Ground Stars / 地上星 · Ch.77 第77章 沙砾上的木棚区 -2
第77章 沙砾上的木棚区 –2
Chapter 77: The Wood Peng Zone on Sand and Gravel – Part 2
「其实有个水井不错的。」徐秀川怪笑著对王翀眨眼补充道。
“Actually, there’s a well that could be interesting,” Shiu Siuchuan said with a weird smirk, winking at Wang Chong.
王翀愣了下，反应过来后壹脸嫌弃：「啊，妳说那个啊，切。」
Wang Chong froze for a moment, then when it clicked, his face twisted with disgust: “Ah, you mean that one? Hmph.”
「什么啊？」扬子藏好奇的看向他们。
“What is it?” Yang Zicang looked at them curiously.
「那根本就不叫水井，那叫粪坑。」
“That’s not a well at all—it’s a cesspit.”
「化肥来源地，蛮不错的，就是和现实产物重叠了。」
“A source of fertilizer, not bad in its own way, but it’s overlapped with the real product.”
王翀摇著指头道：
Wang Chong wagged his finger and said,
「好像是左师傅那蠢货制引擎的时候上了厕所没洗手。」
“Seems like that idiot Zuo, when making the engine, went to the bathroom and didn’t wash his hands.”
「啊？」扬子藏脸上壹僵。
“Huh?” Yang Zicang’s face stiffened.
「咳嗯，杨哥妳知道的，这里水啊纸啊，连树叶啥的都很缺，那只是个意外。」徐秀川嘿嘿笑道。
“Ahem, Brother Yang, you know how it is here—water, paper, even leaves are scarce. That was just an accident.” Shiu Siuchuan snickered.
已经习惯这里匮乏物资的他只当这是个常见的笑话，没事就会拿出来跟过往的人吹壹下。
Already accustomed to the region’s scarcity, he just took it as an everyday joke, pulling it out now and then to regale passing folks.
自那以后左师傅已经成了他们聚集地内的名人，号左粪大师。
Ever since that day, Master Zuo had become a celebrity within their settlement, given the title Master Dungfeast.
扬子藏宁愿自己没问。
Yang Zicang wished he had never asked.
……
远方黑色溪流旁偶尔会看到有人带著桶或蹲或站的在旁边守著。即便是暗夜里，他们也依旧守在溪水边，等待著稀少的工作画面流过。
By the distant black stream, one could occasionally spy people, pail in hand, crouching or standing along its edge. Even in the dead of night, they lingered by that stream, waiting for the rare sweep of job memos to flow past.
「都半夜了，这么冷还在这里等。」
“It’s the middle of the night, so cold, and you’re still waiting here.”
「这儿其实已经没什么白天黑夜的概念了，现在虽然冷，但人少，等光线强了人很多的。」
“There’s really no concept of day and night here anymore. It’s cold now, but there are fewer people; when the light gets stronger, the crowds pour in.”
如果只是玩玩，杨子藏很乐意在溪边去蹲守稀有的工作与制造场景。壹旦跟生存挂钩，这场面就显得无奈了起来。
If it was just for fun, Yang Zicang wouldn’t have minded squatting by the stream, waiting for rare work and manufacturing scenes. But once survival was tied to it, the scene took on a helpless air.
「喂，妳们有没有看到加工铁锅的幻影啊，急求。」作棚聚集地的方向跑来两人。
“Hey, have you guys seen the phantom of someone making iron pots? Urgently need it.” Two people came running from the direction of Workpen Settlement.
「没有哦，那东西几个月都不壹定遇得到。」
“Nope, that thing might not even show up for months on end.”
「我几分钟前看到过烧铁的，妳们快顺著水去追。」
“I saw someone forging iron just a few minutes ago. Go chase it downstream, quick!”
徐秀川显得挺乐呵的道:「嘿嘿，越稀少的忘川溪越能换到好物资。对了不早了，杨哥妳还是回去休息吧。」
Shi Siquan said cheerfully, “Hehe, the rarer items in Lethe Stream fetch better supplies. By the way, it’s getting late, Brother Yang, you should head back and rest.”
