Infinite Hunter

"Three points in a straight line, three points in a straight line." Cheng Yijiu repeated silently in his mind. With the support of the tree branches, the muzzle of the gun was now very stable. He only needed to aim. Cheng Yijiu was waiting for an opportunity. The moving muzzle followed the movements of the big boar, waiting for the side of the big boar in front of him, which might weigh 400 kilograms, to be completely exposed.

If he shot from the front, it would be difficult for Cheng Yijiu to hit the wild boar's heart due to the obstruction of the shoulders and head. If he shot at the head, the front of the wild boar's skull would probably be very hard, and he was afraid that it would ricochet. The rifle bullets had strong penetrating power and would definitely penetrate if they hit the wild boar, but the angle of the wild boar's skull was still very flat, so if he hit the forehead, it might really ricochet.

The boar grunted and burrowed on the ground—soon, half of its body was exposed. Cheng Yijiu held his breath, counted three, two, one, and then decisively pulled the trigger.

Chapter 14: First Success

The trigger force of the professionally adjusted and well-adjusted bolt-action rifle is very moderate, and the travel is very soft. The hammer hits the firing pin, and the primer of the bullet is ignited... Cheng Yijiu's body is pushed back by a force, but Cheng Yijiu, who has become accustomed to the recoil, quickly regained his posture. He skillfully pulled the bolt with his right hand to eject the cartridge case and load the next bullet. After a slight aim, he fired the second shot.

Thanks to the Winchester M70's excellent design and sophisticated processing, the .308 bullet accurately hit the wild boar's body, easily penetrating the resin-soaked soil and the wild boar's thick skin - this thing is like composite armor, and ordinary pistol bullets may not be able to penetrate it.

But rifle bullets were a different story. The boar took two hits. Cheng Yijiu wasn't sure if the bullets had hit its heart—he was only a novice hunter, after all—but the boar was definitely seriously injured. Cheng Yijiu aimed for the boar's heart, which was indicated in his hunting notes. He didn't seem to need to run for his life right now—the boar was about four or five meters off the ground, and Cheng Yijiu didn't think it could leap... If it were a tiger, he'd be dead, but a boar?

Cheng Yijiu quickly pulled the bolt, loaded the third round, and untied the rope that secured his body. Although it was unlikely, if the wild boar knocked down the tree, he would not be crushed or unable to escape. The wild boars ran away when the gunshots rang out. Only the male wild boar roared and circled, but its injuries seemed to be really serious. It confirmed Cheng Yijiu's direction through hearing and rushed towards him.

However, it could only circle the tree, gnawing at its roots. The tree was thick enough for a wild boar to topple, but an elephant might have managed to do the same. Cheng Yijiu propped himself up with his legs spread out, aimed his gun at the boar's skull with both hands, and fired.

A few minutes later, the boar had collapsed to the ground, and Cheng Yijiu slid down from the tree, looking at his first real prey. "What a huge boar..." Cheng Yijiu reloaded his rifle and circled around it—men, after all, have a hunting heart. This boar was truly enormous, likely weighing over 200 kilograms—Cheng Yijiu's prior judgment had clearly been wrong. Everyone has this tendency to magnify what they see—that's how so many sightings of water monsters and other such creatures came about.

Bragging is natural, too. Every hunter will claim to have seen countless large prey, but for various reasons, they missed the opportunity. At first, Cheng Yijiu thought it was a giant wild boar weighing 400 to 500 kilograms, but after killing it, he found that it was probably only about 200 kilograms, much smaller.

Yet it was still a large pig. You have to know that the half-stripped pig that ordinary people can see probably weighed only 80 or 90 kilograms when alive... Over 200 kilograms, over 400 kilograms, or nearly 500 kilograms, is already considered very large. Blood was flowing from the pig's body and jaw. Cheng Yijiu just looked at it - mission accomplished, it was time for him to leave.

