Sound Systems Are Standard for the Strong

Across the street, the Ervin residence.

"Nini, what did you say?"

Mr. Ervin stared at his precious daughter in disbelief:

"That singing soul you mentioned is Li Wei?"

He couldn't believe it.

His daughter Seraphine was a musical genius.

And Li Wei? Just a Zaunite Apprentice who soldered circuit boards.

What could he possibly know about music?

"It's him, it's him."

Seraphine clenched her fists in excitement, biting her glossy lips until they turned pale:

"It was so beautiful—"

"Absolutely heavenly!"

Her reaction told her father that Li Wei didn't just know music—his music was so exquisite that his precious daughter couldn't resist it at all.

While Li Wei fought tenaciously against Aubrey, Seraphine watched with an infatuated expression, cheering and praying for him.

She was completely immersed in the musical world Li Wei had created, intoxicated, moved, even shedding tears of emotion.

Two crystalline streaks like strings of pearls soon traced down her soft, fair cheeks.

"Oh no." Ervin felt a headache coming on.

He could tell at a glance that his daughter was having another artistic episode.

And this "episode" was more intense and exaggerated than any before.

Seraphine stared blankly at Li Wei's determined figure as he fought, murmuring and humming some tune to herself. Tears flowed uncontrollably, the corners of her eyes turning red.

Only when the fight ended and Li Wei defeated Aubrey, about to stagger away from the scene, did she snap back to reality:

"Wait for me, Li Wei!"

Seraphine was so excited she nearly jumped out the window.

"Where are you going?!" Her father grabbed her, eyes wide with fury.

"I'm going to find Li Wei!"

Seraphine's face flushed red as she said:

"To share music with him, to sing together!"

Ervin: "..."

Share music?

With that kid?

"No, I won't allow it!" Ervin stomped in anger: "He's a Zaunite!"

"Dad, you're from Zaun too."

"Exactly because I'm from Zaun that I know how dangerous Zaunites can be! You want to see him? Don't even think about it!"

Ervin and his daughter engaged in a fierce tug-of-war.

Seraphine struggled desperately to escape, her father's restraint barely holding her back.

"Wait."

Then Ervin suddenly realized he might not need to stop her anymore.

That Li Wei wouldn't have a chance to entangle his daughter.

Because just as he was about to leave in victory, his enemy, the fat man Aubrey, suddenly pulled out a bottle of purple liquid.

"Shimmer."

"This lunatic—he's using contraband right here in Piltover!"

Ervin's face turned grim.

He yanked the curtains shut, then turned and grabbed his daughter seriously:

"Seraphine, what happens next—"

"You'd better not watch."

Shimmer was popular in Zaun.

It was a highly addictive mental stimulant and physical enhancer—a sip could double one's combat power.

In Piltover, it was contraband.

And if someone with a weak constitution or weak will drank too much, it not only harmed the body but could also cause mental collapse, turning them into a mindless, bloodthirsty beast driven only by destruction.

So Fatty Aubrey didn't dare drink too much either. If things got out of hand and drew the Enforcers, he wouldn't come out of it well either.

He only took a tiny sip. Small as it was, it was more than enough to handle Li Wei.

"Li Wei—"

"You're not leaving here alive!"

With that sip of Glimmer down, Aubrey's already bloated body swelled another size out of thin air.

Veins bulged and writhed like slithering snakes, blood raging through them like a flood.

A faint purple glow flickered in his eyes.

In an instant, it felt like boundless power surged from within, making him forget pain, forget cowardice, granting him courage and battle lust he'd never known.

"Run!" Janna urged urgently through their mental link.

She could see that Li Wei couldn't beat this Glimmered-up fatty.

The gap between them was no longer something willpower could bridge.

"But running doesn't seem so easy either." Li Wei couldn't help a bitter sigh.

Because he clearly saw that mountain of flesh, now a size bigger, was charging straight at him with a speed that felt utterly hopeless.

It was like a human tank.

Facing an Aubrey suddenly several times stronger, he couldn't even flee if he wanted to.

What should he do?

Anything was better than standing there waiting to die.

And he couldn't afford to be afraid—fear was useless, it would only make his death more undignified.

"Then bring it on!" Determination surged back into Li Wei's eyes.

He would do what the original owner had done countless times in Zaun—bet his life, fight with everything he had.

No matter how strong a Glimmered-up Aubrey was, he was still human.

Humans die when they're killed.

Maybe he could risk everything for one chance, strike a fatal blow to a weak point, and pull off a stunning victory against the odds.

If he couldn't, then he'd GG.

"Summoner."

Janna sighed softly in his mind.

"Please, you must win."

The goddess's blessing had never been so sincere, yet never so powerless.

The support could only helplessly AFK, all her assists just typed words.

Li Wei had to buff himself—

He started playing music in his head again.

It was a habit from his old long-distance running and gym days. He'd listen to hype songs while running, getting his spirit fired up and forgetting fatigue.

Over time, whenever he ran into trouble in life, he'd unconsciously hum a tune in his mind. It made him feel like the protagonist in a movie or anime, unstoppable in his own BGM.

After all, everyone knew only those with their own soundtrack deserved to be called strong.

Without your own BGM, how could you ever power up and go berserk?

So the music started.

Melodies and notes blazed with fire.

Aubrey, that terrifying mountain of flesh, came crashing in like an earthquake.

He threw a heavy punch straight at Li Wei's face, the fist moving so fast it whipped up a blur of wind.

Then—

Li Wei's figure flickered, and he casually sidestepped out of the way.

"Huh?!" Aubrey froze, and so did the onlookers.

Not just them—Li Wei himself was stunned.

What just happened?

How did he do that?

Where did he get the strength and speed to dodge that punch?

Not only did he dodge it, but he did it so... effortlessly, gracefully.

"I..." Li Wei couldn't believe what he was feeling in his own body. "Did I get stronger?"

Yes, he had gotten stronger.

Without warning, for no reason, he had just gotten stronger.

A warm surge of power flowed into his body, lifting his spirits, strengthening his frame, and even slowly mending his injuries.

Though the boost was modest, he had indeed grown stronger.

"What just happened?"

Did I have some hidden cheat—did turning on the "sound system" grant me power?

Li Wei was baffled.

But Janna suddenly told him, "It was me, Summoner."

"It seems the 'contract' between us has let you share in my divine power."

"Your divine power?" Li Wei asked in surprise.

Weren't you just a useless bird? How did you suddenly get divine power?

"Because just now, I gained a new 'follower.'"

Janna flew out of Li Wei's pocket and landed on his shoulder, fluttering her wings.

She looked up at the distant sky, where a thin thread—visible only to her—stretched from afar:

"I don't know why, but Summoner"

"It seems the first believer in the new faith has already been born."

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