Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei circled around the outside of the station building together, then sent the mechanical dog inside.
Once the mechanical dog's eyes lit up, it was fully confirmed that this gas station was just as it was before, with no danger present.
This was a check that had to be done every time they arrived at a new place. To be honest, Lu Xi'an hadn't been as cautious as Yao Wei before; he only carefully inspected a new location upon first arrival and relaxed afterward.
But he didn't see any issue with Yao Wei's approach. After all, safety is no small matter, so he followed suit.
Honestly, he learned quite a bit from this woman.
Yao Wei then took a device capable of electrifying circuits out of her backpack from the car and walked towards the electrical box on the platform's side.
Lu Xi'an noticed that Yao Wei frowned a bit as she looked at the square device in her hands, as if she was hesitant and a bit pained.
"What's wrong?"
He asked.
"Running out of power."
Yao Wei replied.
Hearing these four words, Lu Xi'an understood. That thing was likely a power bank or something similar, and its power was running low, probably only good for a few more uses.
—Maybe even just one more.
No wonder Yao Wei felt pained.
Speaking of which, the battery technology in this world is quite advanced. Look at Gou, and then back at the power bank in Yao Wei's hand. They didn't have such amazing things in the past.
However, the energy technology in Gou didn't seem like an ordinary battery to Lu Xi'an.
What kind of battery could support this dog be active for so long, walking, scanning, eyes glowing, and even powering a villa?
He suspected that Gou contained an Ark Reactor or something similar inside.
He was extremely curious about this, and if it weren't for the fear of disassembling it improperly and not being able to reassemble it, he would have definitely taken it apart to see.
"You should save it for later use."
Lu Xi'an said to Yao Wei, then looked at the mechanical dog that had just come scampering out of the station building, "Gou, you take care of it."
Yao Wei was a bit taken aback and looked down at the tiny Gou on the ground.
The mechanical dog's eyes shone brightly, illuminating the electrical box hanging on the station's outer wall, beginning the process of scanning the circuit.
Lu Xi'an instructed, "Just connect the circuit for the fuel dispenser."
The mechanical dog quickly located the circuit, opened square ports on its sides, and ejected black wires with connectors straight into the electrical box.
Once inside, the light in Gou's eyes dimmed, and the whole dog was lifted by the black wires and hung there, just like back in the villa, back against the wall, standing still.
However, at the villa, it adhered to the wall. But this station's electrical box protruded, so Gou hung from it, suspended, swaying slightly, not immediately still.
"Buzz—"
The lights on the fuel dispenser lit up.
Yao Wei glanced back, eyes fixed on the mechanical dog.
"Impressive."
She exclaimed.
This was the third time Lu Xi'an heard such emotion in her voice.
The first time was her mumbling the phrase "proctologist," and the second was the "what a pity" concerning the proctologist being inedible.
Three emotional fluctuations, all because of the dog.
"Consider it an advance thank you for lending me the wrench and screwdriver."
Lu Xi'an said.
But Yao Wei still replied, "Thank you."
True to her thrifty and energy-saving nature, she quickly went over to the car, operated the fuel dispenser, opened the fuel tank, and filled the car with gas.
Once the tank was full, she said to Lu Xi'an, "Done."
Lu Xi'an then instructed Gou to come down.
Gou retracted the black wires and dropped "thud" onto the ground, then toddled over to Lu Xi'an.
Yao Wei's gaze remained on Gou, clearly fascinated.
It wasn't until Lu Xi'an picked up the mechanical dog that she said, "Let's go."
Both of them got into the car, closed the door with a "thud". Yao Wei started the car and continued heading west.
The moon was at its peak now, indicating it was likely past midnight.
However, neither Lu Xi'an nor Yao Wei had anything like a clock or watch, and the car's time display had long been inaccurate, leaving them unsure of the exact time.
After they drove a long way from the gas station, they saw a mountain ahead. Yao Wei drove the car into the mountain.
When they reached an area where the forest was more dense, she simply said, "Let's go."
Lu Xi'an glanced over, saw that Yao Wei had opened her car door and stepped out, so he followed suit.
Together, they scouted the surrounding area, found a suitable path to conceal themselves and drive the car through, then got back into the vehicle.
"Actually, we could leave this to Gou to handle."
Lu Xi'an suggested as he got back into the car.
Yao Wei drove towards the designated spot saying, "I can't keep troubling you."
Eight words.
"You're being too polite."
Lu Xi'an chuckled and casually remarked, then fell silent.
After they arrived at their destination, Yao Wei parked, turned off the lights, cut the engine, and asked Lu Xi'an to help erase the tracks left by the car's wheels before returning to the vehicle.
She was evidently used to these tasks, dealing with the tire tracks skillfully and efficiently, and Lu Xi'an picked up another skill.
Back in the car, Yao Wei reclined her seat, removed her leather jacket from her waist, and draped it over herself, saying, "Sleep."
Following her lead, Lu Xi'an reclined the passenger seat.
He closed his eyes, holding the submachine gun in his arms, waited a while, deliberately slowed his breath as if he had fallen asleep. Then he listened for a while and, satisfied there were no movements from beside him, felt a little relieved.
While beside him, only then did Yao Wei open her eyes. Her nerves remained tense, hand gripping the gun beneath her jacket.
Without turning her head, she glanced sideways with the corner of her eye, then seemed reassured and closed her eyes again.
After a while, Lu Xi'an turned to lay on his side, smacked his lips, still holding the submachine gun close to him.
After a brief moment, he opened his eyes a crack and peeked towards the driver's seat.
Still no movement, good.
He closed his eyes again.
Then, after a while longer, Yao Wei shifted slightly, opening her eyes a crack and glancing sideways again.
Only after this did she relax the hand gripping the gun under her jacket slightly.
At this point, both were sure that regardless of whether the other person in the car was asleep, at least there was no intent to kill.
Thus, they both were truly able to fall asleep with peace of mind.
While they slept, Gou transformed into a box shape, resting quietly at Lu Xi'an's feet.
Two people and a dog, and it was Gou that rested most peacefully.
This is how the night passed. At dawn, as the morning sun filtered through the forest, a sudden noise seemed to ring out.
The two in the car were abruptly awakened and glanced in the direction of the noise, only to see, not far from the car, a wild boar appeared—not too big, but not too small either.
The wild boar in this post-apocalyptic world looked lean, its meat not plentiful, but enough for a couple of hearty meals.
Today, luck was on their side. The weather was warm, the cold wave had not arrived yet, and it was a bright, sunny day.
And on top of that, there was prey showing up at their doorstep first thing in the morning. This creature wasn't like hyenas, it should be edible.
Lu Xi'an immediately raised his submachine gun and gently rolled down the car window.
—Yao Wei's car had a manual window crank.