第四十章 岛边的芦苇丛
The three Psychic Alchemy objects slowly floated and spun.
三个念力炼金物缓缓悬浮旋转着。
Yang Zicang first looked at this crystal glasses with a fairly decent appearance. He thought, if he put them on to see Miss Xu Aiyuan, would it reduce much of the natural influence from her abilities?
杨子藏首先看向这副卖相还算不错的水晶眼镜。他想到，若是带上它去看徐爱媛小姐的话，会不会少很多来自她能力的自然影响？
As soon as this thought arose, Yang Zicang shook his head to dismiss it.
这个念头一升起，就被杨子藏摇摇头给甩掉。
“Well, first, exclude the glasses.”
“嗯，首先排除掉眼镜。”
Next was this small beehive wrapped in mist. Yang Zicang picked it up, brought it closer to look, and peered inside through a tiny hole the size of a green bean; the interior seemed empty.
随后就是这个被雾气包裹的小蜂巢。杨子藏将它捏起，拿近看了看，从一个绿豆大的小洞往里瞧去，内部似乎是空的。
“As for the ring, hmm… it doesn’t seem very useful either.”
“戒指的话，嗯…似乎用处也不大。”
— “My boss suggests you choose the ring.”
——“我家老板建议你选戒指。”
Outside the force field rippling with hexagonal wave patterns, a voice shouted loudly. With its roar, the voices of many other psychic body owners also appeared in the channel.
波动着六边形波浪纹的力场之外，一个声音高吼着，随着它的吼叫，很多其它念力体主人们的声音也在管道中出现。
— “The glasses are better than the ring.”
——“眼镜比戒指好用。”
— “The hive might be more useful.”
——“蜂巢说不定用处更大。”
There were many suggestions for each of the three prizes.
三个奖品都有不少建议呼声。
“A flame of discontent burning in people’s hearts? ‘Evil Force’?”
“欲鸣不平的怒火在人们心中？‘恶力’？”
The young man’s brow twitched a few times. He looked at the Wind Spirit Warrior and said, “I’ll choose this small beehive then.”
青年的眉头动了几下，他看向风灵武士道，“我就选这枚小蜂巢好了。”
The psychic body providing the additional reward had more ‘kinetic force’ attached, enabling it to understand Yang Zicang’s words. The warrior nodded, lightly pinching with his fingers, and the floating small beehive instantly became more three-dimensional, as if tangible.
提供额外奖励的念力体具备更多的“念动力”附着，它已经能够理解杨子藏的话。武士点点头，手指轻捏，这枚悬浮的小蜂巢便瞬间变得更具立体，如有实质。
It floated to Yang Zicang’s hand, the surrounding space began to blur, and the force field walls softened.
它飘到杨子藏手上，周围空间开始混沌，力场墙壁变得柔软。
— Even malice from your enemies can brew honey.
——敌人的恶意也能酿造蜂蜜。
Some text flowed like phosphorescent light across the small beehive in the palm, then vanished and dissipated.
一些文字在掌中的小蜂巢上表明流光般显现，又隐匿消散。
——.
——<星星指引你前进的道路，第六星辰预备团>。
……
……
Over these two days, Hong Haocheng seemed quite mysterious in Zhang Miao’s eyes. This man, new to the area, appeared to have access to special intelligence, knowing the waters beyond the island like the back of his hand.
这两天时间，洪灏承在张苗的眼中显得非常神秘。这个初入此地的男人，似乎拥有特殊的信息渠道，对这片岛屿外的水域地形了若指掌。
Although Zhang Miao tried countless times to warn Hong Haocheng about the island’s dangers, he couldn’t dissuade him from his single-minded course.
虽然张苗无数次试图告知洪灏承关于这座岛的危险性，可架不住对方的一意孤行。
Under the cover of night, the man was finally leading him to this island formed from the fragments of currently called City 11.
此刻借着夜色，男人终于要带着自己到达眼前的这片11号城碎片所构成的岛屿。
“We’re here.” Hong Haocheng gently lay down on the water surface, turned to Zhang Miao, and gave him a thumbs-up:
“到了。”洪灏承轻轻趴在水面上，转头对着张苗竖起大拇指：
“Kid, as a backup time code, you’ve grilled fish quite well these past two days. Later, I’ll see if I can rustle up something else to eat for you.”
