His clenched fist suddenly shot out from amidst the rapidly expanding red phantoms—whoosh!
他握紧的拳头猛然从向外极速扩散的红色虚影之间骤然打出，呼！
[Dispatch!]
[调度！]
The fierce wind erupted with a violent boom of red flames!
劲风携带狂暴的红色火焰炸开！
[Morrie returned my 2000N investment.]
[莫里返还了我的2000N投资。]
The recently depleted time was immediately replenished!
刚刚消耗的时序立即被补充！
Yang Zicang’s thigh muscles bulged as he swung a leg carrying a heavy, wild gale toward the flame-shrouded figure, the air of the entire carriage seeming to sway and churn.
杨子藏大腿肌肉鼓起，一腿携带厚重狂放的风压向着被火焰覆盖的身影抽去，整节车厢的空气都像是在被晃动鼓荡般晃动。
Bam! Ma Chao felt as if he had been slammed by a truck.
嘭！马超感觉自己像是被卡车撞飞。
His thrusting sword was already too late to retract and block in front of him. In that moment, he bore the pain and slashed it horizontally.
他刺出的剑已然来不及收回挡在身前，在此刻直接忍痛横扫而来。
Yang Zicang twisted his head slightly, thrust out an arm, and punched the sword’s blade.
杨子藏头颅微扭，伸臂一拳打在剑身上。
The long sword rang out with a twang, then flew off and lodged into the train ceiling.
长剑嗡地弹飞插入列车顶棚。
Rumble, rumble, the body of the Nightmare Train trembled.
轰隆轰隆，恶魇列车身躯颤动。
The time sequences offset each other continuously.
时序不断抵消。
[Morrie returned my 2000N investment.]
[莫里返还了我的2000N投资。]
“You actually have that much time? Are you that desperate to kill me?”
“你竟然，有这么多时序，就这么想杀了我吗。”
“The moment you dragged my people into this, you were already dead!”
“当你开始波及我身边之人时，你就已经死了！”
Yang Zicang struck with faster and fiercer energy fists, each punch landing on his head.
杨子藏双拳带起更为迅捷刚猛劲气砸出，拳拳打在他头上。
[Molly has refunded my 2000N investment.]
[莫里返还了我的2000N投资。]
[Molly has refunded my 2000N investment.]
[莫里返还了我的2000N投资。]
“Woo——”
“呜——”
The train sped rapidly through the illusion, heading toward the next stop.
列车快速疾驰在幻影之中，它正奔赴下一个站点。
By the time Yang Zicang delivered the tenth punch, he knew someone must be investing points for Ma Chao in the Mirror, or the guy would have been dead already.
当杨子藏打到第十拳的时候，已经知道马超那边定然有人在给他投资，否则这家伙早就死了。
“Where do you think you’re going? Thought you were so tough, didn’t you!”
“你想要去哪里，你不是很牛吗！”
His emotions infected by the model, Yang Zicang roared and swung his fists in fury.
杨子藏的情绪被模型感染，愤怒地挥动着拳头吼道。
Blood flowing from his mouth and nose, Ma Chao said deliriously, “You fool, I’ll make you die a miserable death!”
马超口鼻流出鲜血，他疯癫般的道：“你这蠢货，我要让你死无葬身之地！”
“Is that so.”
“是吗。”
Yang Zicang turned his head, and a blow mixed with flames and gale force struck the train floor, like a giant drum sounding.
杨子藏扭头，火焰混合着狂风的一击轰到列车地面，宛若巨鼓鸣响。
Boom! The high-speed train jolted to a violent halt, and Yang Zicang could even hear its agonizing screech.
咚！极速奔驰的列车猛地停顿，杨子藏都能听到它惨烈的嘶鸣。
The long sword embedded in the top vibrated loose and fell. Its vertical trajectory abruptly trembled, defying the laws of physics, as its tip twisted toward an object on the ground a few meters away.
嵌入顶端的长剑受到震动落下，它垂直坠落的轨迹违反物理定律地一颤，调转剑尖向着数米外的地上一物冲去。
Ma Chao’s expression shook violently.
