The Red Booklet
With a bang.
Several figures fell from mid-air, crushing the cabbage stalks, tearing the leaves apart, and splashing juice everywhere.
The farm tricycle bumped and swayed along the potholed dirt road.
Wolverine knelt on a pile of cabbages, his eyes filled with malice.
The skin on the back of his hand was about to split open, and those six steel claws were just a hair's breadth away from springing out and wreaking havoc.
"Calm down, old comrade."
The Wandering Girl disdainfully brushed off the cabbage leaves hanging from her body, sat up, and looked around. "Within two kilometers of the mark; I didn't fall into the women's restroom or the septic tank."
"Zhou Bapi, my teleportation service is becoming more and more cost-effective."
The tricycle suddenly braked sharply, and the old man from Northeast China, wearing Lei Feng hat, turned around and stared blankly at the three oddballs that had appeared in the back of the vehicle.
A local man wearing a wrinkled white suit.
An Avatar with blue skin and red hair.
There was also a muscular, unshaven foreigner with eyes that looked like he wanted to eat someone alive.
The old man remained silent for a full three seconds.
"My goodness... what's going on? Are you filming a short drama here?"
Sing Sing forced a smile as he climbed out of the pile of cabbages, brushed the dirt and cabbage leaves off his suit, and pulled out a ten-yuan bill to stuff into the old man's hand.
"Yes, yes! You have a good eye, sir! We're from the Northeast China branch of the Wolf Warrior 3 film crew!"
"Excuse me, sir, could you give us a ride? Please take this small token and buy us a pack of Huazi!"
The old man clutched the ten-yuan bill, turning it over and over in his hand, then looked up and sized up the three men.
You're willing to spend ten yuan to buy Huazi?
This film crew must be so poor they're practically urinating blood!
Half an hour later, the old man stepped on the gas pedal like a whirlwind and dumped the three of them at the Linshengtun Management Office at the foot of Peach Mountain.
Peach Mountain has a long snow season, lasting from autumn to spring, with snow visible for almost half a year.
In the distance, the mountains rise and fall, and the forest is covered with layers of snow. The snow on the branches bends the treetops, and occasionally a snowflake breaks off and falls.
Wolverine jumped out of the car, his feet landing on the snow.
I twitched my nostrils, trying to catch the scents of birds and beasts carried on the wind; the aroma of pine resin mixed with animal scents filled my nasal cavity.
"Oh my god! These must be the people sent from above?"
The gate to the hunting ground management office was pushed open.
A middle-aged man wearing a military overcoat and a red armband came out to greet them.
"I'm Zhao Dezhu, the director of the management office."
Zhao Dezhu sized up Wolverine, his gaze settling on his bulging muscles.
"Tsk tsk tsk, look at that build, that physique! And that appetite, he must eat a lot! He must eat at least three bowls of rice in one meal!"
Sing Sing quickly stepped forward and handed over a document stamped with a red official seal.
"Director Zhao, let me introduce you."
"This is Comrade Logan. He is our 749 Bureau's international high-end ecological hunting and health observation subject!"
The miniature translator on Wolverine's chest flashed a red light and emitted a mechanical voice.
"Beep! Translation complete: You are a rare and endangered wild animal being kept in captivity by your superiors."
King Kong looked at Sing Sing with a dark expression.
Today I'm going to slice this bastard who talks nonsense into sashimi!
Director Zhao ignored his murderous gaze, displaying the ruggedness of a Northeast China man to the fullest.
He strode over and slapped Wolverine's strong arm with a loud thud.
"Great! This frame is really impressive! It's made of steel!"
"Wearing such a shabby jacket in this freezing weather, below minus twenty degrees Celsius, he's really tough on the cold! A real man! Much better than those little potatoes from the south!"
Zhao Dezhu exhaled a puff of white breath, "Coincidentally, they're slaughtering a pig in the backyard today. Hey Comrade Luo, how about we make some pork stew? With lots of blood sausage, the kind!"
Old Wolf listened to the translation through his earphones and stood there, stunned.
"Pig-killing feast"? What is that?
Before Wolverine could even speak, Sing Sing swiftly raised his hand.
"He'll eat it!"
"Not only will he eat there, but as the leader of the delegation, I can also accompany him on the inspection to ensure the food safety of the foreign guests!"
Sing Sing straightened his back, and his stomach let out a timely rumble.
I'll take advantage of any free meal I can get; I'll have to get reimbursed for it when I get back to Director Wang.
After eating the pork stew, the pre-hunting process begins.
Wandering Girl?
After eating and drinking his fill, this guy ran away.
Zhao Dezhu held a stack of rules and regulations, cleared his throat, and the papers rustled in the cold wind.
"The rules need to be clearly explained before we go into the mountains. The leaders called you before you arrived."
"What can be fired, what cannot be touched, when can guns be fired, how to report and register after firing, how to manage guns centrally..."
These are strict rules, and nobody can change them!
Wolverine leaned against a wooden pillar, his brow furrowed in a deep frown.
I don't use guns.
"What, you're not using a gun? Going into the mountains to hunt deer and wild boar, you're not using a gun? What are you using then? Your teeth?"
Sing Sing quickly slid forward and blocked Wolverine's path by half.
"Cough cough!"
"Director Zhao, you don't understand."
"Comrade Logan is a rare breed of traditional medieval weapon hunting enthusiast in North America!"
"His main focus is on low-carbon, environmentally friendly, and green ecological practices!"
"No gunpowder residue, no environmental pollution, subduing prey purely through combat skills and specially made claw blades!"
"Low-carbon... and environmentally friendly too?"
"Alright, anyway, there have been people who took compound bows into the mountains for bow hunting before."
"This clawed predator... it's not something we can't think about."
"As long as you don't break the rules or use explosives, do whatever you want."
The formalities are complete.
Zhao Dezhu led them to the observation area halfway up the mountain.
In the snow, a red deer darted through the woods in the distance, startling several birds into flight.
Wolverine stood in the wind, letting the cold, snow-laden wind blow past, a strange light shining in his eyes.
Zhao Dezhu took a puff of his pipe, nudged Sing Sing with his elbow, and lowered his voice.
"Xiao Zhou, this Lao Luo... has he never had a single day of peace before?"
As Sing Sing watched Lao Lang's retreating figure, he unusually dropped his usual playful and joking demeanor.
"Yes, he used to be on the run for his life."
Director Zhao exhaled a puff of smoke.
"Alas, they are all unfortunate people."
"Then let him stay here and gradually change. This place is big enough to support anyone."
Lao Zhao arranged for Wolverine to stay in a detached wooden cabin right next to the back mountain.
Push open the door.
A clay stove burned inside the house, the firewood crackling as it burned. A cotton quilt covered the wooden bed, and the window faced the pine forest behind the mountain.
"This place is nice. Can we go into the mountains tonight?" Wolverine turned around, eager to stretch his rusty muscles.
Sing Sing pulled out a thick Red Booklet and handed it over.
"Able."
"But first you have to memorize the entire National List of Key Protected Wild Animals."
"???"
"You don't even recognize Jail-Till-You-Die Beast, and you're still going hunting?"
Sing Sing pressed down on the book and pointed to the forest outside the window.
"Old Jin, listen to my advice. The waters in this forest run deep; you can't handle it. Those old men with official positions hiding there are far more United States than your American enemies who only know how to shoot!"
"You're not allowed to go hunting tonight until you finish memorizing this, or I'll have to go to the police station to bail you out tomorrow!"