Chapter 511: Old Merchant Sends Greetings

Translator:

Abyssruler

Editor:

Lucas

第二十八章老賈又送禮了!

“具體的,我這個戰神學院校長的級別還不是很清楚,應該是還不錯,倒是你小子,搞出這麼多事情,你想清楚下一步該怎麼辦了嗎?”

迪達泰坦星的結局無論如何,王錚在軍方履歷上,一個抗命不尊的大帽子是逃不掉的,放大了說,把他押送軍事法庭接受審判都是可以的事情,不過以蒙熬爲首的革新派顯然沒有再讓步,將在外君命有所不受,何況迪達星的局勢有那麼敏感,瞬息萬變,無論如何,王錚成功的完成了任務,爲太陽系聯邦爭光了,其實從報告上,誰不知道王錚起了很重要的作用.

至於王錚和迪達人達成的協議,只是有限的幾個人知道,一旦曝光,給王錚帶來的危險大於保護.

“Tangibly, the status of this Ares College Princ.i.p.al is still unclear, although it should be quite good. But you punk, after wreaking so much havoc, have you thought about your next step?”

Regardless of how the Dida t.i.tan situation had played out, w.a.n.g Zheng was inevitably looking at having to play a huge role in the military. Broadly, carting him off to military justice for a hearing was possible, but the reformist faction led by Meng Ao gave no ground, and they could act even in the absence of their leader. Furthermore, the Dida Star situation was so volatile, and could change drastically in the blink of an eye. No matter how you looked at it, w.a.n.g Zheng had successfully accomplished his mission and brought glory to the Solar System. From the report, it was apparent that w.a.n.g Zheng had done good work.

As for the agreement that w.a.n.g Zheng had with the Didarians, only a few people knew it. Once exposed, it would bring an uncontainable risk to w.a.n.g Zheng.

蒙敖他們,也只能做到平衡,王錚的命運,還要看自己下一步怎麼走.

說到下一步,除了加入X精英學院學習,王錚還真沒有認真的考慮過其他的事情.

“知道你和李爾,阿克琉蒂斯他們最大的區別是什麼嗎?”

古特不等王錚回答,便自己說道:”他們擁有強大背景,可以掌控住媒體的喉舌,利用這些能量,他們可以在無限放大自己優點的同時,又無限誇大對手的缺點,這就像是核武器,想和他們成爲對手,在沒有同樣的能力前,只要你身上有任何缺點,面對他們的攻擊,你就會沒有任何的還手之力.”

王錚眨着眼,笑了一笑,”校長的意思是…讓我買家報紙?”

Meng Ao and the rest could only act to restore balance. w.a.n.g Zheng’s fate would be left in his own hands.

Speaking of the next step, besides entering the Elite X College to study, w.a.n.g Zheng had not seriously considered other matters yet.

“Do you know what the biggest difference between you and Lear, Achilles and the rest is?”

Gu Te did not wait for w.a.n.g Zheng’s reply. “They have prestigious backgrounds. They can control the tongue of the media, and using that ability, they can magnify their own good points, as well as the opponents’ shortcomings. This is like a nuclear weapon, in that you must needs have similar powers. Otherwise, the presence of the slightest imperfection will render you incapable of retaliation.

w.a.n.g Zheng blinked, then laughed. “The Princ.i.p.al means… I should buy a newspaper?”

啪!古特聽到了自己的下巴抽筋的聲音,氣得不行,”你這小子倒是挺幽默的,不錯,心態很好,不過韜光養晦是必要的,知道什麼樣的對手最可怕了嗎?看不見的對手纔是最可怕的,你現在要做的,是低調低調再低調,低調到被人忽略了,看不見了,你就離成功更近了.”

王錚點了點頭,心想自己哪裡不夠低調了,都是麻煩找他好不好,其實他一點都不怕麻煩,只不過也知道古特是好意.

古特端起茶杯喝了一大口,他現在是看穿了,王錚這小子,就不該和他拐着彎的說話,他該做什麼,直接交待就行了,省勁.

