"So this is Shimmer?"
At this moment, Luke and the others had already withdrawn from Carroll's base.
In Luke's hand was a Shimmer injector. He studied the purple liquid inside it, his gaze thoughtful.
This was also something he was rather interested in. He had heard of Shimmer before.
Squeezing a little Shimmer onto his finger, Luke first sniffed it, then put it in his mouth.
With only that tiny amount, it basically would not have any effect.
But that was not Luke's goal. He only wanted to understand the components of Shimmer.
"Winnowgrass, Misha Leaf, and Demonear Flower are all highly stimulating and addictive plants."
Luke muttered inwardly. The remaining components could not be identified by tongue alone.
However, he did not think figuring out the Shimmer formula would be anything difficult. After all, Luke was not only highly proficient in medicine, he also had a level-six Alchemist side profession.
In plain terms, this was more or less right in his field.
Shimmer could enhance a person's physique in every way, but its side effects were its strong addictiveness and the heavy burden it placed on the body.
It was a drug that forcibly exchanged the body's foundation for power.
Of course, part of the reason it was so addictive was because Silco wanted to use it to control more people.
Luke felt it had great research value. If he could find a way to reduce its side effects to the lowest possible level, then Shimmer could play a role at critical moments.
It would be like an adrenaline injector.
It was just that the current version had no reason to exist. It was far too harmful.
"After we return, notify the Piltover Enforcers and have them begin cracking down on Silco's remaining influence, especially anything related to Shimmer."
Luke came back from his thoughts and said this to Caitlyn beside him.
Hearing this, Caitlyn immediately answered, "Yes."
After thinking for a moment, Luke added, "Also, clear out some of the more vicious gangs while you're at it."
Now that he wanted to intervene in the twin cities, Silco stepping down was inevitable.
Because Silco had no small amount of ambition, and he covered the undercity with one hand. If things continued that way, he would eventually hinder Luke.
Even without Carroll today, it was only a matter of time before Luke took action.
Right now, the first thing to strike down and clean up was Silco's Shimmer factories and remaining forces. Aside from that, Zaun's gangs also needed some degree of reorganization.
Of course, Luke would not let the Enforcers intervene too heavily, only make appropriate moves.
A city like Zaun did not actually need too much interference. Letting it develop freely was the best path. After Silco fell, the nature of the people here would be fully unleashed.
That would be when a hundred flowers truly bloomed.
As one of the cities at the center of the world, maintaining order within chaos and growing wildly was Zaun's defining trait.
Excessive interference would only suppress that nature.
Vi and Ekko, not far away, both heard Luke's words. Neither of them spoke, falling into silence.
They knew Luke did indeed have that kind of authority. As for Luke directly moving to clear out Silco's remaining forces, they felt both somewhat relieved and somewhat worried.
They were relieved because this way, they would not have to go through so much trouble to solve the remaining problems.
They were worried because if Luke planned to use this chance to control Zaun, they seemed to have no right to choose.
What would the future Zaun become?
And where should they go from here?
At this moment, Luke looked toward them and said, "This time, you should owe me quite a favor. When you have the chance in the future, think of a way to repay it."
Hearing this, Ekko and Vi raised their heads, knowing that they did indeed owe His Highness a rather large favor.
Calling it a life-saving debt would not be too much.
Because if it had not been for Luke today, they probably would not have been a match for Carroll.
At that point, the situation would only have developed in an even worse direction. Thinking about it this way, the upper city or this prince controlling the undercity seemed somewhat better.
Then Luke continued, "But for now, I think you should consider how to take on the responsibility of leading Zaun from here on."
Hearing Luke's words, both Ekko and Vi looked confused. For a moment, they did not understand what he meant.
"Since ancient times, dynasties have risen and fallen. Old kings fall, and new kings ascend. Even when applied to a city, the principle is the same."
As Luke walked forward, he slowly said, "As far as I know, Silco was the underground ruler of the undercity before this. Now that you've overthrown him, you naturally have to take over the situation left behind after his fall."
Vi seemed to understand what Luke meant and could not help saying, "But isn't the upper city going to send Enforcers next?"
"I'm having the upper city send Enforcers only to help you resolve all of this faster. There were already many casualties tonight. There's no need for it to continue."
