第一百三十八章 恶藤
Rustling. The vines ensnared Li Zhinan tightly, dragging him deep into the tunnel.
簌簌，藤蔓将李智南团团捆住，拉进了通道深处。
On the wall, a human face had grown on the trunk of a tree. Its fake eyes stared at Li Zhinan, who was now tightly bound by the vines.
墙上一道树木躯干上长出了人类的脸庞。它用虚假的眼眸看向被藤蔓紧紧捆住的李智南。
{A feeble creature, but you’re all I have… Take my juvenile offspring out of here.}
{好弱小的生物，不过也只有你了…带着我的幼体分身出去。}
Slap! The vine let out a sound under the impact of a segment of vibrant green plant, which fell onto Li Zhinan the moment the connection was severed.
啪！男人摔落在藤蔓上，一截翠绿的植物茎块落在他身上。
“What—what is this?!”
“这，这是什么？！”
{In your world, the more bio-life it absorbs, the faster it grows. The energy from that piece of land can also replenish its chronology, let it reach 50,000 years as quickly as possible.}
{在你们世界，它吸收的生物寿命越多，成长得越快。那些地块的能量也可以为它补充时序，尽快到五万年。}
“Fifty thousand years!” Li Zhinan almost choked on his own saliva.
“五万年！”李智南差点被自己口水呛死。
{Hurry. There’s too much death energy here. I’ll be assimilated in a few months. If you get me out, I’ll reward you with secret human cultivation techniques.}
{快去，这里死气太过浓郁，再过几个月我就会被同化。等救我出去，我便赐予你人类可以修炼的秘技。}
As he spoke, Li Zhinan was flung toward the door by the ever-extending vines, the emerald green tubers growing from the stems clinging tightly to his body.
说罢，李智南被不断延展的藤蔓掀向门口，那茎块长出的翠绿茎块紧紧趴在他身上。
High atop the mountain, a phantom-like figure appeared, gazing toward the mouth of the cave.
山顶高处，一道幻影般的身影浮现看向洞口。
Countless wild beasts in the surrounding mountains and forests, as if receiving an invisible command, charged swiftly toward where Li Zhinan was.
周边山林无数野兽像是听到无形指令，快速往李智南所在之地冲去。
……
……
Qiao Ming no longer harbored any hope of finding that sword.
乔明对找到那把剑已经不抱什么希望了。
He gradually calmed down from the anxious and dejected feeling of losing the Chrono Weapon, accepting that it probably couldn’t be recovered. What shocked him now was that the friend from the deputy town had actually managed to get so much Chrono through a single A-class interleaving point.
他逐渐平复了失去时序战器的低落焦急心情，接受它大概找不回来这件事实。现在他震惊的是，副镇那位朋友居然能靠一个A级交错地，搞到那么多时序。
It was said they had already earned a pure profit of over 200,000 Chrono, far exceeding the value of an 80N weapon.
听说已经纯赚二十多万时序。早就超过了一把80N武器的价值。
“Sigh, with so many people in the mountain forest, our weapons must be gone by now.”
“唉，山林里那么多人，我们的战器该没了。”
Now he couldn’t even find anyone from the deputy town. Disappointed, he got up and left the town hall, thinking as he walked…
现在找副镇的人都找不到了，他失望的起身从城镇大厅离开，边走边想到…
If only he could have participated too.
要是自己也能参与就好了。
……
……
Outside the mountain area, near the temporary camp, traffic was heavy, with various horror sedan cars and motorcycles gathering.
山区外，临时驻地附近车水马龙，各种恶魇轿车、摩托聚集。
The crowds of people buying and selling goods walked through it as if it were nothing unusual, as if they were at a monster party in the wilderness.
买卖货物的人群见怪不怪的行走其间，仿佛置身一处旷野上的魔物派对。
On a nightmare tricycle, a hoarse, humming voice sang: {A bouquet~ was given to me by Sibel~ poor me.}
一辆恶魇三轮车上，正在哼哼地沙哑唱着：{一束花~是西贝尔送给我的~可怜的人。}
It hummed softly as it moved along with its owner at the edge of the bumpy marketplace, rattling the goods with a clatter.
