Chapter 43: Chapter 43: No Sign of the Real Mastermind
"Don't worry about her. You guys stay here and watch the truck. If there's any trouble, shout for me. I'll go check over there."
M1 Garand didn't need to worry too much. It was no difficulty for her to shoot those aimless autonomous dolls from a hundred meters away.
What they really needed to be worried about was why these autonomous dolls could continue fighting. Even tactical dolls would see a significant decrease in combat organization capability after losing communication with their commander or headquarters.
However, these autonomous dolls showed no signs of confusion at all. Obviously, there must be some kind of communication station nearby acting as a relay station for these autonomous dolls.
The residents and pedestrians around the block had already fled far away when the battle at the G&K base started, and there were very few vehicles on the streets. The ones that could be seen were mostly on the verge of being scrapped.
Except for his truck... The only relatively intact vehicle was the commercial van parked at the intersection next to it, with something like a roof box on top.
Of course, it only looked like one. Without careful observation, one might really think it was a roof box, but the exposed wiring extending from inside the box revealed that it was not a roof box.
The windows were covered with reflective film, and the rear windows didn't let in any light...
Most importantly... this car was parked directly in the middle of the intersection? It was so conspicuous that it couldn't be ignored.
Reno strode forward and, under the gaze of Nagant revolver and P38, reached out and tapped on the car window.
Seeing no response, Reno didn't hesitate anymore. He smashed the glass with the butt of his M30, revealing an empty driver's seat inside the car. There was only a modified steering wheel and the blinking dashboard.
There was no one, not even a autonomous doll. The car was remotely controlled, and the equipment placed in the back seat and on the roof should be used to control those autonomous dolls as signal relay stations.
Buzz!
As soon as Reno broke the glass, the engine of the communication vehicle roared to life, and the wheels quickly turned, trying to escape from Reno's side.
Bang! Bang!
Before the car could accelerate away from Reno, two shotgun shells blasted through the window, directly smashing the control device fixed to the steering wheel. The communication vehicle, which was reversing at full speed, lost control immediately.
It backed into the roadside and then crashed into a clothing store.
But it finally stopped. Reno went forward, tore off the instrument cables placed in the back seat, and threw them away.
...
"I always feel like the commander is just placating us..." Holding his AK15, Simonov carefully aimed and, after a few seconds, blew off the head of a dumbfounded autonomous doll shooting at the Griffin gate.
"If you put it that way, it does feel like that..." BM59, also holding an AK15, frowned and then pulled the trigger, "Finally hit one!"
"It feels like he's deliberately having us practice our marksmanship." Holding the PP-19-01, M1911 shot at the autonomous dolls with short bursts, but unfortunately, the hit rate was really low.
And M1 Garand was shooting too fast! It hadn't even been a minute yet, and she had already emptied five or six magazines! Half of the autonomous dolls were taken down by M1 Garand alone!
If the distance wasn't a bit far, I could do this too!
Because they no longer had communication functions from the Zener Protocol, they didn't dare to get too close now. One reason was that they were afraid those autonomous dolls would change their targets, and the other was that they were afraid that the Griffin dolls, who couldn't communicate with them through the Zener Protocol, would mistake them for enemies and attack.
...
Several Griffin dolls had retreated into the G&K base by now, relying on the Griffin gate to block those autonomous dolls.
And unexpectedly, this move was quite effective. These remotely controlled autonomous dolls wouldn't show any subjective initiative at a time like this, or rather, they had lost their autonomy now, and all their actions were dictated by someone remotely.
Facing the Griffin base with only one entrance, these autonomous dolls could only exert all their efforts to charge forward and shoot while charging.
They had achieved some results, capturing several puppet dolls.
To protect Sten MK2 and M3's main bodies and prevent the enemy dolls from entering the Griffin base, they had to use puppet dolls as shields in front of them.
If only they had some bulletproof shields or something like that, this situation wouldn't have happened. Being beaten by a group of autonomous dolls without self-awareness and destroying almost all the puppet dolls, this would be laughed at for a whole year if it were known!
Sten MK2's two puppet dolls were all scrapped, and M3's only puppet doll was the same. Moreover, M3 had been hit by several shots while retreating, although it didn't damage the core, it was still not light.
After the battle, if there were no casualties, they would really have to be sent for major repairs.
Because they had been protected by Sten MK2 and two others, MK23 still had one puppet doll left. Altogether, three and a half dolls were all the remaining forces of Griffin 939 base.
There was still no news from the sentries. The AK47 trio who had gone to investigate the explosion inside the city were also missing...
They were beginning to feel a bit desperate, and because those doll traffickers had taken all the ammunition from inside the base, they didn't have much ammunition left now.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just as the three were feeling desperate, crisp gunfire came from afar. Those autonomous dolls who were continuously charging towards the Griffin gate were shot one after another by the shooters in the distance, causing them to fall to the ground, halting the footsteps of the doll behind them.
"Great! It's reinforcements!" Hearing the gunfire and seeing the autonomous dolls falling one by one at the gate, Sten MK2 couldn't help but shout excitedly.
"This gunfire... doesn't seem to be from our people?" MK23 frowned. Whether it was the gunfire that started first or the later bursts of assault rifle fire, none of them were familiar to her.
"It's M1 Garand! Earlier today, a commander with tactical dolls entered the city, and M1 Garand was among them! It must be them! But why is there no communication from the Zener Protocol?"
Despite her excitement, Sten MK2 was also a bit puzzled. They should all be Griffin's dolls, so why were only the three of them shown as connectable targets in the Zener Protocol?
"Uh, anyway, at least we can breathe a sigh of relief now. These autonomous dolls shouldn't be a problem for them. Let's just wait here for them to defeat those guys." M3 muttered quietly, touching the bullet holes on her body and sighing.
That would be best... Hearing M3's muttering, MK23 thought to herself, but her hands were tightly gripping the pistol grip.