Prey on the Weak, Kneel Before the Strong; Fight the Weak, Fawn on the Strong!

The officer's role as a flattering foil left Bai Ye outside the tent thoroughly satisfied. It was obvious that the officer wanted to curry favor with Mr. Ying, so he kept playing along and praising everything he said.

"Because of Shelter 189's defensive installations! Their technological level is far beyond this era—no one can breach them. In all of North Mang, only Tyrant might be able to break through Shelter 189's defenses. Tyrant is already nearing Black Mountain."

The officer's eyes lit up. "You mean that once Tyrant breaches the defensive installations, you'll personally snipe him, and then Apocalypse Corporation's people can enter the shelter and retrieve the USB drive?"

"Precisely. Once Tyrant is dead, who in Black Mountain can stand against the Corporation?"

"Brilliant! Truly brilliant! If Mr. Ying can kill Tyrant, one of the Ten Kings, his ranking among the Twelve Zodiacs will surely rise. Even taking first place among the Twelve Zodiacs would not be a problem..."

Hearing that, Bai Ye stopped listening. There was nothing worthwhile in what followed, just endless flattery. Every compliment that came from the officer's mouth was different. It was a shame the man had not gone into comic dialogue.

Bai Ye had more or less figured out Apocalypse Corporation's plan: use Tyrant, then eliminate Tyrant.

Little did they know, the mantis stalked the cicada while the oriole waited behind!

Ten Kings? Twelve Zodiacs? What worthless trash.

Once time stop was activated, they would all have to kneel before him!

Bai Ye turned and left. Before going, he specifically checked the ground nearby for dried branches and the like.

Sure enough, there was half a dead branch sitting there, just waiting for him to step on it. If he had stepped on it, it definitely would have triggered the movie eavesdropping law.

Good thing I was smart!

Bai Ye stepped over the half-dead branch and quietly left along the tent's shadow. He wasted quite a bit more time along the way, successfully avoiding the patrolling soldiers.

Among the refugees, most had long since fallen into deep sleep. Only Li You's eyes were wide open like brass bells!

Nervous and uneasy, he kept scanning the tent area where the soldiers were stationed.

"Why hasn't Bai Ye made his move yet? Did he fail? Probably not. If he failed, there should at least be some commotion."

"Could he have been captured the moment he met them? Is he being tortured right now? Is he going to give me up any second?"

The more Li You thought about it, the more panicked he became. He desperately wanted to run away right then.

"What are you muttering about?" Bai Ye's voice sounded from behind him.

Li You jumped in fright and nearly cried out. He hurriedly turned around, and only after seeing Bai Ye completely unharmed did he let out a sigh of relief.

"What could I be muttering about? Of course, I was praying for you, Brother Ye. By the way, what happened? Did you kill him?"

A hint of surprise appeared on Bai Ye's face. "Kill someone? Kill who?"

Li You froze. "Didn't you go to kill the officer..."

"What nonsense are you talking about? How could I do something that risky? That's the behavior of a reckless brute. I've always planned before acting. Looks like you'll never learn the sixteen-character maxim. Fine, I'll teach you a simpler one instead: an eight-character maxim!

Prey on the weak, kneel before the strong; fight the weak, fawn on the strong! Remember it this time. Don't forget it."

Li You: "..."

"Brother Ye, don't be like this. You're so unfamiliar now that you're kind of scaring me. Since you didn't go kill anyone, what were you doing for so long?"

"Taking a piss, obviously."

"You took that long to piss?"

"Sigh. I'm often troubled by how powerful my kidneys are."

Li You: "???"

"Enough. Go to sleep." Bai Ye wiped his hands on Li You's shoulder. When he had come back just now, he had indeed taken a piss along the way.

Li You snapped furiously, "When I was sleeping earlier, you said you were going to kill someone! Now you're telling me to sleep again! How the hell am I supposed to sleep!?

"Bai Ye! What exactly are you trying to do? Can you at least tell me the truth?"

Bai Ye thought about it. He could still use this kid's right hand once they reached Black Mountain, so he told him his objective.

"I'm going to Black Mountain."

"What!? You're going to kill yourself?"

"I'm going to—" Bai Ye kicked him angrily. "I said I'm going to Black Mountain. How did it become suicide when it came out of your mouth?"

"What's the difference?"

"Get lost, get lost. I'm going to sleep."

Watching Bai Ye lie on the ground with his eyes closed, Li You stood there in a daze for a long while before finally forcing out a sentence.

"I think I know how you awakened. You must have eaten poisonous mushrooms that messed with your nerves, and that's how you became a transcendent!"

The next day, as dawn was just breaking, the army hurried the wastelanders onward.

In the crowd, Bai Ye yawned unhappily. He had not slept enough, and he was in a foul mood. Then he remembered the thirty seconds he had wasted yesterday, and his mood worsened even further.

Rumble...

Ten troop carriers roared loudly as the soldiers atop them pointed their guns at the crowd and kept urging them forward.

"Move faster! Keep up! Anyone who falls behind dies!"

The ragged crowd was driven along by the soldiers like a flock of sheep.

Bai Ye blended into the crowd and followed the flow of people forward without drawing any attention.

Soon, the morning passed. The soldiers stopped their vehicles to build fires, cook, and eat lunch, while the wastelanders finally had a chance to catch their breath.

They had never eaten many full meals to begin with. After the long journey, their strength was nearly exhausted. One after another, they collapsed onto the ground and panted heavily.

Quite a few stared longingly at the food in the soldiers' hands, swallowing again and again.

They had fled Gray Soil Town because food was scarce, only to be driven back again. They had not brought much food with them at all.

The soldiers ignored their pleading gazes, chatting and bragging as they ate canned food.

Once they were nearly finished eating, some soldiers tossed their empty cans into the crowd as if playing a prank, immediately causing a scramble. Several wastelanders even began fighting fiercely just to lick the residue from inside the cans.

"Hahaha... Don't these wastelanders look like stray dogs fighting over food in the wild?"

The soldiers laughed crudely. As city dwellers—and troops directly under Apocalypse Corporation—their sense of superiority made them feel that wastelanders were not even their own kind.

"Damn it, these bastards!" Li You viciously bit into a cockroach protein bar. As a wastelander himself, he naturally could not stand to watch this.

"Brother, could you spare me something to eat?" A middle-aged man came over while swallowing saliva, his eyes fixed tightly on the cockroach protein bar in Li You's hand.

"Here." Without a second word, Li You tossed him one, showing that he was different from the city dwellers.

The middle-aged man caught the cockroach protein bar, his eyes instantly lighting up as he wolfed it down.

Bai Ye, watching from the side, could not help shaking his head.

Still too young, Li Zuo.

After finishing the protein bar, the middle-aged man did not even offer thanks. Instead, he stared fixedly at the tattered sack behind Li You. "Brother, do you have any more? I'm not full yet."