prynovel Chapter 43 Even if it's just once...
Chapter 43 Even if it's just once...
Looking at the girl in front of him, who had been injected with a hypnotic drug, remained unconscious, and whose head was covered, Hilko fell into an unusually helpless silence.
Logically, he should be happy now.
Because of this girl who had fallen into a coma, and whose life and death were entirely in his hands.
It was Heli who forced Marcos to use his position to kidnap Prisoner 516, Jinx's unforgettable sister, who witnessed everything nine years ago...
蔚！
Driven by his inner panic and under the threat of force from Hilco, Marcos completely backed down in the latter half of the secret talks.
He and Hilco reached a fundamentally unequal agreement—Marcos would be responsible for immediately bringing Vi out of Stillwater Prison and handing her over to Hilco; while Hilco would be responsible for dealing with Vi, who posed a threat to both of them, and ensuring that Marcos could remain in his position as sheriff.
The unfair part is that Marcos was originally only worried that Jinx would expose the secret of his rise to power and affect his career.
But after he lost his mind and went to have a secret talk with Hilco, Marcos ended up handing over his weakness to Hilco, who was far more dangerous than Jinx!
What happened after that was beyond his control.
For his own benefit, Hilco made Marcos hand over Vi to him.
Marcos dared not disobey him, so he could only send his men into Stillwater Prison, inject Vi, who was living in cell 516, with a hypnotic drug, and then obediently hand Vi over to Hillco.
As for the mysterious Reef Squad, neither Marcos nor Hillco knew them at all.
Because the "bait" mentioned by the Reef Squad had already been quietly taken away by Marcos's men before they even reached the fifth-floor cell block...
Hielco could now proceed with his original plan, leaving no trace, and simply dump Vi in a stinking ditch in Zaun to destroy the evidence, thus completely eliminating the last remaining threat to his "father-daughter relationship" with Jinx.
Meanwhile, the foolish Marcos, with just a little manipulation, could be completely turned into a loyal puppet of Hilkoza in Piltover.
It's no exaggeration to say that if Hilco wanted to, he could kill Vi at any time and then firmly control Marcos, who no longer dared to disobey him.
This is exactly what Hilcone wanted to see, but why...?
But I'm hesitating.
Unable to answer the question, Hilko simply closed his eyes and pressed a finger hard against his forehead.
He chased away everyone else and stayed alone with the unconscious Wei.
Those with inside knowledge were speculating whether Hilko was planning what cruel method to use to kill Vi.
But only Hilko himself knew that he felt no relief at all; on the contrary, he felt as if he was carrying an immense burden and was too tired to move.
Those fragments of words, already deeply imprinted on his soul, were replaying in his mind—
"I'm also very troubled. I wonder if giving birth to her was a mistake..."
"...I'd be willing to risk getting blisters all over my hands from working on the riverbed."
"Both of you... for me, and for her."
"For the sake of Zuan."
Unconsciously, Hilko began to mutter to himself as if in a dream, as if trying to recount their spirited conversation from that time.
He raced through his memories, crashing and creating waves of turmoil.
Finally, the scene froze, stopping at the tall, imposing man, with a cautious expression, tentatively asking the beautiful purple-haired woman:
"What do you think of the name... Violet?"
Boom-!
Hilko suddenly raised his head and swung his hand, throwing something off the table!
He was panting heavily, like a drowning person who had just been pulled ashore, struggling to steady his swaying body.
Until he caught his breath.
"It sounds nice."
Hilko muttered to himself, as if answering an outdated question.
He dared not close his eyes again, afraid that the intrusive memories would come back, and could only stare blankly at the motionless Wei.
The good news is that he can now observe this girl, who should also carry his inner hopes, without any constraints or blind spots.
But the bad news is that as the old memories faded, a fresh Aaron's face began to slowly emerge.
Hilko seemed to hear the words the boy had said when he first argued with her because of Jinx—
"Couldn't you at least set a good example just once and have a positive influence on Jinx?"
"She's not sick, nor is she a tool for your revenge. You just want to split her soul in two and kill the half that's detrimental to you!"
"Have you considered whether Jinx would accept herself as she is if you achieved your goal?"
"No, that won't work on you."
"I should ask you, have you ever considered whether I would be willing to accept you doing that kind of thing?"
"..."
Hilko felt even heavier.
He unconsciously hunched over, propping his head up with his elbows, a stark contrast to his usual appearance.
Compared to the conversations in her memory, Aaron's questions, which still echoed in her ears, were clearly more damaging.
Because Hilko realized that she really couldn't answer the question...
He continued to stare blankly at Wei.
I don't know at what particular moment, but as if imitating the burly man in my memory, he also tentatively began to speak:
"I think you must hate me, right?"
As soon as he finished speaking, even Hilko himself was startled.
He had no idea why he spoke, let alone why he spoke to the unconscious Wei; he only felt a strange, inexplicable stirring within him.
It took him a while to realize his lapse in composure.
He stood up, walked silently to Wei's side, hesitated for a long time, and then gently placed his hand on Wei's tightly clenched fist.
"Aaron is actually right."
Hilcone withdrew his hand, as if he had unloaded a non-existent burden—
"I could easily set an example just once."
……
For the first time, Sevika harbored some resentment towards Hilco.
She couldn't understand why Hilko, who was usually so decisive and efficient, was dawdling around in his room.
