After bidding farewell to the two councilors, Corin walked toward his workshop with heavy steps.
Piltover's southern district bordered the coastline and lay close to Zaun. Workshops of all sizes were scattered throughout the area, and the academy was located there as well.
This district had prospered because of Zaun's factories. Craftsmen from Zaun and all over the world processed Zaun's semi-finished goods into merchandise here. Piltover's once-bustling workshop street had been located in this very district.
But now, it had become much quieter.
Relations between Zaun and Piltover had been cut off. The craftsmen could not obtain raw materials, and many goods could no longer be made. They could only scrape by on their dwindling stockpiles.
Corin knew that most of the craftsmen here came from Zaun. Most had escaped their dark homeland to seek a better life in the golden Capital City.
Those people were the most hesitant and conflicted now, all wondering whether they should return to their homeland.
But none of that had anything to do with him. He had been born in Piltover. The reason he had said so much to Jayce today was not only because he loved this city, but also because he hoped to leave something behind for his daughter, so she could live better here.
He actually despised Zaun, not because it was filthy and chaotic, but because he had nearly lost his beloved daughter there.
Because Orianna had been kindhearted, she had inhaled an unknown chemical poison gas while aiding victims of a Zaun disaster, causing her lungs to die.
Fortunately, he had made a pair of mechanical lungs. By a stroke of luck, he had managed to replace her lungs, allowing Orianna to survive until now.
But that came with drawbacks. Ordinary people breathed with healthy lungs, while his daughter could only inhale and exhale by winding up her mechanical lungs.
To stop his daughter from running off to Zaun like last time, he had deliberately locked the specially made winding key at home.
It would soon be time to wind Orianna up again.
Corin quickened his pace toward his workshop. Whenever he thought about his own impending death, he felt a deep concern for Orianna's future.
"Welcome back!"
The moment he entered his workshop, an almost emotionless female voice came from inside.
"Orianna, do we have a guest today?"
He looked into the room, surprise showing on his face.
A nobleman in pure white robes sat at the wooden table used for receiving guests. The moment Corin entered, he saw the man's upright yet elegant back.
This was a great noble.
Having seen many of Piltover's nobles, Corin quickly came to that conclusion.
Behind the noble stood a female guard in leather clothing. If not for the two daggers on her back, he would not have recognized her as a guard. Her figure, appearance, and wine-red hair were simply too eye-catching.
Corin found it strange. Why had they come to Workshop Street? The man's limbs were perfectly intact, and he did not look like someone who had come to buy prosthetics.
Although Corin had many useful inventions, the only things nobles would seek him out to buy were the prosthetics he was best at making. They were even more useful than the real thing.
"Father, the academy sent over a procurement order this afternoon. The requests are all in the bag by the door, so please make the trip yourself. I'll entertain this guest."
Corin found it rather strange. He keenly sensed that Orianna wanted him to leave as soon as possible. This was the first time.
He could not help glancing toward Orianna, and what he saw made his pupils contract.
A Hex Crystal!
How could he fail to recognize such a dangerous yet alluring thing? This afternoon, he had even met the first man to bring it to the people of Piltover.
But this crystal was somewhat strange. It was not the common faceted gemstone structure, but more like a glass ball.
"Alright, alright. Which professor at the academy wants it?"
After one glance, Corin stopped paying attention and placed his hand on the cart holding the paper bag.
Orianna's deal would not go through.
He did want a Hex Crystal, but even if Workshop Street were still as prosperous as before, they could not afford one even if they worked without eating or drinking for five years.
"Professor Heimerdinger. The academy needs a batch of weapon-testing dummies," Orianna replied softly.
"Even Professor Heimerdinger supports war now, huh?" Corin muttered to himself before pulling the cart out the door once more.
After Corin left, Orianna turned her gaze back to the front, her delicate face filled with apology.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ryan. I believe we can continue our conversation. I truly need this Hex Crystal. If you are willing to let me pay in installments, I can use our workshop as collateral."
Ryan sat across from Orianna, a warm smile on his lips.
