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Chapter 270: This Life—The Beginning (XI)

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TL: Rosy

    尚可换上新衣服, 整了整仪容，瞬间从一名落拓的流浪艺人变成了一位精干的有为青年。

Shang Ke changed into new clothes, tidied himself up, and instantly changed from a poor wandering artist to a capable young man.

    确定英勇赴死的目标后, 他反而轻松下来，不再像先前那般小心谨慎, 顾虑重重。他是要征服死亡的男人，又何必畏惧与世俗抗争？

After determining his heroic death goal, he relaxed and was no longer as cautious or worried as before. He was a man who would conquer death, so why should he be afraid to fight against the world?

    “走吧, 戚辰，我们回国。”尚可将自己的吉他送给了一个孩子, 轻装简行，身边跟着已经恢复勿独记忆、获得系统的戚辰。戚辰应该不知道自己保留了前世的记忆，尚可自然也不会暴露。

“Let’s go, Qi Chen, we’re going home.” Shang Ke gave his guitar to a child. He was dressed simply walked in a relaxed manner, followed by Qi Chen, who had recovered his memory and gained a system. Qi Chen shouldn’t know that he had retained the memory of his previous life, and Shang Ke naturally wouldn’t reveal it.

    无论是曾经的师弟勿独，还是如今的发小戚辰，尚可都说不上恨, 却也没了往昔的情分。勿独或许爱他，但他的爱参杂着太多不甘和嫉恨，就像一个赌气的孩子, 非得分个胜负。

Whether it was his former junior brother Wu Du, or the current childhood friend Qi Chen, Shang Ke could not say he hated them, but the affections of the past were no longer there. Perhaps Wu Du loved him, but his love was mixed with too much unresignment and jealous hate, just like a peeved child unable to score a victory.

    “可可, 你笑什么？”戚辰不明所以地望着他。

“Keke, what are you laughing at?” Qi Chen looked at him in confusion.

    “我笑你内裤外穿。”

“I’m laughing at you for wearing your underwear outside.”

    “什么？哪有！我今天根本没穿内裤！”

“What? I didn’t! I didn’t wear underwear at all today!”

    “……”

“……”

    尉勋循着线索来到g城，一路寻找，分别在酒吧后巷、废墟、工地等场所找到了相同的机器人刻印，遍布小城各个街区。尉勋四处打听，并没有发现可可在这些地方工作过的迹象。直到他在一位拾荒老人的推车上，见到了一行字：【五天不洗澡的感觉，就像做酸菜，晾晒，浸泡，然后等着慢慢发酵。20.7.15】→桑为镇。

Wei Xun followed the clues to G City, searching during the whole journey. He found the same robot markings separately in the back alleys of bars, ruins, construction sites, and other places throughout every block of the small town. Wei Xun asked all around but found no sign that KeKe had worked in those places, until he saw the line of words on the cart of an old scrap collector: 【The feeling of not bathing for five days is like making pickled vegetables— air dried, soaked, and then waiting to slowly ferment. 7/15/2020】 → SangWei Town。

    “Oh，Sweet Boy。”拾荒老人见到尉勋拿出来的照片，笑道，“我很喜欢他，他在我身边待了十几天。”

“Oh, Sweet Boy.” The old scrap collector saw the photo that Wei Xun took out, laughed, and said, “I really like him. He stayed by my side for around ten days.”

    “在你身边待了十几天？”尉勋望着眼前这个头发凌乱、衣着破烂、身上还散发着恶臭的拾荒老人，心脏不由得紧缩。难怪可可的足迹几乎遍布整座小城，却打听不到他的任何消息，因为没有人会留意一个落魄卑微的拾荒者。

“Stayed by your side for around ten days?” Wei Xun looked at the old scrap collector in front of him with messy hair, tattered clothes, and a smelly body. His heart couldn’t help but tighten. No wonder why Keke’s footprints were practically all over the small city but he still couldn’t get any news about him. It was because no one would pay attention to a downtrodden lowly scrap collector.

    是啊，可可没有身份证明，除了捡垃圾，还能做什么？

That’s right. Keke didn’t have his ID card. What else could he do besides picking up garbage?

