同章对照

Hell existed, and it was a corporate seminar.

Ryan had thought his first day on the job as a Little League member would involve superhero training, maybe a routine patrol with Wyvern. Something practical. Instead, the courier received an assignment to a boring, weeks-long corporate internship.

He simply had to look at the day’s planning to wish for a restart. Coffee breakfast, first meeting—with half an hour delay because of the aforementioned coffee break—then lunch, then second meeting, then the REAL lunch, then the second coffee break, third meeting, afternoon lunch, coffee break, then corporate videos. All before six in the afternoon, after which Ryan could either leave or participate in ‘afterhour drink networking.’

So far these meetings consisted of seminars about brand management, marketing guys brainstorming his ‘new and improved’ branding, lawyer interviews where they discussed auxiliary rights, and now an education video about Dynamis’ company culture.

In short, no superhero work at all.

Ryan wasn’t the only ‘recruit’ there, but much to his surprise, most of them seemed to enjoy these boring, mindless activities. They were more eager to discuss their image and royalties than actual fieldwork.

This place drained the courier of his soul. He could feel it.

With a bored sigh, Ryan reached the room where he was supposed to watch the new corporate video, putting his hand on a door scanner. Dynamis had extracted a drop of his blood soon after he signed their contract, which allowed the company to somehow track and identify him.

“Bio-signature: Timelord.”

Ryan groaned at the generic name while the door opened. Couldn’t they have picked something more unique like Clockomancer, or Clockblocker?

The courier walked into a darkened, informal conference room wide enough to welcome dozens upon dozens of people, with Mesoamerican drawings on creamy walls. Dynamis favored an informal, comfortable style, replacing plastic chairs with cotton armchairs and sofas.

The Little League new recruits were gathered in front of a giant screen alongside the PR staff, exchanging pleasantries while consuming Dynamis-made energy drinks; most seemed aged between fifteen and their mid-twenties, wearing colorful costumes designed by the marketing department. From what Ryan heard, they were currently discussing the latest fashion trends, who dated who among Il Migliore’s Pro-League, and how they got introduced to Enrique Manada in the first place.

The Panda wasn’t among these brats. Which was an injustice of the highest order, since he would have fit in perfectly.

Ryan noticed a lone wolf at the back, who preferred to examine photos and paper reports on a luxurious sofa than looking at the screen. This man wore a white cat-shaped mask covering the upper part of his face, showcasing his smooth pale skin, blue eyes, and combed blonde hair; a true adonis. All in all, he seemed around eighteen, wearing a pink and white sleeveless gymnast suit.

The D-shaped symbol flashed on the screen, alongside colorful music. The image of an elderly Latino man with graying hair, a macho mustache, and a rather large belly appeared at the forefront, with a picture of New Rome in the background. He reminded Ryan of an older picture of Pablo Escobar, down to the casual outfit and friendly smile hiding the teeth beneath.

“Hi, I’m Hector Manada, CEO and founder of Dynamis. As a new employee, I welcome you, into the D-family. You have been chosen because of your skills and character, to become part of something greater. For we at Dynamis and its subsidiaries, we are more than a corporate conglomerate. Thirty-three years ago, from the moment I established this company, our guiding principle has always been the same… what should the world look like?”

Ryan knew a lot about Dynamis’ official history, mostly because they advertised it constantly. A twenty-six years old Hector Manada created the pharmaceutical company in Spain long before the Genome Wars, expanding its domains to shipping, warehouses, agriculture, food, biotech, manufacturing, oil, retail… and pretty much everything else.

Ironically, they had just transferred their HQ to Italy to get closer to their burgeoning shipping activities the year before Mechron bombed everyone. This stroke of luck saved most of their leadership when the old world collapsed, and since Dynamis had a finger in every pie all over Western Europe before the Genome Wars, it had the resources needed to thrive once the dust settled.

