Chapter 700 - 330 Volcano Area_2
At five in the afternoon, this was the fifth time Wai was sent out. Without temporary guardianship, it could move away from Lin Wu as far as its nose would allow; wherever it could smell Lin Wu was within range. On the first four occasions, Wai returned after 10 minutes, and likewise, this time it returned in 10 minutes, indicating that it had not picked up Maya’s scent.
Lin Wu embraced the returning Wai, petted its head, and took it into the tent. He had intended to prepare dinner through the kitchen but found out from the command center at the tent base that tonight was a night of faint light.
On their journey along Route 77, they hadn’t encountered a single zombie. Could there be Night Demons on Route 77? Lin Wu didn’t know; he couldn’t measure the heights of Dawn’s cheap breed.
By seven o’clock in the evening, it had gotten dark, and Wai was sent out for the seventh time. This time, Wai was slow to return. Lin Wu, feeling quite agitated, rode his horse to meet Maya, but en route, he encountered Wai, which had caught a ground squirrel. Wai boasted its trophy to its master. An extremely irritated Lin Wu restrained his rashness, petted Wai’s head as a sign of reward, and took the ground squirrel.
Lin Wu then continued on foot with Phantom and Wai back to the camp. He was no longer afraid of the Night Demons; in fact, he wished a few would come out so he could have a fight. He couldn’t vent his anger on his own people, nor could he find outsiders to relieve his stress.
Suddenly, Wai stopped moving forward, turned to the dark night, and snorted, but it wasn’t a gesture of alert; it was filled with excitement. Lin Wu commanded, "Go."
Like an arrow released from its bow, Wai bolted away, with Lin Wu mounting his horse to follow. Although it was dark, Phantom seemed hardly affected. When they arrived at the edge of the Volcano Area, Lin Wu saw Maya. With a makeshift torch fashioned from a sleeve in her hand, Maya followed behind Wai on foot. Seeing Lin Wu dismount and walk toward her, Maya revealed a rare smile.
The smile was interrupted by an embrace. Maya stayed still for several seconds; her body leaning back as the embrace came to an end. She asked, "Got any food?"
"Yes, yes," Lin Wu patted his body, apologetically adding, "It’s up ahead. What about the other one?"
Maya said, "I abandoned it."