The continued existence of the entire world rested on the "mercy" of the nanite swarms, and what was even more frightening was that no one knew why these swarms had stopped back then, let alone when they would restart. This world hadn't survived the disaster sixty-five years ago at all; in fact, the disaster was still ongoing, only it had slowed down—like a deferred execution, humanity was waiting with bated breath for the blade that could fall at any moment. In this situation, all sorts of voices, both rational and insane, were emerging.

Some had tried to rush into the northern ruins to completely destroy the nanomachines, but the swarms had become an unstoppable force, and even nuclear weapons couldn't completely eliminate them; some had tried to re-establish control over the swarms, but they had all become part of the Gray River; some had hoped to rebuild pre-war space technology and preserve the species by fleeing the planet, but their ambitions had no chance of success in this chaotic world.

The Rangers regarded the nanite swarms as a super-life form that had far surpassed humanity and was capable of dominating the world, and they worshiped them like gods. They believed that the entire world and the entire human race had survived to this day thanks to the mercy of the nanite swarms, so they showed their loyalty to their "masters" in a frenzied manner, hoping to have a place when the nanite swarms finally decided to reshape the world.

But what was the nanite swarms' reaction to this?

They had no reaction. They just flowed quietly in the Gray River. Whether it was human attacks or control, hostility or worship, it seemed meaningless to them. They just operated strictly according to some kind of law: no proliferation, no reduction, no erosion of the outside world, but they would also devour adventurers entering the Northern Wastes without hesitation.

Ulanov gazed at the hazy opposite bank of the Gray River, the last ray of light in the sky reflected on his smooth visor: "People living in other parts of the wasteland always forget where the world's biggest crisis lies. They even forget that this world is still tied to a bomb—only by coming here and watching the Gray River surging with your own eyes will you realize from the bottom of your heart that this world is always walking on thin ice. We can live to this day entirely because of a reason that humans cannot understand or control. When I was a researcher, I once did a project to explore how two completely different life forms would get along after humans contacted alien life, but I didn't expect the answer to be this: now there is a completely different, incomprehensible life form on this planet that coexists with humans, and the relationship between the two is only two words: unknown."

"It's just because they can't communicate," Hao Ren said thoughtfully, looking at the almost solidified gray-white liquid. "I also believe that the nanite swarms have evolved intelligence, it's just that their way of thinking is different from humans. There must be a reason why they stopped… maybe they just want to communicate with humans?"

"You're not the first to come up with this idea," Ulanov turned his head slightly. "But just having the idea is meaningless."

At this moment, Nolan suddenly muttered to herself, "Maybe they stopped spreading just because this world couldn't handle something so complex."

"Huh?" Hao Ren didn't hear clearly for a moment.

Nolan shook her head and turned to leave: "It's nothing. The Gray River has solidified, get ready to go!"

The position of the sun couldn't be seen in the smoke-shrouded sky, but the gradually dimming glow on the horizon still indicated that dusk was coming to an end. The viscous liquid in the Gray River did indeed slowly solidify into a whole piece as Nolan had said, and like liquid metal cooling, it visibly turned into a metallic ground, the surface of which even showed the ripples of the river and the bubbles that had just burst: they were all fixed in place.

This was also an incomprehensible property of the Gray River, and people still didn't know why the nanite swarms periodically solidified into this state, and could only explain it as a result of program mutation.

The mercenaries got into the vehicles one after another. Three armored vehicles carefully drove to the river bank, and only after confirming that the river surface was completely hardened did the first vehicle carefully drive up. The nanite swarms, which were liquid just a moment ago, were now as solid as steel, and the heavy armored vehicles didn't even leave a trace of scratches on them. Hao Ren and the others waited in the second vehicle to set off with the team. Ulanov noticed that Hao Ren was fiddling with the "electromagnetic hibernation device" that had been distributed earlier, and immediately reminded him, "Don't mess with it, frequency chaos will cause problems."

