第一百二十九章 少年
Recalling that ability which countered his own and could make bullets swerve, Yuan Kun’s face turned extremely ugly as he slowly climbed to his feet and said with hesitation:
想到那硬克自己的，能让子弹拐弯的能力，袁昆脸色难看至极的爬起身来，迟缓道：
“A Jiajian, fine. I, Yuan Kun, acknowledge you as a friend. Let everyone apologize to the host together.”
“甲子间，好，你这个朋友我袁昆认了，大伙儿一起给东家赔个不是。”
Several team members obediently spoke words like “sorry” and “our apologies” toward the over twenty people ahead.
几名队友很是听话的对着前方二十多人说着“不好意思”、“抱歉”之类的话。
“Us.” The boy in the wilderness looked at the incense pill in Yuan Kun’s hand.
“我们。”后荒男孩看向袁昆手上的香丸。
Yuan Kun had no interest in even acknowledging them.
袁昆连搭理他们的兴趣都没有。
“I remember now—it’s him! The Jiajian!”
“我想起来了，甲子间，是他！”
One of the wilderness boys pointed at Yang Zicang in surprise. “Rumor has it that the Wild Wagon Freight Team was obliterated by him!”
后荒男孩中一人惊讶的指着杨子藏，“据传荒车大货队是他们覆灭的！”
The few men in Qiongshan’s freight team thought it over. Though they hadn’t witnessed the scene themselves, word had already spread: “The Wild Wagon Freight Team had designs on a quadrilateral shed master’s model, but was wiped out by a passerby.”
箜山货队几人想了下，虽然没有见过当时的画面，但关于“荒车大货队打一名四边形小棚主模型的主意，却被路过之人顺手覆灭”的消息已经传出。
Recalling the description from the rumor, Yuan Kun suddenly aligned the few in front of him with what he had heard before, and a chill ran down his spine.
回忆了下传言中的描述，袁昆顿时将眼前几人与之前的消息所重合，霎时心中一阵恶寒。
He looked at Shed Master Song: “You… it really was you?”
他看向宋棚主：“你们，真的是你们？”
Yang Zicang ceased the activation of his secret technique, and the oppressive, uneasy feeling in everyone’s chest instantly lifted.
杨子藏断掉秘技的发动，众人胸中那心慌意乱之感霎时抽离。
A subtle fragrance permeated the air, and the few men took several deep breaths, gradually calming themselves.
幽香四溢，几人深深吸了好几口，心情逐渐平静了下来。
“Be careful. The Desolate Cart has a figure who appears and disappears like a ghost. He’s the most dangerous one, seemingly called Nethershade.” Yuan Kun quickly offered a well-intentioned warning to mend the unpleasantness among the group.
“小心，荒车有个神出鬼没之人，他才是最危险的家伙，似乎叫做冥影。”袁昆赶紧发出善意的提醒，以此来修复大家之间的不愉快。
“We’ve already crossed paths with him.”
“我们已经交过手了。”
“Already crossed paths!”
“交过手了！”
This time, Yuan Kun was completely convinced.
这下袁昆是彻底的服气了。
If there was anyone on this wilderness who could send chills down your spine and make you remain on constant guard, it had to be Nethershade. He never expected that during this Jiazi cycle, they had already faced off against that great deity of the Desolate Cart.
如果说在这片荒原上，有谁能令人胆寒，随时都要提防，非得是那冥影不可。没想到这甲子间已经跟荒车的那尊大神交手过了。
Yang Zicang said, “He can turn invisible, but he must break his invisibility to attack someone—that’s his weakness.”
杨子藏道：“他可以隐身，不过若要攻击人则必须解除隐身，这是他的弱点。”
Everyone present was speechless. It seemed Nethershade had suffered no small losses at Yang Zicang’s hands, to have his weaknesses even exposed.
