第九十章 面包
In Hub Town, inside a retro conference room.
枢纽镇，一间复古会议室中。
“Is that Yang Zicang alone really up to the task?”
“就那个杨子藏一个人，能行吗？”
Beside the oval table, Zhu Yin and several town administrators gathered. A man in a suit stared at Zhu Yin.
椭圆的桌子旁，逐银和几名镇中的管理者正聚集在一起，一名西装男盯着逐银。
“Xiao Yin, it’s not that we brothers don’t trust you, but handing such a critical mission to a complete stranger just feels unsettling.”
“小银，不是哥哥们信不过你，把这么关键的事情交给个刚见面的陌生人，总觉得不安心。”
“Exactly, Deputy Mayor. You should have discussed this with us. Now that last manual is gone just like that.”
“对啊，副镇，你该跟我们商量下。这最后一份手册就如此没有了。”
Being the owners of the town, they did not mince their words.
能成为镇子主人的他们，说话都不怎么含蓄。
Beside Zhu Yin, the man with a round-brimmed hat and a curled mustache exhaled a puff of smoke:
逐银身旁，那带着圆檐帽的八字胡男士吐了口烟：
“Brothers, this matter itself was an extra contingency plan, wasn’t it? Calling it a plan is overstating it. What can we really scheme? We can only rely on luck.”
“诸位兄弟，这件事本身就是个额外的谋划，不是吗？说谋划都是严重的了，我们能谋个什么呢，只能看运气而已。”
A man with the appearance of a dignified elder by the table spoke resolutely:
桌旁一名以威严老人形象为外表的男子，铿锵有力的道：
“But none of us have wasted this much time here, haven’t we, all for that one thing?”
“但大家在这里耽搁这么久时间，不就为了那件事？”
Zhu Yin tapped the table with her finger. “Enough bickering. Finding a perfect candidate like Yang Zicang is the only opportunity we have right now. If you all believe our prior thorough vetting was sound, then why has no one managed to retrieve that thing yet?”
逐银手指点了点桌子：“别吵。当下能找到杨子藏这样的完美人选，已是唯一的机会。如果诸位认为之前的详细考察是正确的，既然如此，为何到现在都没人成功取到那东西？。”
Everyone fell silent.
众人齐齐沉默。
“Still, we need some reassurance—at least to know if he’s seriously doing the work for us, A Yin.”
“总归要让人安心点吧，至少要知道他是不是在认真给我们干活，阿银。”
“It’s been days. Yang Zicang hasn’t even activated his cargo team qualification. When will your reputation finally take off?”
“好几天了，杨子藏甚至到现在都没有开启他的筑货队资格，诞生名气要到什么时候？”
“Nobody knows what he’s doing without reputation. I have reason to believe he’s guarding against us—this is distrust toward everyone.”
“没有名气谁知道他在干嘛。我有理由相信他在防备我们，这是对大家的不信任。”
Just as several people pressed aggressively, a faintly oppressive, obscure mental voice suddenly rang out in everyone’s minds.
正在几人咄咄逼人之时，忽然众人心间出现道淡淡威压的阴晦心念声。
[The order letter you have tagged has been activated. Hub Town has generated the 1782nd Construction Team. Current Person in Charge: Yang Zicang.]
[你所标记的订货函已启用，枢纽镇诞生第1782号筑货队，当前负责人：杨子藏。]
“Hmph, talk of the devil, and he doth appear.”
“哼哼，说曹操，曹操不就来了。”
Zhu Yin let out a sigh of relief and rubbed his temples.
逐银松了口气地揉了揉自己的太阳穴。
About an hour later, the group, having discussed town management, walked out of the meeting room. An elderly man lingered at the back, walking alongside Zhu Yin, and said:
差不多一小时后，讨论了城镇管理的几人走出会议室，老者落在最后，在逐银身旁同行道：
“Xiao Yin, empathize with the earlier dissatisfaction from everyone. The reason we still refuse to leave is to grasp that fleeting hope. Clawing our way to Hub Town’s level guarantees a higher chance of obtaining that thing than back over there, right?”
“小银，之前大家的不满你理解下。咱们之所以还赖着不走就是想争这丝飘渺的希望，能爬到枢纽镇这个位置，总归比过去那边再获得那东西的可能性高得多，对吧。”
“I understand—they think I’m rash, giving him that thing as soon as he arrived. But none of those capable folks, for all their excellence, ever managed to climb to my position, have they?”
