After loading all the cases into the van, Alex began opening them, searching for a specific device he’d designed for the team’s van. The van itself was sturdy, but if things went south, this module would be a solid advantage.

Focused and under Falco’s watchful gaze, Alex opened case after case. Falco couldn’t take his eyes off the contents, his eyes gleaming when he spotted rare ammo and various useful devices for the van. Finally, Alex found the protective module, picked it up with a smile, and began inspecting it to ensure there were no assembly mistakes.

«What’s that?» Falco asked, stepping closer to examine the device.

Alex quickly looked over the module, confirming it worked fine, although he noticed it used slightly more energy than expected. However, this wouldn’t be an issue, as the van was equipped with a powerful power source.

«It’s a protection module for the van,» he replied, handing the device to Falco.

Falco, holding the module, examined it with interest, trying to understand how it worked. The module resembled an energy shield from a video game, but it was designed to protect the van. After returning it to Alex, he asked, «So how does it work?»

Alex, rubbing his chin, thought about how to explain it simply, so Falco wouldn’t complain about ‘complicated explanations.’

«In short, it creates a protective dome around the van. This will allow us to shoot from inside without stepping outside,» Alex explained with a smile.

«I still don’t understand how you come up with these things,» Falco shook his head, smiling.

«It’s simple: you just need to know what goes where,» Alex shrugged.

«Only you would call that ‘simple,’» Falco muttered, stepping away.

Laughing, Alex called for GIR to help him install the module. GIR nodded, left the van, and followed Alex. Popping the hood open, Alex began looking for the necessary power source wires. With GIR’s assistance, he carefully disconnected the wires and connected the protection module, completing the circuit. GIR handed him tools and parts, speeding up the process.

After 30 minutes, the module was installed. Then Alex and GIR began loading the new rounds into the van’s turrets. Meanwhile, the others were also busy. Lucy and Kiwi were working on the convoy interception plan, discussing the route with Maine, while Rebecca was checking her weapons.

Pilar, her brother, sprawled out on the couch and took a nap, preparing for the upcoming mission. Falco, who’d returned, joined in the ammo prep, occasionally asking questions about their properties. He now clearly understood that Alex wasn’t exaggerating when he said the team could take out half the city if necessary.

Once everything was set, Alex took the driver’s seat and started checking all systems, including the new protective module. He asked Falco to step a few paces away from the van to run a test. When Falco moved back, Alex activated the module, and an energy shield appeared around the van, covering a radius of three meters. Falco, seeing the dome, touched it curiously and was impressed by its reliability.

Satisfied that the module was stable and could run around the clock, Alex deactivated it, climbed out of the van, and handed Falco the control keys.

«Go ahead, have fun with the new toys,» he laughed.

Falco smiled like a kid getting a long-awaited New Year’s gift and immediately dashed back into the van to see what else Alex had installed. GIR followed, clutching Alex’s leg, eagerly asking if there was more to do or if he could rest. Alex’s eye twitched involuntarily — after all, GIR was a robot, not a dog needing rest.

Then he realized that his jealous robo-dog just wanted to go back inside so that MIMI wouldn’t take his place. Shaking GIR off his leg, Alex waved a hand, giving him «permission» to «rest,» or else GIR might start complaining about being tired. Hearing this, GIR dashed into the house on his short legs, and soon, shouts could be heard—MIMI and GIR were already arguing about who should sit on Lucy’s lap. Shaking his head, Alex lit a cigarette, thinking about what else he could do; there was still half a day left before the mission.

«Hey, Alex, come here! Can you help?» came Dorio’s voice from the far end of the garage, where the weightlifting equipment stood.

Alex turned and saw Dorio dressed in a tight tank top and workout shorts. He raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering what she might need. Approaching, he helped her place the barbell back on the rack and get up.

«What’s up?» he asked, handing her a towel.

Dorio, sweaty after her workout, thanked him and started wiping her face. Alex, exhaling smoke, lazily looked over the equipment, recalling the last time he’d been in a gym—back in high school. After leaving the track team, training became a thing of the past. Suddenly, Dorio interrupted his thoughts:

«Want to spar a bit?» she offered, catching his attention.

Alex coughed in surprise and raised an eyebrow, looking at her as if she’d just suggested something absurd.

«Are you sure? You do realize this might not be the best idea?» he asked.

«Yeah, yeah, I know, you’re super strong and all that,» Dorio rolled her eyes. «I just want to test myself.»

«Suit yourself,» Alex shrugged. «But let’s head to the training ground. It’s cramped here, and I don’t want to accidentally break anything.»

They made their way to the training ground, and upon arrival, Alex took off his blue coat, hanging it on a mannequin, and was left in his T-shirt and pants. He decided to give Dorio some time to warm up. Honestly, he’d never sparred seriously with anyone on his team—when training the girls in Danmachi, he’d always avoided landing real hits to prevent accidental injuries. But now, he thought of a way to avoid injuring Dorio by intentionally missing his strikes by mere millimeters.

