In the laboratory.
Singed casually set down the luggage he had packed, adding a bit more clutter to the lab.
He poured himself a cup of hot water with an experimental glass beaker, then pulled down the bandages wrapped around his mouth, revealing a slightly ghastly face covered in burn scars.
He found a chair, sat down, and quietly drank his water.
Only when a set of footsteps sounded outside did a figure slowly appear at the doorway.
Singed raised his head and looked over calmly. "Come in."
So the other person walked inside. He wore a cloak, and beneath it, his face was covered by a white mask.
Then his voice came through the mask. "Finding you was not easy, Singed. The creator of Shimmer. I have long wanted to pay you a visit."
Singed's expression remained calm, like a stagnant pool of water. "I do not particularly enjoy the feeling of being known inside and out, nor do I enjoy speaking with people who hide their heads and show only their tails. I think you should explain your purpose here."
"I mean you no harm. On the contrary, I have brought something that will definitely interest you." Whatever expression the man wore beneath the mask was unknown, but he seemed to chuckle lightly. "And my understanding of you is limited only to your unmatched talent."
Singed did not reply. He simply waited patiently for the man to continue.
Seeing him like this, the man did not keep forcing idle chatter. "After Silco's fall, I imagine the funding source that kept your laboratory running has also been cut off. Of course, if you wanted to make money, you would naturally have countless methods."
"However, instead of wasting that time, you might as well come directly to me and discuss a deal."
His words fell, and he waited for Singed's response.
"I am not very interested in one-time deals at the moment," Singed replied flatly. "There was once a Noxian warlord who found me, much like you. They wanted me to provide a weapon of mass destruction. I gave them an answer. But they were unable to control it, and in the end, they blamed me for their failure."
"Since then, I have not particularly liked dealing with people who think themselves clever."
"That was their loss. But I think you should not speak too soon. Trust me, you will definitely be interested in this."
As the man spoke, he slowly took out a mithril-colored box from beneath his cloak.
On closer inspection, his entire body was wrapped tightly from head to toe.
Singed only knew that this person called himself by the symbol "C," and by coincidence, he also knew something about the kidnapping case that had caused such a stir years ago.
A Piltover official and a famous inventor had been kidnapped and tortured, and the one who did all of it was this mysterious "C."
Although those two people were eventually rescued, this "C" had also vanished from the world afterward.
That was why Singed had developed some interest.
At this moment, he watched as the man placed the mysterious silver box on the laboratory table. Then, after the man pressed some unknown button, the sound of gears turning came from within the silver box.
Several seams appeared next, and then the box opened in every direction.
The instant it opened, a strange green light spilled out from within.
"What is this?"
This immediately piqued Singed's interest. He stood and looked at the object quietly hovering in the center of the silver box, gleaming like a gemstone.
The light radiating from it carried an indescribable feeling. Or perhaps the object itself was like that.
Singed stepped closer and curiously reached out, wanting to touch the strange stone.
But his hand was stopped midair. The man pressed a hand on his arm and warned him, "Trust me. If you do not want to be consumed by it, then do not touch it."
"This is a World Rune?"
Singed voiced the guess in his heart. Without waiting for the man's response, he had already confirmed it, and his mood shifted subtly. "In the past, I thought they were only legends."
"Now, as you can see, a genuine World Rune fragment is right before you."
The man seemed to smile as he asked, "How about it? Are you interested in our deal now?"
"Very interested." Singed nodded slightly. Ripples appeared at last on his dead-water face, and his eyes flickered as he said, "Tell me the details."
"I obtained this World Rune fragment by chance. As you know, this sort of thing usually contains tremendous energy, but it also contains countless possibilities."
"Because its energy is far too immense, I created this mithril box to isolate it. Now, I can give it directly to you."
The man's words were quite casual, and then he stated his purpose. "But no matter what you research from it, I want the results shared with me. You are one of the very few scientists with this level of capability. That is why I came to you."
"I see." Singed was not surprised now. His gaze had not moved away from the rune fragment. After thinking silently for a few seconds, he said, "I do not think I have any reason to refuse this deal. Leave it here, then leave a way to contact you."
