he came from the void

"That's great." Kahn murmured, and began to read the newspaper again.

With a glance, a piece of news caught his attention.

"Huh? The result of the theft of the converter was actually published in the newspaper."

"What's the result?"

"Feng Yipu was revoked from his professorship, temporarily put in prison awaiting trial, and the machine was confiscated, so Heimerdinger is fine."

"Let's go see him after breakfast."

Chapter 5 and Four Hex Crystals

The two were at the university again, looking through the window, and when they saw that Heimerdinger was already working on the next round of inventions, it was telling that the event hadn't had much of an impact on his life.

"Meow~" A white cat jumped onto the window suddenly and called out to them in a childish voice.Heimerdinger also looked up, just in time to find the two coming.

"Why are you here? Come in and have a seat." Heimerdinger gestured to him for a few chairs newly moved into the laboratory, and there was finally a place to sit.

Kahn and Kai'Sa looked at each other and smiled helplessly.

They didn't want to disturb Heimerdinger. They wanted to come quietly and leave quietly, but they were disturbed by a cat.I can't help it, I've seen it all, so why don't I go in and sit down for a while.

"Wait a minute, I'll finish the work at hand first."

The two went in and sat down, and Heimerdinger asked his assistant to bring refreshments. This treatment was much better than before. It seems that Heimerdinger still made some changes.

The white cat I met at the window before walked to their feet and buried itself in eating cat food.

"Professor, you adopted Professor Feng's cat?"

"It's just a surrogate for a few days. The information I received is that he should be able to come out after the investigation. This food bowl was taken from his laboratory, and we will return it together in a few days."

Kaisha picked up the cat, while Kahn looked away from the white cat and looked at the workbench.

"Professor, what are you developing?"

"I'm going to make a change on the basis of the mine thrower and make an automatic feeding machine."

"How about making another cat teaser?"

"Good idea, then I don't have to bother to tease the cat, let it play by itself." Heimerdinger was quite happy, and then he took the wrench and focused on his work.

After sitting for a while, just when Kahn thought that Heimerdinger had forgotten the two of them, the latter suddenly jumped off the chair and came to the two of them.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Heimerdinger scratched his head, and then took out a shiny object from his unkempt hair. "Here, this is for you."

"What is this?" Kai'Sa blinked, it was a piece of blue crystal, exuding not weak magic fluctuations.Moreover, this magic power always gave her a familiar feeling.

"I disassembled the Hex Technology Converter. This is the crystal that was removed from it. I will give it to you as my thank you."

After what Heimerdinger said, Kaisha suddenly remembered... When she got the pocket watch for the first time, she felt this kind of magic power, and every time she took the scream, listening to the roar of the machine, she also felt the magic power. Feel the magic.

"But I heard that this thing is very expensive."

"It's okay. Hex crystals are also divided into original crystals and artificial crystals. The original crystals are pure blue, and you can't buy them if you have money. And this one with a little green impurity is artificially refined crystal, which is not too expensive. Take it."

"Then I won't be polite." Kai'Sa and Kahn met each other's eyes, and then accepted the crystal.

They didn't take out the crystal until they got back to the hotel.

"Did Pilt City's advancement rely on such a spar? It allowed a group of ordinary people to do many impossible things."

The sunlight passed through the blue-green crystal, refracted by multiple mirrors, and cast the light into Kai'Sa's eyes.In the brilliant light, she saw the reflection of the city.

"I seem to see the rise of this city."

"The rise of Piltover is based on sacrifices. This city is not as bright as it looks." Kahn took the hex counter he bought earlier and came to the window, watching the scale gradually rise, testing this The power level of a hex crystal.

Seeing Kai'Sa's suspicious look, he said unhurriedly, "The two crystals used by Hextech are not clean."

"I don't need to elaborate on the artificial crystals. They are mined from the rich crystal mine in Zaun and refined in the foundry. The pollutants produced during the process are left underground, and the finished products are sent to the ground... and the original crystals are from the shell people. Snatched from him."

"The shell people are an ancient intelligent race living in a certain valley in Shurima. Because of the Rune War, they hid underground and fell asleep, but they were dug out by the people of Piltover, took out the energy crystal in their bodies, and died innocently. The crystals taken out , called the original crystal. This race was originally small in number, and after this disaster, it is even on the verge of extinction..."

"It's so pitiful...that's why the original crystal became so rare and expensive?" Kai'Sa weighed the crystal in her hand, suddenly feeling much heavier.

"Well. The technology of Piltover relies heavily on this kind of crystal. When the resources are exhausted, people can only find other ways to maintain the operation of the city. Artificial crystals came into being, but because of this, Zaun is in dire straits."

"I don't understand... why Zaun is so barren, and people continue to live in pollution and darkness, even though Piltover is so vast, why don't they move to those places and start over?"

In Kai'Sa's view, dark and barren Zaun was no better than the void-infested subterranean caverns of Shurima.

