第七十五章 朴明集团
Watching them leave, Moli said:
看着他们离去，莫里道：
“Master Zicang, we meet again. I didn’t expect it to be so soon.”
“子藏先生，咱们又见面了，没想到这么快。”
“Neither did I. I thought I’d have to stabilize the A-level nexus first. By the way, where’s Boppoli?”
“我也没想到，原本还以为要稳定A级交错地才行，对了波波利呢。”
“That guy is hiding from someone right now. You have no idea what he’s worth these days.”
“那家伙这会在躲人，你不知道他现在的身价。”
Yang Zicang could imagine the scene.
杨子藏能想象那画面。
“Haha, he’s not in danger, is he?”
“哈哈，不会有危险吧。”
“For those who enter here legitimately, there’s no danger. Sequential attacks are not allowed here. But you need to be careful—you might face an attack, since you’re a stowaway.”
“对于正常进入这里的人来说没有危险，这里不允许互相进行时序攻击。不过你要小心，可能会遭受攻击，你算是偷渡者。”
Yang Zicang briefly sensed and understood what was going on.
杨子藏略一感受便获知了是怎么回事。
Under normal circumstances, people in the town cannot launch sequential attacks. However, because he was a stowaway, he was not protected by the town at the moment.
正常情况下，镇子里的人无法进行时序上的攻击。不过因为是偷渡，所以此刻自己并不受城镇保护。
“How much did the guild-leveled contract make?” Yang Zicang asked in a low voice.
“代练契约赚了多少？”杨子藏小声地问。
“We sold five copies. Guess how much we earned…” Before Yang Zicang could actually guess, the man excitedly raised two fingers, then gestured with four.
“卖了五本，你猜咱们赚了多少…”不等杨子藏真去猜，这男人就兴奋的举起两根手指，又比划了下四。
“A full 245,000 units of Qi-Xu!”
“整整二十四万五的时序！”
“Oh my god,” Yang Zicang couldn’t help muttering. This was a massive windfall.
“我的天。”杨子藏也不禁念叨了句，这可是笔天大横财。
Moli’s eyes glimmered with fierce brilliance:
莫里目光闪动着精光：
“Master Zicang, let’s form a team, just like I said last time. With my ability and your combat strength, we can survive here easily for ten thousand years. We’ve already been through battles and honed our teamwork, haven’t we! And I’ve acquired a secret technique too.”
“子藏先生，我们组成只队伍吧，就像上次说的那样。有我的能力，加上你的战斗力，咱们能轻松在这里活上一万年。咱们已经经过战斗的磨合了不是吗！而且我也有秘技了。”
He showed the statue in his hand.
他露出了手上的雕像。
“I believe this city won’t last more than a few hundred years,” Yang Zicang said casually with a chuckle. “But as for the team, we can indeed form one together.”
“我相信，这座城市存在不了几百年。”杨子藏笑呵呵的随口道，“不过，队伍我们的确可以共同成立。”
“That’s fantastic!”
“那真是太好了！”
Through this battle with the Xiongying Group, Yang Zicang gained a deeper understanding of the kind of existence someone like Boss Wang represented.
这一次跟雄英组的战斗，杨子藏更加理解了王总那样的人存在。
A basic yet most reliable team model: joint investments from multiple people, precise time-sequence control, and excellent warriors.
多人的共同投资，精准的时序控制，以及优秀的战士，最基础也最牢靠的队伍模版。
However… although Boss Wang had a dozen members, they could not compare to the man before him.
但…王总虽有十几人的成员，却无法跟眼前人相比。
With just a few coins or a stack of banknotes, he surpassed the hordes of people supported by those financing teams solely for the sake of hoarding time sequence.
他只需要几枚硬币，或是一叠钞票，就已经强过了众多融资型队伍为存时序而养活的大帮子人。
Every single banknote in this man’s hands could store 9999N of time sequence!
眼前这人的每张钞票，都能储存9999N的时序!
Previously, Yang Zicang had rarely thought about this because he simply didn’t know that time sequence had an upper limit.
之前他很少往这方面想，因为他根本不知道时序有上限这回事。
“I have a question. Of course, you don’t have to answer—it’s just out of curiosity,” Yang Zicang said.
