Piltover Applies Pressure

When Vi returned to the Sump and arrived home, this was the scene that greeted her—

Li Ke, wearing a strange hat and sporting a pair of large cat ears, stood in front of a pile of cooking utensils. Dressed in a gray sweater, he had rolled up his sleeves and was cutting meat on a chopping board. A large ornament hung from his back.

Jinx hung off Li Ke like a doll, vegetables and fruit in her hands. At his direction, she passed them to Isha, who was wearing slippers a size too big for her little feet. Isha ran back and forth around the room, looking very busy, though it was hard to tell what she was actually doing.

It looked like she might be helping wash the vegetables?

"Phew—" Vi exhaled, one hand on her hip as she watched the scene.

How should she put it? Even now, Vi still felt jealous of Li Ke. She envied the way Jinx treated him. The sisters' relationship had eased somewhat lately, but honestly, Jinx had become more and more dependent on Li Ke. At first, even though Jinx had treated Vi badly, she had always kept her eyes and attention on Vi.

Vi could sense it. Her heart didn't match her tough exterior. She seemed strong and easygoing, but in truth, Vi was softhearted and very perceptive of other people's feelings and attitudes.

That was exactly why Vi envied Li Ke.

She was jealous that he had taken away the one thing that had made her special to Powder.

As she thought about it, Vi heard Li Ke and Jinx talking.

"Give me a bite."

"It's a little hot."

"Then blow on it."

"Okay."

"Wow, it's bland. I'll add the seasoning! Let me do it—I want to add this!"

Vi: "..."

Well, suddenly she wasn't feeling quite so unhappy. At least Li Ke really was good to Powder.

"You two have time to cook? Something big has happened in Piltover."

Vi spoke up, and Li Ke and Jinx both turned to look at her.

Jinx jumped down from Li Ke's back, then trotted over to Vi and held out her hand. "Where are the supplies I asked for?"

"They're already in your lab." Vi smiled at Jinx.

Jinx nodded. She looked at Vi, then suddenly furrowed her little brows and stepped closer, sniffing Vi all over like a puppy. A moment later, she gave a cold laugh and stepped back.

With her hands spread in a gesture of surrender and one leg lifted before she stepped back, Jinx said:

"I know that smell. It belongs to that freakishly tall cop with legs as long and skinny as chopsticks."

Vi: "..."

"I only talked to her for a few minutes, Powder—Jinx," Vi hurriedly explained.

"Ha. Don't explain yourself to me. I don't care." Jinx turned and walked away as she spoke. "I don't have time to manage your social life. Who you choose to be friends with is your business, but don't bring that cop in front of me. Otherwise, you'll have to hate me for it. I think you understand what I mean."

"Jinx, Caitlyn's a good person. She isn't as bad as you think."

"Big Sister~ She came all the way down here to arrest me. She's a good person? So you're saying I'm a bad person because she arrested me?"

"Hey, Isha, am I a bad person?" Jinx asked, looking at Isha, who had run over to support her.

Isha was unconditionally on Jinx's side. In Isha's darkest moments, Jinx had lit up her heart. To Isha, Jinx was a friend to play with, an older sister who cared about her, and a mother who looked after her.

So Isha immediately shook her head, then glared at Vi with a little huff.

"So, what happened?" Li Ke asked, leaning back against the counter with both hands braced on it.

Vi swallowed the explanation she'd been about to give Jinx. Looking at Li Ke, she said:

"The Noxians are here. Caitlyn told me. She said we should stay away from Piltover for now to avoid a confrontation."

Li Ke nodded.

"Wait, why don't you look surprised?" Vi asked, seeing how calm he was.

She had been shocked when she heard the news. Noxus was the most powerful nation in the region. If they came to Piltover, Zaun was bound to be affected too, at least to some extent.

It was satisfying to see the Skinny Guys get humbled, but if Zaun suffered because of it, that wouldn't be good.

