lol: After being blessed by the Happy Demon, I became the harem king

Page 18

Caitlin glanced at Jess and shrugged, "That depends on what Victor thinks."

As she spoke, Caitlin looked at Victor and said, "He told me to tell you that you can't change Zaun by going through the upper echelons."

Upon hearing this, before Viktor could speak, Jess hesitated for a moment before saying, "Change Zaun? What is he talking about? Does he intend to change things just because he can't get through to the so-called upper echelons?"

Pointing to the hall below, Jess said with a somewhat troubled expression, "Just...just through murder?"

Caitlin continued to shrug without saying a word, only looking at Victor.

After a long silence, Victor took a deep breath and said to Jess, who was looking at him with a puzzled expression, "Please let him come up."

Having received her answer, Caitlin said nothing and turned to leave. Left alone in the private room, Jess looked at Viktor with a puzzled expression and said:

“Victor, you really want to see him? He’s a ruthless killer! And… and even if we’re cooperating, you can’t go to him in person, can you? I don’t believe a serial killer can change Zaun. He’d be more likely to wipe out everyone in Zaun! If he goes on a killing spree, the two of us can’t stop him!”

30. Twin-City Model

"The one behind your back? Blame the one below."

Just as Jess was speaking, Fan walked in from outside at a leisurely pace.

Upon hearing Fan's voice, Jess almost instantly stiffened, his face filled with embarrassment at being caught in the act. He scratched his head and evasively approached Caitlin, making it clear to the policewoman that he would not say another word under her helpless gaze.

This left Caitlyn somewhat speechless, but Jayce was, after all, a member of the Piltover Council, so Caitlyn stepped forward to show that she would uphold Piltover's honor.

Farn didn't seem to care too much, and simply walked over naturally after Jess stepped aside.

Having been in this world for some time now, in order to determine whether Piltover in this world is the Battle of the Two Cities or the previous version of the League of Legends universe, Faen specifically sought out Shuona for information and practical investigation.

This needs to be investigated. After all, neither Zerek nor Seraphine appeared in the Battle of the Two Cities. Even Caitlin's appearance is the original artwork from the game, not the Queen of Orbicularis Oris from the animated series.

Especially in the older versions of the lore, the Hextech Crystals used in Piltover were derived from the remains of the Shellmen, a race from the depths of the earth. Crystal Vanguard Skarner was the last surviving Shellman. It can be said that the entire civilization of Piltover was built upon the blood and tears of the Shellmen.

And this timeline...

According to Faen's understanding, most of the Hextech Crystal ore in this timeline originates from the primeval forests and mining areas of Shurima, across the sea. In fact, Piltover had already mastered the technology for Hextech Crystals over a hundred years ago. However, their methods of use were relatively crude back then, basically just boiling water with brute force.

The reason Jayce and Viktor in this world were so successful was because they successfully improved upon the existing Hextech Crystal's operation and power supply principles. The relationship is similar to that of Watt and the steam engine. Although Newcomen invented the steam engine, it was Watt's improvements that truly made it mainstream.

Based on this, Farn didn't have much of an opinion about Jess. After all, people grow and mature. Jess, while not exactly from the bottom of Piltover's social hierarchy, belonged to a lower-class family. The fact that he could change his life through invention and creation already proved his talent and genius.

However, the current timeline is still too early; the event of Jinx firing a Super Ultimate Death Missile at the Piltover Council and killing Little Cake's mother, Old Cake, hasn't even happened yet.

In this context, Jayce himself is still an indecisive, newly rich poor man with serious prejudices against Zaun, and even a bit of a petty bourgeois mentality. You really can't expect a nerdy guy who has spent the past ten years working on technology in the lab to produce results while also understanding human relationships and the logic of social operation.

It is precisely for this reason that we neither try to win over Jessfarn nor reject him; we will just let things take their natural course.

But Victor is different.

"How's life uptown, Victor?"

Upon hearing Farn's question, Victor's eyes narrowed slightly, but he did not answer Farn's question. Instead, he asked, "Sir, we don't seem to have encountered this before."

“You don’t know me, but I know you, and that’s enough,” Farn said calmly.

"……What's the meaning?"

Victor looked at Fane in confusion. Fane simply explained the fragments of his mind about the past and the future.

Just as Fane had expected, after hearing Fane's words, Victor, Jess, and Caitlin all showed a hint of doubt. In the end, before Fane could finish speaking, Victor couldn't help but interrupt, "Excuse me, sir, this sounds a bit too far-fetched."

“Just like a street swindler mingling among vendors!” Jess said bluntly, “I don’t think Victor will be fooled by your blunder-filled sweet talk.”

"Time will tell whether all of this is true or not." Farn shook his head, not intending to elaborate further. Because proving something is an endless process; the more you try to prove it, the more you need to prove. Ultimately, if others don't believe you, nothing you say matters.

