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

After the embryo samples and records were preserved, the resources originally intended for the "Black Lily and White Rose" project were fully allocated to other project teams that were also working on technologies related to the ruins.

……

The lack of delivered materials did not affect Raphael's judgment; instead, she realized that the project might have failed.

As an android who spent her free time hanging out at DARPA headquarters, she inevitably came into contact with those genius researchers and, through this exposure, collected a great deal of valuable and important information.

One piece of evidence is that DARPA has not established any new scientific and technological research departments related to the ruins, nor has it adjusted any existing departments, let alone formed any new technical research teams.

Perhaps there are other, more secretive project teams, with independent systems and complete frameworks in other locations.

But this raises the question: does the existence of such a place slap the face of the U.S. Department of Defense and disregard the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)?

The result of this is a struggle for power and profit, with people tripping each other up and attacking each other.

There will certainly be some action within DARPA, not to mention reactions from officials at the Department of Defense. However, they have never mentioned anything about it, let alone studying collapse technology by restarting the ruins.

Although most people see Raphael as just a moving lump of iron, a robot that can be discarded and scrapped at any time once the core reverse engineering technology is perfected.

But they all forgot that this thing is actually an artificial intelligence with a photographic memory and powerful analytical computing capabilities.

By collecting snippets of information, and with the support of a sufficiently large database, she was able to analyze a great deal of information.

"It seems that, for better or for worse, I'm not going to be able to leave New York."

Tony smiled, took a deep breath, and said, "A moment of curiosity led me to make an irreparable mistake."

"This isn't your fault; it's my oversight. I subconsciously assumed that the people at DARPA who were liaising with you provided sufficient information. Besides, the order to investigate Dr. Gordon was also issued to you by me, so..."

Tony interrupted, saying, "Alright, Lieutenant."

In front of Doug and Raphael, he opened the individual medical kit issued to agents by the SHD Strategic Bureau, took out two doses of morphine and a cocktail booster, and injected them into his body without hesitation.

The potent sedative-anesthetic was quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, and Tony felt that most of the strange sensations in his body had disappeared. Then he quickly injected...

"Obtaining the anti-radiation drugs is just the beginning. You still need to complete the missions assigned by DARPA before you can even get your tickets to leave. So, sir, give the order."

Raphael turned his back, waiting for Doug to make a decision. In truth, the situation left him no room for hesitation.

Tony Gagia has already given himself an injection.

The mixed and modified stimulants would greatly deplete a person's physical potential, and now that they were in a collapsed and radiation-contaminated area, and he had also received two injections of morphine sedatives, they could not hesitate under any circumstances.

Hesitation would be a waste of the sacrifices he has made.

Raphael knew perfectly well the outcome of their argument. Doug Sutton advised him not to give up, suggesting that perhaps the information provided by the naval girl was false, or perhaps the scientists had made a mistake.

But Tony had already thought it through, and he rejected Doug's persuasion and doubts. He could fully feel what his body was feeling.

“Sir,” he said, turning to Raphael, who was on guard in the distance, “please give us your orders as a member of DARPA.”

Doug suddenly grabbed Tony's tactical vest strap and yelled at him, "If your wife asked me what I would say... and you just give up like that! Coward! Wimp! When will you ever get serious!"

“I am already a dead man. You know that Raphael was not lying, was he?”

Doug Sutton released his grip and stood there in silence, not uttering a sound. Tony was right; the moment he held that transparent container in his hand, the future became incredibly uncertain.

He simply couldn't find any words to refute it.

"Get ready, we can't delay any longer," Doug could only say.

Collapse radiation differs slightly from conventional nuclear decay radiation, but it still has effects on the human body. Anything related to "radiation" is unlikely to bring anything good.

“The fighting isn’t as intense at the 10 o’clock landing zone,” Raphael said, tilting her head slightly to listen to the gunfire. “Check your uniforms and inventory your supplies and ammunition. Tony, report any unusual symptoms. I may not have many other skills, but I can carry someone on my back.”

Tony grinned and said in a trembling voice, "If I can't run anymore, please take me with you."

"It's a word."

"Okay, it's a deal."

Book 1: The World Before the Great War: Chapter 61 Regrouping

That's how war is; if you can't learn from the battle, you'll be killed, and not just in a simple way.

Simply being killed is unavoidable in war; one can never escape being killed.

But to die needlessly is truly a tragedy.

Tony seemed to have suddenly figured it out, moving ahead at lightning speed with top-notch reaction time and accurate judgment of the chaotic street terrain and enemy activities.

Raphael, positioned at the very back, was clearly in control, using the XM250 as a makeshift marksman rifle and providing suppressive fire.

Those cocktail-style stimulants not only squeeze the body's potential, but also seem to provide a lot of sugar and increase the amount of oxygen transported in the blood, so that the brain gets enough nutrition and oxygen, allowing it to operate at full power.

If there's a drawback, it's that the side effects are too strong.

Those with weak constitutions may not be able to withstand the effects of the drug once they wear off, and may die suddenly.

Because they were lying on top of the large container truck, they could see almost everything happening in front of them. ELID infected and surviving armed mobs were running around near the landing zone, from one house to another, from one lawn to another.

The grenades landed close to the house, sending up pillars of mud. Some grenades landed on the lawn, and the whole ground shook as if there had been an earthquake.

Raphael realized that the armed mob's busy work was mainly to ensure that the airdropped houses at the main entrance of the park remained under their control.

She casually shot a guy who appeared outside the door; he was holding a submachine gun and was firing at two people walking along the street.

Raphael first contacted Cecilia's group, who had already arrived at their designated location, and then contacted Doug and Tony to inform them of the enemy's deployment.

They both replied that they were observing the situation and preparing to fight.

