Wearing graffiti-printed clothes, Vi walked Caitlyn to the Screaming Elevator. Vi remembered when the thing had been all battered and broken, but now, paired with Hextech, it looked plump and round, even though its structure hadn't changed much.
She had to admit, compared to how she remembered it, the Screaming Engine had gotten a lot cuter. She never thought she'd see the day when you could call that thing cute.
After all, it used to be nothing but a big cage.
"I'll leave you here. You'll have to find your own way from here." Vi looked at Caitlyn and gave a whistle before adding, "Think you can find your way home, Cupcake?"
Caitlyn looked at Vi, then at the group following behind her. They wore all kinds of clothes: short sleeves, long sleeves, coats, jackets, jeans, and even sweaters. It was impossible to tell what season it was, but they all had the same thing on their clothes—
Pink and blue intertwined, forming pretty pink-and-blue petals in the graffiti.
"Don't call me that. And Vi, remember this: you're the one who let me go. I will catch you, and your evil little sister, too." Caitlyn took a deep breath and spoke sternly.
At her words, the expressions of the people beside Vi changed. They looked at Caitlyn with hostility.
But Caitlyn didn't back down. She stepped forward and met Vi's gaze.
Vi looked up at Caitlyn and smiled. "Don't be like that. You're already out—what would be the point of going back? As for you, if you ever want to visit a place like that again, just come find me. I'll take you."
"You—" Caitlyn flushed with anger. She gritted her teeth, glared at Vi, then snorted and turned to board the Screaming Engine.
She'd been away from Piltover for a week. Her mother and father must be worried sick. If she didn't go back soon, things would get messy.
Vi silently watched Caitlyn's back until she disappeared into the crowd.
Caitlyn. So upright she was almost too much, and she had a soft heart.
Catch her and Jinx?
Vi didn't believe it.
Then Vi turned and raised a hand. "Come on. Time to get to work."
"Vi, who are we beating up today?" A petite figure moved closer to Vi and asked eagerly.
Smack!
"Cut the crap. Boss said we're not going to fight. We're going to talk things out." Manzu, behind Vi, smacked the kid upside the head. "We're not a gang, kid."
"Right, right. I misspoke."
"Of course, if talking things out doesn't work, then we'll have to use our fists," Manzu added.
Hearing that, Vi burst out laughing and cracked her knuckles. She strode to the front and waved. "Come on, let's head back!"
Even Vi hadn't expected that five days ago, she'd been mocking Li Ke for being stupid, for wasting his time. Did he think he was Vander? Did he think he could bring Zaun back to the way it used to be? No, he'd said he wanted to make things better.
Stupid as hell!
But now, she was just as devoted to doing it.
Jinx was still the most important person in Vi's heart, but she also liked this work.
She liked being respected, helping people, and protecting her home.
The Shark District had originally been called that, but recently, a group of people wearing red, pink, and blue graffiti clothes had shown up, insisting that the community needed a new name. They'd changed the name of the Shark District to—Hope Community.
Naturally, this had angered the local gangs. So, over the course of three days, a series of small-scale street fights broke out across the Shark District. But the strange thing was, in a battle involving more than a hundred people, only two gang leaders died. Everyone else had only been injured. Damn, it was almost unbelievable. The locals had wanted the bastards to kill each other, preferably all of them dying in the fighting.
But the reality was that the survivors had been driven out of the Shark District.
And as for the Shark District—no, it should be called Hope Community now.
The locals had grown numb to it.
They'd grown used to being exploited, used to the power going out at home whenever the Alchemical Barons mined ore and their work was affected. They'd also grown used to gangs showing up to demand things and beat them up.
What difference did it make if the community got a new name and a new group took over?
They'd still be exploited without end.
But then, a miracle happened. After taking control of the area, these strange people didn't gather the residents to make rules. Instead, every day, groups of people wearing pink-and-blue graffiti clothes and carrying weapons patrolled the community.
Even more miraculously, these people who walked the community every day didn't demand anything from the residents. Instead...
Were they protecting them?
Oh, my God!
They really were protecting them, protecting the community!
No, seriously, was this still Zaun?!
Today, Marna, a middle-aged woman from Zaun, was carrying a tray with some homemade pastries on it. Her husband belonged to Zaun's working class and worked at a power plant owned by one of the Alchemical Barons. She made pastries and sold them on the street to help support the family.
She used to be very careful whenever she went out, avoiding the gangs. But over the past few days, Marna had gradually become bolder.
She didn't know what the future would bring, but for now, these people who'd suddenly appeared and renamed the Shark District Hope Community truly weren't exploiting or bullying them.
That was good. It was already more than enough.
Marna's eyes suddenly lit up. She saw a group of people returning from outside the community. Two were being helped along, injured, yet laughing. Marna wasn't the only one who saw them; the people around her did, too.
"It's Vi."
"She looks like she got into another fight. Oh, my God, her clothes are covered in blood!"
"Quick, quick, where's the water? Does anyone have water?"
When they saw Vi and her group, the residents of Hope Community immediately crowded around them.
It wasn't that they'd truly accepted these people after just a few days. It was that the community would only get worse if they left.
Besides, the community really was getting better.
"It's fine. It's someone else's blood." Vi took a tissue from someone and wiped her cheek, smiling. "All right, next time you go to Purple Brass Alley, they won't dare give you trouble."
"But you have to wear our community's emblem." Vi wiped the blood off her face, crumpled the tissue, and put it in her pocket.
That was another one of Li Ke's rules: don't litter.
Damn, it was another stupid rule. But she had to admit, the streets were getting cleaner, and the stink in the alleys was starting to fade. It really was nice.
"Can we really go there now?" someone asked.
He'd gone to Purple Brass Alley on business before and had been badly cheated by the Alchemical Baron's thugs.
"Of course." Vi patted her chest and promised.
She chatted with the residents, while Marna passed her pastries around to the others.
They didn't refuse. They just reached out and started eating, and kept eating until the tray was empty. Marna felt a little pained at the sight.
But then a man stepped forward. Marna remembered him. His name was Manzu, and he was a minor leader. He came up to her and said apologetically, "Sorry, they were hungry. Here's some money. If it's not enough, I'll bring more later."
As he spoke, Manzu pulled out a handful of coins and placed them on Marna's tray.
Marna froze, then hurriedly shook her head. "No, I can't take this."
"It's all right, take it. If you don't, and my boss finds out I've been eating and drinking for free at your stall, I'll be in trouble."
"Our boss won't let us eat and drink for free," Manzu said with a smile.
Marna nodded, then accepted the money.
While Vi chatted happily with the residents, she didn't notice a short figure in a green jacket and hat passing by her.
In the daylight, there was a click, like the sound of electricity crackling.
Beneath the hat, the girl's lips curved upward. In a cheerful voice, she murmured to herself:
This place... is really different!
"I like it here!"
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