American Landowners: Starting with Hunting in Alaska

Chapter 85 Awe of the Wilderness, Suwei's Self-Reflection (Bonus Chapter)

Su Wei remained silent.

The air inside the carriage seemed to freeze, with only the hum of the heater audible.

Every word Blake said was like a whip lashing his face, burning with pain.

Su Wei's back was already covered in a layer of cold sweat, which soaked through her underwear.

For a brief moment, he was indeed blinded by anger.

In his subconscious, this was still a "hunt" with rules.

He is a hunter, possesses a system, and has all the advantages.

His sense of superiority as a time traveler made him ignore the most basic facts.

This is reality, a place without rules to protect you.

The other side was also carrying real guns and live ammunition.

If that poacher hadn't run away, but instead, in that split second of hesitation, coldly pulled the trigger—

Su Wei glanced subconsciously at the winter coat she was wearing.

This thin layer of fabric cannot stop a blizzard, much less a single rifle bullet.

If that's the case, even if he's not hit in a vital spot, as long as his leg is broken, in this freezing weather, his final outcome will be hypothermia and he'll freeze to death.

This is completely different from his previous living environment.

Even after being transported here, his concepts of "gunfights" and "being killed" remained at the level of movies and games.

Lack of reverence.

They lack even the most basic vigilance towards their own kind.

He seemed to have forgotten that this was America.

He lacks the most basic respect and safety awareness.

"sorry."

After a long while, Su Wei took a deep breath.

He lowered his head, his hands gripping the cold gun barrel, his knuckles turning white from the force.

There was no explanation.

Wrong is wrong.

In the wilderness, any arrogance and recklessness will have a price to pay, and this time, luckily, the price was just a scolding.

Next time might be my fate.

Blake looked at Suwei's lowered head.

His young face was filled with regret and lingering fear, but not with arrogance.

This child may be naive, but he is not stupid.

The old hunter's anger subsided slightly, replaced by weariness.

He pulled a flattened cigarette from his shirt pocket, put it in his mouth, and fumbled for a lighter for a long time, but his hand was shaking so much that he couldn't light it.

He simply gave up and just chewed the bitter cigarette butt vigorously.

"You're a born hunter, Suvy. I admit it."

Blake's voice returned to its usual cold and hard tone, but his speaking speed slowed down considerably.

"Your tracking skills, your marksmanship, even your intuition for locating prey, all amaze me. At your age, few people can do it better than you."

"but----"

Blake paused, turned to look at the vast snowfield outside the window, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"You're too 'clean'."

"There's no murderous intent in your eyes, only curiosity. That's a good thing in the city, but here, it's a weakness."

"Here, the most dangerous thing is never a bear weighing several hundred kilograms or a pack of wolves."

"It's a person."

"Animals kill to eat meat or to protect their offspring; it's instinct, and there are traceable reasons behind it."

"But people kill people—"

Blake sneered, bit off the cigarette butt from his mouth, and spat it onto the floor mat.

"No reason is needed. It could be for money, to cover up a crime. Or it could just be because you were in his way, or he was in a bad mood today."

"Never turn your back to a stranger, and never expose yourself to anyone's gun when you are unsure of your safety."

"No matter what kind of gun you're holding, no matter how strong you think you are."

"This is the first lesson."

Blake turned his head and looked at Suwei.

"It's also the only rule that will allow you to live to a ripe old age."

Suwei raised his head.

He looked at his weathered face and stern eyes, and nodded solemnly.

"I understand, teacher."

That "teacher" was called very sincerely.

He knew that Blake had been so angry just now, even risking reversing the car.

It was to save him.

This seemingly cold-hearted old man was using the harshest and most brutal methods to forcefully instill in him the survival experience he had gained over decades of living on the brink of death.

"Alright."

Blake awkwardly avoided Suwei's gaze.

He picked up the thermal imager again and carefully scanned the grove of trees three times.

There was no reaction from any heat source.

That poacher was a veteran; his escape route was very cunning. He's probably already crossed the ridge and disappeared into the snowfield.

After confirming that it is temporarily safe.

Blake pushed open the car door, and a blast of cold wind rushed into the car.

"get off."

"Get to work."

Su Wei didn't ask any more questions and immediately followed.

But this time he learned his lesson.

The moment he got off the vehicle, he used the tracked body as cover to quickly survey the surrounding high points, keeping his gun pointed downwards and his finger resting on the trigger guard, ready to fire at any moment.

