Sir! Don't close the net!

"We have nowhere to run."

Puss, standing at the breach in the city wall, looked helplessly at the middle-aged man, who, also standing in front of the breach, lowered his head, accepted the outcome, and turned to follow the others into the deep alley.

Puss hesitated for a moment before raising his voice, “This is an opportunity for us to decide our own lives. We know how terrible it is... we can try our best to prevent others from having such a terrible life.”

The middle-aged man paused, remained silent for a moment, then turned and nodded at Puss.

"That's true..."

Pus breathed a sigh of relief, looked around the construction site again, and after confirming that no boxes had been left behind, he carried the box back to the alley he had come from. Before stepping into the dark and deep alley, Pus couldn't help but look back at the construction site. Although he hadn't stayed here to keep an eye on the construction site, he had been wandering around the vicinity.

There were so many boxes, but he couldn't find a single trace of them. It was as if they had appeared out of thin air. The workers from earlier didn't seem surprised at all by the extra boxes.

But upon closer reflection, it doesn't seem so outrageous.

Dante is the son of the Jurassic Circle Mafia, so there must be many methods he can't imagine. I heard that the Jurassic Circle team was the one who blew up the city wall. It must have been a difficult thing to transport those boxes containing weapons to his construction site without anyone noticing.

It's very simple, isn't it?

Puss muttered something and then stopped thinking.

Not long after Puss and the others left, a wisp of smoke leaked out from the gap.

Outside the gap, the priest, a cigarette dangling from his lips, gazed at the sky with an incredibly profound look in his eyes.

Night fell, and a thick fog descended.

The smog, like a shapeless giant, reached out and smashed towards the Triassic Circle. The shapeless giant, like an egg smashing against a stone, was shattered in an instant, but the surging smog silently swallowed the entire Triassic Circle.

------

"Where did you run off to, you rascal?"

Faced with the sudden appearance of Li Yili, Rebecca couldn't help but complain.

"Hmm? Ah~ I went back to my alma mater and found it desolate like a ruin. I laughed until my stomach hurt. I went inside and walked around a few times, smashed a few pieces of glass, and felt like my mind was cleared up," Li Yili shrugged.

"Ugh—this is terrible! Aren't you the best graduate? Logically speaking, shouldn't you be the one who's doing the best?" Rebecca tilted her head.

“The most outstanding people always face the greatest pressure, especially someone as outstanding as me…” Li Yili’s tone was flippant, but her expression was incredibly indifferent, as if she were reading aloud or avoiding the topic.

Anne stared at Li Yili's face for a while, then laughed. "That's true. Is this all you think about Arkham University and its affiliated colleges moving out of the wasteland?"

"Hmm? Isn't that what most people think?"

Ashley glanced at Annie, then at Li Yili, sensing the atmosphere had become somewhat awkward. She immediately stepped forward, spreading her arms to block Li Yili and Annie. "Alright—that's enough! Now—we have more important things to do!"

"More important things?"

Ashley clasped her hands together in front of her, tilted her head to the right, and smiled with eyes like crescent moons, saying, "Dinner, of course!"

Rebecca blinked and raised her hands high above her head. "I agree."

“I have no objection,” Li Yili said, glancing up at the sky before rolling her eyes.

Annie glanced at Li Yili with some surprise. She wondered if it was just her imagination, but Li Yili seemed too detached, as if everything was already predetermined and nothing could be changed. The only option left was to quietly watch everything happen as it was.

Although, she now holds the same view.

“Then I’ll trouble Miss Ashley to lead the way,” Anne smiled at Ashley.

"Leave it to me!"

Ashley, still full of energy after shopping all day, nodded vigorously, took Rebecca's arm with her left hand and held Aditi's hand with her right, leading the two of them ahead. Annie smiled slightly at Li Yili, "Mind pushing my wheelchair for a bit?"

Li Yili shrugged and walked behind Annie, holding onto the armrests of her wheelchair.

“The wasteland royal family is coming to an end, isn’t it?” Anne raised her head.

“You don’t seem so unacceptable.”

“Do you think I love this place that much?” Anne’s smile was incredibly bright, but her tone was extremely indifferent. “And everyone is prepared.”

"Those who are destined to be eliminated, even now... don't give anyone a chance to improve or even have a glimmer of hope."

"Being eliminated was only a matter of time, and I was just very lucky to witness the process of change when I most wanted to change."

Chapter 137 The Unknown [2012]

Anne was very clear-headed at that moment.

