第一百四十章 请再次跳动
Zuo Feixian and Zhou Liren crouched by the earthen stove, continuously fanning the flames.
左非闲和周立仁蹲在土灶旁不断煽火。
Amidst the smoke, Zhou Liren turned his head and squinted:
烟熏中，周立仁侧首虚着眼：
“Why wouldn’t it be Old Wang? It should have been Old Li… Hmm, maybe he misidentified the portrait—it must have been Old Li.”
“为什么是老王，不应该是老李吗…嗯，或许他认错了画像，肯定是老李。”
Having just emerged from the mountains, Zhou Liren firmly believed Wang Chaoguang was dead, yet he couldn’t shake the doubt that it might all be an illusion of his own making.
因为是从山中出来，周立仁虽然深切相信王朝光已经死了，却又怀疑会不会是自己的幻觉。
By the cooking pot, Zuo Feixian grumbled unhappily with a couple of “hmmphs” and fanned even more vigorously, blowing soot ashes straight into Zhou Liren’s face, provoking a burst of coughing from him.
身旁烧锅的左非闲不痛快的嗯嗯两声，手中的扇子扇得更卖力了，将烟灰都扑到了周立仁的脸上，惹得他一阵咳嗽。
“Ahem, ahem, Old Li, cough, cough, you actually survived? Hey, go easy on me!”
“咳咳，老李，咳咳咳，竟然活了下来，喂你轻点。”
Puff, puff, puff~
呼呼呼~
“Limp—hey, the guy wrapped in bandages seems to have figured out how to get inside,” Zuo Feixian shifted his crouching position and said, “Otherwise, that strange vine wouldn’t have shown up. It is definitely one of the treasures from within those mountains.”
“那个缠绷带的，看来已经掌握了进入其中的方法，”左非闲换了个蹲姿道，“否则不会出现那个怪藤，肯定是那座山里的宝物之一。”
That mountain is unreachable by anyone, yet Zhou Liren’s teammates, who underwent the surgery, could enter and even brought out such a powerful plant from within the pit—a plant strong enough to defeat even those beasts.
那座山无人能靠近，但接受手术的周立仁的队友却能进入，还从坑道内带出了这样强的植物，强到那些野兽都不是它的对手。
……
……
On the barren plains, a team of carts hauling water tanks slowly moved into the distance. Behind it, in another direction, there was a similar team.
荒原上，一队拖运着水箱的板车队伍，缓缓走向远处。它身后，另一个方向上，也有类似的队伍。
They all came from a well next to the Dajia cargo convoy, a well that could ceaselessly produce clear, sweet spring water.
它们都来自于大甲方货队旁的那口能够源源不断产出清澈甘泉的水井。
By the well now, there was a constant clamor. People with water ladles and wooden buckets queued up, chatting happily. A small, glowing orb floated in the sky above, propping its tiny face up with its hands as it looked down.
此刻水井旁喧闹声不断，排队的人群提着水瓢与木桶于周围开心聊着天，天上的一个小光团漂浮，小手撑着脑袋望着下面。
Thirty to forty meters north of the crowd, a middle-aged man in a thick, knee-length robe and two attendants guarding him scanned the terrain beside him. Not far from this person, a lady appearing to be about fifty-something looked toward him.
人群北方三四十米外，一身穿厚实齐膝长袍的中年男人与两位护在他身旁的跟班，扫眼看着这里的地形。在此人身侧不远，一名显露五十来岁外貌的女士看向他。
“Overlord Yuan, are you really going to place the engine—which we only managed stabilize with great difficulty through our collaboration—right here?”
“元龙棚主，你真要将那枚我们合作才好不容易才稳定好的引擎，投放在这里吗？”
“Assistant Overlord Xin, are you feeling a bit reluctant?”
“馨副棚主是有点舍不得吗。”
The middle-aged man had thin, faint whiskers at the corners of his mouth. He turned to look at Wang Xin, smiled, then pointed at the crowd behind him. “Listen.”
