance route of the Griffin Headquarters Dolls.

Desert Eagle's team was only the first group, while the Dolls in the ditch were the second. Along the route that followed, three more squads crashed and collapsed in the same way.

The Griffin Headquarters Dolls began moving toward the intercontinental train where Gentiane was located, inevitably crossing paths with the Isomers.

The Isomers moving toward M4 in the city didn't care whether these Dolls were with M4 or not. As long as they weren't M4, they would forcibly connect to their mental clouds to test their effectiveness.

If they withstood it, then maybe this one was M4. If they couldn't, then they definitely weren't M4. Who cared if these unlucky Dolls crashed?

Before long, the number of static-dissipating bags hanging from the bumper of the noise-canceling motorcycle had increased to ten. In addition, five new Griffin Headquarters Dolls had been stuffed beneath the rappers' seats.

"Hey! At this rate, it won't be long before we've wiped out all the Griffin Headquarters Dolls!" M1919A4 laughed as she coiled rope around herself, while C96 beside her clutched a bundle of static-dissipating bags.

Clearly, the five extra static-dissipating bags on the rear bumper were the work of those two.

If the amount of rope and the number of static-dissipating bags hadn't been limited, the pair probably would have hung every Griffin Doll from the bumper before stopping.

"These are just a few reconnaissance teams. Things can't stay this smooth forever. But aren't there way too many reconnaissance teams? The one ahead should be the fifth. Did that commander send out every team to scout?"

Four teams meant exactly twenty Dolls. Including their Dummy Dolls, the total was close to a hundred.

Gentiane's entire branch had only a little over sixty Dolls. The Dolls she brought this time, including M4 and the other three, numbered fewer than forty. Of course, that didn't include the HOC.

Even if that commander from Griffin Headquarters had plenty of Dolls, how many could he possibly have? At most, around sixty. Including the Dummy Dolls, perhaps a little over two hundred.

By that estimate, at least one-third of his Dolls had been sent out to scout. After accounting for the Dolls that might have already fallen to the armored train, the number of Dolls remaining around Commander Griffin was probably less than one-third.

Although the city had been abandoned for a long time and turned into an experimental ground by Paradeus, it still harbored countless ELID-infected, some of whom had even evolved into mutants.

Even without rebel attacks or encounters with large groups of Isomers, it was still possible to be overwhelmed by the ELID-infected.

Even T-Dolls faced considerable danger when fighting those ELID-infected, let alone an ordinary Griffin commander. Not everyone could ignore the city's pervasive radiation the way Gentiane and Kalina could.

Wearing a heavy protective suit, he struggled to make his way through the highly radioactive city. If Griffin had really been ruthless enough to issue him a suit without exoskeleton assistance, it wouldn't be surprising if he still hadn't reunited with Gentiane.

"That makes sense, but should we go find Commander Griffin or head straight to the wreckage of that intercontinental train?" M3 nodded after hearing BM59's explanation, though she still looked a little confused.

"Is that even a question? Of course we're heading straight for the intercontinental train! The unconscious Griffin Dolls are our real target!" SpectreM4, unusually loud, grabbed the bewildered M3 and shook her in despair.

Why would they look for Commander Griffin? They should be looking for the Dolls that had been reduced to Neural Cores. Otherwise, what was the point of carrying so many Neural Core power supplies?

Most of the Dolls around Commander Griffin were still intact. They had no connection with that unfamiliar commander, so how could they expect him to hand over all his Dolls after just a few words?

"If we'd known there were so many intact Dolls to recover, we should've brought another vehicle! Now we barely have room to stand!" the rappers complained.

Fortunately, this vehicle no longer used the original physical amplification equipment. There was enough empty space beneath and in front of the rappers' seats to store the unfortunate Dolls.

Thankfully, they didn't need to recover the Griffin Dummy Dolls as well. Otherwise, the vehicle simply wouldn't have had enough room for so many disabled Dolls.

"The real problem is that nobody wants to drive. Aside from you two, every Sangvis Ferri back home shook their heads the moment driving was mentioned. The ones who were willing to come haven't finished changing their bodies yet, and Commander Renault definitely won't let them out."

Those who wanted to come hadn't finished changing their bodies, while those who had finished didn't want to come. Body replacement couldn't be completed overnight.

