American Landowners: Starting with Hunting in Alaska

Early the next morning.

The wooden house, surrounded by heavy snow, was eerily silent.

The fireplace had long since gone out, and the temperature had dropped.

Cold air is starting to take over the indoor space again.

Suwei was awakened by the cold.

A chill ran down my spine, penetrating the thick robe and wool blanket, and creeping into my bones.

He subconsciously shrank back and pulled the blanket tighter.

The white woolen bun that had been pressed against his chest for warmth beside the sofa was nowhere to be seen.

The room was very quiet.

It's too quiet.

The howling wind outside the cabin at night also disappeared.

Su Wei opened his eyes and sat up from the sofa.

In the darkness, only a faint, gray light shone through the window.

He listened intently, but there was no other sound except for his own steady heartbeat.

Dead silence.

Snow stopped.

He made a judgment.

Su Wei threw off the covers and stepped barefoot onto the cold floor, a chill instantly running up her head.

He put on his shoes, walked a few steps to the window, and smashed the frost flowers on the glass.

Everything outside the window was a vast expanse of white.

The blizzard that had raged all night finally stopped, and the sky was a leaden gray before dawn.

Thick snow covered the forests and lakes, covered everything, and made the outlines of everything rounded.

The snow piled up to halfway up the door frame, completely separating the cabin from the outside.

The snow was heavier than he had imagined.

The snow must be cleared immediately.

Otherwise, if the door freezes shut, or if the snow falls even heavier and collapses the roof, that would be a real problem.

"Eek?"

A soft cry came from the fireplace.

Suwei turned around and saw Cotton Candy curled up beside the cold ashes, her small body shivering slightly from the cold, her blue eyes looking at him in the dim light, full of grievance.

"Come here." Suwei beckoned to it.

The little fox immediately ran over, skillfully jumped onto the sofa, and crawled into the spot where he had just slept.

A small head peeked out from under the still slightly warm blankets.

Suwei relit the fireplace.

The dry birch wood quickly caught fire, and the orange-red flames danced again, dispelling the chill from the room.

Without wasting any time, he put on thick winter clothes and snow boots, as well as goggles and gloves, wrapping himself up completely.

He picked up the large snow shovel by the door, took a deep breath of the cold air, and pushed open the door of the cabin.

"Creak—"

The door was only pushed open a crack before it was firmly blocked by the thick snow.

Suwei shoved his shoulder into the snow with a loud thud as the snow was squeezed, and he finally broke free.

A sudden rush of cold air from outside the door swept in.

The morning air is dry and cold; even a single breath makes my throat hurt.

The snow was almost up to his knees, soft and heavy.

He stomped down, and his entire calf sank in.

His first task was to clear a path leading to the outside world.

Su Wei swung his snow shovel, scooping up heavy shovelfuls of snow and forcefully throwing them aside.

The movement looks simple, but in snow that's almost knee-deep, each movement is incredibly strenuous.

His movements were steady, and he didn't waste any energy.

One shovelful after another.

White snowflakes traced arcs in the air, landing on both sides and gradually piling up to form snow walls.

Sweat quickly soaked through his inner clothes, and the cold immediately took away the heat, making him feel both hot and cold.

Half an hour later, a path extending more than three meters from the doorway was finally cleared.

[Life Skills +1]

The pale blue subtitles flashed across my vision.

Without stopping to rest, he took out the ladder again and placed it under the eaves.

He had to clear the snow off the roof to prevent it from collapsing the wooden house.

Climbing a wet and slippery ladder is dangerous, not to mention doing heavy work on a sloping roof, which is very risky.

Su Wei secured one end of the safety rope to the bottom of the chimney and the other end around his waist before carefully starting to work.

The snow on the roof was thicker and more solid.

He stood on the roof ridge, and his view suddenly opened up.

The distant mountains and forests were all covered in snow, looking particularly quiet but also particularly desolate under the gray sky.

But no matter how beautiful the scenery is, it hides deadly dangers.

He snapped out of his reverie and focused on pushing chunks of snow off the eaves.

Another hour passed, and when he finished cleaning most of the roof and climbed down the ladder, his arms were so sore that he could barely lift them, and all his strength seemed to have been drained.

[Life Skills +3]

【Life Skills Module lv2 (127/300)】

Back in the warm cabin, Suwei took off his soaked coat, feeling completely exhausted.

He poured himself a large glass of hot water and added a few thick pieces of firewood to the fireplace, only then did he feel alive again.

Breakfast must include something high in calories.

He took the last few slices of bacon and two eggs from the refrigerator.

The frying pan is heated on the stove, and the bacon is put in, immediately making a "sizzling" sound, and the rich aroma of meat instantly fills the air.

Golden oil was rendered out, and he cracked two eggs into it. The egg whites wrapped around the yolks and slowly solidified in the oil.

Attracted by the aroma, the marshmallow poked its head out from under the covers, making a longing "gurgling" sound in its throat.

Suwei cut the fried bacon into small pieces and gave half of it to him.

