"Morning~ Nudge over a bit, I need to brush my teeth too."
"Mm-hmm!"
Two women, one big, one small, appeared before Leo, still bleary-eyed. He was brushing his teeth, watching Jinx squint at him. Her beautiful, long blue hair was a tangled mess behind her, a few strands falling across her brows. She yawned lazily, tilting her small face towards Leo, rubbing one eye. Her other small hand was tucked into her pajamas, revealing a patch of snow-white belly as she scratched her tummy.
Beside her, Isa chirped "Mm-hmm!" to announce her presence. Little Isa's hair was a wild tangle, looking like a giant bird's nest. Born with curly hair, even if she washed and brushed it diligently every day, it always turned into a mess after a night's sleep. Topping her "bird's nest," she held a small cup in one hand and a toothbrush in the other, watching Leo.
Leo moved aside, and Jinx immediately squeezed in, standing next to him. She grabbed his cup, took a gulp of water, gargled noisily, and began brushing her teeth in the mirror. Little Isa stood outside, a bit displeased, so she squeezed in between Leo and Jinx, hugging Leo's leg. She stood on tiptoes, peeking her little head over the sink, watching herself in the mirror and imitating Jinx brushing her teeth.
"Are we acting today?" Jinx mumbled, still brushing her teeth.
"Yeah, the agreed time is 4 PM today. I've already had Vi lead the team to prepare, and Marsen took a group of guys over yesterday," Leo replied.
"Leo, will... will anyone on our side get hurt? I mean, are you really not going yourself?" Jinx suddenly asked, her big eyes watching Leo in the mirror.
Leo heard this and turned his head, looking at Jinx with surprise. What was going on? Jinx was actually concerned about people? No, if this were the old Jinx, she'd never ask a question like this. She simply didn't care about "others." Besides Vi, Isa, and himself, there was no one in the Lotus Flower Gang Jinx would bother caring about. Not even Marsen or Manzo, who had grown up with her and known her since childhood.
But now, Jinx was different. She seemed to have learned to care about others.
"Don't worry, I've already spoken to Silco. I don't want to see any casualties on our side," Leo said with a smile. He thought for a moment, then added, "And with the weapons and armor you've made, plus Silco's help, as long as Vi and the others are careful, no one will get hurt."
There was one more thing Leo hadn't mentioned: Zeri was also among that group. If Zeri wasn't there, Leo might have gone along to ensure no one was harmed, but with Zeri, Leo truly didn't need to go in person. Because in a sense... Zeri's speed was the fastest in all of Zaun! Even faster than Leo's!
Of course, if you were to grade their abilities numerically, Zeri would probably be something like – Defense 1, Speed 5, Damage 2? While Leo would be 545. In total value, Zeri couldn't compare to Leo. And the reason Leo didn't mention Zeri was, naturally, fear of Jinx getting jealous... Jinx loved getting jealous, and recently, she'd picked up some new tricks. Now, when she got jealous, she no longer radiated a gloomy low-pressure atmosphere. Instead, she'd give Leo a subtly manipulative, "tea-like" smile. That smile, though, was even more terrifying than when she was gloomy... it had a kind of pathological, twisted beauty, passive-aggressive and unsettling. Who knew what horrifying things Jinx was thinking when she smiled like that.
In short, taking down Finn, now that Silco had agreed to join, had the perfect conditions—the right time, the right place, and the right people. No accidents would occur. Therefore, Leo didn't plan to show up. Although if he did, he could easily clear out the Chem-Baron's stronghold by himself and secure an easy victory, as Leo had told Silco—he wanted to train his troops. To change Zaun, Leo's strength alone might be enough, but for Zaun to become strong, Leo alone wasn't enough. Thus, Vi, Marsen, Manzo, and even Ekko and Zeri, all needed to grow.
Picking up the cup Jinx had just gargled with, Leo also took a mouthful, gargled, and then bent over the sink, spitting out the foamy water. "Tonight, we'll get our answer." He reached out and wiped the water from the corner of his mouth.
"Big Sis, aren't we going to hide ourselves at all?"
On a deserted wastewater street in Zaun, Zeri excitedly followed behind Vi. Her clothes were adorned with the Lotus Flower Gang's exclusive pattern—blue and pink intertwined petals, looking very appealing. Vi walked ahead, a dried weed stem dangling from her mouth, knuckle dusters on her hands. Hearing Zeri, she said, "No need. Marsen's people are already lying in wait inside. We'll coordinate from within and without, catching them off guard. Those guys are dead!"
"A-are we going for the kill?" Zeri looked up at Vi's back, hesitating before speaking.
"What else?" Vi stopped at this, turned back to glance at Zeri, rolled her eyes, and continued, "This is a fight to the death, Zeri. I don't know why Leo insisted on you coming with me, but if you're not ready to kill, then you can leave now. Don't worry, I won't tell Leo."
Zeri swallowed, shrinking her head timidly like a quail, and nodded at Vi. She truly wasn't ready to kill. Before this, Zeri had privately confronted Chem-Barons, but each time it was just to teach them a lesson or cause minor damage, like destroying equipment in their factories or disrupting their power supply with her abilities. Killing... Zeri had never done anything like that, nor had she even thought about it!
But Vi looked at Zeri, seeing her head tucked down. She seemed to think of something, and her eyes softened instantly, her tone becoming much gentler. She said, "Of course, if possible, we don't want to kill either."
"But Zeri, this time is different. This time, we're fighting a Chem-Baron. Their subordinates aren't small-time thugs who joined gangs out of desperation for money and food. They're desperadoes with blood on their hands. Before, we were just playing around; if the opponent gave in, the fight ended. But they're different."
"Between us and them, someone has to leave the stage, disappear from Zaun!" Vi reached out and patted Zeri's shoulder.
Zeri nodded, and then she watched as Vi's expression turned fierce again, a brutal aura emanating from her. Vi whispered, "For Vander's sake, they have to pay the price they deserve." When Vander was still alive, these rats wouldn't dare come out. After Vander died, the rats carved up his territory, making everything he had created in Zaun disappear without a trace.
Vi took a deep breath and looked at Manzo. "You take ten people and enter from the west. Zeri and I will take our people through the main entrance."
Manzo held a short gun and nodded, his expression looking a bit nervous, but he quickly composed himself. He selected ten people, then led his squad away.
Vi pulled down a hood. The hood was pink, with jagged patterns along the edge, looking like a pink shark with its mouth open wide. When Vi lowered her head, the pink hair revealed from beneath the hood became the shark's tongue. She reached for her waist, took off a white mask, and put it on. The mask had special holes on both sides.
Zeri was doing the same, also putting on a mask. With a command to move, Vi was the first to charge out. The group quickly sprinted after Vi, heading straight for a casino.