Chapter 117

Ekko was completely bewildered, because in his perception, the ground beneath his feet suddenly became exceptionally muddy, as if it had transformed from solid soil into a sticky swamp.

In this moment, a pair of hands appeared beneath him, grabbing his ankles and pulling him into the mud. At the same time, the mud dried up at an unimaginable speed, as if it had lost all its moisture in an instant.

Without realizing it, Ekko's entire lower body... almost his entire body below his chest fell directly into it.

As the moisture evaporated, the soil quickly regained its original stability and compaction. Not to mention Ekko's small stature, with most of his body firmly bound by the soil, even a British strongman weighing over 200 pounds wouldn't be able to break free.

By using the unique ability of Monolith's Protection to traverse rocky soil, and then manipulating Water Element to instantly soften the localized land, the attacker can then extract all the moisture and solidify the soil after the attack is complete...

Rising from the ground, Yuan Chen looked at the two people in front of him with a bit of interest.

Time prodigy Ekko, perfectionist pragmatist Kai, skateboarder Xiumi... and who's that hiding in the distance again? His card name is something like "The Evil Imperfectionist"?

Looking at the four people, Yuan Chen stroked his chin with slight interest.

Goodness, Ekko's team is almost complete.

At first, Yuan Chen didn't notice Ekko's figure. It was only after the Book of Thresholds reminded Yuan Chen that "the space-time here seems to be out of control" that Yuan Chen started to pay attention to his surroundings.

Then, a little surprise was discovered.

"Damn it! We've been discovered!"

Upon seeing Yuan Chen, Ekko couldn't help but curse under his breath. Beside him, the perfectionist Kai pulled out a flashlight-like device from behind him. With a flick of the switch, crackling electric light began to flash from the front of the handle.

Meanwhile, skateboarder Xiumi launched a swift attack.

Instead of trying to rush over on her skateboard, because Yuan Chen appeared behind Ekko, right next to the three of them, Xiumi, with her pink afro, didn't hesitate to grab the skateboard next to her and smash it at Yuan Chen's head.

"Don't hurt them."

Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words, the two were slightly taken aback. But before they could recover, a Grappling Hook flew past them.

With the hum of the Hextech engine and the sound of ropes cutting through the air, a blue afterimage flashed by. The two men felt a sharp pain in their wrists, and then their weapons were knocked out of their hands.

Kai, with her twin ponytails, fared better; perhaps out of consideration for the girl's health, Camille only knocked the stun gun out of her hand. But the skateboarder Xiumi wasn't so lucky—one of her arms was a fairly well-made mechanical prosthetic.

This prosthetic limb can enhance the user's punching and gripping power. To prevent unnecessary trouble, a cold light flashed beneath Camille's feet, and the mechanical prosthetic limb was severed in the next moment amidst the girl's somewhat frightened scream.

In the distance, a girl who bore an eighty percent resemblance to Kai instinctively tried to turn and run away. But before she could even take a step, Camille swept her leg out.

With a flash of exquisite magical energy, a sharp cut appeared in front of him—it sliced through not only the soil but even the rock.

"You'd better choose to remain silent."

Hearing Camille's words, Ekko gritted his teeth and tried to break free from the mud—if he could activate the Z-Drive behind him, everything could be turned around.

Unfortunately, the soil was heavier than Ekko had imagined. Even though Ekko had tried his best, the density of the dehydrated soil still left Ekko feeling powerless.

Looking at Ekko, Yuan Chen cast a Scout Skill without saying a word.

Name: Ekko

Status: Panic

Class: Assassin LV3 / Warrior LV1

Equipment: Z-Drive (Legendary) / Clockwork (Excellent)

Skill: Z-Drive (Premium): Time Reversal:

It breaks free from its own time constraints and escapes the shackles of the timeline to reverse time. The reversal time will be extended or shortened according to the user's energy, physical strength, and condition.

Note: Those who are not time-sensitive will not be able to perceive the reversed time fluctuations. When using this device, those who are not time-sensitive will most likely fall into a special malignant state of "space-time distortion".

Note: The timeline itself has durability; repeated reversals will affect the timeline itself.

Note: Depending on the degree of wear and tear on the timeline itself, this world will generate special time branches at the points where time is reversed.

Note: When the wear level drops below 60%, the timeline will be connected to other timelines through merging.

Note: With proper use and maintenance, the wear and tear on the timeline is not irreversible.

