The Connection (part 2/3)

"What do you mean one week? It worked fine just a moment ago!" Yuan Qiu questioned the technician.

"You see, it's like this..." he began explaining and holding his smart pad for her to see.

Despite the bad news, Mahn Li felt a lot better about his immediate future. The landlady, as it turned out, wasn't too fixated on evicting him and was worrying about her internet connection.

His mind settled, he listened to the conversation between her and the technician.

"...The cables connecting the rendering unit and the storage unit should have been the ones with R47-AC connectors. But the ones you had were R47-AD instead. They technically function the same. But the -AD isn't as robust. Under heavy load, it will eventually break down, as it had in your case..."

Wait a minute...

"...And that's not the worst of it. The connectors here overheated, which affected the motherboard inside each unit. Lucky for you, nothing was too heavily damaged. These units are ridiculously well-built. Hah, that's a given, considering the price..."

This didn't sound like an internet problem...

"...But I digress. The heat didn't melt anything, but it knocked loose some of the more fragile components. I could reinforce those, but it is a very delicate job. If I rush it, I might break the whole thing. You don't like it, don't you?"

He definitely wasn't talking about the internet...

"Of course not!" Yuan Qiu growled, tapping her foot impatiently: "How much for all of it?"

"Well, taking into consideration the parts and labor..." the technician spoke with a drawl, "I'd estimate it at about 20,000 RMB."

"What? Twenty thousand?" She shouted, her voice could probably be heard from across the street.

"Whoa! Calm down!" The man shifted uncomfortably under her glare, but held his ground: "You used unofficial add-ons and parts, which already void the warranty, so there's no way I2 can replace anything for you. If you call the company, they'll tell you that much. Plus, these things haven't been around much, so I doubt you'll find anyone else other than me who can fix them. This is already a low price!"

"Twenty thousand, and a week of waiting?" The landlady concluded, her brows still knitted.

"Pretty much, yeah!" the man replied, wiping his forehead with his sleeve: "If you're okay with that, I can start tomorrow."

"I'll think about it!" She said curtly.

"Okay, I'll be off then. Call me when you've made up your mind!"

The short man walked into the elevator, nodding at Mahn Li as he walked by. Yuan Qiu still stood in place with a sour expression.

"You're still here?" Seeing him, she asked.

"Uh… So what's wrong with the internet?"

"I switched off the router to fix the rig. You have a problem with that?"

"Um. You know it's not necessary to turn off the router to fix the rig, right?"

"I don't care! I just feel like it!" She said, her eyes practically glowed, daring him to push the issue.

'So there was nothing wrong with the internet connection,' Mahn Li sighed internally. The lady was pissed that her VR rig had a problem, so she turned off the router out of spite. However, arguing with her was unproductive, not to mention that he owed her two months of rent, hardly a good position to start a negotiation.

Besides, this might be a good opportunity for him.

"You know, big sis Yuan. What if I could fix that rig for you?"

"You?" She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

As an Electronics Engineering major who dabbled in programming, Mahn Li had plenty of practical knowledge around consumer electronics. He used to help her fix old and/or broken electronics, which was why she was generally less brutal with him when it came to the matter of rents.

"This is not a washing machine! It's a brand-spanking-new VR rig. Have you even touched one?"

"Sure I have!" Mahn Li said confidently, although he didn't dare to say he owned one. That would lead to an uncomfortable lecture by the lady about having priorities.

He had not spent his 10 years just playing the game. He also had a remarkable knowledge of the VR rig's hardware components over each iteration. He even contributed to the development of a number of 'unofficial' hardware mods and hacks that add various functionalities and tweaks to the base rig. Although he might not remember the more esoteric parts, he was pretty confident he could still do basic diagnostic and repairs.

"Besides, I'll just have a look first. If I can't fix it, I'll be right out of your hair! Have I ever broken anything I helped fix for you?" He said with his best "innocent" face.

"Fine. I'll let you take a look!" She relented and opened the door to her apartment: "In here. Don't stare at my stuff!"

"Oh, wait! Let me go get my toolkit first!" Mahn Li told her.

"Fine, go!"

He got back to his room and retrieved a small case containing the assortment of tools he often used to repair electronics, then return to the 15th floor where Yuan Qiu was. They entered her apartment and made their way to her gaming room.

"Holy shit!" Mahn Li blurted out.

Tearing his eyes from the respectable collection of console and PC games placed neatly on several shelves at one corner, he turned his attention to the monstrosity reigning the room. Her VR rig.

His own rig, sold for the low, low price of US$ 9,999.95, was the most basic package. It only had a headgear and an all-in-one unit that housed the power supply, processor, rendering mini-farm, storage device, and other essential components.

The rig he saw in front of him was massive. The only thing it had in common with his setup was the headgear. And even that was a sleeker, more comfortable one. It was put next to an expensive-looking fully adjustable ergonomic gaming chair with automatic massaging mattresses to maximize comfort and minimize muscle cramps and sores.

The remainder of her rig was mounted on an adapter frame that occupied half of the room. As he inspected it closely, he couldn't help letting out small gasps of appreciation. The rendering unit was a veritable mini-farm consisting of a liquid-nitrogen-cooled array of several dozen graphics cards. For storage, she had splurged on at least two dozen 3D Cross-Point drives. The rest of the components and redundancies were similarly powerful and jaw-droppingly expensive.

