快速修理 A Quick Fix

再傻的人也知道维克托一定会在某一天杀回来。所以如果一个人不傻的话，这个人可能还能猜得到所谓的某一天究竟是哪一天。

Any fool could have predicted that Viktor would strike back at some point. If one weren’t a fool, one might predict the exact date and time of an attempted counterattack.

杰斯不傻。

Jayce was not a fool.

他站在自己的工坊里，沐浴着天窗洒下来的阳光，身边林林总总地摆放着他自己的天才发明。比如，齿轮战靴可以让人在任何物体表面站稳脚跟，机械手背包可以让用户方便地更换各种随身工具。

He stood in his workshop, bathed in sun rays from his skylight, surrounded by dozens of artifacts of his own genius: Gearwork boots that could cling to any surface. A knapsack with articulated limbs that always kept the user’s tools within easy reach.

所有这些发明中，最伟大的要数杰斯手中握着的这件武器。恕瑞玛水晶片是它的动力来源，随时变形是它标志性的功能，杰斯的这把海克斯科技战锤在皮尔特沃夫无人不知，而战锤被他在两手之间掂来抛去，似乎和工坊中的其他工具没什么两样。

Greater than all these inventions, however, was the weapon that Jayce now held in his hands. Powered by a Shuriman shard, Jayce's transforming hextech greathammer was renowned throughout Piltover, but he tossed it from hand to hand as if was any other tool from his workshop.

门外传来三下急促的叩门声。

Three sharp taps echoed from Jayce’s door.

它们来了。

They were here.

杰斯已经恭候多时。他曾经拿维克托的机械体残骸做过试验。他也曾截获过机械体的通讯。每一秒钟，它们都有可能破门而入，想要夺走他的海克斯科技战锤。之后他们可能还想摘下他的脑袋。但要注意，是“想”而已。

Jayce had prepared for this. He'd run experiments on Viktor’s discarded automata. He'd intercepted the mechanical communications. Any second, they’d beat down his front door and try to rip away his hextech hammer. After that, they'd try to do the same with his skull. “Try” being the operative word.

他拨了一下战锤手柄上的开关，随着一阵能量涌动的噪音，杰斯手中的战具变形成了一柄海克斯科技炮。

He flicked a switch on the hammer’s handle. With an energetic sizzle, the head of Jayce’s masterpiece transformed into a hextech blaster.

他瞄准门口。

He took aim.

站稳脚步。

Stood his ground.

门渐渐打开。他的手指在扳机上绷紧。

Watched the door open. His finger tightened on the trigger.

他差点打爆了一个七岁小女孩的脑袋。

And he almost blasted a seven-year-old girl’s head off.

她小小的个子头发金黄，在任何人眼里，除了杰斯之外，她都是个小可爱。她推开门，迟疑地向前走。她慢慢靠近杰斯，马尾辫随着步伐轻轻地上下跳动。她一直低着头，不敢看他的眼睛。关于回避眼神交流这种现象，杰斯有两个理论：一、她可能是在名人面前紧张过度；二、她可能是维克托的爪牙，给他送来了炼金炸弹作为惊喜。通红的小脸说明第一种理论的可能性更大。

She was tiny and blonde and would have seemed adorable to anyone who wasn’t Jayce. The girl pushed the door open and walked in with shuffling, tentative steps. Her ponytail swished to and fro as she approached Jayce. She kept her head down, ever avoiding his gaze. He had two hypotheses regarding why she might refuse eye contact: she was hugely impressed to be in the presence of someone so acclaimed, or she was working for Viktor and about to surprise him with a chem-bomb. Her blushing indicated it was likely the former.

“我的玩具兵坏了，”她说着呈上一个铁皮骑士，它的胳膊被一百八十度掰到了背后。

“My soldier broke,” she said, proffering a limp metal knight, its arm bent backward at a perverse angle.

杰斯一动不动。

Jayce didn’t move.

“请你离开，否则你可能会没命的。”

“Please leave or you’ll probably die.”

一双大眼睛盯着她。

The child stared at him.

“还有，我不修娃娃。谁有空找谁去。”

“Also, I don’t fix dolls. Find somebody with more time on their hands.”

一双大眼睛里眼泪开始打转。

Tears began to well up in her eyes.

“我没钱去找技工，这是我妈 ——，”她强忍着哽咽的声音继续说。“妈妈去世之前给我做的，还 —”

“I don’t have any money for an artificer, and my muh–,” she said, stifling a sob, “mother made him for me before she passed, and–”

杰斯皱起了眉头，凝视许久以后终于眨了一下眼。

Jayce furrowed his brow and, for the first time in quite a while, blinked.

“如果这么珍贵，你为什么要弄坏它呢？”

“If it’s so precious to you, why did you break it?”