周围人都无语，看来冥影在杨子藏手上也吃了不少亏，连弱点都被掌握。
These people really keep a low profile. If it weren’t for this action, who would have known that such formidable figures existed on the wilderness?
这几人还真是低调啊，要不是这次出手，谁晓得荒原上有这种人物。
Yuan Kun sighed inwardly. Luckily, no bigger disaster had brewed today, or he’d surely be meeting his maker. He only hoped he could acquire more of Fang Leader’s requested mountain entry items—the incense pellets.
袁昆暗叹，今天还好没惹出更大的乱子，否则自己就要见阎王去了。只希望等下能多买到副棚主交代的进山之物，也就是这香丸才好。
……
……
Meanwhile, a surge of excitement bubbled up in the middle camp, Aya.
另一边，此刻最为激动的则是阿雅。
The model link on her chest had remained almost uninterrupted. By this point, two teams had already witnessed the actions of the Twilight Pass crew, casting no doubt on the incense pellets’ effects.
她胸前的模型链接几乎一直未断过，此刻已经有两只队伍前后看到了黄昏大棚之人的所作所为，对香丸的效果更不怀疑。
The contact on the other side of the Mental Link was already asking Aya enthusiastically to please reserve some incense pellets for them, as someone would come to collect them later in the afternoon.
心灵链接对面之人已经激动的告知阿雅，请一定要为他们留下几枚香丸，今天晚些时候就有人来取。
Time had unknowingly crept to noon.
时间不知不觉到了中午。
“Captain Jia, we failed to recognize your worth earlier. Please forgive us.”
“这位甲队长，刚才我们有眼不识泰山，对不住了。”
“Please sell us a few more incense pellets. Next week is too long—we want to enter the mountain earlier.”
“请再卖给我们几枚香丸吧，下礼拜太久，我们想提前进入。”
“Yes, just name your price.”
“对，您开个价。”
Just as the group was speaking, another team approached.
几人正说着，又有队人过来。
“Five hundred per pellet.”
“五百一枚。”
Aya said to the group. This was the pricing set by Yang Zicang based on order timing.
阿雅对着几人道，这是杨子藏规定的时序价格。
Yuan Kun, who had been lingering shamelessly, stepped forward. “At that price, sell us ten more too.”
在一旁死皮白赖等了半天的袁昆走上前，“就按这价格，给我们也再来十枚吧。”
Aya looked at Yang Zicang.
阿雅看向杨子藏。
“Let’s go with five hundred for today. But aside from what we’ve already agreed on, no more sales.”
“今天都算五百吧，另外除了刚才约好的，其它不卖了。”
Aya acknowledged.
阿雅表示知道了。
That night, Aya kept reviewing the records in her ledger from inside the tent.
夜晚，帐篷里的阿雅还在不断看着手帐上的记录。
—Kongshan Encampment, 3 pellets, 1,100 years.
——箜山大棚，3枚，1100年。
—Backwoods Boy, 2 pellets, 1,000 years.
——后荒男孩，2枚，1000年。
—Li Brothers, 1+5 pellets, 3,000 years.
——李氏兄弟，1+5枚，3000年。
—Lijiang Encampment, 2+7 pellets, 4,650 years…
——丽疆大棚，2+7枚，4650年…..
A full page—this was the day’s earnings.
整整一页，这是今天的收入。
Even though she had counted it several times, Aya couldn’t help but keep looking again and again.
明明已经算了几遍，阿雅还是忍不住看了又看。
The tent flap lifted, and Ning Yang entered.
帐篷帘子掀开，宁洋走进来。
“Ya’er, I…”
“雅儿，我…”
“Chief.”
“棚主。”
Ning Yang paused, mid-sentence, then shifted topic:
宁洋顿时噎住话，他转而道：
“How much did they make today?”
“今天他们赚了多少？”
Only then did Aya break into a genuine smile:
阿雅这才真心露出笑容：
“Twenty-one thousand seven hundred fifty! My god, and this is only the first day.”
