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

DARPA is affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense, but it is independent of the various branches of the military and has customer relationships with the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force.

This unique position led to a preconceived favorable impression of him among people like Doug Sutton who were unaware of the truth.

Does anyone have records of the airdropped supplies over the past two weeks?

Raphael drew several irregular circles on the map based on the radiation impact range of the collapsed dark zone displayed on the computer terminal, and then labeled them with 100, 300, and 500 roentgens respectively.

“I have some,” Tony replied, raising his hand. “There have been four airdrops on East 32nd Street in Midtown.”

“No rush then. I’ll go in and retrieve the anti-radiation medication for you when the next airdrop arrives,” Raphael said.

This is a huge problem. We have to bring four people who can't withstand the radiation from the collapse into the danger zone. They might become severely infected with ELID while walking around and then turn against us.

Although ELID-infected individuals have essentially lost their brains, they retain some memories and habits from their previous lives.

Agents who have received basic combat training will definitely turn into those gun-wielding psychopaths if they become ELID infected.

As the old saying goes, just as she advises against humans entering areas affected by nuclear radiation, she also advises against humans entering collapsed radiation zones, let alone staying there for extended periods.

Raphael needs to find a suitable location on the map so that the Hecatoncheires squad can not only be exposed to the collapse radiation, but also survive as humans.

“Right here…” She unfolded a 1:10000 tourist map of Manhattan and explained, “It’s a plaza. The houses to the east and north are dead zones. Your mission is to take over the northeast corner of the plaza, where there are two park ranger buildings.”

When Raphael spoke, he paused only after each word, as if adding a comma, to emphasize the meaning of those words...

There were still too few people, so the special agent team had to be split into two groups. Doug and his team had to go around the square to seize two houses and set them up as a forward base for the Dark Zone.

Raphael walked straight across the square to ensure the safety of the airdropped supplies, and also retrieved food, ammunition, and oral anti-collapse radiation pills...

The members of the Hundred-Eyed Giants listened silently, while April Keller stood outside, attentively listening to Raphael's instructions.

“You,” Raphael said to April, “before the retrieval mission begins, I will ask a friend to take you to a safe place. I know you have your reasons for returning to the Dark Zone, but it has become a de facto no-go zone. Do you understand, Miss April?”

“I understand,” April said with a hint of distress.

Volume 1: The World Before the Great War: Chapter 55 Farewell (Please vote! (〃'▽'〃))

With half an hour left before departure, Raphael took the opportunity to inspect the entire squad and Miss April, who were busy in the darkness, and recalled their first encounters one by one.

She summoned them one by one, hoping they would cooperate with her operational plan as much as possible during the upcoming recovery operation, which would be in an extremely dangerous environment.

Even if she loses manpower during the operation, if she fails to recover the airdropped supplies and continues the operation after the first phase of the recovery mission fails, the loss of all personnel is a very real possibility.

Half an hour later, Raphael and the Hundred-Eyed Giants escorted April and began to slowly advance through the night and rain along the burned streets filled with toxic fumes.

As she passed an apartment building, April looked up and thought to herself: My sweet home! She hasn't even paid off the mortgage yet.

If the bank keeps chasing you for repayment, then you can only tell them to go to hell.

The apartment windows were still intact on all floors. This meant that the scumbags who had been plundering the place hadn't managed to loot it yet.

But such luxurious apartments will inevitably attract attention sooner or later.

The financial loss was heartbreaking. Aibo pressed her hands to her chest, F**K, the future looked bleak.

She didn't want to become like this at all!

“We’re almost there, Miss April, come with me.” Raphael pointed to the heavily guarded bridge ahead. “I’ll take you there.”

A minute later, Captain Willis Chester, having received the message, ran out of the checkpoint at the bridgehead with several soldiers.

When he saw Raphael, he was panting heavily and cursing loudly. His light-colored FAST helmet was on his head, making him look a bit disheveled.

"Is this her?" Willis said, looking at April Kehler. "Take off your wet clothes and put on this. I don't want any conspicuous civilians, especially women, in the army."

“Clothes are contaminated, so of course they need to be changed,” Raphael explained.

April glanced at Raphael, who nodded. She looked at her own attire with embarrassment, walked to the side, took off her dirty down jacket, and quickly put on her camouflage uniform.

A soldier draped his coat over Willis's shoulders.

“Get one of our female medics a coat,” Willis said. “Where is she?”

April was sitting a few steps away from them, and someone had already draped a coat over her. As if she had forgotten that she was soaking wet, she wrapped her long hair around her small fist and wrung it out with feminine diligence.

Raphael wanted to go to her and give her some final instructions, but Willis gently patted her shoulder instead.

"what happened?"

“You’ve come at just the right time,” Willis whispered, a look of relief on his face. “We’ll be out of this hellhole soon. The rotation order has come down, we’re withdrawing from Brooklyn, and the 82nd Brigade will take over these two bridges and the surrounding area.”

“That’s good news, congratulations,” Raphael said.

What are you going to do? 82

I don't know any of the travelers; they probably won't cooperate with your operation.

Willis scratched his already sparse head and grimaced as he inhaled the cold air.

"I will leave from the direction of the Hudson River."

“That’s Coast Guard territory. They have very strict control over the estuary area. Just last week, they killed eight guys who tried to leave by water.”

“I know.” Raphael didn’t care at all. She must have dived underwater to leave, after all, she wasn’t a human who needed to breathe to survive.

Deep within the city that never sleeps, explosions and gunfire break out under the cover of darkness, while the M2HB missiles deployed near the Manhattan Bridge are clanging and banging.

Willis knew the city was in terrible chaos, but he was still startled by the intense commotion in the friendly forces' area. A heavy machine gun was firing from less than two kilometers away.

