“I… accept.”
“我…确定。”
Yang Zicang (杨子藏) dodged the grasping hand of a “train passenger” chasing behind him and leaped from the platform onto the tracks.
杨子藏躲过了身后追来的“列车乘客”一只手的抓取，从站台跃下至铁轨。
Behind him, the phantom of a subway train rushed forward, brushing past his body as it roared by.
身后地铁的幻影撞击而来，擦着身体奔腾而过。
Inside the train, some passengers wore headphones listening to music, some played on their phones, some chatted with gentle smiles.
车上的一个个人影有的戴着耳机听着音乐，有的玩着手机，有的互相微笑着聊着天。
None of them could see that, right beside the train, a sixty- or seventy-year-old man covered in dust was looking back at them, panting heavily as he struggled to run alongside the train — only to be quickly left behind.
他们都看不到，就在车旁还有个满脸灰尘的六七十岁老人，正望向车内喘着粗气跟随列车吃力的奔跑，却被飞速甩在后面。
The silver-white circular ring on his chest, like a finger band, glowed faintly.
胸前如指环般的银白圆环微亮着。
Yang Zicang felt that, in some unseen way, he had connected to certain people within dozens of li around him.
杨子藏感觉自己冥冥中连接到了方圆数十里内的某些人。
[I have initiated a lifespan financing.]
[我诞生了寿命融资。]
[An anonymous person has invested 1N for me.]
[匿名者为我投资了1N。]
After a pause of a few seconds, Yang Zicang first thought of Mu Xiaoyu (沐小雨) and the others.
在停顿了几秒后，杨子藏首先想到了沐小雨几人。
“Those fellow travelers of mine…”
“我那几个同行的…”
The voice on the other end of the phone said:
电话另一端的人道：
——“If you want those friends to invest in you as well, I can help with that. They don’t have Models, and without my Nightmare Radio (恶魇电台) relay, they won’t be able to receive your financing Model from a distance.”
——“你想要让那几位朋友也给你投资吗，如果是的话，我可以帮你。她们没有模型，没有我的恶魇电台转接，远距离是收不到你的融资模型的。”
Yang Zicang didn’t understand what he was talking about. He only knew that right now, he needed more lifespan.
杨子藏并不知道对方说的是什么东西，他只是知道现在自己需要更多的寿命。
“Okay!”
“好！”
Shortly after, several more responses appeared.
刚说完，没多久便又有几道反馈出现。
[Mu Xiaoyu has invested 10N for me.]
[沐小雨为我投资了10N]
[Zhang Yang (张扬) has invested 1N for me.]
[张扬为我投资了1N]
[Liu Ming (刘明) has invested 3Y for me.]
[刘明为我投资了3Y]
They had received it!
她们接收到了！
Mu Xiaoyu was actually willing to give him ten more years of her lifespan. Yang Zicang knew the girl was nearly sixty years old now.
沐小雨居然还舍得为自己送出十年寿命，杨子藏知道，女孩现在已经快六十了。
He himself was now just a frail old man at the end of his life — one touch from that short man might kill him — yet she was still willing to invest ten years of her lifespan in him…
自己目前只是个风烛残年的老人，可能被那矮子摸一下就会死，她却还愿意为自己投资十年寿命…
Suddenly, a message came through. A faint golden light appeared outside the white ring, flashing briefly before vanishing.
忽然，一道信息传来，白色圆圈外出现道细微的金光一闪而逝。
[Mutant Hunter Alliance (猎怪者联盟) has invested 1000N for me.]
[猎怪者联盟为我投资了1000N。]
“?!”
“？！”
Yang Zicang’s eyes widened in disbelief. He wondered if he had perceived it wrong.
杨子藏的双目不可思议的睁大，他怀疑自己感知错了。
In his perception, a tiny number appeared inside the ring on his chest. It began at zero and soared rapidly — in an instant, it became 1011.3!
在感知视角中，他胸前的圆圈里出现个细微数字，它从0开始飞速暴涨，瞬间变成了1011.3！
A thousand years of Time Sequence (时序)! What a grand gesture. How could they dare?
真的是一千年的时间！好大的手笔，他们怎么敢的。
The phone, silent for a few seconds, continued with the man’s voice: “You should already know, right?”
沉寂几秒的手机里继续传出那男人的声音：“你应该已经知道了对吧。”
“Yes. A thousand years. You all…”
“是啊，一千年，你们…”
——“We are the Mutant Hunter Alliance. That thousand years is our calling card. There are many brothers and sisters like us here. If you can make it out alive, come to 12 Zuo Ming Avenue (左明大道12号). We sincerely await your arrival.”
——“我们是猎怪者联盟，这一千年，便是我们的拜帖。在这里，还有许多类似你我这样的兄弟姐妹。如果你能活着出来，可以来左明大道12号。我们诚恳地等待你的到来。”
A map was transmitted to his phone.
