This world will never lack geniuses, what it lacks are geniuses who can grow up

Inside the room, apart from the people from the two cities, everyone else present had an interesting expression on their face.

Some were deep in thought, some were delighted, some were angry and dissatisfied, some were frowning, and there was also a blonde girl with a blank expression and blinking eyes with an adorable look.

"Isn't this a bit too domineering?" Unable to contain himself any longer, the envoy of a small country located in the central part of Valoran, sandwiched between the two great powers of Demacia and Noxus, stepped forward and cautiously looked at Li Ke.

Forced entry into a war?

As a minister of a small country, he knew all too well what would happen to a small nation if it were drawn into a large-scale war.

They are nothing more than expendable resources for powerful nations. Victory and defeat do not belong to small nations. When the war ends, they will gain nothing. The only thing they will get is a sentence recorded in history books. "In XXX year, at XX time, XX country and XX empire fought, and XX disappeared in Runeterra."

Therefore, although his country received the gift of Twin Cities, he still stood up and hoped to refuse it.

But before Li Ke could speak, someone else spoke up.

"Overbearing? I'm truly baffled. Tell me, did you even think before you said that?"

Beside Li Ke, Mel looked at the man and continued, his lips barely moving, "When the Noxus cavalry tramples your cities, I hope that when you fall, the words you speak to the Noxus soldiers and the Noxians said Noxus was too domineering."

"Haha, don't be surprised, Grand Commander Swain really did consider annexing the surrounding small countries. By the way, I remember that area isn't part of Demacia's defenses, is it?" Katarina chimed in, smiling at Fiora.

Fiora paused for two seconds, glanced at Li Ke, and, recalling Marshal Tianna's orders before the trip and His Majesty the King's attitude towards the Twin Cities, said softly, "As long as Noxus doesn't establish a base or set up settlements in that area, then I can speak on behalf of Demacia; that area is indeed not under Demacia's control."

"That's easy, I'll go back and do it."

"Wait, wait!" The minister from the small country who had spoken earlier suddenly tensed up and shouted, "You can't do this! Are you just going to stand by and watch Twin Cities like this?"

"Aren't you Twin Cities dedicated to maintaining peace in Valoran?" he asked Li Ke urgently.

"Maintain the peace of Valoran?" Silco squinted at the man, his eyes dark and menacing, looking at him as if he were a dead man, and continued:

"Wasn't what Li Ke just said clear enough? This war has been defined by us as a war concerning the survival of Runeterra. If Runeterra dies, how can Valoran possibly exist? Is your brain filled with mush?"

"Besides, when did we ever say we were committed to maintaining peace in Valoran?" Silco said loudly, his gaze sweeping over the faces of everyone present. He continued, "I've found that if I'm too lenient with you people, you'll treat the Twin Cities like pushovers. You're afraid of Demacia, afraid of Noxus, even afraid of the tribes of Freljord, but you're not afraid of the Twin Cities?"

"You dare not negotiate with Noxus? Yet you dare to negotiate with us? Who gave you the audacity?"

From Twin Cities founding and the beginning of its connection with the world, Twin Cities has presented itself to the outside world as a friendly, peaceful, and helpful city-state, much like a righteous messenger who unconditionally supports all nations and maintains order.

But is that really the case?

That would be absurd. At least neither the leaders of Zaun nor Piltover ever intended to be philanthropists.

Nine out of ten Piltover residents are businessmen, and the remaining one is involved in politics. To put it bluntly, Piltover is a city where profit reigns supreme. And what about Zaun?

Disorder, chaos, evil—the word "dark" was an understatement to describe Zaun in the past, and even now, Zaun is a city-state where power reigns supreme.

Therefore, from the very beginning, Twin Cities did this with a purpose. What Twin Cities wanted to do was not to become some kind of justice messenger for world peace, but to integrate Runeterra into a federation and become the leader of this federation team.

"Isn't it because you Twin Cities have been playing the good guy for too long?" Katarina said with a grin, holding up a hand with a dagger twirling between her fingers. A slight smile played on her lips as she continued, "Whether it's Demacia or Noxus, the reason we joined Twin Cities is because we've faced the gap between ourselves and Twin Cities. But you..." Katarina paused, then clicked her tongue.

"Tsk, this is really interesting."

