第八十八章 赶走威胁 -2
Captain Jia chuckled.
贾队长笑了。
He had heard too many stories of people spouting crazy nonsense like this before, driven mad by the news that they were being kicked out.
这种听到自己会被赶走，而精神失常胡言乱语的人自己听说过过太多了。
He was about to mock these ridiculous fools when, in an instant, his mind was struck, as if he were faced with an inviolable and overwhelming presence of authority.
他正想讽刺这些不知所谓的家伙，但这瞬间，他感觉自己精神一荡，似看到了无能触逆的威严。
Yang Zicang turned his cold eyes to the big guy beside him, Lyu Zhi. “Don’t say anymore.”
杨子藏冷眼转向身旁的大块头吕志，“不要说了。”
Then those eyes suddenly swept across the space.
随后这双眼睛蓦然扫视而来。
The dozen or so people around Captain Jia felt enveloped by a deep, distant, and oppressive aura. An unspeakable sense of insignificance quelled any thought of resistance within them.
贾队身旁十来人感觉被幽远深沉的气息笼罩般，无法言喻的渺小感让他们生不起半点反抗的心思。
It was as if they were standing before a superior being that had existed for an age of time.
仿佛自己面对着位存在古老岁月的上位者。
“Leave. The business here is more or less finished.”
“离开吧，这里的事情也差不多完了。”
Hearing Yang Zicang’s decision, the six people beside him didn’t even dare to breathe.
听见杨子藏的决定，身旁六人大气都不敢喘。
Captain Jia stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to say, as the man before him calmly made his way toward the main gate. Wang Chong, who had been inseparable from his weapon all morning, followed closely at Yang Zicang’s side.
贾队愣愣不知说什么，眼看身前男人从容地往大门而去。一上午与武器形影不离的王翀紧步跟在杨子藏身旁。
“Brother Jiazi, wait for us! We need to pack our things.”
“甲子哥，等等我们啊，我们去收拾东西。”
“Don’t leave us behind; without you, we’re done for.”
“别抛下我们，没有你我们就完蛋了。”
The remaining five were utterly panicked, momentarily fumbling and unsure which way to go.
剩下五人慌得不行，一时有点手忙脚乱，不知道该往哪边走。
“Don’t bother packing. Whatever you need, I’ll give it to you.”
“别收拾了，要什么，我给你们。”
The words were bold, but the few people beside Captain Jia curled their lips, thinking, “Just as I suspected—a spy from the greenhouse district here to scrape up leftovers.”
这话很霸气，但贾队身旁几人却瘪瘪嘴，果然是大棚区来拉左粪的间谍。
The five exchanged glances, then all looked together at Yang Zicang ahead, and nodded firmly.
五人互相看了眼，齐齐看向前方的杨子藏，随后重重点头。
Captain Jia and his people snapped back to reality, annoyed that they had been intimidated by a single glance from this man.
贾队长几人回过神，他们有点愤怒于自己竟然被对方一个眼神唬住。
“Damn it! Mark my words, this punk’s going to get himself killed sooner or later.”
“奶奶的，这小子我看迟早被人做掉。”
Suddenly, a commotion broke out from deep within the tent area.
忽地，棚区深处传来阵骚动。
It wasn’t about Zhang Yuanxin successfully building a boiler that might catch the interest of Hub Town, but something far more serious.
不是张远信成功造出了可能会被枢纽镇内相中的锅炉，而是比那更为严重的事情。
That woman inside Ning Yang’s stone house was wailing at the doorway, “The Anchor Core Engine is gone! What’s in the box is a fake!”
宁洋石屋内的女人在屋门口哭到：“失念引擎不见了，箱子里的是假的！”
“What!”
“什么！”
This instantly triggered an uproar.
这下引起了轩然大波。
“No way, how is that possible?”
“不会吧，怎么可能。”
A bunch of people squeezed their way, jostling and shoving, into the tent leader’s stone house, picking up the transparent engine that Aya had taken out of the box from the table.
好些人挤破了头冲进棚主的石屋内，从桌子上拿起那枚被阿雅从箱子中拿出的透明引擎。
It was about ninety percent similar to what everyone had seen yesterday, but the illusion inside was clearly carved on its surface, and it didn’t emit the cool, lucid spiritual feeling—this wasn’t the real Mind-Loss Engine!
它跟昨天大家看到的有九成相似，但里面的幻象明显是刻画上去的，而且也没散发清冽甘醇的心灵感受，这不是真的水井引擎！
It wasn’t even an engine at all.
它甚至不是引擎。
It was just a piece of glass!
它只是块玻璃！
“It’s been switched.”
“被掉包了。”
“Who did it?”
“谁干的？”
The crowd panicked. Someone grabbed the woman by the collar and roared angrily, “Who touched it? Did you hide it?”