Desert Eagle followed behind the group with a conflicted expression, glancing worriedly at the still-unconscious Dolls piled onto the vehicle.

The C96 team had clearly become quite skilled at recovering Dolls. Whenever they spotted one lying on the ground, they didn't even bother checking her identity or model before tossing her onto the vehicle.

Like the previous squads, the fifth reconnaissance team was thrown onto the vehicle without anyone reacting. At that point, the Dragoon changed direction and headed away from Gentiane's intercontinental train. Although they had gradually been moving farther away, they had still remained relatively close to it.

Now things were different. They were heading straight toward the intercontinental train sent from headquarters. They didn't know whether they would be able to catch up with Commander Gentiane's train on the return trip.

If they couldn't...

Desert Eagle had already imagined the outcome.

At that point, she wouldn't have to worry about following orders anymore. She would simply wander around the Red Zone with these people. Maybe after Gentiane and the others left aboard the intercontinental train, they wouldn't even be able to leave the city.

Why weren't these Dolls in any hurry at all? Did they think they were on a spring outing?

Couldn't they be a little more anxious?!

---

Chapter 1196: Just a Few Minutes

"Hmm? A Griffin Doll left the group... Desert Eagle? What a stubborn little girl."

Helian paused in surprise after noticing one signal separating from the group, then spotted several Griffin Doll signals ahead of Desert Eagle.

"Is that Griffin commander with those Dolls?" Nimogen asked, looking curiously at the group of roughly ten Griffin Dolls. She was suddenly interested in the Griffin commander who had so brazenly sent so many Dolls out to scout.

"Probably. Are these the only Headquarters Dolls he brought with him?" Helian frowned, clearly dissatisfied. This newly assigned combat commander from Griffin Headquarters seemed to be wasting far too many Dolls.

Since they had been dispatched from Griffin Headquarters to assist Gentiane with the project, there was no reason their forces should be weaker than Gentiane's. In fact, both the quantity and quality of their Dolls should have been superior.

What exactly had Kryuger been arrested for? Wasn't it for illegally modifying T-Dolls? Griffin Headquarters possessed a large number of heavily modified T-Dolls.

Military-grade components and extensively modernized weapons. The most obvious example was the external bulletproof plates mounted on the shotgun Dolls, whose ballistic protection was manufactured to military standards.

There was no clearly stated protection rating, yet they could withstand the standard weapons and ammunition used by military Dolls.

If that wasn't selective enforcement, then what was?

"One, two, three... twelve. Only twelve Dolls left. This Griffin commander is really useless." Nimogen counted the remaining Griffin Doll signals and couldn't help curling her lip.

Regardless of the actual combat ability of the Dolls under his command, the fact that only twelve remained was enough to show how poor this Griffin commander's performance had been.

Back in Belgrade, Gentiane's Dolls had never suffered such heavy losses.

While the armored train and overwhelming firepower certainly played a role, the fact that not even half a Dummy Doll remained beside the T-Dolls spoke for itself.

"Well... never mind. Let's not worry about such trivial things. What do you want to eat later?" Helian waved her hand, rolled up her sleeves, and turned to Nimogen.

"Eat...? Uh, no, no. I don't really want anything. Didn't the Commander already go to the kitchen to prepare dinner? I'll just eat whatever he makes..."

Nimogen instinctively wanted to list her favorite dishes, but then she noticed Helian rolling up her sleeves.

It was obvious what that meant. If she really named a dish, she wouldn't be eating Renault's stew later. She'd be eating something Helian cooked herself.

Well... it was a long story.

Although Helian's cooking wasn't inedible, after spending so much time aboard the ship, every meal had been prepared by chefs such as G36 and Type 56. At the very least, there was always CF05's secret hot pot recipe—the King of Hot Pot—to cleanse the palate.

Over time, Nimogen's standards had naturally become much higher. So even if Helian's cooking wasn't on the same disastrous level as M1 Garand, the kitchen destroyer, any normal person would know which to choose between delicious food and mediocre food.

Sensing the disdain in Nimogen's voice, Helian rolled her eyes.

Just you wait. You're complaining now, but once I've mastered cooking, I'll make sure all of you become incredibly strong!

...

