American Landowners: Starting with Hunting in Alaska

Suwei's breathing stopped for a moment.

Devil's Claw.

These four words flashed through his mind, and the shock they brought far exceeded anything he had discovered before.

Chaga mushrooms are a top-quality mountain product that can be sold for a lot of money.

But a Devil's Claw that is old enough is a hard currency that is priceless and hard to find, and is an unimaginable windfall!

He forced down his excitement, shifted his gaze, and landed on the cotton candy that was still sniffing the stem.

This little fox, who lost his rabbit, unexpectedly found a tremendous treasure.

Is it good or bad?

This is definitely a good thing!

He quickly walked back to his previous spot, put down his backpack, pulled out cut-resistant gloves from his side pocket and put them on, and then pulled out a multi-functional entrenching tool.

He did not act immediately.

He picked up his gun again and, using the Devil's Claw as the center, carefully surveyed the rock face slope.

Safety is always the top priority.

The place is steep, full of rocks and withered vines, making it an ideal hiding place for small predators and potentially disturbing hibernating bears.

He must eliminate all threats.

Marshmallow seemed to sense his seriousness and stopped touching the prickly stem.

Instead, she pricked up her ears, followed him alertly, and scanned her surroundings warily with her bright blue eyes.

After walking around, apart from a few old footprints buried by the wind and snow, the forest was very quiet, with no signs of any new activity.

Su Wei was finally relieved.

He returned to the devil's claw and placed the Browning rifle steadily against a dead tree trunk that wouldn't slip, with the muzzle pointing in a safe direction.

Then, he squatted down and began to work.

He didn't use an entrenching tool to cut the stem directly; that would be too brutal.

The most valuable part is the root bark; digging it up carelessly will damage its appearance and medicinal properties.

Using the entrenching tool, he painstakingly dug away the snow and frozen soil around the roots, which were as hard as rock.

This job is much more tiring than it looks.

The frozen soil was as hard as iron. Every shovel he made only broke a white mark on the surface, and the recoil made his hands go numb.

Cold, shards of dirt kept splashing onto his face.

Cotton Candy curiously peered over, tilting her little head, seemingly puzzled as to why this two-legged creature was so interested in a rotten tree root.

Suwei was engrossed in digging. He moved slowly but patiently and accurately, clearing away the roots little by little, digging deeper and deeper, determined to dig out the entire root system completely.

Time passed little by little.

More than half an hour later, the main root of this Devil's Claw plant was finally revealed.

It was thicker than Suwei had expected, as thick as his forearm at its thickest point, and its grayish-brown surface was covered with sharp spikes that gleamed coldly.

Su Wei pulled out his Swiss Army knife and, using the small saw inside, made a precise cut about thirty centimeters from the main stem.

Creak...creak...

The tough root fibers make a sound that makes your teeth ache.

When the last fiber was cut, he finally removed the half-meter-long devil's claw with its intact roots!

[Ding! Successfully harvested the rare medicinal plant Devil's Claw, quality: Excellent. Harvesting module experience +23!]

A line of light blue text appeared in my field of vision.

Twenty-three points of experience!

Just one plant, and it added a full twenty-three experience points!

Su Wei felt a surge of excitement as the experience bar for the gathering module suddenly increased dramatically.

Collection Module LV1 (97/100).

I only need three more experience points to level up!

His movements immediately quickened.

The data acquisition module once again played a significant role.

In his field of vision, not far to his left, beneath a clump of withered vines, a green light even more intense than before pierced through the snow.

There are still some there!

And it seems to be even older!

Suwei carefully placed the newly acquired treasure on a clean, waterproof cloth, and then immediately turned to her new target.

Having learned from his first experience, he was much more skilled this time.

When he collected another Devil's Claw of even better quality, the long-awaited voice finally rang in his mind.

[Ding! Rare medicinal plant Devil's Claw harvested, quality: Excellent. Harvesting module experience +55!]

[Ding! The gathering module's experience points are full, and your level has increased to LV2!]

[Collection Module LV2 (52/300): Scanning range increased to a radius of 30 meters. Can detect the plant's age, approximate active ingredients, and potential value. New passive effect: Herb identification, slightly improving the accuracy of identifying medicinal plants.]

It's been upgraded!

Su Wei felt that the soreness in his muscles had lessened considerably.

