RC 601-625 (Patreon)

RC 601-625

Chapter 1: What's your name again?

"Ha, I can't believe that in the end, what we need to transport isn't any goods, but actually these little ones. That client's words are a bit too vague, right?" M870 stood at a high place, looking down at the children who were walking bit by bit towards the hillside.

Simonov, at this time, was squatting next to her, but unlike M870, this guy didn't foolishly stand in a conspicuous position. Instead, she found a rock, just big enough to hide her squatting figure behind it, while still being able to take in the situation below.

As for why... that is, of course, a habitual action. Standing in an open area without moving makes it easy to get head-shot, this kind of thing, does it still need to be reminded?

"Hey, don't stand over there so foolishly, okay? Be careful of being hit through the head with an anti-material weapon." Simonov sighed and finally opened her mouth to remind M870.

"How can that be! What kind of person would be abnormal enough to use an anti-material weapon against a Doll?" A normal sniper rifle or rifle bullet would have been enough to pierce a Doll's body, but she certainly had no problem with the one she had now!

Besides, she still had her shield with her, so wouldn't she just use it to block it?

Not knowing exactly where M870 got her confidence, Simonov shrugged her shoulders and set her eyes on the mercenaries that UMP45 had deliberately reminded her of earlier.

Following those kids up were also three mercenaries from what was called the Giant Snake Mercenaries, and one of them was the leader of those mercenaries, supposed to be a deputy leader or captain or something like that. He was the guy who looked stupid and was trying to strike up a conversation with Vera.

But that guy is not her focus. Her focus is on the other two guys. The commissioner left these mercenaries responsible for the safety of those children, so sending two people to follow up and check is also considered within the normal scope.

But now, within a few hundred meters of this place, there were no living things.

What was going on with these two people's eyes always fixed on those children? Worried about those kids falling? It's unlikely. This slope isn't that steep, and those kids don't look too small. The tallest one is already half a head taller than M870.

Well, if you do the math, she's still relatively tall amongst Dolls! But when it comes to height, it's still the Sangvis guys who are a bit taller, not counting Maria, the little one, of course.

No, no, no! Why are you so distracted? Now is the time for the mission, you cannot screw it up.

But this kind of suspicious guy, can't she just shoot him? It's too much trouble to cover up and bend the rules. Wouldn't it hurt to show what she've got and then just have a real fight?

"Simonov, first send all the little kids up. UMP40 and Vera follow along back. Remember to change to a more reliable one when you come down again." UMP45 waved her hand towards Simonov, but after lowering her arm, she gestured towards Simonov from a position behind her that Sasha's three mercenaries couldn't see

More reliable, naturally, in terms of combat ability.

UMP40 looked like she got along well with those little kids and was too busy with them, while Vera had little combat ability.

Simonov naturally nodded knowingly, and in her mind, she was already wondering who exactly he was going to call down to help.

However, it was obvious that someone wasn't going to just watch those children leave from under their noses, and the mercenary who had been following Sasha earlier, with his eyes darting over those children from time to time, was now a bit anxious once he heard UMP45's words.

He directly stood out from behind Sasha, "Wait! I... we're going along too!"

"Huh? Who are you?" UMP45 glanced at the guy with some disdain.

Well, stumbling over his words at a time like this, maybe she had just been a little overly worried but...

"Who knows where you'll send these kids after you take them! We'll have to have a few people tagging along! To make sure these kids are safe!"

"Well, that's a fair point, but I refuse." UMP45 said while waving her hand, urging Simonov and UMP40's side to move quickly.

"You!?"

"Olga! Don't fool around! Let's wait until the headmaster returns!" Hearing this mercenary suddenly speak, Sasha, who was watching UMP40 lead these children towards the gunship's cabin, hurriedly turned around and called out towards the man.

"Pfft... pfft hahahaha! Olga! Shouldn't that be a girl's name... And that name... always seemed like it should be accompanied by a BGM to fit the occasion." MDR, who heard the man's name, suddenly burst out laughing.

"What are you talking about!?" Olga shouted with a reddened face, and M870 scratched her head a bit strangely, not really understanding what was so funny about it.

Seeing that both M870 and Vera were looking at themselves blankly, MDR was also bored. After shrugging her shoulders, she began to take out her cell phone and click on it again, she's probably posting on the anonymous board again.

"Don't mind that guy, but you guys want to tag along, that's a definite no. I'm not letting any mercenaries tag along with these kids unless your client is here." UMP45 said as she spread her hands.

When she had just contacted Renault, she hadn't mentioned anything about letting these mercenaries come along on the ship.

Although the Dolls on the ship were fearless of these weapon-wielding mercenaries, the Sangvis Ferri Dolls on the ship, like the Rippers, weren't so sure about that. Plus, recently, the Rippers on the ship had long since lost the habit of carrying weapons on a daily basis.

So if these one or two mercenaries suddenly snapped and caused damage to those guys, it would be a bit of a detriment.

Whether the Rippers at home were more important or these unrelated mercenaries in front of her, UMP45 felt that she still had a clear idea who has tipped her scales.

Moreover, this guy in front of her obviously has his own small plan. She didn't know what was playing in his heart. If Sasha, that stupid guy, wanted to get on the boat, she could consider it. But in front of this kid, heh.

Probably seeing the mocking smile on UMP45's face, Olga came forward with some annoyance, seemingly wanting to teach this ungrateful Doll a lesson, but his eyes caught a glimpse of the gunship that was closing its hatch.

In the time it took for a few people to argue over these few words, a group of children and Dolls, including Vera, had all entered the gunship's cargo hold, and Simonov had already started the engines and was about to take off.

Seeing this, Olga didn't bother to say anything else and directly rushed towards the gunship.

With him, there was also the mercenary who hadn't said anything before. The two of them, one on the left and one on the right, directly rushed towards the gunship with all their strength. Looking at the speed of the two of them, they should be able to rush in before the hatch closes.

Chapter 2: What's on your mind?

It was getting good!

Although the situation was somewhat different from what was expected at the beginning! But it was already certain that this doll holding the UMP45 wasn't a strong fighter, and the Doll with the video camera didn't look like she had fighting capabilities, so it was still no problem for two people to deal with two Dolls!

These dozen children! They were all money!

Olga thought with certainty in his heart and exchanged a glance with his colleague, who was already lined up alongside him. They nodded to each other!

Unlike that foolish fellow Sasha, they were no fools! The head of the regiment has been gone for so long, what kind of situation has happened to them, does it even need to be said?

The choice was clear! It's hard to really think that the guy named Renault, with a few Dolls, can save that idiot Tania from Paradeus?

Boom!

Just as he was thinking about getting the money from Paradeus and what exactly he was going to do afterward, a bulletproof shield strewn with various stickers and fancy designs suddenly appeared in front of his eyes!

Crack!

The sound of a broken or misaligned nose or skull or cervical vertebrae was unnoticeable against the sound of the gunship's engine starting up, but the sudden acceleration of Olga's entire body as he flew backwards was still very noticeable.

"Ah ah, sorry, sorry, I didn't control the force for a moment. This Doll frame is really strong, but this shouldn't be a problem." M870 pretended to say guiltily, but in her hand, she had already raised her imprint weapon, aiming at the back of the heart of the mercenary whose hands and even the upper half of his body were lying on the side of the hatch, trying to climb upwards...

Bang!

The shot was heard, not just heard of course, but seen, mostly by Sasha, because he was the only one left in place now.

The kids were so well guarded by UMP40 in the gunboat that they didn't even notice the silhouette that popped up next to the cargo bay door.

Originally, UMP40 was still hesitant to lift her foot to kick that guy down, but this shot from M870 was a relief for her.

The mercenary who was hit in the back of the heart by the bullet directly let go of his hands in pain, and the whole person fell to the ground. The hatch of the air gunship was also successfully closed, and then under the watchful eyes of UMP45 and the others, it slowly lifted up into the air and flew towards the spaceship that stayed at a high altitude.

While controlling the speed of the gunship's ascent, Simonov looked back at the children in the cabin.

"WZ.29, temporarily control the spaceship to lower its altitude. I'm in a bit of trouble on my side; there's no way to go that high up in the sky for a while." Simonov opened her communicator and called wz.29, who was in charge of piloting the spaceship.

"Understood, but is it really okay? The commander didn't say before that we could show up in the town..." wz.29 said with some worry. When Simonov and the girls set off earlier, the spaceship stayed at its current altitude, which was about seven thousand eight hundred meters above the ground.

When viewed from the ground, it was just one more inconspicuous black dot in the sky.

But if they lowered their altitude too much, the residents of the town below should be able to notice their spaceship.

"It's fine, don't worry, the commander knows. UMP45 has already spoken to him."

"Okay, I'll lower the altitude now."

"Well, by the way, help inform G36 to organize a few guest rooms. Er, we have, like, eleven or twelve kids here who need to stay on the ship for a while."

While speaking, Simonov turned back to confirm the number of children in the cabin.

As for those remaining mercenaries? Just kidding, let them stay in the cargo hold when the time comes. It's just sending them from one place to another; the longest time won't be more than a day. Do they still want to stay in a more well lit room?

Besides, they still don't know if they need to even bring those mercenaries on board. If UMP45 and the mercenaries fight later, tsk, it's hard to say how many of them will be left alive at that time.

...

"What's the situation, Commander?" Watching Renault put down his cell phone, HK416 immediately opened her mouth and asked. Of course, she wasn't worried about that UMP45 guy; that guy wasn't hers to worry about.

UMP45, who had electronic warfare equipment on her body, could probably be considered the most flexible among their Dolls.

She just wanted to know if UMP45 had any new information about the client.

"It can't be considered a situation. That client, named Tania, full name unknown, inherited an orphanage from her deceased aunt, located in the valley next to this town."

"That is to say, it's the one next to that wasteland from before..."

"That's it. The client this time, that girl named Tania, doesn't need us to transport any goods. She just wants us to help her send the children from the orphanage out of here and save herself in the process."

"No wonder the client paid so generously this time." Hearing this, M500 nodded in realization.

Can you blame her? Her own life is about to be lost...

"Hey, wait a minute. Since the client knows that her situation is no longer safe, why would she still run to the town? Wouldn't it be better to wait for us at the bottom of the valley?"

The situation in this town could be seen at a glance. No one in their right mind would want to come to such a strange place. Is the client even considered a normal person? She took the initiative to come to the town herself; does she not want to live?

"I don't know then. I haven't seen any normal person spray that much perfume on themselves anyway." The smell of the place he passed through didn't dissipate after a day, which shows how many pounds of perfume that girl actually used up on her body.

"Perfume... ah! So that's why you looked all the way here, Commander! I thought it was because Super-Shorty had sprayed too much perfume on her body!?"

"How! How could it be! This kind of smell is too strong! It doesn't suit me at all, okay!?"

"Eh, no wonder. I wondered why this smell was there all the way around..." HK416 also said awkwardly, feeling guilty for not noticing this abnormality at all.

Because before in the city when shopping, seeing families spend money to buy perfume wasn't strange. After all, in Griffin, they simply couldn't afford luxury goods at first. Now that they had money, wanting to buy some to try wasn't strange...

But they did not expect this strong scent was not at all because of their two colleagues' perfume... what a loss...

"Okay, let's go. UMP45 and the others will be responsible for sending the children back to the ship. Now hurry to find that client, Tania; that's the serious task."

This entire town is actually not too big. Just a bit messed up, going roundabout, retracing the route the client took to shake off the pursuers behind her. Now this direction, according to the residual scent, should be straight ahead, right?

Just now those few locals gave a hand-drawn map... tsk, it's really only half-useful!

Chapter 3: It's All a Falsehood

"Aiya aiya, this is really... M870, it seems you need to go back and work on controlling your doll frame power. Look, look! He's barely recognizable as human! This is much worse than hitting him with a sack of bullets!"

Looking at the unlucky mercenary who flew seven or eight meters away into the cargo bay's walls, MDR tsked and spoke towards M870.

Initially, she had the intention to take a picture of the guy's miserable condition, but since he was already out of shape, that miserable look was really unphotogenic.

"Eh, I just used one third, no no, just now the force should have been only one fifth. Who would have thought this guy was so fragile?" M870 scratched her head, dumbfounded.

The guy who was hit by the dummy bullet just fell off the cabin door and landed on his head, but now he had already climbed up like nothing happened. But the one who was slapped out by the shield...

Whether he can still see tomorrow's sun is no longer a guess...

"AHHHHH! Olga! You!?" Seeing his colleague, who was being chided by him a second ago, turned into this state, Sasha, who hadn't expected this turn of events, froze in place.

This? Are these dolls this ruthless? Normal dolls... normal dolls certainly won't act like this, right?

And Olga's condition... still savable? With Sasha's limited first aid knowledge, he couldn't figure out how to save this unlucky person's life...

"Calm down! Anyway, calm down! Isn't there some kind of misunderstanding here?" Although he had the intention to pick up his gun and fight with these dolls, UMP45 and MDR had already picked up their respective weapons when M870 made a move on the two mercenaries.

The situation changed too quickly, just in one or two sentences... but this kind of situation is not uncommon among mercenaries, a group known for fighting at the drop of a hat.

"Misunderstanding? Misunderstandings upon misunderstandings. Anyway, my boss hasn't seen the client, and we haven't heard any news about you mercenaries from the client's mouth. Who knows whether you guys are planning to send those little ones somewhere else."

As she spoke, UMP45 nodded its muzzle towards Sasha, signaling her to throw his weapon to the ground.

MDR on the other side wasn't so polite, directly lifting her foot and kicking the mercenary in the crook of his leg, causing him to lower his head height before unceremoniously knocking him out with a fist.

"See, no skin broken at all! Now that's professionalism!" While stripping the weapon off the fallen mercenary, MDR showed off how professional her smothering technique was to M870.

"Eh, where did you learn all this from? Griffin's combat training course shouldn't have any content in this area, right?" Seeing the mercenary knocked out by MDR's light tap, M870 looked at Olga, who had been beaten beyond recognition by her shield, and wiped the sweat from her brow.

Fortunately, she was not alone in this place at the moment, otherwise, she would have had to lay down a harsh hand to finish off the three mercenaries, and she didn't know if Renault, the new commander, would blame her...

Of course, if MDR knew what M870 was worrying about, she would have taken a picture of her worried expression and sent it to the anonymous board to make fun of her.

If Renault himself were here, I'm afraid that among these three guys, only Sasha would survive. When dealing with mercenaries, Renault never held back; those mercenaries always standing opposite of Renault ended up as nothing but ashes...

The situation was forced. Sasha felt there was no way out. These three dolls moved without hesitation, their power far beyond ordinary tactical dolls. He didn't feel he had the ability to escape from these three...

Fortunately, these three didn't seem intent on finishing the job. They just knocked out the other two...

"Okay, now tell us properly, where exactly did you mercenaries come from? The way these two guys look, they don't seem like they're trying to protect those little ones." The expression on Sasha's face looked fine, like a pure simpleton, but the other two...

The greed in their eyes was almost tangible, and it was no wonder that when these kids were in town, they hid in the orphanage rooms, not willing to go near these mercenaries.

UMP45 could only say that children were very sensitive to their surroundings. Perhaps their Dean Tania had instructed them before leaving, or perhaps those children sensed that some mercenaries harbored ill intentions.

Fortunately, those children had been sent to the airship without landing, and for the time being, there was no need to worry about their safety.

"This is indeed the commission we received from Ms. Tania to come here to protect these children..." Sasha scratched his head, anxiously glancing at Olga, who was barely breathing.

"Is this what your dean told you? Or did you see Tania say this with your own eyes?"

"Of course it's the dean who told us. Commissions like this are usually handled by the intermediary or the dean themselves; it's customary."

"So... you haven't even met the orphanage head, Tania, with your own eyes? Aren't you the deputy head?"

"When did I ever say that I'm the deputy head of a mercenary group?"

Seeing the blank expression on Sasha's face, UMP45 and MDR looked at each other helplessly.

So, you're just an ordinary minion? Why did you show so much enthusiasm in front of the others before? We thought you were in charge of the mercenaries who stayed behind!

No wonder the other mercenaries had no intention of moving forward. Protecting those children was just a front; their real purpose was something else.

UMP45 nodded in understanding, narrowed her eyes, and looked towards the valley.

These mercenaries must have learned through some means that the client had hired Renault to pick up people.

After all, the client was just an ordinary person.

This level of information access wouldn't be too much trouble for these mercenaries... As for the anxiety on their faces, it was probably because their leader had been gone for so long without returning.

She thought she had encountered a rare animal in the mercenary business, but it turns out these guys really only know how to fool around...

Chapter 4: Hurry Up, We're in a Hurry

"After half a day of traveling, this is where the client ended up? Didn't we pass by here several times during the journey?" Looking at the graveyard in front of her, Super-Shorty felt a bit helpless and a cold chill ran down the back of her neck. "Why would the client come to a place like this?"

"Renault, didn't UMP45 say that the orphanage was inherited by the client from a distant relative?" HK416 seemed to have thought of something and turned her head towards Renault to ask.