Since Spain had suffered a lot more than Italy from Genomes depredations, Dynamis had transferred most of its remaining infrastructure away from their homeland, founding New Rome as their personal stronghold. Through their mergers with other corporations and subsidiaries, they controlled Corsica, Sardinia, Mallorca, the south of Spain, western Italy, the oil fields of Libya, and currently contested Sicily to local Genome warlords.

In short, Dynamis’ board was well on their way to become the face of post-Genome Europe… if Augustus didn’t beat them to it.

Ryan decided to move at the back alongside the lone wolf, since it was the closest to the door; he intended to leave as soon as the video ended. Sitting at the back, he tried to listen to the video for ten seconds, before getting bored and checking stuff on his phone.

“Is there wifi here?” Ryan asked his neighbor. “I see a ‘Dyna-mite’ wifi but it’s password protected.”

“You see the wifi-box here?” Blondie pointed at a device in a corner of the room. “The password is written—”

Ryan stopped time before he could finish his sentence. Moving as quickly as a snake, he searched inside his coat for a mini-tracker, quickly opened the wireless box’s back, swiftly put the tracker inside, and then closed the device.

“—on the back,” the man finished, Ryan having returned to his original spot with nobody noticing. “It’s incredibly long and case sensitive though. Took me five tries to get it right.”

The courier feigned a groan of laziness, his eyes still on his phone. The tracker had already activated, sending him information.

Ryan had placed similar devices all over the floor during the day, which should grant him a way inside Dynamis’ systems. The courier needed a quick scan for vulnerabilities which he could exploit in future loops to get inside, and didn’t particularly care if he was identified afterward.

If anything, Ryan considered committing suicide and find a way to skip this internship phase entirely. He was a creature of fun, and the staff here seemed determined to drain him of every drop of life.

Putting his phone back in his pocket and having consumed enough Dynamis content for a lifetime, Ryan didn’t pay attention to the video. Instead, his curious eyes wandered to his neighbor, who seemed to share his disinterest.

As it turned out, Blondie was busy looking at photos of the Meta-Gang.

Ryan immediately recognizing pictures of Sarin and Ghoul, alongside that of a large, horrifically obese bald man with menswear straight out of the fifties. His scarred face and prominent teeth reminded Ryan of a hippo.

Blondie noticed Ryan’s curiosity and felt the urge to give details. “Adam, the Meta’s big bad boss.”

“I could tell from the paunch,” Ryan replied, approaching to get a better look at the photos.

“He’s somewhere in the city, but nobody knows his exact location,” Blondie mumbled, his voice rising with frustration. The recruits closest to them looked over their shoulders, before focusing back on the video. “Too much counter-surveillance, no electronic trail, and he contacts his men, not the other way around. The only people who might know are his lieutenants: Psyshock, Acid Rain, Frank the Mad…”

Ryan decided to make the Meta one of his main priorities for this restart. These Psychos were far too organized and well-behaved. Four years ago, Adam could barely keep his junkies in check, and never without a healthy dose of family-unfriendly violence.

“My, they have grown very large over the years,” the courier mused, as he examined the file closely. According to Dynamis’ information, the Meta-Gang now included around fifty members. “I still remember when they could barely fill a minibus.”

This caught Blondie’s interest. “You met the Meta before?”

“Four years ago,” Ryan replied. “It was just Adam, Psyshock, and a few hanger-ons back then. They didn’t differ much from a normal Psycho pack, except the fondness for ultraviolence and medieval execution methods.”

“Anything you can tell me about them?” Blondie whispered, making it hard for Ryan to listen to the video’s sound. “Their tactics, their organization, their weaknesses?”

“If you want the full story, my feline friend, Psyshock tried to convince a member of my old group to join them. It didn’t go well, and it ended in a bloodbath.” Typical Psychos. “Oh, and Psyshock is a sadistic creep who can hijack your nervous system with his wires if he catches you.”

Telepaths were some of the few Genomes with the ability to do Ryan lasting damage, by tampering with his memories or destroying his personality. He avoided them like the plague whenever he could.

