116 The Discordant Notes of the Darkin Harp

Yuan Chen didn't pay much attention to Camille. The reason was simple: Camille Yuan Chen his speech in the auditorium.

Warrior LV6/Assassin LV5. There's not much to say. Camille may look young, but her strength is largely due to the limitless energy granted by her Hextech Heart. And Camille's true treasure is precisely her Hextech Heart.

Hextech Heart (Legend).

Effect: Permanent Energy: Fully activated through sophisticated Hextech craftsmanship, the Hextech Heart can automatically convert free-floating magical energy in the space and continuously enhance the user even in standby mode.

Note: The magical center in the space surrounding the user will continuously change, and the only way to stop this change is to shut down the heart control.

Although Hextech Heart's power may not seem particularly strong, the main reason is that its original Hex Crystal was not fully activated.

This includes Ekko's Z-Drive, which is of a rare "perfect" grade. However, judging from how Ekko is used, it is clear that it does not reach the level of perfection.

Neither Camille nor Ekko could fully unleash the power of the Primal Crystal's most fundamental essence through their Hextech.

Ultimately, Hextech is still too young. Perhaps in the future they will be able to fully unleash the true power of the Primal Crystal. But for now...

The Ferros Family's rise to power predates the discovery of Hex Crystal by a mere two hundred years. Furthermore, Hex Crystal only came into the public eye because of the Ferros Family's discovery of them.

Thinking it over, Yuan Chen said to Ekko, "It won't be long before a Hextech Workshop appears in the mid-level plaza of Zaun. That's mine; you can ask me any questions then."

"As for now, I have other things to do."

After saying that, Yuan Chen turned around and continued walking towards the lower levels of Zaun.

Watching Yuan Chen's departing figure, Ekko scratched his head in confusion, exchanged glances with his friends, and then turned and disappeared once again into the maze-like alleys of Zaun.

These lost children didn't take Yuan Chen's words to heart; perhaps in their eyes, Yuan Chen was just lecturing them like those boring adults. But for Ekko, Yuan Chen's words were far more complex than others perceived.

At least... he knew about Z-Drive, and he also knew his relationship with time.

But he didn't try to take it?

The Hextech Workshop in the mid-level plaza...

Lost in thought, Ekko walked toward the distance.

Meanwhile, as they walked downwards, Camille said, "You value that Zaun prodigy highly?"

"Yes, he has qualities that Piltover lacks."

"..." Camille fell silent for a moment after hearing Yuan Chen's assessment of Ekko's territory. She then asked, "You're going to establish your workshop in Zaun?"

Is there a problem?

Why not choose Piltover?

Camille asked bluntly, "Whether it's the environment, resources, artisans, inventors, or security, Piltover is infinitely better than Zaun."

Do you remember what I told you before?

"... What?"

"I will not abide by rules that are detrimental to me." Yuan Chen turned his gaze to Camille beside him and said decisively:

"Against the backdrop of glamour and glitz, Piltover, which prides itself on civilization, is far less free than Zaun. Piltover's cake has already been divided up, and I have no interest in digging into your stomachs to savor the scraps. You eat yours, Zaun."

Upon hearing this, Camille did not feel anger; instead, a slight smile appeared on her usually cool face, "Zaun... is more complicated than you think."

"It won't be too complicated."

During their conversation, the two had ventured deeper than the Sump.

To the naked eye, there was a shimmering green poisonous fog everywhere. There was no soil beneath their feet, only vast expanses of corrosive alchemical wastewater. Hewitt left, and he waited at the entrance above. Standing before them, leading the way, was a bell-rat wearing a gas mask and crude protective gear.

As a member of the Vastaya family, the Bell Rat's body is not as robust and powerful as the Meat-toothed Beast. However, it has extremely high resistance to toxins and a natural affinity for machines... In a sense, humans in this world are weak.

Take the Meat-toothed Beast as an example. Rengar, is considered to have congenital stunting in the Carnivore Beast Tribe. But even under such circumstances, Rengar's height is still over two meters.

According to what Mordas had told Yuan Chen before, some exceptionally gifted Meat-toothed Beast could even grow to over three meters tall.

Even with stunted growth, the Meat-toothed Beast's muscle strength, muscle endurance, cellular oxygen content, and nerve reflexes are still several times that of an ordinary human.

In this situation, Naduo, despite only having a basic level of Hand Axe Mastery, would be unlikely to be able to take down Vi from Piltover Enforcers in a short time, regardless of anything else.

