Chapter 717 - 11: Vengeful Coyote

Chapter 717: Chapter 11: Vengeful Coyote

Teddy, with its independent consciousness, was far more useful than a regular drone.

A drone could also spot targets on the ground, but it required manual screening.

But Teddy didn’t. Shen Xin just had to give it a few requirements: for example, coyotes, in a pack, not deep in the forest or on a mountainside, but in a wilderness area he could reach by car.

Once given the requirements, it could screen on its own and help Shen Xin find a suitable target.

And just like that, only ten-odd minutes after arriving in Area Two, Teddy had already found a suitable pack of coyotes.

Unlike gray wolves, coyotes didn’t form large packs; they lived in small, family-based groups.

Usually around four or five individuals.

The pack Teddy found was a little larger, with a full six members active in the grassy area at the edge of the forest.

After checking and deeming it suitable, the group quickly drove closer.

When they were close enough, Shen Xin released Tian Kui and his pack.

They weren’t in cages; each one lay obediently in the bed of the pickup truck.

At his command, they charged out with a WHOOSH, led by Tian Kui.

It was early autumn, and the weeds hadn’t completely withered. On the screen, the thirty-seven police dogs looked like a moving swarm of bees. As they neared the target, they instantly split into two groups on Shen Xin’s command.

One group went left, the other right, executing a pincer movement.

In an instant, they had the target surrounded.

Before Shen Xin could even give the order, Tian Kui had already initiated the hunt with his many followers.

Teddy was still circling in the air. From its perspective, the six coyotes were resting leisurely in the tall grass.

When Tian Kui and the others got close, the coyote on lookout suddenly started, catching an unusual scent.

Following the smell, it could only see figures charging from a distance.

By the time it could sound a warning, it was already too late.

They were too close.

The six coyotes picked a random direction and tried to break through, but they had only just charged out when the police dogs blocked them and forced them back.

In a flash, the six coyotes were surrounded.

against 6. With six times the enemy’s numbers, the encirclement was absolutely airtight.

Tian Kui stepped forward from the pack, staring intently at the coyotes in the middle, but didn’t attack rashly.

Shen Xin’s order was to surround, not attack.

But the formation alone was enough to terrify the pack of coyotes. They whimpered piteously and huddled together, agitated and restless.

"Success."

Shen Xin put down his equipment and set off immediately.

Before long, he arrived at the encirclement.

The standoff was still ongoing.

For these coyotes, there was no escape. A rash attempt to break out would be certain death.

Then they saw Shen Xin—and, of course, the gun in his hand. One by one, they grew even more agitated.

’That’s no mere fire poker.’

Guarded by Tian Kui and three other police dogs, Shen Xin slowly approached, gun in hand.

The creature was smart enough, its assessment of the situation quite accurate.

Or rather, it was extremely perceptive.

As Shen Xin drew near, it didn’t launch a suicidal attack but just kept backing away.

Until its back hit the encircling dogs and it had nowhere left to retreat.

It even tried to circle around to the sides to avoid Shen Xin, only to be immediately blocked and herded back.

When he got closer still, the Alpha Wolf at the front finally lowered its head slowly, showing fear and submission.

It didn’t even wait for Shen Xin to press the gun to its head.

Shen Xin moved closer, warily observing each coyote’s reaction.

’Lowered eyes mean they’re controllable. But if they’re stealing glances at me, with cunning in their eyes, that means they’re still defiant and might try a sneak attack.’

For those, Shen Xin’s method was to fire a shot into the air, then present the muzzle so it understood what the object was.

In this atmosphere, surrounded by powerful enemies, with one of those enemies holding a lethal weapon, it was impossible not to be afraid.

And once fear took hold, his talent began to work.

The alpha wolf slowly lowered its head as far as it could, almost prostrating itself on the ground. An affinity icon slowly materialized above its head.

Next up was the usual routine: training its obedience and suppressing its self-awareness.

In just about twenty minutes, the alpha wolf pair had been thoroughly "tormented" by Shen Xin. At the command to sit, they obeyed without him even needing to raise his gun.

The look in their eyes as they watched Shen Xin was filled with fear.

Shen Xin tossed out a piece of raw beef. The carrot and the stick—it always worked.

The male wolf had four bars of affinity, the female had five.

Shen Xin fastened a tracking collar on the alpha wolf, then waved his hand for Tian Kui and the others to disperse and let the coyotes go.

The affinity had risen, but it would still take time for it to have an effect.

So, today was for catching them. Tomorrow would be for checking the results and giving them their mission.

The six coyotes fled as if they had received a royal pardon.

Under the influence of the affinity, they didn’t run far. They stopped about a hundred meters away and looked back from a distance, even following for a while afterward.

Shen Xin checked the time.

From arriving in the target area, deploying Teddy, finding the target, to hunting and subduing them, it had only taken a little over an hour.

That was very fast.

In other words, in a single day, he could capture seven or eight packs of coyotes and position them like scouts in designated areas to help him find that mysterious wolf-dog.

Of course, their range of activity was limited.

And with no one watching over them or herding them, they wouldn’t be as proactive in their work as Tian Kui and his pack.

They might not even move all day, just lie around and sleep.

But even if they didn’t move, other animals would. The target wolf-dog would presumably move as well.

They would also communicate with other coyote packs.

Shen Xin hoped to eventually achieve a word-of-mouth effect, like atomic fission.

Spreading the news that he was looking for such a wolf-dog might, in the end, lead him to it.