Psyshock though, the courier might seek out and beat up on principle.

“He needs physical contact?” Blondie asked, scribbling the information on a paper sheet. “Good to know. Does he need to maintain physical contact too?”

“Yep, but the disconnection is incredibly painful for the victim,” Ryan explained while putting his legs on the sofa, taking as much space as humanly possible. “So my feline friend, are you planning a mutant mice hunt?”

“I wish,” he grumbled, his eyes wandering to the video. “I asked Enrique if I could follow Pro-League members on patrols, and instead I must guest star in their new movie. He said it would introduce me to the public better than any action in the field.”

“Since when do you need authorization to start trouble?” Ryan asked mirthfully. “What’s the point of being a hero if you can’t legally sublimate your violent urges and receive acclaim for it?”

It seemed to amuse him.

“Hey, by the way, I haven’t introduced myself,” Ryan shook his hand. “I’m Quicksave. I’m immortal, but don’t tell anyone.”

“Atom Cat,” he replied. “I can blow stuff up on touch.”

“Oh, the mafia boy?”

The handshake turned into an iron-grip. “How do you know that?” he hissed. “Are you a spy? Enrique told you? That bastard, I should never have listened-”

“Hey!”

The video paused, and everyone looked at the duo with angry gazes; while Ryan remained unfazed, Atom Cat bristled a bit. Nothing like a shared embarrassment to start a new friendship!

A marketing guy in a suit and tie looked at the duo, letting the awkward silence set in. “Are you not interested,” he began, the frozen face of Hector Manada behind him, “in the company where you will work for the next five years?”

“I am interested, sir,” Atom Cat lied through his teeth. “It won’t happen again, sir.”

“Absolutely not,” Ryan replied bluntly, “but please continue, we’ll be as quiet and dutiful as unpaid interns.”

The marketing guy glared at the courier, imitated by the other recruits. It was kindergarten all over again. “If you make another comment like that, Timelord, I will ask you to politely leave the room without a word.”

The new name hurt, physically.

Wait, they could leave early?

When the marketing guy received no answer, he put back the video on. Atom Cat waited for everyone to lose interest in them, before whispering into Ryan’s ear. “If you don’t answer, I’m blowing you up. Same if I let go of your hand unwillingly.”

“Can you keep a secret?” Ryan looked around as if they were being spied on, and then approached Atom Cat’s ear to whisper back into it. “I come back from the future. I used a DeLorean.”

“Your references are quite outdated,” Atom Cat replied. His grip grew tighter, and the courier felt his skin heat up. “What do you know?”

“That we are close enough to kiss,” Ryan replied, his free hand shifting to grab a weapon. “That your parents are Augusti Capos, that you joined the other team out of teenage rebellion, and that you should rethink having children.”

Atom Cat looked down, noticing the hidden knife very close to his manly parts. Thankfully, nobody had noticed, their eyes focusing on the screen. "My power will be faster," he replied.

"And I'm very good at neutering cats, Kitty."

“At least a spy would have been subtler,” Atom Cat mused, his eyes squinting behind the mask. “So you don’t know who my parents are? Their actual identity?”

The courier rolled his shoulders.

Atom Cat looked at the other recruits, and spoke only when certain they didn’t listen, with a voice so low the courier could barely hear it, “They’re Mars and Venus.”

Ryan gasped in shock. “You’re Cupid? But where are the wings and bow?”

Atom Cat marked a short pause. “Not the mythological gods, you idiot,” he said, finally releasing Ryan’s hand. “It takes some kind of elitist narcissism to name yourself after deities. As if you stood above normal people, like mice and men.”

“I heard there was a Genome who tried to use the name Little Jesus once," the courier replied, putting back the knife up his sleeve, "He didn’t last long.”

“Augustus fried him alive,” Atom Cat replied, relaxing a bit. “You’re not an Augusti? No, you wouldn’t have risked a DNA scan otherwise. They’ve been sending people asking me to come back into the fold a lot lately.”