«Alex, what if you took on leadership of the team?» Dorio asked as she warmed up.

Alex looked at her, puzzled. He’d already turned down the role before, only taking charge when Maine was in rehab after installing Sandy. Technically, he’d been acting as second-in-command for the past few months, finding jobs and distributing tasks among the team.

«No, no, no, I’ve already said I don’t want to. It’s too much hassle,» Alex smirked. «What, you and Maine already planning to retire?»

«Yeah, we’ve discussed it. After the contracts you helped secure, we’ve got enough in our accounts to live comfortably. This mission will be our last; after that, we can buy a house and enjoy life,» Dorio replied, finishing her warm-up. «That’s why I asked. You’d make a good leader.»

Alex sighed in relief. He knew this kind of work could one day end up costing Dorio her life, and he was glad for her and Maine. As she finished stretching, Dorio took a boxer’s stance across from him.

«I’m happy for you two, finally deciding to settle down. But I can’t take command; it doesn’t fit into my plans,» Alex said, assuming his own fighting stance.

He extended one arm forward, tucked the other behind his back, and bent his knees slightly, striking a pose reminiscent of Rock Lee’s. He chose to use taijutsu, his favorite combat style. Dorio wasn’t surprised by his refusal, but she was curious about Alex’s plans after this mission.

«What are your plans, if you don’t mind sharing?» she asked, slowly advancing.

Alex thought for a moment about whether to share his plans, but decided that even if he did, Dorio wouldn’t believe him and would just take it as a joke. After all, who in their right mind would believe that he was planning to fight an evil god threatening to destroy the universe? Right then, Dorio took advantage of the moment to throw a direct punch at his face, which Alex easily dodged by slightly tilting his head. She immediately followed up with a combination of strikes, alternating them to at least land one. Alex, barely moving, dodged or deflected her attacks.

«My plans are pretty simple: I’m going to kill an evil god,» he said with a slight smirk, sidestepping another blow.

Dorio froze for a second, looking at him as if he were insane.

«Sure, and then you, Lucy, Rebecca, and Kiwi will all walk across a rainbow together,» she laughed, resuming her attack.

«No, seriously, I’m planning to take down one very evil god,» Alex replied, cheerfully fending off her strikes.

Dorio just smirked and kept pressing forward, growing a bit irritated that he was constantly dodging or deflecting her punches without even trying to strike back.

«I thought you’d say you were going to marry your girls or throw a grand wedding,» she remarked, aiming at his torso and preparing to deliver an uppercut.

«I’ve already proposed to them, in case you didn’t notice the rings on their fingers,» he replied, casually tilting his head.

Dorio spun around, trying to elbow him in the chest, but Alex easily avoided it.

«Congrats! Maine and I have been thinking about it too, once we retire,» she said, attempting to sweep his legs out from under him.

«I can make you both rings; just let me know what design you want,» Alex responded, lifting his foot to dodge her move. «You’ve seen the design I made for my girls.»

«I have, and I can say they’re beautiful. By the way, are you ever going to actually hit back?» she teased, attacking with a right hook.

Alex stepped back, dodging.

«Are you sure you want me to start attacking?» he asked, looking at her intently.

When Dorio nodded, Alex sighed, deciding to show her one of his strikes.

«Alright, but don’t complain afterward,» he smirked.

Dorio tensed, watching him closely. Alex thought about which move to use and remembered the technique of a well-known medic-ninja. Under her gaze, he suddenly disappeared, leaving only a faint afterimage. Dorio glanced around, confused, until she noticed a shadow blocking the sun. She looked up and saw Alex, his leg raised high above him, ready to slam his heel into the ground beside her.

«You asked for this,» he warned as he began to descend.

In a split second, Alex struck the ground with a thunderous impact. The ground beneath Dorio shook, and she lost her balance, falling as a powerful shockwave raised a cloud of dust around them. Everyone inside ran out, startled by the sudden tremor, and, stepping outside, they saw the training ground hidden in a thick cloud of dust.

With a slight hand movement, Alex dispersed the dust and saw Dorio sitting on the ground, stunned. Surveying the destroyed training ground, she finally understood why he hadn’t attacked her earlier: if the strike had hit her directly, there would have been nothing left of her.

«I told you,» Alex said with a hint of irony, extending a hand to her.

She got up, smiling, and muttered, «You could’ve held back a bit instead of wrecking half the training ground. Weren’t you taught restraint?»

«This was me holding back. Didn’t you see the news about the brawl at Hanako Arasaka’s penthouse?» Alex laughed.