“两万一千七百五！天啊，这才第一天。”
Ning Yang walked over, looking at the paper. The final total was the number 21,750—written in Aya’s handwriting.
宁洋走了过来看向纸张，最后的总数便是21750几个数字，这是阿雅的笔迹。
His heart was pounding.
他的心怦怦直跳。
“I knew we earned a lot today, but I didn’t expect this much. Ah, when will I ever achieve something like that.”
“我知道今天赚了很多，但没想到有这么多。唉，什么时候我才能这样。”
He now understood why the progress of the greenhouse was worlds apart from his own small shelter area.
他理解了为什么大棚的发展速度，跟自己那种小棚区是天壤之别。
The gap was too immense.
差距太大了。
“I didn’t expect that someone would be eager to send Time Sequence even for five hundred coins each. If Brother Yang hadn’t settled on that final figure, I bet people would have paid even higher prices.”
“我也没想到，五百年一枚都有人赶着送时序。要不是杨大哥最后说就定这个数，恐怕价格更高也有人埋单。”
“Yeah. And once the supplies from his place are sold off, that’ll bring in another decent sum.”
“是啊。而且等他那里的物资卖出去，还有笔不错的收入。”
Ning Yang felt no hint of jealousy, but disappointment was inevitable.
宁洋没有丝毫嫉妒之意，但失落是难免的。
……
……
Luo Bin, who had been sent back to the camp by Yang Zicang, lay on the bed. He quietly pulled the quilt over himself, and beneath the covers, the light of the rectangle model flickered.
被杨子藏送回驻地的洛宾躺在床上，他悄悄盖上棉被，被窝内，模型的光芒闪动。
[I am conducting a second intelligence gathering on Yang Zicang’s near-term goals. This will cost me 10N principal.]
[我第二次发掘关于杨子藏近期目标的情报，这将花费我10N本金。]
[Second intelligence gathering failed.]
[第二次情报发掘失败。]
No new information was obtained. Luo Bin let out a soft breath and sank into thought.
没有获得新信息，洛宾轻轻吐出口浊气，沉思着。
Liang Xi walked into the room, yawning.
梁喜打着哈欠走进房间。
“Brother Luo, I heard Brother Yang had a pretty good day today. Uh, keep your snoring down, alright?”
“洛哥，听说杨哥那边今天还不错。唔，你呼噜声小点。”
“Heh heh, you get some good rest. I’ll keep watch.”
“嘿嘿，你好好休息吧，我守夜。”
Luo Bin propped his head up sideways and could faintly hear the laughter of Fan Xiuyun and the others from the next room.
洛宾侧身撑着脑袋，他隐约能听到隔壁范修云几人的欢笑声。
A strong start—everyone was pumped today, except for Liang Xi.
开门红，今天大伙都很振奋，除了梁喜。
Because he had just become familiar with the place, and right at this critical moment when the team was making their first big earnings back in the city, an A-class interwoven space had emerged that needed his help to stabilize.
因为他刚刚在这里熟悉，而且正处在团队赚取第一桶金的关键时刻，城市中的李弥却拜托他去帮忙稳定新一个月出现的A级交错空间。
“Still, thinking about it another way, I guess I’m kind of impressive.”
“不过，换个方面想，我也算是厉害的人物了。”
Liang Xi, under the covers, smiled and drifted off to sleep.
被窝里的梁喜露出个笑容，陷入了梦乡。
……
……
Earth.
地球。
Countless different landscapes churned in his mind, then gradually faded away.
无数不同的大地相貌在脑海中翻腾，又渐渐消失。
Hong Haocheng opened his dazed eyes.
洪灏承睁开茫然的眼眸。
Beside the bed sat a figure with a straight back, like a soldier, though it was uncertain—he wore a navy-blue uniform with black trim.