“我有个问题，当然这不是必须回答的，我只是好奇而已。”杨子藏道。
“What is it?”
“什么？”
“Since the time sequence in your coins is fixed at a maximum of nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, how many coins can you use to store time sequence in total?”
“既然你的钱币时序最多固定为九千九百九十九，那么你能用来储存时序的钱币数量是多少呢？”
“Ah, you mean the rank of my ability? Well, thanks to you, my rank has been unlocked for the fourth time, reaching the Thousand-rank.”
“喔，你说的是我能力的格位？嗯，托你的福，我的格位已第四次解锁，到达千位了。”
The man standing under the lamppost had his entire face smiling, even the sunken sockets around his eyes.
站在路灯下的男人整个凹进鼻梁的眼睛都在笑。
The rank—the Thousand-rank!
格位，千位！
Yang Zicang took a deep breath—this guy’s ability was naturally suited to run a time-sequence bank.
杨子藏深吸了口气，这家伙的模型天生就是开时序银行的料。
9,999 slots, each capable of storing 9,999N!
9999格，每一格可储存9999N！
As far as he knew, even within this Hub Town, not many were willing to spend that much time-sequence to unlock a Thousand-rank slot. That required nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine years’ worth of time-sequence, not even counting the Hundred-rank and Ten-rank costs.
据他所知，哪怕是在这枢纽镇内，也没多少人舍得花那么多时序来解锁千位格位。那要花费九千九百九十九年时序，这还不算百位与十位。
“Impressive.”
“厉害啊。”
He truly couldn’t understand how his previous captain’s mind worked, casting away such talent right after stabilizing the A-Class area.
真不知道他之前的队长脑子是怎么长的，竟然会将这样的人才在稳定A级区域后就抛弃出队伍。
Moli, meanwhile, nervously thought: Finally, I won’t be looked down upon wherever I go.
而莫里心中也紧张的想到：终于不会走到哪儿都被人嫌弃了。
Though he had realized the true power of his ability tonight, not many people actually understood it.
虽然今夜他亦察觉到自己能力的真正强大之处，可明白这点的人其实并不多。
But even if someone eventually caught on and tried to invite him in the future, Moli would unreservedly choose to team up with the man in front of him—for the sake of “peace of mind.” Here, trust was more precious than gold, and Yang Zicang was worthy of that trust.
但哪怕以后有人察觉到这点，想要邀请自己的话，莫里也会毫不犹豫选择与眼前这人成立队伍，只因“安心”。在这里，信任比黄金更珍贵。而杨子藏值得信任。
Moli raised the statue and looked at Yang Zicang. The young man across from him smiled and nodded.
莫里抬起雕像看向杨子藏，对面青年笑着点点头。
[Moli invited me to join the Park Myung Group.]
[莫里邀请我成为朴明集团一员。]
“Park Myung?”
“朴明？”
“‘Know glory, guard disgrace, be the valley of the world. Being the valley of the world, constant virtue suffices, returning to simplicity.’ *Park’ is a good character in your culture.’”
“‘知其荣，守其辱，为天下谷。为天下谷，常德乃足，复归于朴。’朴，是你们文化中的好字。”
Yang Zicang was speechless.
杨子藏哑然。
[I have synchronized with the Park Myung Group.]
[我已与朴明集团产生共频。]
Seeing Yang Zicang join the team, Moli was overjoyed.
见杨子藏入队，莫里心中欢喜无比。
……
……
After discussing the sale of a few stand-in contracts, Morrie suggested that they meet up when all three were free to sort out the contracts. Yang Zicang was pleased that the other was willing to share with him, and of course, nodded in agreement.
聊了几句代练契约的售卖后，莫里建议有空三人碰头，梳理下契约书。杨子藏乐得对方愿意跟自己共享，当然是点头同意。
The sky gradually brightened, and the train figure behind Yang Zicang became ethereal.
天色渐渐明亮，杨子藏背后的列车身影变得虚无。
{My time is up. If you need me, please look for me after 11 PM.}
{我的时间到了，需要我出现请在夜间十一点以后找我。}
Yang Zicang turned around and looked at it: “Do you know what kind of place it is after being expelled from here?”
