Sir! Don't close the net!

Regardless of whether the wasteland royal family and nobles truly intended to help them, Wilson Parr's words in this atmosphere were more effective than any material assistance. From now on, the residents of the Triassic would have to consider how the wasteland royal family and nobles helped the homeless, including whether the homeless would not be held responsible even if they killed a Triassic resident. On the contrary, if a Triassic resident had a conflict with a homeless person, they would have to pay compensation until their entire fortune was emptied.

These homeless people will no longer have to worry about being persecuted and despised by the residents of San Die Quan...

Lorne and Sitch huddled together, looking shakily at the other homeless people.

The homeless people were cheering and laughing, their smug expressions not at all like those who had been persecuted for a long time and were finally free from persecution and felt joy and pity, but rather like criminals who knew they had gained privileges and could do whatever they wanted.

The residents of the three-tiered area were all ashen-faced, angry but dared not speak out.

Lorne suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the residents of the Triple Circle. He still disliked the Triple Circle residents hanging signs outside their shops that read "No Homeless Allowed," but that didn't mean he liked the homeless people's expressions that seemed to say, "I can do whatever I want now!"

Shirley glanced at Wilson Parr for a moment before turning to look at Carly, who was standing in front of the cheering homeless group. Carly was staring intently at Wilson Parr, her eyes gleaming with a complex light that Shirley couldn't comprehend.

She no longer recognized Carly; all that remained there seemed to be a familiar shell. Something had eroded Carly's inner self that night, replacing her entirely.

Chapter 46 What if the world hadn't been destroyed?

After the exam, Annie lowered her head, declined the help from Pus and the others, and left the church alone in her wheelchair without waiting for the results, just like a top student who had underperformed. Across from the church, Li Yili was waiting for her.

Annie opened her mouth, turned her head, turned her wheelchair, and moved forward without saying a word, looking like she was keeping everyone at arm's length. But Li Yili didn't care about Annie's expression at all. She whistled, put her hands behind her back, and followed behind Annie without offering to help push the wheelchair back.

After walking for about ten minutes, Anne and Li Yili returned to the narrow and crowded Diagon Alley. Because Wilson Parr had made such a commotion, there was no one else in Diagon Alley.

Anne pushed her wheelchair through Diagon Alley, back to the non-existent space where they used to study. Looking at the empty classroom, with only a few faint rays of light barely resisting the silence, Anne gripped the armrests of her wheelchair tightly.

"You can laugh at me now."

Li Yili brushed past Annie, put her hands behind her back, circled the empty and silent classroom, and finally returned to Annie's side. She tilted her head and said, "Why should I laugh at you? You want to send those people into the Jurassic Circle, into the Cretaceous Circle, and even... into the capital, Millennium. Your choice is not wrong."

"You only went against your own principles a little bit..."

Li Yili reached out her right hand and caught the faint light falling from above, while a shadow fell over Annie's face.

"It's just self-esteem."

Annie didn't speak, nor did she make eye contact with Li Yili again. The girl, who could so easily abandon her legs and was as strong as a diamond, was now incredibly vulnerable.

“Your plan will not go wrong, and your predictions are not wrong at all. The Cult of Steam and Steel will not dare to monitor me, but they will keep an eye on my movements. They will analyze my actions and speculate on my purpose. And now I am mixed with you. In the eyes of the Cult of Steam and Steel, you have become the most special in the Triassic Circle.”

Seeing that Annie remained silent, Li Yili gave up on the game of who blinked first, flicked her hand, turned around and leaned against the podium. The fading light that had been caught fell back on Annie's face, but Annie subconsciously turned her wheelchair and veered away from the light.

A faint light shone on Anne's empty dress.

"They must have noticed what you're doing here, and I followed you around and brought you a few more books. Even though this Triple Circle is still under the supervision of the Cult of Steam and Steel, it would be very easy for them to find out which books I took."

"So, in the eyes of the Cult of Steam and Steel, what am I doing?"

Li Yili spread her arms to the sides.

