County roads often ran through the countryside.
The roads out in the countryside were usually in decent shape, but once you left the pavement, things were different.
Yao Wei's car made it off the road without trouble, but farther ahead lay a ditch. If she drove on, the tires would surely get stuck in it.
Behind them was a long slope. Beyond that slope flowed a stream from the east.
Yao Wei had no choice but to give up on going forward and turn back.
Lu Xi'an grabbed the door handle to steady himself. Glancing back, he saw the car blocking the road had stopped for a while, as if it were hesitating.
It was a white pickup, with half its paint stripped off and rust covering the body. The front bumper was badly dented, as if it had been in countless crashes.
The bed had been raised, but only along the sides.
The frame around the bed didn't seem to fit the model. The back had been sawed off, leaving rough edges that would probably scrape your skin if you touched them.
Two men had guns. Both were hiding in the bed, aiming their pistols through the gap beneath the rear railing.
Just like him, those two didn't show their heads. They only stuck out their hands to shoot, aiming by instinct alone.
Lu Xi'an breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed not everyone was like Yao Wei. They were all using the same luck-based gun-fu, and were evenly matched. He didn't have to worry so much about his own lousy aim.
Besides, the two men looked old. Their teeth were crooked and yellow when they spoke. They didn't look like New Humans, so they should be a little easier to deal with.
After waiting a moment, the pickup came after them after all. It seemed the driver couldn't bear to let go of his new targets, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.
Even though they knew Lu Xi'an had a Submachine Gun.
"How about we switch? I'll drive, and you shoot?"
Lu Xi'an asked.
His aim was poor, so if he traded shots with the enemy, it would come down to luck. Better to leave the shooting to someone who was good at it.
Driving, though—he hadn't touched a car since coming to this world, but he still had his memories from his previous life.
And he'd observed that cars in this world worked just like the ones in his old one. He'd have no problem driving.
Yao Wei glanced at Lu Xi'an, seemingly about to ask, "Are you sure you can handle it?" But after considering the things he'd managed to do over the past two days, she ultimately kept quiet.
She trusted Lu Xi'an without hesitation. She shifted into neutral, took her foot off the accelerator, and let the car coast. Then she bent her legs and crouched on her seat.
Lu Xi'an understood at once. He pushed off with both feet, twisted his waist, and darted toward the driver's seat.
A New Human's body far surpassed his previous one in core strength, flexibility, and balance. His movement was like a monkey climbing a tree, and he reached the driver's seat with ease.
At the same time, Yao Wei let go of the steering wheel and slipped behind Lu Xi'an, crossing paths with him.
By the time Lu Xi'an had settled in and gripped the wheel, she was already in the passenger seat.
Their teamwork seemed so practiced that they could have done it countless times before. They trusted each other completely.
"Here."
Lu Xi'an tossed the Submachine Gun to Yao Wei. He pressed the clutch, gripped the gearshift, and, judging by their speed, shifted into fifth. Then he slammed down on the accelerator.
The car, which had slowed a little, surged forward again.
But Yao Wei set the Submachine Gun aside and said, "I'm not used to it." Then she took out her own pistol and leaned out the window.
"Bang!"
A shot rang out. The pickup's tire blew with a loud pop.
The truck shuddered and spun in place before the driver hurriedly hit the brakes and stopped.
One of the gunmen in the bed was thrown out. His head struck a rock, and he went still at once. The other man was nearly flung out as well, unable to resist the momentum.
"We make a great team."
Lu Xi'an said with a grin.
"Mm."
Yao Wei nodded in agreement.
She thought Lu Xi'an was a pretty good driver, almost as skilled as he was in the kitchen.
Lu Xi'an asked, "Should we go back and finish them off, or keep going?"
The gun was in Yao Wei's hands, and she was better at fighting, so he left the choice to her.
"Go back. There are only two of them left."
Yao Wei answered without hesitation.
She seemed remarkably calm, but her words were full of bloodlust.
Lu Xi'an nodded. "All right."
It was undoubtedly the best choice.
They didn't know whether the men in the truck had any backup. If they simply left, the men might call for help and bring their allies over. Getting surrounded by enemies then would be bad news.
The hyenas had been hard enough to deal with when they had only their claws and fangs. Now these people had a car and guns, too. How could they afford to take them lightly?
What's more, the people in the truck had already shot at them. It was only right to shoot back.
Lu Xi'an turned the steering wheel to make a U-turn. Then Yao Wei said, "Get back on the road." Without hesitation, he adjusted his course, downshifted to climb the slope, and returned to the road.
Now his side faced the enemies who had driven off the road.
Yao Wei darted into the back seat again, settling in right behind Lu Xi'an. She rolled down the window and raised her gun.
"Bang!"
A shot rang out.
The man in the pickup's bed had just regained his balance when Yao Wei seized her chance and shot him in the head. He tumbled off the truck.
"Brake."
Yao Wei spoke while bracing herself against the back of the front seat with her free hand. She stretched out one long leg to hold the box of dehydrated vegetables in place, keeping it from sliding when the car stopped suddenly.
Lu Xi'an didn't hesitate. He took his foot off the accelerator and slammed on the brakes.
The car slowed sharply, and the rear window lined up perfectly with the pickup's front seats out on the roadside.
Yao Wei pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Bang!"
One shot was all it took.
The pickup was so beat-up that it didn't even have a window in the front. The bullet passed through the passenger-side window and went straight into the driver's forehead, blowing out a bloody mess.
Lu Xi'an had already brought the car to a stop. Yao Wei opened the door, raised her gun, and jogged toward the pickup.
Lu Xi'an didn't get out with her. He grabbed the Submachine Gun from the passenger seat and rested it on the window, covering her.
The two men still in the truck had both been shot in the head and were clearly dead. Yao Wei left them alone and checked the man who had been thrown out.
She jogged over and saw that he was unconscious. In the end, she couldn't bring herself to waste a bullet, so she drew the dagger at her waist and cut his throat, carefully avoiding the blood that spurted out.
"Done."
She stood up and told Lu Xi'an.
Lu Xi'an got out of the car, and the Mechanical Dog followed him.
They'd killed everyone, so now it was time to search the bodies.
It wasn't safe to stay there. Both of them had the same idea: search them quickly and leave.
Yao Wei collected the two men's pistols. She also found fourteen rounds of ammunition, the same caliber as her own pistol. It was quite a haul.
Lu Xi'an, meanwhile, had his eye on the pickup's tires. "Do you think these tires are the same size as ours? Should we take one for a spare?"
They were lucky. Lu Xi'an took a look and saw that the pickup's tires were the same size, with the same tread pattern as theirs. They were probably a common model.
That meant they could use one as a spare.
Tire size and tread were important, after all. Even one tire that differed from the other three could affect traction and cause problems while driving, braking, or turning.
Yao Wei looked at the pickup's tires, then at their car parked by the roadside. She nodded in agreement. "Mm."
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