In this small country, many people had various thoughts swirling in their minds. Then, a few people in the crowd exchanged silent glances, stepped forward, and simultaneously raised their hands, saying:

"We are willing to join the Twin Cities Federation."

"That's right. If Runeterra, then Valoran will fall too. Minister Ke'ertejie, your vision is far too short-sighted!"

What do you need us to do?

Li Ke had remained silent until now, but finally he spoke.

"I know what you're worried about. I can assure you that you won't be sent to the battlefield as cannon fodder. I never intended to send ordinary people to the battlefield from the very beginning. Therefore, most of you will serve as logistics troops for the two cities."

"Twin Cities needs a lot of manpower and resources to develop weapons, and that's your job. Of course, Twin Cities won't use these resources for free; they will pay you accordingly."

Li Ke took a deep breath. This matter did indeed have a somewhat coercive element to it, but now that things had come to this point, even if Li Ke didn't want to do this, he had to stand up.

He could have easily delegated this task to Silco and Mel, and then, as before, continued to play the good guy behind the scenes, so that when people talked about him, they would say all the good things about Li Ke, like how easy he was to get along with and how kind-hearted he was.

But he was always the true representative of the Twin Cities.

"Now, those who agree to join the Federation, come to my left; those who don't, come to my right."

"You only have two paths to take. If you hesitate and want to remain neutral, the Twin Cities will be the first to deal with you," Li Ke said calmly. "I will not allow any opportunists to exist."

In the evening, Zaun, Li Ke, Silco, and Jayce were having a small gathering at the Fugen Tavern. In Silco's office, several bottles of liquor were already opened on the table. Silco took off his coat, Jayce loosened his collar, and Li Ke was sitting in a corner, holding a glass and lost in thought.

"Those we called to the scene have all signed the agreement, but there's a problem: they have this attitude in the Twin Cities, but once they return to their own countries, there's no guarantee they won't change their minds."

Silco's voice echoed softly.

Jayce let out a burp, wiped his mouth, and said, "If you ask me, would uniting with them really be useful? Especially with those few countries whose populations don't even reach ten thousand, yet they dare to call themselves nations, what's the point of letting them join?"

"What can they do? Li Ke, I really don't understand. Cranes and Hextech gloves are already perfectly suited for workers' hands. We're not really that short of manpower."

Upon hearing this, Li Ke closed his eyes and began to think.

Indeed, just as Jayce said, those small countries were of no help to Twin Cities at all. Their technology was backward, their civilization was primitive, and their surrounding resources were scarce.

Yes, scarcity is normal; anything not scarce was destroyed long ago by Noxus under Darkwill's rule.

"Mental strength is very important, and I'm betting on the future." Li Ke thought for a moment and then spoke. He explained to Jayce, "This war won't end in the short term. We can control when it starts, but we don't know when it will end. So, we need to prepare for the future in advance."

With that, Li Ke smiled and said, "Besides, small countries aren't without talented people."

"A talented person?" Jayce didn't believe it.

Silco, standing to the side, understood and nodded with a slight smile, "Indeed."

"No, Silco, do you really think those small countries can have talented people? How many people do they have?" Jayce put down his glass and said loudly.

"Put away that superior attitude of yours, because it makes me very uncomfortable," Silco said to Jayce, his expression rather speechless.

Before Jayce could speak, he asked, "Tell me, what was the difference between Zaun ten years ago and those small countries?"

Jayce opened his mouth, then closed it.

But Silco didn't let him go.

"Back then, Zaun's economy was backward. Compared to Piltover, it was like heaven and earth in terms of location, just like a city-state. But did Zaun produce few geniuses?"

"I ask you, Viktor, is our Zaun genius any worse than you? Does his education compare to yours?"

Jayce's face turned embarrassed, and the effects of the alcohol had worn off considerably.

If we're talking about the person Jayce admires most, Viktor is definitely one of them.

As Silco said, Viktor climbed up from the bottom of Zaun, and the education and living environment he received back then were something Jayce could never have imagined.

Although Jayce's family had fallen on hard times, it was he who single-handedly revived Talis and turned the hammer sigil into Piltover's most dazzling symbol. Even though Jayce's family had declined in the past, he still received a good education and had the resources of the Giramann Family during his youth.

