第一百零六章 想要好运 -1
{At that time, the person who held the name of Shi Qian was the one of the Silver Model. The Hunters’ Alliance, which split from the Xiongying Group, was also founded by him.}
{当时拥有时迁名号之人，便是银模型之人。分割自雄英的猎盟也由他成立。}
{But even after they parted ways, they remained in frequent contact, entangled in a complex web of relations. Those who stayed behind in the Xiongying Group were not wholeheartedly serving their respective overseers, and so some began to seek the destruction of the Hunters’ Alliance.}
{但他们分开后，也时常联系，关系复杂。雄英组剩下的人也并不全心全意为他们所在的审议者服务，因此有人开始覆灭猎盟。}
Overseers? Yang Zicang immediately felt that these must be beings similar to council members.
审议者？杨子藏立时觉得，这或许是跟议员一样的存在。
“And who was it that destroyed the Hunters’ Alliance?” Luo Bin asked, concerned.
“猎盟的覆灭者是谁？”洛宾关心的问。
This was intelligence he had only heard of but never grasped, known only to the old-timers at headquarters.
这是他也只是听说过但未能掌握的情报，这些只有总部的老人们才知道。
In a world where everyone could live for hundreds or even thousands of years, truly surviving a few years already counted as being seasoned.
在这个人人都能获得数百上千年寿命的世界中，真能活几年已经是老资格了。
{The woman who left the Hunting Alliance, Hei Yang, and the newcomer afterward, Zhao Anlong. They founded the Monster Hunter Alliance and the Goddess Alliance.}
{脱离猎盟的女士，黑鸯，以及后来的新人，赵安龙。他们成立了猎怪者联盟和神女同盟。}
“……”
“……”
{If it weren’t for the leader of the Xiongying Group at the time who fully blocked them, they would have nearly unified the city. Your headquarters, the Monster Hunter Camp, are borrowing the name “Hunting Alliance” from when it was immensely prestigious—inheriting this name represents legitimacy.}
{要不是雄英组当时的首领全力阻挡，他们差点统一城市。你们的总部，猎怪者阵营，正是借用“猎盟”的名称，它当时威名极盛，继承此名便代表正统。}
In Yang Zicang’s mind surfaced that boy of average height but lean and fierce, whose single punch seemed capable of tearing space apart.
杨子藏脑海中浮现出那个身高普通但精悍的少年，他一拳轰出，像是能割裂空间。
A figure like that was still counted as one of the “Headquarters’” founders.
这样的人物，竟然还算是“总部”的创始人之一。
“What about Shi Qian?”
“那时迁呢？”
{This is all I know—overheard while they were chatting. Shi Qian has been missing for many years.}
{我只知道这些，这都是他们聊天时，我听到的，时迁已经消失很多年。}
Among the chosen summoners assigned to herself by the Councilwoman, that person was absent, or perhaps one of the other two might have his true name.
议员给自己的召唤人选中，并没有那人的存在，或者另外两人中可能有他的真名。
But now, another man claiming to be Shi Qian appeared in the Land of Lost Frequencies and stole the water well destined for the construction shackous site.
但现在，另一个自称时迁的人，出现在失频之地，还偷了送给小作棚地的水井。
This sort of person could never be compared to the kind of man who would resolve to split apart the Xiongying Group and create a new organization representing a faction.
这种人无论如何也无法跟能决意分离雄英组，自创代表阵营的新组织之人并论。
Luo Bin shook as he picked up a can of beer.
洛宾颤抖着拿起一罐啤酒。
Yang Zicang, deep in thought, glanced at the man whose face was twisted with pain.
正在思索的杨子藏看了眼这个一脸痛苦之色的男人。
“I thought you were going to quit drinking.”
“我以为你会戒酒了。”
“I’m only having one sip.”
“我只喝一小口。”
“I’ll be relying on you for the gathering later. Don’t mess things up.”
