"Joy?"
Hearing this, Seraphine was slightly stunned, but then quickly reacted—according to what Zeri said, when Faen was in the belly of a sea monster, he unexpectedly caught the attention of the Joy Demon Ashlesh, and gained the power to control flowing water and feel joy. That was why Faen hoped the people of Zaun could be happy.
Thinking of this, Seraphine suddenly realized and said, "So that's it! So this is the reason why Mr. Faen is filled with a melody of joy!"
"Yes," Faen nodded gently, and then cast his gaze toward Piltover beside them, saying, "I will bring joy to Zaun, allowing people to grow in hope. And after that, it will be Piltover."
"Piltover needs it too?" Seraphine seemed somewhat surprised.
"It is inevitable," Faen said mildly. "Because the connection between Piltover and Zaun is far tighter than you imagine. Piltover will not remain indifferent to Zaun's changes, and after Zaun completes its reform and severs ties with the old Zaun, Piltover's Hextech crystal factories and other businesses will all fall into stagnation... At that time, even if those people are unwilling, they must make a choice."
As he said these words, a trace of coldness appeared in Faen's eyes.
This choice would either be to respect Zaun's changes and return the rights that rightfully belonged to Zaun back to it. Or to use more explosive means to turn Zaun back into the Zaun that served as Piltover's sewer...
And given the usual style of the trade families and the Piltover Council members, it wasn't hard to guess which one they would choose.
But for Seraphine, this was still a bit out of her depth.
Thus, hearing Faen's words, Seraphine's face was filled with astonishment and confusion.
"The Hextech crystal factories will stagnate? Why? Isn't this for your own good?"
"For our own good?" Zeri said with a face full of disbelief, "Why would you say that?"
"That's what everyone says." Seraphine blinked uncomprehendingly and said, "What did the Piltover Daily say again?..."
As she said this, Seraphine closed her large sky-blue eyes, recalled for a moment, and then mimicked a broadcaster's voice:
"The Hextech Crystal Refinement Factory is a joint project specially approved by the Piltover Council and the Zaun Council, representing deep cooperation between the two districts that abandons past hatred. While providing Piltover with a large amount of Hextech crystals, it also creates more job opportunities in Zaun, allowing the people of Zaun to live a better..."
"What kind of nonsense is that! It's not like that at all!!" Zeri angrily interrupted Seraphine. The ugly face of the Piltover Council made Zeri unable to stop herself from discharging electricity all over her body. It wasn't until Faen next to her placed his hand on the girl's body that Zeri belatedly calmed down.
Faen's broad hand, carrying an astonishing heat, didn't just land comfortingly on Zeri's shoulder. It slid all the way down her slender spine, reaching directly into the oversized jacket she wore to hide her marks. His rough, calloused fingertips accurately pinched the nipple on Zeri's chest, which was as hard as stone from excitement, maliciously kneading it in circles.
"Ngh... ah..." Zeri's delicate body trembled violently. Her exasperated curses instantly caught in her throat, transforming into a low moan that was so sweet it was almost depraved.
Under the physical remodeling of the "joy factor", Zeri's sensitivity had long surpassed the limits of ordinary people. Just this simple caress from Faen made her feel a scalding, aching swell surging up from deep within her flower house, which had been repeatedly pounded last night and was still slightly red and swollen. Her private parts, tightly wrapped in snug fabric, instantly burst their banks. Her muddy flower hole opened and closed madly, greedily sucking the air. A massive amount of thick, crystal-clear love juices, mixed with the white turbid semen inside her body that had yet to be absorbed, squeezed out of her crevice with a "squelch" as she subconsciously twisted her waist, flowing down the inner side of her long, plump thighs in a slippery stream, thoroughly soaking the crotch of her panties.
Seraphine was just two steps away. This sense of immorality that her lewd state could be exposed in front of a pure girl at any moment detonated Zeri's nerves like the most potent aphrodisiac. Her pair of beautiful brown eyes instantly lost focus, and faint heart shapes even appeared in her dazed pupils. The fine fluorescent green electric arcs between her hair crackled along with the pre-orgasmic pleasure.
"Faen... don't... someone is here..." Zeri panted, while proactively rubbing her plump peach-like buttocks against Faen's awakened hard rod, whose fierce outline could be felt even through his pants. Like a female cat in heat, she struggled madly on the edge of lucidity and surrender.
Because Faen adjusted the concentration of the joy factor in her body in time, this sudden eruption of lust was forcibly suppressed right at the critical point of collapse.
