Twin Cities: I am the man of many myths

Chapter 271 Meeting, Regarding the Five Seats of the Federation
"Just as we thought, Swain did indeed choose to win over Demacia, and began negotiating with several countries in private, attempting to unite them to contain us."

In the underground conference room of Zaun, Lenata stood upright beside Hilko, like a secretary, holding intelligence gathered by her spies, and spoke softly.

Upon hearing this, Hilko nodded noncommittally, then looked at Rick.

Hilko wasn't surprised by Swain's actions, because if he were in Swain's position, he would most likely have made the same choice.

Li Ke once said that Hilko and Swain are very similar in many ways. They both tend to think about things in extremes and then make a seemingly feasible, and indeed feasible, path that actually harms others and themselves.

"Ah, I understand."

Rick rubbed his eyes, his face full of fatigue as he looked at Hilko. He yawned and leaned lazily against the wall.

Li Ke was very tired during this time, and so was Taliyah, the little girl whom Li Ke had abducted from Shurima. During this period, she was the most important person in both the upper and lower cities.

Taliyah's current position is even more important than Janna's. The first step in land reclamation is to dredge the silt from the seabed. With the technology of the Twin Cities, it's not that they can't go deep into the sea.

Ike recently developed the Hextech Shield, a small device that can be embedded in clocks and pocket watches, and can release magic to protect himself with just a press.

The magic barrier is quite resilient. After a simple test, it was found to be able to withstand attacks from Hextech rifles from all directions within a range of fifty meters. Therefore, with that thing, the workers can go deep into the ocean to carry out their work.

However, compared to Taliyah's use of magic, that speed was far too slow.

The mud that hundreds of people dug out of the seabed over ten days was nowhere near as fast or as much as the soft seabed mud that Taliya moved by casting magic twice with her hand.

Therefore, Taliyah is currently busy helping out in Zaun. Although many people didn't know what this young girl did at first, now everyone knows that whether the new Zaun can be successfully built depends on Taliyah. So Taliyah is very popular among the people of Zaun recently.

Piltover also extended goodwill to Taliyah, jokingly saying that whether you're in business or science, who wouldn't be envious of Taliyah's abilities?

This girl is a multi-functional crane, okay?

Therefore, Taliyah is experiencing both pain and joy in Zaun. She is happy because she has found a sense of belonging in Zaun. Yes, although Taliyah has loving parents, she lacks a sense of belonging in her tribe because her magic is too powerful. She comes out to train in order to master her magic and then return to her tribe to help her people.

The painful thing is that she's exhausted. She's just too exhausted. If it weren't for Lux recharging Taliyah, she would be mana-depleted five days a week.
Zaun is not inhuman. Taliyah only needs to work five days a week, with a working time of 7-10 hours each day, and Saturdays and Sundays are allowed for her to rest.

Therefore, if she hadn't been treated to lavish meals and hadn't had enough rest, Taliyah would likely have lost a lot of weight during this period.

She's actually super thin!

She's even thinner than Jinx. Taliyah and Jinx are about the same height, but Taliyah is actually about six kilograms thinner than Jinx, which is twelve pounds. This is because Jinx looks thin, but in reality, Jinx has a lean and muscular physique.

Her thighs are full and powerful, her arm muscles are clearly defined, and even when she poses in a bodybuilding style, Jinx's back also has muscle definition.

That makes sense. Jinx is a girl who spends her days hammering heavy objects with a wrench and moving iron and ore to develop weapons. How could she not build muscle?

“Don’t worry too much. Didn’t we know from the beginning that Swain would do something like this?” Rick leaned on the table, looked at Hilko, and continued, “We’ve known about this since the first time we went to Noxus.”

"That's true, but if Demacia really joins forces with Noxus, it will indeed cause us considerable trouble." Hielko sighed, rubbing his temples, and continued softly:

"Now I finally understand why we humans have never been able to become the masters of Runeterra."

