第一百二十四章 收购药材
{Friend, could you tell us how you manage to resist the attacks of the psychic illusions? We don’t even dare to enter, because something goes wrong within just a few hundred paces.}
{朋友，能够告诉我们，你们是怎么抵御精神幻境的攻击吗？我们根本不敢进入里面，几百米就会出问题。}
“Yeah, can you tell us how to get in? We just want to hunt some prey on the outskirts.”
{对啊，能不能告诉咱们进去的方法，我们只想在外围打点猎物。}
Since this mountain appeared nearby, many have entered and lost their lives.
自从这山出现附近，已经好些人进入后身死。
Matters related to mental attacks, and even items tied to psionic abilities, were no longer news around here. Although most understood such treasures were beyond their grasp, they still yearned to enter the mountain—because the life force of the beasts within was a source of extra time for them.
关于精神攻击，甚至是念能力相关物品的消息在附近已经不是新鲜事，虽然大多数人对那种宝物都心知肚明不是自己所能得到的，但他们依旧想要进入山中——因为其中的野兽生命是他们获取额外时序的来源。
Unfortunately, this place was a forbidden zone for them; they could only ambush the occasional beasts that ran out, and that depended on luck.
可惜这里对他们来说却是个禁地，只能伏击偶尔跑出的野兽，可那得看运气。
Yet these people before them could enter the mountain and deal with the threat.
而眼前之人却能进山解决它们。
Luo Bin had just finished off a few more rabid giant beasts. Only after they dared not approach and fled in all directions did he wipe a handful of grass leaves over the bloodstains on his sword, and let out a chuckle, saying:
洛宾又解决了几只发疯的巨兽，直到它们根本不敢靠前，纷纷转身逃离后，才撸了草叶抹了把剑上的血迹，哈哈一笑道：
“Sorry, folks. We’re just here to find someone. We won’t be playing along with you all anymore.”
“不好意思各位，我们只是进来找人，就不陪你们玩了。”
{Boss, aren’t you going to continue? We’ll back you with the investment.}
{哥，你们不继续了吗？我们给你投资。}
Amid a wave of lamentations in the financing model.
融资模型中一片哀嚎。
The crowd watched disappointingly as they saw the extra-lifespan dividends portioned out to them from a few months or years to over a decade.
众人遗憾不已的见到自己分得的或几月、或几年、或十来年的额外寿命红利。
Luo Bin cheerfully tried to hand half of the remaining roughly hundred and fifty years’ worth of Chronon to Yang Zicang, only to be met with a scornful glare and refusal from him.
洛宾喜滋滋的将剩下的一百五十年左右的时序分一半给杨子藏，被杨子藏白了眼拒绝。
“Xue Lao’er hasn’t been found yet; things don’t look good.”
“薛老二没有找到，看上去是凶多吉少了。”
……
……
Both Yang Zicang and Luo Bin felt only a slight sense of disappointment, while Qiao Ming back in Hub Town was already lost in anxious uncertainty, torn between hope and fear.
杨子藏两人只是略微失望，枢纽镇中的乔明早就患得患失无比。
“I can only hope that no one has yet caught wind of the model’s report on the discovery of the Chrono Weapon.”
“只希望还没有人听到模型对发现时序战器的汇报。”
The fact that partners were able to move freely within the mountain impressed Qiao Ming while stirring up trouble for him, leaving him both in admiration and paranoia.
逐银的朋友竟然能够在山里行动自如，这让乔明既佩服又担心。
He could only pin his hopes on those having the real chance to find the weapon in time and give it back as per their agreement. Otherwise, facing off against two quadrilateral models, it would be pure wishful thinking to use the forces of the Lost-Frequency Land to pressure a surrender of the weapon.
他只寄希望于这两人后面真能找到武器，并按照约定还给自己。否则面对两个四边形，想要靠失频之地上某些势力去施压交出武器，也纯粹是白日做梦。
Outside the mountain, Lost-Frequency Land.
失频之地，山外。
YangZicang and Luo Bin wandered around the outskirts of the forest for half a day. After dealing with a few wild beasts, they took turns sleeping and resting. Once the train appeared at night, they set off toward the nearby Ji Yun greenhouse zone.
杨子藏与洛宾两人在山林外围转悠了半天，解决了几只野兽后开始轮流睡觉休息。晚上列车能出现后，他们出发前往附近的吉运大棚区。
A gentle night breeze blew.
