Cyberzaun, Machinarium

Chapter 11: The Eye of Zaun Arrives Today at Loyal Undercity

"I thought you were creating soldiers, not mindless cannon fodder." Enoch looked up at the broken iron bridge above. In addition to a few of his men lying on the side, there was another purple enhanced man who was frantically smashing the iron door.

"If they were smart, they should have chosen to destroy the door lock instead of messing with the door frame." Enoch stretched out his right hand to Singed. "By the way, my job is to provide convenient lock picking tools. I hope we can cooperate happily with the help of the same boss."

Singed shook his hand and said, "It's a pleasure to work with you. I only care about my own research and will not affect your ambitions."

"Please rest assured, I don't have any lofty ambitions, I just want to make a living." He chuckled and asked, "Do you know what's going on up there?"

"I don't really care, but it is said that it was Hilco who captured Fandel."

"Who? Vander was captured?" Enoch was surprised. This was not like what Hilco had promised, to let Vander lead the Zaun people again. Look at those glimmer enhancers. It's no exaggeration to say that they want to chop Vander into minced meat.

Just as Enoch was about to go up to Hilco to ask about the situation, a brilliant blue light suddenly burst out from above, followed by a loud roar that almost deafened people.

………………

Wei was in very bad condition. After all, she had just been knocked down by someone less than an hour ago. After finally waking up, she had to drag herself back to the small base under the Fulgrim's Tavern to refill the fuel in her gloves.

After simply comforting his sister, he took his two followers to the dock and staged a prison break. As soon as he saw Vander, he was surrounded by Hilco and his men.

Too many things happened too fast, and Wei could only do what she does best - knock all the problems down.

The good news is that Wei is very good at fighting, and she easily defeated the thugs under Xierko. Relying on the terrain of the iron bridge, Wei easily solved the glimmer reinforcement that had troubled her for a long time.

While the Enhancer had just stood on the bridge, Wei decisively released the overload power of the boxing gloves, and before anyone could react, he smashed the bridge surface with one punch, causing the gangster who was hit by the light to fall down with the broken bridge.

The bad news is that Hilco took out another tube of shimmer and handed it to another guy who was beaten by Wei.

Wei could only choose to hide in the cell with Fandel, praying that the gate used as the factory could hold out for a while longer.

And Baobao, feeling abandoned and shunned, discovered that the blue gem she stole was a powerful energy source, so she immediately found a way to get to the factory. Thanks to the training she had received in Enoch's shop during this period, Baobao showed some talent in mechanics. She learned how to make the explosion more directional, and how to reduce unnecessary consumption to make the power of the explosion more concentrated.

………………

After flipping over the debris covering his head, Enoch cursed inwardly and turned around to drag Singed out of the fire.

The chemical fuels around were burning fiercely, and from time to time there were a few sounds of glass exploding and breaking. Most of the glimmers stored nearby that were used as a trump card by Hilco were destroyed, and it was unknown how many 2 could be rescued in the end.

Carrying Singed on his back, he walked out. The unlucky doctor was drenched by the splashing chemicals. I hope he can survive.

After moving out of the factory with difficulty and handing Singed over to Hilko's men, Enoch returned to the ruins of the factory - he heard from some of his younger brothers that Hilko had not come out yet.

What appeared before his eyes were two huge corpses, one half of which was blown to pieces, and the head was still being fiercely grasped by another giant. Enoch was very sure that unless Weiguang could bring the dead back to life, there was no point in saving this pile of minced meat.

The other one lying on his back was Fandel.

"You are a nuisance, do you hear me? Milo is right."

Enoch turned his head to look at the collapsed gate on the other side. Wei was yelling at Baobao. Enoch climbed over the burning barrier and ran towards Wei, hoping that he could be of some help. However, Wei looked at Enoch running out from the side and seemed to be in disbelief.

"Why are you here, Littlefinger? Are you involved in this?"

"What? No, I didn't do anything." Enoch denied. He never thought that Vander would die. He just thought that Hilco would find a chance to hit Vander twice as revenge.

"You swear you will help me, you swear you are on my side." Wei angrily took off her gloves. She thought she was trapped.

"Yes, that's right. I'm in the same group with you. I never thought things would turn out like this. Calm down first. Let me go talk to Hilco..."