一副地图传输到了手机上。
[I now have enough Time Sequence. I should be able to replenish the lifespan I’ve consumed with Time Sequence.]
[我的时序已经足够多，我应该可以将消耗的寿命用时序补充。]
“Raaaaagh! Where do you think you’re running~?!”
“哇呀呀，我看你往哪~里跑！”
Just as Yang Zicang was about to replenish what he had consumed, the short man’s voice came from behind. Suddenly, he had a thought… Wait a moment.
杨子藏正想补充消耗，矮子的声音从身后传来，忽地他心中一动…先等等。
Behind him, high up, the monster armor that called itself Zhang Fei (张飞) — along with whatever it was, whether “master” or “slave” — was being carried by a blood-red triangle as it charged forward.
身后的高处，那自称张飞的怪物铠甲和它那不知是“主人”还是“奴隶”的存在，被血红的三角形带着狂奔而来。
[Decayed City (废都) has invested 500N for me.]
[废都为我投资了500N。]
“Decayed City?”
“废都？”
A blurred figure appeared in his consciousness. It smiled faintly at him, then the face, impossible to make out, quickly faded away.
意识中出现个模糊的身影，他对着自己微微一笑，随即那看不清面目的身形迅速褪去。
[Bai Yuan (白鸳) has invested 10N for me.]
[白鸳为我投资了10N。]
That runaway actually had the nerve to invest in him.
那个逃跑者还有脸给自己投资。
[Another twenty anonymous individuals have invested a total of 219.11N for me.]
[又有二十位匿名者为我投资了共计219.11N。]
Above his head, the short, stocky man in vest-like armor clasped his hands together and came crashing down like Mount Tai bearing down!
头顶，身穿马甲般盔甲的矮壮男人双手抱拳，如泰山压顶般砸来！
“Haaah! Die, you waste!”
“喝啊！死吧，废物！”
Yang Zicang, his emotions surging inside, turned his head and looked back. A rare, cruel smile appeared on his face.
内心情绪波动的杨子藏扭头望去，面孔上少有的露出了抹残忍的笑容。
He had a thought: “I’m different now.”
他心中一动，“我已经不一样了。”
In an instant, his Time Sequence decreased by forty years — but correspondingly, his strength and energy rapidly recovered, and his skin gradually became firm and full again.
时序瞬间少了40年，但相应的，自己的力气、精力都在快速恢复，皮肤也逐渐变得充盈饱满了起来。
Following some instinct, a faint light appeared in Yang Zicang’s hand. It blossomed around his fist, forming a pale grey-white must-like flame.
伴随着某种本能，一抹亮光在杨子藏手上出现，它绽放在拳头，形成淡淡灰白须焰。
[Because I am the Quadrilateral (四边形)… I can amplify my possessed Time Sequence by four times. As long as I do not consume Time Sequence below my ‘principal,’ I will not lose any additional Time Sequence.]
[因为我是四边形…所以我可以增幅四倍所持有时序。在时序未消耗至“本金”以下时，不会丢失任何额外时序。]
[This is me, the great Quadrilateral.]
[这就是我，伟大的四边形。]
[So… how much Time Sequence should I allocate to this punch? I also need to guard against attacks on other parts of my body. I need to think this through carefully.]
[所以，我该为这一拳分配多少时序？我还得预防其它部位的攻击，这得好好考虑考虑。]
“ALL IN!”
“ALL IN！”
The number inside the ring on his chest drained away like a bursting reservoir, falling to zero — only a decimal point with a 1 remaining.
胸前圆环内的数字泄洪般归零，只在小数点后还有个1存在。
The light on his fist instantly turned pale gold.
拳头上的光芒瞬间变成淡金色。
[6808.3N!]
[6808.3N！]
“Ha!” He threw a punch toward the figure colliding down from the sky.
“哈！”他对着天际撞来的身影一拳打出去。
Boom!
轰！
The short, stocky man’s thick arms instantly turned to ash. With a thunderous crash, he was sent flying by the immense force, slamming hard into the tunnel.
那矮壮男人粗壮的双臂瞬间化为灰飞，轰隆声中，他被巨大的力道打飞出去，狠狠砸在坑道内。
The short man’s body rolled several times on the ground before finally stopping after hitting the phantom of an electronic billboard.
矮子的身躯在地上滚动了好几下后，才在撞到个电子广告牌的虚影后停下。
Those billboards had the exact same image every few meters.
这些广告牌每隔几米就有个一模一样的画面。
“Cough, cough, cough… Hiding three times my Time Sequence… causing devastating…”
“咳，咳咳，竟然隐藏了三倍于我的时序…造成毁灭性的…”
The short, stocky man watched the young figure approaching step by step. He spat blood and said: “You have that much… Time Sequence… and you… pretended to be old… tricking me.”
