The moment Su Wei saw what it was, his pupils contracted.
The leading behemoth was enormous, with a shoulder height exceeding 1.5 meters.
Its thick, dark brown mane danced wildly in the gale.
It held its head high, its enormous antlers forked and intricately branched, making it exceptionally large.
"Roosevelt deer..."
Su Wei held his breath, his heart pounding violently in his chest, and the white breath he exhaled instantly condensed into frost.
This was an unexpected surprise, a big prize that could change his current predicament.
Kodiak Island is known for its brown bears, but the Roosevelt deer is more commonly found on neighboring Afognak Island and Raspberry Island.
However, this does not mean that Kodiak Island does not exist.
Sometimes, they migrate here because the strait freezes over in winter.
Ultimately, it was left behind on Kodiak Island.
It now appears that they have strayed into Su Wei territory.
The wariness in Su Wei's eyes quickly turned into excitement and calculation.
This isn't wild animals; it's clearly a moving gold mine and granary!
He quickly scanned the entire group.
There are seven in total.
A mature male deer led the way, followed by two sub-adults and four females.
The lead stag weighed at least 800 pounds.
What does 800 pounds mean?
This means that after skinning and deboning, at least four hundred pounds of top-quality red meat can be produced!
There was enough venison to fill the cabin's freezer, enough for him and Cotton Candy to eat their fill until next spring.
More importantly, because of scarcity.
A pound of Roosevelt elk meat can sell for at least $40!
This is still the lowest price; according to Su Wei's estimate, it could sell for at least $70-80!
In other words, Su Wei could sell venison alone for nearly $30,000!
Not to mention the pair of perfectly preserved antlers.
In the North America taxidermy market, antlers of this size, symmetry, and robustness, even a simple, unfinished skull specimen, can easily fetch thousands or even tens of thousands of US dollars.
If you include a whole, intact deer hide with thick winter fur...
"Fifty thousand US dollars..." Su Wei silently calculated in his mind, his fingers gripping the knife handle unconsciously clenching, a layer of fine sweat appearing on his palms, feeling a surge of heat even in the minus thirty degree cold.
The enormous debt weighing on him could be largely taken care of by these guys!
All I need to do is hunt this one stag!
Su Wei took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down and quickly assess the situation.
Two hundred meters away.
The wind is a crosswind, so the other party can't smell the odor from here for the time being.
But he glanced down at his equipment.
A Bowie knife for self-defense, a bunch of ice fishing gear, and a bucket of freshly caught fish.
The large-caliber Browning rifle in the cabin was now hanging securely beside the fireplace.
"That's fate," Su Wei said with a bitter smile.
Given the weather and distance, and armed only with melee weapons, his chances of winning against a stag in its prime were virtually zero.
If this 800-pound behemoth were to be frightened and rampage across the ice, a human's sternum would be no different from that of paper.
Moreover, the rhythm of the blizzard changed.
What was just a gentle drizzle has now turned into hard snow pellets flying horizontally, making a dense "crackling" sound as they hit the goggles.
Temperatures have plummeted, and the perceived temperature may be approaching minus forty degrees Celsius.
The herd of deer had clearly chosen to cross the frozen lake to find a sheltered valley in order to escape the blizzard.
They lingered by the lake for a moment.
The lead stag, seemingly guided by its wild instincts, sensed the gaze of the small black dot in the distance. It turned its thick neck, its massive antlers swaying as if demonstrating its power to Su Wei.
It exhaled a thick, white breath. It didn't attack, but merely glanced indifferently in this direction, then strode forward with its massive hooves, shattering the thin ice on the lakeshore, and led its herd to continue moving south into the mountain valley.
Su Wei didn't move; he just watched.
His eyes were fixed on the movement of the group of dark figures.
"Crossing the frozen lake, bypassing the dead birch forest, and entering the U-Shaped Valley to the southeast..."
He quickly brought up a map of the surrounding terrain in his mind.
The valley was sheltered from the wind, surrounded by mountains on three sides, and covered with shrubs and moss, making it an excellent sanctuary.
If this blizzard continues, they will most likely be stuck there for several days.
That place is a natural cage for animals.
Su Wei traced the route in his mind three times until the coordinates were firmly etched into his memory, before slowly releasing his grip on the knife.
He really has no other choice right now.
But tomorrow, or the day after, when the blizzard subsides, when he picks up that rifle loaded with bullets.
At that point, it will be uncertain who will be the hunter and who will be the prey.
"Wait for me, my mobile bank," Su Wei muttered to himself.
"Eek!"
The Cotton Candy hiding in the collar of the down jacket seemed to be frightened by the enormous aura of the creature, burying its little head tightly in Su Wei's neck, its body trembling slightly.
"Don't be afraid." Su Wei reached out and patted its furry bottom to soothe the little guy, then picked up the heavy bucket of fish again.
The bucket contained nearly twenty pounds of fish, which made his fingers ache, but this heavy burden made him feel incredibly grounded at that moment.
"Let's go home. We need to eat our fill to have the energy to get this money."
Su Wei didn't linger. He turned around and braved the wind and snow, making his way towards the wooden house with difficulty.
Within just half an hour, the new snow had already reached above the calves.
What should have been a 20-minute walk took Su Wei a full 30 minutes to complete.
When the familiar outline of the wooden house finally appeared in the snow-covered landscape, Su Wei felt a sense of relief.
He quickened his pace.
I walked to the porch and stomped the snow off my boots.
Push open the heavy oak door.
"Hoo €€€€"
Before the cold wind carrying snowflakes could even get in, it was forcefully pushed back by the heating in the room.
The fire in the fireplace hadn't completely died down; the dark red embers emitted heat, and the air was filled with the aroma of burning birch.
Su Wei slammed the door shut and bolted it shut.
Click.
This soft sound shut out the apocalyptic howling of wind and snow outside.
The world fell silent instantly.
Only the occasional crackling of firewood from the fireplace and the howling wind and snow rattling the windows remained.
With the wind and snow outside shut out, Su Wei felt a sense of relief, and his legs even felt a little weak.
The Cotton Candy immediately popped out of his collar, jumped onto the floor, shook its body vigorously, and its fluffy tail flicked out a ring of tiny ice crystals.
It circled the collapsible bucket full of fish, the large creature it had brought back from the water emitting a strong fishy smell, which made the little fox whimper anxiously.
Su Wei took off his heavy snow boots, hung his coat on the hanger, walked to the fireplace, and stretched out his hands.
It kept my body warm.
He looked at the bucket of abundant fish, then at the dark, raging snowstorm outside the window, and a smile crept onto his lips.
Tonight we have fish soup, and tomorrow... maybe we'll have venison chops.
Of course, he has to check the weather.
Chapter 49 An Extraordinarily Fresh Whole Fish Feast, the Scent of Gun Oil and a Snowy Night
Su Wei added some wood to the fireplace to maintain the fire and the temperature inside the room.
He sat down by the fireplace and stretched out his hands to warm them.