Sir! Don't close the net!

The servant closed the door, returned to Carly expressionlessly, shooed away the others, stared at Carly for a moment, then turned and left as if nothing had happened.

Carly was not surprised and continued forward, passing through the manor to Nemo's warehouse where he stored weapons from the Jurassic Circle.

Carly's hands hung at her sides as she inhaled the pungent smell of gunpowder mixed with the stench of blood in the air.

"Two empty guns...?"

Carly smiled faintly as she opened the box and pulled out two shotguns.

------

"That makes thirty people, but after deducting our own people... there are only three left."

Puss glanced at the list in his hand, let out a long sigh, and turned his chair to look at William not far away.

"What about over there?"

“Fifty-six people,” William handed the list to Puss.

“Wow—Mr. William, you’re amazing,” Puss said with awe.

“It’s just a network of connections I’ve built up. A few of them have rejected me,” William said, rubbing his neck and twisting it from side to side before crossing his arms and letting out a long sigh. “Mr. Puss, let me be clear: while they are willing to join the self-defense force you’ve formed, they are only doing so for their own protection. They…”

After hesitating for a moment, William decided to express his thoughts.

"They won't fight for you, or for anyone else. They... they won't even fight for themselves. They just want you to protect them."

“Of course I know that, and I’m not the kind of person who can command a large following,” Puss said with some regret, but still optimistic. “At least, people are gathered together, and with more people, there’s no need to worry about conflicts.”

“I’ve convinced a few people that they can provide food if the Self-Defense Forces are effective,” William frowned, “but there are a few…”

"They're probably enjoying it."

"Huh? You're enjoying it?" Puss paused for a moment, then raised his voice, "What's so good about it? Even if you haven't been beaten by a homeless person, you should at least have seen what it's like for a homeless person to beat someone else up."

“Well—Mr. Puss, you may not know this, but even the Triassic ring has its own supply chain,” William grinned. “And the boss who controlled this entire supply chain recently disappeared.”

"Missing?"

“Yes, they’ve disappeared, but they left behind a rather tempting legacy,” William said, raising a finger with an extremely serious expression. “And the group I’m talking about is very eager to seize this legacy, and the fastest and safest way to get it is to get the approval of a big shot.”

Puss gasped. "Wasteland nobles."

“That’s right. They don’t need the wasteland nobles’ orders. With just a nod, or even a wave of their hand, they can rightfully seize those inheritances. And the only way to get such a nod is…”

William raised his hand to his forehead.

"It means siding with the wasteland nobles and supporting the homeless."

Puss instinctively raised his hand and gripped the revolver, which was loaded with ammunition, on the side of his thigh.

"This is unbelievable."

Chapter 95 He just wanted to bring the negative numbers to zero.

"Ah—Antonio, what a gentle and generous merchant."

"Yes, they actually borrowed money from their enemy for the sake of their friend."

"That despicable and wicked merchant Sherlock actually demanded that such a gentle and kind person sign such a terrible contract!"

"Fortunately, there are Portia and Nerissa; only hot-blooded fools..."

They can be saved.

"Yeah, these men who only think about themselves and their friends actually pawned the ring that is most precious to their wives. Humph—it's really satisfying to see their embarrassed explanations."

The young ladies chattered excitedly about The Merchant of Venice. The restaurant staff weren't bothered that the ladies were taking up seats without buying anything, because this restaurant was owned by one of these young ladies' families.

"But the most amazing one is Mr. Dante. How did he write such a wonderful story?"

Seeing her friends finally snap out of their reverie and praise the person who truly deserved it, a somewhat dejected Ashley immediately straightened up and raised her chin. "Of course, that's my beloved Mr. Dante. There's nothing he can't do!"

"It's really puzzling that such a righteous, gentle, and talented person was born in the Jurassic Circle. But that's precisely why Mr. Dante is so amazing," the young ladies said, their fingers interlocked and their eyes sparkling.

As for Dante's somewhat rudimentary reply, they had long since forgotten about it.

Li Yili leisurely twirled the noodles covered in sauce on her plate with a silver fork, glancing at the young ladies who were praising Dante with great excitement. Looking at their flushed, lovestruck faces, Li Yili couldn't help but wonder what Dante's expression would be if he were there.

