Sir! Don't close the net!

[2012] is like the Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads, and the [language algorithms] that have helped them so much over the past century have become a death knell, reminding them every moment how much time is left before the end of everything.

Amidst the deafening noise of the machinery, Harry and Malfoy arrived at the central nave of the cathedral.

The Church of Steam and Steel has no god to worship, let alone a system of gods. Therefore, what replaced the position of the great statue was the Sigma-level legacy that represented a carnival in which even the gods participated—the Prophecy Algorithm.

A number of people stood in the central hall, most of them with cold faces, standing there like corpses. The oppressive and cold atmosphere made Malfoy subconsciously pull up his collar.

Before Harry could speak, the other members of the Steam and Steel Cult, who were staring intently at the [Prophecy Algorithm], abruptly turned to look at Harry.

After a five-minute silence, a man wearing a shawl woven from white feathers raised his hand and adjusted his glasses. "I don't think you would make such a basic mistake."

"Yuri, this is a great attempt, and the results will definitely exceed our expectations."

Harry put his hands behind his back, raised his head, and gave a confident smile that surprised many people present. The fire looked like a serious accident, so serious that only an idiot would stubbornly deny that it was an accident.

Harry is definitely not an idiot.

"What made you decide to undertake such a costly attempt?" Yuri tilted his head slightly, his slightly reflective glasses obscuring his eyes.

“God’s…revelation,” Harry grinned.

Malfoy, standing behind Harry, stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

This is the cathedral of the Church of Steam and Steel.

Yuri raised his hand to take off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose, and after a long silence, looked up at Harry. "Are you sure?"

“You think I’d joke about something like this?” Harry gestured with his chin toward the [Prophecy Algorithm]. “Time is running out, but we’re lucky because our prediction was correct, which is why He appeared before us.”

And we will accelerate our plans, just as we did three years ago.

The entire cathedral fell into a deathly silence, an absolute stillness so profound that they could even clearly hear the faint turning sound emanating from the [Prophecy Algorithm].

“I understand. Is there anything I can do to help?” Yuri nodded. “There must be many more attempts you’ve envisioned.”

Malfoy's mouth dropped open.

This is the head of the executive department of the capital city, Millennium, called "Death." Not only does he not intend to hold them accountable, but he even plans to help them make more attempts. It's unbelievable.

"For the wasteland royalty and nobility..."

Harry smiled.

"That's what they want most."

Chapter Thirty: The lukewarm water is about to turn hot.

The crowded and noisy crowds made the already narrow Diagon Alley seem even narrower, and all sorts of outdated items gave it an unsightly, dilapidated brown hue.

Puss leaned against the door of the clothing store, glanced at the crowded Diagon Alley outside the window, drew the curtains, and pulled down the hat embroidered with the word "world" to cover half of his eyes. "If only my uncle's intestines were this smooth, but at least my uncle's intestines don't reflux."

After making his rant, Puss even confidently raised the corners of his mouth and glanced at the ladies in the store.

“Ugh—if you can’t tell corny jokes, you don’t have to,” Rebecca stated her disdain quite bluntly.

“Uncle Butchart would smash your head in if he knew you always used his intestines as a metaphor,” Anne pinched the bridge of her nose.

Aditi wasn't even listening to Puss from the beginning.

Puss coughed heavily, stiffly turned his head, and softly whistled.

"Ahem—First of all, I must state that the burning of the processing plant built by the Cult of Steam and Steel in the Triassic does not mean that the Cult of Steam and Steel's control has weakened. In fact, the situation may be quite the opposite. This fire has made the Cult of Steam and Steel, which did not take the Triassic seriously, more vigilant."

Anne placed her ten fingers together in front of her nose.

"The Cult of Steam and Steel will send people to the Triple Circle as early as today, or at the latest in three days."

"Isn't this a really bad situation?!" Puss stumbled, clutching his cowboy hat and shouting anxiously, "In such an emergency, we're still leisurely standing here chatting!"

“Ha…Puss, you don’t actually want to break into the Jurassic Circle before the Cult of Steam and Steel arrives, do you?” Annie raised an eyebrow.

"Uh... what else...?" Puss asked cautiously, after a moment of surprise.

