Eh? Do you also want to try the iron fist of the humanoid girl?

To the panicked people at the time, this was a completely failed measure.

But from now on, that is, after the city's population density has dropped significantly, the number of newly ill citizens has decreased significantly.

why?

It's simple. The surviving citizens reduced the number of times they went out and began to pay attention to personal protection and food safety.

According to incomplete statistics, the number of deaths due to conflicts in recent days is likely to have exceeded the number of "normal deaths from illness."

Perhaps the situation outside New York City was not very good, but it was not to the point where the city and state governments had to declare their dissolution. Noah was able to confirm this conjecture through the airdrop dispatch and radio monitoring of supplies that took place every two days on average.

Airdropping supplies may sound simple, but it actually requires the cooperation of a large number of professionals, including logistics, ground staff, crew members, and airport personnel, all working together to complete the task.

The preparation of supplies requires a systematic logistics system. If all government agencies, large and small, like New York, stop operating, there will be no airdrops at fixed times and scales.

In addition, using transport planes to drop supplies at low altitudes over cities also tests the crew's flying skills and their control over the aircraft.

“Damn you politicians.”

Captain Noah looked resentfully at the large supply box with the words "US Army" and "SHD" painted on it not far away. No matter who the things in it were intended for, now that they were in their hands, they would never give them up again.

Chapter 20 Declaration of Rebellion (Seeking votes and support)

New York Public Library, temporary base of the 2nd Ranger Battalion.

What a shitty Joint Task Force, a bunch of useless bastards who only hold us back!

Laurent Noah drove behind the trailer and turned to Schneider Wearer, who was operating the M2HB heavy machine gun, and said:

"Turn off all the safety devices. If anyone dares to come close to me, I will shoot them!"

Schneider kicked Noah's chair first, then yelled at the top of his voice: "Sir, are you serious?"

"Just do it, you fucking bastard!" Noah growled impatiently.

For some of them, the commander's words were an answer to their prayers after a week of caffeine, sleep deprivation, boredom and anticipation.

For them, the war shifted from a matter of completing the mission to a matter of survival.

At about 4 a.m., the D Company's demolition experts successfully destroyed the container's security system. Charles Bliss and his deputy executive officer stood outside, watching the container's condition in silence.

"These are not supplies!" the soldier who was checking at the door of the container shouted, "These are special equipment issued to SHD!"

"Look what's there," Bliss said.

"Uh……"

Robert Armitage, holding a flashlight, said to the cargo list:

"AR fusion contact lenses and maintenance tools, 50 sets; tracking mines (consumables), 100 sets; reflective sticky bombs and launchers, 50 sets; portable autonomous machine gun towers, 50 sets..."

Bliss didn't want to listen anymore. They had no shortage of combat equipment. What they really lacked were personal protection and disinfection equipment, as well as the fundamentals to sustain their continued existence.

Besides, how much combat demand is there in New York?

For a moment, the only sound was the wind whirring through the parking lot.

45 minutes later, the Rangers began to build fortifications with the materials they had on hand. Several people gathered around the bullet-riddled Humvee and laughed loudly about the battles of the previous few days.

Their faces were covered with dust, sand, gun oil, tobacco stains, and dirty water from the ground.

No one had taken a shower or changed clothes, and they had been wearing chemical protective suits for 10 days.

Most of the men had not tidied themselves since they were ordered into New York, because all the mirrors and reflective surfaces on the Humvees had been broken in previous missions assigned by the Department of Defense.

After waiting for the disinfectant to dry completely, they took off their chemical protective suits, hugged each other, and laughed, enjoying a bit of immoral pleasure from seeing each other's embarrassed faces.

The teeth exposed on the dirty face seemed to appear even whiter.

It seems that everyone has forgotten that the previous combat environment was full of deadly radiation.

The oldest member of the platoon was 35-year-old Master Sergeant Mike Wayne, who moved among the men, holding their heads and shaking them like puppets.

"Rangers!"

He kept repeating it in his thick Texas accent, and someone immediately responded, “Lead the way!”

