"What kind of people are you? Non-human types? Or Griffin?"
Just as UMP45's team was leaning towards the buildings, four or five mercenaries shouted at them from behind their cover.
Hearing the other party shout, UMP45 raised an eyebrow.
The voice sounded subdued, but it was normal. After all, there were only four dolls on their side, and one of them was a camera-wielding reporter.
Three of them must have been civilian dolls converted to tactical dolls, not a deadly threat to the mercenaries, especially since the mercenaries were all in their respective positions at the moment.
Just waiting for the order from their leader, they would launch an attack towards UMP45's team.
Dolls aren't invincible; humans fear guns, and dolls do too. It wasn't like they hadn't fought dolls before.
"Sorry for the wrong guess, but aren't you guys going to show your faces? At least tell us who you really are?" UMP45 said as she narrowed her eyes, attempting to force a connection to a nearby communication device.
These people looked like mercenaries. Since they were mercenaries, they would definitely carry communication devices. If there was a device that could receive signals, she could try to crack it.
Before taking any real action, they needed to figure out what the other side was doing. This commission was important to Renault, otherwise, he wouldn't have taken HK416 to the town to check out the situation.
Well, it's not easy to find a generous client these days. She didn't want to mess up the commission because of hasty actions.
Facing UMP45's question, the other party hesitated about revealing their identity.
But UMP45 wouldn't wait for them to speak. She had already found a communication device near the mercenaries and discovered messages left after their communications.
"We are the giant..."
"Ah, I see, Giant Snake mercenaries. Your mission is to protect a group of brats, right? What about the commissioner? We're here to find your client."
Before the mercenary could finish his sentence, UMP45 stood up from behind her cover, smiling and putting on a harmless appearance. She led the way towards the middle of the other side's shooting boundary.
UMP40 naturally followed suit. Vera was about to get up from behind her cover but was pulled back by MDR.
"You little fool, why are you following them? They're not afraid of bullets but you haven't changed your body yet. Be careful of getting shot!"
"But the name of this mercenary group is really interesting. Giant Snake? Why not call it Giant Serpent's Tail? Maybe there's a guy named Ourobouros among them." MDR muttered as she fumbled for her cell phone, intending to take a few pictures.
Vera looked at MDR strangely, not understanding a single word coming out of her mouth.
"You... you hacked our communication equipment?" Hearing UMP45 reveal their identity, the mercenary who had shouted walked out from behind his cover, but he still held his weapon ready.
Several other mercenaries poked out from behind cover, aiming at UMP45 and UMP40. Even where MDR was hiding, two mercenaries were keeping an eye on them.
"It's just some normal information interaction, but it looks like there's something wrong with your client. We've been waiting up here for a long time." UMP45 pointed in the direction where the gunship was parked.
She had seen in the mercenaries' comms that they were now split into two teams, with one heading to the town, seemingly looking for the client just like Renault.
They left in the middle of the night, and now half a day had passed with no news at all.
Seeing UMP45 pointing, the mercenary was surprised. That place was a wasteland. Even locals wouldn't go there because there was nothing. They had discussed using it as an evacuation site but hadn't expected...
"You guys are the dolls of that security contractor, Renault? Tsk, really argumentative. I can't imagine there are other security contractors besides Griffin that have dolls. We once wanted to get a few tactical dolls, but those IOP guys completely looked down on us."
Not doubting UMP45's identity, the man lowered his gun and waved behind him. The mercenaries lowered their weapons and stepped out from their respective shelters.
"Oh? It's that easy to believe?"
This surprised UMP45. Was this mercenary nervous or simple-minded? Wasn't he afraid of being tricked?
"Aren't you guys afraid we're lying?" UMP40 directly asked what was on UMP45's mind.
"Hm? Hahaha! How could it be! In this shitty place, we can count the number of dolls in the entire town! You guys look like new faces, and the people in town don't use dolls at all, especially tactical dolls."
Whether tactical or not, this town had been closed for a long time. A few years ago, the road to the outside world was blocked by falling rocks, so vehicles couldn't get out.
The remaining civilian dolls in the town were counted, but unfortunately, they were likely completely destroyed now.
"Well, it seems like you guys don't care anymore, but can you tell us where the client went? And what exactly is the cargo this time? We haven't even seen it so far." UMP45 spread her hands, confirming that the mercenaries had dispersed. She waved towards MDR's location.
"Eh? Cargo? That little... no, that woman actually treats us as cargo!?" Hearing UMP45's words, the mercenary immediately shouted.
"Hey, got it, it's not cargo. It's just a communication problem. The client contacted us to get you guys evacuated from this hellhole?"
"Ah, pretty much. This shithole doesn't even have a place to take a bath... Ahem, not all of us, but also the children in that orphanage in the client's name."
"Hmm? Uh-huh?" Hearing this, MDR immediately approached, curiously taking out her camera equipment.
"Who thought of setting up an orphanage in such an isolated place? I'm afraid there's some serious illness involved, right?"