RRC 451-475 (Patreon)

RRC 451-475


Chapter 51: What a Trap...



"Hello again, Miss Angelia," UMP45 waved cheerfully in the holographic image, prompting Angelia's expression to falter.

"How could it be you guys?"

Observing UMP45 and UMP9 beside her, Angelia scratched her head in frustration.

These two had already settled the deal with her. She funded while they executed.

Unfortunately, things went awry.

They ran into Renault, who immediately intervened and shut them down. If not for that, she wouldn't have hastily pulled AK12 and AN94 out of the lab.

And now? Was it karma? Or was the money destined to end up in UMP45's pocket anyway?

"Of course it's us. The others at home aren't interested in these extra earnings. It's just us. Due to some minor reasons, we've accrued a little debt, so it's necessary to earn more to repay it," UMP45 said, glancing at UMP40 besides her who was apologetic at her.

It was because UMP40 had borrowed from other dolls to buy those two cats. Although no one pressed them for repayment, owing debts wasn't UMP45's style.

Since there was an opportunity now, she wouldn't miss it. Besides, if it weren't for Renault, they might not even have a place to stay now, just shuttling between the safe houses provided by Angelia.

Following HK416's curiosity, Angelia wondered how much money she could offer for this mission.

"Alright, regardless of which doll it is, none under Renault's command are simple," Angelia nodded helplessly at UMP45's words. She couldn't control Renault's decisions.

But those two slackers from last time! They didn't inform AK12! If it weren't for MDR and RFB, AK12 and AN94 wouldn't have rushed into Sector S06 without proper gear!

It was fortunate that UMP45's team took the mission this time. At least she knew UMP45 was reliable, and there wouldn't be many complications during the mission.

If Renault assigned her someone like MDR and RFB again... she might as well go herself!

Watching UMP45 negotiating with Angelia on the side, Renault nodded in satisfaction.

Though he thought the price was a bit high, facing Angelia, who didn't seem wealthy, if he pushed too hard, she might reconsider.

"Do you trust them so easily?" AR15, acting as a mascot on the workbench, asked Renault quietly, noticing his lack of interference.

"Of course. What's there not to trust? We're thousands of meters above Sector S06. They're just flying down to pick up two people. What's there to worry about?"

Hearing this, AR15 looked speechlessly at UMP45, who had just successfully negotiated with Angelia and was now gesturing victory to Renault.

This guy... is she really one of Renault's dolls? They were all so adept at swindling.

In just a few moments, they were about to pocket eight hundred thousand from someone. Wasn't that a bit too easy?

After finalizing the price, Angelia informed Renault and hung up to arrange for AK12 and AN94 to wait for rescue.

If everything went smoothly, before Angelia even called them, UMP45's team might have already brought AK12 and AN94 onto the ship.


...


"Now what?" AN94 asked AK12 beside her.

They had successfully located and destroyed Intruder with the help of information from the Hunter's Point. Though Executioner had interfered, Griffin's support had been invaluable.

But now, as they prepared to retreat, they were being pursued by a Sangvis Ferri elite doll named Ouroboros, who seemed relentless. It was unclear what had gotten into her.

"Really, if Griffin could send a helicopter to pick us up, that would be great." AK12 complained, not answering AN94's question.

After destroying Intruder, they could have easily taken out Ouroboros. However, for some reason, Ouroboros had managed to recall most of Sangvis Ferri's armored units patrolling outside, swarming Intruder's vicinity.

They almost took Griffin's support fleet with them in one go, and they couldn't escape. Now, they were surrounded in the area near Ouroboros's base, and Sangvis Ferri units from the surrounding areas were constantly reinforcing. It was only a matter of time before they were captured.

"12! Those Manticore units are coming this way!"

"Ugh! Nowhere to hide?" Seeing the Manticore units approaching, AK12 felt a headache coming on. In this area, there was almost a Manticore unit every few hundred meters.

This quantity was far more than what Angelia's intel had shown. How had Griffin managed to hold off these units before?

"You two sneaky rodents! Do you think you can escape from my grasp!?" Before the Manticore units could reach them, Ouroboros's roar echoed from afar, accompanied by a series of missiles trailing behind her!

Had AK12 ever seen such wastefulness among Sangvis Ferri dolls? They were just dealing with two tactical dolls, did they really need so many missiles!?

AK12 wondered, but her feet were already in motion, and AN94, beside her, understood. They dashed toward the Manticore units closing in!

These Manticore units were indeed useful as armored units, especially in mountainous and rugged terrain. Their quadrupedal all-terrain capabilities were excellent.
However, their weapons couldn't rotate, making them ineffective against fast-moving targets at close range. Their turning speed couldn't meet military operational requirements.

Therefore, after acquiring these Manticore prototypes, the military had cut them in half and installed other weapons on their bodies that could adjust their attack directions.

Of course, these were all sidelines. AK12 and AN94 naturally knew the weaknesses of these Manticore units. Taking advantage of their momentary openings, they charged toward the sides of these units!



Chapter 52: Almost Bashed My Head!

Boom!

Several missiles launched by Ouroboros failed to catch up with the movements of AK12 and AN94. By the time these missiles hit the ground and exploded, the two figures had already hidden in the blind spots of the Manticore units' gunfire.

The exploding shrapnel inadvertently didn't harm the two figures but instead caused the Manticore units to stagger.

Seeing this situation, Ouroboros became furious. These two figures came from nowhere! Their combat efficiency far exceeded those of the worn-out Griffin dolls. Previously, the two of them had even forced Hunter to reveal her base.

Although Griffin did support these two, if it weren't for them attracting Hunter's attention and directly disrupting her command with electronic interference, how could Hunter have withdrawn so easily from her base!?

And it was because of Hunter's mistake that Executioner couldn't keep these elusive figures either!

Although she detonated the bombs buried near the disruptor, these two figures emerged unscathed from the explosion like eels!

She had planned to use Executioner as bait to hold these two back, but for some reason, Hunter, who had previously deviated from her command sequence, suddenly appeared and took Executioner away while she was engaged in battle with the two figures.

Although she had given the order to lock the Executioner's neural cloud, Executioner's core was still taken away by the Hunter.

What was going on!? One after another! Why wasn't everything going according to plan!?

Frustrated, Ouroboros didn't even bother to answer the agent's communication. She immediately mobilized all nearby combat units and began to encircle AK12 and AN94, these two mysterious figures of unknown origin.

But it was all worth it. These two figures couldn't escape now! As long as they could kill these two here...

Watching the two figures maneuvering among the Manticore units, the flames of fury in Ouroboros's eyes wished to incinerate the two figures into ashes!

Boom!

Just as Ouroboros was planning to use missiles to blast the two figures into pieces, two consecutive loud booms erupted suddenly among the Manticore units!

"What!? What's going on!? Where is the artillery fire coming from!?"

Seeing the attacks that directly overturned two Manticore units, Ouroboros's heart skipped a beat as she looked around, trying to locate the attacker!

Of course, the newcomers didn't intend to conceal themselves. They openly used the Manticore units on the ground as targets and bombarded them one after another, turning those Manticore units into scrap metal!

In just a few tens of seconds, the Manticore units surrounding AK12 and AN94 were completely disabled in the barrage. At this moment, Ouroboros also spotted the unidentified flying object rapidly approaching in the sky!

"What is that! A flying ship!?"

AK12 certainly noticed the situation here, but they still had a few Manticore units in front of them that hadn't been taken out. Besides exclaiming at the sight of the flying object, they had to continue to lower their heads to avoid the gunfire from the Manticore units.

"Isn't that... Commander Renault's airship!?" AN94 also immediately recognized the origin of the approaching airship.

After all, with its peculiar setup of two tank turrets hanging under the fuselage, only Renault's side had such a thing.

At the same time AN94 exclaimed, a voice that sounded unfamiliar in AK12 and AN94's communication channel also rang out.

"Huhu! Renault Express, mission guaranteed! The two passengers below, prepare for artillery fire in the dangerous range. Please move away a bit! G11! HK416! Get to work!"

"Yeah yeah, got it, no need to rush us. If you could get UMP45 to pilot the aircraft more steadily, that would be even better!" Hearing UMP9's shout, HK416 looked at the shaking aiming interface speechlessly.

It was only because she and G11 had steady hands that, despite the significant vibrations, they were fortunate enough not to have their shots directly hit AK12 and AN94's heads.

"Don't be so harsh! I've just started flying this thing! But speaking of which, driving this small aircraft is actually more challenging than piloting that big one. I didn't expect that." UMP45 turned her head to say.

"Hey hey! 45! Don't get distracted! Look ahead! We're about to crash!" UMP40, sitting in the co-pilot's seat, saw UMP45 turning her head and hurriedly shouted.

Because UMP45 didn't slow down, the airship was still speeding towards the location of the Manticore units!

"Ohh! That was close! Can't afford to damage the aircraft. If Renault deducts the money later, it would be counterproductive."

After being reminded by UMP40, UMP45 quickly raised the altitude of the aircraft again. G11 and HK416 on the gunner seats behind naturally didn't idle. Although the aircraft was unstable, the distance just now was close enough that they didn't have to worry about missing their shots.

Uh... if it really did hit AK12 and AN94, those two would just have been unlucky. After all, this was during a battle, and a small accident was inevitable.

Watching the aircraft fly past them overhead and even directly penetrate several Manticore units' central cores with machine gun fire, AK12 and AN94 couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Wow! It's a relief to know that they are indeed here to support us. If it were someone else who didn't know, they might have thought they were trying to crush the two of us with the turrets under the aircraft, right!?

"Bastard!?" Seeing the interfering airship, as well as the Manticore units that had turned into debris in just a minute, Ouroboros now wished she could gnaw that thing in the sky into pieces with her teeth!

Unfortunately, she could only think about it. Apart from launching a series of missiles towards the airship, she seemed powerless against it!

The missiles she launched did hit the airship this time, but besides causing the airship to fly crookedly in the sky, they had no other effect whatsoever!

"Ohh! Now I understand why that guy Simonov drove this airship to the ground back then. This sudden change in flight attitude is indeed hard to adjust!" Although it wouldn't stall and crash, maintaining low-altitude flight was definitely impossible.

At this moment, the only way out was probably to forcibly climb and increase altitude, ensuring that her erratic control wouldn't disrupt the stability system of the aircraft.

Of course, sometimes, besides this approach, they could also find a flat area and go for a hard landing?

After all, they were going to land sooner or later, right?





Chapter 53: Whoops, Accidentally

"Hey! Slow down! We're about to hit the ground!" Watching the ground draw nearer and the Sangvis Ferri Doll frantically waving its arms ahead, HK416 exclaimed in alarm.

She didn't care about the fate of the Sangvis Ferri Doll or the Manticore units blocking the way, but she was worried that the aircraft they were riding in might be destroyed!

"Don't worry, this minor collision is allowed in the pilot's manual. The armor plating and main structure of the aircraft won't fall apart due to such a slight impact," UMP45 reassured confidently, glancing at the control panel.

"What do you mean by a minor collision!?" Seeing UMP45's confident tone, HK416 really wanted to pry open UMP45's neural core and see if it was filled with water!



...



"Um, is there something wrong with that gunship? Why do I feel like it's coming straight towards the ground?" AK12 scratched her head, watching the gunship swaying in the sky, circling around and heading towards their direction again.

"It's not just a feeling... it's really coming towards us! Get out of the way!" AN94 quickly pulled AK12, darting sideways.

But the remaining Manticore units and Ourobouros in front of them weren't as lucky as the two.

The swiftly approaching aircraft smashed the blocking Manticore units into pieces! And the Ourobouros standing directly in front, unable to react in time, was just about to speak when, "You don't... agh!"

It was struck by the aircraft's body, smashing it into pieces.

The lower half of its body was pressed below the ground, leaving only a few toes or perhaps just a few bone fragments.

Fortunately, the Ourobouros was a Doll, otherwise, if it were a human, they would probably be reduced to bone scraps by now.

"Smooth landing," UMP45 said as she jumped out of the cockpit.

HK416 followed closely behind, "What kind of smooth landing is this! It's clearly a crash!"

As she spoke, HK416 looked around, quickly circling the aircraft to inspect the damage.

"It's okay, the aircraft's monitoring device shows no damage, just some minor scratches. A little touch-up paint when we get back, and it'll be perfect."

"That's easy for you to say! It'll be us and 40 doing the touching up!" HK416 complained, but just then, she looked down and saw Ourobouros lying half-dead on the ground, staring at her.

"Is this considered an unexpected gain?" G11 walked over, looking at the helpless Ourobouros with some excitement.

"Yeah! Take this guy back, and the Commander might even give us a bonus! The Commander loves picking up these elite Sangvis Ferri Dolls!" UMP9 chimed in cheerfully.

"Get lost! You Griffin scum!" The immobilized Ourobouros shouted in panic, interpreting their words as an attempt to take her away!

What a joke! If you guys want to kill me, just do it! I'd rather have a quick death!

But except for UMP40 giving Ourobouros a pitiful look, the others didn't do anything to her. Instead, they turned to look at AK12 and AN94 in the distance.

"Hey, you two over there, your ride, uh, plane is here. Hurry up and bring what you need and leave," UMP45 waved, signaling AK12 and AN94 to come over quickly.

Those two are just standing there watching from a distance, as if they're afraid to come over. Haven't they seen such careful behavior before?

Hearing the call, AK12 and AN94 glanced at each other, mutually sensing the surprise in each other's eyes.

Obviously, neither of them knew why these guys had come, especially leaving this place on Renault's aircraft without Angelia's orders seemed a bit inappropriate...

But just as the two hesitated, Angelia's communication finally connected.

"AK12, where are you two now? I've arranged for Renault's team to come pick you up for evacuation."

Hearing Angelia's words, AK12 understood, "Okay, got it, but what about Griffin's squad?"

"There's no problem with Griffin's squad. You two have already attracted most of the Sangvis Ferri armored units in that area. Griffin's squad is not under much pressure. Just evacuate as soon as possible."

"Alright, we'll go up now. Renault's team is already here." As she spoke, AK12 intercepted a video file and sent it directly to Angelia through the communication channel.

Seeing the video, showing UMP45 and the others rummaging around the aircraft, Angelia felt like a blood clot stuck in her throat, neither being able to swallow nor spit it out.

How long has it been? Barely five minutes have passed since UMP45 and the others appeared in the holographic image with Renault, and now they've arrived in front of AK12.

Apart from them being directly above AK12, what other explanation could there be?

"Phew, AK12, take a look at the sky above you, see if there's any aircraft, or more precisely, a spaceship, similar to the one you saw at Renault's place last time."

Upon hearing this, AK12 immediately looked up at the sky. Although it was not very bright now, she could vaguely see a large shadow hovering in the sky.

"Indeed, there's a square-shaped shadow... but is that really...?"

Last time they went to Renault's factory area, although they saw that huge spaceship, it didn't take off, but just stayed underground. And they didn't think anyone nowadays has the technology to make such a huge object fly directly into the sky.

But reality is often magical. Renault's spaceship has now really flown directly above them!

"Yes, it's the one you saw last time. But we'll talk about the specifics after you come back. For now, just follow UMP45 and the others back as soon as possible. The night is long, and there are many dreams."

"Let go of me! Give me a gun if you dare! Let's fight face to face! Let go! What do you take me for? A rabbit!?" Just after AK12 finished the communication, she heard the angry roar of the Ourobouros next to the aircraft.

HK416 grabbed Ourobouros's twin tails and held the half-bodied Sangvis Ferri Doll in her hand. Despite the Ourobouros swinging her arms and hitting HK416's arms, she still couldn't stop herself from being thrown into the cargo hold like a piece of merchandise.





