Chapter 374: Waiting for an Opportunity

"I see."

Adam looked around to find that the main forces of the Desert Gang were all assembled here, which meant that they felt like there was a very good chance that Adam was hiding inside.

"Let me see what's going on in there..."

Adam dragged Ross a couple of steps closer to the center of the battlefield as he spoke, and as soon as he did so, he immediately heard a string of agonized howls ringing out from inside.

The center of the battlefield was more brightly lit than elsewhere, thanks to all of the flashlights being aimed in that direction, and Adam could see that the Survival of the Fittest faction members were either hiding in their cells or behind the walls around corners.

The biggest trump card held by the Desert Gang was a pair of crossbows, which posed a major threat to any of the opposing faction members trying to rush out into the open.

"Fuck all you Desert Gang cowards! How about you throw those things away and fight me one-on-one!"

Some of the Survival of the Fittest faction members were hurling abuse at the Desert Gang, and the loudest one of them was none other than Mole.

Now that it was confirmed that Mole was indeed in there, Adam was beginning to grow a little agitated. The Desert Gang had far too significant an advantage here, and it was only going to be a matter of time before they overwhelmed the defenses of the opposing faction.

Right as Adam was considering how to proceed, someone was struck by a crossbow bolt to the eye. The bolt pierced through his head, and blood and intracranial fluids instantly began gushing out of his eye socket. However, he didn't die right away. Instead, he let loose a blood-curdling scream, then collapsed to the ground and spasmed for a few seconds before finally falling still.

Following his demise, the Desert Gang was able to gain a few more meters of ground, and Adam knew that he couldn't wait any longer.

"Go tell Charlie that I've been tracked down elsewhere, but reinforcements are required to take me down."

"You want me to go just like this?" Ross asked with a surprised expression. "Aren't you afraid that I'll..."

"That you'll betray me?"

Adam smiled as he dragged Ross into a corner. There were Desert Gang members there as well, but no one paid any attention to Adam and Ross thanks to the latter's status as a leader in the faction.

Adam lowered his voice as he continued, "We've met more than once, and I can tell that you're someone who does everything for the sake of survival, whether that be joining the Desert Gang or serving the wardens, isn't that right?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm telling you now that the Desert Gang is about to fall, so you have to find a way out for yourself."

"The Desert Gang has a major weapons advantage over all of the other factions, as well as the backing of the wardens and the chief warden, so there's no way it could fall anytime soon!"

"What if this thing is thrown into the mix?"

Adam pulled the neuron transmitter out of his pants before showing it to Ross.

He was certain that as a leader in the Desert Gang, Ross definitely knew what this thing was, and he was also certain that as a non-adapter, Ross wouldn't have any clue what the effective range of the transmitter was.

In his eyes, a transmitter was a transmitter, and according to news stories in the outside world, any transmitter had an effective range of at least dozens of meters, if not over 100 meters.

In his eyes, an adapter with a neuron transmitter was even more terrifying than an army.

"How do you have something like this?"

It was clear that Ross was well and truly spooked.

Not only was this a devastating weapon, the fact that Adam was able to smuggle such a thing into the prison indicated that he had to have some type of special connection to the higher-ups of the prison.

As a result, Ross had no choice but to take Adam more seriously. Even the Desert Gang didn't have a weapon like this, and to him, it had suddenly become unclear exactly who the higher-ups of the prison were trying to kill.

As a mid-tier leader in the Desert Gang, Ross was privy to some information, but not a lot, and people like him were very easy to deceive.

However, Adam knew that this still wasn't enough.

Ross was too much of a coward, and he was extremely averse to risk, so Adam had to make a more compelling case to convince him.

"It looks like the Desert Gang has the upper hand right now, but what if the Radiation Gang and the Asian Gang also get involved? What do you think the Desert Gang's chances of securing victory would be then?"

……

Ross didn't say anything, and he seemed to be silently weighing up his options.

However, Adam still had more to tell him. He knew that if he wanted someone like Ross to do his bidding, then he had to present a path that would ensure Ross's safety regardless of the outcome here.

As long as his survival would be ensured, Ross would be willing to follow Adam's instructions.

"I know what you're thinking. Everything that I'm saying is completely impossible to verify, right? At the moment, the Desert Gang holds all the cards, and if you choose to help me, but the Desert Gang doesn't fall, then you'll be screwed.

“However, if you don't help me, and the Desert Gang does get wiped out, you'll be screwed as well. What I'm proposing to you is a course of action that will ensure you make it through this unscathed no matter what happens."

Ross was finally willing to give Adam his full attention upon hearing this.

"I'm going to head off in that direction in a bit." Adam pointed in a certain direction as he spoke. "Find an opportunity to approach Charlie and tell him that I'm somewhere over there, and that reinforcements are required to take me down. Make sure to limit the number of people sent after me to somewhere between 30 and 50. You're a smart guy, I'm sure you'll be able to pull that off."

"What do I get out of this?"

"If the Desert Gang falls, I guarantee you that you'll be spared for helping me."

"How can I trust you?"

"We've worked together once in the past, haven't we? I let you go that time, and I'm happy to let you off the hook again. Killing you doesn't benefit me in any way."

The pawn that Adam had planted in the Desert Gang was finally being put to use.

Ross nodded in response.

"If the Desert Gang wins, then everything will be fine for you. In fact, you'll probably be rewarded for supplying information on my whereabouts. How does that sound?"

"It certainly sounds like a good course of action for me."

Ross was just about to say something else, but Adam had already departed. After taking a moment to commit the direction that Adam was going in to memory, he waited for an opportunity to approach Charlie.

……

Meanwhile, the other factions were also waiting for an opportunity.

Information was constantly streaming into the Asian Gang from various different sources.

"Everyone's been assembled, Boss. Do we go in or not?"

"We have to wait and see. Given the current state of affairs, I suggest we stay put." A man with a muscular physique was seated in a cell, and he took a glance at the person who had just departed, then said, "According to our informant in the Desert Gang, they're currently doing very well. They have torches, superior weapons, and even crossbows.

“In contrast, our faction doesn't have that many members to begin with, so if we rush in recklessly, we'll be nothing more than cannon fodder."

"Does that mean we're calling off the operation?"

Disappointed looks appeared on the faces of several Asian Gang members at the prospect of having to pull out.

The Asian Gang had always been living in the cracks. The wardens had never taken a liking to them, and even the other factionless inmates weren't particularly fond of them, referring to them as intelligence rats. The higher-ups of the Asian Gang were getting by just fine, but it was a struggle for the low-level members just to feed themselves.

The head of the Asian Gang, Li Tie, could sense the disappointment in the air, and he added, "Don't be disheartened. There's still a chance that the tide could turn, we'll just have to wait and see."

Meanwhile, Miller was also facing the same question.

"Do we go in?"

"Not right now. We have no idea what's happening at the moment, and we don't have any good sources of information. If the Asian Gang gets involved, then we'll go in as well. Otherwise, we'll continue to wait."

Miller was also waiting for an opportunity.