Hao Ren could only shake his head and stand up when he heard the voice behind him. Then he saw a small squad of soldiers standing a dozen meters away, several small-caliber personal weapons aimed in his direction.
The squad had only seven soldiers. They all wore uniform gray-black combat suits, though their equipment varied wildly. The one thing they had in common was that they were armed to the teeth. The soldier who appeared to be their leader, standing at the front of the group, was particularly surprising: she was a girl who looked no older than sixteen or seventeen. Hao Ren couldn't tell whether her features were simply too immature or whether she really was a child soldier. She aimed a light rifle at him, her striking gray hair tied into a ponytail that swayed behind her. Her face was utterly expressionless—apart from the caution expected of a soldier, he couldn't detect any emotion from her at all.
Hao Ren was surprised that even children this young had to take part in the fighting here, but after thinking about how nothing was impossible in the vast universe, he wasn't so surprised anymore. He spread his hands to show that he meant no harm. "Finally, some living people... Don't be so tense. I'm just passing through."
"What are you doing over there?" the Data Terminal's voice rang out in his mind. "This unit sensed that you're nearby. Why haven't you come over to help?"
"Can't you hear what's going on around us?" Hao Ren asked mentally while observing the small squad in front of him.
"I don't know what went wrong, but this unit's sensors are currently very sluggish." The Data Terminal's voice sounded dejected. "Something probably went wrong when we were transmitted in this time. Only part of