Cyberzaun, Machinarium

"Do you think I'm overdoing it?" Enoch lifted his helmet, wiped the sweat off his head, and stretched his shoulders, which were very uncomfortable because it was his first time wearing heavy armor.

"I don't know. Only you can come up with such a genius idea. Don't ask me." The girl rested her head on a pile of cloth, covered her face with a big hat, folded her legs, and hummed a song to herself.

"I have to remind you that you are wearing a skirt now. You should pay attention to your image. You are now a Demacia lady who ran away from home secretly with a knight. You have to be more ladylike." Enoch tucked the hem of his skirt down and complained in a low voice.

Jinx sat up immediately and said, "My Lord Knight, can you think of a more efficient method? I am almost dying of boredom."

Enoch spread his hands and said, "I can't think of a more suitable solution. Besides, your legs need time to recuperate."

Enoch is looking for the wizard.

To be precise, he was fishing. Considering that the wizard who attacked before did not steal the gold coins, the car prepared by Enoch this time was full of supplies, cold-resistant clothes and tents.

He even tried walking a few kilometers and pretending to drop anchor near a forest where he could be easily attacked, waiting for the wizard to rush out and grab the poor squire and the young lady who had run away from home.

The script was written perfectly, but even now Enoch and the carriage were still intact, which only meant that the group of hidden wizards were still deep inside and hadn't discovered this crappy knight.

Or maybe the wandering wizards had already left, so we didn't run into them along the way.

Anyway, Enoch thought that his plan was not very efficient, but it was very clever, at least there were no flaws.

He never considered the possibility that he was pretending too much like a knight, so the group of mages didn't want to cause trouble.

Maybe she was tired of staying there, so she suddenly jumped out of the car, her untied hair flying in the air like a butterfly.

"Then maybe you shouldn't say goodbye to the little fur ball. I was thinking of relying on her to entertain me on the way." Jinx kept complaining. In the past two days, Enoch seemed to her like a fragile glass doll. Her leg had healed long ago.

"Be careful," Enoch quickly gave him a hand, "You said he would behave better in the next two days."

"I've always been very good." Jinx took the decorative sword from Enoch's waist and waved it in a pretentious manner. "Watch me, see how powerful I am."

Enoch shook his head and continued to move the goods on the truck, letting the girl chop the surrounding grass into a mess.

"Maybe I should pack less next time. These things are really hard to carry." Enoch stretched himself and finally loaded the things back into the car.

"Perhaps next time you should be more cautious, especially don't let your weapon leave your hand and hand it over to an amateur."

A strange voice sounded nearby. Enoch turned around and saw a female wizard holding a staff, facing Enoch.

As for Jinx? She dropped her wielding sword and pretended to surrender.

"Why didn't you warn me?" Enoch raised his hands in surrender, staring at Jinx's situation.

"I'm sorry, I... I didn't have time, I... I'm sorry," Jinx lowered her head and said softly. She looked like a frightened little girl, at a loss.

If Enoch didn't know Jinx, he might have believed it. Jinx would surrender and be afraid? What a stupid joke.

Not to mention she had countless grenades hidden under her skirt.

He needed to reflect on this carefully. When he talked to Jinx in the past, there were times when Jinx listened to him, and times when she was pretending. He always thought she was just a crazy girl and never thought that she was actually a talented actor.

"Maybe what you should do is not complain, but reflect on your own problems. The tin cans of Demacia always look like this, dressed in bright and beautiful clothes, never considering their own faults, wanting to control everything, and destroying what they cannot control." He gently twisted the staff in his hand, and the plants on the ground suddenly grew wildly, binding Enoch's hands tightly.

After a slight struggle, he found that although the rope in front of him still looked like a plant, it was more resilient and could not be torn apart by normal force. Thinking of this, Enoch signaled to Jinx not to act rashly and wait and see what these mages would do next.

