The Backbone of the Twin Cities Has Returned

Piltover, Blue Smoke Estate.

A luxurious wool blanket covered the bedroom floor. The man sitting on the edge of the bed was barefoot, running his fingers through his hair and sighing repeatedly.

He was wearing a white uniform with a beautiful white rose pinned to his shirt, looking elegant and refined, but the man's appearance and the words he was muttering ruined the ambiance.

With a stubble beard, bloodshot eyes, and a pimple blooming at the corner of his mouth, he was clearly in a bad mood, muttering to himself:

"The troubles have been piling up lately. Ever since we bordered Noxus and Demacia, the Ionians have started complaining. For profit, these guys will do anything they can, except the crimes we've specified."

"Fuck you! Who said all Demacia are nobles? Those bastards are even more shameless than Noxians when they get dirty!"

"This is the Western lion that Li Ke was talking about? This is the upper-class country that Li Ke was talking about? Upper-class? I think it's more like filth! When these guys get shameless, they really remind me of Silco and Renata."

Piltover's Congressman Talis ran his fingers through his hair, muttering curses under his breath.

He's been extremely worried about these things lately. The daily flow of people in the Twin Cities is astonishing, with more than a million people coming from all over the world, which is several times the population of the two cities!

These are the two cities after they developed and attracted people from other places!

If we consider the previous two cities, the total population combined would only be a little over 100,000.

Even Zaun Piltover have expanded their territory, such as the back mountains of Piltover, which were originally Noxus lands but are now being used by the Twin Cities for expansion. However, even so, they still cannot stop the daily influx of people from outside.

When there are many people, disputes are inevitable.

The Demacia dislike the Noxians, the Noxians dislike the Ionia... well, they are generally honest, but after spending so much time in the Twin Cities, these guys have gradually started to emulate the Noxians and Demacia. Now, the Ionia are banding together for mutual support, and they dislike both sides!

They were among the first to be brought to the Twin Cities, yet their current treatment is worse than that of Demacia and Noxus. Naturally, they are dissatisfied and have complaints.

Ultimately, their current predicament stems from the division within Ionia.

Without a nation to back them up, the people of Ionia can only band together for warmth.

Listening to Jayce's complaints, the woman with skin as black as a pearl said helplessly, "I know you've been in a bad mood lately. You just want to focus on your scientific research. There's been so much going on lately. As a councilor, and one of our most important councilors, you naturally have to help share the burden. Jayce, things will get better after this period."

"Will things get better after this period?"

Jayce looked up at Mel, his voice full of resentment, and said, "I'm afraid things won't get better for years! Look at what they're doing! They've started blocking the bridge, intercepting merchants, intimidating them, and demanding goods! Just because they're a big country, they're bullying merchants from small countries like this!"

Jayce grew angrier as he spoke. Although he was thirty years old, he still had a fiery temper and a scruffy beard, but his eyes were clear and bright. Jayce had always been that young man with a heart full of justice, who wanted to create a better future for the world and make life better for humanity.

Therefore, Jayce was angered by Noxus and Demacia's current actions.

In Jayce's view, bullying the weak was the most fucking disgusting thing in the world, so he went on to say to Mel:

"We spent years painstakingly transforming Twin Cities into a world trade center, and now we can only watch helplessly as these powerful nations slowly erode this edifice!"

"Damn it, if you ask me, we should have the law enforcement officers shoot them, kill those bastards, and the rest will all behave. To hell with international diplomacy, Demacia and Noxus may be strong, but we're not pushovers either, are we?"

"And those who were bullied, sometimes I even think they deserved it! I told them that as long as they come forward to speak up, the law enforcement officers will arrest those who threatened them and send them to court for trial, but what did they do? One by one they all said no, that they did it voluntarily."

"Damn it, are people really willing to give their goods to others voluntarily? If it's voluntary, then why bother trading in Twin Cities?"

Hearing Jayce's resentful curses, Mel was both amused and exasperated.

She walked up to Jayce, reached out and hugged Jayce head, gently burying it in her lower abdomen, and whispered soothingly, "It's alright, I know you're unwilling, but we're already trying to find a solution. Noxus and Demacia are the strongest nations on this continent, and what they did was indeed despicable, but... there's really nothing we can do."

"Because of the rhetoric they use when threatening us, we really can't find any evidence against them. Besides, even if we wanted to intervene, those itinerant merchants from small countries wouldn't dare let us stand up for them."

"Jayce, they're also helpless. We can help them in the Twin Cities, but what about outside of Twin Cities? Those small countries bordering Noxus and Demacia only have tens of thousands of people, and the number of people who can truly be called warriors is only a few hundred. Under the iron cavalry of Demacia and Noxus, they really don't dare to fight."

Jayce sighed, closed his eyes to feel Mel's warmth, but after a moment, he cheered up.

