"Well, Dr. Moss? This mess is all yours to clean up." "Hello? Lucian? Lucian?!" The screen went black. Zora threw her phone onto the bed in a fury. What now? Most of the R&D and delivery had quit. What about the Voyager Securities project? If they couldn't deliver on time, the payment wouldn't hit the account, and that would delay the IPO. The later the IPO, the less certain her control over SummitCore would be. And if Zane found out she was eyeing the company behind his back, that would be a disaster. Panicked, she rushed downstairs and found Susan interrogating the housekeeper about John's whereabouts that morning. Seeing her daughter's distress, Susan forgot about John. "Darling, what's wrong?" Zora spilled the whole story."Mom, what do I do?" She was on the verge of tears. Too late to regret it now—and there was no way she'd swallow her pride and apologize to subordinates. Susan frowned but kept her calm. "Don't panic. There's always a way. They're not serious about leaving; they're just trying to scare you. If you back down now, they'll walk all over you." Zora latched onto the logic. "You're right. I did nothing wrong." "Let them go if they want," Susan said dismissively. "We'll hire new people. There are plenty out there, as long as you're willing to pay." Feeling more confident, Zora drove to the office, her arrogant demeanor from last night fully restored. Up on the second floor, the HR manager and Lucian were waiting outside her office. "Dr. Moss, thank goodness you're here," the HR manager said, spotting her first.Zora swept into her office. "I've heard. How many resignations so far?" The HR manager quickly pulled up the internal system. "Close to fifty. Including Zeke. Should we—" Before "take any measures" came out, Zora cut in, "Then let them resign." The HR manager blinked. Is she insane? That's 50 R&D engineers. Just let them walk without even trying to retain them? Swallowing hard, he ventured, "With all respect, that might not be wise. We've had several waves of departures this past year. After the last company retreat alone, over a dozen left. Half of our current engineers have less than a year's tenure. The ones resigning now are mostly senior staff—our core technical backbone." Zora gave him a cold, blank stare. "And your point is?" The HR manager gritted his teeth, spelling it out, "Dr. Moss, if we lose these veterans, the company's stability is at serious risk. A team of all new hires? Product quality will suffer. Who will troubleshoot critical issues?" Seeing she still didn't grasp the severity, he pressed on, "Our industry is different. The onboarding period is long. A new hire takes at least three months to become fully productive. If the seniors leave now and the new hires need three months, who handles the work in the interim?" His explanation was crystal clear, the risks laid bare. But Zora heard only a challenge to her authority. "What are you implying? Do you think I don't understand? That my decision isn't well-considered?" "...No, that's not—" "Your attitude says otherwise!" Zora snapped. She threw her purse onto the sofa with a thump. "We do it my way. Anyone who wants to leave, let them. Don't try to stop them. These clowns think they can threaten me by quitting? In their dreams!"Then she turned her glare back to the HR manager. "Mobilize the entire HR department. All hands on deck for recruitment. There's a one-month notice period. That's plenty of time to hire replacements." Inwardly, the HR manager groaned, cursing both Zane and Zora. This pair of lunatics is going to run this place into the ground! But duty compelled him to offer one last warning. "Dr. Moss, finding that many qualified people in such a short time will be extremely difficult. What if—" "Raise the salary offers," Zora cut him off with a cold snort. "Offer well above market rate. Don't tell me we can't hire." The HR manager blinked. "Won't that blow up project costs?" "That's not your concern," Zora said dismissively. "Just hire." The Vice President had spoken. He wouldn't push further. If the project failed or the company collapsed, he was just an employee. He'd find another job.