Chapter 54: Bring This Along Too!

"Um... aren't you guys in a hurry to leave?" AN94 awkwardly watched as UMP9 and the others moved back and forth in the cabin with various items, feeling a bit uneasy.

Shouldn't they be taking off immediately? Returning to their base? Are they here to pick up trash or move house?

The weapons forcibly taken from the Manticore units on their backs, as well as the scattered parts from inside the Manticore units' cores, were all handled like treasures by the group and brought into the cabin.

Not even the nearby Sangvis Ferri stronghold was spared. Everything intact, such as screens, communication devices, and the like, was taken, one by one, and piled up under the Sangvis Ferri's nose.

"You! You're nothing but robbers!?" Ouroboros tied to a chair leg by HK416 wished she could bite these bastards to death! It's bad enough they caught her, but now they want to take away the equipment from her stronghold too!?

"Huh? Did you hear someone talking?" UMP45 pretended not to hear, tilting her head and looking at HK416 and the others.

"No," HK416 said stiffly, then directly threw an Sangvis Ferri communication device in front of Ouroboros.

UMP40 looked at the two exchanging words, shook her head helplessly, then returned to the copilot's seat to help UMP45 prepare for takeoff.
"Once everything's loaded, sit down quickly. It's been twenty minutes already, and the Commander must be getting impatient."

"Wait! Wait! Just a moment! And this! Bring this along too! I finally found one intact!"
Just as they were about to respond, they heard UMP9 suddenly shout from behind.

Turning around, they saw UMP9 struggling to squeeze a Manticore unit into the cabin.

"Wow! Why did you bring the whole thing back?! We only need the parts! Bringing back the intact one is useless!" UMP40 was shocked to see this intact Manticore unit.

This was beyond their mission scope!

Opportunity!
And the trapped Ouroboros, seeing this advanced Manticore unit, brightened up immediately!

Although the Manticore unit didn't have hands to help her untie the ropes, the ropes binding her were just plastic ties, easily broken with some high heat! Just because her lower body was gone doesn't mean her upper body arms have no strength!

As for the source of the high heat? Isn't it obvious?

Let this Manticore unit fire inside the cabin of this aircraft!

Whether the muzzle is aimed at her or not! Although it might cause an explosion or flying shrapnel, but now there's no other way!

Thinking of this, Ouroboros immediately focused and tried to control the Manticore unit.

However...

No matter how she tried to command the Manticore unit, it only responded with 'insufficient permissions'...

"What a joke! I have the highest authority in this war zone! How could there be insufficient permissions!"
In a mix of shock and anger, Ouroboros shouted, immediately drawing the attention of HK416 and G11 who were helping bring the Manticore unit in.

Realizing she had spoken out of turn, Ouroboros quickly stopped talking, expecting the Griffin dolls to turn back and discipline her, but these guys acted as if they hadn't heard anything, continuing to do their own things.

And AK12 and AN94, sitting shoulder to shoulder on the seats, just glanced at each other, shrugged, and closed their eyes to relax.

Although they were still in the Sangvis Ferri-occupied area, with the highest commander of Sangvis Ferri captured and UMP45, an electronic warfare T-Doll here, this half-bodied Ouroboros had no reason to stir up trouble.

Instead of listening to these trivial matters here, it's better to take a good rest. Since separating from MDR and RFB, they've been working non-stop, twenty-four hours a day, without a moment's rest.

Even charging had to be done while carrying a mobile battery and moving. As for rations, they didn't even have any, but luckily, they were both military tactical T-Dolls, so missing a meal or two wouldn't make them upset.

Although T-Dolls only eat to avoid the uncanny valley effect when interacting with humans, many T-Dolls are actually very dedicated to eating.

After all, putting something in your mouth, tasting it, feeling full, is one of the few pleasures they have.

"Let's go! Let's go! Let's go home!" Pushing the Manticore unit's legs, UMP9, after struggling to close the cabin door, immediately shouted excitedly.
Of course, she just felt she had picked up a lot of good stuff and was happy.
UMP45 was actually calculating how much money they could get from Renault this time.

After all, UMP40 still owed a lot to others and they needed to pay it off quickly to feel relieved.

Feeling the aircraft taking off, AK12 and AN94, who were resting with their eyes closed, opened their eyes and looked back at the rapidly receding ground outside the porthole, thinking about what they had just seen which was the ship flying in the sky and couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

What were they nervous about...?

Of course, they were worried that Renault might not follow the rules. They heard that Renault likes to pick up T-Dolls everywhere. What if he sets his sights on the two of them this time and keeps them detained?

With apprehensive hearts, the two T-Dolls almost blinked without blinking as they witnessed the entire process of the aircraft entering the hangar of the ship.

"We're back! Come on! Help us move things!" As soon as they landed, UMP9 immediately jumped out at the door and called out to the Sangvis Ferri T-Dolls who were chatting or idling around.

A group of Rippers and Vespids immediately gathered around happily.

They didn't have much to do usually, so when they saw some excitement here, they naturally came over first.

The HK416 and the others who had just come out of the fuselage from the side of the aircraft, followed by AK12 and AN94.

However, as soon as they came out, they saw a group of Sangvis Ferri T-Dolls staring at them strangely.

"What...?"

Fight? That's impossible. This is Commander Renault's ship, and these Sangvis Ferri T-Dolls must have been brought from outside.

But why were they looking at them with such strange eyes?

"It's okay, they're this time's clients. Don't be nervous, they're not enemies. Go play with 9." UMP40 looked at the Sangvis Ferri T-Dolls and waved her hand softly.

"Come on, this way. Let me take you somewhere to rest for a while. Oh, right! I almost forgot about that guy!" UMP45 waved to AK12 and AN94, planning to take them to the lounge after handing Ouroboros over to Renault.





Chapter 55: The Abacus Didn't Add Up

"Really... why did you bring back so many useless things?" Renault observed through the spacecraft's internal surveillance system, seeing the parts the Rippers had salvaged from the cabin, as well as the bewildered Manticore unit in the hangar.

Though he couldn't fathom why, Renault couldn't shake the feeling that the Manticore, forcibly retrieved and now pacing in the hangar, resembled a pet taken to an unfamiliar place.

"Um, how can you call them useless? Commander! Look at this! This fellow should come in handy, right?" UMP45 shook the Ouroboros in her hand, seeking Renault's approval.

Ouroboros, either resigned or depleted of energy, remained unresponsive as UMP45 shook it.

"This one? Wasn't it recently manufactured? I recall this one having slightly higher command authority than us." Scarecow, sensing some excitement, remarked after glancing at Ouroboros in UMP45's grasp.

"Just her?" HK416 raised an eyebrow, "Deploying a group of armored units just to surround two tactical dolls, with this level of proficiency, she still manages to secure higher authority than you guys?"

Simply laughable.

Although without UMP45's intervention, AK12 and AN94 might have fallen to the Manticore, Sangvis Ferri gains nothing from this action.

After all, it's just two tactical dolls. Despite their superior combat capabilities, expending such effort to eliminate them not only yields no benefit but also exposes Sangvis Ferri's hidden strength.

I really don't understand why Sangvis Ferri would grant such reckless authority.

UMP45 merely shrugged, "So, Commander, about our compensation?"

"I understand. I won't forget your efforts. Although Angelia's payment hasn't arrived yet, I'll advance it to you."

It's not a significant sum, and he can afford it.

"Hehe! I knew Commander was generous!" UMP45 exclaimed, placing Ouroboros on a workbench and nudging UMP40.

"Thank you, Commander!" UMP40 added, and as soon as she finished, they found their compensation credited to their accounts.

Evidently, Renault had already transferred the funds before speaking; otherwise, they wouldn't have seen Renault using his phone, and transfers take time. How could it be credited without any activity?

"Go ahead, and don't forget to document the aircraft damage. I'll have someone maintain it later."

"Understood!" UMP45 pulled UMP40 out of the workshop, and HK416 bid Renault farewell before leaving.

AK12 and AN94 had already been directed to rest in the lounge. Despite their disheveled appearance, they sustained only minor scratches and bruises.

UMP45 had offered repairs, but they declined, citing their unique conditions.

Renault was pleased; it won't be long before they return to Angelia.

It's just a withdrawal, and Angelia's rendezvous point isn't far. Besides, they're on a spacecraft; even at cruising speed, it won't take more than three hours.

"What about this one? Will you repair her too?" Intruder inquired as Renault untied the Ouroboros's restraints.

"It depends on the situation... This one... I recall she's not very..." Renault's words were cut off as Ouroboros suddenly opened her eyes!

Her intact hands lunged towards Renault like short guns!

"Not very cooperative." Renault's split second hand movement swatted away Ouroboros' hands, observing her attempting to push the workbench towards him.

Playing dead, then attacking or taking Renault hostage after he untied her restraints—that was likely Ouroboros' plan.

However, if it were a normal commander, her plan wouldn't have succeeded. After all, a typical commander wouldn't untie the restraints on a dangerous criminal or approach them without guards.

But encountering Renault was Ouroboros' greatest challenge...

Why could a human swat away her attack!?

It's illogical! Sangvis Ferri's doll performance far exceeds that of normal humans! Even with only one finger left, it's still a deadly threat to humans!

"Haha! Look at her expression! Haha! That surprised look is really interesting! Oh! Almost forgot! Let's take some pictures! It's a great opportunity for memories!" Intruder took out her phone, recording the Ouroboros' expression.

Though their dolls could extract videos and images from their memories, taking pictures with a phone was still amusing for Intruder.

After all, the surprised or angry expressions captured after the shutter clicked were enough to amuse her for a while.

"You! Intruder!?! You! Why are you here! Have you betrayed us!?" Ouroboros roared angrily, seeing Intruder photographing her.

"Betrayal? No no no, I just changed jobs. Don't say it so harshly. Anyway, on the Sangvis Ferri side, maybe they've already used the data stored in the server to rebuild an Intruder. With or without me, the result is almost the same."

Intruder took it lightly. This kind of aimless wandering life suited her better than before.

She's not a workaholic like Scarerow; she doesn't feel uncomfortable if she doesn't work all day.




Chapter 56: Stop Shouting

"Hmph!" Hearing Intruder's remark, Ouroboros turned her head, glaring angrily at Renault in front of her.
Mentally, she calculated repeatedly, but each simulation yielded a failed outcome. Escaping from Renault and Intruder was clearly impossible...

Would the Proxy send someone to rescue...?

"Commander! We brought these things over! M1 Garand said these parts and this communication device might come in handy!" As Ouroboros pondered, UMP9, accompanied by several Rippers, moved the salvaged parts and Sangvis Ferri communication equipment into the workshop.

"Alright, just leave them there. I'll organize them when I have time." Seeing the chaotic pile of parts brought in by the Sangvis Ferri dolls, Renault sighed helplessly.

Initially, this habit of bringing back things was only characteristic of Nagant Revolver.

Who knew UMP9 had also caught onto it? When did she learn it from?

"You guys!?" Seeing the influx of Sangvis Ferri Rippers, Ouroboros's complexion grew even worse.

With so many Sangvis Ferri dolls, plus Intruder, had so many Sangvis Ferri dolls defected to this Griffin commander? Did she herself have to...?

"Hey! Commander! Simonov asked me to come and ask, what should we do with the surplus drinks that we can't finish? Bottle them up or pour them directly into the recycling unit to purify into drinking water?" Just as Ouroboros was struggling internally, Executioner walked in with a bottle of liquor. Apart from drinking with Simonov and her colleagues, she also helped with brewing alcohol.

Although her workload wasn't light, A-91 was usually unwilling to move much, and even if she got drunk, she could still work normally. So, most of the work at the vertical farm and brewing fell on A-91's shoulders.

After all, as long as she stayed in the brewing workshop, she could drink anytime, anywhere. Filling a large jug and gulping it down directly saved the step of pouring it into a jug.

"Also, CF05 asked when most of the surplus fruits, which have been canned, can be sold. At this rate, the warehouse is almost full." Scarecrow followed Executioner.

After Executioner finished speaking, Scarecrow turned to Renault.

"MG3 also asked me to inquire if the surplus livestock can be made into sausages for preservation." Hunter spoke up next.

On the ship, apart from Maria and Jaeger, the other three elite dolls seemed to have teamed up as if by coincidence, coming to Renault's door.

As for whether it was a coincidence? Renault didn't believe it...

"You guys coming to me for business is fake, right? Actually, you just wanted to come and see this new Sangvis Ferri doll, didn't you?" Giving these guys a disdainful look, Renault quipped.

If they wanted to see her, they could have come directly; he didn't say they couldn't.

Didn't Intruder stroll over by herself?

"You! Executioner!? Hunter!? You... you!?" Seeing these three Sangvis Ferri dolls whose eyes were fixed on her, Ouroboros's neural core was almost scared out of her chest restraint.

Executioner and Hunter had both suffered severe injuries in battle not long ago, and she had manually locked Executioner's mind not long ago.

How long had it been? How could these two be bouncing around in front of her again!?

And on the enemy's ship!?

What's going on!?

Beep—!

"Renault, your phone seems to be ringing." Hearing the default ringtone, Scarecrow pointed to Renault's pocket.

Renault was surprised; Angelia had no patience at all.

He took out his phone and saw that it wasn't Angelia calling, and there were no incoming calls on his phone at all.

The sound wasn't coming from his phone but from the Sangvis Ferri communicator still under UMP9's feet...

"Ouroboros, why are you still in Sector S06's command room? Didn't I order a retreat? Wait... where is this!?" Without waiting for Renault to answer the call manually, the Sangvis Ferri communicator lit up on its own.

Agent's indifferent face appeared on the screen.
However, after she questioned Ouroboros, she suddenly realized that the furnishings on the other end didn't seem to be Sangvis Ferri's Sector S06's command room, but the communicator was still... in motion!?

"Hmm? Long time no see, Agent. It seems you've been doing well lately, at least not in that ragged appearance anymore."
Without waiting for Ouroboros to respond, Renault stepped forward, appearing on the communicator's screen, and greeted Agent.

Although they had met once before, Agent had just repelled Statesec and G&K's squad, her clothes and body were torn, looking much worse than now.

"You... long time no see, Commander Renault. It seems Ouroboros has fallen into your hands. In that case, I won't inquire much about her affairs, but I will report the situation here truthfully to our master."

"Alright. Anything else? Oh, tell your master, don't try to invade my firewall when there's nothing going on. AR15 is also on my side now."

"Understood." Hearing Renault's words, Agent frowned in consternation, wanting to say something, but recalling the circumstances of her first encounter with Renault, she suppressed any discontent.

"Wait! Wait a minute, Proxy! What do you mean by that!?" Seeing Agent about to cut off communication, Ouroboros couldn't help but shout.

She's still here! Why does this guy called Renault completely ignore her and ask her anything!

"It means nothing. Take a look at your current unsightly state, Ouroboros. This mission, as your first and last mission, you've utterly failed."

Though she wanted to say 'goodbye forever' to Ouroboros, she realized that Renault was standing next to Ouroboros, and this guy would probably repair Ouroboros to look like new, maybe even perform upgrades that Sangvis Ferri couldn't do...

In the end, Agent didn't say these words.

She just hung up the communication, leaving Ouroboros with a cold face as a final farewell.

"You guys!? You Sangvis Ferri... cough!" Just as Ouroboros was about to shout, Renault raised his hand and slapped her down onto the table.

The words she hadn't managed to shout were swallowed back down.

"Don't shout loudly here, you're disturbing others."





Chapter 57: What Are You Guys Up To?

