This will be the last fixed update in October, as I'm heavily busy. All updates in October are all irregular or possibly none at all.
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What kind of junk is this? Can this even be considered a mech?
As Renault lifted the tarp covering the two mechs on the back of the trucks, his face darkened instantly.
If the one he had brought back from the gang stronghold could barely be called a mech, then the two on the truck could only be described as mere frames.
Countless pipelines were exposed without any protection, and there wasn't a single piece of armor on the skeletal frame of the mechs. Indeed, the one just blown up was in the best condition among these three.
Whether these remaining two could even stand up was questionable, let alone engage in combat. They might barely stand before getting their driver's heads blown off by a barrage of bullets.
Indeed, even the cockpit of these mechs was semi-open, lacking any protective equipment. Under the driver's seat was just a load-bearing beam, and the space beneath the driver's feet was empty except for the control pedals.
It was somewhat like Gallia, but without Gallia's extreme cockpit setup. At least here, there was a seat, allowing you to pilot without feeling awkwardly suspended in mid-air.
But sitting in a seat meant you wouldn't risk anything unpleasant due to sudden movements or impacts.
Of course, Gallia's suspended cockpit was for collecting the driver's actions to make the mech more agile, a functionality absent in these cockpits with seats. Judging by the performance of the just-destroyed mech, these mechs, whoever manufactured them, clearly didn't meet Gallia's standards of agility. Otherwise, with just a few steps, they could have at least avoided being directly hit by enemy fire, let alone dodging all attacks.
Of course, these weren't the main issues. The most important thing now was that these things were worthless in Renault's eyes! They had no value to be taken away!
The structure of the mechs was made of ordinary materials, and even selling them as scrap metal wouldn't fetch much. The pipelines were something you could buy at any small shop, and judging by the performance of the just-destroyed mech, the main control system was utterly rubbish.
Sure, selling the whole thing might fetch some money, but was the shipping free? Just the fuel cost for SPAS-12 to fly here and take these things back home was considerable, let alone trying to sell these things, which was extremely difficult.
Who in their right mind would buy a mech for no reason? Especially with Angelia around.
And all these mechs were of the manned variety, with no autonomous cores or the like inside. If there were, Renault could at least salvage them for materials, but unfortunately, there weren't any.
Damn!
Fortunately, he didn't bring another helicopter this time, nor did he bring the powered exoskeleton...
Is that it?
Last time they attacked the gang stronghold, those guys at least managed to cause some damage to the UMP40, but this time... forget about damage, the footage they took could be directly used as a comedy special on the anonymous board.
Renault turned away speechlessly and walked towards Angelia's direction. She had just moved away a small rock with AK12 and was pulling the camouflage cloth spread over her head.
When Renault walked over, he happened to meet the eyes of the guy in the pit.
With an emergency oxygen mask on his face and tactical flashlight and pistol in hand, Larry looked at the two gun barrels almost touching his forehead in amazement after seeing the camouflage cloth over his head being lifted.
The AK12 was fine, but the M1919A4 in the hands of Renault posed a problem. Bringing a heavy machine gun like this to shoot at someone like Larry, who is unarmed...
Larry dropped his pistol and raised his hands.
"It took several hours of fuss just to catch this guy? Are you sure he has the information you want in his head?" Renault glanced at the young man with the mask on his face and pursed his lips.
"That's my concern. But when we came over, it seems we brought three sets of protective suits. If this guy doesn't wear one, he'll turn into an infected person, right?"
Angelia scratched her head, feeling a bit annoyed. They couldn't possibly run back to the city now, could they?
And there weren't many protective suits with a level sufficient for personnel to operate within the Red Zone. It wasn't certain they could find them in the city they had just left.
"The box you use for storing protective suits should be enough. It has protective effects, so just put him in there when the time comes."
"Um, wouldn't that suffocate him?"
The box for storing protective suits did have a certain protective effect, but it was completely airtight inside. Wouldn't the person suffocate within minutes?
Renault nudged Larry, who was starting to feel weak in the legs, with his mouth.
"Here, he's already prepared his own life support equipment."
"Wait! What do you want to know!? I'll tell you everything! Please don't put me in the box!" Hearing Renault and Angelia discussing how to put him in a box and take him away, Larry hastily shouted.
What else could he do? Wait for someone to treat him like goods and stuff him into a box?
This was going too far? Renault raised an eyebrow. Honestly, he hadn't expected this. He had thought this guy would prefer to die rather than compromise his integrity.
But seeing this guy decked out in all sorts of survival gear, Renault wasn't surprised.
And since Larry had said so, Angelia wouldn't miss such an opportunity. She immediately had AN94 take out the lie detector from the helicopter and sit down beside the makeshift table that had just been overturned, starting to ask Larry questions.
Renault had no intention of eavesdropping on what Angelia was probing about. However, since Larry had recorded all his actions and all the information he knew in his notebook, Renault couldn't help but be curious.
And this time, Angelia was ultimately disappointed. There was no information she wanted to know. Larry's success in brokering the sale of the mechs twice in a row was actually due to the efforts of employees within that manufacturer.
The mechs they produced couldn't be sold, the military wasn't interested, and buyers from other regions weren't willing to take them. The entire project was scrapped, and the mechs produced were stored as technological reserves.
But although they were considered technological reserves, they might never think of them again in their lifetime.
Instead of leaving these things to gather dust in the warehouse all day, it would be better to find a buyer with deep pockets and sell them off quickly.
Larry had helped broker the sale of these backlogged goods twice, but the last time wasn't as lucky as the previous one.
Beep!
Beep beep!
Hmm? A text message?
MDR: Commander, we've arrived home, but it seems there's a slight issue at home. You'd better come back as soon as possible...