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"Welcome? How could you not be welcome!"
Chen's survival instincts were redlining. He knew that when you're alone in a room with a girl who has a hair-trigger temper and a loaded gun, you don't argue—you negotiate.
"Jinx, I want to discuss something with you. A 'Three-Chapter Agreement,' if you will."
Jinx waved a slender finger, blowing her bangs out of her eyes as she leaned back. She gave him that iconic, chaotic smirk. "Rules... are made to be broken~"
Chen was speechless for a second. Trying to apply logic to Jinx was like trying to use a map in a hurricane. Seeing his silence, Jinx laughed and waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, go ahead and say them anyway. Otherwise, where's the fun?"
Chen managed a small smile. This Jinx felt different—less like the nihilistic anarchist of the show and more like a protective, albeit manic, guardian. Maybe his presence and his bond with Powder were smoothing out the jagged edges of her madness.
"First: You have to get along with Powder. No bullying the 'roommate.' When there's danger, you protect her. In exchange, I'll make sure Powder gives you scheduled 'airtime' every day to come out and play."
"Hmm. Deal. As you said, she's me. I'm not going to let my own house burn down while I'm inside." Jinx played with one of her blue braids, staring at Chen like he was a shiny new toy she hadn't finished breaking yet. "But you have to be there. Every time I'm out, I want an audience."
Chen nodded. "Condition two: No tattoos."
"Huh?" Jinx nearly toppled off her stool. Of all the things she expected him to say—'no killing,' 'no explosions'—this was not on the list.
"I haven't thought of the third one yet, so let's leave it at that."
The truth was, the tattoo ban was purely Chen's personal preference. He liked her skin just the way it was. He didn't need the blue clouds to know she was a storm.
Suddenly, Jinx's expression shifted, becoming hazy. "Oh the 'good girl' is waking up. Duty calls! Bye-bye, handsome"
A moment later, the manic spark vanished. Powder blinked, looking at Chen in silence for a long time. Then, she pulled a small, cracked mirror from her satchel and meticulously examined her new twin-braid hairstyle. She turned her head left, then right, nodding in approval.
"Not bad," she whispered. "Not bad at all."
The Firelight Compact
The next morning, Chen checked his Heart of Gold. Sure enough, ten gold pieces had "grown" inside the turtle shell. It wasn't a mountain of wealth, but 3,650 gold a year was a hell of a passive income for a guy living in a literal sewer.
While Powder sat nearby tinkering with her Flame Chompers—trying to get the "bite" just right—Ekko walked into the room. He stopped dead when he saw Powder's new look, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his face.
"What's the plan, Chen?" Ekko asked, turning to the person he now realized was the strategist of the duo. "Why not join the Firelights? We protect the Lanes, we fight Silco, and we burn every drop of Shimmer we find."
Powder suddenly raised her hand, her eyes bright. "I named us! The Firelights! On the way here, I saw the bugs glowing in the dark... floating around the rot. That's us, right? We're the light in the trash."
Chen smiled. It seemed the "System" hadn't just given him a quest; it had woven them into the very fabric of history. In the original timeline, Jinx was the Firelights' greatest nightmare. Here, she had given them their name.
"The Firelights," Chen repeated. "A light that can't be put out. I like it. Ekko, we're in."
The Firelight hideout was a miracle of Zaunite engineering—a massive, hollowed-out spire where the air felt almost clean. In the center of the sanctuary, Ekko was digging a deep pit in the earth.
"What are you doing?" Powder asked, leaning over the edge.
Ekko pulled a seed from his bag—it was larger than a billiard ball and pulsed with a faint, rhythmic energy. "When I found this, I knew it belonged here. If a seed can survive in this dirt, then maybe we can too."
Chen walked over, examining the seed with his system. Holy sht.* > Origin: The First Lands of Ionia.
Of course. Only a seed from Ionia could grow into the towering, sanctuary-tree Chen remembered from the future.
As he watched Ekko carefully plant the hope of Zaun, Chen felt a surge of respect. Vander had been a good man, but he was a "preserver"—he made compromises to keep a fragile peace. Silco was a warlord who didn't care if his people became monsters as long as they were his monsters.
But Ekko? Ekko was a revolutionary.
I'm going to be here a while, Chen thought, patting Ekko on the shoulder. Maybe I can help steer this revolution. Bring a little 'Old World' ideology to the Sump.
"We have to try, don't we, Ekko?"
"Huh?" Ekko didn't catch the hidden meaning, but he nodded anyway.
The next day, the seed sprouted—a vibrant, defiant green against the grey stone.
The Sword Flight
Inside the Firelight research lab, Ekko was working on a prototype that looked like a sleek, green-glowing skateboard. Chen watched, fascinated and frustrated. He understood physics and chemistry, but the Chem-Tech power source was a complete mystery to him. It was a technology tree he hadn't unlocked yet.
"That's incredible, Ekko. It's basically a jet-powered hoverboard."
Ekko grinned, wiping grease from his forehead. "It's still in the testing phase. One wrong move and you're a smear on the wall."
"Make me one," Chen said, his eyes gleaming. "But do me a favor—style mine into the shape of a longsword."
Ekko paused, confused. "A sword? Why a sword? It's for flying, not fighting."
Chen just smirked. "Trust me. In my world, 'flying on a sword' is the ultimate flex. If I'm going to be a legend in Zaun, I might as well look the part."
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