Sir! Don't close the net!

"I was blinded by greed! I beg you, Mr. Richard, this is too complicated, my daughter can't handle it!"

Li Yili's lips twitched, and after a long pause, she suppressed her anger and slapped Tipor's right hand away. "Don't worry, I'm not that Mr. Dante. Your daughter is indeed very beautiful, but I'm not into that kind of thing."

"Really? That's great."

“However, you’re not at ease yet. That Mr. Dante, that Mr. Dante,” Li Yili turned and walked past Tipor to stand in front of the bookshelf.

"That Mr. Dante?"

“Don’t tell me you don’t know that Norman’s son is named Dante,” Li Yili said, raising a finger and waving it from side to side. “You’re all in the same boat now… as accomplices.”

Tipole paused for a moment and then smiled helplessly. "Mr. Richard, are you really just here to stroll around? If so, you know and have been in contact with far too many people."

“This is probably what they call…fate,” Li Yili tilted her head.

He didn't believe in fate at first, but the Abel he saw from time to time, and the spinning wheel of fate that Abel had mentioned, all told him that fate existed in this world, and that fate was pulling everything in a certain direction. But even if fate really existed...

It's just generated by a button.

“Fate… well, Mr. Richard, you don’t seem like the kind of person who likes to tell incredible lies about these things,” Tipole shook his head. “The matter between Dante and Ashley… I’m not going to interfere. Ashley, though a little naive, is not incapable of discerning right from wrong.”

"What about Levi's Est. Richard and Ashley Eugene?"

"Mr. Richard, I'll kill myself to stab you in the back!"

“Calm down, I was just joking,” Li Yili smiled and lifted her chin. “But I’m relieved now. With you as my father-in-law, Dante and Ashley’s relationship should be fine.”

“I never said I…supported him,” Tipole’s eye twitched. “Dante is the son of Norman, the godfather of the Mafia. He fits the image of a Jurassic Circle thug better than anyone else. His past is not good.”

"Hey? So what do you think of the future prospects of Levi Esti Richard and Ashley Eugene?"

“However, I have also seen his efforts to change things, so I will neither support him nor interfere with their efforts,” Tipor said with a serious expression.

"Really? Have you mentioned this to Norman, the godfather of the Mafia? Although I don't think Norman would refuse such a marriage proposal, the business king of the Cretaceous Circle and the most powerful thuggish organization in the Jurassic Circle, the Mafia, if the two were to unite, it wouldn't be impossible for them to establish a new regime in the wasteland."

“Mr. Richard, are you really just here to wander around the wasteland?” Tipole raised his voice.

“I see. It seems that at least it’s not a rejection,” Li Yili said, putting her hands behind her head. “You don’t need to worry. I’m just curious about Dante and Ashley’s relationship. These days, there aren’t many pure relationships like that. It’s made me want to invest in it.”

"Huh? Uh-uh! Wait a minute!"

Tipole put his left hand to his forehead, pondered for a while, then widened his eyes, "You wrote those Romeo and Juliet stories? And that Night of the Night? And that Merchant of Venice!"

"right."

"Damn it—that Dante dared to lie to my daughter! I knew a Jurassic hooligan like him couldn't possibly write a story like that!"

"What about Levi Strauss, Estée Richard, and Ashley Yu?"

“However, I can also see that he really likes my daughter and wants to make her happy, otherwise he wouldn’t have chosen to make a deal with you, Mr. Richard,” Tipole said, shaking his head with his hands behind his back.

He was serious about those words. After making a deal with Li Yili, he always felt a lingering fear, as if something had silently and unconsciously...

The corruption and hollowing out have turned it into something else. Even though his wishes have been fulfilled, he feels like a bystander.

At least now, looking back at the past two years, he can be sure that the balance he craved from Li Yili was definitely not about him overwhelming other businessmen with absolute advantages and ruling the business world as king. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become so obese because he felt uncomfortable.

“Mr. Richard, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”

“Huh? Are you sure? Your expression tells me you’re terrified of making a deal with me…” Li Yili turned her head slightly, her eyes narrowing. “So? What do you want me to do this time? Help you?”

"Stop helping Dante."

"..."

“Mr. Eugene, that’s not fair. This is a deal between me and Dante,” Li Yili shrugged.

“Dante doesn’t need your help, and neither does Ashley. Your deal will only drain Dante,” Tipole said with utmost seriousness. “Besides, this isn’t a deal. It’s a plea: if you really want to see them together as their truest selves, then stop helping either of them.”

