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"Isaac, you should retreat too; staying here is meaningless." Justin's words received no response, yet it was a critical moment where any further delay could be fatal. Justin turned his head and urged, "Let's not be so wishy-washy... dammit, where did he go?" Alright, this guy's readiness for sacrifice is unusually high. Justin felt a bit relieved; now he and Vi were the only ones left on this battlefield.
"As they say, you can't always walk by the river without getting your shoes wet... Should've known better than to wade into these murky waters." Back-to-back with Vi, Justin and she weren't fending off enemies on all sides but supporting each other to stand. "Stop complaining, the fight's not over yet." Vi strained herself to keep going, though she couldn't even form a proper fist now.
"Silco will definitely take an interest in you two," Evica said, rubbing her neck. Despite her waning stamina, the shimmer allowed her to unleash her peak combat abilities by overextending her life — the outcome seemed inevitable. "What, still thinking of resisting? If you surrender, at least you won't die." Hearing this, Justin and Vi perked up: "We surren--" "Never!"
Justin and Vi exchanged awkward glances, seeing that determined look in her eyes, Justin conceded, "Alright, getting caught by Silco isn't a good fate either. Being forced to inject shimmer is worse than dying in battle. I'll be romantic for once today, die in good company!" "Foolish decision," Evica shook her head and swung a punch. Luckily, the punch missed slightly, just barely allowing Justin and Vi to dodge.
Due to the shimmer, has it weakened her control over her body...? Justin and Vi seemed to see a glimmer of hope, though for now, all they could do was evade... but what if a chance arose? No one noticed the melodious and unique flute music quietly rising on the battlefield, like an invisible hand plucking at the strings of fate.
Ekko, with Jinx on his back, was speeding straight towards the Wildfire Gang's headquarters, noticing a stir behind him: "Powder, you're awake?" "First, call me Jinx." Even before Ekko turned his head, he felt the cold barrel of a gun pressed against his temple. "Second..." "Justin told me, I can't let you go back!" Ekko quickly spoke up. "No, turn left, I want to go home." Contrary to Ekko's expectation of an excited outburst, Jinx remained calm — if one ignored the gun pressed against Ekko's forehead.
It was hard to decide if it was the boundless potential of humans or mere luck. Exhausted as they were, they managed to dodge enemy attacks repeatedly. They were like slippery eels — indeed, the miss rate was extremely high. Even so, if the fighting continued, they would either be beaten to death or exhaust themselves. Caitlyn's support was out of the question, Justin took a careful look at the surroundings, and escape through the river seemed like a promising option. Yet, Justin couldn't swim. This third-rate strategist had maneuvered himself into a deadlock.
It was unfortunate Vi was such a hothead, or else another could have escaped. Justin had come alone and, it seemed, would traverse the Yellow Springs solo as well. Justin was ultimately caught by Evica; with a simple throw, he hit the ground like a ragdoll, unable to muster the strength to rise again.
"Why? I planned every step so carefully..." Justin suddenly felt an urge to cry. He knew he didn't possess the strength to take on thousands alone, nor did he have the intellect for flawless schemes. He didn't have some kind of special system, so what was he supposed to do? All he could do was remain cautious all the time, paying attention everywhere. But in the end, it all came down to a laughing and crying matter, a coincidence that led him to such a predicament. Who could have thought that their impromptu plan to hijack a batch of Shimmer would land them directly in a trap?
Did he make a wrong decision somewhere? Ah, his head hurt; he couldn't figure it out. It shows that human ability has its limits. No matter how much one trains and grows, it can't match the power of machines, and no matter how much cunning one has, unexpected moments can disrupt it all. Unless...
Justin's head was about to explode from the pain, high pressure in his skull causing his eyes to bleed, blurring his vision and dimming the light. There was only one thing in the dark world emitting a cheap and faint glow. The bait that lured them here, the cargo soon to be sent to the upper city, giving people brief fantasies and strength: Shimmer.
Justin instinctively detested this stuff. Shimmer isn't just a simple stimulant that grants power by overextending the body's potential. It makes you addicted, drives your desires, twists your mind. Yet, in his despair, he suddenly found that this stuff seemed to be his last hope.
"Justin!!!" A familiar shout seemed to come from the heavens. Justin lifted his head, suddenly feeling as if the entire world had illuminated. This was the border between the upper and lower town, where the pollution cloud was relatively thin. The sun had torn through that cloud, and more dazzling than the sunlight was the girl frantically waving at him. She was his real light.
Seeing Jinx, Justin smiled involuntarily, only realizing after a moment: "Jinx! What are you doing back here? Get out now!"
"I'm here to save you!" The girl threw a small object from above, and as Justin squinted to see it clearly...
"Goddammit!" Seeing that blue stone, Justin immediately snapped into action, scrambling towards the bridge. Dying at Sevikka's hands would at least leave a whole corpse, but death by this thing meant not even bones would remain!
"Vi! Jump into the river, quick!" "What is that..." Sevikka looked up at the freely falling little stone, puzzled. She didn't recognize a hex crystal nor was aware of its destructive power. Instead, under some influence, as if bewitched, she reached out to catch it...
"Boom!!!" An explosion resounded through Piltover, the shockwave clearing the entire battlefield instantly, even pushing Justin, who had jumped into the river. Of course, they'd have to worry about the explosion later; the more pressing concern was... he couldn't swim!
"Gurgle… gurgle…" Justin flailed underwater, believing he was going to drown when suddenly, he saw a graceful figure taking hold of him and swimming upwards.
"Isaac? It's really you?" Surfacing, Justin stared at him in surprise. "I thought you left long ago?"
"Fool, I've been by your side all along," Isaac's eyes filled with helplessness. "It's just that you didn't realize it."