中年男人的嘴角留着两撇淡淡的胡须，他扭头看去王馨，笑了笑后，指着身后的人群，“你听。”
Wang Xin moved her eyes to focus and faint sounds drifted over.
王馨转动眼眸看去，依稀声音传来。
“Free! Don’t push. Oh, damn it, stop shoving. This well doesn’t charge…”
“免费，不要挤，哎呀你们挤个得儿挤，这水井又不收费…”
“…Get in line! Hey, you, spit your phlegm farther away!”
“…排好队，喂，你小子口痰吐远点啊。”
“Ouch, I’m gonna go take a piss real quick, bro. Save my spot for me, my bucket’s here…”
“哎哟，我过去撒泡尿，老哥你帮我占下位置，我桶放这里…”
Wang Xin withdrew her gaze and took a soft breath, her eyes a little distant as if lost in thought.
王馨收回眼眸，轻轻吸了口气，目光略微飘渺像是陷入了沉思。
“If only things could be this peaceful everywhere,” a young man standing next to Shed Master Yuanlong couldn’t help but sigh.
“要是到处都能这样和谐就好了。”元龙棚主旁的一名年轻人不由自主的叹道。
That’s right,” the middle-aged man said with a nod. “Although Squad Leader Jiazi’s original intention was to earn time sequence, his care for these people is genuine. Can you all see what kind of potential this place has if its bustling atmosphere endures?”
“是的。”中年人点点头，“虽然甲子间货队长本意是想赚时序，但他对这些人好也是真的。你们也看出来了吧，这里如果一直有人气会有什么样的潜质。”
Wang Xin shook off her thoughts and said:
王馨收回思绪道：
“That may be true, but this forest will likely be completely gone by January or February next year. Then all this so-called vitality will vanish along with it.”
“话虽是这样说，但这片山林恐怕明年一二月份就会彻底消失了。到时候也就没有这些所谓的人气。”
“Do you think Squad Leader Jiazi hasn’t thought about that?” Yuanlong said with a smile. “That young man buried this well the very day after he first arrived here.”
“你以为甲子间货队长没有想过这件事吗，”元龙笑道，“可那年轻人，来的第二天就埋下了这口井。”
“So that’s why you want to bury the engine here? I still advise you not to rush it. After all, a stable otherworldly building, one that can last for many years without turning into a nightmare, has the potential to become a major shed, even a small shed zone only needs one such structure as its foundation.”
“所以你才想把引擎埋在这里？我还是劝你不要冲动，毕竟一间稳定好的异界房屋，可以长存许多年不变成恶魇，哪怕是个小型棚区有这样一个建筑，也具备迟早成为大棚的潜质。”
She softly glanced at the crowd gathered around, drawing water and laughing like wandering refugees, and said indifferently:
她看了眼周围如同流浪般聚在一起嬉笑取水的人群，淡淡道：
“Placing it here will serve those who draw water in the future, but it’s hardly worth such a large building. I pity them too, but that house, as the backbone of a shed zone, could be far more valuable and protect many more people.”
“放在这里，虽然以后也能供取水之人使用，但有点不值得如此大的建筑。我也同情他们，但那屋子，若成为棚区的根基可以有更大价值，保护更多人。”
Upon hearing this, the young man beside Yuanlong looked at the compact engine in his own hand.
听闻此话，元龙身旁的青年看了看自己手中的这枚小巧的引擎。
Within the crystalline engine, adorned with three tiny cylinder heads, a misty mountain backdrop set the scene where a brick-and-stone house, slightly battered and worn, stood as if it had existed for centuries.
有着三个小巧缸帽的晶莹引擎里，一片朦胧的山峦背景象下，略有破损的砖石结构房屋屹立，仿佛已经存在了数百年。
The engine’s image slowly surfaced, showcasing its presence like a subtle plea, as if seeking a new land to be reborn in.