Blake noticed this detail out of the corner of his eye and nodded almost imperceptibly.

Children can be taught.

The two of them crunched through the ankle-deep snow as they approached the unfortunate black-tailed deer.

It has stopped moving.

A large patch of glaring red spread across the snow, like a bucket of paint splashed on a white canvas.

Although the poachers escaped, the deer's life was over.

Its eyes were still open, the gray-brown pupils reflecting the blue sky above, gradually losing their luster.

The severed hind leg was twisted at an odd angle, the stark white bone fragments piercing through the flesh and exposed to the air.

Su Wei squatted down.

He reached out his tactical-gloved hand and gently closed the deer's eyelids.

The fur under the palm was still trembling slightly; it was the last reaction of the muscles and nerves, and the last warmth of life.

This is a mature male deer.

During a normal hunting season, it can provide hundreds of pounds of meat, as well as a pair of beautiful antlers.

But now.

It was just a worthless victim.

It was merely to satisfy someone's greed and tyranny, or simply to serve as a test target.

"Check the wound."

Blake stood aside and finally lit the deformed cigarette.

Amidst the swirling smoke, his expression was somewhat blurred, but his eyes remained alert, scanning his surroundings.

Suwei drew his hunting knife from his waist.

The sharp blade sliced ​​through the frozen flesh around the wound.

There was little resistance.

The wound was horribly ripped open, with the entrance only the thickness of a little finger, but the exit opening was a cavity the size of a bowl.

That's a typical transient cavity effect.

The surrounding muscle tissue was pulverized into a bloody pulp by the bullet's immense kinetic energy, and the bones were shattered beyond recognition.

Su Wei frowned, enduring the smell of blood, and carefully poked through the broken bones and flesh with the tip of his knife.

"Found it."

soon.

He picked out a piece of deformed metal from the soft tissue near the spine.

It was a piece of residual copper sheet, encasing a lead core.

Su Wei placed the piece of shrapnel, covered in blood and flesh, in his palm, wiped away the blood, and examined it carefully.

After waiting to see clearly and carefully compare it with the knowledge in his mind, his pupils suddenly contracted to the size of needles, and he felt a chill rush to the top of his head.

He looked up at Blake, handed him the fragment, his voice hoarse.

"Teacher—this is no ordinary shot."

Suwei's voice was cold.

"Look at the bottom diameter and residual weight—it's .338 caliber."

Blake took the fragment and glanced at it. His expression darkened, and his brows furrowed tightly.

".338 Lapua————"

Blake read it in a low voice.

As a veteran hunter and former sniper, he knew exactly what this meant.

This caliber of bullet is known as the "Brown Bear Caliber".

With its immense power and even greater recoil, it is a popular choice for hunters who always seek to kill with a single blow.

However, this standard is rarely used in practice.

The reason is simple: its power is too great.

In most cases, it will only harm the quality of the prey itself, and using it for hunting is undoubtedly taking a shortcut.

Hunting in the jungles of Kodiak Island with this kind of gun is like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

unless----

The other party's initial goal was not to take away the prey.

This is pure killing for pleasure.

and.

A high-precision .338 caliber sniper rifle, along with expensive ammunition, would cost tens of thousands of US dollars to equip.

Blake gripped the shrapnel tightly in his palm, his knuckles turning white.

"It really is him. It seems we didn't look for the wrong person."

The old hunter squinted, his gaze fixed on the ridgeline where the poacher had disappeared, his expression grave.

"He used the same type of bullet last time."

"And it seems we really need to be careful."

"This is a rich, well-equipped madman who enjoys killing."

The sunlight after the snow stopped was dazzling, reflecting a brilliant light onto the snow.

But at this moment.

Su Wei felt a chill even more biting than a blizzard.

He finally realized that he was not facing a simple game.

It was a real life-or-death chase in the wilderness.

Blake turned around, threw the cigarette butt on the ground, and stomped it out.

"Load the deer onto the cart."

"Don't let it rot here."

"Also—" Black paused, "keep your gun with you at all times, even when you go to the toilet."

Su Wei sheathed his knife and nodded solemnly.

He looked at the empty woods.

This is more than just poaching.

This is the beginning of a war.

"Yes."

Suwei bent down and grasped the pair of cold, heavy antlers with both hands.

That is the weight of life.

This was also the most difficult lesson he learned as a novice.

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