New Energy Source

Li Ke carried Jinx back to the Lian Hua Gang. After handing the girl over to Isha and playing with the two girls at home for a while, he got up to leave. Jinx didn't say anything. After Li Ke left, she started tinkering with a device she had been researching with Isha.

"Go get that thing, Isha. I want to give Li Ke a surprise." Jinx put on a pair of oversized goggles, covering the upper half of her face. Her exposed lips were pressed together, and her large blue eyes sparkled.

At this moment, she had also deliberately put on a yellow oil-proof jacket. She was squatting in front of a sophisticated instrument, holding a wrench and tinkering with it.

Isha was very obedient to Jinx. She got up and ran to the table. She flipped through the messy drawers and found what Jinx asked for: a seed. It was a seed commonly found in the Upper City, but in Zaun, it was a rare item.

It wasn't rare in terms of value. After all, if you wanted seeds, you could find a few just by digging in the dirt in Piltover. The reason it was considered rare was that Zaun's soil and environment simply didn't allow plants to grow.

Isha brought the seed to Jinx. Without looking back, Jinx reached out and took it. She picked up the seed, used the wrench to open the top of the instrument, and carefully placed the finger-sized brown seed inside.

She pressed the button. Jinx and Isha leaned over the instrument's glass cover, watching as a light appeared inside, a warm glow enveloping the instrument.

Holding a magnifying glass, Jinx and Isha, with their bottoms sticking out, unladylike, watched over the seed.

It wasn't just a seed; it was also the beginning of changing Zaun.

Li Ke moved quickly, leaping and sprinting across the rooftops in the Gutter. He was heading to Finn's territory at top speed.

That area now belonged to the Lian Hua Gang. In Zaun, there were no government or official pronouncements. Whoever had the biggest fist and the most money held the power. Therefore, even though the residents around the area were unwilling, they could only accept that the land had changed owners.

They only hoped that this Lian Hua Gang would be kinder than the previous owner, Finn.

When Li Ke arrived at the scene, Ekko was leading a group of people in the casino. Finn's casino had already been torn apart. Vi and Malson hadn't returned to the Lian Hua Gang yesterday and had been waiting here for Ekko to bring his people.

Upon seeing Li Ke arrive, Ekko immediately stood up. A group of people behind him, wearing masks and carrying skateboards, also stood up.

"Have you been waiting long?" Li Ke asked as he approached Ekko.

"No, we just got here not long ago," Ekko replied, shaking his head.

He looked at Li Ke with a complex expression. He truly couldn't understand how Li Ke had managed to make an Alchemical Baron disappear without a trace.

What Li Ke had accomplished so easily made Ekko wonder what he had been doing all these years.

His companions believed he would be Zaun's savior and lead them to change Zaun. Under their trust, Ekko had gradually started to believe he could do it. But now, looking at Li Ke, Ekko began to doubt himself.

Could the person who could change Zaun really be me?

But as soon as this thought arose, Ekko immediately extinguished it. Such thoughts were unacceptable!

As long as Zaun could get better, it didn't matter who changed it or who led the change!

"Let me introduce you. This is Scar, the Second Hand of the Wildfire Gang." Ekko introduced the person beside him. This person had a peculiar appearance, with a pair of strange beast ears.

Hearing Ekko introduce him, Scar reached up and removed his mask, revealing a humanoid face.

"Vastaya?" Li Ke asked in surprise.

Scar nodded, then put his mask back on and stood behind Ekko.

Ekko said softly, "That's not strange, Li Ke. Zaun has all sorts of people. Scar's parents came to Zaun a long time ago. He's a Zaunite."

Li Ke nodded, and at the same time, he remembered who Scar was. He had appeared in a few scenes in the first season of the animation, always accompanying Ekko when Ekko took action.

It seems his combat power isn't low?

Looking at Ekko, Li Ke asked, "Have you thought it through?"

"Yes, we are willing to merge into the Lian Hua Gang, but I hope you will honor the conditions I've set, Li Ke." Ekko took a deep breath and said, "The Wildfire Gang is willing to be led by you. It's fine if we're disbanded and reorganized, as long as you keep your word and let them live like the people in Hope Community."

"That's what I want too, Ekko."

Li Ke reached out to Ekko and said softly, "Then, welcome to the Lian Hua Gang, Ekko."

"Thank you." Ekko shook hands with Li Ke. He hesitated for a moment, then cheerfully raised his head and said, "Boss."

Li Ke smiled and patted Ekko's shoulder. "Since you've joined, I have your first job for you, Ekko."

"Please tell me."

"Research and invention, Ekko. In my opinion, being a scientist is more suited for you than fighting or being a boss," Li Ke told Ekko.

Ekko was a scientist by nature. Growing up in the wildness of Zaun, he was no worse than Viktor and Jayce.

How could someone who could research the Z-Drive with Hextech and control time be a poor student?

He and Jinx were both geniuses in scientific research, and both were skilled at making weapons. However, when it came to weapon manufacturing, Jinx was definitely a bit stronger than him.

"Research? Are you going to make weapons?" Ekko narrowed his eyes.

The weapons and flying skateboard devices used by the Wildfire Gang were all researched by him, assembled from junk parts from the Gutter.

"There is a need for that, but not now," Li Ke told Ekko. "I want you to develop a new energy source to change Zaun's current situation. We've been stuck in a misconception for a long time."

"If we continue to be strangled by Piltover, and have to obtain everything from their hands, then Zaun will never truly stand up. To break free from Piltover's control, first, we must have our own industries."

"A new energy source might not be something that can be developed easily," Ekko shook his head, looking a bit troubled. He continued, "Moreover, Piltover is far ahead of us in this regard. Hextech has widened the gap between the two cities. My point is, even if, even if I really research a new energy source, there will still be an unbridgeable gap between us and them."

"But at least we won't be controlled by others anymore, right?" Li Ke said with a smile.

He thought for a moment and said, "I think Glow is a good direction."

"That harmful stuff?" Ekko frowned.

He had a very bad impression of Glow. Even though he knew Glow had great potential, Glow could not only alter human genes and be used as a biological agent, but also, when burned, Glow possessed strong energy.

In a sense, Glow is indeed much better than the energy sources Zaun currently uses?

Ekko had tried it before, mixing Glow into his Skateboard. It could indeed increase speed after burning, but it was very unstable and caused great damage to the Machine at the same time.

Glow is really dangerous.

"Glow has indeed harmed Zaun, but that's because of the wrong way of using it. Ekko, technology itself is not wrong; the user is wrong," Li Ke said, shaking his head.

Ekko agreed, "Since that's the case, I can try. I've researched Glow before, but the purity of the Glow sold on the market... you know, Li Ke. Those things are just for Addicts to get high; they don't meet the standards required for experiments."

"I need Glow with higher purity, and I need a lot of research Instruments," Ekko said.

"Don't worry, I can find Glow with extremely high purity, and I'll have people purchase Instruments from the Upper City."

Ekko's gaze turned strange as he looked at Li Ke and said, "What exactly is your relationship with Silco?"

"Are we working for Silco now?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Of course not."

"We are working for Zaun, Ekko."

Li Ke said.