引擎的画面缓缓浮现着它的影像，像是在展示自己的存在，想要吸引人让自己在新的土地获得新生。
This was one of the relatively intact otherworldly structures stabilized in the mountains over the past few days by his shed zone and the crew of the Dusk Shed. Yet this terrain-type engine, valued at several thousand or even tens of thousands of Time-Ordinals, was declared by Boss Yuanlong as a gift to this settlement.
这就是这几天中，自己的棚区与黄昏大棚之人合力于山内所稳定的一处比较完好的异界建筑。而这枚价值数千甚至上万时序的大地型建筑引擎，却被元龙棚主放话，要送给这片驻地。
“Boss.” The young man looked at the middle-aged man, hesitating to speak fully, “Deputy Shed of Dusk is right, turning it into a shed zone could give it real value…”
“老板。”年轻人看向中年人，欲言又止，“黄昏副棚说得对，成为棚区才有价值…”
Yuanlong shook his head and pointed ahead, saying, “Place it down, right there.”
元龙摇头指向前方，道：“放下去，就在那里。”
“Boss Yuanlong, think twice.”
“元龙棚主，三思。”
“My mind is made up. Go.”
“我意已决，去吧。”
“Sigh.” The young man glanced at the other follower beside him. One held the crystal-clear engine and a small hoe, while the other carried a wooden box filled with collected clusters of metal and earth magic crystals.
“唉。”青年看了看身旁的另一个跟班，一人拿着晶莹剔透的引擎与小锄头，另一人拖着口木箱子，里面配着收集来的金系与土系魔晶石石簇。
With a few blows of the hoe, he dug a small hole in the ground. Once again, the young man eyed the crystalline, crystal-like engine, a pang of reluctance flashing in his gaze toward the sturdy house structure within it, then he buried it in the earth and tamped the soil over it with his hoe.
锄头在地上两三下挖出小坑，青年再次看了看手中的晶莹如水晶的引擎，有点不舍的看了眼那结实的房屋结构后，将它埋入了土里，又拿锄头刨了刨泥将它覆盖好。
Smack! The lid of the wooden box flipped open, and with a clattering sound, a pile of earth-yellow and warm-gold magic crystals tumbled out. The noise drew the attention of those nearby. A dozen or so people who had been chatting by the well shuffled over, hands shoved deep into their sleeves, observing the commotion.
啪！木箱盖子掀开，哐啷声响中，一堆土黄与暖金的魔晶跌落。这声音吸引了周围人的目光。十来个在井边聊天的人挪步过来，双手插在袖口里看着这里的动静。
“What’s going on here?”
“这是在干嘛？”
“Are those magic crystal stones piled on the ground? Is some engine about to be started?”
“那些魔晶石堆在地上，难道是要启动什么引擎吗？”
The young man who had previously kept the lost-memory engine safe now crouched on the ground, one hand propping himself up on the earth. His eyes were slightly closed.
之前保管失念引擎的青年蹲在地上，一手撑在地面，微微闭目。
“I… begin the activation of the lost-memory engine.”
“我，开始启动失念引擎。”
The model on his chest flickered faintly.
胸前模型微微闪动。
[I, the Mysterious Triangle, begin to interface with the lost-memory engine.]
[我，神秘的三角形，开始沟通失念引擎。]
[Triangular engine, let your heart beat once more… in the realm of lost frequencies.]
[三角形引擎，请再次跳动你的心脏…于…失频之地。]
Thump…
箜咚…
It seemed everyone present heard a fleeting auditory hallucination, as if something beneath the ground was awakening. Then, the very next second,
周围所有人似乎都幻听了下，仿佛地下有什么在苏醒，下一秒。
Boom!
轰！
Amidst rolling dust and smoke, a sturdy brick-and-stone house sprang up from the earth! The onlookers felt as if the ground they had just been standing on had been torn open by an invisible giant hand, revealing the ancient rock structure hidden within.
