The clone Ed is currently controlling has been modified by him beforehand, with obvious mechanical marks on its arms and one leg.
This wasn't a real modification; Ed simply replaced those parts with plant components when sculpting the body.
To enhance the realism, he even added a lot of details, such as making a creaking sound like a door hinge running out of lubrication when waving his hand or squatting.
This allowed him to blend perfectly into the Great Labyrinth City, which had a large population, unlike smaller places like Upperstream Village or Midstream Village where everyone would know about a new face the very next day.
A shop with a very rugged, metallic aesthetic came into view. Ed glanced at the sign—[ Hansen Prosthetics Shop ].
Filled with curiosity, Ed went inside and began to examine the goods for sale.
The counter closest to the entrance is full of mechanical prosthetic eyes, some of which are reinforced, like the cylindrical lenses worn by watch repairmen.
Some are purely spherical, clearly designed to be embedded in the eye socket to replace the naked eye.
There are even mechanical organs that can completely replace human organs!
Artificial eyes are completely different from robotic arms or robotic hearts. Robotic arms only need to integrate multiple functions and do not have a hard requirement for tactile sensation.
A mechanical heart is just a continuously functioning component; how would someone with such a prosthetic eye be able to see?
After releasing a small amount of Psionic Energy to permeate the surrounding space, Ed quickly got his answer.
These "replacement" prosthetic eyes have obvious traces of Psionic Energy Circuit carvings. He had seen similar patterns on Willow many times, and only a little Psionic Energy was needed to activate them.
The only problem is that the user must have a certain level of Psionic Energy.
It seems that there are thresholds to using these prosthetic bodies.
Ed's appreciation for art pleased the shop owner greatly; every nod from Ed was an affirmation of his work.
The shop owner looked at the young customer and asked:
Which style of prosthetic eye did the customer prefer?
Ed knew that getting more information from such people required spending money, so he casually chose a reinforced prosthetic eye, the kind that's an external lens, and had it installed on him right then and there.
The shop owner greatly appreciated this generous customer, who selected the goods without any hesitation or delay. Who wouldn't like such a customer?
Furthermore, the installation will be done here, which will generate additional revenue from the installation fees.
Ed was led by the shop owner into a room at the back of the shop and lay down on a bench with natural human curves.
The shop owner then put on a mask and, like a black market doctor, took out a locked metal box.
It should contain proper medical equipment, right?
Ed thought this to himself, and then he saw the shopkeeper take a gun out of the box...
Hand drill.
The shop owner, wearing a mask, turned the crane to make sure there was no jamming, then looked at Ed.
"Guest, you may experience some pain in the coming moments."
"Wait, don't you have any anesthetic?"
What kind of anesthetic is needed for external prosthetic implantation?
As Ed gasped in surprise, the drill pierced his skin and landed on his brow bone, Ed felt his brain begin to tremble.
However, he didn't forget his main business. Taking advantage of the opportunity to install the telescope, Ed asked this seemingly good-natured guy:
"Boss, regarding the election for the Grand Foundry Master, who do you support?"
He didn't deliberately ask who the candidates were, as that would arouse their suspicion. After all, it would be unreasonable for a local from Graycast Corridor not to know this.
Ed's idea was simple: with this boss, he only needed to get detailed information about one candidate.
As for the other candidates--
There are still quite a few parts in his clone that can be replaced with mechanical ones, and other prosthetic shop owners would be happy to tell him that.
For something like this, there would obviously be official announcements near the city hall in the Great Labyrinth City, but Ed chose the most convenient way to investigate—for those just wanting to gossip.
Statistics in everyday life.
Upon hearing Ed's question, the shopkeeper, who was drilling a small hole in Ed's brow bone with a hand drill to secure the metal post for his prosthetic eye, immediately perked up:
"Oh, sir, my whole family supports Rein, no, Mr. Rein."
"Oh? Why?"
Ed feigned an understanding tone, but also expressed disagreement.
"Is that even a question?"
The boss's hand drill was steady, and bone chips continued to fly out at a constant speed, but his tone was extremely exaggerated:
"If his results can be quantified, then the production efficiency of the Graycast Corridor will be greatly improved."
Why can't you speak properly? Don't you know what I'm trying to ask?
Feeling that the other person had said something pointless, Ed continued to press:
How do you know that?
"Of course you can see that. Those are Psionic Energy Circuit. In the past, if you wanted to inscribe these circuits, you would have to ask those high-ranking 'engravers' and spend a lot of money."
"Now that we have this so-called ' Preset Circuit,' we businessmen no longer have to put up with the whims of those 'seal engravers.'"
At this point, Ed seemed to understand what this candidate named Rein had invented.
This person must have disassembled the Psionic Energy Circuit, turning them into modular puzzle pieces, so that they could assemble whatever they wanted themselves.
Although the Willow also possessed similar abilities, it seemed to be a closely guarded secret of the lich race, Ed had not previously investigated it in depth.
However, it seems that someone invented something similar to the Graycast Corridor.
It makes sense; as times change, it's inevitable that the barrier to entry for magic or Psionic Energy will decrease.
As the most open-minded power in the world besides the Second Holy See, Ed was not surprised that such a thing happened in the Graycast Corridor.
As for why this force, which primarily relies on mechanical means, would have dedicated "seal engravers" with Psionic Energy, it's not difficult to understand.
All paths eventually lead to something related to Psionic Energy. As long as the Grand Foundry Master isn't stupid, he will definitely select people with Psionic Energy talent to train.
The invention of "Mr. Rein " certainly has its advantages; if left unchecked, it might even lead to the emergence of "seal engravers" with absolutely no Psionic Energy talent, much like programmers in the Middle Ages.
You only need to know how to spell it; you don't need to know how to use it.
But for now... Ed can roughly guess the predicament this thing faces, because Psionic Energy Circuit must be engraved on something.
He thought for a moment and asked the shop owner:
"So, if we use this modular Psionic Energy Circuit to make a similar replacement prosthetic eye, would it be larger or smaller?"