Watching the bustling figures around him, Yang Zicang hesitated for a moment, then asked this celebrity from Earth, “When did you come over?”
看着身旁上上下下忙碌的身影，杨子藏犹豫了下，问这个地球的明星道：“你是什么时候过来的？”
“Almost a year and three months now, haha. Seen any of my TV dramas lately?”
“快一年零三个月了，呵呵，最近看过我的电视剧吗。”
“Seen plenty of movies, but TV dramas, only watched a bit with classmates.”
“电影看过不少，电视剧麻只看同学看过。”
“Oh, still in school? Truly a hero emerges from the young. Your classmates probably watched that TV drama about Li Shimin I filmed right before I left. It was my first and, as it turned out, my last time transitioning into TV dramas.”
“喲，还在读书啊，真是英雄出少年。你同学看的应该是我离开前，拍的那部关于李世民的电视剧吧，它是我第一次转型拍电视剧，结果就是最后一次了。”
So he’d been missing from Earth for a long time.
原来他早就从地球失踪了啊。
Yang Zicang scratched the back of his head.
杨子藏抠了抠后脑勺。
“Actually, I was supposed to start work in the second half of the year,” Yang Zicang said with a chuckle. “Haha, as for TV dramas, they’re too long for me. I prefer watching sports events, and on holidays, I’d go to the cinema to catch a movie. Too bad I won’t be able to anymore.”
“其实我下半年本会去上班了的。”杨子藏笑道：“嘿嘿，至于电视剧，对我来说太长了。我喜欢看体育赛事，放假了会去影院看看电影。可惜以后看不到了。”
The people around carefully carried the two charred bodies out on stretchers, and the fragments were also taken out without leaving a single one behind.
周围人用担架将那两具周身焦黑的人小心抬出，那堆碎片也被一个不留的带了出去。
Chen Yu sighed and nodded slightly:
晨御叹息地微微点头：
“It feels so good to hear you talk about these things—brings back some memories. But it’s not like they’ll be completely out of reach. On the fifteenth of every month, a phantom of this city reappears. We could go to the cinema together then, though it’ll be dangerous and soundless.”
“听你说这些真是好啊，有些怀念。不过以后也并非不能看。每个月十五号，再次出现在这座城市的虚影。到时候咱们可以一起去影院，就是很危险，而且听不到声音。”
Realizing that this event indeed happened on the fifteenth of every month, Yang Zicang’s heart abruptly pounded twice.
意识到他说的这件事的确每个月十五号会发生，杨子藏心脏猛地跳了两下。
Did this mean he might still see his family? Even if they couldn’t see him. But he immediately prayed that it wouldn’t happen, because that would mean his family might come over here too.
这是不是意味着自己还能见到家人？虽然对方看不见自己。但他马上祈祷不要发生这种事情，因为那意味着家人也可能会过来这边。
“Oh, by the way, we’ve prepared a gift for you. Are you free now?”
“喔，对了，我们给你准备有礼物，你现在有空吗？”
“The gift doesn’t matter; just give me what we agreed on, and the next time I come, please have Zhang Fei’s armor ready.”
“礼物无所谓，只要按照之前说好的给我就行了，另外我下次来的时候请将张飞铠甲给我。”
The subway train quickly faded, and Yang Zicang, leaning against the door with one hand holding it open, vanished with the speeding train.
地铁的身影迅速虚化，一只手撑着车门的杨子藏随着列车快速消失。
The night’s disaster had almost been turned around single-handedly by this young man, leaving everyone present with mixed feelings.
今夜的灾难几乎是由眼前这个年轻人独自扭转，这里的人都感觉心情复杂。
They looked at each other and shrugged.
几人面面相觑，互相耸了耸肩。
“I told you, that guy isn’t so easy to fool.”
“我就说，这家伙不是那么好糊弄的。”
……
……
Inside the candlelit room, on the wooden bed, Mu Xiaoyu lay half-reclining with a weary expression.
烛火摇曳的房间木床上，沐小雨神色疲惫地半躺在上面。
Her arms were in casts, with a terrifying sword gash on her abdomen, and she seemed somewhat dazed.
