After the apprentices took over the shop, the first customer arrived fashionably late.
He was an unfamiliar solo mercenary clutching a half-damaged pair of leather fist gloves. He knocked tentatively on the door of the Mechanical Repair Shop.
“Uh, I heard this is Mr. Desmond’s Mechanical Repair Shop?”
Once he received confirmation, he sighed in relief and stepped inside, showing off the item he needed repaired. “I heard Old Man Desmond’s skills are top-notch. All the local mercenaries and Adventure Groups get their parts maintained here.”
Xie Jianxun glanced at the gloves in his hands. They looked like leather shells—why would they need mechanical maintenance?
Noticing his gaze, the mercenary gave an embarrassed smile and flipped the gloves over, revealing the mechanical structure inside.
Recognizing the familiar components, both Xie Jianxun and Delin breathed a sigh of relief.
“This is a Power Amplifier, designed in the shape of fist gloves, so it doesn’t look much like machinery on the outside. It was a birthday gift from my old man. It’s pretty ancient now, but I still want to take it into the desert and use it for one last glorious battle.”
His voice grew a bit somber as he said this, but he quickly perked up again.
“Uh, are you… Mr. Desmond?” The mercenary looked at Delin.
He eyed Xie Jianxun and Delin uncertainly. “I heard Mr. Desmond was a bit older…?”
Delin shook his head frantically. “No, no, no!”
Xie Jianxun explained, “Mr. Desmond is out on an errand for now. We’re his apprentices, minding the shop in his place. Just tell us what you need.”
The mercenary was taken aback. “Mr. Desmond isn’t here?”
“Well, then…”
Delin seized the opportunity to pitch himself. “You can leave it with us—it’s the same thing. Mr. Desmond has already taught us basic maintenance. If we can’t fix it, we can store it here until he gets back… Do you need it urgently?”
The mercenary shook his head. “Not really urgent. Alright, then.”
Delin added, “You can pick one of us as the lead repairman.” He leaned against the table, striking a deliberate pose.
The mercenary looked from Xie Jianxun to Delin, hesitating.
In the end, he chose Delin and carefully handed over the gloves. “Be careful with it. I hope it’s good as new by the next time I come by.”
After the customer signed the form and left, Delin stared at his first order in disbelief.
“He picked me! He really picked me! I have my first order!!!”
The young man cheered and thrust the gloves triumphantly into the air. Xie Jianxun stood beside him, clapping and smiling. “Good for you! Now you’ve got work to do—don’t mess up the customer’s stuff.”
Delin quickly set the gloves down, treating them like a priceless treasure as he placed them gently on the table.
He said devoutly, “Old Man Desmond, bless me.”
Xie Jianxun encouraged him. “I took a look earlier. The parts are complicated, but they match a few of the blueprints Old Man Desmond gave us. You can do it!”
Delin nodded vigorously. “I can do it!”
With that, he grabbed the toolbox with fierce determination, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to get to work.
Xie Jianxun had nothing to do for the moment, so he brewed himself a pot of hot tea.
About three minutes later.
The young man set down the modified screwdriver, his eyes glazing over. “Boss, this part… it doesn’t match the blueprint at all.”
It was like he’d aced the practice problems…
…but the actual exam questions were all different!
Xie Jianxun nearly spat out his tea. “Which one?”
Delin hurriedly held up the part for him to see. Xie Jianxun studied it for a moment, realized it was a variant design, and explained it to him.
“Oh, oh!” Delin got it immediately. His mind suddenly felt sharp again. “I know how to fix it now!”
With no other customers, Delin focused on repairing the part while Xie Jianxun sipped his tea.
But the sounds from the shop never stopped.
“Boss, what’s going on with this side?”
“Boss, why is there an extra line here?”
“Boss, did they draw the blueprint wrong?”
“Boss—”
By the end of the half-day shift, Xie Jianxun’s head was buzzing.
Even back at the inn that night, lying in bed, he felt like Delin was haunting his dreams.
“Boss? Boss—”
The next morning at work, Xie Jianxun lectured him. “You need to think for yourself more. You can’t rely on me forever, right? I’m free right now, but what happens when I’m busy and you’re yelling at thin air?”
