第一百三十章 好意
Several people at the door approached Hong Haocheng. A young man with a straight posture couldn’t help but ask him:
门口几人靠近洪灏承，一位身材笔直的年轻人忍不住对洪灏承道：
“You just mentioned your friend. Was there anyone else in that living room at the time?”
“你刚刚说你朋友，当时那客厅中还有别的人吗？”
“Of course, there were many. Like…”
“当然啊，很多了，像…”
Hong Haocheng opened his mouth wide, but in the end, not a single word came out.
洪灏承的嘴张得很大，却最终没有一个字能够说出来。
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on his chest.
所有人的目光都看向他胸口。
Hong Haocheng lowered his gaze to his chest as well. The moment he was about to utter those names, a faint, circular glow appeared, resembling a simple silver-white ring.
洪灏承也垂下目光望向胸前，就在他想要吐出那些人名字的瞬间，一道若有若无的圆形光芒浮现，犹如简约的银白色戒指。
{Do not reveal their information. For every name you speak, one person will die.}
{不要透露他们的信息，你每说出一个人的名字，就会有一个人死去。}
The voice of an unfamiliar woman—echoing directly in his own mind…
陌生女人的声音，居然在自己心中直接响起了…
Hong Haocheng felt fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
洪灏承感觉自己额头渗出了细密汗珠。
“I forgot,” he said reluctantly.
“我忘了。”他艰难的道。
A flimsy excuse. But the people around him didn’t press him, easily letting the matter slide.
很蹩脚的借口。但周围几人没有逼迫他，轻易就将这事揭了过去。
……
……
The Lost Frequency Zone.
失频之地。
After more than a day of spreading messages, the number of people at the Macro Party’s Construction Supply Camp increased the following day. Two teams had even arrived before dawn.
经过一天多的消息传递，第二天大甲方筑货队驻地来的人更多，有两只队伍甚至凌晨就已经到了。
Hearing that some had already entered the forest, the newcomers, who had planned to haggle, immediately bought two tokens without a word and headed out. Not long after, they returned and purchased three more, carrying a shiny-furred beast cub they presented as a gift to the people from the Macro Party.
听闻已有人进入林区，原本还想讲价的新来者二话不说就买了两枚进山而去，没多久又回来买了三枚，并扛了头皮毛光亮的野兽幼崽送给了大甲方之人。
Seeing the little furry creature, wide-eyed and trembling, yet still letting out “woof~ woof~” threats at everyone, Ning Yang and the people brought by Shed Master Song were all delighted and began teasing it.
瞧见这瞪大眼睛浑身颤抖，却还“恶恶~”凶着大伙儿的毛茸茸小家伙，宁洋和宋棚主带来的几人都满心欢喜的逗着它。
“Be good, from now on, you’ll eat and drink well with us.”
“乖，以后跟我们吃香的喝辣的。”
“Woof!”
“呜汪！”
“It came from an A-level overlapping zone, so let’s call it Little A.”
“A级交错地出来的，以后就叫它小A吧。”
Little A, who looked like a wolf puppy, bit down with a “woof” on this person’s hand.
跟狼狗崽似的小A哇唔一口咬在这人手上。
The crowd burst into laughter.
人群哈哈大笑。
By noon, the crowd in front of the temporary camp grew larger, and general goods began to gradually sell slowly.
至正午，临时驻地前人越来越多，百货也开始慢慢的销售起来。
People from dozens of miles away, hearing that other daily necessities were also being sold here at cheap prices, began setting out in groups from several nearby small to medium-sized shed areas, even those with limited time, bringing along their own “handicraft specialties,” initially forming the semblance of a small market.
附近几十里地的人，听闻这还在卖其它生活物资，价格还便宜，周遭几个中小棚区好些没多少时序的人也三五成群出发往这边赶，并带上了各自的“手工特产”，初步有了小集市的样子。
On Saturday afternoon, Hub Town.
