Sir! Don't close the net!

But the question is, who fought with whom?

Who has started the plague this time?

Li Yili felt terrible. After spending seven or eight months in Teresa Prison, he had completely lost track of the direction in which the world was developing.

Moreover, judging from the worker's resentful tone, both the war and the plague were related to those favored by God.

Li Yili wasn't too surprised by this; more than 70% of the major events in this world were caused by those favored by the gods.

“I’m sorry, actually I only escaped from a temple yesterday,” Li Yili said, raising her finger and bending it. “If I count the time, I’ve been trapped for about a few months, and this is all I have left.”

"Really? They survived being trapped for months. You chosen ones are all monsters after all."

Li Yili's eyes twitched violently.

In every sense, he is the only one in the world who is not a monster.

Li Yili subconsciously emphasized her tone, "I'm really sorry, if I didn't only have this outfit left, I should have taken the train straight into the wasteland."

“You shouldn’t talk like that,” Abel, standing behind Li Yili, complained with his hands behind his head. “You’re only making things worse.”

"What do you mean! Are you looking down on us?!" The complaining worker immediately grabbed Li Yili's collar, and the other workers also grabbed shovels and hoes, looking at Li Yili with hostile eyes.

“See—” Abel stuck out his tongue, “things have gotten worse.”

"What's wrong? What's going on?! Do you want to fight?!"

Sensing an impending conflict, Rebecca quickly moved behind Li Yili, remembering that she couldn't reveal her true identity.

She didn't throw off her robe in preparation for a massacre. However, if her opponents were a group of ordinary people, she wouldn't need to take off her robe; she could simply charge into them one by one and wipe them out.

“No, we just had a disagreement on communication,” Li Yili raised her hand and nodded toward the checkpoint. “Situations like this will only increase. The higher-ups don’t care how difficult the actual project is. Even if the scheduled deadline hasn’t passed, they will keep urging you to speed up the project and hold endless meetings to put pressure on you.”

Nick's lips twitched slightly.

What Li Yili said is... absolutely right.

Their project was scheduled for three months, and given their current progress, they should be able to finish within three months even if something unexpected happened. But only a month has passed, and the higher-ups have been coming down to check on them every day, not so much to inspect their work, but to find fault.

Seeing them resting makes me think they've been slacking off.

Seeing them working, I felt like they were putting on a show for him.

And every day they would find something to do and make the foremen go to meetings to talk nonsense, wishing they could finish the project that very day.

If the higher-ups approved more funding and manpower, he wouldn't complain.

“I can help you, and I don’t need your guarantee that I can get in,” Li Yili pointed to the city wall. “It’s a very profitable deal for you.”

Nick's eyes flickered for a while before he let out a long breath.

“I refuse. Even without your help, we can complete the project within the scheduled timeframe.”

Seeing Nick's unwavering stance, the other construction workers also put their hands on their hips.

"Although I don't know if it's true that you were trapped in the temple for several months, I'll give you a friendly piece of advice: don't even think about sneaking into the wasteland. The Cult of Steam and Steel has established a new law enforcement agency, and quite a few of those chosen by the gods who sneak in or break the rules have already been hunted down."

Li Yili rested her chin on her hand, raising an eyebrow slightly. "That's really surprising. I remember the wasteland used to have no tolerance for those favored by the gods."

If one could gallop along the path of mysterious power, who would be willing to develop science?

Wasteland is the best proof of this statement.

Therefore, in order to win over the Chosen Ones, the wasteland treats them like sycophants. The status of being a Chosen One is like a get-out-of-jail-free card. In addition, the wasteland has a very strict class distinction. Even if a Chosen One wipes out the entire population of a block, as long as it doesn't happen in the capital, Millennium, the Cult of Steam and Steel will not say a word.

Because the wasteland really needs the Chosen Ones to hold its own.

But now the wasteland has actually formed a group of chosen ones who can hunt down those who infiltrate the wasteland and violate its rules.

That means the wasteland no longer needs to bribe and win over the chosen ones as it did in the past; either it has a large number of chosen ones, or...

The wasteland, or rather the cult of steam and steel, possesses power comparable to that of the chosen ones.

Li Yili glanced sideways at Rebecca, who was swaying gently from side to side in a long robe.

Although there is no direct evidence, the Wasteland's current assertive attitude proves one thing: the Cult of Steam and Steel reaped considerable benefits before Bishop Azavet got what he wanted.

However, there is still one problem.

Many of the chosen ones who secretly infiltrated have already been hunted down...

Is there anything in the wasteland worth sneaking into by those favored by the gods?

"Really? That's a real shame."

Li Yili shrugged, hooked her arm around Rebecca's shoulder, and slowly left the construction site.

After Li Yili walked away, the workers who had been standing with their hands on their hips lowered their hands and somewhat guiltily surrounded Nick, saying, "Boss, were we too arrogant?"

“Don’t worry, the area outside the wall will remain the enforcement team’s territory until the canal is completed,” Nick said, glancing at Li Yili’s retreating figure. “However, you were indeed too arrogant just now. I know you have grievances, but now is not the time. If you anger him, he might want to test how fast the enforcement team can get here.”

Nick paused, then raised his hand and patted the worker in front of him on the shoulder.

"Of course, if that happens, the speed at which the law enforcement team arrives will have nothing to do with us, who are already corpses."

The workers froze, then chuckled awkwardly, picked up their tools, and dispersed to continue digging the canal.

Chapter Three: You guys even have group-buying tickets for your smuggling trips?

"How are we supposed to get in? It's getting late."

Seeing Li Yili whistling leisurely, Rebecca couldn't help but complain.