杨子藏转头看向它：“你知道被这儿驱离后是什么样的地方吗？”
{A barren abandoned place. Ma Chao is a regular there. Just stay put until nightfall when you go over.}
{荒芜的遗弃之地，马超是那里的常客，你过去后原地待到晚上就行了。}
Hearing this, Yang Zicang was finally completely relieved.
听到这话，杨子藏终于彻底放心。
{Oh, you can extract the station platform today. Do you need it? The next time would be three days later.}
{噢，今天你可以提取座站台，需要吗？下次是三天后。}
The platform faintly appeared around the train, like a sudden, out-of-place mirage for the town.
列车周围浮现出站台的模样，对于城镇来说就像是个突然出现的，格格不入的海市蜃楼。
“Then let’s extract it.”
“那就提取吧。”
After the train departed, the platform remained in the same spot.
当列车离去后，站台依旧在原地。
Yang Zicang’s hand with quadrilateral marks selected and enclosed it. The platform, like a dismantled sweater, quickly folded back with the light and gradually took shape into a model.
杨子藏手上四边形闪动着将它框选围住，站台如同被拆的毛衣般迅速随着光线折回而逐渐进入模型。
……
……
As pedestrians engaging in morning activities gradually increased, the air in the town, filled with stone houses, began to diffuse with the fragrance of food and smoke from cooking fires.
随着早起的行人渐渐增多，到处都是石头房子的镇子空气中，开始弥漫出阵阵烟火饭香。
Two strangers, each carrying two portions of food and water, approached. They cheerfully expressed the good intentions from headquarters and their own admiration. The headquarters didn’t have many people in this area, so finding him in these several streets must have cost them quite an effort.
两名陌生人手里拎着两份食物和水过来。激动的表示了番总部给予的好意与他们本身的倾佩，总部在这边的人并不多，这镇子有好几条街道，能找到自己估计花了不少功夫。
“I really admire you, could you give me an autograph?”
“我好崇拜你，能给我签个名吗！”
“I’ll pass on the autograph.”
“签名就算了吧。”
Though they were excited, they remained respectful. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Yang Zicang, the two took their leave—their main purpose was simply to deliver these supplies of food and clothing.
两人虽激动，但也很有分寸，杨子藏跟他们客套几句后两人便告辞离去，他们主要就是为了给自己送这份吃穿用具。
[The host here informs me that there are only ten minutes left until departure.]
[此地主人告知我，停留时间还剩十分钟。]
Mu Xiaoyu still hadn’t shown up. Yang Zicang felt a pang of anxiety. It would be terrible if she were to be expelled in the middle of an operation.
沐小雨还不见来。杨子藏内心有点焦急，要是做手术一半被驱离就糟糕了。
“Is it not over yet?”
“还没结束吗？”
“Zicang!”
“子藏！”
Wrapped in a blanket, the young girl spotted the figure by the street. Tears of grievance welled up uncontrollably in her eyes as she rushed off the vehicle at a brisk pace.
披着毯子的少女见到街边那道身影，眼眶里不由自主滚动起委屈的泪水，从车上快步跑了下来。
“You look much better, with such a healthy glow now.”
“气色都变好很多了。”
The girl came over and embraced Yang Zicang, sobbing between sniffles, “I thought I was going to die.”
少女过来抱住了杨子藏，抽泣道：“我以为我会死。”
For a moment, Yang Zicang was at a loss for how to react.
杨子藏一时有点手足无措。
“Dr. Jia Ruoqing, and you too, Dr. Shi, thank you so much,” said Moli.
“贾偌靑医生，真是太谢谢了，还有这位史医生。”莫里道。
“No need to be so polite. If you ever have more skill books in the future, remember to give us first priority.”
“不用客气，以后还有技能书记得优先考虑我们。”
Yang Zicang watched them leave, noting the composed and unhurried demeanor typical of the people here.
杨子藏注视着对方离开，这里的人都有种从容不迫的气质。
These two were among Poppoli’s former clients. As doctors, they lacked aggressive abilities. But now, after obtaining the Contract Scroll for Training, Dr. Jia had secretly acquired a means of self-preservation, making her capable of both healing and fighting.