「我跟妳们进去棚区转转。」
“I’ll go with you and walk around Peng Zone.”
「欸？我们这儿外人…」
“Eh? Outsiders like us here…”
杨子藏拍了拍自己的箱子，「这些东西难道还不能换壹晚上的床位吗。」
Yang Zicang patted his own box. “Don’t these things buy me at least a bed for one night?”
……
前方，各种材质拼凑出来的棚户聚集地如同贫民窟似的。它们四面漏风却又坚韧地矗立在荒原上。
Up ahead, a shantytown pieced together from all sorts of materials spread out like a slum. It let the wind through from every side, yet stood tenaciously on the wasteland.
这便是筑荒棚聚集地，也被简称为棚区。
This was the Refuge House Shantytown, also known simply as Peng Zone.
「站住，王翀，这新人哪儿捡来的？」门口的大汉擡起头。
“Hold up, Sichuan Brother, where’d you pick up this newbie?” The burly man at the gate looked up.
沙砾地面上，身穿干净整洁衣服的杨子藏在这环境内显得有些格格不入。
On the sandy ground, Yang Zicang, dressed in clean and tidy clothes, stood out conspicuously in this environment.
「他…」
“He…”
王翀还未开口，杨子藏擡了擡手，说道：「我是昨天进入这里的，能在妳们这里住两天吗。」
Before Wang Chong could even speak, Yang Zicang raised his hand and said, “I entered here yesterday. Could I stay with you for two days?”
「不行，除非妳拿壹枚三角形以上的失念Moexl来就可以住壹个月。不知道失念Moexl是什么就问妳旁边那位。」
“No, unless you bring a Lost Memory Moxel of a triangular grade or above—then you can stay for a month. If you don’t know what a Lost Memory Moxel is, ask the guy next to you.”
这守门的大汉正打算埋头继续睡，忽地被杨子藏接下来的动作响声所吸引。
The burly gatekeeper was about to bury his head and go back to sleep when he was suddenly drawn in by the sound of Yang Zicang’s next move.
只见栅栏外的年轻人蹲下将他的皮箱打开，露出满满壹箱的衣物，还有塞在缝隙里的几包零食和笔记本。
The young man outside the fence crouched down and opened his suitcase, revealing it was packed full of clothes, with a few bags of snacks and a notebook stuffed into the gaps.
「我只住两三天而已，这里面的衣服妳们可以选壹套。」
“I’m only staying for two or three days. You can pick out one outfit from the clothes in here.”
「挖槽！」
“Holy shit!”
不等杨子藏细说，这人就满眼冒绿光地从小栅栏后跑出来，蹲下拿大手翻了翻皮箱内的衣物。
Before Yang Zicang could even explain, the man’s eyes gleamed with a green light as he darted out from behind the small fence. He crouched down and flipped through the clothes inside the suitcase with his large hands.
宽敞大门另壹边的憨厚守卫也被吸引，扣著脑袋站了出来。
The honest-looking guard on the other side of the wide gate was also drawn in, stepping out while scratching his head.
「妳说的是真的？」他壹眼就相中了皮箱中的壹件棕黄色皮外套。
“Are you serious?” He instantly took a liking to a brownish-yellow leather jacket inside the suitcase.
「还是翻毛领的，我的娘勒！」
“And it even has a suede collar, my god!”
这家伙壹眼就看中了最好的那件。
This guy had set his sights on the finest piece with just one glance.
「爬开，死牛娃，这是我先看中的。」
“Get lost, you dead cowherd! I saw it first!”
牛娃眼睛壹瞪，将衣服就穿到了身上，虽然裹在身上小了壹号，不过倒也贴合他饿瘦不少的肌肉线条。
The cowherd glared, pulling the clothes onto himself. Though it was a size too small wrapped around him, it still clung to the outlines of his shrunken, starved muscles.
