Freedom and the Price

Ling Ying stared absently at the pristine white ceiling overhead. After a long while, apparently bored, she lowered her head and looked at the sturdy cell door, gleaming with a metallic sheen. Honestly, she'd never imagined she'd be lucky enough to enjoy this kind of treatment. But if you asked her what had happened, she could only answer:

"I have no idea..."

Ling Ying muttered to herself in a voice only she could hear. She remembered getting shot, then waking up to find that she'd taken the Young Lady apart. Ah, she seemed to have killed someone again. But this time, Ling Ying didn't shut herself away like she had before. Since that annoying Young Lady had wanted to kill her, she didn't mind making sure the other woman died first, even if the method had been rather cruel. What bothered her was that this brief state of amnesia wasn't the first time it had happened. As for the reason, Ling Ying could only blame that so-called Instinct Consciousness.

"That wasn't me this time!! You ungrateful wretch!!"

Ling Ying thought she heard a voice by her ear. Just then, in her sea of consciousness, a ball of purple light flickered incessantly, as if expressing its displeasure at her wild guess.

"It was the newcomer! It made the first move this time!! It tried to take over this body while you were off guard! I was the one who blocked it!"

Ling Ying looked in the direction it indicated. A mass of black mist huddled timidly in the corner, looking very much like it wanted everyone to stay away.

All right, so there was a talking Purple Light Orb and a shy cloud of black mist living in her head. That was just fantastic.

"Bang, bang."

Someone knocked a few times on the alloy cell door. Ling Ying, curled up on the floor, slowly raised her head and looked at the police officer outside, dressed in a dark blue uniform.

"Come out. The Sheriff wants to see you."

The uniformed officer said nothing more. He took out a key and unlocked the cell door. Two more fully armed officers quickly stepped inside. Without a word, they took hold of Ling Ying, one on each side, and lifted her up. The uniformed officer then pulled a black bag over her head.

When Ling Ying once again "saw the light of day," she was no longer in her cell. She was in a spacious, brightly lit office. Standing before her was a beautiful woman with an air of elegance and poise, and long, dark blue hair.

"Miss Caitlyn, we've brought in the suspect."

The two officers forced Ling Ying into a chair. Ling Ying looked up at her curiously.

Caitlyn. If Ling Ying's memory served her right, that was the name of the famous Chief Constable of Piltover. And the woman before her did indeed match the Caitlyn she remembered—from the League of Legends game.

"Pete, Lomarr, you can get back to work."

Caitlyn waved to the two officers who had escorted Ling Ying here. They immediately understood and turned to leave, even closing the door behind them. But Ling Ying's sharp ears could tell that they were standing just outside. They hadn't gone far at all.

That made sense. She was a murderer, after all. The Piltoverians couldn't be too careful. Even though Ling Ying's hands and feet were shackled, she couldn't even guarantee that she wouldn't suddenly lash out and attack Caitlyn.

"Lilia Lance."

Caitlyn studied Ling Ying with a meaningful look for a while, then smiled.

"You're much prettier than I expected."

"...Is this some new interrogation technique?"

"No, no. You don't need to be so sensitive. It's just a polite remark when meeting someone for the first time."

Caitlyn smiled and waved a hand.

"Oh, that compliment was meant for you, not for the so-called Lilia Lance."

"..."

Ling Ying's heart gave a sudden lurch. Caitlyn was clearly hinting at something. Ling Ying even had the feeling that she already knew something. Sure enough, the next moment, Caitlyn reached across her desk and pulled out a file. She leaned against the corner of the desk in a rather alluring pose, then opened the file in her hand.

"Lilia Lance. An S-rank mercenary registered with the Bilgewater City Mercenary Guild, and leader of the Blazing Blade Mercenary Group. She had an impressive record, with a contract completion rate close to one hundred percent. But a few days ago, she accepted a special extermination contract and then vanished along with the Blazing Blade Mercenary Group. They have yet to return. The Mercenary Guild believes the group has perished."

As Caitlyn read the file, she watched Ling Ying out of the corner of her eye. When she saw no change in Ling Ying's expression, she simply closed the folder, picked up the coffee beside her, and took a small sip. A moment later, she continued.

"But strangely, Lilia Lance's name appeared on the passenger manifest of the Silver Dawn, a passenger ship that set sail for Piltover a month ago. Of course, no one knows whether she was really aboard. But Captain Barbossa testified that when they were attacked by Black Tide sea beasts, a highly skilled young woman stepped forward and carved a path through the endless beasts single-handedly. Unfortunately, the girl later disappeared while fighting a giant sea beast. After we rescued Captain Barbossa, he repeatedly asked us to send a team to search for her. The only useful detail he gave us was that she was a girl with purple hair..."

"All right, you can stop there."

Ling Ying interrupted Caitlyn.