"That's enough." Wei threw the gloves on the ground, looked at Enoch and Baobao with disappointment for the last time, turned around and wanted to walk out. "I trusted you."

"No, don't leave me, come back, Wei Olai" Bao Bao fell to the ground crying, watching her sister walking further and further away in despair.

Enoch looked at the crying little girl, but in the end he didn't chase after her. He just half-knelt beside Baobao and asked, "What happened? Where are the others?"

Baobao cried and threw himself into Enoch's arms, "She doesn't want me anymore, no one wants me anymore."

"It's okay, I will protect you, don't worry." Enoch looked around the ruins, looking for a way to leave. It was not appropriate for Vandel's people to be here now. But before Enoch left, he heard footsteps behind him.

"Where is her sister?" Hilco surrounded them with his injured men. He was provoked and attacked, so he had to respond.

"I don't know, maybe she ran away." Enoch resisted the urge to question Hilco, but just stared at the knife in his left hand. "Her sister was abandoned, and I will take care of her from now on. I will be responsible for her affairs."

"Enough blood has been shed today. Give me some time. I'll go talk to the others." Enoch hid Boom behind him and tried to calm the nerves of the man in front of him and maintain his authority. He knew that with the glimmer and the thugs, no one in Zaun could be a match for Hilco. "Your person is injured. Stop the bleeding first. I'll fix her."

"Is this a threat?"

“This is a request”

………………

Enoch carried Bomb on his back and headed for the dance corridor, hoping that Benso didn't have that much influence and hadn't fought with Silk's men yet. They couldn't try to fight with Silk.

"I have nothing, Littlefinger." Boom buried his head behind Enoch and hugged him tightly with his arms. "I don't have a sister anymore."

"It's okay, it's all over. Listen to me and go back to sleep first, okay?" Enoch comforted softly. In this situation, no one could help. They could only wait until things calmed down before sending someone to look for Wei.

After hastily placing Bomb in the shop, Enoch turned back to the Fulgrim Tavern. A figure flickered inside the locked door. Benso, dragging his injured arm, commanded several of Vandel's men to arm themselves.

"Benso, you have to stop. It's too late. Fandel is dead. He is in the Hilco factory. There is nothing you can do now." Enoch warned in a low voice.

After hearing this, Benso slammed down on the bar as if he had been greatly insulted, waving his intact arm and saying, "I knew that was a damned venomous snake. I will tear its throat apart with my own hands and twist off its head to use as a bowl."

Enoch hurriedly stopped him and said, "It's too late. Hilco has as many monsters as you want. You can't kill them all even if you sacrifice the entire Black Alley. You can't win now."

"So you don't care? Since when did you start following Viper? Don't forget that everyone in Black Alley is helped by Fandel, including you."

"I never forgot. I just don't see any hope today. Listen to me, Benso. You can't hurt Hilko if you lead the others to charge forward today. But if you die, no one will take care of Vandel. Don't forget that you still have to take care of Ike."

ps

Thanks to Aka for the monthly ticket 1

Chapter 12: Aftermath and Phantom Pain

Benso sat down dejectedly, and Enoch knew that he had made his choice... In order to take care of the living, he forced himself to forget the dead.

"I don't know what you are up to, but I will never work for that bastard Hilco," Benso sighed.

"Silco's victory is a foregone conclusion. I will not ask you to pledge allegiance to me. I hope you can contact some of the guys first. They will not bow to Silverco. Hide these people first. I will go and check on the situation in Silverco and the upper city." Enoch did not bother to comfort Benso. "I will not betray you. Hide for a few days. I will find you. I promise."

..............................

When they returned to the dock, the sky had gradually brightened and the fire in the factory was extinguished. Hilco's thugs took Enoch into the cleaned-out office and closed the door tightly.

"The alley has become quiet. No one will stop you. People like Benso will leave here. Congratulations, His Highness Xierko." Enoch pulled over a chair and brushed off the cigarette ash on it.

"Very good. Now, let's talk about our agreement. I specially reserved a factory for you in Midtown." Hilco lit a cigar. The plan to create the strongest warrior failed, but he still controlled Zaun normally. Overall, it was acceptable.