Delin froze, then grinned sheepishly and clung to Xie Jianxun, refusing to let him go. “Don’t say that, Boss! How about this—you teach me some knowledge, and I’ll tell you a story… You’re not from Golden City, are you?”
A story?
Xie Jianxun’s interest was piqued. “What kind of story?”
Delin thought for a moment and probed, “The mysterious legends of Golden City?”
That sounded decent. Xie Jianxun considered it and nodded.
Before the story could even start, the shop door swung open. Finally, a new customer. Business had been slow these past couple of days—probably because word had gotten out that Old Man Desmond wasn’t around.
“You two are his apprentices?”
Seeing Xie Jianxun and Delin nod, the man pulled a long-handled single-point gun from the long bag on his back—a variant of the single-shot gun designed for long-range precision targeting.
Delin perked up. “Oh, a single-shot gun variant—we know this one.”
The man sized them up and said, “Alright then. I need this urgently—I’ll pick it up the morning after tomorrow. Uh, you.” He pointed at Delin.
Once the customer left, Xie Jianxun eyed the long weapon, feeling a bit bored.
Delin looked sheepish. How come every customer picked him?
He sidled over. “Boss, why do they all specify me? Your skills are better.”
Xie Jianxun shook his head. “They’ve never seen us work. They don’t know who’s better—they’re just picking at random.”
He comforted him in return. “Anyway, we’re still apprentices. The more we repair, the more we learn.”
To keep the boss from getting bored, Delin racked his brain and dredged up some tales of “Golden City’s Seven Unsolved Mysteries” to share.
Like the origins of Golden City’s symbol, the feuds and romances of the city flower, the previous City Lord’s three mysterious mistresses—pure gossip.
When he got to the “fruit of immortality,” Xie Jianxun interrupted.
“I heard about a fruit called golden fruit before. Do they sell it in the city?”
“Golden fruit?”
Delin frowned, trying to recall, then his face lit up with a mysterious grin. “Heh, most people don’t even know about this stuff.”
Xie Jianxun leaned in attentively. “Spill it.”
The two apprentices huddled together, whispering.
“I read about it in a library book. They say it’s sweeter than honey, more fragrant than perfume—a berry that grows on bushes. The City Lord’s Mansion occasionally posts bounties, sending Adventure Groups or merchant caravans into the desert oases to hunt for golden fruit. Deliver it to the mansion, and you get a hefty reward.”
Delin held up five fingers. “Per pound—this much.”
Xie Jianxun: “Whoa! Five hundred?”
Delin: “Five hundred? No way, that’s chump change… Fifty thousand!”
Holy crap, that was a fortune!
Xie Jianxun instantly understood why merchant teams risked the deep desert just for these fruits.
Find even a small golden fruit forest, and you’d strike it rich on the spot.
Delin continued, “But here’s the catch. It’s so sweet that bugs love it. If you find a golden fruit forest that’s already been discovered by bugs… well…”
He shrugged.
Xie Jianxun got it right away—either come back empty-handed or fight a bug war.
“But it’s so much money,” he said, propping his chin on his hands dreamily. “I wonder where a golden fruit forest might be.”
“Others might not know, but some people do.”
Delin’s tone turned ethereal as he drawled, “There’s a secretive group in Golden City we call the ‘Research Society.’ Rumor has it they know the locations of several golden fruit forests but keep them under wraps.”
As he finished, he saw the boss leap from his chair, eyes gleaming like they reflected pure gold… well, maybe they did.
“Where can I find them?”
Delin jolted back in shock. “Whoa, how should I know? Besides, it’s best not to go looking for them.”
Xie Jianxun blinked, doused with cold water. “Why not?”
“You think the Research Society knows all those spots for nothing?”
Delin declared emphatically, with a tone of utter disappointment. “They don’t sell the golden fruit or make jam out of it… They trade with the bugs! They exchange massive hauls of golden fruit for bug protection, letting them roam the desert freely… Traitors to Golden City.”
He sneered disdainfully.
