American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 280 Earning Respect
Stan stood on a tall rock, cleared his throat, and his voice carried far in the cool air.

"Guys! Everyone knows what's going on! Those wolf pups have killed Billy's Blizzard!"

"Those are the best sled dogs in Weissman! They were bothering the sheep pen again last night! They're getting bolder and bolder!"

"The sun is coming back soon; this is their last chance to hunt frantically under the cover of darkness!"

"We must seize this opportunity and strike them hard when they are at their most active and daring!"

"Our mission is not to kill them all; that goes against the rules of the wilderness. Our mission is to take down their alpha wolf and crush their courage!"

"Let them remember that Weisman is not their canteen! Let them go back to their own deep mountains!"

"Before you set off, check your weapons and ammunition! Remember, safety first! Never point your gun at your comrades!"

"In the woods, your eyes must be looking in front, behind, and above you all at the same time! Do you understand?"

"Understood!" A dozen men roared in unison, their voices echoing through the snow-covered forest.

Lin Yu'an checked the bullets in his gun, pulled the bolt, and produced a crisp, pleasant metallic clanging sound.

That sound was the most beautiful music in the world to him!
This is not just a hunt, but a return. A return to the hunting world he knows best and is most skilled at!
"set off!"

At Stan's command, more than a dozen snowmobiles roared to life at the same time.

The men mounted their horses, like an army about to embark on a journey, and disappeared into the vast coniferous forest.

The snowmobiles traveled through the woods for about an hour.

Stan raised his hand to signal everyone to stop: "From here, we must walk."

He pointed to some almost imperceptible marks on the snow. “They’re nearby. Turn off the engine immediately. From now on, we are all ghosts.”

The men got off the bus one by one, each carrying a hunting rifle and a backpack, their movements practiced and coordinated.

An absolute silence fell over the surroundings, broken only by the whooshing sound of the wind whistling through the pine needles, like the whisper of a wild beast.

Sunlight filtered through the sparse tree canopy, casting dappled shadows on the snow, a play of light and shadow that hinted at unknown dangers.

Stan, the most experienced old hunter, began assigning tasks: "Bill, you and your men, flank from the east."

"Remember, maintain a distance of at least 500 meters and don't make a sound. Your task is to drive them away, not attack them. Force them towards us and create pressure!"

"Roger that!" Fat Bill nodded, and with the other three hunters, they disappeared silently on the other side of the forest.

“The rest of you, follow me,” Stan said in a low voice. “We only have one target: that Alpha wolf. Take it down, and the pack will break up.”

The group began to creep into the depths of the forest at an extremely slow pace.

Each person's footsteps were as light as a cat's, and they communicated using simple gestures that only hunters understood.

Lin Yu'an walked at the back of the group, like a true ghost, his breathing long and steady, blending with the rhythm of the wind. His senses were opened to their fullest extent at this moment.

After walking for about half an hour, Stan suddenly stopped. He squatted down, pointed to a series of huge plum blossom-shaped footprints on the snow, and looked serious.

He whispered, "That's it! Judging from the depth of the footprints, this beast weighs at least 150 pounds. It's a big guy."

“Be careful,” Buck chimed in, adding in a low voice, “My grandfather said that these old wolves are even more cunning than humans.”

Just then, Lin Yu'an's gaze fell upon a patch of low bushes on the flank of the group. He slowly raised his hand, making a "stop advancing" gesture.

Everyone immediately held their breath and followed his gaze, but found nothing.

"What's wrong, Lin?" Stan asked, puzzled.

Buck, impatiently mouthing from the back of the line, asked, "What now?"

Lin Yu'an didn't answer, but simply put his index finger to his lips, signaling for silence. He listened intently, and after a few seconds, said in a very low voice, "The wind sounds wrong. It's too quiet, not even birds are chirping. There's something around."

"Why didn't I hear anything?" The young hunter named Jack looked around nervously.

“Because you are listening with your ears,” Lin Yu’an slowly took off his rifle and opened the protective cover of the scope, “while they are speaking to us with the entire forest.”

Everyone's hearts were in their throats.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

Suddenly, two streaks of gray lightning shot out from the seemingly calm bushes!
Two smaller scout wolves! They moved with astonishing speed from the flank of the group, heading straight for their retreat route. Their intention was not to attack, but to cut them off!

"Damn it! They're flanking us! Trying to cut off our retreat!" Stan reacted instantly, his face changed drastically, and he immediately raised his gun.

As a seasoned hunter, he instantly understood the danger of the wolf pack's tactics, but his reaction speed was ultimately a fraction too slow.

Before he could even aim, a crisp, muffled gunshot shattered the silence of the forest.