    尉勋去拾荒老人常住的地方看了看，一个废弃的仓库，四面漏风，光线昏暗，地上堆积着各种瓶瓶罐罐，唯一还算顺眼的就是角落那两张床垫，虽然是手工缝制，但剪裁和设计都非常用心，明显与这里的环境格格不入。

Wei Xun went to the scrap collector’s residence to take a look. It was an abandoned warehouse, leaking wind on all sides, with dim lighting. The floor was piled up with various bottles and cans. The only thing that looked pleasing was the two mattresses at the corner. Even though they were handsewn, the tailoring and design were both carefully made, and they were clearly incompatible with the surroundings here.

    “哦，你说这个？”拾荒老人笑着回答，“是Sweet Boy做的。他说原来的床太潮湿，睡久了对身体不好，所以就重新做了两张。不得不说，他的手真巧，如果去应聘裁缝，绝对有很多师傅抢着要……”

“Oh, you’re talking about this?” The old scrap collector laughed and replied, “Sweet Boy made it. He said the former bed was too damp, and it’s bad for the body to sleep there for so long, so he made two new ones from scratch. I have to say it. His hands are so skillful. If he applies as a tailor, there will definitely be many masters rushing to get him…”

    尉勋没有继续听老人的絮叨，目光深深望着可可曾经睡过的那张床，脑中浮现他坐在昏暗的仓库角落中缝制床垫的模样。纵容身处逆境，他也不忘在有限的条件下，将生活变得更舒服一点。

Wei Xun didn’t continue listening to the old man’s chatter. He gazed deeply at that bed that Shang Ke slept in. The image of Shang Ke, sitting in the corner of this dark warehouse, sewing a mattress appeared in his mind. Thriving in adversity, he still didn’t forget to make life more comfortable even under limited circumstances.

    尉勋似乎从来没有深入了解过他，只是凭着心中的冲动和欲望，强行将他占为己有，以至于忽略了他真正美好的特质。

Wei Xun seem to have never truly understood him. He simply relied on his heart’s impulses and desires to force him to be his own, to the extent he ignored his truly beautiful characteristics. 

    告别了拾荒老人，尉勋继续踏上寻找可可的旅程。

Wei Xun said goodbye to the old scavenger and continued on his journey to find Keke.

    下一站——桑为镇。从可可行进的路线来看，他的目标应该是大都市。但身上没有任何证件，他打算以何为生？总不能一直捡垃圾吧？

The next stop— Sang Wei Town. Judging from his route, his goal should be the city. But without any papers, what was he planning to do for a living? He couldn’t pick up trash the whole time, could he?

    很快，尉勋便知道答案了。

Wei Xun soon knew the answer.

    他在桑为镇的一家小餐馆，找到了可可留下的印记。可可在这家餐馆做了十天的洗碗工，还兼职搬运和打扫，每天休息7个小时，薪水微薄，连小费都没有，店主明显是在压榨员工。

He found a trace that KeKe left behind at a small restaurant in Sang Wei town. KeKe worked as a dishwasher in the restaurant for around ten days, and he even took on a part-time job cleaning and transporting. He rested seven hours every day, his salary was meager, and he didn’t even have tips. The owner was obviously squeezing the employees.

   尉勋很生气，让人以“雇佣童工、卫生不合格、使用地沟油”等理由将这家餐馆给举报了。’

Wei Xun was extremely angry and reported the restaurant under the justification of “child labor, poor sanitation, and use of gutter oil.”

    【苛刻员工薪水的老板都是沼泽地里的仙人掌，吸水太多早晚泡死自己（点烛）。20.7.26】→科伦。

【Bosses that give low salaries but overwork employees are all cacti in a swamp. They will soak themselves to death sooner or later (Lights Candle). 7/26/2020】→ Ke Lun.

    接着，尉勋又先后在科伦、基普、康塔斯、巴鲁等城市找到了可可留下的踪迹。踏着他的脚步，品味着他所感受的一切，如同走过一段心灵之旅。

Afterwards, Wei Xun also found traces Shang Ke left behind, one after the other, in Theron, Kip, Konrad, and Barru, and other cities. Treading on his footsteps and sampling all his experiences, it was as if he was walking through a spiritual journey.

