Arcane: Twin Cities Mechanic

Poisoned? Drowsy? Fainting?

Combined with the strange fragrance he just smelled...

Did that damn Lilia run to Piltover?!

Li Lin's face was very unpleasant. He never expected someone would dare to attack even the Progress Day assembly.

He was well aware that he wasn't the target. Currently, besides Heimerdinger, who knew he invented the Hextech energy crystal, other families only knew about his generator invention. Moreover, he hadn't even started his speech; for most people, he was still an unknown figure.

Since the target wasn't him...

Li Lin grabbed a nearby tree, forcefully supporting his weary body, and looked at the still bustling auditorium.

Caitlyn, Jayce, and the Kiramman couple were all inside...

Suddenly, Li Lin widened his eyes, and Caitlyn's background description flashed in his mind:

During a Progress Day in her youth, she returned home to find all the servants killed, and her parents missing.

After facing numerous difficulties, Caitlyn, endowed with the talent of a "great detective," eventually found her parents in an opposing family's laboratory.

However, the mastermind behind all this, she only discovered the code name starting with "C."

Many years had passed since then, and even after becoming a detective, helping the Piltover enforcers solve many major cases, and being recommended as the Sheriff of Piltover, she still hadn't found out who this "C" was...

Having experienced the previous kidnapping and the Kiramman family resolving a hostile family through it, Li Lin thought this matter had passed.

But considering the timing of Evolution Day, the attacker's target was likely the Kiramman family!

Damn!

Could it be the butterfly effect caused by my transmigration, altering the timeline? I've been so focused on researching Hex crystals and power armor that I've neglected all this...

Li Lin clenched his teeth, striking a tree next to him with a fist.

However, this thought was quickly dismissed. Now wasn't the time to complain; there were more important things to solve.

Li Lin completely focused on the system prompts in his mind.

The panel indicated that he had about ten seconds left before falling into a "deep sleep" state.

He had to find a way to stay awake before he inevitably dozed off.

Li Lin quickly checked the debuffs "Drowsy" and "Sleep" in the system:

[Drowsy: Enters an extremely tired state, with a 70% reduction in thinking reaction speed and a 50% reduction in body reaction speed.]

[Sleep: Completely loses consciousness, entering a deep sleep (can be awakened by external force).]

When he saw "can be awakened by external force," a glimmer of hope appeared in his heart.

Even though there was no one around, he thought of a solution—throwing a stone.

The panel's status bar precisely counted down the seconds from "Drowsy" to "Sleep."

If he threw a stone at the very last second, just as he fell asleep and collapsed, the stone hitting him would wake him up.

Sure, there might be some bleeding and minor injuries, but in the face of the system's digitized health points, even gunshot wounds could rapidly heal. A stone hitting him would be no more than a scratch.

Quickly deciding what to do next, as there were only a few seconds left until "Sleep," Li Lin hastily picked up a palm-sized stone from the roadside, ensuring that the pain from being hit would be enough.

Then, Li Lin activated the "Data Mind" skill, precisely calculating the required strength, the stone's landing time, and position.

However, as beautiful as the idea was, reality always presented unexpected challenges.

When there were only three seconds left, Li Lin was preparing to throw the stone; another strange fragrance wafted in the air.

"Oh no..." Before Li Lin could react, his consciousness blurred, and his weak hands couldn't hold the stone.

Then, everything went black, and his entire body instantly went limp, falling to the ground with a "thump."

...

...

Not knowing how long he had been asleep, in the midst of drowsiness, Li Lin heard someone seemingly pushing his body.

"Sir... sir, wake up quickly!"

It sounded like a girl's voice, but it was unfamiliar.

What's happening?

What's wrong with me...

Li Lin felt like his head was being split open with intense pain, and his body was weak without any strength.

"Quickly wake up, sir, you can't sleep here!"

At the call of the young girl, Li Lin's consciousness gradually returned. He slowly opened his heavy eyelids, and in the dim environment, the blurry world before his eyes gradually returned to normal.

Li Lin looked dazedly toward the source of the voice. It was a girl who seemed to be only fourteen or fifteen years old.

She wore light makeup and a delicate white evening gown. Her shoulder-length brown hair was pinned back with a hairpin, and a pair of gemstone-blue eyes were filled with a worried expression.

Like an elf stepping out of a fantasy realm.

The girl knelt beside Li Lin, and a cool, tender hand gently patted his face.

Seeing that he finally opened his eyes, the girl couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "May the Gears turn! You're finally awake, sir!"

Li Lin's head was still a bit muddled. "Who... are you?"

"I am Orianna Reveck. I happened to be wandering around the campus when I found you lying on the path in the woods."

Orianna... the clockwork?!

Li Lin stared at the girl's azure eyes, in a daze for quite some time.

In the current timeline, Orianna hadn't been transformed into a mechanical body due to illness, right?

Seemingly feeling uncomfortable under Li Lin's direct gaze, Orianna's face blushed slightly. She shifted her gaze away from him and pouted her cherry-pink lips, a bit displeased. "Sir, if you've been drinking, don't wander outside. Sleeping here in the middle of winter, not only will your family and friends worry about you, but you'll also get sick."

She paused for a moment and continued, "I suppose you're here for the Progress Day event? How about I take you to find your family or friends?"

Li Lin had indeed consumed quite a bit of alcohol during the party. Although the alcohol content wasn't high, a faint smell of alcohol lingered on him.

Therefore, Orianna concluded that he must have been intoxicated, wanting some fresh air, and ended up accidentally sleeping outside.

"I didn't end up here because I was drunk..."

With Orianna's help, Li Lin struggled to sit up, rubbing his throbbing temples with both hands.

How did I pass out?

Reassembling the fragments of shattered memories, Li Lin recalled everything that had happened before. "Poison... yes!"

Startled, he grabbed Orianna's shoulder, "How long have I been unconscious?!"

Orianna was startled by Li Lin's actions. "I—I just arrived. At least five minutes should have passed since I saw you..."

"Five minutes..." Li Lin's pupils slightly contracted, hastily getting up.

However, his body still retained some toxins and hadn't fully recovered.

As he took a step, his legs went weak, almost falling to the ground again.

Fortunately, Orianna quickly supported him, "Sir! Are you okay?"

"I'm..." Li Lin waved his hand, glancing at his personal status bar:

[Personal Status: Paralyzed]

[Effect: Temporarily lose some sensory and motor functions, lasts 10 minutes.]

Damn!

Li Lin cursed inwardly, then looked at Orianna, asking urgently, "Did you come out of the auditorium? Has anything happened inside?"

"Eh?" Orianna was momentarily stunned by the question, then shook her head. "No, I found it too stuffy inside, so I came out to wander around on the campus over half an hour ago..."

Seeing Li Lin's serious expression, she, realizing her father was in the auditorium, couldn't help but feel nervous. "Did something happen?"

"I don't know yet," Li Lin breathed out heavily. "But Miss Reveck, I need your help urgently."

(End of this chapter)