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

Lost in thought, Raphael couldn't react for a moment and asked in a low voice, "What?"

"I mean, the patrols deployed on the perimeter!"

"Yes, he's made up his mind."

"How come I've never heard of this? It's a decision to send people to their deaths."

"You should be glad you're a registered army soldier, not just an ordinary person who was conscripted on the spot."

Raphael answered in this way, and Vic pounded on the car door. She looked outside to herself, only her smile deepening.

The two soldiers in the back row looked out the window at the same time, trying to put Raphael and the captain's conversation out of their minds; it wasn't something they should be discussing.

A sense of calm and tranquility enveloped the car, yet it felt strangely oppressive; however, this quiet was quickly drowned out by meaningless noise.

An explosion rang out in the distance, sounding like it came from somewhere near Times Square. Raphael braced himself for the worst: a mortar? An improvised explosive device? An attack?

A few minutes later, two soldiers ran toward the convoy, which worried Raphael. The survivor army hadn't been active for long, but they had already killed quite a few people—not only victims of the wide-area collapse radiation, but also many adventurous scavengers, and some SHD agents and JTF members who had fallen during the expansion.

Furthermore, they expanded into the White Area, taking control of much of the land in the West District, which undoubtedly provided a target for the self-proclaimed righteous Homeland Strategy Bureau and its agents to stir up trouble.

Raphael immediately became alert.

Half a minute later, the enemy suddenly attacked the two vehicles, and countless bullets were fired at them from the south and southwest.

Without anyone giving the order, the two soldiers driving the vehicle jerked the steering wheel, turned the vehicle sideways, and then everyone else got out of the vehicle.

Of course, turning around and leaving would be the best option, but New York's terrible traffic makes turning around a problem every time.

In the early stages of the flu outbreak, the Disaster Emergency Management Agency and the Joint Task Force (JTF) set up numerous obstacles on highways, including side streets and alleys. Barbed wire was everywhere, and many unguarded checkpoints were left unattended.

The trash left behind by people fleeing in panic, along with abandoned vehicles, have combined to create the current terrible traffic situation.

What should have been a two-minute drive along the road turned into a long and winding detour that took more than half an hour to reach the destination, which is still considered good.

Sometimes you have to get out of the car and walk, and that's when it's really dangerous.

"Get up! Get up! Scatter! Don't stand still!" Vic shouted. The reconnaissance squad should launch a counterattack as much as possible, otherwise such probing would soon turn into a formal attack.

Whether the guys who directed this ambush are novices or not will depend on their next move.

The two vehicles provided excellent cover; the doors, engines, and wheels together formed an impregnable sanctuary.

But that's not enough. Their densely packed positions make them ideal targets. If anyone is lucky enough to land a grenade or has excellent throwing skills, a single grenade can wipe them all out.

Raphael looked around and, after spotting the bullet marks on the car and the surrounding road, traced them back and realized it was a classic L-shaped ambush setup, with them entering the pre-designated killing zone at the right time.

Bullets flying from both directions were indeed annoying, but Raphael noticed that the enemy didn't seem to have the most accurate and lethal weapons to attack them deep in the kill zone.

Besides, she didn't see any barbed wire or landmines deployed around the kill zone. The attack seemed hastily planned.

chug chug chug...

On the contrary, this familiar sound immediately reminded her of something: the portable autonomous machine gun turret that was once specially issued to SHD agents.

But this alone was not enough for Raphael to confirm who they were, because for well-known reasons, the equipment that was originally only available to agents was gradually distributed to all factions.

The losses caused by the hasty retreat of the JTF joint operations forces were manageable, but the supply of materials was replenished twice a week, with each airdrop carrying thousands of tons of supplies.

Ammunition, weapons, each batch of processed equipment contains slightly different electronic devices and components, as well as gear typically found only by special agents…

The offline-operating ISAC suite, along with its accompanying rolling mines, machine gun turrets, and mobile shields.

Anyone who gets their hands on this thing, unless they're an idiot who can't read the user manual, will basically become a walking trouble.

"The autonomous machine gun turret only operates for 60 seconds!"

When Vic recognized the distinctive sound of the multi-barreled rotating machine gun, he immediately calmed the slightly panicked squad, adding:

"They're all using 9mm pistol rounds, they can't penetrate our vehicle! Protect yourselves and don't let their men rush over!"

After he finished speaking, he took out a grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it away.

boom--!

no effect.

Adjust the direction slightly, then throw it again.

It still didn't work.

Raphael reached out to stop his probing behavior. The opponent had not arranged a close-range ambush team at all, or rather, they had arranged one, but decided to withdraw it at the last minute because of the team's orderly counterattack.

We are currently in a long-range ambush position, that's for sure.

The question is this: when will the enemy send out close-range kill teams again?

"Have you made contact?" Raphael asked.

She felt that the best course of action was to quickly call for reinforcements instead of stubbornly holding out here.

“No, the interference here is too severe,” the communications soldier released his grip and shook his head. “Our communication with the Garden Command Center is terrible; it’s basically just static.”

“Then let’s proceed according to standard procedure.” After saying that, she took an XM250 light machine gun from the vehicle. “1, 2, 3, 4, fire!”