    【原来真的有人喜欢吃腐烂的鱼肉、公羊的睾丸、即将破壳的虫卵……好吧，康塔斯，请允许我慎重地和您永别。20.8.10】

【It turns out that there really are people who like to eat rotten fish, ram testicles, insect eggs whose shells are about to break… Alright, Konrad, please allow me to carefully part from you forever. 8/10/2020】

    【今天遇到一个号称“赛车勇士”的高冷司机，坐了三个小时的云霄飞车后，我才明白“勇士”或许是经过艺术美化的贬义词。20.9.17】

【Today I met an aloof driver nicknamed the “Race Car Warrior”. Only after riding on the roller coaster for three hours did I realize that “warrior” was perhaps an artistically beautified derogatory term. 9/17/2020】

    【用三分之二的积蓄买了一把二手吉他，我决定做一个自由的流浪艺人。20.11.11】

【After using ⅔ of my savings to buy a second hand guitar. I decided to become a wandering artist. 11/11/2020】

    ……

    尉勋舍不得遗漏可可留下的任何痕迹，花了将近两周的时间，一直寻到T国的首都丹非尼布。

Wei Xun couldn’t bear to overlook any traces that KeKe left behind. He spent almost two week’s time continuously searching, until he reached T country’s capital, Bangkok.

    他并不是即走即寻，而是派出大批人手先行查探，尽量节省时间。毕竟越往后走，地域越广，人口越多，寻找的难度自然也越大。单凭一个人的力量，恐怕几个月也未必能找完。

He didn’t go and search at all, rather, he sent out a large number of people to check in advance and cut down on as much time as possible. After all, the further one goes, the larger the area, the bigger the population, and the difficulty of searching will also naturally increase. With one person’s strength alone, he was afraid it’s still not possible to finish searching after a few months.

    “勋爷，这是属下刚刚在网上截取的视频。”保镖将一台ipad递到尉勋面前。

“Master Xun, this is the video I found on the internet.” The bodyguard handed an IPad over to Wei Xun. 

    屏幕上是一段手机录制的视频，画面有些晃动，但图像很清晰，一名男子坐在公园的长椅上，手上抱着一个吉他，专心弹唱着。他的脸，在冷风中如同雪玉一般透白，双眼半垂，神色柔和，黑色发丝在额间轻轻拂动，艳红的嘴唇成为画面中最亮丽的颜色，一张一合地吟唱着动人的歌曲，引得路人纷纷驻足聆听，时不时能够听到女孩兴奋的低呼。

There was a video on the screen that was recorded on a phone. The screen was somewhat shaky, but the image was very clear. A man was sitting on a park bench, holding a guitar in his hands, concentrating on singing and playing it. His face was as white as snow jade in the cold wind. His eyes half-closed, his expression gentle, his black hair gently ruffled on his forehead, and his bright red lips the brightest and most beautiful color on the screen. The moving songs were sung one by one, attracting passer-byers to stop and listen. From time to time a girl’s excited whisper could be heard.

    尉勋注意到他衣服上的污迹，裤子上破损，以及手指上的红肿，再看他温和的笑容，闪亮的眼神，心中的懊恼和怜惜无以复加，恨不得立刻冲过去抱住他。

Wei Xun noticed the stains on his clothes, the tears on his pants, as well as the redness and swelling on his finger. He looked again at his gentle smile and bright eyes. His heart was full of extreme upset and pity. He wished he could immediately rush over to hug him.

    “他现在在哪？”尉勋问。

“Where is he right now?” Wei Xun asked.

    “已经回国了。”保镖顿了顿，补充一句，“和戚先生一起。”

“He had already returned back to the country.” The bodyguard paused and added a sentence, “With Mr. Qi.”

    尉勋没有太大的反应，只是一遍又一遍地重复播放着视频。

Wei Xun didn’t react much. He only played the video over and over again.

    半个小时后，他开口道：“去订机票吧。”

Half an hour later, he opened his mouth and said, “Go book a plane ticket.”

    下午1点，尉勋登上了回国的飞机，还带着一把从一个孩子那里买来的吉他。

At 1 o’clock in the afternoon, Wei Xun boarded the plane to return home. He also took a guitar that he bought from a child.