“小伙子，作为备用时序，你这两天鱼烤得很好。一会儿我看能不能弄到些别的吃的招待你。”
Zhang Miao stood up from the water with a yawn, wringing the water from his blanket.
张苗打着哈欠从水中站起来，将毯子上的水扭干。
Just then, several flashlight beams flickered on and swept toward them.
也就在这时，几道手电的灯光亮起射了过来。
“We finally caught you!”
“终于叫我们给逮到啦！”
Hong Haocheng raised an arm and looked toward the source of the shout. Amid the clatter of hurried footsteps, four or five people with silver-glowing rings on their chests surrounded the duo.
洪灏承抬臂望向吼声方向，凌乱脚步声中，四五个胸前闪烁银白光环的人将两人围住。
But then, Hong Haocheng noticed that the flashlights were mainly aimed at Zhang Miao’s face beside him.
但随后，洪灏承便发现，这几道手电光主要照到了自己身侧的张苗脸上。
“That guy with the severed arm—is he dead or not?”
“那个断掉胳膊的家伙死了没有？”
“Talk, kid, where’s the Demonic Nightmare plane?”
“说，小子，那艘恶魇飞机呢？”
Hong Haocheng was left awkwardly ignored on the side.
洪灏承被尴尬的凉在一旁。
Zhang Miao shot him a glance and said lightly to the group, “The plane went down, and that guy’s dead.”
张苗瞄了他一眼，冲几人淡淡地道：“飞机沉了，那个人也死了。”
“Ah…” The burly man who seemed to be the leader among the five let out a sigh.
“喔~”四五人中看上去像是领头的壮汉嗐了一声。
“All that good aircraft, gone just like that.”
“好好一架飞机居然就这么没了。”
Feeling the regret in the air, Hong Haocheng relaxed a bit and joined the others in lamenting the loss of the Demonic Nightmare plane.
感觉气氛中充斥着惋惜，洪灏承也随之放松了点，跟着大家一起叹息起恶魇飞机的消失。
Then the strongman lifted his head and said to Hong Haocheng:
然后这壮汉抬头对着洪灏承道：
“What model are you, kid? Eh, forget that, whatever you’re called, join us. Otherwise, hmph.”
“你小子是什么模型。算了，不管你叫什么，加入我们，否则，哼哼。”
“Hmph, hm-hmph-hmph.”
“哼哼哼哼。”
The group closed in, melee weapons gleaming with a golden glow in their hands.
几人向前逼来，他们手上都拿着近身武器，并冒着金色辉光。
The leading thug licked his dagger as he walked. “Ever heard the sound of a chest being cut open? The heartbeat goes from ‘thump, thump, thump’ to ‘gurgle, gurgle, sputter…’ Come on, fork over your lifespan, then take us to find the plane model.”
领头壮汉边走边舔了舔匕首：“你听过剖开胸腔的声音吗，心跳声会从‘咚、咚、咚’，变成‘噗、噗、啪~’，来吧，献上你的寿命，然后带我们去找飞机模器。”
“What?”
“这？”
Hong Haocheng turned to look at the fluctuating circle on Zhang Miao’s chest, blinking from people constantly trying to contact him.
洪灏承转头看向张苗胸前，因不断有人试图联系而闪烁的圆环。
Zhang Miao quickly raised his hands. “That’s got nothing to do with me! Look at my model—it never even stabilizes. I haven’t connected to a single Mental Link request.”
张苗赶紧举起手：“不关我的事，你看我的模型，就没有稳定过。我没有链接任何一道心灵链接请求。”
A sleazy-looking individual stepped forward from the opposite side, grinning coldly while twirling a rope. “Knew you’d show up on this island. Hands on your heads, surrender!”
对面走出个气质猥琐的人，冷笑着晃着绳子：“早猜到你们会上这岛上来了，抱头，束手就擒。”
“That model probably flies too—and it’s a real treasure!”
