It was said that Zaun had Chem-Barons, so Lux instinctively believed that Chem-Barons were the rulers of Zaun. She wanted to hand over the guy who tried to steal her things to a Chem-Baron for deal with.
But from the current situation, it seemed that the truth had a slight deviation from her understanding.
Lux had traveled extensively, but whether in Demacia, or in Kalamanda of Shurima, or Mudtown of Noxus, theft was always punished—the only difference being the severity. Even in Kalamanda, which had the worst public order, thieves caught at the port would be dealt with by the Harbor Governor's guards.
They might not be locked up, but at least they would get a beating.
Unfortunately, in Zaun, it seemed that the Chem-Barons had no requirements for public order, as if they wished for this place to become worse and worse.
Instead, when Lux said she wanted to go to The Last Drop, the Zaunite kids around her all laughed happily, looking quite supportive.
"Do they think I'll get beaten up if I go to The Last Drop?" Looking at the excited kids, Lux kept a calm expression, but inwardly she asked Klein, "Why is Zaun like this? Look at these children, they don't think stealing is wrong, and they don't even know what law is!"
"Perhaps they have rules, but the rules are to listen to the Great Leader." Klein's tone was also a bit emotional, "What terrible rules."
"Sounds like a story you told me—everyone listens to Setaka."
"But Setaka was also someone who followed written law."
"..."
"..."
Then, while Lux and Klein were silently complaining about Zaun's terrible education, a teenager who looked about fifteen or sixteen years old emerged from some alley, spreading her arms and blocking Lux's path.
"You Piltoverians, let Ekko go." After the other party spoke, Lux finally confirmed her gender, "Otherwise, you'll taste it. Such a cute little girl like you will surely cry terribly after taking a punch, won't you?"
"Ekko—oh, this guy you mentioned? So, who are you?" Lux looked up and down at the girl holding up her fist, feeling inexplicably familiar. "Their… Great Leader?"
"Great Leader? I like that title, you can think of me that way." The other party assumed a boxing stance, "My name is Vi. If you have a problem with Ekko, I'll take it!"
The other party's reaction made Lux pause. It was only with Klein's reminder that she realized this meant "taking responsibility for Ekko."
"He stole my things and I caught him." Lux responded very fairly, "So I think I should take him to a place where he can be taught a lesson. After all, stealing is not a good habit."
"Piltoverian, your Enforcers can't control Zaun." The other party showed a mocking expression, seemingly wanting to say more harsh words, but considering Ekko was still in someone else's hands, she ultimately swallowed them down. "In Zaun, we follow Zaun's rules!"
"So, what are Zaun's rules?" Lux asked smoothly, "I'm quite interested in learning about them."
"Fight me. If you win, I'll let you beat me up—if you lose, I'll beat you up."
"???"
Even though Lux already had some understanding of Zaun and knew it was filled with chaos and violence, there was still a big difference between hearing about it and seeing and experiencing it firsthand.
"Don't just stand there." Before Lux could even open her mouth to speak, Vi raised her voice and took a stance, "Come on, either fight me, or let Ekko go and leave Zaun. This isn't a place for a lady like you!"
"You Zaunites all speak with your fists, right?" Blinking, Lux finally found a small trick for communication. "Alright then—if that's the case, if you lose, you'll obediently answer a few questions for me, how about that?"
"Deal!" The other party seemed very pleased with Lux's straightforwardness. "It's settled!"
...
After handing Ekko to Ino, Lux came before this Great Leader.
The surrounding Zaunite kids subtly formed a circle, cheering loudly for Vi.
Hearing the cheers, Vi stretched her neck, then nimbly hopped back and forth a couple of times.
It was clear that she seemed very skilled at using her fists, and her footwork was agile enough.
Coupled with her unusually long arm span and tall stature, in a street fight, Lux looked no match for her.
Unfortunately, this wasn't a boxing match, and Lux wasn't an ordinary underground boxer.
Facing the aggressive punches, Lux used her forearm to block the opponent's probing jab while simultaneously extending her own fist straight out.
Seeing Lux's reaction, the corner of the opponent's mouth curved into a confident smile—the punch speed was decent, but the stance was like a novice, clearly untrained!
Without a physical advantage, not relying on agility to win, but instead rigidly blocking and counterattacking… she really hadn't been beaten before!
As Lux threw a punch, Vi stepped forward, actively extending her left arm to block, while simultaneously winding up her right arm, intending to deliver a heavy blow to Lux's shoulder.
Hmm, since nothing happened to Ekko… I'll just give you a less severe lesson!
However, things did not develop as Vi expected.
Her thrown punch did not hit its target; instead, she herself flew sideways first—when Lux's fair little fist touched her actively blocking left arm, a Shimmer flashed on her fist and then disappeared.
Thus, what seemed like a light punch sent Vi flying sideways as if she had been hit by a giant pendulum at an amusement park. She slammed into a pile of trash at the street corner before tumbling in.
Lux expressionlessly retracted her fist.
The surrounding Zaunite kids were dumbfounded.
Their cheers were stuck in their throats as they stared, wide-eyed, at Vi in the trash pile and the expressionless Lux. Some even rubbed their eyes.
Just now… was that light?
But, there was nothing now!
After struggling for a while, Vi laboriously climbed out of the trash pile. She strode over to Lux, glaring at the person in front of her who had retracted her fist and was gripping the hilt of her sword.
From her expression, it seemed as if she was about to raise her fists again at any moment.
But in the end, Vi only grunted.
"You win, Piltoverian!" While shaking off the dirty trash from her body, Vi clutched her head, "Speak, what do you want to ask? Ask quickly and then beat me up!"
"I want to ask about Zaun." Seeing the other party like this, a smile finally appeared on Lux's face—it seemed that the method of shopping first and asking questions later, which worked in Piltover, wouldn't work in Zaun. The rules here were quite different. "Ask about Zaun through your eyes—I just arrived here, and I find it unlike any place I've seen before."
"???"
"Also, I'm not from Piltover; I'm from Demacia."
Klein's Small Class · Zaun's Punching Arcade Machine:
Zaunites are not lacking in entertainment; they are very skilled at using some trash that Piltoverians don't use to create fun little gadgets for themselves. Punching arcade machines are one of their creations.
Interestingly, because the trash is non-standardized, the punching routine of each punching arcade machine is different. In terms of training effectiveness, the Zaunites' makeshift contraptions are even better than Piltover's products.