Twin Cities: Who says scientists can't be conquerors?

Chapter 5 The Destruction of Opium at Haimen

Threat!

This is absolutely a threat!

Beneath the owl mask, Ike gritted his teeth, staring intently at the composed Aaron before him.

If he couldn't hear the domineering tone hidden in Aaron's "kind" voice, then he would be a fool!

Those rebels wielding shotguns and chainsaws easily destroyed the Wildfire Gang's powered gliders, which they relied on for survival, with just a few simple moves.

This not only demonstrated the disparity in firepower between the two sides, but also shattered the Wildfire Gang's escape route.

Now that they've lost their powered gliders, and Aaron doesn't seem ready to wipe them out, if Ike doesn't accept their request to "have a proper talk," the other Wildfire Gang members probably won't agree either.

"……you say!"

After a moment's hesitation, Ike stopped destroying the cargo box and took a step toward Aaron in an unfriendly tone.

Even though he was wearing a mask, he subconsciously avoided Jinx's gaze as she stood next to Aaron, not wanting to be recognized.

As a former close partner and a survivor of that disaster, Ekko always harbored rather complicated feelings for Jinx.

Especially after Aaron's sudden emergence, Ekko saw Jinx being constantly influenced, becoming more and more like her former quirky self, and he found it increasingly difficult to find a place to put his hatred.

He was confused:

Can the explosion really be entirely blamed on Jinx?

Did she really have her reasons for seeking refuge with Hilco?

Does she still remember that her old name was... Bao Bao?

So, although Ike gradually revealed his talent, single-handedly built up the formidable Wildfire Gang, and even found a perfect place to settle down.

But whenever he encounters Jinx, he still instinctively tries to avoid her.

In particular, Jinx is now standing next to Aaron—who could have used his talent to help the Zaunites, but instead he's openly selling weapons and colluding with Hilko, the criminal who smuggles Glimmer!

Thinking of this, Ike couldn't help but feel his chest heaving, and he added:

"If you just want to brag about today's victory, then you've won, and you can shut up now!"

"Don't get so angry."

Seeing that Ikeken had spoken, Aaron knew that he had already succeeded halfway today.

He chuckled, ignoring the offensiveness in the other person's words, and pointed to the shimmering potion that had spilled across the deck:

"I've already explained why we took action. Now you should tell me why you're pulling this stunt today, right?"

"I think you should have heard of my name."

"I am a person who always keeps my word."

Aaron then pointed to himself. He was half a head taller than Ike, and he shrank back as much as possible to reduce the invisible sense of oppression.

"If you can provide a reasonable explanation, this matter might be resolved peacefully..."

"You know best why!"

Before Aaron could finish speaking, Ike, hidden behind the mask, retorted loudly.

He rarely loses control of his emotions, so today was an exception.

Ike led the Wildfire Gang to visit the cargo ship that Hilko was smuggling goods on, just to destroy those harmful Glimmer Potions, for no other reason!

Due to the early abuse of inferior light with severe side effects by Hilco, many light addicts emerged in Zaun.

They lived like neither human nor ghost, willing to cross their own moral bottom line for a glimmer of light.

Ekko, who genuinely wanted to save the people of Zaun and didn't want to see his homeland turn into a living hell, simply couldn't believe that Aaron, who, like him, disapproved of Hilko's smuggling activities, wouldn't be unaware of why he had come today!

Thinking of this, a new question arose in Ike's mind:

That's not right.

Although Aaron was an equally despicable arms dealer, he had always opposed Hilcor's smuggling of Glimmer and never participated in such matters.

Why did I happen to be on a cargo ship today?

Could it be that he was influenced by Hilko, crossed his own bottom line, and then...

"You underestimate me, kid!"

Aaron noticed the subtle change in Ike's emotions, guessed what Ike was thinking, and frowned with considerable displeasure.

How can you accuse someone of wrongdoing?

