Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Wei Chen stored the gold nuggets and the scripture box into his spatial storage, a slight smile playing on his lips. He hadn't lost out on this deal; he might even have made a small profit. More importantly, it made him realize that in places like this, besides the usual local specialties, he might be able to find some truly valuable "bargains."

Next, he traded a few kilograms of flour and a small bag of candy from a gloomy-looking herdsman for a simple Mongolian knife with a scabbard inlaid with dark turquoise and coral, as well as a small jar of dark red, uniquely fragrant "sour cheese"—a highly fermented yogurt product used by herdsmen for seasoning or direct consumption, with a unique flavor.

The herdsman said his cows produced little milk this year, so they couldn't make much milk curd, and they were running out of food and urgently needed grain.

He also saw a stall displaying several colorful stones with unique textures. Some were dark green with white veins, while others were dark red like chicken blood. The stall owner said they were "colorful stones" he had picked up from the mountains to the north. They were not meant to be eaten or drunk, but only exchanged for salt.

Wei Chen traded two bags of salt for the stones. He recognized one of them as a dark green stone with white veins, which was likely some kind of unprocessed jade rough. Even if the quality was average, it would still be valuable.

As the sun began to set, the people in the valley started packing up and leaving. Wei Chen also prepared to depart. His haul for the day had far exceeded his expectations: over a dozen high-quality hides, hundreds of pounds of dried meat, dozens of pounds of dairy products, a pile of medicinal herbs, several old silverwares and knives, a sizable piece of gold, an old sutra box, several pieces of colored stone that appeared to be jade, a Mongolian knife that seemed to have been used by a nobleman, and some uniquely flavored sour cheese.

All he gave up were grains, oils, and a small amount of seasonings that he brought from the game world, at a negligible cost to him.

Wei Chen chose a different direction from most people, circled around a few times, and only after confirming that no one was following him did he head in the direction he had planned to continue deeper into the heart of the grassland.

For the next two days, Wei Chen roamed the vast snowfields like a lone wolf. He hunted during the day and returned to the hunter's hut in the game world to rest at night, relying on supplies in the space and small animals he hunted along the way for food.

He never slacked off in his cultivation of the "Nine Heavens Shooting Sun Technique." In this wilderness where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth seemed even more abundant, his true energy circulation seemed to be smoother, and his five senses and spiritual power became more and more acute.

He hunted many gazelles and a few red deer, and also encountered small packs of wolves and cunning foxes, all of which he either shot from a distance or dealt with at close range.

His hunting skills became increasingly refined, and his adaptation to the grassland environment reached new heights. He caught quite a lot of prey, but it was still far from enough to "shock" the entire steel mill.

The real turning point came on the afternoon of the seventh day after he entered the grassland.

At the time, he was resting on a relatively flat snowfield, using his mental energy to explore the surrounding area.

Suddenly, a very faint yet unusually dense vibration came from the ground beneath my feet, as if muffled thunder was rolling in the distance, or as if countless huge drums were being struck at the same time.

Wei Chen instantly became alert, abruptly stood up, focused intently on listening, and at the same time extended his mental energy as far as possible in the northwest direction from which the vibration came.

The tremors grew clearer and stronger. Then, a deep and resounding boom came from afar, like a surging tide! It wasn't the sound of wind and snow, nor thunder, but... the sound of countless hooves trampling the earth!

Wei Chen squinted, looking towards the northwest horizon. At first, there was only swirling snow dust, like a sandstorm. But soon, a moving, dark brown "wave" appeared at the edge of his vision, spreading towards him at an alarming speed!

That was... a horde of beasts! A horde of beasts so large it was terrifying!

As they drew closer, Wei Chen could see clearly. It was an animal slightly smaller than a horse, but more agile, with grayish-brown fur, a striking black stripe down its back, ears slightly longer than a horse's, and a short tail—it was the Mongolian wild ass, a species unique to the Mongolian steppe!

At this moment, the sheer number of wild donkeys exceeded Wei Chen's expectations! As far as the eye could see, there were hundreds of them!

They seem to be startled, or perhaps they are undertaking a rare large-scale migration during the winter, rushing headlong in a relatively fixed direction with overwhelming force!

Iron hooves thundered, crushing ice and snow, raising clouds of dust that soared into the sky, like a giant brown dragon traversing the snowfield! Its momentum seemed to crush all obstacles in its path! The earth trembled beneath its hooves, the rumbling deafening, and even the biting wind seemed to be torn apart by this surging torrent!

Wei Chen's heart began to pound uncontrollably! Not out of fear, but out of excitement! Extreme excitement!

Wild donkeys! And such a huge herd of wild donkeys! Although wild donkey meat is not as tender as domestic donkey meat, it is firm, lean, and evenly distributed with fat. Because of its constant running, the meat is very elastic, with a unique taste and high nutritional value. It is an excellent material for making dried meat and jerky, and it also fully meets the requirements of steel mills for "high-quality meat"!

More importantly, the sheer size of this beast horde is enough to allow him to obtain meat resources far exceeding the mission's requirements by ten or even dozens of times!