    当尉勋还在T国寻找尚可时，尚可已经开始在国内搞事情了。他推开餐厅的包房，缓步朝沙发上的某人走去。

While Wei Xun was still looking for Shang Ke in T country, Shang Ke was already carrying out business in his home country. He pushed open the restaurant’s private room and walked over slowly to the person sitting on the sofa.

    “尉先生，初次见面，我是尚可。”尚可在那人身前站定，微笑道，“您对我应该不陌生，我就不详细介绍了。您现在的心情可能不太愉快，但我还是要感谢您今天能够来赴约。”

“Mr. Wei, it’s our first time meeting. I’m Shang Ke.” Shang Ke stood still in front of the man, and said with a smile, “You shouldn’t be unfamiliar with me so I won’t introduce myself in detail. You probably aren’t in a good mood right now, but I would still like to thank you for coming to our appointment today.”

    尉兴业，也就是尉勋的父亲，冷冷地盯着尚可，一语不发。

Wei Xingye, that is, Wei Xun’s father, stared at Shang Ke coldly without saying a word.

    尚可在一旁的沙发上坐下，平静道：“我就开门见山地直说了，你们的儿子，我要了。”

Shang Ke sat down by the sofa on the side and said calmly, “I’ll get straight to the point and say it frankly. I want your son.”

    尉兴业嘴角一抽，显然没料到他“开门见山”得如此霸气侧漏。

The corner of Wei Xingye’s mouth twitched. He obviously didn’t anticipate him to get to the point in such an aggressive manner.

    “用一个儿子，换家族稳固，这笔交易很划算。”尚可直视尉兴业的眼睛，“不要拿身份来威胁我，你现在已经失去这个资格了。”

“Using a son in exchange for stabilizing your family, this is a bargain.” Shang Ke looked straight at Wei Xinye’s eyes. “Don’t threaten me with your identity, you’ve already lost this qualification.”

    尉兴业冷哼道：“小朋友，有些事情不是单凭一时意气就能办到的。”

Wei Xingye snorted coldly, “Little friend, some things can’t be done at a moment’s will.”

    “你说的没错，所以我准备了大把筹码。”尚可微笑道，“前天发给你的那份交易明细就是其中一个，不知道你还满意吗？”

“You’re right, so I prepared a lot of chips.” Shang Ke smiled and said, “The transaction details I issued the day before yesterday was one of them. I wonder if you’re satisfied?”

    “你从哪里弄到的？”尉兴业目光咄咄地盯着他。这些资料若是那么容易弄到，他们尉家早就完蛋了。

“Where did you get it?” Wei Xingye stared at him aggressively. If those materials were that easy to obtain, their Wei Family would’ve long been done for.

    尚可没有回答他的问题，而是继续道：“其他资料，我会定时发给你，直到你同意我的条件为止。”

Shang Ke didn’t answer his question, rather, he continued to speak, “I will regularly send you other information until you agree with my terms.”

    “你还能更下作一点吗？”尉兴业终于怒了，“你喜欢男人是你的事，外面那么多男人随你挑，为什么一定要拉尉勋下水？”

“Can you be any more disgusting?” Wei Xingye finally erupted, “If you like men, that’s your own problem, and you can pick so many men out there. Why do you have to lead Wei Xun astray?”

    “我今天不是来和你讲道理的。”尚可双腿交叠，淡淡道，“而是带着万分的‘诚意’来威胁你的。”

“I didn’t come here today to reason with you.” Shang Ke crossed his legs and said lightly, “Rather, I’m threatening you with extreme ‘sincerity’.”

    尉兴业声音冰冷：“你哪里来的胆子敢威胁我？”

Wei Xingye’s voice was cold: “Where did you get the courage to threaten me?”

    “当我决定直接来找你的那一刻开始，我便无所畏惧了。”尚可笑道，“你可以对我使用任何手段，甚至杀了我。不过我要提醒你，我手上的‘筹码’，不会因为我的死亡而失去价值。相反，我死后半个月，那些‘筹码’就会散播到世界各地。只要网络存在一天，它便无所不在。”

“When I first decided to approach you directly, I was fearless.” Shang Ke said with a laugh, “You can use any means against me, even killing me. But I want to remind you of the ‘chips’ I have in my hands. They won’t lose any value because of my death. On the contrary, those ‘chips’ will spread everywhere half a month after my death. As long as the Internet exists for one day, it will be everywhere.”