Luke's calm gaze rested on the two of them. "As far as I know, the relationship between the two cities has never been good. There are certain divisions between the people on both sides, and those divisions have only grown more severe."
"And what I want is to remove those divisions and untie the grudges between the twin cities. Zaun belongs to you. I'm sure you also want this place to become better."
As his words fell,
Ekko gradually understood what he meant. Clearly, this prince wanted to act as a mediator and improve the relationship between the twin cities.
It had to be said, this prince really did have a lot of free time, but he was also genuinely good.
Over all these years, Ekko had watched the conflict between the twin cities grow bigger and bigger, yet the people in charge of both cities had never thought about properly resolving those conflicts.
They looked down on one another and cursed each other behind the scenes, so naturally, their grudges only grew deeper.
And now, it was actually someone from outside the twin cities stepping forward, wanting to resolve these grudges.
That made Ekko feel that it was somewhat ridiculous, and also somewhat self-mocking. It felt like an outsider had witnessed their embarrassment.
After listening to Luke, Vi also fell into thought.
When she was young, she had matured much earlier than others her age. Back then, she had already noticed this problem.
The grudges between the twin cities were actually the fault of both sides.
They were neighbors who lived right next to each other, people who could not avoid seeing one another. Yet after living together for so many years, things had reached the point where they insulted and cursed each other whenever they met.
There was no way that could have been caused by only one side's mistakes.
It was just that accumulated resentment had made both sides ignore this point, and over time, the relationship only grew worse.
She remembered that Vander had once wanted to change that situation. He had tried many methods, but in the end, they had all failed.
"I heard you're the daughter of Vander, the former leader of the undercity. Now that the undercity needs a new leader, I don't think anyone is more suitable than you."
Luke looked at the thoughtful Vi and spoke directly.
Vi froze at once, unable to react for a moment. "Me?"
"That's right. I admire your resilient personality. I think you're someone who can accomplish great things."
Luke smiled and said, "A person like you won't throw away responsibility easily."
"I…"
Vi opened her mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment.
She wanted to refuse, but just as Luke had said, she also wanted to shoulder that responsibility.
She had grown up in the undercity, and her feelings for this place were higher than the sky. She wanted to see her hometown become better and better.
After all, what Vi had once looked up to most was growing up and becoming someone like Vander.
Steady, calm, managing the undercity without panic.
"I think it fits."
At this moment, Ekko suddenly spoke.
"I support it too." Jinx, who had been feeling down the whole time, also raised her small hand and gave her opinion.
She felt that Vi would definitely become an excellent leader. When the time came, she could follow behind Vi and act all impressive too.
Vi could not help giving a bitter smile. "Easy for you to say…"
Ekko smiled. "Back then, we all followed you around. It's the same now, Vi. You can definitely do it."
Luke said at this moment, "There's still plenty of time. No rush. Think it over."
There was still plenty of time, but it was already late. Everything that needed to be done had been done, and everything that needed to be explained had been explained. Right now, he only wanted to rest.
Miss Crownguard beside him had yawned so many times along the way that she was too sleepy to even talk.
If someone gave her a bed right now, she would guarantee she could fall asleep the second she flopped onto it.
Seraphine and Orianna were not much better. They were both the type to sleep at regular hours, and once they stayed up late and spent quite a bit of energy, the moment things relaxed, sleepiness naturally started to hit.
So Luke decided to leave the rest for tomorrow.
He left decisively.
But the Council members and Enforcers who were woken up in the middle of the night were completely bewildered.
What was going on?
Very quickly, after the Council members learned what had happened in the undercity, they no longer had much of a temper. They were all smart people and knew what this prince wanted to express this time.
So they did not drag things out and swiftly began making arrangements, mobilizing the Enforcers.
The Council members did know of Silco. After all, he was the one in charge of the undercity.
On the surface, he was an industrialist. In reality, he had the final say over the entire undercity. Some Council members present had even taken money from him.
However, with the prince's intervention, everything such a figure possessed would vanish overnight.
Fortunately, this prince had not overstepped too much. He knew to let the upper city handle this matter instead of sending in Demacia's army.
That perfectly measured sense of proportion gave the Council members a rather favorable impression.