“模器很可能也会飞，那可是大宝贝。”
So that was it. Hong Haocheng walked ashore with his hands raised, heading toward the man who was spinning a lasso. Watching the kid emerge from the water and approach step by step, the sleazy-looking man snorted triumphantly:
原来如此，洪灏承举着双手踩上岸主动向着晃着套马绳的男人走去。眼看着这水中出来的小子一步步走来，气质猥琐的男人很是满意：
“Not bad, kid — yo…”
“算你小子识…”
Before the word “wise” could leave his mouth, Hong Haocheng stepped forward and crashed into the man in front of him.
“相”字还未出口，洪灏承脚下一踏，一步就撞入了身前之人怀中。
Bang!
嘭！
The moment they tumbled to the ground, the bald boy rolled over and lunged at the next person.
两人翻滚在地的瞬间，光头的少年一个翻身就跃向了另一人。
The small red circle on his chest flickered.
他胸前细小的红色圆环闪烁。
[Because I am the magical triangle! So I can triple-amplify!]
[因为我是神奇的三角形！所以我可以三倍增幅！]
[452N! What a vast amount of years—can’t even be divided evenly!]
[452N!多么庞大的岁月啊，甚至除不尽！]
Before the man in front could react, Hong Haocheng’s fingertips had already dug into the gap between his shoulder blades. With a twist and a pull, a crisp “click” mixed with the sour crack of bones exploded, and the man let out a blood-curdling scream like a pig being slaughtered.
身前之人还未反应过来，洪灏承的指尖便已扣进了对方肩胛骨缝隙，一拧一拉，清脆的“咔哒”声便混着骨骼的酸响炸开，男人杀猪般的惨叫响起。
[I’ve canceled out 140N.]
[我抵消抵消了140N.]
Immediately afterward, Hong Haocheng grabbed his head with both hands. With a crisp “crack” from the throat, the man’s entire head was almost twisted around. But at the very last moment, the head jolted bizarrely and twisted back slightly.
紧接着洪灏承双手抱其头，只听喉咙“咔嚓”一声，他整个头几乎被翻转过来，但在极限的瞬间这头颅一晃，这男人的头又诡异的往回转了点。
“Hmm?” Hong Haocheng was slightly surprised. Was it because he hadn’t used a temporal attack?
“嗯？”洪灏承略微差异。是因为自己没有用时序攻击吗。
“Just a mere grayish amplification glow, not even a thousand years’ worth of amplification, and you dare to act recklessly.”
“仅仅只是灰白的增幅辉光，连一千年的增幅都没有也敢造次。”
Several others rushed at him more angrily. Bam bam bam! In the chaotic scuffle, figures tangled together as one man suddenly bulked up his shoulders, tightly latching onto Hong Haocheng while a golden phantom shimmered in his hands.
旁边几人更为愤怒地冲来。嘭嘭嘭！混乱打斗中，几道身影乱成一团，其中一人突然肩膀宽大了许多，猛地将洪灏承紧紧保住，手上浮现出金色虚影。
“Die! Ah~ oh~”
“死吧！啊~喔~”
Hong Haocheng swung a back kick, straight into the man’s groin. Just as he broke free from the embrace, a torrent of filth erupted from another person like a geyser.
洪灏承一脚后踢正中这人裆部，刚从被紧缚的双臂脱身，突然一股秽物从另一人口中喷泉似的喷出。
Ugh, ptoo
呕噗！
A spray of yellowish-brown muck, laced with half-digested vegetable leaves, splattered all over his face, the stench almost making Hong Haocheng retch along with it. He wiped the gunk from his eyes, spat with a “Pfft,” and kicked the man away with one sweep.
黄褐色的粘液裹挟着半消化的菜叶劈头盖脸的浇来，腥臭味刺激得洪灏承差点跟着吐了出来。他抹开糊住眼睛的秽物，“呸”了声一腿就将这人抖远。
Zhang Miao, pale-faced, waded into the water and swam farther out.
脸色发白的张苗跑入水中游远。
Hong Haocheng likewise dashed out of the “fountain” and plunged into the lake.