Humanity has spent tens of thousands of years evolving, splitting, uniting, merging, and waging war.
Why has it never been the master of Runeterra?
This is right here—

With a formidable enemy at hand, and even though they clearly knew how powerful the Void was and how dangerous Runeterra's future enemies would be, they still managed to sabotage the Twin Cities at this critical juncture.

Angry?
That's not the case, because Hilco has long been well aware of the complexities of human nature.

Moreover, from Swain's perspective, it's not surprising that he would make such a choice, because if he waited until the Void issue was resolved before trying to suppress the Twin Cities, it would be too late.

Because at that time, the two cities had already fully developed in terms of strength, reputation, and power, and Swain and Noxus could not resist them.

Therefore, he could only choose to launch an attack at this time, to make advance arrangements and lay the groundwork for the future.

"Relax, didn't Demacia refuse?" Li Ke chuckled, also expressing his surprise at the matter: "But this surprised me quite a bit. I originally thought that Demacia was stubborn and conservative, and that even if Jarvan III disagreed with the cooperation with Noxus due to his stance, he would still do the same thing as Noxus."

"But I never expected that the old emperor would actually persuade Swain. Not only did he refuse Swain's request, but he also sided with us in everything. When the Federation issued a policy, Demacia was the first place to implement it. This was really beyond my expectations."

“Indeed, Jarvan III is almost sixty years old now, isn’t he?” Mel nodded and continued, “It’s truly remarkable that someone in such a high position can still have such thoughts and decisions at his age.”

Mel praised Jarvan III, and she truly thought it was remarkable that he could make such decisive decisions at his age.

According to investigations by Piltover's spies, Jarvan III has even been secretly working to abolish forbidden magic. What does this mean? It means that Jarvan III is committed to changing Demacia's centuries-old founding principles.

He is now rebuilding the foundation of Demacia!
To outsiders, forbidden magic is nothing but garbage, but in Demacia, where forbidden magic is the norm, the Demacians naturally don't see it that way. They firmly believe in the convenience that forbidden magic brings them. At this time, Jarvan III wanted to reform forbidden magic, and this determination made Mel very admire him.

Because this reminded Mel of her own mother; if her mother had the same mindset and abilities as Jarvan III, she wouldn't have ended up like this.
"What's so great about that?" Jess muttered under his breath. He felt a little jealous when Mel praised Jarvan III and saw the expression on his face.

Mel had never used that expression to say he was amazing.
Not on any occasion!
“However, we do need to do something to put Swain’s mind at ease.” Li Ke thought for a moment and then continued, “How about this, the Federation will be set up with five seats in the future, with the Twin Cities as the first, Demacia as the second, and then Noxus, Freljord, and Ionia.”

"When making a decision, the chief has two votes, the other seats have one vote each, and each of the five seats has a veto power. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Hilko immediately objected. He felt that Rick's idea was inappropriate and said, "Having voting rights is fine, but I disagree with giving them veto power." "Their vision is too narrow. They always focus too much on their own small territory. Giving them veto power will only hinder our development and the future development of Runeterra," Hilko said coldly.

Once upon a time, both Demacia and Noxus were great nations that Hillco looked up to, but now the situation has reversed, and now Demacia and Noxus have to act according to his wishes.

Hilcone has many flaws, but he also has a great strength: he adapts to his role very quickly.

Like now.

But Mel had a different idea than Hilco. After thinking for a moment, Mel said:
“I think it’s feasible. Let’s put some restrictions on their veto power. For example, any place that wants to use the veto power must pay the Federation two years’ worth of Hextech crystal tax. I don’t think they will refuse this proposal. It’s just that while they are exercising their rights to protect their own interests, they will also have to return some of the benefits that Twin Cities gave them.”

Mel stood up, placing her hands on the table. A beautiful gold ring adorned her dark wrists. With a smile, she continued, "I understand what Councilor Hilko means. Centralization is important. Although we don't have the idea of ​​conquering the world, if we want to change it, we can't give up power. But we have to reassure them and give them the 'weapons' to limit us, don't we?"

Hilko's eyes flickered. He took out his cigar box and placed it on the table, wanting to smoke one, but then he thought about the current situation—it wasn't just the Zaunites having a meeting—and so he refrained from doing so.