The Dolls, who had been frolicking around Gentiane's intercontinental train, gradually calmed down after their initial excitement.

Now that they had settled down, they pulled out their stashes and, as if on a spring outing, ate, drank, and chatted while following the train. As for the occasional ELID-infected that appeared?

They were dealt with effortlessly. From M1911 to CAWS, every Imprint Weapon they carried had been modified. From the receiver to the barrel—even the ammunition and propellant—everything had been replaced.

The ELID infection was so potent that even their Imprint Weapons couldn't completely suppress it, making powered armor and tank weapons unnecessary.

"These Isomers are really persistent. Don't they get tired of floating around like that?"

Most of the Isomers surrounding the intercontinental train carrying and pursuing M4 were equipped with anti-gravity modules, allowing them to hover a few centimeters above the ground like ghosts. Keeping pace with the slow-moving train wasn't difficult for them.

Some Isomers lacked those modules, but they had never been able to keep up with the train anyway, even after its speed had been reduced to the minimum.

"They must get tired. I've seen quite a few Isomers fall behind and never get back up."

"Hmm... should we capture one or two?"

"It's useless. UMP45 already checked. These Isomers barely have any self-awareness left. Their consciousness is all tangled together in the city's mental plane."

"What do you mean?" AK47 blinked and tilted her head, clearly confused.

"Huh? I explained it pretty clearly..." M14 rubbed her forehead. "It means they don't have functioning brains right now. Everyone's minds are tangled together into one huge ball."

"Huh? Ah! Doesn't that mean they're super smart!?"

"Tsk! You really are a genius!"

The Dolls chatted idly outside the train, while Gentiane and the others inside were doing much the same. However, unlike the composed HK416 and her group, Gentiane and Kalina couldn't help looking somewhat worried.

They weren't concerned about the Isomers surrounding the intercontinental train, nor about the rebel armored train they might encounter later.

What truly gave them a headache was Commander Griffin, who still hadn't been able to establish contact with them.

They had already received word from BM59 that she had passed Commander Griffin, who was now being escorted by about a dozen Dolls toward a station not far ahead of the intercontinental train.

As long as Commander Griffin wasn't completely directionally challenged, they would come face-to-face with the man Griffin Headquarters had sent to take over their mission in just a few minutes.

---

Chapter 1197: Deceiving Oneself

"Hmph Hmph!"

Thud.

SpectreM4 hummed a cheerful tune as she pulled a Griffin Doll's Neural Core from its body as if pulling a radish from the ground.

M3, standing behind her, skillfully took the Neural Core, placed it into a Neural Core power supply, and tucked it into the backpack hanging in front of her.

Meanwhile, BM59 and the others dragged the remaining Griffin Doll wreckage out from the ruins of the intercontinental train.

Standing on the roof, M1897 carefully recorded the identities of the Dolls whose Neural Cores had already been recovered.

These T-Dolls from Griffin Headquarters were in far worse condition than the Dolls they had found along the way.

In fact, calling their condition "bad" was an understatement.

After all, most of the Dolls BM59 and the others found were little more than wreckage. Only a few lucky ones had managed to retain most of their original bodies after being struck by the intercontinental train's firepower. Even those with only their upper bodies remaining were considered relatively intact.

As long as their upper bodies remained, there was at least a chance that their Neural Cores had survived.

"Seriously, was that Griffin commander out of his mind? He just marched straight into the city while still inside the rebel intercontinental train's firing range! So many Dolls... and now they're all dead!"

Super-Shorty grumbled irritably as she reached over to move aside a Dummy Doll body, trying to drag out the Griffin Doll crushed beneath the heap of debris.

Unfortunately, the moment she grabbed the Doll's arm and pulled, she fell backward, still clutching the unfortunate Doll's severed arm.

PK stepped forward to help, but unfortunately, she only managed to tear off one of the Doll's legs.

"Tsk, tsk... poor thing. It's completely destroyed. I wonder if the Neural Core is still usable."

"I don't know. The Commander said that as long as the Neural Core isn't completely pulverized, even if it's cracked into eight pieces, we should still recover it if possible..."

"No, no, no, SpectreM4. A Neural Core damaged that badly is a bit ridiculous. If it's broken into pieces like that, are you saying we can glue it back together and still recover the Doll's mental data?"

