-26- He's here

"Everyone, fall back!"

Grayson received a stern order from Councilor Mel, once again exerting pressure on the Undercity. But when they approached the vicinity of the Undercity, Grayson signaled for a group of over a dozen to return to the elevator leading to the Upper City.

"Captain, why are we..."

One of the enforcers questioned Grayson with confusion, but his words were cut off by a displeased look from Grayson.

"I said fall back. Can't you understand?" Grayson responded sharply.

---

"Sevika, why didn't you go with Vander?"

Sevika glanced at Vi, who was being closely watched by Greg, and remained silent.

"Are you also left behind by Vander and Linwin? Sevika, you're a formidable fighter, and you don't..."

"That's enough, Vi." Sevika shook her head while holding a glass of liquor, and said in a hushed tone, "Keep your thoughts to yourself. You're not the type to think with your head."

Sevika had a sharp tongue, as always. "I wasn't left behind; I was forced to stay behind to keep an eye on those who were actually left behind."

"You!"

Powder sat there, seemingly indifferent. In reality, she didn't mind staying in the tavern or what she did, as long as she was with Vi. She didn't particularly enjoy fighting.

Sevika placed a hand on Vi to restrain her attempts to resist and sneered, "Be a good kid and sit down."

---

Upper City.

A large room at the University of Plitover, a space that was initially meant for experimental equipment, was now the exclusive research lab of Mr. Talis.

A spacious laboratory, covering hundreds of square meters in size.

This was an accommodation usually reserved for funded professors, but now, it was allocated to two students who had recently gained some recognition.

"Lin... damn it! Viktor, why hasn't he returned yet?"

"Calm down, Jayce. He's only been gone for a day," Viktor said, setting down his magnifying glasses, looking at Jayce's frustrated outburst with resignation.

"He will return once he's done with his own matters."

"What could be more important than the groundbreaking research of Hextech? And I specifically asked him to be part of it!"

Jayce took a deep breath, still discontent.

"Hello, gentlemen."

The sound of footsteps echoed, and the door swung open. Professor Heimerdinger stood there, stroking his beard.

"Oh? Where's Linwin?"

"Professor, he's dealing with some personal matters."

"Oh, what about moving those heavy items of mine? Who will help me?"

Professor Heimerdinger stood there, stroking his beard, looking first at Viktor and then finally fixing his gaze on Jayce.

Jayce's intellect was certainly not lacking. He immediately spoke up, "Let me handle it, Professor."

"Are you sure you're up to the task?"

"Of course, I come from a family of hammer makers. I'm strong in this area."

Jayce patted his chest with confidence.

Ten minutes later.

Heimerdinger clasped his hands, looking concernedly at Jayce. "My boy, are you really up to this task? You must be very careful; these are my precious experimental apparatus. Please, don't break anything."

Jayce blushed and said, "I'm sorry, Professor."

"It's okay, my boy. Your strength doesn't have any bearing on your academic capabilities. You don't need to apologize."

Jayce nodded, but his fists were clenched.

Linwin, you rascal, come back soon!

Only one day without Linwin, and Mr Talis was already missing him. 

While Linwin might not assist with research directly, his physical capabilities were exceptional. He possessed immense strength, comparable to a cart's, and keen observational skills. Now, Jayce realized just how important Linwin was.

---

At three minutes past three in the afternoon, in a trendy and bustling tavern deep within Zaun, three individuals with distinct appearances sat separately in the closed-off owner's room.

"Vander is different now."

"I have eyes; I can see."

"Fiden died yesterday, killed by Sevika."

The fat man with one eye chuckled, "Sevika? She doesn't have that kind of strength. You've all seen the effects of Shimmer; it's not something ordinary people can withstand. I admit Sevika can fight well, but even if she had a gun, she couldn't possibly take on dozens of those monsters who've taken Shimmer."

"I know; I'm only saying that Fiden died by her blade."

The tavern's owner, a tall woman with prosthetic limbs, adjusted her thigh, stretching it forward, and spoke, "Now, what should we do?"

"Silco only gave me a dozen vials of Shimmer."

"I have about the same."

"He gave me only nine vials."

"Fiden had several excellent guns from the Upper City, and Silco provided over a dozen vials of Shimmer. Moreover, based on the scene, they all used Shimmer, but even so, they couldn't handle him."

"He did it alone."

The woman took a deep breath, raised her hand, and said loudly, "I propose that we surrender, join Vander."

"What are you thinking? Join Vander? Are you out of your mind?" The fat man objected, "Join him? Joining him will only make us poorer; he doesn't allow his people to sell that stuff. Without the goods, how will we make money?"

"Do you have a better plan? Or are you planning to be his enemy?" The alchemical Baroness looked at him, speaking coldly.

The fat man, known as Yaji, broke out in a cold sweat and stuttered, "W-w-we can remain neutral, like we used to."

"Jinkray, what do you think?" Yaji looked towards the other person.

"I-I don't know." The third person, known as Jinkray, said, stuttering, "But I don't think this plan will work."

"On the Day of Ashes, when Vander asked us to join him and cross the bridge, we refused, and he didn't say much when he returned. But now, he wants to unite Zaun, and we want to stay neutral. I don't think he'll accept this proposal."

Yaji got a bit angry. "He went to die, and he wants us to go with him? Who's as stupid as him?"

"But Vander has results. After all, Black Alley has been the most stable place in Zaun in recent years," Jinkray spoke.

The alchemical Baroness was feeling a headache. She rubbed her temples and looked down at the table.

Just like Yaji said, if they joined Vander, her business would surely decline, as Vander would never allow his people to sell their 'products'. Her tavern couldn't thrive based on alcohol alone. No, that stuff didn't make any money. Her establishment thrived by selling to the poor of the Undercity. 

However, Vander wouldn't permit the sale of that product. Her tavern was only able to flourish in this generation because of it.

Vander changed when he returned, causing a lot of people to worry.

He was now fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their alliance. He could unite the whole of Zaun.

This is also one of the reasons many people are unwilling to let Vander become the leader. So, of course, she didn't want to join Vander.

But if they didn't join Vander, Yaji and Jinkray were still arguing. Jinkray felt that if they didn't join Vander, when he came looking for them, losing a leg or an arm would be a minor issue. Losing their lives, just like Fiden, was also a real possibility.

Yaji, on the other hand, was more concerned about his business. Without his business, those under him wouldn't heed his orders.

These two guys...

She looked at her glass helplessly. In the glass, yellow liquid trembled as the two men occasionally slammed the table.

While thinking about the situation, she watched.

Then, a bead of sweat, the size of a bean, rolled down her cheek, dropping onto the table.

She felt her body growing cold and stiff.

She slowly retracted her extended prosthetic leg, feeling a hidden pain radiating from her leg. She had been using this leg for three years now, but at this moment, she felt pain from the prosthetic.

Her body trembled uncontrollably, and she was afraid.

On the ceiling...

There was someone.

But she dared not look up.

She could only cautiously watch her glass.

In the reflection of the liquid, she saw him.

He sat leisurely on the beam, wearing a white mask. He had his legs crossed and playfully swung them. The mask was lifted upward, revealing his lower face as he nonchalantly took a bite of a piece of bread, but no sound came out.

He looked so relaxed.

Yet there was still a bit of yellow debris falling in front of her eyes, dropping onto the table.

Near her ears, the two fools were still arguing.

Completely oblivious.

He was already here.

Right above them.

////About the names of the Chem barons, I've tried to search their names but nothing close came up. The names were probably made up since there's many nameless baron. So names like Fiden, Yaji and Jinkray are all my own translation////