Chapter 125: Lay Down Your Weapons?

"Suka! I was almost split in half!" Sitting on the ground, Stephan, drenched in sweat from head to toe, looked at the crooked helicopter rotor blades that were dangerously close.

Fortunately, thanks to the timely warning from Nicholas earlier, they had already taken cover in a nearby building while the helicopter was hovering. Otherwise, even if they hadn't been crushed by the falling helicopter, they would have been torn apart by the fragments from the explosion.

"Check the wreckage, see if there are any survivors."

"Roger." There was no concealment in the communication between M1 Garand and Nagant Revolver, conveying Nicholas and the others' intentions.

SPAS-12, who remained on the cargo ship, went straight to the helicopter wreckage with a breaching axe. With a gentle tug from the steel hand of the powered exoskeleton, the deformed helicopter door was easily pulled off.

Inside, five combat personnel wearing protective suits were lying in disarray. At this moment, these individuals were in tatters, either pierced by aircraft fragments or with their protective helmet shattered from the impact of the fall.

But it was certain that these individuals were beyond saving. Unless someone was willing to set up a field hospital here for emergency treatment.

If it were normal circumstances, Doll units equipped with medical modules might have attempted first aid on these individuals. Unfortunately, none of Reno's Doll units were "normal." Moreover, none of them had ever been equipped with the expensive rare medical modules.

"The helicopter crew and combat personnel have been confirmed deceased, no survivors." SPAS-12's voice came through the communicator, bringing relief to Nicholas and the others hiding in the nearby building.

However, with relief came confusion.

How did Reno's T-Dolls seem to anticipate the arrival of the helicopter?

Climbing up to the rooftops of buildings to gain a tactical advantage and remaining hidden from the helicopters...

Nicholas wouldn't believe it if someone told him they didn't know enemy helicopters were coming.

"Um, did you all know that enemies would be coming?" Emerging from cover, Nicholas looked puzzledly at the still burning helicopter wreckage and asked M1 Garand.

"Not really, it was only after the commander saw the appearance of the Griffin commander."

After all, Griffin was like a sieve, but M1 Garand certainly wouldn't say that out loud.

"Griffin... Could Angelia be... No, that's impossible, but... could there be a traitor within Griffin?"

Hearing M1 Garand's words, Anthony's heart trembled, and he subconsciously began to suspect Angelia of being a traitor.

However, Angelia's identity immediately dispelled this possibility. Instead, he thought it was more likely that there were intelligence personnel within Griffin.

"Could it be that the mercenaries who were just eliminated transmitted the message before they were taken out?" Nicholas didn't immediately suspect Griffin, but instead thought of the mercenaries who had been eliminated earlier.

After all, those mercenaries seemed quite professional, dealing with both transport trucks and oil tankers. It wasn't something ordinary mercenaries could handle.

"Perhaps, but mercenaries wouldn't have access to helicopters, and the collapse fluid wasn't likely something they acquired themselves. They were probably just hired hands." Stephan dusted himself off and prepared to go back and check on the armored vehicle's condition.

"Hey! Wait a minute! What's this about collapse fluid!? Why didn't you tell me about something so important earlier!" Upon hearing Stephan suddenly mention collapse fluid, Anthony exclaimed like an angry cat.

"Um, Stephan, you spilled the beans." Nicholas tapped his helmet, saying helplessly.

He hadn't intended to tell Anthony about this matter. Although they were colleagues from Statesec, they were from different departments. Stephan and his team were only sent by Statesec to assist Nicholas in the investigation.

"Um, forget it, since I've already said it, you can't blame it on me later. Did you see that cargo ship over there? There's a whole container of collapse fluid in the cargo hold, over forty bottles. You can figure it out for yourself." Stephan rolled his eyes speechlessly and, in frustration, pointed directly towards the direction of the cargo ship.

In fact, he and Nicholas were not in the same department either. He and his team were only dispatched by the Security Bureau to assist Nicholas in the investigation.

Upon hearing Stephan's words, Anthony was dumbfounded.

Over forty bottles... That's troublesome!

If it explodes, they, standing nearby, would definitely have no place to bury their bodies! They might not even have intact remains!

"Then... then, what about the cargo ship next to the ship..."

"I don't know about that, but considering the high radiation readings near that ship, there's probably something there too. However, it's likely just slowly dissipating, not... that loud noise just now, could it be the collapse fluid exploding?" Nicholas realized halfway through his sentence, suddenly remembering the loud noise and bright light from the direction of the port earlier...

While the security bureau agents were trembling with fear, M1 Garand and her team were not overly concerned. They continued with their tasks as planned. Reno had already stated that if the security bureau personnel didn't arrive to transport the cargo, he would come over himself.

Of course, M1 Garand didn't think they needed to go back to search for Reno and the others. She just had a feeling that Reno probably wouldn't wait for Statesec personnel to come before returning himself.

Perhaps the information Nicholas had reported earlier was somewhat "shocking," as Statesec's transport helicopter finally arrived after they had been waiting for twenty minutes.

The helicopters looked a bit small, considering they were forty meter long transport helicopters. Nonetheless, two of them arrived at once, indicating that Statesec took the collapse fluid matter very seriously.

After seeing the helicopters, SPAS-12 and MG3 confirmed that Nicholas had already contacted the pilots and proceeded to remove the barbed wire and concrete blocks surrounding the nearby tennis courts.

Under Nicholas's guidance, the two helicopters landed slowly. However, as soon as they touched down, a group of accompanying soldiers immediately rushed out and, upon seeing SPAS-12 and MG3's massive powered exoskeletons, immediately raised their guns.

"Exit the powered armor immediately! Lay down your weapons!" Dozens of soldiers formed a semicircle, surrounding SPAS-12 and MG3, who were still holding barbed wire and concrete blocks.

Seeing this, Nicholas realized something was wrong and hurried forward. "Stop! These are Security contractors hired by Statesec! Lower your weapons!"

Watching the soldiers' rash actions, Nicholas couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Were they all blind!?

Didn't they see the powered armor units lying in ambush on the rooftops when they landed?