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

"Like eating, do you? Here, have a taste of this mechanical leg!" Bai Ye tossed a mechanical leg beside the large tree.

At that moment, more and more man-eating flower vines dangled down from the canopy.

A flash of brutality crossed his eyes. His powerful physique erupted in an instant as he nimbly dodged several incoming vines, then swiftly pulled back. His right hand shot toward his waist, fingers hooking precisely around the grip. With a sharp tug, the black revolver slid into his palm like a spirit serpent.

Then 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 cylinder like lightning and pulled it back hard. With a click, a brass-colored bullet slid precisely into the chamber, while several dark red blood vessels extended from the gun and pierced into his palm.

Immediately afterward, his right index finger squeezed the trigger. A deafening bang rang out, fire flashed past, and the bullet screamed through the air. Every movement flowed together seamlessly, as though he had practiced it countless times.

Then... he missed.

Bai Ye's face darkened. He rolled away from another wave of attacking vines and fired again. This time, he finally hit.

He spun the gun around his fingers, tucked it into his waistband, and turned to leave, calling over the stunned Li You as well.

"Real men never look back at explosions."

Boom!

A massive blaze shot into the sky, and the explosion shook the mountain forest. Green sap sprayed everywhere from the man-eating flower tree, while a hole punched straight through its trunk. Flames from the blast ignited the wood, and amid the roaring fire, the man-eating flower tree crashed to the ground.

In exchange for one leg, he had successfully taken down a man-eating flower tree. Thanks to the anonymous officer for his selfless gift.

Even until the officer's death, Bai Ye never knew his name, nor had he ever asked. The dead had no need for names.

By noon, Bai Ye and Li You had not encountered any more harassment from 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 real prey is." A smug smile rose on Bai Ye's lips.

"Could it be that we simply left the area where the man-eating flower trees grow, so that's why..."

"Absolutely impossible!" Bai Ye said firmly.

Li You's mouth twitched. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're right about everything."

Bai Ye narrowed his eyes, dangerous light gleaming within them. "Is your right hand almost healed? Feeling like you can act up again?"

"N-No, that's not it, Brother Ye. Listen to me explain..."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A burst of rapid 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 this time must be here for the Shelter.

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

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

But Bai Ye shook his head, his face full of disappointment. "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..."

"Ah, too shallow. That's too shallow, isn't it? When you're out in the world, people should help each other. You help me, I help you—only then can society develop harmoniously. If I help them this time, how could they refuse to help me?"

Seeing Bai Ye's ill-intentioned smile, 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 follow the right path gain support, while those who lose it gain little aid. I'll save their lives now, then they can use their lives to scout the way for me. Isn't that perfectly reasonable? Besides, we're all headed toward Shelter 189 deep in Black Mountain. We're going the same way." Bai Ye wore an utterly harmless smile.

His idea was simple. Black Mountain hid many unknown dangers. If he was careless, he might die before he could even activate Time Stop. That was when the importance of having someone scout ahead became obvious.

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

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

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

"Wait, what are they doing?"

"I have no idea. The moment I got here, I saw these people battling the air with all their might."

It was no wonder they were confused. These people were truly bizarre.

Among the trees, more than 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 man in the black mask. He seems to be a supernatural being!" Li You exclaimed softly.

Bai Ye focused his gaze and saw that, amid the crowd, a man wearing a black mask and a black trench coat stood out sharply, as conspicuous as a crane among chickens.

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

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

Whoosh!

The shadow darts streaked across the sky, and a feather suddenly drifted down from above.

Everyone kept turning their heads and looking around. The intense gunfire also stopped. After a while, they seemed to confirm that there was no danger, and joy appeared on their faces.

A fat man in his twenties laughed heartily. "Mr. Li Xiao truly lives up to his reputation. As expected of a top-tier supernatural being second only to the Ten Kings, you actually managed to shoot down one feather from that beast! Looks like it was frightened away."

A cold, arrogant glint flashed through the black-masked man's eyes. "Second only to them? Li has never fought the Ten Kings. By what right does the world judge me inferior to them?"

The fat man was startled. He had not expected one sentence of flattery to strike a sore spot. Yet he was not embarrassed and instead went along with it. "Mr. Li is right. I heard that Yang Jie, the Tyrant and one of the Ten Kings, will also come to Black Mountain this time. Perhaps we'll witness the birth of a new Ten King then."

The eyes beneath the black mask instantly burned with excitement, battle intent surging. "Li came here for the Tyrant. Otherwise, would Boss Gao have been able to hire me?"

Boss Gao, the fat man, nodded speechlessly, seemingly long accustomed 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 the place to talk. I'm worried that beast may return. We should leave quickly." A middle-aged man with stubble all over his face and dual pistols in his hands urged them onward.

He was unkempt, wearing a battered cowboy hat with holsters hanging from his body—the typical attire of a bounty hunter.