They also learned from their subordinates' reports that, in this incident, this prince had more or less been dragged in half-passively.
That left nothing more to say.
As for someone like Silco, the Council members' attitude was that it made no difference whether he existed or not.
From beginning to end, what they needed was someone who could speak for the undercity. That person could be anyone.
Vander was fine. Silco was fine too.
As long as they managed the undercity's little patch of land properly, that was enough.
To be honest, they did not really want to interfere with that messy place either.
But right now, judging from this prince's intentions, he seemed to plan on mediating things.
Under the night sky, Piltover's Enforcers began moving. Their goal was to crack down on Silco's Shimmer factories and remaining forces.
He had placed the Shimmer factories in several hidden locations, but now that his power was gone, those places could no longer stay hidden.
Only now did the Council members learn that Silco had secretly developed such a drug, one that possessed considerable danger.
Even though this drug had already appeared on the streets of Zaun long ago.
That was enough to show just how indifferent they had been toward the undercity.
They discovered that Silco seemed to have been preparing to use this drug when the conflict between the twin cities broke out in the future. He had been making preparations for this all along.
That made several Council members suddenly feel a chill down their backs.
If not for a twist of fate, they probably would not have discovered this even now.
In his interactions with the upper city, Silco had always shown a more hard-line attitude than Vander, the previous leader. But they had not expected him to be bold to this extent.
The effects Shimmer could produce were beyond their expectations.
If a conflict truly broke out in the future, they very well might suffer a major setback.
And this was clearly an illegal drug as well. Even without Luke's instructions, the Council members immediately began establishing a ban on Shimmer.
They classified it as contraband. Private transactions, sales, and production would all face severe punishment.
Just like that, the Enforcers worked the entire night, only calming the incident by the time dawn arrived.
That night, they arrested many people, all of whom were the type who could not be allowed to see the light even in the upper city. As for everyone else, there was no need to pursue them further.
And those forces that had once followed Silco had already hidden themselves away, waiting for the storm to pass. Most likely, they intended to set up on their own.
As for those Shimmer factories, they had already become ruins.
Vi and Ekko had witnessed everything the entire night.
Even they had never imagined that things would end this quickly.
The two sat on a rooftop, overlooking the scenery of Zaun. Ekko asked, "What do you plan to do next?"
After a whole night of careful thought, Vi had already figured out what she needed to do. Her eyes carried determination. "A lot of people followed Vander back then. After Silco took power, some of them hid, and some disappeared. I'm going to gather them back and reopen The Last Drop."
Hearing her words, Ekko knew she was preparing to shoulder this responsibility. So he raised his fist. "I just want you to remember that no matter when it is, I'll always support you."
Vi heard this, smiled, and raised her fist to bump Ekko's. "Thanks, little man."
"I said, stop calling me little man!"
Ekko said this in annoyance, then tossed out his hoverboard.
The hoverboard flashed with green light and hovered in midair. Ekko stood up and jumped onto it, then looked back and said, "The Firelights won't have to hide anymore either. I'll go back and tell everyone the news. When the time comes, we'll protect the new Zaun together."
"Yeah."
Vi nodded seriously, watching Ekko ride his hoverboard away.
Her gaze turned toward the familiar Zaun, toward this city that seemed not to have changed much, and toward the crowds coming and going.
From this moment on, it felt as if a great mission had fallen onto her shoulders.
She left the rooftop as well, walking along the streets of Zaun.
In the end, without realizing it, she stopped in front of a statue of Vander.
It seemed Silco had not made the people of the undercity forget him. Many names were engraved on this statue, as if each one belonged to someone who had inherited Vander's will.
"After not seeing you for so many years, it feels like you haven't changed at all."
Vi slowly sat down beside the statue. She felt like she had so much she wanted to say, but she did not know where to begin.
After a long while, she asked, "Do you think I can do this well?"
No one answered, but a gentle breeze blew past, lifting Vi's hair.
She raised her head, looked at Vander's hearty smile, and smiled along with it.
"All I know is that I won't let you down. See you around, Vander."
Vi stood up, slipped both hands into her pockets, and strode away.
This man had once used his broad shoulders to protect Zaun and all of them. Now, she would carry his will and walk forward without wavering.
She was going to be very busy for a while. She had many old friends to meet.
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