"Hey, Viktor, my dear student, it's so good to see you again."
Before Viktor could speak, Heimerdinger walked up and patted Viktor's pants.
Viktor looked down at Heimerdinger, pursed his lips, and said with surprise and a smile in his eyes, "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Professor."
"After you left, Jayce and I have actually been looking for you," he said to Heimerdinger.
"And what about me?" Singed's voice rang out, somewhat hoarse and low. He looked up at Viktor and calmly continued, "You are weaker than when I last saw you, Viktor."
"Doctor," Viktor looked at Singed and couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing here?"
"Were you also captured by them?"
"No, I joined voluntarily," Singed said.
"What do you mean by 'bring me back'?" Li Ke was speechless. Seeing that Viktor still hadn't extended his hand to shake his, Li Ke didn't feel embarrassed and withdrew his hand, saying, "We wanted to invite you back, but you've seen our current relationship with Piltover."
"They won't let us go up, and we won't let them come down."
"So we have no choice but to resort to this rather extreme method."
Viktor looked at Li Ke and asked, "So, what do you want me to do?"
"Join us, Viktor, Zaun needs you," Li Ke said earnestly.
"Kid, Zaun is a good place," Heimerdinger said, hands behind his back, stroking his beard, standing at Li Ke's feet.
Viktor gave a wry smile and shook his head. "You mean, you want me to join you?"
"To be honest, I've seen a lot of scenery on my way here, and Zaun has really changed a lot. This change has really moved me. Li Ke, I won't lie to you, seeing Zaun like this, I have indeed had the idea of joining you."
"But I can't, because my body won't allow it."
Viktor struggled to raise his hands, a hint of pain showing on his sickly face, and said, "I don't have much longer to live. I can't do strenuous work."
"And in my final moments, I just want to do something for myself."
"That's easy," Li Ke said, looking at Viktor. "We'll help you extend your lifespan."
"See him?" Li Ke pointed at Vander and said, "That's Vander, you've definitely heard of him."
"Vander?" Viktor looked over in surprise and saw Vander carefully holding a piece of paper in his paws, wiping the mouth of the blue-haired girl next to him.
"Isn't he dead?"
"Yes, he died, but Doctor. Singed modified him, and then Janna brought him back to life."
"Wait a minute!" Viktor suddenly reached out and placed his hand on Li Ke's chest, while his other hand covered his head and he looked down. Then, he looked up at Li Ke with a confused expression. "Who did you just say?"
"Janna."
A soft sigh escaped her lips as the goddess herself came out to work from the small house.
A bluebird flew to Li Ke's shoulder, and then a beautiful sound rang out.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Viktor."
How many times has she said something like this?
"I am Janna."
Viktor stared at the bluebird on Li Ke's shoulder, straightened up, his mouth agape, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Is this real?
Is Janna, the Deity of Zaun, really real?
Viktor is a scientist, so he shouldn't believe in theology. But as Zaunite, even if he doesn't believe in other theologies or the beliefs of other countries and city-states, he will still believe in Janna.
Because this is something every Zaunite would do.
The older generation passed down the torch to the younger generation, ensuring that Janna exists to this day and has not truly disappeared into history.
Janna did everything in her power for Zaun, separating the sea and protecting the seeds of Zaun, but haven't the Zaunite also been providing her with the power of faith?
Even if it's few, there are always people in Zaun who haven't forgotten Janna.
"I can help you, Viktor, please don't give up." Janna's voice was gentle. Then, in a flash of blue light, a breeze blew into the room. Viktor felt a hand gently caressing his face. His lips trembled, and he looked at Janna silently.
Then, he lowered his head and murmured:
"Janna above."
Seeing this, Li Ke breathed a sigh of relief. Things were settled!
With Janna involved, there's no one in Zaun she can't handle!
After all, even Silco becomes more agreeable when he sees Janna, so why wouldn't Viktor be?
As for Viktor's situation...
After his own energy replenishment ambassador replenished his second energy point, Li Ke took another gift to Soul Blossom Ahri if she could see if she could help Viktor extend his life.
Unlike Janna, the goddess of wind, Ahri has lived longer than Janna, and she is also more versatile in her skills.
Souls are too complex; Ahri will surely find a way!
Besides, even if Ahri doesn't have one, there's still Kindred in Soul Blossom, right?!
Thinking of this, Li Ke smiled happily.
The bluebird flew away from Li Ke's shoulder and silently returned to its little house, continuing to absorb the endless power of faith.
The God Revival Plan was carried out by Scar and his group. It sounds exaggerated, but in reality, Scar and the people from the Hotarubi Community went around distributing pamphlets to people. These pamphlets naturally contained various stories about Janna.
But I must say, it actually worked quite well. So-called advertising is really simple and unpretentious!
Janna hasn't absorbed much faith power yet, but it's much better than before. It shouldn't be long before she recovers a little bit of her strength, at least enough to maintain long-duration flight.
But... am I really a Deity now?
Janna was somewhat confused.
How many times has she helped Li Ke lie and deceive people?
Hmm.
Well!
Life is tough, Xiao Jia sighed!
Over the next few days, Singed used Chemtech to prolong Viktor 'Viktor life, keeping him afloat. He couldn't improve Viktor's weakness and underlying illness, because Viktor's condition couldn't be solved by simply replacing an organ or internal organs. However, he could still keep Viktor in a state where he could continue working.
It's nothing more than a weakened nutrient solution, plus a special Shimmer reagent.
Singed is truly a genius; he's not just hype. After all, he genuinely saved Jinx from the brink of death and brought Vander back to life after he died.
Therefore, it was not difficult for Singed to briefly prolong Viktor's life, keep him in good condition and lucid.