Thinking it over, Fain said, "You have achieved something remarkable, Viktor. You and Jayce have modified the workings of Hextech Crystals, allowing them to release their energy in a more efficient way. Piltover's current status as the trading hub of Runeterra is not only due to the land's geographical factors, but also to the crucial role played by the application of Hextech technology."

As he spoke, Farn gazed towards the Hextech airship port high above Piltover. The sight of airships, their lights flashing with magical energy, darting back and forth through space at astonishing speeds was breathtaking. Though their own history was relatively short, they had already become a symbol of civilization and prosperity in the eyes of many Piltover residents.

Each appearance and disappearance of these airships brings immense wealth and tourists to their cities. This means that in Piltover, you can see almost anyone and anything from any country.

"While this city continues to thrive, its neighboring Zu'an is becoming increasingly plagued by problems."

After a pause, Farn asked, "Are you familiar with the worker's philosophy that I advocate?"

Upon hearing this, Viktor, who was standing to the side, nodded after a moment of silence and said, "I've looked into it... I must say, it's a very feasible methodology. But even if it succeeds, Zaun still has many problems to solve, and it's not something that can be solved simply by improving the workers' treatment."

Born into poverty, Viktor harbors deep sympathy for the underprivileged in Zaun—because he himself is one of them. He changed his fate through his intelligence, but this did not make Viktor forget his roots.

Similarly, it was precisely because of his own knowledge that Victor knew very well that everything in Zaun was not as simple as it seemed on the surface.

Thinking this through, Viktor had already grasped the purpose of Fane's visit. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Does Your Excellency want me to return to Zaun and join your side?"

“Yes, but there’s no rush.” Fane nodded, acknowledging his purpose in seeking Viktor, and said unhurriedly, “Although Shirk often attributes some of the problems and crises Zaun faces to Piltover’s oppression, in reality, it is also due to the long-term neglect of Zaun’s own problems that has led to its near collapse.”

"While the mind influences the matter, the matter also influences the mind. Blaming all of Zaun's problems on Piltover is an unfair and evasive approach, but similarly, Zaun's current state is also inextricably linked to Piltover."

As he spoke, Farn opened his palm and summoned a curtain of water in the tense yet slightly fearful gazes of Jess and Caitlin, transforming it into numerical symbols that matched this world, as well as corresponding images and scenes.

As scholars, Victor and Jess always had an exceptional sensitivity to numbers. But when Farn suddenly created these things, they were initially confused about his purpose.

In response, Farn stated, "This is the Twin Cities model. You can understand it as a social structural theory describing the unequal distribution of power, resources, and ideology."

The so-called twin-city model is actually a center-periphery model. This wasn't Fern's original idea, but rather a concept proposed by economist Paul Krugman in his famous 1991 paper, "Increasing Returns and Economic Geography." This idea laid a new theoretical foundation for new economic geography and has since been further supplemented, refined, and innovated by other scholars, including Krugman himself, becoming the theoretical basis for many models in new economic geography.

As for the different worlds, Fane made corresponding adjustments based on the actual situations in Zaun and Piltover. Among these adjustments, the most significant was the impact of individuals on the collective—especially in a worldview where supernatural powers exist, powerful individuals are a crucial factor to consider.

Apart from that, just like what Fain did in Zaun, Fain also removed some peripheral details and added some new variables.

The missing details will not affect Farn's overall expression. The added variables, however, represent the unpredictability of extraordinary power.

Whether it's the special nature of the deletions or the introduction of new, somewhat abrupt variables, they are difficult to spot at a glance. It takes a thorough understanding of the model to realize their authenticity and abruptness.

After all, the situation in Zuan is still escalating.

Once the problems in Zaun are mostly resolved, with the intelligence of Victor and the others, they should have already figured out what Fane was trying to convey.

There's no need to worry about it spreading and causing any negative impact. This theory is practically useless in other regions or city-states of Runeterra. Places like Freljord still maintain a primitive barter system. Noxus, on the other hand, has taken the theory of survival of the fittest to its extreme as a classical military state.

Furthermore, the existence of magic means that many powerful individuals beyond human comprehension are hidden in other regions or city-states. Therefore, if it were in other regions, Fan would not have tried to use this model to demonstrate the reason for the problem.

But this is Twin Cities, a region dominated by mortals, and also a city-state with the most advanced system compared to primitive tribes, feudal empires, and classical military states. A city-state that rose to prominence through trade. Whether those trading families were good or bad is another matter, but under their management, Piltover did indeed become the de facto cultural center of the Loran continent.

Here, art, crafts, trade, and innovation go hand in hand. What has shaped all of this is not its formidable military strength, but rather its extensive trade cooperation and forward-thinking business philosophy and scientific approach.