"That's what she said, but she didn't specify what all was included in that inheritance. We're almost there; the smell is getting stronger." Renault nodded, ignoring the cowering fellow among the purposeful concierge, and led the three dolls straight through the gate.

"It looks like quite a few people have been here recently. Since when did graveyards become so popular?" M500 frowned at the incredibly cluttered graveyard and the freshly dug burial pits not too far away.

"Are there any underground chambers here?" Looking at those buildings that resembled houses in the middle of the graveyard, HK416 felt that this scene was familiar, almost like a reproduction of those game scenes G11 had played.

"There, those guys over there just came out from inside." Renault pointed at the group not far away who had just walked out from one of the chambers.

However, these guys seemed to have suffered a bit inside, as they looked grimy.

"Eh, it's possible the client is still inside and hasn't come out, right?"

Didn't UMP45 say earlier that the client had hired a group of mercenaries? It seems like it should be these guys. These mercenaries are really capable, managing to break through Paradeus's blockade and run to this isolated place.

Thinking of this, HK416 suddenly froze, feeling that the appearance of these mercenaries seemed a bit abnormal.

"Let's go, we've wasted enough time. Hurry up and find the client and ask that bastard what exactly he wants to do." Hearing Renault's words, HK416 nodded, casting a serious glance towards the mercenaries.

What if these mercenaries weren't hired by the client at all?

Although HK416 considered this possibility, M500 obviously didn't think much about these issues. Seeing the mercenaries heading in another direction, she waved to greet them.

"Hey! Are you guys from Giant Snake?"

HK416 and Renault didn't stop M500 because there was no need to. These mercenaries were irrelevant as long as they didn't hinder their search for the client named Tania.

While Super-Shorty, who didn't speak, noticed the disdainful gazes of both HK416 and Renault towards the mercenaries, her heart inexplicably thumped, feeling that M500's shout might lead to trouble.

The mercenaries, hearing M500's shout, turned towards the sound. Seeing the gun-wielding but scantily dressed M500, they quickly deduced she was a doll. After all, no sane person would dress like that in winter unless they were unaffected by the cold.

The mercenaries looked at each other and quickly thought of the security contractor responsible for transporting goods mentioned by their boss.

Simply ridiculous... a security contractor turning into a transportation company?

"You are Renault?"

The mercenaries ignored the two dolls beside Renault and focused on him. There were four of them: the one who shouted, another holding a gun, a woman in body armor, and a man in a coat. The woman and the man were likely human, as no one would put bulletproof vests on dolls.

Six mercenaries had walked out from the crypt and were heading towards another path in the cemetery. Upon seeing Renault and his group, they stopped and eyed Renault with curiosity.

Their captain had been worried about this unknown security contractor. Unexpectedly, Renault showed up with two seemingly soft dolls by his side. The woman in the bulletproof vest looked tough, but they had six people on their side.

However, Renault and HK416 just glanced at the mercenaries and continued towards the chamber they had just exited. M500 and Super-Shorty quickly followed Renault's lead, ignoring the mercenaries.

Seeing Renault pass by them indifferently, the mercenaries first froze, then grew angry.

"Go! Catch this guy!"

Their captain was looking for Renault, and capturing him now seemed perfect.

Who cared how many dolls Renault had? Could there be more than Griffin's?

The six mercenaries rushed towards Renault, raising their guns to strike the back of his head. The dolls and the silver-haired woman could be dealt with later.

However, before they could react, the mercenary at the forefront had his jaw dislocated by a brutal kick. His teeth, both real and fake, scattered into the air.

HK416, who had turned back violently, slammed the butt of her gun into another mercenary's nose, smashing it. The remaining four mercenaries barely had time to process what happened before HK416 disarmed them in quick succession, using both the gun butt and her boots.

.

Chapter 5: Is This Considered an Entry Assessment?

"You hit too lightly," Renault said without looking back, continuing to walk as he addressed HK416, who was walking behind him.

M500 and Super-Shorty, who were watching HK416 beat those guys into shapeless forms, were shocked by Renault's words.

Well... they can hardly be seen as human beings anymore. If no one rescues them, I'm afraid they won't survive the day. And yet, he's still saying the hits were too light?

Thinking of this, the two shook their heads, trying to erase the miserable conditions of those guys from their mental memories.

Unfortunately, dolls are not human beings. No matter how much they shake their heads, the scene has been firmly recorded in their minds.

"No way, I broke at least seven or eight bones of each of those guys. This is already considered very serious," HK416 said, looking at her gloves, which were not damaged and did not hurt. She hoped that the bionic skin protected by the gloves wouldn't be damaged too much.

M500 and Super-Shorty saw for the first time how different Renault was from Griffin. The two of them were completely different from Griffin's commander and dolls in terms of words and deeds.

One saw a man beaten to a pulp and said the beating was too light, while the other checked her tactical gloves for damage as soon as she finished the beating. No, it seemed she wasn't checking the gloves but was just concerned about whether the bionic skin on her body was damaged.

Watching HK416 take off her gloves and check her palms and backs over and over again, the two dolls didn't know what to say.

As M500 and Super-Shorty looked at each other, HK416 suddenly noticed that half of the guys who had just been knocked to the ground behind her had gotten up!

The weapons in their hands were already raised!

HK416, in a state of doubt, immediately picked up the imprint weapon hanging around her neck and turned around!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three gunshots almost connected suddenly rang out. The one who fired wasn't HK416, but Renault, who had turned around at some point.

Looking at the three mercenaries who had half of their heads missing, HK416 shook her head helplessly. She thought her speed could compete with Renault, but she didn't expect there was still such a big gap.

Is this guy really the limit of human beings? I'm afraid he has already surpassed humans...

"How could these guys wake up? I just knocked them out. And with so many broken bones, normal humans shouldn't even be able to stand up at this time."

"They have a lot of prosthetic limbs installed in their bodies, and there may be some parts that assist in combat. It's not surprising that they have this situation," Renault said as he ejected the cylinder, poured out the empty shells, and then slowly reloaded the bullets.

"Okay, I was too careless," HK416 sighed helplessly.

She thought that after so long in the training device, she would be able to...

Never mind. Anyway, this time she learned a lesson. She didn't expect that these mercenaries would install this kind of combat-assisting gadgets in their bodies.

Even dolls don't have gadgets that can help them stand up after their hands and feet are broken. As expected, humans will spare no expense when it comes to life safety.

Her life detector just didn't find any of the prosthetic parts on these guys. If nothing unexpected happens, they should be made of bionic materials that can be integrated with the human body, and they also have the function of assisting in combat. She doesn't know how much these mercenaries spent to install this kind of thing on themselves.

"Why do you look like this? Are you scared?" HK416 put on her gloves and turned to see M500 and the other two with some fear in their eyes.

"Um, probably... a little bit..." Super-Shorty scratched her cheek and said, but even so, the cold sweat on her forehead couldn't be faked. M500 was better, just looking a little surprised.

"Don't be so surprised, this is relatively regular. You have seen dolls being beaten to pieces before."

Although doll bodies are mostly made of industrial materials, after being broken, the circulating fluid and bionic modules in the bodies are scattered, which is not much better than the situation in front of them.

Hearing this, the two dolls couldn't help but pull the corners of their mouth.

They were not scared by the miserable situation over there, but by the decisiveness of the two of you. They just didn't expect that life outside of Griffin is all like this.

In the past, all they saw were dolls fighting for life and death. Now, when they suddenly saw a living human being dying in front of them...

How should they put it... It felt a little different.

However, before the two of them could calm down, they saw Renault put his weapon back into the holster, then raise his hand to take a grenade from the tactical strap of HK416. He flicked the pull ring with one hand and threw it to the remaining three mercenaries with his backhand.

"Ah!?"

"Say hello before going in." As he spoke, Renault walked directly into the tomb, and a sharp explosion sounded from behind several people.

After the roar, the bright spots representing the mercenaries in the life detectors of M500 and Super-Shorty completely disappeared.

M500 and Super-Shorty didn't want to say anything anymore, and now they had no time to think about these things, because after the explosion, other exclamations sounded in the tomb. It sounds like there are quite a few people in this tomb. The six people who just walked out are probably only a small part.

HK416 was about to say something when she saw Renault looking at her. It was obvious that he was urging her to act quickly; otherwise, when the mercenaries inside were ready for battle, HK416 alone would have to pay a price to clear out the mercenaries.

For example, the clothes on her body... the bionic skin on the surface of the body.

"Really, I thought there would be no trouble in this mission," HK416 said as she checked the amount of ammunition in the magazine and took out another gun on her back.

Watching HK416's actions, Super-Shorty also curled her lips, added a bullet to the magazine of her imprint weapon, and then opened the safety. "Before you complain, please put away the excitement on your face, okay?"

"Commander, is this considered an entry assessment?" M500 also made a similar move, but when she spoke, she looked at Renault.

"If you think so." Renault spread his hands. In fact, even if the two of them didn't take action, he wouldn't have any objection. After all, these mercenaries were not a threat to HK416 at all. He didn't take action because he was worried about the new clothes on his body.

Chapter 6: Reckless? Doesn't Exist

"Hmm? Zener Protocol?"

After making two tactical gestures to M500 and Super-Shorty, HK416, who was about to rush in, unexpectedly received a combat link application from the two.

"It's really a bit unexpected. I haven't used this thing for a long time."

"Eh? Don't you usually communicate when you're fighting?"

"No, I've been active in a heavily polluted area for a long time before. This kind of long-distance communication protocol is strongly interfered with. Generally, I use gestures, or shout directly, and at worst, I can call."

HK416 and Super-Shorty talked in the communication protocol and confirmed the signal source fed back from their respective life detectors.

Renault didn't need to speak. After HK416 made a gesture, M500 and Super-Shorty rushed out one after another!

These two people cooperated really well. One was tall and the other short. They just staggered their shooting positions. Each of them fired one shot and hit the two mercenaries who were about to rush to the front, making them stagger...

But that was all... just a stagger... Then the two mercenaries raised their guns again as if nothing had happened, aimed directly at M500 and Super-Shorty, and fired a series of bullets at them.

Sorry, you two, It's to let you see what it means to have evil in human hearts... Fighting against humans is fundamentally different from fighting against the Sangvis Ferri...

HK416, who did not rush out with the two, knew something was wrong when she heard the sound of the two people firing. Even if these two guys replaced the live ammunition in the gun chamber, they still used the buckshot that they used to use?

It must be said that buckshot is really useful for hitting those low-level dolls of the Sangvis. Most of those dolls don't have any armor on them. Even if it is buckshot, it can still cause great damage to those Sangvis Ferri dolls.

But it's not necessarily the case for humans. The equipment on these mercenaries is not outrageous. They only wear a bulletproof vest on their upper body, but even a soft bulletproof vest is enough to resist these buckshot.

Not to mention that these guys have stuffed a few more bulletproof plates in their bulletproof vests. If we also count the protective prostheses that those guys may have replaced or implanted in their bodies... Tsk, even if they are replaced with single-headed bullets, they may not be able to do anything to these bastards.

But there is a way to deal with it. Just aim at the unprotected parts of those guys, such as the face, face, face...

Originally, HK416 wanted to hit the arms or legs... But when she thought of the mercenaries who had just been broken by her and could get up again, she finally put the best target on the face.

Let's talk about M500 and Super-Shorty, who just failed to knock down the two mercenaries with two shots. They found something wrong after firing the first shot. Although the life detector can detect the general characteristics of life, the equipment on the surface of the body is obviously not included...

The two who failed to achieve success in one fell swoop faced the series of bullets fired back by the opponent, they really had no good way except for Super-Shorty to lift the external armor plate she carried on her body to temporarily resist the bullets.

In addition to the two mercenaries who rushed to the front, the subsequent mercenaries were also rushing over quickly, and the dense footsteps were coming from the corridor behind the two mercenaries.

Fortunately, M500 had received a reminder from HK416 in the communication protocol, and directly changed the target of attack to the faces of the two mercenaries.

Bang!

"Uh!?"

At such a close distance, M500 naturally had no reason to miss the target. She just subconsciously aimed at the chest before.

However, the two mercenaries were hit in the face, one of them fell to the ground without a breath, and the other fell to the ground with a scream, it was obvious that he was not yet fully incapacitated.

Just when M500 and the other were about to go further, the mercenaries behind them also rushed up directly.

"Fuck! Fred! The titanium alloy jawbone you replaced last month is really useful!?" One of the mercenaries who fell to the ground was dragged back by his teammate under the cover of others, shouting carelessly.

Hearing this, M500 and Super-Shorty were sweating on their foreheads.

No wonder they didn't die after being shot by M500. This luck is really good... Could it be that his teeth were also replaced with bulletproof ceramics?

It sounds long, but in fact, it only took more than ten seconds to go back and forth. HK416 certainly would not stay behind to watch the fun. She estimated that the mercenaries had almost exhausted their bullets, so she took off the two stun grenades on her body and threw them out.

After receiving the reminder, M500 and the other two immediately turned off their hearing and visual systems, relying only on the data transmitted back by HK416 to support their actions.

The mercenaries who were busy saving people and covering them obviously did not expect the two dolls in front of them to do such a thing. Since there was a stun grenade, why didn't you throw it before!?

"Ouch!?" Caught off guard, at least four or five screams rang out after the stun grenade exploded.

Super-Shorty and the other two who had just turned off the perception module also restarted the perception module at the reminder of HK416 and pushed forward directly.

Seeing that HK416 finally rushed out, Renault also took out his mobile phone and followed, switching the phone to filming mode, and took videos while walking.

MDR, should be interested in the first commission of M500 and Super-Shorty, right?

With the life detection module in the body responsible for providing the enemy's position, M500 and the other two were in the front to provide cover, and HK416 was shooting and throwing projectiles in the back, just like strolling in her own backyard.

To be honest, Renault was still a little surprised by her performance. After all, when he saw this guy picked up both guns at the beginning, he thought that this guy would rush forward to open the enemy's attack and use invincibility or something.

In the end, she played steadily and had no intention of taking risks. He doesn't know whether he should say that this guy has learned to be smart or that she has become more timid after training in the training device.

However, the advantage of this style of play is that so far, except for some minor injuries on M500 and the other two caused by bullets, the main body of the three has not been damaged at all.

The whole battle lasted only three minutes. Facing the projectiles thrown by HK416, the mercenaries had no good way to deal with them. However, the most important thing was that the speed of HK416's shooting was beyond the imagination of the mercenaries.

Whether two or three mercenaries leaned forward at the same time, they would all be shot through by HK416's accurate bullets.

In just three minutes, the distance covered was less than 200 meters, but M500 and Super-Shorty always felt dazed.

Whether it was the angry roars of the mercenaries or the screams after being hit...

They all felt that these three minutes seemed to be the longest three minutes in their doll careers...

Chapter 7: Pull Them Back for Training

"These guys are really slow to react. If they didn't want to see the treasure in their hands being taken away, why didn't they act earlier? This place is terrible. It's all bare, and there's only a big rock here," MDR said, half-crouched behind the rock, looking at the mercenaries below who were looking up the hillside.

"If you don't want to hide, rush out and take them all down. It's just right, there will be one less person squeezing in here," UMP45 said, taking her phone and sending a message to UMP40 while squeezing towards MDR.

From the way those mercenaries were just looking over here, if they wanted to fight, they would have rushed up long ago. Now they've been staying where they are, just waiting for the contact from the three guys above. Unfortunately, one of the three mercenaries is unknown whether he's alive or dead, and the other two were knocked unconscious. Sasha, who seems not very smart, is now lying motionless like the mercenary who was knocked to the ground by MDR just now.

UMP45 had no interest in the disputes among other mercenary groups. She just wanted to know whether they should continue to guard this place. If Renault had received the client, then they could go to the city to meet up.

"I'm not going out. Anyway, those guys haven't made any moves yet," MDR squeezed back unwillingly. While speaking, she looked at the drone controller in her hand. Those mercenaries were now staying in place honestly.

However, just after MDR finished speaking, M870, who was squeezed in the middle by the two, stood up immediately, "Here they come! Simonov and the others should be back!"

Looking at the rapidly descending air gunship in the sky, M870 also breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, she didn't have to hide behind that stone!

Ding!

"Ah!?"

M870, who was stretching she body, suddenly fell forward to the ground before she could be happy!

UMP45 and MDR, who were still sitting there, had strange expressions on their faces when they heard the sound just now.

Of course, MDR would never forget to take photos and videos of M870 and also took a close-up of the sniper who shot M870 in the back of the head at the foot of the hill.

The mercenary who fired the gun was also at a loss at this time. He had no idea whether his shot just now hit the target or not. If he did, how could there be such a crisp metal collision sound? The most important thing is that there was a scream. He had never seen any human or doll scream after their head was blown up.

"Haha! Did you see that? The sniper's bewildered look is so funny! But the most important thing is that Miss M870 failed the mission assessment this time. Look at the dent on the back of her head. I'm afraid she will have to shave off all her hair to repair it. If there is no spare material at home, a certain doll will only be able to maintain the appearance of a bald head!"

"Hiss! It hurts! It's really dented!?" M870, who was lying on the ground, also came to her senses at this time. She touched the back of her head with some disbelief and found that there was indeed a not-so-obvious dent...

