Ground Stars / 地上星 · Ch.21 第21章 膏药 oR 毒药
第21章 膏药 oR 毒药
Chapter 21: Plaster or Poison
楚强试著通过眼前的怪异电台扩展自己时序的融资范围，想要确认杨子藏是否还存活著。
Chu Jiang attempted to expand his Chronos funding channel through the strange radio station before him, hoping to confirm whether Yang Zicang was still alive.
白鸳坐在空旷废墟的石阶边，哀叹声后心情复杂的倒下地面，看向天空。
Bai Yuan sat by the stone steps amid the empty ruins, let out a sigh, then fell to the ground with a heavy heart, gazing up at the sky.
许多人在发起著没有对手盘的融资，这片区域无数人同时接到了数十人的心灵感应请求。
Many were launching funding requests without counterparties, as countless people in this area simultaneously received telepathic appeals from dozens of individuals.
但惟独没有取得那个被怪物追杀的男人的回应。
But there was no response from the man being hunted by monsters.
「真的死了？」 罗鑫眸光转动，看向身旁的人。
“Is he really dead?” Luo Xin’s eyes shifted as he glanced at the person next to him.
「应该是了，可惜了，能在怪物追杀中上到那里去，他哪怕能力比较废应该也有点用的。 不过也多亏他，让我们知道了那里面居然有那种可怕的妖魔。」
“Probably. What a shame. To have made it that far while being chased by monsters, even if his abilities were weak, he might have been somewhat useful. But thanks to him, we now know that such a terrifying demon lurks inside.”
能通过心灵映射，显现出自己存在画面的怪物，他们当然知道其有多么强大。
The monster, which could manifest its own image through mental mapping, they naturally knew its terrifying power.
A 级交错之地内都不一定有那种东西，居然藏在了 b 级异度空间中。
Even within a Grade A intersecting zone, such a thing wouldn’t necessarily exist, yet it was hidden in a B-grade interdimensional space.
梁喜茫然站立在坑道内，眼中流下两道泪渍。
Liang Xi stood blankly in the tunnel, tears trailing down her cheeks.
少年拿肮脏的袖子拂拭了脸庞一把，随后继续对怪物巢穴进行著探索。
The boy wiped his face with his dirty sleeve, then resumed his exploration of the monster’s nest.
……
雾气所凝结的双生卡通虚影速度奇快的穿行在阴暗管道内。
The twin cartoon phantoms, condensed from mist, darted swiftly through the dark pipelines.
失去首领后，老鼠怪物们慌乱四散，不再有凶猛如虎狼的气势。
With their leader gone, the rat-like monsters scattered in panic, losing the fierce demeanor of tigers and wolves.
嗖！ 虚影划过十来米的高低差，带著雾气轨迹出现在洞穴口。
Whoosh! The phantoms traversed a disparity of a dozen meters in height, leaving a trail of mist as they appeared at the cave entrance.
见到这里没有那恐怖怪物的身影，绍敏才终于放心。
Seeing no trace of the terrifying monster, Shaomin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
魔石散发的萤光中，可以见到墙边的两道身影轮廓。
In the faint glow of the magic stones, the silhouettes of two figures could be discerned against the wall.
抱在一起的卡通雾人从空中垂落，在杨子藏头前晃了下，这人没有反应。
The embracing cartoon mist figures hung suspended in mid-air. One dangled before Yang Zicang’s head and swayed, but he showed no response.
「都死了？」
“Are they all dead?”
[我感知到了时序战器的存在！]
[I sense the presence of a Chronos Armament!]
绍敏双目猛然睁大。
Shaomin’s eyes suddenly snapped open wide.
Moexl居然主动反馈了时序战器，这说明这武器至少拥有每一击五十年时序以上的强度，否则它不会反馈。
Moxel had actually proactively responded to Chronos Weaponry—this meant the weapon possessed at least fifty Chronos per strike; otherwise, it wouldn’t have reacted.
是那杆长枪！
It was that Lance!
