第二天展会上果然平淡无奇,人流量稀少,但是李皓珺注意到往来的人员都是俊男靓女,仿佛影片拍摄现场,根本就没有普通人.
The exhibition the next day was indeed uneventful, with sparse attendance, but Li Haojun noticed that the people coming and going were all handsome men and beautiful women, resembling a film shooting site, with not a single ordinary person in sight.
这样看来仿佛只有自己是相形见绌的,反正他也不在乎,他有自己的爱人,有自己的技能,自信心从来不是来源于自己的外貌是否能够取悦别人.他不需要万众瞩目.
In this light, it seemed only he appeared out of place. Anyway, he didn't care. He had his beloved and his own skills; his confidence never stemmed from whether his looks could please others. He didn't need to be the center of attention.
自己公司的展台里,有其他地区的职员,在场地履行职能,也并不需要自己一个技术人员做什么.
At his company's booth, staff from other regions were performing their duties on-site; there was nothing for him, a technical personnel, to do.
反而最吸引他注意力的还是玛莱雅,她依旧穿着那套制服,外套罩衫,似乎她的制服有什么功能,至少外观上可以看到的,腰带上有些小装置不仅仅是装饰,她的腕表科技又时尚,还有那双小皮靴,很是俏皮.
Instead, what attracted his attention most was Malaya. She was still wearing that uniform, an outer smock. It seemed her uniform served some function; at least visibly, the small devices on her belt were more than mere decorations. Her wristwatch was both tech-savvy and stylish, and those little leather boots were quite playful.
在展厅里观察了一阵子,李皓珺发现这是一场B2B的展会,实际上他更喜欢接触终端用户,而不是生意人.他总觉得商业运作跟自己关系不大,他更愿意用自己的知识帮助一个个实实在在的普通用户.
After observing the exhibition hall for a while, Li Haojun realized this was a B2B trade show. Actually, he preferred interacting with end-users rather than businessmen. He always felt commercial operations had little to do with him; he would rather use his knowledge to help real, tangible ordinary users.
无聊之中,他忽然注意到耳边有人在谈论相关产品的时候引用错了技术路线了,而负责销售的同事并没有把实际技术路径说清楚.他扭头一看,一位女士正在询问,她脸颊消瘦,高颧骨尖下颌,薄唇,焉紫色口红,红色齐颈短发,不知道是不是天生红发.
Out of boredom, he suddenly noticed someone nearby misquoting the technical route while discussing related products, and the sales colleague in charge hadn't clarified the actual technical path. He turned his head and saw a woman asking questions. She had thin cheeks, high cheekbones, a pointed jaw, thin lips, dark purple lipstick, and short red hair reaching her neck—he wondered if she was a natural redhead.
李皓珺主动地凑上去,加入对话但是毫无技巧,直接指明了问题,然后讲解了一遍,发现对方身后正在拍摄,
Li Haojun actively stepped forward, joining the conversation without any tact, directly pointing out the problem and explaining it once through. Then he noticed a camera filming behind her.
自己是不是搅和了人家的宣发拍摄?想到这,只好对着镜头一笑,然后平静地移出了拍摄范围.转回头,看见玛莱雅正坐在角落里看着他,植物旁边,就如同她在纽约一样,脸上带着笑,只是有些冷.
Had he just interfered with someone's promotional shoot? Thinking this, he could only smile at the lens before calmly stepping out of the shot. Turning back, he saw Malaya sitting in the corner watching him, beside a plant, just like she had been in New York. There was a smile on her face, but it seemed somewhat cold.
李皓珺拉了一把椅子坐在了她的身边,默默地看着她,等待她发表高论,
Li Haojun pulled over a chair and sat beside her, silently looking at her, waiting for her to offer some profound insight.
"你总是对女人这样吗?"玛莱雅笑着问,似乎有些调侃他,
"Are you always like this with women?" Malaya asked with a smile, seemingly teasing him.
"不是,我只是无法容忍在自己眼皮子底下传播错误信息,"
"No, I just can't tolerate the spread of misinformation right under my nose."
"哦,强迫症,"
"Oh, so it's OCD."
"呵呵,是啊,"李皓珺自嘲地笑道,
"Heh, yeah," Li Haojun laughed self-deprecatingly.
"这里的人不一定都是有感情的真人的,"玛莱雅平静地说,
"The people here aren't necessarily all sentient humans," Malaya said calmly.