Crack! Gu Te heard the sound of his own jaw cramping, as his fuse blew. “You sure have a sense of humor! Not bad, that att.i.tude is laudable, but biding your own time is necessary. Do you know which opponent is the most terrifying? It is the opponent that you cannot see. What you must do now is to maintain a profile so low that you become unremarkable. The more invisible you are, the nearer you will be to success.”

w.a.n.g Zheng nodded. Privately, he wondered how he could even become less inconspicuous. Trouble was the one who came looking for him, and he often did not mind the bother. But he did know that Gu Te meant well.

Gu Te lifted his tea cup and took a huge gulp. He saw through him now. He should just speak plainly with w.a.n.g Zheng about what he needed to do, and save himself the trouble.

跟古特聊完,王錚總算可以享受一下平靜的校園生活了,遺憾的是沒有見到張山蒙恬章如男,他們都在軍隊裡面實習,王錚知道,他們都得到了重用,王錚打心眼裡爲他們高興,尤其是張山這傢伙,半路出家,真的是創出了一番天地.

陳秀和姚艾倫往宿舍裡面帶了兩大件的啤酒,興奮的拉着王錚上了宿舍樓的天台.

姚艾倫手很快,啪啪啪,三瓶啤酒就開了口,”不喝乾淨,誰都不許下去,爲我們最偉大的哥們乾杯!”

After speaking with Gu Te, w.a.n.g Zheng finally could enjoy a moment of peaceful school life. He was a little regretful that he had not met Zhang Shan, Meng Tian, and Zhang Runan. They were training with the military, w.a.n.g Zheng knew. They were being utilized well, and w.a.n.g Zheng was happy for them, especially Zhang Shan. To have left home halfway had been a bold move.

The dorm where Chen Xiu and Yao Aulun stayed had two huge cases of beer. They excitedly dragged w.a.n.g Zheng to the balcony.

With a fast hand, Yao Ailun popped open 3 bottles of beer. “n.o.body leaves until we’ve cleaned them out. To our n.o.ble brother!”

“錚哥,威武!”小陳秀很少這樣和人激動,今天是真高興,兩人可是王錚最堅定的支持者,雖然外面沒什麼聲音,可是在他們心目中,王錚就是銀盟最強的機甲戰士,當然也是他們的室友!

王錚一仰頭,一整瓶,一氣吹乾.

“秀啊,未成年人喝酒不好.”

“不好意思,我已經十六歲了!”

小陳秀挺起胸脯,拿起酒瓶就是一大口,差點沒嗆到,”咳咳,可惜這次是大山不在.”

“Brother Zheng, formidable!” Little Chen Xiu seldom got so excited, but they were really happy today. Both of them had been w.a.n.g Zheng’s most staunch supporters. Although neither had said much, but in their heart, w.a.n.g Zheng was the strongest mecha fighter in the Milky Way, and also their dormmate!

w.a.n.g Zheng, with the tilt of his head, finished the entire bottle in one go.

“Xiu, minors shouldn’t drink.”

“Excuse me, but I’m already 16!”

Little Chen Xiu puffed up his chest, and gulped his beer, almost choking. “Keke, too bad Big Shan isn’t around.”

姚艾倫也喝了一整瓶,”大山現在風光了,上次回學院,嘖嘖,直接是開着阿爾法戰術運輸機回來的,來,爲他再幹一瓶.”

三個人喝得興起,聊着最近發生的事情,張山的風光,章如男的穩重,蒙恬是最有前途的,蒙熬的女兒,肯定要有優勢,何況蒙恬也有足夠的能力,能力加背景,就等於無解了.

姚艾倫和陳秀也不差,由於王錚長期不在,出於工作的需要,肖菲總算把目光放在了”正常人”的身上,陳秀被選中成爲了肖菲的助手兼記名弟子,而陳秀的表現是可圈可點的,慢慢在物理學界有了屬於他的一份成就.

Yao Ailun had downed the bottle as well. “Big Shan is swimming in glory now. The last time he came back to the college, tsk tsk, he drove back in an Alpha tactical transport craft. Come, let’s down another one on his behalf.”