Until now, Cheng Yijiu still hadn't figured out what this system was. He'd originally thought it was some kind of forced adventure to raise Gu in the Infinite World, but now it seemed like a welfare benefit? Free housing and food, that was simply amazing—and the house could be taken with you. "Even if you force me to leave now, I won't leave."

Back to where they came from, there was a lonely door standing in the woods. Cheng Yijiu pushed it open and then disappeared with it... After returning to the room, Cheng Yijiu suddenly found that the weapon in his hand began to flicker and gradually became a little illusory. "Oh! Damn it! What's going on? This cost me thousands of dollars, no, almost tens of thousands! All my belongings are here!"

At this time, a voice came from the computer's speaker, "The weapon inspection failed, adventurer, please upgrade yourself! Otherwise, the weapon will be lost forever." Cheng Yijiu was a little stunned, "The weapon failed?" He immediately went to the strange computer to check - it turned out that the weapons that can really be used by him must be "reset" in this place. Otherwise, unless he is rich and powerful, he can buy a weapon every time he goes on an adventure, and let the weapon disappear when he comes back... There is nothing wrong with this, but Cheng Yijiu instinctively feels that if he does this, he may get into big trouble at some point in the future.

What else can we say? We're just using the materials provided free of charge in the workshop to "rebuild" the soon-to-be-disappeared weapons. Actually, it's just remanufacturing... Barrel processing is easy enough, with specialized machines for pulling the barrels, and of course, special electroplating tanks for chrome plating. There are also other wire processing machines, but they all require technical skills, at least an engineering degree with several years of factory experience—there are no CNC machines here, everything is manual.

This was practically a life-threatening situation. Cheng Yijiu donned protective gloves and goggles and carefully operated the machine tool. Unfortunately, he barely knew how to operate it, relying entirely on the manual to figure things out. Fortunately, manual machine tools aren't as complex as CNC machines, making them much more robust and generally safer to break. However, it still seemed quite dangerous.

To be honest, Cheng Yijiu's so-called study abroad now seems to be a pitfall - this university is not well-known in the United States, and he probably won't be able to become a gilded sea turtle after graduation. However, Cheng Yijiu's goal is to be able to practice shooting in the United States, and relatively speaking, it is much more convenient to practice martial arts and shooting in the United States than in China.

I just didn't expect that I would have to learn how to operate a lathe...

Fortunately, there's a vast array of materials available for practice. For example, high-strength steel pipes are inherently expensive, but with hundreds of them available for practice, you'll quickly become proficient. The same goes for various bolt and receiver materials, and of course, mahogany for the handguard and stock—there's plenty of room for practice.

Making a gun wasn't difficult, especially since it was a rifle rather than a more elaborate pistol. But for Cheng Yijiu, who had never worked as a laborer before, it was still quite a challenge. He didn't have much time, though. If he couldn't finish it before his next adventure, would he just resort to using a knife? Even if he had a spear and decent fighting skills, Cheng Yijiu didn't think he could kill a beast with just a spear.

We can talk about working later. Now I’ll just practice operating a lathe day and night - I have to believe in the ingenuity of the Chinese people.

There is one thing that makes people happy, that is, there is a big wild boar head hanging in the hall upstairs, and there is even a photo hanging on the wall. Cheng Yijiu is squatting in front of the wild boar head he shot, looking at the camera with a smile... This is another manifestation of the magical power of this "system".

Chapter 15 Brown bear?

Cheng Yijiu still had no idea what this strange house and the so-called system that had suddenly appeared were for. The key point was that unlike the novels he had read before, this so-called system had a reward mode but no punishment mode... "Perhaps dying in the trial field was the punishment? After all, if you're killed by a wild boar, you might not be resurrected."

In fact, if he was injured, it was hard to say whether this so-called system could help him heal. Although there was indeed a room on the second floor with an operating table, a shadowless lamp, and a series of surgical instruments and medicines, Cheng Yijiu was not a doctor, and he could not perform surgery on himself. The most important thing was that if he looked closely at the bed, Cheng Yijiu felt that it looked like it was used for autopsies...

