American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 335 Poaching Gang, Their Crimes Are Doubled!
He used a stick to pry the scalding hot packages out of the charcoal ash.

Unfold the layers of leaves, and a burst of fragrance—a blend of the sweet aroma of bamboo shoots and the unique scent of banana stems—suddenly bursts forth!

"Come on, have a taste!" Lin Yu'an proudly distributed the wrapped-up bacon to each soldier.

"Eat!" Yang Zhen gave the order.

Without hesitation, the soldiers accepted the food and began to eat heartily. The long-awaited hot meal and its natural freshness instantly won over their taste buds.

"Mmm...delicious!" Xiao Wang exclaimed indistinctly, his face beaming with happiness.

Yang Zhen also tore off a piece of bamboo shoot, chewed it carefully, and then nodded solemnly: "Teacher Lin's cooking skills are indeed very good."

After everyone finished eating, their tired bodies felt as if a warm current had been injected into them.

Yang Zhen looked at the satisfied soldiers, then at Lin Yu'an, and suddenly smiled.

"Teacher Lin, thank you for your hospitality," he said sincerely. "But... we really did bring our own lunch."

"But indeed, I'd like to try the champion's cooking. Now it's your turn to taste our new generation of military supplies."

As he spoke, he winked at Xiao Wang again.

Under Lin Yu'an's questioning gaze, Xiao Wang and several other soldiers chuckled and mysteriously took out several flat, military-green vacuum-sealed bags from the bottom of their tactical backpacks.

They skillfully tore open the outer packaging along the tear line, revealing a dazzling array of contents inside.

A packet of carrot and chicken fried rice as the main dish, a packet of spicy cabbage as a side dish, a small bag of peanut chili sauce, and even a roasted energy bar and an effervescent electrolyte drink tablet.

Instead of tearing open the food packaging, they put the sealed soft packaging of carrot and chicken fried rice, along with the white heating pack, into the transparent hot water bag.

Then, pour in enough water to cover the heating pack; there is a clear water line on the bag.

Almost the instant the water came into contact with the heating pack, a hissing chemical reaction sound was heard inside the bag.

Xiao Wang quickly folded the bag opening and sealed it with a buckle, then leaned it against a rock.

In less than ten seconds, the entire heating bag inflated like a balloon, and streams of scorching white steam continuously spewed out from the pressure relief hole at the bag's opening, creating an astonishing effect.

"This is our Type 20 self-heating ration," Xiao Wang introduced to Lin Yu'an like a treasure. "No fire needed, the food is piping hot in ten minutes! It tastes so much better than compressed biscuits!"

Under Lin Yu'an's somewhat astonished gaze, the heating was completed in just over ten minutes. Xiao Wang carefully opened the scalding hot heating bag and took out the fried rice.

He deftly tore open the packaging, and a burst of hot air, a mixture of the savory aroma of chicken and the sweet scent of carrots, rushed out, instantly dispelling the damp and chilly air around him.

Pour the golden fried rice onto the unfolded tray from the package, then tear open the packet of peanut chili sauce and sprinkle it evenly on top. Finally, add some refreshing spicy cabbage, and a nutritious and balanced field lunch is ready.

Another soldier next to him threw the effervescent tablet into the military water bottle. With a soft "pop," the once calm water surface immediately surged with countless bubbles, quickly turning into a bottle of electrolyte drink that could replenish energy.

Xiao Wang then solemnly handed a bag of beef and carrot fried rice, which exuded a rich, savory aroma, along with a pair of matching folding spoons, to Lin Yu'an.

What truly shocked Lin Yu'an was the taste! It was an extremely rich Sichuan flavor, a blend of fermented bean paste, Sichuan peppercorns, and beef aroma!
"Teacher Lin, please try ours! This is our most popular flavor!"

Lin Yu'an did not refuse. He took the bowl and looked at the glistening rice, the tender beef, and even a few pieces of carrot as a side dish, and fell into complete silence.

In his memory, the soldiers always ate compressed biscuits or dried meat, or even a mouthful of fried noodles and a mouthful of snow in their arduous journey.

Only now did he realize that his homeland had become so powerful and meticulous that it could provide every soldier who ventured into such a desperate situation with a delicious hot meal.

This is not just a ration; it is a reflection of national strength, a sign of technological progress, and, more importantly, the most considerate care for every frontline soldier.

A complex and intense emotion welled up inside him. Without saying any more pleasantries, he devoured the rice and beef.

That familiar, warm, slightly spicy flavor exploded on his taste buds.

He raised his head, addressed Yang Zhen and all the young soldiers, and solemnly said only one sentence: "Thank you... thank you for our motherland becoming stronger and stronger."

These words instantly silenced the previously noisy dinner party. The soldiers understood everything from Lin Yu'an's complex gaze.