周六下午，枢纽镇。
Zhu Yin arrived at the entrance of the meeting room, took down a newly delivered mail newspaper, and indeed saw a familiar name on the last page.
逐银来到会议室门口，取下份新送来的邮报，在最后页果然看到了熟悉的名字。
— Major Framework Construction Mover Team, 15 points.
——大甲方筑货队，15分。
It was barely enough to make the rankings, which was also the score of most mover teams that made it onto the list.
堪堪够上榜的分数，这也是大多数上榜货队的分数。
“Next week will mark the fifth week since Yang Zicang went in.”
“下个礼拜，就是杨子藏进去的第五个礼拜了。”
Zhu Yin murmured to himself. Looking up at the elegantly and retro-finished wooden corridor, he saw two administrators of Hub Town walking over from the hall passage.
逐银喃喃自语，他抬头看向装修精致复古的木质过道，两名枢纽镇的管理者从大厅通道走过来。
“Deputy Town Chief, it’s the 10th today. Are you going back to your city to prepare for new recruits?”
“副镇，今天都十号了，你要回你们城市去准备新人进入吗？”
“If you don’t go back by the middle of this month, then we’ll go,” said the other.
“如果这个月中你不回去，那我们就回去了。”另一人道。
Zhu Yincang nodded, “I’ve already arranged things on the city’s end last month; you can go back this month. I’ll keep an eye on the town here.”
逐银点点头，“城市那边我上月末已安排妥当，这个月你们就回去吧，镇子这边我看着。”
“We’ll leave you to it, Deputy Mayor.”
“那就辛苦副镇了。”
“Actually, Hub Town can function normally with or without us; there’s no need to worry too much,” he added. “If anything comes up, I’ll contact you; crossing an A-level staggered zone only takes half a day.”
“其实枢纽镇有没有我们都会正常运转，不用过多担心。”他补充道，“有事我联系你们，穿越A级交错地也就小半天而已。”
“Then we’ll leave it to you, Deputy Mayor. Our space has been stable for half a year; this month, we need to start stabilizing a new space.”
“那辛苦副镇了，我们的空间已经存在半年，这个月要去开始稳定新空间了。”
Although successfully stabilized alternate spaces can last permanently, the corridors connecting them with Hub Town grow increasingly unstable and usually collapse within about a year.
虽然成功稳定的异度空间可以长久存在，但与枢纽镇相连的通道会越来越不稳定，大多一年左右便会坍塌。
Thus, city representatives entering Hub Town by stabilizing A-level staggered zones typically need to consider starting new A-grade topography stabilization work every six months. Stabilizing the terrain doesn’t always succeed; a single failure means a month of work wasted, so they must leave extra time.
因此各个城市，通过稳定A级交错地进入枢纽镇的人，基本上每半年就要考虑开始新的A级地貌的稳定工作。稳定地貌并非每次都会成功，一次失败等于一个月的时间被浪费，所以要留出多余的时间。
A day passed quickly. On Sunday morning, Yang Zicang had just woken up when he heard a voice in his heart—a thought-call from some entity in the Spectrum-Lost Zone.
一天时间很快过去，礼拜天早上，杨子藏刚睡醒，便听到了心中这句来自失频之地某种存在的心念之声。
[You have given birth to fame, within the Spectrum-Lost Zone.]
[你已诞生名气，于失频之地。]
“This is the advantage of having my own enterprise.”
“这就是有自己事业的好处了。”
The young man couldn’t help but sigh. The shed landholders and trade vehicle leaders who had paved their way probably went through this every week, easily leveraging their influence to gain newfound fame.
年轻人不禁感叹，铺好路的那些棚区与货队主们，恐怕每个礼拜都是如此，轻易就借助自己的势力，获得崭新的名气。
The temporary market he had set up outside these mountains over the past few days’ efforts might continue to generate fame values for him steadily in the months ahead.
