A tremendous roar once again shattered the silence of the valley.
The airflow whipped up the snow on the ground, forming a white wall of wind.
Two law enforcement officers have secured the wanted criminal, Garrett, to the rear cabin.
Charlie put on noise-canceling headphones, stood at the cabin door, and looked at Su Wei against the strong wind.
The young man, carrying a gun, had already come to his senses, a faint smile on his lips, and stood behind Black.
He stood tall and straight, showing no sign of the panic that had just come through a gunfight.
Against the backdrop of the snow reflecting the light, his calm, almost cold demeanor was strikingly similar to Black's.
No, he became even more confident.
It's a natural confidence!
Even sharper.
After all, Black is getting old, while this kid is just getting started.
" Su Wei!"
Charlie had to shout at the top of his lungs to drown out the engine's roar.
Su Wei raised his head.
Charlie pointed to the metal badge on his chest that gleamed in the night, then pointed to Su Wei.
The Fish and Game Department is currently short-staffed!
Charlie roared, "Especially lacking is a skilled shooter like you who dares to fire and is so accurate! If you ever decide you don't want to work with that Old Devil Black, come find me anytime!"
This is not just polite talk.
There are many people on Kodiak Island who know how to shoot.
However, when faced with an armed rioter charging forward, those who dare to calmly shoot the enemy in the thigh from within thirty meters are extremely rare.
This requires an extremely strong heart and absolute control over violence.
"You're a born enforcer! The enforcement team needs you!"
Charlie's voice was somewhat broken in the wind, but the sincerity of the invitation was undeniable.
Civil service positions.
Hold legal rights.
Stable high salary.
This is the chance to get ashore that countless wilderness hunters dream of.
Su Wei stood there, not having had time to react.
Bang!
A muffled thud.
Black, expressionless, reached out, grabbed the helicopter door, and slammed it down.
The hatch slammed shut just centimeters from Charlie's astonished nose.
Black turned around and patted Su Wei hard on the shoulder.
"It's time to reap your own spoils!"
Chapter 94 The Hunter's Eternal Medal
The helicopter's rotor blades sliced through the falling snow, the fuselage tilted, and it rapidly ascended with a roar.
A powerful airflow swept up the snow on the ground and then disappeared into the night.
The valley returned to deathly silence, with only the occasional cry of startled birds echoing from afar.
Black withdrew his hand from the hatch; his palm, clad in a heavy tactical glove, was still covered in engine oil and ice crystals.
He turned around, not looking at Su Wei, and walked directly towards the large creature lying in the pile of rocks.
"Time to get to work."
The old hunter drew his hunting knife, which he had carried for many years, from the outside of his thigh; the blade gleamed coldly in the snowy night.
Su Wei exhaled a breath of white air, which instantly condensed due to the low temperature.
He felt the fatigue from the adrenaline receding creep up his spine.
But upon hearing Black's words, he immediately followed.
The two men stood before the dead Roosevelt deer.
Up close, the visual impact of this behemoth is far greater than through a scope.
Even though it was dead, lying like a pile of rotten flesh in a crevice, its massive skeleton still showed how powerful it was in life.
But now, this body exudes a nauseating stench.
It wasn't just the smell of blood, but also the sour stench of a ruptured stomach, mixed with excrement and the acrid smell of gunpowder.
Poacher Garrett used it as cover, but a bullet mercilessly severed its spine, and its internal organs were quickly turned into a pulp by the subsequent struggle and the impact of the stun grenade.
Black crouched down and used the tip of his knife to poke at the fur on the side of the deer carcass.
"The meat is completely ruined."
The old man's judgment was accurate. "The acid produced by the stress response, combined with internal organ contamination, makes it so bad that even dog food would have to be carefully selected, let alone eaten by humans."
Su Wei nodded silently.
In the wilderness, wasting food is a sin.
Especially a top-quality male deer in its prime, its hundreds of pounds of red meat could have fed a family through the entire winter.
"But that idiot Charlie left you something good."
Black stood up and kicked the large antlers that were stuck in the snow like tree branches with his boots.
"Is he serious?" Su Wei asked, somewhat incredulous.
He didn't really believe that the enforcement team leader was that kind-hearted.
Logically speaking, evidence involving criminal cases, or hunts of this caliber, would usually be displayed as trophies in the exhibition Fish and Game Department or the Hunters' Guild, becoming a part of their wall of honor.
"Doesn't he know its value?" Su Wei asked.
"He knows his stuff, but he doesn't dare take it." Black sneered, pulling a piece of tobacco from his pocket and chewing it. "You were the one who crippled and captured the man. Although that bastard killed the deer, according to hunters' rules, the person who resolves the matter last has the right to dispose of the spoils."
"And..." Black paused, examining the antlers with the eyes of someone eyeing a treasure, "If we take this back to the archives, once it's graded, the big shots will swarm around like sharks smelling blood. Charlie doesn't want trouble; he just wants to close the case quickly and get his reward and bonus."
Su Wei looked at the deer antlers.
He knew that Black had one more thing to say.
That's because of him.
If it really was Su Wei alone, he wouldn't believe he could actually acquire such a valuable prey.
He hadn't looked closely during the tense standoff, but now, with the help of his headlamp, he realized just how outrageous this thing was.
This is not a normal bone spur.
This is a crown.
The two main beams are as thick as an adult man's forearm and are a dark brown color.
That patina was formed by the stag polishing its antlers countless times on the oily trunk of a spruce tree and rolling in the mud, until it seeped deep into the bone.
As the light moves, the corners reflect a warm, jade-like luster.
"Count them," Black said.
Su Wei reached out, his fingertips touching the cold antlers. They felt rough and hard, covered with pearl-like bumps—proof of the stag's off-the-charts testosterone levels.
"One two three..."
Su Wei followed the fork in the road.
There are seven crosses on the left and seven crosses on the right.
"7x7, a typical Crown-class." Black exhaled a puff of smoke, a rare hint of envy in his voice. "And look at those two forks in the brow, they're shaped like two curved blades pointing forward—a perfect defensive stance."
Su Wei didn't understand these things; he was just an ordinary man.
"How much is this thing worth?" he asked directly.
Having just received $3.25 million in compensation, Su Wei thought he had become numb to money.
But Black's next words made his heart skip a beat again.
"Last year's New York Autumn Hunting Exhibition had a slightly smaller 7x7 Roosevelt antler stalk with the same dark patina."
Black held up eight rough, tree-bark-like fingers.
"Eighty thousand US dollars."
Su Wei's hand, which was wiping the gun barrel, suddenly stopped.
"How many?!"