Hearing Zeri's words, Faen raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Seeing Faen's expression, Zeri thought Faen was reluctant, so she immediately said, "Of course, if it's inconvenient, we won't go. Actually, I don't really want to participate either. After all, to be honest, I've only heard of Seraphine..."
"No no no, I want to go. I was just surprised to hear this name." Faen shook his head, signaling Zeri not to be nervous.
Seraphine, he knew her well. As one of the new supports in League of Legends, Seraphine's appearance directly shook Lissandra's status as the Queen of Hoverboards in the Freljord. The impact she generated was no less than that of Ding Zhen and Wang Yuan in the cigarette world. Among them, Lissandra was like a traditionalist, balancing with the ancient True Ice magic of Runeterra. While Seraphine was a reformist balancing with Hextech.
Of course, apart from differences in personal image, the most criticized aspect might be her skill set—
No need to say how old the ancestral spaghetti code of League of Legends is. This also led to some old champions being weak in all aspects from mechanics to stats without any blind spots. Among them, Seraphine's skill set could be said to be an all-round enhanced version of the old champion Sona without any blind spots.
Higher damage, stronger healing, more control. This all-round transcendence made people doubt if the current Sona had any other use besides making Viego passively become a useless object when picked...
Apart from these settings in the game, in the real world, Seraphine's identity and philosophy are quite interesting... Her parents were both Zaunites who tried their best to get a Piltover citizenship so she could have a good life.
Considered a classic Zaunite immigrant. On this basis, Seraphine didn't hate Zaun because of this. Instead, because of her magical talent, she wanted to change the relationship between Zaun and Piltover.
As for the method... it was debuting as a singer.
Just like Zeri wanted to become a spark of Zaun to gradually make the entire Zaun participate in resisting the Chem-Barons. Seraphine's ideal couldn't be called unrealistic; it could only be said to be worthy of a fantasy worldview... after all, her singing was genuinely useful.
Thinking this, Faen said, "I've heard this name too."
Hearing Faen's words, Zeri blinked, then asked curiously, "Do you know Seraphine?"
"I know her, but she doesn't know me." Faen answered.
Hearing Faen's words, Zeri thought for a moment, then showed a look of sudden realization, immediately saying excitedly, "Meaning... prophecy?!"
Zeri knew Faen's identity as a prophet and seer—Faen never thought of hiding it.
This profession should be considered one of the oldest professions of mankind, right? Even in the ordinary world of Faen's previous life, people who just learned to observe the weather could gain the tribe's respect and admiration as shamans, prophets, elders, and sages. Let alone this fantasy world that truly possessed supernatural powers?
Coming to this world and growing up from a nameless orphan, and growing up in an environment like Ionia full of monsters and deities, Faen knew that in Runeterra, identities like prophets and seers were quite common. It was just that in the vast majority of cases, these 'prophets' performing on the streets were often just scammers playing tricks.
Few people truly mastered the ability of prophecy. And even if they peered into the future, they wouldn't easily make changes, fearing their actions were also part of the prophecy, or would lead to chain reactions, thus living in fear all day, even giving people the feeling of being neurotic and so on... But Faen didn't have so many worries.
For Faen, if it's useful, use it more. Especially since what Faen mastered was the real deal, and he had enough strength to protect himself. Showing his cards frankly could omit many unnecessary things—for example, Faen didn't want to waste too much time gaining others' trust.
So, hearing Zeri's inquiry, Faen nodded and said, "Sort of. But just like my other prophecies, regarding Seraphine, I only saw fragments, not her whole life."
"So that's it!" Zeri nodded, then asked curiously, "Then what kind of person does Faen think Seraphine is?"
"Someone who feels pain for others' pain, feels happy for others' happiness, and sincerely hopes this world can become better..." While speaking and thinking, Faen nodded and said, "She is also someone we need to win over. After all, after defeating the Chem-Barons, the enemies we will face next are from the Upper City."
Hearing this, Zeri nodded thoughtfully, then said with a smile, "If Faen can give such a high evaluation, then Seraphine must be a good person! Hehe, let's go watch together!"
"Sure." Faen nodded with a smile, then took Zeri back to the base located in the tunnel of the district.
After returning to the base, Faen discussed the things encountered today with Zeri's mother, Soona.
The first thing was naturally about Silco.
Hearing about Jinx's visit, Soona frowned completely, her strong arms clenched slightly, looking a bit nervous.
But after knowing the purpose of Jinx, or rather Silco, Soona gradually relaxed.
"Silco... Silco's situation is quite complicated." Soona looked at Faen and said:
"Although Silco has ruled Zaun for more than ten years, there are not a few people who have experienced the Vander era. At the very beginning... I mean including me, we once thought Vander was too weak, believing only tough resistance could take back what belonged to Zaun. Just as you thought, I originally supported Silco."
Saying this, a bitter smile appeared at the corner of Soona's mouth. Calling it a smile, but that smile was full of mockery. Not directed at anyone, but at herself, at this land named Zaun.
"Later, Silco, and we, all realized why Vander did that back then... because the Upper City's lead over Zaun was comprehensive. So the new Zaun Alliance fell apart in an instant."
Thanks to Faen and Zeri robbing the rich to help the poor during this period, although in the streets of the Sump, Soona's family also lived in a quite nice big house.