As a true confidante of Hillco, Sevika was fully aware of the deal between Hillco and Marcos, and also knew that Vi was currently in Hillco's hands.
Then why hesitate?
Why not just kill him?
Sevika sighed, turned and walked toward the backyard of the Fugen Tavern, deciding to stay away from Hilko's closed office.
Out of sight, out of mind.
From an emotional perspective, Sevika highly regards her former "Black Hound" Vander and never hides her experience of following him.
Logically, she shouldn't expect Hilco to kill Vander's orphan at this time.
But just as she had abandoned Vander and actively switched allegiance to Hilcó, matters of the heart were always a trouble Sevika tried hard to avoid.
She only felt that Zaun was getting better and better, and that Hilko's rule and management were becoming more and more stable, which did not betray her initial choice.
Since that's the case, Wei, who might ruin this great situation, no matter what past ties she has with him, she wants to get rid of him as soon as possible!
If Hilcone were prepared to show some rare mercy at this moment...
Sevika sensed that she was bound to be greatly disappointed.
"Sigh, I wonder how Aaron and the others are doing. I hope they haven't really fallen for the Piltover girls."
Holding her wine glass, Sevika made a joke, but her thoughts involuntarily drifted further afield.
She thought of Aaron.
She believed that if Aaron were with Hilko now, he would definitely advise Hilko to make the right decision.
Because past experiences have proven Aaron's excellence and his forward-thinking vision in many things.
Moreover, the "little inventions" that swept through Zaun over the past nine years, and which even other cities specifically requested to purchase, fully demonstrate Aaron's importance to the entire Zaun.
Therefore, in Sevika's mind, her reasons for following Hilko, like everyone else's, had inevitably added a new one—
No matter what Hilko does, Aaron has to take over.
Only in this way can everyone feel at ease!
"Heh, don't let your silence fool you, I know you've got a lot of grudges against Hilko, I can tell!"
Sevika took another swig of wine and whistled, clearly a little drunk.
She developed a deep admiration for Aaron two years ago.
When Aaron heard that Hilcor and Singed were going to use the luminous agent as an energy source to equip Sevika's robotic arm, he rushed into the laboratory in a great hurry.
Sevika, who was lying on the operating table, ready to undergo unconditional modification, only saw Aaron burst in and excitedly tell Hilko and Singed, "Your idea is groundbreaking."
Then, upon discovering that the actual situation was not like that at all, but rather the same old trick of roughly injecting the luminous agent into people's bodies, they changed their tune in an instant and strongly opposed doing so.
Sevika vividly remembered what Aaron said back then.
"The idea of unleashing human potential is not wrong, but if we are so short-sighted as to treat glimmers of light as a 'panacea' that can be abused, then we are truly letting down the entire Zaun."
"After so many years of development, even if you desperately need that kind of 'inferior product' with both strong efficacy and strong side effects, shouldn't you at least develop a version that might not be as potent, but also has fewer side effects?"
"Simply focusing on the immediate present while ignoring the long-term future—how is this any different from what the Piltover people did back then!"
goo-dong-
Thinking of this, Sevika couldn't help but take another swig of wine, feeling a sense of purpose in life.
Her wine glass was empty, but a quick-thinking bartender nearby noticed and ran to the backyard to refill it for her.
"Hey, you always manage to spout some profound truths that even intimidate Hilko."
Sevika then exchanged another message with Aaron from a distance.
She raised her glass, as if offering a toast from afar.
After the argument that erupted in the laboratory, the modification surgery that was supposed to be installed on Sevika's robotic arm had to be stopped.
Singed remained silent for a long time before finally taking out a vial of light pink potion and handing it to Aaron.
No one knows what Aaron did in the next two days, but three days later, Sevika received a joint invitation from Aaron and Singed to modify her mechanical arm again.
The results of that modification were recently tested in the great battle between Sevika and the armored monster.
Aside from Aaron, who knew the enemy's weaknesses, Sevika was one of the few who went head-to-head with those monsters and even took down several of them.
"Tomorrow is Piltover's Progress Day."
"Although not many Piltover folks are good, the little girl from the other day didn't burp... not bad."
Sevika, her eyes glazed with intoxication, gazed at the shimmering moon and couldn't help but utter some tender words from her heart:
"You, along with that troublemaker, will probably have to stay in Piltover with them tomorrow."
"This is fine too."
"You guys have fun for a day, then come back after Hilko has dealt with that problem. After that, you won't have to... huh?"
Sevika suddenly stopped speaking frankly.
Because she saw something unusual.
At first, she thought she was seeing things, but after rubbing her eyes hard, she realized she wasn't mistaken.
Under the cover of night, a steel monster flew almost silently across the sky!
It's like a giant.
His chest and torso were full of strong, crisp straight lines, while his hands, feet, and limbs had streamlined curves, making no attempt to conceal the explosive power that was immediately apparent.
And the direction it flew was towards the Fugen Tavern where Sevika was!
"No, this thing..."
Sevika suspected she was really drunk.
Because if she remembered correctly, the "giant" in front of her was the same one that had been sitting quietly in the corner of the backyard for six or seven years, and had been scrapped...
thump—
The "giant" landed rather hastily, making quite a loud noise.
Sevika only saw the cockpit door at the front open, and then the familiar blue-haired girl spotted her immediately, and then, for the first time ever, shouted at her:
"Sevika!"
"Please, save him!"