His temporary intervention in Hilko's smuggling operation today was a recollection of this part of the original storyline. He planned to use the Wildfire Gang's surprise attack today to fundamentally sober up his adoptive father, who was obsessed with the underworld.

If it weren't for their sincere desire, and their shared hope that Zaun could rise to prominence.

The Wildfire Gang, so immature that they don't even have a code of conduct, dares to "take the stage" today?

"Fine, I'll just give the order directly."

"I'm afraid if I'm too tactful later, you really won't understand."

Aaron sighed and shook his head.

As a qualified scientific researcher and a highly qualified talent in the original world, he has worked very hard to create a good research environment for himself.

Not only must we strive to change Zaun and transform Hilk's mindset, but we must also strive to adapt to the Zaun people's way of thinking.

What are the communication habits of people from Zuan?

Just like today: Aaron clearly had the ability to kill all the Wildfire Gang members present, but he only gave them a slight punishment, which instead made Ike think wildly.

Damn it, after all this time, it still comes down to fists in the end.

Do they only obey after being hit by an iron fist?

"The Rebels, the Wildfire Gang, the whole thing."

"Light it."

Aaron's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he said something that surprised everyone.

Ike thought he had misheard, and before he could even investigate Aaron's orders to the Wildfire Gang, he looked up in disbelief.

"Wh-what?"

"I said, light it!"

Aaron was no longer hunched over.

He stood ramrod straight, hands behind his back, looking at Ike with a disappointed expression:

"The inferior version of the light-emitting agent will not lose its effectiveness even when diluted."

"If you don't burn all this stuff that's been spilled on the ground completely, you'll regret it once it flows into the river or the sea!"

"No, no, that's not what I meant, I..."

Ekko was so embarrassed by the criticism that he started to stutter.

He felt like his head was full of mush, and he couldn't understand at all what Aaron was trying to do.

Am I the one who's here today to destroy the Glowing Elixir?

That's right!

Isn't Aaron, that arms dealer, Hilko's adopted son? Wasn't he just about to kill me?

Why suddenly...?

"Are you stupid? You can't even figure this out!"

Jinx, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

She didn't recognize Ike, but the way she looked at him like he was an idiot was more stimulating to Ike than if she had recognized him.

"Aaron shot you all on your skateboards, but didn't fire a single shot at any of you. That's to tell you that the Wildfire Gang can't beat the Rebels."

"However, your desire to stop the smuggling of Glimmer is good, and Aaron doesn't like Hilko's approach either."

"So Aaron is cleaning up after you, understand?"

Jinx held her head high, radiating confidence, a stark contrast to the unpleasant connotations of her name (Jinx).

The girl who was angry because of the Wildfire Gang's vandalism seemed to have disappeared without a trace, and had nothing to do with Jinx herself.

She looked at Aaron, her eyes practically overflowing with adoration:

"I knew it! I knew you were best at creating excitement!"

"I love it!"

"You always tell Hilco that smuggling glitter is a heinous and immoral path, and that you have other ways to make money, but he just won't listen."

"If you burn the cargo on the ship today, and then let the wildfire take the fall, Hilko will be furious and helpless! Hahaha..."

The girl stood with her hands on her hips and laughed loudly, giving off a "villainous heroine" vibe amidst the rising flames.

Unfortunately, she didn't even get a chance to laugh before she was forcefully suppressed by a large hand—

"It has nothing to do with framing someone. You're not allowed to hang out with Gustav and his gang anymore; their heads are full of crooked ideas."

Aaron ruffled Jinx's hair, ignoring the girl's protesting eye roll, and turned to look at Ekko, who was still in a daze.

He felt it was necessary to enlighten the other person.

As a true genius of Zaun, with lofty ideals and firm beliefs, how could he be like Hilko, thinking about how to get involved in the underworld every day?

"First of all, destroying the current substandard micro-light that has such severe side effects is a good thing."

"On this point, we are aligned, otherwise I wouldn't have let you off the hook today."