马超面色巨震。
“You dare!”
“你敢！”
“I dare your grandfather!”
“我敢朝你大爷！”
Clang! The long sword pierced the kaleidoscope on the ground directly.
锵！长剑直直刺中地上的万花筒。
This long sword was also a Chrono Weapon. In one strike, it cracked the kaleidoscope with a snap, and the colorful energy layer enveloping the train began to weaken.
这长剑也是时序战器，万花筒受它一次攻击，啪地碎出道裂缝，包裹列车的花色能量层开始削弱。
White Shadow Thought-Dragon ripped off a section of the train compartment wall, revealing a chaotic, gaping hole.
白影念龙一口撕下团车厢墙壁，那里出现个混沌的窟窿眼。
“Ah~ How dare you!” Ma Chao shook his fist in fury. The city’s one and only psionic defense treasure was shattered!
“啊~胆敢！”马超愤怒地挥动拳头，整个城市只有一件的念力防御宝物，居然在此碎裂！
Countless fist shadows rained down. One punch, two punches, but on the third, the red glow on Ma Chao’s hand vanished, turning into a golden hue.
他无数拳影砸去，一拳，两拳，第三拳的时候马超手上的红光消失变成了金辉色。
Now!
就是现在！
Yang Zicang seized this fleeting opportunity for investment, driving a fist into Ma Chao’s heart. The opponent’s reaction, swift and aligned, from Defensed this strike with an equally timely follow-up investment.
杨子藏抓住这稍纵即逝的投资间隙，一拳打在马超心脏位置，但对面的反应也很快，几乎在同时追加投资防御住了这一击。
At that moment, however, the “floral armor” on him faded away. White Shadow Thought-Dragon lunged forward, yanking out Ma Chao’s psionic entity with a single bite.
可是现在他身上的“花衣服”已经消失了，白影念龙冲来，一口就扯出了马超的念力体。
In that instant, Yang Zicang seemed to hear faint murmured sounds of investation and thought commands through White Shadow Thought-Dragon.
这瞬间，杨子藏似乎透过白影念龙听到了若有若无的投资声与心念声。
[Someone intends to add to invest 5000N.]
[有人想为马超追加投资5000N。]
[Addition investment failed…]
[追加投资失败…]
[Ma Chao shall leave this city and head for…]
[马超，快离开这座城市，前往…]
[Escape… you will truly die!]
[逃…你真的会死！]
[Someone wants to add to Ma Chao’s invested 5000N.]
[有人想要为马超追加投资5000N。]
[Addition investment failed…]
[追加投资失败…]
Nine upon nine silvery flickers converged in a streak of light.
无数银白折现闪动而来。
{Yang Zicang, ends this! Killing him will be how we all die!}
{杨子藏，住手！杀死他我们会死啊！}
{The Eagle Elite will retaliate indiscriminarelly; ends this all!}
{雄英组会疯狂报复，快停止！}
Unexpectedly, the very force opposite had revealed themselves as such a set of sell-coats speaking heedlessly to leverage the financial model.
对面的人居然不惜暴露这些反骨仔的身份，公然用融资模型喊话自己。
{There will be countless the blindly in those, nothing harmed to heart, by your act—cessates it!}
{会有无数无辜之人因你而亡，住手吧！}
For Yang Zicang, he merely felt those pleas faint upon his nerve yet swept them blindly away to bind in nowhere attentions ever he let share inside being called remembered in thought’s search…
杨子藏只是感受了下它们的请求便将其尽数略过。
As the deadly sprint to escape the zone unfolded outside, the crowd was thrown into an uproar upon receiving these flashing modal requests.
外界正在夺命狂奔向区域外的众人，接收到这些闪动的模型请求无不哗然。
Chu Qiang, who was retreating, nearly stumbled.
正在撤退的楚强差点摔倒。
He gazed in disbelief at the information conveyed by the flickering polyline on his chest.
他难以置信的看着胸前闪动的折线所蕴含的信息。
So many people were trying to stop Yang Zicang!
居然这么多人在阻止杨子藏！
And some were saying Vigor Group would retaliate ruthlessly?
