Su Wei did not retreat, nor did he turn and run away.
To turn your back to a wild beast is to surrender your life to death.
His body suddenly sank downwards, his center of gravity lowered like a rock, and his right hand slid down to his lower back.
There, hanging, was one of the most powerful mass-produced revolvers in the United States.
Ruger Super Redhawk!
The brown bear had already charged twenty meters.
A foul stench, a mixture of rotting flesh, mud, and wild animal saliva, assaulted the senses and made one want to vomit.
Su Wei could even see the wrinkles on its nose as it twitched, and its murky eyes, devoid of emotion and filled only with pure bloodlust.
The beast opened its mouth, and two rows of yellowed fangs gleamed with a chilling light in the snow.
Everything around us suddenly slowed down.
The wind and snow froze in mid-air, and the snow spray from the bear's paw turned into still ice crystals, each one reflecting the light of death.
Su Wei's right hand touched the cold grip.
Even through the gloves, the solid, heavy feel of it gave him a sense of security.
Draw your gun.
There were no unnecessary fancy moves, no gun-twirling stunts like in Western movies.
It's simply a pure, direct lift and wrist flip.
This is the muscle memory that Black developed by repeatedly slapping the back of his hand with a rolled-up hard map.
The heavy gun was forcibly pulled out of its holster by tremendous force, and the scraping sound was particularly jarring at that moment.
The bear jumped.
Using the momentum of the downhill slope, it leaped into the air five meters away from Su Wei, its massive body blotting out the sky. In that instant, Su Wei felt as if the sky had turned dark.
The large bear paws blocked out the light above the Su Wei, and the shadow of death loomed overhead.
Su Wei did not dodge.
At this distance, any attempt to dodge would cause him to lose his balance and be crushed into a pile of mincemeat by this fully loaded tank of flesh.
His feet were firmly planted in the snow, and his hands instantly clasped together, pressing the heavy gun barrel against his chest to form a stable triangle.
There was no time to aim.
There's no need to aim.
With a target that big, unless someone is blind and their hand doesn't tremble, it's impossible to miss.
[ Firearms Mastery: Close-range combat shooting stance has been calibrated.]
Su Wei stared at the gaping maw, so close to his face, and at the scarlet tongue glistening with mucus.
Die!
He pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
This gunshot was more muffled and explosive than the previous rifle shots, like a thunderclap from a clear sky.
That was the unique roar of the .454 Casull bullet.
The immense recoil traveled up his arm, and Su Wei felt as if his wrist had been struck hard by a hammer. His hand went numb instantly, and the terrifying force propelled him backward half a meter, carving two deep furrows in the snow beneath his feet.
In mid-air.
The arrogant brown bear seemed to have been slapped hard by an invisible giant hand.
Its head snapped back sharply, and its cervical spine cracked with a teeth-grinding sound.
This heavy pistol bullet, originally intended for hunting elephants and buffalo in Africa, carried immense kinetic energy at a distance of less than three meters, blasting directly into its lower jaw, piercing its upper jawbone, and then tumbling and exploding inside its brain like a miniature bomb.
The brain matter was churning.
The immense kinetic energy instantly depleted its health bar.
"Boom!"
The massive corpse lost control and crashed down with its momentum.
It was less than half a meter away from Su Wei's feet.
The swirling snow splashed onto Su Wei's face, its chilling cold penetrating to the bone.
One of the giant bear paws even grazed Su Wei's tactical trouser leg during a nervous twitch, leaving a dark red bloodstain that was still steaming.
silence.
Absolute silence.
The only sounds in the valley were the whistling of the wind through the pine forest and Su Wei's heavy breathing.
Su Wei maintained his stance, holding the gun with both hands, a wisp of smoke rising from the muzzle.
The strong smell of gunpowder was particularly pungent in the cold air, yet it also carried a strange sense of security.
His chest heaved violently, his heart pounding wildly in his chest cavity, making a "thump-thump-thump" sound that made his eardrums ache.
That was a close call.
That was really dangerous.
It only takes 0.5 seconds longer.
Even if it's just a flick of the finger across the cold trigger.
The thing lying on the ground now isn't this bear, but Su Wei's corpse, missing half its head.
[Target Kill: Female Kodiak Brown Bear.]
[Evaluation: A desperate counterattack. In a situation where certain death was inevitable, you used violence to demonstrate what it means to dictate justice.]
[ Hunting Module Experience +50.]
Only when the system notification popped up and the familiar pale blue light flickered in his vision did Su Wei feel his almost frozen blood begin to flow again.
The feeling of exhaustion from escaping death surged up instantly, and my legs felt weak.
He exhaled a long breath, and the white mist quickly dissipated in the wind.
"Click."
He pressed the release button and gave it a hard shake.
The rotating magazine slid out.
A golden, still-warm bullet casing fell onto the snow with a soft "sizzle," instantly melting the surrounding snowflakes.
Su Wei shakily pulled a new bullet from his tactical belt, and despite his still violently trembling hands, forced it in.
Close the magazine.
Only then did he turn his head and look at the old man and the young man in the distance.
Aruk was slumped on the snow.
The burly man from Alutiiq, who was over 1.8 meters tall, was now ashen-faced, and had thrown the old rifle in his hand aside.
His mouth was wide open, his chest heaving violently, and it took him a long time to squeeze out a single, hoarse sentence.
"God... my God..."
Old Kash wasn't much better off.
He was frantically making the sign of the cross, his calloused hands trembling, and he was chanting ancient prayers in Alutiiq language.
Clearly, what had just happened had quite frightened this seasoned hunter who was used to seeing all sorts of things.
Black walked over.
The military boots underfoot crunched on the snow.
He unfolded the double-barreled shotgun, slung it over his shoulder, and his movements remained steady and powerful.
Those grey-blue eyes swept over Su Wei from head to toe, making sure he wasn't missing any limbs or had been disemboweled by bear claws, before finally settling on the mother bear's carcass.
That was a classic case of one shot killing someone.
A bullet entered his jaw, damaging his brainstem.
Even top-tier professional hunters would find it difficult to perform better in such a sudden situation, let alone the chilling calm that Su Wei just displayed.
The old hunter bent down, picked up the Browning rifle that Su Wei had just thrown away, carefully brushed off the snow, even wiped the scope with his sleeve, and then handed it to him.
"That's why I don't allow you to use automatic rifles."
Black's tone remained steady, revealing no emotional fluctuation, but Su Wei keenly caught a subtle hint of appreciation in the corner of his eye.
"In those times, only a revolver will never jam and is always reliable. Remember that feeling, Su Wei; you can't learn that from books."
Su Wei took the rifle, slung it back over his shoulder, and felt his arms were as heavy and weak as if they were filled with lead.
"Clearly, this valley, home to moose, is an excellent hunting ground for these brown bears who desperately need to store up heat for hibernation."