Evening, Caitlin's house.

The garden villa of Caitlin's family is located in the uptown area of ​​Piltover, where rich and famous people gather, and it is only a stone's throw away from the Avenue of the Stars, where every inch of land is precious.

And this is just a commonly used "small house" among the countless manors, villas, private islands... and other real estate owned by the Gila Mann family.

Caitlin has been home for quite some time.

But she never changed into a casual home T-shirt or dress as usual. Instead, she was wearing her blue law enforcement officer's uniform, holding a document carefully bound in kraft paper, and sitting at her home.

On the large sofa in the living room, she was waiting for the return of her mother, Congressman Mrs. Gila Mann.

But my mother, who usually pays great attention to her family and insists on going home on time every day, did not show up today.

Caitlin did not waver, she was still waiting.

Finally, after a long wait, there was some movement outside the living room.

"Madam, Miss Caitlin has been waiting for you in the conference room." The housekeeper respectfully reminded her from outside the door.

"I understand, you all go down."

Then a calm and deep female voice sounded.

This voice has the softness of a woman, but also naturally carries the majesty, rationality, and indifference of a superior person.

Caitlin knew that her mother had never spoken in this tone at home before.

So when her mother, the highest councilor of Piltover, the elegant Mrs. Gila Mann with white temples, pushed the door in, Caitlin sighed helplessly:

"Mother, it seems that you already know what happened when I came to see you."

"I know." Mrs. Gila Mann walked slowly in front of her daughter and walked down. She looked at her fondly but disappointedly: "Caitlin, I knew you were not suitable to be a law enforcement officer."

"Sooner or later you will break out of a mess like today's."

As she spoke, Mrs. Gila Mann slowly pushed back the transcripts and investigation order application documents that Caitlin carefully laid out without even looking at them.

She had no intention of watching it at all.

"Mother, you..." Although she had expected this, when this scene actually happened in front of her, Caitlin still felt a sense of disillusionment as the world collapsed.

The mother in her impression should be a gentle, kind, gentle, pure and kind lady, not a cold-blooded philistine Pi City politician.

But now it seems that this may just be her wishful thinking.

"Mother!" Caitlin emphasized: "You told me that Piltover is the country with the most rule of law in Runeterra and the most civilized and progressive..."

"I didn't lie to you." Her mother interrupted her: "Compared to other places, we are already the most rule-of-law country."

Caitlin: "..."

"But you also told me that the law is sacrosanct! You told me that we must uphold..."

"That's because I didn't expect that you would be so hot-headed as to be a law enforcement officer!" Mrs. Gila Mann gently touched her forehead with a helpless expression.

"Caitlin, resign—"

"You are not suitable for this job."

Not suitable, yet again inappropriate.

Sheriff Marcos said so, and her mother said so.

But she was clearly just fulfilling her duties as a law enforcement officer, guarding the light and fighting against the darkness!

"No! I thought you would understand when you become a law enforcement officer..." Mother said: "The world is neither black nor white, but a delicate gray."

"If you still have this kind of black and white thinking in your mind, then you can't be a law enforcement officer, and you can't be a qualified heir to the Gila Mann family."

Caitlin remained unconvinced.

There was only disappointment in her eyes, disappointment at her mother's "betrayal".

"Why?" Caitlin couldn't help but ask, "You used to pretend to be so kind and harmless in front of me!"

"What's the background behind the Iron Fist Gang? That makes you want to defend them regardless of dignity and right?"

Mrs. Gillamann thought for a moment.

Finally, she looked at her daughter, who was no longer immature and had a heroic look on her face, and said, "Caitlin, you asked this question just right."

"I originally planned to wait until you grow up and start to get involved in the family business, and then slowly educate you on this. Since you have taken the initiative to ask me these questions now, it is also time for me to teach you some. As the direct daughter of the Gila Mann family,

Something you should know.”

Her mother's tone became gentler, just like her mother who used to patiently study with her at the table.

"Caitlin, what do you think is the background behind the Iron Fist Gang?"

She did not answer directly, but returned the question to her daughter.

