American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 333 A Cunning Criminal Gang!
"This is a trap." Lin Yu'an's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every team member. "A psychological trap."

He pointed to the footprints on the ground and said, “Captain, look, this series of footprints, each one is about the same depth, the force and stride of the step are too uniform, it’s as standard as a textbook printed with a mold.”

"But poachers have just succeeded in their crimes and are fleeing with dozens of kilograms of weight. Their steps should be sometimes deep and sometimes staggering. It is impossible for them to walk so cleanly and neatly."

“This is a fake road they deliberately left for us to see,” his voice turned cold. “They’re betting that if there are any pursuers, they’ll see clear footprints and follow without hesitation. And that road probably ends in a dead end.”

This analysis sent a chill down the spines of several young soldiers.

Lin Yu'an didn't stop, and began searching for real traces around him. Soon, behind an inconspicuous clump of bushes, he found a trampled blade of grass.

“The real trace is here, very well hidden. The direction the grass blades are falling points southwest.” He then pointed to a scratch on a dead tree lying on the ground, almost blending into the wood grain.

"Look, this is where the rubber from the soles of their shoes rubbed off, and there's fresh mud on it. They stepped over here, and to avoid leaving footprints, they even chose to step on this smooth, dead wood."

Yang Zhen immediately used the tactical flashlight on his gun to shine a focused beam of light on the scratch, then looked at Lin Yu'an, his eyes revealing genuine admiration for the first time.

His two elite soldiers were already among the best mountain tracking experts in the brigade, but they were still trapped in a fixed mindset and misled by the most obvious traces.

If it weren't for this man, their seven-man squad would likely have already fallen into the enemy's carefully laid trap.

"Everyone, listen to Teacher Lin." Without the slightest hesitation, Yang Zhen immediately issued new instructions: "From now on, Comrade Lin Yu'an will be in charge of leading the tracking direction, and Number One and Number Two will be responsible for providing cover and vigilance on his flanks!"

This time, Lin Yu'an was officially placed at the forefront of the team. He was no longer a protected advisor, but truly became the eyes and radar of this squad.

The manhunt truly began on track from this moment on.

"Everyone, slow down and watch your step." Lin Yu'an's voice clearly reached everyone's earpieces.

His pace slowed, but every step was purposeful. He continuously conducted small zigzag searches along both sides of the path, looking for details that the soldiers had overlooked during their high-speed march.

Nearly an hour has passed, and the team's actual advance distance is probably less than three kilometers.

The atmosphere began to become somewhat heavy.

The young soldier named Xiao Wang finally couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Teacher Lin, we're so slow... can we catch up? They've been ahead of us for hours."

Lin Yu'an didn't turn around. He squatted down and pointed to the side of a rock where a small patch of moss had been rubbed off, revealing the fresh, moist rock surface underneath.

"This was rubbed off by a backpack or trouser leg. The cut surface of the moss is still very moist and hasn't started to dry. This means they passed through here about three to four hours ago."

"Three hours?" Xiao Wang and several soldiers were stunned. They had only set off for a little over an hour, so how could the time difference have been shortened so much?
Yang Zhen explained in a deep voice, "Because we took a straight line, while they took a huge detour through the mountains. We used an hour of treacherous terrain to catch up with them after three or four hours of travel!"

This discovery was like a shot in the arm, instantly boosting the morale of the entire team!
Lin Yu'an stood up and continued, "Moreover, this tells us something else: we are on the right track."

"Now all we need to do is patiently bite down step by step like this. They are carrying tens of kilograms of stuff, and every step they take is a huge drain on their energy. We just need to follow the tracks they leave behind to wear them down."

During the subsequent tracking, the entire team entered a completely new state.

They were no longer anxious about speed, but focused on cooperating with Lin Yu'an to carry out a meticulous forest puzzle-solving.

Lin Yu'an deduced from a small, crushed piece of Angelica sinensis leaf, which emitted a unique medicinal fragrance, that the other party had briefly rested and bandaged here.

This discovery boosted the team's morale, but the clues were still not precise enough.