She yearns for change in the wasteland, and she is willing to pay a price that most people cannot accept. However, she never felt that the one who changes the wasteland must be someone like herself who has paid such a high price. She doesn't even think she can do it. She is prepared to die and be forgotten on this right path because what she wants to change is the result that history has deduced to this day.

There may be a possibility of change, but the fulcrum for that change can never be established by one person alone. Her actions are more like the rebellion of a loser who is unwilling to accept defeat and is in despair.

Now, she is told that those who dare to overthrow the regime are ready, those who are capable of taking over the mess and running everything well are ready to hand over the fruits of their labor to those of higher moral character who are worthy of the title of royalty, and the academy that has been the pillar of the country and has been providing the nation's leaders has long since moved away. Meanwhile, the bastards who should have been overthrown still act as if they deserve to be overthrown, without any sense of self-awareness.

This Millennium has now lost all its value. It has a prosperous appearance but is just a disgusting tumor. It has no other function except to continuously drain the life force of the wasteland.

The surgery to remove this malignant tumor is about to begin.

Because this would be a straightforward removal surgery, and wouldn't even affect the trifold.

So Annie is very relaxed and carefree now. She has even started to think about when to go back to San Die Quan and whether she should take good care of that clothing store that is full of outdated clothes.

Li Yili noticed Annie's relaxed expression and silently looked ahead, "If there is a hundred years to come, this period of history will be recorded in history books as the civil war with the least casualties."

Anne paused, raising her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She felt that Li Yili's statement was somewhat strange, yet it didn't seem to make any sense. After thinking for a moment, she nodded and sighed, "That's true, but... it should be said to be the revolution with the fewest sacrifices in history."

"In the end, you sacrificed so much, but the whole thing had nothing to do with you. You even tried to stop it at one point. Don't you feel regret?"

"Regret? Of course there will be regret, why?"

"I didn't realize it sooner, and I took such a long detour, but I'm glad I didn't actually try to stop it as I originally planned," Anne let out a long sigh and smiled easily.

The wasteland royal family and nobles are still unaware of what is about to happen, and are indulging in the joy of gaining an advantage from the cult of steam and steel that has voluntarily retreated, playing some pointless vagrant uprising in the Triassic Circle.

If she were to spread rumors as originally planned to alert the wasteland royal family, this revolution, which should have been accomplished at minimal cost, would turn into a real war.

“Little Miss Anne, I must remind you that Mr. Dante is still working hard in the Jurassic Circle to stop the war. He truly believes that we will spread intelligence in the capital, Millennium, to alert the Wasteland Royal Family,” Li Yili glanced at Ashley ahead, slowed her pace, and after creating some distance, leaned down and whispered in Anne’s ear.

Annie's expression froze for a moment, then she scratched her face awkwardly before nodding after a long pause.

"Well... I really feel bad about this, Mr. Dante, but! It hasn't even been a day yet, and Mr. Dante might be struggling with how to write a letter to Miss Ashley right now, cough—so let's write a letter to Mr. Dante now, to tell Mr. Dante... uh—"

Anne held her forehead and fell silent.

She didn't know what to say, because there hadn't been the slightest reversal in the matter; it was still the Jurassic Circle and the Cretaceous Circle waging war to replace the wasteland royal family and nobles. She had simply gained more information.

The Jurassic and Cretaceous regions were far better prepared than she had imagined. Although the Cult of Steam and Steel, which was causing the damage, did not openly side with the Jurassic and Cretaceous regions, their various inclinations and their current withdrawal from Arkham University suggested that if the Jurassic and Cretaceous regions went to war, the Cult of Steam and Steel would definitely not help the wasteland.

“Tell Mr. Dante that there’s nothing we can do. The die is cast. What’s going to happen is what’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of time. So go to sleep and wait for everything to change. Then, just be the son of the Mafia godfather and marry Ashley, the daughter of the King of the Cretaceous business world.”

Li Yili gave Annie the answer.

Although she found this surrender-like rhetoric unpleasant and didn't want to accept it, after thinking it over, it really was the case. There wasn't a better answer, so Annie could only nod helplessly, rubbing her forehead. "Mr. Dante will understand. It's just... this is a just battle."

"Now that the Cult of Steam and Steel has withdrawn from the academy, the wasteland royal family and nobles will be overjoyed and completely block the path for other talents to rise. The wasteland has no future, so this is the only way. Hmm, I think Mr. Dante will understand."

Annie crossed her arms and nodded as if to reassure herself, but her confidence still seemed somewhat lacking.