He stood up, put on his shoes, looked at Mel, and said, "Don't wait for me for dinner. I'll go ask Silco how long he's going to hold out."

Mel hesitated.

But in the end, she nodded and didn't try to stop Jayce: "Okay, remember to come back soon."

I don't know when it started, but whenever Jayce is unhappy, he likes to go to Zaun. It seems that Zaun makes him feel more relaxed and comfortable. Moreover, Jayce's vocabulary of swear words has been increasing lately.

But Mel wasn't surprised; anyone who spends some time in Zaun will become fluent in swearing.

Zaun is a swearing machine. Even now, Zaun's council members still swear from time to time, especially Sevika, who served as a council member in Piltover for a period of time. But Piltover's atmosphere didn't change her. She not only swears, but she also beats people up when she gets pushed to the limit.

It's fair to say that backward compatibility seems to be a very difficult thing.

A moment later, Jayce stepped off the Hextech hovercar and walked into the Zaun meeting hall.

The Sump enforcement officer standing guard at the entrance greeted Jayce warmly.

Jayce nodded to the other person, then walked towards the stairwell.

Upon reaching the top floor and opening the door to an office, Jayce saw Silco sitting at her desk, writing something.

He plopped down on the sofa, casually reached for the kettle on the small table in front of him, poured himself a glass of water, drank Jayce, and then said loudly:

"Have you come up with a solution yet?"

Silco put down his pen, rubbed his temples, looked up at Jayce, and leaned back in his chair with a light push off the ground. He said, "This matter is already being handled. To reiterate, Mr. Talis, what you're worried about won't happen. I think I've assured you that many times already."

Jayce said irritably, "Your guarantee is to watch them get even more outrageous? Before, they hid from the law enforcement officers and only dared to threaten merchants from small countries in private. But now? They dare to say those things to the faces of the law enforcement officers. If this continues, the trading jewel that you and Mel built will be destroyed by these bastards."

"Without protection, these itinerant merchants suffer losses every time they come. Will they continue to come in the long run?"

Silco was somewhat annoyed after hearing this, but he still patiently said:

"You don't understand, Jayce. What Li Ke wants is not just to turn Twin Cities into a trading center, but to bind all the city-states together. And now, Noxus, Demacia, and Ionia are all engaging in diplomacy with us. Li Ke is still in Freljord. Apart from Shurima, the foundation for what Li Ke wants to do is already in place."

An unexpected event at this juncture would disrupt diplomacy and ruin Li Ke's plans. From the day the changes began in Zaun, Li Ke has been anticipating this day. Now, it's merely the final darkness before dawn, Jayce. This is just a temporary loss of profit; we must consider the bigger picture."

"Fuck your temporary loss of profit. It sounds simple, but in the end, isn't it because it's not our profit that's being lost?" Jayce cursed.

Unlike the Talis in the Twin Cities, Jayce, who had not participated in politics and devoted himself to scientific research, had not changed his original intentions in the slightest. Therefore, he would naturally be angry when he saw injustice.

Upon hearing this, Silco straightened up, looked at Jayce with a deep gaze, and after a long while said, "You should just stick to being a scientist."

Silco doesn't dislike Jayce for his own sake; the Twin Cities need him, someone like Renata who would sacrifice anything to achieve their goals. But at the same time, they also need people like Vander and Jayce.

Jayce snorted a few times and said dejectedly, "Do you have any wine?"

"It's in the freezer, help yourself," Silco said.

After saying that, he moved his chair back to his desk and began to write.

Seeing this, Jayce started drinking alone in silence.

Jayce actually understood what Mel and Silco were saying, but he just couldn't accept it.

After much thought, it seems the Twin Cities aren't powerful enough. If they were powerful enough to suppress Noxus and Demacia, would they still need to care about diplomacy? Would they still need to shamelessly try to cultivate good relations with Noxus and Demacia?

Jayce was drinking alone, feeling very angry.

"I wonder how much longer that guy Li Ke will stay out there. His trip to Freljord has been going on for far too long."

Hearing Jayce's mutterings, Silco paused for a moment, then continued writing.

At the same time, at the docks of Zaun, ships came and went constantly, and the docks were crowded with people dressed in all sorts of different clothes.

The girl wearing a bunny ear hat was stuffing a fragrant meat skewer into her mouth with one hand, while holding the arm of a dark-haired young man with the other, her eyes shining as she looked around.

"I'm going to eat a ton of food! Li Ke, let's go eat that!"

"Take it easy, Jinx, be careful you don't get diarrhea tonight." Li Ke chuckled as Jinx carried him along, with a tall, serious-looking woman following behind him.

She was dressed in a white, fitted outfit underneath a black and gray coat, and wore a pair of beautiful boots. Just by looking at her clothes, it would be hard to imagine that just a few days ago, this woman was the Winter's Claw Warmother, dressed in animal skins.