"Have you considered that I might have better sources than you?" Li Ke said with a laugh.

He turned back to the chopping board and continued preparing dinner.

These days, Li Ke preferred making his own food to eating out. Now that he had money, he could afford meat and seasonings, so of course he wanted to improve his quality of life.

He really didn't want to eat Muddy Frog meat anymore.

As he cooked, Li Ke thought things over.

The story had already changed dramatically from the day he met Jinx. The gears had begun to turn, and everything was different from what happened in War of Two Cities.

And now the Lian Hua Gang controlled two communities in Zaun. After joining forces with the Wildfire Gang, they had become Zaun's second-largest faction!

But some things might still turn out the same.

For example, Mel's mother was trying to use Piltover. That iron-willed soldier's intentions weren't hard to guess, but what excuse would she use to intervene in the Piltover Council?

How would she seize power?

Li Ke fell into thought.

"Li Ke!"

Just then, someone rushed into the house.

Li Ke turned around and saw Sevika. He was a little surprised.

"Big Sister, what brings you here?"

Sevika watched Li Ke approach, wiping his hands. She raised an eyebrow, noticing the kid had gotten even better-looking, then said, "Silco sent me to pass on a message."

"Piltover is planning to crack down on Zaun. More than a hundred Enforcers have assembled, and they'll come down to the Undercity to enforce the law in a few days. He's already hidden all the Shimmer operations and warned the other Alchemical Barons not to stick their necks out right now. As for you, Li Ke—your situation is going to be difficult."

Sevika's expression suddenly turned complicated.

She'd realized that what Li Ke was doing was fundamentally different from what her group was doing.

For a long time, Sevika had believed that by working for Silco, she was carrying Zaun's banner and helping it rise again. But now that she thought about it, when the Enforcers came down from the Upper City, Silco's entire faction would have to go into hiding. They had too many illicit businesses, industries that the Enforcers couldn't be allowed to find.

They could simply hide, but what about ordinary people in Zaun?

The Enforcers wouldn't be gentle when they searched and inspected the area. The possibility of a violent crackdown wasn't out of the question. No—it was practically guaranteed.

And the territory Li Ke controlled—the two communities—would be a prime target for the Enforcers once they came down.

That was because the Lian Hua Gang was the only one of Li Ke's faction still operating in the open.

"Search and inspections?" Li Ke frowned.

In the original story, Silco had clashed directly with Piltover. The power of his Glow Modified Persons had frightened the Upper City. But now the Enforcers had come down, and Silco was hiding?

That didn't make sense!

Had something unexpected happened?

Li Ke stroked his chin and thought it over.

When he looked up, he saw Jinx.

Damn.

There's the reason!

In the original story, Jinx had stolen the Hextech Gem and Jayce's notes, then developed Hextech weapons all by herself. That was why Silco had thought he could stand up to the Upper City.

The weapon Jinx had created gave Silco confidence.

They have what the Upper City has, and we have what they don't!

But what about this time?

Silco had only Shimmer. On the day Jinx ran away from home, Silco had forced her to make weapons, driving her to lose control and flee from him. Then she'd met Li Ke.

"Why are you looking at me?" Jinx asked, noticing Li Ke's gaze. She was standing on a chair, sneaking snacks, and tilted her head in confusion. A smear of grease marked her red lips.

"I understand. Tell Silco for me that the Lian Hua Gang won't go into hiding," Li Ke said, turning to Sevika.

"Okay." Sevika looked at Li Ke and nodded.

She suddenly reached out and patted his shoulder, but said nothing. Then she turned and left.

"Vi, go get Malson and Scar for me."

Vi didn't take offense at Li Ke telling her what to do. She knew this was serious, and there was no room for her to sulk.

She nodded and ran out of the house.

"Then let's see... if I'm right."

Li Ke suddenly felt excited.

Maybe Piltover coming down to Zaun to apply pressure wasn't such a bad thing?