"I..." Caitlin bit her lip in pain, but finally looked at her mother firmly: "I suspect that this matter is probably related to you and our family!!"

As soon as she came up, she pointed the finger at her own family.

She thought her mother would deny it.

But Gila Mann nodded naturally: "The Iron Fist Gang is indeed related to our Gila Mann family - they are related to all the big business families in Piltover."

"Because the existence of these Zaun gangs is the result of our tacit approval."

Caitlin's eyes widened in disbelief.

Shouldn't gangsters like the Iron Fist Gang be the enemies of the Piltover Council?

"No." Mrs. Gila Mann said: "To us, the Iron Fist Gang and the Piltover Law Enforcement Officers are actually tools to maintain the existing order in Piltover."

These words completely ruined Caitlin’s outlook:

The law enforcement officer she aspires to be, in the eyes of the Piltover Councilor, is actually the same... tool as the Iron Fist Gang?

"Yes, but law enforcement officers are used to manage the Piltover community and the Piltover people."

"Gangsters like the Iron Fist Gang are used to manage the Zaun community and the Zaun apprentices."

Councilor Gila Mann said a strange theory that would shock everyone in Piltover if spread, and asked his daughter:

"Have you ever been to our factory, Caitlin?"

"No..." Caitlin murmured in reply.

"Three-quarters of our family's factory is Zaun. The situation of other families is similar to ours."

"You can imagine how many Zaun apprentices have crossed the canal and settled and worked in Piltover."

"These people have very low salaries and cannot save much money."

"Just one accident or a minor illness can plunge them into abject poverty. They will also grow old, get injured, and slowly become unable to work, and will be replaced by younger and more capable Zaun apprentices."

"Then they will lose their jobs, cannot afford to eat, cannot afford to pay rent, and lose their qualifications as apprentices..."

Caitlin was confused for a while.

She still didn't understand what her mother was going to say.

If Levi were here, he could tell Caitlin:

In order to pursue the most extreme profits, Piltover always wants the youngest, most capable, and most efficient part of the Zaun people.

There is no need to wait for the Zaunites to grow old. As long as they can no longer do their job, they will be ruthlessly optimized and eliminated by the company. Anyway, Piltover will never lack young foreign labor. If one group is eliminated, there will be another group.

And these Zaun people abandoned everything in their hometown and came to Piltover. As a result, they were unable to establish strong property relationships in Piltover. When the brutal elimination came to them, they had only one way to go:

Leave Piltover and return to Zaun.

"But how can those Zuan people be willing to go back obediently?"

Just listen to the mother who is always gentle and kind in Caitlin's mind, explaining to her in a very cold tone:

"Compared to Piltover, Zaun is hell."

"These Zaunites will do anything they can to stay in Piltover, hiding behind crowds and hiding in corners."

"They are like bugs hiding in a garden. No matter how many law enforcement officers you send over, it is impossible to catch them all. Even if you catch one batch, another batch will grow quickly."

"And these people have no money and no jobs, so what else can they do if they stay in Piltover?"

"The helplessness is begging, robbery, theft, smuggling, selling sex, loan sharking...these are shady and illegal businesses."

"As more people engage in these underground businesses, they will form gangs and form organizations - Zaun gangs like the Iron Fist Gang naturally formed in Piltover."

"Whether we acquiesce in their existence or not, they will always exist."

After hearing this, Caitlin finally had some ideas:

Piltover companies need Zaunites, so there are many Zaunites in Piltover.

These Zuan people are very poor, and when people become poor to a certain extent, they will inevitably regard the "Criminal Code" as the "Book of Getting Rich".

If there are more Zaun people committing crimes, then naturally there will be Zaun gangsters.

Regardless of whether you allow their existence or not, they will always appear in Piltover.

Therefore, instead of blindly rejecting these gangs, it is better to acquiesce in their existence, use and control them.

"This..." This question sounds like it has no solution.

Unless... Piltover stops recruiting foreign workers from Zaun?

or...

Caitlin vaguely captured the root of the problem:

"What about giving the Zaun people more wages so that they won't be so poor?"

Mrs. Gilla Mann: "..."
Chapter completed!