When Xie Lan returned to the laboratory, everyone inside had gone out to celebrate, leaving only an empty room behind.
Before today, the Wildfire Gang had struggled even to fend off those who had bared their fangs first, let alone the countless major gangs lurking in the shadows throughout the entire Lower District.
On the surface, everyone could still hold themselves together. More than once, they had even talked about making those people repay their blood debts after expanding. But in truth, the string in their hearts had already been stretched to its breaking point. No one knew when it would snap.
Xie Lan naturally knew that the gang was unstable within.
The old hands each harbored their own thoughts, while the newcomers were of unknown background and could not be trusted.
Yet she had never been able to bring herself to purge and reorganize the ranks.
The reason was simple: the manpower shortage had become so severe that she had no choice but to ignore everything else and force people into positions.
Even an infiltrator could at least contribute before turning traitor.
She was gambling—gambling that the entire gang could weather this period, and that the profits generated afterward could forcibly suppress every contradiction.
As for the odds of success, they were at least higher than doing nothing.
Besides, after today, this was no longer a desperate gamble with their lives.
Xie Lan cast a long look at the two figures by the laboratory bench.
Xu Hualing was flipping through and inspecting the Scorpion Armor she had removed.
Ye Xiu had changed into casual clothes, but his attention was fixed on a dossier.
"Boss, aren't you going to show yourself?"
Xie Lan stopped behind Ye Xiu and waited until he set down the dossier before asking.
Ye Xiu neither