"You are a councilman's daughter. Your actions reflect on the entire Council."
Just as the old councilman was about to say more, Caitlyn's father stood up to defend his daughter.
Thanks to her father's intervention, the conversation ended with the old councilman conceding, agreeing not to revoke Caitlyn's Enforcer status for the time being.
=========
"Here… and here~"
Something was tickling him. Ren slowly opened his eyes to see Jinx and Isha, one on each side of him, gently poking his cheeks.
Seeing his eyes open, Jinx tossed her long braid over her shoulder and reached out to ruffle Isha's hair. "Getting into trouble so early in the morning~ See? You woke Ren up."
Isha, who was holding a feather, stared blankly at Jinx, in disbelief that she would pull such a move.
Ren sat up, staring pointedly at Isha. The little girl froze.
"I was having such a nice sleep, too. Naughty children have to be punished~ Roar!"
Ren made his hands into claws and pretended to pounce on Isha, only to feint and turn, tackling Jinx instead. Isha burst into laughter, clapping her hands as she bounced on the bed. "Ehehehe~"
After they had finished playing around and getting ready, the three of them left the room together. In the hallway, they found Vi sitting on a bench, head down, leg jiggling nervously.
When she saw them approach, Vi quickly stood up. She shot a fierce glare at Ren first before greeting the other two.
"Morning, Po—uh, Jin, Isha."
"Eyah~" Isha waved.
"Morning, Vi. What are you doing sitting out here? Have you eaten yet?"
"Not yet," Vi replied to Jinx. "I was waiting for you guys. Could you two go on ahead? I need to talk to Ren about something."
Jinx smiled and nodded, taking Isha's hand. As she passed by Vi, she whispered softly, "You can just call me Powder, sis."
Before a wave of joy could even register on Vi's face, Jinx had already led Isha down the hall.
Ren watched them disappear from view. He was just about to congratulate Vi on the smooth exchange when she grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
"Powder's been sleeping with you these past few days?"
"Uh, well, I didn't do anything."
"Bullshit! You were in the same bed. Who's gonna believe that?!"
"I really didn't do anything! Isha was right there. How could I do something in front of a kid?"
Vi's severe expression softened. A smile touched her lips, and her eyes burned into his.
"Oh~? So you're saying you did think about it?"
Ren broke out in a cold sweat. Damn it! She was setting a trap for me!
Vi proceeded to warn him, but Ren noticed that the word 'no' never explicitly came up.
He relaxed, a grin spreading across his face as he looked at Vi. "Why so violent? Be careful, or you'll never get married, little sister."
Vi, who had just let go, raised her hands again and clamped them down on Ren's shoulders, her expression deceptively sweet.
"Before, I figured you were just overly excited from our reunion, so when you called me 'little sister,' I let it slide."
Vi leaned her head forward. "But you're still calling me that now, and that makes things difficult for me. How old are you, little brat? I'll allow you to rephrase."
"...Sister."
A genuine smile bloomed on Vi's face. She reached up and ruffled his hair a few times. "Good boy~ little brother~" She turned and walked away. "Hurry up and get some breakfast. They're still waiting."
After breakfast, Jinx announced she was ready to start her Hextech research. Despite Ren and Isha's worries, she insisted that she could handle it now.
Ren finally agreed, but only on the condition that he could observe the entire experiment. On the surface, he claimed he wanted to learn about Hextech, but in reality, he just wanted to protect her.
Ren fastened the pendant he had enchanted with a Barrier charm yesterday around Jinx's neck, reminding her to keep it on at all times.
Truthfully, even if he hadn't reminded her, Jinx had no intention of ever taking it off. She had already decided to sleep with it on; after all, it was the first pendant Ren had given her since he came back.
Before the research began, Ren had one last thing to prepare. He took Jinx to run some tests on his Flash ability.
Thanks to the "selfless contribution" from the Hand of the Baroness, Ren already knew that teleporting with someone else wouldn't harm his passenger. This time, he was testing the ability's maximum range and cooldown time.
As Ren's understanding of magic deepened, his application of various spells became more refined.
After expending half of his mana, Ren concluded his test. A Flash within a 5-meter range had a 3-second cooldown.
The longer the distance, the longer the cooldown. Currently, his maximum range was a hundred meters, which came with a 60-second cooldown.
Ren's experiment was over, but Jinx hadn't had enough fun. She even pulled Isha into it, begging Ren to "test" it a few more times. Left with no choice, the three of them played for a little while longer.
The streets were boisterous, filled with bustling crowds. Shopkeepers periodically stepped outside to hawk their wares, and the street-side food stalls were packed with people.
A limping old man was sweeping the street with a large broom, a rare sight in the mid-level plazas.
After clearing an area, the old man leaned against a wall to rest and drink some water.
"Uncle Sili, still busy?"
The old man turned his head to see a group of teenagers in black jackets walking past. A blue bird was printed on the back of their jackets, and their weapons were decorated with pink and blue graffiti. The one in the lead was a young woman with short, red hair.
"Haha, it's Vi! Just got one little spot left. I'll be done in a jiffy."
"Alright, I'll let you get back to it. I've gotta head over there."
The old man watched the teenagers walk away, lost in thought. They were the Blue Birds, a new gang that had sprung up in the last few days. They were powerful, having already wiped out three or four of the surrounding gangs.
But this gang was strange. Their methods were nothing like a typical gang's. They didn't bully ordinary people, they didn't force women into prostitution, and they didn't sell Shimmer.
Furthermore, they didn't let other gangs or thugs bully regular citizens either. For days, Vi and her Blue Bird members had been cracking down on local troublemakers, protecting the residents.
During a huge fire a few days ago, the Blue Birds had provided both manpower and resources, even organizing the locals to help extinguish the blaze and stop it from spreading. That girl, Vi, had even rushed into the inferno twice to save several children.
Of course, none of this was free. And this was the crucial part: they didn't collect protection money. Instead, they collected taxes within the Blue Birds' territory. Shops, vendors, and factories had to pay management fees.
The management fees and tax rates they set were the same as those Piltovan topsiders. For the shop owners, this wasn't a problem, but most ordinary people could barely afford it. How was this any different from the old gangs?
Soon, however, these ordinary people discovered that although the tax rates were high, the gang also offered so many benefits and subsidies that the actual amount they paid was much lower than the official rate.
The vast majority could easily afford it and even save a little money—something they would never have dared to imagine before.
As for the few who still couldn't afford it, the Blue Birds paid them a visit. After a moment of panic, the families discovered the gang members were there to offer them jobs with pretty decent wages.
Those who could cook were recruited by the Blue Birds' Canteen Division. Quick-handed girls were hired by the Cleaning Division.
Clever youths were recruited by the Scrap and Recycling Division, their main job being to collect specific scrap parts based on orders from the Sorting Factory.
Those who preferred stable, diligent work were hired by the Sorting Factory. Their job was to dismantle junk and scrap to find the parts needed by the R&D division. They would then use their experience to figure out what kind of scrap these parts were likely to come from and issue new orders to the Recycling Division.
And old men like Sili were hired by the Sanitation Division. While the pay was the lowest here, it was enough to support them, allowing them to live a better life than before.