洪灏承也几步从“喷泉”中跑出，冲入湖内。
After swimming far enough and washing himself over and over, Hong Haocheng surfaced and cursed: “Damn it! Isn’t there a single safe spot around here?”
等游远了，将自己洗了又洗的洪灏承从水中浮出，怒道：“靠！这里就没有个安全的地方吗？”
Muffled curses echoed from the shore.
岸上传来阵阵咒骂。
“Huh, what’s that thing?”
“咦，那个东西是？”
Hong Haocheng spotted something faintly reflecting moonlight upon the distant water. He took a deep breath, sank back in, and swam swiftly toward it like a sleek fish.
洪灏承发现远处水面上隐约有什么东西反射着月光。他深吸口气沉入水中，如一尾灵动的游鱼快速向着那儿游去。
“Safe places? Well, besides the Cruxspace I mentioned earlier, which is relatively safe, there’s an absolutely safe place: Hub Town. But only masters or their teammates can enter there. Huh? Where’d he go?”
“安全的地方？嗯，除了之前给你说的交错空间相对安全，还有个绝对安全的地方，那就是枢纽镇。不过能进去的人都是高手，或者是高手的队友。欸？人呢？”
Zhang Miao looked around left and right—the person who had been right beside him just a moment ago was already gone.
张苗左右四望，刚刚还在身旁的人已经不在了。
Suddenly, the silent night sky was pierced by the “roaring” sound of an engine. The water’s surface rapidly parted as a small boat charged in from the distance.
忽地沉寂的夜空中响起“嗡嗡”的发动机轰鸣，水面快速破开，一条小船从远处冲来。
The burly man on the shore, seeing the trail sliding across the water, exclaimed in alarm, “Ah, that guy stole our boat!”
岸上的壮汉见到水面滑动的轨迹，一声惊叫道：“啊，那个家伙把我们的船偷走了！”
“Come back! That’s our yacht!”
“还回来，那是我们的游艇！”
“F*ck your ancestors!”
“操你祖宗！”
This yacht-like vessel, with some scaly armor on its hull, quickly stopped beside Zhang Miao. The bald man grinned, reaching out his hand from the water and saying:
这条类似游艇但长着些许鳞甲外壳的船快速停在了张苗身旁，光头男人笑嘻嘻地冲水中伸手道：
“What a haul! I just came and already snagged a monster boat. Get on, quick.”
“好东西啊，一来就捡个怪物游艇，快上来。”
“How is this called just ‘snagging’!”
“这能是捡的吗！”
Zhang Miao was pulled aboard by Hong Haocheng, spat, and leaned against the side of the boat: “But man, you’ve got sharp eyes. I had no idea there was a boat. This is really a great catch.”
张苗被洪灏承拉上船，吐了口水倚靠在船舷上：“不过你的眼神真好，我都不知道有船，这可是真的好东西。”
“There’s not only a boat, but also food. Hey, these are oranges—a source of sugar. Sachima, rice wraps, nice, and even chocolate! Thanks for nature’s bounty.”
“不光有船，还有食物，唷，这是柑橘，糖分的来源啊。沙琪玛，米饭包，不错啊，还有巧克力！感谢大自然的馈赠。”
Zhang Miao glanced toward the area lit by lights, where several figures stomped their feet by the water: “Without the boat, it’ll be pretty troublesome for them to get back. Say, Brother Hong, you’re amazing—are you a martial artist?”
张苗看向那边的灯光下，几道身影站在水边跳脚，“没有船的话，他们想要回去就比较麻烦了。话说洪哥你好厉害，你是练武的吗？”
“Not really.”
“不算是。”
Hong Haocheng recalled that he had only undergone special training for a month, and he would practice a few moves with Feng Juguan during the trip whenever time allowed. Yet, in such a short time, he had become so proficient in these combat skills—truly thanks to the power of the monster he had fused with.
洪灏承回忆了下，自己接受特训也就一个月，平时在旅行中跟冯居冠也会抽空练上几下，但就这么短的时间，自己便将这些格斗招式很快熟练下来，还真是得多亏了被融合的那怪物的力量。
“Can you teach me martial arts? I can find a way to trade you some temporal sequence.”