Lin Yu'an didn't even use any support; he simply stood in an extremely stable position and completed the entire process of raising the gun, aiming, anticipating, and firing in less than two seconds.

In the distance, the scout wolf that was running at high speed seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall. Its huge body fell heavily onto the snow and never moved again.

Startled by the gunshot, the other wolf immediately changed direction and tried to hide in the woods.

"boom!"

Immediately following was a second shot. The wolf, also running, was struck precisely through the neck by a bullet.

Two shots, two wolves. Clean and swift, so fast that no one had time to react.

A suppressed cheer and a sigh of relief rang out from the ranks.

Jack exclaimed excitedly, "My God, Lin! Those two shots were absolutely divine! They could even be called two great shots!"

The other hunters, both new and veteran, in the group were stunned. Buck's mouth gaped slightly, and the doubt in his eyes turned into pure shock.

Only a seasoned hunter like Stan could understand the terrifying power behind those two shots. To accurately hit a high-speed moving target more than 150 meters away without any support is beyond the realm of ordinary marksmanship.

This is wartime-level sniping capability!
But Lin Yu'an's expression did not relax at all. He remained in a guarded posture with his gun, his cold eyes scanning the surrounding forest.

"This is not the end!" Lin Yu'an's voice was terrifyingly calm, reaching everyone's ears. "This is a signal!"

"A signal?" Stan asked, puzzled. "What signal?"

As soon as Lin Yu'an finished speaking, as if in response to Stan's question, wolf howls rang out almost simultaneously from all directions of the forest!

This time, it was no longer a test, but a roar filled with murderous intent and hunger!
The sound came from afar and approached from left to right, forming a perfect circular encirclement, as if dozens of wolves were approaching them from different directions!

The relief he had just felt instantly leaped into his throat! Panic spread through the ranks like a virus. Jack's face turned deathly pale, and his hand gripping the gun trembled.

"Don't panic!" Stan's voice became the only source of support at this moment. He immediately shouted the order, "Everyone! Find cover! Form a circular defensive formation!"

Buck, regaining his senses, roared in his rough voice to bolster morale: "Listen to Stan! Quick! Take cover! Back to back!"

Stan knew that although Lin Yu'an's two shots had taken down the opponent's pawns, they had also completely exposed their positions and methods.

The real player, the cunning alpha wolf, was hiding in the shadows, watching their prey fall into the trap.

The men reacted extremely quickly; their survival instincts, honed over years in the wilderness, allowed them to find the most advantageous cover in less than ten seconds.

Behind the thick trunks of pine trees, under huge rocks, or simply lying prone in the hollows of the snow.

A dozen or so hunting rifles, positioned at different angles, formed a seemingly loose but mutually protective circular defensive line.

The air in the forest seemed to freeze at that moment.

Everyone held their breath, with only the sound of their own rapid heartbeats and the ghostly whistling of the wind through the pine needles remaining.

Lin Yu'an didn't move; he remained standing in place, like a sculpture blending into its surroundings. He knew that the real adversary, the cunning Alpha Wolf King, was nearby. It was observing, waiting, searching for the weakest point in their defenses.

His position, seemingly the most exposed, also offered the best view. He slowly turned his body, scanning the surrounding silent forest, filled with murderous intent, inch by inch through the scope.

This is a game of patience. It's not about who has the most firepower, but about who can anticipate the other's intentions first.

Time passed, second by second. Each second felt like an eternity.

The immense psychological pressure began to test every hunter.

"What are they waiting for?" Jack asked impatiently in a low voice.

“Once we are gradually consumed by the atmosphere of fear, that will be the time for the wolf pack's final attack,” Lin Yu’an’s voice came through the walkie-talkie.

Just as he finished speaking, Lin Yu'an abruptly stopped.

His scope was locked on a small hill about two hundred meters away, covered by several fallen giant trees and dense bushes.

There was complete silence there, with no sign of any activity.

But with Lin Yu'an's extraordinary perception, he could clearly "see" many murderous auras hidden around him.

But the most powerful aura was emanating from the bushes.

It's it!

“Stan,” Lin Yu’an said in the calmest voice through the miniature walkie-talkie, “two hundred meters ahead, at the eleven o’clock position, behind that pile of fallen logs.”

Stan immediately turned his scope in that direction. But after looking for a while, he saw nothing but snow and withered branches.

"Lin, there's nothing there! Are you being too nervous?"

"You can't see it." Lin Yu'an's voice carried an undeniable determination.

"It hides itself very well, but believe me, the alpha wolf is definitely there! It's right there directing, waiting for us to make a mistake."

Stan hesitated, firing at an unseen target would violate the hunter's basic principles.

“Everyone,” Lin Yu’an’s voice, transmitted clearly through the walkie-talkie to the ears of every hunter, became resolute and powerful.

