Chapter 154 Finally Waited For It

Following the driver's pointing finger, Chen Pingkui indeed spotted a strange wolf standing atop a protruding rock ahead of the vehicle.

The wolf was completely translucent, its entire body wreathed in pale green wind.

No, it seemed as though it were formed entirely from a gust of wind itself, yet it was strikingly lifelike, as if imbued with a soul of its own.

Particularly its eyes, which shimmered with a cyan light; though the glow masked the pupils, when they locked onto you, it evoked an involuntary tremor in the heart.

However, this elemental wind wolf did not immediately launch an attack against them, merely standing there and staring.

After identifying it clearly, Chen Pingkui shouted at the top of his lungs:

"It's a wind elemental wolf!"

Immediately afterward, he violently grabbed the intercom inside the cab and yelled:

"Attention all vehicles, attention all vehicles! Slow down, slow down! Prepare for a potential ambush by the wastelanders!

"Split off three vehicles into a triangular formation to protect the bosses! The remaining three..."

Order after order was issued methodically by the experienced convoy captain.

The lead off-road vehicle took the brunt of the lead, its hazard lights flashing as it slowly came to a halt.

Beside him, the driver kept his foot lightly hovering over the pedal, ready to accelerate and flee at a moment's notice.

......

The old folks hiding in the small mountain hollow were huddled together at that moment, looking somewhat drowsy.

Suddenly, A-Bang, whose eyes were gleaming with cyan light, shouted out loudly:

"There... there's a convoy coming! Everyone wake up quickly, I see a convoy coming!"

The old people looked dazed and groggy, their reactions still somewhat sluggish.

Yet Mother Wanjun snapped to her senses instantly, rising to her feet anxiously and issuing commands:

"Old Man Yu, A-Bang, come out with me to take a look.

"The rest of you, stay behind and hold the fort here, and wait for my signal to act.

"If there's danger, forget about the furs, just run for your lives back to the village to spread the word. Did you all hear me?"

One of the elders came to his senses, glanced at two neatly stacked piles of fine furs, and just as he was about to argue, he was silenced by a single glare from Mother Wanjun.

......

In Chen Pingkui's sight, the wind elemental wolf on the rock threw back its head and let out a resounding howl.

Then it leaped down from the high perch, stood right in the middle of the road, and fixed its cyan-gleaming wolf eyes upon the convoy.

Everyone in the convoy felt a wave of tension gripping their hearts; needless to say, they all knew what they had encountered.

They were wastelanders, and among them was a wind element Awakened!

The atmosphere at that moment grew rather taut.

One of the drivers from the three newly joined vehicles turned his head to look at the man in the suit sitting in the front passenger seat.

Yet he found the man completely unfazed. He simply raised a single finger to his lips and said softly:

"Remain calm and collected. Let us observe how things unfold."

Inside the cabin, Sweetie was currently holding a tube of lipstick, applying color to her sexy little lips.

A sudden, jarring emergency brake caused a slip, smudging the application and making her reflection in the mirror look rather comical.

She angrily tossed the lipstick back into her cosmetics case, and just as she was about to throw a tantrum, she saw Baojuan walking over with a tablet computer, looking nervous as she said:

"S-Sweetie, come look quickly, something's happening, something's happening!"

Hearing that there was some excitement to watch, Sweetie immediately lost her temper. She took the tablet displaying the surveillance footage and exclaimed:

"Oh wow, an elemental Awakened! That elemental wolf is so cool, so cool! I want an elemental awakening too, I'm so jealous."

"Sweetie, this isn't about whether it's cool or not. Shouldn't we be concerned about whether we're in danger?!" Baojuan said, pressing a hand to her forehead.

Sweetie asked in puzzlement, "Then are we in danger?"

"I don't think so!"

"Well, there you have it! Baojuan, if I ever awaken an elemental affinity, I am definitely going to summon a whole pack of doggos!"