Jinx saw the look from Enoch and nodded reluctantly, continuing to pretend to be weak. Her wrists were also tied, and judging by the number of bandages, they were obviously much lighter than those tied by Enoch.

"You are lucky. We are not going to kill you now, but we can't let you go back either. You have to visit us next." As she said this, the female sorceress put masks on the two of them and drove them into the carriage, leading them into the mountains.

On the way, Enoch chatted to distract the mage, and quietly took Jinx's hand, trying to cut the ropes without being noticed.

"We are just passing by and did not disturb you. Why did you arrest us?"

"Be quiet, just think of this as compensation for the mage you once hurt." The female mage knocked on the car railing. She didn't want to waste time talking to the tin can of Demacia. "If you keep talking, you and your lady will get off and follow me."

Enoch snorted in response, then gently patted Jinx's hand, signaling her to be quiet, so as not to shoot the mage "guide" halfway.

........................

"You shouldn't have brought them back, damn it, you're causing us trouble, you should have killed those hyenas"

"No, we are different from those evildoers. We will not stoop to killing innocent people."

"Then why should we allow those demon hunters to harm our compatriots?"

Listening to the quarrel outside, Enoch said to Jinx beside him with a bit of boredom, "Are your hands tied tightly? I feel that the mage who tied me is very prejudiced. She wants to strangle my hands to pieces."

"Well, it seems that they still give preferential treatment to ladies. This thing is tied quite loosely, I untied it." Jinx smiled. "Don't forget what you said. I am now the innocent and obedient eldest lady of Demacia."

"How did you manage to pick three random words that don't fit your character?"

"Let me think about it... ha, because I'm a genius."

PS:

Thank heaven for the monthly tickets and spicy strips

Thanks to Shuke451114690614 for the monthly ticket

Chapter 26: Win-win?

The time of being locked up was not as long as imagined. That night, a man who looked like the leader came to the cell converted from the small house.

Looking at the two people in front of him, Nova felt that things might not be as difficult as he imagined. The girl seemed to have not figured out the situation yet. It was hard to tell whether she was scared or not. She just stared at her companion. The boy, wearing armor that didn't fit him well, didn't even know how to lean against the wall to reduce the weight of the armor, and didn't know how to make himself sit more comfortably.

These two people may be children from wealthy families. After reading a few heroic biographies, they rushed out to explore. The same is true for the goods they carried. It was too much for two people, but too little for merchants.

But unfortunately, he was a wizard, and one of the two children was a knight. He was the leader of a small group and could not risk being exposed. If he kept holding the two children, there was a possibility that they would escape. Once they got out of control, whether intentionally or not, they might attract demon hunters.

"You still have three days, cherish this time and say goodbye to each other." After saying this, Nova turned and walked out. This was his false kindness. In any case, the two young men would disappear in this ridge.

"Or, we don't need three days. We can try to solve the problems that both of us are dissatisfied with within an hour." Enoch suddenly spoke, and his right prosthetic arm cut off the armor and ropes, and stood up easily, stretching his stiff limbs.

Jinx on the side also giggled and tore off the remaining rope on her wrist.

Nova felt something strange when he heard the voices. He turned around and saw that the two people who were tied up had broken free. Without waiting for other reactions, he subconsciously rushed out of the room, holding the staff in front of him. The flames on the end of the staff gathered together manically, aiming at the two people who were coming out of the house, ready to fire at any time.

"I'm sorry if I scared you, but you see, you just said something and turned to walk out. I have to show you that I'm not begging for mercy, right?"

Nova looked at the man who emerged from the room, speaking unapologetically while removing his armor piece by piece and throwing it aside... He didn't feel that the other party just wanted to "talk"

Perhaps the noise from rushing out of the house was too loud, the several mages in the hiding place gathered around, signaled to each other, and followed the leader's example by controlling their magic and aiming at the door.

To be honest, this scene frightened Enoch a little. It was not because he felt dangerous being pointed at by a group of mages, but because he did not expect the other party's leader to jump out like a rabbit.

