pjbooks Chapter 240 A Novice Hunter Accidentally Enters the Heavenly Family?
Chapter 240 A Novice Hunter Accidentally Enters the Heavenly Family?
Chapter 240 A Novice Hunter Accidentally Enters the Heavenly Family?
A 60-pound bow with specialized hunting arrowheads could theoretically take down even a black bear, so using it to shoot a silly goose would be a complete disaster.
When the sharp triangular steel blade comes into contact with the target, the only thing that can provide protection is the feather layer and the outer skin, but this cannot even withstand 1% of the arrow's kinetic energy.
The arrow pierced its body with silky smoothness, tearing through muscle tissue before shattering the chest cavity composed of delicate sternum and ribs, and then, with unstoppable force and perfect precision, pierced its heart.
It's important to know that birds' hearts make up a much larger proportion of their body weight than those of mammals, including humans, in order to meet their high metabolic demands and sustain long-duration flight.
High-precision shooting does not equate to cruelty, but rather to a hunter's humanity. It aims to inflict an instant fatal wound without ever launching a second attack, striving to minimize the suffering of the prey.
If the arrow only grazes the heart or hits other parts, such as the lungs and liver, the prey will struggle and try to escape with the arrow in its mouth, eventually dying from blood loss, infection, or organ failure in a long and agonizing process—a very cruel one.
"Caw caw...caw caw..."
The Canada goose, shot in the heart, flapped its wings in terror, trying to take off. It looked like it was in pain, but this was not due to its conscious will, but rather a passive, neurological reflex.
Because the heart is the pumping center for blood, once it is punctured, blood circulation will collapse instantly, thereby destroying the oxygen supply system and causing severe oxygen deprivation in the brain. The goose will immediately lose consciousness and become unconscious.
About seven seconds later, it collapsed next to the pond and stopped moving completely.
"Gaga! Gaga! Gaga!"
The sudden attack immediately triggered a chain reaction among the geese. Just like when a crowd is shot at, all the geese flapped their wings in terror and took flight, emitting extremely panicked screams.
A dozen geese took off and cried out at the same time, making quite a commotion.
In the forest, an Inuit huntress who was tracking her prey stopped and glanced at the flock of geese circling overhead, a hint of envy flashing in her eyes.
Further into the camp, Chief Instructor Lehman, holding binoculars, couldn't help but grin and say, "Wow, looks like we'll be having roast goose tonight. I wonder if the grill we brought will be big enough."
Faced with the prey that he had already caught, Ma Jie did not rush to collect the carcass, because he had previously learned that geese are actually very intelligent and have complex emotions and strong family ties.
After the initial panic subsides, the flock of geese will circle and observe from a distance, marking the area as a risk zone, and will never set foot there again.
If the fallen goose is a mate or family member of another goose, its partner and relatives will react more intensely. They will most likely return to the dead companion, emitting mournful cries that are completely different from usual. They may even linger nearby, gently nudging or touching the fallen companion with their beaks, trying to make it "stand up" or "catch up".
Afterwards, they will exhibit symptoms similar to "depression," such as loss of appetite and lethargy. This state can last for several days or even longer, and the suffering is no less than that of death.
Understanding the habits of prey is also an essential skill for a seasoned hunter.
So Ma Jie didn't rush to expose himself, but quietly waited in place for the flock of geese to make their next move.
This is a test of patience, as the originally ample hunting time is stretched out indefinitely.
Just as he was about to lose patience, a miraculous scene unfolded: the female goose actually broke away from the flock and flew down from the sky, trying to awaken her "deceased husband."
Whoosh! Arrows followed one after another, instantly piercing the heart of the "widow goose." She staggered a few steps, fell onto her husband, and closed her eyes in contentment.
There's nothing I can do. Old Ma is just a kind person. He can't bear to see the goose suffer, so he might as well let you two reunite.
Witnessing their brethren being killed twice, the flock of geese circling in the air finally realized how formidable their opponents were. If they didn't retreat soon, they might lose even more members. So, led by their alpha goose, they flapped their wings and flew away into the distance.
Only after they had completely disappeared from sight did Ma Jie emerge from the woods. The long wait had not been in vain; it had resulted in a doubled harvest.
I picked up the male goose and weighed it in my hand. Good heavens, it was much heavier than the roast geese sold in roast meat shops, at least eight kilograms. It must be a large subspecies.
