"Don't even think about posting the actual test video! Forget about it!" Reno took MDR's phone and promptly deleted the video files.
"Don't post everything anonymously online! Are you going to livestream the color of your underwear every day?" Reno handed the phone back to MDR and gave her a light smack.
"Well, it's not... umm..."
"Hmm!?"
"No, no, absolutely not!" Seeing Reno's stern expression, MDR quickly raised her hands in surrender.
"You better not, or else next time..." Reno reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded design blueprint, pointing to the schematic.
"Have you seen this powered armor? If you leak anything confidential again, I'll lock you inside this thing and weld the hatch shut! Understand?"
As MDR imagined herself trapped inside the CMC powered armor, unable to move, a sense of dread washed over her.
"I understand, I promise there won't be a next time!"
"You better not, or I'll cut off your internet!"
"Yes, yes!"
Satisfied to see MDR shrink back like a scared chicken, Reno nodded approvingly.
Meanwhile, P38, having switched off the powered armor's internal switch, emerged and put her hat back on. "Commander, is this powered exoskeleton really necessary?"
Apart from increased ammunition capacity and slightly enhanced defense, it didn't seem to offer much more functionality. For tactical dolls like them, who had already upgraded to new bodies, it felt somewhat redundant.
"Of course it is. It protects your fragile synthetic skin from damage, that's its primary function." Reno dismissed any additional features as secondary.
His main concern was ensuring their safety by shielding their synthetic skin from harm.
Hearing Reno's explanation, including MDR, all the tactical dolls were touched by his concern. "The Commander cares about us so much!?"
The thought brought tears to their eyes, almost making them cry.
"As long as your synthetic skin remains intact, you won't need to spend money on IOP's nanomachine repair fluid."
What happened to the touching moment? All the emotion vanished in an instant!
"Commander!? Ahh!" The tactical dolls lost their composure, rushing towards Reno.
At that moment, Reno regretted not finding a way to reduce the weight of the dolls earlier.
Having a dozen girls weighing around 600 pounds each crash into him at ten meters per second was no joke...
Ouch! Crack! Ahh! Did a bone just break!?
...
"Why is it this city again? Didn't the protests by the Doll Rights Association disperse already?" Helian slammed the desk in frustration, irritated by the reports still on her desk.
It had been months since the incident at Griffin's branch in Neo Odessa, where the commander had been besieged by protesters. The local commander had already been punished.
Helian thought the matter was finally settled, but now, not long after, another problem arose?
Tactical dolls stolen!? How could such an absurd situation occur? Did they think she was a fool? If tactical dolls could be stolen in broad daylight, then Griffin wouldn't need to do business anymore!
"Um, Acting Director Helian..."
"What!? Can't you just say everything at once!" Hearing her assistant's hesitant voice, Helian glared at her new assistant. The previous one had resigned, for reasons unknown!?
What, she was too temperamental? Wasn't I provoked by those commanders who played about their budget all the time!?
"Regarding the information you left in the work records, one of your former clients named Poryuskin seems to have contacted the Doll Rights Association!"
"Hmm? Poryuskin? Who's that? Isn't that from a literary work centuries ago..." Helian paused mid-sentence, suddenly recalling a memorable face. Reno! He's in Neo Odessa now, isn't he?
"Isn't he the suspicious former client who attacked Commander Peter Lyenkov's base at 939, controlling illegal autonomous dolls? The former client, it seems, was only him!" Realizing this, Helian stood up and slammed the table!
"Um, yes, it's the suspicious former client who once attacked the base at 939." Helian narrowed her eyes. This answer was within her expectations. That guy who controlled illegal autonomous dolls had once used a virus-like plugin to control Griffin's dolls directly.
All the records of the tactical dolls at Base 939 confirmed this. Now, this guy, using the alias Poryuskin, had appeared alongside the Doll Rights Association, suggesting a connection...
Could it be suspected that the Doll Rights Association was secretly collaborating with Poryuskin, using the Association's name to engage in dirty business like stealing and looting autonomous dolls?
"Then, Acting Director Helian? About the stolen dolls... do we need to send other branch commanders to help?"
"Help? No, we can't let others help, or they'll only make things worse. Those guys at IOP keep saying they'll help upgrade the firewalls of tactical dolls, but there's been no progress... There should be a security contractor in that city. Do we have their contact information?"
"Huh? Acting Director Helian, are we going to ask another security contractor for help? Wouldn't that...?" Wouldn't that make people think Griffin's strength is insufficient?
"No, we're not asking for help. We're just passing along some information. They'll take care of those guys themselves, and we won't have to spend a penny."
Huh? Did she hear that right? Not spending a penny? Is this really happening?