“They must have rested here, so they must have left behind more than just trampled plant marks,” he whispered to Yang Zhen, who was following behind him. “A hasty escapee couldn’t possibly clean up every detail.”

A glint of light flashed in Yang Zhen's eyes. "Everyone, spread out ten meters from this rest area and conduct a thorough search! Watch your step, watch the crevices in the rocks, watch out for anything that doesn't belong in this forest! Don't overlook any detail!"

"Yes!"

The soldiers immediately split into pairs, spreading out in a fan shape, like the finest combs, and began to meticulously comb the area inch by inch. Their movements were professional and precise, their sharp eyes sweeping across the ground, the cracks in the rocks, the tree roots…

Lin Yu'an did not participate in the large-scale search; his focus was on the core of the trampled area, the place where something was most likely to remain.

He knew that when people rest, they subconsciously choose the most comfortable and sheltered spot.

A few minutes later, a young soldier named Xiao Wang suddenly made a discovery in a crevice in a rock covered with moss.

"Captain! Over here!" he whispered, waving excitedly.

Yang Zhen and Lin Yu'an rushed over immediately.

Xiao Wang pointed to a crack in the rock, where a cigarette butt without a filter was lying quietly.

"Well done!" Yang Zhen patted Xiao Wang on the shoulder approvingly.

He gestured for Xiao Wang to hand him an evidence bag, and then carefully used a thin twig to pick the cigarette butt out of the crack in the rock and put it into the bag.

Yang Zhen asked in a low voice, "Can Teacher Lin determine anything?"

“Many.” Lin Yu’an stood up, like a forensic doctor analyzing a crime scene, and began his reasoning.

“These are not cigarettes produced in a regular factory. The rough rolling paper and the unevenly cut tobacco indicate that this is a type of leaf tobacco that is very common in the area. This further confirms our judgment that this group of people are likely local habitual offenders familiar with the mountains and forests.”

He continued, "The cigarette butt was extinguished, not burned to the end. This indicates that the smoker was in a hurry or very vigilant. Moreover, the cigarette butt was pinched very tightly, even somewhat deformed, which is a subconscious action when a person is under tension or anxiety."

"The most crucial thing is how to deduce the time." Lin Yu'an's eyes became extremely focused.

He pointed to the slightly damp cigarette butt in the evidence bag, and then to the equally damp fallen leaves on the ground.

"Although this cigarette butt was damp, it was noticeably drier than the surrounding fallen leaves. Moreover, the cut end of the tobacco was bright yellow and had not yet turned dark brown due to prolonged dampness."

"This means that when it was dumped here, the humidity of the ground and air was lower than it is now."

He looked up at the clouds gradually gathering in the sky and the mist slowly rising from the forest.

"As we followed this route, we could clearly feel the air humidity increasing. Based on this difference in dryness and the oxidation state of the tobacco, I have a bold but very certain deduction."

He met Yang Zhen's expectant gaze and gave a startling conclusion: "This person stood here and smoked this cigarette an hour or two ago!"

"Two hours!" Yang Zhen slammed his fist into his palm.

If the conclusions reached in the previous three or four hours were a shot in the arm, then the conclusion reached in two hours was like the bugle call to charge! This meant that they had compressed the distance to a visible range!
"They're right ahead!" Xiao Wang whispered excitedly. He had found this crucial piece of evidence, and his face was filled with pride.

“That’s right,” Lin Yu’an continued. “It’s about 5:30 pm now, and there are less than two hours left until dark. They can’t go very far, so they will definitely start looking for a suitable place to camp.”

"We must speed things up! We must catch them off guard before they are fully settled!"

This conclusion reignited the flame in the eyes of all the warriors! Their fatigue seemed to vanish, leaving only a burning desire for the upcoming battle.

"All personnel! Speed ​​up and stay concealed!" Yang Zhen issued a concise and powerful order.

During the subsequent tracking, the team's pace noticeably quickened.

Lin Yu'an's performance was like a highly accurate biological radar, constantly reading the increasingly fresh traces left by poachers in the forest.

A broken tree branch, a patch of grass trampled into the mud, or even a small piece of moss...