两个雾气小人的四只手按住长枪，吃力扯动，却只能抬起一点点。
The two misty figures pressed all four hands against the Lance, straining and heaving with effort, yet they could only lift it by a mere fraction.
「天啊… 等等，需要一千年开辟空间？ 什么意思。」
“Heavens… Wait, a thousand Chronos to carve open space? What does that mean?”
自己有那么多时序就好了。
If only he had that much Chronos.
「可恶啊，这是难得的好东西。 没办法了，只能这样了！」
“Curse it—this is a rare, fine treasure. No choice left… it has to be this way!”
他下狠心，将时序本金投入九十九年，强化能力以拖动更重的物品。
Steeling his resolve, he invested ninety-nine years of Chronos principal, strengthening his ability to drag heavier objects.
「这可是我好不容易攒下来的，一定要成功啊！」
“This is the fortune I’ve painstakingly saved up—it has to succeed!”
两个卡通雾人咬牙切齿，身体后仰地拖动起了长枪，让绍敏的心砰砰直跳。
The two cartoonish fog figures gritted their teeth, leaning back as they dragged Lance forward, causing Shaomin’s heart to pound wildly.
「动了，能成。 我马上也拥有时序战器了！」
“It’s moving. It’s working. I’ll soon have a Chronos War Artifact of my own!”
他已经迫不及待想要进入巢穴去取。
He could barely contain his eagerness to dash into the lair and retrieve it.
银色长枪在地面轻轻划动起来，它们调转方向，朝洞穴外部而去。
The silver Lance scraped softly across the ground, turning its direction toward the outside of the den.
在长枪的尾部即将脱离杨子藏手臂范围之时，一只手掌突地伸出，按住枪尾。
Just as the tail of Lance was about to slip beyond Yang Zicang’s arm’s reach, a hand abruptly shot out and pressed down on it.
「嗯？」 感知著另一端画面的绍敏瞬间背脊一麻。
“Huh?” At the sight of the other end, a chilling shiver shot up Shaomin’s spine.
他看到靠在墙角那人，睁开了恶鬼般的眼神，与自己四目相对。
He saw the man slumped in the corner raise a demon-like glare, locking eyes with him.
「竟然没死？！」
“He’s still alive?!”
唬~长枪前段瞬间出现股庞大吸力。 两个雾气小人的能能量顷刻间就少了四分之一。
Whoosh—a massive burst of suction erupted from the front of Lance. The energy of the two fog figures instantly diminished by a quarter.
绍敏的感知视线旋转模糊，他立马知道遭了。
Shaomin’s perceived vision blurred and twisted, and he instantly knew something had gone horribly wrong.
「嘶。」 他赶紧散去了能力，捂住刺痛的双眼。
“Tsk.” Hastily, he dispelled his ability, clamping his hand over his stinging eyes.
近一分钟后才再次睁开，但看东西都感觉模糊了许多，仿佛近视了般。
It was nearly a minute before he opened them again, but everything he saw felt hazy, as though he had become nearsighted.
「那家伙居然没死，还得到了时序战器！ 啊，我的眼睛，可恶的混蛋啊！」
“That bastard—he’s still alive, and he got ahold of the Chronos War Artifact! Ah, my eyes, you damned bastard!”
绍敏恨恨的咒骂完，心底忽又升起股寒意。
After uttering his bitter curses, Shaomin felt a sudden chill creep into his heart.
不要小看四边形… 那是先前马超叮嘱自己的话，这么快就应验了。
“Don’t underestimate Quad…”—those were the words Matt Chao had urged upon him, and they had come true far too soon.
这小子在如此危险的境地居然还能活下来。
That kid actually managed to survive in such a perilous situation.
他突的冒出个念头，随即被自己这想法吓了一跳。
A thought abruptly crossed his mind, startling him with its own audacity.
「呵，马超不可能输的。」
“Ha, Matt Chao can’t possibly lose.”
他起身捂著眼睛走了几步，却越走越慢。
He rose and took a few steps while covering his eyes, though each step grew slower than the last.
