American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 264 Reunion in December!

Afternoon, Anchorage, Alaska.

After the stormy press conference, Lin Yu-an did not stay in Vancouver.

He declined the celebratory dinner hosted by Marcus and boarded the Gulfstream private jet arranged by CAA to return to Alaska.

When the plane landed at Anchorage International Airport, it was already dark again.

Instead of going home, he picked up a pre-ordered Ford F150 pickup truck at the airport and drove straight to the Alaska Arctic Biological Research Center, located on the outskirts of the city.

He hadn't seen the little guy he missed so much for more than twenty days.

When he entered the quarantine area filled with disinfectant and the smell of animals, a young figure in a white lab coat was already waiting there, arms crossed, leaning against the wall.

She was a white girl of about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, with beautiful long flaxen hair casually tied in a ponytail, and healthy wheat-colored skin that exuded the vitality of the wild.

The white research coat, which should have been dignified, was instead stretched into a breathtaking silhouette by her voluptuous curves.

The way she crossed her arms made her waistline appear even more slender and shapely. As she turned around, the hem of her lab coat opened slightly with the movement.

A deep black glint flashed across his eyes, the black stockings covering his long, slender legs creating a striking contrast with his white professional attire.

This gives her an alluring charm that blends intellect and danger.

She is Dr. McCorz, the youngest and most brilliant Arctic biologist at this research center.

"Oh, look who's here?" McCormick raised an eyebrow when he saw him, his tone carrying an undisguised hint of sarcasm.

"Our big star, Mr. Lin Yu'an, has finally deigned to leave the spotlight of Vancouver and return to our icy, snowy land?"

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Lin Yu'an smiled helplessly as he looked at her.

She threw a white protective bodysuit over, complaining in an exaggerated tone.

"If it doesn't come soon, I'm really afraid it'll tear down the observation room! I'll send you the repair bill directly then!"

Lin Yu'an quickly changed into protective clothing.

“And another thing,” McCorz asked, his eyes sparkling, as he checked the airtightness of the protective suit.

"Seriously, is Justin Bieber still as handsome as he used to be?"

"...I haven't seen him yet."

"How boring." She pursed her lips, but quickly regained her professional expression. "Alright, inspection complete. According to regulations, you only have fifteen minutes of contact time."

“I know it’s short, but it’ll be enough to keep that little tyrant happy until next year. Go in.”

Lin Yu'an smiled and shook his head, then pushed open the heavy, sterilized iron door.

Behind the door, a blast of frigid air hits you. It's a huge indoor arena simulating a polar environment, with thick layers of ice and snow on the floor, and a pool of water emitting icy steam.

A fluffy, snow-white polar bear cub stood with its back to the door, scratching at the corner of the wall with its paws, its back view revealing a sense of anxiety.

More than twenty days had passed, and its size had increased again. Its originally round body had become elongated, revealing a lithe silhouette befitting an apex predator.

Hearing the metallic scraping sound of the door opening, it turned around sharply on alert.

When it saw that familiar figure, its anxiety instantly froze. Its bright, obsidian-like eyes were first filled with confusion, then burst forth with an unbelievable, ecstatic light.

It froze for a full two seconds, then let out a "woof" sound as if it wanted to shout out all the grievances it had suffered.

The four short legs instantly sprang into action, like a runaway white avalanche, charging recklessly towards Lin Yu'an!
"December!"

Lin Yu'an smiled and opened his arms. The next second, a huge impact slammed into his arms.

He staggered back two steps after being bumped, barely managing to stand up. In his arms was a large, furry head weighing tens of kilograms, desperately trying to burrow inside.

"Waaaaah... Awoooah... Waaah..."

December buried its huge head against Lin Yu'an's chest, making all sorts of whining and complaining noises, as if accusing him of the long wait of the past twenty-odd days.

It stretched out its warm, rough tongue, licking Lin Yu'an's protective mask haphazardly, and occasionally nibbling lightly at his sleeve with its teeth, trying every means to confirm the authenticity of the person in front of it. Lin Yu'an let it act coquettishly, one hand tightly hugging its warm and heavy body, while the other hand went into its thick, slightly rough fur, rubbing it to his heart's content.

"Alright, alright, my sweet girl, I know you miss me, and I miss you too."

