-3- Leave it to me

In a place deep in the gutter, there was a dilapidated square-shaped metal shack. Apart from Vander's people, no one dared to come here in the whole district of the Undercity. Well, even Vander's people wouldn't enter here without receiving orders from Vander himself.

Inside the shack, Linwin Lorant first checked his pockets and pulled out some freshly grilled meat jerky, which he handed to the four kids. Then he sat down on the worn yet clean sofa and looked at them. Linwin spoke in a serious tone, "Alright, let's talk about the explosion."

"Big bro, it's all Powder's fault. I don't know what she did to cause the explosion!" Mylo immediately shifted the blame onto Powder.

"I didn't do anything! Big brother Linwin, I really didn't do anything. I don't even know what happened; it just suddenly exploded!" Powder quickly explained, her blue gem-like eyes blinking rapidly.

She genuinely had no idea what caused the explosion. She only remembered hearing a sound like something falling to the ground, and then the explosion happened. But the situation was so chaotic that they almost got caught; she didn't have time to investigate what that something was.

"Alright, I believe you," Linwin said as he reached out and ruffled Powder's head. She obediently nodded and lowered her head to eat.

Claggor remained silent, and Mylo kept rambling on, struggling to articulate his thoughts.

Vi was sitting there, clearly annoyed, listening impatiently to Mylo's complaints.

Seeing the situation, Linwin extended his hand and gestured to Vi, saying, "Forget it, Vi, come with me."

 She nodded and got up to follow him, but not before raising her eyebrows and making a face towards Claggor and Mylo. Her expression seemed to say, "Look, Linwin is going at it again."

Mylo nearly burst into laughter but managed to contain himself with a nudge from Claggor.

After Vi followed Linwin outside, Mylo couldn't contain himself and burst into laughter, saying, "Linwin is more like our dad or something what it comes to this kind of stuff, he's even more lenient than Vander!"

Claggor added, "Do you think big bro will scold Vi? This time it's not a small matter; it's an explosion, a big one." 

Mylo continued munching on Linwin's cooked jerky, feeling safer with Linwin than even Vander. At this moment, he felt that Linwin might have surpassed Vander, though Linwin kept a low profile.

"Linwin won't scold Vi!" Powder chimed in, expressing her displeasure. "Do you think Linwin is like you? He's not a whiner like you!"

"Yes, yes, yes... But Powder, you're the real troublemaker!" Mylo replied nonchalantly.

....

Vi followed Linwin out of the room, and he closed the greasy iron door behind them. Linwin turned to her and asked, "Violet, what have you all been up to in the Top City?"

Vi, with her lips pursed and her bold eyebrows raised, looked quite proud of herself. It seemed like she was trying to impress Linwin.

She probably thought she had done something right, didn't she?

Linwin couldn't help feeling a mixture of annoyance and amusement as he remembered his first encounter with Vi. 

She had always worn that disdainful expression, not just towards him but seemingly towards everyone. She was a rebellious and stubborn kid, unruly to the core. Even Vander struggled to control her at times, despite being the unspoken leader of Zaun.

To Linwin, seeing Vi was the moment he truly believed he had crossed into a video game world.

It was amusing to think that staying up late to climb the ranks in League of Legends had led to this. Who would have thought that reaching Gold would result in a crossover? 

When it came to potential candidates for a crossover, shouldn't it have been those who achieved Challenger or were the top players in the Rift? How did someone like him, who was a forever Gold, end up here?

What made Linwin find it even more absurd was the fact that Vi and Jinx, the iconic frenemies, turned out to be sisters! Back when he followed the stories created by Riot Games, was there ever such a narrative? At most, people said that Vi and Jinx might have grown up in the same orphanage, but Riot never confirmed it.

Now, not only were they sisters, but they were also adopted by Vander, the big shot of Zaun. This was beyond bizarre.

Because... in the original lore, there was no character named Vander!

It seemed like Riot Games had stir up their lore once again!

