Under the cover of night, Ryan and Katarina walked across white stone paving toward the Noxus Embassy not far away.
As they walked, Ryan and Katarina came to a stop at the same time.
"Piltover truly is a city with excellent security," Ryan suddenly remarked.
Katarina snorted. "An airship was blown up at the Air Dock this morning, and now a building has been blown up tonight. Are Piltover's Enforcers all useless? They only know how to rush over and clean up the mess after something happens."
Not far from them, flames lit up half the sky, and the thunderous roar of explosives rang out without end. A low building burst apart like fireworks, while many nearby structures were caught in the blast, their walls cracking with sharp sounds.
"Sir, do we need to intervene?" Katarina asked.
Ryan lightly shook his head, a thoughtful look on his face.
The two of them quietly watched a delinquent girl with blue twin-tails swagger away. Before leaving, she even made a face at them.
That girl had also appeared at the Air Dock earlier. According to the intelligence he had received, she worked for Silco, the current ruler of Zaun. Her name seemed to be... Jinx?
And if he had not been mistaken, Jinx was holding a Hex Crystal. The energy structure within it was entirely different from the one he had given Viktor. It was far more stable and should have been the new Hextech that had not been demonstrated today.
"That's the officer from this morning. She was rather lucky—the only survivor. Her name seems to be... Kiramman?"
When they reached the scene, they found Caitlyn still barely clinging to life on the ground. Katarina raised her brows slightly, somewhat surprised.
"Caitlyn Kiramman. Her mother, Madam Kiramman, is a Council member in Piltover. Because she adheres to justice and insists on working on the front lines, she often clashes with her mother."
Ryan spoke casually as he strolled toward Caitlyn. The ring on his hand glowed blue.
Blue raindrops scattered down over Caitlyn's head, their gentle moisture soothing her body as her injuries visibly healed.
After doing that, he turned his head to the side. Jayce stood there with a tense expression. Aside from Ryan and Katarina, he had been the first to arrive, as the explosion had occurred in his laboratory.
"This is all I can do. She should wake up after a while," Ryan said calmly.
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Meredith."
Jayce bowed to Ryan, then hurriedly crouched down and helped Caitlyn up. By then, the late-arriving Enforcers had begun clearing the chaotic disaster site.
As charred corpses were carried out one after another, Jayce's face filled with sorrow.
"Mr. Meredith, I heard Mel mention you before. But I'm truly sorry that you had to see Piltover at its worst."
Ryan looked unconcerned, his gaze passing through Jayce and settling on the area behind him. In the shadows of a nearby building, Viktor stood there hesitantly.
"The Valoran Continent is not peaceful. Things like this happen often; even Noxus's Immortal Bastion is no exception. Do you have any leads on the culprit?"
"It should have been people from the Undercity." Jayce gritted his teeth. "We all belong to Piltover. I can't understand why they would do this."
Who's 'we'?
Ryan secretly shook his head. Facing the idealist before him, he asked, "What do you think of Piltover and Zaun? This is my first time here, but whether from what I heard outside or what I've seen firsthand, these two places hardly seem like one city."
Jayce's arms tightened around Caitlyn. "My partner is from Zaun. I have no prejudice against that place."
After he said that, not only Ryan, but even Katarina could not help giving him an odd look.
If you really had no prejudice, was there any need to emphasize it?
Just as Ryan was about to say something else, Caitlyn weakly opened her eyes.
"Jayce?"
"Caitlyn, thank goodness. It's good that you're all right." Jayce let out a breath of relief and gave Ryan an apologetic look at the same time.
"What about the others?" Caitlyn struggled to sit up, but her weakness left her unable to move.
"Miss Kiramman, my magic only helped heal your external injuries. The impact of the explosion on your body will require some time to recover from," Ryan said.
"You are...? The Noxians from this morning. Why are you here?" Caitlyn frowned deeply. She did not have a good impression of Ryan and Katarina.
"Caitlyn, Mr. Meredith saved you. As for the other Enforcers..." Sorrow flashed across Jayce's face, and his gaze unconsciously drifted toward the corpses.
"How could this be!?"
Following his gaze, Caitlyn saw the charred bodies lying nearby. Her pupils contracted, and she nearly fainted again.
"Do you have any clues? This attack was highly unusual. The Hex Crystal was stolen, along with several important research documents."
Jayce looked desperate. What had been lost was extremely important. If it fell into the hands of someone capable of using it, it might trigger a war.
Only today, he had assured Heimerdinger and Mel that nothing would go wrong with Hextech. Yet an accident had happened in less than a day, leaving him somewhat ashamed.
It reminded him of something from several years ago. His Hex Crystal had also been stolen by people from the Undercity, his laboratory had also been blown up, and it had led to a series of events afterward.
But the outcome had not been bad that time. He had met Mel and Viktor, and successfully developed Hextech.
But this time... I hope it will also have a good ending.
Jayce's thoughts ran wild as he waited for Caitlyn to recall what had happened earlier.
"Let me think."
Caitlyn fell into deep thought, frowning at times and looking troubled at others.
After a while, her whole body jolted, and she blurted out excitedly, "I remember! It was definitely people from the Undercity! They were the same group that blew up the airship at the Air Dock this morning."
Jayce urgently asked, "Do you have any suspects?"
Caitlyn shook her head in frustration. "I only know that the perpetrators draw a monkey symbol. That mark was also on the airship at the Air Dock. And before I lost consciousness, I vaguely saw a blue-haired woman. I don't know anything else."
"It's all right. Knowing this much is enough," Jayce comforted her.
"You don't need to worry about this. I'll investigate it myself. The people of the Undercity are all filthy rats." Caitlyn raised her brows, her face full of stubbornness. "Although I did not get the chance to interrogate the criminal on the airship, I obtained quite a bit of information from the other thug Mr. Meredith captured."
"May I hear about his background?"
Ryan became interested. He had not thought that green-haired man would keep his mouth shut so tightly.
"Of course." Caitlyn did not mind. "That guy belonged to the Firelight Gang. Apparently, it's Zaun's largest criminal organization."
Hearing that, Ryan's expression gradually turned strange.
If Noxus's intelligence was correct, Zaun's largest criminal organization should have been Silco's. The Firelight Gang could only be considered second-rate. If not for their Hoverboards, they would have long since been wiped out.
"They believe Shimmer should not exist in this world, so that operation was meant to destroy the Shimmer aboard the airship."
"Who is behind Shimmer? Mel told me that ship was full of contraband." Jayce looked disgusted.
"He doesn't know either. We originally captured someone from the organization behind Shimmer aboard the ship. But Councilor Medarda was busy delivering Shimmer to the Noxians at the time, and the sheriff would not let me interrogate him, so there was nothing I could do." Caitlyn looked regretful.
Perhaps because she was close to Jayce, Caitlyn added, "But I don't intend to give up! I'll investigate it myself."
"Don't act recklessly. The people of the Undercity are all dangerous. Tomorrow, I'll propose to the Council that we thoroughly investigate the Undercity. I believe Mel, Professor Heimerdinger, and the others will agree." Jayce's tone was firm.
Ryan quietly listened to their conversation from the side, his amused gaze fixed on a shadow behind Jayce. At some point, the person in that shadow had disappeared.
"Mr. Talis, Miss Kiramman. It's getting late. I wish you a pleasant evening."
Jayce solemnly nodded to Ryan. "Mr. Meredith, on behalf of Piltover, I thank you for what happened today. Thank you for lending a hand."
"It was nothing. I hope Piltover will have a quiet tomorrow."
Ryan waved his hand and led Katarina away without looking back.
Piltover... things seemed to be getting more and more interesting.
Before you continue