Ground Stars / 地上星 · Ch.13 第13章 时薪超过 100N 的奖励
第13章 时薪超过 100N 的奖励
Chapter 13: Rewards Exceeding 100N Per Hour
……
夜里，不知不觉，思虑很多的杨子藏熟睡过去。
At night, unknowingly, Yang Zicang, burdened with many thoughts, fell into a deep sleep.
这一天太累了，精神刺激得非常虚弱。
He had been far too exhausted that day, drained to the point of utter mental frailty.
他的呼吸匀称，对睡眠就像婴儿一样贪婪。
His breathing was steady; he clung to sleep with the greed of an infant.
胸前的圆环微微闪烁，在月亮升到中天的时候，在意识中，它忽地张开，就像一轮小巧明月。
The ring on his chest flickered faintly. When the moon reached its zenith, in his consciousness, it suddenly opened wide, like a slender, radiant moon.
梦中的杨子藏感觉自己在心中自言自语。
In his dreams, Yang Zicang felt as though he were speaking to himself, his thoughts murmuring within.
[每日总结，平均每小时收获时序 123.6N。]
[Daily summary: Average hourly yield of Chronos 123.6N.]
[做为伟大的四边形，在最初的十二小时，我的表现极近完美。]
[As a great Quad, my performance in the first twelve hours was near perfection.]
后面还有几道声音，但他已经将之忽略了，梦中的心念声比浮云还要模糊。
A few more voices echoed after that, but he ignored them; the murmurs in his dream were hazier than drifting clouds.
[因为今日每小时收益大于 100N，所以获得一枚残存邮徽。 我要使用吗？ 嗯，决策人格睡著了。]
[Because today’s hourly earnings exceeded 100N, I have received a residual stamp. Shall I use it? Hmm, the decision-making persona is asleep.]
[作为伟大的四边形，我好奇这枚只能存在三天的邮徽能定位什么样的意识训练场…]
[As a great Quad, I am curious to know what kind of consciousness training ground this stamp—which can only exist for three days—might lock onto…]
不知什么时候，杨子藏发现自己醒了——在梦中清醒了过来。
At some point, Yang Zicang realized he was awake—fully lucid within the dream.
疑惑的看了眼自己的双手。
He glanced at his hands in confusion.
他知道这不是现实，但如果这是梦，又太过真实。
He knew this wasn’t reality, yet if this were a dream, it was far too vivid.
此地是昏暗的古老街道，两边是岩石房屋。
The place was a dim ancient street, flanked by stone houses on both sides.
一道道拖著双臂，耷拉著脑袋的身影在雾气中若隐若现。
Figures with dragging arms and drooping heads loomed faintly in the mist.
「这是… 是丧尸？」
“Are these… zombies?”
｛人类的生命，三分之一时间浪费在睡梦之中。｝
{ One-third of human life is wasted in sleep. }
｛在这里，睡梦之中也能训练。｝
{ Here, you can train even in your sleep. }
｛这是对今日时薪超过 100N 的奖励，请享受。｝
{ This is a reward for today’s hourly wage exceeding 100N. Enjoy it. }
远处的丧尸们发现了多出来的杨子藏，它们慢吞吞转过身躯，破开迷雾而来。
The distant zombies spotted the extra presence of Yang Zicang. They slowly turned their bodies, breaking through the mist as they shuffled toward him.
「啊啊真的是丧尸！」
“Ahhh, they really are zombies!”
丧尸们用腐烂的嗓子嗷嗷叫著嘶哑的声音迈腿而来，阴森氛围笼罩整个街区。
The zombies let out hoarse, guttural howls with their decayed throats, trudging forward as a grim aura engulfed the entire street.
「滚开啊，这东西也能叫享受？」
“Get lost! How is this supposed to be enjoyment?”
他往后跑去，前方一个拱棚，里面好像放有杂物，希望能在那里找到武器。
He ran back, spotting ahead an arched shed that seemed to hold some clutter, hoping to find a weapon there.
见到它们缓慢的动作，杨子藏强忍著心中的不适安慰自己道：「好像不算很危险。」
Seeing their sluggish movements, Yang Zicang forced down his unease and comforted himself, “They don’t seem that dangerous.”