"From what I understand, Miss Orianna has been spreading word everywhere that she wishes to purchase a Hex Gemstone. Few people know about Hex Gemstones."
Hex Gemstones were different from Hex Crystals. Crystals were Primal Crystals naturally formed by the Chitin People, while gemstones were stable energy sources artificially created by Jayce and Viktor.
His gaze casually swept across Orianna's chest. He could sense that beneath it was not flesh and blood, but a mass of mechanical components.
How interesting. Besides Camille, there was actually someone in Piltover who had walked ahead of Viktor.
Thinking of Viktor's path of Machine Ascension, Ryan could not help becoming greatly interested in the girl before him.
He had occasionally learned that an artisan in Piltover was seeking to purchase Hex Gemstones. Out of curiosity, he had come to take a look, never expecting such an unexpected delight.
"Mr. Ryan, I have a reason why I must have it."
Orianna's expression darkened as she explained the truth.
"My father has a bad heart. At most, he has two months left to live. I have not yet had the chance to repay his love for me. I heard that Councilor Camille underwent an Augmentation Technology heart transplant."
"I seem to have no reason to refuse you, but what can you offer me?" Ryan asked leisurely.
He had no intention of refusing her. If she truly had the ability to perform Augmentation Technology surgery, he would be more than willing to recruit a scientist with outstanding potential for the Empire.
"Money."
Orianna pressed her lips together. She knew her family could not afford it, and that left her feeling somewhat discouraged.
The most despairing thing was not seeing no hope from the very beginning.
It was when hope was clearly placed before her, yet she lacked the ability to reach out and touch it.
Her gaze fell on Katarina behind Ryan, and an idea suddenly emerged in her heart. A glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes.
"As long as you can save my father, I am willing to become your servant."
Hearing Orianna speak like a drowning person, Ryan could not help laughing. He neither refused nor agreed.
"May I ask how you intend to transplant the heart? I can tell that Mr. Li Weike cannot withstand the energy shock released by a Hex Gemstone during a heart replacement. I have always believed in equivalent exchange. If you have the ability to handle Mr. Li Weike's problem, that would be worth far more to me than a single gemstone."
"Mr. Ryan, you think too highly of me." Orianna showed a bitter smile. "I have no solution. I considered creating a mechanical carrier for a Hex Crystal to make its energy less violent, thereby creating a Hex Gemstone. But getting them to affect each other requires a great deal of time. I cannot wait that long. It would take at least one or two years."
Pain filled her eyes as she pointed him toward a device half-buried in a pile of prosthetic limbs nearby.
Ryan turned his head, his brows drawing together slightly in surprise.
At a glance, he could tell that the metal-wrapped mechanical sphere was already enough to be called the prototype of a Hextech weapon. If a Hex Gemstone were placed inside, it could immediately become a Hextech weapon.
However, Orianna apparently wanted to use it to convert a crystal into a stable gemstone. For that purpose, the mechanical sphere could only be considered a crude semi-finished product.
Even so, Orianna was absolutely a genius in his eyes, no less talented than Viktor or Jayce.
"A genius design. It's just that fate has played a cruel joke on you." Ryan sighed and shook his head regretfully. "I'm curious. If I gave you the gemstone, how would you complete the heart transplant? Even the gentler Hex Gemstone may not be something an ordinary person can withstand."
Camille was a miracle created by gathering together Piltover's core technologies.
He did not believe Orianna could obtain the Ferros Clan's technology, but neither did he believe she had no backup plan. Judging by her recent desperate attempts to obtain a Hex Gemstone, she must have made ample preparations.
"Mr. Ryan. I know you are an exceptionally powerful mage with extraordinary insight. I would like to hear your opinion."
"Tell me what you're thinking."
Interest filled Ryan's eyes as he anticipated that she might bring him a surprise.
Orianna suddenly raised her head. Her once-unwavering eyes now held a measure of resolve.
"If it were only an ordinary heart, could my father survive after a heart transplant?"
Thanks to Tianya Buluo for the 500 reward, and thanks to Book Friend 20211103 for the 500 reward!
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