Aftermath

A few days after "accidentally" blowing up the Academy building, Ling Ying showed up in Caitlyn's office.

"You know, I'm starting to regret sending you there."

Caitlyn twirled her pen as she looked at Ling Ying's rueful expression.

"Do you know how much effort the Enforcement Department had to put into explaining things and keeping them quiet afterward? If classes hadn't already ended for the day, the building had been nearly empty, and nobody outside had known what was going on, this would've been a real mess."

"I..."

Ling Ying was at a loss for words. She scratched her head, a little embarrassed. After all, her methods had been a bit too heavy-handed.

"Ah, never mind. I'm not blaming you. Besides, the whole point of sending you there was to keep the damage from spreading. In that regard, you were as reliable as ever."

At that, Caitlyn's expression brightened. She gave Ling Ying an approving smile.

"So you're saying the attacker used Shadow Magic this time? Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Ling Ying nodded at Caitlyn, then continued.

"Although it was a little different from the Shadow Power used by that Noxian Shadowmancer last time. This time, that... female student's Shadow Power was mixed with illusion magic that could mess with people's minds. For a while, it even made me think it really was some kind of spatial magic."

"Ah, about this female student you mentioned."

Caitlyn took a page from the documents beside her and placed it on the desk.

"Claire LeBell, daughter of a not particularly influential family in Piltover. She has a twin sister, Claire LeBell. They entered Hextech Academy in the same year, and apparently, they're quite well-known there?"

"Ah, yes. I've seen that for myself at the Academy. The boys there are all completely smitten with the two sisters."

Ling Ying shrugged.

"I learned a little about them from one of the family scions, but honestly, I don't think they were the masterminds behind this incident. The reason is simple: Shadow Power appearing in a Noxian Shadowmancer is 'a good match,' but seeing it in a Piltover woman with no magical ability at all is rather suspicious. Based on what you told me earlier, I think the hostile force lurking in the Academy may have made a move. And it's more than likely connected to Noxus again."

"You and I are thinking alike."

Caitlyn gave a slight nod, then furrowed her brow in confusion.

"But I wonder what his purpose was. Before this, we had almost no solid information about him, yet he was willing to risk exposing himself to pull this off. If he'd used Shadow Power to cause widespread destruction and make a big scene, I might understand. But he only used it to cause you trouble?"

"If we look at it from Claire's perspective, it might make sense, since she thinks I stole her man... Ahem. But if there's someone with Shadow Power backing her, then that person's goal may be the real one. He was willing to risk exposure and use those sisters to achieve it. If he was trying to kill me, that would be a little too optimistic. This time, the threat felt nowhere near as serious as the Shadowmancer's did last time."

"So even though the enemy showed their hand, we still have too little information."

Caitlyn shook her head with a wry smile.

"But there's no rushing this sort of thing. Our intelligence war with Noxus has always gone back and forth, and their strength is nothing to underestimate. The Enforcement Department will raise its alert level for the time being. And since they're not bothering to hide, there's no reason for us to, either. Regular investigators will be stationed at the Academy soon. Still, you're our most important trump card, since you have more experience dealing with this kind of supernatural power."

Caitlyn gave Ling Ying a sweet smile.

"So keep up the good work, Officer Cecilia."

"Huh?"

Ling Ying was clearly surprised.

"Isn't the Ice Festival break coming up? The Academy will be closed. I still have to work?"

"But the Enforcement Department doesn't get an Ice Festival break. And you used up your annual leave earlier, didn't you? So you won't get another break until next summer."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean, 'huh'? Have you been enjoying yourself so much at the Academy that you've gotten a little carried away? Well, you do seem to be having a pretty good time. Have you put on a little weight?"

As she spoke, Caitlyn suddenly stood with a mischievous grin and gave Ling Ying's waist an unexpected pinch with both hands.

"Looks like the food at the Academy is good. You've even got a little extra around the waist."

"Ah!"

Two seconds later, Ling Ying's shrill scream, a mixture of embarrassment and indignation, rang through Caitlyn's office.

"Ah, the Ice Festival is almost here."

Jayce glanced out the window at the drizzle and the occasional delicate snowflake drifting past. He seemed to be speaking from the heart.

"What's wrong? You decided not to go to the year-end dance yourself. Are you regretting it now?"

Viktor's muffled voice came from among the piled-up mechanical parts. There was a rare hint of teasing in his tone.

"Yeah, right. I was never interested in a dance held so those rich families could make connections. And honestly, none of the noblewomen at the dance are as easy on the eyes as our two junior classmates."

"Ah, that's true."

Viktor, covered in grease, emerged from behind a massive steel frame. He raised his right hand and lifted the sealed protective mask from his face.

"By the way, they didn't go to the dance either. Why haven't they come by?"

"Cecilia left a couple of days ago. She seemed to have something to take care of. As for Orianna..."

Jayce shook his head.

"Maybe she has something on her mind? Who knows what young women are thinking? We should get back to figuring out the casing design Cecilia gave us earlier. Maybe we can prepare a surprise for them before they return."

Jayce picked up the thick stack of blueprints on the workbench and began to examine it. A few minutes later, he said, "Actually, I think this Model 1 Power Armor design is daringly ahead of its time in all sorts of ways, but still reasonable. I have to say, Cecilia's talent in this area is astonishing. It's just..."

Jayce looked at the name printed in large letters at the top of the blueprint and gave a helpless smile.

