"Now that the nuisance is out of the way, let's talk about the business ahead."
Silco folded his hands and let the smoke from his cigar curl lazily upward.
"Jayce—the Progress Day golden boy—is a councilor now. And Vi was the one who led the Enforcers in tearing the place apart."
Caleb spoke without missing a beat. He knew this part of the story well.
"You saw the killing power of Hextech for yourself. One scientist from the Academy plus Vi, and your people dosed with Shimmer got wiped out."
"That is a problem."
Silco sank into thought. He had gone to see the scene himself.
Humans pumped full of Shimmer could survive even a Hexcore blast near the Hexgates in the city center.
But just two Hextech weapons had been enough to kill every Shimmer brute inside the factory.
At the end of the day, it was still a matter of application.
A Hexcore explosion was, in essence, just a brief outward burst of energy.
No matter how strong the blast was, it still dispersed in every direction.
But once a Hextech gemstone had a proper vessel, it could strike with purpose.
When directed power was used to drive machinery, of course it could injure people who had been injected with Shimmer.
If a real war broke out, then without the Hextech gemstone, Zaun would probably suffer badly.
"What do you plan to do?" Silco asked.
"Negotiate." Caleb jerked his chin toward the note above them. It bore the mark of House Talis—a hammer.
There was no need to guess who had left it.
"You want me to negotiate with him?"
Silco studied the handwriting on the paper. At some point, Jinx had drifted over to his side.
"Once Shimmer production stops, the Chem-Barons are definitely going to start causing trouble." Caleb rose to his feet and drew a finger across his throat.
Silco understood what he meant.
If he reached an agreement with Piltover, then Shimmer production would inevitably have to stop.
Silco was not completely indifferent to the harm Shimmer caused, but he had always believed that a dying illness required harsh medicine if Zaun was ever going to keep breathing.
But if he used this chance to demand equal standing between the two cities, then ending Shimmer production would be unavoidable.
And when that happened, the Chem-Barons he had personally raised up would naturally turn on him once their business dried up.
Still, if the two cities did not go to war, then those people were as good as dead anyway.
"I'm leaving. I still have two friends to meet."
The moment Caleb stepped out of the room, Sevika walked in.
"The Firelights have been getting more and more aggressive lately. They're about to wreck the entire Shimmer trade across Zaun."
Sevika's expression was grim. This was no small matter.
They might have scared Renni for the moment, but the Chem-Barons' people were not pushovers either.
"The Firelights? Weren't they just a handful of nobodies? How did they suddenly get this strong?"
Silco could not help thinking of the figure who had just left.
"It seems..." Sevika hesitated.
"Just say it."
Silco did not waste words.
"There's a rumor that Heimerdinger from Piltover is with the Firelights, giving them technical support."
Sevika lowered her voice. She had only heard it from one of her card buddies, so she couldn't be sure.
"Their hoverboards are faster now. Their crystal bombs hold people in place longer. They've even developed a pulse specifically meant to counter chemtech mechanical arms."
"Cut Shimmer production in half for now. Then wait and see."
Silco gave the order. "Don't interfere with either side."
"Boss, that..." Sevika was startled, but when she thought of Caleb—who had just had a productive talk with Silco—she chose not to say anything more.
"Just do as I said."
Sevika bowed deeply, then left.
"Jinx."
Silco picked up the syringe on the table and called out to her.
He needed a small injection of Shimmer into his left eye at regular intervals to keep the contaminated tissue alive.
Jinx dropped down from the ceiling. She landed so lightly she was like a cat.
She placed the syringe against his eye. Her hand was steady.
"Listen, Jinx. If I don't come back from the negotiation, you can start the war right away."
By saying that, Silco had already accepted the possibility that he might never return to Zaun.
The other side held overwhelming weapons. If they had even one or two helpers equipped with Hextech, then the people he brought along would be meaningless.
Not to mention that if they had someone like Jinx on their side, a Hextech rifle could kill from extreme range. There would be no way to guarantee his safety.
Jinx froze for a moment, but the hand holding the syringe stayed steady.
"And... I'm sorry. I really didn't know your sister had been in Stillwater before..."
"But she'll betray you—"
Before he could finish, the Shimmer was injected straight into his eye.
By the time Silco recovered from the searing pain, Jinx was already gone.
...
Steel Oasis.
This was where Piltover dumped its pollution into Zaun.
At this stage, the contamination had not yet completely mixed together into something even fouler.
So there were still a few clear streams here, along with patches of plant life that had managed to grow, though none of it stood very tall.
Viktor sat there in a daze, with a jar of ashes beside him.
This was where he had first met Sky.
It was also where Heimerdinger had discovered him and chosen him as his assistant.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know where you would have wanted to rest."
"I'm so sorry..."
Viktor murmured to himself. With great effort, he gathered up Sky's glasses and notes, coughing as he struggled to his feet.
Looking down at the river below, he edged a little closer.
"Am I interrupting?"
Jayce's voice came from behind him, and Viktor turned around in a panic.
Jayce looked just as weighed down. He tossed the Mercury Hammer aside.
Viktor hurriedly tucked the notes tighter against his chest.
Jayce, lost in his own thoughts, dropped down beside him and looked out at the scenery.
"Remember that innovation competition?"
Jayce looked toward Viktor, searching for something to say.
"I remember you even adjusted the gears on your rival's car."
Viktor's face turned even paler, and his voice grew weaker.
"The moment the engine started, the whole thing rattled like it was about to fall apart."
"I thought gears were going to start flying out and take somebody's eye out." Jayce looked faintly nostalgic.
"Good thing you weren't so nervous that you threw up." Viktor let out a soft laugh.
"Back then, there wasn't anything we couldn't figure out." Jayce laughed too.
After a moment of silence, Viktor spoke first.
"You have to destroy it."
There was iron resolve in his voice.
"I know." Jayce glanced back at the hammer. It really had gone against the original purpose of Hextech.
"I mean the Hexcore."
The moment he said that, Jayce looked up at his closest friend in shock.
"I... can't do it myself," Viktor explained.
"I can do that for you."
A stranger's voice cut in. Both of them turned to see a black-haired man slowly approaching.
"You're... Caleb?" Jayce said angrily. "Do you even know what that is?"
"If that thing is gone, what happens to Viktor's disease?!"
"No. No matter what, this is the one thing you have to do for me."
As soon as Viktor finished speaking, he broke into another violent fit of coughing.
"All right..." Jayce closed his eyes helplessly.
After everything he had done, he still could not stop the life of his partner from slipping away.
"We lost ourselves. We abandoned our dream, all in pursuit of... greatness."
"We have to correct the mistake we made."
"But you can still live. You can go on making up for what you've done."
Caleb's words made both of them snap their heads back toward him, their eyes full of shock.
Even the most oblivious person could see how weak Viktor was now.
What was he trying to do?
When the confusion on their faces still did not fade, Caleb sighed and added one more line.
"The flesh is weak. What you need is the Glorious Evolution."