Chapter Summaries

Su Wei reconciled with his childhood friend Aruk and surprised him by revealing he was taking the professional hunter exam. They entered the exam room together, where the test began.

• Su Wei apologized to Aruk for losing touch, and Aruk embraced him and expressed regret that he had not been there after Su Wei's parents died.
• Aruk invited Su Wei to take the professional hunter exam and hunt Kodiak brown bears with him.
• Aruk was shocked that Su Wei wanted to take the exam, since he remembered him as someone who disliked hunting, but Su Wei said people changed.
• A Fish and Game Department examiner ushered the applicants into the room and explained that they needed at least ninety points on the one-hour, hundred-question test.
• Su Wei and Aruk sat at neighboring computers and began the exam.

Su Wei and Aruk passed the written hunting exam and were assigned a practical assessment with the notoriously demanding Black Anderson. Aruk feared the examiner’s strict standards, while Su Wei studied the requirements and judged them manageable.

• Su Wei finished the written exam in under forty minutes and scored 91.
• Aruk completed the exam and scored 90, then celebrated with Su Wei.
• Sarah gave them slips scheduling their practical assessment with Black Anderson for nine the next morning.
• Aruk told Su Wei that Black allowed only two shots, demanded precise tracking, and expected flawless prey processing.
• Su Wei listened to Aruk’s warnings and concluded that Black’s requirements were difficult but achievable.

Su Wei deposited most of his available money and went shopping for the meal he had promised Emily. While considering why the Life Module had not unlocked Cooking, he decided to try making guobaorou, a dish he had never attempted, to trigger the skill.

• Su Wei deposited fourteen thousand dollars at Wells Fargo and kept two thousand dollars in cash.
• Su Wei went to the supermarket to buy ingredients for red-braised pork for Emily.
• Su Wei reasoned that the Life Module might only recognize Cooking after he attempted a challenging dish he had never made before.
• Su Wei decided to make guobaorou, which required precise control of heat, batter, and oil temperature.

Su Wei tested whether the system would recognize a dish he had never made by preparing guobaorou for Emily. After carefully frying the pork and tossing it with sweet-and-sour sauce, he was on the verge of finding out whether his experiment had worked.

• Su Wei brought groceries to Emily’s apartment after passing the written exam and told her he would take the final assessment the next day.
• Su Wei chose guobaorou as a test of the system and followed a cooking video while preparing the meat, batter, and sauce.
• Su Wei fried the pork twice until its coating was crisp and golden, setting aside a small portion.
• Su Wei fried ginger, garlic, carrots, and cilantro, added the sweet-and-sour sauce, and tossed in the pork.

Su Wei earned Cooking LV3 after making guobaorou, and Emily and Cotton Candy eagerly ate the meal. Emily warned him that examiner Black was furious over a poached pregnant doe, but Su Wei remained confident about tomorrow’s practical assessment.

• Su Wei successfully prepared guobaorou and gained Cooking LV3 along with a temporary mental-pleasure buff.
• Emily devoured the meal and praised Su Wei’s cooking, while he gave Cotton Candy plain fried pork.
• Emily told Su Wei that Black was in a terrible mood because someone had cruelly poached a pregnant doe and escaped detection.
• Su Wei insisted he would take the assessment and said he could handle Black as long as the standards stayed within human limits.
• Emily finished the guobaorou and relaxed in an armchair with her injured leg propped up.

After dinner, Su Wei did the dishes while Emily rested her injured ankle, then prepared to return to his cabin. Emily warned that the worsening snow and his makeshift snowmobile made the trip dangerous, so he stayed at her apartment ahead of his Fish and Game Department exam.

• Su Wei fed Cotton Candy the leftover soup and told Emily to keep resting instead of washing dishes.
• Su Wei cleaned the dishes and counter while Emily watched him from the sofa.
• Su Wei put on his outdoor jacket and said he was heading back to his cabin before his exam the next morning.
• Emily warned Su Wei that the renewed wind and snow and his patched-up snowmobile made night travel risky.
• Su Wei decided to sleep on Emily's sofa, and Emily hid her delight at his choice.

Su Wei and Emily spent the stormy night safe and warm in Emily’s apartment, where she thanked him for rescuing her. In the morning, he made her spinach and lean pork congee, then prepared to leave.

• Su Wei cleared space in Emily’s apartment and told her to sleep in the bed while he took the cramped sofa with Cotton Candy.
• Emily thanked Su Wei for helping her, and he reassured her before they went to sleep.
• Su Wei cooked spinach and lean pork congee for breakfast, which Emily enjoyed with pork cracklings.
• After breakfast, Su Wei washed the dishes, packed his documents and remaining cash, and announced that he was leaving.