“我不是故意的！我带它参加进化日的大宴，结果有人撞了我一下然后我没拿稳掉地上了，我知道我应该把它放在家里的——”

“I didn’t mean to! I took him to the Progress Day feast and somebody bumped into me and I dropped him, and I know I should have just left him at home–”

“—— 是的，应该放家里。你真蠢。”

“ –Yes, you should have. That was stupid of you.”

小女孩张嘴想要说什么，但马上咽回去了。杰斯以前见过这种反应。他见过的大多数人都是慕名而来，脑子里想的是他传奇的战锤和高大的英雄形象。他们期望的是风度翩翩，期望的是温文尔雅。他们期望中的杰斯不是个大混蛋。然而杰斯每次都会令他们失望。

The girl opened her mouth to speak, then stopped herself. Jayce had seen this kind of reaction before. Most everyone he met had heard the stories of his legendary hammer and his unyielding heroism. They expected grandeur. They expected humility. They expected him to not be a massive jerk. Jayce inevitably disappointed them.

“你有什么毛病吗？”她问。

“What is wrong with you?” she asked.

“我人格中的大部分层面都有病，他们是这么说的。”他毫不犹豫地回答。

“Most facets of my personality, so I’ve been told,” he replied without hesitation.

小女孩皱起眉。她把坏掉的娃娃推到他眼前。

The child furrowed her brow. She shoved the broken doll into his face.

“请把它修好。”

“Fix it. Please.”

“你还会再弄坏的。”

“You’ll just break it again.”

“我不会！”

“I won’t!”

“听我说，小姑娘。我很忙，而且 ——”

“Look,” he said. ”Little girl. I’m very busy, and–”

有什么东西从天窗上方掠过，在二人中间投下一道稍纵即逝的影子。换成一般人都会以为这是城市上空飞过的鹰隼。但杰斯不是一般人。他安静下来，歪嘴一笑，猛然一下把小女孩拉到工作台旁边。

Something flitted across the skylight, casting a quick shadow on the two of them. Anyone else would have assumed it was nothing more than a falcon passing overhead. Jayce knew better. He fell silent. A wry smile spread across his face as he yanked the girl toward his workbench.

“其实呢，”他说，“机械是很简单的。”

“The thing is,” he said, “machines are very simple.”

他举起一大张薄薄的铜板，用锤子把锋利的边缘敲平。“它们都是由各个部件组成的。它们用整齐、规律的方式组合再组合。”他反复敲打铜板，最后做出了一个平滑的半球面。

He lifted a large, thin sheet of bronze and began to hammer its corners with sharp taps. “They’re made of discrete parts. They combine and recombine in clear, predictable ways.” He beat the sheet over and over until it took the form of a smooth dome.

“人更复杂。有情绪，没规律，而且——基本上每个人都一样——没我聪明。”他一边说，一边在板球面的中心钻了一个洞。“大多时候，人就是麻烦。但有的时候，他们的愚蠢也会为我带来好处。”

“People are more complicated. They’re emotional, they’re unpredictable, and – in nearly every case – they’re not as smart as me,” he said, drilling a clean hole into the top of the dome. “Now usually, that’s a problem. But sometimes, their stupidity works in my favor.”

“这是在说娃娃吗，还是 ——”

“Is this still about my doll, or–”

“有的时候，他们因为自己的无能而感到极其不安——为了复仇不顾一切——于是他们就会犯下愚蠢的错误。”他拿起一根亮闪闪的铜棍，将它旋进了半球面的中心。

“Sometimes, they’re so insecure in their inferiority – so desperate to take their revenge – that they make a foolish mistake.” He grabbed a shining copper rod, and screwed it into the center of the dome.

“有的时候，人们无法保护自己最珍贵的东西，”他一边说，一边对她的铁皮骑士点点头，然后举起一把刚刚完工的金属伞。“有的时候，他们也不会从正门走进我的工坊，而是会想着采取…”

“Sometimes people fail to protect their most precious assets,” he said, nodding at her tin soldier before holding aloft the newly-formed metal umbrella. “And sometimes, that means instead of assaulting my workshop through the more obvious front door, they try to take…”

他抬起头，“…更夸张的方式。”

He looked upward, “...the more dramatic approach.”

他把铜伞交给小女孩。她使出吃奶的劲把铜伞举正。

He handed her the umbrella, which took all of her meager strength to keep aloft.

“举着。别动。”

“Hold this. Don’t move.”