“我能理解，觉得我冒失嘛，一来就把那东西给他了。但优秀的诸位却谁也没有能爬到我这个位置，不是吗。”
Zhu Yin walked out of the meeting room unhesitatingly. When passing a newspaper rack at the doorstep in the hallway, he, already past it, stepped back two paces, picked up a freshly printed weekly, and glanced at it.
逐银毫不客气的走出会议室，路过走廊上摆在门口的报架时，已经走过去的他退回两步，拿起份新鲜出炉的周报看了看。
It had just been delivered, the smell of ink still lingering.
刚送来的，油墨味都还未散。
The Journal of Lost Frequencies (Premier’s Internal Reference Edition)
《失频之地周报（大人物内部参考版）》
A faint smile curled at the corners of Zhu Yin’s lips.
逐银嘴角翘起淡淡的微笑。
The elderly man, who had walked out, watched the deputy town head’s revitalized, driven back, and also took a copy of the weekly from the rack.
走出的老人看了眼副镇长变得充满干劲的背影，也从架子上拿起份周报。
He flipped through a couple of pages, and his gaze naturally fell on the ranking list on the last page.
他翻了两下，目光自然而然落到了最后页那张排行榜上。
— This Week’s Emerging Dream-Builder Popularity Rankings in the Frequency-Loss Land:
——本周失频之地新晋筑梦人名气榜：
Tianyuan Goods-Building Team, Popularity Score: 60
天缘筑货队，名气值60分
Authentic Daily Necessities Association Goods-Building Team of Frequency-Loss Land, Popularity Score: 50
失频之地正宗日用品协会筑货队，名气值50分
Wang’s Precious Metals Goods-Building Team, Popularity Score: 45
王氏专注贵金属筑货队，名气值45分
Jiaojiao’s Most Beautiful Goods-Building Team, Popularity Score: 45
娇娇最美筑货队，名气值45分
Aba’s Collaborative Goods-Building Team, Popularity Score: 40
阿巴大家筑货队，名气值40分
…
…
Porridge People’s Goods-Building Team, Popularity Score: 25
粥民筑货队，名气值25分
Bridge Cave Permanent Help Goods-Building Team, Popularity Score: 20
桥洞常驻帮筑货队，名气值20分
Yang Zicang, Popularity Score: 15
杨子藏，名气值15分
Frequency-Loss Land Water Well Management Goods-Building Team, Popularity Score: 10
失频之地水井管理筑货队，名气值10分
“Wait a minute.”
“等等。”
The old man’s hand trembled slightly.
老人手上一抖。
He stared at that name, double-checking before confirming that there were no three characters for “Goods-Building Team” after it.
他看向那个名字，再三确认后发现他后面没有跟上“筑货队”三个字。
Although both teams and individuals could appear on this list, the influence a team could create in the same amount of time was far greater than that of a lone individual! So, it was rare to see a personal name on this sheet before.
这份榜单虽然筑货队和个人都可能上榜，但同样时间内团队所能造成的影响力肯定比单个人大了不知多少！因此在之前他很少见到个人人名出现在这上面。
“Yang Zicang? Didn’t that guy just get here two or three days ago…”
“杨子藏？那人不是才去两三天吗…”
New Goods-Building Teams popped up every week, or reappeared after falling off the list, but the name Yang Zicang had exploded like a depth charge, deeply captivating his attention!
筑货队每个礼拜都有新诞生的，或是掉榜后又出现，但杨子藏这三个字，却如一个深水炸弹，深深吸引了他的目光！
The old man flipped the newspaper back and forth, searching, but found no report on Yang Zicang’s legendary deed.
老人将报纸翻来覆去翻找了下，上面没有报道杨子藏干出的成名事迹。
It could be that he was using a pseudonym, or reporters hadn’t managed to record his story before it wrapped up.
有可能是使用了化名，也有可能他做的事记者还没来的及记录就已经完结。
“Impressive, this kid.”
“厉害啊，这小子。”
In the corridor, the two people ahead stopped in their tracks.
过道内，前方两人停下脚步。
“Tianlu, why aren’t you leaving yet?”