Every new discovery constantly confirms that they are rapidly closing the distance to their goal!

However, just when everyone thought victory was in sight, an enemy they could not defeat began to quietly descend.

It got dark so quickly.

Unlike the slow twilight in the city, in the primeval forests of the Ailao Mountains, especially on a cloudy, overcast day, the transition from day to night is almost abrupt. At 5:30 pm, the sky was still just overcast. But only a dozen minutes later, as the sunlight was completely swallowed up by the thick clouds and layers of the forest canopy, the whole world seemed to be instantly draped in a black curtain.

The light is not dimming, but disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The light and shadow in the forest quickly faded, and all the scenery lost its distinct outlines, merging into blurry and eerie gray silhouettes.

The tree roots and rocks underfoot became indistinguishable, and the danger of proceeding increased dramatically.

Even more deadly, as the sun disappeared, the mountain mist began to rise from the valleys and depressions, like white ghosts, silently entwining among the trees.

Visibility plummeted from tens of meters to less than ten meters in just a few minutes, and it continues to worsen.

The surrounding temperature seemed to plummet. The damp, cold air began to penetrate their sweat-soaked clothes, stealing away their precious body heat.

Finally, on a steep stream bank, Lin Yu'an, who was turning sideways to pass through a narrow section of the path, suddenly raised his hand, signaling the team to stop immediately.

"We can't go any further!" His voice, in the damp, cold fog, sounded unusually serious and decisive, carrying an unquestionable resolve.

"Teacher Lin? You've spotted them?" Yang Zhen immediately slid to his side, warily raising his gun and looking around, but his vision couldn't penetrate the thick white fog in front of him.

“No, Captain.” Lin Yu’an shook his head. He pointed to the pitch-black darkness and the increasingly thick fog around him, his tone grave. “We’ve lost our greatest advantage in visibility, so tracking has become meaningless.”

“In this environment, let alone tracking, we can’t even see the road ahead. If we rashly chase after them now, it’s not a pursuit, it’s suicide.”

Lin Yu'an glanced at Yang Zhen's watch; the hour hand had just pointed to 5:45 PM.

"Captain, with the overcast skies and thick fog, it's getting dark at least an hour and a half earlier than we expected. The temperature is also dropping rapidly. If we don't find shelter and start a fire soon, we'll all be at risk of hypothermia."

Yang Zhen fell silent. He could feel the icy mist piercing his combat uniform like countless tiny needles. He also knew that every word Lin Yu'an said was true.

The burning fighting spirit in his heart, the desire to catch up with the enemy, was quickly cooled down in the face of cold reality and absolute darkness.

As a commander, he could never gamble the lives of his men on an uncertain outcome.

Yang Zhen's voice carried a hint of intense resentment, but more so the calm of a commander. "All troops, cease pursuit! Immediately switch to defensive stance! Teacher Lin, you are in charge of finding a suitable shelter for camping as quickly as possible!"

"Yes!"

At the command, the entire squad's objective shifted instantly. The tension of the chase temporarily subsided, replaced by a sense of urgency as they raced against time and the bitter cold.

They must establish a warm and safe camp in this dangerous and dark jungle.

"Everyone, follow me! Uphill!" Lin Yu'an pointed out the direction without hesitation. "Dense fog and cold air will gather in the low-lying valleys. We must climb to the mountainside as soon as possible and find a dry place to avoid the moisture trap!"

The seven men immediately changed direction, no longer following the stream bank, but beginning to climb the hillside to the side. Their movements were swift and orderly; this time, their objective was no longer tracking, but survival.

During the climb, Lin Yu'an entered a state of multi-threaded work.

While using his extensive knowledge of topography to search for the direction of the rock walls where there might be a rock shelter or cave, he kept issuing instructions: "Xiao Wang! Cut a few pieces of the heartwood from that fallen dead tree on your left and take them with you! That's the best kindling!"

"See those pine trees? Collect the driest pine needles that have accumulated at the base of them! The more, the better!"

"Captain, we can't overlook any dry-looking branches along our route! We need a lot of fuel to get through this damp and cold night!"

