Chapter 459 - 233: Hunting, Gaining a Pet, Part 2

Chapter 459: Chapter 233: Hunting, Gaining a Pet, Part 2

As for Chen Fei, along with Tian and Di, Su Chen had left them all back at camp. It was a precaution, after all; the gold nuggets were still in his cabin.

Aside from Su Chen, everyone in the hunting party had extensive wilderness survival experience, so it wasn’t long before they found traces of prey.

"Boss, there’s likely a brown bear in the area. You should try to stay in the middle of the group." After studying a pile of what looked like fresh droppings for a moment, Ivan strode over to Su Chen and spoke.

Su Chen nodded. "Got it. But... I’m sure with you guys here, a little brown bear is nothing to worry about."

It was a known fact that men from Bear Country were the kind even bears feared. Immature brown bears, in particular, were like children in front of some of them, easily pushed around.

Hearing Su Chen’s words, Ivan grinned widely, chuckling. He thumped his chest and boomed, "Don’t you worry, Boss! We’ll be having a full bear feast tonight!"

With that, he unslung his weapon, took two patrol members with him, and set off after the tracks the brown bear had left behind.

In the blink of an eye, the three of them vanished from sight.

"How about we hunt some smaller game to warm up?" Xiao Chen said, spotting a colorful pheasant perched on a distant treetop.

Su Chen followed Xiao Chen’s gaze and saw the pheasant. He deftly brought his weapon to hand, chambered a round with two sharp clicks, and pursed his lips. "Brother Cheen, how about I go first!"

Xiao Chen shrugged indifferently, motioning for Su Chen to go ahead. It was just a pheasant, nothing to make a fuss about. Besides, there was plenty of wildlife in this forest; he wasn’t in any hurry.

Su Chen leaned against a tree, switched off the safety on his AK-47, and set the firing mode to single-shot.

He cradled the gun with his left hand, resting his forearm against the tree for support. Closing his left eye, he aligned the sights with his right, locking onto the pheasant. After taking a deep breath, he decisively placed his finger on the trigger!

BANG! With a single, crisp gunshot, the pheasant on the distant treetop dropped.

Xuan and Huang sprang into action as if on cue. Without needing a single word, they immediately ran over and retrieved the pheasant.

"Mr. Su, you’re incredible! A headshot with a single bullet!"

"I’d never have guessed it was your first time hunting outdoors, Mr. Su. That marksmanship is just out of this world!"

Xuan and Huang were laying it on thick. Xiao Chen, watching from the side, couldn’t help but roll his eyes and glare at them. He truly hadn’t expected them to have such potential as bootlickers.

Su Chen, however, quite enjoyed their compliments. After switching the safety back on his AK, he said with a smile, "Oh, you flatter me. My marksmanship is nothing compared to Brother Cheen’s!"

Xuan and Huang finally realized something was amiss. Catching Xiao Chen’s increasingly dark glare, they both shivered. With an awkward laugh, they retreated to the side with the pheasant to go clean it.

Watching the two characters, Xiao Chen gave a helpless smile. He didn’t say anything, just shot Su Chen an exasperated look before starting to scan for new prey.

A smile appeared on Su Chen’s face as he watched Xiao Chen walk ahead. ’No wonder so many people in ancient times could get ahead just by sucking up,’ he thought. ’It feels amazing, especially when it happens in front of your friends.’

After indulging in the thought for a moment, Su Chen quickened his pace to catch up.

Over the next hour or so, Su Chen and Xiao Chen bagged quite a bit of game, but unfortunately, the largest was only a roe deer. Forget brown bears; they didn’t even see a single moose or Siberian roe deer.

"I wonder if Ivan has found any sign of the brown bear yet," Su Chen murmured, sitting on a large rock and holding his water bottle.

Xiao Chen took a sip of water before replying, "As long as that bear is still in this area, with the skills Ivan and his men have honed over years in these mountains, finding its tracks will be a piece of cake."

RUSTLE... SWISH... The distant brush began to shake violently. The group, who had been resting on the rocks, immediately grew alert, switching off the safeties on their weapons.

Xuan, Huang, and several patrol members immediately formed a protective circle around Su Chen and Xiao Chen.

"Who’s there?! Speak up or we shoot!" An experienced patrolman shouted, immediately realizing it wasn’t an animal in the brush, but most likely another person.

In deep, old-growth forests like this, the biggest danger wasn’t wild animals, but other hunters suddenly bursting from the undergrowth. Tensions were already high; if someone lost their nerve, they might just let loose with a full clip.

"Don’t shoot!" Sure enough, a moment later, two voices shouted from the brush.

From the accent, Su Chen could tell they were from Bear Country.

"Come out immediately! Hold your weapons up high, so there are no accidents!"

The words had barely faded when two men from Bear Country emerged from the brush. Their faces were weathered, and they looked to be at least fifty years old.

Seeing the two men, the patrol members lowered their weapons. Xuan and Huang glanced at Su Chen, and after he gave a slight nod, they lowered their weapons as well, though they didn’t switch the safeties back on.

"Uncle Bastu, what are you two doing here?" one of the patrolmen asked, seemingly recognizing them. He frowned as he walked toward them.

"A brown bear has been ruining the farm’s crops, so we were hoping to hunt it down. We ran into Ivan while we were tracking it, and he told us the boss was out hunting as well. We just wanted to come and say hello!"