Sir! Don't close the net!

Carly was taken aback, then suddenly turned to look at Li Yili, her expression showing sudden realization.

Just like throwing Ralph out directly, this is to intimidate these people in the asset circle and prevent them from turning their backs on you the next day!

Once she had sufficiently warned them, Li Yili would naturally open the door and let them out.

Looking at Li Yili, who was sitting motionless in the chair, Carly swallowed hard.

Will they let people in...?

It's like a sage mode after reaching the limit of explosive power.

The knocking and pleas for mercy reached their peak and then vanished without warning, leaving a deathly silence once again in the church surrounded by cold metal.

Carly's movements were stiff

He turned his head to look at the metal door, his pupils contracted slightly, and he spoke with difficulty, "They...are dead?"

“Who knows,” Li Yili opened her eyes and flicked her fingers. “Aren’t they citizens of the wasteland? They should be under the protection of the wasteland’s law enforcement, after all…”

Li Yili grinned.

"Nights in the Triassic Circle can be very dangerous."

Carly swallowed hard.

If the people in the Triassic asset circle were truly protected by the wasteland's law enforcement, they wouldn't be so pitifully knocking on doors and begging to be opened.

“Speaking of which… it’s so strange… wasn’t it said that the Church of the God of Steam and Steel had gangsters from the Jurassic Circle in charge of receiving them? Why can’t we see a single one?” Li Yili tilted her head towards Aditi.

"Could it be... that group of people from earlier?"

Adi shrugged and curled up.

"Ah... Come to think of it, that Lav really did take a liking to you, and they certainly have the ability to grant you identities."

"A warm bed, freshly cooked food, and a stable place to live."

"However, well... that's probably all that's left."

"Snapped--"

The crisp sound of the plate shattering on the ground broke the oppressive silence. Not only Li Yili, but even Aditi, who had been keeping her head down and not speaking, looked up.

Rebecca, who had accidentally dropped her plate, blinked, tilted her head, and stuck out her pink tongue to lick the sauce off her wrist. "Why are you looking at me? You guys continue..."

Rebecca had empty plates all around her, only filled with sauce.

“It’s over,” Li Yili said, crossing her arms.

Rebecca blinked, suddenly realizing, "Oh right—that middle-aged man only asked you to take Aditi to the church, so what do we do next? I just need to eat and drink my fill, right? Hmm..."

Rebecca paused and pulled her clothes tighter.

"Of course, I would love to get my fur back. I feel very insecure right now."

As soon as Rebecca finished speaking, her messy hair began to shake, and her pair of big, furry ears snapped up.

Carly's eyes widened.

What's happening now is gradually exceeding her limited understanding.

Rebecca blinked, raised her hand and grabbed her ear. The familiar touch made her eyes light up with emotion after a brief moment of surprise.

"This touch... oh my gosh!"

“Less than twenty minutes…” Li Yili raised her hand and tapped her forehead, “It’s not a permanent elimination, but nearly twenty minutes of weakness in battle, coupled with that industrial smog environment, could indeed easily hunt down most of the Chosen Ones, but…”

Li Yili interlaced her fingers, leaned forward slightly, and looked at Carly.

What do you know about the Wasteland Executive Division, [Plague]?

Carly paused, turned to look at the tightly closed metal door, and said cautiously, "They are responsible for maintaining order in the Triple Circle and only appear at night."

"Then sterilize? It's called 'Plague'?" Li Yili raised her chin. "Judging from the miserable howls of those guys just now, this seems more like indiscriminate disinfection."

“Cough—but, but as long as you don’t wander the streets at night, stay inside buildings, even in the sewers, as long as you’re not within the smog zone, you won’t be attacked by the [Plague],” Carly gestured with her hand. “And, it’s not necessarily being killed. So far, I haven’t heard of anyone being killed by the [Plague], it’s just…”

Carly paused, then awkwardly looked away.

"They're just missing. Maybe we'll see them in prison, since they broke the law."

"Are you sure the plague won't get into the building?"

"What if... the smog gets inside the building?"

Li Yili raised her hand and pointed behind Carly.

Carly was startled and turned around abruptly.

The cold metal door had become unreal, and a hazy mist was silently seeping in through the cracks.

Chapter Ten: Isn't there a game here that's more suitable for adults?

Thick, eerie smog drags the night in the Triassic Circle into a gray area where life and death are indistinguishable, and the [Plague] that roams within it silently takes away lives from this gray area.

After a brief silence, Carly collapsed to the ground, her sense of security, built on the ironclad rule that staying inside a building would prevent attacks, instantly crumbling.

"No, wasn't it said that as long as you stay inside the building, it'll be... okay?"

"Who said that? Who guaranteed it? If the guarantor and the executor are the same person... then in the end they can do whatever they want, right?"

Li Yili tilted her head to the side and delivered the final blow to Carly.

"Staying inside a building certainly protects you from attacks, but what if that safety condition is predicated on... not having walked in smog? If you have inhaled smog, and those smog particles are still in your lungs, does that mean you are still under the influence of smog?"

Carly turned pale and forcefully covered her mouth.

Because she had been running so fast, she had taken several deep breaths. Although she didn't know what the particles Li Yili was talking about were, she knew that she had inhaled the terrible smog into her body.

"Don't try to vomit it out, those things aren't in..."

