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

"Mechanic, please respond."

She found the PTT button and provocatively said in Morse code: The mechanic you wanted is dead. He died tragically. I removed his two fleshy balls and crab.

Silence fell on the other end; the expected outburst of insults did not occur. Raphael removed his headphones and instead called upon the Hundred-Eyed Giant Squad.

At this point, the gunfire in the street stopped, and both sides disengaged from the battle.

On the other side, Alpha did receive the telegram sent by Raphael. He simply closed his eyes, took a deep breath, patted Schipper on the shoulder, and left the battlefield in another direction.

Doug Sutton emerged from behind the bunker, looked at the now-safe street, and remarked, "What a decisive team. They're not swayed by emotions at all."

He repositioned his gun and began to search the area of ​​combat, piece by piece, to ensure that the place was completely under their control.

"Received from the Hundred-Eyed Giant. The site is cleared and safe," Doug replied.

“The apartment directly south of your location, on the second floor, I’m here,” Raphael replied, then took out the bandages again and wrapped them around his head.

This is mainly to avoid revealing one's identity.

Humans should never be underestimated; this is a profound lesson she learned from the battles of last night and tonight.

Meanwhile, to prove they hadn't abandoned New York, the Waller administration held a press conference at Camp David, publicly announcing that the federal government had raised enough supplies and that the US Navy's destroyer USS Nathan James was en route to New York with a sufficient quantity of flu vaccines.

The spokesperson acknowledged the existence of the Strategic Homeland Administration (SHD) for the first time and, on behalf of the president, paid high tribute to the Secret Service agents working in New York.

Without their actions in the contaminated area, the federal government would not have been able to obtain the original virus strain samples, and vaccine development would not have been able to proceed smoothly.

With this, the federal government's war against the money flu officially achieved its first phase of victory.

In mid-January, the first batch of trial-produced flu vaccines was distributed to the US military and various emergency departments.

In early February, the amount of medicines collected from federally managed warehouses had reached the required standard, and the support plan was officially launched. Considering the navigation conditions at the mouth of the Hudson River, Waller decided that the rescue operation would be carried out under the leadership of the Navy.

However, the spokesperson emphasized that the two-way lockdown measures in the New York area will continue.

The good news is that the Marine Corps will establish a landing site at Camp Hudson and take in refugees stranded in New York.

Although the crisis will end in a relatively ideal manner, the federal government has paid a heavy price in the process.

When selecting reporters to ask questions, one reporter asked the question everyone wanted to know: when will New York return to normal, and will those forced to leave their homes be able to return to their homes?

The White House press secretary was very experienced; he knew that if he gave evasive answers and kept beating around the bush, he would only be labeled as ineffective by the reporters.

They would reply, then ruthlessly cut it out, and finally publish what they had fabricated—content that newspaper readers wanted to see.

That would be more troublesome. So it needs to be explained clearly and also be interesting.

He could only say that the New York National Guard would withdraw from its garrison areas in New York City in an orderly manner after the replacement troops arrived.

This raises a new question. A reporter mentioned video footage that circulated on the internet not long ago, asking why the Federal Army abandoned a unit of the Rangers battalion that was deep in Manhattan on a rescue mission.

The spokesperson smiled slightly and launched an attack on the reporter who asked the question, saying:

"It's obvious you haven't read the White House's white paper on the current situation in New York, which answers your questions in detail, doesn't it?"

That ranger unit had maintained contact with us, but it was during the height of the flu outbreak, and we could only order them to occupy a section of the city and do their best to maintain order.

"But according to the information, they have not received any supplies."

"If you're willing to do a quick search and check the movements of the Air Force transport units, you'll see that we've been airdropping large quantities of medical and daily necessities to New York since January. In addition, ground logistics channels have never been interrupted."

The reporter who asked the question was speechless. The spokesperson smiled slightly, thinking, "Is this all the level you've got? You're too green."

Even if the reporter tries to argue further, he will find that he cannot get the information he wants from the White House press secretary.

Before even unleashing its trump card, the New York SHD Strategic Homeland Forward Base not only sheltered a large number of stranded refugees, but also worked hard to maintain order in New York and restore the supply of essential modern necessities such as water and electricity.

What abandonment? That doesn't exist. That's just a distorted statement by ambitious people, and it doesn't make sense logically.

Besides, abandoning hundreds of people like this would cause a lot of trouble.

Book 1: The World Before the Great War: Chapter 104 An Orderly Departure

Raphael stood up, her right hand clutching her left arm, and looked at the three silent figures before her with only half her vision remaining. She glanced back and asked, "Where's the teammate who accidentally ate the contaminated food?"

"Alki is dead. A grenade exploded next to him, and his body was instantly shattered."

Doug took a deep breath, forced a smile, and asked, "What happened to you this time? Your eyes, your hands..."

"It's a long story. I fought my way out of the trap set by the survivor army, then fought two battles with the team you just fought, and that's how it ended."

Cecilia hesitated for a moment, but still asked:

"What do we do next? In our current state, it's definitely too late to complete the retrieval mission. Going back to the Dark Zone would be suicide. I don't want to hand my life over to those crazed ELID infected."

"Yes, the collapse fluid recovery mission has failed. I have already communicated with my superiors."

Hearing Raphael's words, Cecilia bit her lip gently. Seeing the agent's furrowed brow, Raphael was slightly surprised; even someone as strong-willed as her could show ordinary human emotions.

“The ELID radiation levels in a significant portion of the quarantine zone were approaching my tolerance limit, and given my physical condition, the bureau approved our evacuation application.”

This should have been good news, but Doug and Tony exchanged a glance and made a tacit decision. Cecilia's attention was still on Raphael's injury; she scanned the girl's left arm and tried to help bandage it.