它边轻哼，边随着其主人在坑坑洼洼的集市边缘前进，将货物抖动得叮当作响。
As Yang Zicang passed by, a person from Ning Yang’s encampment was waving a small brush for chasing insects and shouting:
杨子藏经过时，路边宁洋棚主的人正拿着赶昆虫的小刷子，晃着吆喝：
“Special deal on incense pellets today, only for collection teams! The first ten also get free realgar powder to repel snakes and insects!”
“今日有专供采集队的特价香丸！前十名还送防蛇虫雄黄粉！”
“Can the scent last five days? If so, I’ll take two servings.”
“香味能保五天吗？保的话我来两份。”
“Busy at work, Captain Jia.”
“在忙啊甲队长。”
Yang Zicang nodded with a smile, sidestepping an older woman who was bargaining while holding a monster cub under her arm.
杨子藏笑着点点头，避开了这个正用胳膊夹着怪兽幼崽讨价还价的大妈。
Nowadays, rumors about perilous incidents in several mountains were increasing. Ordinary people could finally understand how far their strength fell short of exploring Grade A fault zones.
现如今，关于几匹山内险恶事件的传言越来越多。普通人终于能理解自己的实力距离探索A级交错地有多大差距。
As time went on and information became more transparent, the price of incense pellets had dropped to about one hundred and ten to twenty years’ worth per piece.
因此香丸的价格在时间与信息逐步透明下，已下降至一百一二十年左右一枚。
“Yang, another team has gone missing today.”
“杨哥，今天又有队伍失踪。”
As soon as he approached the small wooden cabin, a man waiting at the door reported in a low voice. Yang Zicang gave a slight nod.
刚靠近小木屋，门口就有等待着的人低声汇报。杨子藏轻轻点头。
“Let’s talk inside.”
“进去说。”
Inside, Lyu Zhi and a young woman were organizing a few mountain area map documents. Seeing Yang Zicang and the others enter, they immediately stood up and vacated seats by the table.
屋内吕志和一位女生，正在整理几份关于山林的地图文件，瞧见杨子藏和几人进来，他们立即起身让出桌旁的座位。
“That dangerous zone that appeared in the mountains these past two days—over a dozen people have died entering it.”
“这两天在山中出现的那片危险区域，已经死了十来个进入的人了。”
The man beside Yang Zicang said:
跟在杨子藏身边的男人道：
“After checks by experts from Kongshan Great Tent, Huanghun Great Tent, and a few masters of the Qin Shi merchant team and Shaoguang, it was confirmed that inside there are man-eating vines. Countless beast carcasses were scattered all over, turning it into a near-death zone.”
“经过箜山大棚、黄昏大棚以及秦氏货队和韶光的几名高手探查确认，里面是片能吃人的藤蔓。无数野兽尸体遍布，几乎成为绝地。”
“Man-eating vines?”
“吃人的藤蔓？”
Yang Zicang took the document, which sketched the approximate shape of the vines.
杨子藏接过文件，上面画着关于藤蔓的大致模样。
“Yeah, wasn’t there a group of beasts annihilated before? It’s probably the work of this thing. So terrifying—hundreds of frenzied beasts were all wiped out in one wave.”
“是啊，之前不是有处兽群被覆灭，估计就是这东西的杰作，太可怕了，上百只发疯的野兽几乎一波就死绝了。”
“A group of beasts… near that mountain, right? This vine actually moved? It can shift locations?”
“兽群…是那座山附近对吧。这藤蔓居然挪位置了，会移动？”
Before Yang Zicang could finish speaking, another person opened the door and barged in, shouting:
还没等杨子藏说完便又有人开门找来，一开门就吼道：
“Captain Jia, save us!”
“甲队长救命！”
Watching his panting and anxious expression, Yang Zicang took the initiative to ask:
看着他气喘吁吁的神情，杨子藏主动开口道：
“This isn’t about those vines again, is it?”
“不会又是藤蔓吧。”
“Yes, Captain Zijian. My teammate said they wanted to check out that cave, but suddenly got pulled in by vines on the ground.”