但下一秒，其中一具丧尸双腿弯曲，一蹦而起。
But the next second, one of the zombies bent its legs and leaped up.
它如蚂蚱般跳跃六七米远的距离唰地冲来。
Like a grasshopper, it bounded over six or seven meters, crashing toward him in an instant.
杨子藏目光中露出丝惊慌，他感觉自己的恐惧被放大了。
A flicker of panic flickered in Yang Zicang’s eyes; he felt his fear magnified.
此刻没有Moexl给自己的精神影响，他有点怀念下午的疯癫感觉，至少那个时候的自己对许多危险信号都会自然忽视掉。
At this moment, without Moxel’s mental influence over him, he found himself almost nostalgic for the manic delirium of the afternoon—at least then, he’d naturally ignored many danger signals.
「时序！」
“Chronos!”
他喊道，胸口没有任何反应。
He shouted, but his chest gave no response.
「调度！」
“Deploy!”
嘭！ 丧尸落在自己身上。
Thud! The corpse landed right on top of him.
Moexl的作用以及情绪影响都消失了。
Moxel’s effects and any emotional interference had completely vanished.
「啊！ 滚开啊！」
“Ah! Get away from me! “
[我的精神正在崩溃。]
[My mind is collapsing.]
恶心的双手掐住脖子，杨子藏感觉到疼痛、惊慌以及无助。
Nauseating hands gripped his throat—pain, terror, and utter helplessness flooded through Yang Zicang.
「这是噩梦，这是噩梦！ 这不是真的！」
“It’s a nightmare. It’s a nightmare! This isn’t real!”
杨子藏不断给自己打著气，他的手在地上乱摸，也不知到摸到了什么坚硬的东西，握住它就一拳挥动，砸在丧尸头上。
Yang Zicang kept pumping himself up, one hand groping frantically on the ground until it closed around something hard. He seized it and swung, smashing it against the zombie’s head.
手中握著的是只刚刚被摔断的骨头手臂。
What he clutched was a just-broken limb bone.
[我的勇气正在诞生。]
[My courage is being born.]
还好它们除了蹦跶的力气很大外，其它动作速度都比较慢。
Fortunately, other than their immense lunging strength, these things were slow in all other movements.
三具丧尸将自己压在身下后，其它的都叠在了最高处。
Three corpses pinned him down, while the others piled on top of the heap.
「好痛。」
“It hurts.”
杨子藏感觉自己的皮肤在被他们撕扯，血液在流淌，但手上挥舞的动作却越来越激烈。
Yang Zicang felt his skin being torn, blood streaming, yet the arm that brandished its weapon swung more and more fiercely.
「嘭嘭！」
Wham! Wham!
[很好，我已经能在情绪脆弱时诞生出反击的心理了。]
[Good.] [Now, even when my emotions are fragile, I can summon the will to fight back.]
一番打斗后，杨子藏带著浑身是伤的身子从丧尸堆中跑了出来。
After a fierce struggle, Yang Zicang dragged his battered body out of the zombie horde.
他瘸著跑向拱棚，那边果然有武器存放。
Limping, he made his way toward the shed, which indeed held a cache of weapons.
但身后两个丧尸又再次蹦来。
But two more zombies leaped toward him from behind.
「啊啊！」
“Aah!”
杨子藏发狠地跟它扭打在一起，骑在它身上挥动皮开肉绽的拳头。
Yang Zicang fought back fiercely, wrestling with one as he straddled it and swung his bruised, bloodied fists.
此刻到底谁更像魔鬼，已经说不清楚了。
At this moment, it was hard to tell who was more like a demon.
四个小时后。
Four hours later.
精疲力竭的杨子藏拖拉著身躯，手中握著砍柴的斧头，坐到了个城镇边缘的木仓库门口。
Exhausted, Yang Zicang dragged his body over to the entrance of a wooden warehouse on the edge of a town, holding a woodcutter’s axe in his hand.
