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

"If I remember correctly, you never take the initiative to contact me."

"What, is there something else that you, the Piltover sheriff, can't handle and need the help of a Zaunite?"

Hilco had completely abandoned the amiable demeanor he had shown in front of Zeli. His icy gaze swept over Marcos, making Marcos, who was sitting opposite him, feel as if a venomous snake was coiled around his neck, sending chills down his spine.

He quickly suppressed his panic, glanced around, and after confirming that Zeli had left and there was no one else in the room, swallowed hard and forced a smile:

"No, no, it's nothing serious. I just wanted to inquire about something small."

"A small matter?"

Hilko gave a cold laugh.

Ever since he tasted the benefits of Aaron's theories, he had inevitably fallen in love with the feeling of being genuinely supported by the people of Zaun and having a seemingly bright future.

Marcos's sudden appearance displeased Hilco, who was already planning to quietly reduce his smuggling activities and eventually clean up his act.

Given the other party's current hesitant and furtive demeanor, Hilko quickly considered many undesirable possibilities:

Is he trying to raise the price, thinking that the money he was bribed with before wasn't enough?

Or is he planning to use his past smuggling activities to blackmail me into doing things for him?

or……

Hilcó watched as Marcos remained silent for a long time, only glancing around.

He squinted and gently tapped his wine glass on the table to draw Marcos's attention back.

"Just say what you have to say."

"I think you should know my methods. Don't think you can pull off any tricks without anyone noticing!"

"It really is just a small matter! Uh... an important little matter."

Hilco raised his voice slightly, which immediately made Marcos anxious, and he quickly chimed in.

After leaving the Giraman estate, he certainly didn't return to the police station to handle work matters as he had claimed.

In fact, after basically confirming that Jinx was the same person as Boom from nine years ago, Marcos, who was afraid that the despicable things he did back then would be exposed, had already inevitably thought of the most direct way to eliminate any possible threat to himself—murder!

Dead people can't talk, so Marcos really wanted to find an opportunity to kill Jinx, who seemed to know nothing at all.

However, this bold idea soon encountered its first obstacle: Jinx is now Hielko's daughter!

Marcos had experienced firsthand Hilco's ruthlessness and extraordinary abilities.

He had just taken office and was full of ambition. He planned to drive all those disgusting Zu'an people back to their stinking sewers according to his own ideas.

But before he could even give the order, he was suddenly kidnapped by a group of masked men and taken to a secret room in a daze.

After the hood was removed, Marcos still remembers seeing the same eyes of Hilko that he saw then as he does now—cold and hypocritical.

From that day on, the invisible intimidation and the generous gold coins together formed his entire reason for secretly protecting Hilko's smuggling.

until today.

"I... I want to confirm, you should know a girl named Jinx, right?"

Although he was conflicted, Marcos swallowed hard and spoke up.

Logically speaking, as the sheriff of Piltover, he shouldn't need to be too afraid of or respectful of Hillco, the local tyrant of Zaun.

However, because he had something on his mind, his voice inevitably sounded somewhat guilty.

After asking, Marcos kept a close eye on Hilko's reaction, trying to discern the relationship between the father and daughter from her expression.

If he had the opportunity, he could have more leisurely probed indirectly and ultimately weighed whether taking action against Jinx would provoke Hilko's retaliation.

The problem is, Marcos feels he doesn't have time now, and it's even urgent!

Jinx has already made an impression on Mrs. Giraman, and she'll soon be meeting Jess. If he doesn't act quickly, and waits until Jinx has established connections with both senators…

"Oh? Jinx..."

Hilcone had made many mental preparations, but she never expected Marcos to suddenly mention Jinx's name.

And judging from Marcos's expression, he seems to take it particularly seriously.

He couldn't help but feel puzzled—had Jinx gotten into some trouble in Piltover that made the sheriff of the Enforcers come all the way to see him?

That shouldn't be the case, Aaron was with Jinx this time...

Hilcomo stroked his chin, not in a hurry to answer Marcos's question.

As Marcos observed him, he was also trying to figure out Marcos's motivation for asking the question.

In an instant, the room fell silent.

"...She's mine."

"What's wrong?"

In the end, it was Hilko, who was more confident, who broke the silence.

Although he couldn't understand why Marcos was asking this, he didn't mind letting others know that he was backing Jinx.

Hilco even glanced at the police badge on Marcos's chest beneath his black robe.

The meaning is self-evident: even if you are a law enforcement officer, you'd better not touch her!

"It's nothing, I was just asking."

Although Marcos didn't mean what Hilko thought, his heart sank to the bottom with Hilko's answer.

Oh no, it seems like Hilko values ​​Jinx a lot.

Marcos licked his lips, finally realizing that his plan to directly attack Jinx had completely failed.

Even if Jinx is dispensable to Hilco, if Marcos, as the sheriff, wanted to assassinate her, he would still need to be extremely careful in making all kinds of preparations and clearing away any traces left behind.