「闹什么闹。」
“What’s all this fuss about?”
门里面走出来个气势比两人沈稳些的人。
A man walked out from inside, his presence more steady and calm than the two.
「贾队长。」王翀两人客气的招呼了那人壹声。
“Captain Jia,” greeted a middle-aged man and Wang Chong politely.
贾队长瞥了眼两人手上的衣裳，目光落在皮箱上。
Captain Jia glanced at the clothes in their hands, then his gaze fell on the suitcase.
「这些衣服是？」
“These clothes… where are they from?”
杨子藏露出个微笑：「壹件换壹天的住处，没问题吧。」
Yang Zicang smiled slightly. “One piece for one night’s stay. That works, right?”
「啊？妳说真的？」
“Huh? You serious?”
「当然。」
“Of course.”
贾队长赶紧给身前两人壹人壹脚，将它们轰开，又将牛娃已穿上的棕皮衣给拽住领子往外拔。
Captain Jia quickly kicked each of the two in front of him, shoving them away, then gripped the collar of the brown leather jacket that the cowherd had already put on and yanked it off his back.
「老大，这是我选的。」
“Boss, I picked this one.”
「妳配穿吗，快给我脱掉，这件给棚主。」
“Do you even deserve to wear it? Take it off now. This one’s for the council head.”
守门的牛娃不情愿地脱下了皮衣。
The cowherd at the door unwillingly shed the leather jacket.
「妳搞什么的啊，这么多衣服。」
“What are you playing at, with so many clothes?”
「搞批发。」
“Going wholesale.”
「说好了哦。壹件壹天，箱子给妳算两天，零食，嗯，也算壹天吧，付过不退。」
“Deal is a deal. One piece for one day. The suitcase gets you two days. The snacks—uh, count for one day too. Payment made, no refunds.”
不容杨子藏分说，贾队长将翻乱的衣服壹股脑儿地塞进箱子里拎起，另壹手擡起栅栏上的横杆：「进来吧，妳就…王翀，还有那个谁，妳们的房间塞张床没问题吧。」
Without allowing Yang Zicang to finish speaking, Captain Jia stuffed the jumbled clothes into the box all at once and lifted it, while raising the crossbar of the fence with the other hand: “Come on in then… Wang Chong, and that other one, you should be able to squeeze an extra bed into your room, no problem.”
王翀配合的点点头。
Wang Chong nodded knowingly.
「那就行了，对了，妳叫什么？」
“Alright then, by the way, what’s your name?”
贾队长边问从身前经过的杨子藏，边下意识抹了下胸口衬衫的小包，意识到里面已经没有那东西后，拿手做出擦了擦汗的动作。
As he asked, Captain Jia took a glance at the passing Yang Zicang while subconsciously wiping his hand over the small pocket on his shirt, realizing it was empty of the item, and made a motion like wiping sweat from his brow.
冷风拂过几人面颊，杨子藏道：「我叫甲子间。」
A cold breeze brushed past the faces of the group, and Yang Zicang replied, “My name is Jiazi Term.”
「代号？行，那就这么著吧。咱们投资个？以后有问题可以联络我。」
“A code name? Fine, we’ll go with that. Want me to Invest us? You can look me up if there’s trouble down the line.”
「那到不必了。」
“No need for that.”
热脸贴了冷屁股的贾队长将脸垮了垮。
Snubbed after his goodwill, Captain Jia’s face fell with a grumpy look.
……
木条和木板拼出的房间，没多久就被牛娃领著人来添了张大床，将房间壹半都给占据。三张床拼在壹起几乎成了大通铺，床上还散落著些淡红色的魔晶石驱寒和壹捆干草。
The room cobbled together from planks of wood soon had a large bed added, delivered by Niu Wa and the others, crowding up half the space. Three beds converged into almost a sprawling barracks, with pale red magic crystals scattered on them to keep off the chill and piles of hay.