The three drank in high spirits, chatting of recent events. Zhang Shan’s impressive deeds, Zhang Runan’s stability, and the one with the brightest future, Meng Tian. As the daughter of Meng Ao, she definitely had an advantage, and Meng Tian had sufficient ability as well. With both ability and background, she would go far.

Yao Ailun and Chen Xiu were not bad as well. Because of w.a.n.g Zheng’s extended absence due to work, Xiao Fei had finally laid eyes on the “normal people”, and Chen Xiu had been chosen as Xiao Fei’s a.s.sistant and disciple, where he had performed well. Gradually, he had begun to carve his own name in the realm of physics.

至於姚艾倫,物理學方面同樣優秀,但是,他更多被關注的,是他在解說圈中的成長,甚至已經有公司邀請他代言產品了,他的博客空間,已經有了固定的數十萬粉絲,正在朝着百萬粉前進.

無論夜晚醉得多麼厲害,第二天,一切又都又重回正軌,按照原先的基調,不斷的前進.

一連幾天的平靜生活,王錚居然過得有點不適應了,原本還擔心肖菲會找他,結果,那女人已經忙瘋了,幾天都沒有消息,估計忙得把王錚回來的事情都給忘記了.

As for Yao Ailun, he was equally brilliant in physics, but he was valued for his ability in commentary. Companies had already begun to invite him to be their product promoter. His blogs.p.a.ce had over 100,000 fans and was heading for 1 million.

No matter how drunk they got that night, everything would return to normal the next day, at their usual pace, ceaselessly advancing.

The few days of peaceful life had actually left w.a.n.g Zheng a little out of sorts. Initially, he had been worried that Xiao Fei would come looking for him, but that woman had been obsessed with her work, and no news had come in these few days. He surmised that she was so busy that she had probably forgotten of his homecoming.

對此王錚倒是鬆了口氣,和陳秀交待了一遍又一遍,做肖菲老師助手的時候,千萬別提他的名字,肖菲現在的研究已經進入到後期階段,其實以王錚現在的水平也提供不了多少實質的幫助了.

王錚還有個地方想去.

一個人坐上了城際列車,王錚第一個要看的,就是被老賈賣掉的房子,是不是可以重新買回來,但想想也就算了,這顯然不是錢的問題.

“蓋爾前輩,你要來地球?”

正看着窗外風光,王錚突然接到了一個意外的天訊,遊咖俱樂部的蓋爾.

That had w.a.n.g Zheng heaving a sigh of relief. He gave explicit instructions to Chen Xiu not to mention his name in his time as a.s.sistant to teacher Xiao Fei. Xiao Fei’s present research had entered the final phase, and honestly w.a.n.g Zheng’s current level could not render her much practical aid as well.

w.a.n.g Zheng still had a place he wanted to go.

Boarding the city train alone, w.a.n.g Zheng really wanted to see the house that Old Merchant had sold off, and if it could be bought back. But then he thought better of the decision. Money was no issue.

“Senior Gail, you’re coming to Earth?”

Gazing out at the scenery through the window, w.a.n.g Zheng suddenly received a message out of the blue. It was from Genesis Coffee’s Gail.

說起來,當初王錚和遊咖結緣,就是因爲蓋爾找王錚的麻煩,不打不相識,除了老穆,蓋爾是遊咖裡面最力挺王錚的人.

“就問你歡迎不歡迎我們這些老傢伙?”

蓋爾的性子,還是那麼又急又烈.

“當然是舉雙手歡迎,不過,您老來地球,肯定輪不到我來歡迎您.”

王錚一笑.

“哈哈,算你小子聰明,行了,不逗你玩了,找你沒別的事,到時候有個宴會,你要是有空,就過來一趟.”

Speaking of it, w.a.n.g Zheng had gotten to know Genesis Coffee because Gail had come to w.a.n.g Zheng looking for a bone to pick. They would not have known otherwise. Besides Old Merchant, Gail had been w.a.n.g Zheng’s biggest supporter in Genesis Coffee.

“I’m asking if you will welcome us.”

Gail’s personality was as intense and impetuous as always.