He immediately focused his mind and activated the upgraded module effects!

In an instant, the world within a 30-meter radius around him changed.

Plants that were previously only visible as a blurry green light are now clearly marked.

Wild rosehips, edible, rich in Vitamin C, value: US$0.1/pound

Spruce bark, can be used to start a fire/make simple containers, value: negligible

His gaze suddenly shifted to the rocky slope!

Clusters of green halos, some dark and some light, lit up one after another, a total of seven or eight places!

[Devil's Claw, Root Age: Approximately 15 years, Active Ingredients: High, Estimated Value: US$280/lb (dry weight)]

[Devil's Claw, root age: approximately 21 years, active ingredient: extremely high, estimated value: US$400/lb (dry weight)]

……

Looking at that string of numbers, Su Wei's breathing became somewhat rapid.

Get rich!

This is like stirring up a hot potato for Alaska!

Kodiak Island, a place that hasn't been developed much, is truly full of treasures!

He suppressed his excitement and dug frantically before nightfall.

With the module's guidance, he no longer needed to search painstakingly; every shovel stroke was targeted and incredibly efficient.

Time passed second by second.

As the sun began to set in the west, its afterglow painted the snow-covered ground a vibrant orange-red.

The temperature dropped very quickly.

When Suwei dug out the last valuable Devil's Claw root, he was so exhausted that he could hardly stand up straight, his forehead was covered in sweat, and the white breath he exhaled lingered in front of his eyes.

On the tarpaulin in front of him were a dozen or so sections of rootstock of varying sizes, roughly weighing more than thirty pounds when wet.

Even if the weight is halved after drying, based on the lowest estimated price of the module, this is still a huge sum of more than eight thousand US dollars!

Including the money from selling birch mushrooms, and after deducting what he had already spent, he had nearly ten thousand US dollars in cash.

This money greatly reduced the pressure of repaying his debts.

The minimum payment amount has been reduced by a third!

Su Wei's breathing became heavy. Such a terrifying harvest on only the first day in the mountains caused him great emotional turmoil.

He could hardly hide his joy.

More importantly, he gained confidence.

As long as we can continue to use the mods to make money from this wilderness, the $160,000 debt will no longer be an astronomical figure that drives us to despair, but an achievable goal.

Suwei plopped down on the snow, unscrewed the water bottle, and gulped down a large mouthful of warm water, finally recovering.

He glanced at the sky; he had to find a safe place to camp before dark.

After carefully tying all the roots of the devil's claw with rope and securing them to the outside of his backpack, Suwei put his heavy backpack back on.

This time, he felt his steps were lighter.

"Marshmallow, let's go find a place to spend the night."

He called out, and the little fox immediately took off running ahead.

Su Wei didn't turn back, but instead looked at the terrain and headed towards a sheltered mountain hollow.

The dangers in the mountains increase exponentially at night.

He had to find a good campsite that could both protect him from the wind and wild animals.

His gaze swept quickly through the woods.

You can't be at the bottom of the valley, where cold air accumulates and people will freeze to death.

Do not go down steep slopes, as you may encounter falling rocks and avalanches.

It should not be too close to water sources, as animals love to go there.

After walking for about twenty minutes, Cotton Candy stopped in a sheltered corner made up of large rocks and a few thick spruce trees.

The terrain here is slightly higher, the ground is relatively flat and dry, and the large rocks can block the wind from two directions.

Su Wei surveyed the area and thought, "This is it."

He unloaded his heavy backpack, let out a long sigh of relief, and felt a comfortable crackling sound from every bone in his body.

He took out the newly bought orange four-season tent from his backpack.

The bright orange stood out against the snowy forest at dusk; it was a safe color.

Even if an accident occurs, he can be quickly located when he calls for helicopter rescue.

He untied the bindings, first laid down a waterproof tarpaulin, and then spread the tent out on the cleared ground.

Then he took out the folding tent poles, and the cold poles were joined together section by section in his hands, passing through the tent's fabric cover.

It got completely dark.

Only a last glimmer of purplish-red light remained on the distant mountaintop.

This is Alaska's autumn and winter season, where the days always seem to pass by incredibly quickly.

The light disappeared when you weren't looking.

To survive here, the most important things to pay attention to are temperature and light.

Suwei crouched down and began to forcefully secure the ends of the tent poles into the buckles at the four corners of the tent.