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

She hadn't had a hot meal in over two months. As the warm broth went down her throat, she felt as if she had returned to the world. Her body was riddled with problems, but the bionic internal organs were still functioning normally…

She didn't even know how to complain anymore. Did the engineers who created this body waste their energy and attention on the wrong things?

"I didn't realize you were so polite," Cecilia teased Raphael.

"is it?"

Raphael looked up at the black night sky, made even clearer by the freezing cold and dotted with starlight, and sighed:

"I'm getting more and more confused about you guys. It's like in a house, there's a 10-centimeter-thick glass wall between the walls. I can't see the other side of that transparent wall, and I can't get in."

"That's a bit scary," Cecilia said casually, as if she were genuinely frightened. "You'll be unable to sleep tonight after hearing this, right, Raphael?"

"Hey."

Raphael's eyes were half-open. She moved her lips, looking at her as if she were choked, and then smiled from the bottom of her heart.

She couldn't make that choice.

Cecilia also made up her mind. Just yesterday she said she had to leave this place. The scheduled evacuation time was approaching, but she resolutely threw away the ticket that Raphael had given her.

If it were Raphael, he would definitely seize this opportunity to leave this despised public place forever.

That's just human nature. Sometimes they're selfish and ruthless, willing to sacrifice everything for a tiny bit of resources, and equally willing to pay any heavy price for their companions.

"Will we have a chance to meet again in the future?" Cecilia asked calmly.

"Maybe."

Raphael scrolled through the messages he had received from the data link that night.

"If you can't hold on any longer, you can go to Camp Hudson with Doug. The Marines will set up a shelter there to take in New York refugees. If you're lucky, you two can pass their physical exams."

Hudson Yards is the only legal route in New York City, and your only chance. Don't even think about airdropping supplies; it will stop after the Marines land, because there's no point in continuing.

Cecilia suddenly felt lost; she didn't know what to choose.

The cessation of airdrops meant they could no longer obtain supplies through violence. Most of New York's water supply system was contaminated by ELID, and even though the gravity water supply system was still functioning normally, the clean water flowing from the pipes was unfortunately contaminated with radioactive materials.

You won't die immediately after drinking it, but the worst thing is time; time will determine everything.

"So, you and Doug are really planning to stay?"

Raphael untied his hair tie, letting his long chestnut hair fall loose, allowing the strands to flutter in the wind.

She had already spotted the warships speeding across the water and turned to look at Cecilia. Her hair was like a brown cloud, thick yet soft.

“Hmm, I don’t know.” Cecilia smiled, appearing relaxed. Resting her elbow on the railing, she said thoughtfully, “Maybe I’ll change my mind soon…”

"Cecilia, leave your magazines, spare ammunition, and food to me."

Captain Doug Sutton's voice came from the doorway; it was deep but incredibly hoarse.

“Raphael is right, you shouldn’t stay here, I think so too.”

"but……"

"I know."

Doug walked over to her, rested his elbows on the railing, and gazed at the two SDVT assault transport ships speeding across the water.

“We are already very grateful for your kind intentions. Ever since that encounter, how should I put it, I feel that you have become more and more towering. Ha! The kind of towering, or rather, powerful, that I can no longer reach.”

He felt nervous after making a self-deprecating joke, and his tall body hunched over a bit. To show that it was because of the cold, he put his hands in his pockets.

However, Cecilia didn't seem to be looking at him. She asked with a question, "Strong?" before turning around and gesturing with her palms to compare herself and Doug. "I'm only as tall as you, and my arms don't have that much muscle..."

"Alright, time's up." Without waiting for a reply, Doug threw out two yellow smoke grenades as agreed.

This means there are only two passengers.

"This is the Water Magician, calling the Archangel. Reception signal confirmed. Please respond."

“The contact has come in,” Doug reminded him.

“Ah, I know.” Raphael turned to look at Cecilia. “Are you ready? We’re leaving.”

Cecilia rolled her eyes at the girl without any politeness, then laughed again. At this moment, she couldn't help but sigh, stretched out a big yawn, and her spine creaked and groaned.

She placed one hand on the railing, turned back to look at Captain Doug Sutton standing in the shadows, and said, "Captain, remember this—you must survive."

"what?"

"you

"We must survive!" Cecilia repeated.

Doug Sutton was stunned, his whole body going numb. After a long while, he gave a wry smile: "I can only assure you that I will do my best."

“I know.” Cecilia didn’t look at him. “Raphael, respond to the support troops.”

"This is the Archangel, expected to arrive at the evacuation position within two minutes."

"receive."

Doug helped the weak Tony walk toward Midtown Manhattan.

Before he left, he took one last look at Cecilia and Raphael. He knew that their lives from now on would be like two trains running side by side for a short time, able to witness each other's progress, but unlikely to ever cross paths again.

Meanwhile, Cecilia and Raphael walked through the woods, waiting for the SDVT assault transport ship to dock.

Volume 1: The World Before the Great War: Chapter 106 The Rebirth of the Noble Squad

Doug Sutton considered himself a competent captain, and Cecilia, Tony, and Alki were also impeccable as team members—although their teamwork was initially quite poor, and if it weren't for the excellent equipment provided by the Strategic Homeland Security Bureau, they probably would have been wiped out long ago.