她开口想要说话，话到嘴边却变成了惊恐的尖叫。头上的天窗突然崩碎，玻璃渣像雨点一般扑在临时制作的铜伞上。与此同时，五六个人跳了下来。每个人的脖子根都伸出许多管子连到后背，里面流动的炼金药剂泛着绿光。他们目光空洞、面无表情。这些肯定是维克托的手下，没错：从祖安下水道找来的小混混，被维克托注射了迷幻药和安眠药，接受了炼金改造以后对维克托惟命是从，没有拒绝的能力。杰斯本以为会看到机械士兵，但维克托无法在严密监管下把这么多机械体送进皮尔特沃夫。不过，这些炼金奴隶也同样危险。他们瞄上了杰斯和小女孩。

She opened her mouth to respond, only to yelp in surprise as the skylight shattered above her. Glass bounced off the makeshift umbrella like rain as a half-dozen men leapt down to the floor. Tubes of bright green chems protruded from the base of their necks, connecting to their limbs. Their eyes were dead, their faces emotionless. They were definitely Viktor’s boys, alright: drugged punks from Zaun’s sump level whom Viktor had pumped full of hallucinogens and hypnotics. Chem-stunted thugs who would follow Viktor’s every whim whether they wanted to or not. Jayce had been expecting to see automatons, but Viktor likely couldn’t have gotten so many through Piltover unnoticed. Still, these chem-slaves were just as much of a danger. They turned toward Jayce and the girl.

还没等他们走到近前，杰斯的海克斯科技炮就已经射出了一股高压电磁能量弹。一个海克斯科技闪电球从炮膛迸出，在敌人中间炸开。炼金奴隶全都被甩到工坊四周光滑洁净的墙上。

Before they reached the pair, however, Jayce’s hextech blaster exploded with voltaic energy. An orb of hextech-powered lightning shot out of its core and detonated in the middle of the group. The chem-slaves slammed into the workshop's immaculate walls.

“惊喜到此为止，维克 ——”

“So much for the element of surprise, huh, Vikto–”

一架巨型机器跳下来踩在不省人事的炼金奴隶堆的中间。杰斯觉得它简直是牛头怪和丑陋建筑的结合体。

A hulking brute of a machine leapt down amongst the pile of unconscious chem-slaves. It looked, Jayce thought, like a cross between a minotaur and a very angry building.

“小心，”小女孩尖叫道。

“Watch out,” the girl yelped.

杰斯翻了个白眼。“我盯着他呢，别慌。情况完全在我——哇！”他话音未落，就被金属怪兽正面撞在胸口上。

Jayce rolled his eyes. “I am watching him. Stop panicking. I have the situation well in-ow!” he said, interrupted as the metal beast rammed him in the chest.

怪兽把杰斯顶飞好远，他摔在了一个手推车上，磕得后背关节咯咯作响。

The beast sent Jayce hurtling backward. He landed on a rolling cart, his back cracking from the impact.

他低声嘟囔了一句，站稳脚步准备迎接怪兽又一次冲击。

Grunting, he pulled himself to his feet as the beast charged again.

“你最多只能碰我一下。”他说。

“That’s the last time you touch me,” he said.

杰斯用最大力气抡起他的海克斯科技兵器，在半空中将它重新变回战锤形态。牛头怪兽低下头想要再次顶撞杰斯——可惜有勇无谋，视而不见迎面而来的战锤。

Jayce swung his hextech weapon as hard as he could, transforming it back into a hammer mid-swing. The minotaur lowered its head to ram Jayce again, foolishly ignoring the weapon’s arc.

锤头准确地命中了目标。伴着响亮的碎裂声，怪兽的头被整个儿地凿进了它的铁甲脖子里，随后瘫倒在地面。躯壳向外泄出一团蒸汽。

The hammer found its mark with a resounding crunch. The minotaur, its head caved all the way back into its metal neck, collapsed to the floor. A cloud of escaping steam hissed from its carcass.

杰斯收回战锤，随时准备再次出手。他盯着天窗。几分钟过去了。随后他似乎心满意足，这次突袭结束了。

Jayce pulled back the hammer again, readying for another attack. He watched the skylight. A few minutes passed. Soon enough, he seemed satisfied the assault was over.

他想要走回自己的工作台，可是却突然痛苦地俯下身，捂住胸口。小女孩急忙跑到他身边。

He tried to step back toward his workbench, only to double over in pain, grasping at his stomach. The girl rushed to his side.

“被撞到的地方还疼吗？”

“Still hurts where he tackled you, huh?”

“你觉得呢。”

“Obviously.”

“那或许你不应该让他撞到你，”她说。“你真蠢。”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have let him,” she said. “That was stupid of you.”

杰斯翘起一撇眉毛看着这个孩子。她一双眼睛瞪得老大，害怕自己是不是过分了。一缕微笑慢慢攀上他的脸。

Jayce raised an eyebrow at the kid. Her eyes widened, unsure if she’d crossed a line. A slow smile crept across his face.

“你叫什么名字？”

“What was your name?”

“亚玛兰欣。”

“Amaranthine.”

杰斯坐到了工作台前，抓起一支螺丝刀。

Jayce sat at his workbench and grabbed a screwdriver.

“娃娃给我，亚玛兰欣。”他说。

“Gimme the doll, Amaranthine,” he said.

女孩的脸上绽放出欣喜的笑容。“你会修吗？”

A massive grin broke out on her face. “So you can fix it?”

杰斯冲她得意地笑了。

Jayce smirked at her.

“没什么是我不会修的。”

“There’s nothing I can’t fix.”