“And why did you leave it in the first place?” Ryan asked, crossing his legs and faking interest in the video when the marketing guy looked at him. Now it showed Hector with children before a school sponsored by Dynamis, the poor kids struggling to smile at the camera.

“If you knew half the things they do, you’d understand,” Atom Cat replied angrily. “Their Bliss drug kills thousands each year, their weapons slay more, and that’s what makes it to the news. The kidnappings, the murders, the racketeering, and the prostitution… After a while, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I thought I could make a difference at Il Migliore.”

“Did you?”

“Not yet,” he grumbled. “The Manada and Augustus have been at each other’s throat for years, so I thought they had plans to take him down, but apparently, Dynamis’ motto is ‘don’t rock the boat.’”

“Enrique seemed quite motivated when I met him,” Ryan pointed out.

“He and his brother Alphonse yes, but their father…” Atom Cat glared at Hector’s image. “‘Don’t rock the boat.’”

Ryan tried his best to watch the video for thirty more seconds and quickly realized he would go mad if this continued. “Okay,” he said, crawling on the sofa closer to the door, “I’m out.”

“Where are you going?” Atom Cat asked, curious.

“To Rust Town, to beat up the Meta.”

The would-be superhero appraised Ryan’s words for a long, long minute. “You want to go to their new territory and… what, pick a fight with the first Psycho you meet?”

“You make it sound so complicated.”

“Dynamis will cut your salary if you do that,” Atom Cat replied weakly. “Maybe even fire you.”

Ryan considered the statement thoughtfully, remembered that he had more money stashed away than he would earn at Il Migliore, then shrugged it off. He was confident he would learn more about Dynamis’ activities by hacking them than by following a week-long seminar.

“Your nickname is Quicksave,” Atom Cat mumbled the name, finally remembering where he had heard it. “Wait, didn’t you beat up Ghoul with a golf club?”

“I had to buy one just for that occasion, and I almost didn’t make it in time. Still, I improved my short game by quite a lot.” Ryan rose up from the sofa, looking casual and ignoring the marketing guy glaring at him. “Now, are you coming or not?”

Atom Cat looked at Ryan, then at the video, and noticed it still had fifty-seven minutes left before its conclusion. The young hero immediately rose up from the sofa, gathered the photos and reports, before following the courier towards the door.

“Timelord, Atom Cat, the video is not over yet,” the marketing guy said, trying to sound firm and failing utterly.

“I’m escorting him out of the building to make sure he never returns, sir,” Atom Cat promised. Apparently, in spite of his spiel, getting rid of the courier made the marketing guy a lot happier.

“Teacher’s pet,” Ryan accused Atom Cat, as he closed the door behind them.

“You have a car?” the young superhero asked. “I can only drive a motorcycle.”

“I have the best of them, but before we go,” Ryan cleared his throat, “do you know where they make cashmere suits?”

“Floor twenty of the Dynamis HQ, right next to this building,” Atom Cat replied, clearly well-informed. “Why the question?”

“Because I will get a cashmere suit, even if I have to fight for it.”

地狱确实存在，而且是一场企业培训会。

瑞恩原以为，加入小联盟后的第一个工作日，会有些超级英雄训练，没准还能跟双足飞龙出去例行巡逻。总之，得干点实事。结果，信使被安排参加一场无聊透顶、长达数周的企业实习。

光是看一眼当天的日程表，他就想重来。咖啡早餐，第一场会议——因为前面那次咖啡休息，推迟半小时——接着是午餐，然后是第二场会议，然后才是真正的午餐，接着是第二次咖啡休息、第三场会议、下午午餐、咖啡休息，最后观看企业宣传片。这一切都安排在下午六点以前，之后瑞恩可以离开，也可以参加“下班小酌联谊”。