Meanwhile, in the monitoring room outside the quarantine zone, Dr. McCormick stood with her arms crossed, quietly watching the images on the screen. Her assistant couldn't help but chuckle, "It really likes Lin, like a clingy big dog."

McCormick didn't laugh; instead, her brows furrowed slightly.

Inside the venue, Lin Yu'an magically pulled something out of the large pocket of his protective suit: a bright red, bouncy rubber ball.

The moment the ball was seen, December's sobs ceased abruptly.

It stared intently at the ball, its nose twitching as it sniffed the familiar rubber scent, its eyes filled with memories and ecstasy of warm past times.

Lin Yu'an threw the ball out, and December immediately pounced on it excitedly like a white lightning bolt.

But instead of playing by itself, it picked up the ball with its mouth, ran back quickly, placed the ball at Lin Yu'an's feet, raised its head, looked at him with expectant eyes, and made a "gurgling" sound in its throat.

It's an invitation for him to play together.

Lin Yu'an's heart melted completely. He smiled and sat down in the snow, playing a game of fetch with it. Every December, it would sprint with all its might, then return the ball like a precious treasure.

Getting carried away with the fun, Lin Yu'an simply pulled out a second, a third... When all ten identical red rubber balls rolled onto the snow like ripe fruit, December was completely engulfed in revelry!
It excitedly rolled around in the snow, trying to gather all the balls into its arms with its two front paws. Each time it managed to grab one, another would roll away. In its haste, it would grab one with its mouth and then use its paws to nudge another, busy and happy.

Lin Yu'an sat beside it, letting the furry big guy rub snow and happiness all over him, and even rolled and wrestled with it in the snow.

In December, she carefully controlled her strength, pushing him with her chubby, unclosed hands and nudging him with her head, playing like a real child.

In the monitoring room, the assistant's smile vanished, and she asked softly, "Doctor, isn't this... a bit too intimate?"

McCormick's expression turned incredibly serious. Watching the seamless play between the human and the bear on the screen, she said softly but with absolute clarity, "This isn't intimacy; this is a fatal dependence."

“It doesn’t treat Lin as a collaborator or a keeper; it treats him like its mother. This is not good for his future retraining; it’s a disaster.”

Time always seems to fly by when you're having fun. Fifteen minutes passed in no time.

“Lin, it’s time.” McCormick’s voice came through the communicator, devoid of any emotion.

Lin Yu'an froze, and December, who was wrestling with him, seemed to sense the change in atmosphere. It stopped, tilted its head, and looked at him in confusion.

When Lin Yu'an stood up, December immediately realized what was happening.

It anxiously picked up a red ball, ran to Lin Yu'an's feet, and rubbed its head against his leg repeatedly, making a whimpering sound in its throat, full of pleading and reluctance, as if saying, "Don't go, let's keep playing."

Lin Yu'an squatted down and hugged the warm and heavy little guy one last time, gently pressing his forehead against its broad forehead.

"Alright, my dear girl." His voice was as gentle as a winter fireplace. "I have to go."

“Listen,” Lin Yu’an said, looking into its pleading eyes, “You must be a good boy, grow up well, and become stronger. I promise you, one day I will come back and take you away from here to the world that truly belongs to you.”

After saying that, he rubbed December's head vigorously one last time, then resolutely stood up, turned around, and walked towards the heavy iron gate without looking back.

He was afraid that if he looked at it one more time, he would never be able to leave.

Behind me came December's howl, filled with sorrow and a sense of abandonment.

As he walked out of the isolation area and took off his protective suit, Dr. McCormick handed him a steaming cup of coffee.

McCorz led him into an office covered with data charts and graphs. Her expression was extremely serious as she said, "Lin, I see a polar bear that sees itself as a human cub, and you, its human father, who sees it as his own daughter."

“Lin, the promise you made to it just now was not an easy thing to do.” McCormick’s tone turned cold. “Now that you’ve made up your mind, I have to make you understand what the words ‘wilding’ really mean.”

"That was not a romantic fairy tale; it was a long, cruel, and even inhumane scientific experiment."

She turned on a computer, and a complex flowchart appeared on the screen, pointing to the first module.

“Now, December is almost four months old and has a healthy physical index, but this is just the beginning. From the day it turns five months old,” McCorz’s tone turned icy, “the first phase, human imprinting removal and environmental stimulation therapy, will officially begin.”

(End of this chapter)