Watching Renault contemplating in front of him, the Ouroboros's earlier arrogance had dissipated. Although her gaze remained fierce, she clearly dared not continue speaking loudly.

After all, Renault's recent slap was not light, and she felt her vision beginning to blur.

Obviously, that slap had damaged some imaging components in her head.

And aside from Renault's reasons, it was also because of those T-Dolls staring at her on the side...

"Hurry! Commander, what should we put this guy into this time?" MDR held up her phone, pointing to the various casings arranged in a row beside them.

Dinergates, Prowlers, Rice Cookers, and even an old-fashioned floor sweeping robot they didn't know where it came from...

"Alright, stop making a fuss. This guy is different from you guys."

To be honest, Renault really didn't expect to pick up this Ouroboros guy. If it weren't for Angelia's sudden call, he would have forgotten about this guy.

And this Ouroboros guy always seemed a bit irritable. If he were to replace this guy's neural core and body all at once, he felt that this guy might do something outrageous.

Rather than directly modifying this Ouroboros guy now, Renault was more inclined to keep her as she was, let her adapt to his side for a while, and then consider modifications later.

And now there weren't many materials left at home, whether it was the materials for making bodies or the materials for making core minds, they were almost used up.

Although it hadn't reached the point where they couldn't even make a doll body, there always needed to be some flexibility on hand.

Otherwise, if someone's body had a problem, it would be embarrassing if they couldn't even produce replacement parts.

"Different?" MDR raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the Ouroboros's expression of unwillingness but unable to speak. Suddenly, she understood, "Then let's go with this one! Just like MG3 back then!"

"Ouroboros & Prowler!" Nagant Revolver immediately gave MDR a thumbs up.

Truly, heroes think alike!

Moreover, the current appearance of the Ouroboros was not much different from MG3's back then, right?

Besides, there weren't many barriers inside the ship, and the Prowler's territory was enough for this guy to move freely in the ship.

As for when to replace the neural core and change to a new body, it would depend on Renault's plan.

"You guys...!?" Seeing MDR and Nagant Revolver pushing over the chassis of a Prowler, the Ouroboros immediately understood it.

Although she didn't know what MDR and Nagant Revolver, as well as Renault, planned to do, she still dared not shout loudly at Renault.

Although she didn't know why Agent showed a rare expression of difficulty when facing this guy named Renault, she at least understood that the guy named Renault in front of her was someone even Agent didn't dare to provoke.

As for how Renault would modify the Ouroboros, and how MDR would document the entire modification process, there was naturally nothing to say.

Speaking of AK12 and AN94, who were resting in the lounge, their hearts were almost in their throats at this moment.

It's not that they didn't trust Renault's reputation, but it's just that there were too many Sangvis Ferri units on this ship!

The corridors were filled with groups of Dinergates, and occasionally a Prowler carrying something would pass through, while Rippers or Vespids holding cleaning tools would pass by the lounge door every now and then

As for the T-Dolls they had seen in Renault's factory area before, apart from seeing a few T-Dolls tidying up supplies when they first arrived, they hadn't seen a single one!

"Could it be that Commander Renault has dismissed all the Griffin T-Dolls under his command and replaced them with these Sangvis Ferri T-Dolls? After all, the T-Dolls on the Sangvis Ferri side seem to be more hardworking than the ones produced by IOP?"





Chapter 58: Arrival

Watching AN94 trailing behind BM59 with a stuffed cat in her arms, AK12 couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

How come she didn't notice AN94's inability to walk properly when there's a small animal around before? Perhaps Statesecdidn't test for this aspect?

With BM59 leading the way and AN94 constantly rubbing against her stuffed cat, even AK12 didn't realize they had arrived at an extremely lively restaurant.

Watching three figures passing by her, AR15, who had just changed into a new body and was still a bit unaccustomed, entered the restaurant with C96.

"Ah, AR15, remember to control the strength of your body when eating later, or you might accidentally crush the bowl." C96 solemnly reminded AR15. This was based on her own painful experience!

"Crush the bowl? Even if I'm not good at it, I won't..."

Crack!

As AR15 reached the table, intending to pull out the chair under the table, several fingers inadvertently caused the metal chair back to emit a mournful sound.

At the same time, the pain simulation system in her body faithfully relayed the pain feedback to AR15's mind.

"What's this...!?"

Seeing the broken synthetic skin on her fingers and the chair back that she had accidentally crushed, AR15 looked incredulously at C96 beside her.

Although Renault had reminded her earlier not to touch difficult-to-repair things until she adapted to her new body, she hadn't expected that just a slight force of her fingers could crush the entire metal chair!

The chairs in the restaurant, of course, had been used by her before. She even complained in her heart that the chairs in Renault's restaurant were too heavy, but she didn't expect it was just a necessary measure to support the heavier bodies of these T-Dolls.

"Ah, I'm so careless! Anyway, let's first turn off the pain feedback of your fingers and then tie them up with straps. Otherwise, G36 will drag us to clean the restaurant later." While speaking, C96 took out some straps from her bag and skillfully tied up the leaking circulatory fluid lines.

"So... what now..." Looking at her fingers that looked pitifully injured, and the chair beside her that was almost twisted into a pretzel, AR15 was at a loss.

She shouldn't have come to a place like the restaurant in her current state!

No wonder Renault had C96 accompany her and watch her closely, not because he didn't trust her but because he was worried she would break things in the house by accident.

"Anyway, just sit quietly over there later. If you want to eat something, I'll feed you!" C96 said with a smile, but her eyes glanced at the surveillance system in the restaurant.

Hearing C96's words, AR15's face turned red, "Isn't this a bit too embarrassing...?"

It's too shameful! How could she let someone feed her!?

"It's okay! Everyone has gone through this!" C96 acted as if she had seen it all before and waved her hand casually.

The other T-Dollz didn't notice AR15's situation at this time.
Several troublemakers had already gone to watch Ouroboros that had just been brought on board, so no one paid attention to them.

G36 glanced at them, but she was busy cooking now and didn't care about C96's little mischief. Besides, it wasn't a big deal.

Nowadays, who doesn't have a dark history?

"Here, open your mouth, Ah—"

Seeing C96 handing the spoon to her mouth, AR15 blushed and shyly opened her mouth.

But just as AR15 was biting down with some embarrassment, the sound of a shutter suddenly rang out!

Click!

"Ah ha! Looks like I arrived just in time! I captured something amazing! Griffin's Dolls will be surprised when they see this photo!" MDR looked at the photo she had taken, grinning as she gave C96 a thumbs up.

"Eh!? You guys!? C96!?" Seeing MDR holding up her phone, AR15's face instantly turned red, but she couldn't move now, afraid she might accidentally flip the table.

Slap!

Slap!

Renault, who had followed behind, slapped the back of MDR and C96's heads, "What are you guys fooling around for? Didn't I tell you to tell AR15 how to control her strength? What are you doing here messing around?"

"Control... you all know how to control it!?" Hearing Renault's words, AR15 couldn't believe it.

What was the point of her being so cautious just now!?

There's a method, but they didn't tell her! Just to take an embarrassing photo of her...?

What's going on with these Dolls!? Compared to the Dolls of Griffin, they were a bit too unruly!?

"Of course we know. They all came through the same way, and the control method isn't difficult. Just get used to it and control the force you exert. Even if you can't control it for a moment, as long as you adjust the force to the minimum, it's enough for everyday activities." After hearing Renault's words, AR15 stared at C96, who was apologizing to her, feeling speechless.

Sure enough, the Dolls on Renault's side were a bit too casual!

"By the way, Commander, wasn't there a new Sangvis Ferri Doll brought on board? Why haven't we seen it?"

After AR15 left the workshop, UMP45 sent Ouroboros to the workshop, and C96, who came out with AR15, naturally didn't see what Ouroboros looked like. Therefore, she asked curiously.

"Right there, the one being pushed by the Disturber." Following Renault's gesture, C96 and AR15 saw the Sangvis Ferri Doll with a Wanderer chassis on its lower body.

However, this Doll was currently hanging its head, looking utterly dejected.

Facing the gaze of a group of Dolls, it wished it could bury itself in the ground!

"Eh? Could it be? Is it the same as MG3 back then!?"

Cough cough! "What do you mean by the same mold! When I replaced this thing back then, I looked very handsome!" Upon hearing C96's words, MG3 nearby immediately protested indignantly.

The group of Dolls began to chatter noisily. Amidst the clamor, after dinner, the ship was approaching the evacuation point provided by Angelia.

If everything went well, Angelia would probably come over to pick them up in a helicopter, and the ship would need to lower its altitude a bit.

Fortunately, this area was quite remote, so there shouldn't be any ordinary civilians seeing Renault's massive ship.






Chapter 59: Only Griffin Doesn't Know

"What kind of bizarre world is this? Am I still asleep? Or did someone smash my head and stuff me into some strange space?" Looking at the vast upper deck of the ship, Angelia glanced nervously at the edge of the deck.

The ship was now securely parked in the sky at an altitude of over a thousand meters. The crosswinds blowing from both sides made Angelia worry that their helicopter might be blown off the deck directly.

"Um... Angelia... can we also go in?" Del, sitting in the helicopter cockpit, asked Angelia with a slightly bluish face. Seele in the cabin didn't feel there was any problem, as she hadn't had a chance to see what the situation outside was like.

"Uh, let's go in together." Angelia sighed helplessly as she looked at M1911 waiting for them by the cabin door.

After entering the ship's cabin, the solid metal passageway and steel bulkheads immediately gave the three of them a sense of security.
As they breathed a sigh of relief, they also began to assess the condition inside the ship.

The work done by Scarecrow leading the Sangvis Ferri Dolls was very well done. There were hardly any welding marks that looked out of place in the entire passage, mainly because those areas were covered by other materials.

Combined with the bright lights in the passage and the clear signs, if they didn't know they had come by helicopter, they would probably think they were in some kind of base.

"AK12 and AN94 should be resting in the lounge now, and the Commander is waiting for you over there." Leading the three to the door of the upper lounge, M1911 opened the door for them and then left. She still had some unfinished business to take care of.

"Wow, what a luxurious lounge! I can't imagine you, Renault, spending so much money on decoration." As soon as they stepped into the lounge, Angelia exclaimed in surprise.
The decor of the lounge didn't look like something Renault would have designed himself.

"Not a penny spent." Renault looked at Angelia and the two behind her calmly as he stated the fact.

All the materials were moved from the abandoned hotel in the southern part of the former factory area.

Plus a few homemade components, the decoration inside the ship could be said to have cost nothing at all.

"Um... okay." Hearing Renault's words, Angelia was speechless, then looked at AK12 and AN94, "How are you two doing?"

"Pretty good, UMP45 and the others came—just in time." AK12 walked towards Angelia, dragging her tone as she emphasized the word 'time'.

Just in time, it was simply too timely... They were already right above them, and it would only take a few minutes to come down...

"Well, since you have time to joke around with me here, it seems there's no major problem. Let's go, let's head back." Seeing that AK12 and AN94 had only minor damage on their outerwear, Angelia also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mm-hmm." Seeing Angelia about to leave, Renault cleared his throat and gestured with his phone towards Angelia.

Rolling her eyes at Renault's antics, Angelia transferred the agreed-upon reward to Renault's account.

What a money-grubber! Couldn't he wait for just a day or two for this small amount of money?

Of course, this was just talk. It seemed that ever since Renault entered this somewhat irregular line of work, there was no one who dared to owe him money anymore.

"Angelia, at this rate, we might not even have enough fuel for the helicopter."

"Um, it's not that bad, is it?"

"It is, and AK12 and AN94 still need maintenance after they return, which also requires..." Listening to Seele's enumeration of various expenses after this mission, Angelia suddenly felt a headache coming on.

This was probably the downside of operating separately from Statesec...

"Oh, by the way, Angelia, there's something else. It seems that Renault has picked up quite a few Sangvis Ferri Dolls." During the meal earlier, AK12 naturally hadn't been idle.

While the other Dolls were eating and making noise, she roughly counted the number of Dolls in Renault's house.

Of course, the Sangvis Ferri elite Dolls were the focus, as Sangvis Ferri Dolls were still assessed as extremely dangerous in Statesec's database.

Military-grade bodies, coupled with no scruples about attacking humans, if it weren't for the military dumping Sangvis Ferri's affairs onto G&K, no organization would allow Sangvis Ferri Manufacturing to continue to exist.

"We've known about this for a while... that guy, tsk! Forget it, don't worry about that guy causing trouble. In the end, it's not us who will be in trouble." Angelia didn't believe that Renault would do something that went against common sense and would cause a major security incident.

If he wanted to do those things, there was no need to rely on Dolls and the power of Sangvis Ferri.

Look at his ship. Sangvis Ferri Manufacturing didn't have the technology to make a huge ship like that fly directly into the sky.

Even the one from Svarog Heavy Industries didn't have this technology. Svarog Heavy Industries had been working on safe flying technology without satellite support since the end of the war, and the results had just come out recently.

But most of the aircraft used were not fundamentally different from the pre-war ones.
Although there were some advanced models and aircraft like Renault's ship that seemed to have flown out of a sci-fi movie...

It's impossible, it doesn't exist. If it did, Svarog Heavy Industries would have dominated the world long ago.


...


"No, haven't we already found out where AR15 is now? Why do we still need to search for AR15's traces?" Looking at the mission briefing submitted to her mental space, SOP2 asked somewhat puzzled.

"Well, anyway, this is the task, but as for AR15's whereabouts, it's better for us few to know. Remember to store this information internally in your bottom level neural cloud. That way, Griffin's technicians won't have permission to access it." M16 reminded SOP2 and M4A1 quietly wSeelee there were no others around.

"But... this..."

"Alright, this is also Commander Gentiane's instruction. The fewer people who know about AR15's whereabouts, the better." Although many people already knew...

The Sangvis Ferri side must have already received the news, and AR15's movements and information were probably still under Sangvis Ferri's control. And on Persica's side, M4A1 had already contacted them before.

The only one kept in the dark was probably Griffin, the real victim.






Chapter 60: Slacking Off, Do You Even Need to Ask?

"Tsk!" Ouroboros clicked her tongue in annoyance, eyeing the oversized fluffy skirt beneath her.
But what irked her even more was Scarecrow not far away, directing the Rippers to move materials.

"I say, why are you guys working for that guy?" Whether it was Scarecrow toiling away in front of her or Executioner and Hunter lending a hand at the vertical farm and breeding facility, these three, who found work for themselves, were really getting on her nerves.

"Why? There's no why; I just feel like doing it." Upon hearing Ouroboros's question, Scarecrow replied without even turning its head.

"Tsk! I wasn't created to do these menial tasks!" Ouroboros was created for combat, how... how could she be here, like a construction worker, directing the Rippers to do such things!?

"Oh, then go find your high-level work; don't stand here getting in the way. Be careful not to get your skirt caught in the wheels again, and don't expect the Rippers to help you then." Scarecrow didn't bother with the twisted individual before it; arguing with her was a waste of time when she could be completing her tasks.

"You!?" Hearing Scarecrow's words, Ouroboros glared hatefully at its back, then carefully lifted the fluffy skirt she was wearing.

This thing, P90 forced her to wear it. She didn't know if it was out of malice or something else, but wearing this thing could at least cover up her ugly four-legged Prowler chassis.

Although she wanted to tear it off, the thought of seeing her own image in the mirror made Ouroboros grit her teeth and bear it.

Seeing the still busy Scarecrowsl, Ouroboros thought about leaving, but the idea of going to other compartments and being stared at like a rare animal by those dollss stopped her from running away.

The Rippers and Vespids had all put down their weapons by now, either moving things or using various tools to work.

