"You've been following me all along?"
"Yes, we saw you taking care of Vi. Otherwise, you wouldn't be standing here talking to us right now."
Caitlyn stopped short upon hearing Marsen's words, frowning as she looked at him: "You dare lay hands on an Enforcer?"
Marsen chuckled and replied, "Normally, we wouldn't dare. Who would dare touch you? But now is different. The gutters are in chaos. If an Enforcer accidentally 'goes missing' in the gutters, then who's to say who did it?"
Marsen emphasized the word "accidentally," making Caitlyn's skin crawl.
Uncomfortably rubbing her arm, Caitlyn mumbled a few words, then followed them.
Next, she watched as the group led Vi to a certain spot. Then, a girl, about 1.6 meters tall, came forward. Marsen said something to her, and she anxiously pulled something from her pocket.
Seeing this, Caitlyn immediately stepped forward to block her: "Wait, is this Shimmer?"
"You're going to use Shimmer on her?" Caitlyn couldn't understand.
Wasn't this substance the culprit that turned Zaunites into neither humans nor ghosts?
"What else?"
"That's a drug!"
"That's because they misused Shimmer. Shimmer isn't just a toy for addiction; used properly, this stuff can be a life-saving medicine. Get out of my way, don't make me say it again." Marsen frowned at Caitlyn.
If it weren't for her taking care of Vi earlier, he really would have laid hands on her.
Just as he had told Caitlyn earlier, when the gutters were in chaos, was it so strange for one or two Enforcers to go missing?
A while ago, there was an explosion in Piltover that killed six Enforcers. The people up top didn't know what was going on, but did those of them in the Undercity not know the situation?
Eight out of ten, that crazy woman Jinx did it. But what was the outcome of that? The outcome was that Silco turned the incident into an "accident," somehow glossing it over.
And in times like these, for this cop to dare come to Black Alley alone, Marsen didn't know what this cop was thinking.
Should he call her brainless?
Marsen raised his hand, and Willa and Manchu stepped forward to block Caitlyn.
Then, Marsen dropped Shimmer into Vi's mouth, only a small amount, not daring to give too much.
As Vi inhaled the Shimmer, and the medicine took effect, Vi began to scream in pain, her pupils dilating, then shrinking again.
"Vi?"
"Vi!"
Marsen spoke. As the purple glow in Vi's pupils dissipated, her gaze shifted to Marsen's face. Then, she saw Caitlyn, still blocked behind him.
In an instant, Vi directly stretched out her hands, gripped Marsen's arms, pulled, and held Marsen in a chokehold, her arm pressed against his throat.
"Wait!" Marsen frantically patted Vi's arm.
He felt difficulty breathing and also surprise.
He hadn't been Vi's match when they were children, but he never expected that after all these years, he'd still be instantly subdued by Vi. Marsen had thought the difference between genders would allow him to beat Vi now, but he was wrong.
Marsen didn't consider himself very strong, but he had at least spent years in the Stab-Eye Gang and had been in plenty of fights. Yet now, he was held hostage like a mere chick by Vi.
If it weren't for... if that cop who came with Vi wasn't blocked by Willa and Manchu, and Vi was hesitant, would his neck have been snapped if she had put more force into her arm?
Marsen was astonished.
What kind of monstrously strong woman was this?!
Neither of these sisters was normal!
"Tell them to let her go," Vi's voice rang out.
"Vi, it's me, Marsen."
"It's me, Marsen from Black Alley!"
"You bastard!"
Marsen said painfully.
Vi paused, the force in her hands lessening. She then carefully looked around, and she saw Willa and Manchu.
"Willa?"
"It's me, Boss," Willa nodded to Vi.
"You, how could it be you?" Vi released her arm.
Marsen immediately coughed onto the ground. After he recovered a bit, he turned and sat on the ground, looking at Vi, who had stood up, and said helplessly, "That's what we should be asking you. How could it be you? Vi, weren't you dead?"
"How did you suddenly appear here and cause such a commotion?"
"That's a really long story," Vi said, rubbing her head. Caitlyn walked to her side and stood silently behind her.
"But more importantly, Marsen, I have something to ask you." Vi looked at Marsen, then anxiously asked, "Where's my sister? Powder? Where is she?"
"Powder? Uh, well... she's with our boss right now," Marsen said after thinking for a moment.
"Your boss?" Vi was first stunned, then she recalled the information she had gathered these past few days, as well as what Sevika had told her.
Her expression instantly turned furious, her pupils reddening. She directly pounced on him, sitting on Marsen and grabbing his collar, raging like a runaway leopardess. She raised her right fist and cursed, "Are you working for Silco?!"
"Damn it, who told you my boss is Silco?"
"Why are you still like this? Can you just let me finish talking, please?" Marsen protested.
Ten minutes later, Marsen had explained everything he knew to Vi, who listened with disbelieving eyes.
She rubbed her head with both hands, feeling confused: "Leo? Wasn't he your subordinate before? How did you two switch places now?"
Marsen was about to explain.
But Vi impatiently cut him off: "Never mind, that doesn't matter. Marsen, I need your help now. Take me to see Leo. I have to find my sister."
Caitlyn, listening from the side, looked as if she wanted to speak but held back.
