American Landowners: Starting with Hunting in Alaska

Chapter 95 The Hunter's Eternal Medal

The helicopter's rotor blades sliced ​​through the falling snow, and the fuselage tilted as it rapidly ascended with a roar.

A powerful gust of air swept up the snow on the ground and then disappeared into the night.

The valley returned to deathly silence, with only the occasional call of startled birds echoing from afar.

Blake withdrew his hand from the hatch; his palm, clad in a heavy tactical glove, was still covered in engine oil and ice crystals.

He turned around, not looking at Su Wei, and walked directly towards the big guy lying in the pile of rocks.

"Time to get to work."

The old hunter drew his hunting knife, which he had carried for many years, from the outside of his thigh; the blade gleamed coldly in the snowy night.

Su Wei exhaled a breath of white air, which instantly condensed due to the low temperature.

He felt the fatigue from the adrenaline receding climb up his spine.

But upon hearing Blake's words, he immediately followed.

The two men stood before the dead Roosevelt deer.

Up close, the visual impact of this behemoth is far greater than through a scope.

Even though it was dead, lying like a pile of rotten flesh in a crevice, its massive skeleton still showed how powerful it was in life.

But now, this body exudes a nauseating stench.

It wasn't just the smell of blood, but also the sour stench of a ruptured stomach, mixed with excrement and the charred residue of gunpowder.

The poacher, Garrett, used it as cover, but a bullet mercilessly broke its spine, and its internal organs were quickly turned into a mush by the subsequent struggle and the impact of the stun grenade.

Blake crouched down and used the tip of his knife to poke at the fur on the side of the deer carcass.

"The meat is completely ruined."

The old man's judgment was accurate: "The acid produced by the stress response, coupled with internal organ contamination, makes it so bad that even dog food would have to be carefully selected, let alone human consumption."

.

Su Wei nodded silently.

In the wilderness, wasting food is a sin.

Especially a top-quality male deer in its prime, its hundreds of pounds of red meat could have fed a family through the entire winter.

"But that idiot Charlie left you something good."

Blake stood up and kicked the large antlers stuck in the snow like tree branches with his boots.

"Is he serious?" Su Wei was a little incredulous.

He didn't really think the enforcement team leader was that kind-hearted.

Logically speaking, evidence involving criminal cases or hunts of this caliber would usually be displayed as trophies in the exhibition hall of the Fishing and Hunting Bureau or the Hunter's Guild, becoming a part of their wall of honor.

"Does he not know its value?" Su Wei asked.

"He knows his stuff, but he doesn't dare take it." Blake sneered, took a tobacco leaf from his pocket, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed it. "You're the one who crippled and captured the man. Although that bastard killed the deer, according to the rules of hunters, the person who resolves the matter last has the right to dispose of the spoils."

"And—" Black paused, examining the antlers with the eyes of someone eyeing a treasure, "If we take this back to the warehouse, once it's graded, the big shots will swarm around like sharks smelling blood. Charlie doesn't want trouble; he just wants to close the case quickly and get his reward and bonus."

Suwei looked at the deer antlers.

He knew that Blake had one more thing to say.

That's because of him.

If it really was Suwei alone, he wouldn't believe he could actually acquire such a valuable prey.

He hadn't looked closely during the tense standoff, but now, with the help of his headlamp, he realized just how outrageous this thing was.

This is not a normal bone spur.

This is a crown.

The two main beams are as thick as an adult man's forearm and are a dark brown color.

That patina was formed by the stag polishing its antlers countless times on the oily trunk of a spruce tree and rolling in the mud, which allowed it to seep deep into the bone.

As the light moves, the corners reflect a warm, jade-like luster.

"Count them," Blake said.

Suwei reached out, his fingertips touching the cold antlers. They felt rough and hard, covered with pearl-like granular protrusions—proof of the stag's off-the-charts testosterone levels.

"one two three----"

Su Wei followed the fork in the road.

There are seven crosses on the left and seven crosses on the right.

"7x7, a typical Crown-class." Blake exhaled a puff of smoke, his tone carrying a rare hint of envy. "And look at those two forks in the eyebrow, they're shaped like two curved blades pointing forward, a perfect defensive stance."

Su Wei didn't understand these things; he was just an ordinary man.

"How much is this thing worth?" he asked directly.

Having just received $325 million in compensation, Su Wei thought he had become numb to money.

But Blake's next words made his heart skip a beat again.

"At last year's New York Fall Hunting Show, there was a slightly smaller 7x7 Roosevelt antler set, also with this dark patina."

Blake held up eight rough, tree-bark-like fingers.

"Eighty thousand US dollars."

Su Wei's hand, which was wiping the gun barrel, suddenly stopped.

"How many?!"

"Eighty thousand. US dollars." Blake repeated, seemingly quite pleased with Su Wei's naive reaction. "And it was bought by a Wall Street fund manager. That guy's never even touched a gun; he just bought it to hang in his office overlooking Central Park for show."

$80,000.

Su Wei looked at the pile of "bones" in front of him and quickly started doing calculations in his mind.

Even excluding the unexpected insurance payout, the $80,000 would be enough for him to buy a new heavy-duty pickup truck in Kodiak, or renovate the heating system of the entire cabin, or even buy dozens of high-quality calves.

And now, it's stuck in the snow.

"This is still the auction price," Blake added. "If you take into account its history—this is a stag that stopped a murderer's bullet and witnessed a battle. If it finds a collector who likes it, the price can go up even further."

Su Wei swallowed hard.

He reached out and grasped the thick main beam.

