Because of Jinx and Ekko, Heimerdinger chose to stay with the Spirit Blossom Gang and help Jinx research the purification device.
For him, the greatest regret in his life was seeing a genius and not being able to teach them personally. Loving to mentor wasn't just human nature—it could be Yordle nature too.
Especially for someone like Heimerdinger, whose "knowledge," "curiosity," and "urge to share" were all maxed out.
With those three traits combined, the moment Heimerdinger spotted talent, he couldn't help wondering what that person might become in the future—and what they could become if he gave them a push.
And Heimerdinger truly lived up to the nickname "Academician Poppy." The vast experience and knowledge he'd accumulated over countless years came into play. With his help, Jinx quickly improved the design and produced a new type of air filtration device.
Heimerdinger's ideas, combined with Jinx's bold imagination and outstanding hands-on skill, created something that could change Zaun's future.
On the day it was completed, a hint of satisfaction appeared on Heimerdinger's face.
Maybe, in that moment, he remembered the days from years ago when he helped Jayce and Viktor develop Hextech.
But after Jayce became a councilor and Viktor's body kept getting worse, Piltover's scientific culture… honestly, Heimerdinger suddenly felt Zaun's was purer.
Because the things Zaunites built weren't for fame or power. The first purpose of what they made was simple—
To be used.
If technology couldn't be applied to people—couldn't change lives and improve quality of living—then did it even need to exist?
The day it was finished, Jinx didn't even shout about patents or ownership. She just jumped around with a wrench in her hand, yelling that she'd finally succeeded, that she hadn't let Logan and Silco down.
Back to the machine—
This brand-new air purification unit stood nearly four meters tall, shaped like an oval. Its shell was cast from steel purchased from Piltover. Around the middle were several fist-sized holes that served as channels for the purified air to flow out.
At the base were three layers. The bottom layer was a super-powerful suction unit built by Ekko. The second layer was a filtration system that made use of a Hextech gemstone. The third layer was a secondary filtration stage made from various materials.
At the top was where the Shimmer fuel was loaded. This machine didn't run on electricity. It relied on the energy produced by burning Shimmer—using that output to drive Hextech's arcane power and keep the system running.
Logan still remembered when Heimerdinger first proposed the idea—Ekko was the first to refuse in horror.
Just listen to it: Shimmer plus Hextech. Damn it… if you actually build that, is it really not going to explode?
No—Ekko had been studying Shimmer lately too. He knew exactly how destructive it could be. Shimmer was an incredible power source; once it burned and boiled, the energy it produced was shocking, the temperature even higher than molten fire. But the problem was: Shimmer was flammable and explosive!
And what about Hextech gemstones?
Jinx and Ekko understood Hextech gemstones far too well. One of the reasons Powder became Jinx in the first place was because of those things. At the end of the day, Hextech gemstones were also the kind of thing that would blow up the moment you looked at them wrong.
Even after repeated refinement into "finished" gemstones, they still retained that trait—under heavy pressure, they could explode.
Magic was just too unstable.
And that was the truth. Shimmer plus Hextech gemstones—without Heimerdinger's principles and knowledge, if Jinx and Ekko tried to do it alone, it wasn't impossible they'd blow themselves up during research. But once Heimerdinger stepped in, explosions still happened—but the range was limited, and the shockwaves weren't severe.
Heimerdinger knew how to control Hextech gemstones, how to reduce and redirect the force of their explosions.
Even so, there was a stretch of time when Jinx was walking around with a little face completely blackened.
The dust from the blasts would coat her entire face, making her look pitiful—like a little miner girl shoved into a coal tunnel by some cold-blooded, heartless capitalist.
But the result was good in the end, because Shimmer and Hextech really did fuse together!
The proud technology the upper and lower cities relied on to survive, to grow stronger—Zaun had merged it into one.
Morning in Zaun. Spirit Blossom Community.
Logan watched as a group of people set the air purification unit onto a newly built structure—a raised platform surrounded by railings.
"Professor, I broke my word." Watching the device get hoisted into place, seeing the Spirit Blossom Gang members crane their necks excitedly and chatter about it, Logan smiled as he spoke.
