Although Silco loved literature, he had never heard of the "Lin-dinger's Cat" theory that Lin Yan spoke of.
This argument, a mixture of philosophy and science, left Silco completely stunned. Neither unwritten nor predestined, but a superposition of both... Silco fell into deep thought.
Lin Yan saw that Silco's CPU was running at high speed on the other side of the table, his head practically about to emit smoke. He quickly waved a hand, interrupting Silco's thoughts.
"Hey, hey... Silco." Lin Yan waved his hand in front of Silco's eyes. "If you're interested in this question, there will be plenty of time to think about it later."
"For now, are you ready to hear my requests?" Hearing Lin Yan's words, Silco quickly snapped back to reality.
He raised a hand, gesturing for Lin Yan to continue. Silco also braced himself, afraid that Lin Yan would propose some outrageous demand.
"Since you are willing to give everything for the Undercity, then—become its shadow." As Lin Yan spoke, he raised his gaze slightly, meeting Silco's. A glimmer of light flashed within his dark eyes.
"What do you mean by that?" Silco was somewhat puzzled. Lin Yan, however, beckoned to him, signaling for him to lean closer.
Silco leaned toward Lin Yan, confused. Only then did Lin Yan speak.
"Where there is light in the world, there is also darkness. Someone needs to stand in the light and enjoy the glory, and someone needs to hide in the darkness and endure the solitude. And you are that person." As he spoke, Lin Yan slowly stood up, walked behind Silco, and placed his hands heavily on Silco's shoulders.
The sudden pressure made Silco's breath catch, but he did not turn around.
Seeing that Silco was waiting for him to continue, Lin Yan went on: "Vander is far too indecisive. After being struck by this incident, he no longer has the drive he once had. If this continues, the Undercity will be devoured by other factions sooner or later."
"You don't want to see the Undercity become the playground of other powers, do you?"
The "other powers" Lin Yan referred to were "Glasc Industries," which did not appear in Arcane, as well as the other Chem-Barons secretly controlling the Undercity.
As for why "Glasc Industries" didn't appear in Arcane? Did that even need to be asked? The first season of Arcane was released in 2021, while Renata Glasc was made into a champion and appeared in the game in 2022... It would be a ghost story if she had appeared in Arcane. But just because she didn't appear in the show didn't mean such a person didn't exist in the Undercity.
After some investigation, Lin Yan had confirmed that Glasc's enterprise was already like a seed, deeply buried in the Undercity, where it had taken root and sprouted. Although he didn't know if Renata herself was currently in charge of Glasc Industries, he had confirmed that this faction did indeed exist in the Undercity. There was even a "Glasc Avenue" named after them. An ambitious schemer of that caliber would be difficult to control. Therefore, Renata, as a financial oligarch of the Undercity, had never been included in Lin Yan's plans.
"Silco, you have ability and you have ambition. In certain respects, you are far better than Vander." A magnetic voice sounded beside Silco's ear. "And it is precisely because of this that it will be easier for you to build an enterprise after you recede into the shadows."
"After all, you know how it is~ Doing things out in the open, one always has to follow the rules, to abide by all sorts of pointless regulations. But in the shadows, it's a different story. You can be much more unrestrained." Lin Yan smiled, raising an eyebrow.
Silco fell into a brief silence after hearing Lin Yan's request.
"Mr. Lin, for you to say all this, it seems you are even more ambitious than I am..." Silco turned his single eye to look at Lin Yan.
Hearing Silco's words, Lin Yan said nothing, merely shrugging noncommittally.
-Ambition? -Heh... a tiny little Undercity, what kind of ambition could it possibly stir in me?
Their eyes met. Silco spoke again: "It's just that... Mr. Lin, compared to hiding and working in the shadows, what I want right now is to be a hero who stands in the light, one who can help the people of the Undercity change their lives."
Hero?
"Well said! But... can a 'hero' truly change the Undercity?" Lin Yan chuckled. "Besides, what will you use to play the hero? Your fists? Or this frail body of yours?"
"Do you really think bringing something like Shimmer into the light too early will bring you any benefits?"
"If you bring Shimmer out prematurely, the only thing that will greet you and Vander is the intervention of capitalist powers. At that point, Shimmer might not be yours to control alone."
Hearing Lin Yan's slightly mocking words, Silco once again fell silent. Just as he was silent, Lin Yan spoke again: "Silco, who says only those who stand in the light can be called heroes?"
"What do you think?"
"My dear hero... who stands in the darkness." Lin Yan drew out the last two words, his eyes locked on the pensive Silco.
After a moment of contemplation. Silco raised his head. "What should I do?"
"It's simple. Continue with your development plan," Lin Yan said, pointing out the path forward for him. "The 'Shimmer' that Singed is researching has great potential, but its side effects are significant. If you can utilize it while improving its side effects, you can smoothly create an underground empire of your own."
"Once you have that foundation, it will be effective whether you're confronting the Topside or changing the Undercity."
"If you want to help Vander, there's no reason you can't support him from the shadows."
After hearing what Lin Yan had to say, Silco thought for a few seconds before nodding in agreement with the idea. "I agree to your first request, Mr. Lin. What about the second?"
"The second one... I haven't thought of it yet. I'll tell you when I do." He lifted his leg and sat back down on the stone bench, picked up his tea, and drained it in one gulp. All that talking had made him thirsty.
Sitting opposite him, Silco saw that Lin Yan had nothing more to say. Now that he knew the path he had to take, he did not linger. Slightly adjusting the hem of his coat, Silco stood up. "Since Mr. Lin cannot think of a second request for the time being, I will take my leave."
"If Mr. Lin wants to find me, you can go to the old cannery at the docks. I will be there for a long time to come." After saying this, Silco gave Lin Yan a simple farewell and departed.
Gazing at Silco's departing figure, a smile crept onto Lin Yan's lips. The reason was none other than the two lines of small text that had appeared on his retina:
[Slightly altered the plot of 'Arcane'] [Empowerment Points +100]
...
After Silco left, Lin Yan was no longer in the mood for another sparring match with Vi.
Turning on his somewhat dated "Eye of the Spendthrift" laptop, Lin Yan opened a video streaming site and let the two little ones pick a movie to watch.
In the end, after some deliberation, the two kids picked The Grudge...
"Are you two sure you want to watch this? It's very scary." Lin Yan stood next to Vi, unable to suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth. Who knew why Vi and Powder would be interested in a horror movie. There were so many comedies and sci-fi films, yet they just had to pick a horror film...
Sitting on the chair, Vi held Powder in her arms, her eyes darting around nervously. But in order to train her courage, she ultimately gave a firm nod. "I..."
"I plan to challenge my weakness!"