Sir! Don't close the net!

Li Yili let out a long breath, and with a flick of her right hand, several thugs around her immediately took a step back, holding up their iron bars with tense expressions. Clearly, although they said they weren't afraid, they were still worried that Li Yili would suddenly pull out a gun and kill them instantly. However, when they saw that Li Yili's right hand was empty, the thugs immediately burst into laughter, completely unaware that two beautiful figures wearing black leather robes, black hats, and crow masks had silently appeared behind them.

"Judging from your expressions, this isn't the first time you've done this, is it?" Li Yili tilted her head. "What's that saying? You're not worthy of my attention—"

"boom--"

A piercing gunshot, like a thunderclap, startled the thugs, who all turned to look. In the distance, a man in a suit, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, a shotgun held high in his right hand, a casually fluttering tie on his left, and a scar on his face, was strode menacingly toward them.

"Damn—it's Dante!"

Foucault's expression changed, and he retracted his tongue, glancing reluctantly at Rebecca and then glaring at Li Yili.

"Consider yourselves lucky!"

The other thugs quickly chickened out and scurried away, while Penny and Grey, who had already raised their hands to snap the thugs' necks, also disappeared without a trace.

“You guys are really lucky,” Li Yili rolled her eyes.

"Are you all alright?" The man, whom the thugs addressed with a respectful smirk as Dante, brandished his shotgun and looked at Li Yili and the others with concern.

A refreshing stream amidst the gloom.

Li Yili wanted to describe the man named Dante in front of her in this way, but unfortunately, Dante's arrival did not even stir up the gloomy atmosphere here.

“They were just a hair’s breadth away from breaking those thugs’ necks,” Li Yili said with regret.

Annie glanced at Li Yili with some surprise. Although she did not doubt Li Yili's abilities, she had not noticed any signs that the thug's neck would be broken.

"Uh... really?" Dante paused, pondered for a moment, then pinched off the cigarette that was almost burning his lips and threw it on the ground. He stomped on it, glanced at the Cult of Steam and Steel not far away, and raised an eyebrow. "You guys didn't get here through the Cult of Steam and Steel's exam, did you?"

“Of course—” Rebecca, who hadn’t participated in the exam but had been brought along as a pet, raised her head with a proud expression.

"hiss--"

Dante gasped, rubbed his eyes, and looked at Aditi.

"She passed the exam too?"

"I……"

As soon as Aditi opened her mouth, Li Yili grinned and said, "Underestimating me?"

"cough--"

Dante coughed heavily, put the shotgun back into its holster, tilted his head, and frowned.

"This is a bit troublesome. I thought you were in trouble. I even wasted a precious bullet for you. How are you going to compensate me?"

"compensation?"

Li Yili narrowed her eyes.

"I originally planned to strip those thugs naked to replenish the activity funds, but because of you, all of these activity funds are gone. How are you going to compensate me?"

Dante paused, turned to the side, and met Li Yili's gaze.

Damn it—they're the same kind of bastards!

Chapter Fifty: The Folk Customs are as Simple and Honest as Gotham

Dante was very distressed. Gangs ran rampant in Jurassic Circle, guns were everywhere, and shootouts were commonplace. Since the Cult of Steam and Steel had no intention of intervening, the trade in guns and gunpowder had become the biggest business in Jurassic Circle. However, as the saying goes, extremes meet.

The gangsters, obsessed with counting money, gradually discovered that they themselves were the ones who suffered the most from the uncontrolled and arbitrary trading of firearms and gunpowder.

We're all made of flesh and blood. A good shot can kill you on the spot, while a bad shot can leave you crippled for life. If every resident of the Jurassic Circle had a gun, what would the gangs use to suppress them? If collecting protection money turns into a gunfight, they'll be the ones who suffer. Besides, although the Jurassic Circle is notorious for its gangs, the number of residents is definitely far greater than the number of gangs.

If everyone in the Jurassic Circle had a gun, the most dangerous people would be the gangsters themselves.

Therefore, gangs began to strictly control firearms and gunpowder, to the point that even their underlings could only possess controlled knives.

He managed to get some guns and ammunition from the gang through various connections, but connections only open one way; the rest depends on whether his wallet can hold up.

