Bai Ye had heard of the technique of curving bullets in his previous life, but it had only ever appeared in film and television. He had never expected it to exist in reality.
He looked at the corpse of the Mutated Beast gray wolf on the ground and instantly came to terms with it. Forget it. Mutated Beasts were unscientific anyway—or perhaps they were too scientific, so advanced that they had long surpassed his understanding of technology.
After all, this world even had cyborgs, genetically modified humans, and Transcendents.
"A sniper like Ying needs protection from trash like you?"
The officer dared not speak in anger. What did he mean by trash? If he hadn't torn off my mechanical arm, I'd definitely show him what I'm capable of!
The officer was not exactly weak, but the Time Stop ability was too insidious. Before he could even use the power of his mechanical limbs, they had been removed.
"Sir, Ying does not actually need protection. We are merely cooperating with his operation.
"The only way to kill him is to get close. No one can beat him at long range, but before those eagle eyes of his, other than you, sir, who could possibly get near him?"
Bai Ye nodded. Indeed, before Time Stop, the strong and the ordinary were no different. They were all targets that could not move.
The night passed quickly. Fortunately, after the gray wolf fled, no other Mutated Beasts appeared.
His Time Stop returned to one minute and fifty-seven seconds. Bai Ye felt capable again.
As they continued onward, the outline of Black Mountain gradually appeared before them.
On the distant horizon, the rolling Black Mountain Range lay across the earth like a giant dragon. Its peaks pierced the clouds, and the mountains were an eerie bluish-black, as though steeped in poison.
"We've finally reached Black Mountain!" Li You exclaimed happily.
Bai Ye curled his lip. "Not even close. As the old saying goes, a mountain may look near, but it can run a horse to death."
"Brother Ye, we're both Wastelanders. Why do you know so many wise old sayings? It's really discouraging." Li You looked dejected. He could accept that his combat ability was inferior to Bai Ye's, but even his grasp of life's truths could not compare.
Judging by their ages, he was several years older than Bai Ye. He had even drifted through the casinos of multiple market towns, yet now it felt like he had wasted all that time.
"Sometimes, I even wonder whether I, a Transcendent, am really this useless..." He sighed. The past few days had dealt him blow after blow. His right hand still had not healed, and he could not even look cool for more than three seconds in a fight. He had basically been relying on Bai Ye the whole time.
Li You's state of mind was like that of a nouveau riche who had won five million in the lottery and strutted into a big city, only to tragically discover that the money was enough to buy just one toilet in the wealthy district.
Bai Ye patted his shoulder and consoled him. "Young man, you need to have confidence in yourself. Be more confident. Is that even something you need to wonder about?"
A touched expression had just appeared on Li You's face, but after hearing the second half, his face immediately darkened. Listen to that! Was that something a human being should say?
They continued onward, and Black Mountain grew clearer in their sight. Yet after walking for an entire day, they still had not entered its boundaries. One could only imagine how vast Black Mountain truly was.
Fortunately, no Mutated Beasts appeared. Perhaps all the Mutated Beasts that were supposed to flee from Black Mountain had already fled.
After spending the day in peace, Bai Ye's Time Stop accumulated to two minutes and fifty-seven seconds, and they finally entered Black Mountain.
As the saying went, one could not see the true face of Mount Lu because one was standing within it.
The same was true of the towering Black Mountain. From afar, they could still see its full outline, but once they entered it, all they saw was a sea of forest formed by towering trees. It felt as though they had entered a primeval forest, and they could see only one corner of Black Mountain.
In the era of the Great Cataclysm, it was not only animals that had mutated. Plants had as well.
At least in his previous life, Bai Ye had never seen trees so magnificent. Every one of them stood nearly a hundred meters tall, and even the thinnest required five people linking arms to encircle it.
Black Mountain Dense Forest
"Get out. We can't drive along mountain paths." Bai Ye called out before getting out of the vehicle.
Considering that danger could appear at any time within Black Mountain, he distributed guns to the remaining fifty-odd people and had them lead the way.
The soldiers moved nervously through the jungle, gripping their guns tightly. Their gazes kept drifting toward the depths of the forest, as if afraid that a ferocious Mutated Beast would burst out the next second.
What made them even more nervous was Bai Ye behind them. The raggedly dressed Wasteland youth kept the [Breath of Bones] in his hands pointed at them.
More than fifty soldiers walked in front, while Bai Ye, Li You, and the officer followed behind them.
Bai Ye had forcefully reattached the officer's legs. Although they could not connect to the neural interface, they could at least barely serve as prosthetic limbs.
He limped after the group, his shoulders bare and empty without arms.
"Sir, we've reached Black Mountain. Could you let me go now?" the officer asked cautiously.
Bai Ye swept his arrogant gaze over him, making the officer's heart tighten. He hurriedly said, "Sir, I have over a million in savings at the bank. As long as you let me go, it's all yours. You needn't worry that I'll inform Apocalypse Corporation. Ying is dead, and the corporation will never spare me.
"So I plan to flee far away and live in another city."
Bai Ye ignored him. What a nice dream. This isn't when you were treating us Wastelanders as cannon fodder anymore.
He gave the officer a cold glance, then shifted his gaze toward the soldiers ahead. Instantly, his brows furrowed tightly.
"Stop!"
At his command, everyone halted.
The soldiers turned back in confusion, waiting for Bai Ye's next order.
"Brother Ye, what is it?" Li You moved closer.
"One person is missing." Bai Ye carefully counted the soldiers.
He clearly remembered that there had been fifty-two soldiers, but in the blink of an eye, there were now fifty-one!
Someone had vanished without a sound. This unknown method put him on guard.
He was not afraid of enemies who faced him openly. In his view, whether it was the Ten Kings, Eight Kings, or some powerful Mutated Beast, as long as it was a carbon-based lifeform, it would die before Time Stop.
What he feared most were unknown and mysterious methods. They were impossible to guard against; even if he activated Time Stop, he would not be able to find where the enemy was.
"One person is missing?" Li You's expression changed slightly. "Could he have run away?"
Bai Ye shook his head. "The soldiers may be trained, but they are still ordinary people. How could one of them instantly run out of my sight?"
The soldiers also realized that someone had suddenly disappeared from their ranks, and their expressions grew increasingly tense.
"Quiet! People cannot vanish into thin air. Check the surrounding area carefully for clues!"
The soldiers hurriedly searched. After a while, one of them cried out, "There's a shoe in the grass!"
Bai Ye walked over and indeed found a bloodstained shoe amid the waist-high grass. It was a standard-issue Dawn Army combat boot.
"You! Go search the grass." He raised his gun and aimed it at the soldier.
Before you continue