「但万一输了…」
“But what if he does lose…”
……
[我是在，连死也不知是何处的地方，这就是古人所说的，客死异乡者吗…]
[I am in a place unknown even to death itself. Is this what the ancients called ‘dying in a foreign land’…?]
有些半昏迷的杨子藏听著内心略带哀伤的自言自语。
Somewhere in a half-conscious state, Yang Zicang listened to the inner monologue tinged with sorrow.
这的确是自己的情绪，不过它归纳得更具体了点，形成了一段自言自语。
This was indeed his own emotion, yet it had crystallized into a more specific form, shaping into a soliloquy.
这东西，既像是自己，又像是多余的心声与念头。
It felt both like himself and like an extraneous, inner voice—a redundant thought.
就是那种多余感，如同「多余的空间」，Moexl的心念虽然有部分是自己的想法，但另一部分就显得非常「多余」。
And that redundancy mirrored the “redundant space” of Moxel; while part of its consciousness was his own, the other part felt decidedly superfluous.
此刻，杨子藏却感觉Moexl已经有些不同了，它的多余感正在消弱。
Now, however, Yang Zicang sensed that Moxel had changed somehow, and that sense of superfluity was fading.
如果以前的Moexl就像是挂在胸口的喇叭，那么现在的它有点像是移植给自己的器官，自己的本能正在试图接纳它成为身体的一部分。
If Moxel was once like a speaker hanging on his chest, it now seemed like an organ transplanted into him—his instincts were starting to accept it as part of his body.
共同经历死亡，让Moexl对自己的意识共鸣得更深了些。
Their shared experience of death had deepened Moxel’s resonance with his own consciousness.
「我们会一起死吗。」
“Are we going to die together?”
[没有我们，是我。]
[There’s no “we,” only me.]
杨子藏轻微扭头，吃力将手搭在时序战器上。
Yang Zicang turned his head slightly, struggling to rest his hand on the Chronos War-Artifact.
银枪表面多出来部分黑色细纹，这是它的黑洞吞噬黑铁书册和鼠人首领后多出的纹路。
New, fine black cracks spread across the silver spear’s surface, markings left behind after its black hole devoured the Black Iron Tome and the Ratman Chieftain.
同时还有一道关于枪的信息反馈。
At the same time, a piece of feedback about the spear came through.
[引力弧光。]
[Grav-Arc.]
该名称是初次触摸枪身时，就感受到的讯息。
That name was the first thing he felt upon touching the spear.
首先，这把枪果然是每击都能造成百年时序打击的百年器。
First things first—this was indeed a Cent-Arms, one that could inflict a hundred-year temporal strike with every blow.
其次，这枪还有个特别的能力，那就是引力，虽然这么说并不正确。
Secondly, the gun had a unique ability: gravity, though to put it that way wasn’t quite accurate.
它可以在三十多厘米范围内产生吸引力，对十公斤级以下的物品产生强力牵引作用，大于这重量也会有一定的影响，这能力便是「引力弧光」。
It could generate attraction within a range of over thirty centimeters, fiercely pulling in objects under ten kilograms—anything heavier would also feel some influence. This ability was [Grav-Arc].
而它本质的作用是储存这把枪的空间。
In essence, its true function was to store the space of this weapon.
因此自己收获的实际上是这名为引力弧光的能力，银色长枪属于它的附属。
So what I had actually gained was this ability named Grav-Arc; the silver long spear was but its accessory.
[初次开辟「引力空间」需要时序1000N。]
[Opening a 「Gravity Space」 for the first time requires chrono-energy of 1,000 N.]
[我感知到，剥离时序战器需要消耗未在此世界的未知物品。]
[I sense that peeling the Chronos War-Artifact away will consume unknown items not present in this world.]
杨子藏内心惨然一笑，自己哪里还有时序去开辟这储存长枪的空间。
Yang Zicang let out a bitter laugh inside—where did he still have the Chronos to pioneer this space for storing the Lance?
