I picked up this bike which has shimano rsx brifters.. i'm not quite sure how they should work

it seems like when i rotate the whole lever assembly, the cable gets tight but then goes slack when i loosen it

the smaller black lever doesnt seem to do anything when i push it

i sprayed some silicon spray in there (dont have any wd40 on hand cause its evil) but didnt notice any change in action

damn fancy new fangled parts.. i dont like bike technology i can't take apart and service.