Super-Shorty shook her head in disbelief. The idea sounded completely absurd.

"Well, let's give it a try. Maybe the Commander has a way. Besides, we have spare Neural Core storage devices."

The Dolls chatted idly while dismantling the overturned intercontinental train left behind by the rebels. Fortunately, after the bombardment, the train's hull had been heavily damaged. With the current physical strength of the C96 team, they could easily pull the Dolls out of every nook and cranny without using any tools.

Although it felt like a long time, only about twenty minutes had passed since they had separated from Desert Eagle.

"They're all here. We've found every Doll-like object. Only fifteen Dolls still have usable Neural Cores, though one of them is broken in half."

BM59 nodded helplessly.

This intercontinental train had definitely been carrying more Griffin T-Dolls than just these. Adding the twenty-five they had encountered on the way here to the fifteen recovered from the wreckage only brought the total to forty Dolls.

The number of remains simply didn't add up. There were far more severed arms, legs, and heads than complete bodies.

Clearly, the military armored train's fire-control system was exceptionally accurate. At the very least, the Griffin Headquarters T-Dolls hadn't been able to escape its targeting.

Considering the armored train's firepower, surviving a direct hit from its artillery, machine guns, or electromagnetic cannons with any remains at all was already proof of how much IOP had invested in these Dolls.

Unfortunately, it made little difference.

T-Dolls and military armored trains simply weren't on the same level. Only someone whose brain was full of water—no, someone whose brain had always been full of water—would dare drive an intercontinental train directly into an armored train's firing arc.

"That's enough. Recovering these is already better than nothing. I just don't know how many of them will actually be reliable."

In reality, those fifteen were merely the minimum. Most of the twenty-odd Dolls they had recovered along the way had already awakened on their own.

How many would actually be willing to leave Griffin afterward remained anyone's guess.

"Back to base! Dragoons, step on it! We'll still make it back in time for dinner!"

C96 shoved the backpack containing the Neural Core storage devices into the passenger seat, jumped aboard, and called out to the Dragoon driving the noise-generating tank.

Unlike the trip there, which required searching along the way, the return journey was much simpler. The Dragoons weren't particularly concerned about safe driving, especially since there wasn't a single civilian left in the city.

They practically drove with complete abandon.

Standing on the hood, M1897 began strumming her guitar, much to the delight of the rappers riding in the back. After all, they had come specifically to play the drums.

The dense drumbeats, accompanied by distorted guitar riffs, produced a deafening roar that could be heard several blocks away.

"Wow! That sounds awesome! I should've gone with them earlier!"

Standing atop the intercontinental train, MDR controlled the filming drone, clicking her tongue regretfully as she recorded everything.

"That's not what you said earlier. I think you just wanted to join the fun without doing any work," Carol said while sitting cross-legged nearby, tapping away on her phone with an exasperated expression.

"Hey! You think that would've been easy? Look at the body bags they brought back. They're covered in muddy handprints. Those poor Griffin Dolls really suffered. BM59 and the others probably dug them straight out of the mud."

"Uh... definitely not. Posting is more my thing. By the way, MDR, why is there a strange contact in your phone? It doesn't even have a name."

"Huh? That...? Oh! I think I spotted that commander from Griffin Headquarters! Whoa! There are more than a dozen of them—all fully intact Dolls!"

"Where? Where?! Let me see!"

While MDR and the others on the roof spotted the Griffin Headquarters commander and the Dolls hiding inside the station ahead, the crew of the siege tank clearing the way for the intercontinental train had already noticed them as well.

After all, the tanks' all-terrain detection equipment wasn't just for show. No matter how well those people concealed themselves, it made no difference.

Both the Dolls and the tanks' sensors could clearly pinpoint the location of every Griffin Doll.

The rebel Dolls would also have no trouble detecting them. The signals from those dozen Griffin Dolls were as conspicuous as light bulbs in the deserted city.

Even so, the commander from Griffin Headquarters solemnly ordered those Griffin Dolls to remain hidden behind cover.

What exactly were they hiding from?

Were they simply deceiving themselves?

---

Chapter 1198: Come Out Here!

