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61.64% Arcane: Twin Cities Mechanic / Chapter 262: CHAPTER 262 - "Peace Through Power"

Kapitel 262: CHAPTER 262 - "Peace Through Power"

When Li Lin declared, "Let the meeting begin," silence blanketed the room.

The Chem-Barons weren't fools. They sensed that Silco seemed to defer to Li Lin, implying this meeting would revolve around him. For those who had only read about Li Lin, such as Midstokke, Spindle, and Adrian, this was particularly startling.

Tension hung in the air, the silence broken only by the rhythmic tapping of Li Lin's fingers on the long conference table, each tap echoing in the hearts of those present.

Apart from Silco and Lanar, anxiety crept over the others. "You called this meeting, got us all here, and now you say nothing? Are you toying with us?" This thought surfaced in both the impatient Spindle and Adrian's minds.

Just as Spindle was about to lose his temper, Enni broke the silence. "Where's Bonnie? Why isn't she here?" Her voice trembled slightly as she glanced at Li Lin and Silco.

Zaun's citizens would never imagine that the once-mighty Chem-Barons, who lorded over them, could show such fear.

"Yes, Bonnie is usually punctual. She shouldn't be late," added Longfellow with concern.

"Could something have happened? I heard there was an explosion near the mid-level plaza and the Undercity border last night. Many refugees flooded into Dancehall," Yordle Barrett remarked, turning his gaze to Silco. "Silco..."

He barely uttered Silco's name before Silco cut him off coldly. "Bonnie won't be coming."

Silco's tone was icy, as if he was speaking about a stranger.

Enni, Longfellow, and Barrett frowned, not understanding Silco's implication.

"Did something happen to her?" Enni, who was closest to Bonnie, asked anxiously.

"Oh, didn't you hear?" Silco's voice was laced with mock surprise, as if they should already know. Leaning forward, he propped his elbows on the table and rested his face in his hands. "That traitor is currently on her way to meet the Guardian's Sea. By tonight, she might be greeting devilfish."

Shock painted the faces of Enni, Longfellow, and Barrett. Even Spindle and Adrian looked surprised. Despite her limited power, Bonnie was still a Chem-Baron in Zaun, and Silco had just dealt with her like that?

Midstokke's face paled as he realized the implications, but Enni's subsequent question drew everyone's attention away from him.

"Why? I don't understand. Silco, Bonnie always listened to you. We were brothers and sisters in arms. Why...?"

Silco's face darkened, and he let out a cold laugh. "Brothers and sisters? And then betray me to join Glasc?"

Silence fell over the room again.

Everyone knew of the animosity between Silco and Renata. Despite any misgivings about Silco, no one had thought to side with Renata. Besides, Silco had long claimed to have evidence of Renata's crimes and would soon send her to Stillwater Prison.

Though months had passed without this happening, none dared to switch allegiance to Renata, except for Midstokke. Bonnie's sudden betrayal had caught everyone off guard.

"That's impossible..." Enni muttered, stunned by the news of her friend's betrayal.

"Bonnie never even met Renata... You must be mistaken, Silco," Barrett squeaked.

Longfellow remained silent, his face grave as if he had expected this.

"This matter is better explained by Li Lin," Silco said, unwilling to elaborate on his former comrade's betrayal.

All eyes turned to Li Lin, who was watching with mild amusement. Clearing his throat, he began, "Today, I found Renata hiding in Bonnie's dance hall. I called in the enforcers to arrest her."

The room was shocked into silence.

"..."

Li Lin's words cast the meeting hall into silence for the third time.

A powerful Chem-Baron in Zaun had just been arrested...

Midstock pinched himself discreetly, grimacing in pain. It wasn't a dream.

Ernie bit her lip, hesitated for a long while, and then said weakly, "But this doesn't prove Bonnie betrayed us..."

She was interrupted by a hard poke from Longfellow, who warned her with a stern look.

Silco had been searching for Renata recently, only to find her in Bonnie's club. The charge of treason was irrefutable.

Ernie's defense of Bonnie at this critical moment, regardless of their relationship, would surely incur Silco's displeasure, if not suspicion. Silco ruled Zaun with both wisdom and ruthless iron fist. Even siblings weren't spared if they were deemed traitors—just like Vander.

