A long while later, at the Academy of Hextech.
A certain classroom that should have been empty was now unusually lively.
The room was packed with students from Zaun. Teaching them was the great Professor Viktor, who had recently stood up for the Zaunite students and won their deep admiration.
However, the subject of this lesson was not Hextech.
It was a historical paper:
"Where Did Zaun Come From?"
Everyone sitting here was a university student, a smart individual.
Under Viktor's guidance, they quickly realized the value of this article, as well as the theories and ideologies it sought to convey.
Simply put, the article explained:
What the world was like, and why it was this way.
It also left the readers with a question to ponder—after knowing the *what* and the *why*, what should be done next, the *how*?
And so, the discussion began.
"I think the wording in this article is a bit biased," a student began.
Surprisingly, the starting point of the discussion was questioning the *what*.
Even though all the students present were Zaunites and poor, their mindsets were completely different.
Viktor, after all, was just a scholar who had spent too much time in an ivory tower.
The beautiful scene he had imagined—where he would raise his arm in a rallying cry and masses would immediately follow—did not happen in reality.
The student continued to question, "This article portrays the Piltover merchants from three hundred years ago as butchers, executioners, and genocidal maniacs."
"But Piltover's history textbooks record that their acts of war on the Shuriman continent were entirely out of forced self-defense—"
"Everyone needs to know that those Shuriman natives weren't innocent little bunnies. They would scalp people."
"It takes two to tango. Since the Shuriman natives could murder Piltover merchants, why shouldn't the Piltover merchants strike back against those savages?"
This student's opinion caused an uproar in the room.
"That is absolute nonsense!" Lina glared indignantly at the speaker.
She knew this guy.
This fool always loved spouting weird rhetoric about how "the air in Piltover is sweet and luxurious," shamelessly trying to squeeze his way into the social circles of native Piltovans.
If Piltover's atmosphere of discrimination wasn't so overwhelmingly thick, making it impossible for him to fit in, he probably wouldn't even be sitting here with his fellow Zaunites right now.
"You bastard, don't you feel ashamed spouting such twisted logic?" Lina yelled.
"What do you mean 'it takes two to tango'? Did those Shuriman natives reach across the ocean and slap Piltover from thousands of miles away first?"
"Are you a walking toilet or something? It's bad enough you usually kiss Piltovan asses, but now you're even calling their shit fragrant! Go fuck yourself!"
Since everyone present was Zaunite, Lina completely dropped her polite facade.
The student was scolded so harshly that he was drenched in humiliation. Seeing that no one around supported his ideas, he could only shut his mouth in disgrace.
But then, someone else voiced a new perspective.
"Everyone, I think this article's analysis of the processes and methods Piltover business owners used to achieve their primitive accumulation of wealth is spot on. But the colonization and oppression mentioned in the text are almost entirely from three hundred years ago."
"Right now, across all of Runeterra, only the Noxian Empire is still engaged in that kind of bloody colonial business."
"And today's Piltover merchants are no longer the merchants of three hundred years ago. What do the mistakes of their predecessors have to do with the Piltovans of today?"
"They are now civilized, progressive, and follow business rules. They are engaged in legitimate trades like Hextech, mechanical manufacturing, maritime logistics, and luxury goods."
With that, this student presented his view on the *how*:
"I feel we shouldn't look at them through an outdated lens."
"Furthermore, we are all students of the University of Piltover now. We don't need to change anything; we just need to work hard to integrate with them."
Unlike the previous weirdo who made excuses for colonizers, this student's speech won the agreement of quite a few classmates present.
Yeah, it wasn't like they hadn't seen what Piltover was like today!
The world's highest quality of life, the best welfare benefits, the greatest cultural environment, and the most advanced technology... Calling it the beacon of human civilization was no exaggeration!
What did this have to do with that bloody and brutal colonial empire from three hundred years ago?
Never mind how they made their money in the past; the point was that they were rich and civilized now, weren't they?
"Is this what everyone thinks?"
Seeing the shifting sentiments among the audience, Professor Viktor finally stepped forward.
"Do you all believe that in today's Piltover, the exploitation and oppression of people no longer exist?"
"Well..." If this question were posed to Piltovan students, they would answer "no" with absolute certainty.