Not only is it heavily polluted here, let alone cats, cats and dogs, the plants can’t even be kept alive, the sun can only shine into the narrow and long canyon at noon, and most of the day can only live in the dying dim of the alchemy street lamps. under the lights.

And not far from the outskirts of Picheng, there is a large plain, with mountains and water, without the threat of wild animals, the conditions are much better.

"It's not easy to start over." Kahn sighed. He didn't have any intention of changing the status quo, but he also felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

In fact, the situation in Zaan is very complicated. Those mines, factories, and medical facilities are all set up underground. In order to make money conveniently, they can only start a family underground. Once they take root, it will be very difficult to move out.

He can only pick the main ones: "The people of Zaun actually didn't live underground from the beginning. They also lived on the ground with the people of Picheng regardless of each other... until the day the canal was opened, people used explosives It blasted through the barrier between the two seas, but also caused half of the city to sink into the ground."

"So, the people of Zaun didn't take the initiative to settle underground, but were forced to live underground."

From the hotel's high-rise windows, the rift leading to Zaun can be seen directly, like a scar carved into the center of the city.At this moment, Kahn and Kaisha looked at it together.

"What kind of explosive caused an earthquake that can sink half of the city to a depth of [-] meters?" She murmured, preferring to believe that this was a natural geological movement from ancient times.

"Because this was once a port city in ancient Shurima, the city below was hollowed out as a tomb, and the executor of the Earth Splitting and Sea Gathering Project didn't know about it, so this led to a fall far beyond expectations."

Chapter 5 and five wonderful coincidences

After hearing the historical changes in Zaun, Kai'Sa couldn't help but sigh.It never occurred to her that this emerging city was once a microcosm of an ancient empire, even if it is now irrelevant.

"There are footprints of ancient Shurima everywhere... Speaking of which, I haven't seen my father for a long time. Should we go back to Shurima to see?" Kai'Sa turned her head and looked at Karn.

Speaking of Shurima, Karn thought of those faces in the sun.

Kassadin, the father-in-law-to-be, doesn't know how he is doing, whether the blade of the underworld can still suppress the void stone; has Taliyah returned from the ice field, and how is he training the innate ability bestowed by the Weaver Mother; Did Si find a helper to open the dusty tomb of the emperor for a long time.

"Okay, I'll go back and have a look after a while."

"En." Hearing Kahn's affirmative answer, Kaisha leaned over and snuggled into his arms, and the sun outside the window gradually slanted.

……

The curtains blocked the sunlight and sight, Kaisha was lying in bed taking a nap, and Kahn was sitting aside meditating because he couldn't sleep.

After coming to Piltover, he was a little slack in practicing magic, which obviously didn't work.Once cultivation is abandoned, it will take more time to pick it up, and he must keep it up until it becomes an instinct.

The chime of the time-telling bell spread throughout the city from the direction of the Gate of the Sun, without waking Kai'Sa who was still used to it, but pushed Kahn back from the state of trance.

He rubbed his brows a little depressed, feeling annoyed that all his previous efforts had been wasted.But when she turned her head and looked at Kaisha's peaceful side face, her heart became as peaceful as water again.

Thinking back to the days when I used to take turns to watch the night and was awakened whenever there was a sign of trouble, it is much better now.

Looking up, Kahn suddenly noticed the hex crystal that Kaisha put on the bedside table. With a thought, he took it lightly without waking her up.

He held the crystal in his hand and played with it, the hardness was unexpectedly high, and it was not easy to crush it with his finger strength, which is enough to show that the craftsmanship level of the people in Piltover is not low.

Then he put the crystal in front of his right eye. Because of the existence of green impurities, the whole crystal is not very transparent.When he moved the crystal to his left eye, the difference became more obvious. The whole crystal was like a peeled citrus, the blue part was like the full orange flesh, full of magic power, and the green impurities that could not be absorbed were like Tangerine, tasteless to eat.

"This thing... can it be absorbed, or help meditation?"

Thinking of this, Kahn covered his hands with skin armor, and then held the crystal in his hands.

Unsurprisingly, the Void Skin Armor never rejects anyone who comes, as long as it is in the category of flesh and energy, there is nothing it cannot swallow.Then he tried meditation. After he settled down, the crystal released energy and drilled into the body along the arm.

It's just that when Kahn tried to feel these energies, the energy that he didn't have time to absorb was captured by the eternal fire, and most of it was burned away at once, which made no sense at all.

Putting down the crystal, Kahn gave a wry smile.

The Void Skin Armor and the Eternal Flame check and balance each other on the outside and the inside, protecting him in all directions, but it also brought him a lot of restrictions.He can only pick up the leftovers to eat, so don't try to eat a fat man.

Step by step down to earth, there are no shortcuts.

Kahn looked at the crystal in his hand, and then at the hex counter on the table.

Since the crystal was brought back from the outside, the scale of the counter has not been zero, which will more or less affect the measurement of the energy surge.