"So what? Since you already know, why tell me? This is Piltover, after all. You can do whatever you want to an outsider."

"Come now. The way you put it makes it sound as though we're the ones at fault."

Caitlyn sounded a little helpless.

"But you got one thing right. This is Piltover, so I don't care whether a Shuriman mercenary lives or dies, and I don't care why someone would impersonate her. What I care about is what the person behind this disguise intends to do to Piltover. So, can you tell me, Miss Impostor Lilia?"

"..."

"By the way, we've learned that you seem very interested in Drained Crystals. So even if you're going to lie, please come up with a reason that isn't so absurd. Of course, I sincerely hope we can be honest with each other. It would be better for both of us, wouldn't it?"

Caitlyn's tone was calm, but Ling Ying felt enormous pressure. With Caitlyn holding the informational advantage, every lie Ling Ying told was a gamble. It might have looked as though she was the one in control of the information, but she had no idea how much her opponent already knew. Every word she said could put her in a difficult position.

Of course, she could resolve this problem by telling the truth. But that would raise another question: would Caitlyn be more inclined to trust a lying human, or an honest Void Creature?

So telling the truth was out of the question. That left her only one old trick.

"Because I need those crystals. They're important to me...to us."

Ling Ying took a deep breath, then began acting out the "script" she had just put together in her mind.

"Oh?"

Caitlyn looked intrigued.

"How are they important?"

"It's hard to explain in words... I remember carrying a small cloth bag with me, and it seems you took it from me?"

"Ah, do you mean this?"

Caitlyn picked up the Storage Bag from the desk and shook it.

"I had the Technical Department test it. They said it was an incredible Magic Item, but unfortunately, we can't open it. What do you want it for?"

"Didn't you want to know my purpose? If you let me demonstrate with it, you'll understand at a glance."

Ling Ying glanced at Caitlyn as she spoke, then paused briefly.

"Of course, that's assuming you're willing to believe me."

As soon as Ling Ying finished speaking, Caitlyn's expression changed to one of suspicion and contemplation. That made sense. A suspect sitting in front of an officer and saying, "Please believe me," was ridiculous no matter how you looked at it. Even a fantasy drama probably wouldn't dare write a scene like that. Ling Ying hadn't expected Caitlyn to actually do what she asked, either. After all...

"Here."

"?"

Ling Ying glanced at the Storage Bag tossed in front of her, then looked at Caitlyn, momentarily confused.

"Ah, I'm rather interested in what you have to say."

Caitlyn gave her a casual answer. Ling Ying hesitated, but in the end, she took the bag. The heavy shackles around her wrists made it difficult to move. After several attempts, she finally managed to untie the bag and reach inside. Her hand immediately found the hilt of Doran's Blade. If she had it... No, she couldn't do that. Ling Ying banished those dangerous thoughts and grabbed a round object instead.

"This is it."

Ling Ying took out the Void Crystal, then set the Storage Bag aside.

"What is this?"

Caitlyn looked at it curiously. But after staring at it for a moment, she shook her head.

"It looks like a Hextech Crystal, but only on the surface. The material and the details are all different."

"Exactly. By Piltover's methods, you won't be able to detect any magical energy in this crystal. It's just a Drained Crystal, but..."

Ling Ying extended a finger and lightly tapped the crystal. The Void Crystal hummed, then lit up in an instant. Its brilliant purple energy patterns flared, brightening the entire room.

"To us, it's a very important treasure."

Caitlyn stared at the Void Crystal in surprise. After a long while, she spoke.

"Can I ask what you meant by 'us'?"

"I mean my people."

Ling Ying continued her fabrication with an unruffled expression.

"Since you have the means to obtain information about Shurima, that means you have informants there. Then perhaps you also know about the ancient tribes that have lived in isolation since the days of the Ancient Shuriman Empire."

"Yes, they've been mentioned in some documents."

"Ah, my people are one of those tribes."

As Ling Ying spoke, she pointed at the black mark on her neck.

"This is our tribe's totem, and the crystal is a treasure passed down through generations. Unfortunately, the younger generation of our tribe failed in their duties and let the crystal fall into the outside world. Later, we heard it had been mistaken for a Hextech Crystal and sold to Piltover. That's why I traveled all the way here—to recover our lost treasure."

Ling Ying stopped her story. It was a short tale, but it left Chief Constable Caitlyn quite stunned. Then again, Ling Ying had always been good at making things up. Her stories mixed truth and fiction, and her expression didn't change in the slightest.

"If that's the case, then allow me to express my regret."

Caitlyn spread her hands, then continued.

"So you came to Piltover to recover the Drained Crystal...your tribe's treasure, and nothing else?"

"Exactly. That's all."

Ling Ying nodded calmly, looking utterly sincere. No one could see even the slightest flaw.

