Sir! Don't close the net!

Now a homeless man, his past only becomes fodder for the thugs' gossip.

“Okay, money can save face, right?” Ryan took a deep breath, trying to appear as calm as possible.

"Stolen, right?" the fishmonger clicked his tongue a few times.

Is this important?

“Yesterday is unimportant, but today is a bit more important,” the fishmonger wiped his hands with his apron and smiled meaningfully. “If I take the money you stole, I’ll be targeted. You think there are a lot of eyes watching you right now?”

Ryan was taken aback and subconsciously turned his head to look around.

Even with his underlings wandering around trying to attract attention, many residents of the San Die Quan community were still staring intently at him.

Ryan instinctively leaned back, but immediately straightened up and sneered, "I don't believe you're afraid."

"You should be afraid, because from now on, every one of them will have a gun."

Ryan's smile gradually froze. "You're... joking, right?"

Do you find this funny?

“It’s not funny at all!” Ryan shouted, raising his voice, not caring whether it would attract other people’s attention.

He had worked in the Jurassic Circle before. Although he hadn't risen to a leadership position, he had been valued by the cadres and had handled guns. He knew very well that no matter how strong a body was, it was as fragile as tofu in front of a gun. If you weren't killed by a gun, you would be half dead. So, when he faced the Puss with guns, even though they outnumbered him, he still chickened out.

"It's a shame that something so unfunny happened," the fishmonger waved his hand impatiently. "A batch of goods was brought into the San Die Quan area today, supposedly as a donation, but it passed through the hands of the Jurassic Circle gang, you know?"

Ryan gasped; he had a very frightening suspicion.

The Jurassic Circle wanted to sell weapons to the Triassic Circle.

“How are they planning to sell it?” Ryan asked in a low voice.

"That depends on your connections," the fishmonger patted Ryan on the shoulder, tilting his head with a half-smile. "But it seems those donations were all received by the noble lords who come to the Three-Tiered Circle."

Ryan's eyes flashed, and after nodding to the fish stall owner, he turned and left the fish stall. The other henchmen who were still loitering around immediately followed him.

"Boss, did you get it done?" One of the underlings asked cautiously, seeing that Ryan had no expression.

Ryan glanced sideways at his underling who had tentatively spoken up, "It's hard to say."

"This..." The underlings looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Anyway, let's go to the noble lord first... no, let's go to our spiritual leader first and sound him out. But it's not a big deal. She's just a country bumpkin backed by a noble lord. We can easily manipulate her with a little intimidation," Ryan grinned. "Things might be much simpler than I think."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Just as Puss finished putting down the package and was about to turn and leave, he was stopped by the priest of the Church of Steam and Steel who hurriedly came out.

"Mr. Puss, here is your letter and package!"

"Huh? Mine?" Puss was taken aback, pointing to himself and asking uncertainly.

“Yes, cough—it’s from Mr. Yellow Raincoat,” the priest coughed and solemnly handed the package to Puss.

Puss looked the priest up and down with some suspicion, took the package, but did not open it immediately. Instead, he turned around, intending to go back and open it later, but before he could take a few steps, the priest stopped him again.

“Mr. Puss, I think you’d better open it and take a look now,” the priest smiled slightly and pointed to the package Puss had put down. “Perhaps after you’ve read it, you’ll want to write another letter.”

Puss immediately became alert. He wanted to shake off the priest's hand and leave, but considering that he had to come back tomorrow and that the priest was holding his package as a hostage, Puss hesitated for a long time before giving up the idea of ​​leaving. He quickly pushed himself to a corner, leaned against the wall, and stared at the priest warily while holding the package.

Upon seeing this, the priest immediately turned around and raised his hands, indicating that he would not peek or do anything.

Pus breathed a sigh of relief, raised his hand and tore open the seal on the package. The moment he opened the package, Pus gasped and slammed it shut, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

There are two guns in the package!

Although he himself had a gun, hiding a gun in a package was a different matter.

