Wild 1979: From Fishing and Hunting to Becoming a Literary Master

Chapter 45 Not Believing in Evil

Before anyone could stop talking about it, Wu Laowai only mentioned "Sun the Cripple" once, and Sun Changkui, leaning on his crutches, stood on the riverbank.

"Master Wu, you called me? Oh... where did this bear come from? Master Wu's marksmanship is amazing! You shot him in the back of the head with one shot?"

By the firelight, they saw a bear next to Wu Laowai with its head missing.

Sun Changkui couldn't help but admire the old man's marksmanship.

Hunting is the first activity; without some skill, you really can't do it.

"Didn't you see that's a brown bear? It must weigh six or seven hundred pounds. I didn't shoot it; this kid shot it, he shoved a bullet right into its mouth!"

Seeing Sun Changkui on the shore, Wu Laowai finally relaxed.

In terms of marksmanship, he was no match for Sun the Cripple, and by a significant margin.

"Xiao Chen, I have to say something to you here. When fighting wild beasts like bears and wolves, you can't let them get too close."

Upon hearing that Chen Tuo had killed Xiong, Sun Changkui's attitude immediately changed.

Wu Laowai is capable of hitting the head, but judging from Chen Tuo's performance during the day, if he wants to hit the head, he can only do so by firing at close range.

Like Wu Laowai, Sun Changkui also knew how tenacious brown bears and black bears were.

Aside from bear-hunting bullets, single bullets from modern cannons, and lead bullets from Beret, even old-fashioned high-powered water-filled bullets might not be able to kill a bear with a single shot.

For bears, the closer the distance and the stronger the penetrating power of the bullet, the less damaging it is.

When shooting at a bear, whether with copper or steel-core bullets, the target should either be the head or the core.

If you hit elsewhere, it's really hard to kill someone with a single blow.

If you fail to kill the bear, the hunter will be the one who dies...

"Brother-in-law Sun, we have to use a gun! Uncle Wu said this gun isn't even accurate at 30 meters, so I can only shoot from about 10 meters away."

I have personally faced the Ussuri brown bear and heard the story of Wu Laowai's wolf attack.

Chen Tuo still didn't treat these wild beasts differently from the animals in the zoo.

In his view, bears are slow-witted; once there's a first one, there will be a second and a third.

This time it's ten meters, next time it might be face to face.

But no matter how many meters, when it comes to speed, the bear can only outrun the gun.

Wu Laowai still didn't dare to comment on Chen Tuo's inexplicable self-confidence stemming from ignorance.

This is really weird!

For others, such an encounter might only lead to certain death, but for Chen Tuo, it could mean being prey delivered right to his doorstep by the old leader.

"Are you still going to skim off the fish? Those two mountain dogs might not even get enough to eat..."

When Wu Laowai mentioned the mountain dogs, Sun Changkui on the shore realized that there were two more formidable creatures on the snow crust of the Hetao region.

Wolverines are fearless creatures in the forest, unafraid of weapons. If a person encounters one without a gun, the outcome is still uncertain.

"Master Wu, hurry up and kill these two bastards, don't hurt anyone!"

"Kill them? These were just tamed. If it weren't for these two mountain dogs, you might have gotten scratched by a brown bear too..."

Speaking of the mountain dog, Wu Laowai also felt a little sorry for the big male bear in his hands.

Without those two scoundrels holding him back, Chen Tuo's shot might not have gone straight into the bear's mouth...

"What the heck? Did Xiao Chen raise this? Xiao Chen, this thing is really good at stealing people, you'd better not keep it at the educated youth settlement..."

Sun Changkui had heard of and seen people raising dogs, deer, roe deer, minks, bears, and raccoon dogs, but this was the first time he had ever heard of someone who raised wild dogs.

Wolverines are extremely aggressive. If Chen Tuo were to keep them at the educated youth settlement, Sun Changkui would have to worry about his young family members.

The mountain dog is ruthless and doesn't know his own strength. If he were to rip out a child's head, the child would likely be either killed or maimed.

"They're kept in the mountains, and these two bastards come here at fixed times to eat fish offal."

Having relieved Sun Changkui of his worries, Wu Laowai pointed to the ice hole and said to Chen Tuo:

"If you stop being so stingy, let's hurry back..."

"Oh, since it's already open, why not finish picking at it before going back..."