So, what chance did a small Chem-Baron like Bonnie stand?

Ernie dared not speak again. Midstock bowed his head, sweating profusely, breathing lightly, fearful of drawing Silco's attention.

"Today, you called us together mainly to discuss this matter, right?" Spind's hoarse voice, filled with malice, broke the silence. "With Mrs. Glasc taken care of, no one in the lower city can challenge us."

"Heh, don't forget we still have Lady Grey above us. Do you want to attract her attention?" Adrien sneered, disdainful not only towards Spind but also the families in the upper city.

Though Spind was displeased by Adrien's tone, he had no retort. Even Silco feared Lady Grey, let alone the Chem-Barons.

"With Glasc gone, what will happen to Glasc Industries? Silco, you must have a plan, right?" Lanner, who had been silent, spoke, glancing at Li Lin. "If Glasc Industries collapses, thousands will lose their jobs."

"I'll take over," Li Lin's words surprised the Chem-Barons, "but that's not your concern."

He paused for a few seconds, then added something that confused everyone, "After all... you don't need to worry about Zaun anymore."

Adrien frowned, skeptical, "We don't need to worry about Zaun?"

"What do you mean by that?" Spind blew his white beard, eyes flashing with anger.

Ernie, Longfellow, and Barrett glanced at Silco, who seemed to tacitly endorse Li Lin's words, and felt a sense of unease.

It seemed that after dealing with Renata and Bonnie's betrayal, these two planned to turn against the Chem-Baron alliance.

Voss remained as lost as before, unaffected by the events. Lanner shifted from shock to indifference, her role in Zaun being minimal. Her position as a Chem-Baron was due to her robot factory and alliances with some upper-city families.

Since the last Chem-Baron meeting, Lanner had paid close attention to Li Lin, knowing he wouldn't betray easily. Power didn't matter to her.

"I think I've made myself clear," Li Lin said cheerfully. "You don't need to worry about Zaun."

"So, you're dissolving the Chem-Baron alliance?" Adrien demanded.

"Whose idea is this? Yours? Silco's?" Spind's golden eyes scanned Li Lin and Silco, his hands moving to his waist, "Or those upper city families?"

"It's mine and Silco's," Li Lin replied.

In reality, the idea was Li Lin's. He didn't want Zaun's current chaos to hinder his future plans. The Chem-Barons were a liability, especially Adrien, Spind, Midstock, and Voss. He didn't want traitors in his midst during a future crisis.

Silco glanced at him, silently approving.

Spind exploded. Born in Zaun, orphaned young, he had clawed his way up. Unlike Ionia, Zaun treated a Vasto with disdain. Only through ruthless determination did he reach his current status.

"Damn it! You can't do this!"

Spind stood abruptly, drawing an electric baton in an instant. He dared not target Silco, who was distant and intimidating. The nearest target was Li Lin, the "weakling" from the upper families.

Unfortunately, he misjudged.

Enhanced by gene serums and Janna's blessing, Li Lin was far more formidable. Even without his battle armor, he was more than a match for Spind.

As Spind charged, his baton crackling with electricity, Li Lin moved faster, grabbing Spind's wrist and crushing the bones.

"—Ah!"

Spind screamed, dropping his baton, nearly hitting Adrien. Li Lin followed with a powerful kick, shattering Spind's kneecap, blood spraying from the wound. Before Spind could react, Li Lin slammed his head onto the table, splintering it and embedding a shard into Spind's skull.

Spind wouldn't rise again.

Li Lin wiped his hands on Spind's clothes, then calmly returned to his seat, noting the shock on the Chem-Barons' faces, including Silco's.

"Why are you all staring? Speak now if you have objections," he said casually.

Who would dare object now?

Adrien, who had considered attacking, was now grateful he hadn't. One more step, and he might have joined Spind in death.

Silco, Ernie, Longfellow, Barrett, Voss, and Lanner were all stunned by Li Lin's display of strength. He had evolved from needing powered armor to kill an ordinary man to defeating a strong Vasto barehanded.

What had this man experienced?

The room reeked of blood, silent and tense.

