After a long while, at Hextech Academy.
A classroom that should not have had a class in session was unusually lively.
The room was filled with students from Zaun, and teaching them was the great Professor Viktor, who had previously stood up for Zaunite students and won widespread goodwill.
Yet the subject of this class was not Hextech.
It was a historical essay:
"Where Did Zaun Come From?"
Everyone seated here was a university student, an intelligent person.
Under Viktor's explanation, they quickly grasped the value of the article, as well as the theories and ideas it sought to convey.
In short, the article explained:
What this world was like, and why it was this way.
It also left readers with a question to ponder—after knowing what and why, what should be done next? How?
And so, the discussion began.
"I think the wording of this article is somewhat biased."
The discussion actually began with doubts about the what.
Although all the students present were Zaunites and poor, their thoughts were entirely different.
Viktor was ultimately just a scholar who had spent too long in an ivory tower.
The beautiful scene he had imagined, of raising an arm and being answered by countless followers, simply did not happen in reality.
That student questioned:
"This article portrays Piltover merchants from three hundred years ago as butchers, executioners, and genocidal lunatics."
"But Piltover's history textbooks record that their actions during the war on the Shuriman continent were entirely acts of self-defense born of necessity—"
"Everyone should know that those Shuriman natives weren't harmless little rabbits either. They skinned people alive."
"It takes two to tango. Since the Shuriman natives could kill Piltover merchants, why couldn't Piltover merchants strike back against those savages?"
That opinion from a student caused an uproar throughout the room.
"That's complete bullshit!" Lina glared indignantly at the speaker.
She knew him.
This guy usually loved making bizarre remarks about how "Piltover's air is sweet and luxurious," shamelessly trying to squeeze himself into the circles of Piltover natives.
If Piltover's discriminatory atmosphere had not been so intense that he simply could not squeeze in.
He probably would not have been here with his fellow Zaunites now.
"Bastard, aren't you ashamed to make such twisted arguments?"
"What do you mean, it takes two to tango? Did those Shuriman natives reach across the ocean and slap Piltover thousands of miles away first?"
"Are you fucking made out of toilets or something? Licking Piltovans' asses every day wasn't enough, so now you have to call their shit fragrant too? Fuck your mother!"
Everyone present was Zaunite, so Lina did not bother pretending anymore.
The student was verbally torn to shreds by her. Seeing that no one around supported his views, he could only shut his mouth in embarrassment.
But then someone else offered a new opinion:
"Everyone, I think the article is correct in its analysis of how Piltover business owners achieved their primitive accumulation, as well as the methods they used. But those colonizations and oppressions mentioned in the article were almost all things from three hundred years ago."
"Now, across all of Runeterra, only the Noxus Empire is still engaged in that kind of bloody colonial business."
"And Piltover merchants today are no longer the Piltover merchants of three hundred years ago—what do the mistakes of their predecessors have to do with Piltovans today?"
"They are civilized now, progressive, and follow business rules. Their work is all legitimate business too: Hextech, machinery manufacturing, maritime logistics, luxury goods trading, and so on."
As he spoke, the student gave his view on the how:
"I think we should not view them through outdated eyes."
"Besides, we are already students of Piltover University—we do not need to change anything. We only need to work hard to integrate with them."
Unlike the oddball who had tried to whitewash the colonizers earlier, this student's speech won the agreement of quite a few classmates.
Yeah, it was not as though they had never seen what Piltover was like now!
The best quality of life in the world, the best welfare benefits in the world, the best cultural environment in the world, the best technological level in the world—it would not be an exaggeration to call it the beacon of human civilization!
What did that have to do with the bloody, brutal colonial empire from three hundred years ago?
Never mind how they had made their money in the past. They were rich and civilized now, weren't they?
"Is that what everyone thinks?"
Seeing the restless thoughts below the podium, Professor Viktor finally stepped forward.
"Does everyone believe that Piltover no longer exploits or oppresses people?"
"This..." If Piltover students were asked that question, they would one hundred percent answer no.
