——
["A beautiful strike! The winners are [Cold Dragon Young], and two temporary audience participants!"]
["Audience participants? Can't you come up with a cool nickname for us too?" March 7th wanted to roll her eyes in exasperation.]
[Stelle tilted her head: "Then... Cold Pink Dragon?"]
["Uh... never mind, that's terrible taste." March 7th was even more speechless. As she facepalmed, she suddenly spotted a figure slowly walking toward the arena entrance: "Ah! Look, Sampo's over there!"]
[Stelle clenched her fist: "Gotta find a way to punch him!"]
[The three quickly rushed out and cornered Sampo at the fighting arena's entrance before he could leave.]
[Seeing the trio from the Express, Sampo immediately put on an ingratiating smile, rubbing his hands together like a fly: "Uh... hey! So it's you guys. I thought I sensed someone following me and wondered if I was about to get mugged, so I sped up. Had I known it was you, I would've opened my arms for a warm welcome!"]
["Cut the crap, you ran because you were guilty!" March 7th was thoroughly annoyed.]
["Me? Guilty? Hahaha... Sampo Koski has a clear conscience! Goodness, did I accidentally do something to offend my dear friends?"]
["Besides, I've been looking out for you all from the shadows! Do you know how long the Silvermane Guards have been watching you? I barely managed to find a chance to save you..." Sampo grew increasingly pitiful, putting on such a sorrowful act that March 7th was momentarily stunned.]
[But Dan Heng wasn't so easily fooled: "Even so, there was no need to knock us out. Were you hiding something, like a secret you didn't want us to know?"]
["Probably the passage between the upper and lower levels?"]
Jinx recalled how she, Vi, and the others used to sneak into the upper city through extremely well-hidden sewage pipes. This Sampo guy could move freely between the completely sealed upper and lower districts, he must have been relying on similar hidden pathways.
In Zaun, such passages were like goldmines. Controlling even one meant having the right to sell high-end goods from the upper city. No doubt Sampo had been profiting heavily from smuggling.
She disassembled one of her Chomper grenades and took out a small piece of Hextech crystal shard—through its azure glow, she seemed to see the little girl who once trembled behind Vi.
...Every story began with that theft.
"Are there still passages to the upper city now?" Silco suddenly asked.
"There are, of course. But you wouldn't want to go dressed like that, would you?"] Jinx grinned, pointing at Silco's overcoat. She couldn't help but imagine Silco crawling through sewage pipes, it was a horrifying thought.
"Of course not."
Silco slowly stood and walked to Jinx's side, brushing aside the long hair covering her right eye: "Jinx, you're the most special in my eyes... You are our hope, but the weapons from the upper city are just as important."
"I've grown fond of a saying lately 'Dignity only exists at the edge of a blade'... And all I've ever wanted in this life is respect from the upper city."
Silco mused with interest: "Before that, I need to control all passages to the upper city and acquire enough weapons. If the day comes when we must act... I'll make those who've never bled before learn what pain is."
——
[Dan Heng's gaze sharpened as he stared at Sampo, unmoving, as if trying to pierce through his soul.]
["Uh...! Alright, alright!" Sampo hastily cut off Dan Heng's scrutiny, his lips loosening instantly. "I'll help you, no reservations, no charge! Just please don't go spreading this around! How about this, I'll introduce you to [Wildfire] first. If you're looking for something underground, they're the ones to ask!"]
["Why should we meet Wildfire?" Stelle recalled Natasha mentioning the organization earlier.]
["From what Dan Heng said, you're searching for something called a [Stellaron] sounds like a big deal. Wildfire's the only group down here that might have leads on that."]
[Dan Heng frowned: "Didn't you say we had to win the championship at the Fight Club to get any clues?"]
[Noticing the trio's unamused glares, Sampo broke into a cold sweat and forced a laugh: "Uh, uh... haha, right! Winning the championship gives you fame, and fame makes Wildfire willing to talk to you. Makes sense, no?"]
[Dan Heng: "..."]
[Knowing further excuses were futile, Sampo quickly put on a pleading smile and led them to find Wildfire members. But after searching several spots, they found no trace of anyone.]
[Just as they grew puzzled, Sampo suddenly noticed a large crowd gathered on a high platform.]
[Approaching, they saw Bronya standing off against a group of armed, aggressive miners.]
[Sampo panicked: "Oh no, ladies and gents, don't just stand there! This can't escalate...!"]
[March 7th placed her hands on her hips, a mischievous smirk on her face: "The more you say that, the more I wanna see you suffer."]
["We shouldn't draw too much attention, but we can't just leave her alone either," Dan Heng said.]
["March's right, let's go rest," Stelle agreed.]
["Uh, I was just joking, you don't have to take everything I say seriously," March 7th waved her hand. "But honestly, I agree with Dan Heng. We can't just watch a cute girl get bullied."]
[But before they could intervene, the situation took a drastic turn. Several miners huddled together, furious: "You're asking for it! Don't blame us for being ruthless!"]
[The next second, a trigger was pulled, BANG! A bullet shot straight toward Bronya's chest!]
[Bronya's expression darkened. The moment the bullet fired, she instinctively stepped back. At the critical moment, countless streaks of ghostly blue light flashed, as if slicing the very space into fragments!]
[The bullet, still smoking, now lay in pieces on the ground.]
[The next instant, a blue orb materialized midair as a beautiful scythe-wielding maiden descended from above. Her appearance was accompanied by fluttering butterflies and a dazzling, almost welding-like radiance that lit up the scene.]
"Bronya! Look! It's me!"
Seele, seeing her alternate self, excitedly shook Bronya's shoulders.
...Yet Bronya hadn't snapped out of her shock.
Was this really Seele?!
Blue hair, butterflies, the iconic scythe, those sexy shorts—this mature yet cool, cool yet adorable look... was just too stunning!
Bronya pinched Seele's soft cheeks with one hand and pointed at the screen's heroic girl with the other: "Quick! Turn into that for me!"