同章对照

As per the name, the Bakuto was a Japan-themed casino.

Having parked his car nearby, Ryan glanced up at the building with amazement. The architects had recreated a perfect copy of an oriental pagoda tower, as large as a mall; a red carpet led to golden, ostentatious tori gates with the casino’s title plastered on them. Hordes of gamblers walked inside, some dressed in traditional Asian clothes like qipao, others in tuxedos and expensive gowns. Of course, none were as stylish as Quicksave’s own fabulous outfit, but the Genome gave them points for trying.

The staff had even dressed the bouncers as samurai in low-grade, Genius-made armor. They looked almost like feudal armor, but heavier and bound by flexible circuits instead of clothing fabric. Very nice design, especially the stained glass visor. Ryan wondered if they had lightsabers to go along with it.

“No weapons allowed inside,” one bouncer said, as he and a compatriot checked Ryan out. Due to their armor, both were at least one head taller than the Genome. They immediately found the throwing knives hidden in his sleeves, and then examined him very thoroughly.

It took them a few minutes to find most of his stuff.

“Twenty-five throwing knives, two revolvers, including one desert eagle, one energy pistol, one frag grenade, a switchblade, a hand buzzer, and…” The bouncer frowned, seizing a tiny metal sphere the size of a baseball. “Is that a bomb?

“Yep,” Ryan answered. “Genius tech.”

“EMP? Gunpowder?”

“Thermo-nuclear.”

The bouncer chuckled heartily until he realized Ryan was serious. He then exchanged a glance with his fellow guards, all of them put their hands on a saber around their belts.

“You keep an A-bomb in your back pocket?” The guard wagged the device at Ryan’s face.

“It’s only for dissuasion!” the courier promised while crossing his fingers. “I Korea swear!”

The bouncer remained silent a moment, then touched his helmet and hushed words which Ryan couldn’t hear. No doubt he was contacting his manager.

“You can get your… stuff back after you’re done,” the bouncer declared, putting his weapons in a bag. “But one wrong move and that bomb will find its way in another A-place. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!” Ryan replied as he waltzed into the casino like a child.

He immediately found himself walking through a corridor of pachinkos, those strange Japanese slot machines; gamblers toiled on them, enslaved by their otherworldly power. The sight reminded Ryan of the four loops he spent addicted to these machines, before getting bored.

Ah, the nostalgia.

A few steps later, Ryan entered the main gambling hall, mixing both Japanese art design and western gambling entertainment. Roulette wheels stood side by side with blackjack tables, and they even had an arena for sumo wrestling next to a sushi bar. An elevator at the center led to the higher floors, each probably catering to different tastes.

A giant screen above the sushi bar showed a promotional image of New Rome’s colosseum, and a T-rex roaring on its grounds, under the acclaim of the crowd. A voice over hyped up the competition.

“This mutant dinosaur has been cloned from ancient times and improved to fight at Colosseum Maximus! MAXIMUS! And if dinosaurs won’t do it, our robots will!” The screen changed from the picture of a Jurassic Park ad to a humanoid mecha straight out of an old Japanese cartoon. “Coming straight out of our weapon development program, Dynamis introduces you to the Megafighter Mark III! Meant to fight the deadliest Psychos and marauders, this killing machine will keep you on your toes! Will any contestant get the better of these bloodthirsty monsters? You will see it in tonight’s episode of Colosseum… MAXIMUS! Only at Dynamis!”

Ryan noticed a smaller screen showing the odds, people betting either which contestants would survive, or if the T-rex would eat them all on the first round. For some obscure reason, most betted on an overwhelming dinosaur victory.

Ryan wandered towards the roulette near the sushi bar and immediately started placing bets, throwing stacks of euro bills on the table.

“Quicksave?” a man asked Ryan, the clinking of his outfit announcing his presence long before he called out to the courier.

This guy also wore samurai armor, but one blue and far sleeker, almost skintight. Instead of a faceless glass visor, his helmet took the shape of a black demon mask, allowing Ryan to see the black eyes and mouth below. The bouncers nodded at him in respect, and quite a few people gave the man a wide berth. Yeah, clearly a Genome.

“Yes?” Ryan asked, feigning innocence.

“You don’t have precognition right, I hope?” the man asked, crossing his arms. “Because I will have to kick you out if you do. We don’t allow Blue Genomes to play.”

“Precognition?” the courier shook his head. “Naaaah, of course not. I’m as Violet as they come.”

