Twin Cities: Who says scientists can't be conquerors?

Chapter 53 Crisis? Mechs are my strength!

"Why didn't you kill him?"

With a grim expression, Hilko questioned Aaron sitting opposite him, revealing undisguised murderous intent and completely disregarding Singed's feelings.

Even if the "he" that Hilko is referring to is Singed.

"I know you've always opposed my smuggling of Glimmer... the 'inferior version of Glimmer' you mentioned."

"Then why not take this opportunity to completely sever the source of the faint light?"

As he spoke, Hilko glanced sideways at Singid.

Seeing the other person trying to maintain a calm expression, what welled up in his heart was an uncontrollable feeling of... disgust!

In the past, he supported Singid with manpower, money, and effort because he valued this quality in the man: the willingness to take on all kinds of dirty and tiring work that would be condemned by others.

But now, after hearing Singed confess to his dirty deeds against Aaron, Hilko just wants to chop off every single one of his fingers!

Oh no, Aaron has broken both of his arms.

Good.

"What do you think, Dr. Singed?"

"I think things will become very simple if I pay off the debt with your life. I can even save manpower and energy and wait for your half-dead daughter to fall asleep forever."

"Isn't that right?"

Still not satisfied, Hilko turned his attention to Singed and continued to put pressure on him.

Including his confession to Wei Shi earlier, it seems that he, who is usually taciturn, is determined to say everything he has to say in this life tonight.

"In that case, I will try my best to fight you to the death, no matter what the outcome."

Singid hesitated for a moment, then trembled as he spoke his true feelings.

If he dies, his daughter, who is on a life support system, will also die soon, so he has no choice.

Moreover, Singed had already become somewhat numb after experiencing the emotional rollercoaster he felt when facing Aaron.

Even though Hilko has completely grasped his weakness, as long as he can live and continue to have the conditions to conduct research, Singed is willing to sell everything.

besides……

Singed turned to look at Aaron, his mind racing:

He actually had a similar question to Hilko: he had no idea why Aaron had let him go.

It couldn't be something like "compassion" or "old friendship"; Aaron must have some needs of his own.

Could it be that he's become addicted to the glimmer of light and needs to constantly create it himself?

No, it doesn't look like it.

Singed was confident in the "Light-Reducing Agent" he had developed, and he was quite certain that there would be absolutely no trace of light remaining in Aaron's body now.

Is it because he simply needs me to develop an antidote for the "purification potion"?

It doesn't really look like it.

After all, when Singed used this as leverage to try to blackmail Aaron, the response he received was another severed arm.

So, what exactly does Aaron want from me?

Singid's eyes darted around, completely baffled.

He wasn't actually that afraid from the beginning that Hilko might suddenly fly into a rage and even attack him directly.

Because he understood the other party, he knew all too well how much Hilko had been changed by Aaron over the years, and how much he cared about Aaron's opinions.

So when Aaron let him go, Singed breathed a sigh of relief.

Even if the shackles Aaron puts on him are a 24-hour close surveillance of his daughter, he himself will certainly not have to pay with his life.

So much so that in Singed's eyes, although Hilko and Aaron seem to be united against a common enemy, they are actually secretly clashing.

On the contrary, he, the "sinner," became the one with the least psychological pressure.

"He's still useful while he's alive."

As expected, Aaron immediately intervened to stop Hilko after realizing that Hilko was indeed intent on killing him.

However, unlike Singed's unrelated speculations, Aaron simply regarded Singed as a means of production for generating "inspiration".

Besides Singed's matter, there's another issue tonight that requires Aaron to communicate with Hillko immediately—

"Jinx and I were attacked by Urgot's mole in Piltover. Jinx rescued me and blew up the Silent Water prison at the same time."

Aaron solemnly revealed a bombshell that made Hilko unable to hold back his emotions.

"It exploded?!"

His eyes widened, his attention clearly focused on the last half of the sentence, as if he were listening to a fairy tale.

In the afternoon, Marcos and his men kidnapped Vi from Stillwater Prison, and then that evening, he claimed that his daughter had blown up the place!

This can't be a joke!

"To be precise, half of the building was destroyed."

Aaron wasn't joking at all; he pointed out the window—as time passed, the incessant sirens on the other side of the river in Zaun grew louder and louder.