Li Yili tilted her head to the side.

"Then tell me where our old stronghold in the wasteland is?"

Chapter 106 Where is the Branch?

Don't tell me you didn't know!

“I know very well that in the past, it was through your trade channels that we were able to transport those things in and stuff them into the Jurassic Circle.”

"While I don't think you, Mr. Eugene, would try to tell me some silly lies under these circumstances, I feel I shouldn't bother to remind you for the sake of our friendship."

Li Yili blinked and revealed an innocent smile.

"If you want to smuggle the goods in from the inside, you need a place to make contact."

Tipole sighed deeply. "Mr. Richard, what if I told you that there is no old stronghold here that you speak of?"

"Hey, hey, hey—Mr. Eugene, do you really not care about our friendship? Or is the card I played not enough to make you tell the truth?" Li Yili sighed and shook her head in disappointment. "If I told you that I've been hanging around in the old days for the past two years and even rose to the position of minister, would you take back what you just said?"

“This… Mr. Richard, it’s not that,” Tipole raised an eyebrow, “that the matter between Guo Weyton and Instas has anything to do with you?”

Li Yili's heart skipped a beat, and her eyes slowly drifted away.

Tipole's heart skipped a beat. Judging from Li Yili's reaction, even though Li Yili wasn't the mastermind behind the tragic deaths of Guo Weidun and Yinstas, she still bore the majority of the responsibility.

Tipole felt a wave of fear wash over him, and suddenly had a strong premonition that perhaps he, and the entire chalk circle, were just a hair's breadth away from ending up like Guo Weidun and Instars.

“Mr. Eugene, your gaze is hurtful. Do you think I look like the kind of crazy person who would just blow up a city or two out of boredom?” Li Yili crossed her arms and shook her head helplessly.

"So, what does Guo Weiton... and Instars's business have to do with you?"

Li Yili's expression stiffened, and after a long silence, she pinched her index finger and thumb together towards Tipor, "A little bit, cough cough cough—Mr. Eugene, please don't change the subject!"

Who's trying to change the subject?

Tipor pinched the bridge of his nose and paused for a while.

“Mr. Richard, since you were involved in the Old Days and even rose to the position of minister, have you ever directly contacted the people in the Wasteland branch of the Old Days?”

After a moment of silence, Li Yili raised her hand and tapped her forehead. "I have indeed never directly contacted the Old Ones' branch in the wasteland, but the Old Ones must have established a branch there, and the branch's influence is not small."

As for who exactly was operating in the wasteland and how, he had no idea. In the past, he only thought about living a life of ease and waiting to die, and he felt that the more he contacted other departments within the old world, the easier it would be to crash and burn and be unable to escape. Therefore, he would absolutely avoid contact with other departments if he could avoid it.

“Is that so? Mr. Richard, I can tell you with certainty… if there really is an Old One branch in the wasteland, it’s at least not in the Cretaceous Circle, and we only transported goods for the Old One once, those goods are now in the hands of the Jurassic Circle,” Tipole bent down and pulled out a list to hand to Li Yili, “After that, the Old One has not contacted us to smuggle anything again.”

Li Yili snatched the form from Tipor's hand, glanced at it, and quickly flipped through a few pages.

Because she had handled similar cases before, Li Yili was certain that this bill was indeed the old invoice for smuggled pollutants.

"..."

“Since you transported this shipment for them, you should know that this amount of goods is not enough to give the Jurassic Circle the confidence to fight against the Wasteland Royal Family, the Nobles, or even the Cult of Steam and Steel,” Li Yili said, shaking the list in her hand at Tipor. “You don’t seem like the kind of people who would gamble your life savings on this kind of gamble.”

"I don't know what the Jurassic Circle is all about. I only know that they are extremely confident. Of course, their confidence doesn't stem from what they have, but from the fact that they can obtain enough of that ancient god's legacy—that which has unleashed true power—to fight the Cult of Steam and Steel. As for us..."

Tipol shrugged, somewhat

resignedly.

"I told you, the Cult of Steam and Steel has crossed the line we fear, and the Cult of Steam and Steel is not something that can be stopped by bargaining. This time, their corporatization... they don't intend to give us any room for negotiation."

"It really sounds like something royalty would do, but... if it really succeeds, your Cretaceous merchants will most likely rise to become royalty and nobility in the wasteland. Who will the Jurassic Circle replace? Your Cretaceous Circle? And who will replace the Jurassic Circle? Ha... could it be the Triassic Circle?"