“If you go to them, either they’ll recruit you to worship the bugs, or they’ll toss you into a bug pile.”
Xie Jianxun shrank back, disappointed. “Oh…”
“Come on, chances like that aren’t for the likes of us. Let someone else chase it,” Delin teased. “Don’t look so down—big bro will buy you an iced drink. What flavor?”
Xie Jianxun calmly pointed. “You installed that part backwards.”
Delin glanced down and let out a girlish shriek, scrambling to fix it.
Over the next three days, different customers came in every day.
But without fail, after a moment’s hesitation, they all chose Delin as their lead repairman.
Delin was swamped to death, while Xie Jianxun was bored out of his mind, reduced to drinking tea and reading.
“I’m going crazy!!!”
Delin wailed. His hair was a mess, his sleeves rolled haphazardly up to his elbows, just like Old Man Desmond’s had been. “Ten orders—ten whole orders! I’ve only finished three, and they’re already booking up to the tenth?!”
Xie Jianxun spread his hands helplessly. “Look at me—shop’s been open this long, and I haven’t gotten a single one.”
Delin pleaded, “Boss, let me pass some orders to you. I’m gonna lose it—I can’t keep up. These deadlines are tight…”
Xie Jianxun hesitated. “But the customers specified you.”
Delin: “They specified my burnout!”
As they talked, another person pushed open the door. “Hey, anyone here? I’ve got a rush job…”
Delin squeezed his eyes shut and buried his head under the table like a dead ostrich.
Xie Jianxun found it amusing and stood up. “Hello, Desmond Mechanical Repair Shop.”
The customer glanced at him, his gaze lingering on his face before scanning the shop for anyone else.
“Uh,”
he said, “I heard there’s an older repairman here too? Is he off today?”
Seeing Delin frantically gesturing from under the table, Xie Jianxun fibbed guiltily, “That gentleman isn’t feeling well and went home to rest.”
“Ah! But this is a rush job—I need it ASAP!”
The customer grew anxious and pulled out his Light Brain, as if messaging someone. “Desmond’s not here either. The other shop across the district is too far… Can you call him out? I’ll pay extra!”
Xie Jianxun pretended to think, glancing sideways.
Delin was shaking his head like a bobblehead, nearly twisting it off.
Xie Jianxun had never done anything like this; his face even flushed with guilt.
He cleared his throat and said seriously, “Whatever the job is, I can handle it. Just tell me what you need, sir.”
The customer paused, lowering his Light Brain.
“You look too young,”
he said, scrutinizing Xie Jianxun’s light hair, small face, and slight build. He probably thought the kid couldn’t even lift the item.
“Have you gone to school? Can you read?”
Xie Jianxun flinched and took a big step back.
So the people of Golden City avoided his services because, to them, he looked too young to even be school-aged?!
He defended himself. “I went to school, I can read… No, I mean, I’m almost an adult!”
The customer apologized hastily. “Sorry, sorry! I’m face-blind—I can’t tell kids’ ages, especially with your Eastern features… Alright, want to give it a try? It’s a tricky large-scale machine. You sure you can handle it?”
Xie Jianxun checked the time—it was already 4 p.m. He didn’t know what the issue was, but a rush job might take until late night.
He didn’t commit. “I need to see what it is first.”
The customer glanced around the space inside the shop and gestured with his hands. “It’s a bit small here. Not enough room to maneuver.”
Xie Jianxun pulled open the back door of the Mechanical Repair Shop, signaling that there was still an open area behind it.
The customer walked over and pressed a button on his Light Brain.
A familiar object appeared before everyone’s eyes.
Delin sneaked his head out from the back door and was immediately shocked. “Holy crap, a Landship! We haven’t learned how to repair this yet!”
Oh no! He anxiously peeked out and looked toward Xie Jianxun.
Landships were large machinery—not necessarily any harder to repair than small, precise parts—but due to their size and various other considerations, the repair fee for a single large machine was generally several times that of small parts.
It was such a great big order, and a rush job at that, but they didn’t know how to fix it. Wouldn’t that mean watching a cooked duck fly away?