"I just can't figure out why this armor is called the Fifty Yuan Brothers..."

"Ah, because that's faith."

Ling Ying suddenly burst in through the door, then playfully stuck her tongue out at them.

"Senior Jayce, you don't get it. Leading a whole bunch of Fifty Yuan Brothers through the starry sea is one of a girl's romantic dreams."

"..."

Even Jayce, a brilliant mind, was completely baffled by Ling Ying's nonsensical remark. Viktor, on the other hand, replied with complete seriousness.

"By the way, junior, we were just about to talk to you about this. These... Fifty Yuan Brothers. We can't figure out how to build some of the components in your design, like the miniature rear thrusters, high-speed turbines, auxiliary high-efficiency cooling system, miniature transmission engine array, and several other subsystems. We don't know how you came up with such advanced ideas, but they're so far ahead of their time that we can't reproduce them in reality."

"Ah, I see. That's okay. I expected as much, since I was just doodling. If that one won't work, what about the second blueprint?"

"Ah, the second one looks a bit closer to reality."

Jayce picked up another stack of blueprints.

"If this T-60 Power Armor is in line with Piltover's current technology, then the Fifty Yuan Brothers you just showed us might as well be alien technology. I really can't understand how you came up with both designs at once."

"Ahaha, it's just a personal interest."

Ling Ying laughed awkwardly and scratched her head.

"So, does that mean this one might actually be possible?"

"Indeed. The frame construction and the various subsystems aren't too difficult. It looks like we can make it work by integrating our existing technology. In fact, we've already made some progress."

Viktor pointed to the humanoid frame beside him.

"This is what a few people from our department and I put together a few days ago. It's the Power Armor skeleton you mentioned. We've already integrated some simple subsystems. All we need to do now is forge the main armor, and we should have a working prototype."

"That's wonderful."

Ling Ying couldn't hide the excitement in her voice. As a die-hard Power Armor fan, nothing could be more thrilling than helping design a suit of armor herself. And even if she couldn't lead a whole bunch of Fifty Yuan Brothers, leading a whole bunch of Steel Brothers Society members would be pretty good, too.

"By the way, we talked about the power system earlier. Here, take this."

Ling Ying took a box from her backpack and handed it to Jayce. Jayce opened it, puzzled. Four dull-colored crystals lay quietly inside.

"These Drained Crystals should be just right for some initial testing."

"Um... Junior, you... Didn't the funding we applied for still not get approved?"

Jayce looked clearly surprised. Drained Crystals weren't especially expensive, but they were still only affordable for Piltover households with an above-average standard of living. Or rather, those were the people who needed Drained Crystals in the first place. Technology was advancing by the day, and more and more everyday appliances no longer needed Hextech Crystal energy to run. So Ling Ying producing four of them at once was truly baffling.

"Ah, no big deal. I got them by selling my body..."

Ling Ying said casually. But although she hadn't meant anything by it, Jayce and Viktor both froze, stunned.

After a long moment, the two finally came to their senses.

"Junior! Don't be foolish! How could you... How could you do something like that?"

Jayce gripped Ling Ying by the shoulders and shook her hard, his face full of anguish. Even Viktor couldn't help raising a hand to wipe his face beneath his mask. Their reaction made Ling Ying realize at once how badly her thoughtless joke had misled them. She hurried to explain.

"Come on, I was joking! I bought these crystals with my own savings. Don't get the wrong idea."

Jayce finally calmed down, though he still looked doubtful.

"Really. Look, aside from you two, have I even given any other guys at the Academy the time of day?"

"Well... I suppose..."

Jayce nodded, looking as though he understood.

"But even so, it's not right to make you pay for all this..."

"Ah, you know how long it'll take for the funding to get approved. But our project is already underway, and we can't afford to let the funding hold us up. If you feel bad about it, you can pay me back when the money comes through."

"I see. Then I still have to thank you, junior. This is an Academy research project, after all, and you've put so much effort into it."

Ling Ying smiled and waved her hand. Inwardly, though, she couldn't help feeling relieved. She didn't think she'd actually said anything wrong. The money for the crystals really had come from her own savings and Caitlyn. Perhaps out of guilt for repeatedly messing with Ling Ying's body, Caitlyn had been unexpectedly generous and even given her extra money. Ling Ying couldn't help wondering if this was an advance payment for something even more outrageous Caitlyn planned to do next.

"By the way..."

Ling Ying scanned the whole laboratory from the corner of her eye, but didn't see the person she had expected to find there.

"Where's Orianna? Didn't she come?"

"Ah, well..."

Jayce rubbed his temples and spoke with some concern.

"She hasn't come in since yesterday. The last time I saw her, she didn't look well. It seemed like something was bothering her. We wanted to ask, but we didn't feel comfortable bringing up a girl's personal worries. So we'll have to leave it to you to cheer her up, junior. If I had to guess, she's in the dorm now."

"Huh? Really? Why didn't you say so sooner? I need to go check on her."

Ling Ying hurriedly left the two clueless fellows behind and ran for the door. After spending so many days together, she had already come to think of Orianna as one of her most important companions. That was why she had been so angry when Claire pretended to be Orianna in the Shadow illusion. And now that Orianna was troubled, Ling Ying naturally had to go see how she was doing.

"Oh, let me know when you finish it."

With that, Ling Ying hurried out of the laboratory and vanished through the door.