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

To the astonishment of the agents from the Strategic Homeland Security Agency, the enemy marked with an ISAC pulse brazenly passed through the wall right before their eyes and eventually disappeared from their sight.

How could a person possibly pass through a wall? What, is Earth Online bugged? Or is The Matrix a great prophecy of the 21st century?

A discovery of the century! The agent was immediately overwhelmed by a frenzy of inspiration and could not calm down for a long time.

So he asked:

"ISAC, are the AR glasses malfunctioning?"

"No, sir. The ISAC pulse system is functioning normally."

“The marked target has disappeared, did you see that?” He checked the equipment while asking the Homeland Strategic Bureau’s intelligent AI system: “The person also left in the opposite direction.”

"Yes, ISAC has seen it... System self-test complete. Log records show that the pulse receiver received a large number of spoofing signals 30 seconds ago, and the target is suspected of having installed an ECM electronic countermeasures system."

"You're kidding me, right? Hahaha, ISAC, you're getting smarter and smarter."

"No, sir."

ISAC maintained its detached and indifferent tone, delivering its analytical results with forceful conviction.

Based on the signal strength, it should be a human target, consistent with what the agents saw.

Based on the strength of the received feedback signal, it should be a military fighter jet. After a rough analysis, ISAC concluded that the target's electronic countermeasures capabilities are comparable to the AN/ALQ-257 Viper electronic countermeasures system.

What? F-16 fighter jets have turned into mecha girls and come to New York? The agent closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and calmed himself before asking the AI ​​assistant:

"With our current technology, can we manufacture a compact electronic jamming system?"

"A 50-50 split is possible."

……

After Raphael noticed that the electronic countermeasures module had been activated, he immediately realized that there were onlookers spying on him, so he turned around and rushed into the alley to hide.

She used the debris in the alley to build a simple shelter and began scanning the area where the signal source was located.

Several minutes passed without any discovery. Switching to thermal imaging, no movement of the black, hot object was observed, except for the white light of the surrounding environment.

Although she did not detect any direct danger from humans, she realized that there were other entities in the city that could potentially threaten her.

……

"Is this your analytical answer, ISAC?"

"Yes, it's a conclusion drawn from probability."

The highly intelligent AI responded, "The Homeland Strategy Bureau's technology is ahead of its time, but it cannot be ruled out that other agencies or forces have acquired equipment at the same level from another line of technology."

If that's the case, the upcoming battle will be very dangerous.

As an intelligent analysis system relied upon by agents, ISAC provides critical services to agents operating on the battlefield, including communication, analysis, remote data acquisition/retrieval, weather information, and interaction with other intelligent equipment.

Although the pulse detection system is equipped on the agents, the classification and analysis of the detection data are all done by ISAC.

This detection system is more important than all other equipment provided by the Strategic Bureau. After all, having intelligence means having an advantage, and agents can make targeted deployments based on the enemy's movements.

An advantage, like a snowball, expands continuously and eventually crushes the enemy.

On his second day after being deployed to New York, he was horrified to discover that someone was immune to pulse scans, and ISAC's analysis of the combat logs led to an absurd yet undeniable conclusion.

Fortunately, at least for now, there is only one entity with immune scanning capabilities.

Moreover, other functions of ISAC remain unaffected, such as scanning and analyzing a designated site, classifying and analyzing the residual information obtained, and then reconstructing the scene...

Other functions such as forwarding warnings and updates, identifying human targets, making contact via biometric tags, and setting path checkpoints for targets are still functioning normally.

Frankly, this isn't a problem with ISAC, because it's not malfunctioning.

ISAC is essentially an enhanced version of CALO (Cognitive Assistant for Self-Learning Organizations), except that the latter was developed by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA).

Each agent is connected to the Strategic Homeland Data Network via their respective ISAC Assistant Terminal, which relays data through a series of dedicated communication satellites in orbit.

This complex network system tracks and records every encounter of every Strategic Services agent and reconstructs virtual scenarios based on on-site data to enable more evidence-based, multi-layered analysis.

For an agent operating in the field, one of the most important functions the network provides is the ability to instantly distinguish between friendly and enemy units during battlefield encounters.

Since ancient times, the identification of friend from foe has been a difficult problem faced by all military units.

ISAC extracts data from the database to generate a near-perfect color-coded friend-or-foe identification system. The unit's affiliation and status are then displayed directly on the HUD of the agent's enhanced vision contact lenses.

The agent was utterly shocked to discover that someone was able to send jamming signals in reverse, even though his ISAC was not disconnected from the network.

Out of concern, he requested that IS

The .AC created a special file for this person, marked him as a B+ level threat, and uploaded it to the entire agent network.

Subsequently, he requested that Rafael's threat level be upgraded to A-, citing the reason that the other party was equipped with a standard 6.8x51mm assault rifle and that his combat skills were excellent.

He also attached a cell phone video as proof, showing Raphael's swift and efficient counterattack, ruthless and efficient, without wasting a single bullet.

Soon, the newly established file was accessed and several comments were added.

He glanced at it and found it was mostly meaningless fluff.

Damn, New York's a complete mess, and these bastards still have the nerve to spout nonsense online. Can't they offer any useful information? The cybersecurity director at the Homeland Strategy Bureau should fucking shut down this garbage comment section…

He turned around, staring in the direction the gunman had left, replaying the scene of the AR marker image passing through the wall and disappearing, feeling utterly fucking awful.