Whose leader doesn't look like he has everything under control, always keeps his hands behind his back, faces people with the back of his head, and doesn't panic even when a knife is slashing in front of his eyes?

Damn, you can do magic, act like a wizard

Standing at the door, the few mages looked around and paused, then extended their right hand to the leader.

"Let me introduce myself. I am a businessman from Zaun. You can call me Enoch."

"And me, I'm Jinx." Jinx poked her head out from behind Enoch and looked at the enemies around her. "Oh, is that all you have? One, two, three... only six? I thought there would be at least 10 mages."

There was an awkward silence. The mages didn't move. Enoch shrugged his shoulders and retracted his raised right hand.

"Let me make it clear in advance that I am not your enemy. I have no problem with mages. I came here by accident. My convoy was attacked a few days ago. I believe you may know something that can help me."

"Similarly, in return, I can also help you with some small favors, such as supplies, materials, and gold coins, which I will be happy to share with my friends."

Enoch waited for the group of people in front of him to calm down a little. Since they were a group of refugees, they probably didn't want to make a big noise. If the trouble could be solved with just a few gold coins, Enoch would be happy to take an efficient approach.

Of course, it would be better if this was reached privately. With so many people, it is inevitable that there will be different opinions and everyone has their own ideas.

"Excuse me, would you please sit down and have a good talk? I've been tied up for quite a long time, and now I really want to sit down and have some tea."

Nova pondered for a moment. This was obviously his home ground. Since the other party claimed to be a businessman, he could try to negotiate... But he had to be careful whether the other party was a spy.

"Proof?" Nova put away his staff and signaled his companions to relax a little.

Enoch pulled out the caravan's customs declaration from Demacia and said, "It says here that I'm a merchant, and I'm here to do some small business of alchemical products."

"This is the logo and flag we use, and I think you can find it on the vehicles you saw a few days ago."

Nova glanced at the logo of the Chamber of Commerce, handed it to the female mage behind him, and signaled to check it quickly, then turned to look at Enoch, "So what do you want to do?"

"I want to get my things back, of course. The items I brought can be regarded as my sponsorship of your good deeds. I want my carriage back, which contains my business secrets, which are very important to me."

"I personally believe in the win-win situation brought about by helping each other." Enoch looked at the mages around him, hoping to choose a simple solution.

"We will check it out. Please go back to your room and have a good rest." Nova nodded and signaled the people around him to keep an eye on the movements in the room while he carefully considered the countermeasures.

........................

"It seems that these cars are what he wants?" Nova compared the marks and looked at the silent man beside him. Under the candlelight, he looked thin and erratic. "I remember you brought them? Is the caravan he mentioned real, Cook?"

Cook silently grasped his wrist, and didn't answer in a trance. After Nova called out a few times, he almost moaned, "Don't come near, I see...darkness."

The mages around looked at each other. This guy has been in a trance like this since a few days ago. What on earth happened?

"Anyway, there is no use for us to keep these carriages. What we need are supplies. If that man can fulfill his promise, it will be a better situation for us."

Nova looked at his companions. All the mages gathered here had nowhere to hide. They could only try to cross the border in winter. Before that, if they could get help from merchants, their chances of survival would be greatly increased.

The only problem was how could he get the supplies for the winter without leaking out the news. Also, looking at Cook's appearance, no one knew what he had experienced or seen to suddenly become like that.

Not to mention that three of his companions had died at the hands of that businessman. If someone objected to this, there was nothing he could do.

Nova was worried whether his choice would bring disastrous consequences to his companions.

Chapter 27 This is good for everyone

It seems that there is a reason why these mages did not run out of Demacia. The leader does not seem to be good at making decisions, but instead hopes to listen to different opinions.

Normally, a leader who can listen to opinions is a good thing for the group, but for a group of people on the run, making decisions after discussion is too slow.

Enoch sat by the window, looking at the room not far away. Under the light of the fire, the shadows of people kept flashing. It seemed that there would be no result for a while.