When she thought of what MDR had just said, M870 was about to cry.

Who knew that those mercenaries would suddenly attack her when she stood up!?

It was clear that they had been at peace for so long before! Why did she get beaten as soon as she showed her head here!?

"Hey! Hey, UMP45! Look at that little expression! This photo should be very popular! I wonder if Griffin has remade an M870. If that guy sees this..."

"No! No!"

Looking at the unusually synchronized smirks on the faces of MDR and UMP45, M870 blushed and screamed in shame and anger.

"Oh? Did you get beaten? Hey! How many people are there to be killed?" Before Simonov stopped the gunboat, Executioner jumped out of the cabin first.

It's not that they happened to meet, but Executioner wanted to follow them at first, but heard that there was unlikely to be a fight this time, so she didn't follow them. But since Simonov said that someone else had come and there was no request, she naturally took the lead!

And looking at the appearance of M870, it was obvious that she was beaten. Look, there is such a big bald spot on the back of her head. The difference between the dark armor plate and M870's golden hair is so great that it is impossible not to see it.

"It's right down there, at the foot of the hill. Those mercenaries are there. Have fun," MDR raised her hand and pointed to the area below the hill.

Upon hearing this, Executioner subconsciously crossed the stone shelter and took two steps forward. However, just as she raised her foot, Executioner raised the long blade in her hand to block the bullets in front of her.

"Wow, you're quite accurate!" Executioner stepped back and moved out of the opponent's shooting range. As she spoke, she looked around, walked to the crying M870, and picked up her bulletproof shield.

"Lend me your shield! I'll return it to you later!"

"Hey! Wait..."

Without waiting for M870 to say anything, the executioner had already rushed down the hill with a shield in one hand and a knife in the other.

"What the hell!? Where did this stupid doll come from!? Does she think it's still the Middle Ages? There should be a limit to looking down on others!"

Seeing Eecutioner rushing down alone, the mercenaries who had thought that the dolls on the opposite side would have a lot of reinforcements were furious. They no longer waited and watched, and they all leaned out of their respective bunkers and attacked Executioner with guns.

But these mercenaries obviously underestimated Executioner's sprinting speed.

For Executioner, it didn't even take five seconds to reach the small hill more than 200 meters away. Even if she still needed to raise her hand to block the bullets, it was just to prevent stray bullets.

The speed of these mercenaries' aiming could not keep up with her sprinting speed. One or two of them hit the shield in her hand, but it was a pity that they were just small-caliber rifle bullets, which hit the shield twice and made no pain.

Listening to the gunfire below, M870 wanted to take a look, but UMP45 had already dragged her onto the gunboat, "Okay, no need to look. The specific combat records can be seen after M1 Garand sorts them out. You are out now. Be prepared for the hell training after you go back."

Hell training...

M3, who was called over to help with the executioner, was originally eager to come, but now when she heard UMP45's words, she couldn't help but start to worry...

And... Executioner didn't seem to need her help, right?

Looking at the imprint weapon in her hand, and then at the bulletproof vests on the mercenaries lying over there, M3 sighed helplessly.

Chapter 8: That Misery......

"Not bad."

Renault nodded with satisfaction, looking at the fallen mercenaries. Compared to the first time when HK416 almost died from seawater, she was much more stable now.

Hearing Renault's words, HK416 couldn't help but feel elated, but then reminded herself that it was just "not bad." If it was the commander, he would have done it more perfectly.

M500 and Super-Shorty also breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, these mercenaries were taken care of. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any backup arriving afterward; their ammo was running low. If another group of mercenaries came, their bullets would completely bottom out.

"Let's go, that unlucky client is right in front. Take the people and leave this place in a hurry," Renault said. However, his hand movements were picking up the weapons from the ground that those mercenaries were holding. After checking them, he threw them to M500 and Super-Shorty.

Even if those mercenaries didn't have any backup, it wasn't ruled out that there wouldn't be others rushing over.

He had already confirmed before that this town was under Paradeus' control, and he didn't believe that those people from Paradeus wouldn't have any armed forces in this area.

Without guns in their hands, how could they make the townspeople obey them? This town was now isolated from the outside world. The road to the outside world was also blocked. Although cars couldn't get out, it didn't prevent people from running.

If you really want to go, bring some supplies, bring your communication equipment, and just walk out along the highway.

But now these people didn't do that. Those Paradeus guys must have something in hand that can deter those ordinary people's power.

Just relying on those mercenaries alone was not enough to blockade this town.

In this town, although there was only one highway leading to the outside world, there was also a railroad, two roads, four entrances, plus the surrounding paths that were simply indescribable. It definitely wasn't impossible to run out.

"Uh, Super-Shorty, can you shoot accurately with this?" M500 held what was probably an AN94 assault rifle somewhat helplessly, asking towards Super-Shorty.

"How do I know? I haven't used it either!" Super-Shorty was also holding an AS Val in his hand. While familiarizing herself with the gun, she lowered her voice and called out to M500.

While the two of them were looking at the extra guns and ammo on their bodies in a daze, HK416 and Renault had already kicked open a steel door in front of them that had obviously been recently installed on. Their unlucky client, Tania, was currently tied up to a supply crate in the middle of the room.

HK416 swept a glance at this unlucky client and squeezed her eyes with some reluctance.

She's too miserable, simply miserable......

Originally, when she heard UMP45 say that the client was a lady, HK416 was still worried that something might have gone wrong with this client, such as being captured to do certain things like this and that.

But apparently, those mercenaries had to be all hard-hearted. Look at the person who beat the client to......

Tsk, her face looked like a dye house that have opened, her eyes were swollen like two buns, narrowed into a slit, and she was trying to untie the rope around her with difficulty.

Renault was also quite speechless. Really, this commissioner... if it was an emergency or to save a life or something, he would have come a little faster. Still, the result was good, not to mention about these mercenaries, and now being made into this demeanor, after going back to the hospital, she would have to lie down for a few months to recover.

"Miss Tania? Are you still conscious? Can you recognize me? I'm Renault. I agreed to come over to haul goods, but the mess you made on your side is really not small." Reaching out and shaking his hand in front of Tania's eyes, the other party also nodded with difficulty as a response.

However, after nodding, Tania reached out and pointed to a piece of wreckage in the corner of this chamber.

It was a Doll.

Dressed in an ordinary maid's outfit, it should be, unsurprisingly, a Doll that Tania herself had brought here.

"You're bringing her?" M500 looked at this Doll that had already been destroyed to bits and pieces and couldn't help but feel a sense of empathy.

After all, back then, she had also turned into this appearance, and in the end, it was Renault' hands that fixed her.

Thinking of this, M500 subconsciously looked towards Renault.

Of course, Renault wouldn't have any objections. After all, repairing a doll was just a matter of repairing a doll. It wasn't a big deal.

Most of all, this girl Tania had given a sufficient advance payment, so he didn't mention anything about raising the price.

After all, she had already been beaten to the point of looking like a pig. After going back, maybe she even nees to do plastic surgery or something. It's so miserable; so he won't rub salt into other people's wounds.

"Uh... ah... ah!"

But it seems like that's not all. Just as HK416 removed the door that was kicked down from the room, intending to use the thing as a stretcher to carry Tania away, Tania reached out her hand again with difficulty and pointed towards the wall on the side of the chamber.

"And? Take what?" Letting M500 go and collect the doll mind core and the vegetative remains, Renault walked over in the direction of Tania's finger.

After approaching the wall, Renault realized that there was another layer of organs on the wall, a 20-30 centimeter thick stone door, and the inside of the door even had some materials added to shield the scanning signals.

The switch is on the ceiling above the stone door. Pull that seemingly inconspicuous wall lamp down a cut can start.

He don't know how those mercenaries' brains actually work, this is such an obvious mechanism, these guys froze and didn't find it.

After opening the stone door, as expected, there was another doll. But this doll was now activated in dormant mode to reduce their doll body signal feedback and energy response.

But as soon as the stone door was opened, the doll reactivated itself, looking somewhat timidly at Renault who stepped out of the way and ran towards Tania, clutching the small box in its hand.

"Tania! They actually beat you up like this!?" Looking at Tania, who was lying on the stretcher and had completely lost her shape, the doll, who was similar in size to Super-Shorty, screamed with a sobbing voice.

"416 and M500 carry this guy, take that doll with you, we should go."

Hearing Renault's words, the two of them naturally agreed.

After all, the two of them were of similar height. Carrying them together was always more appropriate than having one taller and one shorter with Super-Shorty.

However, Renault's action puzzled Super-Shorty.

Go on, you raise your hand to take off your coat, and what does that mean?

Watching Renault take off his coat, he subconsciously wanted to put it on the door panel. But as soon as he saw how Tania's body was covered in blood, he withdrew his hand and stuffed the coat into Super-Shorty's arms.

Several dolls were instantly speechless.

What a crucial time it is... and he still cares about others' stains on his new coat...

Chapter 9: Mercenary's Backup?

Although she was beaten by those mercenaries to the point of no longer looking human, Tania did not lose consciousness. On the contrary, the continuous beating had made Tania as alert as a bird of prey.

Thus, when Renault held out his coat towards her, Tania looked at him warily. If he was like those mercenaries, wanting to learn about her aunt's heritage from her, she would rather die than reveal anything.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw the hesitant and disgusted expression on Renault's face. Then, when Renault folded the coat and stuffed it into Super-Shorty's hands, it was enough to make Tania want to spit blood in his face!

What do you mean? I haven't even passed out yet! You asshole! It's just a little blood! Do you dislike your client that much? Ugh cough!

A breath was stuck in her chest, and Tania was so angry that she coughed, then rolled her eyes and fainted from anger.

"Eh... this..." M500, who had been keeping an eye on Tania, was startled when she suddenly fainted. But then she associated it with Renault's actions.

Should she say something now? Or should she pretend not to see anything...?

While M500 hesitated, Renault, who had given his coat to Super-Shorty, picked up two assault rifles from the fallen mercenaries and slung them over his shoulders. He even took one mercenary's tactical sling and put it on without hesitation.

"Eh, Commander, if you're afraid of getting your coat dirty, aren't you afraid of getting your shirt dirty? This white shirt doesn't look nearly as resistant to dirt as the coat." Super-Shorty looked at the coat in her hands and then at the white shirt Renault was wearing. It clearly seemed less resistant to dirt than the brown coat.

"Oh, this does not matter. P90 sent over a large box. The cotton planted a while ago has been processed, and a machine made a large pile of shirts. She said I should try them on, and if they're good, we could sell them later."

Uh... who's going to buy this...? This kind of shirt isn't sold anywhere...

Although it looked good on Renault, it was still just a plain shirt. At a glance, it seemed like cheap goods. Even if it was sold on the street for twenty, no one would buy it, right?

Hearing this, Super-Shorty nodded. Although they weren't afraid of getting dirty, there was no need to carry so many weapons and ammunition, right? They only brought Tania as their client. After going out, would they have to continue to fight...?

Super-Shorty's thoughts froze. Just before they came in, Renault not only opened fire but also threw a grenade at those people...

Such a big commotion, if those mercenaries really had backup, they might have already arrived at the entrance of the cemetery by now.

So, how did Commander Renault know that enemies were already rushing over?

The life detection module on her body had not responded until now. Although the signal was slightly blocked when underground, within a radius of forty meters, apart from Renault and Tania, there was no sign of any living thing at all.

Was it possible that the commander's perception range or hearing range far exceeded the detection distance of the Life Detection Module?

"You guys walk slowly at the back. I'll go to the front to check out the situation first," Reynolds said, taking a step towards the exit.

In fact, underneath this cemetery, there wasn't just Tania's aunt's crypt; there was also a large space.

Reynolds had already noticed when he entered this area that the entrance was at the entrance of a few other burial chambers.

Those mercenaries had walked out of the burial chambers, and 80% of them were heading that way.

There was no doubt that this was the stronghold of those mercenaries and Paradeus. Otherwise, why would there be a smell of rice in this graveyard? It couldn't be for cooking for the dead, could it? The quantity would be too much.

Renault's guess wasn't far off. As he walked out from the entrance of the crypt with his weapon, a group of people had already surrounded the entire cemetery.

The mercenaries among them numbered six or seven, about the same as those who had just walked out from the crypt. But the other group was more numerous.

Roughly estimated, there were thirty or forty of them, and most of them used black robes to cover themselves, making it impossible to see what they looked like underneath.

However, this concealment was useless for Renault. He could clearly perceive that these people under the robes had all been transformed into a half-human, half-machine state.

The mechanical part was even more significant. Some people's throats could still make slight hissing sounds, and the rest had no body temperature at all.

"What's going on here? Where's the captain and the others? Who's that guy?"

"Don't ask! It's obvious! Look at that gun in that guy's hand! Varyosha wouldn't let anyone touch his baby!"

"Fuck! The captain got taken out! Go! Take revenge on that guy!"

"Wait! What's the rush! Don't you see those guys coming out? Let's not rush; let's just stand here and watch. What if there's an ambush behind that guy?"

The bodies of the few mercenaries killed before were all in pieces. This indicated that the person responsible was not an amateur. This time, they shouldn't charge in rashly but wait for the monsters around them to take the lead.

These monsters, transformed by Paradeus, had obviously undergone some kind of process. Most of them were previously near death but were now completely revitalized by Paradeus' surgery.

Not only did they obey orders, but their combat skills had also reached the level of ordinary mercenaries. Considering their excellent marksmanship...

It had to be said that if Paradeus could mass-produce these guys, mercenaries like them might all be out of work in the future.

"Huh? What are you afraid of? There's only one guy on the other side! Outside of some sporadic gunshots, there was no other movement at all! Moreover, the captain might still be alive now. Hurry and rush over to give him a shot of adrenaline; we might still be able to save him!"

But among the mercenaries, some couldn't stay calm.

Seeing only Renault at the entrance, two of them couldn't be stopped. After all, those Paradeus monsters wouldn't help rescue their captain.

Chapter 10: Not a Good Idea!

"Ah! HK416! The commander rushed out by himself! Does it really not matter?" Watching Renault walk out of the chamber door without any fear, Super-Shorty couldn't help but call out nervously.

At this time, her life detection module had also responded, but the reading was still very low, the distance should be around forty meters, and the number was not much, only six or seven.

Super-Shorty couldn't help but complain about the lack of detection distance of her life detection module, but unfortunately, it was meant to be an auxiliary module for confirming the movements of people inside buildings at close range. It simply doesn't have as vast a detection range as the military model. So when will this thing be replaced?

In fact, this thing was already a military device for ordinary dolls, and it was only because of Griffin's cooperation with the Security Bureau that a small number of castrated versions were made in the first place. The ones Renault had installed on his own doll were mostly traded in from the black market, most of them new of course, and most of them trickled out of the hands of IOP insiders.

This is also a tacitly recognized behavior. If someone dares to remove the life detection module on the doll body and put it on the black market to buy second-hand, then I'm afraid they don't need to wait for the buyer to come to their door; just the military finding them will be enough to take their lives.

Really strange, they are selling these things, but also forbid others to buy second-hand products...

"Ugh, anyway, just be patient and wait here. It's just six or seven mercenaries; it's nothing to Renault. If you have time to worry about the Commander, the guy who's strong as hell, you might as well keep an eye on that doll and don't let her run around."

HK416 nudged towards the smaller doll walking beside Tania, signaling Super-Shorty to keep an eye on her. After all, it was a smaller doll, and the smaller dolls in the family, all of them, had personalities closer to that of a child, and usually, one wouldn't be without a headache when they got rowdy.

If this doll of the client's Tania was also of this character, then they naturally had to keep an eye on her, lest she wander around and end up being inadvertently taken out as an enemy by the mercenaries who rushed in.

"Ah! I'm not a little kid! I definitely won't wander around!"

Just like the other dolls in the house, the word 'little kid' seemed to be a forbidden phrase for these little ones, but whenever someone brought it up, they dared to blow up on the spot.

"You'd better. That said, is there anything you guys haven't picked up yet? If not, we'll just get you guys on our ship when we get out to keep those orphanage kids company."

It had to be said that although HK416 did have a small amount of resentment towards this client who did not inform them of the detailed information of the mission, the money given by the other party was just too generous. Unsurprisingly, this time when she went back, her wallet, which was just about to go flat due to shopping all over the city, would definitely be able to share a large sum of money this time.

Renault was not at all withholding in terms of giving his own family members pocket money, and every time he went out on a mission, the money he gave them was far more than what they got from their missions in Griffin.

Tania, who was lying on the door panel, woke up and heard this, first shook her head, then endured the pain and opened her mouth towards HK416 and asked, "Have all the children in that orphanage at the bottom of the valley been transferred away?"

"Already moved away. The child who led the way and followed us, I think her name is Misha, right?" HK416 said, sending another message to UMP40, asking for the names of those children and their numbers.

After confirming with the poorly speaking Tania, who was also relieved to be on the door panel, "Yeah, that's right, the name and number are correct. Nothing wrong on their end?"

"Of course there isn't, but that valley you mentioned had a lot more mercenaries when we were there. Those mercenaries even escorted the children all the way before they boarded the ship, but unfortunately, as soon as they heard that we wouldn't let them board the ship, they went off nuts."