Genomes were classified depending on the color of the elixir which gave them their power. Blue focused on information manipulation, from precognition to infohazards, while Violet had spacetime-related abilities.

“Then you can’t peer into alternate timelines or a cheat like that?” samurai-guy asked. “Or rewind time and send information to your past self?”

“But if I can rewind time and erase this conversation so it never happened, do you even exist right now? Or are you a mere simulation of my feverish mind?”

Samurai-guy simply decided to watch, trying to make sense of the terrible existential conundrum Quicksave just threw at his face.

In the end, the courier blew thirty thousand bucks, but he had memorized the roulette numbers and the victorious gladiators’ names for a later loop. Strangely, while the dinosaur won, one firecracker had managed to survive all the way to the end.

“Alright, you definitely aren’t a seer,” samurai-guy said, having acted as Ryan’s chaperone during his entire gambling spree. “I think you should slow down though. At this point, you’re pretty much burning money.”

“I’m sorry, what’s your name?” Ryan ended up asking his mysterious samurai overseer.

“I’m Zanbato. I’m an Augusti.”

“Are you Japanese? Because you don’t sound Japanese.”

“No,” he replied, a bit confused by the question. “I’m Italian.”

“Your supervillain name is Zanbato, but you’re not Japanese?” Goddamn counterfeit.

“I’m not a supervillain,” the man protested, clearly missing the point. “My girlfriend is Korean though.”

“You have a girlfriend?” Ryan gasped. “That’s wonderful!”

“Thanks,” the man replied with a smile. “I hope to marry her soon. I'm curious, why did you come to us? I heard Wyvern made you an offer too.”

“You guys won the coin toss,” Ryan replied bluntly.

Zanbato chuckled, rather amused. He quickly invaded Quicksave’s personal space by putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’m buying you a drink.”

The samurai-wannabe invited Ryan to the sushi bar, taking a beer while Ryan ordered tea. Bouncers formed a security perimeter around them, to allow them some privacy.

“Ghoul escaped,” Zanbato told Quicksave. “A mole in the Private Security told us his pals bust him out, probably with inside help. And knowing that maniac, he will be on your trail shortly. I thought you should know.”

Ryan gasped, promising to inform Wyvern that Ghoul’s friends would bust him out on his next save. “Are you telling me that Private Security is corrupt? I would never have known!”

“The grunts are underpaid, so some are… open to negotiation. Their elite squads, especially those working for Dynamis’ executives, not so much.” Zanbato sipped his beer. “We know you have a pretty powerful ability, but you did good in approaching us. Safety in numbers I always say.”

“You know I’m immortal?” Ryan asked. “But I didn’t tell anyone!”

“You’re immortal?” Zanbato raised an eyebrow. “You can’t die?”

“I think I can, but I never succeeded.”

Zanbato paused, unsure how to answer. “Well, we know you can stop time for an unknown duration as your main power,” the man said. “Now what do you know about us?”

“That you are the biggest supervillain organization in Italy, and that your boss is invincible.”

“We are not…” Zanbato sighed. “We are a family and profit-minded society, men and women of honor. Not supervillains. That’s what Il Migliore labels us as because we aren’t corporate sellouts, and we build houses, churches, and hospitals for the poor. We are good for the community.”

“Your drugs are good for the heart too,” Ryan deadpanned. “But your weapons are better.”

“It’s not illegal,” Zanbato replied, which was true since there wasn’t a true government nowadays. “We have to fund ourselves. I’m telling you, where we rule, things are peaceful, people feel safe. There’s no pillager taking your stuff, no Psychos running around. When Augustus takes over Italy, and he will, you won’t recognize our country. It will be like before the Wars.”

The man sounded like he really believed it too. He seemed a bit young to rant about the ‘good old days’ though.

“Oh, also, do you have anything child related?” Ryan asked. “Because I’m pretty flexible, but if I find you do anything reprehensible to teens and below, then we’re going to have a problem.”

Zanbato’s mouth twisted into an expression of absolute disgust. “We don’t even sell Bliss to minors,” he said. “We aren’t savages. Not like the Meta. Anyway, do you know how we work as an organization? Because if you want to join us, you will have to bend to the hierarchy.”

“I’m more of a free spirit kind of guy,” Ryan said. “I’m just looking for help in finding a friend.”

“Oh?” this seemed to surprise the Genome. He must have thought Ryan a money-only kind of guy. “Whom?”

“Her name is Len. Black hair, blue eyes, Marxist-Leninist.”

“Do you have a photo?” Ryan shook his head. “Is she your girlfriend?”