Li Lin gave them a few minutes to process, then smiled. "It seems everyone is in agreement..."

He stood, alarming Adrien and Midstock. Ignoring them, he fetched a bottle of whiskey from a Hextech cooler and poured drinks for everyone.

His footsteps echoed in the room.

Li Lin filled their glasses, then returned to his seat, raising his glass.

"Therefore, I hereby reclaim your control over Zaun."

He smiled, toasting the Chem-Barons, who shakily raised their glasses, forcing smiles.

Li Lin's gaze swept the room, meeting theirs in a toast.

"To the future of Zaun!"

...

...

(End of chapter)

=========================================================

DROP THEM POWER STONES PLEASE

SUPPORT ME ON P@TREON IF YOU'D LIKE ACCESS ON ADVANCED CHAPTERS

PAT REON . COM / TurdTranslations (Just remove the space).


next chapter

Kapitel 263: CHAPTER 263 - Urgot of the Dredge

With the precedent set by Spindel, the Chem-Baron meeting proceeded smoothly. 

All the Chem-Barons agreed to relinquish their political power in Zaun and "willingly" signed contracts compliant with Piltover law.

Of course, Li Lin was a kind-hearted person who didn't like to leave people completely destitute.

He agreed to let the Chem-Barons keep their businesses, ensuring they wouldn't be left destitute despite losing control of Zaun's districts.

However, Li Lin wasn't about to let them control strategic resources like oil. He proposed buying the oil mines discovered by Adrien and the refinery he was building.

Adrien, a visionary who understood the importance of oil, was displeased with Li Lin's proposal and even a bit angry.

But recalling Spindel's fate, he swallowed his words and signed the transfer contract with Li Lin at market price.

As for Spindel's commercial empire, which was now without an owner, Silco initially wanted to secretly take it over for himself.

However, Li Lin saw through his plan and, under the guise of preventing unemployment in Zaun, proposed during the meeting to take over this part of the industry. He received support from Rennal.

Silco was left to swallow his resentment.

Since Li Lin had brought it up, Silco had no choice but to reluctantly give up that part of the benefits, consoling himself with the thought that the other Chem-Barons' territories weren't too bad either.

But he didn't realize that Li Lin wouldn't give all these benefits to him either...

The rest of the meeting went on, with Silco having Spindel's body removed and leading everyone to a clean meeting room to discuss Glasc Industries.

After questioning by Li Lin and Silco, the Chem-Barons, except for Middenstok, had no connections with her and didn't know her plans.

Afraid Silco might deal with him like he did with Bonni, Middenstok begged for mercy, swearing that he had handed over part of his technology to Glasc under duress.

Silco, after careful consideration, chose to "forgive" him and warned him not to make such a principled mistake again.

Middenstok, moved to tears, transferred ownership of two well-operating, highly profitable factories to Silco as a token of gratitude.

Li Lin showed no reaction outwardly, but inwardly he thought Middenstok was too foolish, completely unaware of Silco's nature.

He wondered how this idiot had climbed to the position of a Chem-Baron, thinking that two factories' ownership could buy off Silco.

After the Bonni incident, Middenstok should have known Silco had zero tolerance for betrayal.

To survive, he would have to escape Zaun overnight, far from Silco's territory.

Otherwise, knowing Silco's character, he would likely end up in the Sea of Watchers with Bonni by tomorrow, embarking on a "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" journey alongside devil fish and sea monsters.

The meeting soon ended, with Silco's men ready to take over Renata's shops and Li Lin's mechanical soldiers waiting outside Glasc Industries to seize all her assets.

The former Chem-Barons forced a smile, bid farewell to Li Lin and Silco, and left with their followers.

As Li Lin prepared to lead the mechanical soldiers in taking over Glasc Industries, preventing any mishaps, Voss, who had been waiting outside, called out to him.

"Master Li Lin..." Voss hesitated, "Do you have a moment?"

"What is it? Don't waste my time."

Li Lin frowned, having little fondness for this sadistic woman who took pleasure in tormenting others.

Her domain, the Dredge, was a prison mine with harsher conditions than Stillwater Hold on Piltover's offshore island.