李皓珺有些吃惊,但是没有追问,看看时间差不多了,便建议提前午休了.
Li Haojun was taken aback but didn't press further. Checking the time and seeing it was about right, he suggested taking an early lunch break.
食宿都是玛莱雅安排,李皓珺跟随她来到一个小的西餐厅,落座简单点餐,环顾四周并没有其他顾客,望向窗外,行人寥寥无几,不过都是中青年,相貌出众.
Accommodation and meals were arranged by Malaya. Li Haojun followed her to a small Western restaurant. After sitting down and ordering simply, he looked around—there were no other customers. Gazing out the window, pedestrians were few and far between, though all were young or middle-aged and exceptionally good-looking.
"有何感想?"玛莱雅在小桌儿对面问,
"What are your thoughts?" Malaya asked from across the small table.
"没有,呃,我也不知道,"
"None. Uh, I don't know."
"这个区域实际上是私人领地,"玛莱雅不紧不慢地讲述,
"This area is actually private property," Malaya explained unhurriedly.
李皓珺默默听着,没有打断她,
Li Haojun listened silently, not interrupting her.
"你看到的人可能是克隆的或者基因编辑的,他们的意识可能是被操控来完成某些任务的.所以你不用浪费感情."
"The people you see might be clones or gene-edited beings. Their consciousness could be manipulated to complete certain tasks. So, you shouldn't waste your emotions on them."
"哦,原来这里这么冰冷,"李皓珺笑着说,
"Oh, so it's this cold here," Li Haojun said with a laugh.
玛莱雅扑哧一笑逗他说,
Malaya chuckled, teasing him,
"是啊,把心思全放在我和我姐姐身上吧,放别处也是浪费,"
"Yeah, save all your thoughts for me and my sister. Putting them anywhere else would be a waste."
在自己面前,对面玛莱雅的笑容和窗外整洁却冷清的街道,形成了鲜明的对比,
Before him, the smile on Malaya's face contrasted sharply with the neat yet desolate street outside the window.
"其实也有正常人类,只是他们不居住在这里,"
"In fact, there are normal humans, they just don't reside here."
"他们是,普通阶层?"李皓珺马上意识到了,
"They're... the common class?" Li Haojun immediately realized.
"是的,"
"Yes."
"而社会顶层也不住在这里,所以才有这些克隆人替他们在这里做事,"
"And the top tier of society doesn't live here either, so they have these clones do things for them here."
"嗯,"玛莱雅点了点头,
"Mm," Malaya nodded.
是啊,只要有社会,就会有阶级或者群体划分,天下大同其实只是一种理想状态,因为个体就是不同的.心中感慨着,李皓珺拿出自己的终端设备,想查看一下当地社交媒体,看看当地人们的状态.
Indeed, as long as there is society, there will be class or group divisions. A world of universal harmony is merely an ideal state because individuals are inherently different. With a sigh in his heart, Li Haojun took out his terminal device to check local social media and see how the locals were doing.
打开当地新闻首先就是电子竞技游戏"打手乔尼"的季度颁奖直播,这是一个虚拟现实的真人玩家在线互动游戏,在虚拟现实经历美国移民,禁酒令,以及赌博走私高利贷等一系列黑产经营场景,让玩家在游戏里面扮演黑手党,警察和其他不同角色,每季度依照玩家角色绩效评分颁奖.显然年轻人在这种动作游戏中具有优势,参与活跃.
Opening the local news, the first thing that popped up was a live broadcast of the quarterly awards ceremony for the esports game "Fighter Johnny." This was a virtual reality online interactive game where players experienced American immigration, Prohibition, gambling, smuggling, loan sharking, and a series of black industry operation scenarios in VR. Players took on roles like mobsters, police, and various others, with awards given each quarter based on player role performance scores. Clearly, young people had an advantage in such action games and participated actively.
李皓珺一边自己看还分享给玛莱雅,看着集锦精彩镜头笑着说,
As Li Haojun watched, he shared it with Malaya, laughing at the highlight reels,
"哈哈,这倒是显著降低了社会犯罪压力,"
"Haha, this significantly reduces societal crime pressure."
"是啊,普通人的奶嘴儿乐,"玛莱雅一语道破,
"Yeah, the common man's 'opium of the people,'" Malaya hit the nail on the head.
"我在卡利斯佩尔那边就简单了,那里的居民有植入芯片会干扰脑波,回家就睡觉,连人口数量都可以精准调控.这里的情况你了解吗?"