“No, just my best friend. Been looking for her for years, until a client tried to pay me in tech she made. He said it came from New Rome.”

“Tech. She’s a Genius?” Zanbato finished his beer, mulling over that information. “Okay, look, if she’s what matters to you, then we’ll help you find her. Favor for a favor.”

Ryan could live with that. Once he had the information, he could always start a new loop and go to Len directly, without having to put a horse’s head in someone’s bed. “What favor?”

“We need muscle,” Zanbato said. “New Rome has a new problem called the Meta-Gang. They’re all Psychos.”

“I know them,” Ryan replied. “Had a skirmish with them years ago, back when they were small fries.”

Ghoul hadn’t joined then, but they were already vicious assholes.

Not that Ryan could blame them. The human body wasn’t made to handle more than one Elixir, even knockoffs. The combination of two powers made the genetic code unstable, usually driving the recipient mad. Sure, they gained an additional ability—nobody ever developed more than two as far as Ryan knew—but needed periodical injections of Elixirs to stabilize their body. These Genome mutants had the well-deserved nickname of Psychos.

You would think people knew better. But the thought of exceptional cases like Augustus, who gained two obscene powers with no ill-effects, always drove fools to try their luck.

“Long story short, these junkies started moving into our turf recently, especially the north neighborhoods,” Zanbato explained, as shouts erupted behind them. Ryan glanced behind him, noticing a new Colosseum battle had begun on TV. “They attacked our guys, we hit ‘em back, and now they assault our associates and suppliers like Renesco.”

“Can’t you…” Ryan mimicked a beheading motion. “You know…”

“Yes we can, but for now they’re just an annoying nuisance and the bosses want our best men to focus on more important matters.” Zanbato asked for another beer. “So what do you say? Help us beat up some mutants, get your girl?”

“Oooh, business.” Ryan joined his hands. “How many?”

“How many what?

“How many casualties?”

正如名字所示，博徒是一家日式主题赌场。

瑞恩把车停在附近，抬头望着这座建筑，啧啧称奇。建筑师将一座东方宝塔原样复刻了出来，规模堪比购物中心；一条红地毯直通金光闪闪、极尽炫耀之能事的鸟居大门，赌场的名字醒目地挂在上面。成群的赌客往里走，有人穿着旗袍之类的亚洲传统服饰，也有人身着无尾晚礼服和昂贵的礼服长裙。当然，论时髦，谁也比不上快存那身绝妙的行头，不过看在他们努力过的份上，瑞恩还是愿意给几分。

赌场甚至给看场子的保安穿上了天才制造的低档盔甲，打扮成武士。那些盔甲看上去几乎与封建时代的甲胄无异，只是更厚重，而且甲片之间连接的不是衣料，而是柔性电路。设计相当不错，尤其是那彩色玻璃面罩。瑞恩不禁好奇，他们有没有配套的光剑。

“里面不许带武器。”一个保安说着，和同伴一起搜查瑞恩。穿上盔甲后，两人都比这位基因者至少高出一头。他们立刻就找到了他藏在袖子里的飞刀，随后又极其仔细地搜了一遍。

几分钟后，他身上大部分东西都被搜了出来。

“二十五把飞刀，两把左轮手枪，其中一把是沙漠之鹰，一把能量手枪，一枚破片手雷，一把弹簧刀，一个握手整蛊器，还有……”保安皱起眉，拿起一颗棒球大小的金属小球。“这是炸弹？”

“没错。”瑞恩回答，“天才科技。”

“电磁脉冲弹？火药炸弹？”

“热核弹。”

保安哈哈大笑，直到发现瑞恩是认真的。他和其他保安交换了一下眼色，所有人都将手按在了腰间的佩刀上。

“你把原子弹揣在后裤兜里？”保安拿着那东西，在瑞恩面前晃了晃。

“只用于威慑！”快递员一边交叉着手指，一边保证，“我以朝鲜的名义发誓！”

保安沉默片刻，随后碰了碰头盔，低声说了几句瑞恩听不清的话。毫无疑问，他在联系经理。

“等你办完事，就能领回你的……东西。”保安宣布，把他的武器装进一个袋子。“不过你敢乱来，那颗炸弹可就不放后裤兜，改塞后门了。懂吗？”

“是，长官！”瑞恩应道，像个孩子一样轻快地晃进了赌场。

他随即走进一条摆满柏青哥机的走廊。那是一种古怪的日式老虎机，赌客们受着它们超凡魔力的奴役，在机器前埋头苦干。这番景象让瑞恩想起，自己曾经整整四轮循环都沉迷于这些机器，之后才终于玩腻。

