Twin Cities: Who says scientists can't be conquerors?

Chapter 80 The Whole Story

What is the Philos family up to?

Aaron and Caitlin racked their brains but couldn't figure out the answer to this question.

When they heard Camille's sudden change of expression, and her warm and hospitable gesture of inviting them inside, they instinctively exchanged glances.

Caitlin looked at Aaron because she realized that the Philos family kept talking about Aaron's mech, and that today's events were probably related to it.

Aaron, however, looked at Caitlin with even deeper doubts—

Camille, he knew her.

He wasn't particularly surprised that the Pheros family wanted his mech.

However, Aaron is now genuinely unsure about the real-world backstory of Camille and the Firos family...

In the series "The Battle of Two Cities," Camille and her family never appear on screen, as if they never existed.

In Camille's official backstory, her family is the "underground emperor" of Piltover, wielding unparalleled power.

The contradiction between these two points can be explained by the fact that the Philos family has never appeared in a formal setting, and Aaron could also explain it by the possibility that "the timelines are different".

However, when Camille appeared so openly, and when this "serious hook-and-loop woman" attacked the Shadow Mech without warning, the "timeline hypothesis" was clearly broken.

Then an even bigger contradiction arises:

Jayce and Viktor pioneered Hextech and popularized this pure magical technology, making it the hottest cutting-edge project in Piltover today.

This is common knowledge.

However, in Camille's backstory, Camille also underwent Hextech body modification, and it was explained that the source of Hextech technology was extracted from the bodies of the "Shelllings," which are non-renewable resources.

This seems to have become a new mystery, and it appears to be unsolvable no matter how you look at it...

In that instant, Aaron suddenly reminisced about the time when, after completing his first order, he had rummaged through the black box in that glowing space, treating it like an intelligent AI.

If he still had that chance, he would definitely make the black box analyze the situation thoroughly, to find out exactly what was going on with the Firos family and Camille who had undergone the transformation...

"Please, both of you."

Seeing that Aaron and Caitlin hadn't made a move, Camille, who was leading the way, stopped and extended the invitation a second time.

This time, however, her elegant movements inevitably carried a hint of threat.

With her hands behind her back and her sharp leg blades slightly open, she looked like a shrewd compass, ready to strike at any moment.

"Let's go in and take a look."

In the end, Aaron made the final decision.

Since he couldn't figure it out for the time being, he might as well see for himself and see what Camille and the Philos family behind her were up to.

Looking at the open gates of Blue Smoked Manor, and Camille, who had just been ruthless but was now being very polite.

Aaron increasingly felt that this "veteran Piltover" in front of him probably didn't have any good intentions!

"By the way, it's always better to be on the safe side."

After he made up his mind to accept the invitation, he thought of something else and grabbed Caitlin's wrist.

Then, the Shadow Armor, which had just removed the grappling hook from its arm, leaned down slightly and extended its palm, allowing Aaron and Caitlin to easily sit in the cockpit.

As the twelve-ton mech, even when unloaded, moved nimbly, Aaron and Caitlin, "fully armed," entered Blue Smoked Manor.

……

Stevan is 86 years old this year.

He had already felt signs of aging in his body twenty years ago.

Once nimble legs begin to stiffen, once sharp minds begin to stagnate, and even once strong and reliable family ties begin to fade and change.

This made him even more jealous of his sister, Camille.

Because Stevan was certain that his sister had not only maintained her formidable fighting prowess for decades, but would also preserve her strong and healthy physique and sharp mind forever.

"Hakim, everything I'm doing now is all thanks to you!!"

Stevan lowered his eyes, gritting his teeth as he uttered the name that he hated even more—

Hakim Nedri.

A scientist who made the Firos family rise to prominence, and a historical sinner who aroused endless greed in Stevan!

Sixty-six years ago, in Noxian year 706, Stevan's father, the previous head of the Feros family, died unexpectedly.

At the young age of 20, Stevan, with the support of his sister Camille, ascended to the throne of the family.

In the same year, Hakim, a scientist from the Firos family who had been conducting research overseas for many years, returned to the family's residence with a batch of the latest research results.

It was a small packet of blue, luminescent crystals.

Hakim explained to Stevan that the thing came from the remote Kumangu Forest in the south, and that he had obtained it from a terrifying vine woman after going through many hardships.

Those blue crystals were not originally in this solid form; it was only through Hakim's long and painstaking research that they were stabilized.

He emphasized that this blue crystal contains a huge amount of energy and is also closely related to a mysterious civilization.

So he immediately asked for a large sum of research funding, saying he wanted to build a laboratory specifically for studying that blue crystal.

At that time, it would be an exaggeration to say that the Philos family was in dire straits.

Although Stevan was very interested in the bright future Hakim described, he ultimately rejected the other man's request and only gave Hakim a basic commendation.

He originally thought that the matter was over.

But six months later, after Stevan used his strong political skills to suppress the opposition within the family, he discovered that Hakim seemed to have long since slipped out of his control.

Seeing that seeking help from Stevan was useless, Hakim secretly approached Stevan's sister, Camille, who was a staunch supporter of Stevan's rise to power!

Faced with Camille, who was determined to pave the way for her younger brother and was even willing to become a family spy who would remain unmarried for life, Hakim came up with a different story.

Unlike when he was speaking to Stevan, he didn't emphasize that the blue crystal could provide a massive amount of energy. Instead, he focused on the effects of implanting it into the human body:

"To become stronger and faster, to stay young forever, to never tire, to break the limits that are insurmountable for humankind... Heh."

Stevan gave a cold laugh, which sent a chill down the spines of the maids serving him.

He was like a lion king nearing the end of his life, rubbing his loose teeth and slowly releasing a glimmer of desire—

"Sister, after Hakim died, even though I secretly sold those crystals to Jess, he didn't create anything that impressed me."

"I thought I'd never have the chance to catch up with you in this lifetime, until..."

A maid who had rushed over pushed open the door to the drawing room, bowed slightly to Stevan, and then said:

"Master, our two distinguished guests have entered the manor."

"good!"

The glint in Stevan's eyes intensified.

He mustered all the strength in his aging body, braced himself against his arms, and slowly stood up. Through the gradually darkening night, he aimed at the Cheng Ying mech that was walking towards him.

"Aaron".

"You've kept me waiting for so long!!"