Arms in the Jurassic Circle are strictly controlled by gangs. Even a single bullet cannot be obtained simply by spending money; one must have connections. Now, Li Yili has sent two guns and twenty bullets. What does this mean?

This means that Li Yili has already become involved with gangs in the Jurassic Circle!

Li Yili and Annie's operating funds were probably not generous enough to send him guns and bullets.

"Damn it... Could that guy have attacked the arms trading post in the Jurassic Circle?!"

Puss cursed under his breath, looked at the priest, hesitated for a moment, and then raised his hand to his forehead.

The priest sighed, "Father, you didn't peek into the contents of the package, did you?"

Just as the priest of the Church of Steam and Steel had foretold, he was to write an additional letter.

“No, I will absolutely not open this package,” the priest turned around, his expression extremely solemn. “And I will absolutely not peek at your letter, Mr. Puss.”

“Well, Father, I do need to add a letter,” Puss grinned weakly.

Chapter 81 The Distance Created by Politeness

"To become the master of the Jurassic Circle..."

Dante's eye twitched, and his face showed a "I knew it" expression.

"Hey you, after all that beating around the bush, it's still about this? Didn't I tell you? It's impossible!"

“A perfect ending often requires overcoming a series of impossibilities,” Li Yili said, raising a finger and bending it towards Dante. “Whether you’re on the side of the Jurassic Circle or the Cretaceous Circle, it’s a bad end for you, but you want a perfect ending, right?”

Dante shut his mouth.

Impossible as it may be, and desirable as it may be, if he became the master of the Jurassic Circle, he could keep the Jurassic Circle peaceful forever with just a word, without having to worry about the Jurassic Circle thugs trampling on the gardens of the Cretaceous Circle ladies, and he would no longer have to worry about his image in Ashley's eyes.

An undeniably perfect ending.

So if you ask him if he wants it, he definitely will.

“I definitely want to, but… it’s impossible,” Dante said, scratching the back of his head in frustration.

“Aren’t you Norman’s son?” Anne asked, somewhat surprised. “If you have even a little bit of drive, taking over the Godfather’s position shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“Yes—but there’s a problem. I’m the successor, and the prerequisite for me to remain in the position of Godfather is not to change the direction of the Mafia’s development set by Father Norman,” Dante gestured with his hand. “Even if I become Godfather, those executives may not necessarily listen to me.”

“Indeed—no one will submit to a second-generation rich kid who got the top position through connections,” Li Yili nodded, chin in hand. “If it were me, I wouldn’t submit either. If this second-generation rich kid doesn’t touch anything, I can at most sideline him. But if this second-generation rich kid comes up and makes big moves against my interests right away, then I will definitely go to the other cadres and find a way to make this troublesome second-generation rich kid die an unnatural death.”

Dante's eye twitched violently before he raised his hand and slapped Li Yili's shoulder hard, a forced smile on his face. "It's good that you understand."

“But there are exceptions—” Li Yili drawled, “If this second-generation’s prestige rivals or even surpasses that of the current Godfather, then I will naturally have to think twice.”

Dante glanced to the side, and just as he was about to speak, Annie raised her eyebrows and said, "That's impossible."

Dante coughed heavily, looking at Annie with a troubled expression. Although he himself had the same thought, it was Annie who said it, which made him feel a little embarrassed. If Li Yili hadn't been there, he would have earnestly corrected Annie's prejudice against him because of her youth and lack of experience, but Li Yili was there.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Dante, I don’t have any prejudice against you,” Anne immediately added, noticing that Dante’s expression was not quite right. “I believe you are a man who can do what you set your mind to. If you are willing, you can definitely make a name for yourself that surpasses your father, the Godfather Norman.”

Dante coughed heavily, scratching the back of his head somewhat embarrassedly, but Anne's next words made him clutch his heart, almost kneeling before her.

"But I don't think you can do that before the world ends."

Dante's expression was somewhat distorted; this was probably what they called praising someone before killing them. But Anne's eyes were so serious that he couldn't bring himself to scold her.

Li Yili turned her head and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Laugh at me!" Dante roared at Li Yili.

