"Is this it?"
"Is this the 'new world' you were talking about?"
Vi had been completely fired up by Levi's grand speech earlier, her blood boiling with passion and excitement.
She had joined the Windguide Association on the spot, then eagerly followed Levi as he flew toward Piltover, heading into the Factory District until they arrived at a place called the Ivern Hextech Audio Workshop.
Supposedly, this was the current headquarters of the Windguides.
But just as Vi followed Levi through the factory gates, eager to see exactly what this great organization that claimed it would "create a new world" looked like...
She was greeted by this sight:
A crowd of people—some looking like students, others like workers—were sitting around the open space of the factory yard in broad daylight, doing absolutely nothing.
A pretty pink-haired girl dressed in an exquisite princess dress, wearing white silk gloves and stockings, and sporting fine calfskin boots, stood in the center of the clearing with a large microphone, singing passionately to the crowd.
The pink-haired girl's skin was practically glowing white, and her singing voice was sickeningly sweet. At first glance, she was exactly the kind of pampered, sheltered, wealthy Piltie brat that Vi despised the most.
What was even more bizarre:
Beneath the pink-haired girl's feet was a flashy, glowing, multicolored wheelchair?
No, wait, it looked more like a glowing mobile speaker.
To be more precise, it was a mobile stage.
A mobile stage that could hover and fly.
"What the hell is all this?" Vi stared in dumbfounded disbelief.
"This is a mobile music stage powered by a Hextech crystal. It can freely amplify sound, project lighting, and play background music according to the user's will," Levi explained.
In truth, the mobile stage's functions went far beyond just that.
It could also hover in mid-air, help Seraphine control her magic, and even amplify her innate magical talents.
Over the past few years, her parents had been developing this equipment for her, hoping to use Hextech to help her control her magic.
However, due to the natural flaws of Synthetic Hextech Crystals and the exorbitant price of Raw Hextech Crystals, this Hextech Mobile Stage had never been successfully completed.
But then, Viktor arrived.
Using his top-tier genius intellect, Viktor had slightly optimized Ivern's design, successfully utilizing the relatively cheap Synthetic Hextech Crystals to create a perfectly functioning Hextech Mobile Stage.
Thus, Seraphine obtained her exclusive Hextech equipment. Her control over magic, as well as the intensity and power of her spells, had increased significantly as a result.
"Anyway, just think of it as a speaker," he added.
Levi did not bother explaining too much to Vi.
Vi's reaction was immediate. "I'm not deaf! I know it's a damn speaker!"
"But the question is, why is this chick singing here?"
"Isn't this supposed to be your headquarters? Why does it look like a pop star's concert!"
"Uh..." Levi really wanted to know the answer to that himself.
Why had Seraphine come here to sing for these workers? The song didn't sound like it was part of an Airing Grievances session either...
And what was the deal with these Formal Apprentices who had already joined the Windguides? Why were they sitting around listening to music in broad daylight instead of working, doing their jobs, or spreading propaganda?
"You're asking why! Isn't this all a mess you young people created by making rash decisions?"
A voice suddenly rang out from behind Levi.
He turned around to see that it was Mr. Ivern.
"Levi, you're finally back!" Ivern scolded the moment he saw him. "Do you have any idea what those students you sent to 'reform the factory' have been doing in here?"
"Uh..." Levi genuinely had no idea.
He had assumed that while the other working groups might run into trouble, the headquarters would at least remain stable.
After all, this was a factory. A factory had a manager and foremen; it already possessed a mature management system.
It shouldn't have been like those leaderless working groups, where people argued from morning until night every single day.
But looking at it now:
The Windguides at the factory weren't arguing, but they were listening to music and holding a concert instead?
"I was the one who asked Seraphine to sing—"
"If I didn't use her singing to calm everyone down, I reckon they would have started beating each other up."
Ivern's tone was incredibly exasperated.
"This..." Levi furrowed his brows. "Mr. Ivern, what exactly happened here?"
"You're the factory manager, tell me..."
"Factory manager my ass!" Ivern's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. "Those students you sent came over and immediately started preaching about democracy, struggle, and equality for all."
"They did a great job with their propaganda, and the apprentices bought into it completely."
"But this is a factory! If everyone is equal and everyone is the 'master' of the factory, then how am I supposed to manage this place?"
Ivern grabbed Levi and cursed up a storm.
"Now, even when deciding what to eat in the cafeteria for dinner, how many dishes to have, or whether to include soup, they insist on taking a damn vote."
"Factory manager, foremen—they don't recognize any of it anymore. After all, you were the one who said the Windguides needed internal democracy, Levi... Now they just want to be their own masters and absolutely refuse to be managed by anyone."
Levi was left speechless.
His original idea was for the Windguides to use internal democracy to make decisions and appoint a factory manager, and then have Ivern, as the manager, run the factory and organize the production work.
But because the Windguides' propaganda had been too effective, almost all the apprentices in the factory had developed faith in Janna Thought within just a week, becoming formal members with voting rights.
Politically speaking, they were now equal to Ivern.
Ivern simply couldn't control them anymore.
Thus, this internal democracy had devolved into a system where everything was ruled by a universal vote.
Furthermore, because the Windguides had only recently been established, their institutional design was crude and lacked a sound decision-making and management system. This resulted in a situation where they neither listened to orders nor had anyone capable of giving them.
It had gotten to the point where no matter what they did, everyone had to raise their hands for a vote first.
"Does the factory have any efficiency left like this? Can we even produce anything?"
"Levi—let me tell you, you guys are playing democracy here every day, but you're spending the money I saved up!"
"If this factory can't produce and turn a profit, that money is going to be squandered and eaten away by you all sooner or later!"
Ivern cursed through gritted teeth.
Having been sprayed with spit, Levi could only calmly advise, "Calm down! Calm down, Mr. Ivern."
"I came back this time specifically to solve this problem!"
"But, speaking of which..."
The root cause of the workers' arguments had been found, but what was the direct cause?
"What exactly did they disagree on that led to a failed vote and almost caused a fight?" Levi asked, genuinely concerned.
Ivern replied, "It went like this."
"I felt that this practice of voting on absolutely everything wasn't working, so I proposed that we take a vote to decide that, from now on, everyone in the factory must obey management and not vote on every little thing."
"Then everyone started voting on this proposal to limit the scope of voting... Some supported my view, while others opposed it."
"As the discussion went on, the two factions almost came to blows."
"..." Levi was left speechless.
The vibrant, thriving atmosphere of fierce competition from just a week ago was still fresh in his mind.
Had the Windguides really devolved to this state after just one short week of unchecked growth?
It seemed that reform was absolutely necessary.
"Notify everyone—"
"We're holding a meeting!"