It's in your lungs, not your stomach.

Carly, who was about to choke herself, froze, and frantically got up to plead with Li Yili for help, "What, what should I do?! I, I don't want to die!"

“It’s not necessarily death; it’s just that you’ll be thrown in jail,” Li Yili replied with a smile.

Carly's lips twitched slightly.

That's what she said, but that was on the premise that the smog didn't directly invade the buildings. Now it's barging in! Does this mean they're going to arrest people? This looks like they're going to kill someone!

"Help, help..."

Terrifying rumors about smog kept surfacing in Carly's mind. It felt like a pair of giant hands were gripping her throat, and Carly had to strain her voice to get it out.

In just a short while, the metal doors of the church that had once given her a sense of security were mostly swallowed up by the smog, becoming incredibly illusory as if they might disappear at any moment.

What will happen next? What will happen next?

"Click—"

In the illusory haze, the gears that hadn't locked the door began to turn, and the tightly closed door slowly opened. Thick haze spread along the cold metal, and the gas lamps inside the church began to flicker erratically as if disturbed.

Instead of screaming for help, think about why you're relentlessly pursuing us. Inhaling the smog only fulfills the conditions for the law enforcement agency [Plague] to break into buildings and attack. The choice of whether or not to break into buildings and attack is in the hands of [Plague].

Li Yili, as if oblivious to the unusual situation in the church, raised her finger and waved it from side to side.

"This is not an ordinary working-class residence, but a church of the Church of Steam and Steel."

"What makes them willing to trespass into their own master's territory and launch an attack?"

As soon as Li Yili finished speaking, Carly's expression immediately became subtle.

Just minutes ago, Li Yili threw the bigwigs of the San Die circle out of the church like trash.

"It's your fault they'll continue to attack!" Rebecca wiped her mouth forcefully, raised her arm covered in wolf fur, and pointed her sharp nails at Li Yili.

“Ha… If that’s the case, they’ll definitely come in immediately and make an arrogant declaration,” Li Yili pinched the bridge of her nose and turned to look at Aditi, who was squatting in the corner, staring intently at the smog pouring into the church. “The target of the [Plague] is you, isn’t it?”

“Huh? But she’s just a little kid,” Carly said, her face full of disbelief.

“Of course, because children are more mischievous, it is difficult for them to complete relevant professional training in a short period of time, and they can not remember much. It is impossible for them to be used to carry out any very complicated infiltration missions. But... it is just impossible. Once trained, this is a mine that is easy to overlook.” Li Yili shrugged, stood up, and walked casually toward Aditi.

"Speaking of which, when we entered the Triassic Circle, this damn smog was already waiting, like... stakeouts. If this smog is part of the law enforcement [plague], then there wasn't a ten-minute buffer from the very beginning, and..."

Li Yili stopped in front of Aditi, bent down and grinned.

"The attack came immediately, and you were the first to discover it. You were very nervous, like a new recruit being forced to face the enemy for the first time. You were just a kid."

Li Yili reached out and pinched Aditi's fair and tender face, shaking it from side to side.

"You should be crying and screaming in a very annoying way, instead of holding it in and not making a sound. Ah... not just holding it in, but when you were moving around in the smog just now, you seemed to be trying to filter the smog by covering your mouth with your clothes, but it seems that the other party does not intend to investigate and avoid harming innocent people."

“Eliminate all those who have smuggled themselves in.”

Li Yili released Aditi's face, stood up straight, turned his head and looked down at Aditi. His eyes gleamed with a deep light, and behind him, the haze surged silently.

"I'm quite curious about what made the Wasteland, no, I should say the Cult of Steam and Steel, which always talks a big game but is sloppy in execution, go to such lengths, repairing the city walls, digging canals, and even creating this damn thing called the execution department [Plague]."

"What exactly are you guys trying to explore in this wasteland?"

Adi swallowed hard, her brown eyes trembling slightly. She instinctively shrank back, trying to get away from Li Yili, but she was in the corner with no way out.

“Sir, the One and Only Ruler, you wouldn’t be planning to commit violence against a child, would you?” Abel, standing to the side, turned his body slightly and nudged Aditi’s chin with his right hand. “Look, this child is about to cry.”

"Ha...Are you stupid? How much real knowledge could a little brat possibly have?"

Li Yili turned her head to look at the smog that had swallowed most of the church, and her smile rose like a crescent moon.

The illusory metal gate, seemingly about to vanish at any moment, was pushed open completely amidst the smog. Red rays of light silently stretched along the smog, and a cold and terrifying raven mask emerged from the smog under the illumination of the gas lamp. Lanterns with flickering blue flames collided with chains without making a sound.

At the end of the chain were several corpses that looked rather plump.

"Isn't there someone here who knows more, has more details, and is even more suitable for interrogation?"

Chapter Eleven

The heavy blow from smog

"clatter--"

Seemingly noticing Li Yili's gaze, the Plague Doctor stopped in his tracks. His face, clad in a raven mask, rotated to the left, reaching the limit of his bone's twisting ability, yet he still didn't stop. The crisp sound of bones cracking sent chills down Carly's spine.

"It's just like... a real crow..."

"It doesn't matter how this happens."

Faced with the Plague Doctor's strange behavior, Li Yili boldly walked towards him with her arms outstretched.