"Whatever it is, those of you who have come into contact with me will not have any problem passing the exam, and the Church of Steam and Steel will most likely realize your idea, so we just need to narrow the scope of the exam to the few books I have purchased."

"Presumably, as long as you answer a few questions correctly... the Cult of Steam and Steel will find all sorts of reasons to help you pass the exam and cross the walls of the Triassic and Jurassic."

“Little Anne, all you need to do is make those people memorize the contents of those few books, even if they only remember a small part, they can pass this exam. And little Anne, look at your expression right now…”

Li Yili leaned forward slightly, and the corners of her mouth curled up.

"It's practically saying that everything is going exactly as you planned."

"Is it not allowed...?"

"What did you say?"

"Can't I?!" Annie shouted angrily at Li Yili, gripping the handrail tightly.

Annie's shouts echoed continuously in the empty classroom. Li Yili leaned back slightly and did...

With a gesture of apology for an ear, Annie lowered her head before even speaking, and then, like a dam reaching its limit, she finally erupted.

"I...don't want this to happen, but there's nothing I can do!"

"There's not much time left! Those parasites in Millennium actually did something like this! Triassic was already chaotic enough, and they're making it even more chaotic!"

"How outrageous—what do you mean homeless people are also human?! Are you human beings but we aren't?!"

"What?! We don't work not because we don't want to! It's because we can't! We, with our physical disabilities, are working hard. What right do a bunch of strong, healthy people who can even rob people have to complain about not having jobs! Can't they think about why things are like this!"

"What's wrong with us? It's the system! Damn it—we're struggling too!"

"Hahaha--"

Annie was so excited that she shouted too loudly, and she felt dizzy. She supported herself with her slender arms on the armrest and gasped for breath.

"hateful……"

Annie, who had finally recovered, trembled as she raised her hand to cover her face.

"The Triassic Circle is in such a mess... how are they supposed to live?"

Li Yili rested her chin on her hand, tilting her eyes to the side, "Even if you ask me if it's not okay, I don't know how to answer you, because I'm not like you, so I should be the one asking you, is that okay?"

Anne's shoulders trembled slightly, and she lowered her head even further.

"Anyway... the world only has a year left at most. Neither a final madness nor perseverance can change the outcome. When the time comes, everything will be erased, but..."

Li Yili stepped forward and walked up to Annie, bending down to get close to her.

"What if everything is still going on a year from now?"

Annie opened her eyes wide, lowered her hand, looked up and met Li Yili's gaze, her pupils slightly contracted.

"You're saying..."

"Is this just a hypothetical scenario? If so, would you choose final madness or a way of life that you can live with integrity?" Li Yili shrugged, turned around, grabbed the armrests of the wheelchair, and pushed Annie out of the non-existent space, moving towards the light along the gradually narrowing but upward slope.

"If January 2nd, 2012 were to arrive, would you regret what you did the day before, or simply smile and continue with your life?"

Annie, whose eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness underground, instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes and muttered to herself.

"I have no idea……"

She doesn't mind working hard alongside those people, but she's afraid they'll give up because of life. However, she's even more afraid that they'll continue to persevere because they believe in her, only to be continuously hurt by life.

The Triple Circle is about to descend into indescribable chaos; they must be removed from the Triple Circle as soon as possible.

Even if it goes against her own original intention.

But what if the world hadn't been destroyed?

Anne lowered her head and stopped talking. Li Yili didn't urge her and pushed Anne to continue towards the church.

Soon, the church of the Church of Steam and Steel came into view. Just as Li Yili was about to continue forward, she felt a resistance coming towards her. Looking down, she saw Annie gripping the wheels of her wheelchair tightly with both hands.

Chapter Forty-Seven: The Pure White Paper

Li Yili rolled her eyes, raised her arm, and the wheels of her wheelchair immediately left the ground.

Annie's expression froze, and she stiffly turned her head, her right eye reflecting Li Yili's profile, her mouth slightly open.

"It's already like this."

