"I'm sorry, sir... my home... is too far from here, I..."
You're late.
Black finally spoke, his voice completely flat.
"No, sir, I'm only a minute and a half late! This damn snow..."
Roy's urgent explanation.
Black finally turned around and faced him.
"In the wilderness, not even a minute or two."
He spoke clearly, word by word.
"The prey won't delay going to the river to drink just because you're lazy and sleeping in your den."
Patience and punctuality are the most fundamental qualities of a hunter.
You can't even do the first one.
After Black finished speaking, he stopped looking at him and walked away.
Your assessment is over.
Roy was completely stunned.
He couldn't believe his ears.
"Just because... just because of one minute? That's not fair!"
He shouted at Black's retreating figure.
Black didn't turn around.
He simply led the rest of the people toward a huge tracked snowmobile parked outside.
It was a massive steel behemoth, heavily modified, powerful enough to crush any complex terrain on Kodiak Island.
Roy's shouts sounded so weak in the cold air, eventually turning into resentful curses.
But nobody paid him any attention.
He was left alone at the entrance of the Fish and Game Department, slowly cooling down in the cold wind.
Aruk followed Su Wei and trembled all over when he boarded the snowmobile, whether from the cold or from fear, it was hard to tell.
He quietly nudged Su Wei's arm with his elbow.
Su Wei turned his head away.
Aruk then winked and mouthed something silently.
Behold, you devil.
Chapter 71 Wilderness Laws and Deadly Zones
The heavy tracked vehicles rolled across the snowfield, producing a dull, rhythmic roar.
The tracks compacted the more than half-meter-deep snow, leaving two wide tracks that stretched towards the distant white mountains.
The atmosphere inside the carriage was so heavy it was suffocating.
The engine's low growl was the only background noise.
Aruk huddled in the corner, his usually radiant face now silent, his eyes filled with tension.
The other two candidates, Dennis with the bushy beard and Eric, a young man, also remained silent, their bodies tense, unable to hide their nervousness.
The oppressive atmosphere throughout the carriage stemmed from the man sitting at the very front, Black.
He sat there motionless and silent.
Su Wei leaned against the cold car wall, feeling the continuous vibrations coming from beneath his feet.
His body was relaxed, but his mind was highly tense.
This soon-to-be-obtained professional hunter license is his only hope of paying off his debts.
It was also his legal hunting route for large prey.
The herd of Roosevelt deer still in the U-Shaped Valley were waiting for his arrival.
He must get it.
More than an hour later, the tracked vehicle came to a stop in an open valley surrounded by mountains.
The temperature here is lower than in the town, and the wind is much stronger, stinging the exposed skin.
Black was the first to jump out of the vehicle, his military boots making a dull thud as they stepped into the deep snow.
"Get off."
The instructions were brief and devoid of any emotion.
The four people jumped down one after another.
A cold wind swirled with snowflakes, hitting my face; the air I inhaled carried a sharp, stinging pain.
Aruk couldn't help but shiver.
Black took a gleaming.30-06 rifle and a rangefinder wrapped in tarpaulin from the car.
He walked to a spot 100 meters ahead, where several target positions had already been set up.
The first item is the shooting assessment.
Black's voice was exceptionally clear in the empty snow valley.
He untied the cloth covering one of the targets, revealing a mimicry target the same size as a real black-tailed deer.
On the side of the target, a tiny, lethal area is marked with a red circle, covering the heart and lungs.
"One hundred meters, stationary target."
"Use this rifle for unsupported firing."
Black leaned the rifle against the stand beside him.
"Two bullets each."
He held up one finger.
"Rule number one: you must hit the vital area. Any shot that misses will cause unnecessary pain to the prey and contaminate the finest meat. It is an insult to life."
He then raised his second finger.
"Rule Two: The impact point of two bullets must not exceed one inch in area of damage."
Black paused, his cold eyes sweeping over everyone.
"What I want is a fatal blow, while ensuring the flesh remains intact."
"A hunter is not a butcher."
"We take lives, so we must give them respect."
"Total score is one hundred. Let's begin."
He read out the first name.
Dennis White.
A burly, bearded man stepped forward. He took the rifle with steady movements, clearly an experienced soldier.
He walked to the firing position, raised his gun, and aimed.
The only sound in the valley was the howling of the wind.
Bang!
Gunshots rang out, echoing through the valley.
Dennis maintained his firing position for a moment before lowering his gun.
The target in the distance remained completely still.
Black picked up the binoculars hanging around his neck and glanced at them.
"Mistarget."
He put down his binoculars without offering any further comment.
Dennis's face instantly drained of color.
Sweat beaded on his palms, and his arm trembled almost imperceptibly as he raised the gun again.
He spent a long time adjusting his breathing.
Bang!
A second shot rang out.
This time, a small clump of debris burst open on the side of the deer target.
It hit its mark.
But it was at least a foot away from that red circle.