烟尘翻滚中，大地上一间厚重的砖石房屋拔地而起！周围的人感觉自己之前站立的地面仿佛被无形大手撕开，露出藏匿其中的古代岩石建筑。
“Wow! It’s a house!”
“哇！是房子！”
“Who are you people? Is this your sturdy house?”
“你们是什么人啊，这是你们稳定的房子吗？”
Seeing these enthusiastic people, Wang Xin shook her head silently. Not far from her, Yuanlong, the shed master, turned around and nodded with a smile. His gaze then fell on a group of people hurrying over from the market area, among whom was Zheng, the master of that market—Yang Zicang.
看着这些热情的人，王馨暗暗摇了摇头。她不远处，元龙棚主转头笑着点点头，随后目光落在了远处集市赶过来的一队人，其中正有这集市的主人，杨子藏。
“If I’m not mistaken, you are Yuanlong, the head of Lijiang Canopy?” Yang Zicang leaned in, observing the house.
“如果我没记错，你是丽疆大棚的元龙棚主？”杨子藏靠近看着这房屋道。
Recently, there had been too many people arriving, but Yang Zicang still paid attention to the names of figures like canopy heads and deputy heads who came in person, and Teacher Chen was specifically brought in by him to handle reception for these individuals.
最近来的人实在太多，但像这种棚主与副棚主亲至的人物，杨子藏还是注意着他们的姓名，而陈老师就是专门被他拉过来负责与这些人接待的人。
“That’s right. This is Wang Xin, deputy head of the Twilight Canopy. This house was jointly stabilized by us in the mountains, and from now on, it belongs to you, Captain Jiazi and your team.”
“正是在下。这位是黄昏大棚的王馨副棚主。这间屋子是我们共同在山中所稳定，以后它就属于甲子间货队长你们了。”
“What, you’re giving us a building from another world?”
“什么，送我们栋异界建筑？”
Teacher Chen, standing beside Yang Zicang, was startled and pushed up his glasses, taking a good look at the house. By now, many people had gathered around to examine it closely, and some had already couldn’t resist ducking inside.
跟在杨子藏身边的陈老师顿时吃惊的推了推眼镜，好好打量起了这栋屋子。此刻已经有很多人凑近左右细看，有人已经忍不住钻入了其中。
“This house…” Yang Zicang glanced at the structure, which, though only one story tall, was quite spacious. “In the canopy district, its value would be much greater.”
“这屋子…”杨子藏看了眼这虽然仅一层楼高，但却比较宽大的建筑，“如果在棚区的话，它的作用更大吧。”
Every year or so, the canopy district had to renovate their wooden huts; otherwise, they might one day turn into man-eating nightmares. But a stabilized house built by an Oblivion Engine wouldn’t have such problems.
每隔一年左右，棚区就要翻新一次自己的木屋，否则指不定哪天就会变成吃人的恶魇，但这种由失念引擎造出的稳定过的房屋，就不会有这种问题。
“Yes, theoretically, in small to medium canopy districts, its value is even higher. Basically, in every large canopy I know of, there are at least one or two such houses. They represent the foundation of growth from small to large—the history and origins of the canopy district.”
“是的，理论上在中小棚区，它的价值更大。基本上，我认识的所有大棚内，都至少有一两间这样的房屋，这代表着它们从小至大的根基，是棚区的历史与来路。”
After some exclamations, a few came over and said, “Lord Yuanlong, what a generous move, giving away such a building just like that.”
一些人惊叹过后，过来道：“元龙棚主大手笔啊，这样的建筑说送就送。”
“Truly worthy of a boss from a large canopy district.”
“不愧是大棚区的老板。”
“It’s a pity that the mountain forest will be destroyed in half a year; otherwise, it would be great if a canopy area could be established here.”
“可惜，山林半年后就会毁坏，否则的话，这里若是出现个棚区就好了。”
“With a well here and houses that can stand for thousands of years now, tsk tsk, maybe a big canopy area, or even a small town, will emerge here in the future.”