“Yeah, what’s so funny?” Annie exclaimed, her brows furrowing slightly.

With only one year left until 2012, even if Dante is an unparalleled villain, it's impossible for him to build a reputation within a year that would make the entire Jurassic Circle's gangs completely devoted to him.

"Little Miss Anne, please stop, I beg you," Dante pleaded, clasping his hands together.

He would rather be looked down upon and mocked than be so earnestly protected by Annie.

“This—” Anne was taken aback and was about to say something, but seeing Dante’s distressed expression, she gave up.

"Cough cough cough—" Li Yili coughed heavily a few times, raised her hand and patted Dante on the back, "None of these things matter. What's important is your current direction. Is it the Jurassic Circle, the Cretaceous Circle, or the perfect ending? Don't even think about eloping with Ashley. You know that's impossible."

After a long silence, Dante smiled awkwardly and waved the letter from side to side. "I think, cough cough cough—I should solve the letter problem first. I still haven't found Miss Ashley's letter."

Li Yili raised her eyes, "Are you serious?"

"Of course!"

"Once all these letters are dealt with, will you start thinking about ruling the Jurassic Circle?"

Dante's heart skipped a beat. He wanted to refuse this obvious trap, but he didn't believe Li Yili could solve these problems. If Li Yili could, wouldn't that be...

Does this mean that Li Yili is more outstanding than him as a man?

After thinking for a moment, Dante crossed his arms and raised his head with considerable confidence. "Of course!"

“There’s no need to specifically find out which letter Ashley wrote. Just reply to each one carefully,” Li Yili grinned. “How about that? Not a bad idea, right?”

Anne raised an eyebrow, rested her chin on her hand, and nodded thoughtfully.

Dante opened his mouth, paused for a long while, then his eyes widened. "Huh? You're kidding, right? I'm not that kind of scumbag!"

“Hey, hey, hey—Mr. Dante, you’re just replying to a letter, not asking me to go and seduce them,” Li Yili waved her hand. “Mr. Dante, think about it carefully. Those young ladies can write you letters specifically. If you don’t reply, what do you think will happen?”

"Uh..." Dante tilted his head back.

"Option one: This jerk didn't give me any face. I'm going to talk bad about him in front of Ashley."

"Option two: This man is interesting. I'm intrigued. I'm going to steal him away."

Li Yili held up two fingers and shook them.

Dante swallowed hard, stammering, "Really, really?"

Both options were options one and two, both of which were so frustrating that he felt like he was suffocating.

“Hmm—that’s quite possible,” Anne frowned and thought for a moment before nodding, then added, “especially after watching Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

"Then, what if they still bother me after I reply?" Dante complained.

“Mr. Dante, I must remind you that what is easily obtained is often not cherished. Your politeness will only make them feel a suitable distance,” Li Yili pinched her index finger and thumb together toward Dante. “If they don’t feel stimulated, they won’t pay more attention to you.”

Chapter 82 Rather than being chosen by fate, choose your own destiny.

Dante, with a mixture of belief and skepticism, began to examine each letter from the Lady of the Cretaceous Circle.

After examining the situation closely, Dante discovered that things were much more complicated than he had imagined.

Although they are all young ladies from the white-collar circle, each of them comes from a different family background, which leads to different personalities. When expressing their curiosity, some are very artistic, some are very direct, and some are vague, as if they are solving a riddle.

He couldn't let the other party feel obviously distant; he needed to create a very polite sense of distance so that the other party would lose interest on their own. One or two letters would be fine, but here there were at least thirty letters, which meant he had to communicate with more than thirty young ladies simultaneously. And these young ladies would hold tea parties regularly and would definitely check his replies. If they found that his replies were all exactly the same, he would be doomed. Of course, the most important thing was that he still couldn't tell which letter was from Ashley. If Ashley found that his reply was exactly the same as everyone else's, he would probably be finished.

Thinking about it this way, he was just rolling over the minefield in a more flamboyant way.

Dante turned to look at the culprit who had given him such a terrible idea.