“能教我武技吗？我可以想办法给你时序。”
“Then I’ll have to give it serious thought.”
“那我得郑重考虑考虑。”
The wind blowing across the lake surface turned gloomy, and the water suddenly rippled with fine, dense patterns.
吹在湖面上的风变得阴沉，湖面忽然泛起细密的波纹。
Hong Haocheng, who had just stuffed a piece of jerky into his mouth, and Zhang Miao both involuntarily looked toward the shore.
刚往嘴中塞入了条肉干的洪灏承两人突地不由自主看向岸上。
The reeds by the lakeside were suddenly bent down by a gust of wind. A three-to four-meter-tall, dark blue, viscous energy body stepped out from the shadows. It swung its giant palm, grasping toward the few people who had turned around in alarm at the abnormality.
湖岸芦苇丛忽地被一道风压压弯，一道三四米高的阴暗蓝稠能量身体从黑暗中走出，挥动巨掌抓向察觉异常扭头望去的几人。
“Ah!”
“啊！”
Amid their screams, it grabbed hold of one person and shoved them into its thick blue energy body.
在那几人的尖叫下，它一把就抓住了一人，将其塞入了自己的稠蓝能量身体内。
The person’s cries vanished instantly.
那人的叫声瞬间消失。
“What the hell is that thing?” The jerky in Hong Haocheng’s hand fell onto the boat. “Is this the ‘giant’ you were talking about?”
“那东西是什么？”洪灏承手中的肉干落在了船上，“这就是你说的‘巨人’？”
“They should be… those former strong individuals from City No. 11.” Zhang Miao swallowed his saliva. “They’ve lost their human consciousness and turned into monsters.”
“它们应该，就是11号城曾经的那些强者吧。”张苗咽了咽唾沫，“它们已经失去人类的意识，变成了怪物。”
The remaining four hurriedly ran into the lake. The towering energy beast lunged forward, gripping one person in each hand. Amid their desperate screams, it stuffed them into its stomach, where they were instantly decomposed by its energy.
剩下四人赶紧往湖中跑，高大能量怪物往前一扑，双手各擒住一人，在他们绝望的叫喊中将其塞入了肚子里，瞬间被能量分解。
Hong Haocheng quickly lunged to the stern and yanked the Nightmare Traction Engine, “You led me right to this place? Damn it, I knew you were unreliable.”
洪灏承赶紧扑到船尾拉动恶魇模器引擎，“你就把我往这地方带？靠啊，我就知道你不靠谱。”
“It’s my first time here too, bro. And I told you this place was dangerous.”
“我也是第一次来啊，哥。而且我说过这地方危险。”
“Do you have any idea how massive that guy is!” Hong Haocheng exclaimed on the boat, “Terrifying—I couldn’t even shoulder-throw that thing!”
“你知道那家伙多大吗！”洪灏承在船上惊呼道，“可怕，那东西我都没办法用过肩摔！”
The giant on the shore seemed afraid of water. It stood at the edge, gazed at the two in the water and the distant boat, then turned and walked into the crumbling city silhouette shrouded in darkness.
岸上的巨人似乎怕水，它站在边缘看了眼水中两人以及远方的船只，然后转身走入黑暗中的破败城市残影。
The two in the lake swam toward the boat.
湖中两人向船只游来。
“Help.”
“救命。”
“Help us; we’ll give you quantum timepieces, just save us.”
“救命啊，我们给你们时序，救救我们。”
Zhang Miao looked at Hong Haocheng: “Should we save them?”
张苗看向洪灏承：“救吗？”
“Do you think I graduated from kindergarten?”
“你当我是幼儿园毕业。”
The yacht swiftly sped into the nearby darkness, and the fragmented outline of this Zone 11 city gradually came into view for the two.
游艇快速一旁的黑暗中而去，这片11号城的碎片轮廓逐渐呈现在两人眼中。
“It’s so massive, almost as big as a small county town.”
“竟然有这么大，都快赶上个小县城了。”