夜风习习。
In the Land of Lost Frequencies, people were driven by survival instincts, their sense of day and night blurred. Outside the greenhouse zone at night, figures carrying small buckets walked to fetch water from the Wangchuan Stream. Inside the greenhouses, it was even livelier, seeming no different from daytime.
在失频之地的人们迫于生计，对昼夜的概念已经模糊，夜晚的大棚区外行走着道道拎着小桶打忘川溪水的人，棚内更是热闹，似乎跟白天没什么区别。
“Who goes there?”
“什么人。”
“We’re here to collect some medicinal herbs, like Silver Leaf Grass, dried Phantom Vine, and Rainbow Fruit.”
“我们想来收点药材，比如银叶草，晾干的幻影藤，彩虹果的果实。”
The gatekeeper of the zone didn’t ask them any further questions. He simply pointed them toward the trading area for outsiders and let them in.
棚区的守门人没有再多问两人，给他们指了指外来人的交易区后就放他们进入了。
Half an hour later, YangZicang walked out of the entrance loaded with large bundles of medicinal herbs, leaving the guard staring wide-eyed.
半小时后，杨子藏扛着大包小包的药材从门口走出，看得守卫瞪大了双眼。
“So cheap, all this cost less than twenty years of Sequence Time.”
“好便宜啊，这么多都才花了不到二十年时序。”
Luo Bin clicked his tongue in amazement: “That pill cost at most the equivalent of five months to make, but they dared to priced it at a hundred years.”
洛宾咂舌不已：“那枚药丸的成本最多也就五个月，竟然敢开价一百年。”
“He was waiting for me to haggle. Even if I cut it down to five years a piece at the back of his foot, he’d still make ten times the profit.”
“那是等着我还价，砍到脚背五年一枚他也能赚十几倍。”
Luo Bin flipped through a herbal catalog he had bought, which turned out to be the most expensive item, costing him 10N.
洛宾翻动着手上买来的一本药材目录看了看，这份植物手册反而是最贵的东西，花了他10N。
Inside were useful plant specimens and names that had been compiled over the years in the Land of Lost Frequencies. Some names were established by convention, while others came from data obtained through deciphering books from other worlds.
里面都是失频之地上常年来总结出的有用的植物标本和名称，名称部分是约定成俗后取的，还有部分是通过破译出的异界书籍上所获得的资料。
“I used to have a book that recorded magical pattern arrays from another world,” Yang Zicang said as he walked, carrying his bag with a stick.
“我以前有一本记载了异界魔纹法阵的书来着。”拿棍子扛着包的杨子藏边走边道。
“Used to? You haven’t been here that long…” Luo Bin thought for a moment, adjusted the bag slung over his shoulder, and asked speechlessly, “Where’s the book?”
“以前？”你才来多久啊…洛宾想了想，提了下肩上拽着的大包，无语着问，“书呢？”
“It got shattered by that one shot I used to block a rat.”
“拿来挡老鼠的那一枪，碎了。”
“……”
“……”
Wasn’t that right when this guy first entered this world? What rotten luck.
那不是这家伙刚进这世界时发生的事吗，这狗屎运。
By around three or four in the morning, Yang Zicang had scoured all the medium and large shed areas nearby, buying up every medicinal herb that could be used to make incense pills.
到临晨三四点的时候，杨子藏跑遍了这附近的几座中大型棚区，只要是能制香丸的药材，全都给买了。
This commotion even caught the attention of the young reporter.
这事甚至惊动了小记者。
The bored little ones curiously sized up Yang Zicang, laden with bags and bundles, but since no fame growth occurred, they merely watched out of idle curiosity.
无聊的小家伙们好奇的打量着大包小包的杨子藏，不过因为并没有诞生名气增长，它们也只是好奇的看看而已。
In Hub Town, the duty staff watching several screens yawned.
枢纽镇中，守着几个荧幕的值班人员打了打哈欠。
“What are they up to?”
“他们这是在干嘛？”
They stared somewhat puzzled at the two figures, Yang Zicang and the other, shuttling between the shed areas all night long.
他们都有点疑惑的看着里面的杨子藏两人在各棚区穿梭，跑了一晚上。
“No idea, no context whatsoever—who knows what they’ve been doing during the day.”