Happy to take off from the spot?

Probably. No man could resist the heartfelt praise of a group of beautiful, noble ladies whose inner and outer purity are matched by their outward appearance.

That's far from being a humble expression.

That's normal, after all, Dante isn't some kind of aquaman; he deeply loves Ashley.

But, most likely, no, if it were Dante, he would feel guilty and not know what expression to wear.

After all, Dante knew better than anyone what was real and what was fake; otherwise, he wouldn't have stayed in the Jurassic Circle, separated by a wall, and poured out his love to Ashley through letters.

There is a class difference between the Jurassic and Cretaceous zones, but it is not as extreme as that between the Triassic and Jurassic zones. Anyone with a little skill can freely pass through the walls between the Jurassic and Cretaceous zones. As the son of Norman, the godfather of the Mafia, Dante certainly has the ability to enter the Cretaceous zone.

Li Yili rolled her eyes, stuffed the rolled-up noodles into her mouth, and began to chew slowly.

If Dante were present, he would most likely be asked by the excited young ladies to showcase their literary talents on the spot.

Just imagining that scene makes Li Yili despair for Dante.

"By the way—sir, how should we address you?"

The young ladies, whose curiosity had been thoroughly piqued by the story, did not leave the meeting satisfied, but instead set their sights on Li Yili once again.

“Oh~ you can call me…” Li Yili waved the fork in her hand, “Mr. Yellow Raincoat.”

The servants in the distance frowned. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like they were being fooled. But the young ladies exclaimed in surprise. The mysterious title "Mr. Yellow Raincoat" was really tantalizing to them. Ashley was the most surprised and happiest of them all.

Dante never mentioned having a companion named Mr. Yellow Raincoat.

If someone has mysterious companions, then they themselves must be very mysterious as well.

Ashley's image of Dante was shrouded in mystery once again. Far from feeling that this Dante was distant or insecure, Ashley loved Dante even more, because love is a two-way street, and the greater the distance between them, the more sincere their love became.

“Mr. Yellow Raincoat, please tell me more about my beloved Mr. Dante,” because Li Yili said that Dante always referred to her as “my beloved Miss Ashley”, so Ashley decided that she would start her references to Dante with “my beloved Mr. Dante” from now on.

"My beloved Mr. Dante is so outstanding. He is the most outstanding person I have ever met, and also the person who loves me the most."

Ashley gritted her teeth and, suppressing her shame, continued speaking under the ambiguous yet envious gazes of her friends.

“I want to… I want to get as close as possible to my beloved Mr. Dante, because love is a matter between two people, and I know that Mr. Dante is doing something very noble and great, and I want to help him.”

Do I want to get as close as possible to my beloved Mr. Dante?

Li Yili paused in the swing of her silver fork, tilted her head slightly, and stared at Ashley, whose expression was extremely serious.

If Dante heard this, he would most likely jump up with joy, but after jumping, Dante would squat in a corner and scratch his head.

Because the Dante that Ashley wanted to get close to simply didn't exist.

Ashley, as the heiress of the Cretaceous region, truly possesses the ability and character to become someone worthy of the person Dante described her to be.

Dante could never become the person he described himself to be.

“Mr. Yellow Raincoat?” Ashley blinked.

"Sorry, I was a little distracted. It's just that, well, people tend to get sleepy after eating a full meal," Li Yili pinched her arm hard in front of the young ladies. "Okay, I'm not sleepy anymore."

“This… Mr. Yellow Raincoat, you don’t have to do this,” Ashley said somewhat awkwardly. The other young ladies nodded in agreement. Although their expectations were written all over their faces, they didn’t like to force others.

"Let me think about it..." Li Yili pinched the bridge of her nose.

The young ladies sat quietly in their seats, looking at Li Yili with great anticipation, but did not urge her.

Annie, who was wiping her mouth, glanced at Li Yili and sighed softly.

“Mr. Dante is very popular in the Jurassic Circle, and many people are willing to risk their lives for him,” Li Yili shook her head.

"Huh? Isn't Mr. Dante fighting against the evil forces of the Jurassic Circle?" A young lady asked in surprise.