"Listen to my command! This is not a hunt, this is war! I will count to three, and after I fire the first shot, everyone immediately begin indiscriminate fire suppression towards the eleven o'clock position!"

"Fire all your bullets! Don't worry about hitting them, I need your firepower to block all its possible escape routes!"

This order stunned everyone. It was completely contrary to hunting protocol. This…this was military tactic!

“Are you crazy?” Buck was the first to object on the walkie-talkie. “That’s our ammunition! Firing at an open field? Do you want us to run out of bullets and then get torn to shreds by the wolves?”

“Bark is right, Lin,” another old hunter chimed in. “We need to use our bullets where they’re needed.”

Lin Yu'an's voice instantly turned cold and serious, "Listen! That wolf's intelligence is beyond your imagination!"

"It's using those two wolves as a feint to disrupt our rhythm. It wants us to speed up or spread out, and now we don't know how many wolves have taken control of the high ground."

"The wolf pack is very cunning. It's waiting for us to enter their encirclement. We must use our strongest firepower to blast it out when they least expect it!"

"I saw with my own eyes that there was definitely a wolf in those bushes, possibly even the alpha wolf! Gaining the upper hand first is an absolute advantage for us!"

His words struck like a hammer blow to everyone's hearts. Everyone involuntarily looked at Stan, awaiting his decision.

Stan looked at Lin Yu'an's resolute profile, then glanced at the lurking dangers around them, and gritted his teeth: "Listen to Lin! Trust him this time! Everyone, get ready!"

Although Buck was filled with resentment, he still raised his gun and aimed it at the empty hill.

“Ready…” Lin Yu’an took a slow breath and locked the crosshairs onto a barely noticeable shadowy crevice in the pile of fallen logs.

"three."

"two."

"one."

"boom!"

A .300 Winchester Magnum bullet, carrying unparalleled kinetic energy, whistled through the air, traversed a distance of two hundred meters, and precisely pierced into the crevice of shadow!
"Now! Fire!" Stan roared.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

At the same time, more than a dozen hunting rifles roared deafeningly! Countless bullets, like a torrential rain, instantly covered the small hill completely!
Wood chips, snow, and mud were instantly blasted into the air by the powerful firepower, dancing wildly in the air!
Amidst the hail of bullets, a heart-wrenching, desperate wolf howl, filled with pain and resentment, suddenly rang out from behind the pile of fallen logs!

"Hit! There really is something there!" Jack shouted in surprise.

Immediately afterwards, an incredibly huge male wolf, of unbelievable size, suddenly leaped out from its hiding place!
Its left foreleg had been broken by Lin Yu'an's first shot, and it was also hit by several stray bullets, its blood staining the snow red!
But it still dragged its crippled body, trying to escape into the depths of the forest.

But it was too late.

Lin Yu'an calmly pulled back the bolt, ejected the scalding hot cartridge case, and pushed the second bullet into the chamber.

He simply watched silently as the former king of the wilderness struggled amidst the hail of bullets, his eyes devoid of pity.

"boom!"

A second shot rang out.

The enormous alpha wolf, while running, suddenly froze, as if struck by a spell. A perfectly round, bloody hole appeared on its head.

Its massive body crashed down, turning the pure white snow into a glaring crimson stain.

With the alpha wolf dead, the approaching wolf howls in the surrounding forest instantly turned into agonizing and chaotic wails, and then vanished without a trace.

The battle is over.

The forest fell silent once more, save for the heavy smell of gunpowder and the hunters' labored breathing.

Everyone looked at the man who remained standing quietly, slowly lowering his hunting rifle, with a mixture of awe and fear in their eyes.

Bill's squad arrived late, and were stunned to see the alpha wolf's corpse and the chaotic battlefield.

Buck slowly stood up from behind the cover. He walked to Lin Yu'an's side, his expression extremely complicated.

He walked to Lin Yu'an's side and looked at Lin Yu'an's calm and expressionless face.

After a long silence, he took out a flat metal flask from his pocket, unscrewed the lid, and handed it over.

"Take a sip." His voice was hoarse.

Lin Yu'an did not refuse, took the flask, tilted his head back, and took a large gulp. The spicy whiskey slid down his throat like flames.

He returned the flask to Buck.

Buck took a sip, then squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Lin... what exactly... did you do before?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Yu'an simply smiled and did not reply.

He turned around and looked in the direction of the town of Wiesman, knowing that this hunt in the wilderness was over.

His relationship with this group of unruly hunters was also completely reshaped in the midst of this battle.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(Thanks to everyone who's still following along every day! I read every comment and suggestion you make, and I'll reply to them all without spoilers~)

(End of this chapter)