众人急成了一团，有人揪起了女人的衣领，震怒道：“谁碰过它！是不是你藏起来了！”
“Don’t bully Aya.”
“别为难阿雅。”
Squad Leader Jia, who had just arrived, was stunned.
赶来的贾队长人都懵了。
“Boss, that guest from Room Sixty, he left just a little too nonchalantly, didn’t he?”
“老大，那个甲子间，他走得也太洒脱了吧。”
In the midst of the noisy crowd, a thin member of the security team whispered in his ear, “Could it be that the one from Room Sixty stole it?”
吵闹人群中，安保队的小瘦子附声耳边：“会不会就是甲子间偷走的？”
Those words were a wake-up call!
一语惊醒梦中人!
“Whether or not it’s him, stop that bastard, call him back for a search—now!”
“不管是不是，把他给我拦住，叫回来搜身，快！”
Six or seven men turned and chased after him. Squad Leader Jia ordered them to put Aya down. He grabbed the arm of this woman who had been sold here, dragging her to toss into the bedroom a few steps away.
六七个人转身追了出去，贾队长让人把阿雅放下，他拖住这个被人卖到这里来的女人的手臂，将她丢入几步外的卧室内。
After sliding the door shut, he casually pointed at two people and said, “You two keep an eye on her. The rest of you, follow me to round that bastard up!”
将门拉紧后，他随意指了两人道：“你们两个看住她，剩下的兄弟们，跟我来收拾人！”
Squad Leader Jia strode out swiftly, a fierce expression on his face.
贾队大步流星的赶了出去，脸上带着狠色。
“That scumbag from Room Sixty!” he growled fiercely.
“甲子间！”他恶狠狠的道。
No matter how many sides the opponent’s model had, no matter how skilled he was, he had to keep the Mind-Loss Engine here!
不管对方的模型是几边形，不管他有多么厉害，必须要把失念引擎给留下来！
The crowd surged outside after the security leader, who seemed to have a target in mind.
人群跟着似有目标的安保队长往外跑去。
“Who is it?”
“是谁？”
“Has Squad Leader Jia found which bastard did it?”
“贾队发现是哪个龟儿子干的了？”
The commotion finally found an outlet. Led by Captain Jia, the once aimless, headless-fly-like crowd chased out of the tattered shantytown.
骚乱终于找到了泄洪口，无头苍蝇般的众人被贾队长带领着追出了破破烂烂的棚区。
“You bastards! No matter how high your time sequence is, I’ll smash you dead with one punch each and bury you like grandsons!”
“王八蛋，时序再高一人一拳也锤死他个孙子！”
Captain Jia charged ahead into the wasteland, with a tide of ragged, stick-wielding people following close behind.
贾队长当先冲向荒原，身后潮水般跟着衣衫破烂，舞着棍棒的人群。
“Stop right there!”
“站住！”
“You few, get back here!”
“你们几个，滚回来！”
The complainants had barely walked a few hundred meters when a crowd from the settlement behind began to chase after them, growing larger by the moment, nearly a hundred people.
抱怨的几人才走出没几百米，身后聚集区内就追出来一群人，而且越来越多，接近上百。
“Get back here!”
“给我回来！”
Yang Zicang frowned and turned around.
杨子藏皱眉转身。
“You coward who dares not name yourself—hand over what you stole!”
“那个不敢报名字的，把偷的东西交出来！”
“Jiazi Time! Give back the Ephemeral Sustenance Engine!”
“甲子间，把失念引擎还回来！“
The crowd surged in like a swarm, encircling the seven.
人群一窝蜂的涌来，把七人围住。
Fan Xiuyun stepped back and said, “Did you guys drink urea? Burned your hearts out?”
范修云后退了步道，“你们吃尿素烧心了？”
“Return the stolen well, or it’s death!” The crowd brandished clubs and shouted.
“把偷走的水井还来，否则死！”众人舞着棍棒吆喝。
Seeing this, Wang Chong quickly gripped his sword tightly, while Xu Xiuchuan, Qian Zhongsheng, and the others clasped their hands together and then pulled apart, conjuring several force fields.
瞧见这阵仗，王翀赶紧双手握紧了自己的刀，徐秀川、钱钟生等人双手合十后拉开数道力场。
They stared nervously at the ever-increasing number of people rushing in, piecing together the gist of the matter from the chaotic noise.
他们神色紧张的看向这越来越多跑来的人，杂乱声音中他们大致知道了什么事。
“Bullshit! That well was a gift from us masters to you turtlenecks! Move aside, or I’ll drag someone down with me even if I die!”
