CHAPTER 44 - Consequences

"What do you want to talk about?" Silco maintained a calm tone, his gaze occasionally drifting towards Li Lin, who was not far away on the first floor, surrounded by batches of shimmering potions.

One of his subordinates, with a severed arm and a frail body, had a normal decrease in combat strength. If Deckard or others joined the fight, the situation wouldn't be as it is now.

The thought flashed through Silco's mind but was quickly dismissed. Since the opponent's combat strength was significantly superior, and he currently lacked extra shimmer potions, yielding for now was the most sensible choice.

The batch of goods downstairs was probably lost, but he could manufacture another one after things settled down. As long as he had the formula for shimmer potions, he still had a chance for a comeback.

Even if he let Vander go, once the big lump of iron returned to the city, he could capture him again. It was just a matter of wasting the opportunity during the current upheaval in the upper city.

Silco was not someone who didn't understand the value of restraint. Otherwise, after the "Day of Ashes," either he or Vander would have survived, not both.

After defeating the augmented person, a group of people in the distance rushed back and stood beside Li Lin.

"Silco, you bastard!" Benso was the first to speak, "Where is Vander?! If he's missing a limb or two, I'll tear you apart!"

Truly worthy of being from Zaun, Li Lin, inside his powered armor, almost couldn't resist bursting into laughter.

Silco, on the second floor, revealed a fleeting moment of suppressed anger, well-hidden. "You're overthinking, Benso. Vander is intact... Also, mind your language."

"Hah! You, a forgetful scum, don't deserve a decent conversation with me," Benso cursed, "Stop beating around the bush; I want to make sure Vander is fine!"

"You..." Silco took a deep breath, clenched his fist, suppressing the urge to punch Benso.

Soon, he pushed the anger down and gestured to the bald, muscular man under him to bring Vander out. The tattooed bald man entered and untied the restraints on Vander, then carried him on his shoulder. They followed Silco to the first floor, facing Vander's subordinates on the other side.

"Vander!"

In the crowd, seeing Vander carried on the shoulder of the tattooed bald man, Vi, Powder, Claggor, and Milo exclaimed simultaneously.

If it weren't for Benso fearing that Silco would take these four kids hostage, and someone grabbing them in time, they would have rushed to Silco's side.

Although, in reality, Silco had never thought about doing that.

Li Lin controlled his powered armor and walked to them, facing the hostile gazes, accepting Vander from the tattooed bald man and placing him on the ground.

The four children surrounded Vander, their eyes red. "Vander..."

Vander opened his hazy right eye, a slight surprise on his face. "Vi, Powder, Claggor, Milo..."

"You old bastard, why are only your kids in your eyes? I'm here too!" Benso, seeing that Vander was fine, couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief, cursing with a laugh.

"Right, and you, my friend."

Vander showed a slight smile, supported by Benso and the four children, stood up tremblingly.

When he saw the huge steel armor in front of him, a shocked expression appeared on his face.

Although he knew that a machine had carried him back in a daze just now, the feeling was completely different when he saw the entire body instead of just a part.

"Miss Kiramman, sir..." Vander nodded at Caitlyn and Jayce, his gaze staying the longest on the powered armor, "Is this... Li Lin?"

Li Lin was somewhat surprised, "You can recognize me?"

With a somewhat pale face, Vander glanced at the rifle in Caitlyn's hand and Jayce's sparkling energy cannon.

"It's just a guess... I can also see that you all came fully armed to the Undercity today for a reason."

Before Li Lin or Caitlyn could speak, he continued, "I will find someone to help you, but first, let me deal with the mess in front of me."

Vander focused his gaze on Silco, and their eyes met with a mixture of emotions. "Silco..." Vander murmured, his tone containing various emotions, ultimately turning into a sigh.

He turned to look at Benso, "Let's go back..."

"What?!" Benso widened his eyes in disbelief, looking indignant, "You old bastard, do you know? This scum killed more than a dozen of our brothers!"

Vander pressed down on Benso's hand pointing the long knife toward Silco, muttering, "If the conflict continues, the casualties won't be just a dozen people."

Recalling the scene where the monster rampaged in his tavern, causing so many casualties in an instant, he felt angry. However, Vander remained clear-headed and wouldn't let anger control him.

The shimmer potion was not far away. If Silco wanted to resist until they smashed the vials, he could always grab a few bottles before his demise. At that time, even if Li Lin had the powered armor and eventually defeated them, it would be easy to pull down a dozen people to cushion the blow.

Of course, Vander didn't want to lay hands on Silco for a deeper personal reason—guilt.

After the incident years ago, he harbored deep guilt in his heart.

"You've just witnessed the horror of these monsters. We can't risk our brothers' lives," Vander said in a hushed tone to Benso.

He then gestured to the alchemical device nearby, filled with a purple liquid, and the boxes of shimmering potions beside it.

"Moreover, the young lady of the Kiramman family is here. The enforcers won't take long to find us. If we clash with Silco now, it will give the topsiders a reason to throw us into prison."

"Damn it!" Benso cursed under his breath, anger in his eyes as he glared at Silco. "I'll let you off the hook this time, you son of a bitch!"

Taking a deep breath, he turned, supporting Vander, and waved to the others behind him. "Let's go!"

"What about you? Aren't you coming with us?" Vander turned to look at Li Lin, Caitlyn, and Jayce, who were still standing there.

"No, we have something to ask Silco," Li Lin explained.

Vander hesitated, unsure of how Silco had provoked the Kiramman family. Without asking further, he said, "Alright, if you're done, you can find me at The Last Drop."

"Sure thing!" Powder waved, interjecting from the side.

"Definitely," Li Lin replied.

Li Lin watched as the group walked to the end of the corner and disappeared from view. Then he turned back to Silco.

"What do you want?" Silco's expression remained indifferent, and his voice matched the coldness.

"Did you cause the turmoil in the topside?" Caitlyn asked, her expression serious, beating Li Lin to the question.

Silco and the bald, tattooed man beside him exchanged glances. Silco then put on a smirk and said nonchalantly, "Young lady, speaking requires evidence. You're accusing without proof."

"The topside just had a riot, and you're plotting to seize control of the lanes in the Undercity," Caitlyn frowned slightly, snorting. "Don't play dumb."

"Well, well, it's quite a coincidence, young lady. We haven't even been to the topside. Who would have thought there would be a riot?" Silco spread his hands, feigning innocence.

"When everything seems too coincidental, it's not a coincidence but a planned event," Caitlyn retorted. Seeing that Silco wouldn't admit anything, she played her trump card, issuing a veiled threat, "Whether or not you're involved with the topside affairs, I believe you're well aware of the consequences of kidnapping a council member. After all, all the clues left by those who kidnapped the council member point to the Undercity."

"What?" Silco's face suddenly changed, interrupting Caitlyn.

"Are you saying... a council member was kidnapped?!"

(End of this chapter)