"Okay, stop hiding. Come out quickly."
After leading AR15 and SOP2 back to the cargo hold of the spaceship, Renault closed the cargo hold door behind them. UMP45 was already preparing to take off.
"Ah?"
"Huh?"
Hearing Renault's sudden remark to the empty space, AR15 and SOP2 both looked over in confusion.
At first glance, there wasn't anything unusual. There were only a few Griffin T-Dolls lying motionless on the ground not far away, and a few empty ammunition boxes that had been discarded earlier.
These ammunition boxes had been moved out by M1 Garand and the others before. They had originally contained machine gun shells for the power armor, but now the shells had been transferred into the spare ammunition boxes of the power armor.
The empty boxes hadn't been moved back to the warehouse of the ammunition workshop yet. Originally, they had planned to let the Rippers move them after leaving the Griffin base.
But now, it seems that some Griffin guests had moved in first.
Seeing that there was no movement near the boxes, Renault walked over, stood beside one of the boxes, and reached out to pick up a strand of black hair hanging from the edge of the box lid.
AR15 and SOP2 came to their senses.
What else could that hair be if not a T-Doll?
They hadn't expected Renault to notice a box... Was it because of his height?
From where they had been standing, they couldn't see the seam of the box's lid, but with Renault's height, he could clearly see it.
He gently tugged at the strand of hair pinched between his fingers.
"Ah!"
Hearing a scream from inside the box, AR15 and SOP2 exchanged looks, both staring at the box in silence.
Where had this doll come from? They had already arrived at the door of Griffin's base, yet instead of returning, they had hidden on Renault's ship?
When Renault opened the lid of the ammunition box, AR15 and the others came over to see the situation inside.
In the spacious box, six T-Dolls were squeezed together. With the weapons and equipment they carried, the six people were so cramped that their faces were flushed.
Isn't there enough room in the other boxes? Do you really have to squeeze into one?
"Come out quickly, or I'll have someone move both you and the boxes to the warehouse and lock them up."
After knocking on the lid, Renault lowered his head to look at the figures inside the box.
They all looked unfamiliar, but one of the figures looked familiar. The color and style of her clothes—a blue top and a white long skirt—were recognizable.
Next to her was an M1903 rifle, produced by Springfield. It was definitely Springfield.
But wasn't Springfield supposed to be working at the cafe at Griffin headquarters? Why was she here? And why had she hidden in the box instead of coming out?
Just as Renault was wondering about this, several dolls from the box climbed out, looking a bit embarrassed. They stood in front of Renault, scratching their cheeks awkwardly without saying anything.
Seeing that they weren't going to speak first, Renault didn't press them. Instead, he turned around and reconnected the temporary power supply that had been unplugged by Griffin technicians.
He wasn't sure if the dolls who crawled out of the box would stay, but the mental data of the ones lying in the box were already in a critical state.
Otherwise, they would end up like Jaeger from earlier and would need to be nurtured from scratch.
Besides, Griffin's dolls were clearly more difficult to handle than Sangvis Ferri's. Sangvis Ferri's dolls had worked in factories before and didn't have eccentric personalities.
As for Griffin's dolls… well, it was hard to sum them up in a few words.
The Griffin dolls stood to the side, watching Renault's actions. They were confused and didn't know how to speak, but suddenly, they heard the hatch leading to the interior of the cabin opening.
A group of Rippers emerged from the other side, carrying cleaning tools, stretchers, and other items, and ran toward Renault.
"Sangvis Ferri!?"
Although they had seen Scarecrow and Hunter before, and even watched Alchemist walk out of the hangar nearby, at that time Renault's people were all around them, so they hadn't thought much about it.
But now, seeing so many Rippers rushing toward them, they were shocked and instinctively reached for their weapons.
However, before they could make a move, AR15 stepped forward to block them. "Don't get excited, put your guns down."
Looking at AR15, who was blocking them, Springfield, still covering his abdominal wound, raised his hand to suppress the muzzle of a doll's gun beside him.
Although he was still a little concerned that these Sangvis Ferri dolls might be hostile, Springfield noticed that none of them were carrying weapons.
Additionally, whether it was AR15, SOP2, or Renault, the commander, they all appeared calm, clearly accustomed to this situation.
As it turned out, Springfield's guess was correct. The Rippers went directly to Renault. After listening to his instructions, they began carrying the injured dolls lying on the ground on stretchers, moving them away one by one.
The Sangvis Ferri dolls holding cleaning tools began cleaning the cargo hold. Although the Griffin dolls hadn't thrown trash in the hold, they had rushed in from the battlefield in a hurry. Whether it was mud, sand, or things they had accidentally dropped, everything needed to be cleaned.
The dolls behind Springfield watched the injured dolls being carried away on stretchers and couldn't help but shake their heads anxiously. They looked back and forth between the Rippers and Renault, who had not yet left the cargo hold.
"If you're worried, follow us. Anyway, your injuries are still not healed," Renault said.
The T-dolls nodded in agreement and followed, but they still looked a little nervous.
"So, why did they hide in the box?"
"Maybe they want to stay on the ship with me, just like you."
"Impossible. You don't seem to be very familiar with them, nor me."
SOP2 couldn't even recall having seen these dolls before. There were so many dolls in Griffin that she couldn't have met them all