没想到仅仅是一两分钟的战斗，自己就一夜回到解放前。 自己之前还对四倍增福沾沾自喜来著。
He never expected that just a minute or two of battle would bring him all the way back to square one; he had been gloating over his fourfold amplification earlier.
感受了下胸前的伤口，很是严重，呼吸漏风，除了手臂，自己的上半身几乎全麻无法动弹。
Feeling the wound on his chest, it was severe—air leaked through with each breath. Apart from his arm, his entire upper body was numb and completely immobile.
正在这时，洞口再次涌来一片寒气。
Just then, another wave of chill surged from the cave entrance.
杨子藏冷眼斜视而去，又是那雾气卡通人。 杨子藏赶紧挪动手指吃力按在枪尾。
Yang Zicang cast a cold sidelong glance—it was that misty cartoon figure again. He hurriedly moved his fingers, struggling to press them against the rifle’s stock.
啪嗒！ 膏药般的东西被甩到杨子藏怀里。
Smack! Something like a patch was flung into Yang Zicang’s arms.
卡通雾人指了指那东西，又指了指自己胸前，做出贴上它的动作，随后消散。
The cartoon fog figure pointed at the object, then at its own chest, mimicking the motion of applying it, before dissipating.
杨子藏诧异想到：「这人是谁，被我攻击了还来帮我。」
Yang Zicang wondered in astonishment, “Who is this person? I attacked him, yet he still comes to help me.”
缓慢挪动手臂，用两根手指一点点将这东西搓出道缝，期间眩晕了好几次，光是将膏药扯开一半就耗费了不下五六分钟。
Slowly shifting his arm, he used two fingers to painstakingly pinch a gap in the thing. During this, he nearly fainted several times. Just tearing half the patch open alone took no less than five or six minutes.
但当杨子藏好不容易将膏药的贴纸搓开后，却想到：这东西到底是不是真的用来治疗伤势的？
But when Yang Zicang finally managed to peel the patch’s sticker apart, he thought: Is this thing really meant to heal an injury?
[我对救治之物的真实性产生了怀疑。]
[I’ve developed doubts about the authenticity of the healing item.]
怎么办，到底要不要贴。
What should I do? Should I actually apply it or not?
之前那让自己脑袋发寒出现负面情绪的，很像是刚才那雾气卡通所做。
The earlier disturbance that chilled his head and stirred negative emotions seemed very much like something that foggy cartoon entity had done.
杨子藏看着这张膏药，陷入了两难。
Yang Zicang stared at the patch, caught in a dilemma.
[22号评议委员向我表露了他的存在。他想让我玩一个猜谜游戏。]
[The 22nd Councilor revealed his presence to me. He wants me to play a riddle game.]
「猜谜…游戏…?」
“A riddle… game…?”
[若猜对，该物品将具备强效治疗效果。若猜错，该物品将为剧毒。且无论对错，它都会自动使用。]
“[If you guess correctly, this item will possess a powerful healing effect. If you guess wrong, this item will become a potent poison. In either case, it will automatically be used.]”
杨子藏冷汗直流。
Yang Zicang broke out in a cold sweat.
这个时候，这些不知道什么存在的家伙们还有心情以自己取乐吗？
At a moment like this, did those unknown entities still have the mood to amuse themselves at his expense?
「想猜什么？」
“What do you want to guess?”
两难抉择后，杨子藏有气无力的道。
After being caught in a dilemma, Yang Zicang said, feeling utterly drained.
[22号评议委员让我猜测，该时序道具，是否具备治疗伤势的效果。]
“[Councilor No. 22 asks you to guess whether this temporal object has the effect of healing injuries.]”
「我…！」
“I…!”
杨子藏内心吐槽了句。 这真的不是来消遣大爷的？
Yang Zicang grumbled inwardly. This really isn’t just messing with me for sport?
大脑混沌两三秒后，青年忽地感受到一片空明。
After a few moments of mental haze shrouding his brain, clarity suddenly cut through like a knife, surprising him from the young man’s murky depths.
