Luckily, Fiorella had quite a few emeralds in her stash, and they were all pretty high quality. Cassian said, "That round-cut emerald we picked up really made a difference." Natalie nodded. "Yeah. Judging by how my emerald bracelet changed, I'd say it contributed for at least half the time." She couldn't help but wonder, Where can I get more special emeralds like that? Just one emerald could increase my time in storage space by an hour. That's just too good! That round-cut one wasn't even as big or as pure as that emerald screen. Out of all the emeralds I've collected, it wasn't even the best. So, why did it hold so much energy? While she was still thinking, Cassian suddenly broke the silence. "Nattie, someone's been here." Natalie snapped back to reality and realized the room was full of drifting snow. They stepped out of the storage room and immediately saw that the front door was wide open. The lock looked like it had been forced. Fiorella and the three Greendale Gang men were already frozen stiff, their faces covered in frost. The bodies of the Greendale Gang men had turned an eerie shade of green. On the floor, a scrap of cloth lay discarded—it looked like it had come from Anthony's clothes. They exchanged a look. Natalie cautiously patted Lucky and asked in a low voice, "Is there anyone in the house?" Lucky sniffed around, then shook his head at her and glanced out the door, signaling that whoever came in had already left. Natalie relaxed a bit. As long as nobody was lying in wait to ambush them, it was fine. Who would break in this late at night? Was it someone from the mall basement? Or... Natalie frowned. "Could it be the boss of the Greendale Gang?" She had killed three branch leaders and a bunch of lackeys, but the mysterious boss had never appeared. "It's possible." Cassian waited for her input. "Do you want to go look?" Natalie glanced at the pitch-black night outside and shook her head. "No. Let's just leave." If this were Northlorn, she would've tracked the boss down no matter what and finished the job, just to be safe. Leaving loose ends wasn't her style. But this was the Greater Northwest. Honestly, they would probably never cross paths with these people again. None of them even knew what the other looked like. Even if they did, with no phones, GPS, or easy transport, there was no way the boss could find them again. There was no point wandering around in the freezing night chasing a stranger. Better to get out now and make sure nobody ever knew who wiped out the gang. Meanwhile, the Western Official Base in Rastopia was in chaos. The place was lit up bright as day, even in the dead of night. Lamps and candles glowed in every corner. Teams of guards patrolled with guns, searching every corner for clues. The survivors in the residential area were full of anxiety. "What's going on? Why are the soldiers up all night searching?" "With weather like this, aren't they afraid of freezing? Maybe someone dangerous sneaked in?""Dangerous? Oh, please no! It's hard enough just surviving this cold... I heard a bunch of people died in the posh residential district, just froze to death!" Someone laughed meanly. "Serves them right for living like fat cats and paying big money for big houses. At least our dorms are packed and warm!" "Packed and warm? Get real! Yesterday, a guy on the upper floor assaulted someone in his sleep. Isn't that scary enough?" "A guy attacked another guy? Oh my God!" "Is that so shocking? With the world the way it is, there's not much that would surprise me now." "Hey, you're getting off track. Aren't we talking about those guards outside?" "Oh, right. So what are they looking for? I couldn't sleep at all." A man who'd been silent in the corner finally spoke. "Go ahead and sleep. It's got nothing to do with us." Everyone turned to look. "You know what's happening?" The man nodded. "Our deputy leader died suddenly this afternoon." "What?" Everyone stared in disbelief. "Seriously? How do you know?" He was sure of himself. "My old classmate's cousin works as a secretary at the main office. He heard it firsthand." They all looked at each other, stunned. "How does a deputy leader just drop dead? Did he freeze, too?" He scoffed. "No way. With his rank, he kept the fire burning in his bedroom around the clock." "So what happened? Tell us!"The man sat up and lowered his voice. "It's strange. The executives and the leaders were having a meeting this afternoon, and the deputy leader was talking when he suddenly collapsed, foaming at the mouth. And the weirdest part is—"