This is Zaun

Piltover's actions came sooner than expected.

Li Ke could roughly guess the source of Silco's information. After all, Silco held a lot of dirt on Enforcer Captain Marcus in private. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he controlled Marcus.

But regarding the specific timing of the operation, it wasn't that Silco didn't tell him. Silco was the one who least wanted Jinx to be in trouble. Therefore, could it be that Silco himself didn't know the Enforcers' specific action time?

But this wasn't strange. Marcus was just a captain. The ones who issued orders and dispatched actions were the councilors sitting in their high towers.

Silco's actions were swift. The Glow industry seemed to vanish overnight from Black Alley. Factories in remote areas ceased operations. The Alchemical Barons also left Black Alley one after another, heading to Mid-level Plaza or Dance Hall, waiting for this incident to pass.

And once the Enforcers descended into Black Alley, a little questioning would immediately direct their attention to Hope Community and Hotarubi Community.

After all, most Zaunite gangs detested the Lian Hua Gang. Gutter wasn't that big, nor was it small. The growth and rise of the Lian Hua Gang were achieved by stepping on their heads. Moreover, the Alchemical Barons would surely deliberately shift the blame onto the Lian Hua Gang in private.

Being large inevitably attracts attention.

Thus, that afternoon, two squads, twenty-four Enforcers, appeared in Hope Community. Wearing respirators and helmets, they were fully armed, carrying rifles, and entered the Lian Hua Gang's territory in groups.

"Halt!" Upon entering Hope Community, they couldn't help but frown at this place that seemed out of place in Zaun.

Xis was the squad leader for this operation. The frown under his helmet deepened as he saw a Zaunite turn and run upon seeing him. He quickly raised his rifle and called out to the person.

Hearing the voice, Marna stubbornly turned around.

She had recently opened a small stall. She no longer placed her pastries on plates and sold them by shouting. Instead, she displayed them on a counter, and also sold some of her own brewed wine.

Her husband had also joined a factory under the Lian Hua Gang's industries, securing a nine-to-five job. He left at nine in the morning and returned at five in the evening. Although his wages hadn't increased much, the work was less strenuous, and the working environment was much better than before.

The new boss would provide them with respirators and protective clothing against poison, a treatment that previous factories never offered. Back then, let alone providing gas masks, they wouldn't even give them a piece of clothing.

Life was getting better little by little. As a beneficiary, Marna naturally supported the Lian Hua Gang.

The reason she had turned and run upon seeing the Enforcer was precisely because she wanted to deliver a message to the Lian Hua Gang.

"Come here!" Xis shouted at Marna.

"Why are you yelling at a woman! Damn it, you cops, if you have guts, take it out on me!" Kel, who was selling fish nearby, stepped forward. He had a large beard, was stout and not very tall, but he bravely walked out from his stall.

The local residents of Hope Community watched the Enforcers with cold eyes, and they all stopped their businesses, stepping out from their stalls to surround the Enforcers.

Hope Community currently had about six hundred residents. It wasn't a large population, not even as many as Hotarubi Community, but when it came to unity, they were definitely the most united Zaunites.

Having been bullied by gangs before and now receiving help from the Lian Hua Gang, with their lives improving little by little, they had learned to support each other and unite as one.

"What do you want! Are you rebelling!" Seeing the Bottom City residents closing in, Xis anxiously raised his rifle, pointing it at them, and roared.

Facing the dark muzzle, Kel's courage waned. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and instinctively took a step back. But seeing a group of Enforcers heading towards Marna, he boldly stepped forward again.

This unintentional action made Xis breathe a sigh of relief.

Why were the Enforcers afraid to come to Black Alley before?

It was precisely because Black Alley was dangerous, but now it seemed this place wasn't as dangerous as they thought.

At least, these people were afraid of guns!

And they weren't carrying any weapons; they looked like ordinary Zaunites.

That's good.

These Bottom City folks would be easy to handle!

