"Svarog, I've had a breakthrough in mechanics lately. I think I can fix your power module," Chu Mu suggested with a grin, back to his lively, mischievous self.
"According, to, calculations, your, probability, of, repairing, it, is, zero, point, zero, one, percent. Your, probability, of, damaging, it, is, three, hundred, percent." Svarog calmly delivered his calculations.
"How can it go over by that much? I refuse to accept that! My chances of breaking it are ninety-nine point nine nine percent at most!" Chu Mu protested.
"Usually, when, you repair, one module, you burn out, two other, modules," Svarog explained.
That left Chu Mu rather embarrassed, because that was exactly how Svarog's speech module had burned out.
He had tried to repair Svarog's power module, only to burn out the speech and engine modules instead.
Fortunately, the engine hadn't exploded. Otherwise, the Underworld might have experienced the shock of a small nuclear blast, making its already impoverished ecosystem even worse.
Chu Mu was about to say something to ease the awkwardness when Svarog suddenly spoke:
"Calculation complete. Access granted. Chu Mu, permitted, to perform repairs."
"Huh?" Startled, Chu Mu patted Svarog on the head. "Oh no, your logic chip's burned out too. I didn't touch it this time!"
Svarog quietly looked at Chu Mu, the red glow in his eyes impossibly gentle:
"Chu Mu, you must, trust, the results, of the calculations."
"I was only joking. I know my own skills. I don't know the first thing about mechanics or electronics. How could I actually fix you? Aren't you afraid I'll break something? Even if you aren't, I am." Chu Mu hastily shook his head, refusing Svarog's offer.
The two chatted a while longer, though it was mostly Chu Mu talking and Svarog listening.
Chu Mu also complained about Oleg, dwelling on what had happened at noon that day, but in the end, he still said:
"Uncle Oleg's a good man. I know I shouldn't blame him. I don't even know who I should blame. My own bad luck? This world? Haha, maybe the world's what's wrong."
"The world, requires, reform," came Svarog's mechanical voice.
"Maybe it does, but what are we supposed to do? A little brat and a big robot who can't move, sitting in a scrapyard and changing the world? Svarog, I don't have the ability to change the world. Neither of us does. If you insist on naming an ability I have, it's the ability to get beaten down by the world." Chu Mu sighed mockingly at himself.
What Chu Mu didn't know was that Svarog had saved every one of these moments in his memory, with the highest priority level, making them impossible to delete!
Had Chu Mu known, he probably would have covered his face in anguish. Svarog's collecting all my embarrassing moments!
For now, however, Chu Mu remained blissfully unaware and pulled a face at Svarog:
"I'm off, Svarog. See you in a week."
"You, must not, die." There was actually a trace of sternness in Svarog's mechanical voice.
"Hehe, yes, sir! I promise I won't die next week!" Chu Mu saluted, then disappeared around the fork in the path.
The red glow in Svarog's eyes gradually dimmed, but it didn't go out completely. Instead, he began counting.
"One, two, four..."
According to the agreement between him and the boy, the boy would return within six hundred and four thousand, eight hundred seconds.
This time, nothing would go wrong again.
After saying goodbye to Svarog, Chu Mu began working in the large scrapyard according to the plan he had made earlier.
He divided the operation into two stages. The first was looking: whenever he spotted useful scrap, he marked it without digging it out yet.
Then, in the second stage, he went straight to the marked scrap and started digging.
This improved his efficiency considerably, and he collected just under half a sack of scrap over the afternoon.
As he left the scrapyard, a flippant voice called out to him:
"Well, well, young fellow, quite a haul you've got there! Care to sell it to me? Old Sampo will give you a fair and reasonable price, guaranteed. Saves you carrying everything into town to sell, too. That's a lot less effort, isn't it?"
Chu Mu thought that made sense, so he turned to look at the speaker.
It was a blue-haired young man whose flowing hairstyle didn't quite fit the Underworld's prevailing tastes.
The young man's face brimmed with enthusiasm. Apparently noticing Chu Mu staring at his hair, he smugly blew at the loose bangs over his forehead and grinned:
"Well, buddy, what do you think? Want to sell me the goods?"
"Weigh them." Chu Mu nodded.
"Right you are! I like an older brother who gets straight to the point!" Sampo deftly took the woven sack.
"Why do I feel like I keep getting older every time you open your mouth? First young fellow, then buddy, and now older brother?" Chu Mu couldn't help commenting.
He was still a child! Though his mind might admittedly have been a little mature.
"Now you're joking. As far as old Sampo's concerned, age is just a number. It doesn't measure a person's maturity. What matters is the mind! Looking at you, brother, I can practically see the long river of ages flowing through you!" Sampo spouted his extravagant praise while weighing the scrap.
Chu Mu found him rather amusing:
"You're an interesting fellow."
"I'm not joking. Old Sampo's met countless people, and I could tell at a glance that you're no ordinary man, brother. Give it time, and you'll achieve great things! Is it too late for Sampo to ride your coattails?" Sampo continued his flattery.
As far as Chu Mu was concerned, merchants' tongues were probably the nimblest things in the world. They could say absolutely anything.
He remained utterly unmoved. After all, he knew his own situation perfectly well.
Forget the future; whether he would even live past seven was still a question.
At that thought, the smile slowly faded from Chu Mu's face.
"All weighed." Sampo gestured for Chu Mu to check the scale. "Eight jin in total. I'll give you eight Winter City Shields. That's a fair price. You'd get the same in town, after all. You know that well enough, brother."
"Mm." Chu Mu nodded and walked up to the scale, his expression unchanged. Then he suddenly bent down and, quick as lightning, pulled a magnet from beneath the scale's counterweight!
"What's this?" Chu Mu asked with a cold laugh.
At the sight, cold sweat immediately broke out on Sampo's forehead, and he hurriedly said:
"I must've been blind! You were an unfamiliar face, big brother, so I thought I'd skim a little off you. I didn't realize you knew the trade! I really must've been blind."
As he spoke, he took ten coins out of his pocket and said ingratiatingly:
"Your goods should've weighed nine jin. I shouldn't have skimmed off that one jin. How about this? I'll give you an extra coin as compensation, big brother. Ten Winter City Shields, and I'll take the lot! No tricks this time!"
"I only want what I'm owed." Chu Mu took nine coins from Sampo's hand and said evenly, "I'll be doing business with you again. Don't even think about skimming my profits."
"I wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare! Never again!" Sampo nodded hastily. "Oh my, I have to say, big brother, you're clearly destined for great things. That breadth of vision-tsk, tsk-you're even better than our Guardian. The next Guardian simply has to be you!"
Sampo seemed determined not to stop until he had said something outrageous.
Before you continue