Sure enough, both Viktor and Jess showed great interest after hearing what Fane said.

This left Caitlin somewhat bewildered—she was still planning to report what was happening here, such as the exchange between Fane and Victor, to her family. But who would have thought that Fane would take such an unconventional approach, not trying to persuade Victor with grand theories, but instead using a highly specialized mathematical or other model to help Victor grasp the meaning himself?

Reason told Caitlin that, as a law enforcement officer, she should interrupt Farn to prevent such an important talent as Victor from leaving Piltover.

The problem is that Farn is simply too powerful, so powerful that Caitlyn has no intention of confronting him. Especially now that Victor and Jayce have shown great interest, as an enforcer, she could easily provoke their displeasure if she intervened without their permission.

Thinking this, Caitlin glanced at Jess with a hint of exasperation—Jess was still the same Jess, maintaining his scholarly naiveté. Now that Farn had presented this theory, he was actually studying it with great interest, instead of considering its impact on Viktor or whether it would affect the overall interests of Piltover.

Despite these thoughts, Caitlin ultimately felt a sense of relief. Because she didn't want her friends to all end up like the politicians she remembered…

"Zaun and Piltover may seem like two separate cities, but from the beginning, the two cities have been inseparable."

Without interrupting their observation of the model, Faen calmly stated, "After the Sun Gate seawall project accident, Piltover exclusively enjoyed the benefits of the shipping route, while Zaun was reduced to an 'underground city' due to geological collapse. This led to the systematic plundering of Zaun's resources, forcing them to rely on informal economy and dangerous technology to survive."

“The favorable conditions gave Piltover the right to make the rules, but Piltover actively excluded Zaun from the decision-making system. The so-called legal and ethical standards were used to serve Piltover’s interests. For example, Hextech was prohibited from flowing into Zaun, but trading families were allowed to use Zaun’s environment to conduct illegal experiments and destructive production.”

As he spoke, Fane glanced at Jess. Jess, who had just looked up, was slightly taken aback by Fane's gaze.

Perhaps it was because Fane didn't immediately resort to force to coerce or threaten them? Therefore, while Jess feared Fane, he wasn't terrified of him. In Jess's view, although Fane was violent, he was also a reasonable person.

But precisely because of this, Jess instinctively turned his head away to avoid Fain's gaze, seemingly not wanting to have any further discussion about the matter.

Scholars are always pure, especially the relationship between Zaun and Piltover, which is not difficult to understand with a little thought.

31. Zeli and Salafine

As Fane was having a meeting with the scholars, Zeli blinked boredly and then looked around.

In fact, Zeli's personality is somewhat similar to Fain's. Although Zeli is willing to fight for the workers' future, she doesn't reject a more comfortable life. It's just that she's unwilling to build such a comfortable life on the suffering of her neighborhood friends.

Besides, although Zeli was determined to rebel against the Alchemist Baron's tyranny, she actually knew absolutely nothing about politics or other such miscellaneous things. In fact, she was particularly disgusted by these dirty deeds—just like those guys she encountered a while ago who were disguised as followers of Fane. If Fane hadn't reminded her, even with the help of her equipment, Zeli would have been in a tough fight.

And this was just the work of one gang in the Gutter. Among the many gangs in the Gutter, Zeli couldn't imagine how many other evil and dirty schemes they were secretly plotting.

Thinking this, Zeli felt a little disappointed. She realized she couldn't help Fane at all… whether it was strength or anything else, Fane was far superior to her. Especially the theories he presented; although Zeli didn't fully understand them, she could sense their profound depth from her mother's tone. Moreover, even Hilko was now actively trying to win Fane over, wanting to contribute to the revival of Zaun.

In what ways can I help Faen?

Surely it couldn't all just be in bed, could it? Thinking back to the lewd acts of the previous night that had barely ended a few hours ago, Zeli couldn't help but blush. But soon, Zeli was once again deeply hurt.

Even in bed, it seemed like he couldn't really help much... Just like last night, although Faen seemed to enjoy it, he had to help with the revitalization therapy every now and then. In the end, it took quite a while for him to regain his mobility.

Just as Zeli was still thinking, she suddenly noticed something and looked towards a corner not far away.

In Zeli's line of sight, a beautiful pink-haired girl was cautiously hiding behind the wall, her bright, sparkling eyes curiously gazing at the house. Following the girl's gaze, she realized that the person she was spying on was none other than her beloved Fan.

And that girl... Salafine?

After recognizing the girl, Zeli blinked curiously. She wasn't jealous, though; after all, countless people in Zaun were curious about Fain, especially since he was so outstanding. Once girls realized how remarkable Fain was, even more would likely follow.

As for pimping and such—being from Zaun, Zeli knew very well what evil deeds those alchemist barons had committed.

