56 The Execution

Chapter 56 The Execution Nerys turned the handle. The door opened onto a long, leafy passageway, at the end of which was a small wooden door, about a metre high "Recognise this place?" she asked Peanut as the RAZER forced her to peer through the opening. "It's the Green Valleys portal," said Peanut. "The one that leads to the National Portrait Gallery" "Indeed," replied the woman. "It's also the last remaining gateway between Chroma and the real world. Well, for anyone who doesn't have a pencil like this, that is..." Nerys pulled Little Tail from her pocket and twirled it between her fingers like a drummer in an eighties rock band. "I thought it would be nice for you to personally witness me getting rid of the very

第五十六章 处决 内里斯转动了门把手。 门开后是一条长长的、长满绿植的通道，通道尽头有一扇约一米高的小木门。“你认得这个地方吗？” 剃刀逼着花生朝洞口张望的时候，她问花生道。 “这是绿谷传送门，”花生说。 “就是通向国家肖像馆的那扇。” “没错，”女人回答道。 “这也是克罗玛和现实世界之间仅剩的最后一道通道， 啊，除了拥有这样一支铅笔的人，其他人都走不了就是了……” 内里斯从口袋掏出“小尾巴”，像八十年代摇滚乐队的鼓手那样，用手指转着它。 “我觉得让你亲眼看着我毁掉这最后一道

last portal in Chroma," she said with a sneer in her voice. Every instinct in Peanut's body screamed at her to reach out to grab the pencil, but her arms were pinned tightly to her side by the RAZER. Do you remember when we first met, lovely?" asked Nerys. "Which one of you are we talking about? Nerys or Mr White?" asked Peanut. She was having trouble keeping track of everything and was slightly dizzy from Nerys's long story. "Mr White, of course," said Nerys. "My true self. I remember our first meeting very clearly. It was via a video screen. I was sitting in this very room—my control room and you were sitting in a cell just around the corner. "How could I forget?" Peanut rolled her eyes. Nerys stepped through the illustrated door and started walking down the leafy passageway. The robot holding Peanut followed. "Imagine my surprise," continued Nerys, "when my spies spotted you and your little friends making their way through the city with a small illustrated dog. Tracey and Gary Jones's annoying daughter, Pernilla!" Peanut didn't say anything but narrowed her eyes at Nerys. The Pernilla thing hurt every time. "Then, after you'd been captured, and you and I had that video call, I was trying to find out if you knew where your

克罗玛的传送门，”她冷笑着说道。 花生全身上下每个细胞都在催促她伸手抢过铅笔，可她的胳膊被剃刀紧紧按在腰侧，动弹不得。 “你还记得我们第一次见面吗，亲爱的？”内里斯问道。 “你说的是哪一个你？ 是内里斯还是怀特先生？”花生问道。 她被一大通话绕得晕头转向，还有点发晕。 “当然是怀特先生，”内里斯说。 “这才是真正的我。 我把我们第一次见面记得清清楚楚。 我们第一次见面是隔着视频屏幕。 我当时就坐在这个房间——也就是我的控制室里，而你坐在拐角不远处的牢房里。 “我怎么可能忘？” 花生翻了个白眼。 内里斯跨进这扇画出来的门，沿着绿植通道往前走。 押着花生的机器人跟了上去。 “你想想我当时有多惊讶，”内里斯继续说道，“我的探子发现你和你的小伙伴带着一只画出来的小狗在城里走。 就是特蕾西和加里·琼斯那个讨厌的女儿，佩妮拉！” 花生什么都没说，只是眯起眼睛盯着内里斯。 佩妮拉这个称呼每次都让她很不舒服。 后来你被抓，你我打过那通视频电话之后，我一直在查你知不知道你的

father was," continued Nerys. "I had no idea that you were concealing something much more important from me. "You mean the pencil, don't you?" said Peanut, remembering how Alan had knocked Little Tail out of her hand, sending it flying through the window of the Spire, only for it to be returned to her by the gold-crested kaleidoscoppi. "I do mean the pencil," said Nerys, crouching down as they approached the end of the passageway. "I couldn't believe it! Pencil Number One, Conté's prototype, right there in front of me! I had heard of it, of course, but I always thought it was a myth. At that moment, everything changed. Once I knew the pencil was real, I had to have it. I'd heard about its portal- creating powers, and I realised that if I owned the pencil I'd be able to get rid of all the other portals. Then no one but me would ever be able to travel between the two worlds!" They'd reached the end of the passageway and were standing a few metres from the little wooden door. Nerys knelt down, and at that moment it felt to Peanut like the RAZER's grip got a little tighter. "I had also heard about the prophecy," Nerys said. And what prophecy is that?" asked Peanut, feigning ignorance. "The one saying that if Conté's true heir holds the pencil, all of Chroma's previously lost creativity would be restored. "Oh," said Peanut. "That prophecy."

父亲在哪，”内里斯继续说道。 “我完全没想到，你居然对我藏了一件重要得多的东西。 “你说的就是那支铅笔对不对？”花生说，她想起艾伦把“小尾巴”从她手里打飞，让它飞出尖塔窗户，最后金冠万花蝶把它送回了她手里。 “我说的就是这支铅笔，”他们走到通道尽头，内里斯一边蹲下身一边说道。 我简直不敢相信！ 一号铅笔，孔特的原型笔，就摆在我的面前！ 我当然听过它的名字，可我一直以为它只是个传说。 从那一刻起，一切都改变了。 我知道它真的存在之后，就一定要得到它。 我听说过它创造传送门的能力，我明白只要我拿到这支铅笔，就能毁掉所有其他传送门。 这样就只有我能往返两个世界了！” 他们走到了通道尽头，站在离小木门几米远的地方。 内里斯跪下来，那一刻花生感觉剃刀抓她的力气变紧了一点。 “我还听说过那个预言，”内里斯说。 “什么预言？”花生装出不懂的样子问道。 “就是说，如果孔特的正统继承人握着这支铅笔，克罗玛所有流失的创造力都会复原。 “哦，”花生说。 “原来是那个预言呀。”