New Energy

After carrying Jinx back to the Lian Hua Gang, Li Ke left the girl with Isha. He spent some time playing with the two girls at home, then got up to leave. Jinx didn't say anything. After Li Ke was gone, she started tinkering with the device she'd been working on lately, with Isha by her side.

"Go get that thing, Isha. I'm going to surprise Li Ke." Jinx put on a large pair of goggles that covered the upper half of her face. Her lips, visible beneath them, pressed together as her bright blue eyes sparkled.

She'd even put on a yellow, oil-resistant jacket. Squatting in front of a sophisticated machine, she fiddled with it using a wrench.

Isha was very good at following Jinx's instructions. She got up and hurried over to the table, rummaged through a messy drawer, and found what Jinx had asked her to fetch: a seed, the kind you could find anywhere in the Upper City. In Zaun, though, it was a real rarity.

It wasn't rare because it was valuable. You could find seeds easily in Piltover—just grab a handful of dirt and you'd turn up a few. It was rare because Zaun's soil and environment simply couldn't support plant life.

Isha brought the seed to Jinx. Without turning around, Jinx reached out and took it. She used her wrench to open the top of the machine, then carefully placed the fingertip-sized brown seed inside.

Jinx pressed a button. She and Isha leaned over the machine's glass dome and watched as light appeared within. A warm glow spread over the machine.

With magnifying glasses in hand, Jinx and Isha perched over the seed, their butts in the air, keeping watch without a shred of girlish decorum.

It was more than just a seed. It was also the beginning of a transformation for Zaun.

Li Ke moved fast, leaping and sprinting across the rooftops of the Sump as he made his way to Finn's territory as quickly as he could.

That land now belonged to the Lian Hua Gang. In Zaun, there was no government or official authority. Whoever had the strongest fists and the most money had the final say. So even though the residents around the land were unhappy, they had no choice but to accept that it had a new owner.

All they could do was hope that the gang called the Lian Hua Gang would be kinder than Finn had been.

By the time Li Ke arrived, Ekko was already in the casino with a group of people. Finn's casino had been almost completely dismantled. Vi and Malson hadn't even gone back to the Lian Hua Gang the day before; they'd waited here for Ekko and his people.

When Ekko saw Li Ke, he immediately stood up. The group behind him, all wearing masks and carrying skateboards, rose as well.

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

"No, we just got here a little while ago." Ekko shook his head.

He looked at Li Ke with a complicated expression. He just couldn't figure out how Li Ke had done it—how he'd made an Alchemical Baron disappear without a trace.

The ease with which Li Ke had pulled it off made Ekko wonder what all his own efforts over the years had amounted to.

His friends believed he could be Zaun's savior, that he could lead them in changing the city. Their faith had gradually made Ekko believe he could do it, too. But now, looking at Li Ke, Ekko found himself doubting that belief.

Could I really be the one who changes Zaun?

But as soon as the thought arose, he crushed it. That kind of thinking wouldn't do!

As long as Zaun became a better place, it didn't matter who brought about the change or who led the way!

"Let me introduce someone. This is Scar, the Second Hand of the Wildfire Gang." Ekko introduced the person beside him, whose appearance was unusual: he had a pair of strange animal ears.

When Ekko introduced him, Scar reached up and removed his mask, revealing a humanoid face.

"Vastaya?" Li Ke asked, surprised.

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

Ekko said quietly, "It's not that unusual, Li Ke. Zaun is full of all kinds of people. Scar's parents came to Zaun a long time ago. He's a Zaunite."

Li Ke nodded. He also remembered who Scar was. He'd appeared in a few scenes in the first season of the show, always accompanying Ekko when he went into action.

Looks like he can handle himself, too.

Looking at Ekko, Li Ke asked, "Have you made up your mind?"

"Yeah. We're willing to join the Lian Hua Gang, but I hope you'll honor the condition I asked for, Li Ke." Ekko took a deep breath. "The Wildfire Gang is willing to be under your leadership. We don't mind being broken up and reorganized. I just hope you'll keep your word and let them live like the people in Hope Community."

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

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

"Thanks." Ekko shook Li Ke's hand. He hesitated, then lifted his head and said with a grin, "Boss."

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

"Go ahead."

"Research and invention, Ekko. I think you'd be better suited to being a scientist than to fighting or being a boss." Li Ke said.

Ekko was a born scientist. Growing up wild in Zaun hadn't made him any less capable than Viktor or Jayce.

He'd used Hextech to create the Z-Drive, a device that could control time. How could anyone call him a poor student?

He and Jinx were both geniuses at research, and both were good at making weapons. But when it came to weapon-making, Jinx was definitely better.

"Research? Do you want me to make weapons?" Ekko narrowed his eyes.

The weapons and flying skateboard devices used by the Wildfire Gang were all his creations, assembled from junk parts he'd scavenged from the Sump.

"We'll need those, but not right now," Li Ke said. "I want you to develop a new source of energy and change Zaun's current situation. We've been going about this the wrong way for too long."

"If we're still at Piltover's mercy, having to get everything from them, Zaun will never truly stand on its own. To free ourselves from Piltover's control, the first thing we need is an industry of our own."

"But developing an energy source isn't that simple." Ekko shook his head, looking troubled. "Besides, Piltover is already far ahead of us in that area. Hextech has widened the gap between our cities. What I mean is, even if—even if I do manage to develop a new energy source, the gap between us will still be impossible to close."

"But at least we wouldn't be dependent on them anymore, right?" Li Ke said with a smile.

He thought for a moment, then said, "I think Shimmer would be a good place to start."

"That stuff that ruins people?" Ekko frowned.

He had a very poor opinion of Shimmer, even though he knew it had great potential. It could alter a person's genes and be used as a biological drug, and burning Shimmer also released a great deal of energy.

In a way, Shimmer was indeed a far better energy source than what Zaun was using now.

Ekko had already tried mixing Shimmer into his skateboard. Burning it did make the board faster, but it was unstable and caused severe damage to the machine.

Shimmer was dangerous.

"Shimmer has harmed Zaun, but that's because it's being used the wrong way. Ekko, technology itself isn't wrong. It's the people using it who are at fault." Li Ke shook his head.

Ekko agreed. "In that case, I can give it a try. I've already studied Shimmer, but the Shimmer sold on the market—the purity, well, you know, Li Ke. That stuff is just for addicts to get high. It doesn't meet the standards needed for experiments."

"I need Shimmer with a much higher purity, and a lot of research equipment," Ekko said.

"Don't worry. I can get you Shimmer of extremely high purity, and I'll have someone buy the equipment in the Upper City."

Ekko's expression turned strange as he looked at Li Ke. "What exactly is your relationship with Silco?"

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

"Of course not."

"We're working for Zaun, Ekko."

Li Ke said.