The morning Sun, filtering through a gap in the curtains, dappled William Rodriguez's slightly weary face.
His eyelids fluttered, and he struggled to sit up from the not-so-comfortable bed.
A hangover-like sensation lingered, but it wasn't from alcohol; rather, it was a strong feeling of emptiness from deep within his body.
The energy provided by those two "Super Double Energy Bars" last night was like stones thrown into a bottomless pit, only creating a small splash before being rapidly swallowed.
His stomach, like an insatiable black hole, persistently rumbled in protest.
"This appetite... it'll bankrupt me sooner or later. Oh, I don't seem to have any assets to bankrupt."
William Rodriguez rubbed his temples, muttering to himself with a wry smile.
The price of becoming stronger, besides the obvious effort, was this bottomless appetite.
Just as he was contemplating how to solve his hunger problem for the day, a rough knocking at the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Thump thump thump!"
The force seemed intent on tearing down his already rickety wooden door.
"William! William Rodriguez! I know you're in there!"
A hoarse and clearly impatient male voice came from outside the door.
It was the landlord, Glenn.
He was a portly, balding middle-aged man who always wore a greasy vest. His shrewd, sharp eyes gleamed with cunning and harshness.
William Rodriguez jolted awake, all sleepiness gone.
Oh no, the rent!
He still hadn't secured this month's rent.
He fumbled into a wrinkled shirt, hastily slipped on his slippers, took a deep breath, and forced a somewhat calm expression before slowly shuffling to the door.
"Coming, coming, Mr. Glenn, good morning."
He opened the door, and indeed, Glenn stood outside, glaring at him with his shrewd eyes.
Glenn snorted, his tone unfriendly.
"Good morning? Rodriguez, my morning would be better if I received the rent on time."
His fat finger wagged in front of William Rodriguez, as if calculating something.
"This month's, plus half of last month's overdue, when do you plan to give it to me?"
A trickle of cold sweat ran down William Rodriguez's forehead.
His pockets were cleaner than his face right now; let alone rent, he could barely afford the cheapest energy bar.
He let out two dry laughs, trying to brush it off.
"Mr. Glenn, you see, I'm a bit tight on funds recently... just a few more days, just a few days, I promise..."
"A few days? Always a few days!"
Glenn clearly wasn't buying it, his voice suddenly rising, spit almost flying onto William Rodriguez's face.
"You say that every time! This isn't a charity organization!"
William Rodriguez's eyes darted, scanning the old, dust-covered washing machine in the hallway behind Glenn, clearly out of order for a long time.
An idea flashed in his mind.
Novice Energy Tuning... perhaps it could come in handy?
He cleared his throat, put on a professional smile, and his tone became sincere.
"Mr. Glenn, how about this? I know you have some appliances here that seem to have a little problem, like that washing machine..."
He pointed to the old machine.
"Well, I've recently learned a bit about repair work. While I wouldn't say I'm proficient, I might be able to take a look at some minor issues for you."
Glenn eyed William Rodriguez suspiciously, his gaze full of distrust.
"You? Repair appliances? Rodriguez, you're not trying to stall for time, are you?"
"Of course not, Mr. Glenn."
William Rodriguez patted his chest, looking confident.
"You know, I'm tight on funds right now, every bit saved helps. If I can fix it for you, do you think we could... be flexible with the rent?"
Glenn narrowed his eyes, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.
Hiring a professional repairman costs money, and this kid didn't seem like he'd overcharge.
If he could really fix it, it would save him some expenses.
"Hmph, if you can fix it, I'll give you a 20% discount on this month's rent."
Glenn conceded, but his tone still carried doubt.
"But if you can't fix it, or make it worse, you'll have to get out immediately, and don't even think about getting a single penny off the rent!"
"No problem!"
William Rodriguez's heart swelled with joy; this was exactly the outcome he wanted.
Armed with the tools provided by the landlord, he walked over to the stained washing machine, squatting down to examine it carefully.