"What idiot bastard sent us to that place?"

Caesar Colclaw asked. The tobacco spit from his mouth was blown away by the strong wind and fell on the faces of several companions around him like drizzle.

"This has to be the dumbest thing we've ever done."

Caesar seemed to be having a hard time controlling himself, and kept complaining:

"When we went underground, I had only one thought in my mind..."

He continued excitedly:

"Those guys were like cockroaches, they kept popping out and shooting at us, it was fucking terrible."

Culturally, it was impossible for the Rangers to gain recognition from their predecessors in the “Greatest Generation”—the Americans who fought in the war.

They are a generation brought up in the cultural atmosphere of "Hip-Hop" subculture, Michael Jackson and Tucker Carlson.

For them, "Asshole" and "Fuck" are endearing terms.

Some of them were former members of juvenile gangs, while others were new Christians saved by holy water;

Many people cannot live without drugs every day before joining the army; and many of them dream of leaving the army one day and getting close to the drugs they have missed for a long time again.

These young people generally represent today’s outcast group.

Mike Wayne allowed the young men in the platoon to vent their anxiety and anger. He had read the information of many people in the company, and more than half of them came from broken families, raised by single parents who were not at home all day and worked outside.

Many people are more familiar with games, TV dramas and the unbridled pornographic content on the Internet than with their parents.

Before the uncontrolled expansion of the "war on terror," no one had much hope for this generation, except that they would stay in high school and avoid more school massacres like the Columbine High School massacre.

Wayne returns from Iraq to discover that the invasion was just another battle in a war with no end.

Worse still, the “war on terror” has only accelerated a trend that began in Somalia, Haiti, and Kosovo in the 20s: the beacon has strengthened its role as world policeman, but has made the world situation worse.

He also knew a joke that had only been circulated among the Marines before:

"Once we're done here, we'll attack North Korea. We'll invade Iran, Russia, and XX, and then we'll invade space or underground. Wherever there's oil, we'll be there."

Although the commander-in-chief tells them that they are fighting in Iraq today to defend freedom, few would be surprised to discover that they are actually fighting to seize the oil.

In a sense, it was expected that someone would lie to them.

They are the first group of young people to be thrown into an endless war since the Vietnam War, and they are no different from their predecessors who joined the battlefield a few years earlier.

Young men who grew up inspired by "Davy Crockett" realized that their president was deceiving them when they fought in the jungles of Southeast Asia.

And today's young people are still willing to sacrifice their lives for politicians' hypocritical excuses.

Mike Wayne couldn't figure it out, and he suddenly grinned. If he could figure it out, he wouldn't be showing up in downtown New York today as a Ranger sergeant.

The wind and snow began to intensify, and the sky gradually changed from white to gray.

Wayne looked back and found that the battalion commander who was there just now was gone.

At this time, Bliss's voice came over the camp radio and he began his speech.

"...I won't introduce myself for now, everyone knows who I am...I'm Charles Bliss, Lieutenant Colonel of the Army, and your battalion commander.

From the moment I first put on the uniform, I knew I was on a path I was meant to take, and I knew I had to carry the weight of my life. Even if our military turned away from us, my loyalty remained.

The men and women of the 2nd Ranger Battalion take their duties seriously. We will accomplish our mission, and we will serve the Constitution with honor and dignity.

And if we have to, we’ll fight until the last man is down, because that’s who we are and that’s what we do.”

Bliss took some time to explain to all officers and soldiers the current situation in New York, the Department of Defense's unacceptable attitude towards them, and what was happening in downtown New York.

They have to face the double blow of unexplained nuclear radiation and a deadly virus that causes pus-filled sores all over the body.

Things got out of control faster than the New York City and state governments could understand, and even the White House couldn't figure out what was going on.

Things got out of control before they signed the order.

The only thing that works is to exert strong authority over the residents of New York. When people are panicked and angry, that's when they do stupid things and threaten the lives of others.

Bliss had seen it too many times in Iraq and Syria. Every time it happened, they had to suppress their instinctive impulses and implement a zero-tolerance policy. There was no other way - severe punishments were needed in troubled times!

