Three armored vehicles drove in a single file across the desolate field, the distinctive emblem of the gray fox shining on the side armor of each vehicle. The dry plain wind whipped up sand and dust and slapped the hull of the vehicle, while the last silhouette of the city was getting farther and farther behind the convoy until it finally disappeared.
Around this lonely convoy, there are no traces of human beings, and as far as the eyes can see, there are only jagged rocks and potholes. Together, it almost gives people the illusion that the whole world has turned into a ball of yellow sand. The convoy is now driving on a boulevard that is theoretically an interstate highway, but now only a little cement residue can be discerned on the side of the road: the forces of nature have easily erased the traces of civilization that once existed here After more than 60 years of weathering, the solid concrete road is no different from the surrounding gravel wilderness.
This is the mercenary troop that is about to go to the ruins of the Northland, led by Nolan himself. After setting off from Black Street, they went straight west to the Gray River. Hao Ren was with them. The team set off yesterday afternoon, and they have been marching non-stop for nearly 20 hours now, and the ruins of the city that disappeared into the horizon just now are the last district of Rift Valley—it is said that there will be no more towns going on until the Gray River. See any urban ruins, and for the next two or three days, this desolate wilderness will be the only view on the road.
Hao Ren, Nolan and the others rode the second armored vehicle together. The vehicles, with their spacious interiors, appear to have been specially adapted for transporting people, and the one in the middle is the most heavily guarded: Gray Fox's clientele is here.
Two expressionless men were sitting at the back of the carriage, wearing uniforms different from those of the mercenaries. It was said that they were researchers from the Baihe Chamber of Commerce, and two other senior bodyguards from the Baihe Chamber of Commerce sat on both sides. To protect the researchers and monitor the work of the gray fox mercenaries. It was Nolan's job to escort the four safely to the North Ring Tower—and get at least one of the researchers back alive.
The above is the original text of the entrustment sent by the Baihe Chamber of Commerce.
These four "clients" hardly talked to the mercenaries, they only occasionally discussed things in a low voice, and tried to avoid being heard by others. It's obviously meaningless to pay attention to these people, so Hao Ren turned his head to look at the display screen embedded in the car, and he could see the situation outside the armored car on the screen. But the scenery outside is just the same wasteland. Ulanov muttered in a low voice, "Even the rangers can't survive in this damn place."
"Relax. We are now in the safest area in the world," Nolan sat on the opposite side of the carriage, with his hands behind his head, his eyes slightly narrowed, and his feet resting on the steel railing in front of him indecently , "There are no human beings in this place, and the only danger is the highly poisonous soil and water."
Carl huddled in a corner of the car with his large rifle in his arms. After hearing Nolan's words, he sniffed: "Hiss, that's really safe."
Hao Ren looked at the four members of the Baihe Chamber of Commerce sitting at the end of the carriage, and sat down next to Nolan: "Do you know what they are going to do?"
"I don't know," Nolan said lacking in interest, "I don't inquire about customers when I do business. This is the secret of my survival today. Don't know what you shouldn't know."
She paused, noticing that the curious look on Hao Ren's face hadn't faded, she shrugged and lowered her voice: "Probably aimed at mastering the computer. The control program of the nano-scale cluster before the war, and the control program that didn't have time to control it back then." The blueprints of the next-generation nano-machine group transferred from the center... It is said that they are all hidden deep in the ring tower of the Northland. As long as any force can get a little bit of information, it will be developed. The guys who have gone to the Northland these years are basically rushing to the Northland. with those things."
"Pre-war technology..." Hao Ren muttered in a low voice, "Can it really be useful..."
"Why did you go there again?" Nolan raised one eyelid. "I heard that you buried your wife in the field outside Heijie in the morning, so it seems that you didn't go to the Northland to die."
Hao Ren twitched his lips helplessly: "I've always been in a normal state of mind, okay? I went to the North Ring Tower just to confirm some things... Anyway, there is no conflict of interest with you. It's just a ride with you."