As HK416 was speaking, the smaller doll next to Tania, at this point, realized that she had heard the word ship twice in HK416's words, and asked in confusion, "By ship? But there shouldn't be any lakes or rivers nearby?" There were creeks, but those with water that was just barely above the surface of their feet weren't enough to hold up a ship, right?

What's more, it's winter now, and although there isn't much of an ice age in this town between the peaks, those creeks have completely frozen over. Otherwise, the owner wouldn't have gone without a bath for most of the month, and would only be able to frantically consume all that perfume every day to hide her embarrassment.

"Spaceship, so sure there's nothing left out? If it's too much of a hassle when you forgot something, watch out for our commander when he asks you for extra money when he gets back."

Unlikely though that is. After all, the money given by Tania this time was definitely enough, but in the past, when Renault took on commissions, several times didn't he also increase the price... so this time, it's also not guaranteed...

Bang Bang Bang!

Just as she was thinking about it, the sound of gunshots outside the crypt had already sounded!

Super-Shorty, who was hiding sideways at the entrance of the crypt to watch, was also busy retreating back from that conspicuous position at the entrance. She had just merely dodged a hail of bullets aiming at her head, and was being aimed at by a large group of people with gunpoints!

Most importantly!

"HK416! Those enemies outside are not the right number! It's not some six or seven at all! There are at least forty of them out there now!?" Super-Shorty, who had shrunk back, shouted loudly at HK416 before she could allow herself to breathe a sigh of relief.

"No? The Life Detecto clearly..." Hearing this, HK416 also gingerly padded over to the entrance of the chamber and glanced out. It didn't matter if she didn't look, after taking such a look, even HK416 couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Because the number of enemies outside was simply too much!

"This can't be possible! The life detection module isn't even responding!" HK416 shouted in disbelief. Upon hearing this, M500 also left from beside the door panel. At this point, Tania had already been placed on the ground, and didn't have to worry about rolling back to the ground at all, as she would have a hard time even lifting her hands right now, let alone rolling over.

Not poking her head out to check as the other two did, M500 stood next to the doorway of the chamber, her ears already perked up on the top of her head. It wasn't clear what exactly her designer had in mind with her ears for in the first place, but at the very least she was using them now.

Although the life detection module seemed to be out of order at the moment, M500's ears were, to a certain extent, a more sensitive existence than ordinary people and dolls.

Listening to the sounds of battle outside as well as the sounds of footsteps, M500's face also sank, "This number..."

The six or seven mercenaries that HK416 had seen before were absolutely no problem. The problem was that there was now a large number of extra guys outside clad in black robes with no human life signatures at all, as well as no electronic signals leaking out at the same time.

Chapter 11 - Not Knowing Friend from Foe

"This can't be right, can it? Those guys clearly look human..." Super-Shorty frowned, double-checking to make sure there was no problem with her life-detection module.

However, the result was very normal. Whether it was Tania behind them, Renault who had already stood across from those enemies, or the several mercenaries hiding behind those black-robed men, the life detection module was able to clearly feed back the positions and movements of those people into their minds.

"Who knows what kind of technology it is again." Although she was a bit surprised at first that these guys didn't have any life response, HK416 was soon relieved because these black-robed men, it looked like, weren't equipped with overly heavy protective gear.

There were a bit too many of them, but they weren't too hard for Renault to handle.

"He won't be killed by those guys by himself, right?" Just as HK416 breathed a sigh of relief and was about to open her mouth to comfort the two M500s who were still a bit nervous, a voice that sounded like it had little confidence in Renault suddenly rang out from behind the three.

Hearing this, while M500 and Super-Shorty were still a bit worried, HK416 rolled her eyes breathlessly.

"Honestly, stay back there, a little bit back, be careful of what you see in a while that will cause your mind to collapse."

"What? Mental breakdown? How is that possible? Isn't it just a battle, what's so scary about it, it's not like it's not..."

Snap.

Before the words were finished, a piece of what looked like a skull attached to a piece of skin fell off in front of the heel of her toe...

"Eeeee-!?"

The small doll in a maid's outfit immediately screamed at the top of her voice!

The ear-piercing scream even overshadowed the sound of gunfire outside for a time.

M500 and Super-Shorty, who were originally not too panicked, were immediately shivered from this voice. If they didn't see that this person was still standing here in one piece, they might have thought that she was being attacked.

Hearing her doll scream, Tania, who was lying drowsily on the door panel, was directly scared to sit up straight!

However, she soon saw her doll standing intact in the doorway, and although she was screaming, she looked undoubtedly unharmed.

Had something happened to that Renault? But hadn't he just gone out on his own accord? And... those faces of Renault's dolls seemed a bit... flat?

Aren't they supposed to be concerned for their commander?

"Alright, alright, stop for a second. I've told you to stand back." HK416 could not help but lift this guy up and set her beside Tania, then looked towards Tania who sat up. "There is no problem outside, our... boss is a professional. Don't worry at all. Lie down honestly to rest, or else if your body has a problem, we might have to rush you to for first aid."

Hearing this, Tania instantly relaxed, reassured, and lay back down. But it was enough to make her grimace and call out in pain.

"It's really... strange... how come we don't react so much when we see it?"

Watching the doll return to Tania, Super-Shorty patted her small body and somewhat uncontrollably looked back towards the outside.

"Well, I don't know, we probably got used to looking at scattered and battered doll parts too much." M500 shrugged her shoulders. After the initial shock and just now hearing the scream, the two of them recoiled and calmed down.

The main reason was actually because Renault, who had rushed directly into the crowd on the other side, was too stimulating for ordinary people and even for guys in the security contracting business. His chopping and slicing action was really too gruesome.

Obviously he was holding an assault rifle capable of long-distance shooting, but he preferred to rush into the pile of enemies and then fire at the enemy's head at close range...

How on earth did this kind of strange habit develop?

Of course, even stranger were those black-robed people lying directly on the ground. They obviously looked like humans, and their exposed limbs after being shot were still human. Yet, even if they were shot, they did not scream.

One couldn't help but suspect that these guys had undergone some special training... but their actions were a bit like the Sangvis Ferri ordinary automatons which had no intelligence.

They didn't make any tactical maneuvers at all other than standing in place, raising their guns, and then firing at Renault. Sometimes, they would even hit their own men because of Renault's fluctuating position.

Those few mercenaries were even more thankful at this time that they hadn't rushed ahead of these Paradeus guys. Otherwise, I'm afraid that the ones who would be killed by 'their own people' right now wouldn't be those foolish black-robed men, but themselves!

These guys simply don't distinguish between enemy and friend!

Because of Renault's intentional guidance, these black-robed men had almost swept these mercenaries into a sieve several times!

"Don't just stand there! Hurry up and go! That guy isn't even human!"

From when Renault walked out, took action and now half of those black-robed people lay downed after, the time difference, it all just took a minute or so...

"Bah! But if we left just like this! The captain is..."

"Are you stupid! You want to get killed because of the dead! I don't! You'll just be waiting here to die!"

Watching Renault idly dodging the shooting those black-robed men while changing the magazines of his weapons in just a split second, he couldn't see any possibility of being able to kill off the other party anyway.

Just now, this fool beside himself, several times saw Renault's back, he couldn't help but want to show his head to shoot it, but the others pulled him back.

If he wasn't pulled back several times, this guy would have fallen under the indiscriminate attacks of those black-robed people. Now this guy is still angry here? What's there to be angry about? What they were doing was business, not some endeavor where they had to get killed!

The shouts between several mercenaries, without exception, all fell into Renault's ears, and immediately afterward, several mercenaries also directly ran towards the distance from the position behind the bunker.

A total of seven mercenaries ran, four left, there are still three left.

Thinking like this, Renault directly turned around and rushed towards the location where those three mercenaries were hiding, while those black-robed men followed with their steps as if they recognized Renault, the guns in their hands still spewing out their tongues of fire.

Large pieces of bullets chased after Renault's figure and landed on those mercenaries' bunkers!

And the remaining three mercenaries, after seeing Renault directly exposing himself in front of their eyes, can they still hold back?

They directly twisted their bodies, disregarding the fact that they were now out of cover, aiming at Renault and pulling the trigger.

The result was obvious: the guns of these mercenaries simply could not keep up with Renault's speed! The series of bullets all hit empty space!

"Blanch!" One of the mercenaries who had emptied his magazines seemed to be angry that he had missed a shot and directly smashed the assault rifle in his hand onto the ground, raising his hand to draw the pistol he was carrying...

Da da da da da!

Unfortunately, not waiting for him to pull the trigger, a hail of bullets behind him directly pierced the back of this guy's head!

Chapter Twelve: Winding Up and Winding Down

"This is too easy. We were worried for a while, thinking it was some kind of high-tech cloaking, but it turned out to be some silly guys like puppets on strings."

After the first mercenary was knocked down by those black-robed men, the only two remaining mercenaries were disorganized and got up violently, not knowing whether they should continue to attack Renault or finish off all these black-robed men who shot them in the dark.

However, those guys in black robes did not care whether the people in front of their guns were their own or not. In their eyes, there was only Renault. The two mercenaries in their shooting range were just obstacles like any other dead things.

Super-Shorty looked at those two mercenaries who, after knocking down five black-robed men, also fell under the muzzle of those guys. She immediately turned towards M500 with a strange expression.

"Hmmmm, those guys look a lot better than those mercenaries from before." M500 also echoed in agreement. If the enemies in the middle of the tomb tunnel were these guys in black robes, they probably wouldn't even have a scratch on their bodies.

Those mercenaries weren't like these black-robed people; they didn't react to the various moves of the enemy. Whether those mercenaries were covering each other's shots or throwing explosives, if not for HK416's quick reaction, they would definitely have suffered a big loss.

HK416 watched Renault lightly circle around from one side, raise his hand, and knock out the remaining seven black-robed people. She couldn't help but sigh. Although she could probably do the same in his place, it wouldn't be as effortless as Renault made it look.

That white shirt he wore—he got out in it, and it came back in the same condition. Besides the smell of smoke, there were no scratches or scuff marks from bullets.

Now, if she wanted to do the same thing as Renault, she would have to use all the energy in her own body. Even if she achieved the same results, her remaining energy would be less than forty percent.

Right now, in this place, there wasn't even a charger or radio. If she exhausted her energy, she would have no choice but to shut down.

"Really... Commander, when are we going to switch to the engine that AR-15 guy used?" As long as she had that thing, the energy problem wouldn't be a bother to her. She wouldn't even have a problem chasing the ship all the way from here!

"Soon, a few more days, I think. Everything is complete. If you're in a hurry, it's fine if your the one who changes yours first when you get back." Patting the dust off his body and casually tossing the emptied weapon to the side, Renault took the coat from Super-Shorty while saying this.

"Well, let's put the engine issue aside for now. Commander, didn't several mercenaries run away just now? Don't we need to go after them?" M500 looked at the direction the mercenaries fled and asked Renault with some hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Renault raised his hand and knocked on her head. "What are you thinking about? We came here to find the client. No one is blocking the way, so there's no need to chase them."

Besides, those black-robed people just now weren't all the people of the stronghold. The other units that looked like dead or living people were far more than the thirty that showed up.

Regardless of whether those things had been activated or not, Renault didn't want to linger here.

Otherwise, this mission would change from a simple commission of transporting a client to clearing out a local stronghold. This is not the same as a simple commission like picking up and dropping off a client—they had to pay more money.

"We can keep going now, right?"

Glancing at Renault's return, and at the same time hearing no more gunfire outside, Tania instantly asked, "Can we leave now? I've had enough of this place—whether it's the people or the conditions here, I just want to get out as soon as possible!"

"Of course, Ms. Tania. Just lie patiently on the stretcher and don't worry about anything else." HK416 and M500 re-lifted the 'stretcher' and followed Renault out of the cemetery.

The cemetery was on the outskirts of the town, closer to the hill where Simonov and the girls stayed. There were no unnecessary problems on the way out. The continuous gunfire from the cemetery had already scared the townspeople.

As for those who drove the town's Paradeus believers to come out to block the path earlier? The person in charge of Paradeus over here should not have the guts now. Compared to the cemetery's continuous gunfire, the movement in the valley was much bigger...

They even heard the sound of artillery, machine guns, and tank guns... The mercenaries who stayed around the orphanage, responsible for keeping an eye on the children, had completely turned into dust or debris along with the buildings.

The weapons they had were just ordinary. Anti-material weapons? This was just a small stronghold of Paradeus; no one would attack it. Neither the Sangvis nor the military would bother with such a closed town with no value.

After seeing Renault and HK416's combat power, they might have felt a slight possibility of victory. But after seeing the flying machine land, revealing its machine guns and tank guns, they felt it better to stay hidden. These killers weren't supposed to be coming for them!

The matter of capturing that rich woman, Tania, was originally a mercenary action. It had nothing to do with Paradeus, not even half of it!

"Yo! Renault! You guys are finally back! We've been waiting here for half a day!" Upon seeing Renault leading a few dolls and carrying a human who didn't look in the best condition, Executioner immediately waved and called out.

"Well, let's get Simonov ready for takeoff. There's not much else."

All the children had already been sent to the ship, the numbers were fine, and nothing had been left behind. After that, it would be fine as long as the client was sent to the agreed place.

"Oh ooh, this guy is the client? She's beaten up really badly, huh? Why?" While helping HK416 carry Tania into the cabin, Executioner asked curiously.

"That group of mercenaries wanted to get their hands on the client's relative's inheritance or something." Lowering Tania, who was on the door panel, flat on the cabin floor and fastening the safety catch, HK416 shrugged and said.

"Gee, that's pretty tragic." UMP45 also tugged at the corner of her mouth.

These injuries on the client's body made one's teeth hurt just looking at them.

CHAPTER 13: It's Killing Me! All Rippers!

"Dean?"

At the sight of Tania being carried down from the gunship, Misha, who had already been waiting in the hangar, suddenly pounced with a shriek.

"Dean! You can't die! So many of us are still counting on you!"

"Hiss! Ouch, ouch, ouch! Don't push! I'll really die if you push me again! I knew you couldn't say anything good, you little heartless bastard!"

Misha's hands landed directly on top of Tania's waist and ribs. Unable to get up by herself, Tania could only gasp in pain and use her loudest voice to try and get Misha, the little daredevil, to stay away from her.

"Hey, it looks like the dean shouldn't be in any serious trouble. In the end, if you had listened to me and honestly led everyone to wait for Mr. Renault and the others in the clearing, it wouldn't have been so bad."

Probably out of the previous kind of dangerous environment, the originally silent and vigilant Misha now appeared a little heartless, which made UMP45 and MDR somewhat surprised.

Originally, looking at Misha's previous behavior, they thought that this child would be more introverted. They didn't expect that after only a short time on the ship, she seemed like a different person.

Could it be that A-91 had given her alcohol?

"Shut up! What a joke! That was something my aunt left me! How could I leave it to those asshole mercenaries?" Tania said as she tried to wave her arm, which she could no longer lift at all. Unfortunately, besides making herself wince in pain, it didn't accomplish anything, except to make her swollen face hurt as well.

"Come on, cut the crap you guys! Tania is now a seriously injured person. Let her take a good rest and wait until she goes to the hospital to be cured, can't she?" The doll who had been following alongside couldn't hold back, complaining towards Misha while pushing this somewhat impudent fellow away from Tania.

Watching the interaction between these people, HK416 shook her head breathlessly, and the Rippers who had been waiting beside her took the door panels that acted as stretchers from both HK416 and M500.

"Say, do we have anyone on board who knows how to medically escort? We can't just go looking for medical care data online on the fly, can we?"

Granted, this client's appearance should only look badly injured and not too badly injured. But at least she's been beaten up badly, so isn't it a bit unreasonable to help her treat her wounds just by temporarily looking up some medical care data from the internet?

"Does battlefield first aid count? I remember Stg-44 seems to know some..." Super-Shorty said with a raised hand, then glanced somewhat hesitantly towards Tania, who was being carried by the Rippers and then her voice died down.

Stg-44 seemed to be slightly... well, a clean freak.

And this client, Tania, now looked worse than those children. How long has it been since she took a bath?

No wonder the commander had been able to smell a strong perfume odor before. If you want Stg-44 to help, I'm afraid you need to drag this guy to the bathroom and scrub her properly.

But the injuries on this guy's body... She doesn't know if she can get wet.

Well, it's a dead end.

"Ahem, anyway, first go over and ask. If it doesn't work then think of another way..." UMP45 cleared her throat and said, glancing toward Renault.

"Go ahead, come back to me if it doesn't work. I'll go back and change my clothes first."

The itinerary after picking up the client had already been told to WZ.29. After all, the city the client was going to in the first place was originally set in stone.

Although she was just now in the gunship, Tania had asked how long it would take to get to the nearest hospital. After hearing Renault say that the time it would take to get to the nearest hospital and the time it would take to go directly to the destination were only ten minutes apart, Tania decided to go straight home.

When she went back, she at least knew the director of the local hospital and she knew her roots, so she naturally felt more at ease when it came to treatment. She had just escaped from the hands of a group of unscrupulous mercenaries; she didn't want to wake up and be placed on the dissecting table.

