Girls' Frontline: My Apocalypse with Dolls

Page 416

After considering the next steps, Helian decided to proceed cautiously: "Let's go into the building behind us first, observe the surrounding area from inside, and after we have enough intelligence, we can then consider approaching the checkpoint to obtain information."

If the hunters were to calculate down to every block and corner, it would be quite difficult. In addition, they would not know the internal defense deployment or the level of expertise of the other party. It would be best to make a more accurate observation before making a further plan.

The girls had no objections, then picked up their weapons, got up and walked toward the building behind them, intending to enter through the back door and slowly explore upwards.

The door lock was broken, so opening it wasn't difficult. SP9 went in first, and the others followed slowly...

This appears to be just a simple and dilapidated house, with no signs of recent habitation. Even so, we cannot let our guard down.

"Kitchen safety."

"The restaurant is safe."

"The living room is safe."

"The first floor area has been secured."

After a thorough search, no living creatures were found on the first floor, so the next step is to search the second floor...

SP9 whispered, "Watch out for blind spots. I'll keep an eye on 12 o'clock."

RO responded in a low voice: "Received, blind spot area being confirmed."

No risk units have been found yet...

"Wait..." AR15 raised her hand, stopping the crowd.

“You heard that too?” Helian asked.

"Hmm, the sound of a baby crying..."

661 Helian PART.3

"On the third floor..."

The ouroboros pointed upwards, and the Ironblood's high-precision auditory module alerted her to the source of the sound.

After thinking it over, Helian gave the order: "AR team and I will ensure the safety of the second floor. The rest of you go to the third floor to check the situation."

The group immediately sprang into action, splitting into two groups and advancing toward their respective assigned areas, adjusting their gun-holding positions to prevent potential targets from disarming them.

Ding Ding Dang Dang~

"!"

RO pointed to the second-floor balcony, and everyone immediately understood, gathering towards that area. They heard a very distinct metallic clanging sound...

"three two......"

Helian waited at the entrance to the master bedroom, which had been confirmed to be secure, while the AR team was ready to enter the balcony to subdue the other party. But just as the final countdown was about to begin, a woman with disheveled hair emerged from the darkness carrying a cardboard box.

There was no time to hesitate. The RO and SOP on either side grabbed the woman's neck almost simultaneously, then the SOP tripped her with her leg, while the M4 caught the cardboard box that was about to fall. There was no time to react, and the woman was subdued.

M4 searched through the cardboard box but only found milk powder and instant noodles. After confirmation, no threatening items were found inside.

Coupled with her terrified eyes, she looked like an ordinary, harmless woman...

She struggled desperately, trying to break free from the AR team's iron grip, but it was pointless. The girls didn't even need to adjust their positions, and the SOP beside her was threatening her with his eyes, warning her not to make any rash moves, or the consequences would be unimaginable.

Words were superfluous at this moment. The vast difference in strength meant that the collapse of her psychological defenses took only one minute and twenty-four seconds. The woman finally collapsed, tears streaming down her face. Although she had lost the will to resist, the hand covering her mouth did not let go.

When Helian arrived at the scene to confirm the situation, the others who had gone to the third floor to investigate had also returned, but Ouroboros had an extra swaddled baby in his hands.

"The third floor is safe; the only thing they found was this baby... Who is this?"

The vandal leaned against the wall with considerable disdain, but the pitiful woman before her piqued her interest.

RO turned to look at Helian, and after receiving her approval with her eyes, he released his hand from his mouth. The woman was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, but when the baby appeared in front of her, she could not hide her fear and tried to struggle again.

"No...don't touch my son! He's only five months old! Please, please, please...!"

"Keep quiet..."

M16 took the baby and then knelt down in front of the woman. Even though she was overcome by emotion, she was aware of her and her child's situation and controlled her emotions.

Then it was Herian's turn to politely inquire about the situation...

"As long as you cooperate obediently, I guarantee that you and your child will be safe and sound, understand?"

After saying that, she gestured to everyone to loosen their grip a little so that the other person could have some space to move around, but they still had to keep her steady just in case.

Now that the other party had backed down, the woman nodded repeatedly, intending to cooperate actively.

"So, first of all, how should we address each other?"

"Pamu, Pamu Octavia, call me whatever you prefer!"

Helian nodded, then continued, "So, Mrs. Palmer, I'd like to ask where we are now?"

"Here? Where do you mean? This place we are, or the name of this safe zone?"

Helian and M4 exchanged a glance, then Helian said, "Say it all."

The woman was quite quick-witted and immediately understood the other party's needs. She then explained, "This is near the gate of Yudan B District, inside a residential house. This is the largest safe zone within a radius of several kilometers, which we call the Gate of Rodin."

Rodin's Gate? The locals are actually trying to give their safe zone a name that sounds impressive but is actually quite obscure?

But Helian wasn't interested in those details; she had more to ask: "Is this safe zone a collaborative effort, or is there a clear leader?"

“Uh, yes, Salson Alfred, he’s the de facto leader of this safe zone… Your attire doesn’t look like that of the military, nor like those black-masked people, you are…?”

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask." The hunter brandished the dagger at his waist, and the other party immediately fell silent. However, Helian still raised her hand to indicate that he didn't need to threaten the other party like that.

"We don't belong to either side. To be honest, we were hired to investigate the truth behind the border shooting. Like many people in the quarantine zone, our employer also has relatives who died in this incident, and we believe that the military has once again carried out an inhumane massacre, so..."

Helian, without batting an eye, revealed the lie she had hastily concocted. She could roughly guess the locals' attitude towards the military after this incident, so she first needed to make them believe her in order to facilitate subsequent negotiations.

"Really? You've come to expose the military's brutality?!"

