Nick Wald's parents were ordinary citizens of Piltover. From a young age, Nick was exceptionally bright, a renowned academic prodigy in his neighborhood. Upon coming of age, his outstanding grades earned him smooth entry into the Enforcers.
As a rookie Enforcer, Nick was diligent and full of passion. He took home a trophy from the department's marksmanship competition every year. With his sharp mind and unique way of thinking, Nick cracked one major case after another, earning numerous medals and handsome bonuses, which led to his promotion to the rank of Captain.
However, that was as far as Nick's career would go. No matter how many major cases he solved after that, he was never promoted again. Meanwhile, colleagues who were good at putting on a show but lacked professional skill were promoted time and again.
As he got older, Nick became a jaded old hand and finally figured it out.
The most important factor preventing his promotion was his family background.
The others were all sons and daughters of this clan or that wealthy merchant. And him? His parents were just common folk. He came from humble origins. In the eyes of the city's elite, giving him a captaincy was already a sign of extraordinary grace.
Furthermore, many of the major cases Nick had cracked still had loose ends, as if a deeper, more hidden hand was at play. Every time Nick wanted to investigate further, he was shut down by his superiors and reassigned to another case.
So, in his later years, Nick stopped caring about cases and just coasted through his days.
The team members under him who had some family connections looked down on working with him and found excuses to transfer away. Soon, his squad was filled only with colleagues from similarly poor backgrounds.
Shunned by the department, they were reassigned to the mid-level plazas—jurisdictions with little glory or profit to be had.
Even after arriving there, Nick couldn't stand the local gangs and Chem-Barons. But feeling helpless, he also couldn't suppress the sense of justice in his heart. He could only do what was within his power to help the local residents.
After learning of Nick's past, Ren had personally invited him to be a guest of the Blue Birds and proposed sponsoring his squad as a thank you for their past assistance.
Being the cynical veteran he was, Nick had graciously accepted. Besides, he had seen the Blue Birds' methods with his own eyes, and the lives of the local residents were undeniably getting better. Although the Blue Birds' various systems were highly unorthodox, he deliberately chose to ignore that fact. In a place as chaotic as the Undercity, having a gang like the Blue Birds was a good thing. If there were more gangs like them, that would be even better.
The Enforcers dispersed the crowd while Nick spoke with Vi. Smychy's goons had taken the opportunity to flee when Captain Landney's squad departed.
From a distance, the girl in the blue jacket watched Vi, her eyes shining with admiration.
"Thanks for this, Uncle Nick."
"Haha, it was nothing. Besides, those bastards have some nerve. Coming to my turf to arrest people without so much as a word? The hell with them!"
Vi looked at Nick, her mood improving. As a child, she had believed there was no such thing as a good Enforcer, but now she was discovering that wasn't true. Aside from Nick and his squad, there was also that "Cupcake" she'd met before. She wasn't so bad either.
That evening, after dinner, the senior members of the Blue Birds returned to their headquarters for a meeting. For once, everyone was there; Twisted Fate had just returned from Piltover.
The first topic was the reform of the new recruit allocation system, which earned a string of eye-rolls from Graves.
Next, Charlie, the head of the Tax Division, proposed adjustments to several policies based on recent financial investigation reports on the local residents. He had removed unreasonable sections, which would allow the citizens to live better lives.
Charlie was a real talent. He had clawed his way up from Zaun to Piltover, even becoming a low-level official, and had a wealth of administrative experience. He should have had a bright future. Even if none of his colleagues gave him the time of day, if he could just put down roots, his children would have been true Piltovans.
But, as expected, the unexpected happened. Just as he was starting to make a name for himself, his superior used him as a scapegoat. Poor Charlie was thrown into Stillwater Prison for seven years...
Upon his release, he happened upon the Blue Birds' massive recruitment drive for talented individuals. After joining, his rich experience and exceptional abilities led to Ren promoting him to head of the Tax Division.
