With the precedent set by Spindel, the Chem-Baron meeting proceeded smoothly.
All the Chem-Barons agreed to relinquish their political power in Zaun and "willingly" signed contracts compliant with Piltover law.
Of course, Li Lin was a kind-hearted person who didn't like to leave people completely destitute.
He agreed to let the Chem-Barons keep their businesses, ensuring they wouldn't be left destitute despite losing control of Zaun's districts.
However, Li Lin wasn't about to let them control strategic resources like oil. He proposed buying the oil mines discovered by Adrien and the refinery he was building.
Adrien, a visionary who understood the importance of oil, was displeased with Li Lin's proposal and even a bit angry.
But recalling Spindel's fate, he swallowed his words and signed the transfer contract with Li Lin at market price.
As for Spindel's commercial empire, which was now without an owner, Silco initially wanted to secretly take it over for himself.
However, Li Lin saw through his plan and, under the guise of preventing unemployment in Zaun, proposed during the meeting to take over this part of the industry. He received support from Rennal.
Silco was left to swallow his resentment.
Since Li Lin had brought it up, Silco had no choice but to reluctantly give up that part of the benefits, consoling himself with the thought that the other Chem-Barons' territories weren't too bad either.
But he didn't realize that Li Lin wouldn't give all these benefits to him either...
The rest of the meeting went on, with Silco having Spindel's body removed and leading everyone to a clean meeting room to discuss Glasc Industries.
After questioning by Li Lin and Silco, the Chem-Barons, except for Middenstok, had no connections with her and didn't know her plans.
Afraid Silco might deal with him like he did with Bonni, Middenstok begged for mercy, swearing that he had handed over part of his technology to Glasc under duress.
Silco, after careful consideration, chose to "forgive" him and warned him not to make such a principled mistake again.
Middenstok, moved to tears, transferred ownership of two well-operating, highly profitable factories to Silco as a token of gratitude.
Li Lin showed no reaction outwardly, but inwardly he thought Middenstok was too foolish, completely unaware of Silco's nature.
He wondered how this idiot had climbed to the position of a Chem-Baron, thinking that two factories' ownership could buy off Silco.
After the Bonni incident, Middenstok should have known Silco had zero tolerance for betrayal.
To survive, he would have to escape Zaun overnight, far from Silco's territory.
Otherwise, knowing Silco's character, he would likely end up in the Sea of Watchers with Bonni by tomorrow, embarking on a "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" journey alongside devil fish and sea monsters.
The meeting soon ended, with Silco's men ready to take over Renata's shops and Li Lin's mechanical soldiers waiting outside Glasc Industries to seize all her assets.
The former Chem-Barons forced a smile, bid farewell to Li Lin and Silco, and left with their followers.
As Li Lin prepared to lead the mechanical soldiers in taking over Glasc Industries, preventing any mishaps, Voss, who had been waiting outside, called out to him.
"Master Li Lin..." Voss hesitated, "Do you have a moment?"
"What is it? Don't waste my time."
Li Lin frowned, having little fondness for this sadistic woman who took pleasure in tormenting others.
Her domain, the Dredge, was a prison mine with harsher conditions than Stillwater Hold on Piltover's offshore island.
Not only were some of the most heinous criminals from the upper city sent here when regular imprisonment couldn't punish them adequately, but some Chem-Barons also liked to send those who crossed them to this place.
Entering the Dredge was akin to bidding farewell to freedom and the future.
No one ever survived their sentence to walk out of there alive.
In the Dredge, death came in many forms. Being tortured to death by Voss was a relatively merciful end.
The greater threat came from the other inmates...
"Uh..."
Seeing Voss hesitating, Li Lin turned to leave, unwilling to waste time on her.
"Wait, wait!"
"I don't have time to waste with you," Li Lin said coldly, his tone unfriendly.
Voss took a deep breath, "I need your help..."
She paused for two seconds, noticing Li Lin's growing impatience, and hurriedly added, "It's related to Noxus!"
"Hmm?" Li Lin's interest was piqued. "The War Masons?"
"No, not them." Voss's face showed a trace of fear, and she stammered, "A... a Noxian executioner... a former executioner."
Executioner?
At the mention of this, a name suddenly surfaced in Li Lin's mind—Urgot, the Dreadnought.
Urgot was Noxus' executioner before Draven, a figure of great authority who maintained discipline among countless warbands.
No one wanted to face this man, whose mere presence could overwhelm a battle-hardened veteran, despite never having been on the battlefield.
Unfortunately, despite his strength, he was seen as a disposable pawn by those in power.
A loyal supporter of the former Noxian Emperor Boram Darkwill, Urgot was sent to Zaun by Swain, using Darkwill's name, to disrupt a plot against Noxian rulers.
But it was a trap, Swain's scheme to weaken Darkwill's forces for his coup.
Upon arriving in Zaun, Urgot learned of Swain's takeover.
Realizing too late, he found himself surrounded by Swain's hired Chem-Barons' henchmen.
Thrown into the "Dredge" prison mine, he awaited death in its harsh environment.
Shoola's mention of him reminded Li Lin of Zaun's lingering threat—Urgot.
This man would later slaughter Chem-Barons like pigs, replacing his legs with six massive mechanical limbs that could shoot shrapnel and fire chem-flames, with his right arm turned into a chem-tech machine gun.
He would blow up the sewers with chem-explosives, killing thousands and plunging Zaun's undercity into chaos.
If not for injuring a Piltover merchant family representative and being imprisoned by enforcers, Urgot would have brought more chaos and fear to Zaun.
Not just Nocturne would be attracted, but the ancient terror Fiddlesticks might also follow.
Li Lin couldn't ignore such a dangerous figure.
Rubbing his chin, he smirked coldly. "You messed up and want me to clean up?"
Shoola gave an awkward smile, not daring to speak.
She knew it was her indulgence and torture of Dredge prisoners that led to this mess.
"Spit it out, what's the matter?"
"Eh? You agreed?" Shoola was stunned, then delighted.
"Cut the crap and get to the point."
"Okay, okay! The Noxian executioner is named Urgot..."
In the next two minutes, Shoola quickly recounted the events at the Dredge prison mine to Li Lin.
It matched his impressions—Urgot, tortured by other prisoners, gradually shifted his beliefs—strength wasn't the true ruler of all, fear was.
Three months ago, Urgot, brought before Shoola, was tortured with sharp blades.
But this pain meant little to someone as scarred as him.
Urgot broke free, sparing Shoola's life and sending her people back to the surface, taking over the Dredge.
Later, he crushed all spies Shoola sent to gather intelligence into meat paste.
According to the last, one-armed, traumatized, half-mad survivor, Urgot had transformed himself into a steel monster.
"Look at what you've done."
Li Lin gave Shoola a cold glare and walked away.
She hurried to catch up, stammering, "Lord, Lord Li Lin..."
"Stop following me. I'll handle it this once." Li Lin didn't look back.
Shoola's terror eased a bit. "How can I repay you?!"
Already on the elevator, Li Lin turned, staring at Shoola, and said one word:
"Oil."
(End of Chapter)
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