These days, if you want to go to a hospital, you have to find a reliable place, otherwise there are people who want to capture others to do experiments or something.

Just like those Paradeus she ran into before.

They talk about spreading the teachings, but what they do in private is take away the people in the town bit by bit and drag them to be 'reformed.'

When she came out from the graveyard, she had already seen that among those black-robed people who had been killed by Renault, there was no lack of guys who looked very familiar to her.

Most of them were residents of that town before Paradeus came, when her aunt had not passed away.

How to say, she also lived here for a period of time. Before the Sangvis Ferri Rebellion broke out and Paradeus appeared, the town's communication lines with the outside world were not cut off. It was a very comfortable resort.

Unfortunately...

Tania, who was being carried by a few Rippers, was thinking about Sangvis, but she suddenly came back to her senses because she always felt that the hairstyle of this figure carrying her looked so familiar.

This kind of slightly curly short hair... coupled with this color... this unique style of reddish hair at the tips...

"Hey! Isn't this a Sangvis Ferri Ripper!?!!"

Thinking of those Sangvis Rippers she had seen before, and then taking a look at the doll figure lifting her, Tania instantly sat up from the 'strercher' with another shriek!

Without a second thought, she tried to jump off the door panel and get as far away from the two Rippers as possible!

She had experienced this firsthand!

Being robbed by Sangvis and all that! If it wasn't for Griffin's tactical doll squad not too far away, she'd have been killed by those Sangvis Ferri guys!

What the hell is going on here? She had just gotten out of the wolf's den and into the tiger's mouth!

Could it be that she had done some kind of unforgivable atrocity in her past life, and this life had left her with no choice but to repeatedly jump horizontally between life and death!

But Tania's movements were slow, and before she could move her legs to the side, she was held down by the Rippers, who were supposed to take her to the guest room.

Moreover, she didn't look very clean; they had just scrubbed the floor in this area!

They couldn't just let her run around and increase their workload!

"Don't move."

At those words, Tania froze in her tracks, grimacing as she looked down the corridor that swept by on either side of her, craning her head to the side to try and find Misha and her own doll.

Of the two of them, though, one had been taken by the Scarecrow to the workroom for repairs, and the other was in the back talking to some other doll.

There was no danger on this ship at all anyway, so instead of eyeballing the battered old woman in Tania over there, they should find a way to snub something good out of the other dolls!

Chapter 14: A Temporary Rest

In the end, of course, Tania was unable to escape. The Ripper's strength was not as great as that of a doll who had replaced their doll frame, but it was still enough to control someone as sickly as Tania.

Stg-44 soon arrived, fully equipped in armor, gloves, cuffs, a doctor's cap, mask, and even an apron. If it wasn't for the fact that Stg-44 wasn't holding a scalpel or a chainsaw, Tania would have really thought she was going to be dismantled and sold for parts.

"It's just a few superficial wounds, nothing serious. Just let your doll help you rinse it off later; don't bother with a bath," Stg-44 said, relieved after checking Tania's injuries. Luckily, she wasn't needed for serious healing. After all, she had only ever been partially loaded with medical knowledge and had little actual hands-on experience.

"Uh, what about that doll of mine?"

"Is that the one that's not very tall and wearing a maid outfit? She should have been taken by the Scarecrow to the workroom for overhauling. That doll of yours has much more serious injuries than you do."

As for the other doll that had been turned into parts? Stg-44 directly skipped over it. Under normal circumstances, there was basically little chance of saving a doll that was damaged to that extent.

It would be fine if it had just been damaged, but the key was that the doll had already remained in that state for more than half a day. The mental data of a civilian doll would be preserved for several hours even after an accidental power failure and forced shutdown. Any longer than that would likely result in a series of conditions such as loss of mental data. The batteries on the neural core used to maintain the preservation of neural cloud had been removed. No matter which doll repair center it was sent to, they would definitely tell Tania that this doll was hopeless.

However, Commander Renault should have a way; after all, isn't that how they were saved in the first place?

Tania heard Stg-44's words and found them a little strange. Serious injuries? That wasn't right. Rona didn't have any visible wounds, and her clothes were all still intact. How could she be injured?

Lying on the bed that had been prepared for her, Tania couldn't calm down. After hearing Stg-44's 'medical advice', there was a small comforting effect, and Tania stiffly sat up. But urgent as she was, she now had a more pressing problem, a personal one. After being tied up by those mercenaries for almost a whole day, she was not only thirsty and tired but also needed to go to the toilet.

Just as Tania was bracing herself and moving a little towards the toilet, the door to the guest room opened again, and Rona, who had already finished her repairs, appeared in the doorway holding some changes of clothes.

"Tania! What are you doing? You need to rest!"

"Rona! You've come just in time! Quickly! Help me to the restroom! I'm going to leak if you don't come!"

...

While Tania was busy with her own hygiene issues, Scarecrow was also fiddling with the mind transfer device in a rather novel way.

She'd never had a chance to use it before, and now was the first time she activated the device without Renault. Her client's doll had a problem, and its neural core could just be used for practice.

She didn't need to actually transfer the doll's neural cloud into a new core; she was just using this device to reactivate the neural cloud that was originally stored in the neural core.

"It's so small," Executioner, who was just watching from the side, muttered.

"It can't be helped. Ordinary civilian dolls are only to this extent... Can we not drink inside the workroom? In case you spill it, watch out for Renault to hang you and beat you up again."

"Eh, ahem, I'm just taking a sip..." Upon hearing this from Scarecrow, Executioner scratched her head and ran off with the bottle in her arms.

She didn't want to listen to Scarecrow give a long speech.

Ever since Scarecrow came to Renault's side, she was getting more and more fond of nagging. If interrupted while working, Scarecrow could even chase you and nag you for the whole day!

"Heh, its quite fast. Neural cloud recovery... well, normal. Doll frame, if you should have left some normal doll parts before, these parts brought back slightly repaired should still be able to use..."

When Renault changed his clothes and went to the bridge to check the ship's navigation status, and then came to the workroom, this doll of Tania had already been almost repaired by Scarecrow.

"How's it going?"

"If the data among the neural cloud is correct, it shouldn't change much from its original form." Seeing Reynolds walk into the workroom, Scarecrow nodded towards him, then looked at the doll that she had already put into the repair pod and answered.

"That's good. I'll leave this place to you. I'll go check on that client."

Saying that, Renault walked towards Tania's guest room.

On the way, he also saw several children who were playing with the dolls. Probably because Renault's aura was a little bit similar to those mercenaries from before, after seeing Renault, all of these children stood still and looked at her fearfully. Seeing this, Renault waved his hand towards the dolls, accelerated his steps, and left from the sight of the little ones.

...

"Whew! It's comfortable! This is probably the most comfortable day I've had this month. It would be even better if my body didn't hurt so much..." Sinking herself into the soft mattress and smelling the fresh aroma around her, Tania felt like she had really come alive.

Before that month, at the orphanage, it was simply hell. The town had even begun to cut off the water, and she didn't dare to run to the mountains to fetch water. Naturally, there wasn't much chance to take a bath. Now, the feeling of not being able to smell the unpleasant odor of her body was simply like being in heaven!

"Cut it out, grab some sleep. Rhea will definitely be repaired before we get home. That doll called Scarecrow already said so earlier. But if you really can't sleep, I'll ask them for a wheelchair and push you to check on the kids."

Looking at Tania with some distress, Rona spoke up and asked.

"Well, go and take a look. Anyway, I've already passed out long enough in the crypt before. That little scoundrel Misha! And she didn't even organize the other children to come and see me as the dean!"

Hearing this, Rona couldn't help but roll her eyes. This guy thinks a lot...

Snort.

As she was talking, the door of the guest room was suddenly opened wide.

Chapter Fifteen Sent Away

"Dean! I brought everyone over to see you!" The one who pushed the door in was none other than Misha, who was still lounging around on the spaceship earlier, and those little nubs behind her were naturally the children who had only just arrived on the ship not too long ago.

"Well! Why are you all here?"

Even though the guest room provided by Renault wasn't too small, the fact that a dozen or so people were all crammed in at once immediately made the space in the guest room seem a bit overstretched.

Of course, after all the squeezing, Tania was still very pleased to see all these children appearing in front of her in one piece.

"Not bad, not a single one is missing. Looks like I didn't get this beating for nothing." Tania nodded. Her cheeks, which had been cleaned with warm water, no longer looked as swollen as they did before, resembling bread.

The bruises were still there, but at least it didn't look as bad.

"Dean, it seems like you got beaten up just because you wanted to go retrieve Dean Oliver's legacy, right?"

"Eh ...... Hey! You little badass! Why is your head spinning so fast! Can you not be so quick to split hairs!"

"Hmph! Just don't! A few years ago, he obviously wasn't much older than us, but as soon as he went out for a few years, he came back and became the dean! Hmph!"

"Damn wow! You guys! I'm still doing this for everyone! The expenses of so many people! If you don't take more money, are you waiting to sit on your ass?"

Outside the guest room door.

M3, who was standing at the door, listened to the sounds of bickering and laughter in the guest room, and the depression of not being able to go on the mission together this time was slightly dispelled.

There shouldn't be any problems on this side now, so she could also go to Super-Shorty to ask what exactly was the status of the mission just now, and why did she seem to see M870 walking towards the commander's workshop earlier?

"Well, field allowance, I want it too ......"

"Didn't the commander already give you an allowance? Look at you, you didn't even spend any right?" Alchemist who passed by M3 looked at M3 somewhat strangely.

Although she had stayed in the city for a while and let these dolls go out to play, if she remembered correctly, M3 didn't seem to have bought too many things, even her clothes had only increased in one or two sets.

She was even wearing the same uniform she had brought over from Griffin herself in the first place, stitched up and put back on.

"Hey..! Alchemist! Why are you walking without making any noise at all!" M3 jumped directly at Alchemist's words and jerked back, only relieved after realizing that behind her was Alchemist in her leather apron.

"What no sound? I'm still pushing the crate here, and it was so loud all the way over here that I could hear it even from the elevator side." Alchemist rolled her eyes.

This guy was obviously the one who was lost in thought and blamed her for walking without sound?

"Uh, did you just take the ingredients to the kitchen here?"

"Yeah, in a while it will be meal time. There are quite a lot of people coming today. Hopefully, we can consume a little bit more. The storehouse side is bursting at the seams. Then again, have you spent all your money? Do you want me to lend you some?"

"No! Nope! I just want to go on more commissions and then save up a little bit more money....... I usually can't save up much money when I'm at Griffin, and if I spend a little bit more on my daily expenses, all that money in my pocket is going to be spent."

She is afraid of being poor. At Griffin headquarters, every time she stands guard, she always sees those dolls returning from the field with a variety of food or other items. Even if she craves more dessert, she has to be careful to wait for the internal supply store discount...

"Saving money? Well, it's good if you like it, but what's so great about going on a mission? Didn't you just see that M870 guy? It was very laughable. She got shot in the back of the head and lost a piece of hair, not to mention a big dent in her armor plate."

On top of that, that guy needs to stay that way until Renault finishes eating...

"Ah, this..."

"I guess that guy won't run out of the workroom until everyone else is done eating. I just don't know if MDR and the girls went over to take pictures or something, but MDR went along with this one, so I guess I'll get the pictures by the end of the night."

Alchemist said while waving her hand towards M3 and left.

Left alone, M3 stood in the corridor, her heart was incomparably torn, wondering whether she should still apply to be part of the commission next time or not...

After all, the three people who went out on this mission, besides M870 who was shot in the back of the head, M500 and Super-Shorty also had some wounds on their bodies, just not as serious as M870.

Although the injury is not serious, the clothes on their body are almost scrapped. There are too many holes, even if they can be mended, it will become a flowery dress in the future...

If you have to change into a new set of clothes every time you come back from a mission... well, it hurts...

"Well... what a blunder, I didn't realize that you need to write an action report after a commission? And what exactly is the meaning of the previously mentioned entry assessment? If the evaluation is not good and we did not pass, what happens?"

M3 was thinking and saw M500 and Super-Shorty coming out from their respective dormitory. M500 was holding a tablet with a headache, obviously unable to figure out how to write this action report.

"It's like a work report, just explain the course of action, what's so difficult about it." Super-Shorty didn't have a headache with this. It wasn't like she hadn't written one before when she was at Griffin.

"That, Super-Shorty? Did your operation this time go well?" M3, who saw the two, immediately waved a greeting and came up.

"Well, M3, let's say it went relatively smoothly. It's just that the process was slightly that much of a headache. Luckily, this time, we had HK416 to go with the commander."

The three of them talked as they walked towards the restaurant.

...

The journey to the commissioned city wasn't really that far, and just after Tania had been wheeled out of the stateroom by Rona in a wheelchair to dabble in a meal, the spaceship had arrived over the planned city.

Tania, the rich girl, seemed to be quite famous in the city, and the airport quickly cleared an area for the spaceship to land after recognizing Tania.

Just like before, when the spaceship landed, it attracted a large crowd of spectators, and the reporters were even rushing forward, each one of them squeezing forward as if they were desperate, fearing that they would not be able to take pictures of this epoch-making flying machine.

"You should be able to take care of yourself after that, right?" Looking at Tania who was still sitting on the wheelchair, Renault raised his eyebrows towards the other party and asked.

"Of course, this little matter is still no problem. Anyway, thanks a lot this time, Mr. Renault."

"No need, it's just a matter of getting paid to do a job. If you have any more commissions in the future, remember to call."

After sending Tania away, the spaceship immediately didn't stop and directly took off and left the airspace above the city.

Chapter 16: Celebration? Do You Want to Come Here for a Meal?

"We seem to have passed the original Sangvis Ferri HQ from the air earlier, right?" Looking out the window through the porthole, Hunter suddenly asked Intruder beside her.

"Yeah, we passed by. What's wrong? Are you starting to miss Agent?"

Flipping through the magazine in her hand, Intruder said unconcernedly.

She didn't have any attachment to Sangvis Ferri anyway; it was just a job anywhere, so why not find a more relaxing and enjoyable one?

Coincidentally, Renault's side of the environment just meets her needs, very leisurely not to mention, there's usually not too many exciting things, every day here is enough time for her to think about those things she likes.

Moreover, Renault also gave her a free set of doll frame, tsk, she anyway does not believe anywhere else in this world where will give dolls such a high treatment.

Sometimes she also wondered if there was something wrong with this Renault's brain, because up until now, there weren't any human beings existing under Renault's command at all, except for dolls.

This is not at all like a normal security contracting company... although Renault himself is not very normal...

"Ah la, that head of M870 has been fixed? Is it a different head or is it really fixed?" Just as she was thinking, Intruder also saw M870, who was previously hiding in the repair bin in the workroom like a self-imposed isolation and not coming out. The back of her head looked like it had been restored to normal.

It had only been an hour or two since they had sent the client named Tania away, right?

"Fixed it. Scarecrow said Renault did it himself, removed the armor plate from that back part, welded a new one on, and lastly, the implants and hair transplant."

Hunter also looked at M870 and stopped paying attention. After all, this kind of thing was more than common among dolls.

And M870, this guy, this time did not shut down on the spot, that was all thanks to the new doll frame that Renault put on her.

If it was replaced with Griffin's doll frame, or their original use of the Sangvis Ferri doll frame, the back of the head would be absolutely unable to block the large caliber sniper rifle.

"Well, it's really... If this were Agent, she would probably just start backing up the data and preparing to recreate it, right?"

The deconstruction of the doll head is more complicated. If the head part is damaged, it is usually not repaired, at best, it is the entire head replacement.

Rebuilding it was a little more trouble-free.

"Maybe. Uhh, your phone is ringing." Hunter suddenly glanced up at the cell phone Intruder had placed on the table and raised an eyebrow in some surprise.

Cell phones were something that they hardly ever used on a regular basis, for one thing, because there weren't any contacts at the outside at all, and communication with fellow Sangvis Ferri dolls didn't use the cell phone on the ship. Just activating the doll's communication protocols would suffice.

Although the public channel is slightly noisy, but their own special open communication channel in Sangvis Ferri is good. Of course, now this communication channel is also not clean. Inside the channel, there is a mess of voices from Rippers.

Of course, this is a small matter. The most important thing is, Hunter simply does not remember Intruder ever having the habit of using a cell phone. This thing is should be rotting in the dormitory right?

"Oh? Ah, it seems to be some idiot's Ms. Knight, and I don't know what exactly is their matter of calling over."

"Knight...? Is it Gager?"

"Well, it's also our former supervisor. Just answer the call, don't be so nervous."

Intruder waved her hand and picked up her cell phone to connect the call.

"Hey, hey, hey? Intruder? Is it Intruder?"

Only after the call was answered, the voice that came from the receiver wasn't Gager that Intruder expected, but a guy who sounded like an idiot.

"Eh? Why is it you? Architect? Why are you holding Gager's phone?" Hearing this voice, Intruder instantly frowned with a bit of a headache. This guy, Architect, was definitely the most headache-inducing among so many elite dolls of Sangvis Ferri.

Although Destroyer has somewhat stupid attributes, at least that little guy obeys.