But Riot's lore discrepancies weren't a new thing. As a League of Legends enthusiast, Linwin had faithfully followed every narrative told by League Explained, even though he couldn't remember all the details. The stories of his favorite champions and the famous ones were etched in his memory.

As for Mylo and Claggor, they left Linwin baffled.

Initially, Linwin had thought Claggor resembled a chubby version of Ezreal from his childhood. After all, he wore adventurous-looking glasses, and his appearance gave off a vibe similar to a plump Ezreal. However, after careful consideration, Linwin realized it was just his imagination.

Ezreal was a trust-fund kid, an aristocrat born into the prominent family of Piltovian nobility. How could he become friends with Vi and Jinx in their formative years?

Therefore, it took only a few months for Linwin to discard the delusions brought by his previous world's memories.

Because this wasn't a game world... This was a real one.

By the third year of his existence in this world, Linwin had learned many things.

For example, the division of power.

Champions like Vi and Jinx, to put it simply, were on a higher tier than regular people, even though, in the future, they would still be considered ordinary despite the addition of alchemical and hextech technology.

And then there's Vander, the man in charge. He fell within the category of ordinary people. Without the aid of technological gauntlets, Vander couldn't break rocks with his bare hands, and his speed wasn't significantly faster than an average person's.

But even with these limitations, Vander had become a powerful figure controlling the undercity of Zaun.

As for the highly popular champion in the game, Jinx, well, she was just a feeble little girl sitting in the room, around ten years old, with her trademark blue short hair. She was the same Jinx who would later wreak havoc in Piltover!

But Linwin couldn't quite connect Powder and Jinx in his mind. 

Powder was an adorable and mischievous little girl, completely different from the character he knew.

However, Vi in front of him bore a striking resemblance to the Vi in the game. She had the iconic pink hair and, aside from lacking the VI tattoo on her face and not having a nose ring, she looked very much like the Vi from the original artwork.

When Linwin asked, Vi didn't try to hide anything. She immediately recounted everything she and her friends had done in the Upper City that morning.

Then Linwin's face darkened. "Do you even know what you've done?"

"I know exactly what I did, Linwin. I crushed the spirit of those Topside people! I made them realize that we people from the Undercity are not to be trifled with!"

Linwin sighed and looked into her eyes, speaking firmly, "Vi, I know you despise the people of Piltover, and I don't like them either. But, Vi, can you handle the consequences of angering the people of Piltover?"

"What can they do? Are they going to come down to the Undercity and arrest us? If they dare to come, we'll just drive them back. Linwin Lorant, Zaun is our Zaun, not the Pilties' Zaun."

"Violet!"

Seeing Vi's indifferent attitude, Linwin raised his voice with frustration. Vi was taken aback for a moment but then stared defiantly at Linwin, tilting her head stubbornly. She remained silent but resolute, refusing to back down.

"You have no idea what you've done!"

"You think this is the same as the things you did before? This time, someone died, and it might well be some of the nobles from Piltover. If they die, the Enforcers will demand answers. What do you expect Vander to do?"

"Then they can fight us if they want!"

Vi was getting angry. She said, "This is our land, and we should make our own decisions!"

Linwin sighed and looked at Vi. "You're being reckless."

"Do you know that doing this will lead to many deaths? How are we going to resist Piltover's enforcers? They have people, money, guns, they have everything, and what do we have?"

Linwin reached out to grab Vi's hand, but when he saw a piece of cloth stained with blood wrapped around her fingers, he felt a pang in his heart. He softened his grip but maintained a serious tone. "Are you planning to rely on this to defeat Pilties? Are you going to win against them with this?"

Vi argued forcefully, pulling her hand away. "I'm not afraid of dying."

Linwin chuckled at her. She's really still just a hotheaded kid, after all she's only about thirteen years old now."

Thirteen years old, and she shouldn't have to bear so much. 

She was a reckless hothead who thought of solving everything with her fists. 