矮壮男人看到一步步靠近的年轻身影，他吐着血道：“你有，那么多，时序…还，装老…骗我。”
“With that IQ of yours, you’re an insult to the name Zhang Fei.”
“你这智商，真是侮辱了张飞之名。”
A golden, flame-like light radiated from the young man’s right fist. Influenced by the monster’s emotions within him, the corner of his mouth curled into a wild, crazed smile.
年轻人的右拳上散发着金色如火的光芒，被内心怪物情绪影响的他嘴角裂开，露出疯狂笑容。
“Twenty-two hundred years — not bad. So that punch just now cost me twenty-two hundred years of Time Sequence. Just how many people have you killed?”
“两千二百年，不错嘛，刚才一拳居然耗费了我两千二百年的时序。你到底杀了多少人！”
The man’s expression changed drastically. After sensing his own lifespan, terror appeared in his eyes.
这男人面色大变，他感受了下自己的寿命后，目光中露出惊恐。
“You, you reckless brute! Aren’t you afraid that other parts of your body…”
“你，你这个莽夫，你就不怕，其它部位…”
“Sorry. I’m a newbie. I don’t understand a thing.”
“对不起，我是新手，根本不懂。”
Several stiff-faced figures came running over. Yang Zicang swung his fist.
几具呆滞面孔的人奔来，杨子藏拳头挥动。
Bang! Bang! Bang!
嘭嘭嘭！
Three controlled humans instantly had large holes blown through their bodies and collapsed to the ground.
三名被控制的人类身体瞬间出现大洞，倒在了地上。
At this moment, he was cold and ruthless. All of these brainwashed, controlled people had about 50N of Time Sequence protection. Killing them cost him 153N.
此刻的他冷漠无情，这些被控制洗脑的人都存在50N左右的时序防护，击杀他们，自己花了153N。
[I have acquired their principal, approximately 50N.]
[我获得了它们的本金，约等于50N。]
Their own Time Sequence added up to nearly fifty years. It seemed they, too, had been quadruple-amplified.
他们本身时序加起来接近五十年，看来他们也是被三倍增幅过。
The Time Sequence that had just decreased increased again. After being quadruple-amplified by the square, it became two hundred years — a total of over forty-two hundred years of Time Sequence.
刚刚才减少的时序又增加了，被正方形四倍增幅后，它变成了两百年，一共是四千两百多年时序。
Yang Zicang felt a satisfaction and exhilaration he had never experienced before — the fullness that naturally came with a long life, a leisurely joy from the depths of his soul.
杨子藏感受到前所未有的满足与畅快感，这是悠久生命自然而然带给自己的充实，是来自灵魂的悠然愉悦。
“Heh. Hehe. Truly, a young master can beat an old master with random punches. I actually fell to someone who doesn’t know a thing. Cough.”
“呵，呵呵，果然是，乱拳打死老师傅。我竟然栽在了一个，什么都不懂的人手上，咳。”
{Wait. If you join us, I can choose you as my master.}
{等下，你要是加入我们，我可以选择你成为主人。}
The monster armor’s eyes looked at Yang Zicang. Its voice sounded directly in his heart.
怪物铠甲的双眼望向杨子藏，它的声音居然直接在自己心中响起。
“Do you really think I would trust a monster?”
“你觉得我会相信一个怪物吗？”
Yang Zicang stepped closer. He raised his fist and brought it down.
杨子藏靠近，他抬起手来，一拳砸下。
The monster armor suddenly writhed, enveloping the man completely.
怪物铠甲猛然蠕动，将男人整个包裹。
“Thud!” The force field in his hand vibrated. This punch, carrying thousands of years of Time Sequence, cost only one hundred years.
“嘭！”手上力场震动，这蕴含数千年时序攻击的一拳，却只花费了一百年。
The short man let out a whimpering sound. Before his entire head was covered, Yang Zicang saw the skin beneath the armor rapidly wrinkling.
这矮子发出呜呜叫声，在他整个头颅被覆盖前，杨子藏见到铠甲下他的皮肤迅速皱褶。
{I’ve already eaten him.}
{我已经吃掉它了。}
The monster armor nimbly sprang up. Yang Zicang grabbed its foot and yanked it downward. The other foot kicked up a gust of wind aimed straight at his head.
怪物铠甲身形灵动地弹起，杨子藏一把拽住它的脚，往下一扯，对方另一只脚带起劲风直奔自己的头部而来。
[Dispatching!]
[调度！]
Yang Zicang’s head twisted in an unnatural way, evading the strike.
杨子藏的头诡异的一扭，避开这一击。
In the subway tunnel, the roar of the bus monster was approaching from afar.
地铁通道里，怪物巴士的轰鸣正在由远及近。
The monster armor broke free from his grasp, backflipped several times, and shot toward the ceiling, crouching upside down at the top of the tunnel.