"Yes, let's talk about the agreement." Enoch held his forehead with his hand. "I don't remember when we said we would kill Fandel. You promised not to kill him before."

"It was an accident. It was caused by the little girl you brought back. My people saw it clearly. Since your people wanted to create an explosion, don't complain about possible accidental injuries." Hilco was unmoved.

Enoch sighed, "I can provide a lot of blueprints, such as the most basic automatic rifle... This thing can train an ordinary person to have the most basic combat power after a few weeks of training. It is not picky like magic, and anyone can use it."

"To go with these weapons, I also designed several vehicles, including troop carriers that accelerate deployment, tanks that break through defenses, and anti-aircraft guns that can cover half of Piltover if deployed on rooftops or squares."

"But the problem is that mass production takes time, and the personnel who use it need to be trained. However, Piltover is still investigating the explosion a few days ago. Considering that your factory was just unlucky enough to be blown up, let me ask you, how are you going to get away with this?"

Hilco was content to flip through the blueprints Enoch had brought out. He was not good at mechanics, but looking at the design drawings and parameters of these weapons, he knew that these things were born for pure destruction. As for their power, Hilco had never doubted it—the only thing that Little Finger's work did not need to worry about was lack of power.

"The Piltover guys are not a problem. What they want is the stability of Zaun. I will take care of it. Don't worry. All you have to do is build your factory as soon as possible." Hilco stood up and put the blueprint in Enoch's hand.

"If you need materials, go to Finn and Rennie. If you need manpower, go to Voss. They are my loyal partners."4

………………

It was unknown whether Hilco had reached any agreement with the law enforcement officer in Upper City. Zaun gradually calmed down and all the disputes subsided again.

The Upper City no longer pays attention to what happens in Zaun - in fact, the Upper City doesn't even care about Evolution Day now. This information is spreading like wildfire all over the streets of Piltover.

Piltover dominates magic

Of course, this unique slogan came from the newspaper. The entire front page only showed this piece of information. It was said that it was an extra issue of the newspaper less than four hours after the success of the experiment. The whole article was full of nonsense praising the vision of the college, the support of the congressmen, and the research of the researchers. The name of the focus person, Enoch, was very familiar to the listeners - Jess Tallis.

Enoch shook his head, threw the newspaper in his hand into the trash can, turned around and walked towards the workshop. He was going to move to the factory in Midtown with Baobao next, so it would be best not to irritate her with these troubles.

I opened the door of the shop and found all the lights inside were off. Only some alchemical potions were flashing with strange light. I looked at the cakes on the table. Everything looked the same as it did when I left.

"Baobao?" Enoch called softly. He saw the scene in the small shop clearly, but he didn't know where Baobao had gone. He hoped that he didn't run away.

"Baobao, where are you?" After calling several times, Enoch finally heard the soft sobbing coming from behind the table.

Following the sound, they found that Baobao had stuffed herself in the gap between the cabinet and the tool table. Enoch took her hand and comforted her softly, "It's okay, I've taken care of it. Follow me from now on, and I will help you find your sister."

"Don't mention her." Boom grabbed Enoch and pulled him towards him. "I don't have a sister. I am a nuisance. From now on, I will be a nuisance to everyone (Jinx)"

Boom Boom pounced on Enoch: "You said you would take care of me, but you lied to me. No one cares about me. No one wants to take Jinx with them."

Enoch gently lifted up the tearful little face and stared at the blue eyes seriously. The eyes were like a pool of tranquil lake water, but thunder was gathering under the water.

"Listen to me," Enoch promised, "I will protect you. I promised. I won't abandon you. I hope you can trust me and help me. Let's protect each other, okay?"

The girl stared at the boy's eyes, not sure if this was another lie. After a long while, she wrapped her arms around the boy's neck, sniffing the smell of gunpowder on the boy's body. "We protect each other, it's a deal, little finger."

Enoch smiled, finally calming the little girl down, and couldn't help but joked, "I'm Enoch, not Little Finger, you got the wrong person."

"Okay, I've got it, Littlefinger, and I'll be Jinx from now on."

Enoch took Jinx from his arms and put her on a chair beside him. He brought her the prepared snacks. Looking at the girl wolfing down the food, he said softly, "To me, you are not a scourge (Jinx). At best, you are a little lunatic (Lunatic) who only cares about being hungry."