身上的伤口在快速愈合，毕竟这里不是真实的世界。
The wounds on his body were healing quickly—after all, this wasn’t the real world.
[面对诡异的生物，我的精神已经开始逐步接受它们的存在，并初步克服了对它们的恐惧。]
[Faced with these grotesque creatures, my mind has gradually begun to accept their existence and has initially overcome the fear of them.]
杨子藏心中自言自语著。
Yang Zicang muttered to himself.
他感觉自己的确是能稍微有些理智的，来面对这些突然诞生的恶心生物了——不知道它们到底算不算生物。
He felt that he could indeed maintain a sliver of rationality in confronting these suddenly spawned, repulsive beings—though he wasn’t sure if they even qualified as living creatures.
以后若在现实世界突然遇见它们，应该不会立刻被吓得精神崩溃了。
If he ever encountered them in the real world, he thought, he probably wouldn’t be instantly driven to mental collapse by sheer terror.
倒在街道上的无数丧尸身上，冒出微弱的光华，它们在杨子藏身前汇聚，形成道微弱的三道光环。
The countless zombies lying in the streets emitted a faint glow. It converged before Yang Zicang, forming three weak, shimmering halos.
杨子藏拿手触碰后，心中出现了关于这东西的资讯。
As Yang Zicang touched it, information about the object emerged in his mind.
初级尸跳，可使用次数3/3。
Basic Corpse Leap, uses remaining 3/3.
每次耗费 1Y 时序本金。
Each use costs 1 Y Chronos principal.
「真的是噩梦…」
“This is a nightmare indeed…”
……
午夜，某处地铁内，一道声音怒道：「马超，还没有成功吗？」
At midnight, inside a certain subway station, a voice snapped, “Matt Chao, still no success?”
「没有，我找不到他的气息。」
“No, I can’t pick up his aura.”
「奇了怪了，接触过张飞居然还能隐匿自己，那杨子藏的Moexl到底有什么能力，不就是个风场吗。」
“Strange. After coming into contact with Zhang Fei, he can still conceal himself. What exactly is Yang Zicang’s Moxel capable of? Isn’t it just a wind field?”
「是不是他解锁了四边形的高格位让你的能力无法应验？」
“Perhaps he unlocked a higher position of ‘Quad,‘ rendering your ability ineffective?”
依靠在赤黄地铁内椅子上的银色制服男子目光深邃道：「无妨」。 既然靠气息锁定不了，就用『种子』去标记好了。**」
The silver-uniformed man leaning against a seat in the ocher-yellow subway car said with a penetrating gaze, “No matter.” Since we can’t lock onto him via aura, let’s use ‘seeds’ to track him instead.”
……
清晨，杨子藏舒服地翻身，呈大字型躺在床上。
In the early morning, Yang Zicang turned over comfortably, sprawling out in a big’X’ shape on the bed.
窗帘缝隙中一道暖阳投射而下。
A beam of warm sunlight shone through the gap in the curtains.
「啊呜~」
“Ahhh~”
年轻人用手臂挡了挡恍在眼睛上的光线后，迷糊地苏醒了过来。
The young man, shielding his eyes from the light with his arm, groggily came to.
「妈，几点…」
“Mom, what time…”
摸到粗糙床单的他僵住了，几秒后轻轻叹了口气。
He froze as he felt the rough bedsheets, then after a few seconds, let out a soft sigh.
从床上坐起来后，青年揉揉眼看向床边的木箱子。
Sitting up in bed, he rubbed his eyes and looked at the wooden crate by the bedside.
楚强让自己将穿戴的所有衣物放进那里面，如有意外可以拎箱跑路，自己照做了。
Chu Chiang had told him to put all his clothes and belongings in there, so that if something happened, he could grab the case and bolt—which he did.
感受了下胸前光环内的四边形，代表「尸跳」的技能果然存在于其中。
He felt the Quad within the halo on his chest, and sure enough, the skill representing “Corpse Leap” existed within it.
「这居然是真的，我在梦中获得了技能。」
“This is actually real. I gained a skill in my dream.”
