Chapter 81 Related Mentor: Black, Survival Rules of the Wilderness
Su Wei took a deep breath and straightened his collar.
Then he turned around and faced Black.
He composed himself, straightened up, and looked the old man straight in the eye.
"Teacher, thank you for your recognition."
Su Wei's voice wasn't loud, but it was clear and resonant, echoing in the spacious hall.
There were no extra thanks, nor any impassioned oaths.
It has only one simple name.
Black's fingers, which were tapping the table, stopped abruptly.
His two gray-white eyebrows, which were always furrowed, relaxed slightly.
On that frozen face, the corner of his mouth twitched stiffly.
The arc was so small that it could be mistaken for a facial nerve twitch if not looked closely.
But he did laugh.
"Um."
Black responded with a muffled groan through his nose.
He reached out his rough, large hand and patted Su Wei's shoulder twice.
"Slap! Slap!"
The force was great, like hitting some solid building material, and Su Wei's shoulder ached a little.
"Good lad."
Black withdrew his hand, his tone returning to its usual businesslike coldness, but anyone could detect a hint of smugness in it, "Alright, stop standing there like a country bumpkin."
He turned to Sarah: "Did you hear that? Get the paperwork done."
Sarah shook her head helplessly, but a genuine smile played on her lips.
"Okay, okay, I'll get right to it." She typed rapidly on the keyboard. "Give me your hunter's license."
Su Wei handed over the plastic card that she had just received yesterday.
Swipe the card, register your fingerprint, and finally, Black signs his authorization.
The card was returned in less than five minutes.
The card wasn't changed, but below the magnetic stripe area on the back, there was an inconspicuous line of small gold-stamped text:
[Associated Mentor: Black Anderson (LV7)]
"Alright, Su Wei." Sarah handed the card back to him, her eyes filled with expectation. "Don't embarrass the Old Devil. From now on, you are Black's official apprentice."
"And this one."
Sarah bent down and laboriously dragged a black tactical backpack from under the counter, placing it on the counter with a dull thud.
"Here's the equipment you requested," she said to Black. "According to your list, a custom-made pneumatic tranquilizer gun, three powerful carfentanil darts—one of these can take down an elephant, use them carefully."
"There are also two high-carbon steel tactical knives, and that one you wanted..." Sarah pointed to a black square box hanging on the side of her backpack, "A military-grade infrared thermal imager, the latest MK-3 model."
Su Wei's eyes lit up.
The MK-3 thermal imaging camera is extremely rare and expensive on the black market; it can see through half a meter of snow.
Black lifted the heavy backpack with one hand and tossed it to Su Wei.
"On your back."
Su Wei reached out and caught it, his arm suddenly sinking downwards.
It's very heavy, at least fifteen kilograms.
But the weight of that gift immediately put his mind at ease.
He deftly slung the backpack over his shoulder, fastened the buckle on his chest, and adjusted his center of gravity.
Let's go.
Black didn't look again, turned and strode towards the door, his military boots clanging on the marble floor. "That bastard isn't going to wait for us here."
Su Wei nodded his thanks to Sarah and turned to follow.
The windproof curtain was lifted and then fell back down.
The two walked out of the warm hall one after the other, returning to the cold morning breeze.
Black walked to the tracked vehicle and opened the driver's cab door.
He held onto the car door, not getting in immediately, and glanced back at Su Wei, who was about to climb into the passenger seat.
"That five thousand US dollars."
Black suddenly spoke, his voice broken and muffled by the cold wind, making it difficult to hear clearly.
"If we catch them, it's all yours."
Su Wei paused, one foot still on the conveyor belt, and turned to look at him. "Doesn't the guild have a rule that apprentices have to hand over a portion of their earnings to their mentors?"
He remembered that Sarah had mentioned it earlier.
That's for those useless people who need to be taught how to wipe their own ass.
Black stepped onto the car, his voice coming from the driver's seat, carrying an undisguised arrogance.
"My apprentice, being able to make money is a skill."
"I, Black, would never stoop so low as to steal money from a newlywed's drinks."
With a loud bang, the car door slammed shut.
Su Wei stood in the snow, looking at the tightly closed car door, and couldn't help but smile.
This old man has a really bad temper, but he's certainly dignified.
Su Wei opened the car door and got into the passenger seat.
The car was filled with a strong smell of tobacco, stale leather, and a faint smell of gun oil.
Fasten your seatbelt.
Black started the engine.
The massive tracks crunched over the snow, the vehicle jolted violently, and roared as it sped toward the deep mountains north of the town.
"According to intelligence, that guy was last seen in a birch forest area about 20 kilometers away."
Black stared at the snow-covered road ahead, his hands firmly gripping the steering wheel, his eyes sharp. "That's an old forest, the terrain is complicated, snowplows can't get in. If he's smart, he'll definitely move on after the snow stops."
Su Wei looked out the window at the snow scene rushing past.
In the field of vision, rows of spruce trees covered with white snow rushed by.
The blizzard has stopped.
All traces will be exposed to the sunlight.
Whether it's animal hoof prints or criminal footprints.
In the eyes of a true hunter, this pristine white world is actually full of answers.
Su Wei's fingers unconsciously traced the edge of the seatbelt, his mind's [ Hunting Module ] in standby mode.
"Teacher," Su Wei suddenly spoke.
"How?"
"That poacher dared to go into the mountains during a blizzard and only take deer heads, which means he's an experienced poacher."
Su Wei calmly analyzed, "Experienced players are usually very cautious, and also very dangerous. If we encounter..."
"Scared?" Black glanced at him sideways, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
"No."
Su Wei shook his head, turned to look at Black, and said calmly, as if discussing what to eat for dinner, "I was just thinking, what if he resists, or points a gun at us?"
"Should I aim for his legs first to incapacitate him, or...?"
Su Wei gently tapped his left chest with his finger.
That's where the heart is.
Yesterday at the shooting range, he scored a perfect score in that position.
Black tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
He remained silent for a few seconds, then took a deep look at his newly accepted apprentice in the rearview mirror.
Young, short of money, and seemingly harmless.
But in those dark eyes, there was no murderous intent, only a chilling calmness.
It was a kind of indifference that treated all life, whether deer or human, as a target through the crosshair.