"So, you're really, really going out?"
Jinx sat on the table, bored, swinging her legs as she tilted her head back to look at the ceiling she had covered in a complete mess of paint and scribbles.
Fortunately, Caleb did not care what this place ended up looking like at all.
As long as these two chairs and this table were still here, Jinx could mess with everything else however she wanted.
"I really am going out."
Caleb finished the last bit of food, then pulled out a fat, plump fish as if performing a magic trick.
"Mrow!"
Yuumi, who had been lying in ambush for a long time, suddenly pounced out and snatched breakfast from Caleb's hand.
"So, take me with you?"
Jinx smiled, narrowing her eyes.
"Vi once told me that if the two of us left this place and went somewhere else…"
"She could pretend nothing had happened and keep loving me."
"But I know that wouldn't happen. That's a scar. No matter what, it'll never disappear…"
As Jinx spoke, she suddenly looked like she was about to burst into tears.
"You wouldn't bear to leave the twin cities," Caleb said calmly.
"After all this time, the Undercity is finally about to collect what Topside owes."
"That's exactly it. You really do get me."
Jinx's pitiful, miserable little expression instantly exploded into a burst of wild laughter, and she slapped the table hard.
"But staying in the twin cities all the time is boring too. Just take me out for a walk."
In an instant, the expression on Jinx's face switched again, turning into an earnest, pleading look.
Her expression changed so fast it could make a Vegas quick-change act feel slow.
Caleb could not help sighing inwardly. So this was what women were like…
Way too thrilling.
"Still no." Caleb leisurely wiped his mouth.
"Why?" Jinx looked very clearly unconvinced.
"Even if I can't look after your daily needs or anything, I promise I won't make trouble."
Her face looked genuinely sincere. She even raised a hand as if swearing an oath.
"You're too weak," Caleb added.
"I'm weak?" Jinx tilted her head in confusion.
The very next second, she sprang up violently and smashed the butt of her gun toward Caleb's head.
After a crisp metallic sound, Youmuu's Ghostblade in Caleb's hand was pointed straight at Jinx's pale throat.
"Yeah." Caleb could not help letting out a sigh.
"In fact, the entire combat capability of the twin cities is limited, mainly because we lack mages."
"Hmm…"
Looking at the pistol that had flown all the way to the door, Jinx did not seem that angry. She shrugged and pouted.
"Fine. Then I'll go after I get stronger."
With that, she skipped away.
But Caleb knew that, right about now, the boxing practice dummies in the old amusement park were probably about to suffer.
Jinx's close-quarters combat was among the very best for an ordinary person. In fact, no matter where she went, she could not really be considered weak.
But the people Caleb had to face were not ordinary people. They were major figures who, at minimum, stood at the peak of what mortals could achieve, one after another.
If Jinx wanted to go out and have fun on her own, Caleb would not object.
But at the level of combat fought by those peak-level monsters, Jinx's nearly insane fighting style, even with rationality mixed in at the critical moments, might not work.
Though she could support him with a Hextech missile.
"Governor."
Warwick silently stood at the doorway. Jinx had just walked past him.
"Swain and Talon just took the Hexgate back to Noxus together."
Warwick had come only to report this one piece of news.
Yet just this one piece of news was important enough.
As expected, today's newspaper headline would definitely be a photograph of Caleb and Swain entering the Council Building together.
As for what the title would be, Caleb honestly did not care very much.
"Why hasn't this damn system issued a new mission yet?"
Caleb immediately grew somewhat alert. After all, this system looked harmless on the surface, as if it only made mechanical responses.
But Caleb had already experienced the system's massive traps firsthand.
Whenever it gave him something good, there would inevitably be some shocking side effect attached.
If Caleb had touched that spear anywhere other than in front of Azir, it would basically have been time to roll credits.
So Caleb had made up his mind this time. Before meeting Ryze, he absolutely would not use this World Rune.
The system remaining silent for so long was, of course, not exactly good news for Caleb.
Although Caleb was currently in his own headquarters, and although four scientists had already begun the "Computer-Mecha" project, he still felt uneasy.
Should he open an academy? Recruit talent from everywhere and train them for his own use?
Caleb shook his head slightly.
The twin cities had come together on the basis of avoiding magical wars, not in pursuit of power.
If the school did not establish magical programs, and was only meant to make academic breakthroughs, then there was no need to open a new academy.
Caleb liked doing this. He would constantly raise hypotheses, then refute them one by one himself.
Usually, that was the fastest way to hypothesize a perfect plan.
Caleb leaned back hard, as if only by doing so could he completely relax.
"This is bad, Governor!"
The one who came in was that kid from the Firelights. He had already started growing taller, though it was not very obvious yet.
"What happened?"
Caleb raised an eyebrow and immediately knew this was not simple.
"Ekko, Ekko, he…"
"Location."
The moment he heard this was news about Ekko, Caleb did not dare be careless at all and cut straight to the point.
"He's at The Last Drop in Zaun, at card table number three!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Caleb jumped out the window and landed in the street.
Ekko was the future genius behind the Z-Drive. Nothing could happen to him.
Caleb sprinted all the way there, only hoping that Ekko, who possessed the ability to reverse time, had not run into any real danger.
Generally speaking, even dangerous situations, such as a confrontation with Dr. Mundo, were things Ekko could resolve easily.
Because of that, the fact that the crisis Ekko had encountered actually required a Firelights member to come tell Caleb and ask him to save him meant it was absolutely not some simple problem.
…
"Swap them! Scramble his head!"
"Challenge! Boss Ekko definitely knows the opponent's cards! Playing safe and taking points is the right move here!"
"I say he should just bluff him straight up. Didn't that guy lose to a bluff earlier?"
"No guts, no glory! Don't chicken out, Ekko!"
"Come on, little guy!"
All around Ekko were Zaunites cheering him on.
Across from him, a tall, thin man stroked his long beard and smiled as he looked at Ekko.
"This old man will never be defeated by the same method twice."
The smug, relaxed smile on his face was enough to show how confident he was in this outcome.
From the current situation, Ekko had naturally fallen into a disadvantage, which was why everyone around him was throwing out suggestions, hoping he could win.
Beside Ekko's hand was a large stone.
"Damn it…"
In the end, Ekko still failed to complete his comeback. Unwillingly, he handed the iron sword over to his opponent.
He had clearly been just a little bit away from winning that tome from him.
Ekko was gritting his teeth, and the frustration was practically written all over his face.
That iron sword was also part of Ekko's Hextech Z-Drive. It was a creation he had poured his heart into.
"Well then, shall we play another round?"
The tall, thin man's lips were strangely long. He grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
"Another round it is. What are we betting this time?"
Ekko was clearly getting heated. Although he had won something good in the first round, he had no way to accept the loss of his iron sword in the second.
Of course, he had seen scams like this before. But as a genius, there was no way he could believe that after grasping the essence of the game in the first round, he would lose to this man in the second.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810