The young soldier named Xiao Wang ate a couple of mouthfuls of rice, looked at the somewhat sentimental man in front of him, and finally couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked.

"Teacher Lin, I've seen your video! It's the one called 'Living Alone in the Wilderness'! How did you manage to stay in such a cold and snowy place abroad for so long?"

This question instantly ignited the curiosity of all the young soldiers, whose steel rifles were capable of dealing with the most ferocious enemies. Rigorous training enabled them to overcome their physical limits.

But they also felt the same curiosity and awe that ordinary people have for the wilderness, which is full of unknown dangers.

They wanted to know what kind of spiritual strength enabled this man to win on another battlefield.

Lin Yu'an smiled and put down the lunchbox in his hand. The firelight reflected on his resolute and weathered face, as if illuminating some memories hidden deep in his eyes.

His gaze swept over the soldiers and he said, "You run five kilometers every day, practice shooting, and do tactical drills, all so that you can survive and go back alive when facing a bunch of gun-wielding bastards like today, right?"

"Yes!" all the soldiers responded in unison, their voices strong and clear.

"So everything I do in the wilderness is the same as what you do. I'm not persevering, I'm working."

This answer surprised everyone.

Lin Yu explained, "Persistence means you are enduring. When you feel like you are persisting, you are not far from collapse. Because you have already considered giving up as an option in your mind."

He tapped his temple with his finger. "I won't allow my mind to have the option of giving up."

“Every day when I wake up, I only have one list in my mind: find water, find food, reinforce the shelter, check the traps, and collect firewood.”

"I broke down the task of surviving into a hundred specific, trivial, and essential tasks."

"Keep yourself busy so that you don't have time to think about how lonely you are, or the energy to think about why you're here."

"Because any trivial thought could distract me and cause me to make a mistake. And in the wilderness, the price of making a mistake could be death."

He picked up a burning piece of firewood, and looking at the flickering flames, his eyes became deep.

"So, if you ask me what I rely on... I don't rely on any strong belief, nor on any vague spirit."

"I rely on the most primal fear of death etched into my genes, and on transforming that fear into a to-do list filled with tasks."

"Then, do them one by one, and once you've done them, you'll live to see tomorrow."

These words contained not a trace of grand pronouncements, nor any touching emotional embellishment.

But this almost mechanical survival logic, stripped of all emotion, struck the heart of every listener like a heavy hammer.

The soldiers fell into a long silence, as they could feel how powerless individual heroism was in the face of true adversity.

That kind of pragmatism, which takes the instinct for survival to its extreme, is the only truth that will allow you to see the sun rise the next day.

The soldiers looked at Lin Yu'an with eyes full of respect. This man before them, like them, was a warrior dancing with death in his own way.

He paused, his tone becoming serious: "Actually, in that kind of place, wild beasts aren't the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying enemy is loneliness."

"When you're alone for a long time and can't hear anyone's voice, you'll start talking to yourself and doubting every decision you make."

"I would even spend an entire afternoon talking to a rock, just to hear my own voice. That feeling of loneliness and despair that surged from the depths of my heart was more deadly than any wild beast."

Lin Yu'an looked at them curiously and steered the conversation towards them: "I've always admired you. Is a chase like today your usual routine?"

Before Yang Zhen could answer, an old soldier who was repeatedly wiping the gun barrel with a cleaning cloth spoke up in a deep voice.

He was about the same age as Yang Zhen, with a faint scar on his face and a calm, steady gaze. "There are things that are even more dangerous than this."

"Two years ago, we intercepted a group of drug traffickers on the border. They even used AKs, and bullets rained down on them. But it's rare to see someone so furious today."

Yang Zhen snapped out of his reverie, sighed, and added a thick piece of firewood to the fire, sending sparks flying.

“In the past, whenever we went into the mountains to carry out this kind of mission, we would hire a local guide.” His gaze became somewhat distant.

“The Ailao Mountains are too big and too complicated. Without a living map familiar with the terrain, we can only use less than half of our skills.”

He glanced at Lin Yu'an and said, "Our original partner was a forest ranger named Lao Li, who was also the local militia captain."

“He’s a true mountain man, over fifty years old, who has spent his whole life in these mountains. He can find any water source in any gully with his eyes closed. With him around, we feel reassured.”

"Unfortunately, I was in a motorcycle accident a month ago when I went to town. My leg was broken and I'm still in the hospital."

"For a time, we couldn't find a replacement for him. When we received the mission today, we were prepared for a tough battle."

“To be honest,” Yang Zhen looked at Lin Yu’an sincerely, “if it weren’t for you today, we would probably still be wandering around like headless flies on that fake road left by poachers.”

“You can identify traces and track knowledge; these things are very valuable for us to learn.”