Although she didn't mind spending the night in the wild, the surroundings were empty and seemed endless. At first, she felt quite open, but after looking around for a while, she felt a strange sense of oppression, and her relaxed nerves began to tighten.

If she absolutely had to sleep here, she would definitely dig a hole first.

“No rush,” Li Yili snapped her fingers and looked toward the checkpoint.

The guards' warnings did not deter the refugees. Although they no longer crowded at the border as if they were trying to get in, they showed no intention of leaving and even began to set up camp, clearly planning a protracted battle.

Of course, Li Yili did not believe that this hurdle could be overcome through a protracted war.

After muttering a few words, Rebecca squatted down beside Li Yili's legs and stretched out her claws, leaving cracks on the smooth road.

"Hmm...it'll be here soon."

Li Yili raised her hand and pressed it against her neck, shaking it from side to side.

The guards who had previously turned away the refugees turned back to the border. Many refugees got up, but then sat back down because the guards closed the border gate as they returned.

As the guards left, the lifeless refugees stopped staring longingly at the border and began digging holes in the cement road to start fires.

Rebecca, who had already drawn a small figure on the road, paused. Her ears, which were covered by her robe, suddenly perked up, but before she could get up, Li Yili pressed her head down again.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Li Yili turned her head to look at her.

A middle-aged man carrying a large bag rubbed his hands together, smiling ingratiatingly, and stopped at a distance that was just right and wouldn't annoy anyone.

"Sir, may I ask your name?"

“Richard,” Li Yili tilted her head.

Behind the middle-aged man stood another person, even shorter, who did not appear to be an adult.

“Ahem—Mr. Richard, I actually saw your argument with the construction team earlier, and I’d like to make a guess that you want to go into the wasteland,” the middle-aged man noticed Li Yili’s gaze, but made no attempt to hide it, and even pushed the person hiding behind him in front of Li Yili.

“This is my daughter, Aditi.”

The little girl who was pushed out tugged at the middle-aged man's sleeve, her head bowed, and she didn't say a word.

Li Yili tilted her head and rested her chin on her hand. Before she could speak, Rebecca spoke first, "Cute little loli."

The rather short Aditi subconsciously raised her head and happened to see Rebecca's face hidden under the robe. Her cute little face turned pale instantly, and she froze on the spot.

Because of her height, the middle-aged man couldn't see Rebecca's face. Although Rebecca's voice was hoarse, it couldn't hide her youthful innocence and the gentleness unique to women. So, although he was a little surprised that Aditi was suddenly so nervous, he didn't pay too much attention to it, taking it as just because she was in contact with someone who was suspected to be a chosen one of God and whose background was unknown.

“You two don’t look alike,” Li Yili raised an eyebrow.

“Mr. Sole Dominator, don’t touch her just because she’s cute,” Abel, standing behind Li Yili, complained.

"Ahem—adopted," the middle-aged man said, somewhat embarrassed, turning his gaze away.

“Really? Then let me make a bold guess, you don’t mean to ask me to take your daughter to the wasteland, do you?” Li Yili raised her head. “Even if you’re desperate and grasping at straws, you shouldn’t believe that a chosen one of the gods would help you.”

Li Yili glanced at Aditi again.

"Besides, your daughter is quite cute."

The middle-aged man opened his mouth, hesitated for a while, and then lowered his voice, "I don't think you would do that."

"Huh? Do I look that familiar?"

“The way you look at us is like you’d look at stray cats and dogs on the street. I don’t think you would do those things to stray cats and dogs,” the middle-aged man said with a somewhat awkward laugh.

Adi forcefully turned her face away.

Li Yili subconsciously raised her hand to touch her eye socket, and after a long silence, she shrugged. "It's your imagination, but you guessed right. I'm a good person. How can I help you?"

"what……"

The middle-aged man forced a smile, looked around, and took a few steps closer to Li Yili, lowering his voice.

"Actually, it's like this: I've already made a deal with the gangs in the Jurassic Circle. As long as we can get the people to the designated location, they can help us get in."

Li Yili tilted her head to the side.

The wasteland's structure resembles tree rings. At the very center is the wasteland's capital, Millennium. One ring outwards is the Cretaceous Circle, and another ring outwards is the Jurassic Circle, which the middle-aged man referred to. Beyond the Jurassic Circle is another wall, the one in front of them. The area outlined is the Triassic Circle, where the wasteland's lower-class inhabitants live.

How did someone who can't even get past the Triassic checkpoints manage to contact the Jurassic Circle gangs?

"I don't need to go in, I just hope you can take my daughter in," the middle-aged man said, bowing to Li Yili with his hands clasped together.

Adi pulled hard on the middle-aged man's clothes and turned her face away.

"Okay, lead the way."

Li Yili raised her head.

The middle-aged man was taken aback, but after realizing what was happening, he nodded with a look of delight and gently patted Adi's back.

"Please come with me."

Led by the middle-aged man, Li Yili and Rebecca moved away from the border and came to a wall that was much older than the one at the border. A huge ditch separated the road from the old wall, and four or five people were driving wooden stakes in front of the ditch. Judging from their clothing, they did not look like construction workers.

"Did you buy your tickets through a group purchase for smuggling?" Li Yili smiled meaningfully.

“Ahem—it’s like this, in two hours, the inner side of this section of the wall will be blown up. Of course! This is not a terrorist attack, but rather because during the previous inspection, it was discovered that there was a major flaw in the construction of this section of the wall,” the middle-aged man gestured with his hand, “The cost of the reconstruction far exceeds the cost of rebuilding, so the Wasteland plans to blow up this section of the wall and rebuild it directly, and this project has been contracted to the Jurassic Circle gang.”