All Under Control

The sudden eruption of bullets finally tore through the ice wall at Ye Xiu's side.

Even though he reacted with terrifying speed, gaps inevitably appeared in his defenses.

"It's over."

Xie Lan shot forward, the long gun in her hand aimed at Ye Xiu's chest.

There were barely more than ten meters between them. If Xie Lan pulled the trigger, with a bullet's speed, Ye Xiu would never be able to dodge this shot.

"Kid, your control over your ability really isn't bad. Give it a little more time, and you'll probably reach the fourth tier. But unfortunately, right now, you're still no match for me."

Xie Lan stared at Ye Xiu. Their battle had indeed put considerable pressure on her. For Ye Xiu to contend with her for so long using only a third-tier ability was already proof enough of his strength.

Unfortunately, if that was all he had, it still wasn't enough to make the entire Wildfire Gang acknowledge him.

"So this was the change that occurred once an ability reached the fourth tier?"

Ye Xiu studied the muzzle before him with interest. As the one involved, he naturally understood exactly what had happened earlier.

Those guns had clearly reached their limit, yet in the instant they paused to recover, the radiance that burst from Xie Lan restored every firearm to peak condition.

It ignored the limits of ammunition, ignored what the barrels could withstand, and even directly shattered their original limits.

That wave of bullets had completely disrupted his original combat rhythm.

And in a battle, once every rhythm fell under one person's control, the outcome spoke for itself.

Outside the hall.

As the smoke and dust cleared on the surveillance screen, revealing Xie Lan holding her long gun against Ye Xiu's vital point, the onlookers who had been watching for fun immediately erupted into fervent cheers.

As the leader of the entire Wildfire Gang, Xie Lan naturally commanded the trust of many.

And when facing a powerful enemy who had come knocking, what could raise morale more than their own boss defeating the opponent in a one-on-one duel?

"Hurry up. Those of you who lost the bet, pay up. Don't try to welch on it."

A few troublemakers who had opened betting pools even hopped around collecting money from others. The people paying showed no real displeasure on their faces.

Ye Xiu had displayed decent strength as well. If he joined the gang later, it would be a great thing too.

"I acknowledge your strength. So, how about it? Do you want to officially join Wildfire? With your strength, you can absolutely take one of the most important positions. The gang won't take advantage of you for nothing."

Facing Ye Xiu, Xie Lan, convinced victory was in her grasp, let out a breath and prepared to recruit him.

She had won this battle, while also allowing him to save some face.

This was the best possible outcome.

And since he had been willing to make contact in the first place, Ye Xiu had never truly ruled out joining them.

In that case, it was merely a matter of asking for the moon and haggling from the ground.

The terms were all negotiable. In Apocalypse World, talent was the most precious thing of all.

"Not bad. With this kind of strength, it really is enough."

After the two looked at each other for a long while, Ye Xiu suddenly nodded in satisfaction. "With this strength, you really are enough to maintain things day to day."

"What do you mean?"

Xie Lan was somewhat unable to make heads or tails of his attitude, and could only frown instinctively.

"Have you still not figured out the situation? If I hadn't held back, that shot just now would've been enough to take your life..."

As she spoke, Xie Lan tightened her grip on the trigger.

"We're all decent people. If you insist on doing this, then..."

But this time, Ye Xiu did not give her the chance to finish.

"Pointing a gun at someone means you spared my life? How can you be so sure I couldn't escape?"

As he spoke, Ye Xiu silently thrust the short sword in his hand forward.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

Seeing the short sword coming at her, Xie Lan instinctively pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The gun went off, but Xie Lan discovered in shock that Ye Xiu had suddenly vanished from right in front of her!

The bullet struck nothing, but Xie Lan felt a trace of chill brush against her neck.

When?

A flicker of astonishment flashed through Xie Lan's mind, but years of life in the wasteland made her body react first.

Her heel slammed backward, and her elbow twisted down in a vicious strike.

As long as she could open up some distance, there was still a chance...

Thud, thud.

Two more sounds of fists and feet striking flesh rang out.

It was as if Ye Xiu behind her had foreseen everything. He had predicted Xie Lan's attack in advance, and with his hands crossing, blocked it at precisely the right moment.

"Right turning knee, eye jab, draw gun..."

All her counterattacks had been stopped, and Xie Lan immediately grew anxious as she tried to move again.

But halfway through, her body suddenly froze in place.

Because every word Ye Xiu spoke from behind her matched the plan in her mind without the slightest error.

Xie Lan's heart sank, but reality did not even give her time to think.

Ye Xiu exerted force with both hands and feet. Xie Lan only felt the strength coming from his hands was so overwhelming that she could not resist at all. The next second, her entire body was forced down and pinned with a single hand.

"I've shown plenty of mercy too. In that case, shouldn't it be my turn to call the shots now?"

Ye Xiu smiled at Xie Lan before him.

From beginning to end, this battle had never escaped his control. Even when Xie Lan believed she had erupted and seized the initiative later on, it had been no different.

Only now did the spectators outside realize something was wrong.

"Big Sis is... captured?"

"How is that possible? Didn't Big Sis already have victory in the bag just now?"

With the dual coordination of spiritual power and his ability, even though cautious Ye Xiu had still held some strength in reserve, there were barely a few people present who could detect the change in him.

Xie Lan's expression shifted uncertainly.

She had never expected the gap between their strengths to be so vast. The moment Ye Xiu got serious, she was immediately left helpless.

She had thought he was a crouching tiger lying low, but he turned out to be a dragon crossing the river.

Xie Lan sighed inwardly, then quickly forced herself to pull herself together.

"You won. The Wildfire Gang is yours now. You're the boss."

Since they had agreed on it beforehand, she naturally would not go back on her word.

After all, Ye Xiu had already demonstrated such overwhelming strength. In this chaotic apocalypse, as long as he did not go too far, the people below would not be overly resistant to him.

"I'm the boss now?"

Ye Xiu looked at Xie Lan, a teasing smile appearing on his face again.

"That means, in name at least, everyone should listen to me?"

Xie Lan was slightly displeased. Though through her previous interactions with Ye Xiu, she could more or less tell that he was not some hopelessly vile bastard.

But who could guarantee that, as his power grew, Ye Xiu's ambitions would not grow with it?

"Of course. In the Wildfire Gang, the strong are revered. Since you agreed to it, you are naturally the boss who commands everyone."

"Then that's wonderful."

Ye Xiu chuckled softly.

He stared at the camera in the corner before him, and a trace of wild arrogance flashed in his eyes.

"But I don't like leading a bunch of trash."

"Everyone currently in this factory, I permit you to use any means necessary to kill me."

He paused, then added, "Or be killed by me!"