The lingering warmth of the bacon was still on his palate, and the rich aroma of coffee still swirled on his tongue; William felt the whole World brighten considerably.
Martha looked at him, her smile even brighter than a freshly polished coffeepot.
"Child, you truly are my lucky star! Ever since the sign lit up, several more customers have passed by!"
She tidied the bar counter deftly, chattering away, her tone full of genuine joy.
William gave a polite smile, but his mind was calculating.
A washing machine, a neon sign—these were all minor, inconspicuous issues, yet they had genuinely improved his situation.
It seemed the [Novice Energy Tuning] skill had more potential than he had imagined.
He was pondering whether he should proactively seek out opportunities, perhaps by wandering past older-looking shops to see if any "flickering" chances arose, when the restaurant door was pushed open again.
In walked a man around fifty years old, wearing a slightly greasy chef's White uniform and a somewhat crooked chef's hat.
As soon as he entered, he bellowed, "Martha, my goodness, your sign is finally looking lively! Unlike my cursed freezer, which has been humming all morning, the contents inside are probably melting!"
Martha exclaimed "Oh dear!" and put down the rag in her hand. "Sal, is your freezer acting up again? Didn't that young man just look at it for you last time?"
The chef, called Sal, plonked himself down in the empty seat next to William, waving his hand with a worried expression: "Don't even mention it. He charged me fifty bucks, said he replaced some kind of starter, and it worked for one day, but it's acting up again today. The sound is louder than a tractor, I'm afraid it'll just quit on me!"
He irritably ran his hand through his already disheveled hair, his gaze unintentionally sweeping over William before turning to Martha, "Martha, get me a strong one, or I'm going to explode today."
As Martha poured his coffee, she shot a glance at William, with a hint of pride and anticipation: "Sal, let me introduce you, this is William. He just fixed my sign for me, didn't charge a single cent!"
Sal's hand, holding the coffee cup, paused. He eyed William up and down suspiciously, his gaze full of disbelief. "Him? Fixed the sign?"
He clicked his tongue, clearly unconvinced, "Martha, don't let yourself be fooled. These young people nowadays, their glib tongues are getting better and better."
William wasn't annoyed; he was already used to such skepticism.
He put down his empty cup, his tone calm: "Mr. Sal, I presume? What exactly is the situation with your freezer? Besides the loud noise, how is the cooling effect?"
Sal took a big gulp of coffee, as if he had found someone to confide in: "Cooling? It's just a decoration now! This morning it still felt a bit cool, but now you could raise goldfish in there! The main thing is that sound, humming and buzzing, customers might think there's an earthquake here!"
"If you don't mind, I can go take a look," William offered. "Perhaps it's just a minor issue."
Sal raised an eyebrow, glanced at Martha, then back at William.
"Kid, let me make this clear, I just got ripped off fifty bucks. If you mess around and make it worse, I won't pay."
Although he spoke harshly, there was a hint of urgency in his tone, "Everything in there is fresh stock I just bought; if it spoils, I'll have worked for nothing this month!"
"Of course." William stood up. "Consider it a post-meal stroll."
Martha smiled and nudged William: "Go on, child, let Sal see what you can do."
Sal's restaurant was just next door, a small pizza shop.
Upon entering, a rich aroma of cheese and tomato sauce wafted over, but it was quickly overshadowed by a continuous, dull "humming" sound.
The source of the sound was a half-human-height stainless steel freezer in the corner.
William walked up to the freezer, listened intently, then placed his palm on its outer casing.
Beneath the icy touch was a continuous high-frequency vibration. He closed his eyes and concentrated.
[Novice Energy Tuning] activated.
The complex energy flow diagram within the freezer reappeared in his mind.
In William's vision, streams of light representing energy coursed between components like the compressor, condenser, and evaporator, but at a relay-like node, the light suddenly dimmed and twisted violently, like a river cut off, with energy crashing chaotically there.