Not far away were the two Jupiter Cannons recently acquired from Sangvis Ferri.

Ouroboros knew about the Jupiter Cannon, but she had never seen one in person. She didn't expect to see it for the first time on Renault's ship.

The Jupiter Cannon was highly valued by Agent.
It was one of the few powerful weapons in Sangvis Ferri's arsenal.

Yet Renault managed to snatch it directly, and they hadn't been retaliated against by Agent...

Even if they wanted revenge, they probably wouldn't get the chance. They seemed to have already left Sangvis Ferri's occupied area, and their current location should be somewhere near the Aegean Sea.

Without the necessary clearance, Ouroboros couldn't access the ship's current position.

Asking other Dolls was mostly fruitless, as those who knew were unwilling to tell her...

After all, she wasn't really part of Renault's side yet.

Feeling Ouroboros's resentful and unwilling gaze, Scarecrow sighed helplessly. "Don't just stand there. If you want Renault to replace your chassis sooner, you have to at least show some usefulness."

Although Renault never rushed any humanoid to do something, Scarecrow didn't think they could just idly wait under Renault's command like worthless bugs.

Look at that Intruder, isn't she already helping out in the kitchen? Although there's suspicion of wanting some snacks, at least she's pitching in, right?

The only one at home with no work to do is probably Ouroboros, the one with the defective chassis.

"Usefulness?" Hearing this, Ouroboros began to recall what abilities she still had that could be of use. But thinking left and right, it seemed that besides combat, she had no other...

During the mental simulations, she had been constantly fighting between various Sangvis Ferri mentalities, killing until only she was left...

Seeing Ouroboros lost in thought, Scarecrow shook its head helplessly. There was no point in saying anything else; if she didn't want to understand, then no amount of talking would help.

But Renault's failure to directly replace Ouroboros's chassis did surprise Scarecrow a bit. She wasn't sure if Renault had seen through Ouroboros's background or had noticed her extremely unstable mental state.

After standing there in a daze for who knows how long, Ouroboros didn't even notice where she had wandered off to. Subconsciously, she had moved away from places with many humanoids.

She didn't want to hear the laughter of Executioner while they drank, or the calm chatter of Hunter and MG3, nor did she want to smell those tantalizing baking aromas...

"Oh, if it isn't Ouroboros! Haven't seen you for a few hours, why the long face?" Just as Ouroboros's mind, which had just had its root protocol restrictions lifted by Renault, was in chaos, a teasing voice suddenly sounded from a corner of the cabin.

Hearing the voice, Ouroboros looked up at the T-Doll from where the sound came... If she remembered correctly, this T-Doll, it should be called RFB, right?

This seemed to be a lounge. There were several very comfortable-looking sofas in the room, and RFB was currently curled up on one of them, holding a game console, with charging cables connected to its body.

"What are you doing here?" Seeing this T-Doll curled up on the sofa, motionless except for its fingers, Ouroboros looked at this 'unusual' doll strangely.

Most of the other dolls were working, so why was this one curled up here?

"Ah? I'm playing games, slacking off, can't you tell?"






Chapter 61: Plans Changed, Where to Go?

This guy? Clearly just slacking off!? How can he say it so confidently!?

The Serpent, choked by RFB's words, never expected RFB to be so shameless. While everyone else is working, you're here playing without a care?

"Wanna play?" RFB shook the handheld console in his hand, asking the Serpent.

Facing RFB's invitation, the Serpent's mind went blank, and he absentmindedly took the console from RFB's hand.

...

"So what are we going to do now? Just wander around in the sky every day?" Looking at Reno, who had been sitting in the workshop without moving, AR15 asked impatiently.

She didn't know what the situation was on M4A1's side. It's been several days now. Griffin might have resumed its offensive against Sangvis Ferri. Although Reno had managed to control the Umbrella Virus on her, and she could now actively access various functions of the Ouroboros System, the situation was still concerning.

"But Griffin's side..." Hearing Reno's words, which had nothing to do with Griffin, AR15 looked at Reno anxiously.

Seeing AR15's worried expression, Reno shrugged. "Do you want to go help M4A1 and the others? If you hadn't chosen to come to me originally and had left on your own, maybe it would have been possible to go back and help. But now, it's unlikely. It's a matter between Griffin and Sangvis Ferri, and I can't easily intervene."

"This?! How did the threat from Sangvis Ferri become a matter between Griffin and Sangvis Ferri! Those Sangvis Ferri have clearly threatened the survival of humans in those areas..." Midway through her words, AR15 suddenly realized that the reasons for Sangvis Ferri threatening human survival environments seemed somewhat untenable.

In the areas now under Griffin's defense, apart from some human employees within Griffin, there were hardly any living creatures left. Whether or not Sangvis Ferri caused the evacuation of humans from those areas, Griffin's territories had become deserted zones.

Although some factories under Griffin's protection could still operate normally, the maintenance personnel were all human-like figures from various companies.

"But Sangvis Ferri's target is M4A1! That girl is still wandering around the combat zone! What if Sangvis Ferri's mainframe captures her?" AR15's squad, created by Persica, was an advanced combat unit. The next generation of tactical dolls might depend on AR's squad. Therefore, in order to have mature third-generation tactical dolls in the future, Crocker wouldn't easily hand over M4A1.

Moreover, how could Crocker directly hand over his tactical dolls to Sangvis Ferri, Griffin's enemy?

If Crocker knew that the mainframe's goal was M4A1, he might even send the AR squad back to the rear to avoid any mistakes.

The combat capabilities of the AR squad indeed surpassed those of other tactical dolls, but they hadn't reached the point where they needed the support of three to five new tactical dolls to sustain the situation.

With Griffin's current size and power, the number of tactical commanders within Griffin was not small. Coupled with the tactical dolls under these commanders, it was definitely a force not to be underestimated.

That's why the military had been observing from the sidelines.

They wanted to see Griffin and Sangvis Ferri fight each other relentlessly, thus consuming more of Griffin's forces. As long as enough was expended, it would be difficult for Griffin to recover quickly. At that time, not only could Griffin remove the thorn in its side, but it could also crush Sangvis Ferri, which had previously been jubilant.

Lost in thought, Reno was distracted. Hearing Reno's words, AR15 felt slightly relieved, but she still wanted to know the current situation of M4A1 and the others.

"Here, take this. It's Commander Chianti's phone number. If you want to know anything, call her yourself." Taking out a mobile phone from the drawer, Reno tore off a piece of paper from the notebook and wrote down Chianti's number, handing it to AR15.

There was nothing more he could do. Neither Sangvis Ferri nor Griffin had entrusted him with anything. If he rashly intervened, he might attract the attention of the military, who had been stationed in Griffin's northern regions.

Of course, if Helian sent him a commission with money, that would be another matter.

But unfortunately, that didn't happen.

"Didn't you used to be quite resistant to Griffin's orders? Why are you now worried about M4A1?" While transferring the core and deleting the underlying protocols for AR15, Reno inevitably saw some of AR15's thoughts.

Initially, Reno thought that after leaving Griffin, AR15 would become carefree, like an executioner or hunter, not saying a word and having nothing to do with battles all day long.

Although the executioner was a thorough battle maniac before leaving Sangvis Ferri, after deleting some of the underlying protocols, the executioner's enthusiasm for battle was obviously not as high as before. Instead, alcohol became more attractive to him.

"Me!?" Caught off guard by Reno's sudden question, AR15 blushed, didn't answer, carefully picked up the phone and note, and fled from Reno's workshop as if escaping.

"Hey hey? Commander, we've already left the Mediterranean area. Where exactly are we going to replenish supplies?" UMP45's voice sounded through the communication system in the workshop.

Originally, the plan seemed to be to stay in the Mediterranean for a few days, where the weather and scenery were still good, waiting for Reno to install the Jupiter Cannon on the spaceship. However, the arrival of the Serpent directly disrupted Reno's original plan.









Chapter 62: The Guide

"So... can this place really get us what we want? It looks..." Coming down from the ship, Nagant Revolver shielded her eyes from the glaring sunlight and looked somewhat helplessly at the small village, consisting only of some adobe houses and thatched cottages.

"It looks like a village with nothing, right?"

Crack!

A strange voice suddenly sounded beside Nagant Revolver and the others!

Nagant Revolver, who came down first, and P38, who followed closely behind, instantly drew their weapons from their bodies, the muzzles of their guns pointing unwaveringly at the guy who spoke!

"Whoa! Hey hey! Calm down! Calm down! I was just joking! No need to pull out guns directly, right!?" Seeing the guns pointed at his forehead, and AR15 and HK416, who also held weapons, the young man who had just spoken raised his hands in surrender.

"Commander, there's no life response on him, and no identification signal of any dolls. He looks very strange!" P38 frowned tightly. When they disembarked, she had already checked the surroundings of the spaceship with her life detection device.

She didn't find any living creatures or any signs of dolls or autonomous units.

Who would have thought that as soon as they stepped on this land, this strange man would suddenly appear, and they hadn't even noticed where this guy was before!

Commander?

Hearing P38 calling him Reno, the man wearing a dusty gray cloak turned his eyes, starting to appraise the tall figure in front of him, whom these dolls called the commander.

"Another mercenary looking for a meal?" Seeing the weapons and equipment on these dolls and the heavy coat that Reno could tell carried a lot of stuff, the man directly classified Reno and these dolls as ordinary mercenaries.

After all, this was the largest black market stronghold in the nearby area, and it was not just a reputation. Although there were only a few shabby adobe houses on the surface, what era was it now? Who wouldn't know how to disguise?

Moreover, this was a black market stronghold. How could it be so blatantly exposed on the surface? The real black market stronghold was naturally underground!

The space underground in this black market stronghold was at least two to three times larger than the underground base dug by Griffin with the help of the rift. Without a guide, they might really get lost down there.

When they foolishly wandered down there, whether they could find their way out was one thing, and whether they would be targeted by others for their foolish behavior was another.

"Alright, guide us, and help us find these things." Looking up at the guy pulling up his cloak, revealing a badge that looked similar, Reno nodded. As long as this guy didn't come to deceive, it would be fine.

After all, it would ultimately cost money. How much was a question... He wasn't good at bargaining anyway. Having someone to help guide them and find the various materials he wanted, whether it was reliable or not could be discussed later. At least it would save Reno a lot of time.

AR15, in a hurry, urged to come over. If it weren't for needing to buy some other things this time, AR15 might have gone straight to the destination and been directly ripped off.

Anyway, it wasn't her own money, so why would she care?

Of course, Reno would definitely not let this situation happen. Moreover, in this black market stronghold, such a chaotic place where mercenaries or fugitives abounded, how many of them were unknown. And these guys were much more difficult to deal with than those single-minded Sangvis Ferri dolls.

Plus, seeing the set of equipment on Drake that could shield life detection devices, there might be other strange gadgets.

In such a chaotic situation, if one weren't careful, they might capsize in the gutter, which would be a big embarrassment!

Taking the inventory list from Reno's hand, Drake looked at it and frowned slightly.

The metal materials were easy to talk about, although there were some rare metal minerals among them, but such things, as long as there were enough, were not uncommon. As long as they were willing to spend money, they could always buy enough materials.

But those materials used to manufacture doll AI cores... What did this guy want to do? Doll AI cores, one could just buy directly from major companies, whether it was IOP or other military and civilian tactical doll manufacturers like Global Risk, they all sold AI cores.

After all, this thing was considered an accessory for dolls, and it was not difficult to buy. But the materials for manufacturing doll AI cores... Drake didn't know what they were.

But it didn't matter. As long as he asked someone, he would know. Generally, such materials, when bought by individuals, were useless, so this thing in the black market should also be considered rare materials.

"Any problem?"

"No! No problem! Leave it to me! I'm Drake, the most knowledgeable guide in this stronghold!"






Chapter 63: Lined Up Welcome

"Don't be absent-minded; now is not the time for you to worry about others." Looking at the dim and damp passage, with even a hint of decay wafting from within, HK416 said to AR15 beside her.

Hearing this, AR15 lifted her head, intending to say something, but upon seeing the filthy road beneath her feet, she also became wary.

Wasn't this supposed to be the largest black market stronghold nearby? Why did it seem like a tomb from some ancient era, filled with the stench of decay?

"Tsk, isn't this place a bit too dirty? Hey! You there! Is this road really the way to the black market? You're not trying to deceive us, are you?" Nagant Revolver frowned unhappily at Drake, who was walking ahead, her hand already on her holster.

This guide named Drake not only appeared in a strange location, but the expensive-looking biological replacement parts on him also seemed suspicious.
Now, he lead them down such a dark, dirty path made people feel uneasy.

Although P38 wanted to say that perhaps black markets were like this, when she thought of the manager of the black market she had met before, Victor, who was also the manager of a black market stronghold, the place there was not so dirty and messy. Although it was also in a less populated area, it at least looked relatively clean.

Unlike here, if she hadn't smelled any stench, she might have thought many people had died on this road.

"Cough, well, don't be impatient. Although this road doesn't lead directly to the main entrance of the black market, taking this route will avoid encountering those who want to take advantage of others. I'm just being cautious." Drake scratched his head helplessly, not expecting his guests this time to have such high demands.

"Let's hope so." Hearing Drake's words, Nagant Revolver frowned and glared at him, but her hand remained on the holster, not letting go.

After following Drake into this passage, they had walked for almost fifteen minutes, and with Drake's modifications, their walking speed was much faster than normal.

In fifteen minutes, they had traveled over four kilometers. Although the passage looked dilapidated, the dim emergency lights along the way had never gone out, and the pipelines in the passage were also quite old.

This place might have been established before the Third War, and with so many years since then, its scale might now rival that of a city.

Such a huge black market stronghold was probably a mixed bag, with all sorts of people inside. Otherwise, why would Drake lead them onto such a small path?

Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that Drake might want to lead them into a trap, but...

Nagant Revolver and P38 glanced at Renault, who was walking silently ahead, feeling slightly relieved.

Of course, they couldn't let their guard down. Just when they landed, there was already one Drake who popped out.

If there were others like him, who had devices to shield life detection, wouldn't they be knocked out?

Of course, whether it was them or their thick skulls, that was a question for later. The key was, being approached without noticing was somewhat unacceptable to them.

As tactical dolls, their previous tasks were to fight Sangvis Ferri and also undertake some security tasks. But facing people like this, whose minds were all about fighting, their experience was somewhat lacking.

Whether dealing with ELID Infected or Sangvis, as long as the right methods were used, those enemies weren't too difficult for armed tactical dolls.
But living humans in the black market were different. They couldn't guess how those people would deal with them.

Although they were confident they could handle any enemies that suddenly appeared, that confidence was not as firm after entering this passage.

Now they had stepped into someone else's territory. If they really had to face swarms of enemies, relying solely on the four of them... it seemed a bit insufficient...

HK416, walking at the back, was calm, but equally vigilant.

Since escaping from Griffin, the period of fugitive life she had experienced had shown her.
The real danger was not being unable to find a power source to recharge oneself, nor those Infected rushing out from polluted areas, but rather the scheming humans.

Perhaps sensing the vigilance of the other three at this moment, AR15 also carefully examined the terrain map she had already constructed. According to the mapped terrain, they were now fifty meters underground and at least three kilometers from the coastline.

The passage ahead had turned from a dilapidated concrete passage into a cave, with a slightly larger space, but the lighting equipment was insufficient. Moreover, the cave was uneven, adding many places where people could hide.

Drake, who was walking in front of Renault, was also tense... Well, he couldn't say that, after all, this guy seemed to have no good flesh on his body except for his head, and what really tensed up was the scalp on the back of his head.

