Buzz!
A dazzling golden dial rose from beneath Bai Ye's feet, and the gears of time abruptly halted.
All sounds seemed to peel away from his ears, leaving only the sound of his own breathing in the world.
Under the force of inertia, Bai Ye ran another two meters before he managed to stop himself.
It's well known that when a person is sprinting, it's difficult to change direction quickly due to inertia. That's why he didn't choose to forcibly turn and shoot but decisively activated Time Stop instead.
When he turned around, he was met with a pair of ghastly, lifeless eyes—those of a Gray Sparrow!
The Gray Sparrow, like an eagle, was frozen mid-air three meters above the ground, its gray-feathered wings spread wide, and its sharp claws aimed straight at Bai Ye's head.
Just a little more!
If Bai Ye had been even a second or two slower in stopping time, his skull would have been cracked open.
A surge of anger rose in his heart: "You want to blow my head off, huh? I'll blow yours off first!"
Click!
The Breath of Bones was loaded, its muzzle aimed directly at the Gray Sparrow's head.
At such close range, shooting at a stationary target, even a child wouldn't miss, and Bai Ye certainly wouldn't.
Bang!
A bullet with a bloody glow shot out from the muzzle, yet the expected scene of a head exploding didn't occur.
Bai Ye was stunned, staring blankly at the blood-red bullet frozen in mid-air, just two centimeters from the muzzle.
It was stuck there, unmoving.
"What is going on?"
"Could it be..."
Bai Ye suddenly thought of a possibility. He had stopped the world's time, and in this time-stopped world, the only things that could move were himself and the objects he touched. Once the bullet left him, it too became frozen.
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Otherwise, during Time Stop, he'd have to run around naked, as clothes would count as external objects.
So, he quickly distanced himself from the Gray Sparrow and then resumed time.
The moment time resumed, whoosh!
The previously frozen blood-red bullet vanished from Bai Ye's sight, and simultaneously, the Gray Sparrow's head exploded, blood splattering everywhere.
The headless corpse flapped its wings twice before plummeting to the ground.
"Good thing, good thing, firearms work, just a bit troublesome," Bai Ye muttered, feeling the surge of qi and blood within him as he resumed his sprint without looking back. This chapter was taken from novelping . com without permission.
By now, the street was empty; to be precise, there were no living people besides Bai Ye.
Thousands of Gray Sparrows rampaged through Graysoil Town, killing hundreds in mere minutes, while the rest hid indoors.
Some Gray Sparrows perched on corpses, tearing and gnawing bit by bit, while others crazily crashed into windows, breaking in, followed by piercing screams from within the houses.
And some of them had their sights set on Bai Ye.
The only person running on the street was too conspicuous.
A dozen Gray Sparrows flapped their wings, flying straight towards Bai Ye.
Bai Ye swiftly dodged, darting into the alleyways formed by the buildings. The narrow terrain prevented the Gray Sparrows from attacking all at once, forcing them to come at him one by one.
He stopped, a violent glint in his rebellious eyes.
He coldly watched the first Gray Sparrow charging at him, raising the Breath of Bones and waiting silently.
Ten meters, five meters, three meters... now!
Bang!
Blood and fire splattered together, and the headless Gray Sparrow fell from the sky like a downed plane, its remains skidding across the ground due to inertia, kicking up dust until it finally stopped at Bai Ye's feet.
This time, he didn't use Time Stop but took advantage of the terrain, shooting in the narrow alleyway. Facing the Gray Sparrows charging in a straight line, it was hard to miss.
The qi and blood from the Breath of Bones flowed into his body, and feeling the power growing wildly within him, the violent glint in Bai Ye's eyes intensified, a cruel grin curling at his lips.
"Ha ha ha... all become my strength!"
Bang bang bang...
The continuous roar of the handgun echoed, flames flickering in the dim alleyway, repeatedly illuminating the blood-stained face.
Moments later, Gray Sparrow corpses piled up at Bai Ye's feet, the stench of blood soaking his shoes.
Yet more Gray Sparrows fearlessly charged at him.
"Half-time break."
He was like the referee of this battle, and with his command, all the participants froze in place.
A sharp claw stopped half a meter from his face, and he could even count the feathers on this Gray Sparrow.
In the corpse-laden, dim alley, the blood-covered young man lowered his head indifferently, loading bullets into the revolver with his blood-stained hand. After loading six bullets, he flicked the revolver, the cylinder snapping back into place with a crisp mechanical click.
Bang bang bang...
After emptying the magazine again, Bai Ye turned and ran, for he was out of bullets.
This time, he ran much faster than before, his physical abilities enhanced once more, but he still couldn't outrun the Gray Sparrows. It was a racial advantage; he didn't have wings, after all.
Helplessly, he had to repeatedly activate Time Stop to shake off the Gray Sparrows, wasting quite a bit of time before finally reaching the Tire Tavern.
Upon reaching the Tire Tavern, Bai Ye found the door locked. He pushed it a couple of times and peered through the crack, seeing a pile of tables and chairs stacked at the entrance.
Someone was inside?
"Open the door!" Bai Ye shouted.
No response came from inside.
So he kicked the door a few times.
Finally, a voice came from within.
"Leave here, don't bring the Gray Sparrows!"
Bai Ye recognized the voice as the owner of the Tire Tavern, Old Wang.
Old Wang was also one of Tan Jie's men. Although older, he had read some books, knew how to brew, and had some culinary skills, so he was in charge of logistics.
He was the one who named the tavern Old Times. He didn't like mingling with Tan Jie and the others, often seen with a few pre-catastrophe books, lamenting that he wasn't born in the Civilization Era.
"Old Wang, it's me. Open the door. There's no immediate danger outside. I need bullets to deal with the Gray Sparrows."
The Gray Sparrows had been temporarily shaken off by his Time Stop, and they wouldn't catch up for a while.
"I know it's you, Bai Ye, but I can't open the door. What if the Gray Sparrows come in?" Old Wang's trembling voice came from inside.
"Don't blame me for not saving you. I just want to survive. I have no obligation to save you."
Bai Ye stopped kicking the door, standing quietly in front of it. By now, the Gray Sparrows circling above had noticed him.
"I'll say it one last time, open the door."
His indifferent words carried an undeniable authority, and inside, the panicked Old Wang seemed to be provoked, shouting frantically.
"You really think you're some Deputy Commander, huh? You're just a lucky brat who hasn't even read a book. What gives you the right to order me?"
Old Wang shouted in a venting manner, but outside the door, there was no response, only the sound of Gray Sparrows flapping their wings to attack.
His face turned deathly pale, and he curled up in the corner of the bar, trembling, not daring to lift his head.