“不晓得啊，前因后果都没有，谁知道他们白天干什么来着。”
……
……
By the time Yang Zicang finished his all-night scavenging and amassed a mountain of medicinal herbs, it was almost time for the temperature to rise again.
整夜转悠的杨子藏已经收购了堆积如山的药材，等忙完已经快回温了。
Seizing the final moments before the train returned to the city’s metro tracks, Yang Zicang rode the nightmare subway to a spot near Hub Town, then led Luo Bin on foot toward the hazy city on the horizon’s edge.
趁着列车回到城市地铁轨道前的最后时间，杨子藏乘着恶魇地铁来到了枢纽镇不远处，随后带着洛宾步行往着地平线边缘的朦胧城市。
Upon re-entering the town, shrouded as if in mist, the faded figure of Mori was already waiting here.
再次进入如雾气笼罩的镇中后，莫里褪色的身影已经等待在此。
“Good morning.”
“上午好。”
“Morning, Mr. Zicang. Another sleepless night, huh?”
“早啊，子藏先生，又一夜没睡吧。”
“It’s fine—sleeping during the day is warmer.” Yang Zicang joked, having hung out with Zuo Feixian and the others a bit more these days.
“还好，白天睡觉暖和。”跟左非闲几人混多了几天的杨子藏开玩笑道。
“Haha, alright. Well, this nightmare machine is the best one I borrowed from someone.”
“哈哈，好。嗯，这恶魇机器是我找人借的最好的。”
Beside him was something like a radio, covered in scale-like patterns, a model artifact formed from a slain nightmare.
他身边是个类似电台的东西，不过长着鳞甲般的纹路，是个被击杀的恶魇所化的模器。
Luo Bin immediately recognized its purpose: it could expand the scope of the financing model, receive model financing requests from farther away, and also enable proactive investments targeting strangers at greater distances.
洛宾一眼就看出来了它的用途，可以将融资模型扩展更大范围，也能接受到更远之人的模型融资请求，同时进行对陌生人的主动投资也能达到更远范围。
“Anyway, it’s pointless to buy those crappy things that only add a few dozen kilometers with Timeslic. I’ll grab a better one when I get the chance—this will do for now.”
“反正那些增加几公里几十公里的破烂玩意儿花时序买了也没意思，以后有机会我收个好点的，这个先用着。”
“How many kilometers can it extend?”
“能扩展多少公里？”
“Heh heh, this thing has a range of over two hundred kilometers. It’s top-tier stuff—no wonder the owner was reluctant to sell it.”
“嘿嘿，这东西的扩散范围足足有两百多公里，这可是高级货，难怪人家舍不得卖。”
Luo Bin nodded. This device was among the best in his own requisitions. The fact that this man could borrow it suggested he had good credit.
洛宾点点头，这东西在自己的请保中也是数一数二的了，眼前这人竟然能借到，看来信用很好。
“But what exactly are you planning to do?”
“不过，你到底想干什么？”
“You’ll find out.” Yang Zicang picked it up, testing its weight. This was the main reason he came today.
“你会晓得的。”杨子藏将它抱了起来试了试重量，今天来主要就是为了它。
“Your connections are much better now, huh. You even managed to borrow something like this.”
“现在人缘好多了嘛，这种东西也能借到。”
“It’s all thanks to the Boost License.”
“这都多亏了代练契约。”
Luo Bin’s ears perked up.
洛宾的耳朵倏地竖了起来。
“You have no idea how crazed the experts in Hub Town have become. Even those Red Model guys in our city are bugging me desperately, begging to get in touch, all for a ready-to-use secret technique.”
“你不知道现在枢纽镇的高手们是怎么疯的，连我们城中那些红模型的家伙们也求爹爹告奶奶的想跟我取得联系，就为了份能直接使用的秘技。”
Morian lifted his head. “Good thing I went for the private, high-end route from the start; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to move on the street without getting surrounded. But as word slowly spreads, the pressure’s building. Heh heh.”
莫里昂起了脑袋，“还好一开始我就走的私人高端路线，要不然上街都会被人围住走不动路。但现在名声也慢慢传出去了，压力大啊，嘿嘿。”
“Oh, right, and here are the Ability Spheres you wanted.” Mori handed a small pouch of Ability Spheres to Yang Zicang.
“哦对了，还有你要的能力球。”莫里将一小袋能力球递给杨子藏。
Beside them, Luo Bin’s heart started pounding.