她双臂打着石膏，她腹部有道骇人的剑痕，整个人有些恍神。
“Don’t fall asleep, Xiaoyu,” said the old man by the bedside.
“不能睡，小雨。”床边的老头道。
“I…”
“我…”
The girl on the bed turned her head in a daze: “But I’m so sleepy.
床上的女孩迷茫地转了转头：“可是，我好困。”
Liu Ming was growing anxious. It had been half an hour since he last contacted Yao Qiming, and no one else had come into the room. If Ma Chao showed up now, what could he possibly do?
刘明有些焦急，自从半小时前跟姚启明联系过一次后，房间内已经没有人来过了。要是这个时候马超出现，自己能怎么办。
The girl closed her heavy eyelids. Liu Ming shook her by the shoulders and said:
女孩闭上了沉重的眼帘，刘明晃着她的身子道：
“No, you have to wake up! It will be dawn soon — just hold on a little longer!”
“不行啊，快醒醒，天就要亮了，再坚持坚持！”
The door burst open with a bang. Flurry Zhao appeared at the entrance, looking hurried and out of breath. She let out a sigh, then smiled and said: “She can go to sleep now.”
门嘭地声被推开，赵雪美形色匆匆的身影出现在门口，她喘息了口气，露出笑容道：“她可以睡了。”
On hearing the words “can go to sleep,” Mu Xiaoyu could no longer hold on; despite the pain throughout her body, she closed her eyes.
沐小雨在听到“可以睡了”这几个字后，哪怕周身疼痛，也再也坚持不住地闭上了眼。
Liu Ming turned to look at her: “Didn’t you say Ma Chao might come through the dreams?”
刘明转头看向她：“你们不是说马超可能会通过梦境过来？”
“We won’t have to fear him anymore!” Flurry Zhao called out cheerfully in a low voice.
“以后都不用再怕他了！”赵雪美轻快地小声喊道。
Behind her, several excited people came running.
她身后跟着跑过来几个兴奋的人。
Watching them suddenly appear, Liu Ming vaguely felt that something must have happened.
看着这些人的突然出现，刘明隐约觉得肯定有什么事发生。
But he couldn’t figure out what it could be, or how it related to him and this girl in the room.
但他想不出会是什么，跟这房间内的自己两人又有什么关系。
Suddenly, he seemed to hear the wind whistle of a subway train hurtling through a tunnel.
忽地，他像是听到了地铁划过隧道的风鸣。
[Woo—]
[呜——]
The elderly Liu Ming tensed up and turned his body. The wall behind the girl’s bedside seemed to become blurry as the candlelight flickered.
老年的刘明身体绷紧地转头，女孩床头后方的墙壁似乎变得模糊了起来，烛火晃动。
“This — isn’t this exactly what you were talking about!”
“这，这不就是你们说的！”
The old man trembled as he stood up; his chair was dragged back a couple of inches by his legs, producing a screech against the floor.
老人一下颤抖着站了起来，椅子被他的腿往后带动了几厘米，发出咯吱的摩擦地板声。
“Ma Chao is really here. Run!”
“马超真的来了，快跑。”
Liu Ming tried to lift the girl, but his hunched-over frame struggled even to move a chair, let alone a person.
刘明想抱起少女，可他佝偻的身子抱起把椅子都费劲，更别说人了。
A few people at the doorway looked inside the room; Furong Zhao nervously rubbed her hands together in front of her.
门口几人看向屋内，赵雪美紧张地将双手搓在身前。
“Don’t worry, the one who’s come is your friend.”
“不用担心，来的是你朋友。”
“My friend?”
“我朋友？”
……
……
When Furong Zhao first heard Chu Qiang contacting her, she thought she was hallucinating.
赵雪美刚刚听到楚强联系自己的时候，还以为出现了幻觉。
Yet that man, who had always calmly managed his teammates’ timing, was unusually excited tonight. Chu Qiang repeatedly stressed that Zhao Anlong had returned! Though he had left again, he had left behind a gift; Yang Zicang would deliver it to him!
而那个一直冷静管理着队友们时序的人今夜却激动万分。楚强不住的强调，是赵安龙回来了！虽然他又走了，不过却为自己留下了礼物，杨子藏即将为他送达！
Liu Ming couldn’t recall having any such friend.