And Architect... that is simply the model of her own, doesnt what to do but goes to do stupid things, consequences is never in her spectrum. If not for Sangvis Ferri's side of elite dolls being few, it is estimated that there is a high chance of Architect to become their supervisor.

Tsk, in the first place, exactly how is the division of authority level? Why is this idiot Architect ranked above Gager?

"Hey! There's no need to worry about such trivial matters! Naaah! Intruder! Where's your ship now? I'd like to dine at your place to celebrate!" Architect ignored Intruder's question without a care in the world, and then in turn threw a question at Intruder.

"Where? That's something I can't just tell you. And if you want to celebrate, why are you dawdling over our place?"

Simply, if you want to celebrate, shouldn't you prepare your own things and invite your guests over?

What the hell are you doing celebrating at someone else's house? And what exactly is this guy celebrating?

Sangvis Ferri's situation seems to be very low-key. The current news almost has no news about Sangvis Ferri, they do not know whether it is not or has been controlled to a degree.

"Hehehe! Thanks to Renault's hospitality last time! After I returned to the stronghold, I was motivated! It didn't even take me a few days to completely complete the task given to me by Agent!"

Architect on the other end of the phone proudly patted her chest in triumph.

"Oh, so? What's it got to do with us here at Renault Security Contracting Firm?"

"Hey? What non-Relationship? Don't! Just tell me! What's wrong with me just going for another meal! You guys have more food than you can eat anyway! Let me go!" The voice that rang out from the phone sounded like it was playing being coy.

Intruder felt that Architect on the other side of the line had probably started rolling on the ground, and she could imagine the expression on Gager's face at the moment...

"That's not for me to decide, I'll have to ask Renault about it."

"Alright then... Anyway, don't forget to ask! I'll find something to test fire right now! Think of it as setting off fireworks when it's finished!"

Hearing Intruder say that, Architect could only nod helplessly.

But then she immediately noticed that in order to celebrate the completion of her mission, Architect was going to test it out by hitting something with those Jupiter Cannons she had just built herself...

"This guy..." Putting down her cell phone, Intruder scratched her head with a bewildered look on her face, having never seen such a mentally challenged doll before.

"It couldn't be that those Jupiter Cannons Architect was in charge of had already been built, could it?"

Hunter also had a strange look on her face.

This guy, Architect, just told them this kind of important information?

Wasn't she afraid that they would leak this information out?

Chapter 17: Target Found!

"Have you checked it out yet?"

"It's been mapped out. That ship came to this city just to deliver some people, their client, and some children from the orphanage."

"Children?"

"Yes, just children picked up from an orphanage."

"Where's the orphanage?"

"It's the place we scouted last time, the town where the Sangvis Ferri train line was cut."

"Hmm, got it. Go back and get ready. Leave here first thing in the morning, and report any suspicious people immediately."

"Understood."

...

"This is clearly not Gentiane's jurisdiction, right? Why do we have to come over to scout the situation? Wouldn't other doll squads be able to do this kind of thing just as well?" M16 squinted her eyes; the scenery full of white blankets was really a bit unpleasant.

"This... that's unknown, probably another whim of Persica's?" RO said as he scratched his head and looked at the M4A1 walking ahead of him.

"This time the mission were set up from Miss Helian's side, mainly to check out what exactly Sangvis Ferri is doing in the middle of this area without alerting them." The other doll echelons could do the job, but they were never as safe and as skilled as their AR Team.

The Sangvis Ferri that had been silent for quite a while might be just like a hornet's nest now and couldn't be touched at all. In case the dolls stirred up trouble while scouting, it wouldn't just be a matter of Griffin having to face Sangvis Ferri's onslaught at that time.

If Sangvis Ferri really came over, then the military might even be able to obtain the authority to act at will in their jurisdiction.

Once the military was able to move around at will in Griffin's outposts, it would become a serious issue as to whether or not G&K still had a need to exist at that time.

"Ugh, another covert operation. Although I don't hate this type of mission, it's just that it's boring to sneak around on missions every time." M16 sighed somewhat helplessly. This kind of thing is something she hadn't done much, back when she was still teamed up with HK416.

Almost alll of Angelia's missions were unrecorded, and no one would check up on her afterward. Not to mention that no one would remember that her squad had ever done anything, whether for good or bad...

"It's really boring... but at least it's better than playing cards with Commander Gentiane in her base, right?"

Over at the S05, because of the temporary retreat of Sangvis Ferri and the fact that Gentiane had sent people to clean up the remnants of Sangvis Ferri in the middle of the entire jurisdiction before, there wasn't much to do at all other than the daily patrols.

Apart from the occasional check of their bodies every day, the rest of the day was mostly spent playing cards with Gentiane.

"That's true... but wasn't it said that there was another squad coming over to help this time? Why haven't we seen anyone until now?"

While saying that, RO635 looked around, trying to find the doll team that was supposed to come to support them from the surrounding forest.

"Ugh, don't expect anyone. This is probably a covert operation. Anyway, don't expect to see those guys until the mission gets to the critical moment." M16 raised her hand unconcernedly, tightening the modular strap of the weapon in her hand as she walked forward with a big grin.

"Maybe, but M4, are we really going in the right direction now? It's been a full two hours, and there's not even a trace of Sangvis Ferri's presence in sight." RO asked towards M4A1 somewhat strangely while following her.

"Well, there's no problem with the direction or positioning. Probably the Sangvis Ferri has retreated again to a place we don't know about."

During this period of time, it wasn't just Gentiane in the S05 jurisdiction that didn't have anything to do. Those commanders in several other jurisdictions didn't have much to do either.

Even the S08, which had previously been completely occupied by Sangvis Ferri, saw a great reduction in the frequency of Sangvis Ferri's activities, as if these Sangvis Ferri would also be hindered by the winter winds and snow.

...

As a matter of fact, this sky full of snow and wind is indeed inconvenient for the movements of the entirety of Sangvis Ferri, not to mention how power-consuming it is for those heavy armored automatons to move around. Just the movement of ordinary dolls, in a place where they often encounter half a meter of snow, is enough to give any dolls a headache.

Well, moronic advanced dolls, like this guy who was looking for something to aim at.

"What the heck! There's nothing in this field of view that can be called a target at all! There's just white blobs everywhere!"

Architect looked at the real-time image transmitted back by the Sangvis Ferri Scout and scratched her head in a somewhat devastated manner as he exclaimed.

"Then test-fire somewhere random."

"Do you think I'm stupid! Wouldn't that directly expose Jupiter's attack range?" Hearing the helpless voice of Gager, Architect screamed frantically.

Hearing Architect's words, Gager widened her eyes rather surprised, somewhat unable to believe that these words actually came out of Architect's stupid mouth. When did this guy become so smart?

"Hey, what's that look in your eyes? Nah, did Intruder call back?" Looking at the surprised eyes of Gager, Architect also sat down with some boredom and asked Gager while continuing to look for a test target that could be used as a target without exposing the range of the Jupiter Cannon.

"Intruder? Why would Intruder call back... You called her didn't you? What did you told her? It can't be that the location of the Jupiter Cannon over here was leaked out!?"

Upon hearing Architect say this, Gager's heart immediately thumped.

While she had a bad premonition, she directly commanded those Scouts under her command to start paying attention to the areas in the surrounding airspace that could be passed through.

Previously, although Architect was forced to run to Renault's side to get a meal, but Gager didn't think she would go to Renault again.

Besides, although there were already a lot of Sangvis Ferri dolls under Reno's hand, and Sangvis Ferri's elite dolls were even more numerous, it didn't mean that that guy and they were on the same path!

That guy was still a human after all, and still the owner of a security contracting company.

If the military really questioned him about Sangvis Ferri's movements in this regard, could he still hold back and not say it?

However, without waiting for Gager's side to find any suspicious people or vehicles, Architect's side had already shouted, "Hey, hey! Quickly look! There seems to be a transporter flying this way over there!"

"Huh!?" Hearing this, Gager's heart sank straight to the bottom.

Transporters...

The only people using this thing and possibly passing through the air in this area where they were, then there was no doubt that it must be G&K!

And it was still transported here by transporter! Griffin definitely had more than one doll echelon nearby!

Chapter Eighteen: Hit!

"If I can't attack ground targets, then I should have no problem hitting a transport plane in the sky, right?"

Architect said as she skillfully controlled the Jupiter Cannons under her command, which had not long been inaugurated, preparing to give the Griffin dolls on that transporter a delightful shot into the sky.

At the same time Architect opened her mouth, Gager also saw the transport plane.

According to the Scout's observation at close range, what the transport plane was carrying wasn't cargo; most likely it was coming over here to Scout the Jupiter Cannon's position.

She just doesn't know if the news of their location was leaked from Renault’s side...

If not, it's okay, but if it really is... then it seems that she can’t do anything to Renault...

...

"12, what's the target this time?"

RPK16 smirked as she checked the electronic warfare equipment around her neck and turned her head towards AK12, who was looking out the porthole, and asked.

"Those long-range turrets of Sangvis Ferri, the ones they call Jupiter."

"Jupiter? These Sangvis Ferri really know how to come up with these names. Those turrets should have been stolen from the military's database, right? I remember that thing's original codename should be Marduk, right? It seems to be used against Griffin?"

"To be exact, it's a high-damage long-range turret used against unarmored or lightly armored targets." Angelica's voice also rang out from the communication and explained to RPK16.

"Isn't this already investigated clearly? Is there a need for us to make another trip?" Hearing Angelica's words, AK12 shook her head helplessly and said.

The specifications of the Jupiter Cannon manufactured by Sangvis Ferri were not much different from those of the turrets in the military's weapons development program. So, after finding the documents of the Jupiter Cannon's original form, it should be possible to determine how powerful those 'Jupiter' cannons of Sangvis Ferri were.

"Information is information, and these situations are still from the last time when Sangvis Ferri fully occupied Griffin's S08 area. That mastermind of Sangvis Ferri isn't stupid; she must have already improved the military's original blueprint."

Just think about the scene when Griffin retreated from Sector S08 at the beginning.

Although at that time there was also the reason that Sangvis Ferri had deployed a large number of armored units that Griffin couldn't cope with, the main thing that pushed Griffin to retreat was still those long-range artillery fires used to wash the ground indiscriminately.

After all, Griffin was in that jurisdiction at that time, and their base was within the range of the Jupiter cannons. So if they didn't give up that stronghold, Griffin feared the precious equipment and data will get heavily damage, there was no way they could stand up and ignore those Jupiter cannons.

The distance of the attack was too far, plus the high explosive shells used by the Jupiter Cannons, for those ordinary dolls, it was a downright massacre. As long as they heard the sound of the Jupiter Cannons, those dolls could only stand still and pray that the shells wouldn't hit on top of their heads.

Advanced Elite dolls might be able to endure one or two rounds, but how many Elite dolls were there among the G&K?

If they continued to hold out and hide inside the base, there was no other possibility but to continue to be pummeled.

If Griffin knows that there is also an artillery position here, then I'm afraid that within a few hours, those Griffin personnel will be able to find their way to the door...

However, just as Gager was trying to block Architect, the other party had already set the orientation parameters long ago, The Jupiter Cannon aimed at the slowly approaching transport plane in the sky, and Architect pressed the firing button without hesitation!

Boom! Boom boom boom!

Obviously, Architect had no intention of restraining herself, and after discovering ther excellent 'target,' she directly brought all of her Jupiter cannons into action!

After a series of a dozen or so loud booms, those dozen or so cannonballs directly smashed down towards the transporter!

...

"What's wrong, M4?" RO635, who was walking, suddenly noticed that M4A1 stopped, squinted her eyes, and kept staring in one direction. She immediately asked with some confusion.

"Listen..." said M4A1 as she raised a finger and then pointed to the sky above their heads.

"Listen? Listen to what... Wait! That sound! It can't be that Jupiter thing!?" M16, who had heard this sound of falling shells in the beginning, just like M4A1, immediately shouted out with a face full of panic.

Back when they were in Sector S09!

When they were shelled! Wasn't it exactly this sound that they heard!

Boom Boom Boom!

As soon as M16's words fell, a deafening roar suddenly resounded not far away!

Even the ground beneath their feet began to tremble!

"Damn! Sangvis Ferri opened fire! Where are they aiming at!?" RO635 looked around rather nervously, and in her heart, she was glad that those turrets weren't aiming at them. Otherwise, the three of them would probably all be accounted for here.

Hearing ther, M16 also pointed to the position in the air not far away with an embarrassed expression...

Over there, there was a transport plane. After being affected by the shelling just now, it was now flying up and down in the sky and was about to fall to the ground!

"Eh, that shouldn't be our facilitator for this mission riding inside the plane, right?" M16 scratched her head awkwardly, pointing at the Griffin paint job sprayed on that transport plane.

And not only the facilitator, those weapons and ammunition for their operation, as well as the subsequent food and battery supplies and a series of other logistical problems, all relied on that transport plane...

But now that thing has crashed!

Exactly how the support echelon's situation is, it is completely unknown, and the supplies inside are also unknown...

Fortunately, the roar of the Jupiter Cannon had only just sounded once, and those guys from Sangvis Ferri didn't seem to notice their arrival.

"Sister 16, RO, let's hurry! Go to the crash site and check the situation!" Seeing the transport crash over there, M4A1 immediately made a decision and took the lead to run towards the location where the transporter had crashed.

"Hey!" When M16 saw this, she didn't even have time to stop her, but M4A1 had already rushed out first.

Originally, when she encountered such a situation on the way to the mission, if it was her, she would definitely not pay any attention to it. She would take care of it herself if the support was gone, and she would think of a way to do it from the local area if the supplies were gone.

But obviously, M4A1 couldn't do such a thing, and she certainly couldn't turn a blind eye to any dolls that might have survived in that transport...

"Let's go. If there are still survivors, it might make our mission a little easier as well." RO635 said as she recalled the bearing of the sound of the shelling and glanced into the distance.

Unfortunately, there was no sign of any Jupiter Cannon at all, except for the large swaths of pine trees...

...

"Yeah! Good yeah! I hit it! I shot that transport down!"

Snap!

"Idiot! You hit what! You gave away the location of the Jupiter Cannon position straight away! By now Griffin's side must have gotten the message!"

The transmission jammer wasn't even given time to be set up yet! This idiot!

Chapter Nineteen: Being Prepared

"Open the hatch!"

"It's no use! It's too late—"

Boom!

Being directly hit by the Jupiter Cannon, the transport belonging to Griffin didn't have any chance to react at all!

After spinning in the sky, it fell straight towards the ground!

Several dolls in the middle of the cabin tried to break open the door and jump out.

This kind of behavior, while potentially suicidal for humans, was no problem at all for dolls, especially in a low-flying situation. Instead, if they continued to stay in the cabin, they would most likely be affected by the chain explosions generated by the transportation plane's fuel tanks or engines.

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time. From the moment they were hit to the moment they confirmed that the doll in charge of piloting the transporter had been completely destroyed, there was only a second or two in between. During this time, the transport plane fell from the sky...

There were still two meters...

The result was obvious. The heavy transport plane directly brought the dolls in the cabin down and smashed into the ground!

Boom!

After a short period of tranquility, without waiting for the transport to catch fire, the cabin door—already twisted and deformed by the Jupiter Cannon, and in some places even beginning to transmit light—was violently kicked open from the inside! A cold-faced silver-haired doll, dragging a doll in pilot's clothes, walked out from the cabin.

"Hiss! What a different kind of welcome. What's wrong with those Sangvis guys? Are they having a party and firing off a couple of cannons to celebrate?"

Not to mention the fact that those Jupiter cannons modeled after the Marduk program were not meant for air defense.

There was more than one explosion that she heard just now, and the other side apparently used too many Jupiter cannons to fire at their transport plane...

Was that necessary? Is a single air transport that much of an eyesore for you guys?

"AK12, are you okay with your injuries?" AN94 walked out after AK12, holding the RPK16 with a broken leg in her hand.

"It's fine, just some small scratches, but... this one's condition is a bit of a headache..." AK12 turned back and helped to rack the RPK16 that was still clutching her etched weapon in her hand, walking towards AK15's position in front.

"Well, don't be so serious. This is a very fixable problem." RPK16 raised her head, smiling and saying this to the two of them.

"The leg is completely broken. It's not like you can just hit two fixation plates and keep going." Moving RPK16 to where AK15 had stopped, there happened to be a rock there, and AK15 had already placed the doll responsible for piloting the transporter on it, checking the condition of the other’s doll body.

The two also placed RPK16 down and looked with some headache at RPK16's right calf that was broken directly from it. The reason why it was said to be completely broken was that the entire lower part of RPK16's right calf had completely disappeared, and if they wanted to repair it in this condition, the only way was to find a new calf and replace it.

With their current condition, they obviously don't have this ability...

"Don't worry about me. It's just some minor injuries. You guys go ahead and rendezvous with that squad of Griffin’s. I'll be able to catch up with you in a little while. It’s this doll—the condition doesn't seem to be too good."

Hearing RPK16's intentional digression, AK12 also turned her head to look at the doll. When the Jupiter Cannon's shells hit the transporter, the front half of the transporter happened to be the direct hit area, and this doll sitting in the cockpit in charge of controlling the transporter had completely lost its human shape at this moment.