After all, even the lowest-class Piltovan commoners could afford apartments and cars, and they could laugh at Zaunites every day.
Oppression? What oppression? Why don't we Piltovans feel it at all?
But everyone sitting here was a Zaunite student.
Did the Piltovans oppress them or not? Every one of them already knew the answer.
"It's not that the rich in Piltover have stopped oppressing or sucking blood," Lina said, unknowingly acting as the class representative. "They've just sunk their teeth into Zaun, overseas, and into places the Piltovans can't see!"
"That's how they keep the blood off their own hands while shamelessly flaunting themselves as civilized and elegant!"
"Exactly!" Viktor looked at Lina with admiration and added, "Especially with the invention of the Hexgates in recent years, it is foreseeable that Runeterra will increasingly become a single economic entity in the future."
"Goods produced in Piltover can be shipped to Noxus and Demacia within a single day. Minerals and raw materials mined in Shurima and Ixtal can be transported to processing factories in Zaun overnight."
"I personally call this situation the 'globalization' of Runeterra."
"Thus, a bizarre phenomenon will become increasingly apparent as globalization advances:"
"That is, the extremely poor of a nation might not even exist within its own borders—they will appear in another country thousands of miles away!"
Viktor's words were like a sudden revelation, snapping everyone wide awake.
They were all Zaunites, so this concept was incredibly easy to grasp.
They didn't even need to consider some future globalization, because the rich of Piltover had been doing exactly this to Zaun for two hundred years.
Zaun was Piltover's mine and factory, constantly supplying Piltover with minerals, chemical raw materials, and mechanical parts at the lowest possible prices.
The lion's share of the profits was taken by Piltover business owners, while the garbage, sewage, chem-gas, and the depletion of human labor that drained them to the marrow were all left in Zaun.
And the Chem-Barons who ruled Zaun never hid their cooperation with Piltover business owners.
They would even publicly flaunt the great Piltover families standing behind them as their own competitive advantage.
Then there was a group of Chem-Barons, represented by Renata, who, after making their fortunes by exploiting Zaunites, simply expanded their businesses across the canal, even moving their corporate headquarters to Piltover—
They made it clear they wanted to integrate with the rich of Piltover, pursue an "internationalization strategy," and become a "transcendent global enterprise."
Ultimately, Piltover had been carrying out invisible colonial plundering against Zaun for the past two hundred years, and those Zaunite Chem-Barons...
Rather than saying they ruled Zaun, it was more accurate to say they were acting as lapdogs for the rich in Piltover.
No, calling them lapdogs was a bit too emotional.
Everyone thought of that new term mentioned in the article: "Comprador?"
"Exactly. Externally, there is Piltover's economic colonial plundering, and internally, there is the oppressive rule of Zaun's compradors. This is the current reality for Zaunites!"
"You can acknowledge Piltover's progress and civilization, but you absolutely cannot ignore that this so-called prosperity is built upon their plundering of Zaun, Shurima, and many other impoverished regions!"
Viktor's words were resolute and resounding, leaving the students in the room deep in thought.
Viktor continued, "Actually, the student from earlier was right about one thing."
"You are all students of the University of Piltover now. You don't need to change anything; you just need to work hard to integrate here."
The University of Piltover was the top academic institution in the city and the finest scientific academy in Runeterra.
The Zaunite students who managed to study here were all top-tier talents who had fiercely competed against thousands of other Zaunites. They were the high-quality fresh blood that Piltover would always need.
In other words, the moment these students set foot in this place, they had already become future vested interests.
They had no need to overthrow anything.
They only needed to do what Viktor had done in the past: study hard here, find employment, obtain legal Piltovan citizenship, and then, as New Piltovans, enjoy the wonderful dividends that came with this status.
"So, are you still willing to keep listening?"
Having finished explaining the *what* and the *why*, the next part would be about the *how*.
This was not something that could be casually spoken about outside.
"If you are unwilling, you may leave now," Viktor advised kindly.
The path ahead would likely not be an easy one to walk.
These students all had bright futures; they had no need to walk further down this road.
But students were always the most progressive and passionate group of people.
They were like the rising sun, a blazing fire, forever radiating light and heat, impossible to extinguish.
"We are willing!"
Some in the room were still questioning, still thinking.
But, no one left.
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