Viktor joined Zaun's reform efforts the very next day. In the Fugen Tavern, Silco shared her ideas with Viktor, explaining what Zaun wanted to build and what it needed. Upon hearing Silco's words, Viktor immediately picked up a pen and began writing on a piece of paper, presenting several methods.
Led by Ekko and the Wildfire Gang, the first energy machine that Silco needed was quickly conceived. Manufacturing it, of course, would take time, but the Zaunite, while perhaps lacking in other areas, were certainly skilled at practical work!
With the general direction in place, what we actually manufacture isn't a problem!
"A talent! He's truly a talent!"
"He's amazing, so smart!"
At the bar of the Fugen Tavern, Silco, Vander, and Li Ke were drinking again.
Silco couldn't help but say to Li Ke, "He's even better than I thought. The relationship between the two cities is irreconcilable right now, and we simply can't get our hands on many materials. But you know what? Viktor, that guy just glanced at it and immediately named several alternative materials, and all of them are materials we can find in Zaun!"
"This... this is something Jinx and Ekko couldn't do, no... even Heimerdinger couldn't do it!"
Silco was absolutely thrilled.
Because as soon as Viktor arrived, Zaun really started to change. The previous changes were about the environment and the community, about changing Zaun's system, but now, Zaun wants to change its economy!
Once those things are all done, Zaun will truly be free from Piltover's control in every sense!
Zaun has always been dominated and bullied by Piltover, mainly because its economy and productivity couldn't keep up. But now... well, even if they manage to develop their own systems, they still can't keep up with Piltover, but at least they don't have to rely on Piltover for everything anymore!
"Alright, Uncle, I know he's a talented person, you don't need to praise him anymore."
"You don't understand, Li Ke. All you know is how to fight. You have no idea how important the economy is to a city-state! Now I understand why Piltover was able to leave us tens of thousands of meters behind. If that Jayce Talis is really as rumored, even better than Viktor, then it makes sense."
"Viktor alone could accelerate our development by hundreds of years!"
"No, Talis must die, or else we'll have him join us, and you can go raid the Upper City again!" Silco suddenly said fiercely.
Having met Viktor, a genius, and witnessed firsthand Viktor work ethic, Silco couldn't accept that Piltover possessed someone even more talented Viktor.
"What are you thinking? That's Piltover senator! Didn't we agree to slap Piltover, make them surrender, and then we'd start draining their resources? Killing the senator would really make it a fight to the death," Li Ke said helplessly, adding a sarcastic remark.
"And why have you become like a bandit? You've switched from killing to robbing people?"
"Ha, I've always been a gangster." Silco picked up his drink and downed it.
Li Ke then looked at Vander, only to see Vander drinking alone in silence.
"Dad, why are you so quiet today?"
Li Ke couldn't help but pat Vander on the back and ask him.
"Don't talk to me." Vander rolled his eyes at Li Ke and continued drinking in silence.
"What's wrong with him?" Li Ke looked at Silco speechlessly.
Silco gave a disdainful smile and said in a cheerful tone, "He thinks he's disliked by his own precious daughter and is just being dramatic."
"What's going on?" Li Ke asked curiously.
My darling daughter, are you referring to Vi or Jinx?
It shouldn't be Jinx, right? Jinx is just pretending to be innocent in front of Vander. It hasn't even been a week yet, and Jinx is keeping a good look out of place in front of Vander; she hasn't revealed her true colors yet.
"Wei was brushing his teeth, but he wasn't paying attention and his teeth cut Wei's palm. He's blaming himself now."
"Is Wei really that dramatic?" Li Ke asked curiously.
Silco nodded. "She didn't care at all. It was just a cut on her hand, a scrape of flesh. Vander made a big deal out of nothing."
And then Vander's voice echoed softly, "Li Ke, do you think the Goddess Janna can make me turn back?"
"Uh," Li Ke's lips twitched.
After hesitating for a moment, he said, "I think it's possible, right? Don't worry, Vander, the goddess will definitely find a way to help you."
Okay, Janna, please take the blame for me one more time!
Piltover at dusk.
Parliament Building
Congressman Saro's face turned ashen, and he slammed his hand on the table.
"Where's Jayce? Jayce!"
"Mel, get him out here! As a congressman, he hasn't attended a single meeting in the past three days. What does he take Piltover, and us, for?!"
Mel looked at Saro with a cold expression and said, "Don't throw a tantrum, Saro. Jayce is currently searching for Viktor with all his might. He didn't intentionally skip the meeting."
"Viktor, Viktor, Viktor! You two are looking for Viktor every day! But he's a Zaunite!" Saro shouted. "He's ignoring the crisis Piltover is facing for the sake of a Zaunite. What is he thinking?!"
"We must demand an explanation from the Zaunite!"
"Must!"
"Zaun must hand over the prisoner!"
At the round table, even Senator Kiramman, who had always advocated cooperation and avoided war, lowered his eyes and remained silent after hearing Saro's words.
But this action is simply a silent support for Saro; remaining silent is a form of expression.
There's no other reason than that Zaun really went too far this time!
Piltover has clearly hinted at a willingness to allow Zaun to become independent and autonomous, to cease controlling Zaun and let it develop Zaun. Haven't you noticed that Piltover hasn't had any enforcers going to the Dance Hall lately?
But what did Zaun do?
How dare they do that?
Do they really think Piltover is an easy target?
Congressman Kiramman sighed deeply, feeling helpless.
Watching the arguing members of parliament, Kiramman placed his hands on his forehead, opened his eyes and stared at the table, an idea forming in his mind.
That is.
The war between the two cities
It's really about to begin.