“是啊，子间队长。我队友说去看看那个山洞，结果突然就被地上的藤蔓拉进去了。”
“A cave?”
“山洞？”
Yang Zicang and Lyu Zhi beside him both glanced at the papers in their hands. These vines had a growing footprint opening up everywhere.
杨子藏以及身边的吕志几人，都看向手上的文件，这藤蔓大有遍地开花的趋势。
“Even the Twilight Canopy couldn’t handle it. Captain Jia, only you can rescue them.”
“黄昏大棚那些人都搞不定，甲队长，只有您能救他们。”
Many experts from various canopy areas had already gone, almost all returning in defeat. Now, the newcomer turned his gaze to the builder of this market.
好些大棚区的高手已经去过，几乎都铩羽而归。此刻来人将目光投向了这片集市的建设者身上。
A folded beam shot over.
一道折线射来。
{Buddy, Brother Zhuang is asking for a favor.}
{老弟，庄哥求您个事儿。}
“Go ahead.”
“您讲。”
{A cave in your mountains just swallowed my buddy’s team. Can you help get them out? Don’t worry, they’ll compensate you.}
{你们山里有个山洞，刚刚吞了我一个朋友的队伍，能不能帮我把人救出来？你放心，他们会给你补偿。}
Looks like he’s truly desperate—going around asking people to help persuade him to act, even tracking him down at the Du Pin Inn. Zhuang must have raked in quite a lot of favours this time.
看来是真急了，都到处求人来协助劝说自己出手，都找到独频客栈去了，恐怕老庄这次没少收好处费。
“Since you’re asking personally, fine then.”
“既然是老哥亲自说，那好吧。”
Yang Zicang finished speaking, picked up the sword that Lyu Zhi handed over, turned around, and went out to find a nightmare motorcycle to earn delivery tips, riding it buzzing toward the mountain.
杨子藏说完，拎起吕志递过来的剑，转身出门找了辆赚跑腿费的恶魇摩托，坐着嗡嗡进山而去。
In the pit below the cave.
山洞下的凹坑内。
A strange dark green plant had already claimed the lives of three people. Without a single sound, they became the prey of these faintly glowing vines, which moved with great speed.
一株奇怪的墨绿植物已经吞噬了三个人的生命，他们之前一声没吭出来就成为了这些散发莹莹辉光藤蔓的猎物，藤蔓的速度很快。
“Be careful.”
“小心点。”
Yang Zicang, who had descended from the collapsed slope along with the motorcycle rider, raised a lamp solemnly, gazing at the thick vines.
从塌陷斜坡下来的杨子藏与摩托骑手，凝重的举灯看着粗壮的藤蔓。
Whoosh~ Suddenly, the vines on the ground lashed toward the two like snakes.
嗖~地上藤蔓突然如蛇般向两人卷去。
“Ah!” The man with shoulder-length hair was instantly terrified and cried out, only to watch the cargo team leader in front—instead of retreating—charge forward, sword sweeping outward.
“啊！”那长发及肩的男人瞬间吓得大喊，却见身前的大甲方货队长，不退反进，一剑荡出。
Boom! Flaming Blade activated!
轰！烈焰剑道发动！
Flames spread, and the vines quickly retracted.
火焰扩散，藤蔓们迅速缩回。
“Good, they’re afraid of fire.” Yang Zicang nodded with satisfaction.
“怕火就好。”杨子藏很是满意。
The White Shadow Thought-Dragon simply cannot find a psionic body in this thing, so it’s unable to attack it using psionic abilities.
这东西白影念龙根本找不到念力体，也就没办法靠念能力去攻击。
Fortunately, it still follows some natural laws; otherwise, challenging a Fierce Moon-level crossover team like this in the city would require an extremely strong force to stabilize successfully.
还好它还遵循着些自然规律，否则在城市中挑战这种绯月级交错地的队伍，得非常非常强才能成功稳定。
YangZicang turned his head to look at the pale-faced rider beside him: “You go outside. I’ll go into the cave to see what this monster really is.”
杨子藏转头看向身旁面色煞白的骑手：“你出去吧，我进洞去看看这怪物到底是怎么回事。”
The long-haired man swept his eyes over the newly sprouted, tiny emerald magic crystals clinging to the cave walls beneath these vines, then nodded.
