Sir! Don't close the net!

Therefore, if Arkham University makes a mistake in its operations and is on the verge of bankruptcy, the wasteland royal family and nobles will not only not provide support, but will even try to deliver the final blow to completely destroy Arkham University.

It now appears that the wasteland royal family and nobles acted quite quickly.

But is it really possible?

The entire wasteland was built by the Cult of Steam and Steel, which is the foundation of the wasteland. Arkham University is an important branch that allowed the wasteland to flourish. The wasteland's ability to have such a large-scale industry and the fact that the capital, Millennium, can be called the most advanced city is due to the various talents cultivated by Arkham University who are not from the wasteland's royal family and nobility.

Arkham University's wasteland-like future has been cut short.

To put it bluntly, even if it's useless

Even if the Turkic royal family dies, the Church of Steam and Steel will not bring down Arkham University.

"Wait a moment……"

Anne pinched the bridge of her nose, thought for a while, then lowered her hand, her fingers tapping nervously on the armrest of the wheelchair.

"And what about the students at Arkham University? What about the students at the affiliated schools? Where did they all go?"

Ashley tilted her head to the side.

"Without the status of academy student, they lost their right to reside in Millennium. They were probably all sent away by the Cult of Steam and Steel. Sigh... I'm afraid I heard that if the Cult of Steam and Steel hadn't sent them away so quickly, the wasteland royal family and nobles would have planned to arrest all the students and imprison them on charges of illegal overstaying."

Anne's expression gradually froze.

Li Yili scratched the back of her head, looking speechlessly at the Millennium residents in front of her who were laughing quite happily.

"What are you all laughing at?"

If we compare the capital city of Millennium to a company, then Arkham University is a very important part of its business for the Cult of Steam and Steel. Now, this important part of the business has been transferred out of the capital city of Millennium, and it was the Cult of Steam and Steel that transferred it out. What does this mean?

For the Cult of Steam and Steel, the capital city of Millennium is no longer that important, or rather... it's become a place where it doesn't matter what.

Even Arkham University has been moved, so presumably other things that are quite important to the Cult of Steam and Steel have also been moved.

In order to avoid any losses in the subsequent flood.

“Of course someone of your lowly status wouldn’t understand,” the man said with a smug smile.

"Ah... let me guess, because Arkham University and its affiliated colleges are gone, you think the Cult of Steam and Steel is actually in dire straits?"

"Is it because the path for ordinary people to obtain permanent residency in the capital has been completely cut off, so you can occupy this place with peace of mind, without worrying about being overtaken or pushed aside by ordinary people through their own efforts?"

The expressions of the man and the other residents of Qianxi gradually became uncontrollable and turned ugly.

This is precisely why they are happy, but when an outsider like Li Yili says it out loud, they not only don't feel happy, but they even feel humiliated.

Chapter 129 The Poet Noble in the Dungeon

"Guards! Guards!"

The man in the tuxedo blushed and instinctively wanted to step forward and hit Li Yili with his cane, but when he thought about the many people watching, he gave up the tempting idea and turned his head to shout with a red neck.

"Call the parents? You don't even use that tactic when a kid loses a fight."

Li Yili shook her head and stretched her arms out to the sides.

Seeing that Li Yili had no intention of running away, the man and the other Millennium residents who were waiting for the result were very unhappy, but when they thought that the guards would arrive soon, they regained their previous arrogant expressions.

Amidst a commotion, a passage opened up in the crowd. A somewhat greasy-looking guard with unsteady steps swaggered out, glanced around, and then fixed his gaze on Li Yili, who was standing still. He raised his hand and beckoned the other guards, who, instead of asking what was going on, surrounded Li Yili, blocking all her way. Only then did the guard who seemed to be the leader loudly inquire.

"Explain what's going on here?"

“Guard, I suspect this man is a spy sent by another country!” The man straightened his collar and said, “For the dignity of the wasteland’s royal family and the safety of the wasteland, please lock this impolite man up and investigate him thoroughly.”

The guard, who seemed to be the leader, looked enlightened and gave Li Yili a friendly smile, placing his right hand on the baton at his waist.

"Sir, you don't mind coming with us, do you? It's nothing, just a routine check. If you're not a spy sent by another country, you'll be released soon."