自己通过上礼拜的几日运作，在这山外建立起来的临时集市，恐怕能在接下来几个月都源源不断为自己诞生名气值。
[Your fame value this week has exceeded 10; it is currently 25.]
[你本周的名气值已超过10，当前为25。]
Yang Zicang frowned.
杨子藏皱了皱眉。
This time, he had operated under the banner of the construction transport team. Yet, just like the last time, the team had barely gained a reputation; he had only slept one night and, upon waking, found that the reputation had already climbed past twenty.
这次的事情，自己可是以筑货队的名义来进行的。但却又跟上次一样，明明货队刚诞生名气，自己只是睡了一觉，醒来名气却已经二十多了。
“Forget it. It doesn’t really matter either way.”
“算了，反正有没有无所谓。”
Muttering to himself, Yang Zicang yawned, lifted the bedsheet, and sat on the edge of the bed. He rubbed his eyes and took stock of his surroundings.
自言自语了句后，杨子藏打了个哈欠掀开被单坐到床边，揉了揉眼睛，感受了下。
Perhaps because several weeks had passed, the other party had grown familiar with him, and he no longer felt the stare of being watched as in those first few weeks.
或许是因为连续好几个礼拜，对方已经非常熟悉自己，并没有刚开始几个礼拜那种被注视的感觉。
“Woof.”
“呜汪。”
The faint commotion outside the thick tent drifted in.
厚实帐篷外隐约的喧闹声传来。
“Little rascal, don’t run! Hey, someone catch it—that thing burned the rope clean off!”
“小家伙别跑，喂，谁帮我逮住它，那东西居然把绳子给弄焦了。”
“Ouch, it bit me! Pay me back my three days of sequence time!”
“哇，它咬我，赔我三天时序。”
“Go ask Aya for that.”
“找阿雅要去吧你。”
As he lifted the curtain and stepped out of the tent, the row of large wooden huts ahead was already bustling with activity, like an exhibition fair starting up.
掀帘走出帐篷，前方那排大木屋外已经非常热闹，就像是开展销会似的。
Not far to the left and right, more tents were pitched—some as temporary bases for teams heading into the mountains, others as collection stalls set up by people from nearby small shed districts.
左右两边的不远处，还有更多的帐篷在驻扎，它们有些是进山队伍的临时基地，还有些则是附近小棚区的人来搭建的收货摊位。
These folks also took the chance to peddle small local specialties, such as woven rattan baskets, self-forged iron tools, or common weapons.
这些人也趁机卖一些各自的小特产，比如藤蔓编制的箩筐，或者自己铸造的铁器与普通武器等等。
The water wells, ordinary foundations, ice houses, and other Forgetting Engines made from materials supplied by Zhuyin and the headquarters had been continuously shipped since the time he worked as a itinerant trader. Some of these were now displayed and sold here, attracting the attention of numerous small and medium shed leaders.
逐银和总部那边给自己送来的材料所制作的水井、普通地基、冰库等失念引擎，从之前做游商时就开始在不断出货，现在这里也有部分摆出来售卖，吸引许多中小棚主的关注。
For this reason, Zuofeixian had buried a water well here, and the sweet spring brought joy to everyone, making them think even more highly of the Great A-Fang Goods Team. Even though it’s just a temporary base, they willing to bury a water well here that produces such high-quality water, leading many to develop a different idea—maybe this place could be preserved long-term.
为此，左非闲在此埋下了一口水井，甘泉让众人欢然，更是高看大甲方货队许多。仅仅只是个临时基地，居然愿意在这里埋下口水井，出的水质还非常的好，让许多人萌生了异样想法——或许这里以后可以长久的被保留下来。
Therefore, the reputation of the Great A-Fang Goods Team became even more prominent.
因此，大甲方筑货队的名声更为显露。
On the wasteland.
荒原上。
“Damn it, this Jiao operator between the systems is really not a good thing. I barely scraped together over two hundred system days by begging and borrowing, and then he goes and sells early.”
