He picked up the thermal imager again and carefully scanned the grove of trees three times.
There was no reaction from any heat source.
That poacher was a veteran; his escape route was very cunning. He's probably already crossed the ridge and disappeared into the snowfield.
After confirming that it is temporarily safe.
Black pushed open the car door, and a blast of cold wind rushed into the car.
"Get off."
"Get to work."
Su Wei didn't ask any further questions and immediately followed.
But this time he learned his lesson.
The moment he got off the vehicle, he used the tracked body as cover to quickly survey the surrounding high points, keeping his gun pointed downwards and his finger resting on the trigger guard, ready to fire at any moment.
Black noticed this detail out of the corner of his eye and nodded almost imperceptibly.
This child is teachable.
The two of them crunched through the ankle-deep snow as they approached the unfortunate black-tailed deer.
It has stopped moving.
A large patch of glaring red spread across the snow, like a bucket of paint splashed on a white canvas.
Although the poachers escaped, the deer's life was over.
Its eyes were still open, the blue sky above reflected in its gray-brown pupils, gradually losing its luster.
The severed hind leg was twisted at an odd angle, the stark white bone fragments piercing through the flesh and exposed to the air.
Su Wei squatted down.
He reached out his tactical-gloved hand and gently closed the deer's eyelids.
The fur beneath my palm was still trembling slightly; it was the final reaction of my muscles and nerves, the last warmth of life.
This is a mature male deer.
During a normal hunting season, it can provide hundreds of pounds of meat, as well as a pair of beautiful antlers.
But now.
It was merely a worthless victim.
It was merely to satisfy someone's greed and tyranny, or simply to serve as a test target.
"Check the wound."
Black stood to the side and finally lit the deformed cigarette.
Amidst the swirling smoke, his expression was somewhat blurred, only his eyes remained vigilantly scanning his surroundings.
Su Wei drew his hunting knife from his waist.
The sharp blade sliced through the frozen flesh around the wound.
There was little resistance.
The wound was horribly ripped open, with the entrance only the thickness of a little finger, but the exit opening was a cavity the size of a bowl.
That's a typical transient cavity effect.
The surrounding muscle tissue was pulverized into a bloody pulp by the bullet's immense kinetic energy, and the bones were shattered beyond recognition.
Su Wei frowned, enduring the smell of blood, and carefully poked through the broken bones and flesh with the tip of his knife.
"Found it."
soon.
He picked out a piece of deformed metal from the soft tissue near the spine.
It was a piece of leftover copper sheet, encasing a lead core.
Su Wei placed the piece of shrapnel, covered in blood and flesh, in his palm, wiped away the blood, and examined it carefully.
After waiting to see clearly and carefully compare it with the knowledge in his mind, his pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpoints, and he felt a chill rush to the top of his head.
He looked up at Black, handed him the fragment, his voice slightly hoarse.
"Teacher... this is not an ordinary shotgun shell."
Su Wei's voice was cold.
"Looking at the base diameter and residual weight... it's.338 caliber."
Black took the fragment and glanced at it, his expression darkening further, his brows furrowing deeply.
". .338 Lapua..."
Black read it aloud.
As a veteran hunter and former sniper, he knew exactly what this meant.
This caliber of bullet is known as the "Brown Bear Caliber".
It is extremely powerful and has even greater recoil, making it a popular choice for hunters who always seek to kill with a single blow.
However, this standard is rarely used in practice.
The reason is simple: its power is too great.
In most cases, it will only harm the quality of the prey itself; using it for hunting is tantamount to taking a shortcut.
Hunting in the jungles of Kodiak Island with this kind of gun is like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.
unless...
The other party's initial goal was not to take away the prey.
This is pure killing for pleasure.
and.
A high-precision.338 caliber sniper rifle, along with expensive ammunition, would cost tens of thousands of US dollars to equip.
Black gripped the shrapnel tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white.
"It really is him. It seems we didn't look for the wrong person."
The old hunter squinted, his gaze fixed on the ridgeline where the poacher had disappeared, his expression grave.
"He used the same type of bullet last time."
"And it seems we really need to be careful."
"This is a rich, well-equipped madman who enjoys killing."
The sunlight after the snowstorm had stopped was dazzling, reflecting a brilliant light onto the snow.
But at this moment.
Su Wei, however, felt a chill even more biting than a blizzard.
He finally realized that he was not facing a simple game.
It was a real-life chase in the wilderness.
Black turned around, threw the cigarette butt on the ground, and stomped it out.
"Load the deer onto the cart."
Don't let it rot here.
"Also..." Black paused, "Keep your gun with you at all times, even when you go to the toilet."
Su Wei sheathed his knife and nodded solemnly.
He looked at the empty woods.
This is more than just poaching.
This is the beginning of a war.
"Yes."
Su Wei bent down and grasped the pair of cold, heavy antlers with both hands.
That is the weight of life.
This was also the most difficult lesson he learned as a novice.
Chapter 85 The Laws of Reality and a Possible Claims Call (Bonus Chapter)
The antlers were dead heavy.
The forked keratin resembles rock.
Su Wei clasped his hands together and used his waist and back muscles to pull himself together.
Bang!
The frozen, hard carcass of a black-tailed deer crashed into the rear cargo bed of the tracked vehicle.