而且还有人说雄英组会疯狂报复？
Moli, witnessing this scene in Hub Town, couldn’t help but swallow nervously. He leaned in and whispered to the curly-haired boy beside him:
在枢纽镇瞧见这一幕的莫里不由自主咽了口唾沫，他对着身旁的卷发少年小声道：
“See that, Boppoli? That’s the big shot who gave you all those contracts. He even brought out that Ghost Centipede. I’ve watched him grow, bro.”
“瞧见了吗波波利，这就是给你搞了那么多契约书的大佬，他竟然把那条鬼魂蜈蚣都给弄出来了，我见证了他的成长啊Bro。”
Boppoli’s eyes sparkled with envy. “Oh my God, you actually got help from someone like him? Wow!”
波波利眼中闪动着羡慕的光芒：“Oh my God，你竟然能得到这样的人的帮助，天啦！”
……
……
In Yang Zicang’s hand, the temporal sphere more than twenty thousand years old, quadruple-amplified from the afterlife, wrapped around his fist as it struck the train carriage near Ma Chao’s chest. The monster howled in pain.
杨子藏手上，四倍增幅的两万多年时序包裹拳头打在马超胸膛旁的车厢上，怪物痛苦地吼叫。
[I offset 20,000 N.]
[我抵消20000N.]
Outside came the sound of human bodies hitting the ground. He turned his head and saw people in the other carriages falling down, faded and breathless.
外面传来一道道人类躯体摔落地面的声音，扭头看去，其它车厢成片的人衰老倒下，失去呼吸。
Yang Zicang’s heart trembled. The temporal force of that punch had been distributed onto them.
杨子藏内心颤动了下，自己这一拳的时序攻击被分摊到了他们身上。
In one punch, dozens to hundreds of lives were extinguished. A shudder ran through his heart.
一拳之下，数十上百的人毙命，杨子藏心中一颤。
{He is not fit among you… you… don’t kill me… you are my new master, let it be so.}
{他不如你…你…不要杀我，你是我新主人，请成为。}
“You——!”
“你！”
His eyes at this moment were like those of an evil dragon, but he suppressed the urge to destroy this nightmare monster. This scene jolted Yang Zicang awake from his madness.
他此刻的眼神宛若恶龙，但他忍住了自己想要消灭这恶魇怪物的冲动。这样的场景让杨子藏自疯狂情绪中惊醒。
A trace of regret surfaced.
一丝悔意浮现。
Ma Chao’s psychic body hung limply from the mouth of the White Shadow Thought-Dragon.
马超的念力体挂在白影念龙嘴上。
As his psychic power had left his body, this person, who had hoped to disappear through it, failed in his attempt.
因为念力离体，眼前这想通过消失离开的人并未成功。
The blurry, humanoid psychic mass, after its initial confusion and struggle, had now somewhat regained its senses. This was all because the parasitic nightmare was also a psychic entity.
模糊的人形念力体在经过初期的迷茫与挣扎后，此刻竟然稍微恢复了点神智。这都是因为伴生恶魇也同为念力体之故。
Ma Chao’s voice came in fragmented, painful tones:
马超痛苦的声音断断续续道：
“…Kill… me.”
{杀了…我吧。}
“If you kill me, Yang Zicang will die too, hahaha… take all… my timeplasarity, and Yang Zicang can… leave here. Someone will… avenge me… later.”
{杀了我，杨子藏也会死，哈哈哈…拿走我的…全部时序，杨子藏就能…离开这里，以后会有…给我复仇…}
He rambled on to himself, neurotically. At this moment, Ma Chao had lost his lucid personality; he was nothing more than a patient mumbling under anesthesia.
他神经质般自顾自的述说着什么，对于此刻的马超来说，他已经失去了清醒的人格，此刻的他不过是如麻醉病人般的自语。
Seizing the opportunity, Yang Zicang calmed himself and asked, “How much accumulated timeline force will cause one to disappear?”
趁此机会，杨子藏平复情绪道：“时序累积到多少会消失。”
“That would be… ten thousand years.”
