Jinx and Vi proved their determination through their actions, and Faen naturally wouldn't let their efforts go to waste. Of course, after pulling up his pants, he still said with a perfectly innocent face, "I would have revived him even if you didn't do that."
Vi shrugged. "Sure, but Jinx already put her mouth on it, so it'd be awkward for me to just stand there and watch."
"Who knows if you're telling the truth..." Jinx wiped her mouth. Once she was sure there were no white stains left on her face, she nodded. As she dressed, she muttered, "And by the way, can I get rid of this mark on my belly? It looks so weird."
She poked her lower abdomen. After last night's storm, Jinx looked radiant. Her belly had returned to being flat after rapidly absorbing the "nutrients," but a strange tattoo now sat on her smooth skin.
Coming from the Undercity, she wasn't against tattoos, but the location was too specific. Jinx didn't like gender-neutral workwear like Vi; she preferred sports bras and hot pants. This meant the tattoo on her lower belly was visible and incredibly eye-catching.
"Just concentrate and the mark will hide itself naturally," Faen said, patting her head. "If you're ready, let's head out."
"Ohhh!" Vi nodded enthusiastically, her eyes full of anticipation.
Before long, following Faen, Jinx and the others arrived at a laboratory in the lower levels of Zaun.
The Zaunite underground was now worlds apart from what it used to be. The filth and chaos of alchemical waste had been replaced by a fresh environment under the "Wind of Change" renovation. This was mostly thanks to the alchemy factories either stopping production or transitioning to new methods.
In the past, those factories brought severe pollution, forcing the labor force to struggle for survival in toxic environments from birth. To maximize profit, the Chem-Barons kept the factories running day and night. Pollution management was non-existent; few cared enough to even dump waste into the sewers, most just ran a pipe out the wall and let it flow.
Now, with Zaun's restructuring, the pollution was being refreshed at an incredible speed through magical intervention. While years of industrial waste had permanently altered the land, pollution itself is just a form of energy. With the right adjustments, pollution becomes a resource.
Shortly after Faen brought the girls to the Academy of Chem-Tech, they were met by the specially appointed researcher, Singed.
He was still wrapped in heavy bandages. Even with Zaun's transformation, Singed still gave off a half-dead vibe, surrounded by an aura of obscure negativity. However, compared to his state in Arcane, he looked much healthier. At least his lab coat was clean.
"Greetings, My Lord," Singed said simply. He held great respect for Faen. Though Singed was often indifferent to the city's future, he was still a son of Zaun. Seeing his home actually improve stirred complex thoughts in his mind.
Most of those thoughts were positive, especially since Singed had received extra funding from Faen after being brought into the fold.
"How is your daughter doing?" Faen asked.
Singed didn't get nervous. One of the reasons he worked so diligently for Faen was because of a reason he couldn't refuse: the Joy Factor.
As a scholar, Singed's view of the Joy Factor wasn't as biased as Vi's, nor was it like Jinx's "it's toxic but I have to eat it" mindset. Singed had conducted extensive experiments, even on himself. Only after confirming its true effects did he join Faen.
As the man who refined the original Shimmer, Singed knew the "Joy" that acted directly on the soul was a massive aid. He replied calmly, "Thanks to you, Orianna is recovering well. She can't run or jump in the sun yet, but the spiritual joy has revitalized her decaying flesh and nerves. As long as she keeps taking the medicine, a full recovery is only a matter of time."
To others, "happiness" might seem trivial, but Singed knew that emotion could determine if someone lived or died.
"And Vander?" Faen asked.
Hearing that name, Vi and Jinx—who had been curiously exploring the clean, advanced lab—stiffened and fixed their gazes on Singed.
Singed didn't disappoint. He nodded calmly. "The results are even better than I imagined."
"Explain," Faen commanded.
"Vander's vitality and will to live are incredibly strong. Even before the Joy Factor, he could withstand massive physical modifications under the influence of Shimmer—"
Before Singed could finish, Jinx and Vi interrupted with suspicious, horrified shouts: "You performed physical modifications on Vander?!"
"It was a necessity," Singed said, his expression unchanged. "Think back to when you thought he died. Shimmer technology wasn't what it is now. I admit I used his body to prove some of my theories, but there is no doubt that he survived because of it. If you had taken his body back then, you wouldn't have been able to do anything but bury him."