Today, we'll take this to Old Hope's place and have it made into a specimen.
Su Wei didn't rush into action; this thing was quite heavy, and he needed to be prepared.
He first went outside, drove the Raptor out of the garage, and positioned the truck bed directly opposite the gate.
In this way, once the truck is moved out the front door, it can be easily loaded into the truck bed using the difference in the stairs.
After getting ready, he returned to the living room.
Su Wei took a deep breath, put on his heavy workwear down jacket, and put on his non-slip gloves.
He crouched down and wrapped his arms around the huge bundle of leather scrolls.
With a low shout, his back muscles tensed instantly, and he lifted the heavy scroll off the ground in one go.
Heavy, and chillingly cold.
Even through the tarpaulin, one could almost feel the weight of this behemoth in life.
It felt unusually heavy. Su Wei felt that her arms were constantly screaming that she was tired after only walking a few steps.
He gritted his teeth, knowing that moving heavy objects required a burst of energy; otherwise, it would be even more strenuous to start over after putting them down.
It took some effort to get this enormous creature into the Raptor's hindquarters.
With a muffled thud, the pickup truck's suspension system gave way, and the vehicle visibly sank downwards.
Su Wei exhaled a heavy puff of white air, patted the dust off his gloves, and looked intensely at Su Wei.
This level of loot requires top-tier personnel to handle.
Then, in the same manner, they placed the bear's head and the antlers of the previously acquired Roosevelt elk king together on the truck bed.
Then cover it completely with a waterproof cloth.
Following the address given by his mentor Black, Su Wei started the car, the engine roared, and drove towards the old industrial area in the north of the town, forgotten by time.
The once-thriving fish cannery has long since closed down, leaving behind rows of rusty corrugated steel buildings.
This place is sparsely populated, and the ice crust on the road is much thicker than in the main urban area. The Raptor's all-terrain tires made a teeth-grinding crunching sound as they rolled over it.
The navigation stopped. Ahead was a red brick factory building that looked like it was about to fall apart, with withered vines climbing all over its exterior walls.
There wasn't even a sign here, just a jumble of huge elk antlers and a few blackened reindeer skulls piled up haphazardly at the entrance.
Before I even got out of the car, a strong, complex smell wafted in through the cracks in the car window.
The strong smell of formaldehyde mixed with industrial salt and the pungent odor of rotting animal fat is a physical torment for ordinary people.
Su Wei got out of the car without changing his expression.
The heavy iron door of the factory was pushed open from the inside, making a harsh metallic scraping sound.
An old man, even with a slight hunchback, was over 1.9 meters tall and came out.
He wore a leather apron stained with old grease and dark red blood, his messy gray hair was tied back with a rubber band, and he was holding a boning knife that was dripping blood.
The visitor was Old Hope, the taxidermist Black described as the best in all of Alaska, and also the most grumpy and eccentric old man.
"Introduced by that stubborn old man, Black?"
Hope's voice was hoarse and impatient.
He didn't even look at Su Wei directly, but instead lowered his head to wipe the grease off the blade with a dirty rag, his tone contemptuous.
"The kind of 'goods' you mentioned yesterday had better be real. Otherwise, even if Black recommended them, I don't have time to play house with you."
Su Wei ignored the other party's arrogance.
He walked straight to the back of the Raptor and ripped off the tarpaulin covering it.
A biting wind swept through the truck bed.
A massive brown bear skull lay exposed against the grey sky.
Next came the astonishingly thick fur.
Its dark brown fur gleamed in the sunlight; it was top-quality.
Old Hope's hand, which was wiping the knife, froze in mid-air.
His originally cloudy gray eyes suddenly shrank to the size of pinpoints.
His previously languid posture vanished instantly, and he rushed to the truck bed in three quick strides.
He almost slipped on the ice on the ground because he was running too fast.
He didn't say anything, but instead plunged his calloused hands into the thick hair.
He stroked against the grain of her fur, from her neck down to her back, his movements almost obsessive.
"Seven centimeters thick... unbelievable density, this is perfect winter wool..."
Old Hope muttered to himself, his voice beginning to tremble.
He pressed his face almost against the bearskin, his nose twitching as he inhaled the lingering, tyrannical scent of a king.
Then, his fingers touched the opening in the bear skin's chest.
Rough fingers were inserted, carefully rubbing along the edges.
"This skin..."
Old Hope suddenly raised his head, his wrinkled face filled with disbelief, staring intently at Su Wei.
"That muzzle? The size of that muzzle definitely indicates a close-range shot no more than 100 meters away!"
"Precise! Clean! Effective!"
He jumped into the truck bed and frantically searched through the huge bear skin.
Ignoring the bloodstains, he unfurled the perfect leather scroll and examined every inch of the bear skin.
There was no tear.
There wasn't even a single extra scratch.
Aside from the gunshot wound to the chest, there was only one minor gunshot wound on the shoulder, which could be disregarded.
The completeness is over 95%!
No, for a bear pelt of this size, it's almost 100%!
"You fired within fifty meters?"
Old Hope's voice rose an octave, even cracking slightly with excitement.
Su Wei leaned against the car door, took out a cigarette case from his pocket, and lit one.
The bluish smoke dissipated in the cold air. He calmly looked at the old man who had fallen into a frenzy and asked a question indifferently.
Can you do it?
"Can you do it?!"
Old Hope, as if insulted, grabbed the bear skull, which was bigger than a basketball, and held it up in front of Su Wei, spitting as he spoke.
"Kid, if you dare hand this over to anyone else, I'll turn you into a specimen with this boning knife. Only I can touch this thing in all of Alaska. It can only stay with me."
Old Hope almost grabbed the button on the wall and pressed it, causing the roller shutter to rise with a loud bang.
He loudly instructed Su Wei to back the car directly into the workshop, and even personally went to remove the roadblocks.
The interior of the studio was more open and also more gloomy than it appeared from the outside.
Unprocessed wolf pelts hung on the iron rack to the left, while a half-finished Rocky goat stood on the platform to the right.
The air was filled with a strong smell of formaldehyde, which made my eyes sting.
The most eye-catching feature is a huge stainless steel workbench in the very center, covered with clean white absorbent paper.
Su Wei and Old Hope worked together to lift the bear skin onto the workbench.
The high-powered shadowless lamps overhead suddenly turned on.
Under the harsh white light, the fur of this King of the Island displayed an astonishing texture.
Old Hope put on a professional magnifying glass, picked up calipers, and began to take measurements.
"Shoulder height, body length, palm width..."
As he measured, he recited a series of astonishing data, which were faithfully recorded by a voice-activated recorder next to him.
"My God, look at this incredible skeletal structure. When this guy was alive, one slap could smash the hood of a car and pull the person out."
The measurement lasted a full half hour.
Su Wei stood quietly to the side, watching without urging anyone.
His obsessive attention to detail actually put Su Wei at ease.
What kind of attitude do you want?
Old Hope finally put down the calipers, took out a thick picture book from the cabinet next to him, and looked on with fervor.
"Standing upright and roaring? That's classic, showcasing its size perfectly. Or perhaps hunting on all fours? Or maybe add some scenery, like it's catching a salmon? If you can imagine it, I can make it."
Su Wei shook his head.