The good days of the Piltovans were won with the help of the Zaunites?
That sounded incredibly counterintuitive.
"Zaunites and Pilties..." Vi felt like her brain was about to short-circuit. "Shouldn't they be enemies?"
"Yes, exactly, that's the thing—" Levi chuckled. "The great plutocrats of Piltover artificially manufactured the differences between Zaunites and Piltovans just to make you all think that way about each other!"
According to the history he had learned from Janna:
In the early days of the Twin Cities' division, Zaun and Piltover weren't actually so distinctly separated.
Nowadays, crossing the canal bridge from Zaun to Piltover was like crossing a national border. There were smuggling inspections and qualification reviews, with Enforcers standing guard with loaded weapons, wary of every Zaunite trying to sneak across—
They were just short of building a massive wall to completely seal off the border between Zaun and Piltover.
But over two hundred years ago, when the Twin Cities first split, there were actually no checkpoints between Zaun and Piltover.
Zaunites could cross the river whenever they wanted, working in Piltover during the day and returning to Zaun to rest at night.
Rather than being two separate cities, the Twin Cities were more like a slum and a wealthy district separated by a canal.
But later, things changed.
"Because Zaunites could travel freely, and poor immigrants from all over the world were constantly flooding into Piltover, it indirectly bolstered Zaun's labor force."
"Therefore, the business owners of Piltover were much more willing to hire the cheaper poor of Zaun, rather than employing Piltovan commoners who 'couldn't endure hardship.'"
"Gradually, a portion of Piltovan commoners who lacked education, skills, and personal competitiveness began to lose their jobs, fall into poverty, or were forced to accept pay cuts. They even plummeted from their original social class, having no choice but to sell their homes in Piltover and move across the river to Zaun."
"The Piltovans grew poorer and poorer, yet the Zaunites didn't get any richer either."
"So, later on—"
"When the Zaunites first began to rebel against the Piltovan business owners, the Piltovan commoners didn't stand with the Piltover Council. Instead, they secretly helped the Zaunite resistance organizations."
Levi revealed a historical truth that neither Zaunites nor Piltovans today would dare to believe:
"Even among the Piltover Enforcers of that time, many hesitated during the crackdowns. Some even dragged their feet, unable to bear raising their hands against the rebelling Zaunites."
"Because back then, the Twin Cities weren't so clearly divided."
"Many Zaunites were simply unemployed, impoverished Piltovans."
"And those Piltover Enforcers mostly came from commoner families as well. They were unwilling to risk their lives for Piltover's great plutocrats and turn their butchers' blades on their own compatriots."
"This..." Vi listened with rapt attention.
She simply couldn't believe that Zaunites and the Pilties she hated most—even the Enforcers—could have once been 'compatriots.'
But now, they hated each other and killed each other. Why?
"Because during the successive Zaunite rebellions, the subtle attitude displayed by the Piltovans finally woke the Piltover Council up."
"They realized they weren't making an enemy of Zaun, but an enemy of the poor."
"To combat this weakest yet most powerful enemy, the Piltover Council chose to expand their base, consolidate the foundation of their rule, and artificially manufacture a division within the enemy's ranks—"
"They began setting up checkpoints along the canal, officially separating Zaun and Piltover."
"They started raising wages and distributing benefits to Piltovans, securing employment for local Piltovans. By using this to differentiate Piltover from Zaun, they constructed an ethnic identity belonging solely to Piltovans."
"These two distinct groups—Piltover and Zaun—were artificially created just like that."
The Piltovans grew wealthy. And once people get rich, it's easy for them to look down on their poor relatives.
Thus, Piltovans began to discriminate against Zaun, and Zaunites began to harbor hatred for Piltover.
The conflict between the poor and the plutocrats was quietly transformed into a conflict between Piltover and Zaun.
"This..." Vi felt a bit dizzy just listening to it.
Zaunites and Piltovans were originally compatriots.
The good days of the Piltovans were indirectly won for them by the repeated rebellions of the Zaunites.
"This... this is truly ridiculous," Vi muttered in shock. "Then what did all our years of rebellion and the sacrifices of so many people actually amount to?"
"It bought the good days of our 'compatriots,' along with their discrimination against us?!"
"While the real villains hide high up in the sky, watching us tear at each other on the ground like rats?"
This was so fucking...
Just thinking about it was suffocating!
Hearing this history would make any Zaunite unable to hold back a surge of nameless fury.
"Vi." Levi sensed her suddenly heavy breathing. "It seems you understand Silco's hatred a bit more now, right?"
"I..." Vi's expression froze. "No! I'm not like him!"
In truth, after Levi's analysis of the situation and his history lesson, her mindset had quietly begun to shift.
Without realizing it, she had let go of her resistance to the word 'rebellion,' recognizing the necessity and urgency of the struggle.
The only thing she didn't agree with was Silco himself.
In Vi's eyes, Silco was ultimately a Chem-Baron, and the most despicable, cruel, and bottomless kind at that.
Vi didn't think that letting a scumbag like him rule Zaun in place of the Pilties would make Zaun's future much better.
"Not just him, but also the gang of Chem-Barons united around him. Those Chem-Barons used to rely on Vander back in the day, too."
"I know them—"
"Every single one of them is a treacherous, shameless, cruel, and greedy piece of scum. They are incombustible trash that would pollute the environment even if thrown into hell."
"Even if Zaun truly defeated Piltover and gained independence in the hands of these people, under their rule, the lives of Zaunites wouldn't necessarily be much better."
Vi sighed thoughtfully.
"You're absolutely right!" Levi was actually quite pleasantly surprised.
He had originally thought Vi was the type of muscle-brained girl with more brawn than brains, but he hadn't expected her to be so good at critical thinking.
The issue Vi raised was crucial.
In history, many colonies, after breaking free from their suzerain states and achieving independence, experienced the bizarre phenomenon of regressing rather than progressing because the fruits of victory were stolen by 'Chem-Barons.'
And Silco, this so-called leader of Zaun, was actually similar to the head of a martial arts alliance.
He led Zaun in name, but in reality, he had a large group of Chem-Barons under him who formed their own factions.
If he couldn't sweep these Chem-Barons clean, then even if he successfully led Zaun to independence in the future, the lives of Zaunites probably wouldn't improve much.
To avoid this situation, a thorough sweeping would be needed in Zaun.
But how could that be so easy?
Silco's rule over Zaun was still the traditional gang model of a mob boss and his underbosses.
If he swept all the Chem-Barons clean, Silco would lose his right and left hands, becoming a commander without an army.
At most, he could slightly suppress a few disobedient underlings; it was impossible for him to clean them all out.
Therefore, Levi believed:
Silco might succeed, yet he was destined to fail.
"Then what if I could point out a path different from Silco's?"
"Vi, are you interested in hearing more?" Levi suddenly asked.
"I..." Vi fell into a momentary daze.
She clearly only cared about her sister, her only family. She had never cared about history, nor did she have any grand ambitions to save Zaun.
But after such a long and extensive conversation with Levi, she had inexplicably become interested.
Thus, driven by some inexplicable urge, Vi answered, "Alright."