旁边的洛宾听得内心怦怦直跳。
Damn, so those skill books came from this guy after all.
好家伙，原来那些技能书是从你小子手上获得的。
Luo Bin’s small eyes darted between Yang Zicang and Mori, pondering how likely it was that he’d get his hands on a good secret technique in the future.
洛宾的小眼珠子在杨子藏和莫里身上瞄过来瞄过去，琢磨着自己以后有多大可能获得一本不错的秘技。
So far, from what he knew, there were four books: Flame, Frost, Silent Night, and Glass Perception.
现在光自己所知道的就有火焰、雪霜、沉吟之夜，以及琉璃感知这四本。
Among them, Frost had the weakest presence, because gathering snowflakes took much longer than shooting flames, and its freezing ability was limited. But sometimes it came in handy—especially in cold zones like snowy mountains, where it would be the strongest secret technique.
其中雪霜的存在感是最弱的，因为凝聚雪花的时间比爆出火焰的时间长很多，而且冰冻能力有限，但有时候又有特别功效，特别是类似雪山的寒冷地带，那将是最强的秘技。
He wondered how many other goodies they had that he didn’t know about.
不知道他们还有多少自己不晓得的好东西。
“How many timing cycles do you think we can grab this time?” Mori asked.
“你觉得这次能搞到多少时序？”莫里问。
“No idea. If it’s a few hundred kilometers, it’ll take them forever to get here. Besides, even if I finish collecting the herbs, at most half a month later, they’ll start being harvested again.”
“不知道，几百公里的话，他们过来都要很久。而且哪怕我把药材收完，最多半个月，这些药材就会重新被采摘到。”
“Yeah, that’s true. This business is only profitable upfront.”
“也对。这生意只是前期暴力。”
“Well, we’re not the only ones who can make incense pills. When that happens, the price will drop significantly. So we can only earn a large amount of temporal energy in the first one or two weeks, but it’s still a decent opportunity.”
“嗯，会制香丸的不止我们，到时候价格就便宜得多了，所以能大量赚到时序的只有第一二个礼拜而已，但也是次不错的机会。”
Luo Bin became increasingly uneasy as he listened. “Wait, you collected these things just to sell incense pills?”
洛宾越听越不对劲，“等下，你弄这些东西是想卖香丸？”
Yang Zicang smiled and handed a small pouch of incense pills to Mori, then took one out and tossed it to Luo Bin.
杨子藏笑着递给了莫里一小袋香丸，并从中拿出枚丢给了洛宾。
The two took a sniff and felt their pores open all over. Luo Bin’s entire body went numb in an instant—half from the fumes and half from excitement.
两人嗅了下，感觉浑身毛孔都打开了。洛宾瞬间感觉浑身酥麻，一半是熏的，一半是激动的。
“I really feel like coming over to join you two,” Mori said.
“真想过来跟你们一起啊。”莫里道。
“That’s simple. You just need to implant my hub, and I’ll be able to come in and pick you up.”
“这个简单，只需要你植入我的站台我就可以进来接你了。”
Mori had witnessed Yang Zicang’s Mind Dragon eject the hub with his own eyes, and he still had a subconscious fear of that sight. He shook his head:
莫里是亲眼见过杨子藏的念龙拔出站台的，对那景象有点下意识的害怕，他摇摇头：
“Bro, it’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just that the thought of having something like that in my head makes me feel like I’ll lose my mind. Let me get past this mental block first before we talk about it.”
“哥们，不是我不相信你，是我一想到有那种东西在我脑袋中，我就感觉会精神失常，等我克服心理障碍再说吧。”
After a pause, he continued:
顿了顿后，他道：
“I looked into the matter we discussed last time where we last discussed it. A standard shop, thirty square meters, rent is fifty thousand temporal units per year. But it’s only open to people from cities ranked within the top thirty.”
“上次的事我问好了，一间三十平的普通小商店，租金是一年五万时序，但只对排名三十名以前的城市之人开放。”
“What, you’re planning to open a store?” Luo Bin, who was immersed in bookkeeping, blurted out in shock.