Given Hilko's current obvious bias towards his own... never mind.

"What, did my statement disappoint you?"

Hilco keenly noticed Marcos's disappointment.

His deep voice lingered in Marcos's ears, pressing on relentlessly: "If I said Jinx and I have nothing to do with each other, are you planning to go after Jinx, or...?"

"No!"

Marcos vehemently denied it.

When he faced Hilko before, he was always at a disadvantage, and was overwhelmed by the opponent's powerful aura.

It remains the same now.

Marcos could even imagine that if he hadn't been so decisive in his denial, Hilko might actually do something to him next!

But what should we do now...?

Silence fell in the room once again.

With composure, Hilcó quietly took a sip of the pale brown wine, his gaze fixed on Marcos without letting go.

Marcos, on the other hand, became even more anxious, racking his brains to find a new solution.

He didn't want to live in constant fear, lest Jinx, whose identity he had already confirmed, suddenly have the idea of ​​searching for the pink-haired girl from back then.

At the same time, he was even more unwilling to "surrender" in front of Hilko and fully express his worries.

Because if that happened, he would really be at Hilko's mercy!

"Haven't you made up your mind yet, Sheriff Marcos?"

Seeing Marcos's lips twitching and his eyes darting around, even if Hilco was stupid, he would know that the other man was preoccupied with something.

His slow, persistent questioning was an attempt to put pressure on Marcos, forcing the already easily frightened Piltover native to reveal his true thoughts.

Jinx was mentioned?

He's also particularly concerned about his relationship with Jinx?

Hilco stretched out the corners of his mouth, making his lip line look as sharp as a scalpel.

He felt he had grasped some of Marcos's thoughts—the other party wanted to assess the power behind Jinx.

As for why we are evaluating it?

Heh, I would also make such an assessment when I was planning to take down a certain alchemist baron.

Thinking of this, Hilko's eyes sharpened.

He could deduce that Marcos harbored malice towards Jinx when he entered, but he had no idea why the other party did so.

Even if Jinx did something "big" in Piltover, it's not something Marcos is going to handle himself.

Not to mention that Jinx and Marcos do not have a direct conflict of interest.

Just look at a law enforcement officer or sheriff in the public eye. If he wanted to take someone down quietly, he would need to lay a lot of groundwork and pull through many layers of connections. You would find that doing so would be completely cost-effective.

Moreover, Caitlyn Giramann, who appeared somewhat inexperienced last night, was already enough to serve as Jinx's best talisman.

Who does the daughter of a politician want to protect? Could it be...?

Not right either.

A few days ago, even the daughter of a congressman was kidnapped...

"Marcus, you still haven't listened to my advice and are trying to be clever."

Hilko spoke again.

He noticed that although the sheriff in front of him was flustered, he kept his mouth shut, which made him realize even more that this was something the sheriff valued highly.

In that case, Hilko has no choice but to intensify the pressure:

"Speak."

His fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, "inadvertently" touching a button, and a rustling sound of footsteps came from outside.

"What have you discovered? What are you planning to do? What can you offer me to help you with?"

"I suggest you be more honest and explain everything clearly."

"otherwise……"

The footsteps outside the door ceased for a moment, but the sound of bullets being chambered continued.

Clearly, this was a blatant threat from Hilco, and Marcos was powerless to stop it.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and his lips began to dry.

Marcos had to admit that coming to see Hilco today was a huge mistake.

He had become so accustomed to working with that smuggler who always brought him considerable wealth that he had completely forgotten the man's true nature—a ruthless character who had emerged from the corpses of Zaun!

"I……"

Marcos has decided to surrender.

But as soon as he uttered the first word, he found that his throat had completely tightened, almost causing him to crack his voice.

He swallowed hard before continuing nervously:

"I've definitely discovered something: the Jinx we see now is the same girl named Booboo from nine years ago!"

"Um."

Hilco snorted, signaling Marcos to continue.

Although the bloody night nine years ago was a scar that Hilko tried hard to avoid recalling, the current atmosphere of prosperity made him less concerned about those past events.

Since Marcos has discovered that Jinx is Boom, let him be.

Anyway, it's not a big deal...

"Then I have to admit that, besides Burst and Jinx, there was actually another survivor among that group of kids back then."

"Um?"

Marcos got to the crucial point, and he didn't dare miss a single second of the changes in Hilko's expression.

He clearly felt Hilko's hand tremble.

Immediately, an even sharper gaze followed, and Hilko almost involuntarily stood up halfway, bracing himself with his hands, pressing close to Marcos with overwhelming force:

"who!"

"Yes, yes..."

Marcos was so frightened that he started to stutter.

He gritted his teeth, bet everything, and with all his might uttered the name he had kept hidden in his heart for nine years:

"It's that girl with pink hair!"

"Wei!"