These contractors might not be the brightest minds, but when it came to recognizing danger, they possessed their own hard-earned survival instincts.
If the mysterious benefactor could silently infiltrate the elder contractor's private bedroom, then he could just as easily eliminate all the contractors without leaving a trace.
Equipping them with advanced weapons was probably just a method to test Caitlyn, and the House Kiramman backing her, to assess their strength and measure their influence.
Only now did these desperate men finally understand: the lords of Piltover wanted them to disappear permanently from the world.
They had performed too many unspeakable services for their aristocratic masters, and they knew far too many compromising secrets. Only the dead could be trusted to maintain eternal silence.
"The lords' message is clear, if we win, there might still be business opportunities in the future. If we lose, our only choices are death or a lifetime cell in Stillwater Hold. Run, and you're guaranteed to die horribly."
"You all understand the path ahead, I don't need to spell it out."
The elder contractor took a big gulp of potent liquor, feeling his head grow dizzy while his heart felt much lighter.
"Caitlyn may be the privileged daughter of a Councilor, if she moves against us directly, her family's reputation stands behind her actions."
"Get all your hired muscle together, hand out the gear, and coordinate as one. We need to clench our fists tightly if we're going to survive this."
"Remember, keep your eyes sharp and your weapons ready during the fight. We can win, but Caitlyn absolutely must not be killed under any circumstances! If she dies, regardless of whether we win or lose the battle, we'll all end up feeding the sea monsters in the harbor."
Puffing aggressively on his cigar, his bloodshot eyes reflecting years of accumulated violence, his face once again twisted into a vicious look.
"We can't give Caitlyn too much time to prepare. She's backed by the House Kiramman, with far deeper resources than ours, the longer we drag this out, the worse for us."
"This afternoon, this very afternoon we force her into a showdown."
The elder contractor clenched his fists tightly and snarled, "Doesn't she claim to speak for the workers? Spread the word throughout the district, if she refuses to face us, we'll kill the workers. We'll continue killing until she comes out for them, and we'll nail the mutilated bodies to wooden stakes around the perimeter. Let's see how long she can stomach watching innocent people die for her!"
---
The contractors' scheme was being transmitted in real time to The Last Drop by a disguised drone.
"These monsters!"
Caitlyn slammed her fist against the wooden table, face full of ragee.
Noticing that Vi's mental state wasn't particularly stable after their street adventures, she had suggested returning to The Last Drop for planning, coincidentally arriving just as Cassandra had completed her inspection of Zaun's facilities.
The group had decided to monitor the contractors' movements in real time while discussing how to eliminate them.
This was the first cooperation between the two sides to show good faith, and both took it seriously.
In the end, Cipher accepted Cassandra's proposal: Zaun would deploy personnel to assist Caitlyn in managing the territories that the contractors refused to surrender peacefully.
"Don't allow anger to cloud your judgment."
Cassandra frowned, displeased, sharply reminding her daughter to maintain proper composure befitting their family's status.
Those who can keep a storm of thoughts contained behind a steady gaze are the ones fit to command armies.
Those who can remain steady when the ground shakes beneath them, and unfazed when chaos erupts nearby, possess the temperament needed to govern.
For any serious politician, nothing was more damaging than displaying sudden emotional reactions or allowing feelings to show openly, it made one's psychological limits easy to read and exploit, making long-term survival in political arenas nearly impossible.
On such an important occasion, Caitlyn's outburst truly disappointed her.
Having gained some understanding of Zaun's military strength, she was confident, Piltover could never be the final goal. This was only the beginning.
If Caitlyn, when faced with mere gangsters, performed so poorly under pressure, how could she possibly handle the brutal battlefields of the future, where tens or hundreds of thousands would clash in massive conflicts?
The reality of total warfare would prove more cruel and demanding.
If she sole heir not develop the necessary emotional resilience quickly, how could the House Kiramman hope to survive the great upheaval that would define the coming millennium?
