A Gift from Ying

Bai Ye looked around and saw that every wastelander was dead. More than thirty soldiers had died as well, reducing the once-massive group to just over sixty people.

The good news was that there were no wounded, because anyone bitten by the black snakes had been poisoned to death.

At that moment, quite a few soldiers came back to their senses and looked at Bai Ye nervously.

Bai Ye gave a disdainful smile. "What? Have you all forgotten how Ying died?"

A chill ran through the soldiers' hearts as they recalled Ying's gruesome death, his eyes left wide open.

Desperate to survive, the officer hurriedly shouted, "Put down your guns! Anyone who dares defy Lord Bai Ye will be dealt with under military law!"

Bai Ye immediately began soothing their fears. "As long as you escort me to Black Mountain, I'll let you go."

He was lying again. Once they reached Black Mountain... they all had to die!

If even one of these people made it back to Dawn City alive, he would have to face Dawn City's army hunting him down, as well as retaliation from that bullshit Zodiac.

After a simple display of both kindness and intimidation, the remnants of the group set out once more.

To prevent the soldiers from running away, Bai Ye collected their guns and blew out all the vehicle tires. He kept only one troop carrier for himself to drive, while the soldiers jogged ahead of it.

Their roles had been reversed.

Before, Bai Ye had been running on the ground while the soldiers rode in the vehicles. Now it was the other way around.

Inside the troop carrier, Bai Ye drove while Li You held the officer hostage.

"Brother Ye, what's in this box?" Li You curiously examined the silver-white metal case beside his seat.

It was a gift from Ying.

"Why don't you open it and see?" Bai Ye casually brushed him off. In truth, he already knew what was inside: the Black Flood Dragon M300 sniper rifle.

Click.

Li You opened the metal case. A cold metallic scent mixed with the smell of gun oil rushed toward him. Eight precision components lay on black foam padding, gleaming with a muted sheen.

The barrel rested in the center like a sleeping black python curled into itself.

"Th-this is a sniper rifle!?"

Li You stared at the Black Flood Dragon M300 in delight. He knew nothing about sniper rifles, but anyone could tell from its precise design alone that it was no ordinary weapon.

"That is Ying's Black Flood Dragon M300, one of the finest sniper rifles in existence. Its power can even rival that of a flood dragon-grade forbidden item," the officer said quietly from the side.

Circumstances were stronger than him. If he wanted to live, he naturally had to behave himself.

Bai Ye, who was driving, raised a brow. "A flood dragon-grade forbidden item?"

When Ying had seen [Breath of Bones] earlier, he had called it a snake-grade forbidden item. Now there was a flood dragon grade too. Could that be how forbidden items were ranked?

The officer seemed to notice Bai Ye's confusion and hurriedly explained, "Forbidden items are divided into three grades: snake, flood dragon, and dragon. Your revolver is a snake-grade forbidden item. Although Ying's Black Flood Dragon M300 is not a forbidden item, its power and rarity are not far below those of a flood dragon-grade forbidden item. That is why it was named Black Flood Dragon."

"Then doesn't that sniper rifle have to be worth a fortune?" Li You's eyes immediately lit up.

"The Black Flood Dragon M300's value is difficult to measure in money, because it is not a product of this era. It was passed down from the civilization era and cannot be mass-produced. It is a discontinued relic, restored only after numerous painstaking procedures.

With today's technology, it is simply impossible to manufacture a sniper rifle with this level of precision. Modern sniper rifles have an effective range of only eight hundred to one thousand meters, while the Black Flood Dragon has a terrifying effective range of four thousand meters. Using special supersonic rounds, it can penetrate any bulletproof protection."

"You sure talk a lot. Just tell me how much it's worth," Li You said. He had no interest in hearing all that. He only cared about money.

The officer paused. "On the black market, it could fetch at least ten million."

"How much!?" Li You's shriek nearly pierced Bai Ye's eardrums.

"Keep it down! Look at you, acting like you've never seen the world. It's only a few tens of millions," Bai Ye said, rubbing his ears in annoyance.

Li You's face flushed red with excitement. He had never even heard of that much money in his life.

"Brother Ye, that's tens of millions! If we sell the Black Flood Dragon M300, we won't have to worry for the rest of our lives!"

"Wrong. I won't have to worry for the rest of my life."

Li You's face instantly fell. He hurriedly fawned, "Brother Ye~, considering everything we've been through together, just give your little brother a tiny share."

"Not even a tiny share."

Li You's excitement was like a fire doused with a bucket of cold water, completely extinguished. He stared at the Black Flood Dragon M300 with a lifeless expression, his eyes full of resentment.

Bai Ye kept his eyes on the road and said flatly, "But I wasn't planning to sell it."

"You weren't planning to sell it?! Brother Ye, this gun is worth tens of millions! Why not sell it?"

"Because it's too conspicuous. You can't find many sniper rifles like this in the entire world. If you sell it, wouldn't that be the same as telling the whole world that you killed Ying?"

Li You froze. "But if we don't sell it, what's the difference between this gun and scrap metal?"

Bai Ye shot him a sidelong glance. "Who said it's scrap metal? Can't I keep it and use it myself?"

"You!?" Li You recalled Bai Ye's heroic feat of firing three shots before hitting the connection point of the mechanical arm. His eyes were filled with deep suspicion, without a shred of trust.

Bai Ye's face darkened as he snapped, "That was because those cockroach protein bars upset my stomach. I just didn't perform well for a moment."

"Give it a rest, Brother Ye. It's fine to fool other people, but don't fool yourself too."

"You bastard! Get out of the vehicle! Run a thousand meters away and see if I can shoot off that stupid cowlick of yours in one shot!"

Li You instinctively touched the unruly lock of hair on top of his head and hurriedly smoothed it down. But the moment he removed his hand, the cowlick sprang upright again.

He quickly changed the subject, afraid that Bai Ye, that lunatic who had eaten poisonous mushrooms, might actually use him for target practice.

"Brother Ye, the Black Flood Dragon M300 really does have incredible range. Thinking back on it now still scares me. Good thing you took out Ying immediately. Otherwise, against a sniper a thousand meters away, we probably wouldn't even know how we died."

Bai Ye understood that perfectly well. His time stop was not omnipotent. Snipers countered him to some extent, because it was difficult for him to notice bullets fired from a thousand meters away. If he failed to react in time, his head would be blown open on the spot.

That was why he wanted to keep the Black Flood Dragon M300 and train himself to become a sniper as well. Only by knowing himself and his enemy could he deal with them better.

Li You continued, "Enemies like snipers, hiding somewhere far away where you can't see them, are the scariest. Brother Ye, say a sniper wanted to kill me. Should I run in a straight line or an S-pattern?"

"Neither would work."

"Huh?"

"My advice is to stand still and wait for his conscience to kick in."

Li You: "???"