The woman suddenly became agitated, and SOP and RO quickly restrained her again. This reaction only strengthened Helian's suspicions.

"Yes, but we lack evidence, so we hope to find some clues here so that we can work with our people to bring the truth to light."

"I see. Then we're on the same side. We've been trying to get the information out, but the military has blocked all communication channels, so the outside world has no way of knowing what's going on. With you guys, maybe we can really do it now!"

The shift from fear of death to joy at the turn of events took only a few dozen seconds, but there was ample reason to believe her reaction. After all, the locals' reactions before the operation even began were enough to make everyone understand their attitude towards the military.

Seeing that things were going well, Helian gestured with her chin toward M16, who understood and handed the baby to Palmer.

dong dong dong~

"Mrs. Palmer, Mrs. Palmer, are you home? Today's food ration has arrived."

The sudden knocking downstairs interrupted their thoughts. Fearing that Muir hadn't had time to properly comfort his child, they hurriedly looked at the group of intruders in front of them.

"Mrs. Palmer, you know what to do, don't you?"

"Yeah, I understand..."

She nodded calmly, then carried the child down the stairs, with the girls following behind her...

662 Helian PART.4

For some reason, the room was darker than the outside, perhaps to conserve electricity. Palmer quickly lit a white candle and went to greet them, carrying the child. Thanks to the darkness, the person outside couldn't see the dozen or so gun barrels behind her...

"Hello, Mrs. Palmer, Sal..."

"Ah, I know!" Palmer quickly interrupted, greeting him with a smile. "Please give him my regards for the evening!"

"Yes, of course. Oh, is this enough for you and your child? The colonel specifically told me to ask you a couple of questions."

"That's enough, that's more than enough. We should give more to our neighbors; they might be even more in need of food."

Even as bystanders, the girls could see Parmuel's nervousness, but overall she performed well, though the colonel she mentioned...

Did Parmuel receive some special treatment?

After glancing inside twice, the man who brought the food spoke again: "Would you like me to take the food inside?"

"Oh, no need, I'll just find somewhere to put it. You go ahead and get busy. You probably still have quite a few people to deliver today, right?"

"Of course, I'll go ahead and get busy then. Please be careful."

"Well, thank you!"

......

The delivery person turned and left. After Palmer closed the door, RO and SOP quickly stepped forward and lifted the cardboard box on the ground.

Where do you plan to put this food?

Palmer was a little surprised, but still nodded and smiled, "Oh, just take it to the balcony where I left the food.

Afterwards, the two people took the food away, while everyone else stayed in the living room to ask the remaining questions.

Helian thoughtfully prepared water and canned food for Parmuel. Only after he had recovered with these simple foods did she begin to ask questions. After all, it was important to solidify his belief in the unity of their respective camps.

"It sounds like you have quite a lot of supplies. How come you even have a surplus?"

“Of course, this is mainly due to the organizational structure of Rodan’s Gate,” this seemed to be the part that Parmuel was proud of, and her smile also indicated that she had completely let her guard down: “We were originally formed by the merger of multiple survivor organizations, so our supplies were also accumulated from multiple sources to reach their current state. In addition, people have been conducting a long-term carpet search of the surrounding area, which has enabled us to not have any worries about food in the short term.”

"Um......"

It's understandable; after all, such a large security zone couldn't possibly be formed by a single organization. A collaboration of multiple parties would be more reasonable. But as Palmer just mentioned, there's a clear leader, Salson Alfred...

How high must this person's reputation be for so many people to believe in him?

“Miss Helian…”

Glancing to the side, M4 was already beside Helian, her eyes sharp, as if she wanted to say something...

"what happened?"

"We heard this name when we were working with the commander; it came from survivors on the other side who were hostile to them..."

......

"What's wrong?" Palmer asked, puzzled.

"It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered something."

Helian slowly shook her head, ending the conversation with an impatient expression. Palmer, understanding the situation, didn't ask any further questions and continued to soothe the baby in her arms.

Lovan had dealt with survivors who were hostile to Alfred, and that's where he heard the name.

As for Mrs. Palmer's reaction and ability to adjust her mindset...

She's definitely hiding something...

......

"So, could we stay here for a while? I'm worried the people here aren't very welcoming to outsiders..."

"Of course, why not? If the time is right, I can also try to mention you to those soldiers. Maybe there's even a possibility of cooperation between the two sides."

"Okay, thank you for your help..."

After a polite smile, Helian got up and went upstairs. The moment she turned her face, her warm smile instantly turned cold.

......

"Lo, have you heard of the name Alfred before?"

Back on the second-floor balcony, Helian secretly contacted Lovan, who was dozens of miles away. RO and SOP were also waiting there after the move was completed.

At first, Luo Fan was curious about Helian's unique way of addressing him, but he quickly realized: "I've heard of her, what's wrong?"

"We'll likely have to make contact with this guy later. Can you provide any information about him?"

“Information…” Luo Fan scratched his head, then said with difficulty, “No, we’ve only heard the name before. According to the other party’s description, this guy seems to be a decisive and rather violent person, that’s all.”

"Really... alright then..."

"oi," just as he was about to hang up, Luo Fan inexplicably stopped him...

"Anything else?"

Luo Fan nodded: "Well, just by the way, Adeline is now in free action mode and is currently approaching your direction. If you need additional snipers, you can try calling her, and she will come to help."

"Understood, I'll keep that in mind."

After hanging up, Helian frowned even more. The lack of electricity and internet made obtaining identity information much less convenient than in the city. Now she knew nothing about this Alfred. How could she possibly make contact with him in the future?

Since he's the leader, the crucial information must be with him; bypassing him is definitely impossible...

This is difficult...

Maybe this time we really need to try off-field assistance...