The light drizzle turned into a heavy snowfall, and everything around seemed like a deliberately painted, gloomy and bizarre picture.

At the bridgehead, Raphael watched Willis and April Kehler's group pass through the disinfection corridor inside the checkpoint.

“Hey, Raphael, will we ever have a chance to meet again?” Willis shouted from behind the barbed wire.

"Let us meet again at the crossroads of cause and effect."

Raphael nodded to April and Captain Willis, then turned and walked into the ever-present darkness of the city that never sleeps, until he was eventually obscured by the heavy snow.

Aibo watched the girl, who was half a head shorter than her, from far behind.

She was initially still feeling the chill of a sudden, heartless abandonment of a young girl, but seeing that figure from behind, she immediately abandoned any thoughts of holding a grudge.

Thin snowflakes drifted by, and the figure appeared and disappeared, as if swallowed by the darkness of the city.

That kind of thing seemed so distant, as if it didn't belong to this world.

Amidst darkness and chaos, Raphael returned to the building occupied by the Hundred-Eyed Giants and groped her way to distribute the rations to her "subordinates."

There was practically nowhere to shelter from the wind and rain. Perhaps because of its proximity to the lifeline of the bridge, the buildings on this street were severely damaged, leaving everything—wooden planks, eaves, and interiors—so wet.

Before dawn, Raphael woke everyone. She took a cigarette case from her pocket, containing a few treasured cigarettes, and distributed them to all the members of the Hundred-Eyed Giant squad, keeping only one for herself to smoke after everything was over.

Although the humanoid form can't experience the pleasure of nicotine, it looks pretty cool.

Raphael silently slipped a cigarette into each of their hands, biting the fifth one tightly between his teeth. Cecilia didn't refuse either, putting a cigarette in her mouth as well.

Doug and Tony squatted down first, using the edge of his clothes to cover themselves, and took turns lighting their cigarettes.

Later, Doug, Tony, and Alki all stood up and used their hands to shield the fire while smoking.

"Cough cough cough..." Cecilia coughed, holding the lit cigarette up to her eyes and examining it closely. "Why do you guys like this? It's choking me."

Raphael couldn't appreciate the taste of tobacco, saying it was just a prop to create an atmosphere; while Doug and his two companions enjoyed the pleasure of their companions making fools of themselves without any principles.

What else can we do?

Doug glanced at the girl leaning against the wall, gazing at the sky, then turned to look at his companion.

What can we say to them? Should we tell them to move forward? That's something everyone knows.

Are you suggesting they're not afraid of death? They're all afraid of death just like him. It's actually suspicious of anyone who confidently claims they're not afraid of death; often, those are the people who are most afraid.

Should we tell them that only by taking over those two houses can their lives move forward a little further?

If Raphael fails to retrieve the supplies, or if she arrives too late on the day of the airdrop and fails to obtain enough food and anti-radiation medication, they will have no future either.

There are too many unknown factors.

Volume 1: The World Before the Great War: Chapter 56 Intense Reactions

Raphael led the Hecatoncheires squad through the sewer repair passage, over the high walls of the Dark Zone, climbed over the blasted gap, and hid among the sparse, thin green trees to run into a nearby house.

Obviously, no one noticed them immediately, so only a few snowflakes drifted over their heads.

The Geiger counter was making a loud crackling noise, and although the electronic display screen had completely failed, the sound was enough to make Doug and the others jump to their throats.

Ahead, Raphael broke through a window and climbed into the house where they were temporarily resting, and he followed him inside.

While checking the safety of the room, he saw someone lying on the floor with two bags under his head. He was bleeding from his abdomen, and he didn't know how his abdomen had been ruptured.

The body lay on its back on the ground, its mouth agape like a hibernating fish.

The hollow in his abdomen told the uninvited guests that this guy was doomed, and that the Dark Zone had become a rather terrifying place.

Raphael walked in, looked at him knowingly, and didn't say a word.

Doug Sutton felt sorry for such things, just as he always felt particularly sorry for those who were killed or killed in their first battle.

He knew that death was inevitable from the start of the war. The man lying on the ground in front of him was a thin, ordinary-looking man with kind, brown eyes. He might not be good at issuing orders or shouting commands, but he might be an indispensable pragmatist for some company.

Faced with difficulties in the company and in life, I neither complain nor speak out; I simply let life go on like this.

Doug shook his head, dismissing these meaningless thoughts of pity.

He examined the horrific, open, untreated wound on the man's abdomen and couldn't help but wonder what a brutal battle it must have taken to cut this man's stomach open.

“Hey, still watching?” Raphael said.

Doug didn't respond. Clearly, he was beginning to resist speaking, because opening his mouth required loosening his jaw, and if he loosened his jaw, he couldn't help but feel the urge to express his grief over the gruesome state of the corpse.

He turned his head away, merely shifting his gaze from the vicinity of the corpse, as if to say:

"there is nothing……"

Raphael grabbed the back belt of his tactical vest, forcefully dragged him back into the hallway, and then slowly closed the door. Seeing Doug like this, she became even more certain that the agents selected by the Strategic Homeland Security Bureau were mostly flawed in character.

These shortcomings may be helpful in daily life and work, but they can become troublesome in certain situations.

Raphael didn't understand why this was happening. According to Cecilia, Doug had a considerable number of kills and had seen many corpses; he shouldn't have ended up like this.

"Agent, this area has been overrun by a large number of enemies. Please be careful," she warned.

“I know about this,” Doug replied.

At that moment, a sarcastic voice in his head said: Damn, your future looks bleak. Following her will definitely end badly.

"Bullshit," he said to the sarcastic voice in his head. "If I leave, my future will be ruined immediately. Get out!"