“天禄，怎么还不走。”
The old man handed over the newspaper with a strange expression: “Take a look for yourself.”
老人脸色古怪的递出手中报纸：“自己过目吧。”
The two walked back and glanced at the news; it was mostly fillers—high-value lost frequency scenes appearing somewhere, settlement zones being born or destroyed somewhere else, or even some nonsense about a pretty flower blooming with pleasant petals.
两人走回来扫了眼上面的新闻，无非就是哪里出现了高价值失频幕景，哪里诞生或毁灭了聚集区，又或者哪里开了朵漂亮花花，花瓣很舒服之类的无营养灌水内容。
Mi Tianlu tapped the back of the newspaper with his hand, producing a crisp “crackling” sound like paper trembling.
米天禄拿手在报纸后面点了点，发出纸张震动的“喳喳”声。
Two pairs of eyes scanned the list, and then, shocked, they picked up the newspaper together.
两道目光在榜单上一扫，瞬间吃惊地一起拿起报纸。
“This one with fifteen popularity points—is that the kid chosen by Zhu Yin?”
“这个有十五点名气值的，难道就是逐银那小子选中的人？”
“Otherwise, who else in the world would take such a weird name?”
“不然呢？天下还有几个取这鬼名字的。”
“Appearing on his own on this list is quite a scheme. It definitely draws more attention!”
“以个人身份出现在这份榜单上，好谋划啊。这样的确更吸引人注意！”
“This is the closest we’ve ever come to success.”
“这是有史以来最接近成功的一次。”
“Wait, he just established the Build and Utility Crew—what a shame.”
“等下，他刚才建立了筑货队，可惜了。”
……
……
In a hollow sheltered from the wind, the group leaned against the earthen slope.
一处背风凹坑内，众人倚靠在土坡上。
Yang Zicang was speechless. He never expected to inexplicably earn over a dozen popularity points. As for that incident… if only he hadn’t registered the Build and Utility Crew, he would have been more easily noticed.
杨子藏无语死了，没想到莫名其妙搞出了十几点名气值，那件事…早知道不注册筑货队还更容易被关注到。
The young man turned his head: “What time is it, any of you know?”
青年转头，“几点了，你们知道吗？”
“Uh, bro, aren’t you making things hard for us?” Several people shrugged.
“呃，哥啊，你不是难为我们吗。”几人耸耸肩。
But the big guy Lyu Zhi squatted down, inhaled loudly through his nostrils, and said, “It should be around five or six in the afternoon—about rush hour.”
但大块头吕志却蹲下身去鼻孔用力吸了吸：“应该是五六点左右吧，正是下班的时候。”
“Wow, you’ve got that skill, man. How the hell do you figure out the time by sniffing?”
“哇，你还有这本事，兄弟，你怎么吸出是几点来的？”
“Is that your ability?”
“这是你的能力吗？”
Xu Xiuchuan bent down, looking at him curiously. Fan Xiuyun also crouched down to sniff but couldn’t detect any particular scent.
徐秀川弯腰好奇的看着他。范修云也蹲下嗅了嗅，没闻出什么味儿来。
“Stop sniffing. It’s an old habit I picked up from my commuting days.”
“别嗅了，这是我上班时候犯下的老毛病。”
Lyu Zhi turned around and, staring at Fan Xiuyun and Xu Xiuchuan, explained, “The company next door would head out for dinner around this time every day. I’d be stuck working overtime, watching them walk back and forth past the office glass wall with delicious food in hand. With long-term excessive gastric acid secretion, I got chronic gastritis. Every afternoon at this time, I get unbearably hungry.”
吕志转头，盯着范修云和徐秀川道：“隔壁公司这个点就去吃饭了，我加班看着他们端着好吃的从办公室玻璃墙外走来走去，长期胃酸分泌过多，就犯了胃炎的毛病，每天下午这个点都饿得不行。”
“……”
“……”
The group exchanged awkward glances—none of them had eaten lunch yet either.
众人尴尬的看了眼，大家的确还没吃过午饭。
After saying this, Lyu Zhi broke into a cold sweat, realizing he’d hit a nerve by bringing it up.
吕志说完这话就额头冒汗，他感觉自己真是哪壶不开提哪壶。
“I’m going to rest now. You guys stand guard, and tonight we’ll eat midnight snacks.” Yang Zicang turned over and went to sleep.
