Since he came into this world, he has been constantly facing survival crises.
First, he focused on getting enough to eat, then on Emily, and then on repairing the snowmobile; his mind was completely consumed by the thought of making money to survive.
He simply didn't have the time or the inclination to sort out the original owner's interpersonal relationships.
Contact a friend?
This idea had never even crossed his mind.
Facing Aruk's eyes, which seemed to say "You're not being fair," Su Wei felt a long-lost sense of apology.
"I'm sorry, Aruk." He apologized sincerely.
"I'd only been back a short while when this damn blizzard hit, and the signal went down."
"Besides... I had a lot of things to do and forgot about it for a moment."
Upon hearing Su Wei's explanation, Aruk's anger quickly dissipated.
He was a typical Alutiiq man, his emotions rising and falling quickly.
He patted Su Wei on the shoulder hard, then opened his arms and gave him a big bear hug.
"It's good to be back, brother!"
Aruk's voice lowered, trembling slightly.
I'm so sorry about your parents.
"I was out at sea with a ship at that time, and I only found out about the news when I got back."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be with you."
The hug was tight, carrying the comfort and strength that comes with brotherhood.
Su Wei's body stiffened for a moment, then relaxed and reached out to pat Aruk on the back.
The other person's sadness is genuine.
This concern, untainted by any self-interest and purely out of friendship, softened his heart, which had been hardened by the wilderness and debt.
"It's all in the past," Su Wei said softly.
Aruk released him and resumed his carefree demeanor, though his eyes were a little red.
It's good that you can pull yourself together!
"Let's go, let's register together. We have to get our professional hunter certification today, no matter what!"
"Then we'll go into the mountains together to hunt the King of Kodiak!"
The King of Kodiak, also known as the Kodiak brown bear.
"Alright, gentlemen."
Sarah at the front desk interrupted their reminiscing with her loud voice.
"Those who need to take the exam, you can go in now."
Aruk waved excitedly.
"They're here!"
"Come on, Su Wei, watch me ace those theory questions!"
As he spoke, he strode towards the examination hall.
Su Wei followed.
After taking a couple of steps, Aruk suddenly felt something was wrong. He abruptly stopped, turned around, and looked at Su Wei with an extremely surprised expression.
"Wait, you... you're here to take the exam too?"
"Otherwise what?" Su Wei retorted.
"You?! You're applying to be a professional hunter?!"
Aruk's shout instantly rose eight octaves, drawing the attention of everyone in the hall.
He strode back to Su Wei, pointed at him, and looked as if he'd seen a ghost.
Did I hear that right?
"Don't you hate these things the most?"
"If I hadn't dragged you out of bed back then, you wouldn't even have bothered to take the amateur hunter certification exam!"
You told me your biggest wish in life is to stay in the city, drink Coke, and play video games!
Aruk stared at Su Wei, his face full of confusion and bewilderment.
The Su Wei he remembered was a typical urban youth who kept his distance from hunting and wilderness, and even had some aversion to them.
But the person in front of me, though with the same face, seemed completely different.
That composure, that calmness, and the lingering, weathered air about him when he came in—the kind of air only someone who spends years outdoors possesses.
All of this was so unfamiliar.
Su Wei looked at his childhood friend, who was in shock, and simply met his gaze calmly.
He offered no explanation.
Some things cannot be explained, nor do they need to be explained.
He simply spoke.
"People change, Aruk."
After saying that, he walked past Aruk, who was still standing there in a daze, and headed straight for the door leading to the examination room.
Aruk stood there, watching Su Wei's retreating figure, his mouth opened and closed, but in the end, he said nothing.
He scratched his head and quickly followed.
As the two stood side by side at the entrance of the examination hall, Aruk couldn't help but lean close to Su Wei's ear and whisper something in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"What on earth triggered you, you idiot?"
Chapter 66: Passing the Initial Test, the Rigorous Examination of the Old Devil Black
"What on earth triggered you, you idiot?"
Aruk's voice was extremely low, filled with confusion.
Su Wei did not answer.
Just then, the tightly closed door to the examination room was pulled open from the inside.
A chubby man in the Fish and Game Department uniform poked his head out.
"Those going to take the exam, come in."
The sound was muffled, like that of a buzzing bronze bell.
"They're here! They're here!"
Aruk immediately swallowed back all his questions.
He put his arm around Su Wei's shoulder and, half-pushed, half-forced, led Su Wei into the examination room.
"Let's go, let's show them the might of us Kodiak hunters!"
The examination room was small and simply furnished.
A dozen or so old desktop computers were separated by simple partitions to form individual examination seats.
The air was filled with a peculiar smell, a mixture of dust and old plastic.
The overweight examiner stood at the front of the room, hands on his hips, his belly bulging his uniform.
"Everyone, find a seat."
He glanced around at the few scattered candidates.
"The exam lasts one hour, has one hundred questions, and is worth one hundred points."
A score of 90 or above is considered passing.
He succinctly announced the rules, then pointed to the clock on the wall.
"Let's begin."
Aruk plopped down, and upon hearing the standard of ninety points, couldn't help but mutter a complaint under his breath.
"Damn it, why are the requirements so high?"
Su Wei silently sat down in the seat next to Aruk.
The computer screen is now lit up, and the exam interface has appeared.
Su Wei put on headphones to block out external noise.
As Su Wei clicked [Start Exam], questions appeared one by one before his eyes.
Under what circumstances is it permissible to kill an animal during its mating season, according to State of Alaska hunting regulations?
"Distinguish the main differences between the wolf paw prints and Eskimo dog paw prints in the image below."