Amidst the turmoil in Willow's mind, Ed suddenly turned to look at her:
How much mechanical affinity did you leave him?
"One third."
Although the Lich Lady cannot quantify the target's attributes as strictly as Little Green does, she can still receive feedback on the effects when casting spells, thus confirming the exact result of her spells.
Ed nodded and continued changing parts for Gray, saying in the same tone:
"Understood. Don't be nervous. There's nothing here that needs your help. If you feel uncomfortable, you can go back to your lab."
Willow felt as if she had been granted a pardon upon hearing this. To most people, Ed's words would sound like he was kicking them out, but to Willow, it was like a pardon.
After confirming that his spell could theoretically last indefinitely, the lich turned and left the study, heading towards a corner of the castle, while Ed continued replacing the hundreds of different parts.
Although this step is described as complicated, it actually only takes a few minutes.
Firstly, Ed's vine tentacles were simply too overpowered. Although this ability was only so-so in combat, it was incredibly adept at such delicate tasks.
Secondly, Gray had very few parts left. Replicating a wooden mechanical heart and two arms completed most of the work. After cleaning the chest cavity, the replaced Gray was quickly pulled out of the wooden jar below by the vine tentacles.
With a "pop," the unconscious Gray was gently suspended in the air by several vines. Ed glanced at him casually and suddenly wondered whether Gray's current state should be described as half-naked or completely naked.
However, now is not the time for hellish jokes. Ed, realizing that Willow's technique was very successful, has achieved the initial surgical goal. There is no longer a single brass part on Gray's body. He has evolved into a, no, half a complete wooden cyborg.
Now he intends to achieve his second goal—to give Gray back his buttocks, granting him the right to sit down.
Several vines extended into Gray's chest cavity from below, and began a new round of growth after reshaping his diaphragm.
Ed might not have done this a few months ago, but now he has printed thousands of human bodies with flesh and blood. Facing Gray, who is also human, any missing part of Gray is as obvious to him as a flame in the dark.
After mentally listing the missing parts, Ed began to rebuild Gray's body. This temporary worker was not one of his players, and his soul was not as compatible with the body, meaning he couldn't directly use the parts from the assembled character to complete the body.
Besides, it wasn't Gray's own part after all. As a native male, Ed probably knew where Gray would be bothered...
As a kind-hearted boss who understands human nature, he never intended to mistreat his own people. So he decided to get his buddies some genuine, original products to prevent any discrepancies between the advertised and actual items.
This didn't stump Ed. He quickly extracted the other person's human genes and began a process similar to in vitro organ Cultivation.
A dozen or so vines began to swell rapidly, and a translucent membrane even appeared on their surface. Through the membrane, one could see the human body parts that were being conceived inside.
This was the first time Ed had done something like this. Although there was a suspicion that he was using Gray as a test subject, he at least obtained Gray's consent, and Gray would have been dead if he hadn't done so.
But he soon realized a problem: if he wanted to create human body parts that could be used for decades, the Cultivation process would take at least several days.
Gray's anesthesia effect would obviously only last for a few hours, and Ed believed that even Willow couldn't solve this problem. So, between a dozen semi-transparent culture tanks and half a person suspended in mid-air by tentacles, Ed began to ponder.
Objectively speaking, Ed was never a closed-minded person; he also knew that in a world where order had collapsed, sticking to one's thinking would definitely lead to big problems.
At this moment, the "Good Guy Master " personality once again took over, and an idea that could help Gray "turn over a new leaf" appeared in Ed's mind...
"You're awake. I really want to say something like, 'The surgery was a success, you're a girl now,' but that's a joke I've used too many times, it's getting a bit boring."
Gray stared blankly at the old wooden and stone ceiling of the castle. Ed's words flowed into one ear like a clear spring, left their mark in his brain, and then flowed out through the other ear.
"But the surgery was indeed successful, there's no doubt about that."
Ed sat on the edge of the vine-woven bed and said with a smile:
"These few days will be considered sick leave and your salary won't be deducted. Someone from HR will come to check on you later, bringing fruit baskets, flowers, etc. It's all free, so eat what you want and don't worry about the money..."
"You... saved me?"
Only then did Gray, his throat dry, finally utter his first hoarse words, and the next instant his brows furrowed instinctively.
Something's wrong. Something's very wrong.
You know your own voice best. After undergoing the transformation, your voice always has a metallic tremor. This change is very common in the Graycast Corridor, especially among those whose transformation level exceeds 30%. Their speech has a slightly gear-like quality.
Because the people of the capital Great Labyrinth City prefer to modify themselves, this voice was once known as the " Great Labyrinth City Mechanical Voice".
So how did my accent disappear?
Gray looked up in confusion, only to bump right into Ed's one eye:
"Otherwise, only I can save you here. This kind of illness, caused by acclimatization, isn't a serious matter, but it's not insignificant either; in ancient times, it could have been fatal."
"In short, you've survived, and hopefully you'll live a long time, even longer than before you were injured."
At this point Ed also stood up:
"I won't bother you anymore, you should get some rest."
At this moment, Gray was filled with doubt. He subconsciously reached out and grabbed Ed's hem, only to see his right hand, which had become completely wooden.
Ed was also pulled like that and sat back down in his chair.
Is there anything else?
He looked at Gray.
What do I look like now?
"You asked me the same question last time, so I'll give you the same answer—do you really want to see it?"
Gray hesitated for a moment, then nodded firmly:
"Let me see."
Ed manipulated the vines to slowly raise the front half of Gray's hospital bed, and Gray stretched his head forward, finally seeing his entire lower body covered by tree bark.
As he was still in shock, Ed's explanation reached his ears:
"In a way, you're not fully born yet."