Lin Yu'an shook his head modestly, "There's nothing to be proud of. These are all things that nature, the teacher, taught me through hunger and danger, through countless hunts and pursuits."

“I once learned tracking from an old Native American hunter in North America. He told me that the secret to tracking is not to see with your eyes, but to feel with your heart.”

"You have to imagine yourself as your prey, think about how it will go, what it will be afraid of, and where it will stop to drink water. Practice is always the best teacher."

"Well said!" Yang Zhen nodded in agreement, his eyes filled with admiration for the man before him.

The atmosphere in the entire camp became incredibly solid and harmonious because of this successful heart-to-heart talk.

Yang Zhen stood up and glanced at his watch. "Alright! It's getting late! Xiao Li, confirm the coordination plan with command one last time."

"The rest of you, prepare to take turns resting! Get plenty of rest, we have another tough battle to fight tomorrow." "Yes, sir!"

The soldiers began to take turns keeping watch at the outer outposts according to the established shifts.

Lin Yu'an lay on the makeshift bed frame he had built, but he was not sleepy at all.

He could hear the soldiers outside trying to suppress their coughs in the cold wind and the faint rustling of their equipment as they moved.

These young soldiers are using their own flesh and blood to protect the peace of him and this land.

At 4:30 a.m., before dawn, the entire rock-sheltered camp quietly awoke at Yang Zhen's silent gesture.

No one spoke. The seven people, using the last faint embers of the campfire as a guide, began their final preparations for departure, like a finely tuned gear in operation.

The torrential rain from last night has stopped, but a chilling dampness still lingers in the air.

Outside the rock shelter, the fog was even thicker than the night before, as thick as milk, enveloping the entire world in a chaotic state where one could not see their own hand in front of their face.

Water droplets dripped continuously from the eaves and leaves, drip-drip-drip, the only clearly audible sound at that moment.

Everyone pulled out the high-calorie energy bars that Yang Zhen had distributed the night before from their backpacks. The sound of tearing open the packaging was particularly jarring in the deathly silence.

Lin Yu'an also took out his own fatigue-fighting snack and swallowed it in a few bites.

The high concentration of sugar and protein quickly transformed into a burning energy in his stomach, dispelling the morning chill and storing fuel for the upcoming high-intensity burst.

"Teacher Lin, this is for you." Xiao Wang handed over a military water bottle, which contained warm water heated by the residual heat of the campfire.

"Thank you." Lin Yu'an took the water and drank a big gulp. The warm water made him feel all the joints in his body relax.

Five minutes later, everyone was ready to go.

They packed up all the trash and took it with them, leaving not a single thing in the camp that didn't belong to the forest.

Yang Zhen personally covered and cooled the embers of the campfire repeatedly with damp soil and sand until he could no longer feel any warmth when he touched them, before finally stopping.

"Let's go." Yang Zhen glanced at his watch; the hour hand pointed to exactly five in the morning.

"From now on, everyone switch to sign language communication and turn off your throat microphones. Our goal is to reach the high ground within a kilometer of those bastards before they wake up!"

Seven black figures, like ghosts, silently disappeared into the darkness and thick fog before dawn.

This march was completely different from the pursuit that took place during the day yesterday.

The jungle after the rain turned into a treacherous trap. The soft soil became as muddy as a swamp, and every step made a squelching sound.

The wet rocks and tree roots are covered with an invisible thin film of water, and one can easily slip and fall if one is not careful.

The leaves, wet by the rain, will silently pour all the cold dew onto the necks of passersby.

But for this team, it was also a godsend for disguise.

The thick fog obscured their figures, the damp ground absorbed most of their footsteps, and the gurgling stream provided the best cover for their movements.

Lin Yu'an once again walked at the front of the group. But this time, he no longer needed to painstakingly search for those minor details.

The precise coordinates locked by the drone last night, along with the real-time BeiDou positioning displayed on Yang Zhen's military tablet, have already charted the most direct route for them.

He is like a seasoned guide, always able to find the most effortless climbing path on seemingly insurmountable steep slopes.

He could predict in advance which moss-covered rock was hollow underneath, and which seemingly sturdy vine was actually rotten.

Under his leadership, the team's marching speed far exceeded Yang Zhen's expectations.

The soldiers' strong physical fitness and tactical skills, combined with Lin Yu'an's profound understanding of the natural environment, created a perfect chemical reaction at this moment.

Time passed in the oppressive and hurried march. The sun should have already risen, but the thick fog and dark clouds kept the entire forest as dark as dusk.

Around eight o'clock in the morning, after marching for three hours, Lin Yu'an finally gave the signal to stop.

He pointed to a huge rock in front of him that lay like a giant beast on the ridge, its shape resembling an eagle's beak.