Sejuani followed silently behind. From the moment the ship entered the harbor, the expression on Sejuani's face never changed; she always maintained this serious look.

The city before her, born from the abyss and standing on the sea, did not appear dilapidated; instead, it exuded a feeling that Sejuani could not describe.

Although the scale wasn't large, the number of people far exceeded Sejuani's expectations. Furthermore, the buildings that seemed to climb upwards step by step were beyond Sejuani's comprehension; could houses really be built like that?

How exactly did they manage to do that?

Silently awestruck by the scenery of Zaun, Sejuani looked behind her, only to frown upon seeing that the Freljord people accompanying her were being embraced.

The bags and pouches these people were carrying contained True Ice. Only Iceborn can carry True Ice; even with containers made by Jinx and Ekko, ordinary people still cannot carry True Ice.

And since True Ice never melts, there's no need to worry about it dissolving even after leaving Freljord.

Sejuani was puzzled, then she stepped forward and patted Li Ke on the shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Li Ke turned around and looked at Sejuani.

Back in Zaun, Li Ke felt only relief. This was his home. The outside world was indeed very interesting, but the best place was, of course, his own home.

Therefore, Li Ke always had a smile on his face.

But when Sejuani pointed behind her, Li Ke's smile froze, and he withdrew it.

Ignoring the noise of the surrounding crowd, Li Ke focused on the Freljord people who were being stopped.

Then, Li Ke overheard the following conversation:

"A traveling merchant from Freljord?"

Is this your first time in Twin Cities?

"No wonder they don't know the rules. Coming to Zaun to trade requires paying..."

"Not paying? Heh, that's fine, but remember to be careful on your way back."

"Jinx."

"Um?"

"Go sit down at the stall, order some food and wait for me. I have something to take care of," Li Ke said, patting Jinx's hand.

Jinx wrinkled her nose and then saw what was happening over there. Although she couldn't hear the conversation like Li Ke, she, as the former heiress of the Zaun underworld, could tell at a glance what had happened.

It's nothing more than that little thing~

Seeing this, she grumbled and kicked her shoes as she walked towards the stall in the distance.

Li Ke, on the other hand, headed in that direction.

After Li Ke opened his five senses, he discovered that this kind of thing was happening everywhere, not just in this one place, but all over this dock.

Therefore, Li Ke's face darkened.

If those guys hadn't looked like outsiders, Li Ke's reaction wouldn't have been just a matter of a dark expression. Twin Cities does collect customs duties, but they're not high. This kind of forced collection of goods is no different from banditry.

After leaving the conference building in Zaun, Jayce drank quite a bit of alcohol to drown his sorrows. Fueled by the alcohol, he headed towards the Zaun docks, intending to enjoy the sea breeze and, incidentally, check on the day's events.

But before Jayce could reach the dock, a voice suddenly made Jayce stop in his tracks.

"What the hell is calling me 'I'm back'? What am I supposed to do if I'm not back?"

"Stop talking nonsense and get the food ready! Extra spicy, medium oil!"

The sound was somewhat muffled, as if there was something in the mouth.

Even so, that voice... it was familiar, Jayce knew it all too well!

Jayce turned his head and saw a thin girl sitting in front of a market stall. She had her back to him, was wearing a black vest, and was sitting on a white coat with a bunny ear hat.

She wasn't tall, but she had long arms and legs, especially her legs, which were shapely, beautiful, and so long that even though the stools at her stall were placed very high, her long legs, clad in black skinny jeans, could not touch the ground and even had to be slightly bent to put down.

And that beautiful, smooth blue hair made Jayce's pupils shrink.

"Grass!"

Jayce strode over and stood behind the girl, calling out softly.

"Jinx?"

The blue-haired girl looked up and met Jayce's gaze. Her beautiful, Big Eyes blinked, and her cheeks were chubby as she chewed something.

"Oh, what are you doing here?"

Jayce's lips twitched as he watched Jinx ask him questions with a cheerful smile.

"That's a question I should be asking you!"

"Where is Li Ke? Where is he?"

Jinx raised her hand, holding a skewer of meat, pointed towards the dock, and said with a smile, "It's over there, Jayce. You need to see Li Ke?"

Having been away for so long, Jinx hadn't seen any familiar faces in ages. Although Jayce wasn't that important to her, seeing someone she knew would certainly make Jinx happy, and being back in Zaun made her even happier.

"."

Turning his head to look at the dock, Jayce suddenly sobered up considerably.

Then, the resentment and burden suddenly felt much lighter.

Because the backbone of the Twin Cities has returned.

No matter how big the trouble is, it seems like it won't be a problem anymore now that Li Ke is back.

Thinking of this, Jayce excitedly ran towards the dock.

Behind me was Jinx's whining and moaning:

"Hey! Aren't you going to sit down and eat something with us?"