“I helped you get rid of the thugs,” Dante persisted. “It’s a fact that I helped you.”

“You caused me to lose an activity fund, and asking for payment after helping me doesn’t count as helping,” Li Yili said, refusing to help.

“Because you don’t need help,” Dante emphasized. “You came to the Jurassic Circle through the examinations of the Cult of Steam and Steel, and the Cult of Steam and Steel will not abandon you.”

Dante paused, then raised his hand and pointed to the church of the Church of the God of Steam and Steel, which was affixed to the city wall not far away.

"At least today, I won't let anything happen to you in front of the church of the Church of the God of Steam and Steel."

At the church entrance, a priest was standing there holding a book. He was fine until Dante pointed at him, and he suddenly turned his face away, looking a little guilty.

"..."

“But we really need that funding for the event,” Li Yili said, rubbing her index finger and thumb together vigorously.

"Believe me, those guys don't have any money on them that could be called operating funds, and if you rob those thugs, the gang will be knocking on your door tonight. Ah... when you think about it, I guess I really did help you. You're welcome, because I'm a good person."

Dante suddenly realized what was going on, gave Anne a graceful bow, turned around, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and swaggered away.

Li Yili's lips twitched slightly. Rebecca peeked out, hesitated for a moment, and then complained, "So what exactly is this guy here for?"

"Who knows...it might just be a cigarette."

"That weirdo who sucked the top of your head, right?" Li Yili raised her hand and nodded.

Anne frowned slightly as she watched Dante's desolate figure. Noticing Anne's expression, Li Yili raised an eyebrow. "Could he be the gangster you've been in contact with?"

Annie pinched the bridge of her nose, exhaled, raised her hand to rub her temples, and began to analyze in a low voice.

"How could that be... That man named Dante is clearly a lone wolf, and only a lone wolf could scare away a group of people. Judging from their reaction just now, they ran away without even saying a word. It seems that this Dante is somewhat famous in the Jurassic Circle and has channels to buy guns and ammunition..."

"A guy like that wouldn't come to help for no reason."

Anne came to a conclusion.

“It certainly didn’t happen for no reason; this guy demanded money from us for a single bullet,” Rebecca complained, glancing around before lowering her voice. “So, what should we do next? Wait for the gangsters you know, Miss Anne?”

“Well…” Annie glanced at Rebecca, who was already adept at calling him “little,” then looked down at Rebecca’s chest, then at her own, and gave up on correcting Rebecca’s mistake. She raised her hand and waved it, “People from the Triassic Circle are not qualified to be received by the Jurassic Circle’s gangsters. Besides… we’re not cooperating with the gangsters, to be precise, we hope to help them.”

“Ah, this…” Li Yili leaned back slightly and shrugged her shoulders. “That’s not wrong.”

What is the Triassic Circle?

The bottom layer of the wasteland.

They had no money, no guns, and were even uneducated, let alone a respectable organization.

The Jurassic Circle is adjacent to the Cretaceous Circle, possibly because gangs are rampant in the Jurassic Circle and the Cult of Steam and Steel remains silent. It is also possible that the Triassic Circle, the lowest level of the circle, acts as a buffer. The walls between the Jurassic Circle and the Cretaceous Circle did not completely isolate the two. The Cretaceous Circle was engaged in commerce, while the Jurassic Circle was involved in gangs. Those who do business always need the help of gangs, and gangs also need the support of businesses.

In this situation, what did the Triassic people use to trade with the Jurassic people?

The right thing to do is to ask the Jurassic Circle gangs for opportunities to help them.

"So, which gang is it?" Li Yili raised her hand and scratched the back of her head.

"Do you think they would reveal something like this—that they'd be wiped out—to the people of the Triple Circle?" Annie crossed her fingers in front of her and narrowed her eyes slightly.

The fact that they were able to contact outsiders and smuggle people across borders indicates that this gang has grown to a certain size. The Cult of Steam and Steel and the Wasteland Royal Family have become limitations on their further development. However, they are also very cautious. They are well aware of the Cult of Steam and Steel's control over the Wasteland, so their actions have not gone too far. They do what they are supposed to do.

With the area defined like this, it's easy to pinpoint the target with just a little investigation.

But that's where the problem lies.

