"Fortunately, you all came out together; otherwise, it would've been a waste of fuel," Simonov remarked, glancing back at the people in the cabin, unable to suppress a wry smile.
Each trip of the transport helicopter consumed a significant amount of aviation kerosene. If this trip was just to retrieve some doll materials, Renault would definitely incur losses.
After all, the materials and parts of the dolls might not be worth as much as a box of fuel in this helicopter.
"Hmm? That doesn't sound right, does it? We came out to buy things, so how can you say we're at a loss if we didn't bring you along?" CF05, seated behind the cockpit, queried, puzzled by Simonov's statement.
"Hey, I brought everyone along, totaling at least six tons. It's not considered an empty flight. At least this fuel isn't being burned for nothing..."
"Simonov! If you don't know what to say, just shut up!"
Simonov's words instantly ignited the anger of the tactical dolls. If Simonov wasn't sitting in the co-pilot's seat, they would have dragged her over to teach her a lesson!
Focused on piloting, Renault paid no heed to the commotion in the cabin.
This time, he had brought all the tactical dolls from home.
The reason? G36's suggestion.
Since relocating here, the dolls had been holed up at home for a long time. Even when they went out, they only patrolled the deserted city.
Staying in an empty environment for a long time didn't seem like a good idea, especially for these tactical dolls that hadn't been in use for long...
Although some tactical dolls had a preset lifespan of only three to five years, Renault had replaced their original poor-quality bodies, so there was no longer any time limit on their use.
To be honest, Renault was still somewhat puzzled by his tactical dolls. He had seen M1 Garand cry, witnessed Simonov's wooden expression when she was hung on the wall...
MDR's expression when she found out she inexplicably had another 'her' didn't seem like simple emotional simulation either.
UMP40's autistic behavior in the mental space didn't seem like a simple AI at all.
Apart from these possibly simulated emotional expressions, the tactical dolls' craving for food was also somewhat unexpected.
Whether it was G36's meticulous cooking, CF05's pursuit of spicy hotpot, or the enormous appetite of the tactical dolls at home...
If these were just programmed simulations, there was no reason for their behavior to be so unpredictable.
Anyway, Renault didn't fully believe that the minds of these tactical dolls were all created by IOP's programmers.
Rather than believing IOP's one-sided claims, he trusted his own feelings more. Since he first met Nagant and the others until now, he hadn't felt the slightest trace of artificiality in their minds.
Compared to 'manufacturing', he felt that the minds of these tactical dolls were more like replicas of some once-living human minds.
Most of their memories were deleted, leaving only a portion of their self-awareness, combined with some unknown technology, enough to make these doll neural models remarkably similar to humans...
The root protocols injected into doll's data at the factory, besides limiting the behavior of dolls, made Renault feel like they were just making their behavior patterns seem more likethey appear as artificial products.
Because after he removed various root programming restrictions on his own tactical dolls, they all seemed much more agile than they were originally. Except for staring at the few interface ports reserved for them, almost no one could tell the difference between them and humans.
The helicopter landed directly at the airport where Renault had visited before. It was still the same airport owner. Seeing Renault come back again, he was so nervous that he could barely speak.
But he still forced himself to come and receive them. When he heard Renault say that only fuel needed to be added, he breathed a sigh of relief.
However, just as he breathed a sigh of relief and was about to instruct his subordinates to refuel, a conversation between Renault and his tactical dolls made him shiver!
"Alright, feel free to roam around the city; just remember not to go too far and don't get separated from each other. If something happens, call me. Otherwise, if you get lost, I'll have to search the whole city, which would be very troublesome."
Search the whole city!? Didn't you cause enough trouble here last time?! Hundreds of people died! An entire warehouse burned down! The fire only just extinguished not long ago!
"Hey! Boss! How come that killer is back again in just a few days?!"
Seeing Renault and his group of tactical dolls leave in groups, several ground crew members were also nervously approaching to ask.
"How the hell should I know what that guy is up to!? Get to work quickly! Be careful, if that guy comes back and sees the fuel isn't fully topped up, he'll vent his anger on you!"
Hearing this, the ground crew members quickly scattered and ran off. Getting the work done quickly was the most important thing, so they wouldn't be scolded by their boss in one breath.
Wouldn't that be unlucky?
As for Renault, since his tactical dolls went shopping, he... couldn't go with them. This time, he came mainly to get something from Angelia.
Since it was doll materials, there might be something he needed, like some parts that UMP9 broke in a moment of carelessness.
What he needed now were mainly nanomaterials for making doll skin and some biomimetic materials under the skin. These things weren't particularly valuable, just hard to find.
The price in the black market was high, and since leaving the previous city, he hadn't bought anything from the black market. Who knows what the situation is like in the black market of this city? In case there are some shady dealings, should he take action against them or not?
The location Angelia agreed upon was not far from the warehouse he burned down last time. It wasn't a security house of the Statesec, probably just a temporary resting place. Angelia probably didn't intend to reveal the location of the security house to Renault, an outsider.
"Where are the goods?"
"Here they are, over there. Why didn't you bring your tactical dolls with you this time?"
Seeing Renault coming alone, Angelia was also somewhat surprised. This was the first time she had seen Renault alone.
Based on what this guy did in this city last time, isn't he afraid that someone in the city will want to retaliate against him?
"They're here, but they didn't come with me. They went out to play on the streets."