床边坐着道腰肢笔直的身影，像是名军人，不过不确定，他穿着藏蓝黑边的水手制服。
“Where is this?” Hong Haocheng turned his head to look at the person beside him.
“这是哪儿？”洪灏（hào）承扭头看向身旁的人。
“At sea.”
“海上。”
“At sea?”
“海上？”
Hong Haocheng tried to get up, but found he couldn’t seem to feel any part where he could generate force—there was a numb, tingling sensation at his hips, rendering him unable to exert strength.
洪灏承想起身，却发现自己似乎感觉不到能够借力的部位，胯骨那里是酥麻的，使不上劲。
“Or rather, beneath the sea,” said the man with the soldier-like demeanor.
“或者说，海下。”这名神似军人气质的男子道。
A buzzing sound echoed in his ears, the resonance of machinery. Everything here felt strange, even the air had an unfamiliar tautness.
嗡嗡的声音在耳边回响，是机器的共鸣。这里一切都显得怪异，连空气都拥有陌生的紧绷感。
“What… happened to me?” The boy looked around.
“我，怎么了？”少年望了圈周围。
The iron-walled room was very small, and now he could finally feel his body swaying.
铁皮房间很小，这时他终于能感觉到身体在晃动。
The entire room was swaying.
整个房间都在晃动。
The numbness was fading, but his tactile sense grew stronger.
酥麻感越来越弱，对身体的触觉却越来越强了。
Only then did fragmented memories rush back.
此刻一些支离破碎的记忆才涌现而来。
He remembered one foot on the computer chair, holding an empty teacup like a microphone, the other hand gripping a page of script, passionately shouting out the play’s lines on the paper.
自己一只脚踩在电脑椅上，举着空茶杯当着话筒，另一只手拿着页台词，声情并茂的吼出手中纸张上的话剧台词。
— “I, heaven’s favored son!”
——“我，天之骄子！”
— “I shall roam this earth…”
——“我将在这片大地上啊…”
In the living room, his friends gathered around, some holding popcorn, others with drinks, occasionally bursting into laughter and applause.
客厅中，自己的朋友们围坐在一旁，有的捧着爆米花，有的拿着饮料，不时发出阵阵哄笑和掌声。
Senior Sister Zhang Shumin laughed and said, “Haocheng, you’re really our ‘chosen one,’ hahaha.”
学姐张淑敏笑着道：“灏承，你就是我们的‘天之骄子’，哈哈哈。”
“Using this show to welcome the new students, the advisor will definitely roll their eyes at you.”
“用这个节目欢迎新生，辅导员肯定会对你翻白眼。”
The phone rang…
电话声响起…
The fragmented scenes quickly faded away.
破碎的画面快速消退。
Back then, I was rehearsing a play and then received a strange call that came twice. The unfamiliar woman on the other end told me to leave quickly and not stay.
当时的自己是在彩排话剧，然后接到了个两次打来的陌生电话。电话那端的陌生女士让自己快离开，不要停留。
But I hung up without paying any attention.
但自己没有在意的挂断。
After that, here I am.
再之后，就是这里了。
Clank! The thick yet small round iron door swung open.
喀！厚重但并不大的圆形铁门打开。
Hong Haocheng looked up as two people in masks and sky-blue uniforms walked in, followed last by a middle-aged man with gold trim on his uniform.
洪灏承抬头，两名带着口罩，穿着天蓝色制服的人走了进来，最后方跟着道制服上有金边的中年人。
“Awake? Hmm, recovering well. Come on, young man, try to sit up.”
“醒了？嗯，恢复得还不错，来小伙子，试试看能不能坐起来。”
“Who are you? “
“你们是？”
“I’m surnamed Feng. You can think of us as a non-governmental department that handles special incidents.”
“我姓冯，你可以将我们理解为一个处理特殊事件的非政府部门。”
“Non-governmental?”
“非政府？”
Hong Haocheng looked at these people somewhat bewildered as they started directing him.