[A high-value, harvestable target has been detected.]

[Item: Roosevelt Deer Skull (Perfect/Collector's Grade)]

[Status: Dead. Main beam intact, minor shrapnel scratches at the third fork (does not affect value, but rather enhances its historical significance as a Wild Badge).]

[Collection Recommendation: Use cutting tools to preserve the skull intact, avoiding damage to the horn base.]

The system's notification popped up, its gold border brighter than ever before.

The words "Perfect" looked like an enticing gold coin symbol.

"Get to work," Blake tossed him a folding bone saw. "Don't just stand there. Get the body down before it freezes to stone. Otherwise, you'll be using a chainsaw by tomorrow."

Su Wei caught the bone saw, took a deep breath, and suppressed the turmoil in his heart.

He stepped over the scattered entrails, treading on the frozen, brittle blood ice, and arrived behind the deer head.

This feels very strange.

Ten minutes ago, this place was a battlefield of life and death, and the air was thick with murderous intent.

Now, like a craftsman, he prepares to reap the gifts of nature.

The serrated teeth engage at the junction of the cervical vertebrae.

That's where the first cervical vertebra connects to the skull, and it's also the most difficult joint to treat.

The sound of a bone saw rubbing against bone echoed through the empty valley, making one's teeth ache.

Su Wei exerted force with his arms, each push and pull bringing out white bone powder and dark red ice shards.

This male deer has an astonishingly high bone density; when the serrated teeth cut into it, it feels like sawing granite.

Blake stood to the side, shining a flashlight, occasionally offering a few pointers.

"Lower the angle a bit. Yes, preserve the orbital bone. That way, the specimen will look more lifelike."

"Don't touch the skin! If we need to skin it for a shoulder specimen in the future, this cut will ruin everything."

Su Wei was completely focused.

His hand was numb from the violent shaking, and his breathing became heavy with the rhythm of the sawing.

With a crisp "snap".

The last connecting bone bridge broke.

Suwei threw down the saw, grabbed the base of the antlers with both hands, and pulled upwards with force.

The heavy skull, with its crown-like horns, was completely detached from the body.

He turned it over on the snow, grabbed a handful of clean snow, and vigorously wiped away the blood and brain tissue from the cut.

The cold snowflakes melted on the warm bones, carrying away the filth and revealing the intricate trabecular structure within.

Panting heavily, Su Wei carried the heavy trophy, which was as heavy as a millstone, to the tracked vehicle.

But he didn't put it in the truck bed.

He turned around, holding the priceless antlers in both hands, and presented them to Blake.

"Take it."

Su Wei's words were simple, even a bit impulsive.

Blake, who was wiping the grease off his hunting knife, paused upon hearing this.

He raised his eyelids, glanced at the antlers, and then looked at Suwei.

"Did the wind damage your brain?" the old hunter asked.

"Without your stun grenade, I might have been shot already." Su Wei still held up the antlers, his arm trembling slightly from the weight. "Besides, you brought me here. These should be yours."

Whoever puts in the most effort gets the lion's share.

Without Blake drawing fire in front and with him providing cover from behind, Su Wei would never have had the chance to fire that shot within thirty meters.

Of this $80,000, half, or even more, should rightfully belong to Blake.

Blake looked at the stubborn young man.

The wind and snow passed between them.

The old hunter suddenly smiled, but there was no mockery in his smile; instead, there was a hint of relief.

"Take it away."

Blake waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away flies. "Don't insult my walls with this kind of thing."

Su Wei was taken aback.

"In my cabin hang four brown bear skulls, two moose antlers over 60 inches long, and a snow sheep I hunted in Siberia."

Blake sheathed his hunting knife with a click.

He turned around, opened the cab door of the tracked vehicle, and said with his back to Suwei, "I don't have room on my walls for this little toy that only costs $80,000. And—"

The old man stopped what he was doing and turned his head to the side.

"This is your first milestone as a professional hunter. Sell it, or leave it up for sale. That's up to you."

"But I suggest you keep it."

"When you're too old to walk, looking at this thing on the wall will remind you of that night, how you chased a madman with a sniper rifle through a blizzard like an idiot, and how you broke that bastard's leg."

"That's priceless."

After saying that, Blake climbed into the driver's seat and slammed the door shut.

The diesel engine of the tracked vehicle roared, spewing out a plume of black smoke from its exhaust pipe.

Suwei stood there, still holding the heavy deer antlers in his hands.

He looked down at the massive skeleton, his fingers tracing the rough, resinous main beam.

$80,000.

No.

Blake is right.

This is not money.

This is the medal of that crazy night, the first cornerstone for him to gain a foothold in this cruel world.

Suwei grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.

He chuckled in the snow, then exerted his strength and hoisted the hundred-pound crown onto his shoulder.

At that moment, he felt as if he were carrying the ticket to Kodiak Island.

He strode over to the tracked vehicle and carefully secured the antlers to the cargo rack in the back, binding them with three strong cables to ensure they wouldn't be damaged during the bumpy ride.

Then, he opened the passenger door and stepped inside, bringing with him a chill.

"Let's drive, you old devil." Su Wei buckled his seatbelt, in a great mood. "When we get back, I'm going to eat roasted deer heart. Don't tell me you're disgusted by that too."

Blake grunted and shifted into gear.

The tracked vehicle crushed the ice and snow on the ground, and guided by the two headlights that pierced the darkness, it drove deeper into the snowstorm.

Behind them, on a shelf, a massive pair of antlers pointed straight to the sky, surveying this wild territory as they swayed.

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