    “我觉得我会相信？”尉兴业嗤之以鼻。

“You think I’ll believe that?” Wei XingYe sneered.

    “你们拿走我的初号，有没有研发出什么成果？”尚可突然转移话题。

“You guys took away my Chu Hao. Did you develop any results?” Shang Ke suddenly changed the subject.

    “什么？”

“What?”

    尚可笑道：“真正的人工智能，你想不想见识一下？”

Shang Ke said with a laugh, “Do you want to experience true artificial intelligence?”

    尉兴业一愣，没有说话。

Wei Xingye was dumbfounded. He didn’t speak.

    尚可突然对着空气说：“初号，给尉先生发一张小狗图片。”

Shang Ke suddenly said to the air, “Chu Hao, send Mr. Wei a picture of a puppy.”

    “好的。”一个稚嫩的声音从尚可的口袋里传出来。

“Ok.” A young and tender voice came from Shang Ke’s pocket.

    随即只听叮咚一声，尉兴业的手机响起信息提示音，打开一看，赫然是一张哈士奇的大头照。

Immediately after hearing a ring, Wei XingYe’s phone rang with message beeps. He turned it on to take a look, and surprisingly, it was the headshot of a husky.

    尉兴业：“……”

Wei Xingye: “…”  

    “帮尉先生美化一下。”尚可又说。

“Help Mr. Wei beautify it.” Shang Ke said.

    手机屏幕上的哈士奇立刻被移动到一款美妆软件中，画上假睫毛，戴上蝴蝶结，擦掉一颗门牙，调成黑白色，然后加上相框，旁边还点了一根蜡烛。

The husky on the phone screen immediately moved to a beautifully adorned software. It drew on fake eyelashes, put on a bow, wiped off an incisor, adjusted it to black and white, then added a photo frame, and even lit a candle on the side.

    尉兴业：“……”

Wei Xingye: “…” 

    尚可余光瞥见，笑道：“不好意思，初号的审美有些与众不同。”

Shang Ke caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye. He laughed and said, “I’m sorry, Chu Hao’s aesthetics are somewhat unconventional.”

    这叫“与众不同”？简直是人间惨剧好吗？！

It’s called “unconventional”? It’s simply a tragedy for humans, alright?!

    初号还很不谦虚地表示：“这都是努力钻研的成果。”

Chu Hao expressed with no modesty, “This is all the result of great effort and intensive study.”

    尚可颇为通情达理地说：“如果你还有疑问，我可以继续为你展示其他功能。”

Shang Ke said quite reasonably, “If you still have questions, I can continue to reveal other functions to you.”

    尉兴业此刻不得不承认，自己小看了尚可的能力。他所掌握的技术，远远超出他的认知。比起除掉他，控制和利用或许对尉家更有利一点。而且他手上掌握了足以动摇尉家根基的材料，他不可能拿整个尉家和一个小人物去赌。

Wei Xingye had to admit at this moment that he underestimated Shang Ke’s ability. The technology he mastered exceeded far beyond his understanding. Perhaps it would be more advantageous for the Wei Family to control and exploit him than to eliminate him. Moreover, he had grasped enough blackmail in his hands to shake the foundation of the Wei Family. It’s impossible for him to gamble the entire Wei Family with a nobody. 

    但是两个男人……尉兴业还是难以接受。

But two men… It was still hard for Wei Xingye to accept it.

    “你应该知道，尉家公开不可能承认你和尉勋的关系。”尉兴业的态度软化了几分。

“You should know that it’s impossible for the Wei Family to publicly acknowledge your relationship with Wei Xun.” Wei Xingye’s attitude softened a bit.

    “这个你不用担心，我可以保证在不损害尉家名声的前提下处理好这件事。”

“Don’t worry about this. I can guarantee I’ll handle this matter without damaging the reputation of the WeiFamily.”

    “你用什么保证？”

“What will you use to guarantee it?”

    “我的命。”尚可笑眯眯地回答。

“My life.” Shang Ke replied with a smile.

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