Chapter 115: The Leader in Hilco's Eyes
The other side.
Zaun, Black Alley, Fulgrim's Tavern.
This was once the home of Vandal and his two daughters.
After Van der Leyen's "death", Hilco inherited one of his daughters and also inherited the bar.
As in Vandal's time, this is still the center of Zaun and the lair of Zaun leader Shilko.
Unlike in Vandel's time, the current Fulgrim's Tavern is much more bustling and noisy.
Most of the Zaun people gathered here were gang thugs affiliated with Xierko. They boasted recklessly in the bar, drank, cursed, and knocked back bottles of dregs.
When having fun, they even sing loudly and noisily.
Mrs. Piltover's favorite song over the past month has been Symphony No. 5 in C minor.
After Levi released this song under the name of Seraphine, Seraphine's status in the music industry skyrocketed from "genius singer" to the level of "Music Saint of Piltover".
The people of Zaun also like this powerful melody that is unyielding to fate, but the symphony in the Golden Hall of Piltover is still too elegant for these rough guys.
What they like more is a pop song released by the talented singer Seraphine in her first solo album:
"All of them are brave."
"The wound on your forehead, your differences, the mistakes you made..."
The people of Zaan really love this song "The Lone Brave".
The gangsters who gathered at the Fulgrim bar could sing, and the Zaun workers who passed by outside the bar could sing.
Even if you just play a tune on the street, even the 5 or 6 year old kids can immediately follow the "secret code".
So the singing in the bar became louder and louder...
The noise was so loud that it disturbed Hilco who was reading in the office upstairs.
“It’s this song again…”
Xierko put down the book in his hand and frowned slightly:
That song is good, but it is a Piltover song after all.
After that, facing Piltover, these children and young people who grew up listening to the Piltover song, will they still have the determination to fight... "Fight? Fight, with the loneliest dream..."
"To the sobs and roars in the darkness, who says that only those standing in the light are heroes..."
Well, he couldn't help but sing along.
There's no way, this song is too catchy . It seems that the author wrote it specifically for the people of Zaun.
No...Silko even inexplicably felt that this song was written for him, for him and Jinx.
This song "The Lone Brave Man" is really to his taste.
But the person who wrote the "Song of Zaun" happened to be from Piltover.
"Seraphone, the leader..."
Silko's thoughts could not help but return to the booklet in his hand - "A Brief Account of Janna's Thoughts"
Because a set of music tapes was given for free when any music tape was purchased, this booklet became the most popular and best-selling book in the Twin Cities in just one month.
Hilco's rough subordinates were dismissive of the booklet.
But Hilco loves to read.
He also understood what this book "A Brief Account of Janna's Thoughts" was about.
Many of the theories in it made him realize and agree with them, and made him obsessed with them and unable to put them down.
So after the singing gradually died down, without realizing it, Hilco began to read the booklet attentively again.
Until someone knocked on the door looking for him.
"Hilco." A strong woman with mechanical prosthetic limbs broke into the office.
She is Sevika, Hilco's most trusted subordinate.
As soon as Sevika pushed the door open, she said loudly: "Silco, you have to take care of your adopted 'little pet'. She has gone completely crazy now..."
She spoke very loudly at first, and then gradually became softer.
Because Hilco was reading so hard that he didn't even pay attention to her.
Only after Sevika had suppressed her anger and calmly sat down at her desk did Hilco raise his head slightly and ask:
"Sevika, I asked you to send someone to Piltover to investigate the situation of Wind Leader. Is there any result?"
Hilco didn't respond to her previous words at all, and just asked in his own way.
"Well... I was just about to report to you." Sevika's expression gradually became serious: "In the past two weeks, we have sent three spies to sneak into Piltover to secretly investigate the situation of the Wind Leader."
"Two of the three sent back messages, claiming that they had successfully joined the Wind Leader's peripheral organization, the Wind Chaser Association..."
"Oh?" Hilco became interested: " What information did they send back?"
