Sixty-five years ago, the Nanomachine Swarm went out of control.
The war had been going on for so long. It was almost impossible to tell what started it all, and it was impossible to figure out who started the war first. But at least there was a consensus that the Nanomachine Swarm went out of control sixty-five years ago was definitely the deadliest fuse.
The largest nano sea in the northern hemisphere had eroded the protective wall after it went out of control, destroying three surrounding cities in an instant. The place where the Nanomachine Swarm had ravaged was still a no-life zone. Because the soil and environment had been completely changed, there were no longer any plants. The water was also filled with highly toxic chemicals and the remnants of the Nanomachine Swarm that had not completely lost their vitality. Less than half of the explorers who ventured into the dead zone came back alive.
But it was incredible that although the Nanomachine Swarm had eroded everything around it, there was still a place that survived. That was the Northern Ring Tower in the center of the nano sea. No one could explain this phenomenon, and Nolan was going to that place this time.
Almost no one would want to go to the dead zone. The land destroyed by the Nanomachine Swarm could not be of much value. So except for a few powerful forces who had special ideas about pre-war technology, few people went to the ruins in the north. The biggest problem to go to the ruins was the lack of a guide. Only a few people could survive the ruins, and Nolan was one of them. Such a guide was expensive, and most of the time, there was no market for it. Not everyone was willing to exchange their lives for money.
Nolan stated the high price that the White River Merchant Guild had offered for this business. The surrounding mercenaries started to waver. Many of them were tempted by the price, but the death rate after entering the Northern Ruins was as high as 50%, which made them flinch. Nolan also knew this, so she did not order them but let them decide for themselves whether to go or not. While the mercenaries were whispering, Ulyanov was the first to step forward. "I'll go with you."
Hao Ren understood the relationship between Ulyanov and the place after learning about the Northern Ring Tower. This man was the only survivor of the accident sixty-five years ago. Maybe he had some unfulfilled wishes.
Hao Ren waited for Ulyanov to finish before he stepped forward. "I'll go too."
Nolan looked at Hao Ren in surprise. "You?"
"I'm also a little interested in the Northern Ring Tower." Hao Ren smiled. "Anyway, you're short of hands, right? You don't mind taking me along."
"But you're not a mercenary." Nolan frowned. "Aren't you not interested in being a mercenary?"
Hao Ren casually explained, "I just don't like being controlled by others. This time, I'm here to help. What do you think? It's not a lot to bring me along, and I don't need you guys to take care of me on the way. Just treat it as an extra piece of luggage … "
Nolan had probably never seen such a carefree guy in her life. Her eyes widened even though she was usually expressionless. "You make it sound so easy? Do you know where the Northern Ring Tower is? "
Hao Ren nodded. "I know, it's a slim chance of survival, but I'm not afraid of death. Also, if there's any danger, you can just run. You don't even have to worry about me. Are these conditions generous enough? Do you want me to write a guarantee, make a will in advance, and say that my life and death have nothing to do with you? "
Nolan stared at Hao Ren from head to toe. Suddenly, a look of realization dawned on her face. "Oh, I know. You want to die, right?"
Hao Ren was speechless.
He just wanted to dispel Nolan's doubts and let her bring him along. He never thought that the misunderstanding could be magnified!
Even Ulyanov patted him on the shoulder. "You're a good man. You don't have to waste your life in this way. There's still a long way to go. Life … "
Hao Ren jumped up. "Why do you all think I'm crazy?! I just want to go and help! "
He nagged at Nolan for a long time before she finally agreed to let him go with the team as an outsider. When it was finally settled, Hao Ren was still grumbling in his mind: there were so many Grey Fox mercenaries around, but they refused to go, and he, a fighter who came voluntarily, was rejected. How much effort did it take …
Nolan was even more emotional than Hao Ren. She had seen a lot of suicidal people, but this type was rare. Love was really blind. The pain of losing his spouse had probably made this man want to die. She had no choice but to bring Hao Ren to his death with the mentality of saving the world …
Fortunately, Hao Ren could not read minds. Otherwise, the things that Nolan had in her mind would have been enough to make him bleed.