Yang Zhen immediately translated his orders into tactical instructions and relayed them to every soldier. In an instant, this elite pursuit team transformed into a highly efficient fuel collection unit.

Each person had several pieces of precious firewood tied to the outside of their tactical backpack, or extra pockets filled with flammable pine needles and sawdust.

After climbing nearly 100 meters above sea level, Lin Yu'an finally stopped. He parted a banana leaf covered with water droplets, and the sight before him made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

It was a huge rock wall tens of meters high, and in the lower middle part of the rock wall, there was a naturally recessed, semi-open rock shelter.

"This is it!" Lin Yu'an's voice carried a hint of relieved joy. "A perfect Grade A shelter! It's sheltered from the wind, dry, has a natural roof, and only has one front that needs to be defended!"

The team quickly entered the rock shelter, where the ground was dry and sandy, a stark contrast to the wet, cold, and muddy environment outside.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yang Zhen immediately began issuing instructions. His voice, under the empty rock shelter, sounded concise and powerful.

"Squad leader, Xiao Wang, establish perimeter security! Everyone else, start a fire immediately!"

The soldiers immediately sprang into action. Two soldiers quickly set up sentry posts around the perimeter of the rock shelter, using rocks and trees to create a defensive perimeter, keeping watch for any potential dangers in the dense fog.

Lin Yu'an, along with Yang Zhen and the remaining soldiers, threw themselves into the work of igniting the flame of life.

Lin Yu'an walked to the center of the cleared area, piled up the dry pine needles and wood chips he had collected along the way, and skillfully built a hollow bonfire using small dry branches.

He had just finished all this when he took out his tinderbox made of wood hoof fungus from his backpack, preparing to start a fire...

"Whoosh!"

With a soft sound, a wisp of orange-yellow flame suddenly lit up in front of him.

Lin Yu'an was stunned.

He looked up and saw that Captain Yang Zhen had squatted down in front of him at some point, holding a windproof lighter with a metallic feel in his hand, looking at him with a mixture of admiration and a little teasing.

“Teacher Lin,” Yang Zhen’s lips curled into a relaxed smile for the first time, “Survival expert, your tinder canister is indeed a work of art, but on the battlefield, efficiency is life. Use this one.”

As he spoke, he brought the flickering flames closer to the bonfire that Lin Yu'an had carefully built.

The dry pine needles, upon contact with an open flame, ignited instantly with a whoosh! A roaring fire immediately rose, greedily licking at the surrounding dry branches, producing a reassuring crackling sound!

Looking at the easily lit campfire in front of him, and then at the ancient fire pot in his hand that was still radiating warmth, Lin Yu'an was at a loss for words, feeling both amused and exasperated.

He shook his head, carefully put the tinder canister back into his backpack, and sighed sincerely, "Modern civilization certainly has its reasons."

Yang Zhen smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "No. The most reliable principle is always the skills you have in your own mind."

The flames roared, their flickering light illuminating the entire rock shelter and completely dispelling the damp chill and darkness brought by the thick fog.

The fire was lit, but the fortifications were not yet complete.

“Fire alone is not enough,” Yang Zhen’s expression turned serious again. “We need a physical barrier.”

He ordered, "Two people per group, search fifty meters outward from the camp, and collect all dry, thorny, and tangled branches and vines—the more the better! Pile them all up in front of the camp to form a circular obstacle course!"

"Yes!"

The soldier immediately stood up, turned on the tactical spotlights above his head, and two bright beams of light pierced through the thick fog and disappeared into the dark jungle.

Soon, they returned dragging large bundles of dry branches and thorny vines, and piled them in front of the camp in a seemingly messy manner, using the method Lin Yu'an had taught them before.

A dozen minutes later, a waist-high circular thorny obstacle completely blocked the entrance to the rock shelter, leaving only a narrow passage guarded by soldiers.

After doing all this, the seven of them could finally sit around the campfire and catch their breath briefly.

Although the atmosphere remained heavy, the warmth and the layers of defensive fortifications instilled a sense of security in everyone, a feeling known as the "position."

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(End of this chapter)