Su Wei left Emily and Cotton Candy to attend Black Anderson’s hunting assessment, where he joined three other hunters under Black’s stern supervision. The assessment began with Roy arriving late, and Black stopped to face him.

• Su Wei reassured Emily, said goodbye to Cotton Candy, and rode his snowmobile through the snow to the Fish and Game Department.
• Aruk warned Su Wei that Black was furious about the un caught poacher and would punish any mistakes during the assessment.
• Su Wei and Aruk found Dennis White, Eric Shaw, and Black waiting in a tense, quiet lobby.
• At nine o’clock, Black called the hunters’ names, noted Roy was missing, and led the group outside to begin the assessment.
• Roy rushed in late, and Black stopped as Roy gasped for breath in front of him.

Black led Su Wei and the other candidates into a snowy valley for the shooting assessment required to earn a professional hunter's license. Dennis failed to hit the target's vital zone with either shot, and the assessment continued.

• Black rejected Roy for arriving late and left him behind at the Fish and Game Department.
• Black drove Su Wei, Aruk, Dennis, and Eric to a mountain valley in a tracked snow vehicle.
• Black explained that candidates had to hit a deer target's vital zone while keeping the two bullet impacts within one inch.
• Dennis fired twice, missing the vital zone with both shots.

Su Wei took his turn in Black’s rifle test and used the Hunting Module’s ballistic trajectory to account for the unfamiliar rifle and conditions. He fired a bullseye at the center of the deer target, leaving Aruk stunned as the valley fell silent.

• Black gave Dennis thirty points after he wounded the target and sent him back to the tracked vehicle.
• Eric scored sixty-five points with two shots near the edge of the red zone, but Black criticized his inconsistent aim.
• Aruk hit the red zone twice and passed with sixty points despite Black noting that his mind was unsteady.
• Black called Su Wei Yang, and Su Wei stepped forward to take the rifle test.
• Su Wei used the Hunting Module’s trajectory display to calibrate his aim and fired a bullseye at the center of the target.

Su Wei Yang earned a perfect score in the shooting assessment by putting his second bullet through the hole made by his first. Black then began the tracking assessment, challenging the remaining examinees to identify tracks in the snow.

• Su Wei Yang fired his second shot without changing his stance, and Black went to inspect the target.
• Black announced that Su Wei Yang's second bullet had passed through the first bullet's hole, giving him a damage area of zero and a score of 100.
• Black praised Su Wei Yang's shooting and recorded his perfect result.
• Black led the examinees to a snowy patch beside a spruce forest and asked them to identify what had passed through, its condition, and when it had passed.
• Eric saw only wind-blown snow, while Dennis knelt to examine the ground and Aruk put away his grin.

Su Wei used the Hunting Module to identify a black-tailed deer’s tracks and gave a highly precise assessment of the animal’s condition and when it passed. After explaining his deductions, he earned 95 points from Black, leaving Eric and Dennis silenced by his performance.

• Su Wei activated the Hunting Module and saw that a female black-tailed deer had passed about three hours and seventeen minutes earlier while injured, hungry, and fatigued.
• Eric guessed the tracks belonged to a large buck, while Aruk and Dennis correctly identified a female black-tailed deer and estimated when it had passed.
• Su Wei identified the deer as an adult female and estimated that it passed three hours and twenty minutes earlier, with an injured left foreleg and signs of hunger and fatigue.
• Eric challenged Su Wei’s conclusions, but Black recognized that his assessments were correct and asked him to explain his reasoning.
• Su Wei explained how the tracks, gnawed bark, and snowfall supported his conclusions, and Black awarded him 95 points.

Su Wei and the other hunters faced the final test at the Kodiak Island Hunters' Guild processing center: field-dressing a deer without contaminating or wasting the meat. Eric ruined his carcass, while Su Wei relied on steady hands and structural reasoning to begin the work; the test ended before the results were given.

• Black took Su Wei, Eric, Aruk, and Dennis to the Guild's slaughterhouse and explained that hunters were responsible for processing their kills.
• Black set the final test: each hunter had forty minutes to gut, skin, and quarter a deer without puncturing its intestines or wasting meat.
• Dennis began skinning his deer skillfully, and Aruk started processing his with practiced strength.
• Su Wei used his steady hands and knowledge of structure to carefully open the deer's abdomen and protect the organs.
• Eric panicked, punctured the rumen, and contaminated the meat, so Black sent him away from the worktable.
• Black called time after forty minutes, leaving the test results unstated.

Su Wei passed Black’s hunter qualification exam alongside Dennis and Aruk, earning a provisional receipt that brought him closer to paying off his debt. At the Fish and Game Department office, Sarah began issuing the three successful candidates their legal hunting permits.

