I have connections in Zu'an.

Store Manager Colin looked at the luxurious detached villa before him with mixed feelings, a touch of melancholy mixed with his joy.

At his age, why did he have to start relying on his junior?

Orianna, naturally unable to understand her father's feelings at that moment, chirped happily like a sparrow throughout the villa.

In reality, this was just a small villa; its footprint wasn't large and it wouldn't be conspicuous in the city center, but for the Colin family, it symbolized a leap in social class.

If Chen Nuo's patent income were counted, Store Manager Colin could register as a lower-tier noble at the City Hall and possess his own family crest.

Nobility in Piltover wasn't determined by bloodline, but by the family's tax contribution and whether they held patents.

It was just that Store Manager Colin still felt hesitant and hesitant.

Even though he had given Chen Nuo Levick's surname when adopting him, Chen Nuo wasn't raised by Store Manager Colin from childhood, so he didn't feel he deserved to enjoy this glory.

However, if Orianna were to marry Chen Nuo, the situation would be vastly different.

Store Manager Colin had adopted Chen Nuo in the first place because of his outstanding appearance, holding the intention of finding a child groom for Orianna.

After all, Orianna's health had always been poor. Store Manager Colin didn't want his only daughter to marry out, and finding a live-in son-in-law was too difficult, so he prepared in advance.

It must be said, Store Manager Colin was indeed very thorough in his considerations.

In the few days following the move, Store Manager Colin was kept extremely busy.

As the only adult in the house, he had to handle all the etiquette and social interactions. Unfortunately, Store Manager Colin wasn't good at this, but thankfully, the surrounding neighbors were very tolerant; everyone was a person of standing.

Well, this was mainly because Madame Kiramann personally visited on the day of the Housewarming and presented a congratulatory gift.

However, none of this had much to do with Chen Nuo; he had been learning closely under Professor Heimerdinger recently.

Trying to completely drain what this person possessed was not an easy task, requiring even Chen Nuo to put in some effort.

He needed to rebuild many indigenous knowledge systems.

Many foundational theories also needed refinement and supplementation.

Magic's influence on this world was too profound; many pieces of knowledge from other worlds could not be directly applied because the very nature of many material elements had changed under the influence of magic.

For example, precious metals like gold and silver, if refined through special techniques, could yield magical materials with strong Magical Conductivity, such as Orichalcum or Mithril.

This was why gold and silver could circulate as the primary currency.

However, whenever magic was involved, Professor Heimerdinger became extremely secretive. Having personally witnessed the disasters brought by magic, he maintained the utmost vigilance toward this power.

Regrettably, humanity was a Short-lived Species, and as time passed, they had gradually forgotten the dangers of magic.

Yet, all things have two sides.

The lack of reverence for magic also allowed Jayce to explore the path of Hextech.

When Jayce placed his results before Professor Heimerdinger, watching the object being rapidly teleported away by Hextech, the professor's eyes widened in disbelief.

On one hand, it was disbelief.

On the other hand, it was still disbelief.

How could you attempt to master the power of magic?

How could you actually succeed in mastering the power of magic!

Professor Heimerdinger's worldview suffered a severe shock. Fortunately, although he was very old, he was not an inflexible old fuddy-duddy who couldn't adapt to change.

If Jayce hadn't succeeded, Professor Heimerdinger definitely would have stopped him from trying to master magic, but now that he had succeeded, Jayce was in the right.

Magic could truly be constrained and mastered by technology.

This theory called Hextech could indeed change the world.

Piltover was a progressive city, and Professor Heimerdinger, as one of its founders, would naturally choose to embrace the correct future.

"I think you were right, Jayce."

Hearing Professor Heimerdinger say this, Jayce was overjoyed.

The thing he worried about most hadn't happened. Now, with the support of Professor Heimerdinger and Councilor Mel, no one could stop Piltover from embracing Hextech.

"I didn't get a chance to congratulate you earlier."

Viktor walked up to Chen Nuo and said with a smile.

It was clear his mood was also excellent, as the success of Hextech owed something to him.