“Puss, Puss… I told you, this fire has made the Cult of Steam and Steel, who previously didn’t take the Triassic Circle seriously, more vigilant than ever. In other words, now that they’ve temporarily lost the Triassic Circle’s influence, the Cult of Steam and Steel is paying more attention to the wall that separates the Triassic Circle from the Jura Circle than ever before,” Anne sighed deeply. “Let alone crossing that wall, just getting close to it is now extremely dangerous.”

"You might get your throat slit without anyone noticing."

Pus instinctively covered his neck and shrank back. "Really?"

“A wolf cornered is a terrifying creature,” Annie chuckled. “So we have to make this damn wolf feel like everything is under control before we can find a way to surprise them.”

“I mean… I don’t want to spoil your fun,” Rebecca said after hesitating for a moment, “Once the Cult of Steam and Steel regains control of the Triple Ring, won’t it be the same as going back to the way things were before? You guys were just lazy frogs before.”

“At first glance… that is indeed the case, but Miss Rebecca, times always move forward. Even if there are similarities, they are just superficial resemblances. This Triple Circle has been permanently changed,” Anne tilted her head toward Li Yili. “The fire caused by Mr. Yellow Raincoat took away at least half of Triple Circle’s food storage.”

"If I'm not mistaken... the inhabitants of the Cretaceous, the Jurassic, and the Triassic are three completely different [raw materials] of the Church of the God of Steam and Steel."

Anne raised her right index finger.

"To avoid mixing up the three [raw materials], they built high walls and instilled deep-rooted class differences in the minds of the wasteland's inhabitants."

Puss rubbed his hairy arms vigorously.

He didn't like the way Anne described raw materials, but in fact, the Church of Steam and Steel treated them the same way they would raw materials, and they were very unlucky to be classified as low-grade materials.

However, the thought of Jurassic and Cretaceous people being used as high-grade materials made Puss inexplicably happy.

The presence of advanced materials signifies the Church of Steam and Steel's keen interest. While lower-grade materials still have a chance to escape, advanced materials have absolutely no chance of escape.

Good materials require good processing methods, while poor materials require less sophisticated processing methods.

Annie paused for a moment, then shrugged with a helpless expression.

"Inferior materials shouldn't dream of being processed as superior materials. At the latest, within a week, when food prices on the market rise and become harder to buy, the frogs will notice that the water is getting hot."

"Hmm? Ah... so you let, cough cough cough—that's really something to be happy about," Puss's eyes...

His eyes lit up, but his expression changed after noticing Li Yili's gaze. He adjusted his cowboy hat and turned his face away. "When they can't hold them back anymore, that's when we'll rise up in rebellion, right?"

“No, that’s impossible,” Li Yili flicked her nails. “You don’t even have the ability to operate at night in the Triassic Circle.”

Puss's expression froze. He wanted to retort, but the thought of the terrifying smog in the Triassic Circle at night silenced him.

“If Mr. Yellow Raincoat were willing to share his method of surviving in the fog and burning down the food processing plant of the Cult of Steam and Steel God, we would be very happy,” Puss muttered.

Li Yili smiled but didn't say anything.

“That’s right, we have no chance of winning in a direct confrontation. The Triassic Circle has very little value in the eyes of the Cult of Steam and Steel, and they don’t mind abandoning it,” Annie tapped the table. “So we have to infiltrate the Jurassic Circle, and our ultimate goal is Millennium, the wasteland’s capital.”

“Hey… should we save them? They won’t even share a piece of bread with us. Miss Anne, do you remember that group of Jewish merchants from the Cretaceous? I couldn’t afford a single loaf of their bread even if I worked for ten years without eating or drinking,” Puss muttered resentfully.

“I’m sorry,” Anne shook her head with a helpless expression.

Puss pursed his lips, turned his face away, and stopped talking.

He understood the logic, of course. But the best way for them, who were low-grade or even scrap materials, to avoid being swept away by the Cult of Steam and Steel was to blend in with the high-grade materials that the Cult of Steam and Steel was reluctant to discard.

Perhaps describing it as dragging those superior people down would make his pride feel much better.

But it's meaningless; it will only make you lose sight of your own position and then be so badly disappointed that you can't recover.

Sitting in the corner, Adi watched everything in front of her, but her gaze remained fixed on Li Yili without wavering.

Chapter Thirty-One: Tramps and Tramps

"Carly? Where have you been these past few days!"