After all, Dante had no intention of getting involved in this matter. It was their various persuasions that dragged him into this mess. Now that he thinks about it, it seems that if they don't contact Dante, he can continue to be his righteous partner in the Jurassic Circle with ease. The only thing he needs to worry about every day is how to awkwardly describe his love to Ashley.

“Is that so? Yes, that makes sense,” Li Yili tilted her head, “as long as Dante isn’t that kind of stubborn, romantic fool.”

Because Li Yili unusually refrained from making any sharp or sarcastic remarks, Annie rubbed her shoulders uncomfortably. "But Mr. Dante will surely understand. After all, it's beneficial for everyone, and it's not... anything evil."

After saying that, Annie silently sped up her wheelchair and squeezed next to Ashley, smiling as she joined Ashley and the others in their cheerful atmosphere. Li Yili, on the other hand, followed from a distance, her gaze fixed on the distant cathedral of the Church of Steam and Steel, which resembled a pipe organ. The once grand, mechanically constructed symphony seemed to have come to an end, becoming incredibly somber, as if announcing the decline of the Church of Steam and Steel.

[2012] is coming soon, but even he doesn't know what the real [2012] is that will overturn everything on the ground. Is it a great calamity that wipes everything off the ground in an instant, or something else that continues until everything on the ground is wiped out?

But the answer lies in this very transformation.

Chapter 138 Night

The nights in the Triassic Circle were utterly still, and the houses, shrouded in smog, resembled tombstones.

The nights in the Jurassic Circle were incredibly noisy, with rioters brandishing controlled knives and running rampant in the streets, creating a scene of chaos that resembled no society.

The nights in the Cretaceous Circle are as naturally peaceful and tranquil as a gentle haven.

Even as night falls, the prosperity of the capital city of Millennium cannot be concealed; even the dazzling starlight becomes part of its ambiance.

But amidst the deathly silence, chaotic sounds continued to resonate; order was hidden within the chaos; something was being conceived in the peaceful night; and prosperity was slowly decaying under the dazzling starlight.

As the sun rises, an unusual glow appears in the unchanging starry sky.

Puss rubbed his sore eyes, picked up the box full of red ribbons, shoved the door of the clothing store open with his shoulder, walked out with his head down, put the alley down on the ground, and called out to the other people in Diagon Alley.

"

"Everyone, come and get your ribbons!"

"ribbon?"

The young man closest to Puss blinked, leaned closer, bent down, and lifted a strip of cloth from the box, looking puzzled. "Mr. Puss, did you tear this piece of cloth from which garment? By the way..."

The young man bent down and fiddled with the box, then grabbed a handful of strips of cloth of varying sizes.

"They're all different sizes, aren't they?"

Puss blushed, coughed heavily, and held up a finger. "It's because we don't have much time! We'll do it properly when we have more time later, cough cough cough—anyway, for now, everyone just tie these strips of satin... these strips of cloth around your arms, right here."

Puss turned to the others and pointed to the area below his shoulder.

The young man standing in front of Pus hesitated for a moment before cautiously probing, "Pus, this isn't... the Self-Defense Forces' insignia, is it?"

“Yes,” Puss nodded vigorously, hands on his hips.

"Ugh-"

"Don't be so disgusted! This is the limit after one night!" Pus grabbed the young man's neck, turned to look at the others, and said with a serious expression, "Everyone, I don't intend to hide anything. Ryan and his guys got a gun from someone, and it's a shotgun with considerable power. If you get hit by one of those, you're done for."

The other residents of Diagon Alley immediately held their breath.

"However, with the help of little Miss Anne, I contacted a very powerful person in the Jurassic Circle, who provided us with a large quantity of weapons, which are now down here."

Pus released the young man's neck and pointed to the ground.

“We are forming a self-defense force. Once we succeed, changing the Triassic Circle will no longer be just a dream. But it is a very difficult and dangerous thing. Once we decide to do it and take those guns, there will be no turning back. We will become targets for those homeless people who have gotten their hands on guns. They will act to kill us and take away the guns we use to protect others.”

"Although it sounds unbelievable and difficult, even in the face of such a threat, I hope that the people who decide to take on those guns will promise one thing: no matter what happens, they will never fire a shot. Once they fire a shot and kill someone, there will be no going back."

After a long pause, Puss raised his hand and pressed down on the cowboy hat on his head.

"We will catch up with little Miss Anne, that's what we agreed on, even if we can't..."

"We also want to see that when little Miss Anne comes back, she will see that we are still working hard."