“放你娘的臭屁！水井是爷爷们赏你们这些龟孙子的，滚开，否则老子死也拉个垫背的！”
These six couldn’t stomach such humiliation. Now, even surrounded, Lv Zhi, the big guy, couldn’t contain his rage any longer and burst out cursing.
六人哪里受过这种气，此刻哪怕被人围住，吕志那大块头再也无法平息怒火，当下就破口大骂。
Qin Meng beside him was burning with rage, holding back several times from activating his model.
他身旁的秦蒙愤怒不已，数次想要发动模型都忍住了。
“We made that water well’s memory engine ourselves. Screw you, we need to steal? Steal your ancestors’ coffin boards to make toilet bowls?”
“水井失念引擎就是我们做的，滚你大爷的，我们还需要偷？偷你祖宗的棺材板做马桶吗？”
“What did you say? Say that again if you dare!”
“你说什么，你再说句试试？”
The crowd glared angrily at Fan Xiuyun and the big man.
众人怒视范修云和这大块头。
Xu Xiuchuan, both worried and furious, said, “Brother Jiazi, I told you these people aren’t worth pitying. We should have taken the engine long ago and set up our own shed area.”
徐秀川既担心，又恼怒的道:“甲子哥，我就说这些人不值得同情，早就该拿上引擎我们自己去建立棚区。”
“Oh ho, look, they’ve admitted it themselves!” someone pointed at Xu Xiuchuan.
“好哇，大家看看，他们自己承认了。”有人指着徐秀川道。
“They’ve had their eyes on the well all along!”
“他们早就打水井的主意！”
“Kill them, make an example of them!”
“杀了他们，以儆效尤！”
Chests lit up like flashbulbs in the crowd, and several people, without waiting for Captain Jia to order, rushed forward with ethereal, silvery glows, some even with golden hues cast from their hands.
人群中胸前仿佛闪光灯般亮起，好几人不待贾队长下令便扬起带着虚幻的银白光芒冲了上来，有人手上的虚影更是带上金色。
Facing several incoming fists, Wang Chong, unskilled with weapons, instinctively shut his eyes.
面对几个挥来的拳头，不善用武器的王翀下意识闭上了眼。
[Silent Night!]
[沉吟之夜！]
The air suddenly grew still.
空气忽然沉浸。
Everyone felt a suffocating oppression.
众人感觉瞬间变得窒息。
Oxygen, moisture, the ground, the sky—the whole world itself—seemed to resist them, to reject the fragile lives that could only survive through their dependence on them.
氧气、水气、地面、天空，乃至整个世界，都在抗拒着自己，在排斥着依赖它们才能生存的脆弱生命。
They seemed to hear an ethereal, unreal chant, as if an ancient sovereign had abandoned them to heaven and earth, casting them into a dark night that would never see the dawn.
他们似听到了虚幻不实的吟诵，仿佛有位古老主宰让天地将自己抛弃，抛入无法迎来晨曦的暗夜。
As Silent Night was activated, these people, already battered by life, had no spirit left to resist. Many of them clutched their throats, gasping for breath, and fell to the ground rolling around in chaos. Their combat effectiveness was instantly halved nearly.
沉吟之夜一发动，这些饱受生活摧残的众人哪里有抵抗的精神，他们好些都抓着喉咙，喘着粗气摔倒在地上胡乱滚动，瞬间战斗力就被瓦解了接近一半。
Those who remained standing could only barely hold on; their spirits were tormented by an unbearable sensation as if they stood on the edge of an abyss, despite being on solid ground.
剩下还能站立的人也只是强撑，他们的精神正遭受着无法立足般的折磨，明明站在大地上，却像是处于深渊的边缘。
“Everyone, don’t, be scared, this is… mental, magic.”
“大家，不要被，吓到，这是精神…法术。”
A person let out a loud roar, raised a broad wooden staff that shimmered with golden light, and charged at YangZicang.
一人大吼了声，举起手中散发金辉的宽大木棒，冲向杨子藏。
Bang!
嘭！
Before he could even get close, he was knocked back by a wave of air, heavily slamming onto the ground dozens of meters away.
他还未靠近，便被一股气浪打翻，重重摔到几十米外的地面上。
The wooden staff in his hand was flung by an eerie force into the sky at the moment he was sent flying, its sudden acceleration reducing it to just a black speck.
手上的木棒也在倒飞出去的瞬间被怪异的力量抛上了天空，突然的加速让它飞得只剩个黑点。
Captain Jia’s pupils trembled as he gazed at the horizon. This was too extreme!
贾队长望向天际的瞳孔晃动。这太夸张了！
This wasn’t human strength, but… this place had never been a human world after all.
这不是人类的力量，但…这里本就不是人类的世界了啊。
YangZicang took slow steps, covering a distance of over ten meters in just two or three strides, and appeared before Captain Jia.
