Night in the desert was not quiet —
沙漠的夜并不安静——
it breathed.
它在呼吸.
Wind whispered through the dunes,
风穿过沙丘低语,
carrying with it the sound of shifting sand,
带来沙粒滑动的沙沙声,
and something else —
还有别的东西——
voices.
声音.
---
Lin Jin followed them.
林烬循着声音前行.
He hadn't planned to.
他原本不打算.
But the fire behind him had died,
可他身后的火已经熄灭,
and the night ahead was moving.
而前方的夜,却在"动".
---
He crested a dune and saw lights —
他翻过沙脊,看见了光——
not torches, not fire.
不是火把,不是篝火.
They flickered cold,
那光冰冷闪烁,
like glass shards catching starlight.
像星光折在玻璃碎片上.
Dozens of them.
几十个.
All gathered in a hollow beneath the dunes.
全聚在沙丘之间的洼地.
---
The Grey Dealers.
灰商.
Men and women in ash-colored cloaks,
男与女皆披灰斗篷,
faces hidden, hands busy.
面容被遮,双手不停.
They weren't selling goods —
他们不卖物品——
they were trading information.
他们在交易信息.
---
One voice rose above the rest — steady, practiced,
其中一个声音最稳,最熟练,
the tone of someone who had done this too many times before.
语气像做过这事无数次的人.
> "Coordinates for water vein, verified by three hunters — two gold shards."
"三名猎人确认的水脉坐标——两枚金片."
> "Information on beast migration — half a shard."
"野兽迁徙路线——半片核心."
> "Player name lists? Triple price."
"玩家名单?三倍价."
---
Lin Jin stood on the ridge, listening.
林烬站在沙脊上,默默听着.
The air shimmered faintly from the heat of so many cores.
空气在无数核心的热能下微微颤动.
Gold, silver, crimson — all pulsing in rhythm like a heartbeat of greed.
金色,银色,红色的光脉动着,仿佛贪婪的心跳.
He didn't move.
他没动.
He knew what this was.
他明白这是什么.
Where people gathered, trade followed.
人聚之处,必有交易.
Even here.
哪怕在这种世界.
---
Someone noticed him.
有人注意到他.
A woman turned,
一个女人转身,
hood falling just enough for the starlight to touch her cheek.
兜帽微微滑落,星光照亮她的侧脸.
> "You there," she said softly,
"那边的你,"她轻声说,
> "you look lost."
"你看起来——迷路了."
Her accent wasn't local —
她的语调不属于任何城邦——
if such a thing existed anymore.
当然,这世界已经没有"地方口音".
---
Lin Jin didn't answer.
林烬没有回答.
He descended the ridge,
他走下沙脊,
sand whispering beneath his steps.
脚下的沙轻声低语.
The circle of traders turned slightly,
那一圈商人微微侧身,
not hostile,
不是敌意,
but cautious —
而是警觉——
the way predators make room for another.
像捕食者在给新猎手让位.
---
The woman smiled.
那女人微笑.
> "You're a hunter," she said.
"你是猎人."她说.
> "You smell of heat and blood."
"你身上有热与血的味道."
He met her gaze.
他直视她的眼.
> "There's no blood here."
"这里没有血."
> "No," she said. "But there's always pain."
"没错,"她说,"但痛,总是在的."
---
She reached into her cloak and produced a small, glowing shard.
她从斗篷中取出一枚微光闪烁的碎片.
> "Information costs this much," she said.
"信息的价钱,就是这样."她说道.
> "But I don't trade for gold. I trade for memory."
"不过我不收金片,我收记忆."
---
Lin Jin's jaw tightened.
林烬下颚一紧.
He could feel the hum of the Scorched Core in his pack,
他能感到背包里的灼砂核心在轻轻震动,
still alive, still warm.
仍然活着,仍在发热.
> "You sell the world's past," he said.
"你贩卖世界的过去."他说.
> "No," she smiled faintly,
"不,"她淡淡地笑了笑,
> "I sell what people want to forget."
"我卖——人想忘掉的东西."
---
She gestured at the others.
她指了指周围的人.
> "Every trader here was a hunter once.
"这里的每一个人,曾都是猎人.
> Every killer becomes a merchant when the killing is done."
杀得够久的人,终有一天会变成商人."
Lin Jin looked around.
林烬环顾四周.
They weren't just trading for survival —
他们交易的,不只是为了生存——
they were building an economy.
而是在建立一种新的秩序.
One without laws.
一种没有法律的秩序.
Only deals.
只有交易.
---
He dropped the core into the sand between them.
他把核心丢进他们之间的沙地上.
It glowed softly.
它发出柔光.
> "Tell me," he said.
"告诉我,"他说.
> "How do I make it stop breathing?"
"我该怎样让它——停止呼吸?"
The woman's smile faded.
女人的笑意消失.
> "You can't," she said. "The world doesn't let you kill it."
"你做不到,"她说,"世界不会让你杀死它."
> "Everything here breathes. Even what's dead."
"这世界上的一切都会呼吸——哪怕是死的东西."
---
Lin Jin picked up the core again,
林烬重新拾起核心,
its heat pulsing against his palm like a heartbeat.
那热度如心跳般抵在掌心.
He turned to leave.
他转身离开.
The woman's voice followed him through the dunes.
女人的声音在沙丘间回荡.
> "If you ever need to sell your silence," she said,
"如果你哪天想卖掉你的沉默,"她说,
> "the Grey Dealers will pay the highest price."
"灰商——会出最高的价."
---
He didn't look back.
他没有回头.
The desert stretched before him again —
沙漠再次展开在他面前——
vast, empty, endless.
浩瀚,空旷,无尽.
And behind him,
而在他身后,
the lights of the Grey Dealers flickered,
灰商的灯光闪烁,
like ghosts counting coins beneath a dying sky.
像在垂死的天空下数钱的幽灵.