A representative from the R&D Division also addressed the meeting, presenting their recent progress in weapons manufacturing and their efforts in promoting and recruiting relevant talent. R&D personnel were recruited from two main sources. One was from the local residents, including mature craftsmen and dexterous youths. The other, larger group consisted of craftsmen who had gone to Piltover to make a living but returned to Zaun after facing constant discrimination. They possessed systematic training and extensive hands-on experience.
As for Jinx, the director of the R&D Division herself, she couldn't be bothered with any of this. Disregarding the formal setting, she sat on Ren's lap, holding Isha and gently ruffling the little girl's hair.
Ren stroked Jinx's hair dotingly. No one else criticized her for her lack of decorum. Only Vi shot irritated glares at the two of them.
Ren didn't mention anything about Hextech during the meeting. It was classified, and he had no intention of revealing it for the time being. Jinx's Hextech experiments were in their final stage. Once they overcame this last hurdle, they would possess a Hex-gem.
I've spent this whole week with Jinx, Ren thought to himself. Once we have the Hex-gem, it'll be time to get out and about. First, a visit to Viktor. Zaun needs him.
Just as Ren was lost in thought, Vi began to speak, recounting the events of the afternoon.
"Son of a bitch!" Graves roared. "So what if he's a Chem-Baron? I'll finish him!"
Twisted Fate also spoke up, sharing the detailed intel he had gathered on Smychy, focusing on the general layout of his lair, several possible hiding spots, and hidden escape routes.
Fizz also clamored to teach a lesson to the people who bullied his friends.
"Smychy wants us to pay him a visit. So let's pay him a visit," Ren said, his tone shifting. "Graves, you will represent me in a meeting with this Chem-Baron."
He paused. "Take him out. His territory and his businesses—I want them all. After our victory, vet all of his underlings. Those with a conscience, who haven't oppressed the people of Zaun too much, can be given a chance to reform. Eliminate the rest."
Graves accepted the order with a grim nod.
Vi cut in from the side, "I'm going too!"
"You can," Ren agreed. "But you need to arrange the Security Division's affairs beforehand. We can't let other scum find an opportunity to harm our people."
"No problem. I'll make the arrangements as soon as this meeting is over."
After the meeting, Jinx was struck by a sudden inspiration and rushed back to her laboratory. Ren followed to watch over her and Isha.
While he stood guard, Ren thought about his recent plans and what still needed attention. His mind drifted to Enforcer Captain Nick.
Piltover was the City of Progress. Zaun, to outsiders, was a place of chaos and darkness. There were many reasons for this.
The most important one was Piltover's shameless exploitation of Zaun. They were once one city, but the Piltovans had divided the people, creating Topsiders and Undersiders. Furthermore, their unchecked industrial activities had brought about horrific pollution. Piltover's solution was to treat Zaun as a garbage dump. All industrial waste was channeled into Zaun. For pollution that was too severe to pipe down, they simply built the factories directly in Zaun's sump-levels to pollute locally.
The ventilation systems built by the Kiramman clan, which contained the Gray to the Undercity, were merely a temporary fix. The Piltovans never conducted further research to improve the Undercity's environment. As a cradle of scientists, were they incapable of such research? Or was it that they couldn't be bothered, that they simply didn't care?
There was another reason Piltover was the City of Progress: its absorption and culling of talent.
It attracted talent to stay, but the process was arduous. Even a genius like Viktor faced constant discrimination. If he hadn't been lucky enough to be noticed by Heimerdinger and become his assistant, Ren doubted he would have survived in Piltover at all. He likely would have been driven back to Zaun years ago.
As for the culling—when people from Piltover's lower class fell on hard times, there was a high probability they would lose their right to reside in the city. They would be driven down to Zaun. If they went bankrupt, that probability skyrocketed.
The appearance of Captain Nick, however, showed Ren a different path.
A highly respected elder once said something to the effect of: make many friends, and unite all the comrades you can.
Nick was an excellent candidate. He held a high reputation among the common-born Enforcers. This reputation came partly from his accomplishments—solving major cases and receiving numerous honors made him a role model for them.
The other part came from his sense of justice and his kindness. He had used his prize money and what little savings he had to help several colleagues on the brink of bankruptcy, saving them from the fate of being stripped of their posts and residency, and being cast down into Zaun.