“他大爷的，这甲子间可真不是个好东西，我左拆右借才好不容易搞到两百多年时序，他来个提前出货。”
Many who were still foolishly waiting for next Tuesday’s sale, upon hearing that people had already paid high prices to enter, had long since been cursing the Great A-Fang Goods Team for breaking their promise while flocking to set off like a procession of refugees.
很多还在傻傻等待礼拜二开卖的人听闻已经有人花高价进去后，早就边咒骂大甲方货队不守信，边一窝蜂的启程而来，就像一只只行进的难民队。
Voices denouncing him were everywhere.
到处都是对他的讨伐声。
“What’s the deal? Only you take those profiteers at their word. When I heard he said it wouldn’t open for sale until next week, I smelled something fishy right away, sure enough.”
“这有啥，也就你把那些奸商的话当真。听到他说下礼拜才开卖，我当时就知道肯定有猫腻，果不其然。”
“It’s not that. I was afraid that bastard might pull something like a limited supply on the day itself. Do you think we, limited to buying at just the usual price, could even snag any? It would definitely get marked up.”
“不是啊，我是怕到时候那狗东西来个当天限量供应之类的，你说我们这些只够正价买的人，抢不抢得到？肯定会抬价啊。”
The travelers hurrying along fell into deep thought.
赶路的众人陷入了沉思。
“Are you saying you’re worried about him pulling off a hunger marketing scheme?”
“你是说，担心他搞饥饿营销？”
A man carrying a backpack walked along while saying angrily, “Damn it, we should all boycott it together!”
一人背着包，边走边气愤道：“靠，就应该一起抵制它！”
“Come on, do you think those top-tier powerhouse folks would be stupid enough to let latecomers snatch opportunities to trek into the mountains?”
“得了吧，那些高手们会傻到把进山的机会让给后来的人？”
A man riding on an animal mount cleared his throat:
骑在兽背上的一人清了清嗓子：
“Hey, let me tell you something. Actually, that cargo team from the big client countain includes people who use psycho-attack abilities. This is a secret, so don’t go blabbing it.”
“喂，告诉你们，其实那个大甲方的货队内就有精神攻击方面的能力，这可是秘密消息，你们别乱说哦。”
“Good heavens, really? How did you find out?”
“天啊，真的？你咋晓得的？”
On hearing this, most of the people in this traveling group turned to the man on the ride, listening as he began a vivid and detailed explanation—as if seeing the debacle himself—of how the people at the Dusk Shed had been bested two days earlier.
听到这话，这只赶路的队伍内大多数的人都看向这骑在兽背上的人，听他开始有鼻子有眼的讲述前两天黄昏大棚的人吃瘪的事情。
And the real proprietor of Dusk Shed was still kept completely in the dark about the whole thing.
而黄昏大棚的正主，到现在还被蒙在鼓里。
In Wuyou Goods Market, Shed Master Wuyou put down his chopsticks, picked up a napkin, and wiped his mouth.
无忧货贸区，无忧棚主放下手中的筷子，拿起餐巾擦了擦嘴。
Glancing at the sky outside his window, he estimated that YangZicang should be awake by then. A folded crease of light shot out from his chest, successfully making a connection as he anticipated.
看了眼窗外天色，估摸着杨子藏已经起床，他胸前一道折线射出去，果然很顺利的与之连通。
“Good morning, Master Zicang.”
“早啊，子藏先生。”
{Good morning, Shed Master Wuyou. Have the materials been prepared for me?}
{早，无忧棚主，是材料给我备好了吗？}
“Yes, yes! Oh, it has to be you, Master Zicang. If it were me handling this kind of living off the mountain resource deal, I wouldn’t be nearly this resourceful. I’ve had someone deliver it to you—it’s just one cartful. Ha ha, don’t think it’s too little, pal. I’ve made and formed it into incense pellets for you.”
