The tavern at the dock of Nashramae.
Li Lin, Jayce, Kassadin, Kai'sa, Sivir, along with several dozen artisans from the Kiramman family and other clans, took over the place, ready to celebrate together.
The Hextech Gates of Nashramae had been completed long ago under Jayce's leadership. Li Lin felt a bit guilty, having promised Jayce help but ended up spending more time on their desert journey than expected. In the end, Jayce had to finish everything alone.
But this journey not only saved Kai'sa, reuniting her with her father Kassadin, but also resolved the Void issue between the Valley of Songs and Sai Kahleek.
Most importantly, Li Lin's long-awaited "career advancement" was finally completed.
Over these past few months, with Lady Cassandra and the Kiramman family leading in Piltover, and with Silco and Vander's assistance in Zaun, electricity was now accessible to most households.
Upon returning to Piltover, Li Lin could immediately put his newly acquired skills to use, continuing to improve and upgrade the city's basic technology and infrastructure.
It had been a year since the five-year agreement with the Council members, and Zaun's transformation was much faster than he had anticipated.
Since advancing from "mechanic" to "mechanical heart," with the advent of "smart AI" and "smart chips," even the most basic productivity issues could be solved.
Piltover and Zaun's robotics manufacturing systems were well-established. Once equipped with smart chips, some of the more dangerous tasks would no longer require manual labor, significantly speeding up Zaun's construction projects.
After a few glasses of cold beer, Li Lin found his thoughts becoming clearer.
He had just finished recounting a thrilling segment of their desert journey to the others.
Taking advantage of Sivir taking over the conversation, he continued to share some insights with the curious artisans that only desert dwellers would know.
Using the excuse of needing the restroom, Li Lin stepped out of the tavern and went to a quieter spot on the dock. There, with the refreshing sea breeze brushing against him, he began to contemplate his future plans.
Firstly, the arsenal commissioned from Silco needed some modifications. All the equipment inside would be converted to be fully automated, eliminating the need for manual operation.
Caution was necessary; Li Lin didn't trust Silco as much as he trusted Vander.
Vander had lost his "ambition" and was content with running his small corner of the world. But Silco still harbored significant ambitions.
Although he claimed to only seek respect for Piltover, to prevent Zaun from being oppressed, and did not harbor the intense hatred towards Piltover like Renata did, planning to overthrow Piltover entirely.
But Silco was a schemer, an excellent "commander"; he wouldn't reveal his true intentions to others.
Perhaps his ultimate goal was to completely control both cities.
Li Lin didn't plan to let him know about the various dangerous technologies and weapons he would manufacture in the future.
Combined with the malicious competition between the major families of Piltover and the Chem-Barons of Zaun, spies from rival families were almost guaranteed to be lurking everywhere.
This kind of arsenal development and military expansion couldn't involve outsiders.
If the Grey Lady caught wind of it, the plan would be ruined.
Of course, Li Lin only planned to mass-produce storm robots and some precision materials in the clandestine black factories of Zaun. Even if discovered, it wouldn't matter much.
His main goal was to explore a suitable heavy industry development path, then establish a secret underground research facility and production facility on the outskirts of Piltover.
Researching the design of the Primordial Crystal, creating blueprints for the Hextech Core, fusion energy sources, and weapons production with a "combat" focus all needed to be prioritized.
There was still some time before the next major event Li Lin knew of, ample time for him to develop a sizable mechanical army.
Coupled with the teleportation technology of the Hextech Gates, he no longer needed to resort to the low-end approach of buying storm robots from the Essence Store.
By then, Li Lin could simply wave his hand and summon a mechanical army in minutes.
At the very least, punching through Noxian warbands and kicking ordinary Demacian armies would be no problem at all.
With enough military strength, even reaching the point of crushing the Council without fear of the Grey Lady would be the time for Li Lin to lead the Twin Cities in expanding outward.
After all, the Mage Rebellion of Demacia, the Flame Tide of Bandle City, the Curse of the Shadow Isles, and the return of Mordekaiser's Shadow Realm Legion all paled in comparison to the ultimate Void invasion.
Military expansion was necessary, and research on the Void could not be delayed...
In addition to this, Li Lin planned to go back and study ways to summon the Wind Spirit himself.
He didn't plan on becoming an "invincible summoner" like Yasuo.
He just wanted to have a chat with the Wind Spirit, maybe learn a bit of its secret summoning technique, and then... he would have the power to directly traverse dimensions, something that not even the Grey Lady or the Rune Guardians could achieve!
Thinking of this, Li Lin's heart was filled with excitement.
But before that, he had to spend some time with his family and friends.
Tomorrow, they would set sail back to Piltover.
He would take the time to teach Jayce and Viktor the "superior technology" he had learned, hoping that it could help them strengthen the security measures of the Hextech Gates and prevent any unforeseen accidents from occurring.
As Li Lin sat on the wooden stump at the pier, pondering over the events that would eventually impact the world, she knew that as a deity, she could provide significant assistance.
Just as Li Lin was lost in thought, Jayce's voice suddenly echoed from not far behind him: "Li Lin, I finally found you."
The sea breeze, tinged with a hint of salt, couldn't dissipate the smell of alcohol emanating from Jayce's body.
He had just lost quite a few rounds of the unique Shuriman drinking game with Sivir, almost passing out under the table.
"Thinking," Li Lin replied, turning to glance at Jayce, shaking his head helplessly. "Your alcohol tolerance isn't that good, yet you keep pushing yourself?"
"Burp—Who said that..." Jayce let out a long burp.
The cold night air penetrated his clothes, causing him to shiver involuntarily, sobering him up a bit.
Jayce staggered over to where Li Lin was sitting and plopped down on another stump.
"Don't fall into the sea," Li Lin chuckled as she observed his condition.
"I-I'm not drunk..."
"People who are drunk always say they're not."
As Jayce's breathing became more rapid, and his body swayed a few more times, it was evident that he was getting anxious.
Li Lin decided not to tease him anymore and continued to gaze at the shimmering silver crescent hanging in the brilliant starry sky.
"You've been away for so long, have you thought about your family?" he asked.
"Of course... burp, my mother, and Mel, it's been almost half a year since I last saw them. I definitely miss them," Jayce said, a rare smile appearing on his face.
In front of his peers, and even elders, Jayce always had an impatient demeanor.
Of course, this "peer" did not include Mel, Caitlyn, and the equally brilliant Li Lin and Viktor.
"What about you? Are you resentful of me?" Jayce asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Li Lin replied.
"Of course, it's Caitlyn... burp, you've only just confirmed your relationship, and I brought you to Shurima..."
Resentful? I'm grateful to you beyond words!
Without you, I wouldn't have had a reason to come to Shurima with Kassadin, and who knows how long it would have taken for my Career advancement.
Li Lin smiled, "I'm sure I don't mind, but Caitlyn might resent you for not bringing me back according to the promised time."
(End of the Chapter)
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