"Ah——!"
With a piercing scream, all the dolls in the factory area moved, quickly grabbing their weapons and rushing towards a factory they had renovated, heading in the direction of the sound.
"What's going on!? What happened!?" M1 Garand was the first to push open the door and rush in, looking around the factory and shouting to RFB.
Hearing M1 Garand's shout, RFB, who had exited the training system with a scream, looked a bit dazed, staring blankly at M1 Garand and the dolls standing behind her.
While thinking about the tragic scene she had just witnessed, she was also confused about what M1 Garand and the others were doing there. Where was Commander Renault?
"RFB? RFB!" Seeing RFB's confused expression, M1 Garand shook her shoulder, snapping her out of her trance.
"Uh... ah? Why are you all here? Where's the commander?" RFB came to her senses and turned to look at M1 Garand and the others in front of her, but she couldn't see Renault.
Renault was right next to her when she had just turned on the training system.
"The commander? Didn't you see him? What happened here?" M1 Garand asked, noticing RFB didn't appear injured. Everything in the factory looked normal, aside from some moved equipment. Why had RFB screamed so miserably just now?
"No, I... there shouldn't be anything wrong. I just saw something creepy, and it scared me a little..." RFB glanced at her outfit, which was the same as before she had entered the training system, scratched her cheek, and looked at the T-Dolls present with some embarrassment.
It was clear why so many had gathered here—she must have screamed subconsciously just now. How was she going to explain this? Should she just admit it? What if they got mad? M1 Garand and the others didn't look very pleased...
"Why are you all here? What happened?"
Carrying two monitors in his hands, and followed by Gentiane and her T-Dolls, Renault appeared, looking surprised. He had just gone to the warehouse to grab two monitors—why was everyone gathered here?
"RFB suddenly screamed, and practically the entire dormitory heard it. We thought something happened, so we came," M1911 explained, spreading her hands.
"Screaming?" Renault raised an eyebrow. No wonder he had heard some sharp sounds from the warehouse earlier. He thought it was the hinges needing oiling but hadn't expected it to be RFB's scream.
Was it really that bad? He recalled setting up the training level—it shouldn't have been too frightening at the start.
At most, there were a few more corpses at the beginning, and the enemy's aim was a bit more accurate. Other than that, what could have happened? It was just training. How could it be so intense?
"Why did you come out? It's been less than five minutes, right?" Renault asked as he approached the training equipment with the monitors, looking at RFB, who hadn't yet removed the line, with a frown.
He had just connected the equipment and finished all the preparations, intending to have RFB test it out. Yet she had come out of the virtual reality after only two or three minutes, and he had gone to fetch the monitors in that time.
With that scream earlier, there was no need to ask to know—she had either been scared or shot by the enemy during the training.
However, according to his settings, at the start, if she had just laid still among the dead bodies, not moving and avoiding the German soldiers cleaning up the mess, then fired a few shots according to Reznov's orders, she shouldn't have been eliminated in under five minutes.
This training level was based on the world he had experienced, though his role wasn't Reznov, Dimitri, or even Chernov, the one who loved writing diaries.
Instead, Renault had replaced an ordinary soldier lying among the dead.
After RFB had entered, she took his position. In truth, if she had remained calm, kept her eyes still, held her breath, and pretended to be dead, she could have easily tricked the enemies who weren't paying close attention.
It seemed, however, that he had overestimated RFB's tolerance. He'd have to prepare less terrifying training scenarios later.
"Ahem... well, I was startled by the corpses, and I screamed without thinking, and then I..."
"Got killed by an MP40?" Renault said casually.
"Huh? Me?" Hearing Renault's words, MP40, who had come to check the commotion, pointed to herself in surprise. She hadn't hit anyone. She had just run over.
"Not you—the weapon in the virtual reality. Since nearly everyone is here, does anyone else want to give it a try?"
As he spoke, Renault connected the two monitors to the training equipment. The holographic projection device that was supposed to be there had been dismantled, and Renault hadn't noticed when moving it. For now, he'd have to make do with the two monitors.
As long as the training equipment's main function was intact, it would be fine.
Try it? Try what?
The group of T-Dolls exchanged looks, glancing at RFB, trying to gather useful information from her expression. Unfortunately, RFB, clearly embarrassed by how many people had witnessed her scream, turned her head away, pretending not to notice.
M1 Garand and the others rolled their eyes, curious about the training equipment. To be honest, they wanted to see what could have made RFB, normally so brave in front of Renault, scream.
Seeing the others move forward, RFB sighed in relief. The feeling of being hit by bullets in the virtual reality had been terrifying. She still couldn't understand how Renault had made it feel so real.
But to experience it again so soon? No way! She wasn't stupid enough to get shot again in virtual reality!
Besides, the sensation in the simulation was too lifelike—more real than her bionic system. She could even...
"RFB, stop spacing out! Go in quickly—I need to check if these monitors are working properly."
"Huh? Wait! Let's discuss this! Can we have someone else try?"