People in the Alliance, Time Management Master

Mu Bai pointed to Jess not far away, who was still in an odd pose, which looked a bit funny.

It's a pity I don't have a camera with me right now, otherwise I could take a picture and laugh at him for the rest of my life.

"He targeted the Z-driven energy core as his objective."

"This misunderstanding is really... stupid. As expected, all Pipi are the same, both stupid and arrogant," Ike said irritably.

Just now, he was maimed three times because of Jess's reckless actions!

Although the injuries can be healed after time is reversed, the excruciating pain is unavoidable!

Moreover, reversing time consumed a great deal of energy, and he hasn't recovered yet.

"I'm sorry," Mu Bai said sincerely.

"The one who should apologize is that guy... Never mind, let's not dwell on it." Ike sighed again.

Actually, you can't entirely blame Jayce, since his crystal senses were indeed correct.

The Z-Drive's power core and the Hextech Warhammer's power core both originate from a fragment of the same primordial crystal, so the crystal sensor will naturally react.

This misunderstanding dates back to a year ago.

At that time, Jayce had just obtained a Primal Crystal from the Shurima expedition. Before he could fully study it, Viktor rushed into his laboratory, stole the Crystal, and caused a huge explosion.

As luck would have it, the wild child Ike was on an "adventure" at the time.

He sneaked into the ruins of the recently destroyed laboratory to explore and was surprised to find a treasure: a blue-green crystal shard that emitted a magical glow.

Soon after, the Z-type drive was introduced.

"What should we do now?" Ekko frowned as he looked at the Hextech giant cannon in Jayce's hand.

The misunderstanding has been resolved, but the trouble remains.

The electric sphere has squeezed to the edge of the cannon muzzle; once time resumes, the house will inevitably be blown to pieces.

"How about this, I'll rewind time again, and you go and stop him as fast as you can?"

"No need for all that trouble." Mu Bai chuckled, picked up the Doran's Sword from the ground, and walked step by step to Jess.

"I'll count to three, then you can deactivate the time field."

Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Dense Fog Border of Starfire Alley

For a moment, Jess felt like his eyes or brain had broken.

He clearly saw Mu Bai about half a meter away from him just now, but in the blink of an eye, the latter teleported right in front of him.

This is fatal.

Because he could no longer control the electric ball.

The next moment, a large ball of electric energy shot out through the acceleration zone, and the sound of electricity cutting through the air was chilling.

Jayce's painful cry was stuck in his throat; he wanted to shout but it was too late. Jinx, standing not far away, simply closed her eyes, unwilling to witness the cruel scene that was about to unfold.

But Mu Bai, the person in question, just stood there blankly, a faint smile on his face.

He wasn't scared out of his wits; he was confident.

Just as the ball of energy was about to touch the hem of his clothes, an invisible wall of gale blocked it.

An attack powerful enough to destroy an entire bungalow could not cause the slightest ripple in front of the wind wall, like a stone sinking into the sea or a weight falling into a well.

The lightning was swallowed up by the gale.

"Mu...Mu Bai?" Jess was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

He almost, just a hair's breadth away, from killing his comrade with his own hands...

"You're... really crazy, Xiaobai..." Jinx was equally shaken, her forehead covered in cold sweat.

"I'm sorry to have startled you, but this is a last resort."

Mu Bai sheathed his sword and then pointed to Ike, who was standing in the corner.

"I can't just blow up someone else's house; I don't have that much money to pay for it."

"Huh?" Jess looked in the direction he was pointing and suddenly noticed a young man standing not far away.

Dark skin, bizarre hairstyle, flamboyant clothing... a typical local boy from Zu'an.

“Victor’s henchman? He’s really young… another pathetic wretch who’s gone astray.” He turned his gun to aim at Ike, his face full of caution.

The latter raised an eyebrow and retorted sarcastically, "Does anyone know the difference between a leather man and a pig? I know—pigs walk on four legs, leather men on two. That's all."

"Wow, what a pitiful creature with a temper."

"Stop yelling, your head is as stupid as that big iron hammer in your hand."

"Looks like you want a fight?"

"Come on, Pipi, I'll show you how people from Zaun greet each other."