Nolan suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Hao Ren seriously: "To tell you the truth, I've always felt that something is wrong with you, since the first time we met."
Hao Ren smiled: "What's wrong with me?"
"Too optimistic, too calm, too indifferent," Nolan turned his head. "At first I thought it was because of your insanity, but it doesn't look like that now. You remind me of the kind of people who were born and raised in peaceful times. people... But that kind of person can't maintain this mentality for as long as you in this scorched earth."
Hear Nolan's words. Hao Ren also casually mentioned: "You look young, but you are quite good at people."
"Aren't you old..." Nolan repeated softly. At the same time, she looked up at the monitor in the car, and then she pressed the on-board dialogue device beside her, calling the soldier in the front cab, "Jin, have we crossed the old Route 17?"
The soldier in the cab reported: "Just passed a few minutes ago."
"Well, you rest, let the vehicle switch to automatic driving, and you won't need a driver for the next two days."
"Got it, boss."
Although Black Street and Zero City are the closest human settlements to the ruins of the Northland, there is still a considerable distance from there to the Ring Tower of the Northland. This restricted area of life is absolutely insurmountable for ordinary people. Even professional mercenaries need the support of modern equipment and the best physical and mental state to cope. In the next two days and one night, under the guidance of the automatic driving system, the convoy continued to approach the ruins of the Northland. As the destination gradually approached, everyone's mood became tense. Those brought out by Nolan were originally gray foxes. The bravest and most loyal group of people in the army, but when they got here, they still began to feel uneasy.
"It's a terrible thing to be killed by a nano-swarm," Ulanov said to Hao Ren on the fourth day of the journey. "The death process feels very long, and it usually starts from the internal organs. The body is dissolved. Sometimes it will be accompanied by extreme burning illusions and tearing sensations - the greater pressure is psychological. You will clearly feel that you are becoming some kind of heterogeneous block of matter... and this feeling will be counted Repeatedly within minutes."
Hao Ren was looking at the scene outside the car, and Ulanov's words made him feel weird: "You say this here to shake the morale of the army..."
Ulanov laughed hoarsely, and the laughter seemed to be mischievous: "I just want to remind some people, don't be interested in those nanomachine groups that seem to be sleeping, they might suddenly come alive. come over."
The two researchers from the Baihe Chamber of Commerce looked up to this side, and there seemed to be dissatisfaction in their eyes.
At this time, the driver of the lead car suddenly called from the loudspeaker: "Huihe! The Huihe is ahead! Boss, it's Huihe!"
The word "Grey River" woke up the mercenaries in the gloomy atmosphere like a shot in the arm. Everyone raised their heads and clenched their weapons tightly. A feeling of uneasiness and excitement emanated from them. Nolan immediately picked up his equipment bag and stood up: "Everyone, bring the electromagnetic sleeper and follow me!"
The armored car stopped in a wilderness, and the mercenaries jumped from the car to the ground one after another. Before getting up, Ulanov stuffed a palm-sized device that looked like an old-fashioned radio into Hao Ren's arms: "Take this, your electromagnetic sleeper."
Hao Ren took the weird device without knowing why, and was urged by the people behind to jump out of the car.
An endless barren land spread before his eyes, and a hundred meters away, he saw the leading armored vehicle parked beside a "big river" as wide as the ocean, and on the bank of the river he could see a piece of land. Continuous, neat metallic luster.
Hao Ren followed the mercenaries and ran over. He looked at the scene in front of him in surprise: "This is... Gray River?"
All he saw was an endless gray-white, viscous and weird liquid surging in front of his eyes. The texture was like asphalt, and the color was like bones. The speed of these liquids was extremely slow, almost like slowed down film, slowly The slowly undulating viscous gray-white "river surface" only brings endless weirdness to people. And on the edge of the Gray River, which looks like a black and white movie, you can see a layer of plated armor covering the rocks on the bank—just like a naturally grown river bank, which will bring people great danger. Sensitive "river water" is blocked in the river bed.
This is Gray River.
(I have something to go out today, so update in advance = .= It is still a busy day.) (to be continued~^~)