Chen Tuo went down into the ice hole, and Wu Laowai got up and went ashore. He walked to Sun Changkui's side and began to complain.

"Sun the Cripple, this guy is too wicked, I'm not going to care anymore. Do you know what dirty trick he just pulled?"

When the topic turned to sticking knives into the snow and letting the blood drip, Wu Laowai told Sun Changkui about the past wolf plague.

After listening to Wu Laowai's complaint, Sun Changkui sighed:

"Master Wu, I was just about to tell you about this!"

"A pack of wolves came from Hulunbuir in the west, and gazelles came from Huma along the river, followed by a pack of wolves from the Russians."

"This year, our forest area might experience a wolf infestation. The Forestry Bureau's plan is to take preventative measures and set up checkpoints along various river bends to hunt wolves!"

Upon hearing that Songling was going to be plagued by wolves, Wu Laowai frowned.

Ten years ago, he wasn't afraid to hunt wolves.

But now, his health is not what it used to be, and he may not have the strength to wade through the snowdrifts to hunt wolves.

"Sun the Cripple, aren't Su Dao and the others still around? Why don't we ask them to gather some able-bodied men to go down the mountain and wipe them out?"

"We don't need them. In this area, who doesn't know how to use a gun? Besides, we've been hunting wolves for over a decade or two, and we haven't heard of any wolf packs exceeding a hundred."

Sun Changkui's indifference made Wu Laowai frown even more deeply.

Running in the mountains is similar to farming; it depends on the weather.

Winter arrived half a month earlier this year, but don't underestimate that half-month difference.

Those who didn't gain enough weight for winter or store enough food will have to come out in the freezing cold to find food, just like the brown bears under their feet.

In winter, there are more wild animals foraging in the forest, and those that eat meat become more active.

It's like a fuse; it's thin, but it can make a huge noise.

Herbivores move, so carnivores have to move too.

Wolf packs have arrived on the grasslands and from the Russians, but what about in the mountains?

Once the wolf pack is allowed to escape from the river bend into the mountains, they can attack or defend at will, making it difficult for humans to chase and hunt them down.

"Sun the Cripple, don't you know why the wolf plague started? Or don't you know that wolves are vengeful beasts?"

"If we don't fight them well, the wolves will only multiply. The mountains are densely forested with thick snow; if the wolves go into the mountains, how the hell are we going to wipe them out?"

Wu Laowai's concerns were met with Sun Changkui's dismissive attitude.

"Master Wu, when have we ever lost?"

Seeing that Sun Changkui was just as headstrong and skeptical as Chen Tuo, Wu Laowai pointed in the direction of Songling Town and scolded:

"East of Huma, the land is flat and the land of Hulunbuir is also flat. When hunting wolves, people can't catch them, horses dare not chase them, but you can even drive a car to chase them."

"You're a simpleton, the snow in the ditches and ponds is more than a meter deep, how could you possibly chase after it? If you chase too fast, the wolf will just dive into the ditch and there's nothing you can do!"

"Once you leave, the wolves will come down the mountain again. If you chase them, things will get messy, and the wolf pack will settle down in the mountains. You shouldn't cut down any more trees either..."

The two got into an argument and didn't notice Chen Tuo emerging from the ice hole.

Hearing that there were quite a few wolves, Chen Tuo felt that his chance to get a new gun might have come.

"Brother-in-law Sun, I'm free! If you're hunting wolves, count me in!"

After registering, Chen Tuo pointed to the snow shell and said:

"I just mentioned to Uncle Wu the trick of stabbing someone and letting blood drip down their throat. How about we try it first?"

Sun Changkui is a soldier who has been on the battlefield. He is not afraid of tanks or airplanes, so why would he be afraid of wolf packs?

Furthermore, the settlers at the foot of the mountain have already set an example for them.

In 1950, wolf packs in the Great Northern Wilderness often numbered in the hundreds, and there were more than one pack.

What now?

I doubt you could find more than fifty wolves in the entire Great Northern Wilderness.

Some are just small packs of roaming wolves.

"Don't mess things up. If things go wrong and wolves surround the town and the surrounding area, are you going to stop work and just hunt wolves?"

Sun Changkui didn't believe in superstitions, and Chen Tuo was even more audacious, knowing absolutely nothing about the wolf plague.

If these two are allowed to run rampant, Old Wu is really afraid they'll cause a wolf plague in Songling...