Bullying the weak, kneeling before the strong; fighting the weak, flattering the powerful!

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

"Because of Shelter 189's defensive facilities! Its technology is far beyond this era—no one can breach it. 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 after Tyrant breaks through the defensive facilities, you'll personally snipe him, and then the company's people can enter the shelter and retrieve the USB drive?"

"Exactly. Once Tyrant dies, who in Black Mountain can contend with the company?"

"Brilliant! Truly brilliant! If Ying can kill Tyrant, one of the Ten Kings, your ranking among the Zodiac will surely rise. Even taking the top position among the Zodiac would be no problem..."

Bai Ye stopped listening at that point. There was nothing worthwhile in what followed, just pure bootlicking. All manner of lavish praise poured from the officer's mouth without repeating itself. It was a shame this guy had not become a crosstalk performer.

He 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!

The Ten Kings? The Zodiac? What kind of trash were they?

Once Time Stop was activated, they would all have to kneel before him!

Bai Ye turned and left. Before going, he deliberately checked the ground nearby for things like dead branches.

Sure enough, there was a freaking half-broken dead branch just waiting for him to step on it. If he stepped on that thing, it would definitely trigger the eavesdropping rule from TV dramas.

Good thing I'm clever!

Bai Ye stepped over the half-broken branch and quietly departed along the shadow cast by the tent. He wasted quite a bit more time along the way, successfully avoiding the patrolling soldiers.

Among the refugees, most had already fallen deeply asleep. Only Li You's eyes were wide open like 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 they met? Is he being tortured right now? Is he going to give me up any minute?"

The more Li You thought about it, the more panicked he became. He wished he could just run away immediately.

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

Li You jumped in fright and nearly cried out. He hurriedly turned around, and only after seeing Bai Ye unharmed did he let out a breath 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 trace of surprise appeared on Bai Ye's face. "Kill someone? Kill who?"

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

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

Bully the weak, kneel before the strong; fight the weak, flatter the powerful! 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 starting to scare me. If you didn't go kill anyone, what were you doing all that time?"

"Taking a piss, obviously."

"You took a piss for that long?"

"Ah, I often feel 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 returned just now, he really had stopped to take a piss.

Li You snapped, "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't you just tell me the truth?"

Bai Ye thought for a moment. Li You's right hand would still be useful once they reached Black Mountain, so he told him his objective.

"I'm going to Black Mountain."

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

"I'll kill you..." Bai Ye kicked him in anger. "I said I'm going to Black Mountain. How did it turn into 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 blankly for a long time before finally squeezing out a sentence.

"I finally know how you awakened. You must've eaten poisonous mushrooms that fried your nerves, which is why you became a Transcendent!"

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, the Wastelanders were urged onward by the military.

Within the crowd, Bai Ye yawned in irritation. He had not slept enough, and he was in a foul mood. Thinking of the thirty seconds he had wasted yesterday made his mood even worse.

Rumble...

Ten troop carriers roared loudly. The soldiers on the vehicles pointed their guns at the crowd and kept urging them forward.

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

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

Bai Ye blended into the crowd, following the flow of people without attracting any attention.

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

They had rarely eaten their fill to begin with, and after the long journey, their strength was nearly exhausted. One after another, they collapsed onto the ground, gasping heavily.

Quite a few stared eagerly at the food in the soldiers' hands, constantly swallowing their saliva.

They had escaped from Gray Soil Town, where food was already scarce, only to be driven back again. They had brought virtually no food with them.

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

When they were nearly done eating, some soldiers mischievously tossed their empty cans into the crowd, immediately causing a frantic scramble. Several Wastelanders even came to blows just to lick the scraps 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 at that, their sense of superiority made them feel that Wastelanders were not even the same kind of people as themselves.

"Damn it, these bastards!" Li You viciously bit into a Cockroach Protein Bar. As a Wastelander himself, he naturally could not stand seeing this.

"Brother, can you spare me something to eat?" A middle-aged man approached while swallowing hard, his eyes locked onto the Cockroach Protein Bar in Li You's hand.

"Here." Without another word, Li You tossed him one, using it to show that he was different from city people.

The middle-aged man caught the Cockroach Protein Bar, his eyes instantly lighting up as he wolfed it down.

Seeing this, Bai Ye could not help but shake his head.

Still too young, Li Zuo.

After finishing the 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."