So Ying Was This Strong?

At night, the sky was pitch-black, the stars seemingly wiped away, with only the bright moon hanging high above.

At the camp, soldiers sat around several bonfires, their faces grim as they stared at the number tags in their hands.

Yes, Bai Ye had divided them into groups, just as they had done when dealing with the Wastelanders. Groups of twenty would keep watch over one another; if anyone ran, the entire group would die.

The officer had become the supervisor. Bai Ye told him that if even one person ran, he would cut off a piece of the officer's flesh. Terrified, the officer did not even dare blink as he stared fixedly at the soldiers.

Inside the transport truck, Bai Ye was staring blankly at a gold pocket watch, an altruistic gift from the officer.

10:28

Why wasn't it midnight yet...

Ever since gaining the ability of Time Stop, he had hoped every day that time would pass faster. He had less than a minute of usable time left, and that made him deeply uncomfortable.

Especially since they were camping outdoors tonight. The closer they got to Black Mountain, the fewer people there were. There were no towns nearby where they could stay, so they could only camp in the wilderness.

"Brother Ye, we're not going to run into any more Mutated Beasts today, are we?" Li You looked at the pitch-black night, his heart filled with unease.

He was truly afraid of Mutated Beasts now. In just a few days, they had encountered three waves of them, and he had watched hundreds of people die before his eyes. If he could sleep at night without nightmares, that would already count as being bold.

"Probably not?" Bai Ye was not sure either. "Black Mountain isn't a Zoo. It can't possibly have that many Mutated Beasts, right?"

"Um... Lord Bai Ye." The officer hesitated before saying, "According to the records, during the Civilized Era, there really was a wildlife zoo within Black Mountain..."

Bai Ye: "..."

"Also, under normal circumstances, Shelters would collect all kinds of animals in order to preserve the integrity of species, so..."

Awooo!!

A long wolf howl rang out across the dark wilderness.

"You fucking Crow!" Furious, Bai Ye kicked the officer. Ignoring the officer's wails, he leaped from the truck.

"Everyone, come get your weapons! Prepare for battle!"

As everyone knew, wolves were pack animals. Hearing a single wolf howl often meant that a pack had already surrounded you.

The soldiers sprang up like startled birds, hurriedly grabbing their weapons and preparing to fight.

In their field of vision, pairs of ghostly green beast eyes appeared across the dark plains in the distance!

Bang!

One soldier panicked and pulled the trigger, instantly igniting the battle.

The pairs of green beast eyes charged into the range illuminated by the firelight, revealing their true forms.

They were gray wolves over two meters tall, with thick, powerful limbs and sharp hook-like claws. A light step on the ground left deep claw marks behind. Their fur was not the solid color of ordinary wolves, but a strange mottled pattern.

Dark gray formed the base, streaked with dark red and black, like dried blood intertwined with the night.

Dozens of gray wolves charged toward them, their eyes filled with bloodlust and hunger. Their powerful limbs pounded the earth, carrying the momentum of ten thousand galloping horses.

They were too fast. Coupled with the poor visibility at night, the soldiers' accuracy plummeted. In mere moments, the gray wolves had rushed right up to them.

"Aah!!"

Screams rang out one after another. Some soldiers were scared out of their wits, some stood frozen in place waiting to die, while others turned and ran. But how could two legs outrun four?

Bai Ye kept firing. Even after emptying a magazine, he had only killed one gray wolf. They were not stupid; they seemed to understand the threat posed by guns. After killing a soldier, they never lingered, immediately pouncing on the next one with incredible mobility.

After becoming Mutated Beasts, the gray wolves, already adept at charging, had become even faster. Against the backdrop of the night, they left behind almost countless afterimages.

At that moment, Bai Ye utterly hated his own marksmanship. He swore that once he had the time, he would train hard with a gun.

And it was not just him. Even these soldiers who had received firearms training found it difficult to hit the gray wolves, because they were simply too fast.

"Damn it, I can only throw another mechanical arm."

He repeated the same trick, tossing a mechanical arm into the wolf pack before immediately firing twice. Bang! Bang!

This time, his luck was good. The second shot struck the mechanical arm's connection point.

Boom!

A massive blaze shot into the sky, and the deafening explosion sent several gray wolves and a few soldiers flying.

The attack worked immediately. Beasts were naturally afraid of fire and loud noises, and the mechanical arm's explosion quickly scared off the remaining gray wolves.

Bai Ye let out a sigh of relief. At least he had not wasted any time.

After that battle, the soldiers had been reduced to just over fifty, with more than half of them injured.

"Brother Ye, how about we retreat? I don't think we absolutely have to go to Black Mountain. It's not like there's only one Shelter. Once my right hand heals, it won't be too late for us to raid other Shelters." Li You held his bandaged right hand, which was faintly seeping blood, lingering fear still in his heart.

He felt that if this continued, his right hand might never heal in his lifetime.

Watching the gray wolves retreat into the distance, Bai Ye's expression darkened. "Retreat where? The Mutated Beasts of Black Mountain have all come out, and they're wandering nearby. If we retreat now, who can guarantee we won't run into them? Black Mountain is actually a little safer."

He had already told Li You about Shelter 189. His plan was to make a fortune at the Shelter.

Anything left behind from the Civilized Era could sell for an astronomical price on the black market.

At that moment, Bai Ye seemed to think of something. He grabbed the officer, who had fallen to the ground and could not get up, and said coldly, "I'm really curious now. With strength like yours, what gave you the nerve to enter Black Mountain? Are you hiding some kind of secret weapon?"

The officer was truly miserable. He hurriedly explained, "My lord, it isn't that we're weak. It's that you're too strong! There really is no secret weapon. If there is one, it can only be Ying."

"Isn't that guy Ying just a sniper? Is he really that strong?" Bai Ye was somewhat confused. He truly had not seen what was so impressive about Ying. He just seemed pretty good at boasting, opening his mouth and talking about killing the Ten Kings.

"Ying isn't strong in close combat, but his marksmanship is divine. With his Gun-Fu and sniping skills, he became Eagle, one of the Zodiac. The outside world calls him the strongest, yet also the weakest, of the Zodiac.

"He is strong because as long as he can create distance, he can kill any member of the Zodiac. Yet he is weak because once someone gets close, any member of the Zodiac can kill him.

"Take those gray wolves just now. If Ying had been here, he alone could have killed every one of them. The gray wolves may be fast, but before Ying's eagle eyes, they move as slowly as turtles.

"With just a submachine gun, he could pierce every gray wolf's eyeballs within three seconds."

Bai Ye froze. Wait, that asshole was that badass? He used a submachine gun like a semi-automatic sniper rifle?

Wait... no!

"Since when the fuck was there an eagle in the Zodiac?!"

The officer was stunned, clearly not expecting Bai Ye's focus to be so bizarre.

He carefully explained, "The Zodiac is an organization under Apocalypse Technology Corporation, composed of twelve powerful genetically modified humans. Their titles are determined by the direction of their genetic modifications, not by the zodiac signs."

"Then what about Gun-Fu?"

"This lowly one does not know the details. It seems to be an advanced form of marksmanship. At the instant of firing, the gun muzzle is swung at high speed, and the resulting centrifugal force makes the bullet curve."

Bullets could curve!? That was not scientific at all!