-330- The away-from-home explorer

"Let all relevant personnel mobilize and ensure that Hextech TV appears in every corner of the world by the end of February."

"This is certainly a huge investment, but we can completely control the discourse, and this is something that cannot be bought with money! So we must not be careless or slack, we must do our best!"

"Skite, you will lead three hundred enforcers to escort Professor Moss. If anything happens to the professors, I will hold you accountable!"

In the Piltover airship center, Jayce, dressed in a councilor's attire, spoke solemnly to the group of enforcers awaiting orders.

"Yes, sir!" Skite straightened his chest and replied loudly.

Thinking of something, Jayce immediately added, "If conflicts arise with the locals, in times of crisis, I authorize you to use force."

"Twin Cities no longer need to lie low!"

With a wave of his hand, Jayce commanded, "Off you go!"

The vast sky was covered by the curtain of a giant beast, and above Piltover, the Hextech airship was already prepared.

Skite and Professor Moss would lead the team to Shurima for construction, while Jack and Professor Elisa would go to Freljord for the construction of Hextech TV.

The work of the three teams, led by Brian, was not easy. He led the team in the continent of Valoran, which, although had good climate and environment, was also the place with the most countries and tribes.

"Let's move out!"

"Yes, sir!"

The enforcers, displaying an order that could impress even Demacians, boarded the Hextech airship one by one, their gazes determined and their faces resolute.

They knew the purpose of this journey.

The Void would be revealed on something they created!

---

In the depths of Shurima, at a place where the mountains rose higher than the sky, amidst the snow-covered ranges between Kalamanda and Mt Targon, lay a desolate land.

Under the scorching sun, not even an animal could be found here, let alone merchants. The sun baked the sand and stones so hot that if an egg were thrown, it might be cooked in ten minutes buried in it.

And at this hottest moment in Shurima, a hand suddenly emerged from beneath the sand and stones.

"Cough!"

With a cough, accompanied by hurried gasps, came the sound of spitting something out.

The hand pressed hard on the sand and stones, and immediately, a strange blue light began to flicker. The source of the light was the gauntlet on this hand, a golden gauntlet inset with a huge blue gemstone.

"So thirsty!"

With a flicker of blue light, the next moment, a young man appeared under the scorching sun, his whole body soaked in sweat, wearing a tattered jacket and a Shuriman sunshade cloak.

He had a head of golden hair that rivaled the sun, and looking down, he wore a simple Piltover tech-made goggles. Further down, he had a straight nose, a well-proportioned face, and delicate, thin lips that made his mouth look extremely inviting.

"I've been calculating time in the depths of the earth. 413 days. So how long have I been out?"

Putting the goggles on his head, pushing back his golden hair, revealing a full forehead and a pair of beautiful azure eyes.

"Should I go back for a visit? Uncle must be worried sick."

"No, no, no, instead of going back, what I need to do now is eat and drink! I don't want to eat lizard meat, spider meat, or drink animal blood anymore."

Ezreal stuck out his tongue and took out an ancient pocket watch from his pocket, squinting his eyes.

"That direction... is north, so heading north is definitely the right way."

As one of Piltover's most outstanding explorers (self-proclaimed), Ezreal ventured out at a young age. Although his initial goal was just to find his missing parents, his curiosity was strong from a young age, and influenced by his parents' love for adventure stories, Ezreal gradually became immersed in the excitement of adventure.

Now, he ventured out to explore the secrets of Shurima while searching for his parents' whereabouts.

Even though he hadn't found his parents yet, Ezreal believed they were still alive.

And what he had to do now was to become the world's greatest explorer. When that time came, his parents would definitely come looking for him.

"This Gauntlet of Ne'Zuk is really useful."

The sunlight shone on the glove, making it shine brightly in gold. With a smile on his extremely handsome face, Ezreal activated his magic.

In an instant, Ezreal disappeared from where he stood, reappearing hundreds of meters away.

"Traveling like this, I'll surely arrive soon!"

---

By evening, Ezreal had successfully found a village.

It was here that Ezreal, after a year and a half, had his first interaction with living people.

He finally didn't have to talk to himself in the dark tomb anymore. Talking to people was always better. Talking to oneself too much sometimes made Ezreal feel like he was going crazy.

"Is this Manglok Village? So that must be Kalamanda over there?"

In the village tavern late at night, probably the only entertainment for the locals.

Ezreal ordered a glass of pitch-black, unnamed liquor, sat at the bar, and conversed with the tavern owner.

"Although your language is very good, looking at your outfit and appearance, you're not a local, are you?" The tavern owner was a woman in her thirties, looking at the extremely handsome Ezreal, she felt a fondness in her heart and smiled as she spoke to him.

"Yeah, I'm an explorer." Ezreal smiled.

"That's not a good job."

Ezreal took a sip of the liquor and nodded, "I like the excitement of life."

Having said that, Ezreal added, "By the way, can I ask what the building on the empty ground outside is all about?"

"You mean that big black board?" The tavern owner picked up a bottle of liquor, poured it into a glass, and handed it to a customer.

Turning around, she came back to Ezreal.

"That's made by people from Twin Cities. They said that when it's used, we can see our tribe's athletes on it."

"Athletes?" Ezreal said in surprise.

This word shouldn't appear in Shurima. It's something that only exists in Piltover and Zaun.

"What's the matter? Are you curious?"

"Ugh... Twin Cities refers to Piltover and Zaun, right?"

"Where are you from anyway? How come you don't even know about Twin Cities?" The tavern owner narrowed her eyes, starting to doubt Ezreal's identity.

Everyone in the world knows which two cities Twin Cities refers to, but this handsome guy actually asked such a question?

"I..."

Ezreal had certainly been paying attention to his hometown affairs over the years.

When he found out that Piltover and Zaun had reconciled and become Twin Cities, he was super surprised.

But at that time, he was busy looking for the Tomb of Ne'Zuk, so Ezreal didn't go back.

After one thing and another, it's been almost a few years since he came out.

"Where am I from?"

Ezreal raised his glass and took a heavy sip of the liquor.

"A Piltover native who hasn't gone home yet."

Smiling, revealing his white teeth, Ezreal made up his mind.

This time, he must go home to take a look.

See what his hometown has become.