Heimerdinger, standing beside him in a faded gray cloth outfit, shook his head and looked up. "Plans never keep up with reality, kid."
"At least you've shown me your nerve."
"Ekko was right. You really are a qualified leader. Please allow me to apologize again for how I spoke the first time we met." Heimerdinger placed a small hand over his chest and performed a formal gesture.
"You're being too serious." Logan immediately replied.
Heimerdinger didn't say anything else, but he didn't think he was overdoing it.
Jayce's words—and the Logan in front of him—made Heimerdinger understand what kind of person he used to be.
People who stand high above and talk about the future are never equal to those who take real action.
Logan was someone who kept doing real work.
Just then, a hoarse voice sounded from behind.
"Looks like my timing's perfect?"
Logan turned.
It was Silco.
A group followed behind him. Silco was dressed in formal wear, holding a gold-inlaid cane as he walked in step by step. Beside him were several Spirit Blossom Gang members. Vi was among them too, wearing a sour expression—really sour, the kind that looked like she could bite someone.
Silco stared at the machine. The emotion in his eyes was hard to describe. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.
When he reached Logan and watched for a few minutes, he finally said, "Logan… that machine. Will it really work?"
"Even if you don't believe me, you should believe Jinx. And besides—don't I have this one here with me?" Logan raised an eyebrow at Silco.
Silco always liked to assume the worst, but that wasn't strange. He understood better than anyone that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
He wanted this machine to work more than anyone—and he feared it wouldn't work more than anyone.
Silco looked at Heimerdinger, smiled, and gave a small bow. "I'm glad to meet you in Zaun, Professor Heimerdinger."
Heimerdinger didn't know Silco, but the polite little Yordle returned the gesture—and then, stroking his mustache, said, "I'm glad to meet you too, kid."
"…"
That one word—kid—hit Silco so hard he short-circuited.
He forced an awkward chuckle, not sure what to say.
Given Heimerdinger's age, calling him "kid" wasn't wrong. Everyone knew Heimerdinger was at least several centuries old. In front of him, Silco really was a kid.
"Logan. Are you truly ready?"
Silco moved his gaze off the machine and onto Logan, continuing evenly. "This is the third time I'm asking you. It's also your last chance."
"Of course, Silco. My manpower alone isn't enough. Your people have to be used too. Rebuilding the pipelines and sealing every single pipe—this is a massive project." Logan answered.
"Besides, plenty of people already know you and I are connected, don't they?"
"If I don't admit it and you don't say it outright, they can spend their whole lives guessing. Guessing isn't proof." Silco said. He handed the cane to Sevika and took off his coat. His crimson eye fixed on Logan as he continued:
"But once we do this, we're truly on the same boat. And the reputation you worked so hard to build will take a hit because of it."
"And you think, when the time comes, will I be listening to you… or will you be listening to me?"
Logan looked up and fell silent.
He understood what Silco meant. Logan didn't play politics, but he wasn't stupid.
If they did this, all of Zaun—no, Piltover too—both cities would know Logan and Silco were tied together.
The public image Logan had built by standing against Silco's tyranny—along with the reputation he'd gained—would be shaken.
A Spirit Blossom Gang that opposed "gangsters," only to end up working with Zaun's biggest crime boss?
And Silco's hope had always been that he stayed in the shadows while Logan stood in the light—using the classic good-cop/bad-cop routine to slowly make Zaun better.
In the end, Zaun wouldn't need him anymore, and he would disappear.
But if Logan did this now, what the future looked like after that… even Silco couldn't predict.
Silco stared at Logan—and then he heard Logan speak.
"But uncle… don't you think the wind can blow all the haze away?"
"It's time Zaun finally had a clear, bright day."
Silco froze, his hand clenching into a fist, nails digging into flesh.
A clear, bright day…
Zaun's clear, bright day?
The black-haired boy bared white teeth in a grin, turned his back to Silco, and faced all the Spirit Blossom Gang members. His smile was bright as sunlight as he raised his hand.
Logan looked at the Spirit Blossom Gang members watching him, raised his arm, and roared—
"Demolish!"
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