Half of her head had been torn off, and the other half of her body was in a bizarre twisted state. The chassis under the bionic skin occasionally burst with arcs of electricity.

Judging by general common sense, this doll has no salvation.

They could clearly see this doll's neural core had been completely deformed, and the neural cloud must be close to collapse.

Hearing RPK16’s absolute silence on the matter of her broken leg, AK12 sighed, "Alright, since you put it that way, at seven o'clock, there's a safe house three hundred meters away. If you can still move one of your legs, you can temporarily carry it there for a while, and we'll come over to regroup with you after the mission is over.

"Understood." While saying that, RPK16 waved her hand at the three of them with disinterest, urging them to leave quickly.

Hearing this, the two of them, AK12 and AN94, glanced at each other, then nodded somewhat helplessly towards AK15.

"What a surprising start. I had thought that this mission could be easier, don’t you think so?" After the trio walked away, RPK16 also lowered the weapon in her hand, placed the carry bag she was carrying behind her back in front of herself, and began to rummage through her tools while talking to the doll next to her, who was already on the verge of meltdown.

"I've really done myself a favor this time. I didn't realize that the 'Legacy' that I've only gotten a short while ago would already be able to use it now. Ah! Found it!" RPK16 said this, her hand gave a beat, and then she took out a pair of pliers from her bag, as well as scissors, a screwdriver, a hammer, and other tools.

"Nah, I mean, since you're already in this shape, you shouldn't mind if I borrow something from you, right?" RPK16 said, her eyes already falling on the doll body whose human shape was mostly distorted.

As if it understood RPK16's meaning or was unable to do anything about the current situation, the doll that was about to go down struggled and blinked, and then the light in its eyes dimmed. It was down.

"Alright, I'll take that as a yes then." RPK16 tugged at the corner of her mouth, directly reaching out and dragging the doll's body over, directly and roughly ripping open the neural core compartment in the doll's torso area.

The neural core inside was directly pinched out, and then she backhandedly took out a box-like device from her satchel. There was already a neural core inside there, several times larger than the one she was currently holding, but that didn’t matter, as the device could hold up to four normal sized neural cores.

Once that was done, RPK16 then looked at the doll shell. "Well, the leg bone has been broken, the hand bone is broken and can't be used, this drive shaft is good, and this motor over here... Poor guy, even if you are broken to pieces, you can't rest. You’d better become a part of me and move on with me."

Looking at these scattered accessories dismantled in her hand, RPK16 hummed a light and cheerful tune and began to assemble it. In the core of her neural cloud , however, she remembered the words that guy used to chant a few times before 'she' left.

'Be prepared.'

"Heh, do I count this as learning from now?"

Looking at the makeshift part that was gradually taking shape in her hand and looked like a bird’s claw, RPK16 directly attached the thing to her broken calf.

Chapter 20 - Need a Place to Vent?

"Hiya! What's up! You see there's no movement at all? That attack I just made was a direct hit! Didn't you see that transport plane fall straight out of the sky? Don't worry! They definitely won't have a chance to send a message out!"

Looking at the furious Gager in front of him, Architect shrugged her shoulders unconcernedly, very satisfied with the accuracy of the shots she had just fired.

"Hmph! It had better be so! But don't even think about any feasts or celebrations. Now go and make preparations immediately! Take someone to patrol the surrounding area! And then set up jammers straight away!"

Gager said so while preparing to take dolls out on patrol to see where that transport crashed. If there were any surviving dolls, they would be directly annihilated on the spot.

The artillery positions they had only just established could never be exposed!

This was an order from the Mastermind, so there was no room for error

"Hey! Why ah! Obviously, I've already accomplished my mission! What's the point if you wont let me go to Renault's side to play with Maria for a while!"

"Maria?"

"That's Destroyer from Renault. She has a name... Tsk, why didn't anyone give me a name in the first place?" Speaking of which, Architect couldn't help but feel a little envious.

However, her nature quickly threw this small matter to the back of her mind.

Anyway, Architect is also a name, although it doesn't sound like a personal name. Someday she would go to Renault's side and ask Renault to help her think of one? Or maybe she could come up with one herself?

Seeing Architect whose mind started to wander off before two sentences were spoken, Gager shook her head helplessly, readied her own weapon, mobilized a few mobile Dragoon on the command network, and walked out directly from the base.

Regardless of whether Architect was lazing off or not, her job was definitely done.

The helicopter crash site wasn't far from here, and the base's detectors hadn't detected Griffin's doll signal. The best-case scenario was that, as Architect had said, all of the dolls or humans on board the transport had perished along with it. The worst-case scenario is that the dolls on the transporter didn't die, but also used a device that can block the scanning of the Sangvis Ferri detector...

Just as Gager and Architect were getting busy with their own affairs, Renault also heard the request of Architect from Intruder's mouth.

"Hmm? What, you're eager for her to come?"

Although the one who said this was Intruder, Maria had followed along for some reason, and at that moment her eyes were blinking cutely at Renault, clearly hoping that Renault would agree.

"Right! The more people we can play together, the better anyway!" As soon as Maria heard this, her little head quickly nodded up and down, directly ignoring Intruder's headache-faced look next to her.

"Alright, there's not much going on in the last few days anyway, so it's fine to find a place to stop for a while before receiving a new commission," Renault scratched his head and said.

Actually, the commission was still secondary priority; he was now mainly interested in finding buyers who could consume his family's goods in large quantities. The guy who was supposed to be Paradeus last time had neither shown up nor bought back a large amount of goods, and although there was quite a lot of money, it wasn't a matter of money at all right now.

It was a matter of the warehouses on the spaceships overflowing!

The meat inside freezer has completely piled up. G36 has begun to make meat for him for three meals a day.

If it continues like this, I'm afraid that even the tea or dessert in the afternoon tea will be replaced by meat products by both G36 and G3. Although not being wasteful is a good habit, can you not be so insistent when it comes to this kind of thing? If you really can't pile up the stuff, then just decompose it as waste, and then you can take it to CF05 and their side to use as fertilizer...

For the time being, let's stop at Architect's side, and take the time to change the new engine core for our own dolls. Then we can adapt to the new engine in this kind of place where we can just let off some steam. After all, when AR15 had its new engine core replaced, she had to resist the urge to move her body all the time during the acclimatization period.

Moreover, docking in this kind of place, there was no need to worry about those ill-intentioned guys coming to the side of his ship to do something strange.

The last two times after the spaceship docked in a city, the spaceship's hull had been installed with a lot of trackers and other things.

It was a pain to clean up midway. Next time he's afraid he will have to think of some ways to keep those ill-intentioned guys from approaching his spaceship casually.

"Yay!" And as soon as she heard Renault promise to come, Maria immediately cheered loudly. Obviously, she didn't have enough fun playing with snow on Architect's side last time and wanted to continue playing this time.

Looking at Maria who ran out from the workroom alive and kicking, Renault shook his head helplessy.

This guy is really energetic. Just after replacing her power source with the new engine core, this guy is still moving for long periods of time, really energetic.

Although his dolls were able to limit the power output of their own engine core, not every doll has this kind of self-control like AR15.

Like Maria or M1919A4, I'm afraid that it will take a long time for the guy to calm down.

I don't know if it will have any effect on Vector. That guy might just cut down a few trees and organize a bonfire next to the ship...

"How about that new core you've been pining for? Want to change it now?" After Maria and Intruder left, Renault carried out a box from beside the workbench, took out an engine core from it, and waved it towards HK416 who was standing by the door and asked.

"Of course I want it! I want it now!"

Seeing the thing in Renault's hand, HK416's eyes started to light up straight away, and she immediately rushed over, laying down on the workbench without hesitation!

...

"Whew, the snow over here is really thick enough. If I had known that, I should have equipped a few pairs of snow boots or something like that in the first place." M16 trudged through the snow with one foot deep and one foot shallow, while twisting his head to look at the direction where the explosion sounded earlier.

"Can't you say this kind of thing before we leave next time?" RO635 also spoke with a bit of a headache.

The sweater she was wearing was soaked through with snow. The temperature of her body was also dropping rapidly, and if it continued like this, she's afraid that even the circulating fluids in her body would freeze, although this is impossible...

But it really is cold... she really wants to directly turn off her bionic perception system...

"Eh, I don't know what SOP2 and AR15 are doing. The last time they sent me a message, they seemed to be parked in a place where there was snow everywhere, and they seemed to be having a snowball fight with those dolls from Sangvis Ferri..." M4A1 sighed and looked at the snow around them, mumbling a bit depressingly.

Chapter 21 - Come and Fight!

"Wait... wait! M4, send over all the pictures that SOP2 sent you guys last time so I can take a look!"

M16, who seemed to have thought of something, suddenly stopped in her tracks. While surveying the surroundings, she beckoned towards M4A1, who was walking ahead.

This surrounding scenery looked very familiar. She always had a feeling that she had seen it somewhere before. A doll's feeling usually isn't wrong; if she felt she had seen it, then she had seen it before. It was just something that she had seen inadvertently, and she didn't have too much of an impression of it.

Hearing M16's words, M4A1 sent her the photo from her cell phone while twisting her head to survey the surroundings.

It didn't matter if she didn't look, but when she did, she realized that the terrain of this place and the location of the trees all looked very similar to the photo that SOP2 had sent over earlier!

M16, who had received the photos, immediately started comparing them. RO also came to the side, observing the scenery in the photos.

"Look at that tree, the knothole in that third branch, and five meters away, the broken tree!" M16 looked at it for a few moments, and then her eyes lit up, pointing at a few trees not far away.

"Hey? This? This looks like it..." M4A1 also came to a realization. That broken tree, whether it was the texture or the scars left on it, looked exactly the same as the one that SOP2 had crashed into earlier during the scuffle.

"That should be it. I didn't realize that Renault and the others had actually parked their ship here before. I don't know where they've run off to now, but the mission is important. It's better to hurry..."

As M16 was speaking, RO635 gestured a hand signal to M16 and M4A1 and pointed to the sky above their heads.

"They're already here..."

Upon hearing this, the two of them immediately looked up towards the sky, where a huge black shadow was slowly descending in the distance.

"Eh, it's really them. It is a coincidence?" M16 scratched her head, completely not expecting to run into Renault and the girls on the way to the mission.

M4A1's eyes brightened up. Since she woke up, although she had been communicating with SOP2 and AR15, she hadn't really met them. Although she hadn't applied for leave, she still wanted to see how SOP2 and AR15's current situation really was.

And just as RO on the ground noticed the ship in the sky, wz.29, who was sitting in the bridge and controlling the ship's slow descent, also noticed the dolls below that were very close to the landing site.

"Commander, there are three dolls over there at the landing site. It's M4A1, M16, and RO635."

"Hm? Got it. Talk to AR15 and the others. M16 and the others can be let in if they want to come aboard for a while." Renault, who was handling HK416's spent energy core, said after hearing the communication.

"M16? That guy came just in time! Time to test out the new engine core!" Next to HK416, who had just climbed out of the repair bin and put on her clothes, as soon as she heard M16 mentioned in the communication, her eyes instantly lit up, and she hurriedly ran outside, obviously intending to take M16 as the first target of her own 'acclimatization training'.

"Ah...?"

Renault did not even have time to open his mouth to instruct two sentences, but thinking about this guy not being a light-and-heavy type, he let it slide. If M16 breaks, he could help repair her... Ahem, in short, for M16, we can only ask for her own good fortune, or pray that HK416 won't be too full of energy to caused by her over-excitement.

"M4! M16!" The ship had just landed on the ground when SOP2 rushed out from the cabin, not thinking to open the elevator to the ground, and directly jumped down from the several meters high hatch.

"Woohoo, SOP2!?" Seeing SOP2 lunging towards her with open arms in the air, M4A1 subconsciously wanted to stand still and open her hands to take SOP2 down.

Seeing this, M16, who was still happily watching, immediately had her heart skip a beat. She knew how heavy SOP2's weight actually was after the transformation! What's more, the place where SOP2 jumped from was at least three meters or so...

A few hundred kilograms smashing down from the height of one floor! And you still want to catch her! Even military-grade parts can't afford to be built like this!

M16 hurriedly stepped forward and yanked M4A1 away with one hand!

"Hey?" The M4 who was suddenly yanked away let out a soft eep.

"Ah puh!" SOP2, who collided with the snow, also let out a strange sound.

Boom!

She then smashed heavily into the ground.

RO635 was also startled by the sound of SOP2's landing and came forward to take a look, realizing that SOP2 had not only crushed the snow this time but was even embedded deeply into the ground...

"Well... M4..." Her face was completely red from the impact, but because of the snow cushion, she didn't break her face. SOP2 climbed up from the pit on the ground, looking at M4A1 with a face of confusion.

"Ah, sorry SOP2, I'm just..." M4 rushed forward and tried to help SOP2 up from the ground, but... it's so heavy...

"So, at least have a self-awareness of how much you weigh right now. Are you trying to smash M4 into scrap metal by jumping down like that?"

Just as M4A1 tugged on SOP2's arm and strained to drag her up, AR15's voice also came from the other side of the ship.

Unlike SOP2, AR15, although quite excited, was not so foolish as to jump straight down. Just look at M4 and the others; the snow on the ground was at least more than half a meter deep. Landing flat on the ground could smash a crater into it. Jumping down directly would be like planting yourself directly into the dirt.

"Long time no see, M4. What kind of mission are you guys on? Running to a place so close to the Sangvis Ferri Base?" AR15 stepped down from the elevator. Even with her snow boots on, walking in such a place was still a bit inconvenient for her, who was severely overweight.

Reaching down, she yanked SOP2 up, who was still trying to lean on M4. "Well, don't lean on M4, be careful of crushing her."

"Oh." SOP2 was a bit reluctant, but at this time, she also remembered her current heavy vegetative body. Although she scattered her hands, she then came back up and picked M4 up and spun her around!

"Hey?"

"Really, of course, you can't just say anything about the mission or anything, but looking at the two of you, you must be having a very comfortable time on Renault's side." Looking at AR15 and SOP2, no matter which one of them, there was a smile on their faces. Even AR15, who used to be very stern, didn't have that serious look on her face. It was obvious that life on Renault's side was very comfortable.

"Well, sort of, comfortable indeed, but sometimes it's just too idle. There are very few missions on Renault's side, and there's not much to do on the ship."

Most of the tasks were taken over by the M1 Garand's group and those Sangvis Ferri dolls, so the later arrivals like AR15 and the others really couldn't find much to do.

"Right, M16, there's someone waiting for you over there. Looks like she wants to fight you."

As she was saying that, AR15 pointed at the top deck of the airship, and there was already a doll over there watching them.

CHAPTER 22: First, We'll Dine Out! After Work!

"Hey, hey, hey! Why are you still thinking about fighting at a time like this? Didn't we already fight once last time?" Seeing the figure standing on the top deck of the airship, M16 instantly recognized HK416.

Although she wasn't wearing the same clothes she once wore, she couldn't mistook her face. When she thought of the last time she was beaten by HK416 and forced into a one-sided hangman's fight, M16 couldn't help but feel a bit scared.

Dolls transformed by Renault were simply no longer the same species as tactical dolls like them, and the sturdiness of the other party's body might be on the verge of catching up with an armored car or a tank. Even those elite dolls of Sangvis Ferri didn't have such an outrageous performance.

However, after the last fight with HK416, she was also aware of the only current shortcoming of Renault's dolls. The energy core's power was insufficient. Even if Renault used the strengthened military version, the energy inside was not enough to support those modified dolls to maintain the highest power state for 24 hours a day. The maximum power state could only be maintained for about half an hour. If the time extended longer, these dolls would shut down due to lack of energy.

So M16 thought if she had to fight HK416 again, she just needed to slowly drag the time, delaying until after the thirty minutes were up. Then, it would be easy to take care of the opponent.

But M16 was too optimistic. For the dolls under Renault's command, the need to use maximum power in a fight had rarely arisen, and when it did, the battle was resolved within a few minutes. Moreover, with skillful application, the dolls could precisely control how much power they used, conserving energy effectively.

Watching M16 dilly-dally, with no intention of confronting HK416, AR15 shrugged. She was just helping to convey a message; whether to go or not depended on M16's own will.

M16 even subconsciously tilted her head, avoiding looking at HK416 above. She wasn't foolish enough to volunteer for a fight unless she had a problem with her mind.

However, what M16 didn't expect was that just after she decided not to think about HK416, a strong smell of alcohol wafted over.

Looking around, the only people nearby were the AR team. Besides herself, only AR15 could drink a little. Did she bring her own wine? What a thoughtful thing to do!

Thinking of this, M16 looked towards AR15 with hopeful eyes, but AR15 just shrugged helplessly. RO635, however, suddenly reached out and poked M16, pointing to the top deck of the airship.

There, the original standing figure of HK416 had sat at the edge of the deck, with a whole box of liquor beside her. Just as they were talking, HK416 had already unscrewed a few bottles, letting the smell drift downwind to M16's side.

Gulp!

Seeing this, M16 immediately hesitated. A whole box of wine, with a very strong smell.

All good stuff!