This gang probably doesn't like smart people from the Triple Circle. If they figure out the gang's identity and go to them, the chances of them being welcomed into the organization with smiles and applause are very low. They will most likely want to eliminate them.

After all... even the people of the Triple Circle could deduce that it was them, so how hard would it be for the Cult of Steam and Steel to deduce that it was them?

However, that is not the problem they are facing now.

Dante was gone, but his shot had been incredibly powerful, startling countless birds. The thug with the thick gold chain around his neck, carrying a stick, seemed to be wandering aimlessly, but he would occasionally glance in their direction, his gaze naturally falling on Rebecca.

Li Yili couldn't help but click her tongue.

The result of rampant gang activity is that the local residents have adopted the gangs' lifestyle on the spot.

To put it nicely, the people are honest and kind; to put it bluntly, in Gotham, anyone could turn into a thug.

And right next to him was a very delicious bait from the San Die Quan (a type of fishing game).

Li Yili rolled her eyes slightly. "Rebecca, the nights in the Jurassic Circle are different from the nights in the Triassic Circle, so we don't need to do 'that' tonight. You can relax."

"Huh? Really!"

Rebecca's eyes lit up.

Of course~

Chapter 51 How deep can the water in a fish tank go?

Pedantic, decadent, greedy—the flaws of nobles are outrageous. For Nemo, greed is acceptable, and decadence is not incomprehensible. What he finds most unbearable is the pedantic nature brought about by a mysterious sense of superiority over his bloodline.

The greedy and incompetent nobles resisted the emergence of new nobles who would take away their power, so no matter how hard he tried, he could not become the new earl.

In the rigid system of the nobility, the identity of a nephew means the descendant of a loser in the competition, and means a backup. A backup is always a backup. No matter how incompetent the main person is, as long as the main person is still around, no matter how excellent the backup is, the backup has no chance to rise to the top.

The pedantic nobles firmly believed that the bloodline of the victors was a talent that no amount of acquired skill could compare to.

Even if the original partner is gone, and the backup has a chance to take over, it's just a chance to take over.

Unfortunately, most nobles in the world are not faithful. It is perfectly normal for them to have four or five women. It is also common for them to have affairs and have illegitimate children out of nowhere.

The only thing Nemo could be thankful for was that this generation of Will...

Although Earl Wilson Parr has all the flaws and mistakes that all nobles make, and this generation of Wilson Parr is not very good as a man and has no children to this day, this generation of Wilson Parr once had an older brother who was far more outstanding than the current Wilson Parr and his own useless father, and more suitable to inherit the earldom, but a man who left the wasteland in pursuit of the forbidden.

The nobles of the wasteland have been pedantic to this day, possessing a host of filthy vices, but lacking the demeanor that nobles should have. Or perhaps they never had such qualities in the first place, let alone the taboos passed down from their ancestors; they are already quite good at remembering them.

To prevent the day when that excellent successor suddenly returns, Nemo always remembers the taboo passed down from Pal's ancestors: stay away from the legacy of the ancient gods, and never try to become a chosen one.

But Nemo was certain that if that person really did return to the wasteland, remembering Pal's taboo would be of no use.

Thinking of this, Nemo couldn't help but sigh.

Regardless of whether the former heir who pursued the taboo has truly returned to the wasteland, one thing is certain: Wilson Parr would not bring up his brother for no reason.

If he really wants to take the position of earl, he needs to act quickly.

Nemo couldn't help but click his tongue in frustration at the thought of Wilson Parr's incompetence. Rather than the forbidden successor actually returning to the wasteland, he preferred that this generation's Wilson Parr was far more cunning than he had imagined, and this was a reminder not to let his guard down because of temporary success.

To dispel his unease, Nemo went to the cabin where Carly lived.

Nemo still remembered what the cabin originally looked like. Although it was a corner of his temporary residence, it was still a temporary place for him. It was shabby, but definitely clean and tidy, and there was no strange smell. But now, as soon as he got close, he smelled a stench like that of a garbage dump.

Meanwhile, the current occupant of the cabin, Carly, is carrying discarded cardboard, which is also covered in some disgusting liquid, into the cabin.

"Hey—what are you doing!?" Nemo, feeling disgusted and his scalp tingling, couldn't help but shout.