……
与三人吃过早饭后，杨子藏与梁喜进行了一次短暂的心灵链接的通讯。
After finishing breakfast with the other two, Yang Zicang had a brief Syn-Link communication with Liang Xi.
那半大少年已经被只凶猛老鼠追到了黑暗狭窄的通道内迷路。
That half-grown youth had already been chased into a dark, narrow passage by a fierce rat and was now lost.
身旁的少女手上拿著份档。
The girl beside him held a document in her hand.
杨子藏拿起水杯咕咚咕咚喝了几口后，将头凑了过去。
Yang Zicang picked up the water glass, gulped down a few mouthfuls, and then leaned his head over.
鼻息间嗅到了沐小雨身上淡淡的幽香味，杨子藏目光下意识从档上挪开，看了眼她白净的水嫩脸庞。
In the breath between his nose, he caught the faint, subtle fragrance of Mu Xiaoyu. Yang Zicang instinctively averted his gaze from the document for a moment, glancing at her fair and delicate face.
「这是啥？」 他赶紧收回目光道。
“What’s this?” He quickly withdrew his gaze and said.
「是每种建筑或物品可能孕育出的Moexl能力，我们想看下能不能选选Moexl。」
“It shows the possible Moxel abilities that each building or item might give birth to. We wanted to check if we could pick one.”
档上面有很多的建筑以及各种人造物品，它们旁边都有著简略的文字描述。
The document was filled with many buildings and various man-made objects, each accompanied by brief textual descriptions.
有些Moexl极其鸡肋，比如砸玻璃时没有声音，或者可以把水变成隔夜的美式咖啡。
Some Moxel abilities were extremely useless—like breaking glass silently or turning water into overnight American coffee.
「唉呀，不知道我能得到出个什么Moexl。」
“Alas, I wonder what kind of Moxel I’ll end up getting.”
沐小雨说完后，转过头来俏皮的吐了吐粉嫩的小舌头。
After saying this, Mu Xiaoyu turned her head and playfully stuck out her small, pink tongue.
三人有些灰心，他们羡慕的看向杨子藏。
The three were somewhat disheartened. They looked at Yang Zicang with envy.
经过跟这边的人一晚上的聊天，他们已经明白了身旁这个年轻人的正方形Moexl意味著什么。
After chatting with the locals all night, they came to understand what the young man beside them implied by his square Moxel.
「子藏哥，你能带我去容纳Moexl吗？ 我问过了，如果是找他们的话，要在月末前给他们上交不少的时序才行。 这还是因为我们是你带来的人，否则他们只对加入的成员负责。」
“ZiCang, can you take me to the Accommodation Moxel? I asked around. If we want to reach them, we’d need to hand over a hefty amount of Chronos before the end of the month. And that’s only because we were brought here by you. Otherwise, they only take responsibility for joining members.”
「说实话，我们三人能在这里住，能免费的吃喝已经是沾杨子藏的光了。 Moexl的事情，我们先了解好再说好了。」张扬道。
“To be honest, the three of us staying here and getting free food and lodging is already thanks to Yang Zicang. Let’s learn the ropes about the Moxel first before we talk about it further,” said Chang Yang.
张扬隐晦的避开了可能展开的「加入」话题。
Chang Yang tactfully steered clear of the topic of “joining” that might unfold.
他不想给杨子藏压力。
He didn’t want to put any pressure on Yang Zicang.
门外传来由远至近的脚步声。
Footsteps could be heard from outside, coming closer.
「大家都在啊。」
“Everyone’s here.”
姚启明来到杨子藏身边，他身后跟著赵雪美。
Yao Chiming walked over to Yang Zicang’s side, followed by Zhao Xuemei.
「子藏，还习惯吗？」
“ZiCang, getting used to it?”
杨子藏笑道：「能在这种地方有个安心睡觉之所，真是堪比天堂。」
Yang Zicang laughed and said, “Being able to find a quiet place to sleep peacefully in a place like this is akin to heaven.”
「哈哈哈。」 大手拍拍杨子藏肩膀：「从今天开始，接下来的半个月，这个城市会有些不一样。」
“Hahaha.” A big hand patted Yang Zicang’s shoulder: “Starting today, for the next half month, this city is going to be a little different.”
