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Heimerdinger had stayed up all night. For a Yordle whose life span was measured in centuries, pulling an all-nighter was usually reserved for world-altering breakthroughs.
This was all thanks to Chen's letter.
The first line of the manuscript had hooked him like a Master Tier Blitzcrank hook:
"A pure technological revolution. No Hextech magic, no Chem-tech toxins. A world built on the immutable laws of physics and chemistry."
In the dual-city dynamic of Piltover and Zaun, the technology trees had grown crooked. Zaun's Chem-tech was powerful but filthy, turning rivers into sludge and lungs into ash—a path Heimerdinger had rejected long ago when he parted ways with Singed. Hextech, meanwhile, was an attempt to put a leash on magic. And Heimerdinger knew magic. He had seen the Rune Wars; he had seen civilizations turn to dust because someone thought they could "control" the arcane.
Even as he watched the Hexgates bring prosperity to Piltover, his heart remained wary. Magic was the ultimate RNG—unstable, unpredictable, and prone to catastrophic "bugs."
But this letter? This letter promised the Second Industrial Revolution. It described a world of electrical grids, internal combustion engines with incredible torque, and radio waves for global communication.
Chen hadn't just written a manifesto; he'd drawn diagrams. Diagrams of magnets generating current through motion. To an amateur, it was a doodle. To a genius like Heimerdinger, it was the "Hello World" of a new era.
"Incredible," the Professor whispered, his ears twitching. "To use a magnet to generate energy... it's so simple, yet I've spent centuries looking through the lens of magic. This boy—whoever he is—is a visionary!"
He stroked his beard, his eyes shining with a familiar fire. "For the greater good of science!"
The Riverside Meeting
Early the next morning, wearing the dark circles of a true lab-rat, Heimerdinger arrived at the bridge dividing the two cities. The letter had promised a meeting at dawn.
"What kind of giant could conceive this?" he wondered aloud.
Two green streaks of light suddenly lanced through the Sump-fog. Chen and Powder landed gracefully in front of him, their hoverboards humming as they powered down.
Heimerdinger looked up at Chen, then at the blue-haired girl beside him. He was barely as tall as their knees, but his presence was massive. "Professor Heimerdinger, I presume," Chen said, extending a hand. "I'm the one who sent the letter."
Heimerdinger's pointed ears flickered. "You? You're just... children. Is this a prank? Did you steal these designs?"
"I built this on the shoulders of giants, Professor," Chen said, reaching into his bag. He pulled out a small, clunky device with a hand-crank and a glass bulb attached to the front. "Behold: the first generator."
Chen began to crank the handle. Whirrr. "Spinning a magnet to cut through magnetic field lines," Chen explained, looking at Powder as if giving a lesson. "The current passes through a high-resistance tungsten filament, converting electrical energy into heat and light. No Shimmer, no crystals. Just physics."
As Chen cranked faster, the bulb flickered to life, casting a warm, steady glow that cut through the Zaunite haze.
Heimerdinger's jaw dropped. "You built this in the Sump? With scrap?"
"Generators and engines are just the tutorial level, Professor," Chen said, painting a grand vision. "In the future, we won't need Hextech to cross Runeterra in two days. We won't need magic to speak to someone in Ionia. We'll build machines that can reach the stars. No more 'accidental explosions' or 'magic wars.' Just progress."
Heimerdinger was sold. He didn't care about their "Zaun orphan" status. He saw the future in their eyes. "Then come with me. I think the Academy has room for two more students. Or perhaps... two more partners."
Chen extended his hand again. "For the greater good of science!"
"For the greater good of science!"
The Parallel Path
While Chen and Powder were being escorted into the halls of power, the Zaun was still a powder keg.
Caitlyn and Vi were deep in the Sump, following a trail of clues that was getting dangerously hot. In two days, Caitlyn had narrowed the "Hexgate Heist" down to a conflict between the Firelights and Silco. But she had discovered something much more disturbing: Shimmer.
She saw the addicts, the mutations, and the sheer human cost of Silco's empire. As an Enforcer, her sense of justice was screaming.
Vi watched Caitlyn dust for prints and interview informants with a skeptical smirk. "Hey, Little Cupcake, why do you have to poke your nose into every gutter in Zaun?"
Caitlyn didn't look up from her notepad. "I'm an Enforcer, Vi. Investigating the truth isn't a hobby. It's the job."
"The truth is going to get you killed down here," Vi warned, her eyes scanning the shadows for a blue braid she hadn't seen in years. "Zaun doesn't like prying eyes."
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