Just like Jayce, Viktor also saw Hextech as an opportunity for change.

It was just that the former intended to change Piltover, while the latter aimed to change Zaun.

"Looking at you, are you planning to resign?"

Chen Nuo asked as he looked at Viktor.

Ever since the other party started following Jayce, Chen Nuo had taken over the teaching assistant duties, unexpectedly gaining quite a few extra tasks.

"Cough, cough, please take good care of the Professor for me. Jayce hopes I can stay by his side."

Viktor said somewhat sheepishly.

It really wasn't appropriate to have a junior who had only enrolled not long ago cover his shift, but unfortunately, among the entire academy, very few people were favored by Professor Heimerdinger enough to serve as his assistant.

"Your physical condition doesn't look very good."

Chen Nuo said, glancing at Viktor's rather pale complexion.

"Don't worry, it's just that I've been too exhausted these past few days."

Viktor said dismissively; the spiritual satisfaction derived from walking the path of his ideals had suppressed the physical pain.

Moreover, he understood his own physical condition best.

That ailment left over from his birth in Zaun, a defect originating at the genetic level, caused his muscles to continuously ossify. One of his legs had been difficult to bend since he was very young.

There was no cure for this disease.

All Viktor could do was complete his ideals as quickly as possible before his consciousness and soul were completely imprisoned in this weak and suffering body.

However, Chen Nuo did not respond to Viktor's words. He lifted one of Viktor's hands, picked up a portable syringe, and directly drew a tube of the man's warm blood.

"When did you start researching biological sciences?"

Viktor grimaced, the result of being pricked by the needle.

The needle Chen Nuo used was indeed a bit thick.

"For such a rare genetic disease, I have to study it."

Chen Nuo preserved the blood, and his solemn and serious attitude made Viktor feel a bit of wry amusement.

"What are you two talking about?"

Jayce walked over excitedly, beaming because Professor Heimerdinger had approved of him.

This was understandable; achieving so much at his age, wasn't he allowed to be a little proud?

In fact, in front of Chen Nuo and Viktor, Jayce was already quite restrained.

After all, both these individuals had made outstanding contributions to Hextech, and their intelligence and talent were recognized by Jayce.

"Nothing, just chatting randomly."

Viktor spoke first, as he didn't want Jayce to know about his physical condition, especially since this was a critical period for Hextech development.

Moreover, Viktor didn't believe there was any possibility of curing his illness.

Jayce didn't mind this and seriously extended his hand to Chen Nuo, saying:

"Nuo, join my team, let us usher in the era of Hextech together."

"I just enrolled."

"What does that matter? When I was a student, I skipped all the classes except those taught by the Professors."

Jayce looked a little proud when mentioning this.

Even so, he still scored full marks on the final tests for every subject every year.

The pace of most faculty professors' courses was far behind Jayce's self-study progress.

"I can't pretend I didn't hear that. I've received countless complaint letters from professors over this matter,"

Professor Heimerdinger complained at the right time, but quickly changed his tone and said:

"However, it is indeed hard for the faculty professors to teach you anything."

Although not explicitly stated, it was almost an implication.

With Professor Heimerdinger's insight, he could only see the development prospects of Hextech. As a teacher, he naturally hoped Chen Nuo could have a brighter future.

Chen Nuo naturally would not refuse this. He was thinking of wading across the unfathomable river of the ark rune reactor by relying on the big, round stone that was Jayce's Hextech.

He reached out to shake Jayce's hand while asking:

"Is there a salary?"

"No, but there are dividends."

Jayce raised an eyebrow and made a small joke.

He had already communicated this matter with Mel and Madame Kiramann beforehand. As the two largest investors, these two naturally held certain equity in Hextech.

This already accounted for nearly half, plus Jayce's own share and Viktor's, leaving very little allocation.

Not to mention the subsequent construction related to Hextech, where a portion of the shares would need to be allocated to win over other Piltover nobles.

In reality, not much benefit was left for Jayce to distribute himself. Despite this, he still thought of Chen Nuo, which showed Jayce was quite a good person.