「有什么不一样？」
“What’s going to be different?”
旁边的赵雪美道：
Zhao Xuemei, standing nearby, said:
「每个月的十五日夜后，城市中就会逐渐多出许多新的区域与建筑。 到次日正午，那些区域内的幻影中，会有人来到这个世界。 一般他们都是诞生于正在孕育恶魇附近。」
“After the fifteenth night of each month, the city gradually becomes filled with many new areas and buildings. By noon the next day, among the phantoms in those zones, people will emerge into this world. Generally, they are born near where nightmares are incubating.”
这就是昨天自己等人的遭遇，原来只在每个月中发生。
So this was what we encountered yesterday—it actually only happens mid-month.
她补充道：「在这后半个月内，在某些地方会有许多隐藏的区域诞生，也就是交错之地。 这就是不一样的地方。 这种交错之地里面充满了各种怪物与奇异的危险，不是普通概念上的稳定时空，直到月末才会逐渐坍缩为地球或异世的地形。」
She added, “In the latter half of the month, hidden zones, known as interwoven spaces, appear in certain places. That’s what makes it different. These interwoven realms are filled with all sorts of monsters and bizarre dangers—not stable spacetime in the usual sense—until they gradually collapse back into Earth or foreign terrain by the month’s end.”
「薛定谔的盒子？」 杨子藏首先想到了某个虐猫达人。
“Schrödinger’s box?” Yang Zicang was the first to reference that infamous cat-killer concept.
「不一样。 等你确定加入我们后，我们可以带你去低级的交错之地看看，到时候你就明白了。」
“It’s not the same. Once you decide to join us, we can take you to a low-level interwoven space. Then you’ll understand.”
屋外传来一阵汽车轰鸣与喧哗。
The roar of a car engine and shouts drifted in from outside.
「我是右街的余霏。 让你们的姚队长出来说话。」
“I’m Yu Fei from Right Street. Tell your Captain Yao to come out and talk.”
外面传来阵争吵声。
Arguments were rising outdoors.
姚启明已经跟对方理论起来。
Yao Chiming was already reasoning with them.
「发生了什么事？」 杨子藏出门，问向门外的人。
“What’s going on?” Yang Zicang stepped outside, asking the person by the door.
「他们想索要你的铠甲。」
“They want your armor.”
见到杨子藏出现，驻地前的越野车副驾那人直接手撑住车门跳了出来。
Seeing Yang Zicang appear, the man in the passenger seat of the off-road vehicle in front of the base grabbed the door and jumped out.
「你就是新诞生的四边形Moexl拥有者？ 我听说了，你昨天的表现很不错。」
“So you’re the new owner of QuadMoxel? I’ve heard about you. You did pretty well yesterday.”
「多谢夸奖。」
“Thanks for the compliment.”
「但可惜，只是个风场能力的四边形而已，还是个跟力场能力重叠的风盾。」
“Too bad, though. It’s just a Quad with wind field abilities—a wind shield that overlaps with force field abilities.”
这人话风一变，让杨子藏鼻都快气歪了。
The tone of this man shifted abruptly, and Yang Zicang was fuming, nose nearly twisted from anger.
「你闯了祸，烂摊子丢给我们，你知道昨晚应对雄英组的攻击，我们耗费掉了多少时序吗！」
“You stirred up trouble and left the mess for us to clean up. Do you have any idea how much Chronos we burned through dealing with the attack from the Heroic Alliance last night?”
「对，雄英组要我们归还 A 级模器，你们说怎么办！」 车上人吼道。
“That’s right! The Heroic Alliance is demanding we return the A-Class Module. What do you suggest we do about it?” the man in the car roared.
姚启明冷笑道：「余菲，你觉得可能吗！ 就算我真的交出去，恐怕总部马上就会来兴师问罪了。 你也说了，那可是 A 级模器。」
Yao Chiming sneered coldly: “Yu Fei, what do you think? Even if I did hand it over, it wouldn’t take long for headquarters to come after us. You just said it yourself—it’s an A-Class Module, after all.”