When we first ca here, the prey weren’t like this; basically all the prey were a bit foolish. Especially at night, sotis even when we got pretty close, the prey didn’t know to run away.
ng Si’an felt less embarrassed about missing his chance earlier after hearing this; turns out you guys aren’t much better than I am. Being able to ’train’ the rabbits to distinguish between new and old ones isn’t sothing just anyone can do.
After running for a while, we didn’t see any rabbits, but Yan Fei caught another snake.
Heizi sighed, "Looks like all the rabbits nearby have been scared away. We might have to go farther."
Yan Fei chuckled, "Anyway, there’s nothing much to do tomorrow. Old ng, are you tired? If not, let’s keep going?"
ng Si’an was full of energy, "Of course I’m not tired, let’s keep moving. Today we must hunt a big ga; at least then I can brag about it until New Year’s. If we don’t catch anything, it’d be such a waste!"
Yan Fei laughed, "Then don’t complain tomorrow morning. Co on, let’s go check out the other side of the mountain."
Everyone understood Yan Fei’s suggestion, and cheerfully followed him, riding after.
Tomorrow, Student Xiao ng might just find out how exhilarating long hours of horseback riding can be!
...
Since ng Si’an was determined to hunt big ga, Yan Fei didn’t linger. Any small ga they ca across on the way was quickly dealt with. Er Bao’s skills at picking up prey were top-notch, so they didn’t even need to stop and waste ti.
As a result, over an hour later, we reached the place where big ga might be found, the place Yan Fei referred to as ’the other side of the mountain.’
The small mining area wasn’t big, but it was separated by a mountain, and the surrounding area was mostly wasteland, so there was a lot of prey. However, it was a bit far, and since hunting was usually just casual fun for us, we didn’t co here often.
It’s worth ntioning that now these wastelands, along with the small mining area, go by the surna Yan.
So hunting here is perfectly free, without worrying about getting disturbed. If soone really showed up, treating them as prey wouldn’t be an issue — in the absence of Yan Fei’s knowledge, anyone here would be considered an invader. Invading private property without permission, getting shot would serve them right.
Upon arriving, Heizi promptly reminded, "Brother Fei, there should be a few kangaroos around here. But now they’ve beco smarter; they run at the slightest noise we make. Should we leave the horses behind?"
ng Si’an laughed heartily alongside, "Got clever following you guys?"
Old Cui laughed too, "Indeed, we ca here several tis before, only ever managing to injure one, never keeping it. The ones left are much savvier now, running away even at the sight of us during the day or at the sound at night. I bet with Brother Fei here today, we’ll have a shot."
"Exactly." Old Chen also had confidence in Yan Fei. "Besides, we haven’t been here for a few days, they’ve probably forgotten..."
As Er Bao and Yan Fei found a spot to tie up the horses, Er Bao finished first and started clearing the area with a stick — the concern was snakes around the horses.
As the others ca over to tie their horses, Yan Fei suddenly whispered, "Everyone stay quiet, there’s sothing here!"
Even Er Bao halted his clearing from afar.
Yan Fei grabbed a light and walked a few steps toward the foot of the mountain, then stopped: "Doesn’t look like a rabbit... maybe a rat..."
Just about to raise his gun, he suddenly stopped, laughed, and said, "A big rat. We might co across sothing rare; Old ng, turn off the lights, co closer, and get ready to see clearly."
Everyone carefully turned off their lights and moved closer, only to see the light in Yan Fei’s hand suddenly flick on.
In the illuminated area, a particularly large rat was looking cautiously our way. Surprised by the sudden light, it froze for a mont, then swiftly turned and leaped into the grass.
"What was that?" No one saw it clearly, especially Er Bao who was further away and saw nothing at all.
Yan Fei was quite pleased with himself, "Looks like our protection efforts here are paying off; marsupial mice are showing up."
"Marsupial mouse?" ng Si’an was puzzled.
Yan Fei explained, "These are rare, essentially just large rats. However, their breeding isn’t as prolific as rats, making them a species worthy of protection around here."
Others were still contemplating why Yan Fei was being so cautious, when Yan Fei continued, "It’s actually good news. We’ll let the Wildlife Protection Organization know later; once they confirm the presence of marsupial mice here, it’ll prove that what I said earlier is true."
He had previously stated that he bought the mining area to protect the natural environnt — even though Heizi and the others hunted intensely, the ga they hunted was excessive in number. As long as they didn’t leave the ranch, within this district, hunting freely was no problem, absolutely wouldn’t lead to extinction.
Although he didn’t switch on the light earlier, he had seen clearly, which is why he stopped and didn’t shoot. Otherwise, that marsupial mouse would be gone by now.
It’s not that Yan Fei was incredibly committed to environntal conservation, but he knew marsupial mice, although similar to mice, had less breeding capacity, hence less destructive.
The key point is, with this creature around, the need for environntal protection becos justified — after all, if not for careful preservation, how could marsupial mice have found their way here?
In truth, the actual reason probably lies in the fact that he had hunted a lot of the wild animals in the area, like wild dogs and snakes. Most of them were killed off by him, and what’s left wouldn’t dare to roam freely — having only co across two snakes after so much distance attests to his ’achievent.’
Otherwise, small animals like marsupial mice would likely beco food as well.
But now wasn’t the ti to ponder this; Yan Fei called everyone, "Don’t worry about that now, let’s continue hunting, and try to let Old ng bag a kangaroo or sothing tonight."
...
Yan Fei’s words ca a bit early. In fact, ng Si’an only found this opportunity until late at night.
The situation at the ti was: a kangaroo was desperately screeching and struggling on the ground, while ng Si’an stood ten ters away, aiming with his weapon, until he finally fired under the urging of several people.
This was quite an unlucky and miserable kangaroo.
ng Si’an’s first shot rely frightened it half to death, not hitting it — he had overestimated his skills, and the initial excitent faded at this mont, leaving him hesitant due to the kangaroo’s pitiful state.
Yan Fei, feeling helpless, started urging, "Hurry up, or it’ll continue to suffer. It can’t survive in this state anyway, if not for you, I wouldn’t have broken its leg first..."
Yes, it was Yan Fei who broke the kangaroo’s leg first, giving ng Si’an the opportunity.
Old Chen egged him on from the side, "If you won’t shoot, then I’ll take over. You’ve seen how tough it is to find a kangaroo. Apart from Brother Fei, we rarely get to bag one. After taking it back and snapping a picture, we can have a keepsake to brag about..."
The last bit of those words pushed ng Si’an to muster up courage. He finally steadied his slightly shaking weapon and made up his mind — being a newbie, holding a weapon isn’t sothing that feels steady right away.
In the sound of over a dozen bang-bang-bang-bangs, the kangaroo was finally lucky enough to et its end, thanks to Sharpshooter Student ng Si’an.
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