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The scene was chaotic. Justin was usually pretty smart, but right now his mind was in a mess. Should he stay or leave, fight or make peace? The enforcers were also at a loss. Sheriff Musk's information was correct; Caitlyn was indeed here, but the situation seemed off. "I think we can at least reach one consensus," Justin finally thought it through and lowered his gun. "That is, we call a temporary truce, right?" "Your target is this enforcer, and we... you may not believe it, but I don't know why she's here either. Stepping on a landmine or something, it was an accident."
Justin had "sincerity" written all over his face, yet the enforcers refused to let their guard down. This guy had just caused them significant harm. People from the undercity couldn't be trusted. "Lower your weapons first," Caitlyn remained calm. "I'm fine. You all should pull back... no, just head back." "Huh?" Both sides were taken aback. Is she out of her mind? "I'll write a letter for you to take to my mother, explaining the situation. It's safe here. I'll return by myself in a few days." Safe? Seriously? Do you even see what's at your feet? We broke through an entire line of fire to find you! And now you want us to leave?
"Stop it. We're arranging for someone to clear the mines now, and then we'll head back! Your mother is worried sick." "Whether I go back or not is my own choice," Caitlyn, who had been "approachable" earlier, now showed a bit of her privileged side. "Besides, how can you justify deploying so much police force just for me? The primary duty of an enforcer is to ensure the safety of Piltover, isn't it? Don't waste time and resources on me."
Do you think we wanted this...? The enforcers exchanged glances, unable to refute Caitlyn's words. Especially since Sheriff Musk was still recovering in the hospital, Caitlyn didn't have a direct superior here, so no one could order her back to the team or home. Oh well, pressing on would only lead to more casualties. Honestly, if it weren't for Caitlyn's mother applying pressure, no one would've come to the undercity to retrieve her. The lead enforcer waved his hand, and everyone exited the café together.
"What exactly do you mean by this?" Justin looked at Caitlyn, filled with suspicion. He hadn't recognized her and thought maybe this enforcer lady had been held captive too long and fallen into Stockholm syndrome. "Why do you want to stay?" Vi also didn't understand. "Although I've caused a lot of trouble this time," Caitlyn sighed, "if I return, with my mother's temper, she'd definitely ground me and might not even let me be an enforcer anymore."
Caitlyn turned to look at Vi, her expression already quite telling. Vi, however, failed to catch on, staring with her "innocent" wide eyes and scratching her head cluelessly. "Uh..." Justin looked at Vi, then at Caitlyn, suddenly realizing, "You're Caitlyn?" "Yes, I am." Caitlyn was a bit confused as to how he knew her name. "This is really..." Justin twitched his lips. He knew in the original timeline Vi and Caitlyn had a connection, but he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly. How did Vi manage it in just a few days?
"Of course, there's another, more important reason," Caitlyn continued. "After becoming an enforcer, I discovered that ninety percent of the criminals in the upper city are residents from the undercity. Why can't they find proper jobs and instead choose a life of crime?"
"Perhaps it's because of the lack of order here? In the undercity, those hooligans seem completely oblivious to respect and dare to use violence at will, even against enforcers." Caitlyn was indeed frightened by Barrett and their behavior earlier. In broad daylight, they dared to attack uniformed, credentialed enforcers—even Vi's group was the same. Although she saw Vi as a good person, Vi's understanding of the law was indeed lacking.
"So why do you think there's a lack of order here?" Justin asked.
"My colleagues tell me that the residents of the undercity are naturally violent," Caitlyn paused and added, "But I think everyone is born the same; what influences them are education and environment. The lack of order and admiration of violence here may be because... there are no enforcers? After all, the enforcer headquarters is in the upper city, and the environment in the undercity is so harsh that no one wants to come here. No control leads to chaos, right?"
"If even high-paid enforcers aren't willing to come here, why do you think the residents would want to stay in such a life-shortening place and live law-abiding lives?" Justin spread his hands, leaving Caitlyn to think.
Caitlyn was taken aback at first, then frowned. "There's toxic gas in the undercity; they could try to move to the upper city or work hard to build this place and change the environment. A bad living environment shouldn't be an excuse for crime."
"You sure are a genius..." Justin shook his head, not bothering to argue further.
"Of course, that's just my guess," though Caitlyn was slightly naive in this aspect, at least she wasn't self-righteous. "So I want to explore and see the undercity for myself. Only by understanding it deeply can we find the root cause of the high crime rate, right?"
"Yes, practice makes perfect." Justin nodded, then shifted the topic. "But before that, you need to address what's beneath your feet. Otherwise, you might lose the ability to 'explore and see.'"
The atmosphere suddenly froze. Caitlyn had accidentally stepped on a landmine—fortunately, it was a type that only detonates upon lifting a foot; otherwise, Caitlyn would already be gone.
"What should we do? Can this thing be defused?" Vi anxiously looked at Justin. Justin calmly turned to Jinx, who coldly replied, "Don't know, not sure, can't diffuse."
Justin shrugged, "She says she can't."
In reality, no one knew if she truly could defuse it—either way, Jinx seemed to want Caitlyn dead and would claim not to know even if she did.
"Let me handle it. I've read the field manuals distributed at the police academy..." It turns out, reading more can be beneficial. But sometimes the truth will slap you in the face, showing that just reading books isn't very helpful. First, Caitlyn needed to squat down—a difficult move for her now. The psychological tension and physical exhaustion prevented her from accurately controlling her muscles, her entire body trembling as she slowly squatted. Even the landmine beneath her feet made a ticking sound from the vibrations. Justin and Jinx both stepped back half a pace simultaneously.