Raphael disliked interfering with other people's arrangements unless absolutely necessary, especially since the Hundred-Eyed Giants squad was well-organized and the captain had not suddenly fallen ill. She lay on the roof of the carriage, only revealing the necessary parts, helping them overcome difficulties and providing watchful care.

It has to be said that the XM250 with its 200-round belt is quite fun to use as a marksman rifle, and there's no need to worry about combat endurance at all.

Moreover, it can fire automatically when there is an emergency need for fire suppression. The lethality and penetration of the 6.8mm full-power round should not be underestimated. The bright red color on the windowsill of the apartment building on the street is proof of its power.

She lay there, calmly munching on her energy chocolate. Amidst the continuous gunfire and grenade explosions, she steadily eliminated enemies that the attacking team couldn't control, regardless of their direction.

At this moment, the mobs at the 12 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions noticed the presence of the two people.

Tony tensed up, wanting to find Doug a safer spot. Just then, a grenade was thrown and exploded behind a barricade not far to the left, scattering gravel and snow.

He grabbed Doug's hand and almost dragged him down with force.

But Doug broke free, looked at him, and in that situation, he could have used his position as captain to reprimand him, but he only said:

"How long have we been fighting together? It's been a month and a half since we entered New York, hasn't it? Why are you still trying to hold my hand... You said airdropping supplies is more important."

He thought the conversation was over, so he slowly got up, raised his gun, rested the handguard on the car window, and began to look for the enemy.

Whoosh—thud!

The bullet whistled through the air and struck Doug squarely in the chest, the impact instantly sending him sprawling to the ground.

“Someone’s fallen! I’ll say it again, someone’s fallen!” Tony said as he tried to get up, attempting to force the enemy sniper back.

But before he could even peek out, two more bullets struck the car where he was hiding, making a crisp sound.

Now things were much better; they were being watched closely. Tony could only frantically urge Raphael over the radio to take out the sniper.

SHD agents are not invincible, and it's difficult for them to gain the upper hand when facing a larger number of enemies. Upon discovering that there were only two of them, the enemy, under the command of a thug suspected to be their leader, began to expand outwards to both flanks, attempting to encircle them from the sides.

Before long, Tony and Doug will not only have to endure attacks from both flanks, but also face enemy snipers.

Raphael immediately aimed at the man waving the pistol and pulled the trigger. The bullet was incredibly accurate; it entered through the chest cavity and exited through the back. Even if it hadn't hit the heart directly, the massive wound and the shattered bullet would have been fatal.

Just as she was choosing her target, the man who had been knocked down tried to get up, and Raphael...

Pull the trigger again.

At this point, the mob, whose attack had been thwarted, spotted the sniper on the roof of the vehicle. Before Raphael could confirm the kill, several bullets landed nearby. "Don't rush, check Doug's condition first," she said, as she folded up the machine gun tripod and rolled off the roof of the vehicle.

Taking two steps at a time, she leaped onto the overturned bus by the roadside, sprinted and jumped again, grabbing the supporting beam of the billboard with both hands, using only the strength of her arms to lift her heavy body onto the new platform.

"Tony, report the situation."

“Uh… um,” Tony reached into the bulletproof plate on Doug’s chest, felt around and found no blood, “The bullet hit the bulletproof plate.”

He checked the carotid artery; the pulse was normal. He then replied, "The pulse is normal, but his breathing is slightly rapid. He must have been knocked unconscious."

"Tell me the direction of the archer?"

"Wait a mininute."

"receive."

Tony slowly placed the handguard on the car, then supported himself with his left hand and slowly stood up again.

*Whoosh—* The bullet struck the car's surface and bounced off with a "clang," but this allowed Tony to see the direction from which it came. He sat back down, grabbed a PTT (Public Telephone Platform) app, and turned on the radio, saying:

“Raphael, this is Tony. Sniper spotted in the building in the courtyard at 1 o’clock.”

"Copy is being searched."

Raphael immediately got to work, setting out to find the shooter hiding in the building. For her, the lessons she had learned at DARPA and the training camps were quietly taking effect.

The world through a scope is only a small part; searching it is always like seeing only a part of the whole.

However, by simply dividing the area to be observed into small, orderly blocks, arranging them into a grid-like map, and then searching in a reasonable order, the problem of only seeing a portion of the defects can be easily solved.

Although the XM250's accuracy cannot match that of established sniper rifles, especially bolt-action sniper rifles like the M24 and M40, its accuracy at this distance is sufficient. When used by a well-trained shooter, hitting a head-sized target should not be a problem.

Raphael's chosen sniping position was not well concealed, nor was concealment a priority.

Half a minute later, she spotted the shooter hiding behind the curtains, with only half of the gun barrel showing.

"I've got you!"

P.S.: Sorry it's even later today, and it'll probably be the same tomorrow. I have to go out during the day. Sorry (QAQ)

Volume 1: The World Before the Great War: Chapter 62 Supply List (Please vote!)

"Pfft!"

The archer, hiding behind the curtains, clutched his throat, half his head dangling from his shoulder, his neck swaying precariously.

The expression on his face showed that he wanted to scream in fear, but every time his brain sent out a screaming signal, it was only converted into the rhythm of blood gushing upwards from his exposed carotid artery.

The shooter, whose affiliation and identity were unknown, suddenly went limp and lunged forward, falling from the fourth-floor window along with his gun, smashing into a bloody pulp.

"The threat is gone, get moving!" Raphael said.

Doug paused for a moment, realizing that his awareness of the battlefield and his combat experience were far from sufficient. Compared to Raphael, he didn't even know how to observe the ever-changing situation on the battlefield.

With the high ground now in a favorable position, we can move around with confidence, without fear of being sniped by enemy snipers when we change positions.