All of this made Cheng Yijiu's scalp itch as he looked at the photo. After all, he was sure that he didn't perform the actions in the photo, and who took the photo for him? Just thinking about it made him feel cold. But forget it, Cheng Yijiu knew that he wouldn't be able to find the secret for a while, so he should focus on making a gun that could be recognized by this system.

The original Winchester was completely disassembled, each component carefully measured. All that was left was to be machined on the lathe. Cheng Yijiu, a skilled Chinese, managed to get his hands on the lathe after breaking a few parts. Fortunately, a bench vise and a file were all that was needed...

On the bright side, at least the cost of housing and food was significantly reduced. Buying a trailer and keeping it at the campground would give him a permanent address in the US. Cheng Yijiu's current university tuition wasn't expensive, so he didn't need to spend his part-time job on food, leaving him with a substantial surplus. However, almost all of it was spent on ammunition.

This house was comfortable to live in, but the gun-making process was indeed quite challenging. However, Cheng Yijiu eventually succeeded in completing the manufacturing of a series of components, and his work was quite good. After carefully measuring and finding no errors, Cheng Yijiu began assembly. Once complete, he took the gun for a test—and thanks to his meticulous work and the precise measuring tools, the gun's accuracy was quite good.

The accuracy of this type of bolt-action rifle is not bad - as long as the barrel is not crooked and the rifling is straight, it is generally sufficient as a hunting rifle.

After placing it on the system's gun rack, the computer screen immediately displayed "Qualified, ready for use." Cheng Yijiu breathed a sigh of relief. Then he discovered a new option on the computer. "External language loading? And the points required are so high, basically my rare points... But what's the point of these points? I can buy the props here outside, right? And it doesn't seem to say that I have to make a new piece of clothing myself before it will be approved..."

Cheng Yijiu saw a list of languages, which included almost all the languages ​​he knew. If he flipped down, he would find some languages ​​he had never heard of. Cheng Yijiu swallowed his saliva and said, "Does this mean there are some special prey?" He was also shocked.

But now I should load some languages. If I look at the points, I can afford two languages. "Of course, it's French and... Japanese." He chose this for a purpose. French is widely used in Africa, and Japanese is based on his own feeling. He always feels that he will need it soon.

A new mission was about to come. What was seen on the screen was a winter scene, and the mission target had been marked. "Hunting brown bears? Man-eating brown bears? Does this count as officially starting the mission?" Cheng Yijiu quickly ran into the room to choose clothes. He found that most of the clothes in the closet had disappeared, and only a very small number of clothes could be worn.

"A hunting jacket? Khaki pants? That's all?" Cheng Yijiu glanced at the winter scenery on screen. He had to finish all the preparations within 30 minutes, so time was tight. "I can only use my last points to buy it. Damn it! I still need points to stay in the room—even though it's only one point a day."

There weren't many clothing options on the computer screen, and the styles were undoubtedly from the early 20th century. Cheng Yijiu quickly selected fur boots and wool socks, a British military backpack from World War I, a leather vest, and an officer's long coat—all of which matched the ammunition pouch at his waist, and finally a hat. Next, he stuffed the backpack with things, from canned food to a lighter and other utensils, and finally put in a small folding shovel.

Before arriving 30 minutes later, Cheng Yijiu had completed all the preparations - the weapon was the gun he made himself, the Winchester, and then a dagger, that was all the weapons. Cheng Yijiu pushed open the door, and a cold wind blew snowflakes into his face.

Before him lay a vast expanse of white snow and dense forests. Cheng Yijiu spotted a road. Although it was a dirt road in the countryside, it proved that there were people living here. "Right, since they're talking about man-eating brown bears, it must be where there are people." Walking along the road, traces of fields appeared on both sides. The fields were covered with a thin layer of snow after the winter harvest, and sometimes the black soil underneath was exposed.