Then, huffing with her arms crossed, she said:
"They are all liars! Liars! There isn't a single good person in the Piltover Council! What bullshit about living a better life, I think it's just to let you live a better life! In that hateful factory, people died every day. It wasn't until Faen came that they restrained themselves a bit... just a bit!"
Just as she was speaking, Zeri suddenly noticed that Seraphine was still looking at her with a face full of incomprehension and even fear. This made Zeri sober up quickly. She then glanced at Faen beside her. Under her lover's peaceful gaze, Zeri took a deep breath and said somewhat reluctantly:
"...Alright, this isn't your fault. But don't let those guys from the Piltover Council fool you. If you have time, you should go to Zaun and see. Once you see what they are actually doing, you'll know how they've been lying to you."
Saying this, Zeri took Faen's hand and prepared to leave—she could tell that Seraphine was literally a naive girl who had been sheltered in the palms of her parents' hands, afraid of dropping her, and held in their mouths, afraid of melting her. She genuinely knew absolutely nothing about the things happening between Zaun and Piltover.
Zeri didn't hate or dislike her, but merely felt a heartfelt sense of helplessness. Because she didn't know how to explain to make Seraphine realize what heartless and rotten deeds Piltover had done in Zaun.
But just as Zeri was about to turn around and leave, the girl's voice, as light as a lark yet incredibly firm, came from the side.
"I want to go down and see!"
"Eh?"
Zeri curiously cast her gaze back at the girl behind her.
Meeting Zeri's astonished gaze, Seraphine just pursed her lips, and then looked seriously at Zeri and Faen, saying, "I want to go down and see!"
"Uh... why do you suddenly want to...?"
Zeri looked at Seraphine in confusion. And Seraphine explained, "Because I can feel the melody in people's emotions... Although the feeling Zeri just gave off was very scary, the melody of your emotions was filled with anger and indignation. This kind of emotion cannot deceive anyone, so I can be sure that you are genuinely feeling angry about this from the bottom of your heart."
"Although I don't really understand why this makes you so angry, I believe you are a good person, and I believe Mr. Faen is a good person too. Moreover, just like Mr. Faen said, my mom and dad both came from Zaun. I should go to Zaun and see, I should truly understand what my real hometown looks like. Rather than... listening to what the Piltover Council members say."
As she reached the end of her sentence, Seraphine's voice paused, and a trace of complexity appeared between her brows. Obviously, for Seraphine, her heart was still filled with a heavy lack of understanding.
But even so, looking at Seraphine who had already made her decision, Zeri broke into a happy and cheerful smile. She affectionately took Seraphine's hand and said, "That's great then! You are the first person I've met who chose to go to Zaun for the sake of peace between the two cities! Faen was right! You are a good person! I apologize for getting angry at you just now!"
"No need to apologize, no need to apologize." Hearing this, Seraphine hastily shook her head and smiled: "Because you were also just dissatisfied that I was deceived and still believed it to be true... it's just, it's just that I don't have a place to stay when I get to Zaun. Can I rest at Zeri's house?"
"Of course, no problem!"
Zeri smiled brightly and said, "My house is super big! When the time comes, you can stay in the guest room next to my bedroom. If you need anything, just knock on the door, and I'll come out and help you!"
"Okay, okay!" Seraphine nodded happily.
On the side, Faen keenly sensed that things might not be so simple. But looking at the happy Zeri and Seraphine, he didn't say anything more.
Having finished the conversation and found Zeri, Faen walked over to Caitlyn, Viktor, and the others, saying, "If there are no problems, I'll be leaving now."
"I won't see you off." Caitlyn looked at Faen nervously. Even up to now, in Caitlyn's eyes, Faen remained extremely dangerous. Following behind Caitlyn, the seemingly tough Vi appeared somewhat timid, as if she had something she wanted to ask but didn't know how to bring it up.
Seeing this, Faen simply asked, "Vi, what's wrong? You seem to have something you want to say?"
Hearing Faen's question, a flash of awkwardness appeared on Vi's heroic face. Especially since Caitlyn was right next to her—not because of any intimate feelings. Because right now, Caitlyn and Vi only had a preliminary cooperative relationship. Although they had mutual goodwill due to their personalities, it hadn't reached the level of spiritual lovers. Mostly, it was just because the reason Vi was able to get out was that Caitlyn needed Vi's help to hunt down Jinx.
Now being watched by Caitlyn, Vi didn't know what to do. Seeing this, Caitlyn guessed what it was about and said directly, "Just say it, it's fine—my goal is to catch Jinx and make her pay the price for breaking the law. Other than that, I don't hold much of a grudge against her."