这算是壹分没花就坑了不少衣服的优待。
It was quite the bargain, essentially extracting a stash of clothes without spending a dime.
「妳们就盖这个？」
“You’re supposed to sleep under just this?”
「还，还好了，这种草也挺保暖的。」
“Oi- it’s, it’s alright, this kind of grass keeps you pretty warm too.”
摇摇头，杨子藏来到木墙边，将塞进墙缝的草扯下把，透过木板缝隙瞅了眼外面。
Shaking his head, Yang Zicang walked over to the wooden wall, pulled out some grass stuffed into the cracks between the planks, and peeked through the gap at the outside.
棚区附近拴著两头类似牛壹般的生物，而远方的地面上能看到更多的人出现在溪流旁。
Near Peng Zone, two beast-like creatures resembling oxen were tied up, while in the distance, more figures could be seen by the stream.
三双眼睛出现在木板缝隙后面。
Three pairs of eyes appeared behind the gaps between the planks.
「明天帮我找份打水井的忘川泉吧。」
“Tomorrow, help me find a Forgotten Spring for digging a well.”
「野？杨哥，想做什么？」
“Wild? Yang-ge, what are you planning to do?”
杨子藏笑了笑：「其实水井的失念引擎之所以难做，很大部分原因是水源问题对吧。」
Yang Zicang chuckled, “Actually, the reason why a well’s Shin Engine is so hard to make is largely because of the water source problem, right?”
「还好，跟泥土、矿岩也有很大关系，看上去相差不差的泥土和岩石，实际上蕴含了不同的矿物元素。大家的地理都不怎么样，看不出多少差别，没有蓝图只能不断实验配方。」
“Sort of. It has a lot to do with the soil and mineral rock too—soil and rock that look similar often contain different mineral elements. Most people don’t know geography well enough to tell the difference. Without blueprints, it’s just constant trial and error with formulas.”
地理课都上过，但有几个人知道山地和盐堿地的地下壹米是什么土，三米十米又是什么，它们有什么用，地下泉水来自哪里，这就难住了大部分人。
Everyone’s had geography class, but how many people know what kind of soil lies one meter underground in the mountains or saline-alkali land, three meters or ten meters deep, what its uses are, and where the underground spring comes from? That’s where most people are stumped.
而此刻，杨子藏的感应画面中——
At that moment, in Yang Zicang’s sensory vision—
｛所以，子藏先生。这应该就是为什么只有大的作棚聚集地，才能精确产出水井失念引擎的原因。｝
{So, Mr. Zicang. This must be why only large Workpen Settlements can precisely manufacture the Shin Engine for wells.}
听到心灵链接对面传来的声音，杨子藏眼睛里露出温和的目光。
Hearing the voice from the other end of the Syn-Link, a warm light shone in Yang Zicang’s eyes.
草垛中。
In a haystack.
裹著草睡的王翀期待的望著杨子藏：「如果杨哥妳做出水井的失念引擎，就拿我们这个棚区来说，会比现在多壹倍的人。」
Wang Chong, wrapped in hay and sleeping, looked at Yang Zicang with anticipation: “Brother Yang, if you can make the Shin Engine for a water well, just in our Peng Zone, there’d be twice as many people as now.”
「但不是那么好做的。」枯草里另壹个声音传来。
“But it’s not that easy to make,” another voice came from within the dried grass.
而此刻杨子藏感应画面中，壹直同步听著来自王翀和徐秀川介绍的面相温和男士，在另壹端道：
At that moment, in Yang Zicang’s sensory vision, a gentle-faced man—who had been silently listening to the introductions by Wang Chong and Shiu Siuchuan—spoke from the other end:
｛子藏先生，谢谢妳对我们的信任。关于妳所说的矿物材料问题，我们这边的专家学者们会给妳提供全力协助。｝
{Mr. ZiCang, thank you for your trust. Regarding the mineral materials you mentioned, our experts and scholars here will provide you with our full support.}
[那谢谢了，关于失念引擎的配方，咱们就从水井开始吧，李弥组长。]
[Thanks for that. As for the Shin Engine formula, let’s start with the water well, Group Leader Li Mi.]