Ahead were houses built of various types of wood and thatch, a style that was clearly East Asian. "Is this Japan?" Cheng Yijiu confirmed this after seeing the people coming in and out of the houses. He was still several hundred meters away from the village, and when he looked through his telescope, he saw that the people inside were dressed in typical Japanese peasant clothing, and the style seemed to be from ancient times. However, Cheng Yijiu felt that it was probably not ancient Japan, but he still had to go over and see the specific era to confirm it.

As he walked in, the villagers noticed him. Cheng Yijiu was significantly taller than the 5'5" Japanese of today, at least a head taller. Cheng Yijiu's height was average in contemporary China, but considered tall in Japan. Furthermore, he wore a long British-style coat, riding boots, a hat, and carried a backpack and rifle, giving him a distinctly Western look.

Moreover, the temperament on his face was completely different. The villagers quickly bowed to him on the roadside, and Cheng Yijiu also nodded in greeting. "Where is this sir from?" A villager who looked to be in his thirties walked over and asked with a nod and a bow. The clothes on this man were more fashionable than those of others. He might be a prominent figure in the village.

"Hello, I'm here to hunt." Cheng Yijiu patted the rifle on his back. "I'm from Yokohama." The villager showed a very surprised face. "This is a very far place! The master is really in a good mood and came to our Hokkaido to hunt."

Chapter 16: Attack

Cheng Yijiu touched his pocket and found that the US dollars originally in his wallet had automatically turned into thick, slightly yellow Japanese yen. However, they were not the denominations of 10,000 and 110,000 that he was familiar with, but denominations of 1, 5, and 10 yuan with completely different patterns.

Cheng Yijiu wasn't completely uneducated; he knew the Japanese yen was still valuable in this era. Even before the war, it was still directly linked to the gold standard. "Imperial Bank of Japan note..." He pulled out a one-yuan bill. "Sir, could you take me to a place where I can stay?"

The villagers' waists were almost bent at 90 degrees. If Cheng Yijiu said something about their status, they might even fall to their knees. The leading villager immediately took him to the village office. This was also normal, because Cheng Yijiu saw that most of the villagers' houses were built with thatch or something like that, and only the village office was built with bricks and tiles.

Actually, there's a big loophole here. Is it possible to walk there? Or at least ride a bicycle? Or a horse-drawn carriage would be fine... But with Yen and Cheng Yijiu dressed in Western style, the privileges of being a master made these farmers not even think about it.

The local police registered Cheng Yijiu's name. "Sato Taro, sir." The police carefully wrote down Cheng Yijiu's pseudonym and took a look at the gun he was carrying. The gun was made of walnut wood, with a finely polished frame, lacquered finish, and a carving on the stock after manufacture, proving that it was truly something only a master could afford.

Not to mention Cheng Yijiu's outfit... You have to know that local hunters can only use inferior domestic guns, while the gun of Mr. Sato in front of him is a powerful-looking big gun. However, for now, Cheng Yijiu can only stay here and wait for the prey to appear.

The snow scene in Hokkaido is so beautiful. Cheng Yijiu stood at the door of the village office holding a cup of hot tea and admired the snow scene on the mountain. He did not carry a gun, but he was still dressed in the typical British hunter's outfit at the beginning of the century. Cheng Yijiu did not feel cold in his thick fur clothes - it's good to be young.

He set down his tea and raised the brass telescope strapped to his chest. Cheng Yijiu was cautious about this, as none of his gear was state-of-the-art. "Such a dense forest, but it's all white, so I can't see a thing... But the bears should be hibernating by now," Cheng Yijiu thought. A villager had mentioned to him earlier that this wasn't the right time for bear hunting, so Cheng Yijiu could only say he'd come deer hunting, too.