Li Yili saw through the guard's eyes the figures of several men behind him who had already drawn their batons. If he shook his head or said no, those batons would most likely be aimed at his forehead. Although he didn't really care, he didn't like others hitting him on the head with batons. After thinking for a moment, he smiled brightly and raised his hands above his head.

"Row."

"Splash—"

With a piercing clanging sound, the rusty iron gate slammed heavily against the rough brick wall.

The guard's friendly smile vanished, and he glanced disdainfully at Li Yili in the dungeon. "Damn it, a lowly person like you is wasting so much of my time. If I weren't busy right now, I'd probably give you a good beating!"

Li Yili blinked, suddenly realized, and reached out to grasp the iron railing in front of her.

"Huh? Ah~ wait a minute, guard! Didn't you say you'd let me out if I proved my innocence?!"

"Huh? This is the capital, Millennium. You are nothing but lowly outsiders. Here, we say what we mean," the guard scoffed, turned and walked out. With a heavy slam of the door, the dungeon fell silent.

Li Yili peeked inside, letting out a long breath. The iron gate and rough brick pillars formed a circular cell. An indescribable stench permeated the dark space. The only clean area was the path leading to the exit, where several decks of cards lay, and empty bottles littered the floor. Li Yili could already imagine the guards drinking and playing cards here while listening to the cries of those imprisoned here.

It started howling.

Logically, this should be the case now, but the guard said, "We're busy right now."

Millennium residents belong exclusively to the wasteland royal family and nobility, serve only the capital city of Millennium, and have their interests tied to the power structure of the wasteland royal family and nobility.

“I remember… the law enforcement agency in the capital city of Millennium should be… the enforcement force of the Cult of Steam and Steel…”

"That happened a few days ago."

A voice came from behind Li Yili.

Li Yili lowered her head and turned to look. In the deep, foul-smelling dungeon, there seemed to be a person sitting there, and the chains rattled as that person moved.

"A few days ago? Ah~ Could it be that, the fire at the San Die Quan food processing plant?" Li Yili glanced at the murky, viscous liquid on the ground and curled her lips in disgust.

"Yes—although the Millennials never cared about the lives of the residents of San Die Quan, after learning that the food processing plant in San Die Quan had been destroyed by fire and that San Die Quan might face food shortages in less than a week, the Millennials began to protest to the Church of Steam and Steel. They all agreed that it was a man-made fire."

"The problem of the triple fog has not been solved, nor has the arsonist who set fire to the processing plant been stopped, nor has the fire been stopped from spreading. We have watched helplessly as the food processing plant was destroyed. What is even more unbelievable is that... the Cult of Steam and Steel, which claims to maintain order in the wasteland, has still not caught the arsonist."

"Unbelievable! They couldn't even catch a small arsonist in the Triassic Circle? Is that all? With this level of competence, they expect the Cult of Steam and Steel to protect Millennium?"

"And this is definitely not a simple arson! There must be a conspiracy against Millennium behind this!"

The man sitting deep in the dungeon began to sing loudly, like a bard.

"The only ones who can save us are the noble blood flowing through our veins, the saviors of the wasteland, the royalty and nobles. They will rebuild peace and prosperity on this land, which has been turned into a mess by the arrogant and incompetent cult of steam and steel, just like in the beginning. Even the vagrants will enjoy a free kingdom!"

“It really sounds like a joke,” Li Yili grinned.

"Rumored poems always exaggerate some aspect, don't they?" The enormous man deep in the dungeon shrugged. "But to exaggerate it to the point of being entirely fiction and delusion is a tiny bit much."

"Is this the reason you're locked up here?"

"Hey—don't let my current appearance fool you, actually I am..."

With a series of crisp sounds, the man sitting deep in the dungeon leaned forward slightly.

"Is he the son of a nobleman?"

"I've never seen a noble's son imprisoned in a dungeon before, or..."

Li Yili paused and looked around.

"The son of a nobleman imprisoned in a public prison."

“That’s because we have to be separated. I was unlucky enough to be thrown into this public prison, but in a way it’s lucky. If I had ended up in some perverted count’s dead man’s prison, who knows what I would have encountered?” The man sitting deep inside shook his arm. “Let me guess, your next question is, why are we locked up in the dungeon?”

"have you eaten?"