Without the Atlas Gauntlets, it would be impossible for Vi to defeat Naduo in a head-on fight... and a sneak attack would be out of the question, since the Meat-toothed Beast are natural hunters.

Even without special abilities, their natural structure allows them to move freely in mountains and dense forests, and even the noise they make is greatly reduced due to the structure of their paw pads.

However, relatively speaking, there are fewer non-human races with special traits than humans... Yuan Chen doesn't know why, and can only attribute it to the selection of nature itself.

As they continued their journey, Yuan Chen and Camille visited several locations that the Bell Rats had designated as "forbidden zones," but they didn't find much of a success.

The Sump has many restricted zones, mostly due to leaks of alchemical waste, accumulation of pollutants, and loose geological structures. The part Yuan Chen was truly looking for wasn't found there.

Undeterred, Yuan Chen simply followed the chattering bell rat to other underground forbidden zones.

A moment later, Yuan Chen and Camille arrived at an abandoned pipe.

The pipe was filled with mud and filth, pitch black, without a trace of light. Standing around the pipe, the originally dense alchemical fumes and alchemical waste liquid seemed to have been purified, with not a single drop flowing out.

The temperature here has risen... no, it's not that the temperature has increased, but rather that the magic here has been dispelled.

It's as if... someone deliberately set up a magic seal here. It's ancient and the craftsmanship is exquisite. But unfortunately, with the explosion of the alchemical explosives, the ocean currents that tore apart the Twin Cities created countless rifts and destroyed the magic seal used here.

"This should be it."

Hearing Yuan Chen's words, Camille nodded and said, "Then let's go in and take a look."

With that, Camille stepped onto the dry soil.

To be honest, Camille didn't like Zaun... and she especially disliked the Woolfield. The reason was simple: the environment there was simply too harsh and filthy. This was not a good thing for Camille, who valued elegance, rationality, and beauty.

Ordinary alchemical waste liquids and gases have no effect on Camille, who has undergone hybrid enhancement, because her lungs and liver, strengthened and modified by the Hextech Heart, possess extremely powerful filtering and detoxification capabilities.

However, the alchemical toxins accumulated at the bottom of the ditch were too numerous. Although they would not cause direct harm, their strong corrosiveness had already left rust stains on Camille's leg blades.

The blade was still smooth, but the body was corroded beyond recognition, as if it had been weathered for hundreds of years.

In comparison, Yuan Chen was in a better position wearing a hazmat suit. Although the suit's effectiveness at the bottom of the trench was very limited, its ability to Temperance the toxins allowed Yuan Chen to almost ignore them...

The only annoying thing is that extracting these toxins consumes energy. So most of the time, Yuan Chen uses Water Element to form a water film on the surface of the protective suit. The viscosity of the water traps the toxins, preventing them from directly contacting the clothes on the body.

As for alchemical waste liquid, it goes without saying that it can't even get close to Yuan Chen.

Upon seeing Yuan Chen and Camille's actions, the Bell Rat worker nearby let out a warning shout. Yuan Chen simply nodded in response, showing no particular surprise.

The bell rats have a natural sense of danger, so until now, whenever they approach the underground restricted area, it has been Yuan Chen and Camille who personally conduct the checks.

As he ventured deeper inside, Yuan Chen soon felt an unbearable heat.

Compared to the land outside, which was already soaked by alchemical waste, the soil here was dry and cracked. After sensing for a moment, Yuan Chen stretched out his hands and formed Flowing Water in front of him. After a while, under the scouring of the Flowing Water, the originally compacted soil was gradually washed away.

The gurgling Flowing Water rushed in all directions, washing Camille's leg blades until they were as clean as new, while also carving a huge, deep pit into the ground where they were originally.

At the center of the deep pit was a golden harp shaped like the letter D. Although it was called a golden harp, its outer surface was covered with crescent-shaped blades. The strings, used for playing, were a decadent dark red, giving the impression of being less like Threads and more like the dried muscle and tendons of a human body.

An eerie aura swirled around the harp; even just standing to the side, Camille could clearly sense the vortex of energy.

The Flowing Water lifted the harp and brought it to Yuan Chen.

There was no physical contact, because the sealed Dark Descendant would devour every creature that came into contact with him and possess its body.

But just as Yuan Chen was about to unleash his Scout Skill...

A surprised and delighted murmur came from the strings.

"Master? Is that you?"