初看上去有无这游戏都一样，但还是有点区别的。
At first glance, aside from having this game – leaving as though it didn’t exist made no real difference – there was actually a slight distinction.
杨子藏感受著内心的空明情绪,——这是之前如同死亡之时，心灵感受到的纯粹放空。
Yang Zicang soaked in the delicate limpidity within his heart — the same overwhelming sense of pure emptiness his spirit did taste as he inhaled his last reedy breaths on the verge of death’s collapsing brink.
空明的余韵还在，但疼痛正在快速将它变得支离破碎。 可血液的流下，又让虚弱的身体再次滑向这空无的深渊。
That faint afterglow of emptiness was still there, yet pain rushed quickly in to shatter it into smithereens. Under rivulets of fallen blood, his fragile frame continued slithering deeper into the limitless abyss left in its wake.
在这样淡淡空明中，杨子藏思感变得更为飘渺，也就在这时，忽地灵光乍现。
In that whisper of clear emptiness, Yang Zicang’s perception grew more and more ethereal. At that moment, inspiration suddenly sparked like an unexpected burst of hidden light in pure darkness.
「我想，提个问，一个与此猜测没有直接关系的问题。」
“I think I want to ask a question — one not directly related to this guess.”
[22号评议委员允诺了我的提问请求。]
“[Councilor No. 22 approved my request to ask a question.]”
「所谓的评议委员，是否在除开‘引导‘的前提下，不能直接干预我们的选择或者发展。 除非在某种特定状态下，比如遇见类似母体的特殊魔物之时？」
“So-called council members, aside from ‘guidance,‘ are they unable to directly intervene in our choices or development, unless under specific circumstances—such as encountering a special monster similar to the Mother Entity?”
说到引导这个词时，杨子藏语气充斥著犹豫，似乎这不是个确切的用词。
When Yang Zicang said the word “guidance,” his tone was hesitant, as if it wasn’t the most precise term.
[22号评议委员赞赏于我的敏锐洞察力，他认为我没有说错。]
[Councilor No. 22 appreciated my keen insight, acknowledging that I was not mistaken.]
杨子藏轻笑了下，心中虚弱道：
Yang Zicang let out a soft laugh, feeling a sense of weakness inside, and said:
「谢谢，我没有别的问题了。 至于猜谜结果，我猜它『具备疗效』。」
“Thank you, I have no further questions. As for the riddle’s answer, I guess it ‘has a healing effect.‘“
从自己的提问获得确认，答案就已经差不多确认了。
Having received confirmation of my query, the answer was all but settled.
[我已做出第一次回答，评议委员给予我可以在十秒内反悔的承诺，答案即将揭晓！]
[I have given my first answer; the councilor offered me a ten-second window to change my mind, and the solution is about to be revealed!]
[时间到。]
[Time’s up.]
手上搓开一半的膏药被无形的力量撕扯开来，它啪地声如同贴胶带似的沾到了自己的胸前。
The unrolled plaster in his hand was torn apart by an invisible force, and with a sharp sound like tape being stuck, it attached itself to his chest.
猜对了吗？ 杨子藏有点紧张。
“Did I guess correctly?” Yang Zicang felt a bit nervous.
绿色微光冒出，青年感觉到无比舒适的能量自其中涌现，汇聚到胸前的伤口内。
A faint green light emerged, and the young man perceived an incredibly comfortable energy surging from it, gathering into the wound on his chest.
[我，伟大的四边形，居然蒙对了。]
[I, the great Quad, somehow managed to get it right!]
「呵，是啊，选对了。」
“Heh, yeah, I got it right.”
杨子藏松了口气。
Yang Zicang breathed a sigh of relief.
体力迅速恢复，除了精神还有些抱恙，其它大部分伤势都在短短半分钟内好了起来。
His physical strength rapidly recovered, and aside from a lingering malaise in his spirit, most of his other injuries healed within mere half a minute.