Raphael guessed the captain and Tony's choice and asked Cecilia directly, "The evacuation platform will be in place in two days. What are your thoughts, Cecilia?"

“There’s nothing I can do about it,” Cecilia said. “I want to leave, but…”

Tony said calmly, "It's impossible for every story to have a perfect ending."

"Manhattan has been almost ransacked by those bastards. You guys have almost no chance of survival if you stay! It seems I have no choice but to stay."

“Then I object,” Doug said. “That would only increase our burden and reduce our chances of survival.”

“I understand.” Cecilia leaned against the wall, feeling immense pain at having abandoned her companions.

Doug decided to put that question aside for the time being and instead asked, "Raphael, where is the evacuation point you mentioned located?"

"At the southernmost tip of Manhattan, near the American Merchant Marine Memorial. Yellow smoke will be used for signaling, and the evacuation will be carried out by a surface SDVT assault convoy, which will be responsible for providing support."

There's a Korean War Memorial near the evacuation point, and the surrounding greenery is quite nice, providing good cover. Hiding four people there shouldn't be a problem at all.

“What about the evacuation request?” Cecilia pressed.

"Getting on the ship is easy, but once you get to the safe zone, they will conduct a medical examination on you. If you have symptoms of ELID mutation, you will be dealt with."

This is the bottom line. If you pass the inspection, you're a human being. If you fail, you'll probably be sent to some unknown research institute to be treated like a monkey, or, in a small chance, you'll be shot dead.

Because ELID infected individuals emit a certain amount of collapse radiation, their existence is like a mobile collapse radiation source, which is not only violent but also extremely dangerous.

Although research on the technology and artifacts of the ruins has been ongoing for more than half a century, humanity has only scratched the surface of the problem.

The development of drugs to combat ELID radiation sickness is a major breakthrough in recent years, and can be considered as creating a protective umbrella that can barely protect oneself.

Raphael knew this perfectly well, but she couldn't tell anyone.

“We still have 48 hours,” Doug glanced at his watch and suggested, “It’s not safe here anymore. Let’s leave first, then find a place to rest for 8 hours before heading to the evacuation point.”

"I have no objection."

"Me too."

Raphael nodded upon hearing their reply, went back upstairs to retrieve his XM5 assault rifle, and then left the apartment under their cover.

Alpha and Schipper, who had successfully escaped the battle, had reached their safe house and used the JTF Joint Operations Force's communication antenna to send a combat report to their employer.

They described in detail two battles with the US Army's bionic combat androids. Although they once achieved a perfect suppression with perfect coordination, the bionic combat androids still tried and achieved an effective counterattack under such unfavorable conditions, and even put the BEAR team in an embarrassing situation at one point.

More importantly, once the bionic combat androids received manpower support, they immediately had the capacity to perform effectively.

The skillful choice of sniping position and timing of firing was astonishing, directly causing BEAR team to lose a valuable assault soldier during the attack.

Fortunately, the target's companions were in a hurry and took care of the seriously wounded "rat" for them. This action solidified Alpha and Schipper's decision to evacuate.

If they let the "rat" lie there writhing and howling, it could lead to even more serious consequences.

Problems such as low morale and loss of rationality could occur at any time.

As the sniper in the squad, the mechanic chose to sneak and attempt to capture the target independently, but was unexpectedly and predictably defeated by the combat android.

Since it is not human, as long as its core control center is not completely destroyed, the target's fighting will cannot be dispelled.

Robots have no shortage of will; driven by programs, once they've made up their minds, they won't turn back even if they hit a brick wall.

head.

Of course, in order to obtain permission to evacuate, the two slightly modified the course of the two battles and exaggerated the actual capabilities of the combat androids. For example, their complete suppression of the opponent through reasonable tactical application was glorified as an "effective counterattack."

Shortly afterward, the two received permission to evacuate.

Those behind them urgently need to understand the situation. If bionic robots can indeed achieve this, then the development of the corresponding projects must be accelerated.

For now, their activity in New York has given them enough confidence.

If successfully developed, their productivity will see a significant boost. In the military field, its potential extends far beyond simply being described as "bright and promising."

Replacing humans is child's play. If we really want to put our skills to use, then we need heavy autonomous robots that can carry heavy machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, and fight alongside large forces.

Disguise? Sorry, there's really no need for that.

The human body has always had limitations in this respect, but pure mechanical technology is completely different.

Volume 1: The World Before the Great War: Chapter 105 Parting

For the Hundred-Eyed Giants squad, who were eager to get away from that rotten land, arriving at the agreed-upon location at the agreed-upon time was not a difficult task.

Raphael finished her system self-check for the day, opened her eyes from the bed, and squinted as her remaining vision on one side became somewhat blurry.

The outlines of the objects gradually became clear: the dilapidated ceiling, large patches of peeling plaster walls, and all the items in the house were covered with a layer of old dust.

She tried to raise her left hand, and a sharp pain immediately shot through her arm.

Realism isn't inherently bad, but beyond a certain limit, it becomes a constraint.

“What a failure…both the physical…and the cultivation of emotions in terms of mind and personality…” Raphael slowly stood up, his legs also in bad shape.

"Raphael, are you awake?"

Hearing the commotion, Cecilia came in from the outer room. She handed the girl a lunchbox filled with meat soup.

"This is breakfast."

"Have you eaten?" Raphael didn't answer first, but asked instead, "I remember Tony's reaction was very strong before we rested."

"He's doing pretty well now; we've given him medication."

"It seems the ELID radiation here is very weak. Staying in a place like this for a long time will kill him."

Raphael looked at the soup, said "thank you" first, and then took the lunchbox from Cecilia.