"You said... take down a Chem-Baron? Wait, are you serious?" Ekko stared at Leo in disbelief, startled. "You can attack them, but you want to completely depose them, to utterly overthrow their rule?"
"Why not?" Leo replied.
Ekko shook his head, his voice grave. "Of course not!"
"The Chem-Barons are all Silco's subordinates. Silco can tolerate these guys under him fighting amongst themselves, but he will never allow anyone else to touch that pie." Ekko made a gesture with his hands, like toppling a pyramid. He looked at Leo and said seriously, "You're shaking his foundation, you're touching his roots, understand?"
"If a Chem-Baron dies, and it leads to a full-blown war with Silco, Zaun will fall into chaos, which is absolutely unacceptable!"
"In the end, everyone will suffer!"
He didn't wait for Leo's response, continuing, "Honestly, I don't know how you managed to make Jinx like this now, nor do I know how you got her to leave Silco and follow you. But if you ask me, Leo, turning the tables on Silco right now would be incredibly foolish!"
Leo smiled as he listened to Ekko. Ekko had said "us." That meant he was thinking about this from Leo's perspective.
But... who said Silco was an outsider? He was the Lotus Flower Gang's sponsor, a major shareholder in Hope Community, and a guide for Zaun's future direction. How could he be an outsider?
However, Ekko made a lot of sense. If Leo didn't know what kind of person Silco truly was, or how deeply Silco loved Jinx, then he would also agree with Ekko. Power was intoxicating. Silco was currently the emperor of Zaun; the Chem-Barons obeyed him. He was Zaun's uncrowned king. If someone touched his pie or shared his cake, he would naturally lash out. Antagonizing Silco would throw all of Zaun into chaos; that wasn't an empty threat. At the very least, if Silco died, Zaun's economy would plummet, and the leaderless Chem-Barons would fight each other over petty gains, plunging all of Zaun into war.
But... Silco was not someone obsessed with power. Leo firmly believed this. As long as Silco was like his counterpart in the Arcane animated series, then he wasn't a man who would get lost in power and abandon his ideals. He was a man who, for Jinx's sake, would rather give himself up to Piltover to end the conflict between the two cities. How could such a person ever make Jinx sad?
It was funny, really... Leo realized that his rise to prominence seemed to be entirely thanks to Jinx. She provided most of the energy, she manufactured the gang's weapons, the gang's funds came from her dad, and securing territory was smooth because of her dad.
Jinx... truly was his treasure.
Thinking this, Leo couldn't help but look at Jinx. She was sprawled on the floor, her long legs kicking, talking to Isa about something, looking very happy.
Carefree, adorable little Jinx.
Damn it... how could this little woman be so captivating? Who exactly invented those little gadgets anyway?
"Did you understand what I said?" Ekko saw Leo's gaze, then looked at him seriously.
"I understand, Ekko, but you don't need to worry about it." Leo smiled. "You need a big splash, and I will deliver that big splash for you."
"I look forward to the Wildfire Gang joining us, Ekko. I need your talent, and I need the Wildfire Gang's strength. We must unite, understand?"
"You still didn't understand," Ekko shook his head, sounding somewhat disappointed.
Leo saw this and smiled. "I'll be waiting for the day you bring the Wildfire Gang to me."
Heh, is it me who didn't understand? No, it's you who doesn't understand Silco, Ekko.
The Next Afternoon
The Forge Tavern
Inside the room, Silco took out a glass, poured some liquor, and placed the glass on the table.
Leo sat opposite Silco, taking the glass. He began, "Silco, I'm here today because I have something to discuss..."
"First, tell me about Jinx," Silco said quietly, drinking his liquor.
Leo paused, then replied, "She's doing great. She's gained a bit of weight recently, and her dark circles are much less prominent; she's become even more adorable. But I don't allow her to draw tattoos on herself anymore, so she drew this on me instead."
