"Hmm, that's more like it. At least this mission didn't require the Commander to do the actual work. Otherwise, watching from the sidelines every time was really discouraging."
Nagant Revolver nodded in satisfaction, looking at the mutant whose body had been ripped open by NZ75 and Executioner.
"That's true, but I didn't expect this mutant to be all show and no substance. It was useless as soon as it came out of the water. But how did this guy even move? What's inside its belly?" CF05 also looked at the massive mutant being dismantled with some curiosity.
Inside the mutant's body, aside from some parts that looked like flesh and blood, the rest was all layers of siliconized material, containing quite a few things: train carriages, locomotives, airplane engine wreckage, even yachts…
Of course, the cargo boxes from the previous cargo plane were also included, but most of them were twisted and deformed, looking like pretzel-like knots.
The fate of their contents was obvious.
"Um, does this mean our mission failed? These cargo boxes are in this state; the contents inside are probably already destroyed," AK47 and Executioner, each carrying one of the excavated cargo boxes, spoke.
"Probably so. But it's unforeseen circumstances. Losses? We can just forgo them. We've documented the entire mission; the client can't blame us," Executioner said nonchalantly.
She didn't really care whether the mission succeeded or not. She could freeload off Renault and occasionally even use her allowance to go out with the other dolls.
Just like when Granny Graven invited her on the cruise ship, she figured there would be plenty of opportunities like this in the future.
Besides, she wasn't really a big traveler; going out was nice, but not essential.
Renault stood to the side, smoking, somewhat annoyed. The battle itself was nothing special— it was just a minor incident, not worth mentioning.
The key was this mission. He hadn't expected that at the very last minute, this annoying mutant would appear.
And this thing seemed to be specifically targeting objects that consumed large amounts of energy.
Look at what it was eating!
Locomotives, airplane engines—mostly those fuel-burning contraptions.
Unexpectedly, this mutant had evolved; it could even extract energy directly from fossil fuels…
However, after its body was cut open, the mutant became completely immobile. It was unclear whether it had run out of energy or if Executioner's attacks had truly damaged its vitals.
Anyway, as long as it couldn't move, that was fine. He wasn't there to exterminate mutants; getting all the cargo containers out of it was enough.
Although the mutant's body was enormous, it posed no difficulty for Executioner and NZ75, who were wearing power armor. It also gave Executioner a chance to vent her pent-up energy.
"Commander, the cargo boxes from the freighter are all here, but the number doesn't seem to match the information Mr. Gerald provided. There are only six cargo boxes here, plus two twisted fragments, making a total of eight."
"Eight?"
The data Gerald provided clearly stated that the entire freighter carried sixteen cargo boxes, plus some scattered cargo.
"This mutant doesn't seem to have swallowed the entire freighter. The wreckage we dug out only includes a small section where the engines and wings were located." Seeing the grim expression on Renault's face, HK416 reluctantly spoke up.
As she spoke, she helplessly pointed to the lake surface that was almost frozen over again…
The situation was quite clear: if no fragments were found in the remaining cargo crates, they must have been abandoned in the lake by that mutant.
"Alright, you guys wait here. I'll go down and check it out. Nagant Revolver, get me a rope."
"Okay." Upon hearing this, Nagant Revolver quickly handed Renault the rope she had brought, then watched helplessly as Renault removed his protective suit and jumped into the dark lake with a splash.
"Um... well... should we suggest the Commander equip us with underwater propulsion devices next time? And maybe improve the waterproofing of our bodies?"
Looking at the lake, CF05 said dejectedly.
They'd just said Renault wouldn't have to lift a finger this time, but it turned out…
"Actually, we could come back up with a rope, but there's probably not much visibility underwater, and the waterproofing of our bodies is unknown, so let's not go down... It wouldn't be good to cause trouble for the Commander."
Splash!
As they were talking, a sound suddenly came from the lake.
Renault jumped up from underwater, but he wasn't holding the rope he'd taken down.
"Don't just stand there—pull him up quickly and take him back to the ship's cargo hold for disinfection."
Then Gerald could come and identify them himself. As for dismantling these cargo boxes and figuring out what was inside the mission objective—that's too much work; it wouldn't earn them any extra pay.
Hearing Renault's words, the dolls were all stunned, somewhat confused by his meaning.
Then their eyes widened in disbelief. Less than two minutes had passed…
He'd already found it? And he'd even used a rope to pull the cargo box up?
For a moment, the dolls exchanged bewildered glances. They felt that they'd been working so hard for so long... it was a bit stupid...
Even Executioner was frustrated. She threw down her breaching axe, grabbed the rope, and started pulling.
While the battle hadn't been entirely satisfying, it had been quite enjoyable overall. But Renault's last move was frustrating.
Comparison is the thief of joy!
"Stop arguing, hurry up and pull! Instead of wasting time worrying, why not make a wish and hope the Commander gets some requests that don't require his personal intervention?"
"Yeah, but we didn't really lose face coming here this time, did we? This place is a complete no-go zone for dolls; most dolls can't even get here!"
Listening to the dolls' self-comforting words, HK416 smirked speechlessly.
What's so great about a place that's all dark and gloomy?