Chapter 3: The Personality Furnace

Aiden's head feels as if it's being stabbed by countless needles. In a daze, his consciousness drifts back to his childhood days in Munich. Back then, he loved playing in his father's watch workshop the most. The smell of machine oil mixed with the aroma of the French stew his mother made was the most familiar scent of his childhood. But at this moment, being in this Munich-style watch workshop that smells the same again, he is filled with anxiety and unease.

"This damned technology is harder to calibrate than the vault of Cologne Cathedral, Scheiße!" Aiden mumbles. The wrench in his hand strikes heavily on the brass gear, and sparks fly. A few of them land on his traditional Bavarian leather pants, traditional Bavarian lederhosen (note: distinct leather breeches with suspenders),but he doesn't notice. His brows are furrowed tightly, and his eyes are fixed on the gear as if he wants to see through it. The steam pipes hum like the ventilation openings of the Paris Metro, making a racket in his ears and making him even more irritable.

"What's this mess?" Aiden looks at the gear that suddenly gets stuck. It's as motionless as coins stuck in Trevi Fountain and can't help but mutter to himself. Sweat trickles down his back slowly, soaking his shirt, but he doesn't have the time to care.

Just then, a sharp and ear-piercing metallic scraping sound comes, much like the sound when the London Underground brakes. It echoes in the workshop. Aiden instinctively covers his ears, and a sense of foreboding creeps up on him. He accidentally catches a glimpse of the changes in the mechanical patterns. Those patterns are as unpredictable as the masks at the Venice Carnival, faintly emitting a strange light.

"This... This is really strange." Aiden is startled. While he's wondering, he suddenly feels that the Fengyu Branch in his hand is not right. He takes a closer look, and his face turns pale instantly. The cracks that appear on the Fengyu Branch are incredibly like the cracks branching like Berlin's U-Bahn lines (though he'd never been east of Munich Central Station).

"Watch out!" A French shout with a German accent comes. Aiden turns his head sharply, only to find that there is no one behind him. He feels a shiver down his spine. Before he can think it over, the Fengyu Branch in his hand suddenly emits a strong light. Then, with a "snap", it breaks apart and turns into countless cherry blossom iron shavings floating in the air.

Aiden is stunned at the sight, his mind going blank. Suddenly, tWhy did that damned pie from Christmas '38 surface now? He never tasted it anyway. He himself feels baffled. Why would he think of this at this moment?

The moment the Fengyu Branch breaks, Aiden's eyes start to change. He doesn't notice it at all and is still immersed in the shock of the failed forging of the Fengyu Branch. The process of his iris changing color is like the gradual change of the sunrise on the Swiss snowy mountains. From the original dark brown, it gradually turns into a strange dark blue, and at the same time, it faintly reflects the twelve zodiac signs. Every time a personality switches, Gemini's twins eclipsing Sagittarius' arrow in his left iris.

As the iris changes color, the he air quivered like overproof rum vapors in Havana distilleries. The air trembles like a soufflé collapsing, as erratic as the gait of a drunkard at the Munich Oktoberfest, running amok in all directions. The mechanical parts that were originally arranged in an orderly manner start to shake and collide under the impact of this energy, making cracking sounds.

"This isn't right. What on earth should I do?" Aiden thinks to himself and reaches out to grab the wrench beside him, only to find that his hand is shaking. His gaze sweeps around, and he suddenly sees those cherry blossom iron shavings floating in the air start to form wonderful patterns, like the swirls like Van Gogh's brushstrokes in café terrace painting. And in these swirl patterns, the partial patterns of the star map trap of the Dwarf Kingdom are faintly embedded, but Aiden doesn't notice.

While Aiden is stunned and at a loss by this scene, a holographic projection suddenly appears. The image of Ashes Eileen slowly emerges. Her appearance is a mixture of elements from the Phantom of the Vienna Opera, mysterious and solemn. "Steam doesn't lie, but those who manipulate it do." Her voice is ethereal and firm, echoing in this workshop, and an electronic Nordic knitting pattern watermark is added to the warning words of the holographic projection.

Aiden looks at the holographic projection in front of him, his mouth slightly open, wanting to say something but not knowing where to start. His heart is filled with doubts and fears. What on earth is going on? The carefree scene of graffiti on the Berlin Wall flashes through his mind again, but now, he is in such a terrible predicament.

"What on earth is going on?" Aiden finally can't help but ask loudly, his voice trembling a bit.