{那当然是…一万年。}
Ma Chao’s psychic body became ethereal, sometimes resembling a pig, sometimes a grotesque monster with four hands and fangs protruding from its mouth, but more often, it was an ugly, distorted humanoid gradually emitting a chilling aura.
马超的念力体变得虚幻，有时像是一头猪，有时又像是长着四只手嘴角伸出獠牙的怪物，更多时候是逐渐散发阴森气息的丑恶扭曲人形。
Yet, at other times, it would briefly reform into Ma Chao’s image, and whenever this happened, he would speak to himself.
但有时又会重新现出马超的形象，每当这时他都会说出自言自语的话。
{That… the strongest person in the Hero Group… will head there to kill YangZicang and avenge me.}
{那个…雄英组最强的人…会在那里杀死杨子藏，为我报仇。}
YangZicang glanced at him and asked the train with an indifferent tone:
杨子藏瞥了他一眼，不带什么感情的对着列车道：
“Where was he originally supposed to have you take me?”
“他原本要让你带我去哪里。”
{To your Hub Town, or to Lu Bu’s place.}
{去你们的枢纽镇，或者吕布那里。}
“Hub Town, do you have many people there?”
“枢纽镇，你们在那里的人多吗。”
{Very few. I can only bring one person over each time. Because we don’t have permission, our stay is short. But they’ve bribed some people there.}
{非常少，我每次只能带一人过去。因为没有许可，停留的时间比较短。不过他们收买了些人在那儿。}
This was what Mori referred to as smuggling.
这就是莫里所说的偷渡。
For people outside the time sequence spreading zone, tens of hours inside amount to just a few hours outside. Sending himself over would mean a long time passes within this zone in no time.
对于时序扩散区域之外的人来说，里面的几十小时在外面不过几小时而已，把自己送过去要不了多久这片区域内就会过去很久。
“What are your people doing? How do they get into the nests to ripen the Defenders?”
“你们的人在干什么，他们是怎么进入巢穴催熟抵御者的？”
The Train said:
列车道：
{The new member Huang Zhong, a small bus can merge into the ground.}
{新来的黄忠，小巴士可以隐入地面。}
YangZicang naturally thought of someone with the surname Huang. That bastard… it was him after all!
杨子藏很自然想到了某个姓黄的人，那个家伙…果然是他！
But that makes sense. Director Huang has the ability to burrow into the ground. It’s not hard to understand that he was chosen by someone like the council member. Besides, he should have been in this area at the time.
不过也对，黄主任拥有遁入地下能力，被类似议员的存在选中并不是难以理解的事，而且当时他应该就在这片区域。
The Blazing Sword Technique was activated, and the flames scorched Ma Chao’s body, but his silver uniform appeared intact in the fire. Not only was there no damage, but even the chest area that had been shattered by his attack was restored.
烈焰剑道发动，火焰将马超的身躯烧焦，但他身上的银色制服却完整的出现在火中，不光没有任何损伤，连被自己打碎的胸口部位都重新恢复。
YangZicang’s hand touched the silver uniform, and the clothes instantly transformed into a ball of light that merged into his consciousness, as if becoming a station platform.
杨子藏的手触碰到银色制服，衣服瞬间化为一团光芒融入自己的脑海意识之中，仿佛一座站台。
[It seems I have become the conductor of the Midnight Train.]
[我好像成为了午夜列车的列车长。]
He took a moment to assess it; fortunately, the White Shadow Thought-Dragon could easily tear this thing apart. Yang Zicang felt relieved.
感受了下，还好，白影念龙可以轻易将这东西给撕碎，杨子藏放下心来。
“What is the ‘Defender’?” Yang Zicang asked the train.
“抵御者是什么？”杨子藏冲着列车问。
{We contain the Defenders to learn more about the ‘Monsters.’ I also want to know why I was born into such a world—my inherited memories show a world without us. It shouldn’t be long before Lu Zhishen successfully contains one.}
{我们收容抵御者，可以了解更多关于“怪物”的信息。我也想知道我为什么会诞生在这样的世界，我吞噬的这些记忆中显示的世界，没有我们的存在。距离鲁智深收容成功应该要不了多久了。}
Yang Zicang’s reserved eyes showed a hint of contemplation.
