Chapter 88 88: Hell’s Kitchen
Unfortunately, no one paid Blackheart any attention at all.
That only made him feel even more humiliated. He trembled with anger, his limbs icy cold.
Though, of course, a demon like him didn't really possess body heat to begin with.
"How was it, Natasha?"
Standing not far away with his arms crossed, Reacher spoke in a deep voice.
"Our methods of attack have flaws when it comes to demons," Natasha said as she shook her hand lightly. "We have to rely on equipment engraved with magical runes in order to actually harm them. That's a serious problem."
Golden runes glimmered faintly across the black leather gloves she wore.
Over the past three days, the soldiers fighting Blackheart had not merely been engaging in practical combat training. They had also been using him to verify and analyze various issues.
"Then let's discuss that problem properly."
Reacher nodded before glancing toward the others.
"The rest of you, continue."
With that, he left together with Natasha, leaving behind a group of eager soldiers from the two warbands, along with Blackheart's powerless furious roars.
The two returned to the meeting room.
Reacher walked over to a shelf and handed Natasha a bucket of water.
An actual bucket.
A ten-liter one designed like an oversized mug complete with a handle. One only had to tear open the straw interface to drink.
This was specifically designed to hydrate these super-soldiers.
As their physical abilities continued to grow stronger, the amount of food and nutrients their bodies required increased accordingly, and naturally, so did their need for water.
Hydration was just as important as food itself.
Of course, there was a difference between combat conditions and normal daily life.
During high-intensity battles, the body essentially became a tightly coordinated machine operating at maximum speed to maintain prolonged combat capability.
In everyday situations, however, that level of consumption wasn't necessary.
Natasha had just finished a battle and clearly needed hydration, which showed how attentive Reacher truly was in these matters.
After thanking him, Natasha took the oversized mug, tore open the interface, and began to drink through the straw. In a short time, the water in the bucket visibly depleted until it was completely drained.
"We lack equivalent lethal techniques," Natasha said, getting straight to the point after finishing her drink. She voiced her observations from the past three days.
"Agreed," Reacher nodded. "Against ordinary humans, including mutants, we possess overwhelming lethality. But against those kinds of creatures, it isn't enough."
The "creatures" he referred to were not limited to demons alone.
The Warbands had been personally created by their boss from the ground up. As warband commanders, Reacher and Natasha naturally could not remain simple frontline soldiers who only charged into battle for Matthew.
Aside from managing their forces daily, they also had to constantly think about how to compensate for the warbands' various weaknesses.
"For now, the armor, combat suits, and gloves are barely sufficient," Natasha said after a brief thought. "But ideally, we need weapons."
"You mean energy weapons?"
Reacher raised an eyebrow, immediately understanding the deeper meaning behind Natasha's suggestion.
Milson's technology department had recently begun researching energy weapons. Although the project was highly classified, both of them were fully aware of it.
"We need those things. Not only to compensate for the shortcomings in the warbands' weaponry, but also to meet the demands of large-scale destructive warfare from the rear lines."
Natasha was a spy, but she also understood how a true military force functioned once it reached a large enough scale.
Drawing from the operational thinking of modern armies, she naturally considered the coordination of land, sea, and air forces.
The individual combat ability of the Astartes and Raven soldiers was beyond question. They unquestionably surpassed any known military force, and even fighting extraordinary creatures like demons posed no issue for them.
The problem was that their methods of attack were far too limited.
When facing enemies, all they could really do was rush forward and engage in close combat.
That was not healthy.
For now, it was manageable. But in the future, once large-scale wars began—whether against demons or civilizations beyond Earth—the warbands' current combat style would no longer be enough.
It might even become downright foolish.
As a former soldier, Reacher naturally understood what Natasha meant.
He pulled over a chair and dropped heavily into it, crossing his arms while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"These things have to be developed step by step."
"We can learn from the structure of modern militaries, but our weapons and equipment all need upgrades and iteration."
"In large-scale warfare, we'll need fleets. We'll need heavy firepower. All of that has to be built. Especially now that magic exists—it can definitely be integrated into our systems."
"It's just…"
"It's just that we need people capable of learning magic, understanding the relevant theories, and applying magical runes and magic arrays to our weapons and equipment," Natasha smoothly continued his thought.
"Exactly." Reacher nodded. "I'm sure the Boss is already considering this issue."
Otherwise, where did the armor and combat suits of the two warbands come from in the first place?
"Building all this will take time. Our first priority is still solving immediate problems. So once the energy weapon technology is fully understood and developed, maybe it can be combined with magical runes?" Reacher said uncertainly.
That area truly wasn't his expertise.
"Maybe. We can bring it up with the Boss later."
Natasha nodded.
She liked weapons.
Although she was an expert in hand-to-hand combat, she still preferred having a weapon in her hands.
Just as the two continued discussing details, a knock suddenly interrupted them.
Reacher raised an eyebrow.
"Come in."
The meeting room door opened, revealing Neagley.
"Reacher, I need to leave for a while," she said the moment she entered.
"Need help?"
"Not sure yet." Neagley sounded helpless. "A kid I've known online for a long time sent me a distress signal. I need to go check on her."
"Fine. Do you need manpower?"
"Hey, beautiful lady, got time?" Neagley immediately turned toward Natasha.
Natasha's brows lifted slightly. "Of course."
"Good. Then we're leaving immediately."
Neagley liked Natasha's decisiveness.
The two women quickly left the meeting room, while Reacher said nothing further. In his view, dispatching two super soldiers was already enough to handle the overwhelming majority of problems.
And if it somehow wasn't enough—
There were still over a thousand more on the island.
Soon afterward, Neagley and Natasha boarded a transport aircraft and departed from the island.
Inside the aircraft's resting cabin beneath the dark night sky, Neagley began explaining the situation to Natasha.
"A few years ago, I met a girl online. She's extremely talented with computers. We interacted a lot, and eventually became friends."
"We've stayed in contact ever since. But about thirty minutes ago, she sent an SOS signal through one of my private network channels."
"I traced her recent activity online and found out she had been investigating a criminal together with another girl named Jessica Jones. Then both of them disappeared completely in Hell's Kitchen, New York."
"Someone likely cut off their communications."
Neagley didn't seem overly nervous. After everything she had already experienced, this situation wasn't enough to shake her. She was simply worried about the girl's safety.
"Hell's Kitchen in New York?" Natasha said. "I've heard of it before. It's one of the most chaotic places in the entire city."
Even someone whose activities were mostly outside the United States knew Hell's Kitchen by reputation.
It was practically synonymous with filth, chaos, and crime.
"Which is why we need to hurry," Neagley said as she leaned back into her seat. "I was actually planning to recruit her into the Intelligence Department."
At this point, all she could do was hope the girl was still alive by the time they arrived.
...
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