名为李弥的总部新联络人点点头：
Li Mi, the new contact at headquarters, nodded:
｛我会立即安排。好好休息，晚安。｝
{I’ll arrange it immediately. Get some good rest. Good night.}
心灵链接断掉。
The Syn-Link disconnected.
……
清早，杨子藏隐隐听到外面传来喧哗，空气中弥漫著股令人眩晕的味道。
Early in the morning, Yang Zicang vaguely heard a commotion outside, and the air was thick with a dizzying stench.
[我抵消了3.07R.]
[I counteracted 3.07R.]
「……」
「……」
这臭味对这里本就时序不多的人来简直是个灾难。
To the people here, who already had limited Chronos, this foul smell was a disaster.
「咋了？」
“What’s going on?”
睡眼朦胧的三人从床上撑起身子，不知不觉三个畏冷的人都挤到壹块儿。
The three of them, still drowsy, propped themselves up in bed, unconsciously huddling together against the cold.
「又炸御寒壁炉了？」外面隐约传来有人呵斥的声音。
“Did the Coldward Hearth explode again?” The faint sound of someone yelling drifted in from outside.
「说是涂料配方出错了。」
“They say the coating formula was wrong.”
推开门，外面闹哄哄的。人们从木房子里走出，头发蓬乱，满面尘垢。他们打著哈欠，有的用水杯刷著牙，杯里的水有些浑浊，却也别无选择。
Pushing open the door, the outside was in a hubbub. People emerged from the wooden houses, their hair disheveled and faces covered in grime. They yawned, some brushing their teeth with cups of water—the liquid inside was murky, but there was no other choice.
房屋之间有片堆放凌乱木材的空地。此刻壹人正在远处的空地上忙活，壹群人围著他指指点点。
Between the houses lay an open space stacked with messy piles of timber. At the far end, a man was busy working, surrounded by a group of people pointing and gesturing.
「又是造啥？我快减寿壹个月了，妳得赔我。」
“What in the hell are you making now? I feel like I’ve lost a month of my life—you gotta pay me back!”
「赔妳娘。」
“Pay back, my ass.”
听了会杨子藏总算搞清楚这些人在干嘛了，围在那人身边保护他的，正是几小时前寻找铸造铁锅幻影忘川泉水的那几人。
After listening for a while, Yang Zicang finally figured out what these people were up to. The ones forming a protective circle around that man were precisely those who, hours ago, had been searching for the vanished spring water of the phantasm to forge an iron pot.
此刻正中席地而坐那人身上穿著杨子藏带来的壹件衣裳。
In the center, the man seated cross-legged on the ground was wearing one of the clothes Yang Zicang had brought.
「造个御寒壁炉而已，干嘛非要搞这毒水。」
“A Coldward Hearth, that’s all. Why d’you have to mess with this poisonous water?”
地上那人擡头道：
The man on the ground looked up and said,
「只是随便造个御寒壁炉供暖，当然是不需要这么细致。但要成为枢纽镇的供货商，把咱这儿搞成中型聚集地，没有拿得出手的失念引擎怎么搞？」
“If we just want to hastily build a Coldward Hearth for heating, of course, no such fine detail is needed. But to become a supplier for Hubville and turn this place into a medium-sized settlement, how can we pull that off without something like the Shin Engine that impresses?”
「壹个铁桶的事儿，何必那么麻烦。」
“What’s the fuss about one drum of a bucket? Why make it so complicated?”
「铁桶谁不会造，还要妳的引擎？」
“Any fool can make a bucket—what would they need your engine for?”
「反正我就觉得是个炉子就行。那些枢纽镇的人，难不成还过得比皇宫贵族好塞？」
“Anyway, I think any old furnace will do. Could those folks from Hubville possibly live better than the royal palace nobles, huh?”