"They sent back a formal statement of withdrawal from the gang, saying that they would cut ties with all old gangs that exploited people, and from now on serve as the reserve army of the Leaders, fighting for the great ideals of Canaism."
Hilco: “…”
"What about the third spy?" he asked helplessly.
"The third person is already the official leader. He was the one who developed the first two traitors."
Hilco: “…”
"Silco." Sevika's face was solemn: "I think the Leader Association is a bit weird."
"Perhaps the rumors in Piltover are true. They must have some evil brainwashing magic in their hands. So if a person gets along with them for a long time, he will become a madman like them."
"Brainwashing..." Silko's gaze quietly fell back on the booklet in his hand, the "Brief Account of Janna's Thought".
"Maybe this isn't brainwashing. Their ideas and theories are indeed very contagious—"
"Especially to the Zaun people."
As Hilco said this, Sevika finally noticed what her boss was looking at.
“Are you reading their books too?”
Seeing that the eldest brother was not only reading the leader's book, but also seemed to approve of it, Sevika couldn't help but look worried:
"Silco, those leaders are definitely not good people. You..."
"I know." Hilco slowly closed the book and put it aside.
Then he said leisurely: "I agree with their theory, but I don't agree with their practice."
"Of course, I would not be stupid enough to consider these leaders as my friends."
Silko has carefully studied this book, "A Brief Account of Janna's Thought".
He deeply agreed with the content that explained the what and why.
But when it came to the part of "how to do it", Hilco just couldn't agree with it no matter what.
Talking about "gentle struggle" and "non-violent non-cooperation" to the people of Piltover?
What a joke!
Isn't this Vandal's previous spineless compromise policy?
He knelt on the ground to show his loyalty, enduring the bullying of the Piltover people, while struggling desperately to fight for the few leftovers left by them.
The people of Zaan have had enough of days like this!
Hilko was a staunch supporter of armed struggle. In order to realize his ideal of leading Zaun to independence through armed struggle, he even broke with Fandel and killed his best friend with his own hands.
There was no way he could approve of the moderate reform line advocated by the leader.
And more importantly…
It would be fine if the leader only promoted non-violence and non-cooperation.
"When they talked about Piltover, they called on everyone to be honest, patient, and to practice 'non-violent non-cooperation.'"
“When it comes to Zaun, they clearly tell everyone in the book that we must use force to resist oppression and defeat the Chem-Baron—”
"What's the intention?"
Anti-capitalist, after reading the booklet, Hilco also somewhat agreed with it.
Even if he himself is the Alchemy Baron and the Ziben family.
But you, the leader, are only against "Zuan capital", not "Piltover capital", you are only against Zaun Barons, not Piltover merchants...
What the hell does this mean?
Are the Piltover chaebols no longer the Ziben family? Should they be treated with respect? These hypocritical hypocrites, smiling tigers who eat people without leaving any bones, are obviously no cleaner than the Alchemist Barons!
In Levi's opinion, this is the leader keeping a low profile, developing in a low profile, and eating one bite at a time.
Given Zaan's "much-martial" social environment, if he wrote about "non-violent non-cooperation", it would not be a cover-up, but a blatant insult to the readers' intelligence.
So he could only write like this.
But from Hilco's perspective:
It is clear is cheering for Piltover in disguise, trying to instigate infighting among the Zaun people and use the Zaun people's own blood to drive out the gang leaders who are the only ones capable of organizing the Zaun people to fight for independence.
"Don't forget... behind the Leader are Midarda and Jiraman." Sevika added this silently.
An organization founded in Piltover and funded by Piltover Senators...
Isn't this definitely an extraterritorial force?
Are the Piltover councillors funding such an organization in order to use them to split Zaun and plunge Zaun, which has finally united and is preparing to fight for independence, into endless infighting again?
Could it be that Levi, the leader of the Windwarkers, is simply a spy secretly supported by the Piltover Council?
Hilco couldn't help but think of this.
"Leader..."
"Are you the second Vander, or the Hound of Piltover?"
"Or..." He thought of a third possibility: "Is it a more extreme 'me'?"