Xis felt his mission could be completed perfectly.

"I am Enforcer Xis, Enforcer badge number 102. A Bottom City resident. Now, I have the right to conduct a legal search on you. I suspect you are involved with the rioters from an attack on the Upper City! You are obligated to accept our search!"

Xis raised his hand, and four Enforcers surrounded Marna with their guns drawn. As they approached, they moved to subdue her.

Marna's stall was also overturned. Two Enforcers knocked over pastries and drinks, smashing them with their gun stocks.

"Stop!"

A loud shout rang out. The Zaunites who had crowded around the Enforcers parted, revealing a group of Zaunites in strange, graffiti-covered clothing. There were only eight of them. Leading them was a young man, rather tall and very thin, wearing a white jacket adorned with blue and pink graffiti.

"Who are you?" Xis looked at the youth emerging from the crowd.

As soon as the Bottom City residents saw these young people, they visibly relaxed.

"Who do you think I am? Since when do you Enforcers come to Zaun to search without even needing to provide a search warrant?" Malson walked up to Xis, his expression grim.

"Search warrant? My word is the search warrant." Xis raised his gun, pointing it at Malson's face, his eyes narrowing under his helmet.

Malson looked at the muzzle. If... if it were his past self, he would probably have immediately knelt and begged Xis for mercy, shouting, "Enforcer, please spare me."

But now, facing the cold, dark muzzle of the gun, Malson had to admit he was still afraid.

He was afraid that the gun would spit fire, and he would die here.

It was a primal instinct.

But seeing the situation earlier – the kind-hearted Auntie Marna being surrounded, the other Zaunites ordered not to move by the Enforcers, and his own contributions to Hope Community during this time – Malson felt a burning rage in his heart.

Why should Zaun be subject to Piltover's investigations?

Why?

No longer a Zaun thug, but Malson, the Enforcer of Hope Community in the Gutter, looked at Xis fearlessly, lifted his leg, and strode forward.

Rage conquered fear. He stared intently at Xis.

"You—" Xis's finger hovered over the trigger.

He reached out and fiercely grabbed the barrel, tilting it upward. Malson aimed the firearm at his own face.

"Shoot!"

"What? Are you crazy?" Xis couldn't react for a moment.

Threats were one thing, but actually shooting and killing someone was another. The scenes of Zaunites charging the bridge were still etched in the Enforcer's records. Xis couldn't bear that responsibility.

"Fuck you, cop, shoot! Kill me!" Malson suddenly roared.

Behind him, Weila and Manzu drew their weapons. Two rusty-looking firearms were produced, aimed at Xis. They didn't look at Malson, who was pointing the gun at his own head, but stared intently at Xis.

The madness in their eyes instilled fear in the Enforcers present.

The remaining Lian Hua Gang members also drew their weapons. There were only eight of them, but they didn't retreat. Instead, they confronted the Enforcers.

"Come on, kill me, kill me, and then you'll have to die here too. This will turn into a shootout, we're not afraid of you!" Malson looked at Xis, his gaze piercing through the helmet to meet his eyes. "This is Hope Community, this is our territory. You're on our turf, bullying the people we protect. What do you take us for?"

"Come on, shoot!" Malson yelled.

Xis's teeth began to chatter. His hand, hovering over the trigger, couldn't press down. He looked at Malson's crazed eyes and shivered.

Seeing Xis fumbling with the gun, afraid to shoot and not speaking, Malson abruptly pulled the barrel away and looked at Xis coldly.

"Get out of our territory, cop."

"You—"

"How dare you openly resist the Enforcers! You are leading a rebellion against Piltover's law. Can you bear that responsibility?" Xis invoked the Upper City, trying to suppress Malson.

Malson remembered what Li Ke had told him. The madness in his eyes was also calm, two completely different emotions erupting.

He looked at Xis and said, word by word:

"This, here, is—"

"Zaun!"