“什么，你们还打算开店？”埋头算账的洛宾吃惊的脱口而出。
Mori replied with a soft “mm” and continued:
莫里嗯了声，继续道：
“We want to secure our own shop. For now, the only options are to sublet from these people or buy a shop outright from the top fifteen ranking slots—even the smallest one starts at 200,000 time sequence year, with an annual tax of at least 10,000 time sequence year. The upside is that shop owners are exempt from the monthly deduction of 300 time sequence year.”
“我们想要搞到自己的店铺。目前只能从这些人手里转租，或者直接买前十五名的店铺，一小间就要二十万时序起，每年要缴税最低一万时序。好处就是，店主不用抵扣每个月的三百年时序了。”
This was the perk of being a merchant in Hub Town.
这就是成为枢纽镇商户的好处。
Luo Bin was taken aback.
洛宾吃了个大惊。
This was an A+ class piece of information, worth at least 2,000—no, now that he’d seen more of the world, two thousand or three thousand was nothing; this information was worth at least 5,000 time sequence.
这个是A+级的消息，至少值两千，不，现在自己的见识广了，什么两千三千的，这个消息至少值五千时序。
His mind raced with excitement—if he could get his hands on a shop, he might not have to risk his life so desperately. Running a business in the legendary Hub Town was a place where you’d never have to worry about safety.
他心情澎湃的想到，要是自己能获得一间商铺，是不是就可以不用那么卖命了，在传说中的枢纽镇开店，可是不用担心任何安全问题的地方。
Just selling goods would guarantee a steady flow of time sequence every month, making one no different from an immortal deity.
只要卖卖商品，每个月都会收入很多时序，跟长生不死的神人没区别。
But the price of those shops was exorbitant, truly biting.
就是那店铺贵得咬人。
“So, do you have any more training contracts left? Sell some and buy one.” Luo Bin blurted out eagerly.
“那你们还有多少代练契约，再卖点买个呗。”洛宾迫不及待的道。
If he wasn’t mistaken, this guy beside him might just change his destiny.
没搞错的话，自己可能因为身边这家伙而逆天改命也说不定。
Morrie was about to speak, but Yang Zicang shook his head.
莫里正想说话，杨子藏摇摇头。
“Rarity trumps all— even for teams capable of stabilizing an A-rank area, it’s uncommon for them to churn out tens of thousands of time sequence in one go. We’ve already sold four or five copies recently; if we keep selling more, the price will drop.”
“物以稀为贵，哪怕是能稳定A级区域的队伍，一下子能拿出几万时序的也并不多见，最近我们已经卖了四五本了，继续卖就得掉价了。”
“Exactly. Getting these training contracts is a rare opportunity, and there’s no telling when we’ll get our hands on a batch like this again. So we need to be frugal.”
“没错，这批代练契约的获取可遇不可求，下次再搞到它们就不知道是什么时候了，所以要省着点卖。”
“And once our shop is established, the sale of training contracts will be its most important commodity. To maintain the shop’s enduring prosperity, it’s necessary to ensure their steady and sustainable supply.”
“而且等我们的店铺搞出来，代练契约的售卖是其中最重要的商品，要维持商铺的长盛不衰，它们的细水长流很有必要。”
After saying this, Yang Zicang turned to Luo Bin with a knowing smirk.
说完后，杨子藏转头似笑非笑的看着洛宾：
“Tell me, how much is this piece of information worth?”
“你说，这个情报的价值有多大。”
“Seven or eight thousand or more… Ahem, Zicang, bro, you gotta have faith in me.”
“七八千以上……咳嗯，子藏兄弟，你要对我有信心啊。”
Luo Bin turned to look at Mori.
洛宾转头看向莫里。
“My friend, I’m Yang Zicang’s close buddy—we’ve been through life and death together. From now on, we’re all brothers. If you need anything, you can count on me. How about we swap some lifespan with each other?”
“这位朋友，我是杨子藏的好哥们，一起出生入死过的。以后大家都是兄弟，有事可以找我。我们互相交换点寿命如何？”
Mori calmly scanned the fat man’s face, smiled, and said nothing.
莫里冷静扫过胖子的脸，微笑不语。
With that, Luo Bin displayed his model.
说着洛宾展开了自己的模型：
“I used to just be a triangle. Then I met Brother Zicang, and guess what? My model successfully evolved!”
“我原来只是个三角形，一见着子藏兄，你猜怎么着，我的模型晋升成功了！”
Mori was instantly astonished, his jaw nearly dropping out of its socket.
莫里顿时惊为天人，下巴都要张脱臼。