Chapter 326: Approaching

"What? It's Scarecrow. Come to think of it, I haven't seen her for a long time since she left the factory," Simonov said in a daze after finally hearing from Renault who they were going to pick up.

Speaking of which, the Sangvis elite doll with the best relationship with them, besides Maria, is Scarecrow.

This is because only Scarecrow would appear before them from time to time to remind them of her presence.

As for the other Sangvis Elite Dolls, they've only heard a few names, such as Executioner and Hunter. There also seems to be a superior to Scarecrow, called Intruder.

But these figures are just names they've heard. They've never seen them, so they have no idea what they look like.

They do know what Agent looks like, but it's said that Agent is the boss of the boss of Scarecrow's boss, with several layers of hierarchy between them. So, they are not familiar at all.

"We're here to rescue people, so fly faster. Otherwise, we'll lose such a good labor force," Renault said.

"Labor... um, Commander, can't you be a little more tactful?" Simonov said, immediately thinking of those black-hearted bosses after hearing Renault's words.

"Tactful? How can I be tactful? Scarecrow doesn't have a penny on her. What do I want from her? Isn't it because she can work for me?" Renault shook his head. Whether it was managing the Sangvis, self-disciplined dolls or the later construction of the spacecraft, he needed calm dolls to help him.

The construction work inside the spacecraft isn't something that can be done carelessly. If it's handed over to those at home... well, even someone like Simonov, with a volatile personality, might cause problems.

"Ah, okay. But Commander, let me remind you in advance: this plane has been flying at maximum speed over such a long distance. It might need an overhaul after we return," Simonov said, feeling the vibration of the fuselage and expressing concern.

An overhaul would be the best-case scenario. The engine might even shut down at any time when they return.

"It doesn't matter. We've already flown so far, reducing the speed now is pointless. Let's finish the task, and we'll deal with the engine after we return," Renault said. It didn't matter even if it was scrapped.

His spaceship would be completed soon anyway. It's not like someone would call him every day in the next half-month to ask him to rescue people, right?

"Okay, we'll reach the location where Scarecrow's signal was sent in about 20 minutes,"

Simonov sighed. It seemed this big toy really was at the end of its life. What a pity.

She hadn't flown this plane enough yet. While its carrying capacity wasn't as good as the previous transport helicopter, it was fast. Its level-flight speed was almost catching up with that of a propeller plane.

Now, it was about to break under her control. She wasn't sure when she'd get the chance to fly a new type of plane like this again.

...

"The location has been locked. It's in the residential area near the mountain. It seems Sangvis Ferri is planning to escape into the forest. However, if they think they can escape successfully, they're underestimating Griffin's tactical dolls, right?"

Listening to Commander Griffin's words over the communication, Helian nodded seriously. This operation to capture Scarecrow was very important. If they could capture this elite Sangvis doll, they might get a glimpse of the true intentions of the mastermind behind Sangvis Ferri Manufacturing.

As for why the mastermind of Sangvis Ferri Manufacturing suddenly rebelled against the Sangvis Ferri personnel, she didn't expect to fully understand it yet.

This time, the Sangvis Ferri doll was probably just an unnecessary unit for Sangvis Ferri Manufacturing. After all, being sent to Griffin's rear area for reconnaissance missions meant they were confident in this doll's abilities, but also that they didn't consider it particularly important.

This was normal. Even if a doll died, they could be resurrected through the Mind Cloud map, and Sangvis Ferri Manufacturing had the corresponding technology. Additionally, with their smooth communication network, Sangvis Ferri could even allow their elite dolls to secretly upload memory data while fighting.

"Gentiane, let's proceed. The path to the woodland is blocked here. We just need to force Scarecrow out of the residential area, and she'll have nowhere to escape," Helian said.

The situation in the S09 area was now basically under control, thanks to Gentiane. Despite being a newcomer who had just taken office, she was performing remarkably well after just a few days.

"Understood. Papasha, it's up to you."

"Received!"

Hearing Gentiane's words, Papasha immediately led a group of dolls under her command to attack the residential area.

There was no real resistance this time. The group of Rippers that Scarecrow had brought was already reduced to a handful after the past few days' battles. Apart from a few scattered units, there were only some rangers left that resembled scrap iron cans.

Gentiane had more than a dozen dolls under her command, divided into three troops. Each doll had a few Dummy dolls with them, bringing their total force to at least 30.

In addition to Gentiane, there were also many Griffin dolls on the other side, responsible for blocking the entrance to the woodland. These were under the command of another district commander.

They had already set up a net at the entrance to the woodland, waiting for Scarecrow to rush in, panicked.

...

"Tsk! These Griffin guys!?"

After retrieving the few remaining reconnaissance drones, Scarecrow leaned against a corner of the residential area, gritting her teeth in frustration.

If she had been able to fight against the commander of S09 at first, now there was only one path left for her: surrender or be killed. She was determined to go down with the enemy.

Because this was just a reconnaissance mission, the number of Sangvis Ferri droids she had brought with her was no more than 200 at most.

During the confrontation with Gentiane, most of those droids had already been taken down, one by one.

Even under Scarecrow's command, the regular Sangvis Ferri droids—being neither advanced nor particularly autonomous or flexible—stood no chance against a tactical doll force that could adapt to battlefield changes.

If she had more forces, there might be some hope. But there aren't many "what-ifs" in this world.

"Heh, it looks like this is the end of the line for me today. But I still need to hold on a little longer. Griffin's coordinates should be calculated soon... Is Renault going to stand me up this time?

Scarecrow thought in despair as she looked at Papasha and the others slowly advancing toward her position.