You're Actually Going to Eat It?

Li You frowned slightly. Before he could speak, several nearby Wastelanders swarmed over like locusts, each extending mud-caked hands toward him.

"Please, give us something to eat. I haven't had a meal in days."

"Me too! Me too!"

Seeing the desperate looks on their faces, Li You fell silent for a moment before taking out several more Cockroach Protein Bars and handing them over.

Who would have thought that this would be like stirring up a hornet's nest? After finishing the food, their eyes lit up, and they excitedly demanded more.

More and more Wastelanders noticed what was happening here, and they kept gathering around.

"He has food!"

"Give me some! I'm starving to death!"

"Move aside! Don't block the way!"

Li You's brows furrowed deeply. He had quite a bit of food, but there was no way he could feed this many people. If he gave everyone a little, he would be the one starving to death.

"There's no more! Get lost!" he shouted.

Yet, having seen food, they were like hungry wolves spotting prey, their eyes glowing green with hunger.

"I saw it! That sack behind him is full of food!"

"Hand over the food! So many of us haven't eaten—are you trying to starve us to death?"

Some could no longer hold themselves back and even started grabbing for the sack. Li You was instantly enraged. Though he was injured, he was still a Transcendent. With a casual shove, he sent those people tumbling to the ground.

"What do you mean, I'm trying to starve you? Those soldiers have food. Why don't you ask them for it?"

A tall Wastelander said righteously, "What nonsense! If those soldier lords would give us food, would we be asking you? Hand it over now, or don't blame us for getting rough!"

"You bastards! You bunch of bastards!" Li You's face turned faintly pale with rage. His right hand started hurting again, and as the crowd grew more agitated, more and more people looked ready to make a move.

At that moment, Bai Ye, who had finished his Cockroach Protein Bar, slowly rose to his feet. His wild, arrogant gaze swept across the crowd, and a chilling smile appeared on his face.

"Look at you, being so stingy. Everyone just wants something to eat. Why refuse them?"

"Brother Ye, you..." Li You stared blankly as Bai Ye picked up the sack and walked toward the crowd.

"Everyone, who wants food? Come get it from me. I'm not as stingy as he is," Bai Ye said with a smile.

The crowd immediately grew excited and rushed toward Bai Ye, looking as though they wanted to tear him apart and swallow him whole.

The tall Wastelander forced his way to the very front with his strong physique.

"Kid, you're the generous one. Hurry up and give me the food!"

Bai Ye smiled and offered him a Cockroach Protein Bar. "Don't rush. We're all from Gray Soil Town. Out here, we should help each other. When people are hungry, naturally they need to eat. You don't have food, and I happen to have some, so you come eat mine. That's perfectly reasonable, right?"

The man hurriedly reached for the Cockroach Protein Bar and praised him as he did. "Right, right! You really know how to talk, kid. It's just a bite of your food, why be so stin—let go!"

He had meant to take the Cockroach Protein Bar, only to discover that Bai Ye had not let go at all.

A flash of astonishment crossed his eyes. "Kid, what do you mean by this?"

Yet Bai Ye looked even more shocked than he did, as if he had just witnessed something unbelievable.

"No, you're actually going to eat it?"

"You... Aah!!"

A miserable scream rang through the crowd. Bai Ye casually released his hand, while the tall Wastelander collapsed onto the ground, his right hand twisted at an unnatural angle.

The sudden change frightened everyone else, and they looked at the young man before them with apprehension.

"I was just joking with you. I didn't think you'd really dare to eat it."

"Ahhh! My hand! You bastard! I'll kill you!"

Bang!

Bai Ye stepped on his broken right hand. As he savored the man's agonized screams, he ground his foot down hard.

"Still want to eat?"

"N-No... I don't want to eat anymore. Spare me..." The man's face was covered in cold sweat, his eyes filled with terror.

"He only wanted a bite of food. If you didn't want to give it to him, fine, but was there any need to attack him?" A short Wastelander in the crowd said angrily.

"Fuck your mother!" Bai Ye lunged forward and yanked the speaker out of the crowd in one motion.

His powerful grip lifted the man as easily as a chick before he slammed him viciously to the ground.

"Ah!"

Another scream rang out.

But Bai Ye was not finished. He stomped hard on the man's mouth, forcing the scream back down into his stomach.

A savage glint flashed through his arrogant eyes. "I hate it most when people bark behind my back. Bark, then! Fucking bark again!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Kick after kick, he knocked every tooth out of the man's mouth, leaving behind only a mangled, bloody mess.

"'He only wanted a bite of food, why hit him if you won't give it?' I'm hitting him. Not only am I hitting him, I'm fucking hitting you too!"

The brutal and savage scene thoroughly intimidated the restless crowd. They watched Bai Ye's violence with both anger and fear, yet not a single person dared step forward to help.

"What are you looking at? You bunch of idiots. Keep staring, and I'll gouge out your eyeballs. Get the fuck out of here!" Bai Ye's fierce, feral gaze swept over the crowd, his wild aura and tangible pressure bearing down on them.

Everyone quickly dispersed. No one dared come ask for food again.

Inside a troop carrier not far away, Ying and the officer watched the scene with great interest.

"These are the savage, ignorant Wastelanders. I truly don't understand why the company keeps them around. If it were up to me, we'd wipe out every Wastelander. Only then could the civilization of the old era be restored sooner," the officer sneered.

Ying said calmly, "Even trash has its value. How could you possibly imagine the company's vision?"

"Yes, yes, Mr. Ying is right." The officer hurriedly forced a smile.

"Reporting, sir. A Wastelander just arrived and says he has important information to report." A soldier ran up to the window and reported.

The officer in the vehicle frowned slightly and waved impatiently. "Tell him to get lost. A mere Wastelander dares claim he has important information? If they spot an aberrant hyena in the wilderness, they think it's earth-shattering news."

The soldier hesitated slightly. "Sir, he says it concerns a Taboo Object..."

The officer's expression froze, and his eyes narrowed. He did not make the decision himself, instead glancing at Ying beside him.

A hint of interest appeared on Ying's stern face, and he gave a slight nod.

"Bring him over."

Very soon, a timid Wastelander was led by a soldier to the vehicle window.