“等下的聚会还要靠你，别坏事。”
“Aiya, I’ve analyzed about everything I can from the info I’ve got. Whatever’s left, my model will handle it—no problem. Once you two meet, I’ll get that little tail of his, hehehe.”
“哎呀呀，手中的情报能分析的都差不多分析了，剩下的就靠我的模型了，不会有问题的。只要你们碰面，我就能揪住他的小尾巴，嗦嗦。”
When they returned, it was already a little past midnight.
回来的时候，时间已经超过了零点十来分钟。
Without time for introductions, Yang Zicang grabbed Luo Bin and hurriedly pulled him out, speaking while they walked:
杨子藏来不及介绍，拉起洛宾就着急忙慌的往外走，边走边道：
“You just wait outside later. Don’t break the mind link with me.”
“等下你在外面就行，跟我心灵链接不要断。”
Luo Bin nodded. At the moment, there was no sound in the hallway. This floor had hardly any guests staying in it, only the patrolling guards passing by from time to time downstairs.
洛宾点点头。此刻楼道里没有响动，这栋楼本就没住多少宾客，只有楼下巡视的护卫队不时经过。
Yang Zicang went up to the second floor, straightened his attire, and then strode toward Room 33.
杨子藏来到二楼，整理衣装后迈步向着三十三号房间走去。
Knock, knock, knock.
笃，笃笃。
“Come in.” A young man’s voice came from inside the room.
“请进。”屋内传来年轻男士的声音。
A model glow flickered on Yang Zicang’s chest as he turned the doorknob and gently pushed the door open.
杨子藏胸前闪动着模型辉光，扭开门把手轻轻推开。
The light inside seemed to have been absorbed by some mysterious treasure. The room itself was the same, but the atmosphere felt like it belonged to another dimension.
屋内光线似乎被什么神秘宝物所吸收，房间还是那个房间，但给人的氛围像是属于另一个次元。
“This is the effect of the Place of Tranquility. Of course, it’s just borrowing the name—the real Place of Tranquility isn’t like this.”
“这是静谧之地的效果，当然，只是借了个名字而已，真正的静谧之地不这样。”
“And what’s the effect?”
“效果是什么？”
“It blocks out all interference.”
“屏蔽一切干扰。”
Yang Zicang took a step forward. He felt a sense that the model before him was about to lose connection, but somehow, it managed to hold on, barely.
杨子藏往前走了步，他觉得身前的模型有种会中断的感觉，但最终还是艰难的维持了下来。
Inside the room, the man with his back to Yang Zicang, who had been brewing black tea, turned his head to look, slightly surprised.
屋内背对着自己，正在冲泡红茶的男子扭头看来，略微惊讶了下。
“It didn’t dissipate after all. Your mental strength is quite impressive. Usually, even quadrilateral models would break apart.”
“竟然没有断掉，你的精神力很厉害的嘛，一般四边形模型也会断掉才对。”
“It’s nothing special.”
“还好了。”
Yang Zicang took a step forward and gently closed the door behind him, instantly making the room feel sealed off from the outside world—an atmosphere that was genuinely relaxing.
杨子藏往前走了步，手轻轻将门碰上，瞬间屋内像是与世隔绝一样，这样的气氛到真的是让人放松。
“Hum, hum hum hum~”
“哼哼，亨哼亨~”
The man across from him hummed a tune as he brought over a teacup of black tea and placed it on the edge of the round table aligned with a chair.
对面男人哼着小曲儿，将手中的红茶杯端来，放在一把椅子所对准的圆桌边缘。
“Fermented black tea, rich and smooth in taste. This amount won’t cause insomnia—though for you, it probably doesn’t matter anyway, right?”
“发酵过的红茶，口感醇正，这样的量不会让人失眠，当然对你来说也无所谓，对吧。”
He returned to the cabinet, took a sip from his own cup, then drew the curtains shut. Strolling back, he pulled out a chair, sat down, and crossed his long, straight legs.