啊，真怀念。

再走几步，瑞恩便进入了主赌厅。这里将日式艺术设计与西方博彩娱乐融为一体。轮盘赌桌与二十一点牌桌并排摆放，寿司吧旁边甚至还有个相扑擂台。中央一部电梯通往楼上，每层大概都迎合着不同的喜好。

寿司吧上方的巨型屏幕正在播放新罗马斗兽场的宣传画面：一头霸王龙站在场内，伴着观众的欢呼声咆哮。画外音正卖力地为比赛造势。

“这头变异恐龙克隆自远古物种，更经过强化，专为征战马克西穆斯斗兽场！马克西穆斯！要是恐龙还不能让你满足，我们的机器人一定能！”屏幕从《侏罗纪公园》的广告画面，切换成了一台仿佛直接从老日本动画里走出来的人形机甲。“直接出自我们的武器研发计划，迪纳米斯为您带来巨型斗士三型！专为对抗最致命的疯魔与劫掠者而生，这台杀戮机器定会让您屏息以待！究竟有没有选手能战胜这些嗜血怪物？答案就在今晚的节目——斗兽场……马克西穆斯！只在迪纳米斯！”

瑞恩注意到，旁边还有块较小的屏幕显示着赔率。人们要么押哪些选手能活下来，要么押霸王龙会不会第一轮就把所有人吃光。不知出于什么神秘的原因，大多数人都押恐龙会取得压倒性的胜利。

瑞恩溜达到寿司吧附近的轮盘赌桌前，立刻开始下注，将一沓沓欧元扔到桌上。

“快存？”一个男人叫住瑞恩。其实早在他开口之前，身上装备的叮当声就已经宣告了他的到来。

这家伙也穿着武士盔甲，不过是蓝色的，线条利落得多，几乎贴在身上。他的头盔没有用遮住整张脸的玻璃面罩，而是做成了黑色恶鬼面具的形状，瑞恩能看见底下的黑眼睛和嘴。保安们恭敬地向他点头，不少人都远远绕着他走。嗯，显然是个基因者。

“什么事？”瑞恩装出一脸无辜。

“希望你不会预知未来，对吧？”男人抱起双臂问道，“会的话，我就得把你请出去了。我们不许蓝系基因者参赌。”

“预知未来？”快递员摇摇头，“不——会，当然不会。我可是纯得不能再纯的紫系。”

基因者的分类，取决于赋予他们力量的灵药的颜色。蓝系侧重于操纵信息，从预知未来到信息危害，不一而足；紫系则拥有与时空相关的能力。

“那你也不能窥探别的时间线，或者用类似的手段作弊吧？”武士男问，“还有倒转时间，给过去的自己传递信息之类的？”

“可要是我能倒转时间，把这场谈话抹掉，让它从未发生过，那你此刻真的存在吗？还是说，你不过是我那狂热头脑模拟出来的幻象？”

武士男干脆决定先在旁边看着，努力消化快存劈头盖脸扔来的这道可怕的存在主义难题。

最后，快递员输掉了三万块，不过他已经记住了轮盘开出的号码，以及获胜角斗士的名字，留待以后的循环使用。奇怪的是，虽然恐龙赢了，却有个火爆的家伙一路活到了最后。

“好吧，你肯定不是先知。”武士男说。瑞恩这一路豪赌下来，他全程都在旁边陪着。“不过我觉得你该收着点了。照你这玩法，基本上就是在烧钱。”

“不好意思，你叫什么？”瑞恩终于问起了这位神秘的武士监护人。

“我是斩马刀，奥古斯蒂的人。”

“你是日本人？听着不像啊。”

“不是。”他回答，被这问题弄得有些摸不着头脑。“我是意大利人。”

“你的超级反派名号叫斩马刀，居然不是日本人？”该死的假货。

“我不是超级反派。”男人抗议道，显然没抓住重点。“不过我女朋友是韩国人。”

“你有女朋友？”瑞恩惊叹道，“那可太棒了！”

“谢谢。”男人笑着回答，“希望很快就能跟她结婚。我有点好奇，你为什么来找我们？听说双足飞龙也招揽过你。”

“我抛了硬币，你们赢了。”瑞恩直截了当地回答。

斩马刀被逗乐了，笑出了声。他随即把手搭上快存的肩膀，侵入了对方的私人空间。“我请你喝一杯。”

