"Li Ke, we need a lot of talent right now. Zaun is in dire need of rebuilding, and we must develop our industry. In the past, we were always held back and suppressed by Piltover because our productivity couldn't keep up."
Silco let his hair down and sat at the bar alongside Li Ke and Vander, turning sideways to look at Li Ke, who was sitting in the middle, and continued in a deep voice:
"We can no longer rely on Piltover for everything, even snacks and candy, as we used to," Silco said, extending his Piltover. "Therefore, industrial development is essential."
"I understand that, but you'll have to handle this, Silco. Don't laugh at me, but I know absolutely nothing about science or industrial development," Li Ke nodded and said to Silco.
Li Ke doesn't pretend to be a big shot; if he doesn't understand something, he simply doesn't understand it. His job is to control the overall direction, and as for other aspects, he can leave those to capable people.
"I understand, I'll handle it." Silco nodded, but unusually, he seemed to have a headache. He rubbed his black hair and said helplessly, "I never thought I'd regret what I did so much."
"What's wrong? Things' gotten tricky, giving you a headache?" Vander said with a laugh on Li Ke's other side, as he picked up his drink and took a sip.
Although he had lost his sense of taste, after drinking too much alcohol, Vander would experience a hazy, euphoric feeling that Vander enjoyed, a feeling that he was still alive, still human.
Not a monster.
He squinted and said, "Every era has its own plans. You're the one who told me that, Silco. If I were leading Black Alley, we might have a lot of talent now, and they wouldn't have been driven to settle in Piltover by you. But the problem is, if I were leading Zaun, we wouldn't have a single penny to our name right now."
"The solidarity of the poor is praiseworthy, but not worthy of advocacy," Vander muttered.
Li Ke sat in the middle, thought for a moment, and said, "Let the Alchemical Baron disperse. Starting tomorrow, there will be no more Alchemical Baron in Zaun. Their people will still be supplied to them, but they must be given a different job. They should lead people to do real business and give back to Zaun. Otherwise, they'll all hang themselves on streetlights."
"I was worried they'd cause trouble, but under the guidance of the Lian Hua Gang, the Zaunite are now united enough, and they're no longer afraid of them. If they're unwilling, then let Vander talk to them." Li Ke reached out, patted Vander's shoulder, and said with a smile, "Then they'll definitely agree."
"So I've found a job?" Vander joked.
Silco nodded and said, "Okay, I'll push for this. Let's start with Renni. She shouldn't refuse. After all, she has a child and a weakness, so she's the easiest to persuade."
"In the past, you certainly wouldn't have used the word 'persuade,' but rather words like 'control,' 'manipulate,' or 'threaten,'" Vander said, raising an eyebrow.
Silco has really changed.
His behavior and personality have changed quite a bit.
"Trade needs reform, and liquor smuggling needs to find a new direction."
"How about selling it in Demacia?"
"You can give it a try. That place isn't as virtuous as people say; there's still a lot of corruption there."
"The problems of mineral resources and weapons are easy to solve. Without the exploitation by the Skinny Guys, we can be self-sufficient."
"Electricity is a problem. Many areas of ours still rely on Piltover for water and electricity, and it would cost a lot of money to make changes, sigh."
"There's also the issue of schools. With less gang activity, there will be many orphans on the streets. Gathering them together and opening a school would cost a lot of money."
Silco lowered his head, rubbing his hair with one hand while writing with the other. Soon, the pen was covered with a dense mass of writing.
Li Ke offered suggestions from the side, and the two discussed the matter.
Vander watched this scene, his eyes filled with memories.
Back then, the three of them were in the same situation: he was in charge of fighting, Silco was in charge of planning and development, and she was in charge of logistics and manufacturing weapons.
Shaking his head, Vander came to his senses.
What was written on the paper were the problems that Zaun would face in the future.
For Zaun, autonomy is not difficult right now. With Li Ke and Vander in charge, Zaun's military force has completely suppressed Piltover. The difficulty lies in how Zaun will develop after gaining autonomy.
The biggest problem facing a city-state is not how it comes into being, but how it moves forward after it is born.
"We're done fighting. Let's add a few more clauses to the agreement with Piltover, and ask them for money. We're just too poor."
"How about we go Upper City?" Vander suggested after some thought.
What the Zaunite are best at is making money in the Upper City. Vi has done it before, and Vander, as her father, has naturally done it too.
Let's go to the Upper City and make some money!