As Leo spoke, he raised his arm. On his right forearm was a distinctly blue cat tattoo. Leo smiled, looking at Silco.
"..." Silco nodded. Seeing Leo watching him, he lightly tapped the table with his finger. Sevika stood silently behind him.
He said gravely, "Continue."
"I feel like you're ordering me around..." Leo grumbled slightly.
Silco smiled faintly, looking at Leo. "Given your relationship with Jinx, is it too much for me to direct you in some matters? Besides, the money you're using for your development is mine. Can the financier have no say, even for such a small request?"
"...Alright, you win," Leo said, resigned. Silco was right. Setting aside Silco's relationship with Jinx and himself, Leo had to be grateful for Silco's financial support. Money was indeed what Leo needed most but had the hardest time acquiring. Thankfully... Silco had money.
Leo continued, "She's been researching air filtration devices recently and has already spent quite a bit of money. Did you hear that, Silco? I said quite a bit of money."
"Will that thing actually work?" Silco ignored Leo's emphasis on the money, instead asking about the air filtration device. No one in Black Alley had succeeded in such experiments before. The reason was simple: filtration devices could only solve localized haze problems, and Zaun... was polluted with toxic gas everywhere.
Leo smiled and nodded. "Yes, it can. Preliminary experiments have shown it can completely purify tens of square meters of air, but the filter core wears out too quickly. Jinx believes that to completely change Zaun's air, it needs a fundamental change. She has a very bold idea: to first change the Undercity's sewers. She wants to remove all the wastewater pipes connecting Zaun to Piltover and replace them with filtered, purified metal pipes she's making."
"Then there's greening; plants can solve many problems."
"There's also air quality, soil modification, and so on. Anyway, she's been researching these things constantly."
Silco's expression became somewhat strange as he listened. Leo didn't know what he was thinking. But... amidst Silco's complex expression, there was a hint of apology.
Silco nodded, looking at Leo. He held his glass, shaking it gently, and quietly said, "She seems... very happy with you?"
"Of course. She sleeps well, eats well, has her sister, her little sister, and me. But Silco, she sometimes talks about you, and she calls your name in her dreams at night," Leo said after a moment's thought.
This was true; Leo wasn't lying to Silco. The last time Jinx slept with her small face resting on his chest, she was mumbling Silco's name while sucking her thumb.
As soon as Leo said this, Silco's hand gripping the glass noticeably stiffened. He put the glass down and began to turn his chair, his movements somewhat resembling Jinx's. It seemed he didn't want Leo to see his current expression. But after turning, Silco saw Sevika. Big Sister Sevika looked down at Silco. Seeing this, Silco sighed helplessly and could only turn his chair back towards Leo.
Then, Leo saw the barely concealed smile on Silco's face. Though he tried desperately to control it, his lips betrayed him.
"Alright, we've covered family matters. Now, let's talk about why you're here, Leo," Silco said.
Leo immediately stated, "I want to take down a Chem-Baron. The Lotus Flower Gang's current territory isn't enough."
Silco looked up at Leo. "You're telling me, to my face, that you want to depose one of my people?"
"Why not?"
"Are our relations really that good?" Silco's smile vanished, his tone chilling.
"Of course! You're Jinx's father, I'm Jinx's partner. We..."
"You two are really together?" Silco frowned.
Leo sighed. "What do you think? Given Jinx's personality," Leo pointed to his own head, and quietly said, "and her slight issues up here, if I didn't agree, what would she do?"
Silco chuckled. "She'd probably tie you up while you're asleep, plant countless bombs around you, and threaten you to be with her, or she'd die with you."
"Exactly. So from the moment I shared a bed with her that night, I couldn't leave her anymore. Of course, I like her very much too; she's very charming and beautiful, and I genuinely like her."
"Wait, you said, 'shared a bed'?" Silco's hand reached under the table, the smile gone from his face again.
You motherfcker!*
Damn it!
What was he trying to do?!
