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

Chapter 8 A Night at the Library

After Aaron told Jinx to go home first while he chose to stay in Piltover, Jinx instinctively felt that Aaron's insistence on staying there overnight must be related to Caitlyn.

Unlike Jinx, Caitlin felt that Aaron's initiative to step forward was actually motivated by ulterior motives!

Otherwise, knowing he suspected him, why would Aaron volunteer to let him monitor him? Wasn't he just covering for Jinx and the others?

They even said they wanted to visit Piltover University?

Ha, isn't his plan just to let the teachers and students at the school see his face so that he can expose his true colors later and use it to prove that he has a clear conscience?

This little trick...

"Look, the study room and library are just ahead. These are the only two places I can take you there."

"No one can enter the lab without permission, so don't even think about it."

Caitlin spoke coldly, and after finishing her sentence, she stared intently into Aaron's eyes, hoping to catch any emotional lapses in him.

She didn't allow Aaron to go to the dormitory area, but restricted him to the study room and library, because there wouldn't be many people in those two places in the middle of the night.

She was determined to see how this young, seemingly gentle and polite but suspiciously suspicious businessman from Zu'an would manage to pull off his schemes!

"Can I only visit the study rooms and library?"

Aaron was indeed somewhat disappointed.

This further solidified Caitlyn's judgment, and she couldn't help but snort coldly: "Allowing you to visit Piltover University is already an extra favor."

"If we could find concrete evidence right now, you should be in the police station's interrogation room!"

"……All right."

Seeing Caitlin suddenly become excited, Aaron shook his head helplessly and didn't say anything more.

He felt it would be difficult to explain to Caitlyn that his purpose in visiting the prestigious Piltover University, leveraging her background and connections, was truly to resolve academic issues.

Regardless of how others see him, Aaron always has his own "main quest"—

Study hard and build that damn mech!

His desire for peace in Zaun, his wish to find core productivity for Zaun, and his hope to see Piltover rethink its relationship with Zaun are all in service of this core objective.

In this world, perhaps only Jinx can understand him when she occasionally acts crazy; Aaron has become accustomed to loneliness and being misunderstood...

Aaron quickly composed himself and followed Caitlyn to the Piltover University library.

Upon entering, the smell of stale leather mixed with the aroma of ink hits you.

The three-tiered, stepped structure transforms this library, which is at least twenty meters tall, into a grand and exquisite work of art.

"Is this what an all-weather library is like?"

Aaron let out a soft gasp of surprise.

In all his years in Runeterra, the most cultured place he had ever seen was the workshop of Singed, the technical advisor under Hillko.

Stepping into the library of Piltover University, the awe-inspiring atmosphere of that old-fashioned library is indescribable!

As for why it's called "old-fashioned"...

In fact, Aaron didn't understand that the Piltover people had already developed Hextech and even advertised that they would be showcasing "inventions of groundbreaking significance" at the 200th anniversary of Progress Day in a few days.

Why hasn't this library gone paperless yet?

Is it because once everything goes paperless, the inventors of the arson equipment patents will be unhappy and complain, "Piltwolf, please wait for your people..."?

"Thank you for bringing me here."

After the initial shock, Aaron thanked Caitlin.

Then he eagerly walked toward the reading area labeled "Mechanical Engineering and Automation" and gestured to Caitlin:

"Alright, it's getting late. I'm afraid I'll be reading all night. Miss Caitlin, you can go back and rest now."

"I promise I won't run away. I'll be at the library entrance first thing tomorrow morning..."

"Go back to rest?!"

Before Aaron could finish speaking, Caitlin suddenly raised her voice and interrupted him.

The policewoman looked at herself incredulously, as if she'd heard the funniest joke in the world: "I'm the officer in charge of monitoring you, the suspect! Why should I abandon my post if you're supposed to stay here and read?!"

"Oh, I see..."

Caitlin squinted, eyeing Aaron suspiciously as he took down a book, while her rifle clicked as it was chambered.

"Are you planning to get rid of me so you can take revenge after you failed to achieve your goal?"

"You're planning to burn down the library!!"

……

Aaron stared at Caitlin in disbelief, his hands ceasing to turn the pages of his book.

I?

Burn down the library?

Anyone who dares to touch the books in this library, I'll be the first to fight them!

In an instant, Aaron suddenly felt that the brains of the Piltover people and the Zaun people must share the same logic.

Otherwise, how did Caitlyn come up with such a bizarre and outlandish idea that only Jinx could come up with?!

"Miss Caitlin, I..."

"Use your job title when you're at work!"

"Alright, Officer Caitlin." Aaron was so exasperated he laughed, and decided to abandon his earlier suggestion that was in Caitlin's best interest. "You can stay here and read with me if you want, I have no problem with that."

"But I must emphasize one point: I would absolutely never do something like setting fire to a library!"

"That sounds nice..."

Caitlin clearly didn't believe it.

She moved a chair and sat directly in the reading area where Aaron was standing, keeping a close eye on him without letting her guard down for a moment.

Seeing Aaron open a book and then stand motionless like a statue for over ten minutes, Caitlin couldn't help but reflect on the day's events:

Because of her innate intuition, she sensed something amiss in the cargo ship fire and identified Aaron as the suspect; at the same time, because of her insistence on procedural justice, she chose to ensure the suspect's safety and freedom before finding evidence...

Caitlin sat in the chair, a slight smile playing on her lips.

That's right!

As a police officer in Piltover, one must act like I did today, balancing a sense of justice with wisdom!

Hmph, I really am capable.

If I really manage to find a weakness in Aaron's defenses, the police department will definitely publicly commend me, and my family will certainly recognize my abilities, as will those who didn't believe in me before...

"Feed".

Who's calling me?

"Officer Caitlin... Officer Caitlin, wake up."

Caitlin opened her eyes groggily.

When the sunlight streaming through the library windows shone on her face, allowing her to vaguely make out Aaron's still kind face, Caitlin suddenly realized:

I actually fell asleep?!

No, that's not right...

Caitlin jumped up from the stool as if she had a spring in her butt.

She looked around and noticed that the library was already filled with students who had gotten up early to study, while Aaron seemed reluctant to stop. He asked Caitlin a question that made her feel incredibly embarrassed and indignant:

"Good morning, Officer Caitlin. Although I didn't have a chance to buy you breakfast as a thank you, we have to go now as promised."

"Oh, right."

Aaron discreetly took a tissue from his black satchel and gently wiped away the glistening, clear liquid from the back of the chair.

"You slept leaning against the chair last night, did you catch a cold?"