“对的对的，哎呀还得是子藏先生你，这种靠山吃山的事换我就不好做的。我已经差人给你送过来了，只有一车，嘿嘿，别嫌少，兄弟我替你做成香丸了。”
For a whole cartload full of incense pellets, a warmth surged in YangZicang’s heart. This was a kind deed done by Wuyou for free; YangZicang himself had barely used any sequence-time cultivation.
整整一车香丸，杨子藏心中闪过暖意，这可是无忧免费帮忙的，自己根本没花多少时序。
{Thank you, Shed Master. My little business is nothing compared to yours, Shed Master Wuyou. I’ll pay you a visit another day to offer my thanks in person.}
{谢谢棚主了，我这生意跟无忧棚主比，只是小儿科罢了，改天我登门感谢你。}
“Haha, you trusted me enough to give me that recipe for free. If I didn’t even lend a hand in return, how could I call myself an immortal who lives forever without aging?”
“哈哈，你能将那配方无偿送给我，就是真信得过我无忧，这点忙我都不帮，还算作长生不老的神仙？”
After a round of mutual flattery, Shed Master Wuyou then ordered his men to personally deliver the pills made from locally purchased herbs. With Wuyou’s strength, covering a distance of several hundred kilometers certainly wouldn’t take long.
一番互相吹捧之后，无忧棚主才命人亲自将附近收购到的药草做成的丸子送过去。以无忧的实力，跨越几百公里的时间，肯定是花不了多久的。
After disconnecting the line, one of the women by the table—a plump, voluptuous one—spoke up:
断掉连线后，桌旁几位美女中，一位体态丰腴的妇人道:
“Shed Master, this Mr. Yang is truly generous. To give away a recipe for such powerful incense pills just like that… he really trusts us.”
“棚主，这杨先生还真是慷慨，这样厉害的香丸配方，说送便送了，他还真是信得过咱们。”
“That’s right, especially in times like these. He doesn’t even worry that we might steal his business. And this is worth many, many tens of thousands of cycles,” added another person at the table.
“对呀，还是在这种时候，都不担心我们抢他们的生意，这可是好多好多万的时序呢。”桌上另一人道。
The Shed Master appeared quite pleased; Yang Zicang had helped him save a lot of face in front of his own people:
棚主显得很是畅快，杨子藏这也算让他在自家人前长了很大的面子：
“That’s why a friend like him is worth keeping. Ah, I’ve earned so many long cycles in my life, yet the more I have, the lonelier I feel when I think about the years ahead. In the days to come, if I can be accompanied by friends like this, it would truly be a blessing.”
“所以啊，这样的朋友才值得结交。唉，我无忧赚了这么多漫长的时光，可越是如此，想到未来的岁月便越觉孤独。以后的日子里若有更多这样的一群朋友陪伴，倒也是件庆幸的事情。”
He stood up. “Let only me and Supervisor Hao know about this incense pill recipe. If we come across similar places in the future, we’ll explore them on our own. Remember, don’t spread this around—it’ll only invite trouble.”
他站起身来，“这份香丸的配方，我跟郝主管几人知道就好，后面若是遇到类似的地方，咱们就自己去探索，你们记住不要宣扬出去，徒惹麻烦。”
The charming women at the table laughed and said, “We understand.”
桌上莺莺燕燕的几人笑道：“我们晓得的。”
On the other side, Yang Zicang had just put down his bowl and chopsticks after finishing breakfast when he received a connection request from Boss Zhuang of the Dufrequency Inn.
另一边，也吃过早饭的杨子藏刚放下碗筷，就接到了来自独频客栈庄老板的连接。
“D*mn, first-class party, you kept me in the dark so well. I invited you to do a job, but you went off to claim territory and sell tickets instead. What’s up, not giving your big bro a break?”
{我靠，甲子间，你瞒得我好苦啊，我请你去做任务，你却跑去圈地卖票了。怎么地，都不带带哥哥我吗？}
Yang Zicang scratched his head, having long since forgotten about this guy.
杨子藏抠了抠脑袋，他早把这人给忘到一边了。