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Without the slightest hesitation, Wei Chen immediately took action. He quickly stored away any unnecessary weight (such as a water bottle and extra clothing) into his spatial storage, leaving only his bow and arrows and dagger.

He took a deep breath, fully activating the Nine Heavens Sun-Shooting Technique, his true essence surging like a tide within his dantian, flowing to his limbs and bones. He lightly touched the snow with his toes, and his entire body shot out like an arrow, darting diagonally forward and to the side of the direction the wild donkey herd was fleeing!

He must stand in front of the herd, or at least run alongside them, to hunt effectively. If he follows behind and gets caught in their dust, not only will his shooting range be insufficient, but it will also be difficult to aim accurately.

When Wei Chen exerted his full strength, his speed was astonishing! He did not use any high-flying lightness skills, but instead poured his true energy into his legs and ran wildly across the snowfield in a way that was almost skimming the ground!

With each step, he left a shallow crater in the snow. Using the momentum, he moved like lightning, his speed almost matching that of the herd of wild donkeys galloping ahead! The wind whistled in his ears, and the icy air scraped against his cheeks like knives, but his blood was boiling, and his eyes were fixed on the rolling brown torrent ahead!

Closer! Even closer!

He could clearly see the terrified looks in the eyes of the wild donkeys in the herd, and hear their heavy breathing and panicked braying. The herd had obviously also noticed the rapidly approaching "two-legged monster" from the side, but out of instinct, they did not change direction, but instead ran even more frantically forward, trying to shake off this terrible "predator."

Wei Chen drew his bow and nocked an arrow while running! His body rose and fell with the rhythm of his run, but his arm holding the bow remained as steady as a rock. His mental power was like the most sophisticated radar, instantly locking onto a robust, slightly lagging adult male donkey at the edge of the herd.

"Bang!" The arrow pierced the air and accurately pierced the side of the wild donkey's neck. The powerful kinetic energy caused it to stagger forward a few steps before crashing to the ground, where it was instantly overwhelmed and trampled by the surging herd of beasts behind it!

But Wei Chen didn't care. His goal was to kill and collect the bodies quickly. Whether the bodies were intact or not was insignificant in the face of such a large number.

The moment the wild donkey fell, struck by the arrow, Wei Chen's mind moved—and he vanished! The donkey's corpse, along with the arrow lodged in its body, disappeared instantly from its spot and entered the game world's storage space! The entire process took less than a tenth of a second, so fast that even the wild donkey beside it didn't have time to react!

"It's done!" Wei Chen felt a great sense of relief. His biggest worry was that he wouldn't be able to successfully collect his prey amidst the high-speed movement and chaos. Now it seemed that as long as it was within the range of his mental focus, he could collect it instantly with a thought!

This is simply... a divine skill tailor-made for this kind of large-scale hunting!

Without hesitation, Wei Chen maintained a near-parallel running speed with the herd while continuously firing arrows! "Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!" The sound of bowstrings vibrating filled the air! Each arrow, like an invitation to death, accurately struck the relatively easy targets at the edge of the herd. With each arrow, a wild donkey brayed and fell, only to be instantly absorbed into Wei Chen's spatial storage!

He was like a tireless killing machine, a top-notch marksman moving at high speed! When his quiver was empty, it was instantly replenished from his spatial storage; when his arms were sore and numb, his true energy flowed to relieve the pain; when his mental energy was depleted, he would adjust his breathing slightly while running, relying on the restorative power of the "Nine Heavens Shooting Sun Technique" to quickly replenish it.

The herd of wild donkeys was thrown into utter panic. The two-legged monster on the side was incredibly fast, and even more terrifying was the accuracy of its bow and arrows! Every arrow meant the death and disappearance of a companion! This unknown fear even surpassed the fear of being chased by a pack of wolves! The herd began to riot; some tried to turn around, while others huddled together, which actually slowed them down.

Wei Chen seized the opportunity, pressing close to the flank of the herd, and unleashed a torrent of arrows like a flood! More and more wild donkeys fell, and he was like a highly efficient, invisible harvester, with wild donkeys falling and disappearing wherever he went.

The chase and slaughter lasted from afternoon until the sun began to set. The wild donkey herd ran for an unknown distance, and Wei Chen chased after them for an unknown distance as well. He had long forgotten his fatigue, the time, and where he was, completely immersed in the thrill of this extreme hunt.

The true qi seemed to become more condensed as it circulated at high speed, and the mental power seemed to have a slight increase under the extreme use of it. The archery skills even reached a mysterious realm of perfect harmony between mind and hand, where the arrow could be sent with a thought.

Unbeknownst to him, the surrounding terrain began to change, becoming more desolate, with undulating sand dunes appearing and vegetation becoming sparser. Wei Chen vaguely felt that he might have already moved far away from the grassland where he first encountered the beast herd, and perhaps... he might have even crossed some kind of boundary.

But he had no time to think about it. Although the number of beasts had decreased, they were still enormous. And his space was like a bottomless pit, constantly devouring the corpses of its prey.