I Didn't Lose Unfairly

"I understand." Li You's expression calmed as he stared fixedly at Bai Ye and said seriously, "Go ahead and do what you need to do. I, Li You, may not be a good person, but I respect your character and am willing to honor your wishes.

After you deal with the Hyena Pack, we can work together against King Snake and the others.

It's just... I can't guarantee you'll still be alive by then. If you run into danger, all I can say is that I'll help where I can, but I won't risk my life to save you. My mother is still waiting for me to go back. I can't put myself in mortal danger."

"That's fine. My mind is made up." Bai Ye stood with his hands behind his back, cold moonlight falling over him as though it had outlined him in silver.

Li You was moved. "Fate Roulette... I didn't lose unfairly. Take care!"

"No need to see you off."

A rustling sounded, and without looking back, Li You slipped into the woods and vanished.

Beneath the moon, Bai Ye rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. "Is it really okay for me to deceive a disabled person like this?"

"Then again, it doesn't really count as deception. A gentleman judges deeds, not intentions."

The reason he had rejected Li You's plan was not for Gray Soil Town's sake. He simply wanted to kill more hyenas under King Snake and Tan Jie's protection and improve his own strength.

He could certainly follow Li You's plan and work from within and without to kill King Snake and Tan Jie, but what then?

Who would protect him while he hunted hyenas afterward? Could Li You, that half-baked fighter, manage it? By then, he would probably have to waste time using Time Stop to kill all the hyenas.

Rather than that, he might as well continue making use of King Snake, Tan Jie, and their underlings.

In the previous battle, they had led everyone to protect him in the center and let him fire with ease. How considerate.

Still, Li You's appearance was an unexpected delight. When the truth was finally revealed, he alone would not be enough to deal with King Snake and the others using only [Breath of Bones]. He would definitely need to use Time Stop. With Li You around, perhaps he could save a little time.

At that thought, Bai Ye could not help smiling. "I really am a master of time management!"

The next day.

When Bai Ye woke up, it was already noon. Today should have been the day to go out and hunt hyenas, but Old Tan insisted on delaying it for a day out of concern for Bai Ye's health. There were no entertainment options in Gray Soil Town, so he could only sleep.

After lunch, bored out of his mind, he yawned as he walked through Gray Soil Town's streets. Calling them streets was generous; they were really just dirt paths made into roads by enough people walking over them.

Low, single-story houses lined both sides, while quite a few people simply slept beside the road.

It was summer, and people chose to sleep outside to stay cool.

"Vice Commander Bai." Dusty-faced passersby greeted Bai Ye with reverence.

Gray Soil Town was not large, and news of Bai Ye's exploits yesterday had long spread through it. He had earned at least a measure of respect.

He walked with an utterly swaggering gait, enjoying everyone's attention.

The unruly confidence on the young man's face made him stand out against the numb people around him like a splash of color in a black-and-white photograph.

Though he was bored, another minute had been added to his time, leaving him in quite a good mood.

Four minutes and forty seconds! Li You had wasted ten seconds yesterday.

All of a sudden!

Several panicked cries came from the distance.

"This is bad! The Hyena Pack is attacking the town!"

"Mutated Beasts are attacking the town!"

Bai Ye looked over and saw several ragged residents running toward him in panic from the direction of the town gate.

He grabbed one of them, his eyes full of delight as he asked, "What happened?"

The man was still shaken, glancing behind him from time to time with a pale face. "Mutated Beasts... the Mutated Beasts have gone mad. They're attacking the town!"

The delight in Bai Ye's eyes deepened. Attacking the town?

He had been worrying about not being able to hunt Mutated Beasts today, yet they had come to attack the town themselves. This was even more convenient. He would not even need to leave town to lure them out; he could simply fire down at them from the walls.

Yet amid his excitement, he also felt a trace of confusion. Why would the Mutated Beasts suddenly attack the town?

At that moment, Tan Jie, the leader of the East District, rushed out with his men after hearing the commotion.

"Men! Come with me to the town gate!" Tan Jie shouted to his underlings. When his gaze swept over Bai Ye, he hurriedly said, "Vice Commander Bai, let's get over there."

Bai Ye pulled out [Breath of Bones] and followed, barely able to contain himself.

Once they reached the town wall, they indeed saw nearly a hundred hyenas in the distance, charging rapidly toward Gray Soil Town under the Hyena King's lead.

"What exactly is going on? Why have the hyenas suddenly gone mad?" Tan Jie asked uneasily.

What he feared most was the hyenas attacking Gray Soil Town without regard for anything else. The town gate looked sturdy, but it could not withstand the full assault of nearly a hundred hyenas. As long as they ignored their casualties, they could eventually break through.

The reason they had not launched a direct assault before was mostly because the hyenas were wary of Gray Soil Town's population. After all, there were eight times as many people as hyenas.

Mutated hyenas were not stupid, but they still did not possess human-level intelligence. They assumed that humans, like wild beasts, would fight desperately when faced with death. Little did they know that more people would simply wait where they stood to die.

"I don't know either! They just started appearing one after another!" a guard stammered anxiously.

"Don't panic. Their attack may not be a bad thing." King Snake's chilly voice came from the distance as he ascended the town wall amid a crowd of followers.

"With the walls protecting us, we can fire down at them from above. As long as Vice Commander Bai's body can hold up, even if the gate is breached, they'll suffer heavy losses."

"I'm afraid he won't be able to hold up!" Tan Jie looked at Bai Ye with deep concern. Anyone who did not know better would have thought the two were incredibly close.

"Hmph." Bai Ye snorted, his arrogant gaze sweeping over them coldly. "If you can't talk properly, keep your mouth shut. Even if you die, I won't!"

Since his time had increased by another minute, he could not even be bothered to call him Old Tan anymore.

Tan Jie's expression darkened. He did not know whether it was just his imagination, but he felt that as the days passed, Bai Ye's disrespect toward him was growing by the day. Still, he knew this was not the time to make trouble for Bai Ye. After all, without Bai Ye, who would deal with the Hyena King?

Suppressing his anger, he could only vent it on his underlings. "What are you all standing around for? These beasts have come right to our doorstep, and you still need me to tell you what to do? Raise your guns! When they get closer, shoot them hard!"

Everyone hurriedly took up their positions, braced their guns, and waited for the hyenas to approach.

Excitement burned in Bai Ye's eyes. He picked the most central position, raised [Breath of Bones], and waited for the hyenas to come.

Closer! Closer!

He could even make out the Hyena King's true appearance with the naked eye. Last time, the distance had been too great, and the sky had been full of yellow sand, so he had only vaguely seen a shadow more than two meters tall.

The Hyena King was covered in dark purple skin, so thin it was nearly translucent. Dense crimson blood vessels twisted and writhed constantly as it ran. On top of its head grew a dark purple, fist-sized tumor, making it look savage and terrifying.

Bai Ye did not fire rashly. An ordinary pistol only had an effective range of fifty meters. Although [Breath of Bones] had a much longer range of two hundred meters, he had no accuracy. With his current shooting skills, let alone fifty meters, even from twenty meters away, he would turn into a master at outlining targets.

So he had to wait for the underlings to fire first. Once the hyenas were wounded and their charge slowed, he would make up the shots.