到目前为止，这些会议包括品牌管理研讨会、营销人员为他“全新升级”的品牌形象召开的头脑风暴、与律师讨论附属权利的面谈，以及现在这部介绍迪纳米斯企业文化的教育片。

简而言之，半点超级英雄的活儿都没有。

瑞恩不是这里唯一的“新人”，但令他十分意外的是，其他人大多还挺享受这些无聊又不费脑子的活动。比起真正出外勤，他们更热衷于讨论自己的形象和版税。

这地方正在抽干信使的灵魂。他能感觉到。

瑞恩无聊地叹了口气，来到指定观看新一部企业宣传片的房间，将手按在门上的扫描器上。他刚签完合同，迪纳米斯就抽走了他一滴血，这让公司能够以某种方式追踪并识别他。

“生物特征：时间领主。”

门开了，瑞恩听着这毫无特色的名字，呻吟了一声。他们就不能取个更独特的名字，比如钟表术士，或者钟断春宵侠？

信使走进一间光线昏暗、氛围随意的会议室，里面宽敞得足以容纳好几十人，奶油色墙壁上绘着中部美洲风格的图画。迪纳米斯偏爱轻松舒适的格调，用棉布扶手椅和沙发代替了塑料椅。

小联盟的新人和公关人员聚在一块巨大的屏幕前，一边喝着迪纳米斯生产的能量饮料，一边寒暄。新人看起来大多在十五岁到二十五岁左右，穿着营销部门设计的鲜艳制服。瑞恩听了几耳朵，他们正在讨论最新的流行风尚、至优者职业联盟里谁跟谁在交往，以及当初都是经谁介绍认识了恩里克·马纳达。

这群小鬼里没有熊猫。这简直是天大的不公，因为他肯定能完美融入。

瑞恩注意到后排有个不合群的家伙，独自坐在豪华沙发上，宁可翻看照片和纸质报告，也不愿看屏幕。那人戴着一张白色猫形面具，遮住了上半张脸，露在外面的皮肤白皙光滑，眼睛湛蓝，金发梳得整整齐齐，是个十足的美男子。整体看来，他大约十八岁，穿着一套粉白相间的无袖体操服。

伴着花哨的音乐，D形标志在屏幕上一闪而过。一名上了年纪的拉丁裔男人出现在画面中央，身后是一张新罗马的照片。他头发灰白，蓄着颇显男子气概的胡子，肚子相当大。这让瑞恩想起了巴勃罗·埃斯科瓦尔的一张老照片，就连那身休闲装束，以及掩藏着獠牙的亲切笑容，都如出一辙。

“大家好，我是埃克托·马纳达，迪纳米斯的首席执行官兼创始人。欢迎每一位新员工加入D家族。你们凭借自己的技能与品格脱颖而出，成为一项更伟大事业的一分子。因为迪纳米斯及旗下各公司，不仅仅是一个企业集团。三十三年前，自我创立这家公司起，我们的指导理念就从未改变……世界应该是什么样子？”

瑞恩对迪纳米斯的官方历史了解不少，主要是因为他们成天拿这段历史做宣传。早在基因者战争之前，二十六岁的埃克托·马纳达就在西班牙创办了这家制药公司，随后将业务拓展到航运、仓储、农业、食品、生物科技、制造业、石油、零售……以及几乎所有其他领域。

讽刺的是，就在梅克隆对所有人发动轰炸的前一年，他们刚把总部迁到意大利，以便贴近蓬勃发展的航运业务。这份好运让他们的大部分领导层在旧世界崩溃时幸存了下来。而且，基因者战争爆发前，迪纳米斯的触角就已伸遍西欧，各行各业都插上一脚，因此待尘埃落定，他们手里有足够的资源再度兴旺起来。

基因者的肆虐给西班牙造成的破坏远比意大利严重，所以迪纳米斯将剩余的大部分基础设施迁离了祖国，并建立新罗马，作为自己的堡垒。通过兼并其他企业及其子公司，他们控制了科西嘉岛、撒丁岛、马略卡岛、西班牙南部、意大利西部和利比亚的油田，目前还在与当地的基因者军阀争夺西西里岛。

