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Chapter 52: Escape
"Do you need me to give you mouth-to-mouth?"
Just as they reached the shore, Justin's vision was filled with a pair of slender, pale legs. Looking up, he met Jinx's smiling face. Justin felt unsure. Earlier, he had knocked Jinx out and let Ekko take her away. Considering Jinx's unpredictable nature, she might have come after him with a knife. Maybe she was thinking of blowing him up just now...
Jinx squatted down, hugging her legs, and looked seriously at Justin. "This time... I didn't mess things up, did I?"
"Of course not."
"Did I help you guys?"
"You did. Thanks to you, Vi and I managed to survive... although it got a bit messy."
"See, I was helpful! And I'll work even harder to help in the future, so please, don't abandon me again..."
Tears suddenly welled up in the girl's bright blue eyes, like a rising tide, uncontrollable. Justin hugged her tightly, momentarily at a loss for words to comfort her.
"Hey, hey, hey, can you get up first?" Isaac, who was supporting Justin from behind, had no choice but to interrupt the touching scene. "This river's water is disgusting!"
Justin climbed ashore. In just those few seconds, he felt as if he'd crossed a whole epoch. Jinx had just used the Hex crystal, something filled with vast magical energy that can be combined with technology but is extremely unstable. If the crystal's energy field is disturbed, it can cause a terrible explosion—the disaster five years ago was caused by it.
Back then, Jinx still had a Hex crystal left unused that night, which Justin took away. His initial intention was to study it, knowing the vast potential Hextech holds for the future. Yet, his intellect wasn't sufficient to understand it without a theoretical foundation. And Jinx, ever since that night, whenever she saw the Hex crystal, she'd go into a frenzy, haunted by her past mistake. Thus, the crystal was sealed away by Justin in a metal box, along with those unbearable memories, never to be opened again. Unexpectedly, Jinx had retrieved it again today and caused another explosion.
"It doesn't seem as powerful as I thought," Justin remarked suddenly.
"I think so too."
Though the thugs ambushing them were all knocked out by the explosion, and Vi's mechanical arm was shattered, Justin and Jinx's memories of past explosions felt more dreadful than what happened now. Back then, they were just kids; the painful disaster distorted their memories. Now they've grown up and realized the Hex crystal's explosion, in reality, wasn't as devastating as they remembered.
"I suddenly think... I can research Hextech now," Jinx murmured, holding Justin's hand.
"Justin, more people are coming!" Isaac's sharp ears caught the warning. "Over in the residential area... probably Silco's men again!"
"We can't stay here. Let's move."
Ekko led the way, with Jinx and Isaac supporting Justin on either side. Vi had to drag her own injured body to keep up with them. If Caitlyn were here, she might've given me a hand, Vi thought, feeling a slight sense of injustice. She was a strong girl unless she had ever been treated gently.
Silco's men were indeed numerous, relentlessly chasing them through the complex residential area. Ekko led them in retreat, but they accidentally stumbled into a dead-end alley. "Hey, hey, hey, we can't beat the boss only to die to the minions, can we?" With only one Hex crystal and their current ragtag state, breaking through seemed impossible. "Isaac, what about your illusions?" "Come on, I can't use it all the time..." Justin noticed that Isaac's signature peach-blossom eyes were already bloodshot.
Someone was catching up to them. Upon seeing them, they stopped in their tracks. "What, it's you guys...?" "Who are you?" The person took off their helmet to reveal straw-like blond hair and a face lined with scars. "I'm Hughes. You might not remember me, but I recognize you—you guys were still prisoners in Stillwater Hold not long ago." "So... are you planning to show some old kindness and let us go?" Justin felt a glimmer of hope. "No." Hughes put the helmet back on. "There are too many people around. You guys can't escape on your own. Follow me, I'll lead you out."
Justin hesitated, instinctively wary of this stranger. But they had no other choice. Could this Hughes really lead them past all the obstacles? He couldn't. Hughes had no intention of hiding; instead, he went all out, blasting a path straight through. Since he was wearing the "ally's" uniform, others were confused upon seeing him, only to be sent flying immediately after. Simple and brutal. "You're kind of impressive, brother. How come we didn't notice someone like you when we stormed the prison...?" "I was holding back then. Not just me, many prisoners weren't going all out. We were afraid of getting hurt, afraid of being abandoned." After continuous fierce battles, Hughes's helmet was broken. He turned his head, smiled at them, and the scars on his face weren't intimidating. His straw-like hair almost shone like golden sunlight. "But now, I'm not afraid."
"Are you injured?" Justin finally noticed a broken knife stuck in Hughes's left abdomen, with blood soaking through his combat suit. "It's nothing, I injected shimmer, I can't feel any pain." Hughes had a somewhat ancient heroic aura. "Strange guy," Isaac muttered quietly, earning another smile. "If you ask me, Mr. Justin is the strangest guy in the undercity."
"When I led you to break through the prison, I had some ulterior motives." "Then why insist on bringing along the injured afterward?" "That... was just a small act of kindness. But what about you? You're Silco's man, right? Leading us straight through... even if you succeed, what if Silco holds you accountable..." "This is just a small act of kindness from me. As for Silco—he's nothing!" Hughes slashed an enemy in half with a single strike. Watching the scene, the others were instantly terrified and fled in panic.
"Damn, after ten years in prison, coming out only to end up in another prison. Who is this Silco, really?" Hughes flicked the blood off his knife and shouted to Justin, "Hey, leader! When are you gonna lead us to break out of this prison again?"