NOVEL NEXT Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Parking and Inspection
"Seventeen soldiers, fatal injuries all in the head, most likely... all done by that Renault with an axe."
The bodies of seventeen invaders were now lying not far from Helian, while on the other side were the bodies of the deceased Griffin employees. Before evacuating the base, these bodies would be dealt with uniformly.
Even though Griffin was wealthy, they weren't generous enough to bring the bodies of their employees back in such circumstances. Being able to bring back ashes would already be considered good enough.
"Like this... How's the situation at HQ?"
"The communication system has been restored, but it seems like headquarters has also been subjected to a small-scale attack. The boss hopes we can evacuate immediately."
"Understood. Once we finish this, seal the equipment in the base and prepare for evacuation."
"Affirmative madam."
...
As Helian and the surviving personnel from the S13 Griffin base were evacuating via helicopter, Renault also arrived at the first place that seemed to still have inhabitants.
Perhaps due to the obstruction of the mountains, the environment on the eastern side of the mountains seemed much better than the western side. Even the clouds above looked much lighter than those in the western sky.
Correspondingly, the pollution level in this area had barely entered the lowest level of the green zone, barely ensuring the survival of ordinary residents in such a place.
"Huh? Commander, those guarding the entrance, they should be dolls, right?"
A checkpoint, incongruent with the road, now lay across the middle of the road. Several T-dolls figures, armed, stood there, nervously staring at their large truck.
"Ah, they're dolls, and Griffin's dolls at that. Looks like we can stay here for a while."
They hadn't stopped at all along the way, and even Renault, who was physically strong, was feeling a bit tired now. Getting a good sleep somewhere would be great.
Although their clothing was different, seeing those girls with weapons, all wearing skirts or shorts, clearly wasn't something ordinary humans could do. Plus, they deliberately wore armbands with the Griffin logo, making their identity clear from afar.
"Huh? Commander? Why can't I contact them? At this distance, T-Doolls should be able to connect with each other using the Zeener Protocol, right?"
M1 Garand, leaning on the small window connecting the cargo compartment and the cabin, asked somewhat strangely.
"What protocol? Oh, you mean that thing that looks like some fancy font? I turned it off. Surprised you're only realizing it now. Seems like it's really useless." Speaking, Renault had already stopped the truck, waiting for the three dolls figures to come forward for inspection.
"Turned it off!?" Upon hearing Renault's words, the T-dolls couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
Without the Zeener Protocol, Dummy Network systems couldn't be used, and they couldn't directly synchronize information with other doll members of their squad nor any dolls nearby. In other words, they couldn't share information and could only communicate verbally like humans, or even shout if they didn't have a communicator.
"Why are you making such a fuss? With your shouting, those T-dolls over there are getting nervous."
The screams of the T-Dolls were clearly very penetrating. The two Tactical Dolls walking towards the truck immediately raised the weapons in their hands, frowning as they approached.
Seeing the two figures approaching with raised guns, Renault felt a headache coming on. He just hoped these two girls wouldn't be too impulsive; he wasn't here to start a massacre.
One of the figures, wearing a red short coat and a Scottish-style skirt, and the other wearing a khaki coat with a short skirt, walked forward. Although Renault didn't immediately recognize the models of the two, he recognized the weapons in their hands, the Sten submachine gun and the M3 submachine gun.
As for the AK47 standing still in the distance, already aiming their gun at Renault, it was most likely an AK47.
None of them were rare dolls. As for whether there were more advanced dolls inside the town, that remained to be seen, but it probably had nothing to do with him.
He was just here to find a safe place to rest for a while. Did he need to think about whether the chef in the restaurant had a few sugar cubes in his pocket?
Seeing Renault half leaning out of the car window without any obvious weapons, the vigilance of the Sten Mk2 figure slightly relaxed. Furthermore, with the message sent by the M3 on the passenger side through the Zeener Protocol indicating no one was there, she let go of most of her vigilance.
Unless there were special orders, dolld wouldn't make any threatening moves against human life.
"Afternoon, sir. Can we inspect your cargo?" Glancing at the Griffin logo on the door, Sten Mk2 looked at Renault somewhat strangely.
Meanwhile, AK47, who had been standing still at the checkpoint, had already begun contacting their base, asking if there would be any Griffin trucks passing by today.
With the Zeener Protocol in place, information transmission between dolls didn't even require any gestures; a mere thought could connect them with teammates and the command center, making it extremely convenient.
"Of course, it's just a few dolls and some equipment and parts for repairing dolls. Nothing illegal." Waving his hand, Renault didn't attach much importance to it. There was nothing improper in his truck anyway.
Autonomous dolls weren't contraband, and even if there were modified dolls that were banned, it wasn't Griffin's responsibility.
M3, in charge of the inspection, half-skeptically walked towards the rear door of the truck after hearing Renault's words. However, as soon as she arrived at the door, she saw a large group of glowing-eyed dolls staring at her.
"Oh!"
"M3!? What's wrong!?" Although M3's scream was small, for dolls, it was equivalent to shouting for humans.
Seeing Sten Mk2 running over, the people in the truck compartment, including Simonov, all turned their heads to the side, staring at the T-doll who had appeared again, looking at her intact bio-layer with some envy.
Including the lightly injured BM59, the bio-modules on their bodies had long been turned off by Renault. Although they wouldn't shut down as long as they were kept powered, they also didn't have the rich sensations they used to.
Even the function of eating food had been disabled. To experience those feelings again, they would have to wait for Renault to find time to thoroughly repair them. However, in their current situation, clearly there were no conditions for them to undergo major repairs.
"What? These aren't just a few dolls... It's clearly a whole squad! And there's even an SF Doll and two Dinegrates..."
This person... could he be a mercenary from somewhere? Or a doll trafficker?