After all, he was an idealist, so his heart couldn't be bad.

Not long after, the topic of Hextech was delivered to the desks of various councilors.

Without any surprises, the proposal was passed unanimously.

Councilor Mel and Madame Kiramann had already reached a consensus with all parties in private.

The highest council table in Piltover had only seven chairs in total. Those who could sit there naturally had a share of the pie, otherwise they would have long been pushed off the table.

The subsequent hextech crystal mining, Hexgate planning and construction, etc., were all the responsibility of the various councilors to lead.

Jayce, meanwhile, focused entirely on the research and development of Hextech. At this time, he was still a traditional researcher with no interest in participating in politics.

With the assistance of Chen Nuo and Viktor, the refinement of the Hexgate progressed unusually smoothly, achieving precise positioning within ten kilometers.

However, the teleportation process could only occur in unobstructed conditions.

Because, as mentioned before, the essential principle of the Hexgate was actually a form of time acceleration, not spatial leap.

If there were obstacles in the path, even with magical protection, uncertain dangers would occur.

Although Jayce's mouth was always tough, insisting that this was the power of science and technology, the development of Hextech was actually deciphering the runes contained within it.

In essence, it was still an exploration of magic.

It just used scientific thinking and methods.

For the time being, the hextech crystal was not stable enough.

This was not only due to its structure but also the drawback of the resonant output itself. This meant that commercializing the Hexgate would require the construction of various large-scale equipment.

Such an investment was enormous; even some upper-class nobles found it difficult to afford, and one wrong step could lead to bankruptcy.

If it weren't for the strong investment from the two rich ladies, Mel and Madame Kiramann, the idea of building a Hexgate port would have been a pipe dream with the little wealth Jayce's family accumulated from selling Hammers.

Thus, to allow Hextech to benefit ordinary citizens, they had to start with the hextech crystal itself, changing its original structure to ensure its stability.

Viktor was the first to realize this and proposed relevant theoretical concepts, intending to perfect them with Jayce and Chen Nuo so that the lower-class populace could also enjoy the convenience brought by Hextech.

However, Jayce's focus was not on this recently.

He spent most of his energy on the design and construction of large Hexgates, and a small portion on Mel, resulting in his learning materials under the bed not being updated for a long time.

This made Chen Nuo slightly unhappy.

Jayce's choice was not problematic.

Maritime trade was Piltover's most important economic pillar. The throughput capacity of the existing deep-water ports had reached its limit and could not be further developed.

The Hexgate, however, could overturn the existing commercial network and redefine Piltover's maritime ports.

This kind of change to the city's livelihood was top-down.

Once the new Hexgate ports were established and new economic growth points emerged, the populace would indirectly enjoy the changes in life brought by Hextech.

Even Zaun could profit from the black market.

However, the gap between the two cities would widen further.

Seeing that Jayce couldn't spare any time soon, Viktor sought out Chen Nuo.

"Hextech Gems? That's a very good idea."

After hearing Viktor's idea, Chen Nuo praised him.

"Thank you."

Viktor raised the corner of his mouth; receiving recognition from a friend was always comforting.

"Then what are you waiting for? Let's get to work!"

Chen Nuo's next sentence, however, left Viktor somewhat at a loss.

"But Jayce, he..."

"What about Jayce? He's just a guy who messes with Hammers, what does he know about Hextech? If he's busy, the two of us can do it ourselves."

"Pfft... Hahaha."

Viktor couldn't help but laugh.

Although it was impolite, Jayce was indeed very fond of Hammers, never forgetting his origins even with Hextech. His family did start by selling Hammers.

"But, we don't have enough hextech crystals..."

Viktor started making excuses again.

But this was indeed a problem. The current output of all hextech crystals was firmly controlled by the upper-class nobles. Even Jayce, the founder, needed the councilors' permission for large-scale use.

"Don't worry, I have a way in Zaun. Although the risk is..."

Chen Nuo pulled Viktor closer and whispered.

The look Viktor gave Chen Nuo gradually became strange.

Something's not right. I'm clearly the one from Zaun, so why are you so proficient?