Foxes were native to this stretch of Gobi salt flats, along with badgers, water rats, and wild hares. Even wolves could still be spotted here and there.
By the time Li Long was old, environmental protection efforts had brought fox and hare numbers back up, and there were pheasants too. Water rats had once disappeared because of the value of their pelts and musk, but after the County Leather Factory went bankrupt and no one bought the pelts anymore, their numbers gradually recovered.
Li Long reacted extremely quickly. The instant he spotted the fox, he dropped the thin wire snares he was holding. With a slight shake of his body, the Small-Caliber Rifle slid off his shoulder into his hands. His left hand supported the rifle while his right caught the grip. A flick of his index finger released the safety, completing his preparations to aim.
But the fox was exceptionally alert. It had darted away as soon as Li Qiang shouted, and by the time Li Long took aim, it was already behind a clump of tamarisk.
Li Long hurried forward with his rifle raised. Behind him, Li Qiang scrambled to pick up the wire snares and ran after him. Tamarisk branches caught him now and then, but he no longer cared.
Passing the clump of tamarisk, Li Long caught sight of a flash of brown. He fired without hesitation!
Bang!
Compared with the Type 56, the Small-Caliber Rifle made a crisp report. The brown figure never paused, so he had probably missed.
Li Long felt frustrated, but he could see that the thick snow among the tamarisks seemed to be slowing the fox down too. He quickly gave chase again, rounded two tamarisk bushes, and seized another opening to fire twice.
The second shot hit the fox, but