Especially after two mages they had never seen before showed up, they had to take the time to explain the whole story in the midst of their argument.

"I have a feeling that this time we'll definitely have a big show." Jinx squeezed next to Enoch, glanced at the guards not far away, and quietly adjusted the electromagnetic pistol.

"Yeah, to be honest, I can't expect perfection from such a loose organization."

Seeing Jinx's eyes wide open with excitement, Enoch thought for a moment, took the blue ponytail hanging beside him, played with it gently in his hands, and pulled the girl closer to his arms.

Lowering his head and gently sniffing the scent of chamomile on the girl, Enoch hugged Jinx tightly from behind. Their faces were so close that they could easily feel the warmth of each other's breath.

From a distance, it seems that lovers are enjoying a sweet moment, warming each other and sharing their feelings.

"Have you prepared all those modified grenades?" Enoch whispered in Jinx's ear.

Jinx tilted her head slightly, looking at Enoch who was clinging to her, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "I've been ready since early morning, just waiting for your order."

Enoch hummed softly, and buried his head lower into the girl's slender neck. Following the movement, he gently stuffed a few bullets polished with forbidden magic stones into Jinx's hands.

"Just in case, I want you to follow me closely tomorrow and stay behind me. When the talks break down, throw all the bombs over their heads. Leave the rest to me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my dear little finger." Jinx suddenly couldn't stop laughing. This was so interesting. The two of them broke into the enemy and made a big fuss. This was very attractive to Jinx.

If the guards around weren't watching, Jinx would have wanted to pick up the bomb and modify it right now.

Holding the excited Jinx in his arms, Enoch gently stroked the girl's hair and said, "Take a rest first. There will be a lot of fun tomorrow. I'll call you when it's quiet outside."

"No, I don't want to rest now. How about you rest first and I'll call you when it's quiet in the middle of the night?" Jinx pretended to be very good and obedient, with big blue eyes. She looked as harmless as a small animal.

"I think you might make a big noise as soon as I fall asleep. This is a mountain range near the border, and it's easy to attract unnecessary vigilance." Enoch turned his head away, deliberately not looking at Jinx. He was sure that if he looked into those eyes, he would soften his heart.

"I promise I won't." Jinx took the opportunity to slide out of Enoch's arms, turned around and sat aside, and pulled Enoch onto her lap with her backhand. "I promise this time, you can take a rest first. How about I sing a lullaby for you? I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

Enoch rested his head on the girl's thigh, staring at Jinx's expression for a while. Seeing that the girl couldn't help but raise her lips, he stopped insisting and said, "Then you have to call me on time. I also need some time to prepare in advance."

"Of course," Jinx nodded quickly, "I'll wake you up."

..............................

"Is this what you want?"

Nova and his men knocked on Enoch's guest room door early in the morning. After knocking twice, Enoch stood in front of the door with Jinx, who was dressed neatly. Then, they were taken to an open space not far away, where four carriages were parked.

I looked at the logo on the fence and saw an extra arch on one of the cars. It was definitely mine.

"Thank you very much, my friend," Enoch bowed exaggeratedly, "This is exactly what I need."

"Like I said, I don't care about what's in the car, I just need the thing itself. In return, I'm happy to provide three times the supplies as a reward for your help. You can choose a location and I'll have someone deliver it."

Nova stepped forward and blocked Enoch's way. "I don't care what you want to do, and I don't need your guarantee. I want to see your goods with my own eyes before I can give them to you. I want 5 trucks of supplies."

Enoch raised his eyebrows and stared at the mage who was speaking, wondering if he was making a boring joke. "My companions and I came here to solve the problem. Five trucks of supplies, no problem. I will provide them to you as agreed, but not now. I can't conjure up so many things for you at this moment."

"I suggest that you arrange for someone you trust to come with us. Then, I will personally prepare the vehicle and give it to your men. After that, we will disappear like the breeze, like ghosts, and never appear in front of you again. How do you think?"