"Beep beep beep——"
The nearly six-meter-long heavily modified pickup truck roared down the town road. Ansheng stood on the seat, gripping the steering wheel, while his three fluffy tails wrapped around a stick, gently tapping on the pickup's accelerator.
The pickup was idling, and two hefty corgis squatted at the brake, ready to slam down on it at the command of Master Fox.
It's extremely challenging for a little fox to operate a heavy pickup truck. Without the dogs' help, Ansheng could manage the accelerator, but the brakes were beyond his reach.
Either the accelerator or the brake had to be welded shut.
"Hey there! Have you seen a black sedan with the license plate Dong A·JK136 pass by?"
The pickup truck drove out of the Changping Market street. Ansheng rolled down the driver's seat window and called out to two cats outside.
"Meow?"
Upon hearing Master Fox's whimper, the tabby and calico basking on the green tiles paused and pondered the meaning of Master Fox's words.
After a moment, the two cats shook their heads and nodded toward the village entrance, indicating that Master Fox could inquire there.
Master Fox's questions were quite detailed. Although they couldn't comprehend science or math, they could respond to daily occurrences.
Just like Ah Qing's communication with animals, it was more than just understanding their language. It required the ability to package images to enhance the animals' minds and convey one's thoughts to them.
Real communication is reciprocal. Merely understanding the animals' words isn't true communication.
"Woof—"
Ah Bai, sitting in the passenger seat, rolled down the window and barked at dogs breeding by the roadside, signaling them to hurry onto the vehicle.
The number of dogs on the vehicle was insufficient for Ah Bai to display his strength.
...
Ansheng continued driving and asking for directions, moving from the village entrance to the end of Changping Village, with more and more dogs boarding the vehicle.
"Woof woof woof—"
As they neared the village end, a group of dogs emerged from the forest, barking at the heavy-duty pickup truck.
"Hmm?"
Driving, Ansheng and the copilot Ah Bai were taken aback by the dogs springing from the forest. Then, hearing what they were saying, their spirits lifted.
"Finally... found them? Everyone, get on the truck!"
Ansheng rolled down the windows for both the driver's and the rear seats, beckoning the forest dogs to guide them.
"Woof woof!"
Two tabby hounds leaped up, gripping the window before launching onto the back seat, happily reporting intelligence to Ansheng and Ah Bai.
They lived in the neighboring village, and upon hearing intel from other dogs, raced to Changping Village to report to Master Fox.
The sedan with the plate Dong A·JK136 is currently parked outside Changping Mountain Pet Paradise, up at the campsite on the mountain.
Changping doesn't refer to a single mountain but rather a range.
The mountain adjacent to Pet Paradise features a ring road for hikers and also hosts a campsite.
The black sedan is parked at the campsite, and a squirrel, in fact, ran out to inform other dogs.
That squirrel asked for nothing, merely hoping Master Fox would uphold justice.
There was a den of leopard cats in the forest, and those leopard cats were no ordinary cats; they loved to raid tree holes!
The squirrel's hard-earned winter reserves were all scattered by the leopard cats.
After painstakingly collecting them back, the leopard cats would raid again.
The entire squirrel family was numbed by the ordeal, merely hoping a boss could uphold justice for them.
And Master Fox was indeed the boss within a hundred miles.
"Rumble——"
The V8-equipped, unlicensed heavy pickup truck cruised the mountain road, passing a commercial electric vehicle.
"Is... Master Fox driving?"
Feng Wenyu, on his way to Changping Village, upon realizing that a white fox wielding the wheel was driving the heavy pickup, was already hundreds of meters ahead, with the pickup accelerating rapidly, overtaking in mere seconds.
"?"
Jin Wanlin turned back, astonished, through the window gazing at the pickup filled with dogs.
Those dogs... seemed off, their expressions unnaturally humanlike.
Yet they were not spirit beasts, perhaps temporarily elevated in wit by some external influence.
They even swayed to the DJ, joy etched on their faces.
"Wanlin, can Master Fox get a driver's license?" Uncle Jinlong watched the speeding V8 with envy.
"In principle, no. But Master Fox is unlicensed, and even the vehicle is stolen," Jin Wanlin replied with a heavy voice:
"Given the situation, what can we do? Should we have traffic police revoke his license and vehicle?"
"We'd need something to revoke first..."
Jin Wanlin's tone spoke of helplessness.
Seeing the chance, Feng Wenyu made a sharp U-turn, pursuing the pickup now out of sight.
...
"You audacious bandit! How dare you debone the fish for our Ah Qing's pickled fish head, prepare to meet your end swiftly!"
The armored pickup barreled through the empty campsite, heading directly into the parking area above. Ansheng immediately spotted the familiar black sedan. Those inside the black sedan also noticed the patrol-car-styled large pickup.
Initially, none of the four people realized the unusual aspects of the heavy-duty pickup.
It wasn't until the patrol-car-styled pickup circled their parking spot twice and finally came to a stop in front of their vehicle that the sedan's driver hastily shifted to reverse, attempting to flee.
The black sedan, parked there, never turned off or engaged the handbrake, relying solely on the driver holding the brakes.
When the unexpected happened, the driver was ready. The black sedan frantically reversed.
Yet as soon as it retreated three or four meters, the sedan's driver slammed the brakes, raising his hands stiffly.
The heavy pickup stopped horizontally in front of the parking spot, its windows slowly rolling down, revealing Master Fox wielding an AK47, aiming at the black sedan's front windshield.
The sunroof on the heavy-duty pickup opened, and a colossal white wolf in beach clothes emerged, brandishing a shotgun.
The sight of the two dark gun barrels seemed to the sedan's driver like the entrance to an abyss.
He chickened out immediately, stamping the brakes hard.
"Go! Capture all of them. Do any of you have relatives in bomb disposal squads? Search the car, and anything resembling explosives, shove it up the bandits' rear ends!"
Ansheng climbed out of the window, raising his gun to keep the driver compliant.
"Woof woof woof!"
The Malinois led the charge, pawing at the sedan door beside the driver's seat. With a "click," the door opened.
Seeing this, the driver inside was shocked, hurriedly raising his hand to pull the door shut.
"Woof?"
The Malinois was puzzled, prying the door open again, as the sedan driver quickly slammed it shut and locked it.
"Howl!"
The Malinois cast a pitiful glance at Boss Bai on the pickup.
"Howl——"
Seeing this, Ah Bai was furious, swinging the shotgun in his hand and leaping fiercely, landing heavily atop the sedan.
With Ah Bai's landing, the car's suspension and tires visibly sagged. How could the four onboard dare to remain hidden, playing cat and mouse with these allied spirit beasts?
Once out of the car, they were promptly suppressed by the dogs.
The Malinois sniffed around inside the car, retrieving a handgun from the glove box, then snatching a plastic-wrapped item from the console.
The dogs deployed their demolishing talents, quickly stripping the plastic to reveal a block-like object akin to chewing gum in texture, with two unattached detonators embedded.
"Woof woof woof!"
The Malinois confidently patted the block of "gum," addressing Master Fox and Boss Bai.
In its youth, it had undergone military training. Though dismissed for its playful nature, it retained solid military skills, asserting that if this wasn't C4, it would personally pluck out its furballs.
"Oh ho, you guys are out of luck! An found the goods after all!"
Seeing the C4, Ansheng burst into laughter.
Originally, he had mere suspicions, not even informing Jin Long to join the cleanup. It was merely to check out the black sedan.
"Ah Bai! Strip them down, let the gentlemen feast on the gum!"