"I'll send operatives to assist Caitlyn in dealing with the contractor problem, but relations between Zaun and Piltover aren't great, unauthorized military presence could easily trigger misunderstandings. As for how these operatives can infiltrate Piltover without detection, Councilor Kiramman, we'll need your help there."
Cipher ignored Caitlyn's display, right now, he needed to demonstrate coldness toward her, to avoid sparking any premature rumors of an arranged marriage.
"Absolutely no problem. I'll arrange for one of the House Kiramman's merchant convoys to provide cover. They can disguise themselves as ordinary caravan members, there will be no trouble."
Cassandra smiled faintly, clearly, she had been prepared all along.
She even knew exactly which party had supplied that batch of discarded Noxian military equipment to the contractors.
Mel!
It wasn't that she had betrayed their alliance or was deliberately sabotaging their plans, she simply wanted to see Zaun's strength with her own eyes before committing to any irreversible decisions.
But this wasn't information that needed to be discussed openly in The Last Drop, it could easily create unnecessary misunderstandings and suspicions. After all, seeing was believing, and Cassandra herself had harbored similar desires to personally assess their new allies' true capabilities.
"Then I'm relieved."
Cipher nodded approvingly, then suddenly called out, "Blitzcrank!"
The main display screen split in half, a charming cartoon version of Blitzcrank appeared, occupying half the visual space while scratching his shiny head and looking rather silly.
"Please notify Mundo immediately, instruct him to bring the heavy support unit to The Last Drop for mission briefing."
"Understood and acknowledged."
The cartoon Blitzcrank saluted before vanishing, the screen returning to normal.
It wasn't long before more than a dozen powerfully built men carrying massive laser cannons arrived at The Last Drop.
These were the elite gunners that Zaun had invested years in training, a specialized heavy firepower, long-range support unit capable of wielding laser cannons.
They usually conducted training exercises in secure underground facilities and rarely came to the surface.
"You requested our presence."
The unit leader's skin displayed a distinctive purple hue, a bit like Thanos, his muscle mass so extraordinarily developed it barely appeared human, his arm circumference was thicker than most people's waists.
This was Mundo.
While addressing Cipher, he casually extracted a vial of shimmer, consumed it like an energy supplement, and his facial expression showed an indescribable look of bliss, almost as if he'd gotten high.
This man's birth name wasn't actually Mundo, Cipher had given him that name on purpose.
He represented an extremely rare perfect biological adapter to shimmer, Dr. Singed's most successful research subject, discovered years ago within the officer's rank, the first operative capable of wielding a laser cannon using nothing but his own body's strength.
In the original timeline, Mundo had once served under a Chem-Baron, only to be betrayed and sent to Zaun's asylum, where prolonged torture had transformed him into a homicidal maniac obsessed with performing crude "medical procedures" on random victims.
But in this altered reality, thanks to Cipher's intervention, the Chem-Barons had been eliminated years ago, so Mundo had never experienced psychological breakdown, and had eventually earned promotion within the officer ranks.
With his perfect adaptation to shimmer, consuming massive doses that would kill ordinary people, causing his muscles to expand with audible crackling sounds, he had eventually earned command of Zaun's most elite heavy firepower unit.
Perhaps due to excessive shimmer consumption over the years, his head had developed a pointed shape, and his skin resembled purple-hued leather, but his mind was intact.
"For the time being, you're going to execute a classified mission of utmost importance. Take your entire support unit, accompany Caitlyn, provide her with protection, and follow her orders. Understand?"
Cipher pointed to Caitlyn.
"No problem. Mission will be completed for sure."
Mundo tapped his pointed head with one massive finger and responded in a deep, rumbling voice.
"Unless it's an emergency, do not use the laser cannon without permission. For this operation, take more conventional heavy weapons, and prioritize them in combat," Cipher added.
Laser cannons were simply too powerful, a single shot could eliminate everyone positioned in a straight line for several hundred meters. Using them carelessly in urban environments could easily result in the accidental deaths of innocent workers and civilians.