William raised his hands and forced what he thought was the most harmless and sincere smile on his face.
"Calm down, my friend! Calm down! I'm not a police officer, nor am I a bad guy!"
He suppressed the heart that was about to jump out of his throat and tried his best to make his voice sound calm, as if he was just discussing the weather.
The dark blue muzzle of the gun was like the eye of a poisonous snake, flashing with a cold, biting light.
In addition, the energy pulsations coming from the "mechanical induction" were like countless fine needles pricking his nerves, warning him of the deadly danger of this thing.
"I... I was just passing by. I smelled smoke, so I came up to take a look." William said as he looked at the other person cautiously.
This "Arc Boy" looks young, maybe only in his early twenties, but the vigilance and ferocity in his eyes cannot be underestimated.
"Just passing by?" Arc Boy's hoarse voice was filled with suspicion. "Just passing by someone else's rooftop?"
The muzzle of the gun was still pointed steadily at William, and the faint blue light seemed to be even brighter.
William laughed dryly. "Uh, curiosity, pure curiosity. You know, at a fire scene like this, I always want to see if there are any...superheroes or something like that."
He was complaining furiously in his heart: I want to pay the insurance for your broken gun right now!
"Your outfit, and this gun..." William changed the subject, his gaze landing on the peculiarly shaped energy pistol, his tone carrying just the right hint of "professionalism." "It looks quite sophisticated, but...is there a little problem?"
Arc Boy's eyes moved slightly.
William keenly grasped this point and continued to display his insurance salesman's unique skills: "I'm not bragging, I know a thing or two about this kind of... uh, high-tech stuff."
He took a tentative half step forward, his toes rolling over a small stone, making a slight sound. Seeing that the muzzle of the gun did not move further, he lowered his voice and spoke like an experienced old technician:
"Take your baby for example, I can feel it from a long way off. The hissing of the energy core is almost unbearable, and the heat sink is so hot you could fry an egg on it.
If this continues, it's more than just a barrel explosion. Loss of energy control is no joke, and the entire rooftop will be in tatters."
He wasn't just making this up; every word was based on the complex diagram of the gun's structure that mechanical induction had constructed in his mind, as well as the real-time data on the energy flow within it—precise and unquestionable.
Arc Kid's grip on the gun seemed to tighten, and the vigilance in his eyes did not diminish, but there was a hint of scrutiny.
"How do you know?" he asked coldly.
"Intuition and a little bit of experience." William spread his hands, trying to appear more harmless. "I've... come into contact with similar things before."
He tells lies without blushing or beating his heart.
"Look, friend, I don't mean anything by that." William's tone became more sincere. "I happen to have a... uh, 'Risk Protection Plan' for special equipment like yours. It's a trial version, completely free."
He began to use the tried and tested "free trial" tactic.
"To put it bluntly, if your gun is ever in bad condition, like the core overload I just mentioned, or if it slips and falls, or gets bumped...
As long as you didn't smash it on purpose and it complies with our principles, you can get some money to repair it, or I can show you how to fix it, which is definitely better than figuring it out on your own."
"Safety Plan?" Arc Kid frowned, clearly finding the term unfamiliar and absurd. "Are you kidding me?"
"Absolutely not!" William assured, patting his chest, even though he didn't even have a decent pocket. "Look, in your current situation, there's clearly something wrong with your equipment. If it fails at a critical moment, the loss will be huge."
He paused, lowering his voice with a hint of mystery. "And judging by your skills, this shouldn't be your first time dealing with this kind of... 'troublesome matter', right? Risk is always with me, my friend."
William's ending tone rose slightly, like an invisible hook, trying to evoke the other person's hidden worries hidden in his heart.
Arc Boy fell silent, the blue muzzle of his gun lowered slightly, but he still didn't completely let down his guard.
He was indeed in trouble. The fire downstairs was indeed a mess caused by his shaky hands, and it made him tremble with fear.
And as the boy said, the guy who was eating had started to sizzle in the internal energy circuit and was about to break down.
"Free?" he asked hoarsely, with a barely perceptible wavering tone.
William was delighted, knowing there was a way!
"Of course! This is called a trial service. Let me give you a taste and see what I can do."
The smile on his face instantly switched to "gold medal salesman" mode:
"Just give me a nickname, or whatever you want to call me, and give me a nod, and it'll be done. If something goes wrong, and it's in line with what we agreed upon, we'll naturally find a way to contact you and get compensation."
He hasn't figured out how the system can get customers to contact him proactively, but he'll try to fool them first.
"How can I trust you?"
William spread his hands with an expression that said "I am so trustworthy": "Friend, I am unarmed and standing here.
What do you think I can do to you? Besides, it's free, so there's nothing to lose by trying it, right? What if it actually helps?"
"Free" and "no loss", these two words were like a magical spell, and William uttered them clearly again. Every syllable seemed to gently touch the other person's tense nerves.
The wind blew over the rooftop, stirring up a few clouds of dust.
The sound of sirens in the distance seemed to be getting closer.
Arc Boy glanced downstairs, then looked at William, his eyes flickering.
He really needed to resolve the weapons issue and leave here as soon as possible.
"I...what should I call you?"
Arc Kid finally spoke, his voice still hoarse, but his tense shoulders relaxed slightly.
William said to himself, "It's done," and the smile on his face became more and more "sincere." "Just call me William, William Rodriguez. A... enthusiastic risk consultant."
He deliberately made his profession vague; the title of insurance salesman was not very useful in this situation.
"Arc Boy." The other party reported the code name given by the system. It seems that he does not mind it, or it can be said that this is the name he uses when traveling in the world.
"Okay, Mr. Arc Boy." William took out his mobile phone and handed it to him. The mobile phone interface had automatically generated the electronic agreement of "Accidental Damage Insurance for Homemade Equipment (Trial Version)".
The sound of sirens downstairs became clearer and clearer, and it seemed that a vehicle had stopped at the entrance of the alley.
He didn't have much time to hesitate. He took a quick look and wrote down his name.
"If...it's really broken, how can I contact you?"
William gave a "everything is under control" smile: "Don't worry, when you need to make a claim, there will be a prompt. Or, you can try to check your phone."
This was half true and half false. William himself was still figuring out how the system worked, but he had to appear confident.
[Ding! Customer "Arc Boy" has agreed to the "Homemade Equipment Accidental Damage Insurance (Trial Version)", and the agreement is effective immediately.]
"Well, happy cooperation, Mr. Arc Boy." William extended his hand.
Arc Boy hesitated for a moment, but still reached out and shook William's hand quickly. The touch was cold and rough.
"I have to go." After he said that, he turned and ran towards the edge of the rooftop. He nimbly climbed over the guardrail and disappeared into the night.
William let out a long sigh and slumped to the ground.
Finally got this "potential customer" dealt with.
Although the process was a bit thrilling, the result was relatively smooth.
"Next, we just have to wait for him to get out of danger." William touched his chin, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.
He stood up, dusted off the dust on his body, and prepared to leave this place of trouble.
Just as I came down from the rooftop stairs and was about to escape, I ran into several uniformed policemen head-on.
"Stop! Who are you? Who came down from up there?" a black policeman shouted sternly, shining the flashlight in his hand directly into William's face.
William: "…"
It's really like when it rains it pours.