Just as M16 was about to rush over to HK416, Gager who had stepped out from Sangvis Ferri's base for patrol noticed the huge airship landing nearby.

"Tsk, why are those guys here again?" She didn't expect Renault to really bring people over. Letting Architect dabble in the meal simply had no benefit at all. This guy never did things according to common sense.

Although she couldn't figure it out, she still had to do her job. She hadn't yet seen that crashed Griffin transport aircraft.

With the Dragoon's seat, Gager led a group of dolls to the crash site. The fire from the crash had long been extinguished, leaving only the blackened wreckage. She ordered her men to look for clues, while she surveyed the surroundings.

Despite people covering their tracks, the snow on the ground still made it hard to cover up tracks, especially in a hurried situation. But the footprints she saw were divided into two groups, one with three people heading towards the forest, and the other heading in a direction she was more familiar with, one foot in a strange bird claw style.

"Since when did Griffin have strangely shaped dolls?" Gager thought Griffin's dolls wouldn't replace their limbs with strange shapes, given their civilian and security contractor roles. The 'affinity' of those tactical dolls was important to the average person.

"The memory module and neural core have been removed." The Dragoon brought the remains of a doll in pilot's clothing to Gager.

Four people? A squad? Without any Dummies?

Were they really here to probe the Jupiter Cannon's status?

Thinking of this, Gager decided to find the single doll first, as they were heading towards the Sangvis Ferri Base. If she didn't hurry, it would be bad if this guy checked out the base's defense arrangement.

Meanwhile, Architect wasn't idle. She still had to put on an appearance, instructing the Sangvis dolls to start patrolling.

Seeing Renault's airship landing in the distance, she thought, "As long as we go there, we'll be able to get a meal! The dolls on Renault's side wouldn't mind this little thing. A big meal! I'm coming!"

Chapter 23: No Loss, No Loss

"Aigooooo!" M16, who was paralyzed on the top deck, huffed in pain while grinning as she shoved the cork of the bottle into her mouth.

Gulp!

"Pfft!"

She took a beating...

But it was worth it! This whole case of wine! She could drink it until her mission was over!

M16, who was supposed to present herself in a calm and reliable manner, was like an old drunkard at this moment, smiling and leaving all those troubles behind. Of course, the reason she made this decision was not without thought. If getting beaten up by HK416 meant M4 and SOP2 could stay a little longer, it wasn't a loss, right?

"Although I know you guys are just blatantly letting off steam, never mind. Who cares this time? I'm just going to try something new." Seeing M16's satisfied look, HK416 couldn't get angry even if she wanted to.

However, the good thing is that after making such a mess, the energy of the engine core has been further re-organized, and the feeling of being omnipotent has been eliminated. The rest is just to continue slowly adapting to the power this core brings to her.

No wonder AR15 stayed in her dormitory for a while before, unwilling to wander around. Was she worried about her own force control problems?

"Hey, what's new about you? What's new? You don't look any different from the last time we met, do you?" M16 put down the bottle and raised her eyes to take a closer look at HK416. She had already observed it during the fight; there was no change at all in HK416's appearance. The only noticeable difference was that this guy made it hurt a lot more than last time.

"Of course, you can't tell. It's just a change in the energy core. This time it's a big upgrade. If the doll body doesn't have problems, it could last for a hundred or eighty years. Okay, don't blow it here. Can you still walk? Renault is in the workroom right now. Let him help fix you up, so you don't have to blame me for delaying the mission."

"Okay, so what, give me a hand?" M16 smiled somewhat helplessly at HK416. The force of HK416's hand just now was really strong. Although she could tell that HK416 was holding back, one of her legs was still a bit out of commission.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have dropped to the ground like that. Standing wasn't so easy.

"Hmph, then you guys can't really help it." HK416 said, reaching out and yanking M16 up from the ground, racking her on her shoulder as he headed towards the elevator.

"Hey hey! Wait! WAIT! My drink!" She was lifted up, but the case of wine was still on the ground!

"Really, it's just a case of wine, and you guys are stupid enough to come over and get your ass kicked. I really don't know what's going on in your head." Despite the grumbling, HK416 still reached out and lifted the case, helping M16 into the elevator.

M4 and RO had already been dragged to the dormitories owned by SOP2 and AR15, so they didn't run into HK416, but M16 did meet a few other dolls.

After saying hello, HK416 also helped M16 to Renault's workroom, where Renault was busy replacing Vector's energy core while Scarecrow was on the sidelines assisting.

Since he knew that replacing the new energy core would cause the doll's behavior to be unstable for a short period, he decided to start with the doll with the highest probability of going out of control. If Vector really let loose, it would serve as a typical example for others.

It would also be a good idea to call MDR and Vera to record the whole process.

"This is..."

"Shhh! Don't be so loud when Renault is doing something." Seeing Renault and Scarecrow making modifications to Vector, M16 subconsciously wanted to ask what was going on, but HK416 lowered her voice and warned her.

"Ooooh."

Although she didn't know why, who could argue in someone else's territory? Besides, if even HK416 lowered her voice... she'd better wait patiently.

As for the mission, since they knew the location was not too far from Sangvis Ferri's base, the mission should not be too difficult. Even if it was, wasn't there another squad to support them?

Thinking about it, maybe their team of three was just a cover for the other squad's actions. After all, Sangvis Ferri was most interested in M4. If they found M4 here, maybe all of Sangvis Ferri would rush out to find trouble with M4, allowing the other squad to act undetected.

Hiss, it actually seemed quite reasonable when you thought about it, right?

Just then, Renault and Scarecrow finished their work. Before Vector could jump up from the workbench, they quickly restrained her.

"Commander..." Seeing that she was tied up tightly, Vector immediately raised her eyes in aggravation and looked at Renault, trying to get her to release the restraints.

"Don't look at me like that. Go into the repair warehouse and lie down. I only have so many repair warehouses. These devices are a pain to build. I'll release you once your skin is repaired."

A doll couldn't move much in the repair pod. If it fell asleep, it might talk in its sleep or raise a hand, but Griffin's dolls had underlying protocols restricting these behaviors. Renault didn't have to worry about them damaging the pod's internal equipment.

But his side didn't have such protocols. Most of the time, they entered the repair pod after repairing most of the damage, using it only to attach or repair the bionic skin. These tasks didn't take long, just an hour or so at the longest.

Those like Vector, who had a simple stomach incision, could be out in about five or six minutes.

"Alright." Vector nodded in a depressed manner, but as a result of such a simple action, she lifted herself along with the large portion off the countertop, then slammed back down onto the workbench.

Renault instantly rolled his eyes. "I told you not to move. Are you trying to tear down my workbench?"

This workbench had followed him all the way back in the day and had been used for quite a while.

To withstand the weight of a doll, he had specially reinforced it.

But now it seemed its lifespan was coming to an end. The tableboard had bent down, and the corners showed abnormal twists. If he continued using it, maybe one day it would give out.

Chapter 24: There's Something Wrong

"Wuhu! Come on, come on! I'm coming!" Riding the snowmobile he had snatched from the Dragoon, Architect rushed to the side of Renault's spaceship in a puff of smoke.

After throwing down the snowmobile, she ran towards the small wooden house that Renault had set up by the spaceship last time.

She saw that a fire had already been lit inside! Smoke was rising from the chimney!

Obviously, there were already people inside!

"Is there-anyone-at-home?" Deliberately dragging out her rising tone, Architect shouted as she raised her hand and knocked on the wooden door.

"Oh? It's Architect. You came really fast. Maria just said you we might need to wait a little longer before you come over."

The one who opened the door was Alchemist, who was still wearing that very eye-catching leather apron. After seeing Architect at the door, she let her in.

"Heh heh! But I came straight here as soon as I saw your ship!" Architect said with her head held high, not feeling the least bit ashamed that she had left her job behind to come running over here to get some food.

"Ohhh, but are you alone this time? Didn't your kinda mean-looking accomplice show up?" NZ75, who was standing right next to the fireplace and trying to light it, heard Architect say that and asked with some curiosity.

Gager who came with Architect last time didn't seem to be as easy to get in touch with as Architect. Except for a slight smile during dinner, she had a cold face the whole time, which made people feel that she wasn't good to get close to.

"Heya, that guy's out on patrol! A transporter was just sent over from Griffin's side; it seems to have dropped not far away, and the guy rushed out on patrol in a hurry." Architect said with a wave of her hand, apparently not giving a second thought to the possible doll on the Griffin transport.

Hearing this, NZ75 raised an eyebrow and exchanged a glance with CF05 next to her. Although from Sangvis's standpoint, there didn't seem to be any problem with Griffin's transport going down, nor was there any situation that required rescue.

But that transporter likely has surviving dolls. If possible, they feel the need to check the situation, not because they still have sentiment towards Griffin's, but because it would be a shame to leave those dolls behind.

It might be better to let Renault pick them up.

A few more people to eat could help consume the overstocked supplies.

"I'll go and call Maria for you, just in time for me to go back and get some spices." CF05 put down the cutting board in her hand and clapped her hands at Architect.

Just in time to talk to her commander while getting some things.

"Uh-huh! Please!" Hearing CF05 say that, Architect instantly thanked her, but her eyes were fixed on the large crate in Alchemist's hand.

She had seen these crates before, the last time she was on Renault's side. All of these crates were used to hold supplies, and most of the contents were ingredients or canned goods.

And this crate in front of her right now had been opened by Alchemist, and it contained strips of fresh meat.

"If it's fine, just help NZ75 get the fire going. Look at how long it's taking her." While taking the fresh meat out of the box, Alchemist also fished out a meat cleaver from the pocket of her leather apron and started to cut up the meat.

There wasn't much going on over at the farm right now, so if she went back, she would only be helping MG3 relieve some work pressure. But MG3 was working without any pressure at all.

Although breeding animals is a bit troublesome for her, MG3 enjoys it. MG3 is always happy, which is much better than M1 Garand, who has a headache from looking at reports all day.

Alchemist was taking a break from her busy schedule to help CF05 and NZ75 cut meat and to eat a bit of CF05's special hot pot, which she liked a lot despite it being very spicy. The spiciness was part of the fun; without it, there would be no meaning.

In addition to CF05 and NZ75, other dolls were coming out of the cargo door of the ship one after another.

They were mainly out to play, as most dolls were willing to come out, except for RFB or the articulated snake, who refused to leave their cozy nests and were planning to play games until dusk.

...

Just as the sneaky Architect took advantage of Gager's inattention and ran straight to Renault's side, Gager was working diligently.

Following the footprints of the solitary doll, she was catching up with the one who had fallen behind and trying to find out from the other party's mouth or memory modules what kind of mission the other party was on.

This was very important for Sangvis now. The military and the heavy snowfall in winter slowed down Sangvis's combat and movement speed. Coupled with the more advanced jamming equipment the military had, the intelligence they could obtain was becoming less and less.

Therefore, obtaining intelligence about the recent situation through Griffin dolls was essential.

The more Gager chased the footprints forward, the clearer Renault's ship in the distance became, giving her a not-so-good premonition.

In addition, her heart became a little apprehensive...

Because the solitary doll was heading straight towards Renault's location. If that doll was one of Renault's men... or if the entire transport plane was carrying Renault's men...

Then, upon arriving at Renault's ship, how angry would the other party be... It was difficult to describe...

Although she didn't know why Renault, a mere human, was so scary, the fact that even someone as defiant as Executioner could work honestly under Raynor meant that there must be something about Renault's ship that made her not dare to act recklessly.

Most likely, that person was Renault himself...

Anxious, Gager also looked at the subordinates behind her. They had brought the body of the transporter pilot doll. Although the core had been taken away, some information could still be found from the body...

Moreover, if this doll was really one of Renault's men, taking the body over might make the other party feel better.

Gager cocked her head, not realizing that she had likely screwed up. She just didn't think it was strange to bring the subordinate's body to the door.

Chapter 25: Think of a Way to Hide It Yourself

"Another patrol. Now it seems the Sangvis Ferri in this area have all moved. This is already the seventh patrol we've seen, right?" Looking at the Sangvi doll figures gradually moving away, AK12 sighed somewhat helplessly.

Angelia originally intended for them to take advantage of the chaos to infiltrate the Sangvis Ferri base and search for information. Now, the mission to support the AR team is likely compromised. The AR team might have already been discovered by the Sangvis Ferri.

"Should we try to contact the AR team?" AK15 looked around and, after confirming that the Sangvis units had gone far away, grabbed a branch and jumped down from the tree.

"Well, we can't do nothing. Let's contact them and see. Maybe there's a way to get close to the Sangvis base from their side. But first, we need to find a safe place."

"What about the status of RPK16?" AN94, who heard AK12's words, hesitated for a moment, thinking of RPK16, who had separated from them only a short while ago.

"Tch, that fox should be fine for now. It should be easier for her to escape from that position." AK12 checked the signal feedback among her communication protocols, and after confirming there was no problem with RPK16's signal, she shook her head reassuringly.

Hearing AK12 say so, AN94 also nodded. Then the three of them slightly dealt with the traces they had just left under the tree and took a step in the direction of the safe house.

...

"Can you fix it slower?" M16 scratched her head and asked Renault with some embarrassment.

Hearing this, both Renault and the Scarecrow standing next to him looked at M16 with strange gazes.

This was the first time they had ever seen someone request a slower repair of a doll.

Was there something wrong with this guy's mind?

Seeing their gazes, M16 awkwardly scratched her scalp. "This... I'm trying to keep M4 here longer. If I'm repaired soon, then I guess it's time to leave again..."

Renault raised his eyebrows. This guy was overthinking things. But Griffin had sent them to this area, so their mission must be related to the Sangvi artillery position. Even if not, it certainly couldn't be unrelated to Sangvis.

After all, there were no other valuable targets in this area besides Sangvis. It couldn't be that Griffin had deployed their ace AR Team just to find some money and goods left behind from a resident's house, could it? This kind of small mission, or a commission that didn't require combat, couldn't justify using these special ops dolls of the AR Team.

"TYour thinking quite a bit, lie down honestly." HK416, who was still relatively restrained, said.

The reason why M16 couldn't walk by herself was mainly because the leg bones of her body were twisted and stuck. A bit of disassembly and slight repair would fix it. Although its strength would be reduced, it wouldn't be worse than before.

The parts used on her were also military-grade components, far stronger than those of a normal tactical doll. The same went for the other dolls in the AR team, except for AR15, who was the only one transformed from a civilian doll. It can't be called a transformation, but just using the civilian doll's body, probably because Persica ran out of the goodies she had on hand.

Back to the present, M16's body injuries were easy to deal with. With the help of Scarecrow, Renault's speed was much faster. From opening M16's leg to repairing the damage and sending her into the repair warehouse, it took less than a quarter of an hour.

M16, who was conscious, could only sigh. Obviously, Renault was not willing to slow down his work for her request.

"Okay, don't sigh like an old mom here. Just stay hidden. Anyway, Renault's ship is big enough to hide an individual." Seeing M16's sullen look, HK416 teased her. "That M4 guy isn't a kid anymore. Why do you like to worry about everything?"

"Renault! Renault! Architect is here! I'm going to go play with her!" Just when M16 heard HK416's words and was wondering where to hide, Maria showed up at the doorway of the workroom and shouted towards Renault with gusto.

"Well, go ahead."

Watching the conversation between Maria, who looked exactly like the Sangvis Destroyer, and Renault, M16 blinked, thinking the name Architect sounded familiar.

But soon, she recalled that the Architect was mentioned during the mission briefing and seemed to be the commander of the Sangvis in this area, right?

"Architect? Hey hey, your commander shouldn't have taken any Sangvi doll into his own hands again, right?" M16 asked HK416 while glancing at the Scarecrow organizing tools.

"Not yet, but I'm guessing it's coming soon. That guy just came over to hang out and get a meal on our side." HK416 felt that the Architect might bring up jumping into their ship after her meal.

Of course, whether her subordinate Gager agreed or not was unknown.

"Eh, what do you mean 'soon too'..." M16 felt uneasy. If only Griffin could 'persuade' these Sangvi dolls as easily as Renault did...

Unfortunately, that was impossible. If they could, they wouldn't have had to fight the Sangvis from the start.

"Anyway, that guy has already gotten acquainted with most of the dolls over here now. So it wouldn't be surprising if she suddenly came over to our side and said she wanted to jump ship. After all, that guy just looks like someone who has no idea what she's doing. Still, her subordinate called Gager looked a bit more reliable."

"Is that so..." M16 muttered, leaving the workroom without forgetting to pick up the case of wine HK416 had given her.

"Even though Renault already has several alcoholics on his side, those guys, if they see someone like you who can drink coming over, 80% of them will be quite happy. They'll be able to consume more of their stock."

Seeing M16 hugging the wine box, HK416 shook her head speechlessly.

Simonov, because of the need to pilot the gunboat, greatly reduced alcohol consumption. A-91, though always drinking a bit, couldn't drink too much in a day. AK47 drank a lot but not excessively, and the same went for Executioner.

In total, there were only a few dolls at home who drank, and the rest of the time, the other dolls mostly just drank lightly. So now, the most stocked items in the storehouse were those wine barrels filled with liquor.