Sensing Drake's change, Nagant Revolver and P38 immediately focused their gaze on him, the imprinted weapons they had just taken out of their holsters now pointing at the back of Drake's head.

Upon hearing the sound of guns being drawn behind him, Drake couldn't help but become even more nervous.

These guys... always so quick to pull out their guns... Did they really need to be so wary?

They shouldn't mistake the guards of the black market for enemies and knock them out...

Of course, what he was more worried about was whether someone was ambushing him from ahead. Although he didn't have too many enemies in this stronghold, people died for money and birds died for food.

Perhaps some bold guy wanted to make a profit off him.

If only he himself were ambushed, it would be fine, but the key was not to get those tough guys behind him involved. He just wanted to make some money and didn't want to get himself directly involved...

As Drake was thinking, Renault, who was behind him, suddenly stopped. "It seems that someone is lining up to welcome you ahead."

Swish!

Upon hearing this, Nagant Revolver and P38 immediately raised their hands, pointing their etched weapons at the back of Drake's head. AR15 and HK416 behind them also raised their guns, vigilantly staring into the dark cave ahead.




Chapter 64: Ambush

Waving his hand towards Nagant Revolver and P38, Renault squinted his eyes, observing the figures hidden in the darkness.

Those individuals were targeting Drake standing in front, not heading towards them. However, if a fight broke out, these individuals might try to seize an opportunity to gain some extra benefits.

For now, let Drake deal with the trouble he caused himself.

"Sorry, Mr. Renault, it seems to be some old enemies. I'll resolve..."

Bang!

As Drake was speaking, a gunshot erupted from the darkness of the cave! A bullet flew directly towards Drake!

Although the shooter's gun was equipped with a suppressor, the distance was only twenty or thirty meters.

In that instant, the muzzle flash was enough for Nagant Revolver, P38, and the others to see who was firing.

It was a man wearing a helmet and night vision goggles, with a scruffy beard covering his face. His shot was precise, leaving Drake no time to react.

Bang!

After a muffled sound, Drake, hit in the chest, didn't fall. Instead, he turned his head and looked into the darkness.

After he turned his head, a buzzing sound suddenly emanated from Drake.

"Electromagnetic interference?" Hearing the sound, HK416 frowned. The holographic sight on her gun stopped working. The most likely cause for this situation was electromagnetic interference.

Without waiting for another attack from the enemy, Drake had already darted out of sight! Following his movement were rapid gunshots, but none of the bullets aimed at Drake hit their mark. Instead, they landed where Drake had been standing.

Renault's position happened to avoid the trajectory of those bullets.

Clang!

A grating sound of metal collision rang out. Drake, who had just charged out, now had a forearm blade on his arm, which sliced through one of the ambushers' rifles.

In his other hand, Drake pulled out a pistol from his waist and fired back, taking down two attackers attempting to ambush him from behind.

Watching the fight ahead, Nagant Revolver raised an eyebrow. "This guy's modifications are thorough. His combat ability is almost on par with Sangvis Ferri's elite T-Dolls, isn't it?"

"Probably. His speed is no slower than Hunter's, anyway. Of course, before Renault modified Hunter." AR15 watched Drake, who had just taken down three enemies while evading, with a serious expression.

Not only in combat, but his defense is definitely superior to Hunter's. At least Hunter wouldn't have acted as nonchalantly after taking a rifle shot.

Drake's modifications might even make him slightly stronger than Sangvis Ferri's elite T-Dolls in terms of combat ability, especially in close quarters combat, given the seemingly formidable forearm blade.

However, their speed is still enough to keep up with him for now.

What they couldn't be sure of was whether that forearm blade would be severed upon contact with their specially designed frames like other weapons.

Renault watched the fight ahead expressionlessly.

Drake was only dealing with a portion of the ambushers. There were still several individuals hiding deeper, observing the fight intently.

Since these ambushers were targeting Drake, they must have some knowledge of him. The fact that they could hide safely in the distance without Drake noticing was evidence enough.

Drake heavily relied on his devices for tracking enemies, and once those devices were suddenly ineffective, his situation would become dire.

The current situation was that these individuals hiding deeper seemed to have blocked Drake's detection methods using some unknown means.

Nagant Revolver and the others were also somewhat affected, completely unaware of those hidden individuals deeper in.

An electronic device jamming device? Renault shrugged his shoulders at the oblivious Drake and the others beside him.

Although humanoid dolls had various detection devices, they were ultimately electronic devices, and someone would always come up with corresponding countermeasures.

Today, they just happened to encounter it.

As for whether Drake could deal with these enemies, Renault really didn't know.

After all, before seeing the results, anything outrageous could happen.

However, Drake clearly couldn't last too long. Just dealing with the dozen or so people in front of him was already draining enough. If the four or five people behind had weapons tailored to take down Drake, he would be in trouble.

As for whether to lend a hand... Definitely not. He paid someone to lead the way, not to get himself into trouble.

Moreover, finding a guide was just to make things more convenient for himself, not an irreplaceable job.
Without Drake, there might be other guides. There were plenty of guides everywhere.

He wasn't worried about not finding his way out of the black market stronghold later. It was just a matter of spending a little more money, nothing serious.

Just as Drake swung the forearm blade on his arm to cut down the last enemy he sensed, a series of muffled sounds erupted from the deeper darkness.

"Crossbows?" Renault, hearing the sound, was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected those individuals to use such ancient weapons to attack Drake.

It's already 2060s, why are lot still using antique gear?

Thunk!

However, what surprised Renault was that most of these attacks were aimed at Drake, but one crossbow bolt flew straight towards his forehead!

What's the meaning of this? Did his brain overheat because there wasn't a hole in his head?

Raising his hand to catch the crossbow bolt, Renault frowned at the individuals deeper in the cave.

These people seemed to be dissatisfied with Drake, who appeared to have little to offer. Instead, they saw him, a newcomer, as an easy target.

Their thought process was indeed faulty. It seemed they needed him to help them straighten it out.





Chapter 65: How Could Everything Go According to Plan?

Snap!

The crossbow bolt flying towards Renault's face was directly caught by Renault's hand.

However, the arrowhead of this bolt didn't seem ordinary. Even though it was firmly held in Renault's palm, it kept flashing...

"Commander! Be careful!?" Seeing the flashing arrowhead, AR15 exclaimed.

Boom!

Before AR15 could say anything else, the arrowhead exploded!

AR15 was immediately shocked!

The arrowhead was held by Renault right in front of his forehead!

Even though the explosion wasn't too powerful, at such close range, it should have easily penetrated his skull...

At the same time the crossbow bolt exploded, Drake, who had just dodged a few attacks, anxiously turned back to check Renault's situation.

Renault was his employer. The humanoid figures didn't matter, but Renault, a living person, absolutely couldn't be harmed! If Renault died, not only would Drake not get paid for this job, but his reputation would also be tarnished!

However, when he turned around, he vaguely saw a blue barrier amidst the smoke... A force field!?

A force field was definitely military-grade equipment! Only a few companies produced them now, and even the military was only conducting small-scale trials.

Drake couldn't believe that this person actually had such equipment... Wait a minute?

Activating a force field required a large amount of energy. Drake had just checked, and although this person was wearing a coat and had plenty of weapons underneath, Drake was certain that his client didn't have the energy source to support the force field operation!

But it was also possible that he was mistaken... But if he was mistaken... how could Renault still be unharmed now!?

AR15 was also staring in astonishment at Renault, who was standing there without a scratch, even though the arrowhead had exploded right in front of his forehead!

How could this guy seem completely fine!?

HK416 and Nagant Revolver beside them seemed unfazed by this situation...

But now wasn't the time to think about this! AR15 raised her gun directly, targeting the several individuals entangled in combat with Drake ahead!

HK416 and Nagant Revolver, along with P38, were a step ahead of her in opening fire!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Just because Renault said to let Drake handle these ambushers themselves, didn't mean they had to hold back now that these individuals were attacking Renault directly. They naturally didn't need to hold back, even if they were using decades or even centuries-old antique firearms.

But a gun was a gun. Pull the trigger, fire the bullet, and as long as the opponent wasn't wearing body armor, it could definitely take their life, especially since all the Dolls were aiming for vital areas.

After a moment of gunfire, Drake, who hadn't had a chance to retreat, broke out in a cold sweat.

This employer... and these T-Dolls were really not to be trifled with. In just a few breaths, these individuals were all lying on the ground.
A quick assessment revealed that none of them were still alive...

Most importantly, Renault hadn't said a word during the whole ordeal. The actions were all decided by those tactical dos themselves...

What did this mean?

It means they are Illegal Dolls! And the kind that didn't hesitate to use deadly force!

Wow... They looked like a bunch of innocent girls, but each one of them was ruthless...

"Commander? You..." After the gunfire subsided, AR15 also stepped forward, taking a closer look at Renault's condition.
She found that there weren't even any wounds on his body, not to mention broken skin.

There were indeed many scratches on his coat, but AR15 could confirm that those scratches and holes were all pre-existing.

"Alright, let's continue on. We've been here long enough." Waving her hand at AR15, there was something to discuss, but it could wait until they got back. This wasn't the place to talk.

Not only did the ambushers they just took down have listening devices on them, but there were also many surveillance devices in this cave.

It seemed that the managers of the black market stronghold hadn't relaxed their surveillance despite this being a low-profile route.

As for why Drake said there wouldn't be any trouble leaving from here? Probably because no one had come here to cause trouble for him before.

Small space, dim lighting, wasn't it the perfect battlefield for Drake, the modified individual?

And this time... who knows what the reason was... Anyway, it had nothing to do with them.



...



"Stay safe, remember to remind the other humanoids." Gentiane used her communicator to instruct M4A1.

"Understood."

This mission was mainly to eliminate the living forces of Sangvis Ferri. There was no need to continue searching for AR15's whereabouts. They couldn't let other T-Dollz lose their lives for an impossible task.

Since the attack on Griffin's base, G&K had begun to pursue and intercept Sangvis Ferri. However, Sangvis Ferri seemed to have lost their previous strength.

After being pursued by Griffin's squad for so long, they had been constantly retreating. Now, Griffin's main forces had all gathered in S08 area.

The areas lost in S09 had been reclaimed by Griffin, and the current target was naturally the S08 area.

"It seems that everything is progressing smoothly. It shouldn't take long before Sangvis Ferri is completely driven out of Griffin's jurisdiction, right?" Looking at the information feedback on the command system, Gentiane also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, it should be almost done. It seems that Sangvis Ferri doesn't have much strength left now." The commander of the S08 area also said so. After picking up his coffee cup and taking a sip, he let out a long breath.

After such a long battle, was it finally coming to an end? Although not all of Sangvis Ferri in Griffin's jurisdiction had been eliminated, at least her area would soon welcome complete peace...

"Commander, it seems that we can't contact the fourth squad?"

"What? Are you kidding me? Weren't they just in contact with us..." Just as the commander of the S08 area said this incredulously, on the central command screen, one Doll squad after another lost signal!

"What's going on!? What happened to the first squad!? Second squad! Report if anything happened!"

Hearing the shout from the commander of the S08 area, Gentiane also jumped up from her chair, standing in front of the screen, staring wide-eyed, trying to contact her own squads.






Chapter 66: Don't Make a Big Scene...

"Twenty thousand to enter the city?"
Renault stated questioned, standing at the end of the passage and observed the man before him who was demanding money with outstretched hands.

Drake had already crossed the threshold, but upon hearing this, he turned back, his demeanor suddenly tense as he met Renault's inquisitive gaze.

"Is this the local rule, or is it your own demand?" Renault's gaze shifted to the man reaching out to him, noticing Drake's confusion.

"It's none of your business! Pay up or get out!" The man retorted sharply, his eyes darting towards the figures behind Renault.

The five guards by the gate seemed to share his sentiment, their hands unconsciously tightening around their weapons as he ranted.

"Wait! This is completely against protocol..."

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Even Drake, who was advancing ahead, realized that these people were causing trouble for him and his employer!

He had never heard of any black market stronghold charging an entry fee!

Having lived here for so many years, he was unaware of such a ludicrous rule! It was outright robbery!

Though infuriated, Drake didn't want to directly confront these men. After all, they were just gatekeepers, ultimately under the control of the stronghold's managers.

Engaging in a conflict with them could jeopardize his future here...

Unfortunately, Drake's mind wasn't as quick as Renault's trigger finger.

After six gunshots, both those reaching out to Renault and those holding guns behind the door had an additional bleeding eye on their foreheads.

"Mistake..." Drake, witnessing the scene, attempted to utter the last word, but those men couldn't hear him anymore.

Thump!

After several falling sounds, all the guards lay on the ground. Drake stared at Renault in disbelief as he handed the revolver back to Nagant Revolver beside him.

"Well, the commander's quick draw is quite impressive." Nagant Revolver remarked, marveling at Renault's skill as she spoke, deftly reloading her revolver with fresh bullets.

Observing the fallen guards, Drake's expression darkened.

Wasn't his employer a bit too aggressive?
He had just knocked out the guards without a word. Was he here to shop or cause trouble?

AR15 was also taken aback. She didn't expect Renault to act so decisively.

However, seeing HK416 and P38 maintaining their composure, AR15 also felt uneasy. "Um, does Commander Renault always act so... directly?"

As Drake earnestly tried to calm Renault down, AR15 quietly inquired of HK416 beside her.

"More or less. When he found a few of us, me and G11 at the time, he shot through an entire street and then raided the headquarters of a doll trafficking gang. In total, there were at least hundreds, no, probably several hundred people." HK416 explained as she loaded grenades into her launcher.

Since they had already initiated action, there might be a large-scale battle later, so preparing weapons in advance could give them an advantage.

P38 and Nagant Revolver beside her followed suit.

AR-15's eyes twitched at their actions. No wonder they wore windbreakers. It seemed to serve the same purpose as Renault's coat, which blocked visuals on most of their equipment.

Although AR15 didn't wear a coat, she carried an ammunition pack on her back, with plenty of ammunition in her bag, enough for a high-intensity encounter.

AR15 felt embarrassed looking at her ammunition... It wasn't much. During her time at Griffin, she only had about one set of ammunition.

That set was more than enough to deal with Sangvis Ferri, and occasionally, she could replenish ammunition at a Griffin safe house. In the Griffin squad, logistics supply was handled by specific humanoids.

But she didn't expect today... to encounter this situation...

"Huh? Don't worry, just think of it as a outing." P38 noticed AR15's inner conflict and waved her hand, trying to dispel AR15's useless worries.

Hearing P38's untimely 'comfort', AR15 really didn't know what to say.

How could they consider it just an outing?

Renault had already directly killed six people!

"It's okay. Before the commander took action, I had already disabled the monitoring system here. Those guys won't know it was us." Hearing this, both Drake and AR15 turned abruptly to look at P38, completely surprised that this person was so knowledgeable!

And they didn't even notice before!?

Drake suddenly felt a chill down his spine, while AR15 also suddenly felt useless.

The several ambushers they had just shot, except for one killed by her, the rest were all killed instantly by Nagant Revolver and the others.

Of course, this wasn't a matter of combat ability; it was just that she hesitated for a few milliseconds before acting...

Never having shot at humans before, AR15 inevitably had some mixed thoughts.

And Drake was really impressed this time. These guys, including Renault, not only had amazing combat abilities but also had electronic warfare T-Dolls who could quietly disable the stronghold's monitoring system...

The Doll holding HK416 even brought a grenade launcher, coupled with the dangerous items on Renault, he really couldn't be sure whether these guys were here to cause a scene or not.

They can cause trouble, just don't involve him.