Yes, fists could solve problems, but only if they were strong enough. Did Vi have that strength? Clearly, she didn't, and neither did Vander, nor all of Zaun combined. She was being foolish.

Linwin's tone softened as he continued, "But what about Powder? Mylo? Claggor? Have you thought about them, Vi? They look up to you as their leader, they listen to your every word. If you ask them to blow up Piltover today and follow you into the Sun Gates tomorrow, they'll do it. But have you considered what happens if something goes wrong? Can you really handle the consequences? Can you accept them leaving you? Being a leader carried responsibility, and you can't just keep relying on your fists to solve everything.

"I... I..."

Seeing Vi's attitude change, Linwin sighed and said, "Vi, think carefully before you act. I've told you many times. I don't want you going to Piltover, but you don't listen."

Vi retorted loudly, "I just can't accept it. Why can't people from the Undercity go to the top city while they can freely come down here? Even the Boundary Markets is like that. They look at us like we're animals, like we're trash. I can't accept it; I want to change everything."

"I understand, I really do."

Thirteen-year-old Vi, even though strong, felt somewhat aggrieved at this moment.

Linwin knew the reason for Vi's hatred toward the people from the Upper City. He had heard it from Vander.

Vi and Powder's parents had died in a protest a few years ago, killed by Piltover enforcers. Witnessing the death of her loved ones, Vi harbored a blood feud against the topside people.

As she grew older, Vi became even more resentful.

Why should Top City residents enjoy sunlight while Undercity residents rarely saw the light of day? 

Why could Top City residents feast on fine food and drinks while Undercity residents went hungry? 

Top City residents breathed fresh air, while Undercity residents inhaled thick, toxic smog, often falling ill without warning.

In reality, Zaun was the legitimate city, and Piltover had split from it.

Linwin extended his arms and embraced Vi, pressing his chin against her head, feeling a prickly sensation.

Well, it was natural to feel this way because Vi liked her short hair. She thought it was neat, clean, and convenient for fighting. Linwin repeated softly, "I understand."

Vi tried to pull away, showing her discomfort with Linwin's actions, but he held her even tighter.

Seeing this, Vi relaxed her body and slumped into Linwin's embrace. Linwin gazed ahead. Violet in front of him wasn't just a game character; she was a real person.

She is not just a string of data, nor a figment of imagination.

She is a person.

A living, breathing individual with flesh and blood.

The first time he met Vi, Linwin had a sense of admiration and longing for game characters. But gradually, his feelings toward Vi, Jinx, Mylo, Claggor, and others turned into affection and concern.

They were his family.

...

A few minutes passed.

"Big brother, what should I do now?"

After calming down, Vi buried her head in Linwin's chest and asked softly.

Surprisingly, Vi had just called him "big brother."

Unlike Jinx, Mylo, and Claggor, who preferred to call him by his name or even made fun of Linwin's last name that Zoran had given him, they seem to enjoy calling him "Sir Lorant."

After all, Zaunites didn't have last names, and Linwin was an exception.

"Don't worry," Linwin said confidently. "Leave it to me. I'll take care of everything. What you need to do is stay here and wait until I resolve things. Then, you can come out."

Linwin rubbed Vi's head, making her short, messy hair even messier, and spoke with assurance.

Vi looked up at Linwin, her actions betraying her displeasure, and then lowered her head again, accompanied by a soft "Hmm."

It was at this moment that Linwin heard a strange mechanical sound in his mind.

Ding: Piltover Enforcer's Favorability increased, earning 1000 experience points.

Ding: You have leveled up; all attributes +1.

Ding: Congratulations, player, champion - [Piltover Enforcer], has favorability exceeding 90%. The player receives a reward: one pull opportunity and the corresponding champion card.

Ding: Congratulations, player, You have obtained a ★★★ champion card (Piltover Enforcer). Please check your inventory.

Linwin chuckled when he heard the notifications.

It looked like he had more work to do...