Eh? You want to try the humanoid girl's iron fist too?

“I never want to see your sour face in this place again, ever! Understand? Otherwise…” Raphael looked meaningfully at the doorway: “Any other questions?”

Book 1: The World Before the Great War: Chapter 53 Threat (Seeking votes and support)

The thug shook his head at an unprecedented speed, as if only by shaking his head into an illusion could he convince the vicious woman opposite him.

"Take everything out of your pockets!" April said.

Various kinds of trash were scattered on the ground. Oh, and there was a knife stuck in this guy's belt.

“You’re quite the hider,” Raphael said, his words carrying a hint of threat. “I should have shot right then and there!”

"Hahaha... How can you survive in this world without some skills?"

"Get lost."

The kid disappeared into the thin air.

Among the junk he and his companions left behind were some good items, such as a knife in excellent condition and quality, and a Glock 18 in great condition.

Raphael stared at the direction the corpses and thugs had gone. These guys looked like those NPC mobs in a game that drop equipment when you kill them...

She picked up the Glock; the promised pistol had come to her on its own.

Before handing the pistol to April, Raphael repeated tirelessly, "I'll say it again, never point a gun at me, understand?"

“I know how to use it,” April replied.

In fact, Raphael did not want this conflict to break out. But it happened anyway.

Just then, the door was smashed open, and Raphael's finger on the rifle twitched involuntarily. It just so happened that his finger was on the trigger at that moment; basically, it was bad luck, and the gun didn't fire.

Hearing the noise, she pushed Aibo away and simultaneously drew her dagger, lunging forward.

But luckily, no one died.

The man she was holding hostage was Doug Sutton, the leader of the "Hundred-Eyed Giants" squad. He remained calm and composed, unmoved by the blade hanging over his neck.

“I was wondering who made that noise,” he said, looking at the body on the floor with interest. “But now that I see it’s you, it makes perfect sense.”

The blade trembled slightly, letting Doug know what to say.

"Put your gun down, just in case."

Doug did as she said. After all, Raphael wasn't exactly an enemy, and she was someone Doug didn't want to antagonize—she looked like an ordinary girl, but she could take him down in the blink of an eye.

Outside, Cecilia crouched down to examine the dead body. "So, they broke into your hideout, you dealt with them all, and finally killed him with a knife. Are you a beast?" She glanced at the shattered lock.

"Do not

"I executed him." Raphael, without batting an eye, calmly corrected him, "The survivor killed him with a knife."

“A survivor?” Doug couldn’t help but laugh. What a survivor! He glanced sarcastically at the broken wall, the spilled blood and scattered portable items on the floor—it didn’t look like the work of a “survivor.”

If they were genuine refugees, they would not abandon these small tools and rations; if they were to leave, they would pack everything up properly, rather than leaving it scattered all over the ground.

This looks more like a forced self-search, maybe even with a gun pointed at his forehead.

The reason for letting them escape is obvious: it's all about "deterrence."

The thugs who came with him were all killed in the blink of an eye, and he was even forced to kill his own companion. His fragile mental defenses crumbled instantly. If he ever thinks about what happened today, it would be a good outcome if he could burst into tears and tremble with fear.

Doug believes fear will haunt him for the rest of his life, he just needs to put himself in his shoes.

"What are you planning to do with the body?" Doug asked.

"We plan to move to a different place."

“Hmm, it looks like this place is no longer habitable,” Cecilia said.

Doug looked around, his gaze landing on the young woman trying to hide herself in the corner, and finally said, "You can come with us to find a place to stay."

“Aibo, these guys aren’t the enemy,” Raphael explained. “Also, don’t hide that crappy pistol; it won’t kill them.”

"Eek!!" Upon hearing the sound, April slowly stood up and complained to Raphael, "You clearly said this was a good gun!"

“We’re all wearing bulletproof vests…” Cecilia lifted her tactical vest, letting April see the thick bulletproof plates inside. “Don’t underestimate this plate; it can protect us from a lot of bad luck.”

"But won't it make you feel uncomfortable?"

"Well, it's really uncomfortable to always have it pressed down like that."

Cecilia reached into the socket and gently rubbed the tired little rabbit:

"But the power strip can protect my body. Between two evils, choose the lesser, right?"

“Hmm.” April then looked at Raphael.

Raphael found those looks extremely offensive, but still replied, "I'm not bothered by that." After saying that, she felt that April and Cecilia's looks were even more irritating.

Raphael stepped outside and found the two members of the Hundred-Eyed Giants squad sitting comfortably on the stairs, with a corpse lying next to them, yet they didn't seem bothered at all.

These guys have completely adapted to the new order of the city that never sleeps.

Then, Cecilia asked April, "What's your name?"

“Aibo, Aibo Kellerh”.

"My name is Cecilia, and I am the marksman in the squad."

Seeing the long spear she was holding, which was much longer than the ones held by others, one could basically understand Miss Cecilia's job duties.

Basically, apart from the captain, she is the absolute force of this squad.

“You can understand by looking at what you’re holding,” April replied.