Seeing that her other subordinates were still hesitating and discussing, Nolan waved her hand to dismiss them. "The rest of you, go back and think about it. Karl, give me a name list by evening. I want to decide on the members by noon tomorrow. We'll depart tomorrow afternoon."
After everyone left, Hao Ren and Ulyanov went back to the barracks. Perhaps because they were going to the ruins of the north together, Ulyanov had more trust in Hao Ren. He patted Hao Ren on the shoulder. "You still have time to think about it. Go back and think about whether you should waste your life. Nolan won't say anything if you quit tomorrow."
"You sound like I'm going to die." Hao Ren looked at Ulyanov's shiny visor, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "I know you think I'm seeking death after my wife died … I can't explain it now, but don't worry, I treasure my life. I'm going to the Northern Ring Tower because I have something I care about and want to investigate. That place may be dangerous, but it's not a one-way trip. "
"Before I met Nolan, I had ventured into it once. At that time, I was still the leader of a small mercenary organization." Ulyanov paused. "We didn't even make it to the outermost area before we were all dead. Don't underestimate that place. The ruins of the north swallowed a lot of unlucky guys every year. "
Hao Ren looked at Ulyanov. "Since it's so dangerous, why do you still want to go there?"
He had asked this question before, but Ulyanov did not answer. Now that the two were about to set foot on the dangerous territory together, Ulyanov could no longer hide it. "I've said it before. Sixty-five years ago, I was a researcher working near the Nanomachine Swarm."
Hao Ren nodded and waited for Ulyanov to continue.
"My wife was the operator of the 'Master' computer," Ulyanov said slowly. "When the Nanomachine Swarm went out of control, the Northern Ring Tower automatically closed itself. All the staff were locked inside, and the Nanomachine Swarm did not invade the Ring Tower. So the people inside survived until the last moment."
Hao Ren's eyes widened. "You want to …"
"I just want to find her relics … or bones." Ulyanov shook his head. "They must still be there."
After saying this, Ulyanov walked away without looking back, leaving Hao Ren in a daze.
The voice of the MDT rang in his mind. "Compared to you, a fake love addict, this is the real man. He probably lived until now because of this."
Hao Ren was not in the mood to bicker with the MDT. He just went back to his room in silence.
As soon as he opened the door, he heard a hoarse and weird female voice coming from the front. "Yo, partner, welcome back."
Hao Ren was startled by the voice. He looked up and saw a blonde girl leaning against the corner of the wall not far in front of him.
The girl's body was stained with blood, and her face was pale. Half of her body was limp, and the other half was trying to keep her balance.
Khiton's personal computer was on the ground next to her. She was using one hand to operate the keyboard.
Such a difficult movement, coupled with the blood on her body, she looked miserable and pitiful. If her body was not a brick, Hao Ren would have felt sorry for her.
The blonde girl shook her head slightly as if she wanted to look up at Hao Ren. But she quickly gave up. "Sorry, the drive seems to be still unstable. I … can't lift my head."
Hao Ren quickly turned and closed the door, fearing that someone would see him. He then quickly came up to the MDT. "Can you speak?"
"Barely." The MDT spoke. Not only was its tone weird and intermittent, it sounded like a child who had just learned to speak. "Speaking of which, this body is really hard to control. I couldn't even stand up after falling a few times. Luckily, I finally learned how to crawl."
As she said, she grabbed the edge of the bed and tried to climb up. Hao Ren noticed that she could only move one arm and one leg, so he quickly went up to help. After putting her on the bed, Hao Ren said seriously, "Let me check your body."
The girl was shocked. "You finally decided to do something to your PDA?!"
"Get lost! I have to figure out how you work!"
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