Hearing Lu Xi'an's words, Yao Wei's frown finally started to relax. She nodded and said, "Mm."

"Whew... whew..."

The howling wind was getting louder and louder. Lu Xi'an didn't know how strong the wind would eventually get, but no matter how strong, it shouldn't reach the intensity of a typhoon, right?

After all, it's a northwesterly wind, not one coming from the sea in the east.

But he couldn't tell if it was an illusion; suddenly, he seemed to hear a faint "whimpering" sound in the wind, coming from a distance outside.

He glanced back. The Resonant Gene Scanner was already surrounded, invisible from their position, so he had to ask Gou: "Gou, what's to the south? I heard a sound."

Gou's electronic synthesized voice sounded in the RV: "Sound signature detection is slightly distant, analyzing samples and focusing search, please wait."

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei listened to the wind patiently as they waited.

After a short wait, Gou responded: "Detected four energy sources 523 meters away. Based on the strength of the energy sources, it can be determined as a lactating mother and three newborns."

A lactating mother and newborns?

Lu Xi'an was slightly surprised, glancing inside the van. The baby, well-protected in the box, was sleeping peacefully.

"Is there any danger?"

After turning back, Lu Xi'an glanced in the direction where the sound was coming from outside the window, about 500 meters away. It's quite similar to the environment here, wide and flat terrain, so there's no worry about anything being blown over onto the vehicle.

Gou quickly replied: "The energy source analysis matches the wolf pack energy source encountered in Mengxin City, identified as a wolf individual. Since no other individuals are found, a single individual is not dangerous."

Well then!

Is it one of the female wolves from the wolf pack encountered on the highway outside Mengxin City?

What is this? On this return to the city, I first encountered a pregnant woman I had seen before, and now I've run into a pregnant mother wolf I had seen before?

Were the woman and the wolf both arranged to meet here?

And why did this mother wolf leave the pack and come here alone?!

Could it be, like the woman, because the lead wolf has changed and the new leader wants to get rid of her?

Unable to figure it out, Lu Xi'an simply stopped overthinking.

"Only one mother wolf and three cubs... not dangerous, and there's milk..."

Lu Xi'an murmured, thoughtfully pondering for a while, then asked Yao Wei, "What do you think of bringing that wolf onto the vehicle too, so it can feed the baby? Milk is definitely better than rice porridge.

"If we could tame the wolf, bringing it to Institute 923 later on, it could serve as a guard too."

"Mm, you decide."

Yao Wei nodded and said.

She's quite clueless about caring for a child, so she left it all to Lu Xi'an.

Lu Xi'an then started the vehicle and drove south. Since the wind was getting somewhat strong, he didn't let Gou fly the drone, fearing it would get blown away directly.

The wind outside grew fiercer. Lu Xi'an drove slowly, but even at a slow pace, it was just 500 meters, and he reached the location quickly.

The animal's "whimpering" sound grew closer. Lu Xi'an felt that the sound was more like a dog's wailing than a wolf's.

After stopping the vehicle, he said to Yao Wei, "You wait in the car, I'll go take a look."

Having said that, he pulled out Blade, gripping it in his hand, and opened the car door with his other hand.

In that instant, the gusting wind immediately yanked at the car door. If he hadn't anticipated it, gripping the door handle tightly, the door might have been ripped from his grasp.

After getting out, he closed the car door. The wind was almost strong enough to push him forward.

However, with his physical strength, he could withstand the wind.

Looking ahead following the sound, he saw a small dirt mound not far ahead. Circling around the mound, there was a mother wolf curled behind it, sheltering three tiny wolf cubs at her belly.

The belly was sagging and distended, clearly full of milk.

"Woof woof woof woof woof—"

The mother wolf bared her teeth immediately upon seeing Lu Xi'an, making a menacing sound in her throat.

Lu Xi'an went straight up front and slapped her.

The mother wolf didn't even react, getting slapped so her wolf head tilted, her eyes instantly clearing.

Lu Xi'an confirmed completely that this mother wolf posed no threat. He put away Blade, scooped up the three wolf cubs, hunching over protectively, and said to the mother wolf, "Follow."

The mother wolf seemed to understand, struggling to get up.

Lu Xi'an headed back to the vehicle. To prevent the wind from blowing onto the wolf cubs, he turned himself around, walking backward to let the wind hit his back.

Seeing this, the mother wolf understood that this human wouldn't harm her or her cubs and followed Lu Xi'an.

But with such fierce wind, she couldn't walk as easily as Lu Xi'an, leaning her body forward, taking one stumbling step after another to keep up.

Once at the door of the RV's living area, Lu Xi'an opened the door and boarded first; the mother wolf jumped in afterward, looked around, sniffed, found a corner, and lay down on her side.

Yao Wei jumped from the front to the back and closed the car door.