As the lead tank stopped beside the station, Gentiane's intercontinental train also slowly came to a halt. It had never been moving very fast to begin with, so stopping was effortless.

"M4, stay on the train. I'll take the others over. After all, outside... you know..." Gentiane pointed toward the window.

Outside was still a sea of Isomer heads.

Although at least half of the Isomers had already collapsed along the way, plenty still remained. There were certainly enough left to surround M4.

M4 wasn't one of Renault's absurdly powerful Dolls. Even if the Isomers didn't attack with weapons, simply rushing at her in such overwhelming numbers was something she couldn't handle.

"...Alright."

M4 hesitated as she looked at the countless Isomers outside before finally nodding.

It wasn't just her own safety that was a concern. There was also OGAS.

From the very beginning, OGAS had appeared strangely affected by the Isomers. More accurately, it wasn't that she had been influenced by them. Rather, her curiosity had been piqued, and he wanted to see what the Isomers were thinking.

By "seeing," she didn't mean sticking her head outside the train. Instead, she intended to connect directly to the city's enormous mental network.

There was certainly some danger involved, but OGAS, having already received a biomaterial body, didn't seem worried at all.

The Isomers couldn't forcibly connect to OGAS's consciousness because they simply couldn't locate her mental interface.

However, after entering the city's mental network, OGAS suddenly fell silent.

If hee tiny hands hadn't continued reaching into the snack bag for sweet potato chips, M4 and AR15 would have thought she had crashed.

"Alright, after all this stalling, it's finally time to see what kind of commander Griffin Headquarters actually sent. Though, to be honest, I've already got a pretty good idea..." Gentiane sighed as she motioned for Ingram and G36 to follow her.

She jumped off the train first, taking the lead.

Or rather, taking the lead in pushing aside the Isomers floating foolishly in front of her.

Suspended in midair by anti-gravity devices, the Isomers were surprisingly easy to shove aside. Gentiane barely needed any strength to move them out of the way, as none of them showed the slightest intention of attacking.

They're so easy to push...

It's almost fun.

Gentiane clenched her fist, savoring the cool sensation against her palm before helplessly shaking her head.

These Isomers had probably been transformed into machines from head to toe. It was impossible to know how much human flesh still remained beneath all that machinery.

Before becoming Isomers, every one of them had once been living, breathing young girls.

Besides the Isomers currently surrounding the intercontinental train, hundreds more lay dead along both sides of the railway.

And those were only the ones still capable of moving when they had arrived.

Before that...

The city's original residents, along with the countless humans transformed into Paradeus soldiers and other combat units...

Their numbers were beyond counting.

Gentiane's expression darkened.

Although Griffin was undoubtedly hiding something she still hadn't figured out, she had decided to wait and see, simply because the enemy this time was Paradeus.

At the very least, if they could truly defeat the inhuman organization known as Paradeus, it would unquestionably be a good thing.

Even so, Gentiane was already prepared for this mission to accomplish very little.

After all, the mission assigned by Statesec wasn't primarily about fighting Paradeus.

At best, Paradeus was merely another hostile force competing with the rebels.

As one of the small teams dispatched by Statesec, her role was simply to buy time and attract attention.

Thinking about it further served no purpose.

Right now, the most important issue was that the commander from Griffin Headquarters was hiding inside the station without showing himself.

While Gentiane was lost in thought, she had already led Ingram onto the station platform.

Ingram glanced around.

No one was visible.

They were hiding well.

What puzzled him was that none of the Dolls had even disabled their broadcast signals.

Since when had the Dolls from Headquarters become so incompetent?

Knock. Knock.

"Hey! Where are you? Stop hiding! There aren't any rebels or Paradeus here. Get out, board the train, and let's go. Time waits for no one."

Although Gentiane had deliberately advanced at a slow pace, intending to let the rebels and Paradeus wear each other down, the rebel armored train had already pulled far ahead.

If she delayed any longer, she was worried Renault's Dolls would start influencing her own Dolls even more.

Her Dolls were already being affected by Renault's carefree attitude, eating, drinking, and wandering around.

If most of Renault's Dolls hadn't still been outside the intercontinental train, they probably would have started holding a tea party by now.

If a battle suddenly broke out, Gentiane had no idea how much combat effectiveness her Dolls would still have.

