"Yo, yo, yo! Isn't this HK416? Haven't seen her for a few days, and already so humiliated, huh?" MDR teased, pulling Vera along while using a drone and a cell phone to take more photos of HK416.
"MDR?!" Hearing MDR's voice, the drunken HK416, though still a bit unconscious, reacted to MDR's mocking tone. Even in her stupor, MDR's derisive voice had penetrated her subconscious. Despite being held tightly by Spectre M4, HK416 began struggling violently again.
"Ah hey, don't provoke her! I've been rolling around with her for so long, it's hard to calm her down, okay?" Spectre M4, pinned underneath HK416, spoke bitterly and helplessly towards MDR.
At first, they were in the corridor, then somehow rolled into the elevator. After knocking down two Rippers in the cargo hold, they rolled out the open cargo hold door into the snow outside.
The contact with the snow seemed to clear HK416's head momentarily. When they got outside, HK416 paused for a few moments, giving Spectre M4 a brief respite.
But then MDR arrived...
"Well, it seems she's not completely sober yet. Commander, do you want to develop a device specifically designed to help dolls sober up?"
Glancing at MDR, Renault raised his hand in front of HK416's eyes. Her eyes were still unfocused, looking around without recognition.
This didn't surprise Renault. After all, it wasn't the first time. Previously, he could count on HK416's energy core to run out of energy, causing her to enter a dormant state. Now, it seemed that was no longer possible. He had underestimated HK416's tendency to get drunk.
But it wasn't a big problem. In the future, more strong ropes or chains would suffice. When she got drunk, tie her up, and when the alcohol wore off, she would be fine.
"Commander, the rope is ready." Scarecrow dragged a bundle of rope over to Renault.
This was a freshly made rope. The ones previously used on the ship weren't strong enough to bind HK416, and the fixing straps in the cargo hold were still in use. If HK416 broke them, a new batch would need to be made.
Renault took the rope and tied HK416 into a bundle in no time. Originally, he intended to hang her on the top deck to let the wind sober her up quickly. But thinking that she didn't drink on purpose, he handed the bundled HK416 to G11 instead.
"Take this guy away and find a quiet place for her to stay. I have an unlucky one over there who needs repair."
The unlucky one was naturally M16. G11, wearing the bulletproof material jacket HK416 had bought for her, was unscathed apart from a few more scratches on her clothes.
M16 wasn't as fortunate. Her clothes provided some protection but failed to block the shrapnel from the grenade. Besides M16, two unlucky Rippers had their legs damaged and needed repair...
"Commander! Come over to our side for hot pot later!" HK416 playing drunk was nothing new at home. Even MDR just took a few pictures before pulling Vera back to continue eating.
Most dolls in the restaurant weren't interested at all, not even stepping out to watch.
"Your life here is really... colorful?" RO635 watched the small G11 carry HK416 away and thought about how those dolls in the restaurant weren't even interested. She couldn't help but sweat for SOP2 and AR15.
"Hey, it's nothing. This kind of thing doesn't happen often. But it's quite common for farm animals to run around," SOP2 waved her hand dismissively.
"And those two cats from UMP40, they are simply incapable of... anything." As AR15 was talking, the civet cat grabbed her clothes and climbed on top of her head, "You troublemaker! Get off my head!"
"Should we go to the maintenance room to check on M16?" M4 asked, worried about M16's condition after being bombarded by HK416.
"Yeah, Sister 16 was just chased by HK416! I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet!" SOP2 immediately pulled M4 towards the workroom.
After some drama, RPK16 sat in the restaurant, eating hot pot while chatting with WA2000, listening to a few dolls gossip without a trace of guilt for her teammates still busy with their missions.
This was probably what was called a paid vacation, right?
Of course, RPK16 wasn't in a hurry for no reason. Architect and Gager, two Sangvis Ferri ringleaders, were sitting next to her. It wouldn't be too late for her to act when these two couldn't sit still any longer.
As for her 'predecessor'? Well, it had little to do with her. Delivering the neural core to Renault was lucky enough. This was an example fate aligning everything. Besides, who would think of risking dying less than two weeks after leaving the factory?
She didn't want to think about such things now.
This hot pot really tasted good...
"It always feels like you two aren't quite the same as normal Rippers, huh? Did Renault do something to you?" While pulling out the more visible shrapnel from her body, M16 asked the two Rippers beside her.
The Rippers and Vespids on Renault's side not only didn't resemble Sangvis dolls but also seemed to have individual personalities. She'd even seen the two Rippers whispering together earlier.
"Um, no, right?"
"Why not? Hasn't Commander Renault lifted the command restrictions on the OGAS chain of command?"
"Oh, right. That should be the case, but after that, we've gotten a bit smarter. We couldn't even speak properly at first."
The two Rippers, seeing M16's approachable demeanor despite her eye patch, opened up and chatted with her.
By the time SOP2 pulled M4 into the workroom, M16 was smilingly listening to the Rippers talk about their overtime life in the Sangvis Factory.
"Sister 16! We're here!"
As SOP2's voice rang out, M4 saw the injuries on M16's body, "Sister 16! Are you alright!?"
"Hey? Ah, it's fine, just some minor injuries. After cleaning up the shrapnel, I'll lie down in the repair bin for a while, and I'll be fine." Seeing the worried look on M4's face, M16 quickly waved her hand.