杨子藏缓步迈出，两三步便跨越了十来米距离，出现在贾队长身前。
He pulled off a button from this security captain’s clothing.
他从这安保队长的衣服上扯下粒纽扣。
“Go back. I’ll let it slide this time.”
“回去，我不跟你计较。”
YangZicang flicked his fingertip, sending the button whistling high into the sky, colliding with the falling wooden staff.
杨子藏指尖一弹，纽扣咻地射向高空，与落下的木头相撞。
The staff burst into countless tiny fragments.
木棒被炸开成无数细小碎片。
Fragments rained down like falling rain, yet most of them were taken over by an invisible force above the crowd, flickering abruptly like ink washes, whistling through the air as they carved paths, trailing dazzling golden and silver phantom shadows!
碎片如雨落下，其中大部分却在众人头顶被无形力量接管，如水墨般猛然一晃，在空中划出呼呼风声，带起璀璨金银虚影！
It was like a shimmering rosy cloud of golden strands and silver scales!
仿佛一抹金丝银鳞闪烁的霞光！
Everyone who saw the golden cloud was terrified—those were hundreds of shattered wooden slivers, each radiating brilliance! How much temporal energy must that be!
瞧见这金云的众人无不骇然，那可是数百道碎木片，每道木片都散发着辉光！那该是多少时序！
“H-Help, help!”
“救、救命！”
The stifling pressure suddenly ceased, receding like a tidal wave.
窒息感猛然一顿，如潮水般撤走。
Whizz, whizz, whizz, thud, thud, thud, thud!
咻咻咻，噗噗噗噗！
Yang Zicang turned and walked forward. The rotating mass of fragments circling ever lower above the crowd scattered with a swoosh, landing firmly like nails around everyone’s feet—three of them resting near each person.
杨子藏回转身形前走去，天空围着众人旋转得越来越低的碎木片唰地四散，如钉子般稳稳钉在众人脚边，几乎每人身旁都有三个。
The crowd was paralyzed with fear.
众人魂不附体。
None dared move an inch, terrified that the slightest motion might cause the wood chips to accidentally pierce their bodies.
他们谁也不敢动弹，深怕动下身体，这些木屑便会一个不小心扎入自己身体。
……
……
Only when the seven figures had vanished beyond the horizon did the oppressive silence lift, and some finally dared to collapse onto the ground.
等那七道身影消失在地平线上，压抑的死寂才消散，有些人此时才敢瘫软坐在地上。
“G-Goddamn, is this a demon or what?” one person whimpered.
“妈，妈妈的，这是魔鬼吧。”一人带着哭腔道。
Only then did some in the crowd realize that, unnoticed, a wet sensation had spread in their crotches.
此刻人群中有些人才发现，不知何时自己裆部出现了濡润触感。
“He really could’ve wiped us all out! Damn it, what kind of twisted world is this!”
“他真能全灭我们，妈的，这什么鬼世道啊！”
That ultimate mental intimidation, those radiant wood chips that had hovered mere inches from their bodies, was undoubtedly the sickle of death dancing at their throats.
那极致的精神威吓，那差之毫厘就会摄入身体内的辉光木屑，无疑是死神的镰刀在脖子旁游舞。
“Captain Jia, the well, we…”
“贾队，水井，我们…”
“The well… Master Zuo can still, uh, produce and craft it.” After a long while, Captain Jia finally caught his breath, patting his chest while finding an excuse for himself.
“水井，左大师还能那啥，生产，制作吧。”过了好久，贾队长才摸着胸口缓过气，他给自己找了个台阶。
“Right, right, as long as Master Zuo is here, everything’s fine.” The others finally came to their senses.
“对对，左大师，只要他还在就好。”众人也反应了过来。
Once the danger had completely disappeared, Captain Jia plopped down onto the ground, still struggling with how to explain this to Ning Yang.
危险彻底消失后，贾队一屁股坐在了地上，他还在想该怎么给宁洋说。
Should he say that the entire camp area had been threatened by that man?
说自己整个棚区的人被那个人威胁了吗。
He’d believe it, right? After all, there were so many witnesses. Everyone could tell him, “You, Camp Chief Ning Yang, are lucky you didn’t have to witness this firsthand.”
他会相信的吧，毕竟这么多人做证。所有人都可以给他讲，你宁洋棚主是如何幸运，才没有亲身经历这一幕。
“Let’s… go back.”
“我们，回去吧。”
“It’s a tough break for Master Zuo.”
“只有幸苦左大师了。”
No one dared utter a single word of complaint. They all understood that this camp area had truly brushed past the gates of hell.
没人敢说半句埋怨的话，众人都晓得，这个棚区是真真切切在鬼门关走了遭。