"It's simpler over in Kalispell. The residents there have implanted chips that interfere with brain waves; they go home and sleep, and even the population count can be precisely controlled. What about the situation here?"
"我查过背景资料,这里没有植入的电子芯片控制大众,但是,你也知道,没有免费的午餐,他们不用工作,就意味着他们是被投喂的.有目的的定向投喂早就可以做到了."
"I checked the background information. There are no electronic control chips implanted in the public here, but, as you know, there's no such thing as a free lunch. They don't work, which means they are being fed. Targeted feeding with specific purposes has long been achievable."
望着眼前的玛莱雅,李皓珺忽然意识到在这座偌大的城市里,人却是这样的孤单,唯有面前的她,还依旧是自己的同类.她那忽闪的睫毛,清澈的眼神,随言语轻舞的温柔唇线,勾动自己心中涟漪,拉近与她的距离.
Looking at Malaya before him, Li Haojun suddenly realized that in this vast city, people were so lonely. Only she, right in front of him, remained his own kind. Her fluttering eyelashes, clear eyes, and gentle lip line dancing with her words stirred ripples in his heart, drawing him closer to her.
看着桌面已经吃完的午餐,李皓珺不知道该在说些什么,
Looking at the empty lunch plates on the table, Li Haojun didn't know what else to say.
"玛莱雅,经过这次培训之后,你的工作不用带武器,是吗?"
"Malaya, after this training, you won't need to carry weapons for your job, will you?"
"是的,我不用带武器,"
"Yes, I won't need to carry weapons."
"好,"李皓珺轻声回答,声音轻柔仅仅是说出喉咙.脑海里想着拉住她的手,但是她已经长大了,不再是那个小女孩的玛莱雅了,他不知道自己是否应该那么做.
"Good," Li Haojun replied softly, his voice barely above a whisper. His mind thought of taking her hand, but she had grown up; she was no longer that little girl Malaya. He didn't know if he should do it.
走出餐厅,烈日当头,不只是刚才餐厅的空调温度过低,还是自己和玛莱雅的孤单疏离感的冷意,现在站在烈日热浪中反而觉得自己的血管丰张,暖意流遍四肢末梢,似乎现在又活过来了.
Exiting the restaurant, the scorching sun beat down overhead. Whether it was the overly cold air conditioning in the restaurant earlier, or the chill of the loneliness and detachment between him and Malaya, standing now in the heatwave of the blazing sun made him feel his blood vessels dilate, warmth flowing to his limbs' extremities, as if he had come back to life.
沿着来时路反回,没走几步李皓珺就隐约听到后方路面轮胎摩擦路面的尖叫声,他下意识地扶着玛莱雅的臂弯往路边靠,同时回身甩头,
Walking back the way they came, they hadn't gone far when Li Haojun vaguely heard the screech of tires rubbing against pavement behind them. Instinctively, he guided Malaya by the arm toward the roadside, turning his head back sharply.
一辆白色卡车牵引头正拐过弯角朝这边冲过来,
A white semi-truck cab was rounding the corner, speeding straight toward them.
"这边,"
"This way,"
一边注视着卡车动态,李皓珺拉着玛莱雅跨进了路边绿化带,躲出了卡车轨迹前进方向的危险范围,
While keeping an eye on the truck's movement, Li Haojun pulled Malaya into the roadside green belt, dodging out of the dangerous path of the truck's trajectory.
好在卡车并没有失控,它还在不停地纠正着路径和姿态,然而它并不是已有一个牵引车头,它的后面还拉着长长的危险品半挂车.半挂车的车轮在路肩石和人行道上划出黑色橡胶痕迹,
Fortunately, the truck wasn't out of control; it kept correcting its path and posture. However, it wasn't just a cab; it was pulling a long hazardous materials semi-trailer. The wheels of the trailer left black rubber marks on the curbstones and sidewalk.
危险品挂车总算没有出事,李皓珺松了一口气,问玛莱雅,
The hazardous materials trailer finally didn't crash. Li Haojun breathed a sigh of relief and asked Malaya,
"什么危险品?液氮还是液化烃?你看清了吗?"
"What hazardous material? Liquid nitrogen or liquefied hydrocarbons? Did you see clearly?"
"液氮,它为什么会出现在这里?"
"Liquid nitrogen. Why would it be here?"
"是啊,它应该去工业区,"
"Yeah, it should be heading to the industrial zone."