He was just here to take on a commission, earn some hard-earned money, and eat his fill. He never thought about starting a big battle in this mixed black market stronghold!

Of course, Renault definitely didn't come here to pick a fight on purpose; he just came to buy things.

But if someone really rushed over to give Renault money, he would naturally not refuse.

Seeing Renault still striding forward, AR15 subconsciously tightened the imprint weapon in her hand, praying in her heart that things wouldn't get too out of hand...





Chapter 67: Can We Focus on the Task at Hand First?

Perhaps P38's electronic shielding had indeed worked because Drake led Renault and the others into the black market stronghold with a distracted mind, yet they weren't spotted by the guards.

"Wow! No wonder it's called the largest black market nearby! It doesn't even look like a black market; it's more like an underground city!" Nagant Revolver couldn't help but exclaim, gazing at the towering buildings and flashing neon lights of the vast city before them.

Even HK416 and AR15 were wide-eyed in astonishment.

They had seen big cities before, but a city like this, directly built underground yet still brightly lit, resembled a bustling metropolis in the night! It was the first time for them!

This was a black market? Are they kidding?

However, P38 remained unfazed, seemingly familiar with the scenery.

"P38?"

"MDR had investigated here before and sent a lot of video data, so I had already seen it. Seeing it again now doesn't feel novel." P38 scratched her head. The videos sent by MDR were all in first-person perspective, similar to what she would see with her own eyes.

"Huh, why didn't you share those videos with us earlier?" Nagant Revolver exclaimed.

"No, experiencing it firsthand is more impactful. Now I regret watching the videos in advance," P38 said.

Listening to the chatter behind him, Drake wiped his sweat and glanced in the direction, then took out his phone to plan the route based on the materials Renault had mentioned earlier.

The reason for planning the route was to complete Renault's commission in the shortest time possible. Drake had no confidence in staying with these people any longer.

Who knows, he might get shot from above at any moment.

Directly taking out the guards of the black market stronghold was too bold for him.

Although he had considered it before, it was only a last resort when he had no other choice. Unlike Renault and his group, who had just dealt with guards as if they were just a few bandits blocking their path in the wilderness.

Although fundamentally there was no difference, the identity of those guards marked them as different from the wild dogs in the wilderness.

These guys were the subordinates of the black market stronghold's management... Killing them would be like slapping the face of the black market stronghold's management.

Although Drake wanted to run, the gaze Renault fixed on him made him dare not even think about fleeing halfway. He deeply regretted taking the deposit from Renault earlier...

If he hadn't taken out his payment code... If he hadn't appeared in front of these guys...

But it was too late to say anything now. He could only hope that the management of the black market would take longer to discover the condition of those guards.
At least they should wait until after he had sent Renault and his 'greenhorns' away...
Then he could distance himself from them and claim ignorance if anyone asked.

Drake knew the location of the surveillance equipment around the gate they had just passed.
Even if P38 had blacked out those devices, even if they hadn't deleted the footage of Renault's actions, it would only show him entering the gate before Renault.

He didn't say anything when he entered the gate; all the instructions had been given before reaching the gate. So at most, he would be suspected, but it wouldn't provoke retaliation from the black market.

Of course, all of this was on the condition that he could obtain all the items Renault wanted and send Renault, this trigger-happy star, away before anyone from the black market came knocking on their door.

"Metal materials, smelting catalysts, hydrocarbon compounds, food flavorings, expanders, cosmetics, kitchen grease cleaners..."

What!? What's with this list of completely unrelated items!? And there are various parts for dolls and nanomaterials for humanoid repairs...

Drake didn't pay much attention when he received the order earlier. After all, there was nothing that couldn't be found in the black market stronghold, and even if something couldn't be found, a technician could be called upon to manufacture it on the spot.

As the largest black market in the region, Drake had confidence in the variety of goods here.

But the situation was different now; he was running out of time! These scattered items were completely unrelated, and this list could easily cost him his life!

Even if no one was chasing them from behind, it would still take him at least a day or two to find all the items on this list!

"Um... Boss Renault, are all the items on this list for purchase?" Drake couldn't help but stop and ask Renault, feeling nervous.

But as soon as he turned around, Drake realized that Renault and the others who had been following him were gone!?

Where are they!?

Looking around, Drake couldn't find Renault and the others who had been following him.

But... does this mean he can...?

Just as he thought of this, Drake felt a chill down his spine!

It seemed like some ferocious beast was staring at him!

Perhaps because he only had this small patch of skin left on his body, Drake's senses were extremely accurate.

Following the direction of that gaze, he immediately saw Renault standing with his arms crossed...

And those Doll companions who had been following Renault were now standing at a barbecue stall... Are they buying food?

No way! What are you guys doing? Didn't we come here to purchase supplies? The task at hand isn't finished yet! Can't you take it more seriously!?

Although he wanted to scold these idle guys, under Renault's cold gaze, Drake could only smile awkwardly, then stiffly walk over and stand next to them, waiting for these Doll companions to finish their purchase.

Looking at Renault standing with his arms crossed, Drake glanced around, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. He seemed to have sweated more today than he had in a whole year...

And, are these Dolls, are they your subordinates or daughters? Aren't you pampering them a bit too much?





Chapter 68: Where's the Contact Information?

"Hey, hey, hey! What's going on!? Why has AR15's signal completely disappeared from Griffin's sequence!?" Persica angrily shouted at Helian. Persica, who usually remained calm, was genuinely anxious this time.

Not long ago, AR15's signal disappeared completely, not just AR15's signal itself, but also the signal of the Parapluie Virus infected in AR15.

They all vanished without a trace!

For dolls, this kind of situation basically meant that the Tactical Doll was completely destroyed.

If AR15 was one of Griffin's other dolls, it would be fine because the Neural Cloud System had already been put into use. So, as long as the T-Doll uploaded their mental backup to the Neural Cloud System, they could use those memories to reappear under Griffin's command.

But the AR Team manufactured by her 16lab didn't have this capability! If AR15 died, she would truly disappear!

"Calm down, about AR15... Actually..."

"Hey, hey! I sent the AR Team to Griffin to test the third-generation Dolls! Not to let them die!" Persica said, tapping on the table with her empty coffee cup, looking dissatisfied.

Hearing Persica's words, Helian rubbed her temples speechlessly.

Test the third-generation dolls... Didn't you send the AR Team to Sector S09 to find the data left by Lycoris?

"AR15 shouldn't, I mean, she definitely didn't die. So stop yelling at me here. If you really want to find her, I suggest you change your target." Helian, with a headache, looked at Persica, who was still stubbornly yelling, and tapped on her phone.

"Huh? What did you say?" Hearing Helian's words, Persica frowned and happened to see Helian's actions.

That phone?

What's so strange about it... Well, actually, it's very strange. At first glance, the style of that phone doesn't look like today's phones at all. And why would Helian take out her phone and put it on the side during work hours?

Speaking of which... The number of that phone... seems a bit different from a normal mobile number?

Persica naturally knew Helian's mobile number. Before, Helian even used that phone to call her after work. It seemed to be from that guy called Renault, the security contractor...

"Wait! Are you saying...! AR15 went to that guy Renault's place! And then he deleted all the baseline protocols and signal feedback modules on AR15's body!?"

"I don't know about that. If you want to confirm, go ask him yourself. His phone is easy to find; the company's phone is Renault's mobile phone." Helian said while waving her hand, but her eyes caught a sudden emergency communication in the communication system.

"I have other things to attend to. You figure out how to confirm with Renault yourself." With that, Helian cut off the communication directly, frowned, and looked at the sudden emergency communication.

This thing... generally wouldn't be used unless necessary, right?

Could it be that another Griffin's base is under attack again?

Thinking of this, Helian couldn't help but look up at the ceiling above her head with some lingering fear.

Even if they were attacked this time, it couldn't be the same as the last bombing, right? The ceiling had just been repaired not long ago...

"Agent Helian! The forward base in Sector S08 has lost all contact!"

"What!? What's going on!?"


...


Not to mention a certain woman who was confined to her office by heavy work and couldn't leave, on this side, Persica, who had just thrown away her coffee cup, was rummaging through a pile of invitations sent by security contractors, trying to find the one with the name of Renault Security Contracting Firm on it.

Most of these were letters sent by security contractors through regular channels, detailing the contact information of those companies, and some even marked specific addresses.

But if Persica wanted to find Renault's contact information among these junk letters, that could only mean this woman was thinking too much. Renault had never sent such letters to anyone.

The only platform that could be considered as public relations for Renault Security Contracting Firm was probably the dry web page submitted when the company was registered.

Fortunately, Persica wasn't a stubborn person. After tossing around in these junk letters for a while and finding nothing, she changed direction and went online to search for Renault Security Contracting Firm.

She found it with a search. After all, there was only one security contractor with that name.

Seeing the dry name on it and the string of phone numbers below it, Persica even had a feeling of going back more than a hundred years ago, when everyone used business cards to introduce themselves to each other.

Putting aside these unimportant matters, Persica directly dialed Renault's phone number.



...



"This will do. Can you help deliver it to the coast?" Looking at the goods in her hand, Nagant Revolver nodded satisfactorily. The materials G36 asked her to buy before they left seemed to be these.

"Of course, it might be a bit far, but as long as it's near the coastline, there shouldn't be any problem." And they didn't even need to enter the port, avoiding being exploited by those guys in the port.

Watching Nagant Revolver and P38 bargaining with the shopkeeper, Drake knew he couldn't be impatient, but what could he do if he was in a hurry?

Could he just force Renault and the others out of this black market stronghold?

Since half an hour ago, he had vaguely felt that someone was observing him and the others from a distance.

Among them were Doll traffickers who had their eyes on Renault and his Doll companions, as well as scum who wanted to take advantage.

Of course, Drake was also worried about the eyes and ears of the black market manager.

After all, the behavior of Renault and the others after entering the city was quite conspicuous in the eyes of the people in the black market.

In this day and age, daring to wander the streets of this city with dolls was probably the first time in many years for Renault and his Doll companions.

If it were other dolls walking around here, as long as their owners weren't watching, they would probably evaporate in less than five minutes.
Sometimes, even if the owner of the Doll was present, it wouldn't affect those Doll traffickers from secretly taking away the dolls.

Of course, if the owner's appearance looked good, maybe they would take both the person and the Doll together...





Chapter 69: Is It Necessary...

"Although it's second-hand, it's been well maintained..."

Though the price was a bit high, AR15 thought it was worth buying.

But when she realized her purse was empty, she awkwardly put down the scope in her hand.

Not only was her pocket as clean as her face, but even her account was the same...

In fact, she didn't even have an account now. Once her identity with G&K was gone, she became an illegal doll.

"Have you not looked at your phone since you got it? Your new identity and account are on it, and there should be some money stored inside. Buying this little gadget shouldn't be a problem."

Seeing AR15's embarrassment, HK416 reminded her directly.

When she first came to Reno's side, she was the same. Although Reno rarely said anything, he definitely took care of his dolls.

Even when Griffin settled the commission, Reno didn't show such generosity.

After being reminded by HK416, AR15 skeptically took out her phone and quickly saw the amount of money stored in her phone account. Although it was not as much as her savings with Griffin, it wasn't much different.

The money she had saved at Griffin was the reward for several missions, but she hadn't done anything for Reno yet...

Feeling somewhat complicated as she walked out of the store with the box in her arms, AR15 saw Reno sitting on the roadside, smoking and making a phone call.

This guy... as the boss of a security contracting company, couldn't he pay a little attention to his image?

"Wanna see AR15? Okay, she's here. Talk to her yourself." Hearing the persistent voice on the phone, Reno sighed helplessly and waved to AR15, handing her the phone.

With the box in her arms, AR15 took the phone from Reno somewhat puzzled. Before she could bring the phone to her ear, she heard a very familiar voice from the phone.

"AR15!? Is it you!?" Persica shouted loudly, as if afraid AR15 wouldn't hear her.

Hearing Persica's voice, AR15 sighed with some complexity. "Yes, it's me. No need to shout, I can hear you."

AR15 never expected to break away from the AR Team, even from Griffin's sequence. Now, she didn't know what expression to use facing Persicaria, the creator of the AR Team.

"AR15! Are you okay!? Did that guy do anything strange to you!?" Upon hearing AR15's voice, Persica breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately began to dig deeper.

She was worried that AR15 might have been taken advantage of by Reno.

Hearing Persica's anxious tone, AR15 was also taken aback.

She had never seen Persica so anxious before. Feeling slightly moved, she slowed down her pace and said, "I'm fine, nothing happened."

"That's good, but wait, where's the video call function on this phone?"

Hearing Persica's frantic voice, AR15 directly opened the holographic projection function on her phone.

Suddenly, Persica's unkempt appearance appeared in front of AR15.

It's still the same old look, no change at all.

Seeing Persica's disheveled appearance, although AR15 hadn't been separated from Persica for too long, she felt as if she had crossed a millennium. Nevertheless, it was comforting to see Persica here.

"Ah! AR15! Let me see! I don't believe that guy didn't do anything to you! Remember, whether it's Griffin's signal or the Parapluie... Uh, anyway, all the previous doll feedback signals have disappeared. That guy must have done something!"

Halfway through her sentence, Persica also noticed that AR15 was still on the street.

Although she didn't know exactly where she was, some things were not suitable to be said in public.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be good if eavesdroppers heard them.

"Yeah, take a look." AR15 sighed, but her lips curved slightly, indicating she was in a good mood.

As the two interacted through holographic communication, Reno only glanced at it a few times before losing interest.
One reason was that he wasn't interested in such things, and the other was that when AR15 opened the holographic communication, Persica's image seemed to have been recognized by someone.

Isn't she the famous figure who led the development of the second-generation tactical dolls and the weapon imprinting system?
Even in the black market, there were people who could recognize Persica.

Of course, this was also related to Persica's value. After all, she was the leader of 16lab. Anything related to Persica could fetch a good price in the black market.

Dolls were no exception. After all, Persica's 16lab specialized in researching new types of tactical dolls.

"Someone's eyeing AR15." HK416, who was standing next to Reno, whispered.

"Yeah, I see. No need to act for now. They won't dare to make a move on the street." Reno said, casting a glance at the corner of the street and the few people hidden on the rooftop.

These guys weren't here to ambush AR15. They were just looking for prey.

As long as AR15 went to some remote place or somewhere closer to their headquarters, these guys would immediately call their companions or subordinates, capture AR15, a doll who could fetch a high price, and sell her.

Such things were not uncommon in this city. Although the manager of the black market controlled the entire city, they clearly didn't intend to govern it like a model city.

The black market did have its rules, but in this lawless place, chaos could also bring them considerable benefits.

"Really! And they said he's the most knowledgeable guide here! That guy clearly wanted to take advantageof us!"

Just as Reno and HK416 were assessing the ill-intentioned people, Nagant Revolver's complaining voice came from the nearby alley.

With a wallet in her hand, Nagant Revolver, who had taken out the banknotes from inside and tossed the wallet away, and P38, who was carrying a large bag of seasoning, walked out of the alley.

Drake followed behind, feeling somewhat ashamed.

He really hadn't expected this situation to occur, and what surprised him even more was that it was only some seasoning, yet the price was unexpectedly high, even higher than the total cost of his commission this time!

What surprised him even more was that these guys were willing to take risks for some cooking ingredients...

Is it really necessary? Are these seasonings made of gold?





Chapter 70: All Purchased

"You got these through robbery?" Renault raised an eyebrow at P38's haul. Normally, wouldn't they be delivered directly to the coastline?