简而言之，迪纳米斯的董事会正一步步成为基因者时代欧洲的代表……前提是奥古斯都没有抢在他们前头。

瑞恩决定去后排，坐到那个独来独往的家伙旁边，因为那儿离门最近。他打算影片一结束就走。坐下后，他试着听了十秒，便无聊得掏出手机翻看起来。

“这里有无线网吗？”瑞恩问邻座，“我看到一个叫‘迪纳炸药’的，不过有密码。”

“看见那边的无线路由器了吗？”金发小子指向房间角落的一台设备，“密码写在——”

他话还没说完，瑞恩就暂停了时间。他像蛇一样迅捷地行动起来，从大衣里摸出一个微型追踪器，飞快地打开无线路由器的后盖，将追踪器塞进去，随后又把设备合上。

“——背面。”那人把话说完，而瑞恩已经回到原位，没有任何人察觉。“不过长得离谱，还区分大小写。我试了五次才输对。”

信使装作懒得动弹，哼唧了一声，眼睛仍盯着手机。追踪器已经启动，开始向他传送信息。

白天，瑞恩已经在这一层各处放置了类似的设备，应该能借此找到侵入迪纳米斯系统的途径。他需要快速扫描出漏洞，以便在之后的循环里利用它们侵入系统；至于事后会不会查到他头上，他并不怎么在乎。

真要说起来，瑞恩甚至在考虑自杀，然后找个办法把这段实习彻底跳过去。他活着就是为了找乐子，而这里的员工似乎铁了心，要把他的每一滴生气都榨干。

瑞恩把手机塞回口袋。他这辈子需要摄入的迪纳米斯宣传内容已经够量了，便没再理会视频。相反，他好奇的目光转向邻座，对方似乎也和他一样兴致缺缺。

原来，金发小子正忙着翻看超能帮的照片。

瑞恩一眼就认出了沙林和食尸鬼的照片，旁边还有个身材庞大、胖得骇人的秃头男人，穿的男装仿佛直接从五十年代搬来。他满是伤疤的脸和突出的牙齿让瑞恩想起了河马。

金发小子察觉了瑞恩的好奇，忍不住解释道：“亚当，超能帮的大恶人头子。”

“看那肚子就知道有多大。”瑞恩答道，凑近了些，仔细看那些照片。

“他就在城里某个地方，可没人知道具体位置。”金发小子嘀咕着，越说越恼火，声音也高了起来。离他们最近的几个新人回头看了一眼，又继续看视频。“反监视措施太多，没有电子痕迹，而且只有他联系手下，从不让手下联系他。可能知道他在哪儿的，只有那几个副手：心震、酸雨、疯子弗兰克……”

瑞恩决定把超能帮列为这一轮的首要目标之一。这群疯魔组织严密得过了头，也太守规矩了。四年前，亚当还只能勉强管住手下那帮瘾君子，而且每次都少不了大把不宜全家观赏的暴力。

“嚯，这几年他们可壮大了不少。”信使边说边仔细查看文件。根据迪纳米斯的情报，超能帮如今已经有五十名左右的成员。“我还记得他们的人也就勉强凑满一辆小巴的时候呢。”

这勾起了金发小子的兴趣。“你以前见过超能帮？”

“四年前。”瑞恩答道，“那时候就只有亚当、心震，还有几个跟班。他们跟一般的疯魔团伙没多大区别，就是格外热爱极端暴力和中世纪的处决手段。”

“关于他们，你能告诉我点什么吗？”金发小子压低声音问，搅得瑞恩都听不清视频里的声音了。“他们的战术、组织结构、弱点？”

“猫科朋友，你要是想听完整的故事，那就是心震想拉我原来那伙人中的一个入伙。事情进行得不顺利，最后变成了一场血洗。”典型的疯魔做派。“哦，还有，心震是个嗜虐的变态，要是被他逮住，他就能用电线接管你的神经系统。”