………………

Piltover and Zaun tacitly returned to the state before the explosion, except that the people in charge had changed. The Glimmer Factory began a small-scale reconstruction, and Enoch's "Lothrian Technology Support Company" also quietly started production at the factory in Midtown Square... Fortunately, Enoch's drawings were detailed enough, and they could start as long as they found manpower and materials.

Taking advantage of the early preparations, Enoch took the time to re-contact Benso with his unshakable tail.

"I remember asking you to bring over all the people who are dissatisfied with Hilco." Enoch looked at the people in Benso's store. "I didn't expect Hilco to be so popular in the alley."

He drank a mouthful of wine in a depressed mood. "If I want to fight for Vandel's revenge, I can find a lot of people, but if I want to find people who need to leave Zaun..." Benso shook his head. "They still have families and children."

"I understand. After all, this is not a very good job." Enoch looked around and asked, "What about your child, Ike? How are you going to take care of him?"

"I don't know. He disappeared that night and we couldn't find him since. There are so many alleys in Zaun. He could hide anywhere he wanted. Maybe he ran away with Wei."

Enoch was silent for a moment and changed the subject. "I asked you to come this time because I need you to help me get outside and find a way to connect with other countries. Zaun has been isolated for too long."

"No problem," Benso nodded. "I have some friends who can help. Tell me where we should go? Noxus? Bilgewater? Shurima?"

"Neither." Enoch waved back, and Jinx quickly handed over the blueprint in her arms. "I need you to go to Demacia."

ps

Thanks to Kongyao for the monthly ticket

Chapter 13 Undercurrent

"Demacia?" Benso was stunned. Demacians rarely appeared in Zaun. These noble guys preferred Piltover. Compared with the other three countries, Demacia was a little unfamiliar to Benso.

That's right, there is no choice. Enoch waved his hand and asked Benso to take a good look at the map.

Shurima is now a desert, with people gathering in tribes and being very mobile. You can have good business cooperation, and you can even pay a few mercenaries to help you hold the fort, but it is hard to say whether they will be steadfast allies once a conflict occurs.

Bilgewater is a den of debauchery where damn pirates gather together. In addition to various sea beasts, the specialty there is the desperate pirate killers.

Now, as the boss, Gangplank is a bad guy who relies on terror to rule his subordinates. Believe me, as long as someone can make Gangplank bleed, other villains who smell the blood will rush to tear him to pieces. You must always open one eye when cooperating with them. It is very loyal not to stab them when Zaun needs an ally.

Other places like Freljord and Ionia are too far away. If you want to get in touch with them, you can't avoid Noxus. If you want to go to Freljord, you have to pass the coastline from Rocklund to Trivel. If you want to go to Ionia, both Chusidor and Falgaron are inlet ports that you can't avoid. Not to mention that these two places are very independent and exclusive conservative regions. They are not the best choice at the first time.

As for the Shadow Isles, why would anyone in their right mind want to go there?

"Then why not contact Noxus? He has a good relationship with Zaun, and often comes to buy some chemical bombs and alchemical gas." Benso frowned. He himself did not have any friends who could directly contact Demacia.

"It should be said that any city-state that cannot pose a threat to Noxus, does not have deep land, but can continuously produce the required technological resources is a friend of Noxus." Enoch has cooperated with many Noxians. "But Benso, you have to pay attention. Piltover happens to meet Noxus' definition of a friend."

Enoch's short-term goal is to merge Piltover. After all, Zaun and Piltover are one city, but it became what it is today because of an alchemical accident. So strictly speaking, the leaders of Zaun also have a weak legal claim to the city-state of Piltover.

Taking the red wine from Jinx, Enoch continued to tell everyone in front of him about his plan:

In addition to Heimerdinger, who is responsible for education and technological research and development, there are six major families in Piltover.

The Giraman family is obviously a family with law enforcement officers as its main force, and they are somewhat wary of Zaun.

Hoskal and Salo are mainly engaged in import and export and trade, especially Noxus business, so they pay attention to Medarda's opinions.

The Cavold family is mainly engaged in technology, so she is not concerned about the development of Zaun and will not specifically target it. She just needs a stable order.