"Coming, Orianna!"
Duke swept the coins on the table into the desk drawer, got up, tidied his clothes, and opened the door. Standing outside the door was a young girl, around ten years old.
Her light yellow hair was tied in a bun, her bright eyes seemed to reflect one's inner thoughts, and the freckles on her cheeks added a touch of playfulness and cuteness.
Her sky-blue overalls didn't detract from her appearance; instead, they added a touch of shrewd and capable charm.
"What are you spacing out about again?"
Orianna placed her hands on her hips, leaned forward, and eyed Duke suspiciously, "You're not staying up all night working on your communicator again, are you?"
"No!"
Duke laughed, he really hadn't stayed up all night, because the original owner had already stayed up until he died, what did the original owner's staying up all night have to do with him?
"That's good. You've been staying up every night these past two days, and Father is starting to have a small opinion of you. If you don't cheer up, Father might kick you out."
Orianna shook her small fist, threatening Duke slightly. Far from feeling offended, Duke found this little girl utterly adorable.
However, he felt like he had heard the name Orianna somewhere before, but he just couldn't recall it at the moment.
"Alright, stop spacing out here. Lady Noreen's clockwork Augment seems to have a problem. Father is waiting for you to come and help!"
"I know, I'll be right down."
Realizing it was time for him to learn, Duke didn't hesitate for a moment. He returned to his room, grabbed a few tools, and turned to follow Orianna down from the attic.
Upon reaching the first-floor lobby, Duke saw Mr. Colin, the Master of Colin Workshop. He was currently chatting with a well-dressed, elderly woman with white hair in front of the workbench. The old woman had a kind face, but her right arm was an Augment made of brass and clockwork.
"You're here?"
Mr. Colin saw Duke coming down from upstairs. Duke neatly tucked his tools into the strap around his waist and nodded with a chuckle, "Sorry, Mr. Colin, I overslept!"
"Pay attention to rest and don't forget your status as an apprentice. Don't be too ambitious either; clockwork power enhancers are enough to last you a lifetime. As for your communicator..." Mr. Colin frowned and shook his head slightly, "It's better not to think about it for now!"
"Is this the apprentice from your house?"
Lady Noreen nodded slightly at Duke and said with a smile, "He looks quite handsome."
"Being handsome doesn't put food on the table. To survive in Piltover, you still have to rely on your skills."
Mr. Colin was currently examining Lady Noreen's right arm Augment with a magnifying glass, meticulously checking the engagement and connection between each component.
"Come here, help me get the number three wrench."
"Coming, Mr. Colin."
Duke shrugged at Orianna and took a few steps to the workbench. The old woman looked at Duke with a smile and asked, "I hear you're from Zaun, young man?"
"Yes, during the Twin Cities conflict, my parents died. If Mr. Colin hadn't brought me back, I'd probably be wandering the streets like other Zaun children now!"
Duke spoke of his past without a care. In his opinion, this was all the original body's past, what did it have to do with him? Fortunately, the original body had no parents, no family, otherwise he really wouldn't know how to face them.
Standing by, watching Mr. Colin examine Lady Noreen's Augment, Duke's eyes were very focused. Lady Noreen, however, became quite talkative, saying, "It's good to know gratitude. A building was blown up today, and I heard it was done by some Zaun hooligans. It's truly terrifying!"
"Lady Noreen, why do you think the people of Zaun are so hostile towards us?"
"What else could it be?" Mr. Colin snorted, "A bunch of unprogressive gutter rats. It's no surprise they cause trouble!"
Duke looked at Mr. Colin in surprise. He hadn't expected Mr. Colin's attitude towards Zaun to be like that, but given the original body's Zaun identity, he couldn't say anything.
Zaun and Piltover, to put it plainly, are two sides of the same coin, Twin Cities, neither of which can do without the other.
Mr. Colin used the number three wrench to disassemble Lady Noreen's Augment. His brows furrowed slightly; there was nothing wrong with the engagement of the parts, but since she said there was a problem, then there absolutely was a malfunction.
But where was it?
Duke looked at Lady Noreen's knitted cardigan, then at the Augment, which used gears for engagement and clockwork for power. He already had an idea in his mind.
Actually, when Mr. Colin disassembled this Augment, Duke realized that he seemed to have broken through a long-standing problem that had troubled the original owner.
Clockwork Technology seemed quite simple!
"Mr. Colin, why don't I give it a try?"
Feeling that he understood, Duke eagerly took out his screwdriver. Mr. Colin glanced at Duke, who was unusually active today, and stepped aside, "Be careful not to mess up the gear arrangement!"
"No problem!"