这位冒牌武士邀瑞恩来到寿司吧，自己要了杯啤酒，瑞恩则点了茶。保安们在周围围出一圈警戒线，让两人能私下聊聊。

“食尸鬼逃了。”斩马刀告诉快存，“我们在私人安保队的眼线说，他的同伙把他救出去了，多半有人里应外合。以我对那疯子的了解，他很快就会来找你。我觉得该让你知道。”

瑞恩倒吸一口气，暗自决定，下次读档后就告诉双足飞龙，食尸鬼的朋友会劫狱救他。“你是说，私人安保队居然腐败？我可真是万万没想到！”

“底层拿的钱太少，所以有些人……愿意通融。精英小队就不太一样了，尤其是给迪纳米斯高管干活的那些。”斩马刀抿了口啤酒。“我们知道你的能力相当强，不过你来找我们还是明智的。我总说，人多才安全。”

“你知道我是不死之身？”瑞恩问，“可我没告诉过任何人啊！”

“你是不死之身？”斩马刀挑起眉，“你死不了？”

“我觉得应该死得了，只是从没成功过。”

斩马刀顿了顿，不知该怎么接话。“好吧，我们知道你的主要能力是暂停时间，但能停多久还不清楚。”他说，“那么，你对我们又了解多少？”

“你们是意大利最大的超级反派组织，而且你们老大是无敌的。”

“我们不是……”斩马刀叹了口气，“我们是个家族，也是个讲求利益的社团，里头的男女都是讲道义的人。不是超级反派。那是至优者给我们扣的帽子，因为我们没把自己卖给公司，还给穷人盖房子、建教堂、修医院。我们为社区造福。”

“你们的毒品还对心脏有好处呢。”瑞恩面无表情地说，“不过你们的武器效果更好。”

“这又不违法。”斩马刀回答。这倒是实话，毕竟如今已经没有真正的政府了。“我们总得筹钱养活自己。我跟你说，我们管的地方都很太平，老百姓觉得安全。没有劫掠者抢你的东西，也没有疯魔到处乱跑。等奥古斯都接管意大利——而他一定会做到——你都认不出咱们这个国家了。到时候，一切都会像战争爆发前一样。”

听他的语气，还真是打心底里这么想的。不过，要滔滔不绝地怀念“过去的好日子”，他似乎年轻了点。

“哦，还有，你们有没有涉及孩子的生意？”瑞恩问，“我这人挺好商量，可要是让我发现你们对青少年或者更小的孩子干什么缺德事，那咱们就有麻烦了。”

斩马刀撇着嘴，露出极度厌恶的表情。“我们连极乐都不卖给未成年人。”他说，“我们不是野蛮人，跟超能帮不一样。总之，你知道我们这个组织是怎么运作的吗？想加入我们，就得服从上下级的规矩。”

“我这人比较崇尚自由。”瑞恩说，“我只是想找人帮忙，寻找一个朋友。”

“哦？”这似乎让这位基因者颇感意外。他肯定以为瑞恩是个只认钱的家伙。“谁？”

“她叫蕾恩。黑头发，蓝眼睛，马克思列宁主义者。”

“有照片吗？”瑞恩摇摇头。“她是你女朋友？”

“不是，只是我最好的朋友。我找了她好几年，直到有个客户想拿她造的科技产品抵报酬。他说那东西来自新罗马。”

“科技产品。她是天才？”斩马刀喝完啤酒，琢磨着这条信息。“好吧，听着，要是她对你这么重要，那我们就帮你找到她。人情换人情。”

这条件瑞恩可以接受。一旦拿到消息，他随时都能开启新一轮循环，直接去找蕾恩，根本不必往谁的床上塞马头。“要我帮什么忙？”

“我们需要打手。”斩马刀说，“新罗马最近多了个麻烦，叫超能帮。他们全是疯魔。”

“我知道他们。”瑞恩回答，“几年前打过一场小仗，那时候他们还是小角色。”

那时食尸鬼还没加入，不过他们已经是一群凶残的王八蛋了。

倒也不能全怪他们。人体根本承受不了一剂以上的灵药，就算用的是仿制品也一样。两种能力结合，会让遗传密码变得不稳定，通常还会把服药者逼疯。他们确实能多得到一种能力——据瑞恩所知，从来没人获得过两种以上——却也必须定期注射灵药，才能稳定身体。这些变异的基因者有个实至名归的绰号：疯魔。