"No need. When I want to find you, I will come myself. Even if you take it and hide at the ends of the earth, I will still find you. Trust me."
The man made no farewell and simply left.
As for the faint threat revealed in his words, Singed did not care.
A person like him had always walked along the edge of a blade, so why would he fear a threat of this degree?
By comparison, he truly was very interested in the rune fragment before him.
Just by looking at it, he could already see countless possibilities within it.
Soon, Singed was the only one left in the laboratory.
The rune fragment hovered there, shining.
Singed had already shifted his gaze away from it. He slowly came to another heavy iron door and opened it.
Behind that door, there was nothing except a constantly operating alchemy tank.
And in the liquid inside the alchemy tank, a frail girl slept in deathlike silence.
Looking at her, a few ripples finally appeared in Singed's eyes. He raised a hand and wrapped the bandages around himself again, then shut the door.
"Wait a little longer, Angeli. It won't be long now."
Topside.
"Whew, I really didn't expect the effect to be that shocking."
Vi walked down the street with the group, as though she were still immersed in the performance from not long ago.
Although she had learned in advance that her younger sister was a member of an incredible band, she had not expected her to be that incredible.
The sight of tens of thousands of people celebrating together was truly unforgettable after just one glance.
Vi had to admit that she felt proud from the bottom of her heart.
Looking at Jinx up ahead, walking and joking around with the other girls with a smile on her face, the scene felt very warm.
Vi's eyes softened a little, and she could not help feeling somewhat grateful.
To meet a group like this after getting out of prison, her luck really was good.
Walking at the rear of the group, Luke asked, "How have things been going in Zaun lately?"
Hearing this, Vi sighed softly. "So-so. Zaun's gangs are even more chaotic now than they were a few years ago. None of them will submit to anyone. I've handled two of them, but not much has changed. The good news is that quite a few of the people who followed Vander back then have returned."
In Zaun, there was actually a very simple rule.
If your fists were hard enough, people would obey.
Back then, Vander had led a group of Zaunites into conflict with Piltover, and they had fought so fiercely on the border bridge that flames lit up the sky.
After that battle, no one objected to him being Zaun's boss.
Now, Vander had fallen, and Silco had fallen too.
The gangs that were still alive naturally saw a new opportunity.
And clearly, they were not very willing to submit to Vi, who had inherited Vander's will.
After all, Vi had disappeared for so many years. Now she had come back and wanted to take charge of the whole situation. How could things be that easy?
Although she had the Firelights' support and her own fists were hard, facing these old foxes who had entrenched themselves for so many years, Vi, who still lacked seniority, had indeed run into some difficulties.
Listening as Vi slowly vented her complaints, Luke roughly understood the situation.
"To put it simply, your fists still aren't hard enough."
He gave his assessment.
Vi sighed helplessly. "Two fists are no match for four hands. Sometimes I feel like it'd be great if I were a perpetual motion machine. Then I could just keep punching nonstop."
Her helplessness was not without reason, because compared to years ago, Zaunite technology had advanced quite a lot.
In the past, even guns had not been that common. Now they were fairly easy to see.
"A perpetual motion machine is hard to arrange, but I do think you need to keep up with the times."
Luke smiled at this moment and said, "Come with me somewhere later."
Vi nodded. Although she had no objections, she still asked curiously, "What kind of place? What are we going there for?"
Luke smiled faintly. "To an inventor's workshop. I'm going to get you some equipment support."
This made Vi curious.
So after Luke said something to Lux and the others, he brought Vi with him and walked toward another street.
Half an hour later, they stopped in front of a weapons workshop.
The main door was open, and at a glance, they could see a large furnace operating inside, surging flames burning within it.
On both sides of the furnace were all kinds of machinery, as well as a few pieces of equipment that seemed to still be in development.
"Your Highness."
At this moment, Jayce slowly walked over from the right. His forehead was covered in sweat, and he was panting slightly.
Luke looked at him and asked with a smile, "Busy?"
"I just took a break," Jayce replied.
"This is Vi, the friend I mentioned when I came to see you a few days ago."
Luke briefly introduced Vi beside him, then said, "Bring out those two gauntlets and let her take a look."
"All right."