Ashes Eileen doesn't answer his question. She just looks at him quietly, and there seems to be a deep meaning in her eyes. At this moment, the energy in the workshop is getting more and more out of control, and everything around is in chaos. Aiden feels that his left hand suddenly twitches. It feels like a Paris Metro turnstile getting an electric shock, shaking uncontrollably.

He tries to control his left hand with his right hand, but it's no use. Sweat keeps breaking out on his forehead and sliding down his cheeks. His heart is beating faster and faster, like a drum beating wildly. His gaze scans around in a panic, trying to find something to rely on, but everything seems so strange.

Suddenly, the alarm in the workshop goes off. The sound is sharp and urgent, having the same frequency as the bells of the Florence Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. In this chaotic environment, it adds even more tension. Aiden listens to the alarm, and the fear in his heart grows stronger. He doesn't know what will happen next, and this uncertainty makes him feel extremely uneasy.

Just then, Aiden smells that caramel scent again. This smell is like a key that instantly triggers the memory fragments of graffiti on the Berlin Wall in his mind. He seems to be back in that time again, freely splashing paint on the Berlin Wall with his friends, and the laughter and voices echo in his ears. But now, this beautiful memory makes him even more painful because he doesn't know where he is now and what the future holds.

In this chaos, some incoherent thoughts suddenly flash through Aiden's mind: "Wait... The strawberry pie recipe from last week?" He himself doesn't understand why he would think of this at this moment, but he doesn't have time to think about it. The situation in the workshop is getting worse, and he has to find a way to get out of this predicament.

He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He looks at the chaotic scene around him and suddenly finds that the workshop is filled with stardust that smells like Provence lavender, reminding him of that failed perfume apprenticeship. This fragrance calms him down a bit, and he starts to observe the surroundings carefully, looking for a possible way out.

Just then, he finds a gear fragment on the ground, and it seems that the number of a Stockholm subway station is shown on it. What does this mean? His heart is filled with doubts. He picks up the gear fragment and examines it carefully, hoping to find some clues from it.

At this moment, the holographic projection of Ashes Eileen is still hovering in mid-air, quietly watching all this. Aiden looks up at Ashes Eileen, his eyes full of expectation and doubts: "Who on earth are you? What on earth is going on here?" He asks again, his voice with a hint of pleading.

Ashes Eileen still doesn't answer his question. She just shakes her head slightly, and then the holographic projection gradually disappears. Aiden looks at the disappearing Ashes Eileen, his heart filled with despair. He doesn't know what to do. This world full of mysteries makes him feel extremely confused and helpless.

Aiden leans against the wall, gasping for breath. It feels like he has just reached the finish line of the Paris Marathon, extremely exhausted. He strokes his hair and accidentally rubs against the old scar behind his ear. His eyes are empty, and he looks ahead, not knowing where his future lies.

The chaos in the workshop continues, but Aiden feels as if he is in a lonely world. He doesn't know what secrets are hidden behind all this, nor does he know if he can solve these mysteries. He only knows that from this moment on, his life will change completely, and he can only continue to grope forward in this unknown world...

He looks at the gear fragment in his hand again. The number of the Stockholm subway station on it is like a mysterious symbol, leading him to an unknown future. He grits his teeth and decides that no matter what awaits him ahead, he will bravely move forward. Because he knows that only in this way can he find the answers and solve the doubts in his heart.

At this moment, Aiden suddenly remembers the special function of the universal wrench. He tightens his grip on the wrench, trying to use it to change the current situation. The wrench in his hand starts to morph as if alive — he never read manual page 23. Along with the power reserve display effect of a Swiss watch, it emits a strange light.

At the same time, he also notices that in this chaotic energy field, the swing amplitude of the pointer of the blue flame purity detector is like the process of decanting a bottle of Bordeaux wine, having a unique rhythm. But he still can't understand the meaning of it at this moment.

He takes a deep breath, trying hard to calm himself down, and then walks towards the exit of the workshop. Every step he takes makes him feel as if he is walking into a deeper mystery, but he doesn't flinch because he knows that backing down won't solve any problems.

When he reaches the door of the workshop, he looks back at this place full of chaos and mystery, and a complex emotion surges in his heart. He doesn't know if he will come back here again, but he knows that this place will always stay in his memory and become an unforgettable experience in his life.

He pushes the door open and walks out. The outside world is completely silent, in sharp contrast to the chaos in the workshop. He looks up at the sky and silently prays in his heart, hoping that he can find his own answers in the days to come. At this moment, the system prompt sound of "Star Chain Overload" rings faintly in his ears, as if reminding him of the more challenges that lie ahead.