Dorio smiled at Alex’s words but suddenly froze, remembering that report from a few months ago. News was still mentioning Hanako Arasaka’s disappearance, and Dorio felt a sudden urge to know more. But just then, the rest of the group burst outside to assess the situation. Maine and the other guys stood with jaws dropped, staring at the destroyed training ground, while the girls exchanged amused glances, clearly aware of Alex’s strength. He helped Dorio to her feet, and they walked over to join the others.

«Alex, what did you do here?» Maine asked, glancing away from the ruins.

«Oh, we were just sparring with Dorio. She didn’t like that I was only defending, so I decided to throw a single punch,» Alex replied with a slight smile.

Maine looked skeptically at Alex’s smile, then back at the gaping hole in the center of the training ground from which Alex and Dorio had emerged. «One punch?» he managed to say, blinking in astonishment. Pilar whistled, taking in the scale of the destruction, while Falco chuckled and headed back to the van. Alex just shrugged and went back inside. On his way in, he was caught up by the girls, who playfully patted him on the back, teasing him about «showing off.»

Once inside, Alex immediately collapsed onto the couch, closed his eyes, and tried to relax while waiting for the mission to start. Just as he was drifting off, he felt someone climbing onto him. Without opening his eyes, he knew it was Rebecca—she was the only one who loved snuggling up on his chest. The other girls typically preferred hugging his arm. Alex was nearly asleep when an argument flared up between Rebecca and MIMI, who clearly wasn’t thrilled with Rebecca’s choice of spot. Ignoring the noise, Alex drifted off to sleep.

While he slept peacefully, the rest of the team was discussing details of the upcoming operation, checking the convoy’s route map. Alex didn’t need to review the plan; he’d already devised a strategy the moment he saw the route and had made sure to pack the necessary «toys» to stop the convoy.

Time flew, and he was woken by Lucy, gently poking his nose. Opening his eyes, Alex asked what was up. Lucy said it was time to get ready. He nodded and woke Rebecca and MIMI, who were both cozily settled on his chest. MIMI woke up instantly, but Rebecca stubbornly refused to get up, so Alex ended up carrying her to the car.

Once everyone was settled in the vehicle, Alex signaled to Falco to take the lead. Their destination was a secluded road, rarely used but frequently traveled by corporate convoys. They stopped on a hill overlooking the road, and Alex and the girls stepped out of the car. Maine, sitting on the hood of Alex’s car, asked with interest, «I hope you’ve got something to stop the convoy?»

Alex nodded, opened the trunk, and started pulling out a few cases he’d stashed there in advance. Seeing that he was struggling, he called Maine and Pilar over for help. They grabbed the cases and brought them to the rest of the group.

«What kind of toys have you got in there?» Pilar asked curiously, reaching out for one of the cases, only to get a slap on the hand from his sister.

«First up—two blue cases with an eagle emblem for GIR,» Alex said, placing them in front of the robo-dog.

«Is it what I think it is?» GIR growled excitedly, rubbing his paws together.

«Yep, it’s the one. Now go suit up,» Alex said, patting him on the head.

GIR happily dashed behind the car, carrying his cases, under MIMI’s envious gaze. Maine tried to peek behind the vehicle to understand what kind of armor Alex had made for GIR.

«What’s that armor you’ve created for your crazy robo-dog?» Maine asked, trying to get a glimpse of what was in GIR’s cases.

«It’s Adeptus Astartes armor, or Death Angel Armor. The problem is, the average height of a Primaris is about 240 centimeters, so I had to adjust everything to fit GIR’s smaller size,» Alex explained, stroking his chin as he watched GIR disappear from view.

Maine didn’t understand a word of Alex’s explanation and turned to the girls for help. Lucy just sighed, pulled out a tablet, and showed Maine an image of the armor Alex had created for GIR. Upon seeing the model of the armor and the imposing height of a Primaris, Maine finally understood why Alex mentioned the difficulties of resizing the armor for the little robo-dog. He shook his head, mentally noting that it was indeed a bit crazy. Meanwhile, Alex noticed the questions had stopped and turned his gaze to the sulking MIMI, who was glaring at GIR as he tried on his new armor.

«Don’t be sad, MIMI, I’ve got something for you too,» Alex said, placing a black-and-gold case with an eagle emblem in front of her.

MIMI’s eyes lit up, and she quickly grabbed the cases, rushing to the van to change into her new armor and GIR up.

«And what did you come up with for MIMI?» Dorio asked, watching as MIMI awkwardly hobbled away, carrying the heavy cases.

«Since MIMI is a girl, she can’t be Adeptus Astartes. So, she considers herself part of the Adeptus Sororitas, or, as they’re known, the Daughters of the Emperor. She’s supposed to wear the armor of this organization. However, given the height of the Adeptus Sororitas, which is almost two meters, I had to work quite a bit to shrink the armor without losing any of its functionality,» Alex replied, placing a hand on his forehead as he remembered how much effort it took to come up with this solution.