The mother wolf was startled once again upon seeing Yao Wei, her whole body jumped up with a "swish," and the fur on her back stood up.

Back when they were on the road outside Mengxin City, Lu Xi'an was always driving inside the car, so the mother wolf hadn't noticed Lu Xi'an.

But Yao Wei was different. Standing atop the car, she seemed like a professional wolf hunter, a veritable goddess of death.

The mother wolf likely witnessed Yao Wei casually crushing a wolf's neck, a scene so impactful that it remained fresh in her memory, instilling deep-seated fear.

—— Yao Wei's hands weren't big, incapable of gripping a wolf's neck directly, but her strength was astonishing, her physical fortitude far surpassing these wolves. Back outside Mengxin City, just pinching a bit of a wolf's throat was enough for her to be deadly.

With just a slight exertion, she crushed the wolf's neck, her fingers sinking into it, a truly terrifying sight.

Now, seeing Yao Wei again, the mother wolf inexplicably felt her own throat begin to ache.

However, thankfully, Yao Wei merely glanced at her out of curiosity before leaping from the central console to the front, no longer gazing at the mother wolf.

Only then did the mother wolf gradually relax, watching Lu Xi'an place the three little wolf cubs where she had just been lying. Cautiously, she looked forward a few times, tentatively laying back down.

This wolf was, after all, somewhat intelligent, perceiving the two humans' lack of hostility and the comfort difference between inside and outside the car.

Quietly lying there, she let the three little cubs find their way to a food source, eagerly opening their mouths.

Lu Xi'an exhaled a long sigh of relief, thinking to himself that the mother wolf was quite perceptive, making things rather smooth.

He returned to the main driver's seat to lie down, continuing to observe the wind and view, his hands still not idle, holding the Fungus Stone alongside Yao Wei.

In downtime, naturally, one should always seek to increase their strength.

The two of them held hands, silently watching the scenery outside the window.

The wind outside the car seemed to take solid form, distant trees bowing so low as if about to break. Several leaves struggled momentarily, many forcefully torn from branches by the violent wind.

After a while, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei felt the car gently swaying; a distant tree, with a "crash," was uprooted, collapsing with a thunderous sound.

The mother wolf at the back nervously lifted her head, glancing around. Seeing the two humans in front remaining incredibly calm, she slightly eased, hesitantly lying back down.

"Wah, wah, wah..."

The sound of a baby's cry suddenly filled the air, instantly making the mother wolf alert again, raising her head.

She watched Lu Xi'an leap beside her, his eyes revealing tension.

Lu Xi'an approached, picking up the baby and moving back beside the mother wolf, bending down to place the infant down.

"Wu——"

The mother wolf instinctively bared her teeth again, receiving a pat from Lu Xi'an only for her gaze to clear once more.

Afterward, she allowed Lu Xi'an to settle the baby on her belly, nursing alongside the other wolf cubs.

The milk seemed indeed more enticing than rice cereal; once latched on, the baby wouldn't let go, feeding "glug, glug, glug" for a good while until he dozed off.

Lu Xi'an picked him up, placing him back into the box.

And now, it appeared the mother wolf finally realized why she was brought to this comfortable place, understanding her purpose and feeling at ease, calmly lying down, closing her eyes, ready to be an unfeeling milk machine.

The strong wind blew throughout the day, through the night until the next morning when it gradually subsided, leaving a scene of devastation far away.

The trees felled by the gale could likely remain in place; perhaps new trees will sprout from the earth, though who knows when.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei had a simple meal before setting off, intent on reaching Institute 923 as soon as possible.

Now with a baby and wolves in the car, they were somewhat maladjusted, eager to offload these responsibilities quickly.

They couldn't even bother tidying up the car; the rice and millet shoved in to guard against the wind were still piled inside, driven by the urgency of their journey.

As they journeyed, suddenly a foul smell wafted through; checking the back, they discovered the baby had soiled the box.

"What do we do now?"

Yao Wei asked, frowning.

Lu Xi'an replied, "Bear with it for a bit; I remember there's a river up ahead. We'll wash him there. Afterward, we should be more attentive, preemptively taking care of things."

He then asked the mechanical dog, "Gou, can you anticipate when it needs to go? And with these wolves too?"

Gou responded, "Yes."

Well, that's great! He had forgotten about this before but was glad to recall it now.

"You're quite impressive, Gou."

Lu Xi'an couldn't help but praise.

Gou replied, "This is a basic function of Mechanical Dog 02, similar to the principle of scanning food bacterial and viral components."

Lu Xi'an laughed, "Alright, alright, I know, you're called Mechanical Dog 02."

Gou said, "Mechanical Dog 02 does not mind if you continue to call me Gou; it has become the receivable signal for Mechanical Dog 02."

Lu Xi'an: "..."

This dog lacks sincerity.

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