长发男人眼眸扫了扫这些藤蔓下墙壁上新长出来的，细小的翠绿魔晶晶体，点点头。
“Then be careful, Captain Armor.”
“那甲队长你小心啊。”
“Thank you, I’ll be careful. Just wait for me outside.”
“谢谢，我会注意的，你在外面等着我就行。”
“These should be Wood-type magic crystals. Places where such crystals are born usually have dense elemental energy. Don’t, don’t let your guard down.”
“这些应该是木系的魔晶石，一般能诞生魔晶的地方元素气息都很浓郁，你，你千万不要大意。”
“Alright, I understand. You go now.”
“嗯，我知道了，你快走吧。”
“Captain Jiazijian, if something happens to you, the camp will lose its backbone. People like us don’t have it easy earning some sequence points…”
“甲子间货队长，你如果出了问题，驻地可就没有主心骨儿了，我们这种人能够赚点时序不容易…”
Yang Zicang took a deep breath, turned to look at the man reeking of timidity, and said with a faint smile, one word at a time:
杨子藏深吸了口气，转头看着浑身散发着胆怯气息的男人，挂着淡淡笑容一字一顿道：
“Get out!”
“出，去！”
“Uh… fine, but promise me—” The rider glanced at the white shadow thought-dragon phantom emerging behind Yang Zicang, swallowed hard, “I’m going now.”
“呃…好，反正你一定，”骑手看向杨子藏背后浮现而出的白影念龙虚影，艰难咽了口唾沫，“我这就走。”
As the man climbed up the earthen slope, intense flames instantly erupted from the longsword in Yang Zicang’s hand.
等男人爬上土坡，杨子藏拽在手中的长剑上，瞬间冒出浓烈火焰。
He headed toward the dark, pitch-black cave that emitted faint green glows.
他往散发着零星绿光的黑黢黢洞穴而去。
Whoosh, whoosh! Vine tips shot forward!
飕飕！藤蔓尖端冲来！
Snap, snap! The sword swiftly cut through these vines.
啪啪！长剑迅捷地砍断了这些藤蔓。
[I have cancelled 1050N.]
[我抵消了1050N.]
This time, however, the vines did not quickly retreat. As if sensing that Yang Zicang could threaten its core, the charred plant parts shot out fresh green branches again, and along with more vines surging from deep within the dark cave, they charged at him from all directions.
但这一次，藤蔓们并没有迅速退缩，仿佛知道杨子藏能够威胁到它的核心一般，刚刚砍出烧焦痕迹的植物部位再次长出翠绿的枝丫，并跟着更多自黑暗洞穴深处窜出的藤蔓一起，铺天盖地般冲来。
Yang Zicang swung his sword rapidly, and mental notes of canceled sequences echoed continuously.
杨子藏快速挥剑，无数时序被抵消的心念声传出。
[I have cancelled 550N.]
[我抵消了550N.]
[I canceled 1050N again.]
[我又抵消了1050N.]
“It’s no use…”
“不行的…”
Suddenly, a sluggish voice was heard. Yang Zicang, who had advanced several meters, leaped backward upon hearing this, dodging a few attacks from the plant vines then looking upward.
忽一道迟缓生音传来，前行好几米的杨子藏听到这声音，顿时往后一跃，躲过几根植物藤蔓的攻击后看向上方。
Illuminated by the firelight, a figure whose face could not be discerned hung in midair.
借着火光，一道看不出面目的人影被吊在高处。
“Is that… Captain Huo… Thank you for your scent… it allowed me to stay clear-headed before my death…”
“是…货队长…谢谢你身上的香气，让我…死前还能清醒…”
“Save your strength, don’t speak.”
“节省体力，不要说话。”
Yang Zicang swung his sword and charged forward once more.
杨子藏再度挥剑冲了上去。
“It’s useless… It has over thirty to forty thousand temporal sequences, which amplify to nearly a hundred thousand… and even the canceled timelines are restored as spurious zero timelines.”