Even so, the match between him and Viktor was only evenly matched.

"Ekko, who grew up in the Black Alley and created treasures from the garbage you all discarded, is he any worse than you?" Silco added.

Jayce gripped his thighs tightly with both hands.

Well, Ekko isn't any worse than him. That kid grew up wildly on his own, and even with Heimerdinger's education, he still didn't become an academic like Jayce or Viktor. His research ideas are wildly imaginative.

Seeing Jayce with his head down and fingers tightly gripping his thigh, Silco sneered and finally said, "Excuse me, is my Jinx worse than you?"

"."

Jayce lowered his head even further.

This one is even more heavyweight!

When it comes to weapon crafting, if Jinx claims to be second, then no one in all of Runeterra dares to claim to be first!

Look at the things that have been created by her.

Drones, laser guns, Hextech missiles, Hextech Shield Watch, Alchemy Smoke Grenades, and even the Ultra Super Mega Death Rocket with destructive power comparable to a Deity's strike!

Jinx and Ekko's situations are imagined to be characterized by their own unbridled growth, but Jinx is bolder, perhaps because she is a little crazy. Many things that are "taboo" in human consciousness, things that even Ekko dares not think about or touch, Jinx dares to think about and do.

Before Hextech Gem were even used as weapons, who created the first Hextech weapon?

Ah, Jinx.

Even as a child, Jinx could conceive of a mobile bomb monkey from the impact of Hextech Gem shattering; imagine how powerful she is now.

Li Ke, watching from the side, couldn't help but laugh. Seeing Jayce's ashamed expression, he said with amusement, "Jayce, the reason geniuses are geniuses is because their existence is unaffected by their environment."

Jayce looked up, patted his cheek, and said seriously, "It's my fault. I was too arrogant."

"You and Silco are right."

He understood what Li Ke meant.

Geniuses are not affected by their environment. No matter what the circumstances, geniuses will always be able to overcome them. Those who are affected by their surroundings and fail to overcome them are not geniuses.

At least, he wasn't a natural-born genius.

After all, Ekko, Viktor, Jinx all survived the Zaun back then. So, could the situation in those smaller countries be any worse than Zaun's back then?

Of course not.

"That's why we need to make sure they can join," Li Ke said meaningfully.

This world is never short of geniuses; geniuses are everywhere in the magical world. What's lacking are geniuses who can fully develop and mature.

To contend with the Void, the first priority is to ensure a continuous stream of geniuses emerge on Runeterra in the future.

As for whether they can actually play a role, Li Ke believes they can.

After all, there's a part in Sylas's story where, while working for the Mageseekers, Sylas visited a small village and saw a girl surrounded by lightning, whose magical power was so immense that Sylas couldn't see Sylas clearly.

The future Sylas had met Lux, but even Lux, a top-tier mage whose potential ranks at least in the top five among mages in Runeterra, was inferior to that girl in Sylas's eyes.

So here's the question: if that girl had survived, received the education she deserved, and grown up, how remarkable would she have been?

Could she be the next Lissandra?

Li Ke even felt somewhat regretful about this.

Upon hearing this, Silco tapped his fingers on the table. "Alright, I've already had someone take care of it. That girl you brought back from Ionia, I've already sent her out."

"By now, quite a few scouts should have already entered those small countries."

Li Ke nodded with a smile.

At the same time, in a forest in Valoran, a lithe girl with a hedgehog-like hairstyle stood on a tree branch. She was veiled and wore strange glasses.

The glasses were separated from the veil by only a slit, fitting perfectly to her eyes. The glasses were black, with small frames, but there was a small groove on the left frame containing a blue gem the size of a grain of rice.

She stretched out her hand and gestured twice in front of her.

That was a hand signal she established when she was teaching in Zaun.

After she made the hand gestures, several black figures instantly flew out from beside her.

Then, after the sounds disappeared, she turned her gaze to a certain place, where she could vaguely see gray-white walls. She looked at the city and squinted her beautiful eyes.

"This is my first mission."

The girl's voice was beautiful, clear and melodious like a nightingale's, but it carried a hint of indifference.

"I will never fail."

After she finished speaking, her body vanished into the forest in an instant.

Zaun's special department, department head, Akali.

He began his first mission in Zaun.