"All right. You see, a little honesty can clear up a lot of misunderstandings. I suspected you might be another Noxian spy, but now it seems unlikely. No spy would be stupid enough to go around openly wearing the conspicuous title of mercenary, then cause such an enormous mess. Ah, right. Since we're on the subject, we should talk about something else."

Caitlyn's expression turned serious.

"Do you have anything to say about your brutal murder of Sophie Midalda?"

"Say whatever you want about that."

Ling Ying was surprisingly blunt. The Young Lady was dead; that was an established fact. No matter what Ling Ying said, it wouldn't change Caitlyn's judgment, so she decided not to waste her breath. Besides, if the Piltoverians sentenced her to death or something, she would fight her way out with everything she had.

"Huh? You're quite casual about it. It seems you really hated the Young Lady. Let me ask you something: did you have some sort of grudge against her? Enough to kill her in such a...cruel way?"

"A grudge? You're overthinking it. I didn't know her at all. We just happened to run into each other that day. As for you calling it cruel? I'd say if a dog bit me, I might just chalk it up to bad luck and kick it a couple of times. But if the dog went for my throat and tried to kill me from the start, then skinning it alive and turning it into Dog Meat Stew would be getting off easy. Do you understand what I mean?"

"All right, all right."

Caitlyn gestured for the agitated Ling Ying to stop.

"I understand. That's a very...interesting comparison, and it matches what our investigation found."

As she spoke, Caitlyn pulled a transparent bag from beneath the desk. Inside was a strangely shaped revolver. Dried blood flecked the gun's dark green frame, lending it an eerie appearance.

"Does this look familiar? It's the Hextech Revolver Miss Sophie carried for self-defense. We found one bullet missing from the cylinder, as well as evidence that it had been fired at the scene."

"Of course I remember it."

Ling Ying glanced at the gun with a complicated expression. How could she forget after getting shot by it? She just wasn't sure why Caitlyn was bringing it out now.

"We learned from the café patrons who were there that Sophie Midalda's side started the conflict. The Cafe Owner also gave us a statement confirming that Sophie fired first. Considering what you just said, that seems to be true. But judging by your expression, the shot missed?"

"More or less. Our people have a unique kind of magic. It helped me escape unharmed."

Ling Ying gave Caitlyn a strange look.

"But why are you telling me this?"

"Because under Piltover's laws, if a victim is threatened with lethal force and kills the attacker while fighting back, whether it was murder isn't considered. The only question is whether the self-defense was excessive."

Caitlyn spoke unhurriedly.

"But Piltover's laws only apply to Piltoverians. You're not covered. Besides, even if you were, the Midalda Family would do everything in its power to get the court to sentence you to death. And if all the usual methods failed to kill you, their spies and assassins would come after you at any cost. Believe me, that paranoid old man is capable of it, and the Midalda Family has the means to do it."

Silence began to spread between them. After a long while, Ling Ying broke it.

"I thought Piltover was a civilized, progressive place."

"It is. But we've paid a price outsiders can hardly imagine to make it that way."

Caitlyn smiled bitterly. But she quickly composed herself and continued.

"Let's get back to your situation. I have a way to get you out of this. Do you want to hear it?"

"Huh?"

"Your expression tells me you're interested. It's actually quite simple. All you have to do is die once."

"What kind of solution is that?"

Ling Ying's voice carried a hint of anger. She clearly thought Caitlyn was joking with her. But Caitlyn gestured for her to calm down, then put on a mysterious expression.

"I mean, let Lilia Lance die again. You won't have to go to court. You won't even have a chance to leave this place. The Enforcement Department will quickly execute you on the grounds that you tried to escape, then announce it to the public. The Midalda Family will receive an official explanation as well. Once everything has died down, you can start a new life under a new identity. You'll be completely free to do whatever you want."

"Huh?"

Ling Ying was utterly dumbfounded. She'd never imagined this could be a solution. Even stranger, Caitlyn was a police officer, yet she was going out of her way to help Ling Ying escape. Honestly, she'd thought Caitlyn had been telling her all this to stress how serious the situation was and intimidate her. She'd even been calculating when the right moment would be to pull Doran's Blade from the Storage Bag and fight her way out single-handedly. She hadn't expected Caitlyn's suggestion to sound so much like an attempt to get her out of trouble.

"Why?"

After struggling with the question for a long time, Ling Ying finally decided to ask.

"Why help an outsider like me? As a police officer, you should be on your own people's side."

"But personally, I'd rather stand with justice and fairness. I can't do anything about places far away, but since this is happening in Piltover, I don't think I can just stand by. And there's another reason..."

Caitlyn took a few steps, quickly crossing the short distance between them. She leaned in until they were close enough to feel each other's breath.

"Because I want you...to be mine..."

Caitlyn smiled warmly at Ling Ying, who stared back in shock.