Reborn in 78, I made my fortune by working in the mountains, supporting three families on my own.

The second one charged forward, slightly smaller, but still weighing around 150-160 pounds. Zhao Lei quickly reloaded and fired another shot.

The second pig also collapsed on top of the first one, and the two pigs piled together, forming a small mountain.

The wild boars behind them were blocked by two dead boars, and they huddled together. In their panic, they turned around and ran back, howling as they rushed into the crowd by the puddle.

Zhao Lei stood up and shouted, "The left flank has held! Keep fighting! Don't stop!"

On the eastern hillside, the wolf pack was stunned by the gunshot that Zhao Lei had fired at their companion, and their previously restless formation was pushed back.

Several wolves huddled behind a rock, only half their heads peeking out.

Hearing this from the other side, Huang Hongbo's spirits lifted, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Brothers! Give it your all! Every one we kill is money!"

The gunfire from the crowd intensified, a cacophony of bangs echoing through the air...

The smell of gunpowder permeated the air, making people's throats dry.

While loading his ammunition, Zhao Lei quickly scanned the battlefield.

A dozen or so prey animals lay scattered haphazardly by the puddle, including wild boars, goats, and roe deer, piled up on the ground in various sizes.

But there were still many more prey roaming around, at least twenty or thirty of them, some of which had already climbed up the hillside, while others were still circling around the puddles.

He glanced up at the hillside to the east.

Sure enough, the wolves he had just chased away returned and were crouching behind the rocks halfway up the mountain, peering in this direction from afar.

But the leaders were clearly much more cautious than before, hunching over, ears flattened, and tails tucked between their legs, no longer daring to approach easily.

Zhao Lei picked up his hunting rifle again and aimed at the last wild goat still struggling by the puddle.

The goat was covered in blood on one side, and one of its hind legs was broken. It dragged itself as it tried to crawl into the grass.

boom!

The wild goat rolled over and remained still.

The gunfire gradually subsided, and the valley finally fell silent.

Only the sound of the wind and the rustling of the grass remained, along with the occasional low moan of a wounded prey.

Huang Hongbo ran over from the entrance of the passage, his face covered in sweat and panting.

"Brother Zhao Lei! Guess how many we fought?"

Zhao Lei wiped the sweat from his face and leaned the gun against a rock beside him: "How much?"

Huang Hongbo held up five fingers, then three more: "At least eight wild boars! Sixteen or seventeen goats! Eight or nine roe deer! Adding them all up, they probably weigh three or four thousand jin!"

Zhao Lei was also happy; the trip hadn't been in vain.

Huang Hongbo followed his gaze to the eastern hillside, and the smile on his face froze instantly, the curve of his lips slowly disappearing.

On the hillside.

A dozen or so gray wolves were crouching quietly among the rocks, their green eyes fixed on the mountain of prey piled up in the ravine.

They were also being watched.

Huang Hongbo tightened his grip on the gun and cursed under his breath, "Damn it... these bastards have really got their eyes on us."

Zhao Lei remained silent.

He simply reloaded his shotgun and fixed his gaze on the largest, darkest gray wolf at the very top of the hill.

This wolf was a whole size bigger than the others. It squatted on a protruding rock, like a stone sculpture, looking down at the entire valley without moving.

That's a wolf!

Zhao Lei whispered to the group, "Everyone, drag the dead prey together and pile it up as cover! Light the hay and tobacco leaves; wolves are afraid of fire!"

Qin Dashan was the first to react, dropping what he was holding and running over to drag the prey away.

He bent down, grabbed the two hind legs of a wild boar with both hands, gritted his teeth, and clenched the muscles in his arms, managing to drag the more than 200-pound creature seven or eight meters.

The blood left a long trail on the ground.

The others followed suit.

Qin Changlin and Wang Zongbao carried a large, fat goat together, their steps unsteady; Huang Hongbo, along with Deng Shaohua and a few others, gathered the roe deer and rabbits scattered around them into a pile.

Gunshots, shouts, and panting mingled together, turning the entire valley into a chaotic mess.

In less than fifteen minutes, the prey was dragged to a relatively flat open space in the middle of the ravine, piled up like a small mountain, and the stench of blood was so strong it hit your nose.

Zhao Lei directed the group to form a semi-circle around the prey to serve as temporary cover, while he himself stood in the center of the cover, his eyes fixed on the eastern hillside.

The gray-haired wolf remained crouched on the highest rock, motionless.

Behind it, a dozen gray wolves crouched scattered about, their tails drooping to the ground and their ears standing up, all staring at the group of prey in the center of the ravine.

Huang Hongbo leaned closer: "Brother Zhao Lei, it'll be dark in a little over an hour. Should we defend or attack?"

Zhao Lei pointed in the direction of the wolf pack and whispered, "Brother Huang, look at the wolves' tails, they're all flat. I reckon they're waiting for nightfall; that's when they'll hunt."

Huang Hongbo's face turned pale: "Then what do we do?"

"We have no choice but to get through tonight. Otherwise, anyone who gets separated from the group might be surrounded and killed by the wolves."

Upon hearing this, several of the young men in the eleven-man hunting team were so frightened that their hands trembled and they could barely hold their rifles steady.

Zhao Lei shouted, "Brothers! We have a tough battle to fight tonight. Let's use this time to cook and get our spirits up for battle!"

Huang Hongbo looked up and found that everyone's morale was very low.

Although they had hunted a large number of prey, the presence of wolves lurking nearby left everyone feeling uncertain.

Not to mention the young men on his own team, even he himself felt a chill in his heart.

His gaze toward Zhao Lei held a newfound respect. Despite being much younger than him, Zhao Lei showed no sign of panic or fear, displaying composure and ease that was truly admirable.

At this moment, Huang Hongbo finally understood where the difference lay between himself and Zhao Lei.

Deng Shaohua walked out from the crowd: "Brother, are we really going to spend the night in this valley?"

Huang Hongbo patted him on the shoulder and forced a smile: "Listen to Zhao Lei, he's more suitable to lead in this situation than I am."

After saying that, Huang Hongbo steeled his resolve, turned around and shouted to his hunting team, "Brothers, cheer up! See this pile of carcasses? That's all real money!"

We went into the mountains to hunt for money. Now that we have our prey, as long as we can get through tonight, we can bring it down the mountain to exchange for money, and every family can live a more comfortable life.

I know you're all wary of the wolves, but we have a dozen men and a dozen guns. Wolves are no different from other wild animals. Tonight, if anyone slacks off, disobeys orders, especially Zhao Lei's instructions, I won't show any mercy when it comes time to divide the spoils and the money!

Upon hearing these words, the members of the Huangshi Township hunting team immediately perked up and looked at the mountain of game carcasses piled up to the side.