按理说，人们该知道轻重。可一想到奥古斯都这种特例，拥有两种强得离谱的能力，却没有任何不良反应，总会有蠢货忍不住去碰碰运气。

“长话短说，这帮瘾君子最近开始往我们的地盘钻，尤其是北边几个街区。”斩马刀解释道。身后忽然爆发出一阵喊声，瑞恩回头看了一眼，发现电视上又开了一场斗兽场比赛。“他们打了我们的人，我们还了手，现在他们又开始袭击我们的合作伙伴和供应商，比如雷内斯科。”

“你们就不能……”瑞恩比了个砍头的动作。“你懂的……”

“当然能，不过眼下他们还只是点烦人的小麻烦，老大们希望最能干的人专心处理更重要的事。”斩马刀又要了一杯啤酒。“所以，你怎么说？帮我们揍几个变异种，我们帮你找到你的姑娘？”

“哦——谈生意了。”瑞恩合拢双手。“多少？”

“什么多少？”

“死伤多少人？”

当晚，阮行舟把红车停在千金台外。

补好的车漆还有点发黏，撞角倒很干净。他绕着车看了一圈，觉得昨晚那笔生意虽然亏钱，至少试出了车架结实。

千金台是一座雾洲式的重楼。檐角宽平，朱柱漆得像刚流过血，楼身有半条街那么长。门前立着两架包金的大鸟，鸟腹中烧着灯，光从成百上千片金羽之间漏出来，落在红毡上。

客人顺着红毡往里走。有人穿宽袖锦袍，有人把紧身礼服绷在腰间；两个戴着高冠的男人拿折扇挡住嘴，低声议论一位露着肩的姑娘。看得出来，大家都花了钱，也都尽了力。

离阮行舟的风采，还差一点。

门口的护场人披着层叠重甲，照的是雾洲武士的式样。甲片之间不是皮绳，而是一束束柔软的导线，关节处藏着小汽缸。面罩用染色琉璃拼成，灯一照，像两张发光的庙门。

低等天工制品，批量造的，倒也舍得花心思。

阮行舟很想知道那两把刀会不会亮。

“兵器寄存。”左边的护场人说。

“都存？”

对方伸手探进他袖口，摸出三把飞刀。

于是两个人一齐上手。

过了一会儿，旁边又来一个，负责记账。

“飞刀二十五，短铳两支，电束手枪一支，破片雷一枚，折刀一把……”记账的人看着掌心那只小东西，“这个呢？”

“握手铃。”阮行舟说，“朋友握上来，会麻一下，醒脑。”

那人把它放进筐里，随即从阮行舟后腰摸出一颗金属小球，刚好一手握住。

“雷？”

“雷。天工造的。”

“黑火药，还是断电的？”

“热核的。”

护场人笑了，看看同伴，又看看阮行舟。

阮行舟没有笑。他在观察檐下的雕花，有一朵刻反了。

三个护场人一齐安静下来。

“热核？”拿着小球的那位声音变了，“把整条街变成白地的那个？”

“远不止这条街。”

两个人的手已经按上刀柄。拿球的那个没动，生怕一动就要去街外收自己。

“你把这东西揣在屁股后头？”

“威慑。”阮行舟说，“一般不用。我以归潮水司按时供水的信誉担保。”

没有人觉得这个担保很好。

一个护场人按住耳侧，说了几句。阮行舟只听见“祝融请来的”和“不是寻常火药”，后面几句压得太低，听不清。

片刻后，对方听完回话，朝记账的人点头，脸色却没好多少。

“上头准你进去。这颗单存。”

记账的人另取了一只硬箱，轻轻放进小球，上锁，又单开了一张寄存牌。其余刀枪仍进寻常的兵器筐。拿箱的人走远了些，几个人才又开始说话。

“东西全留下，走时领。进去老实些。”

“放心，我很随和。”

阮行舟郑重答应，接过寄存牌，像个头一回逛灯会的孩子，进了千金台。

两旁先是一长排弹珠机。黄铜珠从顶上落下来，穿过钉阵，时而叮当撞钟，时而什么也不响。客人坐在机子前，一把把往里喂城钱，神情比给祖宗烧纸还专注。

他曾经迷过这个，连着四回重来，都耗在这些机子前，醒来就玩，死了接着玩。后来忽然腻了，再没碰过。

如今看着，仍有一点亲切。

里头的大堂挑空数层。彩绘梁枋底下，轮盘、牌九、二十一点的桌子排得井然。角落有相扑台，两个大汉正推来推去，旁边的客人一边吃生鱼脍，一边骂他们不肯用力。中央一架升降梯无声上行，带走几位用面纱遮着脸的贵客。