She certainly couldn't gather everyone together and bluntly tell them:

"You little KCCO Dolls, whose armor isn't even fully equipped with military-grade ballistic protection, shouldn't be trying to imitate Renault's Dolls! They're absurdly powerful, have monster-like bodies, and carry weapons even the military and Paradeus would envy!"

Those words would instantly send morale plummeting to rock bottom.

Although her Dolls would still faithfully execute orders according to their protocols, how effective the operation would actually be...

Well...

That would be up to fate.

As these thoughts flashed through her mind, Gentiane looked once more at the tightly shut station doors.

No footsteps approached.

No one came to open them.

Nor did the Griffin Headquarters commander say a single word.

"What's going on? Not even a response?"

She could still hear breathing.

At this moment, both her own Dolls and Renault's Dolls were watching curiously.

They wanted to see how Gentiane would deal with the situation.

Even more than that, they wanted to know what the Griffin Headquarters commander inside was trying to accomplish by hiding in the station instead of showing himself.

Bang!

Gentiane, who had spent what felt like ages idly swaying aboard the intercontinental train, had finally run out of patience.

After confirming that people were indeed inside, yet receiving no response from either the commander or the Dolls, she kicked the station door open in one furious strike.

---

Chapter 1199: Troublesome Matters

"Commander Gentiane! Watch out!"

As Gentiane kicked open the station doors, a startled cry rang out from one of the Dolls.

Bang!

A slug struck directly in front of Gentiane, piercing the platform's composite flooring and leaving a thumb-sized hole.

Gentiane forced a stiff smile.

Behind her, Ingram and G36 had already raised their Imprint Weapons, aiming them at the Dolls inside the station, who were likewise pointing their weapons at Gentiane.

Tsk.

This was truly surreal.

Dolls from Griffin Headquarters firing a warning shot at her—the Griffin operations commander.

And she recognized the shooter.

It was M1887, an elite Griffin Doll who had once served under her before being transferred back to Headquarters shortly afterward.

Most of the other Dolls were familiar faces as well.

They weren't especially close, but she knew all of them.

MG5, M60, DP-12, KSVK...

"Sorry, Commander Gentiane. You don't appear to be carrying an identification device, so I couldn't detect your signal," M1887 said with an unusual expression.

Gentiane also noticed that M1887 kept trying to raise the Imprint Weapon in her hands and aim it at her, yet somehow managed to resist the motion. From Gentiane's perspective, M1887's arms trembled continuously.

Her expression was equally strange.

One moment it was blank, the next it twisted into a wry smile, as though she were suffering from a split personality.

"Uh..."

Hearing that, Gentiane instinctively touched her equipment.

Indeed.

She had left Griffin's communicator in the operations room when she changed into her protective gear.

"I never expected something like this to happen... But normally, the moment a Doll sees me, facial recognition should identify me immediately. With a Doll's visual accuracy, facial recognition shouldn't fail."

After all, M1887 clearly recognized her.

So why...?

"What orders did the commander from Headquarters give you? And what's wrong with everyone else?"

M1887's abnormal behavior, combined with the blank expressions on the other Dolls' faces—which looked even more like Sangvis Ferri than actual Sangvis Ferri—made Gentiane immediately frown.

"Hold the station. Prevent anyone from entering. Do not make a sound."

Hearing that, Gentiane's expression twisted in disbelief as she tilted her head.

What kind of order was that?

Hold the station?

"This station is open on all sides. How exactly are you supposed to hold it? And you're preventing anyone from entering? I can't even come in?"

"Commander Gentiane... could you please..." M1887 helplessly waved her weapon back and forth.

Although the movement itself wasn't difficult, repeating it dozens of times had become exhausting.

She not only had to suppress her own body from carrying out the order, but also had to continuously issue commands to the surrounding Dolls, whose autonomous consciousness had already been temporarily suppressed, forcing them to stand down.

As long as Gentiane remained standing in the doorway, those Dolls would instinctively continue carrying out the orders they had already received.

"Alright, alright. I'll step back a little. Ingram, go retrieve my communicator from the command room."

"Hmm? Alright... Are you sure we don't need to do anything?"

"No. Go quickly."

Gentiane waved her hand helplessly.

Do something?