"Should we clean up the mess on the floor?" Doug asked, standing in the doorway.

“No need, I’ve already given her the most valuable thing.” Raphael glanced at the Glock pistol fixed to April’s holster. “Who knows how disgusting the rest of that stuff is.”

“In these chaotic times, the only one left who can say disgusting things is you.” Cecilia turned her head and rolled her eyes at Raphael. “Those few chocolate energy bars can be exchanged for quite a lot on the black market.”

“I have never mistreated you,” Raphael corrected.

Cecilia corrected, "To be precise, it's DARPA."

"Well, the great DARPA," Raphael praised expressionlessly. "So, what's the new mission?"

Doug shrugged. "That's up to you. They're asking us to be your assistants and help you complete the recovery mission."

"You can't get involved in the recovery; the Dark Zone will kill you. Don't waste your precious lives on a mission that's certain to end you."

“That’s exactly what I was thinking, but…” Doug pointed to the PTT clipped to his tactical vest strap and helplessly spread his hands, saying, “No matter how dangerous it is, following you into the Dark Zone is our only way to survive.”

"Is there no room for negotiation?" Raphael questioned.

"It seems not."

Cecilia took out her SHD terminal and showed the received command file to Raphael.

“If we refuse, we will be seen as traitors, and our families, relatives, and even friends will be implicated.”

“I see,” Raphael pondered, “was this a threat?”

Volume 1: The World Before the Great War: Chapter 54 Reboot

Given Raphael's understanding of the bureaucracy at DARPA and the nature of the US government, they were absolutely capable of doing something like this.

"So, did they tell you about the dangers you'll face once you enter the Dark Zone, and what you should do?" she asked.

Doug replied, "They said there was nuclear radiation, and the mission objective was to assist you in recovering the radioactive material, that's all."

"That's it? They didn't say anything else?"

Yes, that's it.

Raphael knew that the people at DARPA were unethical; in the mission briefing they provided to the "Hundred-Eyed Giant," not a single word was mentioned about collapse fluid, collapse radiation, or ELID radiation infection, or what kind of monsters humans would become if they were continuously exposed to that environment.

Considering their past practice of injecting large numbers of innocent people with syphilis under the guise of free vaccinations, one can immediately understand where this despicable behavior comes from.

“Let’s start taking stock of the supplies now.” Raphael summoned Doug Sutton, the captain of the “Hundred-Eyed Giant” squad, and three other members: the slender Tony Gargia, the short but adorable Cecilia Ant, and the quiet and burly Alki Hubost.

Raphael instructed them to inventory all their supplies within half an hour, then produced a collapse-resistant radiation injector, saying, "This is ARA-11029(A), which can temporarily protect you from the effects of collapse radiation. If..."

Before she could finish speaking, Cecilia cried out sadly, "We don't have this ARA something syringe."

"Where are the pills?"

"No……"

Raphael looked at Doug, Tony, and Alki, and they all shook their heads.

"The person who gave the order is a complete idiot," she exclaimed, pulling out a New York tourist brochure and spreading out the city map, which was stuck in the pages, in front of the four people.

"Oh! I have this map too!"

April couldn't understand what they were talking about at first, but when she saw the booklet and map that Raphael took out, she remembered that she also had one, although that travel guide had been modified beyond recognition.

She took out the map and spread it out beside her, but the title of the map had changed to "Manhattan: A Survivor's Guide to the Truth".

"Did you write this down?" Raphael glanced at it and asked casually.

"Yes, this is my birthday present."

"This survival map and survival manual should have helped you a lot, but we have this instead."

Cecilia took out her personal terminal; ISAC was still running offline.

"ISAC, bring up the dark area map, highlight the contaminated areas."

. "

ISAC: "Highlighted area displayed. Warning: System has been offline for 18 days. Agents please..."

Before the offline ISAC assistant could finish speaking, Cecilia turned off the computer's sound. Without network support, ISAC, limited by the computing power of a regular computer, experienced a significant slowdown in processing complex tasks.

There was nothing they could do; they were no match for the Strategic Homeland Bureau. However, based on information received in the last two weeks, the vast majority of First Wave agents faced only two fates: disappearance during missions or defection.

The "noble" squad is definitely considered "missing" in the system, there's no doubt about that. It wouldn't be considered a betrayal, but strictly speaking, their actions should be considered "job hopping".

The former employer changed from the Strategic Homeland Security Agency (SHD) to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), but essentially still serves the federal government.

DARPA is an executive agency under the Department of Defense responsible for developing cutting-edge technologies for military use and successfully applying them to the military field.

The Internet is a classic technology developed under the leadership of this department. The predecessor of the Internet was ARPANET, also known as ARPA Network, which was the world's first operational data packet switching network.

DARPA's primary mission is to "lead the future with science and technology," explore new areas of defense research, and provide high-tech reserves for solving medium- and long-term national security issues.

The research analyzes the potential military value and high-risk applications of new and advanced technologies. It also provides technical management and guidance for major inter-service pre-research projects approved by the Minister of Defense, in accordance with the objectives and requirements of the issued research plans.