Eileen Vanitas

"You're 15 minutes late," Eileen said, her voice as cold as a frozen mountain.

"Don't blame me. This place was hard to find. Anyway, did you bring the goods?" Scott replied, showing no sign of remorse for his tardiness. He never liked Blue-Class students, so he had no intention of appeasing them.

Eileen's willow-like eyebrows furrowed slightly as she assessed Scott's appearance and manner of speech. She felt she had arranged this meeting too hastily. She hesitated briefly but ultimately reached into her school bag and pulled out a Crystal Processing Unit.

"This is the CPU. It's highly unstable after startup—it crashes every time if left running for more than two minutes.

I've already visited hundreds of repair shops, and they all say the structure is too old, with too many internal components that are no longer manufactured, making it impossible to fix.

I heard you're a veteran enthusiast of Crystal Processors and a full-fledged expert in repairing them.

If you can fix this, name your price. Money is not an issue.

Of course, if you can't repair it... please don't break any of the internal components."

"Let's discuss that after I take a look." Scott said.

Repairing Crystal Processors required an extensive and profound set of skills. Scott didn't dare make any guarantees. He pulled out a pair of dust-resistant gloves and put them on. Then, he carefully took hold of the CPU.

The moment the CPU pressed into his palm, he could feel the sturdy craftsmanship of a true classic Crystal Processor.

This was an antique—at least a thousand years old. Half of its structure was still mechanical in nature. There was a round button on the outer surface, which was a wire conductor.

Scott gently pressed the button.

The Crystal Processing Unit let out a faint hum and vibrated slightly as it awakened. Its mechanical structure spun into action with lightning speed.

A few seconds passed—

Suddenly, it lifted from Scott's palm and began floating in the air!

Two beams of light shot from its top and bottom openings, converging to form a massive holographic projection.

The lights twisted and transformed—

Into 59 glowing, radiant characters, forming a magnificent virtual keyboard.

"This... this is a work of art."

Scott's eyes burned with an unmatched passion.

He had already identified it—

A Wire-Conductor CPU from the Great Awakening Guild, developed over two thousand years ago!

---

In the history of Crystal Processor development, the Wire-Conductor CPU had only existed for ten years before being overtaken by the more advanced Storage-Chip CPU.

Moreover, the Great Awakening Guild had only survived for around a hundred years.

They had built their reputation on generations of Wire-Conductor Crystal Processors, but they failed to keep up with modern technological advancements.

When Storage-Chip CPUs became the dominant standard, the guild lost its primary source of income and was forced into bankruptcy.

And so—

The Wire-Conductor CPU became a relic of the past,

Known as the final, glorious masterpiece of the Great Awakening Guild,

A true collector's treasure.

---

Scott's hands moved like a gentle breeze, dancing across the glowing, rippling keyboard.

His typing speed wasn't necessarily fast, but his movements were fluid and elegant, as if he were playing a priceless harp rather than operating a keyboard.

Lines upon lines of capitalized command sequences emerged on the hologram, cascading like a torrential downpour.

Meanwhile, the Crystal Processor emitted a soft, barely audible whirring sound—a sound incomprehensible to the average person.

Scott leaned in, pressing his ear closer, listening intently. His expression was one of absolute focus. Every movement of his fingers was precise beyond compare.

After all, Wire-Conductor CPUs were over two thousand years old. Their structure was far simpler than the mainstream Layered-Chip Processors used today.

After a minute of careful analysis, Scott reached a preliminary conclusion:

**"There's likely an issue with the heatsink, causing the internal temperature to rise abnormally during operation.

Modern Crystal Processors have become more and more powerful, needing to process vast amounts of data and telepathic transmissions.

But for a processor that's over two thousand years old... the workload is simply too much.

It's like expecting a 90-year-old man to carry over a thousand pounds of weight every single day, year after year.

It's only a matter of time before his joints give out."**

---

"...This Crystal Processor is a relic left behind by someone dear to me."

Eileen's tone grew serious.

**"To me, it's a memorial, holding irreplaceable memories.

As long as you can repair it—

I'm willing to pay any price."**

Scott thought for a moment, then nodded. **"A scratched heatsink is a common issue in Crystal Processors. Technically, it's not a major problem. The reason none of the repair shops you visited could fix it is mainly because this model of Crystal Processor is extremely rare. The technology used in this processor is also ancient. The specific heatsink inside it hasn't been produced for years, and modern heatsinks used in today's processors are fundamentally incompatible.

