Black gritted his teeth, the muscles in his cheeks bulging.
"The blizzard was so heavy, yet he stayed in the woods."
"They've been killing all along."
"Snow hares, thunderbirds, foxes... anything alive, big or small, if he sees it, it's a shot."
He wasn't hunting at all.
"This is torture."
Black slammed his hand on the steering wheel, and the horn emitted a short, piercing whine.
"Those office-bound cowards from the Fish and Game Department retreated to town because of the blizzard."
"They said the weather was too bad for the rescue helicopters to take off, and the search dogs couldn't smell anything."
"Fuck this awful stuff."
The old hunter's eyes were filled with anger.
"By the time the snow stopped, that bastard would have vanished without a trace."
"Since those useless people who take taxpayers' money are afraid to go into the mountains."
Black turned his head and stared intently at Su Wei.
"Then let's go."
Su Wei remained silent.
He simply and silently pulled open the magazine.
Load the first bullet.
Click.
The sound of the copper casing rubbing against the steel bore.
At that moment, this voice was more useful than any words.
Five thousand US dollars.
In addition, there will be a reduction in commission for every subsequent transaction.
This deal is very worthwhile.
But now, Su Wei feels that there seems to be something else involved besides money.
An instinctive aversion, like that of a predator, to those who break the rules.
In this wilderness.
You can kill, for survival, for food, even for money.
But you cannot trample on it at will.
That's the bottom line.
"Rest assured."
Su Wei filled the magazine and chambered a round.
Insurance checkpoint.
The movements were swift and decisive.
"Just let me see him."
He can't escape.
Outside the car window.
The blizzard has completely stopped.
The long-awaited sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone on the rolling mountains.
It should have been a beautiful snow scene.
At this moment, however, it seemed particularly glaring to Su Wei.
On the pristine white snowfield, even the slightest stain will be magnified infinitely.
The tracked vehicle roared up a high slope.
Ahead lies the birch forest area mentioned in the intelligence report.
The white trunk stretches straight towards the sky, its black branches intertwined.
"Three kilometers to go."
Black slowed down.
The engine's roar turned into a low, labored breathing sound.
"Bring out the thermal imaging camera."
"In this kind of weather, the heat radiation from a person's body shines like a light bulb from hundreds of meters away."
Su Wei put down his gun and took the black square box from the side of his backpack.
MK-3 Military Thermal Imager.
He pressed the power button.
The screen lit up with a green glow.
The self-test takes five seconds to start.
Just then...
Su Wei caught a glimpse of something moving at the edge of the woods on his right.
That wasn't caused by the wind; it was the unique movement trajectory of a living creature.
"Parking."
Su Wei gave a low shout.
Black reacted extremely quickly, slamming on the brakes.
The tracked vehicle slid two meters on the snow and came to a steady stop.
Thermal imaging is not required.
It's visible to the naked eye.
At the bottom of the snow slope, less than fifty meters from the front of the vehicle.
A black-tailed deer rushed out.
It ran, stumbling and swaying.
It lacks the agility that deer should possess.
"Bang!"
The deer fell on the snow, kicking up a cloud of snow dust.
It struggled to stand up.
Su Wei saw it clearly.
It was a fully grown male deer.
The head that should have had magnificent antlers now only had two bloody cuts.
Dark red blood flowed down its cheeks, staining most of its neck red.
But this is not the fatal blow.
Its left hind leg.
That position exhibits a twisted, reversed joint.
The bone fragments pierced through the skin and flesh, sticking out and looking glaringly white.
It was directly blasted apart by a large-caliber bullet.
Even with such severe injuries.
Its survival instinct still drove it to frantically paddle through the snow, trying to get away from the woods behind it.
White steam billowed from its nostrils, and it let out a pitiful "yoo-yoo" cry.
The bloodstains were bright red.
It did not solidify.
It was still steaming.
This means the person who fired the shot was nearby.
Even... right there in that grove, watching this scene unfold.
Su Wei felt a chill run up his spine to the back of his head.
He could sense that the person was in the woods behind the deer.