Chapter 16

chapter sixteen RACK. Oh, come on. I wasn't ready. The fight hasn't even started yet, and Stargrove just knocked my fillings loose. A pack of gorblins wrangle the undead monster, dragging her to the cage's far wall. Outside, Flustrod and Pillksort wave their little staffs around, addressing the crowd with the enthusiasm of someone selling a waffle iron on late-night TV. "We have two fighters! Stargrove: the only undefeated champion in the history of our beloved—and, admittedly, very cruel—game!"

第十六章机架哦，别这样。 我还没准备好。比赛还没开始，星格罗夫就把我打垮了。 一群地精和这只不死怪物扭打在一起，把她拖到了笼子的另一边。 在外面，弗鲁斯特罗德和Pillksort挥舞着他们的小手杖，热情地向人群讲话，就像深夜电视上卖华夫饼的人一样。 “我们有两架战斗机！”星格罗夫：我们所钟爱的——当然也是非常残酷的——游戏历史上唯一不败的冠军！”

The throng of gorblins erupts. They smack their tails together, a sort of high-five/clapping combo that creates an earsplitting rattle. One spins a Stargrove T-shirt over his head. Chants of "STARGROVE! STARGROVE!" fill the air. I ignore the monsters, instead searching for Quint. As I look around, I realize even the bars of this cage are constructed from scavenged junk—different metals crisscrossing. I let the strangely low gravity lift me higher, so I can get a better look, hoping to find Quint. But the crowd is too thick, with gorblins sitting on shoulders, stacked four and five high. No sign of my friends. "And we also have..." Pillksort starts, then leans against the cage and whispers, "Hey, big top-dog liar, what's your name?" "Um..." I hesitate, thinking it might not be smart to give my real name. They could realize we're wanted by the enforcers—or worse, they could be buddies with Wracksaw. Also, a name that strikes fear in these gorblins could be useful. But I'm coming up with zero fear-striking names. Hard to put your mind to cool names when a frothing zombified starfish-beast is trying to break free and make you its next meal.

一群妖精爆发了。 它们把尾巴拍在一起，一种击掌和拍手的组合，发出震耳欲聋的嘎嘎声。 其中一个把Stargrove的t恤套在头上。 “STARGROVE!”STARGROVE!” 我无视怪物，转而寻找昆特。 当我环顾四周时，我意识到连这个笼子的栏杆都是用捡来的垃圾做成的——不同的金属纵横交错。 我让奇怪的低重力把我抬得更高，这样我就能看得更清楚，希望能找到昆特。 但人群太拥挤了，半兽人坐在肩膀上，堆了四五层高。 没有我朋友的踪迹。“我们还有……” Pillksort吓了一跳，然后靠在笼子上小声说：“嘿，大骗子，你叫什么名字？”“嗯……” 我犹豫了一下，觉得说出我的真实姓名可能不太明智。 他们可能会意识到我们被执法者通缉，或者更糟的是，他们可能会和残骸锯成为朋友。 此外，一个能让这些妖精感到恐惧的名字可能会很有用。 但我没有想到任何令人恐惧的名字。 当一个冒着泡沫的僵尸海星野兽试图挣脱并把你作为它的下一餐时，你很难把你的注意力放在酷的名字上。

"YOUR NAME!" Pillksort repeats. My name is, uh, Neil Armstrong. Not what I expected. But okay, no judgment inside the battle ball except the final judgment With that, the gorblins slam the door shut, locking me inside with Stargrove. Just the two of us. And not for a candlelit dinner. "STARGROVE VERSUS NEIL ARMSTRONG!" Flustrod shouts. I glimpse a dozen gorblins grabbing the cage, then— "GIVE IT A SPIN..." Pillksort starts. "Please don't give it a spin..." I murmur, but the gorblins are readying themselves.

“你的名字!”Pillksort重复。 我的名字是尼尔·阿姆斯特朗。 和我想的不一样。但是好吧，在战斗球里没有审判除了最后的审判，妖精砰地关上了门，把我和星格罗夫锁在了里面。 就我们两个。而且不是为了烛光晚餐。 “ stargrove vs . Neil armstrong !”Flustrod喊道。 我瞥见十几个妖精在抓笼子，然后——“转一转……” Pillksort开始。“请不要乱说……” 我低声说，但半兽人已经做好了准备。

"AND LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!" With that, the cage is whirled like a top, and everything is a blur... Whoosh, I hate this stupid dimension. I'm flung around, completely helpless, no control over my body. I get a quick glimpse of Stargrove's upper arm, a split second before I smack into it and flip over it. I throw my arms out, but that does little to soften the impact as I careen into the wall. It feels like getting punched in the nose with a Buick.

“让战斗开始吧！”这样一来，笼子就像陀螺一样旋转，一切都变得模糊了…… 我讨厌这个愚蠢的维度。 我被甩来甩去，完全无助，无法控制自己的身体。 我瞥了一眼斯塔格罗夫的上臂，就在我撞上去翻过去之前。 我伸出双臂，但这并没有减轻我撞到墙上的冲击力。 感觉就像被别克打了鼻子一拳。

It's quickly clear why Stargrove is undefeated: while I'm flipping and floating like... well... Neil Armstrong, her many arms keep her steadily buoyed. The audience is hollering and whooping. Seems like it's been a long while since they've enjoyed one of their beloved fights... Brown with the ball, fear in the sphere, punching in the globe, Punching in the globe doesn't rhyme. Steve, get with the program. I'm trying to figure out how to avoid another collision when the cage spins again. One of Stargrove's arms lashes out, clotheslining me with a fat whack to the throat. I'm gagging, doing a full midair somersault—

很快就明白了为什么Stargrove是不败的：当我在翻转和漂浮的时候，就像…… 嗯…尼尔·阿姆斯特朗，她的许多手臂让她稳定地浮起来。 观众在大声叫嚷。 似乎他们已经很长时间没有享受他们心爱的一场战斗了…… 布朗拿着球，恐惧在球里，击打地球，击打地球不押韵。 史蒂夫，跟上计划。 我正在想办法避免笼子再次旋转时再次发生碰撞。 斯塔格罗夫伸出一只胳膊，狠狠地打在我的喉咙上，把我晾在衣架上。 我要吐了，要做一个完整的空中翻筋斗

I slam into the cage wall again—and find myself face-to-face with Quint. Globlet, perched on his shoulder, tosses popcorn into her mouth. "YOU GUYS ARE OK!" I exclaim. "You're not," Globlet says, then pauses to chew. "You look like someone in trouble." "YES, I KNOW THAT!" I shout as I wrap my fingers around the bars of the cage. "Quint, I need one

我又一次撞上了笼子的墙——发现自己和昆特面对面。 Globlet，栖息在他的肩膀上，把爆米花扔进她的嘴里。 “你们都很好！”我惊叫。 “你不是，”Globlet说，然后停下来咀嚼。 “你看起来像有麻烦的人。” “是的，我知道！”我一边喊一边用手指抓着笼子的栅栏。 “昆特，我需要一个