“Of course, you will be welcomed with both arms raised. But you always come to Earth, and there are so many more worthy people who welcome you.”

w.a.n.g Zheng laughed.

“Haha, at least you know. Alright, enough teasing. I’m not calling about anything in particular. There’s a banquet soon. If you’re free, come on over.”

“就算沒空也一定到場.”王錚笑着點頭應下.

“那好,就這麼說定了.”

王錚關閉天訊,城際列車正好停下,到站了.

王錚走出站臺,熟悉的街道,沒有變化,街角的漢堡皇,對面是茶餐廳,王錚沒少在這兩家打對門的店裡混日子,今天漢堡,明天雞扒飯.

走到街角,王錚買了個漢堡,又跑到茶餐廳要了份雞扒飯,今天運氣不錯,有送西瓜汁當配餐.

東西還是那個味道,服務員卻是一張張陌生的臉龐.

“Even if I’m not free, I will make time.” w.a.n.g Zheng acquiesced smilingly.

“Alright, that’s settled then.”

w.a.n.g Zheng switched off the Skylink. The city train had stopped as well. He had reached.

w.a.n.g Zheng walked out from the platform. The familiar streets had no changed. The Burger Queen on the corner, the teahouse opposite. w.a.n.g Zheng had spent many a day between these two places, eating hamburger today, and chicken chop rice the next.

At the corner, w.a.n.g Zheng bought both a hamburger and a chicken chop rice. Today he was lucky. There was a set meal that came with a free watermelon juice.

The food tasted the same, although the service staff were all unfamiliar faces.

時間這東西,總是會把熟悉的東西變得陌生.

吃完晚餐,正是黃昏,夕陽西斜,把人的影子照得長長的,道路上,有孩子正在奔跑,歡暢的笑聲讓街道生機勃勃.

王錚一笑,沿着這熟悉的回家道路,一步步走着,忽然,王錚頓住了腳步,怔怔地看着街邊的那家書店,燈光通明.

老賈的書店!

快步上前推門而入,叮咚!

Time always turned to familiar into the strange.

After dinner, it was evening. The setting sun cast long shadows everywhere. On the sidewalk, children were running, and their exuberant laughter lent life to the streets.

w.a.n.g Zheng smiled, walking the familiar path home. As he walked, he suddenly stopped, staring at a roadside bookshop with lights on.

Old Merchant’s book store!

With quick steps he pushed open the door and entered. Ding dong!

清脆的叮聲卻讓王錚激動的心緒一下子沉了下去,老賈從來不用這種東西,進出店門,都是靜悄悄的,說是不要打擾在書店看書的人.

走了進去,外面書架上擺放的,都是當下的暢銷書和雜誌,光鮮亮麗的書皮,讓人一看就喜歡的那種.

再裡面,是一些工具書,但水平都很淺.

“歡迎光臨,客人您好,這裡的書,除了雜誌和未開封的小說,都可以隨便看,如果不喜歡實體書,鄙店可以提供各種版本的電子版.”書店的服務員迎了上來,是個二十左右的年輕人,應該是兼職打工的學生.

The crisp bell made w.a.n.g Zheng’s heart sink. Old Merchant never used these things. Entry had always been soundless, in order to prevent disturbing the readers in the bookstore.

Walking in, the books displayed were all popular books and magazines with brilliant eye-catching covers, that were instant favourites.

A little deeper in were tool books, but they were basic.

“Welcome, sir. Besides the magazines and the unopened novels, the books here are free for browsing. If you don’t like physical books, the store offers an electronic version.” The bookstore’s staff came up to greet him. He was a young man of about 20, and seemed to be a student doing part-time work.

“這家店是什麼時候開的?”王錚好奇的問道,難道老賈把店也賣了?

“半年前,客人您?”

“哦,以前我住在附近,後來搬走了.”

“原來如此,我聽人說,以前這裡也是家書店,不過是賣那種古董書的,和我們現在賣的實體書完全不同,我們的書雖然也是實體書頁的,但是,封頁採用了新型書頁技術,同樣可以達到某些電子效果…”

服務員很熱情的介紹着現代實體書的新科技,在書面上輕輕一點,一個手勢操作,上面的封面畫一下子活了過來,演繹着書中的某一章場景.