He had spent a long time trying to find the optimal balance, even considering making the armor like a mech that GIR and MIMI could remotely control, or like robots with pilots inside. But knowing that GIR was absolutely against such an idea, he abandoned it. The final version worked out well, although it added ten centimeters to the height of both.

«You spoil them,» Dorio shook her head with a smirk.

«It’s better this way than listening to endless complaints and quotes from the Codices about how, without armor, they’re unworthy of the Emperor,» Alex sighed, looking up at the sky.

The other girls nodded in agreement: Lucy and Kivi were especially troubled by the quotes and lectures. Lucy once asked GIR about the Codex Astartes, and he spent the whole day following her around, quoting every line. Kivi had experienced MIMI’s passion for the Adeptus Sororitas Codex firsthand and later recalled that day with exhaustion, collapsing onto the bed without strength. Rebecca was less affected—she was interested in learning about the weapons of these organizations, although even her patience sometimes ran out due to the long explanations.

«Alright, we get it. So, what have you prepared for us?» Maine asked eagerly, rubbing his hands together.

Alex nodded and opened the cases: Maine received a new shotgun, the Lucius Mk 22c model with a drum magazine. Dorio got reinforced «Power Fist» gloves, although Alex warned that they might be difficult to use against fast enemies. Dorio waved her hand and immediately began trying them on. Alex then handed Pilar a sniper rifle, which he frowned at disapprovingly.

«A sniper rifle? Give me something that explodes, not just shoots,» Pilar grumbled, but didn’t give the weapon back.

«You already have a grenade launcher. Here are new ammo rounds, now shut up,» Alex waved his hand dismissively, placing a case of new ammunition in front of Pilar.

Smiling widely, Pilar began happily distributing the rounds into his pockets. Falco received a new submachine gun, thanked Alex, and started examining it. Once the distribution was done, Alex opened the last two cases. One contained powerful energy shields for the team, and the other held two EMP bombs to stop the convoy.

«What’s this?» Maine asked with interest, seeing the contents of the cases.

«One case has energy shields, the other has EMP bombs. With these, we can safely stop the convoy,» Alex explained, handing out the shields to the team and placing the bombs on the hood of his car.

After making sure everyone had the necessary equipment, Alex lit a cigarette and decided to wait for GIR and MIMI to finish preparing. Ten minutes later, GIR returned in blue armor, holding a power hammer and a Boltgun. Then, MIMI appeared in black-and-gold armor with a power mace and a shield.

When everyone was ready, Alex put the empty cases in the trunk and summoned Yamato, returning to the group with a katana in his hands. The girls looked surprised at Yamato instead of the usual Muramasa, and Maine smirked.

«Look at that, you got yourself a new toy too.»

«It’s not new. This is Yamato — a gift from my father,» Alex replied with a proud smile.

Maine’s eyes widened at Alex’s words. He knew nothing about Alex’s family and was greatly surprised.

«So, it’s a family heirloom or something like that? Aren’t you afraid it’ll break?» Maine asked, looking at Alex with curiosity.

«Yeah, something like a family heirloom. You don’t have to worry about its durability. You’ll be even more surprised by its sharpness,» Alex replied with a smile, his confidence obvious.

Maine didn’t say anything else; his mind was already occupied with other thoughts. Meanwhile, Alex asked to open the map on the tablet to choose a location for placing the EMP bombs to intercept the convoy. The group gathered for a meeting to discuss the best spots to place the charges. Alex suggested putting one at the end of the convoy and the other in the middle.

«What do you think of this plan?» Maine asked, trying to get Alex’s opinion.

«I think this way we’ll block the beginning and end of the convoy, and we’ll just intercept the vehicle leading the way with force. Our main goal is to eliminate the guards without damaging the transport itself, so when we leave, it won’t attract too much attention,» Alex explained, adding more confidence to his voice.

«I agree,» Dorio said, nodding. «It’s hard to avoid attracting attention with such a large transport, and if we damage it, we’ll definitely get caught.»

After marking the two spots on the map, Alex handed the charge to Maine, so he could install it in his area. Alex took the second one and headed to his designated spot. While they were setting up the EMPs, doubts gnawed at him about the cargo and the order itself, with Faraday acting as the intermediary. But he was ready for anything: he had given each member of the group an energy shield to ensure their safety before they reached the van.

After placing the charges underground, Alex noticed Maine waving, signaling that he was done too. Alex nodded, took out a cigarette, and lit it, lost in thought about the so-called experimental weapon — the suit that was supposed to be some secret development from Arasaka. But his intuition told him that the suit was not as simple as it seemed at first glance, especially considering that all the volunteers had died while wearing it.

Glancing at the time, Alex realized that the convoy should appear in about an hour. That left just a little more time to get ready.

To be continued…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep