Chapter 8: Heading to the Factory

"What? He's leaving now?!"

Helian's mind raced with questions as she watched Renault swagger out of the Griffin stronghold, crowbar in hand. Was this man seriously contemplating a solo trip to the Iron Blood Factory?

"No weapons? No support at all?" she wondered, disbelief coloring her voice. "Where did this fool, or should I say retard, come from? Do you have rocks for brains?"

"Sir Helian," M1911 interjected calmly, "Mr. Renault actually eliminated nearly 500 infected just thirty minutes ago."

"Five hundred? By himself? Did he use the weapons in the stronghold?" Helian inquired, suspicion rising.

Under normal circumstances, Griffin strongholds held a weapons cache, a common practice for any PMC like G&K. Using them during emergencies was logical and practical.

However, the idea of one person taking down nearly 500 infected defied belief. Even Griffin's elite Dolls wouldn't achieve such a feat. Even accounting for shooting them one by one, it would still require 500 rounds of ammunition.

Who in their right mind would carry twenty or thirty kilograms of bullets on their back? Helian recalled the previous Area S13 commander's request for a large quantity of rifle ammunition and rifles from the logistics department to deal with the Iron Blood and infected.

Even for a Rifle Doll, carrying one or two hundred bullets was the maximum due to their superior load-bearing capacity compared to humans. Unless the guy wore an exoskeleton, which she didn't see him wearing, everything about him was...

"Well, Sir Helian," M1911 continued, "there are actually no weapons in the stronghold. The previous commander searched for them upon arrival. It seems they were taken away. Additionally, there's no ammunition usable here, so..."

"So what?" Helian interrupted, frustration tinging her voice. "Are you saying he carried half a man's weight of shotgun and killed five hundred infected while running around?"

"No, to be precise, only three infected were killed with guns, including the previous commander. The rest... were all eliminated by Mr. Renault with axes and crowbars..."

Helian gasped, momentarily stunned into silence. She didn't doubt M1911's words. While the philosophical question of whether humanoids could lie existed, M1911 wouldn't deceive her on this matter.

Five hundred infected was a staggering number. Even without mutant infections, it far exceeded the former S13 commander's capabilities. The town was small, and Griffin hadn't even established a dedicated base to handle such large infected mobs.

Therefore, the only Dolls stationed there were a mere three to four. Even with a few Doll Dummies, the total number wouldn't exceed a dozen. Such a small force wouldn't stand a chance against that many infected.

Just as Helian grappled with the situation, completely flabbergasted by M1911's answer, the roar of a motorcycle engine echoed past the stronghold door.

Renault, on a three-wheeled motorcycle, sped away, heading straight for the town's northwestern outskirts, where the SF Factory was located.

Compared to the town, the level of Collapse Radiation was significantly higher around the Sangvis Ferri factory. However, the cost of establishing a factory in such an area was practically negligible.

Sangvis Ferri not only saved on building materials and transportation costs but also provided their Dolls with minimal equipment and basic care, with no resources allocated for disinfection. After all, most of these Dolls were deployed in the red zone to fight infected, making disinfection pointless.

This practice extended to other Sangvis Ferri factories outside the town. The automated factory churned out low-quality automated weapons daily, including Dinergates, Scouts, and basic Ripper Dolls. There wouldn't be any high-level SF Dolls present. Even if there were any, they were likely deployed elsewhere to command lower-level SF Dolls. And of course, there wouldn't be any Elite-Model Dolls.

Why would there be? A mediocre factory in a remote area producing low-level units wouldn't garner much attention from Sangvis Ferri executives.

Sangvis Ferri initially established the factory here at the town mayor's request. They placed it on the town's edge to act as a barrier, allowing the produced SF Dolls to protect the town's safety.

Unfortunately, it seemed G&K had a knack for exploiting opportunities. Unknown to even Helian, they made some kind of deal with the former mayor and set up a temporary base in the town.

Regardless of whether the old mayor took advantage of the situation, the previous Griffin commander didn't intend to stick around for long in this remote outpost. Their plan was to cripple the SF Factory, allowing them to take over from the old mayor, capitalizing on the chaos and the townspeople's opportunism. Therefore, they directly ordered their Dolls to raid the SF Factory.

As far as Helian knew, Griffin had little to no friction with Sangvis Ferri at the moment. Their primary conflict lay with IOP, the supplier of Griffin's Tactical Dolls. However, Renault didn't anticipate Griffin's actions. They built humanoids and autonomous weapons, supposedly for the purpose of protecting humanity.

Renault couldn't fathom how the Griffin commander, disregarding martial ethics, could stand within the factory walls and tear them down. From the moment the factory was destroyed to the town's subsequent infection, Sangvis Ferri executives remained oblivious to the small, insignificant factory's collapse.

The situation was similar for Griffin. They only received information about the new commander's demise, leading them to send another commander, who met a similar fate within a few hours. This was no ordinary situation involving walk-ins.

While Renault leisurely made his way to the SF Factory, M1911, left behind at the stronghold, reported the situation to Helian. It wasn't much of a report, just a few sentences about the missing commander and the vanished weapons from the store.

According to the report, no Dolls or Dummies from the previous commander's team were found, and the town had become a red zone. Helian felt the urgent need for improved ideological education for the commanders at headquarters to prevent them from engaging in such reckless actions.

It was inevitable that Sangvis Ferri Manufacturing would discover what transpired here. Confronting Griffin wouldn't be a matter of "if" but "when."

With this thought in mind, Helian looked at M1911, who remained seated on the table. "Let's leave it at that for now. The evacuation helicopter will arrive soon. When that Renault guy comes back, just ask him to wait patiently."

After saying that, Helian ended the communication. M1911, alone with the commander's body and the two neural cores, desperately hoped that Renault would return soon, at least not to find himself alone and potentially dead.