王錚在熱情的攻勢下,竟然也買了兩本暢銷書,還不是小說,是心靈雞湯類型的…

“When did this store open?” w.a.n.g Zheng asked curiously. Could Old Merchant have sold the shop too?

“Half a year ago. Sir, you are…?”

“Oh, I used to stay nearby, then I moved away.”

“Ah I see. I heard that this used to be a bookstore as well, but it sold those antique books. Completely different from the practical book collection that we now stock. Although our books are physical copies, but with the new archiving technology, we have achieved similar electronic results…”

The staff enthusiastically introduced the new technologies of modern books. With a light touch on the book’s surface, and a hand gesture, the cover ill.u.s.tration leaped into life, performing a scene from the book.

Under such a pa.s.sionate attack, w.a.n.g Zheng actually bought 2 books. They were not novels either, but the chicken soup for the soul kind…

走出書店大門之後,聽着服務員熱情的歡迎再次光臨,王錚看着手中的兩本現代實體書,有點無語的笑了笑.

在自己的老房子面前兜了幾圈,王錚帶着兩本暢銷書,又坐上回戰神學院的城際列車,不巧正趕上了下班高峰期,人擠人的車廂,竟然讓人有點懷念起迪達泰坦星起來.

剛回到宿舍樓下,正好碰上外出的姚艾倫,”我去做解說的工作,對了,有你的快遞,我代收的,就在你牀上.”

“好…”王錚一笑,但話還沒說完,就被姚艾倫用驚異的眼神打斷了,”這個,王錚,你沒事吧?”

Walking out of the bookstore, he heard the staff brightly call out to him to return anytime. w.a.n.g Zheng looked down at the two modern books in his hand, and smiled wordlessly.

He wandered aimlessly around in front of his old room for a while. w.a.n.g Zheng, books in hand, boarded the city train back to Ares College. He had just met rush hour as well. In the packed carriage, he recalled Dida t.i.tan with longing.

Returning to the lobby of the dorm, he met Yao Ailun, who was going out. “I’m off to do some product explanation. Right, I accepted your delivery for you. It’s on your bed.”

“Right…” w.a.n.g Zheng nodded, but he was not given a chance to finish, interrupted by Yao Ailun’s startled expression. “This, w.a.n.g Zheng, are you alright?”

“我?沒事啊,能有什麼事?”

“呵呵,沒,沒有.”姚艾倫用眼角餘光瞥了眼王錚手中的兩本書,”心靈靈藥”和”成功之心”.

王錚買這兩本書是要幹啥?治癒心靈?還是急切成功?說實話,王錚明明在IG有如此優秀的表現,最後卻什麼都沒有得到,連個慶功宴都沒有,整個社會好像把他給忘了一樣,換成是他,早就發狂了.

姚艾倫真有點小擔心王錚的狀態,有時這社會是太不公平了,不過,有些話他不好說,大不了,晚上天台見,喝個一醉方休.

王錚回到宿舍,就看到他的牀位上面放着一個包裝十分簡陋的盒子,不由皺了皺眉頭,怎麼看着…這麼眼熟呢?

“Me? I’m fine. What could be wrong?”

“Keke, nothing, nothing’s wrong.” Yao Ailun scrutinized w.a.n.g Zheng’s books from the corner of his eye. “Medicine for the Soul” and “The Heart of Success”.

What had w.a.n.g Zheng bought these 2 books for? To rejuvenate his soul? Or to chase success? In truth, w.a.n.g Zheng’s spectacular performance in IG had not been rewarded with any tangible success after, not even a celebration banquet. It seemed like society had simply forgotten him. If it was him, he would long have gone crazy.

Yao Ailun was a little worried about w.a.n.g Zheng’s state of mind. Sometimes society could be too cruel, but he was in no position to bring it up. No matter, they would convene on the balcony at night, and drink it all off.

Back in the dorm, w.a.n.g Zheng saw the crudely wrapped box on his bed. He frowned. Why did this… look so familiar?