Jayce nodded and turned to leave.
Vi looked around the weapons workshop curiously and said, "So this is that famous councilor?"
The news of Jayce becoming a councilor had still not lost its momentum even now. He remained a hot topic among the people, and even many Zaunites knew about him.
After all, he was the renowned developer of Hextech.
"Mm." Luke nodded slightly. "When I came to see him a few days ago, he happened to be developing a new type of equipment, and the experiment was already in its later stages. I thought this equipment might suit you very well, so I mentioned it."
Hearing him, Vi said sincerely, "Thank you, Your Highness, for looking after me all this time."
Luke had truly helped her too much. Now he had even thought of her first for something like this, which moved her somewhat.
No matter what, Vi kept his kindness firmly in her heart. She would repay him when she had the chance.
Jayce returned very soon, this time pushing a small cart. Standing on the cart were two somewhat wide and heavy-looking mechanical gauntlets.
Vi glanced at them and immediately could not look away.
"These are the Hextech Atlas Gauntlets," Jayce said, slowly introducing them. "The original design concept for these gauntlets was mining. However, during the design process, I lacked some consideration for the wearer."
"Although they can generate considerable force, they also place a significant burden on the wearer. Ordinary people cannot control them at all. Overall, the advantages and disadvantages are about equal."
"But His Highness told me they would suit you very well. You can try them."
As Jayce spoke, he laid the gauntlets flat. One gauntlet alone was as large as half his body, and they looked very heavy when he lifted them.
After the gauntlets were set flat, they let out a heavy thud.
Vi stepped forward, and Jayce explained, "In order to keep them from falling off easily, there is an automatic fitting device inside the gauntlets. You only need to stretch your arms into them. There will be a button by the thumb inside. Press it to bind them. I do not think it should hurt much."
Vi did not hesitate. She raised both hands and slid each arm into one of the gauntlets.
As she reached deep inside, she pressed the buttons by her thumbs, just as Jayce had said.
In an instant, every mechanical component in the gauntlets began operating. The Hextech gemstones in the palms began sending out a steady stream of energy, and light shone from the backs.
The next second, bursts of smoke sprayed from both sides, and the insides of the gauntlets automatically fitted themselves to Vi's arms.
Vi raised her arms and shook them a couple of times.
Jayce asked, "How do they feel? Each gauntlet weighs sixty-five kilograms. I hope you will not try to force yourself, otherwise the damage to your arms will be enormous."
"They're definitely heavy, but I think I can handle them." Vi gradually began adapting, and the range of her movements grew larger too.
She tried throwing a few punches. Her fists whistled through the air, looking full of power.
From the light in her eyes, it was clear that she was more than satisfied.
Obviously, these two mechanical fists had hit her right where it counted.
"If you think you can handle them, then there's no problem."
Seeing Vi swing them around freely, Jayce also felt that she did not look like she was forcing herself.
When he designed this thing, his idea had been good. In order to let ordinary people mine more efficiently, the Hextech gauntlets could provide tremendous help.
But he had forgotten that ordinary people could not withstand this kind of weight.
As it happened, Luke had come to him a few days ago, and after a conversation, they had decided to let Vi take a look.
Now that they had, he found that they really did suit her.
Luke wanted to say, how could they not suit her? After all, from the moment Jayce decided to build this thing, it had been destined to be made for Vi.
Jayce said, "Next, I'll give you a simple explanation of the gauntlets' functions."
Vi stopped moving, nodded, and prepared to listen.
"The most important function is the charge mode. The activation key is by your index finger. It will accelerate the Hextech gemstone's energy consumption while storing energy."
"This energy can be used for shield mode. Once activated, it can form a short-lasting Hextech magnetic field around your body to block attacks."
"It can also be released outward to create an attack with considerable impact force."
"At the same time, it also has a certain automatic operation program, along with the corresponding activation keys."
Jayce explained each point one by one.
"I have to say, this design of yours is seriously amazing."
Vi was a little excited at the moment, perhaps because the gauntlets suited her too perfectly.
Most importantly, with this equipment, the problems in the Undercity would no longer trouble her.
Maybe it was time to let those people who refused to accept her have a taste of her fists.
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