怪物铠甲挣脱了抓取，几个后翻后射向顶部，倒悬着半蹲在通道顶端。
{Quadrilateral. Like Straight Line (直线), both are rare Models. But Straight Line is the weakest — just like an ordinary human, able only to consume principal to fight. An ant. A bug.}
{四边形，跟直线一样，都很稀有的模型。不过直线是最弱的存在，就像普通人类一样，只能消耗本金来对抗，是蝼蚁，是虫子。}
Yang Zicang looked up toward it. He couldn’t reach it at all.
杨子藏仰头望向那里，他根本够不着对面。
{But you are different. So I’ll invite you one last time. Join us, the Xiongying Group (雄英组). You will become at least a Deputy Manager or higher. You will learn the truth of this world.}
{而你不一样。所以，最后我再邀请你一次，加入我们雄英组。你会成为副管事级别以上的存在。你会了解，这个世界的真相。}
The young man narrowed his eyes. He bent down, picked up a small stone, and held it in his hand.
年轻人的目光眯了眯，他蹲下捡起块石子，握在手中。
“The armor’s ability — it limits each physical attack’s Time Sequence consumption to within 100N, doesn’t it?”
“铠甲的能力，应该就是把每一击的时序攻击，限制在100N以内，对吧。”
{That’s right. So? Tempted? As long as you’re willing, you will become Zhang Fei.}
{说得没错，怎么，心动了吗？只要你愿意，你就是张飞。}
The armor monster spoke calmly, its telepathic voice sounding directly inside the man’s mind.
铠甲怪物从容的以直接响起在人心中的心念声道。
“Heh. Tempted? You underestimate me.”
“呵，心动？你太小看我了。”
In the distance, the bus monster — as if crawling out of hell — rushed forward rapidly. The flame eyes on the monster’s shoulders glanced sideways instinctively.
远方宛如从地狱中爬出来的巴士怪物快速冲来，怪物双肩的火焰目光下意识斜瞟了眼。
Yang Zicang’s gaze grew firm. He clenched the small stone tightly in his palm and suddenly threw it.
杨子藏目光变得坚毅，他手掌紧握这枚石子，猛然抛了出去。
[Trajectory Dispatching!]
[轨迹调度！]
The golden light on his hand dimmed rapidly. The stone, carrying a golden glow, buzzed like a bullet as it rapidly closed the distance between them.
手上的金光迅速减弱，石子带着金光，发出蜂鸣，如同子弹般快速跨越两者之间的距离。
The stone traced an eerie S-shaped curve and, carrying forty-one hundred years of Time Sequence, appeared almost instantaneously before the dark, hollow eye socket of the helmet — the only opening on its entire body!
石子划出诡异的S形曲线，携带四千一百年时序的它近乎瞬移般出现在那铠甲黑洞洞的头盔眼前，那是它周身上下唯一的空洞！
Boom!
轰！
The armor’s head exploded from the inside out.
铠甲的头颅由内至外爆炸。
The flame eyes on the armor’s shoulders showed shock, then the flames dimmed. This armor, covered in rippling scale patterns, fell from the high ceiling.
铠甲双肩上的火焰眼睛露出震惊神色，随后火焰暗淡，这幅长着波纹鳞甲的盔甲从高空坠落。
It hadn’t been able to react at all. This was a strike carrying over four thousand years of Time Sequence.
它根本反应不过来，这可是蕴含四千多年时序的一击。
“Just as I thought. All the defense is on the outside.” Yang Zicang watched coldly as it fell to the ground with a clatter.
“果然，所有的防御力都是在外部。”杨子藏冷眼看着它啪嗒声坠落在地。
[The Time Sequence I paid has returned, and I have gained 923N.]
[我付出的时序又回来了，并获得了923N。]
Instant kill. No excessive consumption of the monster’s own lifespan.
秒杀，没有过多消耗掉怪物的本身寿命。
A ringtone sounded. Yang Zicang answered quickly. The man’s voice came through: “That armor is a good thing. After you remove the monster’s lingering will, it can be used by us. Take good care of it.”
铃声响起，杨子藏迅速接听后，里面出现那男人的声音：“铠甲是个好东西，拔除怪物的残留意志后可以为我们所用，小心收好它。”
Another phantom subway train thundered past. The bus monster’s figure overlapped with it as it rapidly approached. Yang Zicang could already see Director Huang’s (黄主任) manic expression.
又一辆幻影地铁奔腾而过，巴士怪物的身影与之重叠着快速靠近，杨子藏已经看到了黄主任癫狂的表情。
Yang Zicang dashed quickly toward the surface, swept up the damaged dark red armor that had become a vest, turned, and ran along the subway tracks.
杨子藏快速冲向地面，一把捞起变成个马甲的残损暗红铠甲，扭头顺着地铁就跑。