"Speaking of which, I've heard you guys say it many times, this thing can hypnotize the nanite swarms?" Hao Ren asked casually.

"That's right. Naturalists may not often see this thing, but mercenaries in the lawless zone often use it," Ulanov pointed to the small device. "It has two systems, corresponding to these two green indicator lights, one primary and one backup. They can make you look like the same thing as the nanite swarms in their eyes, so the swarms won't attack you, but once the hypnosis stops, the swarms will immediately surge up—even the solidified Gray River will wake up immediately."

As Ulanov spoke, he pointed to the roof of the carriage: "We also have a larger set in our vehicle. So if your device malfunctions during the operation later, be sure to run back to the armored vehicle as quickly as possible. If you're fast enough, you might survive."

"So don't mess with that thing," Nolan glanced at Hao Ren. "Report immediately if one light turns red, it'll be too late when both systems break down."

The lead vehicle sent back a safe signal, and the other two armored vehicles carefully drove from the river bank onto the river surface. Hao Ren felt the vehicle shake, and then saw the mercenaries around him become tense. He asked curiously, "Speaking of which, the Gray River is so dangerous, why not just go over it from the sky?"

"There are also nanite swarms in the air," Ulanov didn't mock Hao Ren's ignorance, because ordinary people wouldn't actually study the environment of the Northern Wastes. "Atmospheric purification models, but now they've become the plague in the sky above the Northern Wastes. They coexist with the clouds, occasionally dropping to only a hundred meters above the ground, and they often actively attack aircraft."

At this time, a White River Merchant researcher sitting at the rear of the carriage suddenly said, "Floating nanomachines float in the air, and aircraft suck them into the combustion chamber when they operate. The swarms take this as an attack signal, and they destroy aircraft to protect their companions."

"Ah, I thought you were all mutes," Ulanov looked up. "What you said sounds like you're exonerating the nanite swarms."

The thin White River Merchant researcher showed no anger on his face: "I'm a scientist, I only say what I've discovered."

Ulanov shrugged: "What a coincidence, I was also a scientist before I picked up a gun."

"Okay, be polite to the client," Nolan interrupted Ulanov, then looked at the four White River Merchant members. "Also, please cooperate with us as much as possible later, otherwise it would be a pity if two or three of you died—my order said that as long as you guarantee that at least one of you returns alive, the commission is completed."

The atmosphere suddenly became a little cold, and Hao Ren realized that Nolan was not only good at combat experience and various knowledge, but her tongue was probably also battle-hardened.

The Gray River was unusually wide, and because they were worried about disturbing the swarms, the armored vehicles didn't drive fast, so it was unknown how long it would take to get there. The monotonous gray-white world outside made people feel drowsy, and Hao Ren yawned and leaned against the carriage to doze off for a while.

A voice sounded in his mind, as if it were the data terminal: "...What do you want to find there?"

"Maybe the tentacles of the eldest son," Hao Ren replied vaguely in his heart. "The 'collapse' of this world started sixty-five years ago, and the uncontrolled nanite swarms are the root of everything. If this isn't a man-made disaster, it can only be a natural disaster… I heard that the core container of the nanite swarms is buried deep underground. Perhaps that container was dug too deep and approached a tentacle of the eldest son…"

"...What if you can't find it?"

"Go find it somewhere else, if it really doesn't work, I'll find a place myself and dig a hole down."

"What if there's nothing you're looking for here at all? Will you leave?"

"Leave? Why leave?" Hao Ren felt himself become slightly more awake. "The work hasn't been completed yet, right."

"Leave quickly, this place can't hold on for much longer..."

Hao Ren was startled and completely woke up, and immediately called the data terminal: "What were you saying just now?"

"This machine is still practicing walking啊—you were sleep talking, right?"

(Requesting monthly votes~! It's almost the end of the month, everyone check your monthly votes, maybe you'll have an extra usable monthly vote without realizing it, anyway, Qidian has always been a metaphysics voting mechanism =.=)