The towering main structure of the Northern Ring Tower stood majestically before them. This glorious building, once a symbol of humanity's highest achievements in technology and the future of civilization, had now become mottled and rotten. Pockmarked peeling traces and cracks caused by wind and sun covered the concrete exterior, while the once-bright paint had almost entirely faded into a filthy yellowish brown. Broad swaths of wall plaster had fallen away, forming a disgusting layer of soft soil around the tower. Yet its main structure remained sturdy. Its reinforced steel frame supported the aging tower well, and it did not seem in danger of collapsing.
"No signs of nanomachine swarm erosion." Nolan raised his head and scanned the nearly vertical wall. "And compared to the last time I came here, nothing has changed. Looks like no other adventurers have been here this past year."
Hao Ren was curious about what Nolan had come here for a year ago, but this did not seem like the time to ask. Ulanov led everyone around the tower in search of an entrance. After circling part of the outer wall, they saw a shattered gate. Judging from the traces around it, it had been blasted open.
"More than one group has come here in the past sixty-five years. Prewar technology has always been attractive." Nolan turned to the mercenaries who were visiting for the first time. "Fools wanting to dig up treasures here have come one after another, and most never made it back alive. So if you want to return alive, listen to orders and don't touch anything you don't recognize."
"Wasn't the nanomachine swarm absent from this place?" Hao Ren asked casually.
"You think the nanomachine swarm is the only danger here?" Nolan raised his rifle. "We're carrying guns for more than