He then finished off the high-calorie breakfast with the last half of a rye bread.

After eating and drinking my fill, the fatigue in my body was greatly relieved.

He went to the storage room and re-examined the ice fishing equipment his father had left behind.

Two short ice fishing rods, the fishing line has been replaced with strong Dyneema braided line.

A dark green fishing tackle box, inside which various sizes of fish hooks and spinner lures are neatly organized.

The most crucial thing is that hand-cranked ice drill.

The polished blade gleamed coldly in the dim light.

With electricity and fuel unreliable now, this purely manual tool is his greatest hope.

Everything is ready.

Suwei put on his heavy winter clothes again, carried the ice fishing rod and tackle box on his back, held the ice drill in one hand and a folding bucket for sitting in the other.

He didn't bring an ice tent because snow could come at any time.

"Let's go, Cotton Candy, let's get something delicious."

The little fox cried out excitedly and followed closely behind him.

The man and the fox walked along the newly cleared path, their steps uneven, towards the frozen lake in front of the door.

The short distance of about 200 meters was extremely difficult to traverse through the thick snow.

Finally, he stood on the shore of the lake.

The entire lake was covered with a thick layer of white snow, almost blending into the land on the shore with no visible boundary.

When walking on ice, safety is the top priority.

Suwei did not rashly step onto the lake.

He walked to a spot on the lakeshore where he remembered the water was shallow, and used the ice drill bit as a chisel to hammer it down hard.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

After a few moments, the snow was broken open, revealing the bluish-white solid ice underneath.

He put down the ice drill, picked up the small axe he had brought, and began to chop and chisel with all his might.

Ice shards flew everywhere, and soon he had chiseled open a hole the size of a bowl.

He used a shovel to scoop out the broken ice and carefully examined the cross-section of the ice layer.

The ice was clear and hard, and its thickness was estimated to be over thirty centimeters.

With a thickness of that, not only could a person walk on it, but even a pickup truck could drive up it without any problem.

Safety has been confirmed.

Next, it's time to find a suitable fishing spot.

On such a large lake, if you just randomly cast your line anywhere, you might not catch anything all day.

Rainbow trout and Arctic grayling, these cold-water fish, congregate in specific areas with higher oxygen levels and food sources during the winter.

For example, places with special underwater structures, or the boundary between shallow and deep water.

Suwei stood by the lake, carefully recalling the terrain of the lake.

The other end of the lake connects to Pilan Creek, where fresh water should flow in, resulting in a higher oxygen content.

But the distance is too far, and it would take a lot of physical effort to walk there.

His gaze swept across the snow-white lake surface.

Where can fish find hiding places under this vast expanse of white?

A thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

The harvesting module can sense living plants.

Fish in winter mostly need oxygen, warmth, and food.

This is the best choice.

Of course, it's the inlet, which is where the lake meets the Pilan Creek.

But that place is too far away, and the Soviet Union is not considering it.

Secondly, there are areas where there is a significant geological difference between steep slopes and the edges of deep water areas.

Here, fish can more easily float, which allows them to quickly avoid predators and also makes it easier to forage in shallow waters.

Such a place would be very difficult for even the Soviet Union to find.

Finally, there are areas with remaining vegetation or fallen trees.

That is, places where plants are abundant.

His data collection module could obviously try to find such places.

Although it's uncertain whether it will succeed, it's worth a try.

Su Wei concentrated and silently recited the mantra in his mind.

"Activate data collection module".

The data acquisition module has been activated, with a scanning radius of 30 meters.

He moved slowly along the lakeside. His pale blue field of vision was empty, except for a few withered trees on the shore that showed faint gray information.

It still didn't work, huh?

Just as he was about to give up and try to find the deep water area based on his experience, a very faint, almost imperceptible pale green halo suddenly flashed at the edge of his field of vision, about twenty meters away from the center of the lake.

The halo was blurry and small in area, like a cloud of mist underwater.

Chara: An ancient, large aquatic algae, prized for its beauty. Value: Extremely low.

Chara?

Su Wei's heart skipped a beat.

He took a few steps in that direction, and the pale green halo became a little clearer.

it is true!

A large area of ​​abundant algae, including not only charophytes but also various other types of algae.

There's a good chance there are fish here!

He suppressed his excitement, adjusted his breathing, carried his equipment, and walked step by step toward the location of the halo.

The snow boots crunched and squeaked on the thick snow, the sound particularly clear on the silent, frozen lake.

He finally stopped directly above the green halo.

right here.

Suwei put down all the equipment on his back, unfolded the folding bucket, and placed it aside.

He took off his gloves, rubbed his hands which were stiff from the cold, and then gripped the two handles on top of the hand-cranked ice drill tightly.

The cold, metallic touch came from my palm.

Suwei stood firmly with his legs apart, pressing the sharp spiral drill bit of the ice drill vertically against the snow beneath his feet and pushing it down forcefully.

The drill bit easily pierced through the soft snow, its tip touching the hard ice.