Annie's lips trembled, she lowered her head, and stopped speaking. Her hands no longer gripped the wheels tightly, and she leaned against the back of the wheelchair without moving, as if her bones had been removed. Li Yili pushed her to the church of the Church of the God of Steam and Steel. Inside the church, Puss and others were gathered together. When they saw Annie appear, Puss immediately waved a notice and ran happily to Annie.

"Little Anne, you passed the test again!"

Anne pursed her lips but didn't speak, but Puss's next words stunned her.

“Little Miss Anne, you must set off this time.”

Puss raised his hand to adjust the cowboy hat on his head and shrugged with a look of regret.

We can't always be a burden to you.

"You're saying..."

Annie's mouth was gagged by Puss and the zero-score test papers held by the people behind Puss.

“Why…” Annie’s voice trembled.

This exam had an astonishing number of questions, as if they wanted to cram everything from the books Li Yili had bought into it. The Church of Steam and Steel wasn't trying to kill them all; on the contrary, because the number of questions was ridiculously large, you could get points as long as you vaguely memorized those books, no, or even just write a few words down. The passing score was set by the Church of Steam and Steel.

Even if they only get one point, the Cult of Steam and Steel will lower the passing grade, allowing them to enter the Jurassic Circle through the Cult of Steam and Steel. The moment they hand in their exam papers, who they are is no longer their choice.

Unless it's... zero points.

It's not that you answered all the questions wrong. The Cult of Steam and Steel has the final say on this exam. Even if you scribble all over the exam paper, the Cult of Steam and Steel can find a bunch of reasons to give you marks, unless it's a blank paper, completely clean, leaving no room for arbitrary explanations.

No.

"That thing..."

Puss glanced at the people behind him and shrugged helplessly.

"The exam content was beyond the syllabus."

"Didn't I—make you memorize that book?"

Anne raised her voice in disbelief, but immediately softened and turned her face away.

“Ugh… it’s just that… it feels a bit like cheating,” Puss sighed, hands on his hips, looking utterly helpless. “And… the implication is just too obvious. The ridiculously large number of questions is practically saying that you can escape the Triassic and enter the Jurassic Zone just by writing something…”

Prince paused, scratched the back of his head, and clicked his tongue.

"Then what were we before? This kind of undisguised charity, even at the turn of the millennium, hasn't changed anything for us."

Annie's eyes dimmed, and she pursed her lips, remaining silent.

"Ah...ah! Of course! This isn't your fault, little Miss Anne!" Noticing the change in Anne's expression, Puss's lips twitched, and he hurriedly squatted down. "We understand what you mean, little Miss Anne, but..."

Puss rested his right hand on his knee, and with his left hand took off his cowboy hat and put it over Annie's head, pulling down the brim to cover Annie's face.

“Little Anne, we didn’t really want to go to the Jurassic Circle. It’s just… how should I put it? We just wanted to live well, to know that we are alive in this world. That’s enough. Of course, that doesn’t mean we’ve given up. Even if Little Anne goes to the Jurassic Circle or the Cretaceous Circle, no matter how many years it takes, we will find Little Anne in our proud way of living, and tell you, Little Anne, that the way of living you showed us is correct, no matter how many years it takes…”

Pus grinned.

“The world will be destroyed next year,” Li Yili added with a smile.

“It’s better to die next year than to die now and have your body disposed of next year!” Puss shouted, then stood up and grabbed Li Yili’s collar. “Let’s get this straight! Mr. Yellow Raincoat, although I don’t like you, you will definitely enter the Jurassic Circle, right? You will definitely protect little Miss Annie, right!”

“Who knows?” Li Yili tilted her head and smiled meaningfully.

Rebecca, who was following behind Li Yili, immediately raised her hand and waved, "Yes, yes!"

“This tone…you really aren’t going to the Jurassic Circle?” Li Yili raised an eyebrow.

“Of course I want to go to the Jurassic Circle! That place is full of gangs! But…” Puss gripped Li Yili’s collar tightly, “and now the Triassic Circle… isn’t much better, cough—you know what! A righteous sheriff can’t ignore what’s happening in the Triassic Circle!”

"And... Mr. Yellow Raincoat, you are indeed a little bit better than me."