心灵感应者是少数能对瑞恩造成持久伤害的基因者，他们可以篡改他的记忆，或是摧毁他的人格。只要有得选，他就会像躲瘟疫一样躲着他们。

不过对心震，信使或许会出于原则问题，专程找上门去揍他一顿。

“他需要身体接触？”金发小子一边问，一边在纸上飞快地记下情报。“这条有用。他还得一直保持身体接触吗？”

“对，不过断开连接会让受害者疼得要命。”瑞恩说着，把腿架上沙发，尽人类所能地多占地方。“所以，猫科朋友，你这是打算去猎捕变异老鼠？”

“我倒是想。”他抱怨道，目光转向视频。“我问恩里克能不能跟着职业联盟的成员出去巡逻，结果却被安排去他们的新电影里客串。他说，这样比在外面干什么实事都更能让公众认识我。”

“什么时候惹事还需要批准了？”瑞恩笑着问，“要是不能合法地升华自己的暴力冲动，再为此收获喝彩，那当英雄还有什么意思？”

这话似乎把他逗乐了。

“嘿，说起来，我还没自我介绍呢。”瑞恩握住他的手。“我是快存。我是不死之身，不过别告诉别人。”

“原子猫。”他答道，“我一碰就能让东西爆炸。”

“哦，黑手党家的小子？”

握手顿时变成了铁钳般的钳制。“你怎么知道的？”他压着嗓子怒问，“你是间谍？恩里克告诉你的？那个混蛋，我就不该听——”

“喂！”

视频暂停了，所有人都怒视着他们俩。瑞恩若无其事，原子猫却有些炸毛。要开启一段新友谊，没什么比一起丢脸更有效！

一个穿西装、打领带的营销人员盯着两人，任尴尬的沉默蔓延开来。“接下来五年，你们就要在这家公司工作，”他开口道，身后是埃克托·马纳达定格的脸，“你们就一点也不感兴趣？”

“我很感兴趣，先生。”原子猫睁眼说瞎话，“不会再有下次了，先生。”

“一点兴趣也没有。”瑞恩直截了当地回答，“不过请继续，我们会像无薪实习生一样安静又尽责的。”

营销人员瞪着信使，其他新人也有样学样。这简直是重回幼儿园。“时间领主，你要是再说这种话，我就得请你礼貌地离开这个房间，别再出声。”

这个新名字让他疼，生理意义上的疼。

等等，还能提前走？

营销人员没等到答复，便重新播放了视频。原子猫等到大家不再关注他们，才凑到瑞恩耳边低声说：“你要是不回答，我就把你炸了。要是我的手被迫松开，也一样。”

“你能保守秘密吗？”瑞恩环顾四周，仿佛有人在监视他们，然后凑到原子猫耳边低声回答，“我是从未来回来的。坐的是一辆德罗宁。”

“你这些典故可真够过时的。”原子猫答道。他的手越握越紧，信使感觉到自己的皮肤开始发热。“你都知道些什么？”

“知道我们现在近得都能接吻了。”瑞恩答道，空着的那只手挪过去，握住了一件武器。“知道你父母是奥古斯蒂的头目，知道你正值青春叛逆期，所以投奔了对家，还知道你该重新考虑一下生孩子的事了。”

原子猫低头一看，发现一把藏着的刀离他的命根子近得要命。幸好其他人都盯着屏幕，谁也没发现。“我的能力更快。”他答道。

“而我给猫做绝育可是行家，小猫咪。”

“间谍起码会更隐蔽点。”原子猫若有所思地说，面具后的眼睛眯了起来。“所以你不知道我父母是谁？不知道他们真正的身份？”

信使耸了耸肩。

原子猫看向其他新人，确定没人听他们说话，才开了口，声音低得信使几乎听不见：“他们是玛尔斯和维纳斯。”

瑞恩震惊地倒吸一口气。“你是丘比特？可你的翅膀和弓呢？”