After Kasha woke up from a nap, Kahn told her about his doubts, and explained his intention to give the crystal away, and that he could no longer stay in the house.

"It's okay to give it away, but who do you want to give it to? Just take it back and give it to Professor Heimerdinger." Kaisha hugged the pillow and thought about it.

"We are fairly familiar in Piltover, except for Orianna, Ike is the only one left." Kahn said, asking her to choose between the two.

"Ike should need this artificial crystal more than Orianna. He can't afford the crystal, and many ideas can't be turned into reality."

"Then give it to Ike, just to see how Mundo is getting along with them."

"Wait for me to prepare." Kaisha lifted the quilt and walked into the bathroom with her legs between her legs.

……

An hour later, the two came to the trench area in a screech.

Ike's family lives in the middle of Zaun, but he is definitely not at home during the day, and he can only be found in the trench area.

His parents worked in a factory in Fangmu District, and they had to work late every day to pay for his tuition in Piltover.Ike has no family to accompany him, and he doesn't go to school. He can't stay at home alone, so he can only go out to find something to do.

His parents didn't send him to child labor, they thought it would destroy the child's health.Ike tried to use his time to go to the company's garbage disposal site to pick up discarded parts, turn waste products into useful inventions, and try to exchange them for money to help other gutter orphans.

No doubt a good-natured boy, but he also carried Zaun's own rebelliousness.

This time, Kahn found him on a clock tower called "Old Hungry Ghost", where he was hanging from the waist of the clock tower.

It turned out that this day was Ike's birthday. To celebrate his birthday, his little friend took Ike to challenge to climb the tower without any protection. It was really desperate.

Kahn and Kaisha watched from below as they climbed to the top of the tower without any risk. Some of the hurdles were far apart and needed to jump over the side walls. It was extremely thrilling, and Kahn almost shot several times. up.

When Ike came down, Kahn gave him the Hex crystal as a birthday present.

"How do you know it's my birthday today?" Ike was so excited when he saw the coveted Hex crystal, he wiped his hands on his pants, and carefully reached out to pick up the crystal, as if the thing in his hand was extremely sacred.

"This is the best birthday present I've ever received!" He stared at the beautiful crystal with wide eyes, tears welled up in the corner of his eyes in the blink of an eye.

Kahn didn't cry when he saw many bloodstains on his palm from the rusty bricks, but cried because he received a man-made crystal that had been changed hands several times, and silently lamented Ike's tenacity.

"It's nothing, as long as you like it." Kahn didn't say that he did it by chance, but this coincidence made Ike deeply remember it, and it was more heart-warming for him than any previous benefits.

The topic naturally went over to Mondo. Kahn saw that Mondo didn't come, so he asked, "Ike, didn't you invite Mondo to participate in your birthday?"

"Mundo can't run around in the street. We don't plan to go to the garbage dump today. We'll buy candy for him when we're done playing." Speaking of Mundo, Ike didn't show any disgust, which shows that they got along well.

"A while ago, I heard that you were going to build a secret base. How is it going?" Kai'Sa asked.

"Mundo's house is set up, and he lives in it, and other areas have to be developed slowly. Let's go, I will show you to see!"

"Then you don't need to buy candy?"

"This..." Ike fell into a dilemma, but fortunately at this time his little follower volunteered to jump out.

A girl said in an immature and slightly hoarse voice: "Leave the business of buying candy to me. Brother Ike will entertain the guests."

Ike looked at her and thought for a while: "Anna, you are not old enough, let the older children do this kind of errands."

The little girl Anna immediately pulled down her ashen face, and said pitifully: "I have climbed up the old hungry ghost just now, which is enough to prove my ability. Brother Ike, let me go, I won't Stealing..."

"I'm not afraid of you stealing, I'm worried about you."

Ike smiled helplessly, first looked around the crowd, noticed a pair of eager eyes, then reached out and rubbed the little girl's hair, and said softly: "Then let Ayuna go with you, the two of you Together we can take care of each other, so I can rest assured."

"Okay!" The two little guys said in unison.

Chapter 5 and Six: The Secret Base

The so-called secret base of this group of children is a dilapidated factory without alchemy street lamps or luminous signs, hidden in a dark corner, very quiet.

"Be careful." Ike turned over the broken bricks and tiles with ease, and came to a door and took out the key.

"Huh?" Karn looked past his garish hair and saw something painted on the door.

"Abandoned building, no entry."

Feeling his hand being pulled, Kahn saw a smashed lock on the ground in the direction Kasha pointed, and then glanced at the lock that Ike was fiddling with. This was the only new thing here.

"Are you taking an entire abandoned factory for yourself?"

"Well, this place has been deserted for several years. It used to be a dynamite factory, far away from the street, and basically no one would bother it."

Ike is most worried about those mature gangsters. Children can only hide when they see them. Fortunately, this place is so remote that even street gangsters don't bother to come here.As for the children, you can let them come and play together.