"Why?"

"Because I want to name myself Captain of the Paw Patrol!"

Baojuan: "......"

......

A moment later, Chen Pingkui saw three figures slowly emerge from behind a giant boulder ahead.

One was a robust and spirited elderly woman with silver-white hair flowing down her back.

Though her face bore wrinkles, her bearing was exceptional—a blend of gentleness and heroic spirit. No doubt in her youth, she must have been a dashing and formidable heroine among women.

Another was a burly, solidly built old man with cropped white hair and rugged facial features, though between his brows was a deeply etched "Chuan"-shaped wrinkle.

And the third was a middle-aged man whose eyes gleamed with a cyan light.

The man looked as though he were ill, one hand clamped over his mouth in a persistent cough, while his other hand was held high in the air, as if clutching something tightly within his grip.

The distance between them was still somewhat vast, and the driver squinted his eyes, failing to see clearly what was being held. He could only remind him:

"Boss, hurry up and see what he's holding in his hand!"

"Stop rushing me, damn it! I can see without your reminder!"

Chen Pingkui adjusted the focus of his mechanical eye. Once he clearly made out the half-sheet of paper gripped in the other's hand, he fished out the scrap of paper from his own pocket and compared the two.

"The patterns match symmetrically. Absolutely right, it's the trading party."

He wedged the slip of paper between his fingers, thrust his arm out of the window, and waved it vigorously.

The wind elemental wolf, relatively close to the convoy, also recognized the pattern on the paper and transmitted the image back into A-Bang's mind.

A-Bang said joyfully to Mother Wanjun:

"Cough, cough... Mother, it's confirmed beyond a doubt. These are the people delivering the goods to us.

"When paying the deposit at the black market, that person told me the one delivering the goods to us would hold the other half of the pattern.

"If the other party doesn't have it, or if it doesn't match, do not go up to trade!"

Upon hearing this, the wrinkles on Mother Wanjun's face unfurled into an expression of utter relief, and she nodded at A-Bang.

The cyan light vanished from A-Bang's eyes. In response, the wind elemental wolf blocking the middle of the road let out another howl.

Then it dissolved into a breeze and dissipated into the air.

Inside the cabin, Sweetie muttered, "No fun, the fight's not happening."

With that, she tossed the tablet back to Baojuan, looking thoroughly deflated as her excitement vanished with a metaphorical snap.

Baojuan cast a deadpan look at this little troublemaker who seemed disappointed that the world wasn't in chaos.

Mother Wanjun and her two companions stepped forward one after another, their expressions tinged with a measure of gratitude!

Chen Pingkui secretly tucked a pistol into the small of his back, pushed open the car door, and stepped out, preparing to initiate the transaction.

For deep down, he still harbored a trace of puzzlement... Why on earth were the trading parties three elderly folks? Shouldn't a hazardous job like this be handled by young people?

As the two sides drew closer, Chen Pingkui read the anxiety and distress written across the others' faces.

It was the middle-aged man who spoke first, presumably the social butterfly of the three, as he asked urgently:

"Did you bring the medicine we requested?"

Chen Pingkui thought to himself, so the private delivery job this time was indeed medicine, but his face remained impassive as he countered:

"The items you requested are in my convoy. Now then... where are our goods?"

He only stated that they were in the convoy without specifying which exact vehicle they were in. Experienced as he was, he still kept his guard up.

Mother Wanjun, acting as the leader, proved far more straightforward and urged A-Bang:

"Go fetch our furs out!"

She then turned to Chen Pingkui, who looked like the team leader, and expressed her gratitude:

"Thank you so much! We've finally longed for your arrival, and the villagers are finally saved.

"May the Elemental God bless you, and may the gentle winds guide your path!"

A-Bang acknowledged the words, wisps of wind wrapping around the soles of his feet as he sprinted back swiftly!

Yet right at that very moment, a sudden change occurred......