I Have No Idea, I Walked In and Saw Them Fighting the Air

"Like eating, do you? Then have a taste of this mechanical leg!" Bai Ye tossed a mechanical leg straight toward the big tree.

At that moment, more and more Man-eating Flower Tree vines descended from the canopy.

A violent glint flashed through his eyes. His powerful physique erupted in an instant as he nimbly dodged several vines, then quickly pulled back. His right hand shot to his waist, fingers hooking the gun grip with precision. With a sharp pull, the black revolver slid into his palm like a serpent.

Next, he raised his right hand and flicked his wrist. The revolver spun half a turn in his hand, its muzzle steadily locking onto the target.

His middle finger hooked the chamber like lightning and yanked it back. With a click, a brass-colored bullet slid precisely into place, while several dark-red veins extended from the gun and pierced into his palm.

Then his right index finger squeezed the trigger. With a thunderous bang, a flash of fire streaked past and the bullet howled out. Every movement flowed together seamlessly, as though he had practiced them countless times.

And then... he missed.

Bai Ye's face darkened. He rolled away from another incoming vine and fired again. This time, he finally hit it.

He twirled the gun, tucked it into his waistband, and turned to leave, calling out to the stunned Li You beside him.

"Real men never look back at explosions."

Boom!

A massive blaze shot into the sky, and the explosion shook the mountains and forest. Green sap sprayed everywhere from the Man-eating Flower Tree. A hole punched straight through its trunk, and the flames from the blast ignited it. Amid the roaring fire, the Man-eating Flower Tree crashed to the ground.

At the cost of one leg, he had successfully taken down a Man-eating Flower Tree. Thanks to the generous gift from that unknown officer.

Even until the officer's death, Bai Ye had never known his name, nor had he ever asked. Dead people did not need names.

By noon, Bai Ye and Li You had not encountered any more harassment from the Man-eating Flower Trees.

"How was that, Li Zuo? My guess was spot-on, wasn't it? We hurt the Man-eating Flower Trees, and now they know who the prey is." A smug smile curled Bai Ye's lips.

"Is there a possibility that we simply left the Man-eating Flower Trees' growing range, so..."

"Absolutely impossible!" Bai Ye declared firmly.

Li You's mouth twitched. "Right, right, right. Everything you say is right."

Bai Ye narrowed his eyes, a dangerous light glinting within them. "Has your right hand been healing up these past couple of days? Starting to think you're tough again?"

"N-No, that's not it, Brother Ye. Listen to my explanation..."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A burst of dense gunfire saved Li You's right hand. His expression changed as he looked east. "Gunfire! It should be other people who entered Black Mountain. Anyone coming to Black Mountain at a time like this must be here for the Shelter.

"Brother Ye, the gunfire is so intense, and there are screams too. They must have run into something troublesome. We should stay far away."

Li You instinctively treated those people as competitors. He wanted to avoid trouble.

But Bai Ye shook his head, disappointment written all over his face. "Li Zuo, people shouldn't be so selfish. How can we refuse to help when our own kind is in trouble?"

Li You froze. He blinked several times in succession, trying to see what exactly had possessed Bai Ye.

"Brother Ye, we don't know them, and they're our competitors. Why save them? What if we get ourselves killed..."

"Sigh, you're thinking too shallowly. When you're out in the world, people should help each other. You help me, I help you—that's how society can develop harmoniously. If I help them this time, how could they refuse to help me?"

Seeing Bai Ye's ill-intentioned grin, Li You suddenly understood. "You want them to scout the way for you, just like those soldiers!"

"You're teachable. As the old saying goes, those who uphold the right way gain many allies, while those who lose it gain few. I'll save their lives now, and then they'll use their lives to scout the way for me. Isn't that perfectly reasonable? Besides, we're all headed for Shelter 189 deep in Black Mountain. We're going the same way." Bai Ye wore an utterly harmless smile.

His plan was simple. Black Mountain hid countless unknown dangers. One careless misstep, and he might die before he could even activate Time Stop. That was when the importance of having someone scout ahead became apparent.

Thus, the two of them sneakily made their way toward the source of the gunfire.

When they crossed a stretch of forest and saw where the gunfire was coming from, both of them froze.

Bai Ye and Li You looked at each other, both seeing the same confusion in the other's eyes.

"No, what are they doing?"

"I have no idea. I walked in and saw these people fighting the air with all their brains."

It was no wonder the two were confused. This group was truly bizarre.

In a patch of woods, over a dozen people in different outfits were firing wildly at the air around them, as though they had some deep grudge against it.

"Brother Ye, do you think they ate poisonous mushrooms too?"

"Take out the 'too.'"

"What are these people even shooting at? Brother Ye, look at that guy wearing a Black Mask. He seems to be a Transcendent!" Li You exclaimed softly.

Bai Ye looked closely and saw a man in a black mask and black trench coat standing out sharply among the crowd, as conspicuous as a crane among chickens.

The man stood tall with his arms folded across his chest, in stark contrast to everyone else's grim expressions. Most strangely, the shadow beneath his feet seemed alive. It had completely separated from his body and stood up on its own.

The eerie black shadow swung both hands, sending several shadow-formed darts tearing through the air toward empty space.

Whoosh!

The Shadow Darts cut across the sky, and a feather suddenly drifted down from above.

The crowd kept turning their heads and scanning their surroundings. The intense gunfire had stopped as well. After a while, they seemed to confirm that there was no longer any danger, and joy surfaced on their faces.

A fat man in his twenties laughed heartily. "Mr. Li Xiao truly lives up to his reputation. As a top Transcendent second only to the Ten Kings, you actually managed to knock a feather off that beast! Looks like it was scared away."

A cold, arrogant gleam flashed in the black-masked man's eyes. "Second only to them? I, Li, have never fought the Ten Kings. On what grounds do people claim I am inferior to them?"

The fat man paused, not expecting his flattery to hit a sore spot. But he was not embarrassed. Instead, he followed along with the man's words. "Mr. Li is right. I heard that Yang Jie, the Tyrant and one of the Ten Kings, will also be coming to Black Mountain this time. Perhaps we'll witness the birth of a new Ten King then."

The eyes beneath the black mask suddenly blazed with passion, overflowing with fighting spirit. "I came here for the Tyrant. Otherwise, do you think you could have hired me, Boss Gao?"

Boss Gao, the fat man, nodded speechlessly, as though he had long grown used to Li Xiao's arrogance.

"After this battle, the name Shadow Man will surely resound throughout the world!" Li Xiao declared proudly.

"Mr. Li, Boss Gao, this isn't a place to talk. I'm worried that beast may return. We should leave quickly." A middle-aged man with stubble covering his face and dual pistols in hand urged them on.

He looked unkempt, wearing a battered cowboy hat with holsters hanging from his body—the classic outfit of a bounty hunter.