Trait: Time Affinity (Epic): An innate trait that greatly enhances the holder's sensitivity to time and space, while also significantly strengthening their thinking, logic, and reaction speed.

A flash of inspiration (exceptional): An innate trait that allows one to always capture the key elements of a possible possibility in a fleeting thought.

Excellent manual dexterity: An acquired trait, developed through Zaun theft, scavenging, and assembling.

Agile Skills (Excellent): An acquired trait, developed from childhood through training in the streets and alleys of Zaun.

Having seen Ekko's attributes, Yuan Chen didn't care about his class— Ekko's age and skills showed that Ekko combat ability was quite limited. And in a place like Zaun, it was unlikely that he could grow up with all the necessary nutrients.

What Yuan Chen was more concerned about was Ekko's equipment— the Z-Drive.

Seeing the simple and direct effect of Z-Drive, Yuan Chen's eyes revealed a hint of emotion.

"Is playing with time fun, Ekko?"

Yuan Chen's voice was very low, and through special means, only Yuan Chen himself and Ekko could hear it.

"?!"

Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words, Ekko, who had been struggling to get out of the ground, showed a look of surprise on his face—he didn't know how Yuan Chen knew his biggest secret!

It's important to know that only Ekko himself knows Ekko can reverse time.

Because of the unique effects of the Z-Drive, his companions perceived Ekko not as having reversed time, but rather as possessing superhuman reflexes, allowing Ekko to save his friends before the others even realized the danger.

Ekko's Z-Drive core originated from an uncontrolled explosion at a Hextech workshop, where he found a fragment of Hex Crystal. Through continuous experimentation, Ekko accidentally obtained the Z-Drive.

As for Ekko, he told his friends about the crystal, but not about the Z-Drive. Even so, he still made them swear to keep it a secret.

But Ekko's friends... in the end, were all delinquents.

At least, after they discovered Ekko's supernatural reaction speed, they became increasingly ambitious, constantly challenging themselves to climb new heights in the Alchemy Tower, because they knew Ekko would always find a way to ensure their safety.

But...

The alchemical towers are mostly located in the mid-level plaza and Promenade. The Sump...

Looking around, besides the three little girls, there was also a little kid hiding in the shadows, trembling and too scared to come out.

How did you know?

Ekko asked somewhat uneasily.

As a genius, Ekko clearly understood the potential of the Z-Drive... At least, in Ekko's view, being able to change the past meant being able to change the future.

But time is far too mysterious and profound for Piltover, Zaun, and even the other nations and powers of Runeterra. Even now, Ekko only dares to study it carefully on his own.

You're not the only one playing with time.

Yuan Chen glanced at Ekko, shook his head, and then grabbed Ekko's shoulder and pulled him out of the ground.

Seeing this, Ekko immediately activated the Z-Drive located on his lower back without saying a word. However, as the space around him shattered and the world turned into an inverted stream of particles, Ekko could clearly feel that the Z-Drive could no longer send him back to the past as it had before.

He couldn't even manipulate the inverted particle stream.

It's like... although you've broken the limitations of space and time, you can't move. Like a person in a vegetative state, you can freeze time, but in this frozen time, only your consciousness is free.

This time freeze didn't last long. Soon after, with the Z-Drive overheating, the shattered world was restored to its original state through the recombination of particles.

In Yuan Chen's view, Ekko's surprise at being pulled out of the ground suddenly turned into fear and unease, as if he had seen something that was giving him a headache.

Others might be puzzled as to why Ekko's emotions would suddenly fluctuate so drastically, but Yuan Chen knew about Ekko's abilities.

Narrowing his eyes, Yuan Chen said, "The inversion failed?"

"... Um."

Ekko nodded solemnly, then looked at Yuan Chen in front of him. After confirming that Yuan Chen meant no harm, he hesitated and asked, "Who exactly are you? How do you know all this?"

"That's not important... but I can tell you a little tidbit."

Yuan Chen said, "The reason you failed to reverse the situation is not because of me, but because of this person."

Yuan Chen gestured with his chin towards Camille. This surprised not only Ekko but also Camille, who raised an eyebrow in confusion – "Because of what?"

"Because of your heart... Do you remember what I said to you in the meeting?" Yuan Chen explained, "You only know how to use it, but you don't understand your heart."

Upon hearing this, Camille fell silent, a thoughtful look in her eyes, before nodding silently.