"The stench outside the Sangvis Ferri Industrial Zone is unbearable. The Commander mentioned there are numerous infected lurking beneath the ruins," MDR remarked, pinching her collar and taking a whiff. Besides the faint scent of disinfectant gas, there was no trace of the putrid odor outside.
Satisfied, she nodded. Thankfully, she hadn't picked up the smell; otherwise, the garment would have been unusable.
"ELID infected in the ruins? That means..." M1 Garand was startled by MDR's revelation. If there were infected in the ruins, then the factory where Renault and the others went might also be infested!
"Yes, there are ELID infected in the factory, even mutants. But the Commander assured us it's under control; he plans to give Nagant Revolver and the others some 'training'!" When she mentioned 'training,' MDR deliberately emphasized the word in Renault's tone, accompanied by a sinister smile, sending shivers down the other T-Dolls' spines.
Today it's Simonov and the others... but next time, will it be their turn?
The thought of facing infected every day for an extended period made even the taste of instant noodles less appealing, leaving a dryness in their mouths...
...
"Simonov! Hurry up! Another group is coming!" Nagant Revolver stood behind Simonov, slapping her ammo box and shouting loudly as she saw another group of infected approaching from behind.
"What!? Another one! How many are there!? I'm down to twenty rounds! I still have two drum magazines for the shotgun." Looking at the remaining ammo displayed on her HUD, Simonov felt a pang of anxiety. These infected seemed endless, emerging from somewhere around them! She had already wiped out all the infected in the garage, but now another group appeared seamlessly out of nowhere! What was going on!?
"Twenty!? What do we do!? Simonov's ammo is running out! These infected seem never-ending! Right! Simonov, aim carefully! If you can take out more than ten ELID infected with one shot, we can wipe them all out!" CF05, perhaps due to stress-induced malfunction, shouted out her 'brilliant idea'!
"What are you saying!? Just blabbering! How about you tell me to wipe them all out with one shot!? Do you think this machine gun is an 88!? Are you kidding me! These ELID infected are so tough! Although they're not as tough as armored plates or ballistic inserts, the key is, even if you hit their vitals, they won't die immediately! Otherwise, how could I have used up a hundred rounds on just over a hundred infected!? And Nagant Revolver here! If she had saved up over a thousand rounds, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
What a joke! These ELID infected are so tough! Even if they got hit in the vital areas, it takes four or five shots from her Nagant Revolver to crack their skulls and kill them. However, the corrosive weapon's magazine only holds seven bullets. Even if every shot hits, changing magazines would only take down one or two infected, a process that might take just a few seconds.
But compared to the gradually approaching infected... it's too slow! Their weapons are simply unable to stop these creatures who, devoid of pain or fear, continued advancing regardless of their missing limbs!
"And where did the Commander go!?" Hearing Nagant Revolver's voice trembling, CF05 couldn't help but panic!
"The Commander? Isn't he right there!" As soon as CF05 pointed in the direction, Simonov immediately saw the faint silhouette of Renault, who was standing not far away, a red dot blinking intermittently.
Obviously, Renault was standing there, smoking a cigarette and watching their performance.
What does that mean? It's obvious! Renault wants to see if they can handle these infected in such an environment!
These endless infected must have been released by Renault when he opened the factory gate!
"What!? Command..." As CF05 started to run towards where Simonov pointed, Simonov immediately grabbed her arm and pulled her back!
"Enough! Can't you see!? Renault let all these infected out!" Otherwise, how could he be so leisurely smoking over there!
"Stop daydreaming! Don't you have other weapons on you!?"
Simonov pointed to the pile driver on one side of CF05's powered exoskeleton arm and the folding axe attached to Nagant Revolver's leg armor.
Of course, even without these weapons, the powered exoskeleton itself was already a formidable weapon.
With its incredibly hard skeletal structure, heavy body weight, and powerful driving force, these powered exoskeletons could exert tremendous force with every movement.
It's just that Nagant Revolver and the others hadn't thought about it. If all their T-Dolls learned how to use the breaching axe like SPAS-12, Renault would be praying for mercy.
After deleting a lot of redundant and complex base protocols, there were still plenty of slots available in the T-Dolls' neural cores to support further learning on how to use these powered exoskeletons for close combat.
Otherwise, relying on this limited ammunition and fighting against mercenaries and bandits might be manageable, but facing real war machines... victory or defeat would be uncertain.