阮行舟没往楼上去。他在鱼脍台旁边找着一张轮盘桌，面前恰好有影幕。

幕上是一头暴龙。

巨兽踏进归潮大斗场，铁栅在它颈侧蹭出火星。它一张口，前排看客全站了起来。阮行舟怀疑其中有几位是想跑，没跑成。

“太古遗种，今日重生！”传声筒吼道，“天衡复生所取古兽遗存，克隆育成，再添筋骨！今夜首场，报名的饮髓者将轮番挑战这头凶兽！”

影像一转，暴龙身旁出现一尊黑铁机甲，肩背比楼还宽。

“下一场，还有镇狱三型！天衡兵造院最新出品，专猎狂变者与荒野劫匪。敢问今夜，谁能活着走出这扇门？”

掌声响起。幕下的小板列出赔率，多数人买暴龙全胜，剩下的人似乎主要是在赌选手够不够它一顿吃。

阮行舟把一沓钞票放上赌桌。

“换筹。”

他连输了几手，身后响起细小的甲片碰撞声。

“留一手？”

来人也披甲，却比门口那几位轻巧许多。青甲贴着身形，接口整齐，动起来没有汽缸泄压的杂音。头盔压着一张黑色鬼面，露出嘴与两只黑眼睛。

周围的人看见他，都让开了一点。护场人则点头示意。

“正是。”阮行舟把筹码压在黑色那一边。

“先问一句。你不懂预知吧？”

“不懂。”

“蓝髓不能上桌。这是规矩。”

“我喝的紫，紫得不能再紫。”

饮髓者按药液的颜色分门类。蓝髓管消息，有人看将来，有人能把一句话变成害人的东西；紫髓则把手伸进时间与空间里。分法不算精细，好处是容易写告示。

来人显然见过世面，没有立刻放心。

“别的时辰也不能偷看。譬如倒转光阴，把输赢报给从前的自己，都不行。”

阮行舟抬头看他。

“倘若我真能倒转，把咱们这段话抹得从来没发生过，那现在同我说话的你，还算不算活过？”

青甲人停了一下。

“又或者，”阮行舟热心地补充，“你只在我这一场梦里，我醒了，你才不在了？”

对方决定先不说话，站在旁边，看他接着输。

这一看，就看到阮行舟输了三万贯。

轮盘转过多少次，依次落在哪些数上，阮行舟全记下了。影幕上的斗场也开了局，他一面下注，一面记选手的名字、胜负和先后出场的次序。

暴龙果然赢了，倒没有把人吃光。一个脾气火爆得像爆竹的选手撑到了最后。他多看了两眼，把那道身影也留下了。

这都是以后能花的钱。

“行了，你不是先知。”青甲人说，“但再输下去，就是往炉里添钞票了。”

“还没请教？”

“斩马。岳家的。”

阮行舟打量他的头盔。“雾洲人？”

“本地人。”

“穿雾洲甲，取个雾洲刀的名字，一口归潮腔？”

斩马有点没弄懂他的意思。“这甲结实。”

阮行舟叹气。“世风日下，连异邦豪杰都有本地仿货。”

“我又没说自己是异邦人。”斩马想了想，补上一句，“我相好的姑娘倒是雪关来的。”

“要成亲了？”

“我倒盼着。”他露出一个笑，“但愿能早些娶她。”

“那是好事。恭喜。”

这回阮行舟说得很认真。斩马听得出来，笑意留在脸上，没有收。

“怎么先来我们这边？我听说飞廉早晨也去了。”

“抛铜钱。你们赢了。”

斩马笑出声，抬手搭住他的肩。

“来。我请你喝一杯。”

他们在鱼脍台旁坐下。斩马要了一杯麦酒，阮行舟要茶。几个护场人散开站着，客人见了这阵势，都自觉换到远些的座位。

酒送上来，斩马先说：“寒骸跑了。”

“这么快？”

“巡安队里有人给我们递消息。他的同伙去劫人，里头多半也帮了手。他那种人，记仇，你出门当心。”

阮行舟把这件事添进下一回要办的清单。到时候提醒飞廉看紧些，总比重打一顿省工。

“巡安队竟会收钱办事。”他说，“真是想不到。”

斩马喝了一口酒。“底下的人挣得少。话谈到了，多半能通融。总号里的精锐，还有给大掌柜们护身的，就没这么容易。”