洪灏承有点莫名其妙的看着这几人指挥着自己。
But at that moment, he had no choice, and besides, it seemed like something was wrong with his own body. Hong Haocheng tried to prop himself up, only succeeding after several attempts.
但此刻他没得选，而且自己的身体的确像是出现了什么问题。洪灏承试着撑起身子，努力了好几下才成功。
Only then did he notice that his skin color was different—from the waist down it was almost entirely pale and tender, while his chest area was similarly shaded.
现在他才发现，自己的皮肤颜色不一样，腰部以下的部分几乎都很白嫩，而胸膛附近也有类似的颜色。
He clenched his hand into a fist and then released it.
他将手掌捏成拳又松开。
His entire body exuded a vigorous aura, like a human leopard, with a powerful sensation in his fists.
自己周身都散发着雄健的气息，仿佛人形猎豹，拳头上充满力量感。
“What’s going on with me?”
“我这是？”
Your rental house was attacked, and we found you in the ruins.” this person said.
“你的出租房被袭击了，我们在废墟中发现了你。”这个人说道。
“What about my friends? Are they still alive? Who did this—terrorists?”
“我朋友们呢，他们都还活着吗？谁干的，恐怖分子？”
Terrorists—though it was just a word he’d heard on TV, it was the first thing that came to Hong Haocheng’s mind. Or who else would attack ordinary people in a city?
恐怖分子，虽然那只是自己电视上听过的词语，洪灏承第一个想到的就是它们。否则谁会在城市中袭击普通人。
“Your friends?” The three exchanged glances, their expressions shifting slightly.
“你朋友？”三人互相对望了一眼，脸色有点变化。
The dignified middle-aged man who entered last said,
最后进来的那气度不凡的中年人说道：
“Young man, if you want to know the truth, from now on, your life no longer belongs to you. In fact, it already pretty much doesn’t.”
“小伙子，如果想知道的话，以后你的生命就不属于你自己了。当然，现在也差不多不属于你自己了。”
“I don’t know anything.” Hong Haocheng raised his hands in panic.
“我什么都不知道。”洪灏承慌乱的举起手。
The other man pulled out his phone, unlocked the screen and displayed a phone number.
对方掏出手机打开屏幕，上面显示着一串电话号码。
“This is the last number that called you. We’ve already identified who the person is. Have you met her?”
“这个是最后给你打电话的号码，人我们已经查出来是谁了，她你见过没有。”
He swiped the screen, revealing the image of a beautiful girl with a smiling face.
他滑动了下屏幕，显示出位俏脸含笑的美貌女孩。
Looking at the girl on the phone, Hong Haocheng thought for a moment. He recognized her.
看着手机上的女生形象，洪灏承想了想，他对这个女孩有印象。
“I bumped into her on the street a couple of days ago. Her documents scattered everywhere, and I even grumbled at her. Her name was… something…”
“前两天我在路上跟她撞到过，她的文件撒了一地，我还抱怨她来着。她好像叫…什么…”
“Her surname is Wang.”
“姓王。”
“Oh, right, I saw it on the documents—something like that. Hey? Why would she call me? You guys… uh, how come my body feels like…”
“哦对，我看到上面的名字，好像是叫这个。咦，她怎么会打给我，你们…呃，我身体怎么像是…”
“Hong Haocheng sensed something was off about the atmosphere.
洪灏承感觉气氛有点不对。
“Miss Wang deliberately let you bump into her. According to her, that was the opportunity to meet you. Without it, you two would never have come to know and understand each other.”
“王小姐实际上是故意被你撞到的。据她说，这是跟你相见的契机，若不如此做，你跟她就不会相识，相知。”
Hong Haocheng felt a chill, as if he were being targeted by someone who seemed normal on the surface but was actually a crazed lunatic.
洪灏承感觉到一股寒意，像是被表面正常但实际是个疯狂变态的家伙所盯上了般。