After all, even the lowest Piltover commoner could afford an apartment, buy a car, and laugh at Zaunites every day.
Oppression? What oppression? How come we Piltovans do not feel it at all?
But everyone here was a Zaunite student.
Could they possibly not know whether Piltovans oppressed them?
"It's not that Piltover's rich no longer oppress people or suck them dry." Without realizing it, Lina had become the Class Representative. "They just extended the blood-drawing tubes from Piltover into Zaun, overseas, and into places Piltovans cannot see!"
"That way, they can keep blood from staining their own hands while shamelessly boasting about how civilized and elegant they are!"
"That's right!" Viktor gave Lina an approving look and added, "Especially with the invention of the Hexgates in recent years, it is foreseeable that Runeterra will become increasingly connected as a single economic whole."
"Goods produced in Piltover can be sent to Noxus and Demacia within a day. Minerals and raw materials extracted from Shurima and Ixtal can likewise be transported to Zaun's processing factories in no time."
"I personally call this situation the 'globalization' of Runeterra."
"And as globalization advances, an absurd situation will become increasingly obvious:"
"A country's utterly impoverished people may not even be within that country's borders—they may be in another country thousands of miles away!"
Viktor's words were like a splash of cold water, waking everyone up.
They were all Zaunites, so this was very easy to understand.
They did not even need to consider the future of globalization, because Piltover's rich had been doing exactly this to Zaun for two hundred years.
Zaun was Piltover's mine and factory, supplying Piltover year-round with minerals, chemical raw materials, and mechanical components at the lowest possible prices.
Piltover business owners took the lion's share of the profits, while garbage, sewage, alchemical toxic gas, and the bone-grinding exploitation of labor were all left behind in Zaun.
And the Chem-Barons who ruled Zaun never hid their cooperation with Piltover business owners.
They even openly bragged everywhere about the great Piltover families standing behind them, treating them as a competitive advantage.
Then there were Chem-Barons represented by Renata. After getting rich by exploiting Zaunites, they simply expanded their businesses across the canal, even moving their corporate headquarters to Piltover—
They were plainly determined to merge with Piltover's rich, pursue an "international strategy," and become Mars Enterprise.
At the end of the day, Piltover had been carrying out invisible colonial plunder against Zaun for the past two hundred years, while those Zaunite Chem-Barons—
Rather than ruling Zaun, they were more like dogs serving Piltover's rich.
No, calling them dogs was too emotional.
Everyone thought of the new term mentioned in that article: "Comprador?"
"That's right. Outside, there is Piltover's economic colonial plunder; inside, there is Zaun's comprador rule and oppression. This is the current state of Zaunites!"
"You can acknowledge Piltover's progress and civilization, but you must never overlook the fact that this so-called prosperity was built upon their plunder of Zaun, Shurima, and even more impoverished regions!"
Viktor's words struck with force, leaving every student present deep in thought.
Then he continued:
"Actually, that classmate earlier had one point right."
"You are already students of Piltover University—you do not need to change anything. You only need to work hard to fit in here."
Piltover University was Piltover's premier institution and Runeterra's finest academy of science.
The Zaunite students able to study here were all elite talents who had fought their way out from among countless Zaunites. They were the high-quality fresh blood Piltover would always need.
In other words, the moment these students set foot here, they had already become future beneficiaries.
They did not need to overthrow anything.
They only needed to do what Viktor had done in the past: study hard here, find employment, obtain legal Piltover citizenship, and then enjoy the wonderful benefits brought by becoming new Piltovans.
"So, are you still willing to keep listening?"
Having finished what and why, it was time to discuss how.
This was not something that could be casually talked about outside.
"If you are unwilling, you may leave now." Viktor offered the advice kindly.
The road ahead would probably not be easy.
These students all had bright futures, and they had no need to continue down this path.
But students were always the most progressive and passionate group.
They were like the rising sun, like blazing flames, forever giving off light and heat, impossible to extinguish no matter how much water was poured on them.
"We're willing!"
Some people in the room were still questioning, still thinking.
But no one left.
Before you continue