"Thanks." Hearing this, Vi breathed a sigh of relief. Then she looked at Faen, pursed her lips, and said, "Pow... I mean Jinx, what is she doing right now?"
"Not very well," Faen replied. "My arrival let her know some truths, but the facts proved that her mental state is even worse than I thought."
While speaking, Faen shook his head. Regarding Jinx, although Faen hadn't interacted with her deeply, when he thought back on it later, Faen keenly noticed that although Jinx's projection in the spirit realm was intense, it was not active. This meant that Jinx's self-destructive tendencies were constantly accumulating.
Hearing this, Vi's eyes trembled slightly. She then turned her head away, pursed her lips, and said, "Then tell her to give up those unrealistic delusions..."
"Is that what you want to say to her?" Faen raised an eyebrow.
Vi did not speak.
Seeing this, Faen didn't continue pressing the issue. He just looked at Viktor on the side, and then calmly said, "Viktor."
"Hm?" Viktor looked up.
"I will not force you, so follow the answer given by your heart." Saying this, Faen also looked up at Piltover behind him, and then turned to lead Zeri toward Zaun—Seraphine had already quietly taken a detour down the small path.
As they walked, Faen calmly said, "All along, I have used 'the organization' and 'the workers' to refer to this group I shaped. But now, I think it's time for the organization to get on the right track—the Wind of Change."
"Feel it, the Wind of Change has begun to blow."
As his voice fell, Faen's figure gradually disappeared from everyone's line of sight.
"Wind of Change? So cryptic..." Watching Faen walk far away, Jayce couldn't help muttering, "Coming up with such a mystifying name for no reason... it actually makes him seem like one of those fraudulent prophet guys."
Caitlyn didn't mind. She just silently memorized the name, preparing to report back to the Council later.
But Viktor, after hearing the name, fell into deep thought for a brief moment. He then nodded as if realizing something—Wind of Change... is it that patron deity of Zaun?
"What is it, Viktor? Did you discover something?" Jayce, noticing the change in his close friend's expression, asked curiously.
To this, Viktor shook his head and said, "It's nothing, just remembered some stories from Zaun."
"Could you share them?" Caitlyn inquired, "Perhaps it might be useful?"
"No problem," Viktor nodded. As he spoke, he glanced at the Twin Cities model Faen left behind. Although he had only superficially understood it, Viktor—who had studied hard since childhood with the goal of changing Zaun and freeing its people from suffering, and deeply understood the gap between the two cities—had already noticed some anomalies within it.
On the other side, rendezvousing with Seraphine, Zeri curiously asked, "Wind of Change? So this is our organization's name?"
"Yes," Faen nodded and said. "It's not just our name, but also the honorable title of the patron deity of this land of Zaun."
"Zaun's patron deity?"
Hearing this, Zeri was slightly stunned for a moment, and then took a long while to realize, saying: "Oh, oh! You mean Janna? Those are very ancient legends. I only remember them because my mom told me those stories when I was little. I didn't expect you to even know about this!"
"Know what?" Seeing that there was no one around, Seraphine also jumped out from the side, leaned in curiously, and asked.
"It's a very old story. I'll tell you about it tonight~"
Seeing Seraphine, Zeri smiled.
Zeri liked Seraphine a lot—not just because she loved Seraphine's singing, but even more so because Seraphine, as a Topside person, was willing to earnestly and proactively learn about Zaun.
"But before that, our organization has a name now. It's called the Wind of Change!"
"Wind of Change? Oh, oh! I've memorized it!"
Seraphine seriously memorized the name, and then said curiously: "Then let's head to Zaun right now! I can't wait to understand Zaun and listen to the melody of Zaun!"
Seeing the anticipation and happiness on the girl's face, Zeri, who had been smiling, let her expression pause slightly. Then she cast her gaze at Faen on the side, only to receive a somewhat helpless shrug from him. This made Zeri unable to hold back a sigh.
It was obvious that even though she was mentally prepared for the harsh environment of Zaun, up until now, Seraphine's fantasies about Zaun were far too beautiful...
Yes, how could a lucky girl who grew up so well-protected by her parents truly understand the ugly deeds committed by those Chem-Barons?
To this, Faen simply said, "It's getting late. We should get down to some serious business."
Hearing this, although feeling worried about Seraphine in her heart, Zeri still quickly nodded—regardless of whether Seraphine could accept it or not, this was the current reality of Zaun.
And what they had to do...
Zeri let out an inspiring shout—
"Let's go kill some people who oppress the people!"