But it doesn't matter.

I happen to have a few extremely valuable antique heatsinks in my collection. All I need to do is try them out one by one. Even if I have to discard some in the process, I should be able to modify one to fit your processor's heatsink."**

"No need for all that talk! Just name the price!"

Eileen wasn't an expert in ancient artifacts, so she didn't understand even a quarter of what Scott was saying. She immediately cut to the chase.

**"Oh dear. Isn't it a bit sad to be so hasty about financial matters among fellow students? Anyway, it's not a big deal. I can't fix it immediately, so let me take it home. I estimate it will take me just one night to complete the repair.

Now, as for the disassembly fee, testing fee, repair fee, component costs, reassembly fee, installation fee, and my personal labor fee... I'll give you a 0.01% discount since you're a valued customer, bringing the total to $199,999.

Would you like to pay in cash or via transfer?"**

"Huh?"

Eileen's eyes widened, a dangerous light flashing deep within them.

"Just because I have money doesn't mean I'll let others treat me as an easy target for scams. Do you understand?"

She shot Scott a deadly glare.

Scott felt a slight chill run down his spine, but he kept a straight face. His years working at the waste-processing station had almost made him immune to fear.

Scott sighed and explained, **"You're right. Compared to repairing a standard Crystal Processor, this price is a bit high. With nearly $200,000, you could buy a high-end Crystal Processor with far superior computing power.

However—your Crystal Processor is over two thousand years old. It's already considered an artifact. Naturally, the cost of repairing an artifact is different!

Let's put aside the other costs for a moment and focus only on the multiple heatsinks I'll need to use for this repair. I obtained all of them through years of bloody effort. I had to go all out to acquire these rare collector's pieces.

They are simply priceless treasures!

So trust me—I'm already giving you a bargain."**

Eileen remained silent. Her beautiful brown eyes were fixed on him.

Her magic core efficiency was nearly 70%, causing a light sweat to form on Scott's forehead as she stared him down.

But when he thought of his own goal, he forced himself to continue speaking.

**"If you think it's too expensive, that's fine too. Let's just say my inspection was free this time.

You can ship it to a few major repair shops in another country and let them slowly track down the corresponding heatsink for your model. I estimate it will take at least six months to find one or two in stock.

If you go this route, the total cost should drop to less than $20,000."**

"Six months...?"

Eileen let out a soft sigh.

She knew Scott was telling the truth because many repair shops had told her the same thing.

According to them, repairing old CPU models wasn't difficult—but finding the right components was nearly impossible.

They had given estimates similar to Scott's.

However, they had also warned her that if she was unlucky, she might have to wait one to two years.

That was simply too long for her.

And Scott had clearly figured that out, which was why he saw her as an easy target.

Eileen sighed.

She still had to focus on her training, after all.

She nodded, her face expressionless.

"Fine, Scott Walton. I can give you $200,000, but—"

"Please, I'm not that greedy. I told you, I'm giving you a discount. It's $199,999."

Scott cut her off before she could finish her sentence.

"...If you don't want to die, shut up."

"Yes, ma'am."

Scott responded immediately.

**"...But business transactions require proper contracts.

Tomorrow at this time, I expect to see the Crystal Processor looking brand new.

Also, you will guarantee its operational stability moving forward.

If it malfunctions now and then, I won't pay for any future repair costs.

Any problems with that?"**

**"No problem at all. Once I replace the heatsink with a compatible one, it should function normally for at least two years.

During that time, you can keep searching for the perfect heatsink for this model.

As long as you replace it regularly, it will be fine."**

Scott answered instantly, flashing a confident smile.

"Alright then, that's settled."

Eileen nodded and turned to leave.

---

Scott sat down on a garbage crate.

A long time after she was gone, he finally felt the weight lift off his shoulders.

He let out a sharp whistle.

"Success."

With $200,000 in his hands, he could now visit the Underground Magic Trade Market and buy illicitly produced Elixirs, giving him a chance to increase his magic core efficiency.

---

Forged Elixirs were known to have extremely violent side effects.

However, they were also incredibly cost-effective and efficient.

$200,000 was enough to buy a five-month supply, giving him a real opportunity to boost his magic core percentage rapidly.

Scott carefully slid the Crystal Processor into his school bag.

He rubbed his slightly swollen, aching temples.

A faint smile formed on his lips as he strolled out of the junkyard.

---

As Scott had always said—

Hard work and determination always pay off in the end.