Standing where Mr. Colin had been, Duke held Lady Noreen's arm with one hand and a fine screwdriver with the other. His eyes meticulously focused on the gaps between the gears, constantly generating a three-dimensional rendering of the Augment in his mind.
The screwdriver probed into the Augment, and with just a slight flick from Duke, the slowly rotating gears immediately stopped. Mr. Colin looked at Duke in disbelief.
This kid had just used the screwdriver to pry open a crucial gear, dislocating it and causing the entire Augment to stop.
But he hadn't taught him this knowledge yet, so how did he suddenly know?
Or did his daughter give Duke some tips?
Looking at the extremely curious Orianna, Mr. Colin dismissed his idea. Impossible. Although Orianna was exceptionally intelligent, he hadn't taught her this kind of knowledge either.
Could it be that this kid, Duke, had a breakthrough?
Duke was completely unaware of Mr. Colin's thoughts. He was excitedly disassembling the Augment. Just as Mr. Colin was momentarily distracted, Duke had completely disassembled Lady Noreen's right arm Augment.
Exposing the connecting shaft at the stump of her right arm.
"Duke, what are you doing?!"
Startled by Duke's actions, Mr. Colin roared. Duke, oblivious, directly disassembled the Augment. He removed the clockwork power unit and meticulously arranged it on the workbench.
Constantly changing tools, he further disassembled the entire Augment.
After Mr. Colin's single roar, in just over a minute, the entire Augment had been disassembled into parts by Duke.
Mr. Colin could only suppress the Fire in his heart. Duke was too reckless; he had disassembled the client's Augment without their permission, and even completely dismantled it.
But now was not the time for him to erupt. This was his apprentice. Any scolding or punishment would have to wait until after the client left. For now, he could only reassure the client.
"Lady Noreen, I am truly sorry. He was too impulsive. I hope you can understand. If this Augment cannot be used, I will create a new one for you overnight, free of charge!"
Mr. Colin took a deep breath and forced a smile as he spoke to Lady Noreen. Lady Noreen smiled and waved her hand, "It's nothing. When he was disassembling the Augment just now, I didn't even feel anything."
"Perhaps he can create a miracle!"
"Give your apprentice a little confidence, Mr. Colin!"
"You're joking, he's just an apprentice who's only been learning for a few years, how could he possibly..."
"I fixed it!"
Duke's words cut off Mr. Colin's sentence. Wiping the fine sweat from his forehead, Duke put down the tweezers in his hand and pointed to a pile of sweater debris on the workbench, "The Augment wasn't broken. It was the lint from the knitted sweaters Lady Noreen usually wears that got into her Augment, making it difficult for some of the gears to operate!"
"I've cleared out the lint. As long as Lady Noreen is careful in the future, it can be avoided again!"
As he spoke, Duke's hands moved continuously, reassembling the Augment and adding lubricant for maintenance. In just three to five minutes, the Augment was assembled and reinstalled onto Lady Noreen's right arm stump.
"Please try it, how does it feel!"
Duke exhaled softly, looking expectantly at Lady Noreen for her feedback. Lady Noreen's prosthetic right arm slowly moved, her five fingers flexibly bending and straightening.
"You're a great young man, it's even better than before!"
Lady Noreen took out the repair fee, placed it on the workbench, and said with a smile to Mr. Colin: "Mr. Colin, it seems your little apprentice has come to his senses. Congratulations to you!"
Mr. Colin was still a bit dazed at the moment, but, not wanting to make a mistake in etiquette, he bowed slightly to Lady Noreen and said: "You flatter him. This boy still has a long way to go; he's nothing much yet!"
"Haha, you're right." Lady Noreen, clutching her handbag, left the Colin Workshop with Orianna's respectful send-off. Seeing the guest leave, Mr. Colin's face darkened as he said: "Duke, come over here!"
Mr. Colin, who had entered his own workshop, left the door open. Orianna leaned closer to Duke, a hint of surprise in her eyes: "Duke, when did you become so amazing?"
"Amazing?" Duke frowned, "Was I?"
"I just looked at a little bit and then applied what I learned!"
Duke glanced at the workshop door and sighed: "But I was indeed impulsive today. I don't know how Mr. Colin will punish me!"
"I don't think Father will punish you, after all, you've already demonstrated your ability!"
Orianna patted Duke's shoulder, "Keep it up, little apprentice!"
"Hey!"
Duke shook his head and walked into the workshop, at the same time glancing at his personal panel. On the panel, Clockwork Technology had changed from 'Beginner' to 'Proficient' level.
"Clockwork Technology..." Duke walked into the workshop, casually closing the door, a hint of disdain in his heart: "That's it?".