"Wow!" Mahn Li said, impressed. He had known that Yuan Qiu was a successful businessperson, and was quite impulsive when it came to personal purchases. This, however, was a lot more extravagant than he expected.

"Okay. You can start whenever you're done drooling over it," she said, and added under her breath, "Nerd!"

"Sorry, sorry. You bought all of this yourself?" He chuckled in embarrassment and turned back to her.

"Nah. Some guys I knew did it," she shrugged.

"Okay," he said and began poking around the system. He noted that aside from the headgear, which still had Immersive Interaction's tamper-proof seal, all other components were extensively modified, which voided the warranty on them. The technician had pretty much figured out the main problems with the rig, though he missed a few smaller ones.

"I see. So here are the problems..."

For the next few minutes, he launched in a barrage of pseudo-scientific technical babble mixed with actual useful information. It was basically a paraphrase of the technician's explanation, plus his own observations, sprinkled with exaggerations here and there.

As expected, Yuan Qiu eventually waved his hand and said.

"Alright alright! I'm having a headache just listening to you going on and on about 'Blah blah blah connectors blah.' So can you fix it?"

"It's not difficult. Just tedious. I'm gonna have to disassemble several parts: here, here and here," he said, patting several spots on the setup: "A shit ton of rewiring, and some soldering here and there. Some tweaking to improve performance. Plus, I'll do a network diagnostic for you for free!"

Finishing his sales pitch, he put on his best "good guy" smile and waited for her to respond.

"Alright," she said cautiously, "how much do you want to fix all this?"

"Twenty thousand renminbi."

"What?" She growled. "You got a lotta nerve, kid!"

"Oh come on! The guy just now asked for the same amount, didn't he? And he needs a week to do this. I can get this fixed for you in a day."

"Are you a certified technician? If you break my machine, what're you gonna do about it?" She gritted her teeth, and he could see a vein popping out on her temple.

"Uhhh. Okay, never mind," Mahn Li replied, "How about five months of rent?"

"What?" She growled again.

"It's the same amount, but you don't have to pay me anything!"

"I know my rent! But it's too much! If everyone starts demanding rent for every little thing they help me with, what am I gonna eat? Two months!"

"Come on, sis Yuan. Four months! I have a wife and kid too, y'know!"

"Who are you bullshitting? I talked to your mother the other day. She was anxious for you to go home and marry! Three months!"

"That's what I'm talking about! I have a pregnant girl at home waiting for me! How about three months and a half? Please?"

"Hmm. Fine!" She said: "But I'm keeping an eye on you!"

"Uh… There's this other thing. I kinda need an extra guy to do this. I'm gonna go fetch him real quick and then I'll be back, okay?"

"Hurry up! I don't have all day!"

'But you were prepared to spend all day playing the game, weren't you?' Mahn Li silently complained as he rode the elevator to the lobby and headed outside.

Leaving the apartment building, Mahn Li headed for his favorite electronics repair shop, a small kiosk in a corner of the marketplace. It was run by Zhang Rui, a man in his fifties, and his nephew, Zhang Xiaogang.

In the past, Zhang Rui's businesses were quite prosperous. However, several consecutive bad decisions had cost him most of his fortune and even his house. The only thing he had left was this meager shop. Exhausted and disillusioned, he spent most of his nights drinking and gambling, and most of his days either sleeping or playing video games.

The shop was mostly managed by Zhang Xiaogang, a timid but bright and hard-working young man. After his parents died, he had been under Zhang Rui's care. In recent year, he had been the one caring for his uncle and running the shop.

Mahn Li stopped in front of the place, taking in the familiar sight. Most of the shop was occupied by racks and shelves containing old console systems and replacement parts. Sitting between them, Xiaogang was working on an old Game Boy Color. A portly man in his fifties was waiting nearby, chatting with Xiaogang. The back door leading to the sleeping area was ajar, and he could hear faint sounds from an old video game.

After several minutes, Xiaogang finished repairing the GBC. The customer paid, thanked him and left.

"Hey, big brother Li!" he greeted Mahn Li.

"What's up, Xiaogang? How's business?"

"Ah, you know. Same old, same old!" the kid replied, sounding like a man twice his age.

Before he could say anything, the game was paused and Zhang Rui stepped out from the back door.

"Oh, Li'er? Got a problem with your console?" He said with a yawn, scratching his belly.

"Hello, uncle Zhang. Yeah, it kinda got tangled up a bit. I need to borrow Xiaogang for a while. Is that okay?"

"What? And who's gonna look after the shop?" He scowled.

"It'll just take a moment!" Mahn Li replied while sighing 'You were playing video games just a moment ago! Why can't YOU look after the shop?'

"All right! Xiaogang, lock the dor when you leave!" He went back inside the inner room. Soon after, sounds of fighting were heard again as he resumed his game.

"Bring your stuff. The full toolkit." Mahn Li said in a low voice.

"What? I thought it was just your old ten-eighty?"

"It's something else. Let's go! I'll fill you in on the way."