The energy flow there seemed to be obstructed by something; a part of the energy couldn't pass smoothly, instead converting into useless vibration and heat, leading to compressor overload and a significant drop in cooling efficiency.
"It should be an issue with the starting relay or the overload protector." William opened his eyes, pointing to a small box near the compressor, "The energy here is very unstable."
Sal leaned in to look, a bewildered expression on his face: "This thing? That guy last time said it was this too, and even replaced it with a new one." He pointed to the small box, which indeed showed signs of being disassembled, and even had some fresh scratches.
William understood instantly.
It seemed the previous repairman was either unskilled, used inferior parts, or perhaps didn't even replace it at all, merely pretending to collect the money.
He placed his hand on the small box again, and this time, he tried to guide the chaotic energy.
William frowned; this energy blockage was far more stubborn than the loose connection in the sign, like a solidified lump of iron.
The energy flow there was stronger and more "stubborn." He carefully adjusted the "frequency" and "intensity" of his mental power output, attempting to "re-route" the errant energy back to its correct path.
William concentrated fully, his mental power like nimble hands, weaving through the chaotic energy strands, trying to untie the knot and bring them back into order.
After a few seconds of intensifying unusual noises, the freezer's sound suddenly, as if choked, dropped sharply, finally settling into a steady, powerful, faint whirring.
The irritating vibration disappeared with it.
Sal froze, instinctively touching the side of the freezer; the previous scalding sensation had significantly lessened.
He pulled open the freezer door, and a faint but definitely present blast of cold air wafted out.
"This… it's fixed just like that?" Sal could hardly believe his ears and touch.
William breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, a tired but satisfied smile on his face. "Yes, it seems the energy pathway was interfered with by the previous inferior part; I recalibrated it. It should be working normally now." He didn't mention any profound theories, simply explaining it in the simplest way.
Sal looked at the freezer, then at William, his expression shifting from disbelief to elation, finally settling into a mix of admiration and a touch of embarrassment.
"Kid, you… you're truly a god!" He clapped William on the shoulder forcefully, "A hundred times better than that fifty-dollar swindler!"
Martha on the side also beamed: "I told you William had skills!"
After his excitement, Sal rubbed his hands, speaking a little awkwardly: "Um… Little brother William, about the repair fee…"
He clearly remembered what he had said earlier—if it wasn't fixed, he wouldn't pay; now that it was fixed, he naturally couldn't default.
William thought of Sal's anxious demeanor earlier, and then looked at the freezer full of ingredients, realizing what this meant to him, far beyond a mere few tens of dollars.
He thought for a moment, then held up three fingers.
"Thirty bucks," William said. This was cheaper than the previous repairman's fifty, but it was enough for him to eat several decent meals.
Upon hearing this, Sal unhesitatingly pulled out three ten-U.S. dollar bills from his money belt and pressed them into William's hand.
"Worth it! So worth it! Kid, if any of my appliances act up again, I'm coming to you!" His gaze towards William had transformed from initial suspicion to complete trust.
William took the banknotes, smelling of ink and a hint of food, and a steady warmth surged through him.
This wasn't just thirty U.S. dollars; this was the first "business income" he had earned fairly and squarely through his own abilities in this unfamiliar World.
"Oh, right, kid, your name's William, isn't it?" Sal suddenly remembered something, his eyes lighting up, "I know a few friends who run small shops; they often have little appliance problems too, like coffee machines not heating up, or ovens with inaccurate temperatures. If you're willing, I can introduce you to them."
An unexpected gain! William's eyes also lit up.
This was exactly what he needed!
"Thank you so much, Mr. Sal!"
"Don't mention it!" Sal waved his hand, "You solved a big problem for me, and I'll help you get some business, it's only right!"
He grinned, revealing a set of coffee-stained but very neat teeth, "Come on, let's go back to Martha's, I'll buy you a drink! No, two drinks!"