“Mr. Richard, you’re asking quite a long question. Do you really think we’ll succeed? Our opponents aren’t the Wasteland royal family and nobles, but the Cult of Steam and Steel, an organization that built the Wasteland on a land where not even a temple exists,” Tipor shook his head. “Mr. Richard, if you don’t believe me, you can look for the old branches in the Chalk Circle.”

"Let's forget about it. Even if we find it, what then?" Li Yili casually tossed the list on the table, turned around, and waved her hand dismissively. "You don't need to worry about it too much. My presence here is just a coincidence. I have no intention of doing anything to your daughter or to you. To be honest, I have no interest in what you're doing. Of course, if you want to make a deal with me—"

“Mr. Richard! If you don’t mind, you can use my house as a temporary place to stay in the Cretaceous Circle,” Tipole raised his voice.

After a moment of silence, Li Yili waved her hand and said, "I will."

After saying that, Li Yili walked past the butler who was waiting on the side, swaying her body casually as she gradually disappeared into the distance.

The butler watched the corridor until Li Yili's figure completely disappeared before he stepped out and closed the study door. He looked at Tipor, who was clutching his heart and panting heavily, and reached out to support Tipor's arm. "Mr. Eugene, I don't understand."

“It’s enough that you don’t understand,” Tipor shook his head and sat back down with the help of the butler. “It’s a very lucky thing.”

After hesitating for a moment, the butler asked, "Mr. Eugene, he doesn't believe what you said, Mr. Eugene, and thinks that there must be an old branch in the wasteland."

"Who knows... Since he's so certain, he must have some basis for his claim, and... he must be quite powerful. Clearly, he indirectly learned a lot about the wasteland through the so-called Old Branch, and those things aren't things that only people at our level could know."

Tibor covered his forehead, his brow furrowed.

"I have a bad feeling."

Chapter 107 Cooperation Thirty Years Ago

Li Yili wandered aimlessly around Tipor's residence with her hands behind her back.

He was still pondering what Tipor had said.

The Old Ones must have a branch in the wasteland. Although he had never directly contacted the Old Ones' branch in the wasteland, he had heard Dela Pal mention it when he worked for her. Moreover, Dela Pal used to use the Old Ones' branch in the wasteland to transfer supplies allocated to the Black Goat's cubs to other ministers.

But now Tipor tells him that at least the old division no longer exists in the Cretaceous zone.

He didn't think Tipor was lying to him. He had even admitted to joining forces with the Jurassic Circle to plan a big operation, so there was no need for him to tell such obvious lies.

"Not in the Cretaceous zone... the Jurassic zone lacks the capacity for smuggling, and the Triassic zone cannot penetrate the core of the wasteland—"

Li Yili paused, tilted her chin, and turned to look at the Venus statue with arms on one side, raising her eyebrows slightly.

"The branch... it can't be built in the Millennium Park in the capital, can it?"

Judging from the current situation, if the old branch really exists and is not in the Cretaceous Circle, then it can only be in the capital, Millennium. But here's the question: who are the members of the old branch?

The capital city of Millennium cannot be inhabited only by royalty and nobility.

However, Dela Pal used the old branch in the wasteland to wash away the contaminants that had been allocated to the Blackhand lambs. Although the chalk circle supported the wasteland's foreign trade, the wasteland royal family and nobles in the capital Millennium also had the ability and were quite enthusiastic about tinkering with it. But in the capital Millennium, only the wasteland royal family and nobles had this ability.

So, did the old days infiltrate the wasteland's royal families and nobles?

When did the infiltration occur?

The entire capital city of Millennium is right under the nose of the Church of Steam and Steel.

Ok?

Or perhaps the so-called branch in the wasteland... was the Cult of Steam and Steel? Did the Old Ones cooperate with the Cult of Steam and Steel?

Li Yili's pupils contracted slightly; he had a very bad premonition.

Just then, Annie and the others, still steaming from their bodies, appeared at the end of the corridor, chatting and laughing.

Li Yili unknowingly wandered to the hot spring area.

Seeing Li Yili standing at the end of the corridor, Ashley covered her neck shyly and hid behind the door. Although she was dressed, she had just taken a shower and was too embarrassed to face the opposite sex. Rebecca waved her hand carefree, while Annie subconsciously turned her eyes away and tugged at her clothes.

Li Yili didn't pay much attention. She rushed straight to Annie and the others, pushed past Rebecca, grabbed Annie's wheelchair armrests, and said, "Annie and I have something to talk about," before pushing Annie out, leaving Rebecca and the others standing there with question marks on their faces.