“晚上我们吃夜宵，我先休息，你们放好哨。”杨子藏翻身便睡。
At the mention of midnight snacks, images of hotpot, barbecue, and spare ribs soup flooded everyone’s minds—but in the end, they all thought: even just getting some actual bread would already be wonderful.
听到夜宵，他们脑海中浮现的是火锅、烧烤、排骨汤，但最后大家都到：要是能吃上真正的面包就已经很好了。
Spearing their thoughts, Yang Zicang opened one eye and said, focus instead. “By the way, I’m thinking of starting a procurement team to sell things too, what do you think?”
“对了。“杨子藏睁开眼皮：“我打算成立个筑货队，也去卖东西，你们觉得怎么样？”
“Awesome!” several of them cheered.
“好诶！”几人欢呼。
Hearing their whoops of joy, Yang Zicang gave a faint smile, closed his eyes, and started to rest. Half-awake, he dreamed of a vast landscape where people lived in peace and joy.
听着他们的欢呼，杨子藏露出淡淡笑容，开始闭眼休息。迷迷糊糊中，他梦见一片大地，上面的人安居乐业。
One day, that land without warning, was destroyed—turned into nothingness.
某日，大地毫无征兆的毁灭，成为了虚无。
In the endless black night without stars, Zuo Feixian stood silhouetted at the entrance of a wide, deep cavern.
没有星辰的黑夜中，左非闲的身影站在宽大幽深的洞穴口。
He propped himself up on his broad and imposing shoulders, his whole body wrapped in turf, exuding a desolate and majestic aura, his eyes somberly fixed on him.
他撑着宽厚威武的臂膀，浑身披着草皮，散发荒芜巍峨的气息，双目苍凉望向自己。
{This place… is not the end. Take what you desire as soon as possible and leave.}
{此地，不是终点…尽快拿到你所愿的，离开。}
“What I desire?”
“我所想？”
Memories surged in Yang Zicang’s mind. He felt his surroundings growing unreal, then remembered the purpose of his entry here.
杨子藏的记忆涌现，他觉得周围变得不真实，然后他想到了，自己进入这里的目的。
{Do not think. Be careful—they are watching.}
{不要想，小心，它们在注视。}
“They? Who are they?”
“它们？那是谁？”
{Those who seek the glittering, those who pursue the past.}
{想要收寻闪光的，想要探寻过往的它们。}
Yang Zicang lowered his head in thought, yet felt on the verge of falling asleep again.
杨子藏低头思索，又觉得要睡着了。
{Allow me to come to your side. In a looming crisis, you will receive my help—if you are willing to accept the terms I set forth.}
{让我到你身边来，接下来的一场危机中，你会获得我的帮助，如果你愿意接受那个，我所开出的条件。}
His phrasing differed slightly from normal speech order, but Yang Zicang understood it as bringing him a certain condition; if accepted, his help would be given.
他说话语序与常人稍有差别，但杨子藏能理解他是让某人带来那个条件，如果同意就能得到他的帮助。
Suddenly, Yang Zicang could feel his own existence.
杨子藏突然能感觉到自己的存在。
He stood up and looked at himself, then raised his head to scrutinize the figure ahead. Zuo Feixian’s features grew blurred, as if about to form into another person, yet they never became clear.
他站起身看了看自己，又抬头仔细看向前方的身影，左非闲的面目变得虚幻，像是要形成另一个人，却始终无法变得清晰。
“Whose dream is this?”
“这是谁的梦？”
{This is the dream of half a foray-place.}
{这是半个失频之地的梦。}
The dream collapsed into nothingness.
梦境坍塌变为虚无。
{Do not become the protagonist here. Your path is still long.}
{不要成为这里的主角，你的路还很远。}
Upon waking, lying inside his blanket, Yang Zicang pondered over this somewhat vague dream as the sound of the train already arose in his mind.
醒来后，躺在毛毯内的杨子藏琢磨了下这个有些模糊的梦时，列车的声音已经出现在心中。
He stepped out and said with a yawn, “What do you all want to eat?”
杨子藏走了出来，打着哈欠道：“你们想吃什么。”
“Bread!” they all said in unison.
“面包！”几人齐声道。