「妳懂个锤子。」
“You don’t know jack.”
瞧见穿著新衣服，特别是周身干干净净的杨子藏三人过来，地上正对著地炉调配刺鼻药水的男人擡头瞥了杨子藏壹眼，又埋头研究起来。
Seeing Yang Zicang and the other two approaching in new clothes—especially Yang Zicang himself, who was impeccably clean—the man sitting on the ground, tinkering with a pungent potion by the ground stove, glanced up at Yang Zicang for a moment before burying his head back in his work.
对面蹲著的壹个年轻人看见杨子藏，起身笑道：
A young man squatting across from him noticed Yang Zicang, stood up, and smiled:
「妳好，甲子间？我是这里的棚主，宁洋。谢谢妳带来的衣服。」
“Hello, Brother Jiazi? I’m Ning Yang, the Penglord here. Thank you for bringing the clothes.”
他伸出手，杨子藏握了下。
He extended a hand, and Yang Zicang shook it.
「这位是张师傅，以前就是个做御寒壁炉的好手，只是吧，每个部分都有不同的人分工，所以对于遴选工艺…」
“This here is Master Zhang, a real pro at making Coldward Hearths back in the day. But you see, each piece had different folks handling it, so when it comes to the selection process…”
「是磷化。」地上坐著的人头也不擡的道。
“It’s phosphating,” the man on the ground said without looking up.
「哦对，磷化处理的配方不怎么熟，不过已经快慢慢研究出来了。」
“Oh right, the phosphating formula isn’t something I’m too familiar with, but I’m slowly figuring it out.”
「原来是这样。」杨子藏胸前Moexl闪动出去。
“I see.” The Moxel on Yang Zicang’s chest shimmered outward.
正介绍著的宁洋呆滞了壹瞬。
Ning Yang, who was in the middle of introducing, froze for an instant.
靠近的他很容易看清楚那是几边形。
Standing close by, it was easy for him to make out that shape—a polygon.
「甲子兄不是才来的吧。」刚好挡在杨子藏身前的宁洋小声道。
“Brother Jiazi hasn’t just arrived, has he?” Ning Yang, now blocking Yang Zicang’s path, said in a low voice.
「为什么这么说。」
“What makes you say that?”
杨子藏随著宁洋的目光虚眼看去。人群外壹脸震惊的那人，，正是被自己过肩摔丢出十几米远的家伙。此刻的他看见自己，像是撞鬼壹般，赶紧推开人堆往外跑。
Following Ning Yang’s gaze, Yang Zicang squinted into the distance. The man standing among the crowd, utterly shocked, was none other than the one he had flung more than ten meters away with a shoulder throw. Now, seeing him again, the man looked as if he had seen a ghost, pushing through the crowd and fleeing in a panic.
宁洋道：
Ning Yang said,
「事情我差不多都知道了，咱们这儿时序无法互相抢走，只能抵消。所以大家以和为贵，接下来两个月甲子兄妳都可以住在这里。对了，妳还没吃饭吧，咱们壹起聚聚，算认识认识。」
“I’ve pretty much got the gist of things. Around here, Chronos symbols can’t be stolen from each other—they can only be offset. So let’s keep the peace. Brother Jiazi, you can stay here for the next two months. Oh, by the way, you haven’t eaten yet, have you? Let’s grab a meal together as a way to get to know each other.”
知道眼前之人是四边形Moexl后，本就因杨子藏送衣服行为有些好感的宁洋棚主，自然是想拉拢眼前这人。
Knowing that the man before him was the Moxel, Ning Yang Penglord, who had already developed a favorable impression from Yang Zicang’s earlier gesture of giving him clothes, naturally wanted to win him over.
自己棚区若有这样壹位能增幅四倍时序的高手坐镇，以后应对走失怪物或找茬的人，都会更有底气。
If his own Peng Zone could have such a master—one capable of quadrupling the Chronos presence—he would face future lost monsters or troublemakers with far more confidence from now on.