刘明想不起来自己有什么样的朋友。
“What friend of mine?”
“我哪里的朋友？”
Could it be a friend who had entered this world before him? But he didn’t recall any acquaintances going missing.
难道是先进入这世界的朋友？但自己似乎没听到有身边人失踪啊。
Who could it be?
会是谁？
“Whoosh—sssh~”
“呜——嗤~”
Behind the head of the sleeping girl, half of an image slowly materialized on the wall.
熟睡少女的头后方，墙上出现了小半截缓缓浮现的画面。
It was as if a curtain had risen for the girl’s dream.
就像少女的梦境展开的帷幕。
A train carriage appeared there.
一节车厢出现在那儿。
The door gently opened, revealing a cool, handsome youth with the aura of a seasoned warrior.
门轻轻地打开后，显露出位拥有身经百战气质的冷俊青年。
Liu Ming’s eyes went wide. He pointed at Yang Zicang in disbelief, as if seeing a ghost:
刘明眼睛瞪得老大，他不可思议的指着杨子藏，一副见鬼的表情：
“Y-You, of all people! Where did you run off to today?”
“你、你这家伙，怎么会是你？你今天跑哪儿去了？”
Though he hadn’t seen the man for just half a day, the person was the same yet his demeanor had completely changed! He had even developed well-proportioned muscles.
明明半天多时间不见，人还是那个人，可他身上的气质已经大相径庭！而且还长出了匀称的肌肉。
Liu Ming waited, but no second person appeared behind the door.
刘明等了等，门后并未出现第二个人。
Only him?
只有他？
“Where’s Ma Chao?” Liu Ming asked, his voice trembling with hesitation.
“马超呢？”刘明忐忑迟疑的询问道。
{I’m on the wall.}
{我在立壁上。}
The train’s voice boomed, startling the onlookers and forcing them to step back.
列车的声音出现，吓得周围人后退了一步。
This was the infamous nightmare of the Xiong Ying group, a dreaded presence from which many, unless endowed with exceptionally high Chrono levels, would be consumed and turned into puppets.
这可是凶名鼎盛的雄英组恶魇，传说除非时序特别高，否则好些人都会被它吞入成为傀儡。
“Yang Zicang, it’s so good you’re safe.” Fulrry Zhao stepped forward.
“杨子藏，你没事真是太好了。”赵雪美上前一步。
“Thank you for the concern.”
“谢谢关心。”
The youth on the wall smiled at her, then swept his gaze across the crowd both in the room and at the door, a sharp line of energy darting toward Liu Ming.
墙上的青年冲她笑笑，随后扫视了屋内与门口的众人一眼，一道折线射向刘明。
A tiny, ring-sized grayish-white circle, empty within, materialized in front of the old man.
老头身前自动浮现出个微小如指环般的灰白圆环，里面是空的。
[300N.]
[300N.]
“This is…” Liu Ming sensed that additional years of Chrono, which he could naturally command, had been added to his own.
“这个是…”刘明感知到自己似乎又多出能自然支配的很多年时序。
“It’s for you. An extra three hundred years ‘ worth of lifespan. Honestly, without a model, there’s no way to contact you. Once I’m finished here, I’ll take you to claim your own models.”
“给你的。三百年额外寿命。真是的，没有模型都没办法联系你们。等我忙完了这边，就带你们去获取属于你们的模型。”
Liu Ming gaped in disbelief.
刘明不可思议的张大了嘴。
Before his slow-thinking brain could digest the information, murmuring buzzed from those at the doorstep; they had all heard the telepathic message from the model:
他迟缓的大脑还来不及消化这信息，门口的人就嗡嗡的议论起来，他们都听到了来自模型的心念声：
[I have discovered a Chrono Weapon.]
[我发现了时序战器。]
“Whoa! You’ve become an expert now!” Liu Ming finally reacted. “You can’t be serious… In just a day, you’ve gotten this strong?”
“哇！你成高手了！”刘明终于反应了过来，“没搞错吧，才一天时间，你这么厉害了？”
Everyone was smiling, looking at the old man.