他回到桌柜边自己品了口剩下那杯，然后将窗帘也拉上，接着踱步过来扯出椅子坐下，将自己修长笔直的腿翘起。
Seeing his relaxed demeanor, Yang Zicang also pulled out a chair and sat down. Then he took a letter from his pocket and placed it on the table.
杨子藏瞧见他这副轻松的模样，也拉过椅子坐下，然后从怀中掏出那封信放在桌子上。
“Hmm, this letter was left by Zorro’s instructions.” The man said nonchalantly.
“嗯，这信是佐罗让人留下的。”男人毫不在意的道。
“Then what about you? I thought you were Zorro himself.”
“那你呢，我以为你就是佐罗。”
“As much as he trusts people, he wouldn’t do something so—well, so romantic in this kind of world, wouldn’t he? That only exists in novels. Do you have any questions to ask?”
“他再相信人，也不会在这种世界做出如此，嗯，罗曼蒂克的事情，对吧，那只存在于小说中。你有什么想问的吗。”
“Who are you, and why did you want me to meet you?”
“你是谁，为什么要我来见你？”
“I thought you’d ask about him directly. Oh, but of course—to you, they’re just dispensable characters. It’s perfectly normal whether you care or not.”
“我还以为你会直接问关于他的事情，喔，当然，对你来说他们只是可有可无的角色而已，无论你关不关注都很正常。”
After saying this, the man picked up the teacup by its handle, showing no intention of introducing himself.
男人说完，就捏起了茶杯把手，丝毫没有要介绍自己的意思。
“Zorro wants Shi Qian to have one more enemy like me, doesn’t he?”
“佐罗是打算让时迁多一个我这样的敌人，对吧。”
“No. Zorro doesn’t care about them at all.”
“不，佐罗根本不在意他们。”
Them…
他们…
Yang Zicang’s prepared retort was all shoved back into his mouth.
杨子藏准备好的说辞一下全塞回了嘴里。
“Then why did he impersonate my assistant?”
“那为什么冒充我的助手。”
“That’s not impersonation—in a certain sense.”
“那不是冒充，某种意义上。”
“If that doesn’t count as impersonation, then what does?”
“这都不算冒充，那什么才叫冒充？”
Both Yang Zicang and Luo Bin on the other side felt their rhythm thrown off.
杨子藏和另一边的洛宾都感觉节奏被打乱了。
“Hmm, if you have no other questions besides this, our chat tonight can end right here.”
“嗯哼，你如果除此以外没什么其它问题，咱们今晚的交流就可以到此为止。”
Yang Zicang scoffed helplessly. He’d spent a good hour or two making this trip—only to have just barely sat down. There was no way it’d wrap up like this.
杨子藏无语的呵了声，自己折腾了这么一两个小时，来屁股都没坐热，怎么可能就完事。
He thought it over. His counterpart had subtly implied from the start that he would only answer questions related to Zorro.
他想了想，对方从一开始就隐晦表示，只会回答关于佐罗的问题。
So Yang Zicang recalibrated his mindset and followed the other’s lead: “Fine. Then tell me, who is the phantom thief Zorro?”
于是杨子藏调整心态，顺着对方的路数问道：“好，请问，怪盗佐罗是谁。”
“First, let me correct a small wording of yours, Mr. Yang. It’s the righteous swordsman Zorro, not the phantom thief. Zorro—whether in novels, movies, or here—is no thief. He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“首先，纠正杨先生你的一个小用词，是侠客佐罗，不是怪盗。佐罗不论是小说、电影还是在这里，都不是什么怪盗。他并没有做不好的事情。”
The man holding the teacup looked earnestly at the young man across from him, whose expression was skeptical.
端着茶杯的男士目光纯粹的看向对面脸色狐疑的青年。
“Fine, assume that’s the case. Then what was the purpose of his coming here under the guise of my assistant to the auction?”
“行，就当是这样。那么他以我助手的名义来拍卖的目的是什么？”
“To make you famous.”
