Meanwhile, Lux was preparing to dig a passage to Kallikan's laboratory.
Elsewhere in Zaun, Silco was plotting to have Lux killed by Piltoverians.
The failed assault on the Sun Gates made Silco realize that, compared to Piltover, Zaun had nothing but a large population and a lot of passion.
Flesh and blood were no match for firearms; if Zaun truly wanted to rise, it needed its own strength, a strength sufficient to make Piltover wary, and Ino's magic showed him that kind of power.
Ordinary thugs, even if they could easily defeat a Piltover Enforcer one-on-one, would eventually fall if a group of Enforcers fired their guns in unison; even someone as strong as Vander couldn't change that situation.
But Ino was different.
Silco had listened to his subordinate, Mr. Shadow, carefully describe the situation after Ino created the ice, and he also learned from Finn that Ino alone could easily incapacitate a group of thugs.
If he held such a powerful mage in his hands, even the Piltoverians would be wary, and they would Terrify!
For Silco, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! An opportunity to make the Piltoverians wary of Zaun!
The only question was how to make Ino stand with the Zaunites, to make her willing to fight the Piltoverians for Zaun.
This was not a simple matter.
Silco needed a perfect plan, a plan without any flaws.
From Silco's perspective, Lux should be a "young lady from a Shurima family"—he hadn't heard Lux and Vi introduce themselves and didn't know Lux was from Demacia.
In this situation, he believed that as long as his plan was meticulous enough, even if Lux's family came looking for her later, they wouldn't blame him but would join him in bothering the Piltoverians.
Because Grayson, who was previously in charge of the explosion case, was an old acquaintance of Vander, and they had a good understanding of each other, it would be difficult to sow discord between them.
However, the situation seemed to have changed somewhat now.
Mr. Shadow sent word that today, Lux had an argument with the Enforcer who came to investigate at The Last Drop, and the result was that the Enforcer left the tavern crestfallen.
"It wasn't Grayson who came to The Last Drop today?" Silco's eyes lit up upon hearing the news. "It looks like a hothead?"
"..."
"A hothead is good, only a hothead can be used." Silco exhaled a long breath, burying himself completely in the large chair. "Only a hothead can escalate conflicts—I like hotheads."
"Well, Marcus isn't that easy to talk to either," Mr. Shadow replied in a low voice. "Although Marcus is a bit of a hothead, he has all the usual arrogance of Piltoverians..."
"I like those who are not easy to talk to." Silco chuckled. "Someone easy to talk to like Grayson is troublesome... Tell Finn to go talk to him. I've seen too many Piltoverians like him, with their eyes on top of their heads; just flatter them a bit, and they'll be so dizzy they won't know who they are."
"But is Finn really reliable?" Mr. Shadow finally couldn't help but ask, "He's been having his own thoughts lately—why don't you go yourself?"
"No big deal." Silco shook his head, lighting a cigar for himself. "Why make him a Chem-Baron? Isn't it because he's best at groveling?"
What Silco didn't know was that the main reason Marcus, not Grayson, led the team to The Last Drop this time was that Grayson had a more important task.
She brought Jayce out of the prison and then took him to be questioned by the Piltover Council.
"Are you ready with your defense?" Having personally brought out Jayce, Grayson looked at the somewhat dejected man and sighed helplessly. "You've caused me a lot of trouble, Jayce. Zaun is still under lockdown. Personally, I hope you can admit your mistake and calm this storm as soon as possible. It's good for everyone."
"I've heard enough admonitions, Ms. Grayson." Jayce lowered his head helplessly upon hearing this. "Both my mentor and my parents want me to settle down—I'm not a crazy ambitious person; I just saw a new path..."
"Sorry, I don't understand technology." Grayson shook her head, interrupting Jayce. "I'm just a sheriff. I only know that your dangerous experiment caused an astonishing explosion, even bringing the relationship between Piltover and Zaun to a dangerous tipping point. Luckily, no one died, otherwise, I wouldn't even have the time to advise you to be honest here..."
"..."
Hearing Grayson say that, Jayce closed his mouth dejectedly. Clearly, he had realized that discussing such matters with Grayson was meaningless.
Or rather, he knew this from the beginning; actively defending himself was just hoping to find someone to confide in.
It didn't matter if Grayson didn't understand.
Jayce didn't expect an Enforcer to understand the revolutionary changes his research could bring to Piltover.
He had meticulously prepared a speech. Although Lux hadn't asked Ino to help stand by him, Jayce believed that the Piltover Council members would understand the significance of magic, the significance of his experiment!
Hex Crystal should not be simply and crudely used for mining and canal digging; it has a broader scope for development!
To others, in this upcoming Judgment, Jayce should beg the Piltover Council for forgiveness; but in Jayce's own eyes, what was coming was not Judgment, but a huge stage!
I, Jayce, will prove to all of you that I have found the direction of the future.
Thus, Jayce confidently stood before the Piltover Council and began his speech.
"This wasn't a dangerous experiment; it was an independent experiment. That was an accident..."
"Actually, what I'm doing is research on Hex Crystal, studying how to use it as a medium and energy source to release magic..."
"I believe that represents the future direction of development..."
"I believe—"
"Enough, Mr. Talis." Just as Jayce was getting into his stride and beginning to speak voluminously, one of the Piltover Council members interrupted him without hesitation. "This is the Piltover Council's Judgment, not a future-envisioning speech contest for underage apprentices. If your head wasn't seriously injured in that explosion, you can shut up now."
"I—"
Jayce still wanted to say something, but then his mother's appearance ultimately choked all his words in his throat.
"Excuse me, honorable Piltover Council members, please allow me to say a few words..."
"Jayce has been excessively obsessed with magic since he was a child, to the point where he often loses Judgment..."
"On matters related to magic, he is always overly fanatical, and his original intention was not destruction..."
"I hope you can give him a chance and not exile him. Even as a craftsman, he can contribute to Piltover..."
"I beg all of you, honorable Piltover Council members, I beg for your forgiveness and understanding, understanding a whimsical child..."
"..."
"..."
Jayce stared blankly at all of this, watching his mother attribute all the problems to his excessive fanaticism, and watching the Piltover Council members finally impatiently begin to vote.
Ultimately, at his mother's plea and Heimerdinger's mediation, he was spared exile but was stripped of his research qualifications and sent home.
Seeing these Piltover Council members casually decide his Destiny without even knowing what they were doing, at this moment, Jayce felt his life was completely dark.
Kallia's Small Class · Piltover Council:
The Piltover Council is the nominal highest administrative and arbitration body of Piltover. With limited seats and one vote per person, it can decide almost all matters, big and small, in Piltover.
However, judging from the overwhelming propaganda and endless canvassing during each election, it seems it is not as sacred and powerful as it appears.