"It's like a mother hen seeing her eggs about to hatch," Simonov spoke out loud as she gazed on the awakening Dinergates.
Nagant Revolver & P38: "..."
Facing their cold, death-like stares, Simono quickly raised her hands. "Don't... don't look at me like that! Look! Those two... those two T-Dolls are awake!"
Standing behind everyone, MG3 was checking her ammunition box to see if the money she had saved up was still in there but hearing Simonov's words, she couldn't help but smirk. If G36 realized she had turned into a Dinergate, would she go crazy?
Just then, the eyes of the Dinergate without any extra parts lit up.
"Wow! Those eyes look fierce!"
Even though Dinergates only have a circular camera, Nagant and P38 had never seen any changes in chopstick's expressions when using them before. But now that G36 had just woken up, the upper half of her circular camera immediately darkened, and a bright inverted triangle appeared in the middle.
At first glance, it looked like she was squinting at someone...
Huh? How could you tell a Dinergate's expression is fierce?
Hearing Nagant and P38's voices, MG3 also came over and immediately saw G36: the Dinergate's expression was really different from the other models.
And not only was G36's chopstick expression different, even the Dinergate next to her seemed a bit... um... a bit disheartened?
"Oh no, I've become a Dinergate, now I'm completely useless."
Just as everyone saw this thought flash through this Dinergate's mind, it slumped despairingly on the table, speaking in a low voice.
"Um... Commander, did something go wrong? Are the neural cores of these two do- Dinergates damaged?" Seeing these two acted very different from Nagant Revolver and P38, BM59 couldn't help but ask with some concern.
"No, this is how they originally are," Reno shook his head, indicating that the modification process was fine, and their personality data hadn't been altered.
"MG3? What's going on?" Probably recognizing a familiar face, G36 immediately asked when MG3 emerged behind the gathered T-Dolls.
"Well, there are various reasons. Your original body was destroyed, so the Commander here had no choice but to put you into a Dinergate's body." MG3 spread her hands, feeling fortunate that she still had half of her body left. Otherwise, she might have become a complete Prowler by now.
Or become one with a Prowler chassis, with only a core in the upper half... Ugh! No, too scary, don't think about it!
"The Commander huh?"
"More or less. We need to eat, right? Our previous boss just left us behind and ran away, didn't he? So I guess we're now under...?"
Mid-sentence, MG3 remembered that she didn't know the Commander's name.
"Reno."
"Right, under Commander Reno's command. You don't have to worry in your current state; the Commander said he'll restore you once we have the parts and new bodies." With that, MG3 patted the Dinergate's head, making a hollow thumping sound.
Hearing MG3's words, G36 stood still, probably contemplating, then moved her chopstick leg to face Reno.
"Thank you for extending your hand to us, Commander Reno. I am G36, a tactical T-Doll. From now on, I am at your disposal."
Subconsciously wanting to salute Reno, G36, however, couldn't do it because unit's legs don't have joints.
Snap!
Trying to salute, G36 directly fell onto the table, making a loud sound as her abdomen hit the tabletop.
Pfft!
Seeing G36's action, MG3 couldn't help it, covering her mouth to avoid laughing out loud, and drove her wheels out of the crowd.
"Excuse me, Mr. Commander, do you have any tasks for me?"
Despite falling flat on her face, G36, standing up, still asked Reno with a steady voice.
"Well, nothing much. But if you could comfort your companion, that would be good. What type of T-Doll is she?" Most likely, she's also a high-level T-Doll, with some heat-resistant materials in her body. Her various parts should be more sturdy than those of handgun T-Dolls. Without any surprises, she should be a submachine gun T-Doll.
"She's a high-level tactical T-Doll, Vector. She was ignited with an incendiary grenade when she was fighting the intruders in the factory."
Incendiary grenade? What kind of grudge is that? Just for robbing a factory, they used that stuff? No wonder several lathes in the workshop burned down.
"Alright, got it. I'll leave her to you. Don't worry about SPAS-12; once the new power core arrives, she'll wake up."
"Okay," G36 immediately responded. But as she turned around, she saw Simonov sneakingily putting a tape into the tape deck mounted on Vector's head.
Click!
" ah... golden wind..."
Hearing the music playing from the tape deck above her head, Vector didn't even want to move.
"I want to die..."
G36: ...
Seeing Simonov happily causing a ruckus over there, Reno shook his head, turned around, and picked up the communicator used to access the black market, connecting it to the computer.
The power core for SPAS-12 and some materials needed later all had to be purchased from the black market. As for whether you could buy a T-Doll's power core through normal channels? That's unknown, unless IOP accepts individual orders.
It's more convenient to buy directly from the black market. It says here: order today, deliver within three days at most.
M1 Garand didn't cause a ruckus with Simonov. After saying goodbye to Reno, she went to the city to purchase supplies with BM59 and P38.
Although there were still some supplies in the car, most of the fresh ones were gone, leaving mostly durable food.
"Hey, Commander! How about helping me order some parts?"
Seeing Reno ordering various parts for T-Dolls, MDR approached, her bright eyes fixed on him.
She might as well have written 'I'm cute, pay me!' on her face.
"What do you want? I can't buy upgrade parts for you on the black market." MDR's body was already the highest level of T-Doll publicly available from IOP. With features like bullet resistance and no compromise in performance, there were very few parts available.
Firstly, because these tactical T-Dolls are expensive, and buyers tend to cherish them. Secondly, their combat power is not at the same level as regular autonomous T-Dolls. Usually, Doll traffickers would have to pay a huge price to deal with them.
Even if they manage to capture one, the T-Doll's parts would likely be worn out, with no value for sale.
"No, no, no, I'm not upgrading my body. I want to buy some phone parts to modify my phone! The current buttons are a bit weak!"
That's a strange hobby...
"Alright, but if it's too expensive, just forget it. It's better to do it yourself."
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Poll at patréon for the new fics. Until May and June.