众人笑着看着老人。
Spotting Fulrry Zhao’s graceful silhouette standing at the door, Yang Zicang unsheathed his long sword from its scabbard, then leapt lightly down from the wall.
看到赵雪美的倩丽身影伫立门前，杨子藏解下带鞘长剑从墙上轻巧地一跃而下。
His feet touched the ground, he straightened his legs that had bent slightly to absorb the shock, and walked toward the slender, graceful lady before him.
他双脚落在地面，将微蹲缓冲的腿站直，走向靓丽消瘦的女士跟前。
A faint, almost imperceptible fragrance lingered around his nostrils.
一丝若有若无的香味萦绕鼻息之间。
“Is this…” Fulrry Zhao looked at this exquisite narrow sword.
“这个就是…”赵雪美看向这柄精致的窄剑。
“Yeah, it’s a gift Zhao Anlong asked me to bring for you. He said that if anyone dares to take a liking to it, he will hunt them down until they die. And he also said…”
“嗯，是赵安龙托我带给你的礼物，他说过，任何人要是想要打它的主意，以后都会被他追杀自死。另外他还说…”
Fulrry Zhao’s face flushed red up to her ears.
赵雪美的脸唰地下红到了耳根。
“Don’t. Don’t say anything else.”
“别，别说了。”
Now, Fulrry Zhao’s name has spread across the entire city, and everyone has come to know her as the one Zhao Anlong deeply cares for.
现在赵雪美的名字已经传遍了整个城市，大家都知道了她是赵安龙挂念的人。
Yang Zicang let out a sly grin and handed the weapon over to the beauty.
杨子藏嘿嘿一笑，将武器递到了这位美人手上。
“You’ll need a hundred years of time sequence to wield it; do you have enough spare time sequence?”
“掌控它要一百年时序，你的备用时序足够吗？”
Fulrry Zhao, with her head bowed, nodded gently.
埋着头的赵雪美轻轻点点头。
Seeing her like this, Yang Zicang asked no further.
见她这样子，杨子藏便不再多问。
Even if she didn’t have much time sequence, Chu Qiang would surely arrange everything for her. After all, this was a formidable battle weapon that delivered five hundred years of time sequence with every strike—probably unmatched in this city.
哪怕她没有太多时序，楚强肯定也会为她安排好一切，这可是每击五百年时序的强大战器，恐怕是这座城市的独一份。
Recalling Zhao Anlong’s help and their final outburst, Yang Zicang, now guilt-ridden, added, “There’s one more gift I want to give you.”
想到赵安龙对自己的帮助以及最后的叫骂，杨子藏心虚地道：“我还有个礼物要送给你。”
“Oh? There’s more?”
“欸，还有？”
Fulrry Zhao raised her lovely face, her delicate eyelashes blinking, gazing at the man before her who had in the blink of an eye acquired the same commanding presence as Anlong once did.
赵雪美抬起俏脸，细柔的睫毛眨了眨，看向身前这转眼间已具备了跟曾经的安龙一般气势的男人。
“Yeah, this is from me, as thanks for Zhao Anlong’s help this time. Without him, this city would have already been devastated.”
“嗯，这是我送你的，算是感谢赵安龙这次的帮助吧，没有他这座城市恐怕已经生灵涂炭了。”
He raised his hand, and a model materialized on his chest; a flickering quadrilateral shot into his palm.
他抬起手，胸前模型浮现，闪烁的四边形窜到手掌。
Only then did Flurry Zhao realize that this unprecedented gift came from the man before her.
赵雪美这才反应过来，这份没听过的礼物是眼前之人所送。
“If you could learn a skill, would you prefer flames, snowflakes, or perhaps fist techniques?”
“如果让你学会一样技能，你喜欢火焰还是雪花，又或者拳术呢？”
“A skill?”
“技能？”
The people around stirred slightly.
周围人骚动了下。
Xiangmu glanced at the sword in her hand and said, after a moment’s thought, “I naturally like snow better.”
赵雪美看了眼手中的剑后，想了想道：“我当然是喜欢雪要多点的。”
As soon as she finished speaking, the model’s fine lines flickering in the man’s hand wriggled regularly, materializing a translucent, scroll-like ancient sheet of paper.
