After All, I Had No Obligation to Save You

Old Wang scrambled out the door, tripped and fell flat on his face, half his body covered in dust. His terrified eyes darted around, trying to find Bai Ye.

But then, the gunfire stopped.

Old Wang was instantly overcome with terror. The gunfire had stopped—had Bai Ye died!?

"Ah! Help! Help!"

As Old Wang searched, the gray sparrow flew out of the house after him, its claws gleaming with cold metallic light as they viciously sank into the flesh of his arm.

Old Wang struggled violently, the terror in his eyes nearly tangible.

Just then, footsteps suddenly sounded from the alley beside them.

A flash of wild joy abruptly appeared in Old Wang's terrified eyes. He looked toward the sound and saw a young man slowly emerge from the alley, leaving bloody footprints behind him and holding a revolver.

The instant he saw the young man, Old Wang cried out madly as if he had grasped a lifeline. "Bai—"

Before he could finish, the young man leisurely interrupted him. "Well, if it isn't Old Wang?"

"Bai Ye, save me! Hurry, save me..." Old Wang desperately gripped the gray sparrow's talons, his eyes filled with the pleading of a dying man.

Bai Ye calmly opened the revolver's cylinder and gave it a light flick. Six golden shell casings fell to the ground with crisp clinks.

"Call me Deputy Commander Bai." He took out his remaining bullets and loaded them one by one.

"D-Deputy Commander Bai, please save me..." Old Wang's face had turned so strained that his capillaries began to burst, making him look somewhat grotesque.

Bai Ye casually flicked the gun, snapping the cylinder back into place. Then, under Old Wang's eager and expectant gaze, he slowly raised the revolver, aimed it at the gray sparrow... spun it around his fingers, and tucked it into his waistband.

The excitement on Old Wang's face instantly froze.

Bai Ye tilted his head slightly. The gray sparrow's blood dripped along his hard jawline, drawing a chilling smile across his face.

He shrugged and apologized without the slightest remorse. "Old Wang, don't blame me for standing by while you die. After all... I had no obligation to save you."

The smile on the young man's lips widened, revealing his pale teeth.

"No! You can't do this... Save me! I know I was wrong! I know I was wrong! Ahhh!!"

Old Wang's wails gradually turned into agonized roars as the gray sparrow's claws repeatedly tore open his belly. Then it lowered its beak and pecked at his internal organs like a chick pecking at grain.

"You really won't save him? He already knows he was wrong..." Li You emerged from the alley, looking exhausted and clutching his right hand.

Bai Ye shook his head slightly. "He doesn't know he was wrong. He knows he's about to die."

"Sigh, I always thought Old Wang was one of the few good people in Gray Soil Town. He was educated, reasonable, and longed for the civilized age. What a pity..." Li You sighed.

"Being educated doesn't mean someone is a good person. There's an old saying: loyal men are often butchers and dog killers, while heartless men are often scholars.

Longing for civilization doesn't mean you're civilized yourself."

Li You froze. He did not quite understand what that meant, but he had the distinct feeling... Bai Ye was insulting him.

"What do you mean, dog killers? Obviously, you've killed more hyenas than anyone."

"You'll understand someday, Li Zuo." Bai Ye pulled out [Breath of Bones] and aimed it at the gray sparrow gnawing on Old Wang's corpse.

Bang!

The gray sparrow died in Old Wang's arms.

"My name is Li You!" Li You snapped.

"Got it, Li Zuo."

"You fucking... Forget it. What do we do next? The gunfire over there has stopped. Looks like King Snake and the others are out of bullets too. How many shots do you have left?"

"Three shots left." Bai Ye weighed the gun in his hand, then looked up at the gray sparrows circling above the western district. Even if King Snake and the others had emptied their guns, there were still hundreds of gray sparrows left.

The remaining gray sparrows were frantically attacking the houses, trying to eat the people inside.

All the gray sparrows near Tire Tavern had already been dealt with. Since there were fewer people here, fewer gray sparrows had come to feed as well. That was why Bai Ye had insisted on coming here—to stay away from the crowds.

"You only have three bullets left. How are you going to save them?" Li You asked.

Bai Ye gave him a surprised look. "When did I say I was going to save them?"

Li You froze. Wait, didn't you shout louder than anyone about protecting Gray Soil Town every day? And now you weren't going to save them?

Bai Ye was already planning to retreat. His massive slaughter of gray sparrows had been for the sake of plundering vitality and improving his strength. Now that he only had three bullets left, there was no need to keep plundering vitality.

More importantly, he only had one minute and nineteen seconds left. Hunting gray sparrows and traveling to Tire Tavern had cost him too much time.

One minute was his psychological warning line. If his time dropped below one minute, he would not even be able to sleep peacefully.

Although he had spent a great deal of time, the gains had still been worthwhile. His physical attributes had improved again and were now comparable to Tan Jie's after receiving a gene injection.

Of course, if they really fought without weapons, he would still have a hard time defeating Tan Jie. Aside from his strength, Tan Jie also had a body covered in bristles.

Now that his physical attributes had reached this level, the vitality provided by hunting gray sparrows could barely improve him anymore. He needed to hunt stronger mutated beasts!

"Since you don't plan to save them, let's hurry and run!" Li You suggested. He had wanted to flee for a long time. The prolonged battle had pushed both his mind and body close to their limits.

Bai Ye shook his head. "Running is the stupidest choice. We can't outrun gray sparrows. Once we reach the open wilderness, we'll be nothing but live targets. The best choice is to hide in a sturdy house and wait for the gray sparrows to leave."

"Fine, I'll listen to you." Li You knew Bai Ye was a wasteland hunter with plenty of experience, so he decisively trusted Bai Ye's judgment.

They did not choose Tire Tavern. It was sturdy, but it had too many windows, and some of them had already been damaged.

They set their sights on a brick house at the northwest corner, but they would need to cross the street.

The two did not hesitate for long and immediately rushed toward the brick house.

Several nearby gray sparrows noticed the two running figures and instantly changed direction, beating their wings as they charged toward them.

Li You laboriously raised his right hand. An invisible giant hand blocked the gray sparrows' path, and they struck it as though they had collided with an invisible wall, tumbling from the air while frantically beating their wings to steady themselves.

Taking advantage of the opening, Bai Ye raised his gun and fired. After three shots, three corpses lay on the ground.

Their earlier cooperation had already developed a bit of tacit understanding.

His bullets were completely spent. Two attacking gray sparrows remained. Bai Ye put away the revolver and drew his dagger, intending to deal with them before entering the house. Otherwise, if they kept attacking from outside, they might cause considerable damage.

"Fuck! It hurts so bad!" Li You suddenly screamed. His right hand dropped limply, while his remaining left hand tightly clutched his head.