The female goose is slightly lighter, but it still weighs at least six kilograms. All of them together weigh more than ten kilograms. Wouldn't that be a huge blow to those fishermen?
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly noticed that something seemed to be hidden in the pile of weeds next to the pond.
I went over and dug it open, and lo and behold, it was a nest left behind by the flock of geese after they had hurriedly fled. Inside the nest were four goose eggs, which looked white and big, full of protein and cholesterol.
Each goose egg weighs more than half a pound!
There were more than one such nest. After a thorough search, the remaining nests contained at least 3 goose eggs and at most 6 goose eggs, and a total of 32 eggs were collected in the end.
Two large, fat geese, plus 32 goose eggs, the entire family meal set weighs a terrifying 25 kilograms!
Sure enough, what Ma Jie feared most came to pass: collecting too much food was also a problem, as his carrying weight was 25.
Kilogram-long outdoor hiking is typically only suitable for military training and extreme challenges.
Carrying his heavy spoils, he arrived at an open space and placed the simple sundial he had previously handcrafted on the ground. Using the north-pointing function provided by the [Cartographer], he aligned the gnomon with true north, that is, the North Pole.
According to the scale, there is only an hour and a half left before the challenge ends, which is not short, but it is definitely not enough time either.
It's autumn now, and I had planned to gather some mushrooms and berries in the woods, since it's the season when they're ripe and easy to find as long as you're not blind.
But for now, let's forget about it and hurry back to camp to hand in the papers. Otherwise, no matter how well we do, it'll be all for nothing if we go over time.
According to the load standards, carrying more than 14 kilograms can be considered heavy-load hiking, and 25 kilograms is far beyond that standard. It should be noted that the so-called "devil training" in the army is only about 30 kilograms.
Taking into account the weight of the hunting bow, quiver, and arrows, what Ma Jieke is doing now is no different from that of a special forces soldier.
He had only walked a few hundred meters when he could feel his strength rapidly draining away. It seemed that Donya had either returned to the camp or was resting on the spot, her human-shaped power bank in standby mode.
Meanwhile, the Inuit huntress he had encountered was still moving deeper into the forest, completely oblivious to time.
The reason he knew her exact location was because Ma Jie had curiously activated [Quantum Tracking] beforehand. After all, since they both followed the hunting style, he really wanted to spy on his opponent.
The huntress stopped venturing further when she was halfway through her journey, paused briefly, then turned around and headed back towards the camp.
In such an unfamiliar environment, it is not easy to return the way you came. Experienced hunters will leave marks along the way, such as carving marks on tree trunks with a knife at intervals to ensure that there are reference points to rely on.
However, Majek didn't have this problem; the camp was clearly marked on the large map, and he could return using the shortest route.
By the time they reached the edge of the forest, they were exhausted. In order to avoid triggering the "Working Body" prematurely and to prepare for tomorrow's training challenge, Ma Jie wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead, took out the sundial again to check the time, and found that there were still 35 minutes left. He then decided to rest for five minutes on the spot.
When the five minutes were up, he calmly stood up and walked towards the base camp a few hundred meters away.
When he returned to the camp, a large number of people had already gathered there, sharing their spoils and estimating their rankings.
There were about ten other people gathered together, exclaiming in surprise.
Majek walked over curiously and discovered that the person who had attracted the attention was actually Tonya. No wonder [Energy Absorption] hadn't worked; she had returned to the camp before him.
Judging from her appearance, she must have been in close combat with her prey; there were still traces of blood on her snow-white face that hadn't been wiped clean.
At her feet lay a gray-brown Alaskan coyote, about a meter tall, with an arrow in its rump, though not fatal.
The real fatal wound was on the head, where a horrific gash had been cleaved open by a hand axe, and the skull was clearly visible through the bloody wound.
Although this thing is on the equipment list, nobody chooses it. Hand axes are generally used for logging. Who would be crazy enough to use them for hunting?
"My God, how did you do that? Weren't you scared?"
"Tsk tsk, looks like she weighs at least forty or fifty pounds. Girl, if I were the instructor, I would definitely give you full marks."
"Ugh, I should have gone hunting too. You can't catch any fish in that lousy lake!"
"Exactly, I suspect there's a monster in the lake that's eaten all the fish."