"Look..."

A giant screen was erected in front of the New York Public Library.

The projector projected the computer images onto the screen. The most eye-catching thing was the "JTF" logo and the results of their actions over the past few days.

"That's the capability of the Joint Operations Force in the middle of Manhattan, and that's why they cordon it off and call it the 'Dark Zone.' That's an appalling term for a completely lawless area.

There is no way to monitor or control it, and you can’t let this happen under your nose.”

"Sir, isn't our goal to evacuate here?" A young man's voice interrupted the radio.

"We do need to find a way to evacuate, but it is not the time to leave yet. Are you willing to let this great city become a God-forsaken place? Are you willing to let the hard work of many days of fighting go to waste? Sorry, we can't do this."

The young soldier replied, "Yes, sir."

"The point is, this proves that our operations are more efficient and methodical, so we get twice the results with half the manpower. The continued failure of the combined forces in the Dark Zone is exactly why the city needs the Rangers."

Bliss probably took a short break, and the sound of him drinking water to moisten his throat could be heard through the speaker.

"Now, what we need to do is assess our resources and confirm our mission objectives. The goal is clear - we must regain control and recover the resources we left behind, and we cannot miscalculate the situation.

Every soldier is a life, every soldier is a valuable asset, but we have no reinforcements to rely on, no support from the air.

We must act steadily and retake the city step by step, but we must also cherish our lives.

I need you all to be ready, to make quick judgments, to kill innocent people rather than let the guilty escape. Even if you can't be 100% sure, you'd rather shoot first than risk being shot.

This is how we win this war, with predictable collateral damage..."

Mike Wayne opened his eyes wide and opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, but nothing came out.

The speech by the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bliss, was like dropping a bomb on the crowd.

Chapter 21: The Doll Lady is Not Energetic

The long-awaited night finally came.

The convoy coming over the Williamsburg Bridge appeared in front of Raphael, and the leading National Guard came up to greet her.

"Sir, do you remember me?" said the lieutenant.

"Why are you here?" Raphael asked. She remembered this guy - Joey Denny. He was a sergeant when they first met.

"We are a volunteer exploration team, ordered to come in to investigate the pollution in the central city and set up a bridgehead. We will also deliver ammunition and food to you, sir."

Joey Denny directed the others to slowly clear out the debris in the basement, while building an outer defense position supported by three Hummers.

Finally, the 5-ton military truck loaded with various supplies drove into the underground parking lot of the residential building.

This time they carried enough supplies and ammunition to sustain an infantry platoon for half a month, as well as precision observation instruments specifically used to analyze and record the type of radiation emitted from the central city area.

"Sir, basic disinfection is completed." Dalton ran over and said.

“What about the radiation contamination level?”

“It’s within the safe range, but the number is still high.”

Danny shouted to the others, "It's not very safe here, be careful!" After he sternly said this to the others, he continued to exchange information with Raphael.

The Lex Gang, the Purifiers, and the Rangers who are stationed in the public library and are constantly expanding their territory.

She preferred to refer to the Rangers as the "Survivor Army," a group of several hundred men she had heard Colonel Bliss's speech on the Army's radio channel when he was broadcasting that day.

To satisfy her curiosity and also to meet the needs of her employer, she found a soldier who was "accidentally" left alone while on patrol - Russell Koufax, a sergeant.

He very generously provided a copy of the recording, and in return Raphael gave him a ticket out of Manhattan.

Russell Koufax decided he was tired of the bullshit and evasiveness of the battalion commander and other bureaucrats, and that someone had to speak the truth.

He said: "Especially the senior officials up there, they are just crazy."

"Well, I've been with these guys for six years now, and before that I've been in exercises for the United States, I've been on three continents, I've been a peacemaker and coach, and I've been the personal bodyguard for presidents of countries whose names you may have never even heard of.

I've been through all kinds of shit during my service, so I'm pretty experienced, but when it comes to what's happening right now, I've never encountered anything like it since I was born, but this isn't a good thing..."