Although called a tunnel, one end directly connected to the cliff along the coast outside Zaun. This allowed Faen and the others to see the vast sea surface directly from the dining room, enjoying the fresh and cool sea breeze completely different from the hot, humid, and pollution-filled environment inside Zaun.
But now, looking at the waves outside, Soona said listlessly: "Zeri's father was once a decent man. When the Alliance was still there, we fought side by side. He always thought we could achieve the final victory, and soon replace Vander, defeat Piltover, and let everyone live a prosperous life."
Hearing this, Faen raised his eyebrows slightly—this was the first time Soona talked about Zeri's father. Hearing her mother's words, Zeri on the side also blinked curiously. Obviously, Zeri wasn't very clear about this father of hers either.
Even to the extent... seemed she had never met him?
Just as Faen was thinking, Soona on the side continued:
"But unfortunately, after everyone realized the huge gap between Zaun and Piltover in reality, some chose to continue fighting after recognizing reality, some chose to escape into the Sump in despair after recognizing reality, some hated their former compatriots and leaders, and some betrayed Zaun, choosing to submit to Piltover's power and willingly become black gloves of the merchant families..."
Saying this, pausing, Soona shrugged, her large muscles glistening in the sunlight.
"So I killed him."
"Mmhmm." Faen nodded, expressing understanding.
Although Soona spoke briefly, Faen could understand the reason within—"Adherents of the quick victory theory often quickly turn into capitulationists after receiving blows."
Faen said, "Because adherents of the quick victory theory often lack insight into objective laws and correct cognition of historical things. The essence is luck and opportunism."
Hearing this, Soona froze, then nodded thoughtfully, saying with some emotion: "Some complex things I find hard to understand are always summarized quickly by you and expressed in concise words... truly. Hmm, Little Zeri's taste in people seems much better than mine."
Saying this, Soona glanced at Zeri, with slight relaxation in her eyes.
Because just the fact that Faen could state the difference between the quick victory theory and capitulationists already proved Faen wasn't that kind of person... well, couldn't be certain. But at least Faen could understand the reason, which meant Faen wouldn't easily become either of them.
Thinking this, Soona calmed herself, then continued:
"Although Silco has a very bad reputation in Zaun, and many people think Zaun became like this all because of Silco. But in fact, as long as it is for the good of Zaun, Silco is trustworthy. Even in the current situation, Silco is still doing his best to maintain Zaun's independence. It's just that compared to the past, the current Zaun is already too deep in trouble to return."
"I think Silco has also realized this... He is a person with enough wisdom but too radical." Soona said:
"But reality has smoothed Silco's radical edges. This can be seen from his attempt to use chemical factories and Hextech Crystal refinement factories to exchange benefits with the Upper City through technology and trade. Our reform philosophy fits the future of Zaun that Silco hopes to see."
"So I personally think that in this matter, we can give Silco some trust... But no matter how much trust, the core power must be in your hands."
Soona pursed her lips and said, "Violence is the biggest source of power for us to implement this reform."
Hearing this, Faen nodded understandingly.
At the same time, he also understood why Soona could raise Zeri safely alone in such a harsh environment like the Sump—although Soona didn't say it explicitly, obviously, in the past Zaun Alliance era, Soona should have been one of the top leaders in the Alliance. Otherwise, Soona wouldn't know some of Silco's personality so well.
Including Zeri too—Zeri showed magical talent at a very young age. Under these circumstances, even if the Chem-Barons didn't know at first, as Zeri grew up, the magic power became stronger and stronger, and the connection with emotions made it increasingly uncontrollable, all of which would lead to Zeri's talent being unable to hide.
Under these circumstances, Zeri could still grow up safely and freely, and didn't receive too much harsh treatment. Presumably, it was because of Soona's status in the past Zaun Alliance—including the Sump district where Zeri grew up.
Faen had already felt puzzled when the previous leaflets could spread throughout Zaun so quickly. Now it seemed, sure enough.
It's easier to get things done with people on the inside. This undoubtedly allowed for building a new team at a faster speed. After finishing the chat about Silco, Faen also chatted with Soona about Seraphine.
Actually, hearing that Faen prepared to go to a concert with Zeri, Soona didn't mind. After all, it was indeed a bit busy some time ago. Faen and Zeri didn't have a chance to cultivate feelings. Now that they could finally relax for a few days, what's wrong with attending a concert?
But on second thought, if it was just attending a concert for fun, Faen didn't need to tell her specifically...
Thinking this, Soona hesitated for a moment and said, "Is this little girl named Seraphine... very special?"
"Mmhmm." Faen nodded: "Although Seraphine looks like just a somewhat naive and kind girl, she represents a considerable part of the people in Piltover who can be won over—her parents are both Zaunites."
Hearing this, after thinking for a moment, Soona quickly nodded understandingly, then fell into deep thought.
Piltover's exploitation and oppression of Zaun were comprehensive, especially in terms of talent control. Even the College of Techmaturgy jointly founded by Chem-Barons had no competitiveness at all in front of the University of Piltover... Even Zaunites themselves would look highly upon those Piltovians who couldn't make it in Piltover and could only come to Zaun dejectedly.
The impact generated here couldn't be summarized by a simple sentence of social atmosphere or human nature. In fact, according to what Faen knew, there were not a few Zaunites like Seraphine who were in Piltover but hoped to make their hometown better.