这两位就是波波利之前的客户之一。作为医生的他们缺少攻击性的能力，而现在这位贾医生在获得代练契约书后，已经多了暗中的保命手段，可谓是能医人也能打人。
Seeing them depart, Moli silently flashed a figure-eight gesture toward Yang Zicang.
见他们离去，莫里冲杨子藏默默比了个八字。
Yang Zicang understood. They alone had contributed an additional eighty thousand years of lifespan. For physicians of this caliber, eighty thousand was indeed not an insurmountable amount of chronological points.
杨子藏了然，光他们就给予了八万年的额外寿命。八万对这种级别的医师来说，的确不算凑不出的时序数目。
“I have a feeling that we can’t stay here any longer.” Mu Xiaoyu straightened up from Yang Zicang’s chest, speaking with some embarrassment.
“我有种感觉，好像不能在这里停留了。”沐小雨从杨子藏胸膛上直起身，不好意思的道。
“Yes, this town is refusing us entry, because this place isn’t meant for who we are, not now.”
“是的，这座镇子在拒绝我们进入，因为这儿并不是现在的我们能来的。”
Mu Xiaoyu blinked her dark, shimmering eyes and whispered, “Did you bring me here?”
沐小雨睁着黑闪的眼睛，她细语道：“是你带我来的吗？”
“Uh-huh.”
“嗯哼。”
Clap, clap, clap.
啪啪啪。
The sound of sparse applause rang out.
冷清的掌声响起。
Those who were bidding farewell all turned their heads to look. A man in a red plaid casual suit was walking towards them from behind Yang Zicang.
正在告别的几人都转首看过去，一道身着红格子休闲西服的男人从杨子藏背后走来。
With his appearance, the sounds in the surrounding air seemed abruptly cut off. Early morning pedestrians chatted and laughed as they bypassed the area, as if they couldn’t see it at all.
随着他的出现，周围空气中的声音仿佛被突然隔离开来。早起的行人们说笑着绕过此地，像是看不见这里似的。
“I’ve already heard about your success in elevating the city’s ranking. Well done, Mr. Yang Zicang,” the newcomer said.
“我已经知道你提升城市排名的事情了，干得不错，杨子藏先生。”来人道。
Over the past hour, more and more news had reached him, and he’d finally figured out Yang Zicang’s name—learning that he was also someone possessing psionic abilities.
这一小时，越来越多的消息传来，他也终于搞清楚了杨子藏的名字，对方还是拥有念力型能力之人。
Yang Zicang shielded Mu Xiaoyu behind him. “Have you come to drive us away? Please just tell us which way to leave, and we’ll go.”
杨子藏将沐小雨护在身后，“你是来赶我们走的吗？请告诉我离开的路就好，我们会离开的。”
Mori quickly coughed and stepped forward to speak in a low voice:
莫里赶紧咳嗽了声，上前步小声开口：
“Zicang, this is Deputy Mayor Zhuyin. His appearance is a good thing; don’t worry.”
“子藏，这位是逐银副镇长。他出现是件好事，别担心。”
Zhuyin waved his hand and said with a smile:
逐银挥了挥手，笑道：
“See? Your friend understands me. First, let me introduce myself—I’m Zhu Yin, the deputy mayor of this town, as he said. And yes, I belong to the same kind as you.”
“看吧，还是你的朋友懂我。先自我介绍下，我叫逐银，如他所言是这座小镇的副镇长。嗯，我也属于跟你一样的人。”
Yang Zicang’s heart stirred as he thought:
杨子藏心中一动：
“Are all the administrators of this town people who came in from various cities?”
“难道这座城镇的管理者们都是各城市进来的人？”
“That’s right. For instance, my city ranks 12th, which qualifies me to run for deputy mayor. Once your city’s ranking moves up to the top, you’ll have this kind of opportunity too.”
“没错哦，比如我的城市排名便是第12名，有资格获得竞选副镇长之位。等你们的城市排名提升到最前面，以后也有这种机会。”
So this town wasn’t just for living in—you could become its administrator!
原来这座镇子不光能入住，还能成为这里的管理者！