Your Imprint Weapon is practically useless here...

Seeing Gentiane obediently retreat into a blind spot outside the Dolls' field of view, M1887 finally breathed a sigh of relief. She lowered her weapon and waved toward Desert Eagle behind her.

"Perfect. You're the only one here who can still act freely. Go explain the situation to Commander Gentiane."

Fortunately, Desert Eagle had returned shortly after the Headquarters commander issued those orders.

Otherwise, they probably would have remained standing there like statues until the commander finally woke up.

"I honestly thought we'd pick them up and immediately continue chasing the rebels. It looks like we've run into even more trouble."

Gentiane had thought the relentless pursuit by the Isomers was troublesome enough.

She hadn't expected something even more troublesome to come from Griffin Headquarters itself.

Unless she resigned on the spot, this wasn't something she could simply ignore.

What if...

The moment the thought of killing the Griffin Headquarters commander crossed her mind, Gentiane immediately shook her head, forcing the dangerous idea away.

She was starting to think too much like Renault.

Since when had her first instinct for solving a problem become killing the troublesome commander?

Although that definitely wasn't an option, Gentiane already had a fairly good idea of what had happened.

Given the commotion at the station entrance, combined with the Headquarters commander never appearing, there was a good chance he was already lying unconscious.

The armored train's artillery wasn't something a normal person could shrug off.

Anyone who survived after riding inside that intercontinental train was incredibly lucky.

The unfortunate Headquarters commander might already have lost an arm or a leg.

This wasn't some peaceful Green Zone or White Zone.

This city was deep inside the Red Zone.

Because of the Quarantine Wall, the concentration of Collapse radiation here ranked among the highest anywhere inside the Red Zone.

An ordinary person exposed to this environment would begin developing ELID within minutes.

Being seriously injured only made things worse.

If her guess was correct...

The commander from Headquarters was probably already dead—or at least dying.

Otherwise, he would never have issued orders like these.

What sane Griffin operations commander would deliberately suppress every Doll's autonomy, forcing them to function like Androids executing fixed commands?

Although that method could improve combat efficiency to some extent, it came at the cost of eliminating all initiative.

Every action had to be commanded directly.

Military Dolls were much the same.

The difference was that they operated alongside professional soldiers.

Those soldiers were trained to fight and command simultaneously.

Naturally, they were far more suited to that system than Griffin's remote operations commanders.

Although Griffin once employed plenty of military personnel, that had long since become history.

As far as Gentiane knew, most of those people had already gone their separate ways.

She had never even heard of this new Headquarters operations commander before today.

---

Chapter 1200: This Is Different from What Was Said Before

"Hiro Splinter?"

This was the new commander dispatched by Griffin Headquarters to "replace" Gentiane.

More accurately, he had been sent to take over Gentiane's original mission should she become uncontrollable.

At the moment...

He was unconscious.

Fortunately, the extremely high concentration of Collapse radiation inside Tallinn had forced him to wear a heavy protective suit before entering the city, allowing him to survive the armored train's bombardment.

Unfortunately, while the suit protected him from shells and shrapnel, it did nothing against the blast itself.

"Anyway, that's the name on his work ID."

Kalina looked down at the unconscious man lying on the floor and pouted.

"This guy's lucky just to be alive. But we don't know how serious his injuries are. He's been unconscious for so long. He could have internal bleeding or ruptured organs."

Her gaze lingered on the protective suit with obvious resentment.

The difference in treatment was simply outrageous.

Why didn't she and Gentiane get equipment like this?

Even though this model was old and lacked a powered support frame, it was still a genuine full-body protective suit.

Its protective performance was almost identical to the newer models.

And it was just as expensive.

Well...

The price was exactly what bothered Kalina.

Why didn't they get issued equipment like this?

Why wouldn't Griffin Headquarters provide them with this level of protection?

The ballistic vests she and Gentiane were currently wearing had been bought with her own money on the black market.

Having already explained the encounter with the rebel armored train, Desert Eagle looked at Gentiane and Kalina awkwardly.

These two clearly disliked Commander Hiro.

Even more than that, they were filled with resentment toward Griffin Headquarters.

No wonder Headquarters had urgently reassigned someone here.

Unfortunately, the hastily dispatched commander clearly wasn't as familiar with the situation as Commander Gentiane.