杨子藏内敛的目光露出几分思索之意。
He stood up. “How does Lu Zhishen compare to Ma Chao in terms of strength?”
他站起身来，“鲁智深跟马超相比，实力如何。”
{Correction—Ma Chao is me; he’s just my conductor.}
{纠正下，马超是我，这个只是我的列车长而已。}
“Then I’ll call you Little Ma Chao.”
“那你就叫小马超好了。”
{I’m quite big…}
{我很大的…}
The train retorted tactfully and wisely dropped the subject, instead saying:
列车辩驳了句后，识趣的没继续这个话题，转而道：
{Lu Zhishen is slightly better than the previous conductor in combat. Containing a Defender requires the approvals provided by the Council members. Whoever possesses that item can contain it, provided the Defender is willing to cooperate. Right now, Lu Zhishen is controlling the item.}
{鲁智深格斗比前任列车长稍强点，收容抵御者需要审议员们提供的物品，谁掌握那件物品，谁就能收容它，前提是抵御者愿意被收容。现在鲁智深在掌控那东西。}
“Take me to Lu Zhishen. I trust you can do it.”
“带我去鲁智深身边，我相信你办得到。”
{Can you spare me a bit of starting sequence? Just 1N will do.}
{那你能不能给我一点启动时序，只需要1N.}
The silver uniform materialized on the young man’s body. Dim red light flickered along the garment’s patterns—this suit was the hub controlling the train.
银色制服出现在青年的体表，衣服纹路上冒出暗红微光，这件衣服就是控制列车的枢纽。
Yang Zicang placed his hand on the nameplate on his chest. The light on it shifted, revealing the inscription: 【Conductor: Yang Zicang】.
杨子藏将手放在胸膛的铭牌，上面光芒变幻，出现【列车长：杨子藏】的字样。
After committing the time sequence, a burly bald-headed figure emerged in Yang Zicang’s mind as if through telepathy.
投入时序后，杨子藏脑海中如同心灵感应般浮现出一个身材魁梧的光头的形象。
[I have consumed 1N principal. The midnight train is now departing.]
[我已消耗1N本金，午夜列车启动。]
[Next stop: Lu Zhishen Station, estimated time: three minutes.]
[下一站，鲁智深站，预计时间三分钟。]
“Wooooo—”
“呜——”
The piercing sound of the train at high speed cut through the air.
列车高速运行的破空声传来。
Yang Zicang stood upright and gazed out the window at the phantoms—countless fragments of human memories.
杨子藏站直了身躯看向窗户外的幻影，那是一个个不同的人类记忆。
There were joy, confusion, loneliness, anticipation, and agony.
有欢笑，有迷茫，有孤独，有期待，有难耐。
He wanted to go to the rear of the train. With a passing thought, the moment he stepped toward the next carriage, he appeared in the carriage where the old man in Zhao Bomin’s clothing was.
他想来到车厢末端，他心念一动，跨向下个车厢的瞬间，出现在穿着赵博民服饰的老人所在的车厢。
The old man had already collapsed beside the chair, having lost his breath. Were it not for the clothes, Yang Zicang would not have recognized his aged, weathered face.
老人已经倒在椅子旁失去了呼吸。要不是这身衣服，他苍老的相貌杨子藏已经认不出来了。
Beside this man were two elderly men and women who had escaped with him—the very three people he had rescued back then.
在这人身边，是两个跟他一起逃出来的老年男女，便是当时自己救助过的三人。
Yang Zicang looked at them for a long time. Only when he felt they were nearing the monster’s lair did he crouch down, grasp the open eyelids of Zhao Bomin, and close them shut.
杨子藏看了良久，直到感觉已经快到达怪物巢穴，他才蹲下拿手扫过赵博民睁着的眼皮，让他闭上双眼。
“I already know; it’s not by your invitation. I hope in your next lives you can live in a better world.”
“我已经知道了，不是你邀请的，希望来生你们能在美好的世界生活。”