This washing machine was an old model, with even some rust on its casing.
He tried to concentrate, directing his attention to the interior of the washing machine.
Soon, that strange flowing sensation reappeared.
In his mind, a rudimentary energy flow diagram slowly emerged.
He "saw" that a current at a certain circuit interface was extremely weak, almost broken, with some tiny energy leakage around it.
"Sure enough, it's an energy transmission problem."
William Rodriguez understood.
He reached out and gently tapped the outer casing corresponding to the problematic area he had "perceived," then, mimicking how he repaired the vending machine last night, he gave his wrist a slight flick.
He performed this action cautiously, fearing that the wrong force might completely break the already fragile circuit.
Glenn stood by with his arms crossed, watching coldly, a hint of undetectable mockery on his lips, clearly not believing William Rodriguez could accomplish anything.
William Rodriguez ignored him and concentrated again.
He "saw" that the blocked current seemed to have loosened slightly.
It's working!
He then gently pressed around that area a few more times, adjusting the angle and force.
This was entirely based on the intuition brought by Novice Energy Tuning, without any theoretical basis, purely a "feeling" that this was how it should be done.
"Szz..."
A faint electrical sound emerged, even smaller than the vending machine's sound last night.
Immediately after, an indicator light on the washing machine's control panel, which had been off, flickered a few times, and then... it stayed lit!
The mockery on Glenn's face froze, his shrewd eyes widening slightly, looking at the lit light with some disbelief.
"This... that's it?"
William Rodriguez stood up, dusted his hands, and a triumphant smile appeared on his face.
"It seems to be a minor contact issue, Mr. Glenn. It should be working normally now."
He pointed to the washing machine.
"Would you like to try it?"
Glenn walked forward skeptically and pressed the washing machine's start button.
After a moment of silence, a faint motor hum came from inside the washing machine, and then the drum began to rotate slowly and rhythmically.
It really was fixed!
Glenn's expression changed from doubt to surprise, finally settling on a complex emotion, seemingly a bit pained yet also impressed.
He smacked his lips, and his gaze towards William Rodriguez changed.
"Alright, kid, you really do have some skills."
He paused, as if remembering something, and cleared his throat.
"Ahem, that... what was the problem you said it was just now?"
William Rodriguez chuckled inwardly, knowing the old man wanted to probe, to see if he was just guessing.
He stroked his chin, feigning profundity.
"Hmm... based on my preliminary judgment, it should be the aging of the internal energy coupler, leading to poor contact and reduced energy transmission efficiency."
He spoke nonsense with a straight face.
Glenn listened, bewildered, clearly not quite understanding.
"Coupler? Is that thing... expensive?"
Here it comes!
William Rodriguez's heart stirred, remembering a classic repair joke.
He pretended to ponder for a moment, then held up one finger.
"Well, if you were to replace the original with a professional, the price wouldn't be cheap. But for me, it's a friendly price, ten yuan."
He deliberately said "ten yuan" in a light, casual tone.
Glenn's eye twitched.
He knew the kid was trying to rip him off; how could a small part in a broken washing machine be worth ten yuan?
But the kid had indeed fixed the washing machine, and he had also promised a rent discount.
After weighing his options, Glenn snorted.
"Alright, alright, you've got some ability, kid. Twenty percent off the rent, but that coupler you mentioned, no need to replace it, as long as it works."
He clearly didn't want to spend any extra money.
William Rodriguez had achieved his goal and didn't press the issue.
"No problem, Mr. Glenn. As long as you're satisfied. If you have any other appliances that need repairing in the future, you can always find me."
Being able to use his skill to offset some of the rent was already an unexpected bonus for him.
At least, today's lunch and dinner might be a little more substantial.
Seeing Glenn's slightly dejected yet forced-to-admit-the-truth expression, William Rodriguez's mood improved considerably.
The Novice Energy Tuning ability could not only solve emergencies but also be of great use in daily life.
"It seems my business scope can be expanded again."