14 -14- Frightened little girl?

Navigating into the Upper City is a difficult feat for most Zaunites. 

The people of Piltover don't typically greet Zaunites warmly, and a thorough inspection is a necessary procedure. 

In this process, many Zaunites find themselves faltering—after all, with their peculiar hairstyles, numerous earrings, and an appearance that seems dubious, they don't present themselves as trustworthy individuals.

Their intentions in coming to the Upper City are clear—they're after money.

However, making it through to the Upper City is an immense challenge. The difficulty level is off the charts.

But facing Linwin, a young man with black hair, a friendly smile, and an appearance that seemed like that of a neighborly youth, the enforcer overseeing the bridge softened considerably.

He didn't appear to be a Zaunite at all; he looked more like a Piltover resident.

There was a distinct scent of Piltover on him—the scent of knowledge. That was the enforcer's initial impression.

A clean-cut young man. If not for the Zaun-specific attire he wore, one might not even believe he hailed from the Undercity.

"Always abide by Piltover's laws—no theft, no conflicts, and absolutely no smuggling."

"I understand. Thank you."

"Well, if you're here to buy materials, there are a few good shops on Constellion Avenue that might suit you, and they're open to your kind," the polite youth, who had gained favor with the enforcer, and earned a few more tips.

"If you're looking for work, Canterkosta is currently hiring workers. You seem a bit fragile, but the job doesn't involve heavy lifting, just operating switches. It might be monotonous, but it should suit you."

Linwin knew what Canterkosta was—it was a prominent landmark at Piltover's harbor. As a trading city, Piltover's harbor saw hundreds of merchant ships docking each day, and Canterkosta's cable cars were a major asset in transporting these goods.

The enforcer was a good person, and the job he recommended to Linwin was indeed promising.

However, this job might be quite challenging for Linwin.

After all, Piltover residents wouldn't necessarily trust a Zaunite with operating a switch, even if he appeared clean-cut and didn't seem like a thief. 

Even if it was just a switch for a small room or one controlling the up and down movement of the cable car, Piltover citizens might not feel comfortable entrusting it to a Zaunite.

But it won't, it absolutely won't.

Because Piltoverians and Zaunites are fundamentally incompatible.

Linwin walked the streets of Piltover, feeling the warm sunlight on his face. Some places had an unpleasant smell, a mix of metal and oil, but it was far from unbearable. Compared to the air in Zaun, the air in Piltover was exponentially better.

"Hey! The latest flying butterfly toy, runs all day with just a small piece of magnetic charge. Get one for your kid!"

"Come here, we have delicious strawberry-flavored ice cream and tasty pancakes!"

"Sir! These two vehicles are prohibited from driving on Constellion Avenue. What? You're not from Piltover? That's not allowed either. Please come with me; I need to issue the appropriate punishment."

It was lively, bustling, and everything seemed beautiful.

This was Piltover.

While its twin sister city had descended into madness, lethargy, and chaos.

Linwin roamed Constellion Avenue the entire day until nightfall. He then put on his hat and made his way into the alleyways.

Coming to the Upper City, Linwin had only one thing to do.

That was to go to the house where Powder and the others had stolen the hex crystal. Linwin wanted to see if there was anything useful left inside.

Kiramman Family... was Caitlyn's family name? The only person Linwin knew of who could possess a Hex crystal at this stage and conduct research was Jayce Talis.

Jayce and that Sheriff girl, weren't they a couple?

A handsome guy and a beautiful girl.

As for why Linwin thought it was Jayce—wasn't that obvious? Only Jayce would be conducting research on Hex crystals at this stage.

So, the owner of the house that Powder and the others had stolen from... was Jayce's.

Linwin found it amusing just thinking about it. If he could find relevant materials in that house, he could bring them to Ekko and old Zoran. With the help of Jayce's research, Ekko might finally understand the principles of Hextech crystals.

"So... where is that house?"

Linwin stroked his chin, evading the crowd. The constables of Piltover had started patrolling the streets, but they couldn't detect Linwin.

"Vi's directions are close to useless. What does 'climb up, then jump over, and jump again' even mean?"

Linwin kicked the wall and, repeating the action three or four times, made it to the rooftop. He looked at Piltover under the night sky, and it was bright.

Following Vi's directions, Linwin spent a dozen minutes to reach a location. Then... his eye twitched violently.

In front of him was a building, with two connected balconies shattered to pieces. Enormous rocks revealed the massive steel bars inside.

Okay... looking at it this way, Vi's directions weren't wrong.

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Jayce looked at his laboratory. His childhood dreams had once incubated here. But now, Jayce was facing ruins and some abandoned test samples.

Sitting on a collapsed rock, Jayce lowered his head, covering his face.

"Everything is over. Everything... is already over."

No one believed him. Nobody.

If it weren't for his mother's plea, he would have probably been expelled from Piltover by now.

His teachers, friends, even his mother who was saved by magic—nobody believed in him.

Magic could bring convenience to humanity.

"So, what's left for me?"

Thinking this, Jayce walked to the edge of the balcony.

This place used to be where he enjoyed afternoon tea.

The day before yesterday, he was researching materials here while sipping his tea.

And his childhood friend would bring him delicious handmade pastries.

But now, everything was gone.

Without the support of the Kiramman family, he was expelled from the academy.

He undid the band on his wrist, removed the Talis family emblem, and placed them on the tilted rock. Jayce walked to the edge of the balcony, looked at Piltover, clenched his fists, and then released them.

