"Sorry! Sorry! Commander! The smell just now was so enticing that I couldn't resist running over! But don't worry! I'll make sure to block all the bullets for you in the future! I won't let a single hair on your head be harmed!"
With rice grains still clinging to her lips, SPAS-12, after setting down her utensils, remembered that she now had a new commander and quickly ran over to stand in front of Reno, patting her chest as she spoke.
The two headlights swayed gently, attracting the envious gaze of Nagant Revolver nearby.
"Uh-huh, as long as you have that intention. Go find M1 Garand and ask her to help tidy up a place. If you need to recharge, all the equipment is stored in the dormitory area; just ask them, and they'll know." Reno waved his hand, inspecting all the components of the CNC machine.
He had just received two thick stacks of rubles from the landlord, all in the largest denomination of five thousand. One could say the factory owner was generous. With this much cash on hand, he could carry a million rubles with him at all times, much more extravagant than that guy, Adrian.
With this money to recoup his losses, the two million he spent earlier wasn't so painful anymore.
And since the ordered materials had all arrived, the metallurgical equipment and CNC lathe that had been gathering dust in the factory were finally put to use the next day at the break of dawn.
The piercing noise of the CNC lathe cutting metal instantly woke up the T-Dolls in the makeshift dormitory.
"What's going on!? What's happening!? What's that sound!?" Nagant Revolver, still in her pajamas and without shoes, grabbed her etching weapon and rushed out.
But as soon as she rushed out, she was met with Reno's puzzled gaze, her pajamas covered with blue foxes all over, completely mismatched with her current height and appearance.
"Hey, no need to panic. That's just the sound of the lathe in the factory. Everything's fine. Let me get some more sleep!"
P38 and M1911, who were also about to rush out, heard SPAS-12's unconcerned murmurs just as they were putting on their shoes. This guy, after muttering a word, just used a pillow to cover her head and went back to sleep.
Hearing SPAS-12's words, M1 Garand, who was also holding her weapon, breathed a sigh of relief, but unlike SPAS-12, she didn't lie back down. Instead, she got dressed and walked out of the dormitory.
"Okay, you're awake. If you're not busy, come over and help. We'll be quite busy for a while." Reno glanced at M1 Garand, who had walked out, then turned back to continue adjusting the lathe settings.
The quantity of goods Reno had ordered was far more than what M1 Garand and the others had imagined. Only a small portion of it was ammunition they needed, with the majority being various metal materials.
However, MG3 found this puzzling. "Commander, aren't these parts all Doll skeleton components? Why not just buy pre-formed Doll body parts?"
For MG3, purchasing pre-formed body parts would allow her to quickly transition out of her current Prometheus Mobile Platform. This state, where she couldn't even lie down to sleep, was difficult for her to adapt to, having been accustomed to having two legs as a Doll.
Upon hearing this, Reno turned back, removed his protective goggles, and looked at her with a wise gaze. "Are you willing to pay for the advanced Doll bodies yourself?"
The bodies of MG3, SPAS-12, G36, and Vector were all of a higher level, though not the most advanced versions. However, the internal framework of their bodies were undoubtedly from advanced Doll bodies.
Ordinary low-level tactical and autonomous Doll bodies were cheap, but the same couldn't be said for these advanced versions.
The internal materials used were different and affected factors like the weight the Doll could bear, as well as mobility.
For example, M1911's legs were still part of the Iron Blood Cutters, despite being covered with a layer of bio-skin. Initially, when she switched to the Cutters' parts, M1911 had trouble walking for a while.
The lack of coordination between various parts of the body naturally accelerated the aging of the components, making M1911, who originally used low-level Doll body parts, even more fragile.
As for MG3 and the others with these high-level bodies, their prices were not just ten times higher than low-level Doll bodies, but at least thirty times higher, based on IOP's prices for high-level Doll bodies.
On the black market... forget it, it's out of reach. Unless he wanted to experience what it was like to go bankrupt.
Initially, he thought the prices of tactical Doll bodies were not that high, but IOP, that big merchant, was waiting for him here. The cheap ones were all consumables; the truly useful tactical Doll bodies were ridiculously expensive.
It's no wonder that most commanders who owned advanced T-Dolls congregated in the Green Zone. After all, advanced Doll bodies were not cheap, and if one were to die in battle, it would be a significant loss, to say the least.
"Pay for it myself? No way!" Perhaps sensitive to the term 'pay for it myself,' MG3 immediately covered her ammunition pouch, shaking her head like a tambourine. "No no no, let's forget about paying for it ourselves!"
"I knew you wouldn't want to. All three of your bodies need to be replaced. Each of you will have a high-level Doll body. With one for each of you, you won't have to live like this anymore. Alright, go and bring those parts over here. I'll start assembling them in a while."
Reno looked back at the skeletal structure diagram on the computer and waved to MG3.
"Okay."
With Reno busy, life for the group in this city suddenly seemed to pick up pace.
Every day was a repetition of smelting metals, processing them into parts on the machine tools, making MG3 and SPAS-12 feel like they were still living in that mechanical processing plant.
Of course, not everyone felt the strangeness. For example, Simonov and P38, one always trying to scrape together spare change from Reno to buy alcohol, and the other always thinking about holding a concert to sing for the autonomous T-Dolls in the neighboring factory.
They didn't feel anything wrong with their current lives; instead, they felt a sense of enjoyment in it.
Meanwhile, Reno, after assembling the necessary parts, directly used them to piece together G36's new body.
Next was MG3, followed by Vector's body. These high-level T-Dolls' minds were slightly more advanced than those of M1911 and the others, and their storage space was also much larger.
These high-strength alloy Doll bodies were the perfect test subjects for the Doll's neural core ability to operate effectively.
Of course, it was an experiment, but it wouldn't have any impact on the Doll's mind. At most, it would be a slightly heavier burden, like a person walking a few hundred extra meters, nothing too serious.