Later, as the number of combat missions in the White Zone gradually increased, they were also occasionally ordered to carry out a small number of missions in the isolation and blockade zone, which allowed them to gradually integrate from a makeshift team into a complete squad.

Even so, they were still in a life-or-death situation. If Raphael hadn't descended from the sky, his three teammates would have died in that siege.

To be honest, he still doesn't know the girl's real name and identity. Even though she never revealed her identity in the end, it only shows that Raphael's actual identity information is very sensitive.

The encounter that night may not have been aimed at the Hundred-Eyed Giant squad; the real target was the girl hiding in the apartment waiting for reinforcements.

They were in the right place at the right time, and the enemy was in the right place at the right time, so a gunfight was inevitable.

Recalling the first time he met the girl, he thought absentmindedly that if he hadn't already been married and had children, he might have really fallen in love with this mysterious girl who was both literate and skilled in martial arts.

However, looking at her now, she's not so magical after all; she can be defeated just like everyone else. Although it looks rather tragic, she appears even cuter than before.

Doug thought of this and inexplicably laughed.

"What's up, old buddy? You seem to be in a good mood," Tony teased in a weak voice.

"I was just thinking about Miss Raphael."

Doug admitted that he was just an ordinary man, and there was nothing wrong with appreciating beautiful and cute creatures. He had no complaints about the unlovable aspects of fate.

He and Raphael were originally two parallel lines that did not want to intersect, but they were brought together by an accident, but they will eventually go their separate ways.

"I see."

Tony forced a smile. "A beautiful girl who comes and goes without a trace. I understand men's affairs, I understand."

"Get out of here." Doug slapped Tony on the forehead. "I have a family. I've already wronged them by coming to New York. If I have any more thoughts about them, I'll be guilty of a terrible crime."

Tony Gagia, panting heavily, raised his hand to activate the electronic pulse of the ISAC, probing the situation within a 50-meter radius.

The offline ISAC Assistant notified: "Number of flagged threats: 0."

"It looks safe?"

"No, pulse scanning is unreliable. We haven't updated the data in there for a long time. I'll need your support if we run into trouble later."

Doug drew his pistol and helped Tony turn into the alley.

Sunrise is just around the corner, and given Tony's current condition, the idea of ​​daytime activities is a distant dream.

He slowly unlocked the door with a lock pick and walked into the apartment building's stairwell with the child in tow.

Two days later, Tony Gagia was surprised to find that his body and mind had recovered to their best condition. Standing upstairs, he smiled and said to the bandits fighting for resources in the street, "From now on, the Noble Squad, resume your activities."

Doug Sutton stood beside him, holding an M4A1 assault rifle, and turned to walk into the stairwell.

Yes, they have resumed their activities.

Hey bastards of the city that never sleeps, are you ready? Your daddy's back online.

……

Rewind to when Raphael first boarded the SDVT assault transport ship. The captain in charge of the operation saw his passenger and smiled with delight: "Hi, Raphael, long time no see."

“I remember you are… Lance Philip?” Raphael found the name of the sergeant major in his memory. “We last met in the southern jungle, it has been a long time indeed.”

“I never expected that the person we were supposed to meet would be you,” Lance Phillips said.

"By the way, what's the situation outside New York?"

"Initially, the flu virus caused widespread panic, but after calculating the statistics, excluding the death data from New York, the number of ordinary people who died from the disease in the two months or so was less than 3..."

As Lance steered the combat craft around and set sail, he said, "The majority of the deaths came from New York, accounting for 99% of the total... Frankly, this proportion is very abnormal, it's like a..."

"A dedicated virus attack, right?"

Raphael made no attempt to deny this, because it was the truth as she understood it. The smallpox virus was an artificially bred mutant, genetically modified to have higher infectivity, greater adaptability, and a longer incubation period.

Next, let the virus contaminate banknotes, and then let those banknotes circulate naturally during major sales and holidays. As a result, the number of infected people will inevitably surge, overwhelming the fragile healthcare system in one fell swoop.

When people discovered that hospitals were overflowing with patients exhibiting the same symptoms and with the bodies of the deceased, panic became a new virus, spreading at an alarming rate, and chaos ensued.

As the violence escalated, New York government departments announced a shutdown, which was part of the scripted process.

When people are completely driven to despair and kill each other, no one notices the real problem.

Unfortunately, the "Griffin" team's recovery plan went awry, and they failed to complete the mission. As a result, the plan to restore New York City's functionality was aborted.

Everyone here is intelligent. After Raphael spoke his mind, the SEAL soldiers on the SDVT assault transport ship shut their mouths and remained silent.

If they continue talking, someone will probably cause them trouble.

Perhaps they could be sent to a war zone, given a high-risk mission, and have some information sold to armed insurgents.

In this way, all the people in the know are gone.

For them, life is still decades long, and there's no need to risk their lives for some "trivial matter"—that would be extremely unworthy.

"Well, that's all for now, Philip. Contact me again if anything comes up." Raphael said, yawning and leaning against the ship's railing to fall asleep.

Cecilia clung to Raphael's arm, her right hand gripping the fixed handle welded to the centerline of the ship.