The two soldiers beside her leaned out at the same time, attempting to suppress the enemy's squad weapons with direct fire.

Upon seeing this, Vic immediately crossed the line of fire, reached vehicle number 2, picked up the grenade launcher, and fired smoke towards the direction from which another bullet was coming to obscure the enemy's vision. He then continued to fire fragmentation grenades at the enemy's position.

Book 1: The World Before the Great War: Chapter 94 Hope

However, the enemy seemed to have anticipated the reconnaissance team's operational intentions and began to attack the convoy simultaneously from the southwest and south.

The team members, who were hiding in the safe zone behind the two vehicles, launched a suppressive counterattack and attempted to destroy the enemy's firepower.

Raphael became increasingly frustrated as the battle progressed. She already didn't have enough ammunition belts, and if she ran out of her second 200-round belt, she would have no choice but to switch to an assault rifle and engage in combat.

Damn Emergency Management Agency, damn roadblocks, the only consequence of using stones to forcibly plan driving routes is that their cars have a hard time making U-turns.

Moving these two vehicles between the enemy position and the convoy to create a survival zone and provide shelter for the squad members was already their limit.

The combat manual instructed, "If there are destroyed or abandoned vehicles blocking the road, move them aside or go around them as appropriate," but when Raphael thought about these things, he really...

I want to bring the people who compiled the manual over and make them open their eyes wide, and let them guess why there are abandoned vehicles and obstacles here.

The purpose of an ambush is to inflict damage efficiently, that is, to surround the enemy when they are huddled together and unable to spread out, and then concentrate superior firepower to achieve a rapid killing effect.

Unfortunately, they lacked vehicle-mounted heavy firepower, leaving Rafael and her XM250 to handle the suppression.

Therefore, Raphael and Vikt had no choice but to disperse with their men from the fire zone, as dispersing was the most effective way to reduce casualties.

There is a shortage of manpower, and wireless communication is severely interfered with.

She had doubts about this interference.

Did the Bryant Park command post shut down their signal channels, or is the radio wave condition really so poor due to the radiation from the collapse?

"Vic, do you have any ideas?"

"No."

A certain tone came through the gunshot, and the soldiers beside Raphael immediately frowned.

"My second ammunition belt is almost empty, and the handguard is burning hot!" she continued to complain.

"Are there any spares?" Sergeant Vic asked.

"No, your superior is stingy; he only gave me two ammunition belts."

This is true; when she was collecting ammunition from the ammunition depot, the captain, a logistics officer, gave her two 200-round ammunition belts.

Then she heard Vic's voice, "Lieutenant, can I trust you?"

Raphael had never heard Viktor speak in such a serious tone.

“Of course,” she replied. “You plan to use the squad as the main firepower base while I flank the enemy, right?”

"Yeah, just like back in the office building. Can we trust you?"

My answer is, yes.

Raphael tested the XM250's scorching hot handguard with his hand; a faint red glow emanated from the gaps in the handguard, and even the sound suppressor at the very tip of the barrel was glowing.

"It's so hot, ouch—".

She shook her hand, put away the tripod; even the thing was a little hot to the touch. She'd always said that too much simulation was no good; it greatly affected the bionic humanoid's ability to be used on the body.

Raphael secured the machine gun to the side of his 3-Day backpack, unfastened the Velcro and nylon rope securing the XM5 assault rifle, and laid out the 8+1 magazines before him. The check was complete.

Then she activated the networking tools and easily gained access to the squad's internal wireless communications. Holding the PTT button, she said, "This is Raphael, calling Juliet-1, Radio Check?"

"Loud and clear".

"Good Copy".

Raphael found that communication at this distance was still normal; there was always background noise, which was normal.

“I’m going to start,” she said.

"Fire!"

Vik suddenly stood up, and the others did the same, automatically firing suppression fire in the southwest direction that could threaten Raphael.

"Oh, thank you so much." The moment Raphael heard the gunshot, he leaped out from the front of the car, carrying the heavy bag and gun on his back.

Vic pulled back, letting the magazine fall to the ground, glancing at the girl who was running away. What a strange girl, even at a time like this she still had to carry that 3-Day pack and that heavy machine gun.

The gun had run out of ammunition belts, so carrying it on your back would only increase your load and offer no other benefit.

"Hey..." He waved his hand, but the person had already disappeared. "They can really run fast."

At that moment, he suddenly understood the "reason" why Raphael was able to survive the chaos and take such good care of himself: he moved like a kitten and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Should he call them back now? He thought about it and decided against it.

There was a severe shortage of manpower, and he didn't have enough resources. After Rafael's XM250 misfired, the pressure from the south and southwest, carried by the bullets, gradually increased, and the 40mm low-pressure grenades that had been used up in the earlier suppression and counterattacks were all wasted.

At that time, everyone was hoping that the command post would receive their message and then send reinforcements.

But now it seems that their excessive spending has prematurely robbed them of their deterrent power.

But if we hadn't done that back then, the enemy might have chosen to send in close-range killing teams ahead of time and ended up killing them.

— Both are difficult choices.

After all, offense is the only way to win; no war is won by defense.

He was the on-site commander who lacked resources and manpower. Although Raphael was a lieutenant and had decent ground combat capabilities, the problem was that she was an officer trained by the Navy for surface ships.