• Black awarded Dennis 100 points, Aruk 80, and Su Wei 70 for their butchering work, while Eric failed with an average score of 51 and stormed out.
• Black gave Dennis, Aruk, and Su Wei temporary receipts and told them to wash up before collecting their permits.
• Su Wei reflected that passing gave him a start on his $160,000 debt, while Aruk celebrated their chance to get rich.
• Sarah asked Black whether the retake list was ready, and Black told her that Dennis, Aruk, and Su Wei had all passed.
• Sarah put away the retake forms and opened the permit production system to issue their permits.

Su Wei and Aruk earned their professional hunter licenses, and Dennis praised Su Wei’s composure in the wilderness. As Su Wei declined Aruk’s offer to hunt together and prepared to return home, Black stopped him, hinting that he had a more valuable opportunity to offer.

• Su Wei received a Level 1 professional hunter license, and Aruk excitedly celebrated getting his own.
• Dennis told Su Wei that staying calm had helped keep him alive and encouraged him to continue hunting.
• Aruk proposed that he and Su Wei team up and split their earnings, but Su Wei declined because he needed to manage his debt and keep control of his income.
• Aruk left in the blizzard after Su Wei promised to visit him for a drink once his financial troubles were settled.
• Black stopped Su Wei in the corridor and suggested that he might be leaving behind something more valuable than his new license.

After Su Wei passed his hunter exam, Black recruited him to help track a poacher who had killed a pregnant doe, offering a bounty and reduced guild commissions. Su Wei accepted and left the office with plans to build a more legitimate sales channel for his game.

• Black approached Su Wei and asked him to use his tracking talent to help find the poacher.
• Black offered Su Wei a five-thousand-dollar bounty and half-off guild commissions on game he sold on Kodiak Island.
• Su Wei weighed the risks and benefits, then decided to accept Black's offer.
• Su Wei considered how selling through the Hunters' Guild could help him earn license points and access future privileges.
• Su Wei left the hall on his snowmobile with his hunter's license and Black's business card in his pocket.

Su Wei bought fresh seafood and returned to Emily's apartment, where he revealed that he had passed his professional hunter exam. As Emily celebrated, Su Wei began a serious conversation with her.

• Su Wei changed his plans and bought spot prawns, squid, and sockeye salmon at the docks' seafood market.
• Su Wei returned to Emily's apartment, where Emily and Cotton Candy greeted him.
• Emily asked about Su Wei's exam, and he showed her his LV1 professional hunter card.
• Emily celebrated Su Wei's success and suggested they have a feast.
• Su Wei sat down and told Emily he needed to discuss something serious.

Su Wei stayed at Emily’s home while preparing for his Fish and Game Department poacher assignment, agreeing to cook in exchange for room and board. He made dinner and left the meal ready as he continued preparing to act.

• Su Wei told Emily he had accepted a Fish and Game Department commission to catch the poacher who killed the doe.
• Emily agreed to let Su Wei stay for a few days in exchange for him buying ingredients, cooking three meals a day, and feeding Cotton Candy.
• Su Wei used his Cooking Module LV3 to prepare spot prawns, squid rings, and salmon tomato soup.
• Su Wei finished the dishes and received a Fine quality rating from the Cooking Module.

Su Wei cooked a hearty dinner for Emily and Cotton Candy, and Emily noticed her injured leg felt less itchy after drinking the soup. Their meal offered a peaceful pause before Su Wei’s dangerous operation against the poacher the next day.

• Su Wei served Emily prawns, calamari, and sockeye salmon soup, while Cotton Candy ate her own meal.
• Emily praised Su Wei’s cooking and said the soup seemed to ease the itch around her broken leg.
• Su Wei thought about Black’s information, the poacher, and the Roosevelt elk, but Emily urged him to focus on dinner instead.
• Emily fed Su Wei a calamari ring and claimed the last piece of salmon as a down payment on rent.
• Su Wei warned they would be eating compressed biscuits after dinner because Black had given them little time, and the meal ended with Emily and Cotton Candy full and resting.

After Emily urged Su Wei to catch the poacher who had killed a pregnant doe, he reassured her and stayed overnight. The blizzard ended by morning, and Su Wei prepared seafood porridge before heading out to meet Black and collect equipment.

• Emily asked Su Wei to catch the poacher who had killed a pregnant doe and left her meat to rot.
• Su Wei reassured Emily as the blizzard raged outside.
• At six in the morning, Su Wei woke, told Emily he would meet Black at eight, and began making seafood porridge.
• Su Wei heard on the radio that the cyclone had passed and the weather alert had been lifted.
• Su Wei opened the bathroom window and saw that the snow had stopped and the clouds had cleared.