"Secondly, the Glimmer itself is an outstanding invention, and it will definitely become a new type of productive force that Zaun will completely control in the future. Therefore, I will not allow you to interfere with the improvement and development of the Glimmer as you have done today."

As he spoke, Aaron tilted his head and nodded at the rebels who were setting fire to the place, indicating to Ike that he had enough force to deal with the Wildfire Gang.

"at last……"

Aaron paused for a moment.

Because when he turned around just now, he suddenly realized that the rebels, like Jinx, seemed to be treating today's dramatic, multi-reversal "show" as a thrill-seeking frenzy.

They were laughing and joking as they set fire to their own boat, completely oblivious to the fact that it was burning their own vessel.

Even worse, some have started putting their arms around Wildfire Gang members, discussing how to start a fire to make it burn even brighter...

Aaron pursed his lips in a somewhat helpless manner.

The brief period of "coexistence" between the rebels and the Wildfire Gang proved that the people of Zaun could unite as one, which pleased him.

But could you consider the context?

"Sigh... In the end, didn't your Wildfire Gang say you also had a vision to revitalize Zaun?"

Aaron sighed and continued to speak his mind—the thoughts of a scientific researcher:

"The rise of Zaun, freeing it from the constraints of others, has never been just a political and military issue."

"It's not about raising poisonous insects to kill each other, it's not about seeing who has the bigger fist, and it's certainly not about asking the Piltover council members to have some compassion."

"This is essentially a complex economic problem!"

Aaron's sharp gaze made Ike, who only vaguely understood what he was saying, feel somewhat intimidated for a moment.

The surrounding flames grew stronger, and the rising heat made Aaron's figure appear somewhat distorted in Ike's eyes.

He felt like he understood, but also like he didn't quite understand.

In the end, he could only murmur a couple of times, tentatively accepting today's bizarre experience—burning Hilko's ship with Hilko's adopted son, and even being lectured by him.

"Then...then after I go back..."

Ike had long lost his initial bravado, looking like a bewildered elementary school student after a high-level math lesson: "When I get back, I'll explain things to the rest of the Wildfire Gang, and then..."

He glanced at Jinx.

"Then our Wildfire Gang will take responsibility for the attack and won't put you in too much trouble..."

"Foolish!"

Aaron shouted to stop him.

The helplessness on his face deepened, and he even held his forehead, no longer looking into Ike's eyes.

"Did I just say everything for nothing? You're hoping that Hilko will fly into a rage and cause trouble for you, making the Zaunites kill each other?"

"No, no, I..."

"You don't need to worry about what happens next. Take your people, take everything you've thought about today, and get out of here!"

Aaron waved his hand, unwilling to see Ike any longer.

He turned his back and his gaze fell on the Hextech portal not far away.

That is now the "heart" of Piltover, handling massive amounts of cargo every minute of every second.

A dazzling array of goods, carrying with them countless people's expectations for a better life and their complex desires, vanish in a flash of light, seemingly leaving no trace...

"Hextech portal, Glimmer smuggling... um."

"If this event were to be recorded, the phrase 'the smoke of war in Haimen' would be quite meaningful."

For the first time today, Aaron laughed from the bottom of his heart and uttered a sentiment that the people of Zaun couldn't understand.

After the Wildfire Gang members left, he ordered the fire on the ship to be extinguished, thus ending the rebels' bizarre "arson frenzy" that day.

Did they let Wildfire take the blame, thus inciting Hilk to carry out a major purge within Zaun?

Aren't Jinx and Ekko supposed to be geniuses? How come their heads are full of such terrible ideas!

Aaron remembered the incident again and became furious.

He really wanted to ask these two people:

Is it really that hard to find a scapegoat outside of Zaun's sphere of influence, someone who can keep Hilko from venting his anger?

You're right, aren't you?

The compassionate and dedicated Officer Caitlin Gilaman is on her way to the docks.