Hao Ren stood on a riverbank forged from metal and stared at the endless gray-white river before him. The viscous, slowly writhing liquid gave off an unsettlingly dangerous aura, inevitably reminding people of the origin blood. All the mercenaries kept their distance from the riverbank in fear. Only he, Ulanov, and Nolan stood at the very front. Ulanov's hoarse voice came from inside his helmet: "The end of the world is only one step away."
"This is the nanomachine swarm?" Hao Ren pointed down at the viscous liquid in the Gray River. "It's this... enormous?"
"Everyone knows the Gray River is made up of nanomachine swarms." Nolan glanced at Hao Ren. "When you fled from the natural-born human city-state into the No-Man's Land, you should have crossed one of them. Didn't you notice?"
"One of them?" Hao Ren frowned, then changed the subject. "No, things were critical at the time. We got separated from the main force, so I didn't have much chance to pay attention to our surroundings. Speaking of which, how are you planning to cross this river? By boat?"
"Wait for it to solidify." Nolan turned and walked away, then began shouting orders. "Everyone, rest where you are. We'll cross the river after dusk! Jin, Lorraine, make sure the armored vehicles can start at any time. Also, I want everyone's electromagnetic hibernation devices running for twenty-four hours. If anyone's device malfunctions, report it immediately."
The mercenaries sprang into action at once. They rested beside the armored vehicles, took compressed rations from them, and hurriedly replenished their strength. Karl walked among the soldiers, loudly reminding them, "Don't touch the soil directly with your hands! Keep an eye on your canteens, and discard them immediately if they're damaged! Inject another dose of antitoxin in half an hour. Anyone who