Volume 1: The World Before the Great War: Chapter 13 Gala—Gala— (Seeking votes and support)

The rest of the journey was relatively uneventful.

Raphael deliberately avoided the people with orange halos around their arms, shoulder bags, and wrists, even though they all seemed to be ordinary citizens helping scavengers. The scan she had just received had left her with a lot of resentment.

She roughly guessed who these people were: agents activated according to the agreement after the president announced the enactment of Executive Order 51.

They are seen as the last firewall, specially constructed and operating after all other systems have crashed.

At least that's what Captain Willis said in the agreed-upon communication; he also said:

"...Agents are carefully selected from all walks of life and undergo a rigorous vetting process. Once they pass, they receive rigorous training from top-level Strategic Services agents. But this training is not all; the Strategic Services also equips its agents with far superior weaponry and artificial intelligence compared to army soldiers."

The information he had was all information that was automatically released after the president signed the decree. However, he felt it necessary to inform the naval lieutenant who was operating alone in the epidemic area.

This wasn't out of some hidden emotion, Willis reasoned to himself.

After thanking him, Raphael took out his satellite phone and called the boss of this "exploration" mission, directly requesting the agent's information.

In less than 5 minutes, Raphael received a large amount of data via satellite.

After Order No. 51 was activated, agents under the Strategic Bureau began the activation process. Once officially launched, all agents who received the order had only two hours to report to the designated assembly point.

As part of their training, the agents spent months preparing for this moment.

The key is to be physically and mentally prepared in such a short period of time. One very important part of this preparation is the maintenance and upkeep of the Strategic Bureau's emergency backpack.

This backpack must contain weapons and basic supplies to support at least 72 hours of field operations.

Water, food, medical supplies, extra spare ammunition, protective gear, tools, gas masks, emergency thermal blankets, and other equipment needed for the mission.

An agent's capabilities depend on the intensity of training and preparation time. The ISAC intelligent assistant will guide the agent to adjust their equipment based on their individual needs and strengths.

An emergency backpack is the lifeline of a special agent and must be carried at all times.

For example, the agents do not carry water; instead, they use water purification tablets or water bottles to avoid adding extra weight to the bottled water.

Also as part of their training, agents will look for any materials that can help them repair or upgrade their weapons and equipment when they are on missions, such as wires, electrical tape, electronic components, and fabrics.

If necessary, they will also selectively requisition weapons and equipment from abandoned shopping malls. Basically, anything that McIlroy—the protagonist of the TV series "The Witcher" who is good at solving problems with various gadgets—would find useful.

One of the most important items in their backpacks is medical and first-aid supplies. Once the agents successfully pass the screening process, they will immediately undergo a series of vaccinations.

After browsing through the descriptions, Raphael found a lot of similar descriptions, but not a single sentence mentioned the agents' command structure.

In short, regardless of the reason for their appearance, this group of people had only two purposes: to strike the enemy and to withstand the enemy's attacks.

The fact that the boss didn't provide the Strategic Affairs Bureau's contact information can only mean one thing: he either doesn't have it or doesn't want to. Considering he could obtain legitimate military officer status, it's clear he doesn't want to provide it.

If you don't provide it, fine, but people always need social interaction.

Maybe after a few more fights, they'll develop feelings for each other. But whatever she wants to do right now, she just wants to give her boss the middle finger and say, in a clear and distinct voice, "Fuck you."

Half an hour later, after receiving and processing all the data, she stood outside the blockade wall, harboring resentment towards her boss, the Strategic Homeland Security Agency, and the agents.

A new obstacle has emerged. I can hardly believe that the Army's engineering corps is so efficient.

Only 96 hours later, a separation wall has been built here.

The Empire State Building is so close, what's the next step? How should we plan to proceed?

After several days, nothing was accomplished; instead, I witnessed many hellish scenes.

This afternoon seems to be an ominous day.

Who made this dust? The dust rose with the wind, and Raphael grimaced at the rising and falling noise.

Gara—gara—gara—

The closer you get to the inner isolation zone, the more frequently the counter in the 3-Day backpack beeps.

The full name of this thing is "Geiger-Miller counter". Whenever a high-speed particle enters the metal tube inside the instrument, the energy carried by the particle will ionize the gas inside the tube and conduct electricity, producing a rapid gas discharge phenomenon between the wire electrode and the tube wall, thereby outputting a pulse current signal.

"...Holy shit!"

Raphael's mental space was suddenly filled with capital question marks.

Did New York get hit by a dirty bomb, or did a nuclear power plant leak?

She took out the counter and adjusted the reading range. She wouldn't repeat the mistake the Chernobyl deputy chief engineer made that night; seeing the limit reading, she switched to a less precise but sufficiently wide range.

"Damn it, why!"

What appeared before her eyes was comical: plump white birds were lying here and there in the alley, on the road, and on the roof of the van.

It looks the same as it did before it died, so it must have appeared after the explosion. People were afraid of the virus and the gunfight, so it didn't attract any attention.

After these pigeons died, other birds followed suit. Then came other small animals common in the city…

It can be said that people and organisms that have inhaled radioactive dust have been labeled as physiologically abnormal and have become a threat to the original human genetic makeup.

One day in the future, he or it will disappear from history.

In fact, this damn radiation is far more harmful than the high-energy rays released by conventional nuclear weapons and reactors.

In the few minutes he stood there, Raphael noticed hundreds of people passing by. Perhaps it was because, although New York was in ruins, it was still a familiar home, a place he longed for.

Another possible reason is... this place is gradually changing.