"How could that be? We've already paid for them! But those scoundrels refused to deliver! Not only that, they even called a bunch of thugs to come and try to rob us!" Nagant Revolver exclaimed indignantly upon hearing Renault's question, as if feeling deeply wronged.
Unfortunately, the wad of cash she was waving around exposed the fact that not only did she not suffer any losses, but she even made a profit from those guys.

"Alright, enough chatter. Did you take care of those people?"

"Take care? What!? " Drake, standing behind Nagant Revolver, was taken aback when he heard Renault's question!

He quickly jumped in front of Renault. "Calm down! Calm down! Nagant Revolver and the others are fine! Those guys have all been knocked out!"

Wow! He immediately mentioned dealing with those guys! Who exactly is this person!? Can't he be a little more considerate!?

"Alright." Renault shrugged noncommittally, watching Drake's almost tearful expression.

But he guessed those guys probably wouldn't face the consequences themselves. Most likely, they would bring people over to cause trouble.

And Nagant Revolver and P38 were very conspicuous. If someone wanted to find them, it would be easy. The only question was how long it would take for those guys to show up.

Seeing Renault halt his steps, Drake also breathed a sigh of relief. Nagant Revolver and the others, however, noticed AR15 talking to Persica. "Is that Persica from 16lab talking to AR15?"

"Of course, who else would it be?"

If it were someone else, AR15 wouldn't be speaking so softly over there.
She wasn't even frowning; that's already good enough.

"Uh, Commander, Persica is quite famous in the black market. It seems we've already attracted attention." Upon hearing Renault say this, P38 couldn't help but sigh.

As she spoke, she glanced around. Those lurking around were just some Doll traffickers; there wasn't any professional hiding technique involved.

"I've noticed. Don't worry about those guys. If anyone dares to come over, just deal with them directly. There's nothing to worry about." Renault waved his hand. His spaceship was in the deep waters near the coastline.

Two Jupiter cannons had already been installed on it before he came out, one was already installed, and the other was still being rushed by Scarecrow.
But considering the time, it should be almost finished.

If something went wrong on their end, UMP45, who was left at home, could quickly fly the ship directly above this city, allowing the city's manager to taste what it felt like for Griffin to be hit by artillery fire and have the roof of their base torn off.

Moreover, because the attack was from the air to the ground, and Renault had already modified the power supply system of the Jupiter cannon, not only was the accuracy of the attack enhanced, but even the speed of the attack far exceeded that of the Jupiter cannon on Sangvis' side.

Although there were only two Jupiter cannons on the ship now, and this city in the black market was much larger than Griffin's base, it was enough to frighten the people in the black market base.

As for whether this city had anti-aircraft firepower?

Is there even a need to ask? There must be some, but whether they could hit the edges of his own ship was uncertain.

"Alright, here's my current number. If there's anything else, feel free to call me anytime." On the other side, AR15 didn't notice the situation on Renault's side.

After sending her new phone number to Persica, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, although I've been expecting this day to come, I didn't expect it to come so soon. But then again, the signal on the phone you're using is really good. Normally, it should be impossible to contact the southern Red Sea from such a distance..."

After jotting down AR15's phone number, Persica noticed the difference in AR15's phone and began to think about how to crack this technology for her own use.

After all, if there was such communication technology among humanoids, the efficiency of the Zener Protocol and the Neural Cloud Diagram could be greatly improved.

Seeing Persica immersed in her research again, AR15 helplessly hung up the call.

But she felt as if she had lifted a burden, and even her expression seemed much lighter.

"It seems like you're in a good mood. But thanks to you, we've already attracted attention, so be more vigilant later. Otherwise, you'll have to go back and patch yourself up manually." Seeing AR15 still smiling, HK416 also smiled and said.

Nanomaterials used to repair humanoid biomimetic skin were also on this cargo list. If there was a battle later, if they weren't careful enough, they might end up with a few more bullet holes on their bodies.

Although it wouldn't threaten their lives, damaged biomimetic skin was the biggest crisis for them.

After all, once the biomimetic skin was damaged, the tactile system couldn't function properly.

Unless they were willing to endure the pain or tolerate the terrible sensation of having no sensation in multiple areas of their bodies.

"A patch? Uh... So, is this the main reason why you guys dress so heavily?" Looking at HK416 and the other two Doll's clothing, which almost covered all of their biomimetic skin, AR15 suddenly felt a little helpless as she looked down at her own coat and dress underneath.

Couldn't they have reminded her of this sooner?
There are so many bulletproof vests and stab-resistant clothing at home. If they had put them on before coming out, there wouldn't have been so many problems now.

"It's better to experience these things firsthand." HK416 smirked.

"Forget it."

As the two of them spoke, they walked up to Renault, who was currently on the phone, and P90, MP40, and MP5 were waiting at the coastline to confirm if the goods had been delivered.

After confirming that all the goods had been delivered as listed, Renault nodded in satisfaction at Drake, then turned to Nagant Revolver. "Is there anything else left on the list that hasn't been bought?"

Hearing this, Nagant Revolver patted the bag in P38's hand. "This is the last thing. We've bought everything we needed this time. Commander, are we retreating?"




Chapter 71: Little Tail

"Speaking as if we've suffered a defeat, let's go," Renault said, disregarding Nagant's inappropriate choice of words as he gestured with his phone toward Drake.

Seeing Renault's gesture, Drake was momentarily taken aback but then received a notification of a large sum of money deposited into his account.

Having been extensively modified, even communication devices were installed on him. Although there were no sound notifications when he received messages, he didn't need any reminders.

After checking the incoming funds, Drake's previously furrowed brow immediately relaxed. "Hehe, the boss is generous. Then, I'll take my leave! Until we meet again, Boss Renault!"

Originally, the standard procedure would involve mentioning future business dealings, but he didn't dare to say that. This time, he had already taken out several guards from the black market. Who knows what shocking things he might do next time.

"Well, you handle those tails yourself."

"Heh, this little matter can't stump me," Drake said, waving his hand at the words and disappearing into an alley.

"This guy runs pretty fast, but his fees are a bit high," Nagant commented, watching Drake disappear from sight in an instant, hands on hips, shaking her head and sighing.

"Well, although the fees are high, this guy is very familiar with this city. Without him, we might need to stay here for another day," P38 remarked. After all, with Drake leading the way, their procurement could proceed smoothly.

Although there was a slight hiccup in the end, all the previous transactions were securely delivered to the coastline, both in terms of credibility and efficiency.

Spending a bit of money to save so much time, P38 felt it was quite worthwhile. After all, this black market base was not like other ordinary cities. They didn't have the conditions to leisurely stroll around here.

And once something happened, their trip here would be in vain.

If a fight broke out, how could they continue shopping calmly? Even if they wanted to buy, the shopkeepers nearby might not want to do business with them.

After all... their commander was a person who would draw his gun at the drop of a hat. They had witnessed this when they brought back HK416 and G11


...


On the other side of the coastline, SPAS-12 had already brought the aircraft over, parked in front of a large pile of goods like a small mountain, and several Rippers and P90 were shuttling back and forth in the cabin carrying those goods.

"Really! SPAS-12! Why can't you bring a few more people over to help!" P90, carrying a one-meter-square crate, complained somewhat irritably to SPAS-12, who was moving a large-sized goods box beside her.

"Where's the space for that? Do you want to be squeezed between those goods when you go back?" Most of the materials bought this time were metal materials, with only a small portion being daily necessities.

Those daily necessities were mostly extra, and the metal materials were the main purchases this time, of course, repair materials for Tactical dolls were the same.

As for why they didn't let UMP45 directly bring the spaceship over, it was because bringing the ship directly over would be too sensational. If it was seen by someone, the manager of this black market base might use the city's anti-aircraft weapons directly.

By then, the Tactical dolls on the spaceship would be fine, but Renault and the others who had been staying below would probably have to find another way back to the ship.

"Those over there shouldn't be the commander and the others, right? Could there be other goods that haven't been delivered?" Saying this, SPAS-12 didn't wait for P90's response and directly turned her head to look in the direction of the transport equipment that had come over earlier.

"How is that possible, I've already confirmed... Ah, this is probably it? What was it called again?" Seeing those approaching figures, P90 slapped her forehead with her free hand, momentarily forgetting the word.

"Huh? I don't know what you're trying to say, but these guys definitely don't have good intentions. Let's think about how to deal with them." MP40 turned her head to look at those guys holding weapons.

Click!

While MP40 was speaking, the sound of pulling a bolt came directly from beside her. MP5, this guy, had already picked up her imprint weapon and was waiting to shoot as soon as the other party entered range.

"Hey, why are you so proactive? What if those guys aren't here to cause trouble, but have something else in mind?"
Originally intending to say something, P90 was startled by MP5's sudden actions.

"How is that possible? Look at what those guys are holding! And didn't you feel any electromagnetic interference?"

The nearby Rippers already began to act up!

In fact, MP5 didn't feel any electromagnetic interference either.
When Renault created them, he had already considered this issue, so they didn't have to worry about being affected by electromagnetic interference.

But these nearby Rippers, who hadn't been modified, one of them was already half-crouching on the ground.

Just as P90 was complaining to SPAS-12, after being reminded by MP5, she also immediately noticed the abnormality of the Rippers, her anger surged, threw down the crate in her hand, and rushed towards the Rippers.

Of course, not to attack them, but to push them back into the cabin of the aircraft.

"Mistake, if I had known about this situation, I should have brought M200 or M14 with me." After moving all the Rippers back into the cabin, P90 looked angrily at those guys in the distance.

Those people stopped about five or six hundred meters away from them, and whether it was MP40, MP5, or SPAS-12, the attack range of their imprint weapons was not very far.

At this distance, it was almost impossible to hit the opponent, but besides their imprint weapons, they also had the secondary weapons that Renault had given them specifically for dealing with protective suits.

The range of those things was enough, but the proficiency was...

"Hey, we usually don't train much. It's too late now that something's happened!" SPAS-12 pulled the corner of her mouth and took out her secondary weapon.

"Huh? Are you blaming me? Besides when we were learning to drive the aircraft, when else did you go to that place?"

"Of course I've been there! It was when you were thinking about how to steal other people's clothes!"

The two of them started arguing again, and MP40 and MP5 looked at each other helplessly, squinting at the guys in the distance.




Chapter 72: Not Quite Mastered

"If it weren't for the occasional gunfire and screams, this city would look pretty nice. I mean, at least these buildings here," Nagant said, eating meatballs while glancing at the buildings along the way.

Just after arriving, it was one shop after another, running around, without the chance to observe the city up close.

"What's the point of just looking at buildings? They're just ordinary buildings, and other cities have them too. It's just that the cities we've been to before weren't as prosperous as this one," P38 said, looking around.

Since Drake left, there have been people following them, but just because they're in the city, those guys haven't made a move.

When Drake left, although he did take away a few tails that were following him, it was only a few.

Now there are at least dozens of people following them, and it's impossible for all of them to belong to the same faction. It's unexpected that just coming here to buy something would attract so many people...

"Why didn't we buy materials from IOP this time? Last time, the ammunition and materials for making ammunition were purchased from IOP, right?" HK416 also asked curiously.

"Because it's expensive."

Although the batch of replenished ammunition and ammunition-making materials had already been negotiated with Griffin's internal prices through Helian, Renault still found it a bit expensive.

In the future, it's better to buy less directly from IOP.

He's not like G&K, who has a big business and a big backer behind it. In small business dealings such as his, he should use as little of his savings as possible.

And some of the metal materials purchased this time are definitely not something IOP would sell externally, and whether IOP can even get them is questionable.

"That's a simple and straightforward answer." HK416 shook her head.

AR15, on the other hand, was vigilant all around, but her attention was different from that of P38 and Nagant.
She was focused on the direction they were heading.

After all, in addition to the guys watching them on both sides, there were also many people on the road ahead staring at them with unfriendly eyes.

Apparently, Renault's behavior of leading four beautiful Tactical Dolls has earned him quite a bit of resentment. Even though this is a black market, it's impossible for everyone to have four Tactical Dolls accompanying them wherever they go like Renault.

"The gate ahead seems to be closed. Could those guys have already found out about our previous actions?" Looking at the closed gate ahead, AR15 had a bad feeling.

"I don't know about that. They shouldn't have found out, otherwise they wouldn't just be waiting for us at the gate. But we can't stroll around leisurely anymore. Have you forgotten how to sprint?"

"Of course not, I just changed my body, I'm not incapable of running." AR15 raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised at Renault's jesting at such a time.

Of course, she can still run, but her movements won't be as smooth as before.

Without various auxiliary modules attached to the root protocols, and with this body feeling completely different, she probably needs a few days to adapt if she wants to control it finely.

"Stop! Where are you guys from... get out of the way!" Just as Renault and a few Tactical Dolls approached the gate, several guards there immediately smirked and asked Renault.

But before they could finish their words, these guards saw Renault casually pull out a grenade launcher from under his coat!

The sight of that almost palm-thick launcher tube made all the hairs on their bodies stand on end!

Boom!

Boom!

Renault wasn't going to play any games with these guys. The malice emanating from these guards was so thick that he, not being blind, could easily tell that these guys were intentionally causing trouble.

Especially since these guys' eyes were almost blatantly looking over the Tactical Dolls, they were just short of directly asking Renault to hand over ownership of these Tactical Dolls.

Renault had no intention of listening to their disgusting words, let alone hearing them.

Finally finding a place and buying all the materials he needed, he was feeling happy. Can't he have a little less trouble? Can't these disgusting guys just stay away?

These guards weren't idiots either. After seeing the grenade launcher in Renault's hand, they immediately roared and rushed to the side of the gate.

Unfortunately, the grenades in Renault's hand were aimed directly at their faces, no matter how they dodged to the sides, the grenades would definitely land on their faces or the back of their heads.

Boom!

Just as Renault didn't hesitate to act, HK416 also followed suit, pulling out her own grenade launcher and firing a shot towards the hiding place of those guards.

"Ahhh!"

A few scattered screams came from that direction, indicating that some lucky guys hadn't fallen under the two grenades.

"But how do we open this gate? P38, do you know?" Ignoring the groans and struggles of the black market guards lying on the ground, Nagant stepped forward and looked at the gate in front of her.

Although it looks similar to the gate they saw before, the gate over there is manually controlled, with a mechanical switch nearby.

But this gate in front of them is different. The guard posts are on both sides of the gate, and there are no control consoles or anything similar near the gate.

In other words, to open these gates, they need the permission of the black market manager to pass through here.

But for Tactical Dolls, this kind of thing is completely trivial.

Especially for Electronic Warfare Tactical Dolls, without the restrictions of underlying protocols, they can go wherever they want. After all, not having to worry about those rigid underlying protocols will immediately improve the level of electronic warfare tactics.

Who cares if many of the things Tactical Dolls do in electronic warfare are illegal?

"Of course, I've learned a thing or two from MDR and UMP40!" P38 said somewhat proudly.

And as she spoke, she didn't make any moves. The gate that had been tightly closed suddenly began to open on both sides.

Seeing the gate open, AR15 couldn't help but feel relieved, but the black market manager over here didn't sit idle either.

Just as the gate had barely opened thirty centimeters, it began to slowly close again!

"Huh?! Why is it closing again! P38, your skills are far from mastered!"





Chapter 73: No Escape!

"This! This isn't my fault! Those guys just used the mechanical switch directly to manually close the door!" P38 hurriedly defended herself, arguing that having a manual system for the underground city's gates was a normal safety measure.

"If there's a mechanical switch, isn't that a good thing? Let's go."

Originally, if there hadn't been a mechanical switch, they would have had to figure out a way to blow up or burn through the gate. But with the gate being so thick, no matter which method they used, it would have taken some effort.