Not only were some of the most heinous criminals from the upper city sent here when regular imprisonment couldn't punish them adequately, but some Chem-Barons also liked to send those who crossed them to this place.

Entering the Dredge was akin to bidding farewell to freedom and the future.

No one ever survived their sentence to walk out of there alive.

In the Dredge, death came in many forms. Being tortured to death by Voss was a relatively merciful end.

The greater threat came from the other inmates...

"Uh..."

Seeing Voss hesitating, Li Lin turned to leave, unwilling to waste time on her.

"Wait, wait!"

"I don't have time to waste with you," Li Lin said coldly, his tone unfriendly.

Voss took a deep breath, "I need your help..."

She paused for two seconds, noticing Li Lin's growing impatience, and hurriedly added, "It's related to Noxus!"

"Hmm?" Li Lin's interest was piqued. "The War Masons?"

"No, not them." Voss's face showed a trace of fear, and she stammered, "A... a Noxian executioner... a former executioner."

Executioner? 

At the mention of this, a name suddenly surfaced in Li Lin's mind—Urgot, the Dreadnought.

Urgot was Noxus' executioner before Draven, a figure of great authority who maintained discipline among countless warbands.

No one wanted to face this man, whose mere presence could overwhelm a battle-hardened veteran, despite never having been on the battlefield.

Unfortunately, despite his strength, he was seen as a disposable pawn by those in power.

A loyal supporter of the former Noxian Emperor Boram Darkwill, Urgot was sent to Zaun by Swain, using Darkwill's name, to disrupt a plot against Noxian rulers.

But it was a trap, Swain's scheme to weaken Darkwill's forces for his coup.

Upon arriving in Zaun, Urgot learned of Swain's takeover.

Realizing too late, he found himself surrounded by Swain's hired Chem-Barons' henchmen.

Thrown into the "Dredge" prison mine, he awaited death in its harsh environment.

Shoola's mention of him reminded Li Lin of Zaun's lingering threat—Urgot.

This man would later slaughter Chem-Barons like pigs, replacing his legs with six massive mechanical limbs that could shoot shrapnel and fire chem-flames, with his right arm turned into a chem-tech machine gun.

He would blow up the sewers with chem-explosives, killing thousands and plunging Zaun's undercity into chaos.

If not for injuring a Piltover merchant family representative and being imprisoned by enforcers, Urgot would have brought more chaos and fear to Zaun.

Not just Nocturne would be attracted, but the ancient terror Fiddlesticks might also follow.

Li Lin couldn't ignore such a dangerous figure.

Rubbing his chin, he smirked coldly. "You messed up and want me to clean up?"

Shoola gave an awkward smile, not daring to speak.

She knew it was her indulgence and torture of Dredge prisoners that led to this mess.

"Spit it out, what's the matter?"

"Eh? You agreed?" Shoola was stunned, then delighted.

"Cut the crap and get to the point."

"Okay, okay! The Noxian executioner is named Urgot..."

In the next two minutes, Shoola quickly recounted the events at the Dredge prison mine to Li Lin.

It matched his impressions—Urgot, tortured by other prisoners, gradually shifted his beliefs—strength wasn't the true ruler of all, fear was.

Three months ago, Urgot, brought before Shoola, was tortured with sharp blades.

But this pain meant little to someone as scarred as him.

Urgot broke free, sparing Shoola's life and sending her people back to the surface, taking over the Dredge.

Later, he crushed all spies Shoola sent to gather intelligence into meat paste.

According to the last, one-armed, traumatized, half-mad survivor, Urgot had transformed himself into a steel monster.

"Look at what you've done."

Li Lin gave Shoola a cold glare and walked away.

She hurried to catch up, stammering, "Lord, Lord Li Lin..."

"Stop following me. I'll handle it this once." Li Lin didn't look back.

Shoola's terror eased a bit. "How can I repay you?!"

Already on the elevator, Li Lin turned, staring at Shoola, and said one word:

"Oil."

(End of Chapter)

=========================================================

DROP THEM POWER STONES PLEASE

SUPPORT ME ON P@TREON IF YOU'D LIKE ACCESS ON ADVANCED CHAPTERS

PAT REON . COM / TurdTranslations (Just remove the space).


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