Then, he spread his arms, opening them wide as if giving Piltover one last embrace.

He closed his eyes.

And leaned forward.

He thought he was about to fall.

He wanted to end it all.

At this moment, an apologetic voice came from behind him.

"Uh, am I interrupting something?"

Jayce turned around and saw the assistant professor who had previously given him trouble. Seeing this, Jayce angrily said, "What's going on with you? Why are you here? Is my name on some list again?"

"Well... indeed it is, but this time it's in your notebook, and it's on every page."

"But... this is a bit narcissistic, don't you think?"

He looked at Jayce and said softly.

His tone was weak, but very gentle.

This made Jayce pause, then he touched his brow. "Is this why you came? To mock me?"

"I actually thought what you said during the trial was insightful. I came to talk to you about your research."

"I guess you're the only one who was impressed?"

Remembering the look he saw in his eyes during the trial, Jayce believed him.

He closed the notebook he was holding, which belonged to Jayce, and then said to him, "It's your Hextech technology theory."

Jayce hesitated, "It's not a theory. I've witnessed firsthand the incredible power of magic. It can save lives!"

"You... you can't imagine how wonderful it can be!"

"But now it's all over, nobody believes me."

Jayce turned around, and the sound of a cane hitting the ground came from behind him. He walked forward, speaking, "Nobody ever believed in me. A poor and lame person from the Undercity. From the moment I stepped into Piltover, I've always been an outsider."

He paused, "I've never received any help, nor had any family to take me in."

"I could only bet everything on myself, believe in myself."

His voice was weak, gentle, yet firm.

Jayce looked at him, and he was still speaking, sentence by sentence, reigniting a flicker of hope in Jayce's initially extinguished heart.

"When you have the power to change the world, you don't need anyone's approval."

Jayce paused, looking at him in surprise. He then spread his hands and, gently, handed Jayce a strap with a blue gem embedded in it, looking at Jayce with clear eyes.

"I... I don't even know your name."

"My name is Viktor."

Jayce took the strap, and then, the two looked at each other.

But... a voice suddenly sounded, interrupting their gaze.

"Uh, well, it seems like I've appeared at the wrong time. Am I...uh.. interrupting something?"

A voice came from behind Viktor and Jayce. Jayce was startled, turning around to look, but his steps suddenly slipped. He was standing at the edge of the balcony. A minute ago, he had been contemplating suicide, so this slip caused him to fall backward.

Viktor was also taken aback, trying to reach out and grab Jayce, but he stumbled and couldn't steady himself.

He was a cripple.

"No!"

Viktor's cry came just in time as a strong wind blew from the side, carrying the tail of a white robe, disappearing from view.

Viktor just stared at the person who had followed suit and jumped.

He... wasn't he just by the door? When did he get here?

And why did he jump?

This is the fifth floor!

"Ahhhhhh!"

"No, no!"

Accompanied by Jayce's loud cries, then... a strange grunting sound.

Viktor quickly leaned over to look, and he saw, on a distant building, on a massive iron universal heating device, a pair of legs was stepping on it, forcefully squashing it.

Mind you, this thing was made of special metal, and to avoid accidents, it used highly resilient metal. But... it got squashed?

The owner of those legs was the white-robed young man who had suddenly appeared earlier.

Viktor looked up and saw him princess-carrying Jayce, who was much larger than him. Jayce was scared, rolling his eyes and trembling, making grunting sounds with his mouth blocked by the young man's hand.

"Hey, Mr. Talis, be quiet. Don't you want others to see you like this?"

"I guess you wouldn't want to be seen like this, it's embarrassing."

Linwin released the hand covering Jayce's mouth and then carried him. He remarked with a smile, "But you don't quite look like your appearance suggests, Mr. Talis. Clearly, you're a research student into inventions, but... muscles bulging, well, a very nice physique, Mr. Talis."

Jayce, still catching his breath, gradually steadied himself. Then, he looked at this stranger hugging him and said, "I... I'm not dead?"

Linwin flashed a smile and winked at him, saying coolly, "Of course you're not dead. But, Mr. Talis, how long do you plan to hold on to me?"

Viktor let out a sigh of relief, finding the scene quite amusing.

Thankfully... his anticipated future collaborator was unharmed.

"How did you do that?"

"My goodness, this is the fifth floor. Did you caught me in mid air and jumped from over there to here?"

Jayce came to his senses, looking at Linwin in astonishment, saying.

"Now's not the time to ask that. Please hold onto me. I'll take you back."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!"

"Sir, don't, please, wait, this is a distance of over six meters, are you joking with me?"

Jayce quickly held onto Linwin's neck with both hands and shouted, "Do you want to carry me from here and jump over there?"

"No, I don't want to die!"

"I just carried you from over there to here like this. Now we're just going back."

Linwin's leg muscles tensed, and despite his thin body, he erupted with tremendous energy at this moment. He held Jayce, under the moonlight, under the gaze of Piltover's city, leaped high, a distance of at least six or seven meters.

Then...

To Viktor's incredulous eyes, Linwin, with Jayce huddled in his arms, returned to his presence.

From over there... to here, in the blink of an eye?!!

Viktor blinked.

He saw the tall Jayce in Linwin's arms, like a frightened little girl.

"How... how did you do that?"

Viktor stammered, first glancing at Jayce, who was clinging to Linwin like a frightened chick, then at Linwin, who looked relaxed, as if he had done a minor task, and he asked in a soft voice.

"Viktor, don't you recognize me?"

But when the other person spoke, Viktor was stunned.

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