She wanted to ask Vi what the point of her coming down here was if she hadn't accomplished anything.
Caitlyn had come down this time, neither meeting Silco, the suspected mastermind, nor finding the wanted criminal who blew up the building in Piltover.
"Now?"
"Vi, do you think only we saw you?" Marsen shook his head, then continued: "Silco's people are looking for you everywhere. You can't go anywhere right now."
Vi quickly shook her head: "No, I have to go find Powder."
"If you go out now, you're not just adding trouble for yourself, but also for us, understand? Stay here. I'll pass the message to Jin... Powder for you," Marsen said, placing a hand on Vi's shoulder.
"I'll go up right now and tell the boss and Powder that you're here, don't worry."
"You don't understand, I can't wait another second! I have to see her with my own eyes. I've waited years for this day. I have to find my sister."
"You've already waited this long, what's another half-day, or a day? At a time like this, if Silco's people find you, everything will be ruined! Vi, snap out of it. We won't lie to you." Willa, unable to hold back, stepped forward to Vi's side and said.
He looked at Vi and continued, "I understand how you feel, but please think carefully about what I'm saying."
Vi calmed down. Marsen breathed a sigh of relief.
He patted Vi's shoulder twice, grinning: "Don't worry, she's very safe right now. The boss is taking good care of her. And you, we know how important she is to you, don't we? You used to beat us up a lot because of her when we were kids."
"Sorry, Marsen, I lost my composure," Vi said, smiling bitterly and nodding.
"Alright, I'll go deliver your message now," Marsen said, standing up.
Vi watched Marsen. She saw him say a few words to the people beside him, then leave the stronghold alone.
Seeing this, Vi became distraught.
During all those years in prison, she had truly believed Powder was dead.
Mid-level plaza.
In the living room of Leo's house on the first floor, Isa, wearing a hat, sat on the ground, intently looking at a blueprint. Drawn on the blueprint was something resembling a tin can, seemingly simple in construction, but in reality, very ingeniously designed.
To make the most imaginative things with the simplest materials—that was Jinx's philosophy.
Now, Isa looked at the blueprint, then at the can beside her. She tried very hard to disassemble the can but couldn't open it. However, with this blueprint, Isa felt she could learn to disassemble this can; it was only a matter of time.
Fiddling with the tin can with a screwdriver, Isa's small ears twitched, hearing activity from upstairs.
Her hearing was naturally extremely keen, which was why she had repeatedly escaped adult pursuit.
"What? Vi is looking for me?"
"Where is she? Where is my sister?"
"What do you mean, 'calm down'? How can I calm down? Vi is looking for me, my sister is looking for me right now! I thought she was dead!"
"No, I'm going to find her now!"
Jinx's sharp voice made Isa involuntarily look up.
"Don't rush, Jinx."
It was Leo's voice. Isa put down the can and listened more intently.
"I'll go down with you."
"We need to avoid Silco's sight."
"Yes, Silco... he lied to me. Why did he lie to me? Leo, he clearly told me Vi was dead!"
"Marsen, are you sure you saw Vi? Can you be certain?"
"Jinx, it's Vi, I'm sure it's her. But she also has someone with her..."
"Shut up, Marsen."
"Yes, Boss."
Isa didn't quite understand this conversation, so the little one tilted her head, looking at the ceiling.
But soon, she heard footsteps.
Then, it was Jinx, it was Leo, it was the man Isa didn't care about—they all came downstairs together.
"Little one, come here quickly, we need to leave." Jinx saw Isa and beckoned to her.
She wasn't smiling, and the expression on her small face was extremely complex.
But Isa, without a word, hearing Jinx call her, quickly picked up the blueprint from the floor, clutched the can tightly, and ran towards Jinx.
Leo followed behind, his expression also very complex.
The plot had deviated.
And... deviated greatly.
Perhaps from the moment he met Jinx, the story of Arcane had already begun to change. And now, Marsen and a group of Lotus Gang members had even encountered Vi and Caitlyn.
This matter also exceeded Leo's expectations, but it was a good thing.
Because rather than letting Vi and Jinx meet under various uncertain factors, it was better for him to control their meeting.
Leo remembered very clearly that in the show, after Vi was released from Stillwater Prison, the only thing she focused on was finding Jinx. But later, various accidents gradually created a rift between her and Jinx.
And these rifts... officially ignited the fuse for the war between the two cities.
The reason Leo had just interrupted Marsen was because Jinx's mental state visibly deteriorated upon hearing about Vi.
If not for the trust she had developed in Leo over these past few days, and the presence of little Isa, Jinx might have already run wildly to the Undercity to find Vi, instead of listening to Leo. Although anxious, she still managed to endure.
But what if Marsen had finished what he was saying?
If he said Vi had someone with her, would Leo not know who that person was?
It was Caitlyn.
If Jinx knew her sister had come looking for her with a Piltover cop, Jinx would most likely start overthinking. After all, she had just blown up a building, killed six Enforcers, and stolen a Hextech Crystal and a notebook. At this moment, Vi suddenly appearing and bringing a female police officer to find her—it would be strange if Jinx didn't misunderstand!
Taking a deep breath, Leo looked at Marsen.
"Let's go, Marsen, lead the way."
"Take us to Vi."