This was something Vander used to say all the time.
Silco glanced at Vander and shook his head.
"After becoming autonomous, Zaun will be a true city-state, with its leaders taking the lead in making money in the Upper City." Silco refrained from mentioning theft and robbery, and continued, "What will the other places think of us then? You need to learn to recognize your different identities at different times, Vander."
Vander nodded. "I was just saying."
"Finally, we need an academic scientist who understands Zaun, has experience living in Zaun, and has knowledge of Piltover." Silco put down his pen, feeling that this requirement was too much of a challenge.
Zaun has no shortage of brilliant scientists; Jinx, Ekko, and even Malson can pick up a wrench and make things.
The problem is, you can't really rely on haphazard methods when building a city. Although Zaun used this method before, if you continue to use it when establishing a city-state, you'll have to do equipment repairs every other day. What kind of mess is that?
Unorthodox methods can be powerful and create miracles, but they lack refinement.
The academic approach is meticulous, but it is also very rule-bound and requires a lot of resources.
Therefore, academic knowledge is very important.
Heimerdinger is an outstanding scientist, knowledgeable and experienced, but the problem is that he has only been in Zaun for a very short time!
His suggestions are often from Piltover's perspective, which won't work. The economic gap between Zaun and Piltover is like the difference between heaven and earth, an unbridgeable chasm.
Jinx and Ekko are too inexperienced; they can't contribute much to "industrialization." They're fine with making weapons and creating special technological products, but expecting them to use their ingenuity to build Zaun unrealistic.
Hmm. Did Silco recall that the theory about air Purification Device was proposed by Li Ke, who clearly didn't understand science?
That will take time. Jinx and Ekko need to change their old ways of thinking and start learning again, which will take a long time. Moreover, Silco doesn't want Jinx to change because her ingenious ideas can create miracles for Zaun.
Zaun needs to change, but the key is still relying on talents like Jinx.
So, is there a scientist who can possess both the strength of Zaun and the meticulousness of Piltover?
Even if someone like that existed, they wouldn't come to Zaun, right?!
There are various reasons why brilliant scientists like Heimerdinger and Singed would come to Zaun; otherwise, why would scientists want to come to Zaun?
Poverty, chaos, suffering!
Silco, preoccupied with his thoughts, was completely unaware that Li Ke's expression beside him was gradually becoming strange.
No
What conditions did Silco set for me here?
Why not just say it outright?
There really is one person in both cities who possesses both the experience of living in Zaun and the rich scientific concepts and knowledge of Piltover!
"Ahem!" Li Ke coughed.
Silco looked up at him.
"I actually know someone like that."
"Oh?" Silco's eyes lit up.
"His name is Viktor. Interestingly, he's also from Zaunite, and he's also considered Singed's apprentice?"
"I've never heard Singed mention this before."
"Are you two the kind of people you can sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk with?" Li Ke was speechless.
Silco thought about it and realized that made sense.
Li Ke continued, "He meets all the conditions you mentioned, and more. He's a genius, a super genius no less than Jayce. Hextech was created by him and Jayce together."
"I've never heard of this." Silco thought he knew Piltover very well.
Li Ke said, "How could the Piltover people possibly give the fame and fortune of this kind of thing to a Zaunite?"
"That's true."
Silco nodded, then said, "Then, go find him and invite him back."
Upon hearing this, Vander retorted, "That sounds nice, but you won't let me rob people; you'll go and rob people yourself?"
"An invitation, Vander, I was just inviting him to visit Zaun," Silco said, speechless. "He's from Zaunite too. Inviting him back to visit isn't considered kidnapping."
Li Ke found it amusing.
Invite.
That sounds nice, but in reality, it's kidnapping, isn't it?
"Then, Li Ke, I'll trouble you to personally invite Mr. Viktor." Silco looked at Li Ke.
Li Ke raised his cup, nodded, and said, "I haven't been to Upper City yet."
"Come on, gentlemen, finish this drink, we should be leaving."
Silco nodded and said softly, "For Zaun."
Vander gripped the cup with his claws, and a sentence instinctively popped into his mind. "And, the riverbed and the bubbles."
He was moved by the scene; it was truly an unconscious act.
Silco paused, glanced past Li Ke at Vander, smiled, raised his glass, and said, "Riverbed and bubbles."
"?"
"What are you talking about? I don't understand."
"That's fine if you don't understand," Vander, taking a sip of his drink and laughing loudly.