“If that’s the case, I agree to give them veto power,” Hilko said after a moment’s thought.

Hilco understood what Mel meant.

Give them a weapon and make them believe that it can protect them, but in reality, Shuangcheng handed over the weapon voluntarily. The material and lethality are all determined by Shuangcheng.

Li Ke also laughed, his fatigue dissipating considerably. He looked up at Mel and said teasingly, "Anyway, we decide how the rules are played, right?"

Mel was also smiling. She nodded and said, "Yes, that's exactly what I meant."

"Alright, it's decided then. Send the message to all regions. The land reclamation project is almost complete. In a few weeks, Zaun will be relocated to the new land. Let them witness the changes in Zaun and finalize this matter."

"Who should we invite? How do we choose?" Victor, who had been silent all along, asked.

He disliked politics, but as an indispensable figure in the twin cities, he was naturally present at such important occasions.

Viktor came to replace Professor Heimerdinger. Since semi-retiring, Science Poppy has stopped interfering in the policies of the two cities. Heimerdinger used to like to interfere in order to maintain the peace between the two cities. He didn't want the Piltover people and Zaun people to actually fight.

He wasn't greedy for power, and now, while the people of the two cities might not be entirely united, they were at least on the same page when it came to external threats. Naturally, Heimerdinger no longer clung to the power he held onto.

He now prefers to stay in his lab as a cat, tinkering with dangerous weapons.

It's ridiculous that he was the one who most opposed developing Hextech weapons.

“Okay, then it’s settled. I’ll ask Taliya to speed things up a bit more. Let her work a little harder, and give her half a day off a week. Once this period of hard work is over, everything will be completed before the local leaders arrive.” Li Ke stood up and said.

“Understood. I will issue the order as soon as I get back, inviting leaders from all countries to Twin Cities. The date will be January of 991. What do you think?” Mel said.

"Isn't it a bit too rushed? They'll definitely be very busy after the New Year. Are you sure they'll come?"

Jayce snorted and said, "Busy? As busy as us? Kai'Sa is helping Singed research Void creatures with a group of Shurima scholars, Jinx and Ekko are developing the latest weapons with their teams, Viktor and I are working on the latest communication tools, not to mention you guys, do you have any less to do than them? Right now, even Zephyr is acting as a human power plant on the coast!"

Jess said directly, "No matter how busy they are, they have to come!"

“They’ll come after the New Year,” Hilko said.

"Then it's decided. Well, let's call it a day."

Seeing that the meeting was almost over, Li Ke spoke first.

Don't think that this meeting only discussed this issue. This meeting discussed many things, such as the system of New Zaun, the selection of the first people to move to New Zaun, and whether to build Piltover next to New Zaun, etc.

The meeting had been going on for almost three hours. Li Ke was already tired, and with all that focused thinking, he naturally wanted to run away.

Before anyone could speak, Li Ke raised his hands and waved to them, then disappeared with a grin.

"This guy"

When Li Ke disappeared, the dozen or so members of parliament in the meeting were stunned for a moment. Hilco shook his head, feeling both amused and annoyed.

“Li Ke has been really busy lately. On one hand, he’s helping Kai’Sa and the others research the Void and providing them with ideas; on the other hand, he’s negotiating with Freljord; and finally, he has to help Taliyah gather sand and slime every day. He probably hasn’t slept much lately, has he?” Aunt Marna said softly.

"Alright, let's call it a day. Everyone, get some rest these next couple of days. There's more trouble to come." With that, Hilko led his men away.

Lena bent down and picked up the briefcase that was placed next to Hilko's stool, then followed closely behind Hilko, taking on the role of her caring little secretary.

Van der was completely confused, yawned, and climbed out the window to leave.

Jess and Mel exchanged a glance, then left together.

Victor glanced at Jess, opened his mouth, then closed it again after a long pause. He had wanted to talk to Jess about that matter, but now, seeing this, he decided against it.
It's better not to be a third wheel.

(End of this chapter)