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Chen didn't flinch. He just offered a faint, shark-like smile. "I never said the Hexgates were bad, Councillor. And I'm not here to bury Hextech. I'm simply presenting a purer, more sustainable evolution of science."
He leaned forward, slamming his palm onto the polished wood of the Council table. He knew exactly how to talk to these high-born power brokers. "Think about the logistics. With my Zeppelin, we can move dozens of times more cargo than a standard merchant ship. If you feed those massive payloads through the Hexgates, your profit margins don't just grow—they transcend. And here's the kicker: the Zeppelin doesn't need a single soul-stealing magic crystal. It runs on petroleum. You call it lamp oil."
The room went silent. In Piltover, petroleum was a secondary resource, used for street lamps and heating. It was cheap, abundant, and compared to the skyrocketing price of Brackern crystals, it was practically free.
One of the Councillors began frantically scribbling on his notepad, his fingers twitching. "A single magic crystal sustains seventy-six Hexgate cycles. If the Zeppelin's payload is ten times the current limit, the net profit increases by at least seventy percent... and we all know those Shuriman traders have been hiking crystal prices lately."
Even Mel Medarda, Jayce's primary benefactor, looked swayed. The math was too clean to ignore. "Did you build this yourself? In a few months?"
Chen shook his head, gesturing toward the diminutive figure beside him. "Without Professor Heimerdinger's expertise and his specialized team, this titan would still be a sketch in my notebook. The concept belongs to me and Powder—who, by the way, is currently piloting that beast above your heads—but the execution is pure Academy excellence."
Heimerdinger nodded solemnly, his ears twitching with pride. The Councillors exchanged glances, the initial frostiness in the room melting into the warm glow of projected revenue.
"Gentlemen," Chen continued, his voice dropping an octave, "this is just the tutorial level. What I'm here to show you today goes far beyond a big balloon. If you'll be patient, I have inventions that will make the Arcane look like a parlor trick."
"There's more?" a Councillor blurted out.
"Think of Hextech as a scalpel," Chen explained, using the language of the elite. "It's expensive, high-risk, and should be reserved for the big stuff, like the Hexgates. But for everything else? For the day-to-day pulse of the city? You need pure technology. It's cheaper. It's safer. And unlike magic, it doesn't blow up if you drop it."
Chen began to paint the "Grand Vision." He described steel-hulled ships that could cross the Conqueror's Sea regardless of the wind. He spoke of "cars"—personal carriages capable of eighty miles per hour without a single horse or Hex-core. He depicted a rail system where a single engine could pull fifty carriages of raw ore from the Ironspike Mountains.
The Councillors were mesmerized. He was describing a world of speed and convenience they had only seen in fever dreams. But Chen knew they needed a "procced" effect—something they could touch.
"Finally," Chen said, pulling two small, black rectangular bricks from his coat. "I give you: Wireless Radio."
The room tilted. In a world where communication meant a messenger on a horse or an expensive pneumatic tube, the idea of instant, wireless speech was a bombshell.
"These are walkie-talkies. Prototype phase," Chen explained. "Within five hundred meters, you can speak into this brick and be heard by the other, anywhere, anytime."
The "toy-loving" Councillor didn't even wait for a demonstration. He scrambled toward Chen, nearly tripping over his own robes. "Let me try! Give it here!"
Heimerdinger stepped in. "Councillor, if you'll follow me downstairs, we can test the range."
A few minutes later, the Council watched through the reinforced glass as Heimerdinger and the Councillor reached the courtyard below. Chen held the other unit high.
Static crackle. "Can you hear me? Hello? Is this thing on?" The Councillor's voice erupted from the black brick in Chen's hand, clear as a bell.
Then Heimerdinger's voice followed: "You don't need to scream, Councillor. Speak to the machine, not to the clouds."
The Councillors huddled around the device, their eyes wide with wonder. "It's really them... without a single copper wire!"
Chen struck while the IronSMC was hot. "With the right funding, we can connect every corner of Runeterra. No more lost messages. No more dark zones."
"I support this!" one Councillor shouted. "Let me see that device!" another barked.
Heimerdinger returned to the chamber, his chest puffed out. He walked to the center of the rotunda and raised his small hand. "I, Councillor Heimerdinger, formally propose that we grant Chen and his team the same funding, resources, and priority as the Hextech initiative."
"For the progress of our city!" Heimerdinger declared. "For the greater good of science!"
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