Lightning struck down, and in the flash, Lu Xi'an saw the woman downstairs clearly.
The woman's hair barely reached her shoulders, fragmented and messy, as if carelessly cut.
She wore wide, durable pants and a black fitted tank top, with a brown leather jacket tied around her waist by its sleeves. Her boots were also brown, but very old and worn-out.
Her skin was somewhat rough, her lips chapped, but even so, it couldn't hide her sharply defined and exquisite features. The combination of her cold eyes and slender yet muscular arms gave her a wild beauty.
She carried a backpack that was larger than her entire upper body, packed full, indicating that like Lu Xi'an, she was quite strong.
She was extremely cautious, holding a sizable green square iron canister in one hand and a handgun in the other. Upon entering, she quickly moved in a crouch to another window, gently set down the canister, and scanned the room carefully, gun at the ready.
Lu Xi'an remained motionless upstairs.
Shooting isn't easy, especially when the target can move and fight back, making it even harder to hit.
Lu Xi'an, having enjoyed ample firepower at the police station, knew this well.
His marksmanship hadn't improved, and bullets were no longer as plentiful as they were at the abandoned police station; he didn't want to waste them unnecessarily.
While the woman searched the room downstairs, Lu Xi'an observed her from above. After confirming she was alone, he felt slightly relieved.
Once the woman finished searching downstairs, she prepared to check upstairs.
When she reached the stairway, Lu Xi'an finally spoke: "If you don't come up, I can let you have downstairs for now."
Lu Xi'an was already stationed at the stairway with his mechanical dog, which was the only connection between upstairs and downstairs.
The woman paused, then immediately moved out of Lu Xi'an's line of sight.
Lu Xi'an knew she had moved out of view from the stairs. He remained unshaken, steadfastly guarding the stairway.
The mansion had extraordinarily high ceilings, and having dealt with other people in this world and knowing his own strength limits well, after checking inside and outside the mansion, Lu Xi'an was sure she couldn't climb upstairs from elsewhere.
So, holding this position was all that was needed.
After a long while, a voice finally came from an unseen corner downstairs, a curt single word: "Okay."
The voice was pleasant, though somewhat hoarse, possibly due to dehydration.
Remarkably, there was finally a normal person to communicate with. Not easy in this world.
Feeling slightly better, Lu Xi'an still didn't drop his guard.
He continued to stake out at the stairway entrance, keeping an eye on the woman downstairs who seemingly knew he was there, still hiding out of sight.
"There's water in the swimming pool; I checked it. I can drink it. Not sure about you. You can fill a bucket for use."
So said Lu Xi'an.
He couldn't take the pool water with him anyway, better to offer it to others.
No harm, after all.
Hmm... and since it's raining outside, it's effectively a worthless gift.
All the better, then.
Lu Xi'an had noticed the canister the woman carried was empty, clearly meant to hold liquid. Either water or something else.
While extending a gesture of inconsequential goodwill, Lu Xi'an also intended to test, to see what the woman wanted to do with the canister.
"Okay."
The woman downstairs agreed but did not take any action.
Maybe out of caution, she didn't trust Lu Xi'an.
But carrying an empty canister, she must have a need. If she desperately needed water, she wouldn't forgo a potential water source due to some risk.
—Even though it's raining outside suddenly, it makes sense if she came out looking for water before the rain began and then got caught here.
In this world, water is definitely a resource worth risking for.
And if not water, then what else could be stored in such a large empty canister?
Gasoline? Or diesel?
Only this possibility crossed Lu Xi'an's mind, making his mouth water.
He had seen gas stations during his travels, confirming that vehicles and fuel existed in this world.
But unfortunately, he only encountered completely trashed and non-functioning vehicles, never an intact one.
Under what circumstances would one need gasoline or diesel?
Could it be that this woman has a car?
That would be enviable.
Now, finding a base, Lu Xi'an's biggest headache was traveling.
Through his long wanderings, traversing countless places, he could only walk with a mechanical dog, painstakingly and laboriously.
If he had a vehicle, he couldn't even imagine how great that would be!
If that's the case, the woman's situation must be that her car ran out of fuel, necessitating a search for fuel nearby with a canister?
Not sure if that's true, or if there's a gas station nearby.
If she's like those previous guys, Lu Xi'an wouldn't mind using up some of his bullets to acquire a vehicle.
If not, then he wondered how easy she would be to talk to, and whether she could take him along if she drove?
Having witnessed the insanity of people in this world, Lu Xi'an hoped not to become like that. So, as long as his safety was assured, he was willing to adhere to his principles.
—But all this relies on the premise that the woman is carrying the canister to fetch gasoline.
The woman still made no move.
Lu Xi'an didn't ask outright. He knew that for people in this world, cars were undoubtedly valuable resources.
If she has a car and leaves with the canister, it surely means her vehicle is out of fuel and can't move. Wouldn't casually asking arouse her suspicion that he covets her car, potentially triggering an unnecessary conflict?
Better to be patient and observe.
Fortunately, Lu Xi'an's patience was honed in this crappy world, so he quietly waited.
"Boom!"
Thunder followed the lightning.
Outside, heavy rain poured, striking the villa's exterior walls.
When the lightning illuminated the surroundings, Lu Xi'an could see the slanted lines of rain through the shattered windows, blown in by the wind.
But no one bothered to address it.
Both remained quietly in this rainy night, peacefully coexisting, as though they were just strangers seeking shelter in this abandoned villa until the rain ceased, when they would part ways.
Yet, the rain continued unabated throughout the night.
The woman never went to fill the canister with water.
As the night faded and the sky cleared, the woman finally spoke: "I'm leaving."
Lu Xi'an was taken aback, then said: "Okay." It was his turn to say "Okay."
Today's weather remained unchanged, thankfully.
Lu Xi'an saw the woman reappear in his view, holding her gun aimed high at him as she walked backward.
It turns out she spoke earlier to confirm his position.
Lu Xi'an thought he'd learned something, then aimed his gun at her as well.
He held a submachine gun, appearing more formidable than her handgun.
As long as he didn't shoot, his threat was definitely stronger than hers.
The woman only wielded her gun warily, without intending to pull the trigger. She retreated back to where the canister was left, picked it up, then opened the mansion door and backed out.
Didn't fill the canister? Does she really have a car?
Lu Xi'an planned to send the mechanical dog to check it out.
Though lumbering and awkward, the dog moved at a good pace and seemed to have some unique sensing system, allowing it to follow from afar without being noticed, making it quite useful as a scout.
However, before he could instruct the dog, a gunshot rang out outside, followed by the woman's abrupt return.
Outside the mansion, a series of "kehe--kehe" calls suddenly echoed, coming from a fair number of creatures.
Lu Xi'an glanced out the window, spotting a group of wolf-like creatures, somewhat familiar.
His heart skipped a beat.
—He had seen these things on videos in his previous life, they were hyenas!