Lu Xi'an heard the woman report her name, and his first thought was that there was hope for hitching a ride.
A good thing, this water and instant noodles weren't given for nothing.
He carefully scanned downstairs. Quite a few hyenas were already dead, but there were still at least ten combined inside and out.
These hyenas were very smart. Initially charging aggressively, they now switched strategies and changed tactics, deliberately hiding behind cover to avoid being targeted by gunfire from above.
Because of this, Yao Wei couldn't use her gun to kill the remaining hyenas.
Lu Xi'an searched around but couldn't identify the leader among them, so he and Yao Wei continued to wait at the stairway entrance.
"You know a lot about these wild dogs?"
Yao Wei noticed Lu Xi'an's gaze and asked.
Lu Xi'an replied, "Not much, just that these creatures are proctologists. I can't figure out which one's the leader; if you find the leader, it'd be easy to shoot him dead."
After all, he'd only seen these animals, meant to live in Africa, in videos. Even their "cack-cack-cack" calls were a first for him.
"Proctologists..."
Yao Wei repeated softly, her nerves tightening again.
Lu Xi'an felt that the woman was talking a lot more than before.
The standoff continued, and soon night fell. Lu Xi'an noticed the hyena pack becoming more anxious than before, suddenly guessing what these beasts were planning to do.
He immediately issued an order to the mechanical dog: "Gou, whoever comes up the stairs, shine the light on them."
The mechanical dog had morphed into a box since Yao Wei arrived, remaining silent.
This thing was so intelligent that Lu Xi'an couldn't tell if it was avoiding risks or hiding in the dark specifically from Yao Wei.
Regardless, it followed Lu Xi'an's commands completely.
Once Lu Xi'an finished speaking, the mechanical dog immediately shifted from its box form.
Yao Wei's brief astonishment quickly vanished, her face returning to its original coldness and sharpness, though her side glance kept on scanning Gou.
Lu Xi'an suspected she was worried that Gou might attack her rear.
Night quickly fell completely.
On the night after the rain, the sky wasn't very cloudy. But tonight there were no stars or moon, the villa was very dark, especially the staircase built near the inner wall, pitch black.
"Cack-cack-cack-cack—"
"Cack-cack-cack—"
"Cack-cack—"
The increasingly restless hyenas suddenly howled, as if communicating something.
"Gou!"
Lu Xi'an reminded, holding the submachine gun in his hands, with Yao Wei both tensed.
If Yao Wei couldn't stop the hyenas later, he'd have no option but to open fire.
Suddenly, two beams of light appeared, illuminating the staircase.
One hyena, taking advantage of the darkness, rushed upwards but was suddenly exposed to Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei's view.
"Bang!"
Yao Wei hesitated not a bit, pulling the trigger.
That shot was extremely accurate, a direct headshot.
The mechanical dog's eyes didn't linger on the corpse, immediately shining upward.
Another hyena was following, charging upward. The front corpse didn't stop it, it leapt directly over the body, but just as it went airborne, it was hit by the sudden light and bullet.
"Thud."
The two hyena bodies layered together.
"Cack—"
The remaining hyenas seemed frightened, their cries abruptly silenced, and none attempted to come upstairs.
And Lu Xi'an, witnessing the sharpshooter-like precision of Yao Wei guided by Gou's eye beams, suddenly thought of something.
He didn't waste any opportunity, saying, "Gou, sweep downstairs!"
The mechanical dog had long been accustomed to various commands from Lu Xi'an, no matter how brief. It analyzed and understood, immediately scanning downward.
In the dark environment, Gou's dog eyes were unstoppable; it instantly spotted another hyena.
That hyena panicked and didn't have time to return behind cover.
Yao Wei reacted, firing another shot.
"Bang!"
The other hyenas immediately scattered and fled.
The mechanical dog didn't use its eyes to scan anymore, evidently all remaining hyenas had escaped.
Lu Xi'an speculated whether the hyena that was killed earlier might be the leader of the pack?
"Gou, go down and check."
Lu Xi'an issued another command to the mechanical dog.
The mechanical dog then wobbled down the stairs, chasing out of the villa.
Its tiny figure was unseeable in the dark, but the metallic clanks it made when walking were audible to both Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.
The two continuously followed the sound of the mechanical dog's footsteps, watching until they reached outside the villa where faint starlight cast an even fainter metallic sheen on its body.
Yao Wei's gaze at the mechanical dog shifted, showing some envy.
Lu Xi'an kept his focus on Yao Wei.
If Yao Wei's expression showed even a hint of wanting to seize it, he would pull the trigger without hesitation.
The clip in his submachine gun was already fully loaded with bullets, at such a short distance and a surprise attack, he wouldn't believe he couldn't kill this woman.
But fortunately, Yao Wei merely seemed a bit envious, not taking any action.
After a while, the mechanical dog returned alone, its eye lights remained continuously on.
This was its signal to Lu Xi'an; if the hyena pack returned, its dog eyes would flash twice.
Now that they were steadily lit, it indicated safety outside.
"Alright, everything's fine."
Lu Xi'an said.
Yao Wei also let out a breath and said, "Thank you."
This was yet another instance of her expressing gratitude.
Lu Xi'an finally felt at ease, realizing that this woman was indeed different from the rogues he'd met from the Wolf Gang and Dog Gang; she was a good person.
—At least she seemed to be a good person in essence.
Good people are easier to deal with; otherwise, he wouldn't dare to casually make requests.
"If you really want to thank me, let me hitch a ride. It's impossible to stay here; I need to look for a new place."
He said to Yao Wei.
Yao Wei cast a steady glance at Lu Xi'an and said, "Trade for snow cream. That's what you said."
Under the mechanical dog's eye lights, Yao Wei's face was half in light, half in darkness, obscuring her weathered skin, making her look even more attractive.
But her gaze made her seem increasingly cold, as if absolutely unforgiving.
Lu Xi'an said, "Then you need to make sure to drop me off at a livable place before letting me off."
Yao Wei hesitated for a while before nodding, "Alright."
So Lu Xi'an started packing up his things, stuffing everything he needed into his backpack, taking what needed to be taken, and hanging up what Gou needed.
Those empty bottles that had been drained, he didn't throw away, filling them with water from the outdoor swimming pool and took them along.
Yao Wei finally imitated him, taking out empty bottles from her backpack and filled them with water.
As for that metal bucket, she still carried it, really as Lu Xi'an guessed, seeking a gas station to fill up with gasoline.
While Yao Wei filled her bottles, Lu Xi'an went to check out the hyena corpses.
He instructed Gou to scan over, and as its dog eyes flickered, Lu Xi'an couldn't help but sigh, "What a shame..."
"What a shame?"
Yao Wei finished filling the water and came out to ask.
The bottles were already packed back into her backpack, causing the large backpack to sink significantly.
Seemed she'd filled quite a lot of water.
"What a shame these dog meats are all poisonous, can't eat them."
Lu Xi'an answered.
Yao Wei looked at the hyena corpses and also said, "What a shame..."
The two didn't linger, walking out of the villa together.