Chapter 404: The Horrified Enforcers, Are These People Even Human?
Not long after, Pepper Potts returned with her dessert and a late-night snack for Tony. Yuuka Kazami, however, remained seated in her usual spot, a serene and silent presence. For her, the rhythm of life had settled into a comfortable pattern: spending her days tending to her flowers and sleeping, then visiting Ren's shop when night fell.
"Vi, do you think a love like that is even real?" Caitlyn murmured, her voice thick with emotion. "It feels like something out of a fairytale... But that's what love should be called!"
Vi glanced at the small mountain of used tissues on the table in front of her partner and let out a long sigh. "Caitlyn, as beautiful as pure love is, don't your eyes hurt? You must have cried out all three buckets of water you drank earlier..."
Caitlyn shook her head, dabbing at her eyes again. "They do, but I just can't stop... No, we have to switch to a different genre. Otherwise, my eyes will definitely be swollen shut when I wake up."
Vi nodded in agreement, but as she reached for the remote, a small line of text in the upper right corner of the screen caught her eye. "Last played at 83%," it read. She scratched her head. 'Did the shop owner watch this?'
Hearing this, Caitlyn's interest was immediately piqued. She shot a quick, furtive glance at Ren, who was absorbed in his notes, before leaning in to whisper, "Vi, let's watch it. I want to see what kind of things that bad man watches in his spare time!"
A playful smirk touched Vi's lips. "Caitlyn, after that romance movie, I'm starting to think you're just trying to figure out the shop owner's preferences, aren't you?"
"Nonsense!" Caitlyn retorted, her cheeks flushing slightly. "I just want to make sure he isn't watching any videos that promote evil!"
"Alright, alright, I'll pretend to believe you," Vi chuckled, handling the menu. "Here we go... Play from the beginning... Wait... Hey! Caitlyn, this isn't a movie!"
Caitlyn blinked, startled. She leaned closer to the screen, and her beautiful eyes widened in disbelief. Her gaze darted from the screen to Ren and back again before she whispered urgently to Vi, "How is that bad man on there! And Lucifer and the others, wait... Is this some kind of life recording? If it is, Vi, we can't watch it. It's an invasion of privacy."
Vi's brow furrowed in concentration. "No... no, that's not it... Caitlyn, this isn't a life recording... This is... this is a match recording!"
Caitlyn stared at the screen, a flicker of recognition dawning in her mind. She gasped softly. "A match recording... Could this be from when Jinx disappeared for eight months? The matches she left to go watch!"
Vi shook her head. "I don't know, but the timing would line up. Wait..." Her eyes narrowed as she listened to the audio. "Lucifer just said... that disgrace to the police force, Akoya Seishu, was also a contestant. And he got beaten to a pulp by the shop owner!"
A spark of intense anticipation lit up Caitlyn's eyes. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's watch this!"
Vi gave her a knowing look. "I have a feeling you're less interested in seeing Akoya get what he deserves and more interested in seeing the shop owner in action, aren't you?"
"Nonsense!"
For the next several minutes, both women were utterly captivated, their earlier conversation forgotten. A city unlike any they had ever imagined unfolded on the screen. Skyscrapers of glass and steel pierced the clouds, arranged in a stunning cityscape. Below, the streets teemed with people dressed in an incredible variety of styles, each moving with a sense of purpose. Trees lined clean, wide avenues, interspersed with vibrant flowerbeds and sparkling fountains. There were no ostentatious statues of Piltover's founders, and the streets themselves were smooth, immaculate ribbons of black asphalt.
The vehicles gliding along the roads were sleeker and more beautiful than anything in Piltover. The traffic police directing them were unarmed, and the citizens calmly obeyed the signals. Here and there, they could see groups of friends laughing and chatting as they headed into shops or restaurants.
"It looks like there's no division between nobles and commoners here," Vi breathed out, her voice filled with wonder. "If Piltover and Zaun were like this, we might be out of a job. Or at least, we wouldn't have to respond to calls every five minutes."
Caitlyn nodded slowly, her eyes glued to the screen. "You're right. If Jinx really has disappeared for good, I think Piltover might finally have a long period of stability. When that happens... I want to come to this world and see it for myself."
Vi considered this for a moment. "Yeah... I'd like that, too. I want to see what this world is really like..."
"You just want to check out the motorcycles," Caitlyn teased, nudging her. "You've been staring at that one parked by the roadside this whole time!"
"Hey," Vi grinned, "that doesn't mean I can't also experience the culture."
Caitlyn rolled her eyes, and the two fell silent, continuing to watch. The video was long, clearly compiled from many different segments. The fight footage itself was continuous, but the rest periods in between had been skillfully edited out.
And then, Caitlyn and Vi were left speechless. The match began. The sheer brutality, the raw power... were these contestants even human? They moved like caged beasts unleashed.
"Holy shit! The shop owner's physique is that good?! And he's that strong?!" Vi exclaimed, leaning forward.
"Yes! Good hit! That police disgrace deserves every bit of that! Beat him! Beat him up!" Caitlyn found herself shouting, completely forgetting her usual composure. "Vi! This is incredible! I want a piece of that action!"
"Thirteen jabs in a single breath... My god," Vi muttered, her knuckles white. "If I had that kind of power, I'd just smash through everything!"
"Wait... that guy named Kanoh Agito... Holy hell, can a human face even make an expression like that?! And the builds on these fighters have to be fake. Compared to them, most of Piltover's Enforcers look like skinny monkeys or fat blobs."
Vi shot her partner an exasperated look. "Caitlyn, besides 'hmm,' can you say anything else? Wait... why are you staring at the shop owner the entire time?"
"Hmm! Hmm? No, no," Caitlyn said quickly, her face heating up. "I just think... that bad man is quite amazing."
Vi rolled her eyes, deciding not to press the issue. But moments later, she too was completely stunned into silence. They had finally reached the duel between Ren and Kanoh Agito.
Ren's kick, followed by Katahara Sayaka's technical breakdown, made both women swallow hard. The video paused, displaying a list of Ren's techniques as discussed by Shion and the others, carefully recorded by Courage.
They exchanged a wide-eyed glance, both gulping audibly. Vi clenched her fists. She could shatter rocks with her gauntlets, but to do it bare-handed... that was something else entirely.
Across the room, Lucifer was clinging to Ren's arm, pestering him. "So you'll come with us tomorrow, right? You'll come?"
Ren sighed, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "I did say I would... but... tomorrow is... Fine, I guess it's okay."
"Yay! We'll have someone to carry our things!" Lucifer cheered.
"I knew you were going to say that," he deadpanned. "But you know most things can be delivered directly to the shop. You don't need to carry them."
"It's a matter of attitude," she declared. "We'll take what we can get. But I'm really not sure what Pandora likes besides coffee..."
"It's probably not little bunnies or kittens," Ren mused.
"What kittens..." Lucifer's face went pale. "Are you trying to kill me?! Don't you dare mention them!"
Back at their table, Vi stared blankly at the scene, then back at the paused image of the terrifying fighter on her screen. "I just find it hard to imagine," she said, her voice a near-whisper, "that a person like that... could be so powerful."
Caitlyn could only nod, her mind reeling. "Hmm..."
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