“会哭的孩子有糖吃，会打的孩子有俸拿。”

“有本事也得有人照应。你来找我们，是对的。”

“因为我死不了？”

斩马看向他。“你死不了？”

“嘘。我还没告诉别人。”

“真杀不死？”

“我觉得能。就是一直没试成。”

斩马把杯子放下，显然不知该不该安慰他。

“我们知道你能让时辰停住。”他说，“能停多久，还不清楚。别的，你自己愿意说再说。岳家是什么情形，你了解多少？”

“沿海最大的恶人窝。头领刀枪不入。”

“我们不是——”

斩马停住，呼出一口气。

“天衡卫喜欢这么叫。我们没领他们的饷，不照他们的意思办事，就都成了恶人。岳家是做生意的一家人，讲规矩，也讲情分。”

阮行舟转着茶杯，没接话。

“锈坊的平屋，东边那间义诊所，还有供人过夜的庙，都是家里出的钱。我们管的街，没人敢随便抢东西，狂变者也不敢上门拿人。街坊住着安稳，这些总是真的。”

“你们的极乐散也真。兵器更好，我用过。”

“哪条律不许卖？”斩马反问。

这话倒问得住。旧朝律本还摆在书铺，能买，没谁照着办。

“养这么多人，总得有进项。”斩马说，“等岳君把沿海一统，路上没有流寇，城里不闹狂变。像打仗以前那样，不好？”

他是真信。

阮行舟从鬼面下看了看那张年轻的脸。他很怀疑，斩马还能记得多少打仗以前的事。

“有一条先讲明白。”阮行舟说。

斩马等着。

“我能忍的事不少。可你们要是伤害孩子，我会翻脸。”

斩马的嘴角一下沉了，像刚喝进一口脏水。

“极乐散我们都不卖给孩子。你把岳家当什么了？蜕帮？”

“说清楚就好。”

“还有家里的次序，谁管谁，总得听调遣。你要进来——”

“我先不进。”阮行舟把茶杯放稳，“我来找个人。你们肯帮，我替你们做事。”

斩马意外地看了他一眼。

“什么人？”

“林澜。黑发，蓝眼，讲天下公有的。最好的朋友。”

“有相片吗？”

阮行舟摇头。

“心上人？”

“最好的朋友。”他重复了一遍，“找了好些年。前阵子，有个主顾想拿一件天工器物抵脚钱，那东西是她做的。我认得。他说从归潮来的。”

斩马将杯里剩下的酒喝完。

“她是天工？”

“嗯。”

“那能查。东西经过谁的手，总有线头。”斩马想了想，“行，你要紧的是她，我们就帮你找。人情换人情。”

这笔买卖阮行舟做得。

等拿到消息，下一回他可以直接去找小澜，省掉许多认大哥、拜祖师、给别人当亲戚的麻烦。

“你们要我干什么？”

“打架。”斩马说，“归潮最近多出来一伙人，就是蜕帮。你见过一个，他们全是狂变者。”

“早年跟他们动过手。那会儿还没这副排场。”

寒骸是后来入的伙。其余那些人，当年已经够坏了。

也够疯。

人的身子受不住第二种髓，仿的也一样。偏有人不肯信，喝了第一瓶，还想第二瓶。两种能力挤进一副皮囊，身子会变，心神也常跟着坏。阮行舟见过长出额外肢体的，也见过外表没有变化、开口却认不出人的。

这便是狂变者。他们还得按期注髓，勉强稳住身体。得了本事，也从此离不开那根针。

阮行舟还没听说谁得到过第三种本事。

照理早该没人再试。可岳君立在那里，打不穿，雷又听他的，既没变成骨头，也没当街疯笑。人人都知道可能出事，人人都盼着自己也能姓一回岳。

“他们先占北边的地盘，再动我们的人。”斩马说，“家里打回去，他们就换着找外头的掌柜、供货人。俏驴只是其中一家。”

影幕忽然传来一阵喧声，又一场斗赛开了。阮行舟抬眼，看见铁栅缓缓升起。这里每个人杯里的酒都还满着。

“不能把元生他们一块儿——”他在颈前比了一下。

“能。不过眼下还只是疥癣，上头另有要紧的事，好手要留着用。”

斩马抬手，又要了一杯麦酒。

“怎么样？帮我们收拾几个狂变的，我们帮你找姑娘。”

阮行舟将两只戴着手套的手交叠，放在台面上。

“多少？”

“多少什么？”

“你们要多少死伤？”