Listening to the other contestants' praises and complaints, Donya smiled smugly, basking in the wonderful atmosphere of being worshipped.
"Jack, why are you so late?" Seeing Jack Ma appear, the girl's originally proud little expression became even more difficult to contain. After seeing his prey clearly, the corners of her mouth almost stretched to the back of her head: "Haha, not bad, not bad. I originally thought you would come back empty-handed, but I didn't expect you to bring back two Canada geese. They look quite heavy, but they are still a little inferior to my prey."
Faced with such blatant mockery, Ma Jie smiled and remained silent, knowing that she meant no harm and that it was just friends teasing each other.
For Donya, the two silly geese were nothing, after all, one was a herbivore and the other a carnivore, occupying different ecological niches, so the hunting difficulty was naturally incomparable.
However, other competitors also felt hopeless, mainly because of the time. In just 5 hours, they had caught two fat geese. What more could they ask for?
"Not bad, Asian kid. Where did you find your prey?"
"It looks like a giant subspecies, much larger than a regular Canada goose."
"Brother, your archery skills are amazing! Every shot was fatal, hitting the heart."
"Oh no, this season is full of monsters! It's just a training camp and selection process, but it feels like I'm in the finals."
Just as a group of people were groaning and complaining, someone else returned to the camp, successfully attracting a large crowd.
He looks like a star contestant who has participated in the show before, a rugged North American man in his 50s.
It took off the storage bag and poured it into the bucket prepared by the production team. With a splashing sound, several plump and fresh fish were presented to everyone.
Three of them were sockeye salmon, also known as red salmon, with a stunning bright red body.
This is the most common fish in Alaska, and also the most amazing fish.
Salmon are born in freshwater and then migrate to the ocean to grow.
After reaching adulthood, guided by nature, they travel thousands of miles back to their birthplace to reproduce.
Most salmon pay the ultimate price on this long journey home.
However, it is precisely the sacrifice of countless lives that gives birth to new life, thus initiating one endless cycle of life after another.
Such a magnificent life trajectory is probably hard to find even in nature.
According to local government regulations, a fishing license must be purchased to fish in Alaska, and the annual fee is $15.
Even with a fishing license, you can't fish at will; each person is limited to catching 3 salmon per day.
Besides the sockeye salmon, there were also two half-meter-long pike in the bucket, which looked to weigh at least 5 kg.
"Oh my God! Stop provoking me! Is it too late for me to withdraw from the competition?"
"What's the big deal? You think the title of Fish King came for nothing?"
"Hey bro, I'm really curious how you found that fishing spot. Could you share it?"
Just as everyone started shouting again, head instructor Lehman Stein walked over. He wasn't amazed by the athletes' various skills, but instead stared expressionlessly at his watch and shouted, "There are 10 minutes left in the competition. After 10 minutes, any athlete who arrives at the camp will have their results invalidated. The countdown begins now!"
Ma Jie roughly counted the number of players and found that there were at least seven or eight who had not yet returned to the camp.
This also confirms his previous conjecture that the assessment this time was not just about collecting food, but also about the ability to identify directions and record time without the aid of any tools.
Most participants adopted the principle of proximity, only trying to find a way around the camp, and also allowed plenty of time to arrive, returning an hour or even more than an hour early.
With just over 5 minutes left on the countdown, another player finally returned, carrying no prey but instead foraging for a large number of mushrooms and berries.
This is not a bad strategy. After all, hunting and fishing both carry the risk of failing, but gathering is guaranteed regardless of drought or flood. If the upper limit is not guaranteed, can't the lower limit be guaranteed?
Majeke kept his eyes glued to the large map, where a human head marker was rapidly traversing the forest, sprinting towards the base camp.
"Three minutes left!" Lehman's voice was icy cold, and behind it lay an extremely cruel elimination mechanism.
The target appeared; it was the Inuit huntress they had met before.
From a distance, she didn't seem to be carrying any prey, so it seemed like she had wasted her time. But as she got closer, everyone finally saw the truth.
She had tied a rope around her waist, and the other end of the rope was being pulled by a large, black, spiky creature.
It was this guy who slowed her down, making every step forward incredibly difficult.
"One minute left!" Looking at the exhausted huntress, Lehman suddenly raised his voice, which was like a thunderclap, startling everyone.
However, those who reacted quickly realized that this was the only help he, as the head instructor, could provide to the athletes.
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