Before they had even reached their destination, most of his echelon had already been wiped out by the rebel armored train.

The intercontinental train's backup power supplies, Dummy Dolls, ammunition reserves, and other equipment had all been reduced to ashes.

Without those supplies, the Dolls could still locate charging stations throughout the city to replenish their power.

They could ration their ammunition.

With enough luck, they might survive until Griffin Headquarters sent reinforcements.

Hiro, however, was human.

His situation was far worse.

Without the intercontinental train, he no longer had a safe place to rest.

In a Red Zone like this, even eating, drinking, and using the bathroom would become serious problems.

If he were unlucky, he might even develop silicified growths while using the toilet.

If he were even unluckier...

Well...

Even his rectum might become silicified.

"Um... Commander Gentiane... who exactly are these people?"

After assigning HK21 and the others to recharge in other train cars, M1887 returned to the operations center.

She looked helplessly at OGAS and HK416.

The Griffin identification codes of these Dolls kept changing.

Although the system could still identify them, their identification codes changed over and over again within seconds.

It was as though they simply made up new identification codes whenever they felt like it.

Yet despite that, the system still insisted they were Griffin Dolls.

She had no idea how to deal with "friendly" units like that.

This mission was classified.

Every detail of the operation was strictly confidential.

"Hmm? HK416 and the others?"

Gentiane waved dismissively.

"Don't worry about them. They're AR15's relatives. They came along when she brought her child home to visit the family."

"Commander Gentiane! Don't joke about things like that!"

AR15 immediately shouted.

The way Gentiane said it made it sound as though she and M4 were married.

Watching AR15 raise her fist threateningly toward Gentiane, M1887 felt another headache coming on.

She recognized AR15.

She recognized SOP2 as well.

Both were members of Team AR, and their information remained in her database.

However...

Their official status was clearly marked as Defected.

As for the others, some of them also appeared in the database.

The system recognized them.

But their identification codes didn't match at all.

Despite that...

The system still identified them as Griffin Dolls.

This was completely confusing.

Had her identification module malfunctioned after sustaining damage?

Even so, M1887 wisely chose not to ask any further questions.

Judging by Gentiane's attitude, she clearly had no intention of explaining everything.

M1887 wasn't foolish enough to keep pressing the issue.

Besides...

Just look outside the train.

There were powered armor units and tanks everywhere.

Weren't they worried about attracting the attention of Statesec?

Apparently not.

Neither these Dolls nor the people commanding them seemed concerned in the slightest.

"Ahem."

Intimidated by AR15's raised fist, Gentiane instinctively shrank back before turning to M1887 and clearing her throat.

"Anyway, that's the situation. Since you're aboard now, get some rest before that guy wakes up. You'd better recharge your batteries as well. We may have a difficult battle ahead."

After M1887 and the others carried the unconscious Commander Hiro aboard the train, Gentiane ordered the engineer Dolls to increase speed.

The intercontinental train accelerated through Tallinn, heading toward the Quarantine Wall on the opposite side of the city.

"Alright... Oh, by the way, Commander Gentiane, have the Dolls sent to recover the reconnaissance teams returned? If possible, a few emergency repairs should be enough to restore them."

M1887's neural model differed from that of ordinary Griffin Dolls.

She possessed a certain degree of resistance against the Isomers' forced mental connections.

As long as the affected Dolls' bodies weren't too badly damaged, she was confident she could restore them.

"The recovery team?"

Gentiane blinked.

"Those weren't my Dolls. That recovery team belongs to HK416 and the others. You'll have to ask them."

She paused before smiling.

"But don't get your hopes up. It's pretty rare for a Doll who falls into Renault's hands to willingly come back..."

"Well...

Not many do."

Even AR15 and SOP2 had never mentioned returning.

Although there were certainly other reasons for that, the fact remained that neither of them had gone back.

"Me...?"

M1887 blinked blankly before turning toward Desert Eagle.

Her eyes clearly asked:

Isn't this completely different from what you told me before?

Desert Eagle stared back just as blankly.

"But... C96 and the others clearly said..."

"They said the Dolls would decide for themselves after they woke up, didn't they?"

Gentiane smirked and casually waved her hand.

---