"I didn't do anything," Leo said, throwing up his hands helplessly. Though he felt he wasn't afraid of guns now, it was clearly not the time to argue with Silco. That respect... he still had to give to Silco. Never do anything to harm a daughter in front of her loving father.
"Hmph," Silco sneered.
Leo looked at Silco, grinning shamelessly. "Anyway, you're not losing anything, are you?"
"You don't care about those Chem-Barons at all. You organize them just to gather Zaun's existing forces, with the goal of negotiating with Piltover to gain Zaun's independence."
"But Silco, don't you think what I'm doing now is actually the right thing?"
Silco didn't speak, silently watching Leo.
"Besides, you must feel those Chem-Barons are disappointing by now, right? Think about it, what kind of people did you used to work with? It was Old Man Vander, Uncle Benzo, Big Sister Sevika—characters like that. And now? You're stuck with those guys."
Sevika narrowed her eyes at Leo when he mentioned her name. To be fair... that remark actually made Sevika feel a little good. And strangely, while Sevika didn't dislike Leo, she certainly didn't particularly like him either. She used to look after him simply because Zaun's future belonged to these children. But today was truly odd. Ever since Leo showed up, Sevika had felt strangely comfortable around him.
"Who do you want to deal with?" Silco asked Leo.
"Haven't decided yet, that's why I came to ask you," Leo said. He continued, "I thought I should inform you about this. Although I believe just me, Vi, and Jinx are enough to take down a Chem-Baron, I want to train my troops."
"..." Silco's mouth twitched slightly. "So, if I understand correctly, you're telling me that you want to target my people, and then you want me to help protect your people from harm?"
The term "train troops" was interesting. "Train" implied drills, and drills required no casualties. Leo smiled and nodded.
Leo currently felt nothing but elation; it was truly exhilarating. Chem-Barons... the guys Ekko and Zeri feared and dealt with carefully, now seemed like... absolute trash in front of him. But thinking about how Silco effortlessly controlled the Barons' lifelines during their meetings, able to kill them at any moment... yes, after bringing Silco to his side, the Chem-Barons truly were nothing. After all, "Your boss is with me!" It was like a boxing match in a ring, and damn it, "The referee's my guy!" If things got tough, the referee would even help him hit his opponent. So how could they possibly win?
"I never realized you were so shameless before," Silco said.
Leo shrugged. "This is good for you too. They're growing too powerful to control. Actually... you wanted to deal with them anyway, didn't you?"
"After all, what they've been doing in private is getting more and more out of hand," Leo added.
Silco placed his hand on the table, pinching the bridge of his nose, and thought for a moment. Then he spoke:
"Finn. Do you know that name?"
Leo paused, thought carefully, then nodded. The "Iron-Willed Lighter Man," right? He looked like a minor boss at his introduction, even "turning" Sevika, but what happened? He was written off that very season, creating a famous scene for Silco and adding to his charm.
"He's the one. You can target him. The time... three days from now."
"I'll summon the other Barons for a meeting, leaving him alone. I'll also send people to watch his territory to ensure his people stay put, but I won't send my people to help you," Silco told Leo.
As Leo had said, even before Leo arrived, Silco had been thinking about cracking down on those guys. And helping Leo wasn't just for Jinx. It was also Silco's way of seeing who was truly right, himself or Vander. In the past, he never had the chance to compete with Vander directly. When Vander was in power, his policies weren't much different from Leo's now. And after Silco took power, Vander died. But now... with Leo, who had inherited Vander's will, perhaps... Silco could find his answer.
Leo smiled. After talking with Silco for a while longer, Leo left, satisfied.
Sevika stood behind Silco and couldn't help but ask, "Why are you helping him?"
"Helping him?"
"Why would you think that?" Silco turned.
"Sevika, I'm only helping..."
"Zaun," Silco said with firm eyes. Regardless of whether it was his philosophy or Leo's, if either succeeded, Zaun would be the one to benefit. What he cared about was always Zaun.
And of course, Jinx.