Now that they know there's a mechanical switch in the control room over there, it's saved them quite a bit of trouble.

"Huh?!"

As soon as Renault's voice fell, he immediately stepped forward and rushed out! Nagant and P38 followed suit, while HK416 pulled AR15, who was still a bit slow to react, along with them.

AR15 was genuinely startled at this moment. Although she had long known that Renault was different from other normal humans, she never expected Renault's sprinting speed to be comparable to theirs, even after they changed their bodies!

"Don't just stand there, be careful not to get separated and surrounded." HK416 pulled AR15 along, and when she picked up her speed, she let go, clutching her weapon tightly and following behind Nagant and P38.

"Oh, okay." AR15 wasn't stupid and naturally knew what would happen if she fell behind.

Just now, there were already a group of people staring at them, and now that they saw them directly confronting the guards, while some might indeed give up, inevitably some would still want to take risks.

After all, they just fired at the guards of the black market stronghold, even if they fought back, the black market wouldn't blame them. After all, this was for the sake of the black market, and there might even be some benefits after the incident!

"Hurry, don't let them get away!" Just as Renault and the others left the spot, several sharp shouts rang out, and the pedestrians immediately dispersed, replaced by a group of thugs pouring out of the alleyways.

These guys, all of them had various firearms in their hands, and some even carried RPGs!

Just now, it still looked like a bustling city, and the people walking on the street also looked like ordinary residents. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, these guys would all turn into violent thugs, brandishing weapons and charging at them?

As for whether they could beat them?

Joke! There were so many of them! And the weapons in their hands weren't weak either! How could they not beat those few dry Dolls?

This is the black market, and aren't they familiar with tactical dolls? They're just toys made by IOP specifically for Griffin!

In terms of real combat capabilities, they might not even be as good as the bodyguards and security humanoid beings produced by Global Everything!

Of course, this is mostly because IOP uses lower-grade materials in the bodies of tactical doll to reduce costs.
High-end tactical doll are still more popular than ordinary security dolls.

But who are the people in the black market? They could recognize those high-end models of dolls beings at a glance!

And the two in front that they just saw, one was clearly Nagant, the most numerous model in Griffin, and the other was P38.

Although they couldn't tell where the other two came from, the first two were already low-level dolls, so how strong could the other two be even if they were stronger?

"Wow! These guys! They were still smiling just now! Look at that old man in the floral apron over there! Isn't that the one who was selling pancakes at the street corner before?" Nagant heard the commotion behind her, turned around, and was immediately shocked.

"I saw it a long time ago! The one who shouted the loudest just now, isn't that the landlady at the ice cream stall before?" P38 was also a little annoyed.

These guys really know how to kick a man when he's down. When nothing goes wrong, it's fine, but once something happens, everyone wants to jump up and step on their heads!

"Get out of the way, Nagant and P38, go to the control room and find that mechanical switch." Running forward, Renault waved his hand backward, signaling AR15 to move away from behind him, while talking to Nagant and P38.

In a distance of hundreds of meters, under the speed of Renault and the others, it was only about ten seconds. Nagant and P38, who heard Renault's command, directly kicked the door of the control room as soon as they arrived!

At this moment, Renault also fired three tear gas grenades directly from the grenade launcher's magazine!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With three loud bangs, thick chemical gas exploded directly from the tear gas grenades, instantly stopping those guys who rushed over to capture Renault and the others!

Of course, not all of them were stopped. There were a few guys with gas masks on their faces or heavily modified bodies who rushed out directly from the smoke of the tear gas!

Their weapons were aimed at Renault and the others, and they didn't hesitate to pull the trigger!

"Watch out?!"
Seeing that the weapons in their hands were already aimed at Renault, AR15 exclaimed, subconsciously wanting to stand behind Renault to block those attacks!

Bang!

Boom!

Before those attacks could reach them, Renault pulled AR15 away and threw a high-explosive grenade he had just loaded into the magazine at the several guys rushing at the front.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

At the same time, gunshots also rang out from the control room, with Nagant and P38 firing semi-automatic pistols so fast that they seemed to be using them as fully automatic pistols. There were even one or two sounds of secondary weapons mixed in between.

On the other hand, the black market guards in the control room didn't react at all. In an instant, most of them were hit, and two seconds later, Nagant and P38 completely cleared them out.

Dadada!

Ignoring AR15, who was pulled away by Renault, HK416 also aimed her gun at those guys who chased after them and began to shoot. Anyone who rushed out from the smoke first would be targeted by HK416's bullets.

"You two hold them off here, I'll be right back." Nagant and P38 had now begun to turn the mechanical switch of the gate, but this thing was obviously not designed to be opened quickly.

The speed at which the gate opened was exactly the same as when it closed just now. He had to go and see the structure inside to find a shortcut to open the door without turning the handle.

Otherwise, they would have to kill their way out on their own, or let the spaceship bombard the city directly.

"You bastards! You messed with my men in my city and want to leave!? Not one of you is leaving whole today!"






Chapter 74: Encirclement

"Stupid! Why use rifles? Isn't the cannon on the aircraft usable!?" SPAS-12 suddenly slapped her own forehead, somewhat annoyed as she yelled at P90!

It's all because of this stubborn guy! She kept shouting about M200 and M14 just now; she completely forgot about the weapons on the aircraft.

Earlier, while supporting the Griffin base, although they used up a lot of ammunition, the ammunition on the gunship was crucial. M1 Garand and the others immediately started manufacturing a batch of replenishments after receiving materials from Griffin.

The aircraft now is loaded with ammunition!

It's just perfect to lighten the load a bit!

"What do you mean I'm stupid!? Clearly, it's your own machine that you drove here! How come you blame me for it!?"

Seeing the signs of the two about to continue arguing, MP5 and MP40 rolled their eyes in succession.
These two, who knows which wire they crossed, have been bickering incessantly in recent days, and they don't seem to want to stop anytime soon.

Ignoring these two who are not doing anything productive, MP5 and MP40 directly entered the cabin and sat at the controls of the aircraft's turret.

MP5 controlled the two machine gun turrets on the top of the aircraft, directly aiming at those people standing far away trying to take them down with electromagnetic interference.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

As MP5 pulled the trigger, a series of machine gun bullets directly rushed towards those people!

Several guys still holding electromagnetic disruptors maintained their smiling faces until they were hit by the bullets.

These guys are seasoned at dealing with dolls, whether it's IOP's tactical dolls, Sangvis Ferri's droids, or even the military's combat dolls. None of them can stand when faced with this kind of electromagnetic interference!

They naturally thought this would be another easy 'hunting' operation, but unfortunately, they targeted not obedient 'honest' dolls this time...

After several explosions from the grenades, the positions where those people stood were now empty.

MP5 let out a long sigh of relief, "Phew! Those guys' looks were just too annoying!"

"Oh, that's why you were so excited just now." MP40 scratched her head helplessly, glanced at the several Sangvis Ferri dolls gradually recovering from EMP next to her, and said, "Anyway, let's get the stuff up first. The commanders might be coming soon."

"Yeah, let those two continue their quarrel. There's not much left anyway."


...


"Oh, Renault's signal, probably something went wrong." UMP45, lying on the cockpit of the ship, saw the signal on the console screen, sat up, and steered the ship towards the coastline.

"Huh? 45, didn't the commander say not to get too close to that city over there?"

In that black market stronghold, there should be quite a few anti-aircraft weapons. If the ship gets too close, it's likely to be detected and attacked.

"Don't worry, that guy already planned it. Now that something's gone wrong on their end, knowing Renault's personality, he must have started stirring up trouble in the city by now. Those guys in the black market probably have no intention to pay attention to what's happening outside, and also..."

"And what?"

"And Scarecrow just asked me to find a good location to test the Jupiter Cannon and some targets, right? What better target than a black market stronghold? Especially since this city is an underground city, it's practically a replica of the Griffin base!"

"Um, is it really okay to do this? Don't accidentally mess things up and cause trouble for Commander Renault." UMP40, holding the tablet in her hands, was worried about whether the cat food she asked G36 to help list on the procurement list could safely reach them.

"It's fine, it's fine. With the performance of this ship, there won't be any problems!" The more UMP45 understands this ship, the more she marvels at what an incredible creation Renault has made.

Although the weapons on this ship currently only consist of the two Jupiter Cannons snatched from Sangvis Ferri, in UMP45's view, the most astonishing thing on this ship is still the ship engine manufactured by Renault himself, and the barrier system on this ship.

That system, coupled with the engine Renault made, generates a ship protection barrier that is almost invincible in this era. Unless someone directly turns collapse liquid into a bomb and throws it at them.

Otherwise, the barrier on this ship cannot be penetrated by any attack!

Even the Jupiter Cannons on the ship can't do it!

Perhaps the military has weapons that can penetrate the barrier, but the barrier on this ship can adjust its protection strength...

They are invincible now! She said it!

As UMP45 slowly steered the ship towards the coastline.

In the S08 area of Griffin's jurisdiction, Agent standing next to Elisa also had a similar thought in mind.

But while UMP45 saw the performance of the ship, Agent saw the Griffin tactical dolls retreating one after another.

Those Griffin dolls with only old weapons at hand simply couldn't deal with the armored units they recently manufactured!

Whether it's the massive Scorpion tanks or the Shieldbearers holding shields, the weapons of these Griffin dolls just scratch them!

Occasionally, one or two Sangvis Ferri armored units are brought down, but that's just because these Griffin dolls got lucky and hit the joints of these armored units.

These Griffin dolls, and their silly Griffin commanders behind them, didn't expect that just causing a little trouble for the previous Sangvis Ferri units would be enough to attract the main force of Griffin's doll units into their encirclement.

They're really stupid!

"I don't care about the others, I only need M4A1!" Sensing the cautious thoughts of Agent, the mainframe of Sangvis Ferri, Elisa, the last doll creation of Lycoris, stared at the AR team, which was leading a group of dolls in retreat, in the distance.

"Understood." Agent behind Elisa, bowing slightly, saluted Elisa and immediately directed the armored units that had already been deployed to surround the AR team!

This time, not only did they attract a large number of Griffin doll units, the most important thing was that the AR team also came, and they will soon be trapped in their encirclement!

Previously, the Parapluie Virus was meant to cause chaos among Griffin, but they didn't expect that before they could use the virus, they would have the opportunity to wipe out the entire AR team.







Chapter 75: Who Cares? Just Charge Ahead!

Bang!

As Nagant Revolver and P38 were busy turning the mechanical roulette with the P38, they heard the sound and quickly turned around.

They found Renault kicking the console where someone was blabbering incessantly, smashing them to pieces along with the communication equipment on top.

"Hey? Commander, we're about to open the door now, probably only need about thirty seconds!" Nagant Revolver shouted hastily while turning the mechanical switch for the gate.

"Thirty seconds? Others would have surrounded us by then, let go." Saying this, Renault took the handle of the switch from Nagant Revolver and P38's hands, while tossing two grenades, slightly modified, under the counterweight blocks of the gate.

"Huh, blow it up?"

Is that really feasible?

This seems too extreme even for a movie plot, and the space under the counterweight block is not enclosed. The explosive force of just two grenades shouldn't be enough to open the gate wide enough.

"Tell HK416 and AR15 outside to wait near the gate." Renault glanced at the counterweight well next to the mechanical switch and gestured to Nagant Revolver and P38.

"Got it." Both nodded in response, with P38 still holding the bag of food inflator she bought.

Ratatatat!

As the two rushed out of the control room, they saw HK416 and AR15 firing wildly towards the distance, keeping a group of armed individuals from raising their heads.

Even with smoke obscuring their vision, it didn't hinder the precision of HK416 and AR15's attacks. Anybody with a bit of courage who dared to show themselves would instantly be targeted by the two.

Although HK416 and AR15 only held two guns each and didn't use their secondary weapons, they alternated magazines seamlessly, maintaining continuous firepower. At that moment, it sounded as if they had been firing continuously.

However, this state obviously couldn't last long. Even though HK416 was fully loaded, AR15's ammunition was clearly insufficient.

"Quick! Commander wants us by the gate!" Nagant Revolver rushed to their side, taking out two individuals attempting a flank assault while shouting.

"The gate!?" Hearing Nagant Revolver's words, AR15 looked back in confusion.

The gate had only opened a gap of less than ten centimeters wide, not even wide enough for them to squeeze through sideways!

If it were five centimeters wider, perhaps she could try to squeeze through sideways... but ten centimeters was too much... There's no way they could fit!

"There's no time to question now! Let's go!" HK416 shouted to AR15, pulling out her grenade launcher.

Two high-explosive grenades flew towards the crowd opposite!

Boom!

Inside the control room, Renault watched through the window as HK416 and her team gradually approached the gate. He then looked at the counterweight well beside him.

The place where there should have been only steel cables, counterweights, and mechanical parts was now covered in a crimson glow.

Seeing this, Renault smashed the window in front of him and rushed to HK416's side in three quick steps.

"Huh? Comma—"

Boom!

Before Nagant Revolver could finish her sentence, a muffled explosion echoed from the control room!

And with that explosion, the gate, which had only been a fist-width gap, suddenly swung open violently on both sides!

"Go." Renault grabbed HK416 and AR15, flinging them through the gap in the gate!

Nagant Revolver and P38, closest to the gate, naturally didn't need Renault's help. They had already darted through the opening as soon as it appeared.

Before either of them could turn around to urge Renault on, he had already taken a step and leaped out from inside.

Bang!

The gate, which had only been open for two or three seconds, slammed shut violently after Renault and his team passed through!

The grating sound made AR15's teeth ache. If one of them had been standing in the middle when the gate closed, they would have been flattened into a pile of parts by now!

"Commander! How did you do that!? Just two grenades, how could they possibly move such heavy counterweights?"

This gate in the black market stronghold was at least four meters high and half a meter thick, weighing tens to hundreds of tons.

AR15 couldn't believe that just two grenades could move something so heavy.

It must have been something their commander did after they left the control room.

"Let's talk about it later, this isn't over yet." Renault waved his hand nonchalantly.

The road leading to this black market stronghold couldn't possibly be the only one, and those who had caught up just now had all come on foot. The managers of the black market surely had some means of transportation.

When they come chasing in their vehicles, are they going to race them on foot?

As Renault and his team rushed through the gate and into the passage leading to the outside world, those who had caught up were left dumbfounded.

Who could have imagined that the tightly sealed, hundreds of tons heavy gate would just open up in front of those few individuals!? And the speed at which it opened was clearly not normal!

"Quick! Check the control room!"

Of course, there were those with keen eyes or quick wits. After seeing the gate close, they rushed towards the control room next to the gate.

If those guys could open the gate, there's no reason they couldn't!

But unfortunately, after they hurriedly rushed into the control room, which had already had a large chunk of its roof blown off, what they saw was not a sturdy and usable gate control mechanism, but a lump of scrap metal emitting heat, with flames still burning on the steel cables!

"What's going on!? What did that guy use to destroy these things!?"

"Don't just stand there! Is now the time to be thinking about this? Hurry to the nearest exit! If you delay, you won't even get a sip of soup!"

Although some people didn't understand what they were chasing, seeing so many people rushing over, and since those guys could do it, why couldn't they?

And if there's no benefit, what are you all rushing over for?

In confusion, a group of people rushed to the nearest gate. At this point, they didn't even care about the guards at the entrance. Seeing that the gate hadn't closed, they rushed out in a frenzy!

And in the process, they attracted another group of people who, half-understanding, followed them out, armed and ready.

Who cares what they're doing? Since so many people are going, they naturally want to see what's going on. What if it's really something good?