刚说完，眼前男人手上闪动的模型细线迅速有规律地窜动，具现出半透明的卷轴模样的古老纸张。
Gazing at the energy construct shoved into her hands, Flurry Zhao felt a sudden tremor in her eyes.
见到被塞进手里的能量体造物，赵雪美的目光簌然震动。
Its effect and method of use surged into her mind through streams of information.
它所蕴含的效果与使用方式，通过信息流快速涌入心间。
{Level-Up Agreement: Frost-Over Snowflake Sword, ninety-seven years of cultivation experience, 100% completion}
《代练契约：霜雪剑法，九十七年修行经验，完整度100%》

Un Believably, the woman looked up.
女人难以置信地抬。
{This can actually be learned directly?}
{这竟然是能够直接学会的？}
Secret techniques were rare enough, but one that could be directly mastered had never even been heard of—and now it appeared here, with nearly a century of cultivation experience behind it!
秘技本就少见，能直接学会的更是从未听闻，却出现在了眼前，还是近百年的修行经验！
Yang Zicang nodded with a smile: “Next time you see Zhao Anlong, be sure to thank him on my behalf.”
杨子藏点头笑了笑：“下次见到赵安龙，一定替我向他道谢啊。”
“This… okay, no! It’s me who should thank you! Hey, no, no, I can’t accept such a valuable gift.”
“这…好，不对！是我谢谢！欸，不对不对，我不能要这么贵重的礼物。”
Suddenly blessed with two treasures, Flurry Zhao was somewhat flustered.
一下得到两件宝贝的赵雪美有点慌神。
She had never imagined that Yang Zicang’s so-called gift would be so precious.
她根本没想到杨子藏所谓的礼物居然如此贵重。
Just as she was about to return it, Yang Zicang had already moved to the bedside and gathered the sleeping girl, along with her thin blanket, into his arms. At that moment, his face was filled with exhaustion.
当她想要还回去时，杨子藏已经来到床边将熟睡的少女连同薄毯抱入怀中，此刻的她脸上憔悴无比。
“Zicang, this is three hundred years, you’re really giving it to me? Hey, where are you going?”
“子藏，这可是三百年欸，你真给我了？欸，你要去哪儿？”
Liu Ming felt as if he were dreaming. After all that happened next, it took him a moment to snap out of it until Yang Zicang leaped up onto the train door suspended on the wall.
刘明觉得自己是不是在做梦，直到杨子藏纵身一跃跳上了悬在墙上的列车门才反应过来。
“Lifespan means nothing to us anymore; what truly matters is surviving the present. Without strength, even ten thousand years of life are but fleeting clouds and smoke.”
“寿命对于我们已经无所谓了，当前能够活着才是最为真实的。没有实力，万年寿命也是过眼云烟。”
Liu Ming fell silent. It seemed like only half a day had passed, but Li Yang was already miles ahead of him—as if they were living in two different worlds.
刘明哑然，这似乎才半天而已，自己已经落后了遥远距离，仿佛两个世界的人。
Flurry Zhao, rushing over to the bedside, said, “Are you going to heal her? Chu Qiang knows someone with remarkable medical abilities, but he might charge a bit steeply.”
跑过来床边的赵雪美道：“你要治疗她吗？楚强认识位拥有不错医疗能力的人，只是他可能收费有点贵。”
“It’s fine; my friend has already arranged everything for me.”
“没事，我朋友已经为我准备好了一切。”
The door sealed behind him, and the train turned into a blur of shadows, stirring up a hazy mist as it sped into the other side of the wall.
车门在他背后封闭，列车化为虚影带起迷蒙卷雾驰入墙的另一侧。
“His friend has arranged everything?”
“他的朋友准备好了一切？”
“That guy has been out for just one day, but it feels like he’s been gone for ages. Just how fast does time move over there?”
“这家伙出去一天搞得好像混了好久似的，那边的时间到底变得有多快呀。”
The group watched as his figure disappeared into the train, their emotions churning with indescribable complexity.
众人看着他的身影消失在这辆车上，一时情绪起伏难喻。

GROUND STRAS/地上星