Recaps

Su Wei brought the giant bear back to Kodiak Town and earned the hunters’ respect after Black revealed that Su Wei had killed it. After celebrating the hunt, Su Wei arranged to have his trophies mounted, considered buying more land, and impressed Old Hope with his taxidermy skills.

• Su Wei drove the giant bear into Kodiak Town, where the crowd gathered to see it and Aruk announced its size and how Su Wei had killed it.
• At the Broken Blade Tavern, Black revealed that Su Wei had fired the fatal shot, and Aruk and Old Joey confirmed the details of the close-range kill.
• The hunters accepted Su Wei after Old Joey verified the bear’s shattered skull, and Black gave Su Wei its hide and skull along with a share of the hunt’s proceeds.
• Su Wei shared the extra money with the group and invited everyone to dinner, where Black gave him a taxidermist’s contact and Silas offered him private commissions.
• Su Wei drove Emily to the airport, gave her a meal before her flight, and then contacted Old Hope about mounting the bear hide and skull.
• Black told Su Wei that Polar Strong Shield could rebuild his cabin and that Old Sam was selling eighty acres bordering Su Wei’s land, so Su Wei asked to meet the seller.
• Su Wei brought the bear hide, skull, and Roosevelt elk antlers to Old Hope, who recognized the trophy’s exceptional condition and began examining the pieces.
• Old Hope agreed to let Su Wei stay at his workshop if he could strip a rotten beaver in half an hour, and Su Wei’s precise work surprised him.

Su Wei bought Old Sam’s eighty acres, bringing his land to one hundred acres, while advancing from taxidermy practice to assisting Old Hope with a bear hide and elk antlers. The arc left the bear hide and skull soaking through lengthy treatments as Su Wei weighed plans for an exhibition hall and awaited Matt’s preliminary budget.

• Su Wei trained under Old Hope, unlocked taxidermy skills through study and practice, and earned Old Hope’s handmade skinning knives after repairing a kestrel skull.
• Su Wei negotiated with Old Sam for the eighty acres, deducted unpaid property taxes from the price, and secured the ownership documents, expanding his property to one hundred acres.
• Su Wei set plans for improving the land and began regular taxidermy lessons, passing Old Hope’s test by producing three largely intact animal hides.
• Su Wei processed hides and assembled an Arctic fox skeleton, then studied Hopkins’s tanning formulas and muscle reconstruction methods to improve his skills.
• Su Wei answered Old Hope’s tanning questions and prepared a satisfactory solution, earning permission to assist with the brown bear king’s hide.
• Su Wei fleshed the bear hide with Old Hope and submerged it in tanning solution for a seven-day soak.
• Su Wei cleaned the Roosevelt elk antlers, carefully removed hidden fascia, and helped Old Hope prepare the skull for a three-day heated solvent bath.
• Su Wei left Old Hope’s workshop considering an exhibition hall site and Aruk’s proposal, while Matt called with a preliminary budget for their grand blueprint.

Su Wei built steady-business plans while upgrading his cabin’s internet, then joined Aruk on a fishing trip that brought in a valuable catch and raised his hunting rank. After considering Laurent’s $100,000 bear commission, Su Wei chose to hunt alone and began arranging workers and equipment for a birch syrup venture.

• Su Wei rejected Matt’s smaller exhibition hall plan, insisting on a thousand-square-meter hall and a road that could support oil tankers.
• Su Wei ordered Starlink service, planned a birch sap business and fishing club, and bought deep-sea gear before joining Aruk aboard the Wavebreaker.
• Su Wei used Water Condition Perception to locate fish, and he and Aruk hauled in two enormous halibut, nearly three hundred pounds of black cod, and forty-two legal snow crabs.
• Su Wei refused to remove a research tag from a halibut, sold the catch to Laurent, and considered Laurent’s offer of $100,000 to hunt a large brown bear.
• Su Wei delivered the tagged halibut to Sarah, supplied its capture details, and earned a reward before receiving 24 hunting points and advancing to LV2.
• At dinner with Aruk’s family, Su Wei said he would hunt Laurent’s bear alone, and Old Kash warned him about a dangerous bear missing part of its right ear.
• Su Wei arranged to hire local Alutiiq workers for birch sap collection, decided to make hunting and food videos, and researched the costs of syrup production.
• Su Wei rejected unsuitable applicants at the labor market and drove to the Kodiak Industrial Rental Center to look for equipment.

Su Wei advanced construction on his exhibition hall, learned taxidermy techniques from Old Hope, and passed Black’s demanding hunting trial. As Emily shared news about her graduation and a possible reassessment of Kodiak’s hunting grounds, Su Wei prepared filming and hunting gear for the Missing Ear bear hunt.

• Su Wei hired Matt’s crew to start the exhibition hall, changed the foundation’s alignment for the winter-solstice light, and approved a high-standard access road rebuild.
• Su Wei studied taxidermy with Old Hope, repaired a fracture in a deer antler, and left the bear hide to soak in acid for further processing.
• Su Wei overcame a storm-blocked road to reach Black’s cabin, where Black tested his tracking, marksmanship, fitness, and field dressing skills before approving his solo bear hunt.
• Emily told Su Wei her thesis defense was set for Friday and invited him to her December 15 graduation, then mentioned officials might reassess Kodiak’s hunting grounds.
• Su Wei bought a camera kit and planned to film his hunt for Missing Ear while construction stalled in the blizzard.
• Su Wei checked his rifle, revolver, snowmobile, and emergency supplies, then learned that five equipment packages were ready for pickup as the storm began to weaken.