Carly, who was checking the fire at the processing plant, was stunned. She turned her head and saw several young homeless men looking at her with surprise and delight.

Before Carly could speak, the homeless men crowded around her, all expressing their concern about her disappearance over the past few days.

"I heard you left the sewers a few nights ago? Are you alright?!"

"Hey, if you don't have anything to do, you should contact us."

"What are you thinking? Are you out of your mind?!"

Carly opened her mouth, paused for a while, then looked away without saying a word.

“But it’s good that you’re alright,” a homeless woman noticed Carly’s unusual mood and immediately pushed past two other homeless men with freckles to stand in front of Carly. She squeezed Carly’s shoulder hard. “By the way, Carly, don’t go into the sewers alone at night these days. A lot of homeless people are forming gangs and dividing up ownership of the sewers.”

"Yeah, these bastards are blocking the sewer passages. You can only get in by paying money," complained a short, freckled homeless man with a mushroom haircut. "Most of the sewers are still the same as before, but word has spread, and in three or four days at most, all the sewers will be divided up."

"So we thought we'd gather some people to secure a passage first, and then... help others if we can," the homeless woman scratched her face with her left hand. "Carly, if you're willing, we'll have seven people here. With a few iron bars, we can guard a sewer."

"That won't do—"

Carly slapped away the homeless woman's right hand, which was still on her shoulder, and grabbed the homeless woman's wrist. Her sharp and deep eyes made the other homeless people around her feel extremely unfamiliar.

“We…have nowhere to hide! Sherry, you have to help me.”

"Ouch—Carly, what are you saying?" Sherry tried to pull her wrist away, but Carly was much stronger than she had imagined. Her slender fingers gripped her wrist tightly like iron clamps. "Tell me what you want me to help you with."

Carly took a deep breath, stared into Sherry's eyes, and said, "Don't you find it strange that we should live in our own houses instead of crammed into filthy sewers? Why do we take it for granted that places that discharge sewage are our homes, and even form cliques to fight over the dirtiest place in the city?"

Carly didn't try to hide her voice, so the residents of the surrounding Triple Circle, who were watching the fire that was going to burn for who knows how long, all heard Carly's speech and turned to look. The fact that Carly and the others were dressed as homeless people made many residents look at her strangely, and some couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Because it is perfectly normal for homeless people to live in the sewers.

The surrounding gazes made Shirley and the others feel hot on the face. They avoided eye contact with the passersby. The other two homeless men blushed and pretended to be fierce, swinging their fists at the passersby. But their fierce behavior only made the passersby more certain of their guilty conscience, and they no longer hid their contempt.

"Ka, Carly, we'll talk about this later."

Sherry lowered her voice, gripped Carly's wrist, and tried to pull her away. Being looked down upon by the residents was one thing—it was perfectly normal in the Triple Circle—but now even the onlookers…

The homeless people started laughing at them.

But Carly stood rooted to the spot, not moving an inch, and even glared back at the residents of the Tri-Circle who had their own homes.

In the past, she would never have dared to do this, because she used to believe that even in the Triads, there were still insurmountable class barriers between people, but now she understands.

These residents of the Triassic Circle, who have their own homes, are nothing special. They are merely raw materials for goods prepared by the Church of Steam and Steel to please Li Yili. No... the goods made by the residents of the Triassic Circle don't even qualify to be sold.

Then she had nothing to be afraid of, and in order to avoid the terrifying reality, she had to take action.

From the moment the fire was started, she felt no fear.

"You think you're so great?! You're utterly stupid! You're nothing but the lowest of the Triassic! In the eyes of the Millennium, in the Cretaceous... no! Even in the eyes of the Jurassic people, we're no different!"

Sherry and her friends shuddered in fright, while the residents of the Triple Circle, who had looked down on them with disdain, also revealed their shame and anger.

Carly's words struck a nerve with them.

"Snow, Sherry, what should we do now?" A homeless man with freckles on his face and another homeless man stood on either side of the residents of the San Die Quan neighborhood, their faces tense as they stared at the unfriendly-looking residents.

Shirley swallowed hard.

Experience told her that at this point, admitting defeat would be the best way to slink away. After all, she was already a homeless person, and dignity and bottom lines only came into play when prices were being raised. But there were not only residents of San Die Quan present, but also other homeless people.