"..."

“Not yet, alright, alright, are you really not interested in this? This isn’t some naughty prank,” the man sitting deep inside raised his hands, “this is a curse, or perhaps a mission, that the wasteland royal family and nobility want to bury in history.”

Chapter 130 The Secrets of Guo Weidun

What curse or mission did royalty and nobility want to bury completely in history?

Li Yili leaned against the iron gate with her arms crossed, her eyebrows slightly raised. "Curse? Mission? That's enough. You are nothing more than descendants of people who couldn't make it in any other place, cobbled together by the Cult of Steam and Steel in order to establish the wasteland as a transitional zone."

"Ah... but for you who consider yourselves of noble blood, this is indeed a curse and truth that must never be known to anyone."

The man sitting deep in the dungeon, who claimed to be the son of a nobleman, remained silent for a while before weakly complaining, "Sir, have I ever complained to you that you have a sharp tongue and are very insensitive to the atmosphere?"

“Who knows, maybe there is,” Li Yili shrugged. “But from your tone, it sounds like there’s some other curse. If you’re referring to innate stupidity and ugliness, I’ve already seen it, but it’s definitely not a curse.”

“You’re half right, sir.”

With a crisp sound, the man sitting deep inside got up, leaning against the wall. He swayed from side to side as he walked towards Li Yili, stepping on the viscous liquid. But whether it was intentional or he had reached the limit of the chains' movement, the man stopped at the boundary between light and darkness and raised his head.

Li Yili raised her eyebrows slightly. The man was probably very handsome. As for why she used "probably" to describe him, it was because veins like worms were wriggling and covering half of the man's face, and the pale eyes wrapped in the veins looked like worm eggs.

"I thought you would scream. Did I misjudge the situation?" The man touched his ugly left cheek, his handsome right cheek showing some surprise.

“No, I think you’re underestimating your situation,” Li Yili said, chin in hand, pacing back and forth. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this. It’s unbelievable. Is this the curse you’re talking about?”

"

"You're only half right, sir," the man said, swinging the chains on his wrists left and right before pointing to his head. "That's just a bonus. The real curse is here."

“I also think that all of you wasteland royals and nobles are out of your minds,” Reed nodded.

"Ha—this sharp-tongued gentleman, it's always tiring talking to you," the man complained. "However, I also think they're sick, and not very well. But if you don't become sick like them, you'll probably end up like me, really sick."

The man shook his head and walked back into the darkness of the dungeon, then sat back down with a thud.

“This is the first time I’ve heard of this,” Li Yili turned around and patted the iron gate. “It sounds like the aristocratic class would rather let their country rot in their hands than change it to the point of obsession.”

“That was my reaction when I first heard it, until… a voice kept whispering in my head every night,” the man said, his hands on his knees and his head drooping.

"sound?"

Li Yili slightly raised her head.

"for example?"

"Who knew, it was a language I didn't know. Even after searching through all the books in the Arkham University library, I couldn't find the corresponding syllables. And it didn't sound like someone was conveying a message to me. It was more like... another version of myself was awakening. Gradually, my mind started to have some things I had never seen before."

“It sounds more like you’ve gone mad,” Li Yili said, reaching through the iron gate to grasp the lock and applying slight pressure. The metal lock twisted at an extremely slow speed before finally breaking.

"The psychologist I saw also told me the same thing. He told me that there are no stars made of steel in this world. My reason tells me that this is true, but I am absolutely certain that stars made of steel do exist, and that they are in the sky, watching our every move 24 hours a day."

“Those are their eyes, because we have opened the sky, so their gaze is more intense than ever before.”

The man's voice gradually became faint and ethereal, and he raised his hands and gestured wildly.

“They will appear before us one day, or rather, they did it a long time ago. I think I’m going crazy, but luckily we haven’t fallen into it yet. I can still realize that I’m going crazy, and I still have the chance to pretend that I’m not.”

“You’re really lucky,” Li Yili said, withdrawing her hand. “But it seems your acting skills aren’t very good.”

"That's because...birds of a feather flock together," the man lowered his hand and spread his arms to his sides. "I tried to associate with other mediocre people, thinking that by hanging out with them, my IQ would probably drop to about the same level as theirs, and I probably wouldn't go crazy, but..."