“没用的…它有三四万的时序，增幅后有接近十多万…而且被抵消的时序还会以虚零时序恢复。”
“Spurious zero timelines?”
“虚零时序？”
Yang Zicang’s expression shifted slightly as he looked at the thick plant stalk on the cave wall ahead.
杨子藏面色微变的看向前方洞穴墙壁上，粗壮的植物茎杆。
“Yes, it restores about fifty years of spurious zero surplus every two or three seconds. All of you, flee now, and do not let anyone near this place. This isn’t a… monster… that our level of strength can solve.”
“是啊，它每两三秒都会恢复五十年的虚零时序，你们快逃吧，不要让人靠近此地。这不是我们这种实力，能够解决的…怪物。”
Recovery every second! Yang Zicang stared in shock at the strange tree embedded in the tunnel beneath the main body.
每秒恢复！杨子藏震撼的看着主体嵌入坑道下的怪树。
Like ivy, it occupied the entire depths of the cave, its main trunk emitting a faint emerald glow—clearly no ordinary thing, appearing rather like an immortal vine tended by the gods.
它如爬山虎般占据整个洞穴深处，主干散发着微弱的翠绿光芒，一看就不是凡物，仿佛神灵所养的仙藤。
Around the flames, the tendrils writhed slightly, like a nest of snakes vigilantly guarding their territory, poised to confront an intruder.
火焰周围，藤蔓们微微蠕动，如同群虎视眈眈面对敌人来犯，守卫领土的蛇巢。
“How did you know all this?” Yang Zicang looked up gravely at the person entangled there.
杨子藏凝重抬头对着被缠绕的那人道：“你怎么知道这些的？”
“They’re eating me,” the man said in agony. “I’m now one with the plant; I can feel it. Unless you can launch a sustained attack with a frequency faster than its recovery rate…
“它们在吃我，”那人痛苦地道，“我现在跟植物算是一体了，我能感受得到，除非你能一直持续攻击，频率大于它的恢复速度…
“Or call more people to destroy it all at once, otherwise it’s impossible to exhaust the time sequence it contains… Coming to the Lost Frequency Zone has already lifted many of its constraints…”
“或者叫更多人来同时毁灭它，否则根本耗不尽它蕴含的时序…来到失频之地，已经算是解放了它的很多限制…”
Yang Zicang involuntarily glanced at the wooden magic crystals—indeed, a plant capable of birthing such things had astonishing recovery capabilities.
杨子藏不由自主扫视了眼那些木系的魔晶石，不愧是能催生出这东西的植物，恢复力真是惊人。
“If this continues, do you have any idea what this thing will become?”
“如果继续下去，这东西会变成什么样你清楚吗？”
“Perhaps, on this land, it could become an old-world entity as enduring as humans…”
“或许，会成为这片土地上，如同人类一样可以长存的旧世界之物…”
“I see!”
“原来如此！”
If it really came to that, it would be too dangerous. The reproduction speed and aggression of this thing make it impossible for ordinary people to face its intrusion.
如果真到那一步，就太危险了，这东西的繁衍速度与攻击性，普通人难以面对它的入侵。
Yang Zicang scanned the area of the pit—it wasn’t large and couldn’t hold too many people.
杨子藏扫了眼坑洞面积，它并不大，装不了太多人。
It had to be dealt with now.
必须趁现在解决掉它。
A diagonal beam shot over—it was Boss Zhuang again. These past two weeks, he’d been the most attentive, often dropping by to check in, let alone at this moment.
一道折线射来，又是庄老板，这半个月可以说是庄老板最上心的时候，时不时就会来问候下自己，更别说此刻了。
{Brother Zicang, do you need our help? I can arrange a rotating investment—how much each time, say, three thousand works for you?}
{子藏兄弟，需要我们帮忙吗，我可以给进行轮换投资，每次多少你说，三千你看可以吗。}
[Boss Zhuang intends to make an active investment of 3000N for me.]
[庄老板想为我进行主动投资3000N。]
[I rejected Boss Zhuang’s investment.]
[我拒绝了庄老板的投资。]
“No need, the Chrono Weapon is sufficient.”
“不用了，有时序战器足以。”