"We've arrived," he mouthed silently.

"Eagle's Beak Cliff"! Their designated reconnaissance position!
Yang Zhen immediately ordered two soldiers to stand guard on the perimeter, while the rest of the men quickly set up a concealed observation post at the top of Eagle's Beak Cliff, using the rocks and vegetation for cover.

Lin Yu'an lay down behind a cold rock and carefully set up the military high-powered binoculars.

Yang Zhen lay down next to him, clutching a tactical tablet connected to the drone.

Below them was a wide riverbank carved out by a stream, and a thin layer of morning mist still hung over it.

The camp that the drone spotted last night is right in the middle of this riverbank.

But now, the place is deserted, leaving only a pile of campfire ashes completely extinguished by the rain, and obvious marks left by two tents.

"They're gone!" Xiao Wang whispered nervously, gripping his rifle even tighter.

"Don't panic." Yang Zhen's voice was as steady as a mountain. "They can't escape. They couldn't possibly travel in the thick fog and darkness before dawn. They've been gone from here for no more than an hour."

He turned to Lin Yu'an, his eyes filled with trust: "Teacher Lin, it's up to you. We need to confirm their final whereabouts."

"clear."

After Yang Zhen gave the order, everyone quickly slid down to the abandoned camp below.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the riverbank. The air still carried the scent of campfire and water vapor.

Lin Yu'an ignored the traces of the tents and went straight to the pile of campfire ashes. He began to decipher the language left behind by this camp.

He pulled out a few pieces of animal bones from the edge of the ashes that were not completely burned and bore obvious signs of human cutting.

“Bear bones.” He glanced at them and recognized them immediately. “They were processing last night’s spoils, removing excess weight. But the fact that they left these behind means they left in a hurry.”

Then, at the edge of the ashes, he found several charred bones. He picked up one of the relatively intact scapulae and examined it carefully.

"The size and shape of this bone... indicate a red muntjac, a Class II protected animal in China."

A chilling rage crept into his voice, "These bastards even hunted down a young red muntjac for dinner."

"Those damned bastards!" Xiao Wang cursed angrily.

But then, Lin Yu'an abruptly stopped.

From the deepest part of the ashes, a piece of skull that was almost completely carbonized was pulled out.

The skull was only the size of an infant's fist, but what was most horrifying were its two disproportionately large, round eye sockets.

Lin Yu'an's pupils instantly contracted to their maximum size!
“Slow loris…” he practically squeezed out the word through clenched teeth.

Yang Zhen and several soldiers immediately gathered around, their faces filled with bewilderment as they stared at the small, alien-like skull.

"A Class I protected animal in China, the slow loris! They...they even eat this kind of thing!"

He stood up and said to Yang Zhen, "Captain, we can now be 100% certain that at least one person in this group is a local who is familiar with the local situation!"

"How to say?"

"Because of the ignorant and outdated custom of consuming slow lorises for their supposed health benefits, it's definitely not a purely foreign poaching group. Outsiders only care about hard currency like bear bile and bear paws, which can be directly exchanged for large sums of money."

This discovery is more appalling than any previous clue. It completely exposes the evil nature of this poachers, who have absolutely no respect for any life.

He glanced at Lin Yu'an, his eyes filled with suppressed anger and gravity: "Teacher Lin, this discovery is priceless! Let's see if there are any other discoveries."

Lin Yu'an nodded, his eyes becoming as sharp as an eagle's as he scanned the messy footprints and finally locked onto a muddy grassy area at the edge of the camp.

He pointed in the direction of the path, "Most of the footprints are heading in this direction without any attempt to hide them. This path should be the way to the Crow Gold Mine."

"They processed bear parts and roasted muntjac meat here. All of this indicates that they do not intend to go any deeper into the jungle and are making final preparations to come out of the mountains."

He squatted down again, pointing to the pile of red muntjac remains, "They only ate a portion of it, leaving the bones with a lot of meat still attached."

"Because their backpacks are already stuffed full of more valuable prey! They don't even want to add any more weight to their load with this little bit of meat!"

"They're heading at full speed to the rendezvous point at the Crow Gold Mine! Our earlier assessment was absolutely correct!"

"Good!" Yang Zhen clenched his fist, all his doubts vanishing. He immediately grabbed the microphone.

"Command center, we have arrived at the enemy's campsite from last night! Based on the traces left at the scene, the enemy set off an hour ago, and their final target has been confirmed as the Laoya Gold Mine!"

"Repeated, target confirmed as Laoya Gold Mine! My unit will immediately launch the final phase of pursuit! Requesting authorization!"

"Authorized! Sharp Blade Squad, be careful!"

A long-awaited encirclement and annihilation battle has officially entered its final countdown in the dawn!
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.

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(End of this chapter)