The two proud young scientists, neither willing to back down, stared at each other, weapons in hand, the atmosphere growing increasingly tense. Jinx, on the other hand, seemed to thrive on chaos, grinning and crossing her arms, waiting to see what would happen.

"Stop, stop..." Mu Bai quickly stepped between the two, shielding them from their hostile gazes. "Don't escalate the misunderstanding. Business is important..."

Jess, with his fiery temper, clearly wasn't going to let it go. He tilted his head, pointed at Ekko, and was about to start yelling.

The latter was equally unwilling to be outdone, and the long-prepared Zu'an greeting was almost about to spill out.

Until they heard the sound of a sword blade scraping against its scabbard.

Jess coughed twice and straightened his suit. "As a gentleman, I think fighting is a very vulgar act."

Ekko whistled awkwardly a few times, put his hands behind his neck, and said, "I, a genius from Zaun, would never stoop to fighting with a pimp."

"Alright, let's get down to business."

Mu Bai smiled as he drew the Dolan sword; the cold glint of its blade was chilling.

"When I explain the situation later, please keep quiet... After all, swords are easy to misfire, you should both understand that, right?"

“Indeed, indeed…” the two quickly replied.

"It seems everyone here is reasonable." Mu Bai nodded in satisfaction, and then explained the root of the misunderstanding.

…………

……

A few minutes later, Ekko had a basic understanding of Viktor and the codename C, and Jayce also understood why his crystal senses had misidentified the target.

But the latter still had some doubts—about time travel and time standing still.

As a fellow scientist, he knew all too well that controlling time was incredibly difficult, let alone reversing time several times to prevent disasters from happening.

Mu Bai and Ike didn't have a good way to prove this, since Jess's memories would be reset after time was reversed, and in his eyes it would be as if nothing had happened.

He'll have to figure it out himself.

“That’s surprising.” Jess looked at Ekko with a complicated expression, then at the Z-Drive in Ekko’s hand.

Of course, he was just looking at it; he wasn't so petty as to force others to return the primordial crystal fragments to him.

After all, they're teammates, so there's no need to be too calculating. Besides, he wasn't confident he could utilize the crystal's effects better than Ekko.

Once we've raided Viktor's stronghold, this small piece of debris will be nothing.

"Okay, I was rash. I apologize." Jayce bowed to Ekko, his attitude quite sincere.

Ike shrugged and pursed his lips, accepting the apology.

After that unpleasant little incident, things should get back on track.

Mu Bai clapped his hands to draw the attention of the three men to him, and then said, "It's time to set off, everyone."

As soon as the words were spoken, Jinx and Jayce responded immediately, full of enthusiasm.

Only Ike stood silently to the side, his eyes revealing a conflicted expression.

He'd be willing to travel through time with Mu Bai and save the world. But to go beat up some sturdy-headed Victor…

Putting aside whether it's dangerous or not, it just feels...too sudden?

Everything that happened tonight was so sudden...

He needs some buffer time.

"I'll come back to you after everything is over." Mu Bai saw his hesitation and immediately gave him a way out with a tactful remark.

After all, Ekko is one of the few people in Zaun who owns a horse, so he can't just leave whenever he wants.

“Okay.” Ike nodded, his face showing gratitude. “I will do my best to help you then.”

The other two were a little confused, not knowing what they were talking about, but they didn't ask.

"Then goodbye for now." Mu Bai waved and left with his two companions.

As the three figures walked away into the distance, Ike suddenly thought of something.

He felt like he'd seen that girl with the blue pigtails before...

It happened several years ago. Back then, she also lived in Zu'an and was a very quiet girl...

Later, she started talking to the gun and became mentally unstable...

Is that Jinx...? She looks a bit like her, but it doesn't seem like the same person...

Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. I guess I mistook someone for someone else.

The door closed gently, and everything that had happened before seemed like a dream.

…………

“My crystal sense… seems to be useless.” Jess looked at Warhammer with frustration. “No matter how I adjust it, it keeps pointing to that house.”

“It’s okay, I told you I know where Viktor is.”

Mu Bai took out a map and placed his finger on an inconspicuous landmark in the corner of the map.

"If nothing unexpected happens, it will be here—at the edge of the dense fog in Xinghuo Lane."

Xinghuo Lane, a place rarely visited by people.