As everyone knows, the Jurassic Circle is only inhabited by evil forces, and that's why they think Dante, who faced the entire Jurassic Circle alone, was incredibly powerful and great.

“People always change. The struggle is not for killing, much less for destruction, but for change,” Li Yili put down her fork and crossed her fingers in front of her. “It’s not just individuals who commit evil, but also society. Some people just lack someone to wake them up.”

"Without a doubt, the Jurassic Circle is a completely negative number, and Mr. Dante is trying to make the Jurassic Circle zero."

Chapter Ninety-Six: Do You Know Mr. Yellow Raincoat?

Standing before the gate between the Jurassic and Cretaceous zones, Dante, with his hands in his pockets, gazes up at the gate.

Just as people from the Triassic Circle absolutely cannot cross the walls to enter the Jurassic Circle, merchants from the Cretaceous Circle absolutely will not allow unruly thugs from the Jurassic Circle to cross the walls and enter their world.

Thinking about it carefully, it's not hard to understand. After all, the Jurassic Circle had a revolution. When there's a revolution, naturally they won't show mercy to their opponents. They'll smash everything they can and steal everything they can.

As a commercial circle, the Cretaceous Circle was dependent on the capital Millennium, which was a power circle. The merchants in the Cretaceous Circle were most afraid of encountering unreasonable thugs. In fact, their fear was correct. When the Jurassic Circle first started to revolt, it did indeed loot the Cretaceous Circle. They took everything they could and burned and smashed everything they couldn't take.

Because of this past record, the people of the Cretaceous are not friendly to the residents of the Jurassic Circle.

Unfortunately, the Cretaceous Circle is surrounded by the Jurassic Circle, and merchants cannot remain in the Cretaceous Circle to be self-sufficient and not engage in foreign trade. If they want to engage in foreign trade, they have to pass through the Jurassic Circle unless they ask the Cult of Steam and Steel for protection every time.

But the merchants of the Cretaceous Circle were extremely wary of the Cult of Steam and Steel, the true rulers of the wasteland.

In the end, the merchants in the Cretaceous Circle opted for a compromise, paying protection money to the only gang that might rob their caravans in the Jurassic Circle. The Jurassic Circle gangs, of course, were quite happy to accept the money without firing a single shot.

But when it comes to money transactions, everything becomes indifferent.

The conflict between the Jurassic and Cretaceous circles has become completely deadlocked due to protection fees. The Jurassic people, who had rebelled against the Wasteland Royal Family, believe that the merchants of the Cretaceous Circle are lackeys of the Wasteland Royal Family who only know how to humiliate people with money. The Cretaceous people believe that the people of the Jurassic Circle are all greedy thugs and that they will never be able to live together with the people of the Jurassic Circle.

Therefore, both the Jurassic and Cretaceous spheres are fortunate to have such a wall.

Dante let out a long sigh, recalling Li Yili and Annie's speculation that the Cretaceous and Jurassic circles might have joined forces, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

At least, that's what he always thought. Relying on his status as the son of a Mafia godfather, he joined the Jurassic Circle thugs in mocking the residents of the Cretaceous Circle, exhausting all the filth in his heart to make the most vile slanders and speculations about the daughters of businessmen.

It wasn't until he was young and impetuous, sneaking into the chalk circle when the gates were open and encountering Ashley, that he realized how ugly his past self had truly been.

"Isn't this Mr. Dante? Are you trying to... enter the Cretaceous zone?"

Dante snapped out of his reverie and turned to see Wojci waving at him.

Dante hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand and waved it, before shrugging his shoulders. "How could that be?"

"is it?"

Wojci raised his head, stopped a meter away from Dante, and paced back and forth with his chin in his hand.

Wojci's scrutinizing, probing gaze made Dante uncomfortable, and he immediately took a step back. "What are you looking at? I don't like that kind of thing!"

“Ahem—Mr. Dante, you really love to joke, but don’t drag me into this, I don’t want to be buried alive by the Godfather,” Woch coughed awkwardly, paused for a moment, and then tentatively asked, “Mr. Dante, you… didn’t use that?”