“这里有水井，现在又有了长存千百年的屋子，啧啧，以后这里该不会出现个大棚区，甚至，出现个小镇吧。”
Amidst constant discussions, everyone fantasized about the future of this place. The only regret was that the human activity here was bound to disappear sooner or later, at least after January or February next year.
众人议论声不断，幻想着这里的未来，唯一可惜的是这里的人气迟早消失，就在明年一二月以后。
Amid such voices, Yuanlong approached Yang Zicang and said in a low voice:
在这样的声音中，元龙靠近杨子藏，低声道：
“Captain of the Jiazi freight team, have you ever considered building a canopy area here?”
“甲子间货队长，你有没有考虑过，在这里建立棚区的想法呢？”
“Me?” Yang Zicang looked around at the people nearby and whispered back, “Frankly speaking, I already have a stable piece of land of my own, so I have no intention of building a canopy area here.”
“我？”杨子藏看了眼周围的人，也小声道，“实不相瞒，我自己有片稳定好的地块，所以并没有在此建立棚区的想法。”
More importantly, this place was still a bit far from Hub Town. Having a train was no problem, but for those without a vehicle, five to six hundred li was far too distant.
最主要的是，这里离枢纽镇还是有点远，自己有列车无所谓，但对没有车的人来说，五六百里地就太过遥远了。
A glint of light flashed in Yuanlong’s eyes. “Does that mean I, Yuanlong, have the chance to be the one to take over a canopy area here?”
元龙眼中一亮，“那岂不是说，我元龙有可能是那个在这里接手棚区的人？”
“What does Boss Yuanlong mean by that?”
“元龙棚主这话是什么意思？”
“Captain Jia, to be honest with you, I have a request.”
“甲队长，我也实不相瞒，在下有个恳请。”
After he whispered by Yang Zicang’s ear, Yang Zicang’s eyes widened in disbelief.
他低声在杨子藏身边说完后，杨子藏眼中一震。
If Yang Zicang’s earlier plan to gather herbs from the surroundings and make medicinal pills for sale shocked Zuo Feixian, Xu Xiuchuan, and Wang Chong, then this proposal from Yuanlong was another shock—but this time to Yang Zicang himself.
如果说自己之前搜刮周遭草药制作香丸售卖，对左非闲、徐秀川与王翀等人来说是个冲击，那么此刻元龙口中的提议，就相当于另一个冲击，不过是对自己。
“You… can manage that? That’s not a small amount.”
“你…能成吗？那可不是个小数目。”
Yang Zicang’s heart quivered as he glanced at the distant mountains in the distance.
杨子藏有点心肝颤的看了眼远处的几匹山。
“Of course, I can’t do it alone. But if we pool everyone’s efforts together, it’s not impossible. I just hope you could convene a meeting in the name of Leader Jia.”
“我一人之力当然不行，但如果集合大家之力，倒也不无可能，只是希望能以甲队长你的名义，召开个会议。”
“Alright, I’ll call a meeting right away. As for the location… this room will do.”
“行，那我立即召开个会议，地址的话…就这间屋子吧。”
Yuanlong paused, a look of surprise on his face, then burst into hearty laughter.
元龙脸上微愣后，突然哈哈大笑。
“Haha, great, great! Truly worthy of Leader Jia—you’re quick to act!”
“哈哈哈，好好好，不愧是甲队长，执行力真是高！”
……
……
“What? A meeting?”
“什么，开会？”
Yuan Kun pointed to himself and looked at the shed master on the sensor screen, asking, “Zhang Ao is already here, so why isn’t he the one going to the meeting?”
袁昆抬手指了指自己，看着感应画面中的棚主道，“张傲不是过来了吗，为什么不是他去开会。”
{Are you the cargo team leader, or is he? It seems you’re regressing the longer you live.}
{你是货队长还是他是货队长？我看你是越活越回去了。}
Yuan Kun shrugged his neck, shrinking back.
袁昆缩了缩脖子。