"Before I came to find you, I had already confirmed with Gustav and the others that Stillwater Prison has been completely placed under martial law. From a distance, you can still see only half of the prison's outline and the sky ablaze with fire."

"But that's not the point."

"The main point is, Zaun is about to descend into chaos again!"

As he spoke, Aaron stood up and walked over to Hilko.

He planned to explain clearly the severe challenges he was about to face:

"First of all, with such a big thing happening, Piltover will definitely have a strong reaction."

"I suspect that even if they try to postpone the accountability process because of the Progress Day celebrations, they will probably only delay it by one day at most."

"Furthermore, one of them is a spy planted by Urgot, so..."

"The day after tomorrow! It seems that starting the day after tomorrow, the Piltover people will be entering Zaun without any scruples, under the pretext of 'capturing the real culprit, Urgot'!"

"you mean?"

"What I mean is, quickly hide those things that shouldn't be there!"

Aaron emphasized his words and glanced at Singid as he turned his head.

"I admit that I was too idealistic before, thinking that as long as we accelerated the research progress of micro-light, we would eventually be able to wait for that thing to be fully developed and become a new type of productive force for the people of Zuan."

"Unfortunately, time waits for no one."

"I suggest that all micro-light production lines, except those at Singed's lab, be temporarily shut down, and quickly!"

It's obvious that the "things that shouldn't be there" he was referring to are the Glimmer Potions that Piltover has identified as contraband in recent years, but which Hilko has been consistently smuggling.

Once those things are discovered, not only will Hilko, who is currently disguised as a "Zaun industrialist," be thoroughly investigated, but Aaron, who has been trying to limit his influence to a corner of Zaun for the past nine years, will probably also be brought into the sights of Piltover's top management.

This is not the outcome Aaron wanted.

He always adhered to the basic logic of "making a fortune in silence" and tried every means to keep himself out of sight by the people in the city.

Only in this way will he have a sufficient opportunity to reverse Zaun's predicament and bring about real change for Zaun.

But the situation is different now.

The law enforcement officers who made a large-scale visit to Zaun nine years ago are about to return because of Urgot.

Aaron didn't expect that any of the law enforcement officers would, like Grayson, who had once reached an understanding with Vander, genuinely hope that the two cities could coexist peacefully.

Even among the law enforcement officers, there are some who are instructed by Kayana and obey Urgot's orders.

All he can do is minimize the risks!

Of course, there are always opportunities hidden within risks.

The second thing Aaron wanted to say was that it might be an opportunity to turn this bad thing into a good thing—

"As long as I can teach that good fellow in the backyard a lesson before the enforcers arrive, I'll have my confidence!"

"With that guy as a guarantee, I might actually be able to get the law enforcement officers to scout out the underworld for us Zaun people."

As Aaron spoke, a clear look of pride shone in his eyes.

Although he didn't witness it in person, he now has a basic understanding of the spectacular debut of the Cheng Ying tactical mech.

As a developer, he felt it was difficult for him to suppress his smile.

He desperately wanted to rush to the backyard, call back Jinx and Caitlin who were still figuring out how to "assemble the blocks," and then fix and assemble them himself.

"Your mecha?"

Hilcone was unaware of Jinx's incredible feat at Stillwater Prison.

From his perspective, Aaron's mech had been scrapped for seven or eight years. Even though Sevika said it could move again this time, it completely fell apart in the backyard in the blink of an eye.

So when he heard Aaron's spirited words, he was a little confused and wanted to confirm whether the "good buddy" Aaron was talking about was that pile of scrap metal.

"Of course."

Aaron could naturally guess what Hilko was thinking.

However, he didn't offer much explanation, instead deciding to let his results speak for themselves.

Do you know why half of Stillwater Prison was blown up?

"Didn't you say it was because you were attacked by a traitor, and then... wait!"

Hilko immediately realized what was happening.

He stood up in disbelief: "You mean, it's all because of your...?"

"That's right."

Aaron spread his hands, accepting Hilko's shock with composure.

"Although I was unconscious at the last moment, I had already assigned the piloting authority of the mecha to Jinx, and..."

"The idea of ​​blowing up half of Stillwater Prison sounds like something Jinx would do."