Hearing Singed's words, Jinx and the others were momentarily stunned. Jinx finally said with surprise, "She's your daughter?"
"In the flesh," Singed shrugged.
Having received confirmation, Jinx watched the little girl clinging to Faen's leg and asking questions, her eyes filled with profound shock.
Back when Faen first mentioned Vander to Jinx, he had also told her about the situation between Singed and his daughter.
In Faen's description then, Singed's daughter was alive but could only sleep in a life-support pod, which was practically no different from being dead. And now...
"This is the effect of the Joy Factor," Singed nodded, noticing Jinx's gaze.
"Before this, Orianna suffered from a terminal illness and could only sustain her life in stasis."
"The Joy Factor greatly revitalized Orianna's flesh and nerves, further increasing her resistance. Especially her flesh."
Singed added, "Prolonged stasis caused severe muscle atrophy, but this growth brought by Joy has made Orianna's muscles more powerful, and her bones, blood, and organs have become more complete. It has given her resistance a more solid foundation."
Jinx nodded thoughtfully, but then she tilted her chin toward Orianna—who was clinging to Faen, calling him "Brother Faen" and refusing to let go—and asked, "Aren't you worried about her being like that?"
"You mean this intimacy? It's fine," Singed shook his head.
"For Orianna to be alive and playing freely in the sun is enough for me. And I am well aware that the Joy Factor creates an affinity toward Faen, but this affinity is not uncontrollable."
He paused, then said candidly, "In fact, in my observation, Mr. Faen has always been generous, especially when there is no conflict of interest; he never mistreats those following him."
"And this intimacy between Orianna and Faen might, after I am gone, become the mountain she can lean on and the confidence she needs to grow up safely."
"Are you dying?" Jinx asked, surprised.
"No, just a metaphor." Singed walked toward his workbench with his hands behind his back.
"But who can guarantee the future? Though Orianna looks young, she spent the last decade in stasis; her actual age is similar to yours."
"Yet in terms of both strength and maturity, she is still a child. No matter how unwilling I am, I need to prepare things that will allow her to live well in the future..."
Jinx's expression became complex, but she didn't say anything more.
Still, Singed's reaction left her puzzled. After all, Faen's private life...
Well, perhaps to outsiders, Faen's private life appeared impeccably clean.
After all, in that secluded High-tower Manor, the depravity that occurred every night was beyond what a person in the mundane world could imagine.
In this situation, distance creates beauty. Who would have thought the spark of Zaun, the representative of Piltover—the future of both cities—would be like that in private?
...They were simply the cheapest sluts.
Furthermore, Jinx guessed that Singed himself had likely ingested the Joy Factor.
After all, it was something being used on his daughter; he surely had to determine the extent of its effects.
Though it was strange to think about, looking at it now, the Joy Factor in Orianna was likely not the same type as what she, Vi, Caitlyn, and Zeri had taken, but a "standard" version.
It would make one subtly develop a liking for Faen, but not to the point where they felt a maddening itch between their legs the moment they saw him, or felt a desperate urge to be humiliated and toyed with in front of everyone.
But even so, Orianna was still just a girl.
Growing up with a constant affinity for Faen while her mind was still so naive... once she was older...
Jinx's mouth twitched slightly, and she shook her head helplessly, deciding to stop dwelling on such matters.
After all, she truly couldn't judge Faen's moral compass in certain areas.
Unaware of Jinx's thoughts, Singed just stood at the workbench, controlling the life-support tank to continuously pump various substances into Vander's body.
"After this period of adjustment, Vander's consciousness and nerves have maintained a high level of activity."
"Though he has yet to break free from the shackles of death, as far as current conditions go, he can at least be considered alive."
Singed paused and looked at Faen. Receiving a nod of confirmation, Singed flipped a switch.
A massive amount of the Joy Factor was injected into the spine.
Before long, a powerful, rhythmic heartbeat echoed through the room. Jinx and Vi's hearts leaped into their throats.
Within the tank, under everyone's gaze, Vander first showed a heartbeat, then his entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Suddenly, he erupted into a violent frenzy. Wild, primal beastiality exploded from that half-man, half-beast face.
In their sight, his hulking frame shattered the thick glass of the life-support tank almost instantly.
"ROAARRR!!!"
Letting out a thunderous howl, Vander acted like a true beast. After breaking free, his instinct was to flee this brightly lit space.
But before Vander could move, the moisture in the air was instantly refined at high speed into flowing chains.
With a series of whistling sounds, the chains locked onto Vander's limbs on the spot.
"What's going on?!" Vi looked at Singed in a panic, her face full of terror and unease. "You said Vander would be fine!"
"I only said he would be alive; I never said he would be fine," Singed said calmly, shaking his head.
"Anyone returning from death will undergo changes. How to bring him back to his original self is your task—I have done all that I can do."
Vi seemed to want to say more, but Jinx spoke up: "Enough, Vi. Don't be so tense."
"It's not about being tense or not!" Vi retorted, but then she took a deep breath.
She exchanged a glance with Jinx, and then both of them turned their gazes back to Vander.