In this context, Zeli deeply abhorred the exploitative practice of pimping and forcing women into sex work.

However, precisely because Zeli grew up in the harsh environment of Zaun, she learned from a young age that powerful and influential people used their power to have multiple wives and concubines…

It's not just in Zaun; it's quite common even in Piltover, which prides itself on civilization. However, compared to the chaotic Zaun, the gentlemen of Piltover don't flaunt it so openly. Instead, they quietly keep mistresses as concubines.

Of course, Zeli didn't believe that Fan could win a girl's heart in a single meeting... unless Fan immediately unleashed a powerful dose of pure pleasure. But Zeli knew that Fan wasn't that kind of person.

Unless Salafine is a bad girl.

Thinking this, Zeli called out to Faen beside her, "It's so boring here, I'm going out for a walk."

Upon hearing this, Farn turned around to indicate that it was okay, and then raised his hand and said, "Remember to be careful."

Given Zeli's strength, it would be virtually impossible for the security personnel here to subdue her, who is known for her agility, in a short period of time. In particular, the Emotion Resonance Motor has significantly enhanced Zeli's greatest weakness, namely her own defense. In a fight now, if Zeli is well-prepared, even Faen would have to spend some time to catch this little girl who can accelerate electricity across various surfaces.

Of course, it just takes a little time.

After briefly informing Faen, Zeli excitedly dashed off.

If Zeli remembered correctly, Fan seemed quite interested in this little girl named Salafine? After all, this girl, like herself, appeared in Fan's prophecy. According to Fan, she was someone who 'felt pain for the suffering of others, felt joy for the happiness of others, and sincerely hoped that the world could become a better place…' and someone who needed to be won over.

Because of her complete trust in Farn, Zeli believed in Salafine's character, but she was also curious about what was so special about this girl that made Farn praise her so highly.

Aside from that, Zeli herself really likes Salafani, otherwise she wouldn't have come all the way to attend a concert—although the concert was ruined.

Meanwhile, Salafine peered at Farn's figure through the stained glass window, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Born with the ability to sense the emotions of others, Seraphine is able to observe the world through her own eyes from a different perspective. However, to be honest, even now, Seraphine has never truly set foot on Zaun's soil. While she can now distinguish and accept the ubiquitous melodies, notes, and noises in her environment, this is limited to Piltover.

As for Zaun, the place where her father and mother were born, Seraphine has never set foot there to this day.

Because the noise and chaos in Zaun were too much, Seraphine's parents also disagreed with her going to Zaun—even today's concert in the Mid-Levels Plaza was only agreed to after Seraphine begged for a long time.

Even now, Salafine still remembers the strange feeling she had when she rode down the clanging elevator.

Even just being near Zu'an made her feel like she was back home. But this home felt so foreign, as if she were a complete stranger.

In the mid-level plaza, the closest place in Piltover to Zaun, she heard a melody of forbearance and ambition.

This kind of melody is not uncommon. At Piltover University and Hextech Workshop, many scholars are eager to change their destiny through invention and creation, just like Jayce, and realize the great 'Piltover Dream'.

But Zaun's forbearance and ambition are different... This free rhythm is unique to Zaun.

Within this free-flowing rhythm, Seraphine also heard anger and hatred. Especially at the very beginning of today's concert, the people of Zaun and Piltover nearly broke into a brawl. Fortunately, the Hextech Powerhouse created by Seraphine's father greatly amplified Seraphine's power, preventing the scene from spiraling out of control.

Unfortunately, what followed was an even more brutal attack by thugs.

Although the mob attack did not cause many casualties, it did draw Seraphine's attention to Fain—or more precisely, to that cheerful melody that never faded even amidst the oppressive and angry sounds of Zaun.

The concert was forced to stop due to the sudden attack, and Salafine was supposed to return to Uptown.

It's foreseeable that Seraphine will not be allowed by her parents to go to Zaun for a long time to come. After all, this is only Seraphine's first time approaching Zaun, and such violent conflict has already occurred. Even if Seraphine's parents are kind-hearted and agree to let her go, the councilors and law enforcement officers of Piltover will not allow Seraphine to venture into dangerous territory.

But Salafine did not want to leave in such a dejected state.

The forced cancellation of the concert saddened her, but what concerned Seraphine even more was that cheerful melody. Although it was just an unfounded feeling, Zaun's voice told Seraphine that this cheerful melody would be Zaun's chance for a new beginning.

If I leave now, I might not see him again for a long time.

Thinking this, Salafine curiously observed Farn, who was sitting in the glass window in the distance, acting as a law enforcement officer, a member of the Piltover Parliament, and a star scholar, talking leisurely and eloquently.

Who is he? Why is he in Zaun? What is his purpose? What is he going to do? And why is he doing this?

Thinking this, Salafine felt incredibly curious.