“为了让你出名。”
Yang Zicang’s mind first turned to his own mission.
杨子藏心中首先想到了自己的任务。
“Fame?”
“名气？”
“NO, it’s exactly the fame as we understand it—letting everyone know who you are, letting the bosses here realize there’s someone who can build a quality water source engine. He wants to create more orders for you so more people can drink clean water. That was his original intention from the start.”
“NO，就是我们理解中的出名，让大家知道有你这号人物，让这里的老板们知道，有人能制造出好的水源引擎，他想为你创造更多的订单，让更多人喝上干净水，这就是他所有的原始初衷。”
“I…” Yang Zicang barely managed to suck the breath back into his lungs.
“我…”杨子藏一口气差点没吸回肺里。
{Damn it!}
{我干啊！}
Someone else voiced the curse stuck in his throat on his behalf.
有人帮他吐槽了这句心里憋着的话。
What a genuinely good guy thinking of others. How wonderful. Clenching his teeth, Yang Zicang mentally cursed this meddlesome pest, who had sent him as many Mental Link requests in an afternoon as harassment calls after a bad review on an online purchase.
这还真是个为他人着想的好人啊，真好啊，杨子藏咬牙切齿的在心中问候了这多管闲事的家伙，自己一下午接到的心灵链接请求就跟网购给了差评后的骚扰电话一样多。
“So, what you said about a certain sense in which he didn’t actually impersonate my assistant—you mean that?”
“所以，你说的某种意义上，他并没有冒充我的助手这件事，就是这个意思？”
“Mm-hmm. He’ll help you. The next target is the Excellence Workshop. He’s on his way there now—a bit far, but he can get there within three days.”
“嗯哼，他会帮你，下一个目标是卓越工坊，他正在过去的路上，有点远但是三天内能赶到。”
Before he even knew what kind of dump that place was, this Zorro was already going there?
自己连那是什么破地方都不知道，那什么佐罗就已经去了？
What for—to draft a work schedule for him?!
去干嘛啊，给自己规划工作计划表吗？！
“He’ll find a way to get those folks over to place orders.”
“他会想办法让那边的人过来订货。”
As if reading Yang Zicang’s thoughts, the man smiled. “Now you know: he’s not your enemy. He really is your unpaid assistant.”
像是知道杨子藏在想什么似的，男人笑了笑，说道：“现在你知道了，他并不是你的敌人，他真是你不需要支付报酬的助手。”
“How many time credits did he sell? If he’s not my enemy, then kindly tell him to give them back to me.”
“卖了多少时序，不是敌人的话，烦请他还给我。”
“First of all, he’s not the one who stole your engine. If you want to recoup the losses, he’s not the person you should be looking for.”
“首先，他不是偷你引擎的人，若是想要挽回损失，你应该找的不是他。”
Luo Bin on the Mental Link was completely stunned by this.
心灵连接中的洛宾听到这话人都麻了。
{Great, perfect logic, all blame dodged.}
{很好，逻辑完美，责任干净。}
Yang Zicang pulled his jacket tighter around himself, lounged casually against the chair’s back, and let out a breath.
杨子藏扯着衣服外套勒紧身子，随意靠在椅背上，吐了口气。
“I think I’ve asked pretty much everything I need to ask. But I’m still very curious—what is he to you?”
“我想我该问的都差不多了。但我还是很想知道，你是他什么人。”
“You don’t need to ask that; I’ll take it as if you did. Well, he’s my unpaid assistant. He serves me.”
“你可以问他是我什么人，我就当你是这样问了。嗯，他是我的免费助手，他为我服务。”
“Great.” Yang Zicang propped one hand on the table, ready to stand up and leave.
“很好。”杨子藏一只手撑在桌子上，打算离座起身。
The man across from him set down the rather refined teacup, his gaze warm but maintaining a certain distance as he looked at Yang Zicang.
对面的男士将还算精致的茶杯放下，目光温和但保持着些许距离感的注视向他。
“Is there something else?”