眼看狂奔下去的卡车,它并没有被控制住,挂车与牵引车之间的扰动使得它最终冲出道路撞毁在路边建筑上,容器破裂.
Watching the truck barreling down, it still wasn't under control. The oscillation between the trailer and the cab eventually caused it to veer off the road and crash into a building by the roadside, rupturing the container.
李皓珺对视了一眼玛莱雅,急忙抓了一把绿化带里的沙土抛向空中,他们在下风向.
Li Haojun exchanged a glance with Malaya, hurriedly grabbed a handful of sand from the green belt, and tossed it into the air—they were downwind.
"跑,"说着,拉起玛莱雅的手沿着道路向下一个十字路口跑去,回头瞥一眼,液氮流在盛夏滚烫的路面上已经在翻滚发泡,贴近地面一层白雾正沿着风向扩散.
"Run!" Saying this, he grabbed Malaya's hand and ran along the road toward the next intersection. Glancing back, the liquid nitrogen spilled on the scorching summer pavement was already boiling and foaming, a layer of white mist close to the ground spreading with the wind.
拉着玛莱雅的手,李皓珺开始并没有全力奔跑,而是试着逐步进入状态,一是情况不算紧急,二是他判断那一车液氮将会大范围扩散,这将是一场权衡时间与空间的撤离.
Grabbing Malaya's hand, Li Haojun didn't sprint at full speed initially, instead trying to ease into it gradually. Firstly, the situation wasn't extremely urgent; secondly, he judged that the liquid nitrogen would spread widely—this would be a retreat requiring a balance of time and space.
到达十字路他们开始朝扩散方向横向奔跑,地面那一层雾气范围更大了,但是李皓珺非常清楚气化的氮气是无色透明的,是无形的紧迫.
Upon reaching the intersection, they began running laterally away from the diffusion direction. The layer of ground fog had grown larger, but Li Haojun knew full well that gaseous nitrogen is colorless and transparent—an invisible urgency.
"我们加快好吗?"说着她松开了拉着玛莱雅的手,便于她摆臂奔跑,
"Let's pick up the pace, okay?" Saying this, he released Malaya's hand to allow her to swing her arms freely for running.
玛莱雅没吭声,只是跟在身边,李皓珺不时查看她的状态,虽然她四肢纤细,但是力量素质看起来还不错,蹬腿跨步有力度,
Malaya didn't make a sound, just staying by his side. Li Haojun checked her condition from time to time. Although her limbs were slender, her strength and conditioning seemed quite good; her strides were powerful.
慢慢地,李皓珺奔跑的呼吸已经有些急促了,判断着气体扩散范围,到了下一个路口,喘息中他只挤出了两个字,
Gradually, Li Haojun's breathing grew somewhat labored during the run. Judging the gas diffusion range, at the next intersection, between pants, he managed only two words,
"右转,"
"Turn right."
反倒是玛莱雅的喘息声并不明显,依然跟在他的身边,这时李皓珺已经意识到她的奔跑能力优于自己了,放下心开始注意调整自己奔跑与呼吸的节奏了,
On the contrary, Malaya's breathing was barely audible, still keeping pace beside him. At this point, Li Haojun realized her running ability was superior to his own. Relieved, he began to focus on adjusting his own running and breathing rhythm.
几经转折,两人终于拉开了事故地点足够的横向距离,远处的警笛声,一辆辆消防救援车辆正在赶往那边.
After several turns, the two finally put enough lateral distance between themselves and the accident site. In the distance, sirens wailed as fire rescue vehicles raced toward the scene.
李皓珺已经全身汗水湿透,傻笑着看着玛莱雅,她的额头也浸出了汗珠,心想,是不是这小丫头心想事成?这不就开始一起冒险了,
Li Haojun was drenched in sweat. He grinned foolishly at Malaya; her forehead was also beaded with sweat. He thought, perhaps this young lady's wish had come true? Wasn't this starting an adventure together?
"怎么样?"李皓珺好奇她会怎么回答,
"How was it?" Li Haojun was curious how she would answer.
"还好,"
"Not bad."
"我们安全了,"
"We're safe now."
"嗯,"
"Mm."
带着笑盈盈的脸庞,玛莱雅走近一步,给了李皓珺一个拥抱,她身上的汗液带着少女特有的气息.
With a beaming face, Malaya stepped closer and gave Li Haojun an embrace, her sweat carrying the unique scent of a young girl.
(Translated by Tencent Yuanbao)