原子猫停顿了片刻。“不是神话里的神，你个白痴。”他说，终于松开了瑞恩的手。“拿神的名字给自己命名，得有一种自认高人一等的自恋才行。好像自己凌驾于普通人之上，彼此差得就像人和老鼠。”

“我听说以前有个基因者，试着管自己叫小耶稣。”信使一边把刀收回袖子，一边回答，“他没活多久。”

“奥古斯都把他活活电熟了。”原子猫答道，稍稍放松了些。“你不是奥古斯蒂的人？不，肯定不是，否则你不会冒险做DNA扫描。他们最近老派人来，叫我回去。”

“那你当初为什么要走？”瑞恩问。他跷起腿，营销人员看过来时，便装作很有兴趣地看着视频。屏幕上，埃克托正和一群孩子站在迪纳米斯资助的学校前，那些可怜的孩子费力地朝镜头挤出笑容。

“他们做的那些事，你哪怕知道一半，也就明白了。”原子猫愤怒地回答，“他们的毒品极乐每年害死几千人，卖出去的武器杀的人更多，而这些还只是上了新闻的。绑架、谋杀、敲诈勒索，还有卖淫……时间一长，我实在受不了了。我以为加入至优者，能做点事，改变这一切。”

“改变了吗？”

“还没有。”他闷声答道，“马纳达家族和奥古斯都斗了这么多年，我以为他们早有扳倒他的计划。可显然，迪纳米斯的座右铭是‘别惹事’。”

“我见恩里克的时候，他看着还挺有干劲的。”瑞恩指出。

“他和他的兄弟阿尔方斯是这样，可他们的父亲……”原子猫瞪着屏幕上的埃克托。“‘别惹事。’”

瑞恩拼尽全力，又看了三十秒视频，很快意识到，再这样下去自己就要疯了。“行吧，”他说着，沿沙发往靠门的那一头爬去，“我撤了。”

“你要去哪儿？”原子猫好奇地问。

“去锈镇，揍超能帮。”

这位准超级英雄琢磨了瑞恩的话，足足琢磨了漫长的一分钟。“你想去他们的新地盘，然后……怎么着，碰上第一个疯魔就找他打一架？”

“听你一说，这事都变复杂了。”

“你这么干，迪纳米斯会扣你工资的。”原子猫有气无力地说，“没准还会开除你。”

瑞恩认真考虑了一下这番话，想起自己藏起来的钱比在至优者能挣到的还多，便耸耸肩，不当回事了。他确信，黑进迪纳米斯的系统，能比参加一周的培训会更好地摸清他们的活动。

“你的外号叫快存。”原子猫念叨着这个名字，终于想起自己在哪儿听过。“等等，用高尔夫球杆揍食尸鬼的，是不是就是你？”

“我还得专程为这事买一根球杆，差点没赶上。不过，我的短杆技术倒是进步了不少。”瑞恩从沙发上站起来，神色自若，完全不理会营销人员投来的怒目。“所以，你到底来不来？”

原子猫看看瑞恩，又看看视频，发现离播放结束还有五十七分钟。这位年轻英雄立刻从沙发上起身，收拢照片和报告，跟着信使向门口走去。

“时间领主，原子猫，视频还没放完。”营销人员说道，试图让自己的语气强硬一些，却失败得彻彻底底。

“我送他离开大楼，确保他再也不回来，先生。”原子猫保证道。显然，嘴上说归说，能把信使打发走，还是让那位营销人员高兴了不少。

“老师的乖宝宝。”瑞恩在身后关上门，奚落了原子猫一句。

“你有车吗？”年轻的超级英雄问，“我只会骑摩托车。”

“我有辆最棒的，不过出发之前，”瑞恩清了清嗓子，“你知道他们在哪儿做羊绒西装吗？”

“迪纳米斯总部二十层，就在这栋楼旁边。”原子猫答道，显然对这里很熟。“为什么问这个？”

“因为我一定要弄到一套羊绒西装，哪怕得打一架。”