“还有事？”
“I’ve been having some bad luck lately. It’s rare to meet someone like you with such good fortune; humor me and chat a little longer.”
“最近有点犯水逆，难得见到你这样好运的人，陪我多聊两句吧。”
Yang Zicang was taken aback for a moment, realizing the man was probably referring to the unpaid assistant comment, and found it both hilarious and exasperating.
杨子藏愣了下，意识到对方大概说的是免费助手这件事，顿时哭笑不得。
“You sent over from Hinge City, right? Got a mission?” the man asked.
“你是枢纽镇派过来的人吗？有任务对吧。”男人问道。
“Sort of.”
“算是。”
“Your mission is to find that place where the model’s lines are refined, isn’t it. And you’re boosting your profile relentlessly for that reason.”
“任务是找到制作提升模型线条的那个地方，是吗，为此而不遗余力的提升名气。”
Suddenly, Yang Zicang felt the entire world—the sky, the ground, the buildings—everything was watching him.
赫然，杨子藏感觉整个世界，天空，大地，房屋，一切的一切都在注视自己。
Snap. The Mental Link trembled and cut out.
啪，心灵链接颤抖着中断。
“You…”
“你…”
“You’re having bad luck now too. Look at this mess—life’s just so unpredictable.”
“你也犯水逆了，看，这事儿闹得，人生就是这么无常。”
The man across from him smiled as he looked at Yang Zicang.
对面的男人微笑着看着自己。
“Still, my luck might just get better.”
“不过，我的运气可能会变好。”
He spoke while playfully pinching the teacup, the mischief of his tone uncertain.
他不知是真是假的开玩笑般捏起茶杯说道。
Yang Zicang sat back down softly, a faint, dangerous aura emanating from him.
杨子藏轻轻坐下，浑身散发出淡淡的危险气息。
But the pressure of the world soon suppressed his attempt, as if protecting this man who had uncovered the hidden conspiracy.
但世界的威压很快压制了自己的企图，就像是在保护对面这个挑出隐藏阴谋之人。
Yang Zicang felt, in the unseen, that a certain door had been permanently locked against him.
杨子藏感觉冥冥中，自己永远被锁上了一道什么门。
In this land, certain pre-existing entities were extremely wary of him, and from now on, direct connection with them here would forever be impossible.
这片土地上，某些原本存在的事物对自己极其警惕，从今往后，永远不可能在这里跟它们具备直接的联系。
It was like a homeowner, aware that a visitor entering the house harbors ulterior motives, planning to take something that doesn’t belong to him right under the owner’s nose—then the room where the items are stored would never be allowed within his reach.
就像一个住户，知道进入自己屋里的客人其实抱着别有目的，打算在自己眼皮子底下拿走不属于他的东西，那么存放物品的那间房间，就永远不可能让他靠近。
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“我不知道你说的是什么意思。”
Yang Zicang became calm.
杨子藏变得平静。
The man across smiled, an expression that seemed to say, “Don’t even try to deny it.”
对面人笑了笑，那表情似乎在说别想狡辩了。
“It’s okay. Just like how Zorro doesn’t care whether you regard him as your assistant or not—he acts as if he is your assistant. That place’s presence will think the same way.”
“没事，正如佐罗不在乎你认不认为他是你的助手，他都当作是你的助手一样。那个地方的存在，也会这样想的。”
Yang Zicang was momentarily at a loss for words.
杨子藏一时不知道该说什么。
“There are many things you don’t know how to express, aren’t there? It’s like that here, no way around it.”
“是不是有很多不知如何吐露的事情？这里就是这样，没办法啊。”
The man’s fair fingers tapped lightly on the table.
男士白净的手指轻轻敲着桌子。
“Speak it, write it, tap it out in Morse code—all of it is information transmission, even through a Mental Link. Those damned journalists know everything.”
“说出来，写出来，摩斯密码敲击出来，都是信息的传递，乃至心灵链接，可恶的记者们无所不知。”