Several children were violently pushing a thin little boy and driving him through the iron gate that Victor had made of fine work.

"I doubt Neff will survive a minute," said a girl with synthetic gems set above her eyes.

"I bet he'll be copperhead when he comes back. Another boy with red hair said. Perhaps then his head would no longer be as stupid as it was in the haze. ”

"You'd better bring back something that sells for money, or it's our turn to change your head. The eldest child said as he grabbed the little boy by the neck and carried him forward. The other children retreated to the back.

The little boy trembled as he approached the tall iron door, which slowly opened and creaked as he nudged it. He swayed past the gear-occluding pattern outside the main entrance and swayed in front of an open window. The alarm sounded suddenly, and the little boy jumped in through the window

Victor sighed and pressed a switch, turning off the alarm bell.

The emaciated boy looked around at his new surroundings. Glass jars, filled several walls with organs mixed with flesh and metal in a green liquid. A gurney, with blood stains on the leather surface and a mechanical hand drill, lies quietly in the middle of the room. Dozens of robots leaned motionless against each wall. For Victor, his laboratory is a sanctuary for his most creative and significant experiments, but he can also imagine that it can scare small children.

The boy's eyes widened in horror when he saw Victor on the workbench and his fleshy arms. Ducked behind a nearby wooden crate.

"You can't learn anything from that box, kid. Victor said. "But on top of it, there's a bone cutter. Trouble pass it to me. ”

With a shudder, he reached for the top of the box, felt the rusty metal, and gripped the handle. The bone cutter slid down the ground, and Victor picked it up.

"Thank you. Victor said as he wiped his tools clean before continuing to work on his arm.

Victor heard the boy's rapid breathing.

"I'm grafting the Achilles tendon of the wrist flexors, ahem, broken structures in my wrists. Victor said as he reached deep into his arm to adjust a bolt. "Would you like to come and see?"

The little boy sticks out half of his head from behind the wooden box.

"Doesn't it hurt?" he asked.

"It doesn't hurt," Victor said. "If a person is cut off from the anticipation and fear of pain, pain is easily accepted. ”

"Oh. ”

"The other thing that relieved the pain was that almost all of my arms were mechanized. See for yourself. ”

The little boy left the wooden box and sat not far from Victor, staring intently at his arm.

Victor went on to weld the next bolt to the Achilles tendon under the skin. When he was done, he put several pieces of free epidermis onto the surface of his arm. Finally, a laser is used to irradiate the seam and cauterize the flesh and close the incision.

"What are you doing this for?" the boy asked. "Are your arms less agile than they used to be?"

"Do you know what humanity's greatest weakness is?"

"I don't know......," the boy replied.

"Humanity has always been blind to the vast possibilities and wants to maintain the status quo. ”

The boy looked at him blankly.

"People are afraid of change," Mr. Victor said. "They think it's okay and don't go for it. ”

Victor walked over to his small stove, poured some dark powder and pig-and-donkey cream into a saucepan, and heated the pot with a laser.

"Would you like a cup of sweet milk?" said Victor. "It's my weakness, but I've always liked the taste of fennel. ”

"Uh......h Aren't you going to cut off my head and replace it with a metal head?"

"Ahh Is that what they all say about me now?" asked Victor.

"Almost. The little boy said. "I've heard of a kid whose head was changed just because he had a cough. ”

"Did you get this information firsthand?" Victor said.

"No, it's my neighbor Poma's cousin, or uncle. Or some other relative. ”

"Ah, then there's nothing to say. ”

"Can changing your head cure a cough?"

"You're getting to the point. Victor said. "No, I don't think it will improve much. The lesion of the cough is the lungs, you have to know. And for your previous question, I'm not going to see your head off and replace it with a metal head. Unless, of course, you ask for it. ”

"No thanks. ”

Victor poured the thick liquid into two cups and handed the boy one, which he was looking at with longing.

"Not drugged. Victor said as he raised his glass and took a sip. Then the little boy began to gulp down his sweet milk.

"Are the other children still staring at the door?" the little boy bared his black teeth.

Victor glanced out through the iris lens. The other three children were still waiting at the gate.

"It's still there. Do you want to scare them?"

The little boy's eyes lit up and he nodded.

Victor handed him a horn and said to him, "Scream at it with your loudest voice." ”

The little boy let out an exaggerated, blood-clotting scream, which was amplified by the horn, and the sound echoed throughout the Spark Alley, and the other children jumped up in horror and immediately fled in all directions. The little boy looked at Victor and smiled happily.

"I've found that fear is a limiting emotion in most cases," Victor said. "I'll give you an example, tell me something that scares you. ”

"The Alchemy Baron. ”

"The reason why the Alchemy Barons are feared is that they deliberately create an atmosphere of invincibility, often threatening with force. If no one is afraid of them, people will stand up against them. So what will their power turn into?"

"Woo......"

"Nothing. That's right. Think about how many alchemy barons there are in Zaun, and how many ordinary people there are. Fear is a tool used by a powerful few to control the weak, because they understand the effects of fear. If there is someone who can manipulate your emotions, then that person can control you all. ”

"I think it makes sense. But I'm still afraid of them. The little boy said.

"Of course you're scared. The law of fear is deep in your flesh and blood. However, steel has no such weakness. ”

Victor brought over a test tube containing a milky white liquid with tiny silver beads floating in the middle.

"The next thing I can do is where I can help," he said. "I've developed an augmentation device that completely eliminates fear. I can let you try it for the time being. ”