"I guess they still think of me as a rich young master from the south who is ignorant of the world, so they don't know that bears hibernate..." Cheng Yijiu didn't really care about the happiness that the villagers secretly revealed - that was the happiness of watching rich people do stupid things.

Cheng Yijiu stayed home that day, happily lounging at the village office, chatting and playing with the young men and women who had rushed to see the peep show after hearing that a wealthy young man was coming to "visit." It was December, and even the most diligent farmers had little to do, except perhaps repair their tools—the ground was frozen, and there was no way to do anything else. So many people had a chance to rest—farmers in Japan these days had a very hard time, not much better off than their mainland counterparts.

Cheng Yijiu found it quite amusing to look at the group of doll-like people in front of him, "So-called little Japanese are like this..." The Japanese children and women in front of him were almost all under 1.4 meters tall or just over 1.4 meters tall, much shorter than him. Cheng Yijiu, Sato Taro, looked like a foreigner to them, especially when he took out a few candies, the children liked to surround him even more.

But the next day, something happened.

A villager ran over, shouting, "Something happened at the Ota family! A bear ate someone!" Cheng Yijiu immediately grabbed his gun and ran after the villagers. The family wasn't close to the village office; it was several kilometers along the road. He followed the villagers to the scene of the incident—the home of a villager named Ota.

This was also a thatched house with a large hole in the wall, and the house was in a mess. Cheng Yijiu saw the body of a child, and then there was blood. "I heard there was a woman there? Was she dragged away?" Cheng Yijiu felt a little nauseous. Although he had hunted wild boars before, he was still an ordinary person after all, and he had never seen the scene of a broken human body.

Cheng Yijiu fought the urge to vomit as he and the villagers carefully examined the tracks inside and outside the house. He then refused the villagers' request and followed the tracks alone. The snow was covered in drag marks and blood. Cheng Yijiu wasn't a skilled hunter yet, and he didn't have a great talent for tracking prey, nor did he have much experience. All he had, apart from what he'd read in hunter's notes, came from a few wild boar hunts.

"It's easy in the snow, but as time goes by... and now it's snowing again, the traces are becoming more and more difficult to find." Cheng Yijiu thought, the good thing is that wild beasts are not as smart as humans, and they will not leave traps on their footprints, nor will they perform all kinds of cunning tricks on the footprints. It is easier to track wild beasts than to track humans.

Fortunately, it was snowing, and the accumulated snow preserved enough traces, and the weapons in Cheng Yijiu's hands were more sophisticated than those in the hands of the villagers - at least Cheng Yijiu thought that the things in their hands could only be called iron cannons, and at most there were some spears - the best weapons at present were just breech-loading black powder guns, how could they compare with his Winchester.

The trigger guard was large enough so that Cheng Yijiu could shoot even with gloves on. He held the rifle and carefully tracked the beast. The footprints left by the beast were quite large, and because it was dragging people, the traces left were also clear enough. "Master! Master Sato!" A voice came from behind. When Cheng Yijiu looked back, he found that it was several villagers running towards him. "Master Sato, please let us go with you." These villagers were still very simple and honest. Perhaps they didn't have much confidence in Cheng Yijiu's ability, so they ran to help him look.

"Okay, but I think it's not far away." Cheng Yijiu accepted their kindness, "Everyone, be careful. Move back a little. I think the bear might be nearby. Oh, this is just my intuition, just my intuition..."

Chapter 17 Tragedy

Not much time had passed since the attack, and the new snowfall hadn't started yet, so Cheng Yijiu and the villagers were able to follow the trail. "What a huge one..." Cheng Yijiu muttered. To be honest, he had never been up close to a bear. The closest he'd ever been was when he was a child at the zoo, at the foot of Bear Mountain, where he was separated from a brown bear begging for food by two iron bars. The distance between the two bars was so great that an adult couldn't even reach the inner railing with their arms outstretched.

Now, there is nothing between him and the bear except the distance. As long as the bear wants, it can pounce on him at any time... Although he has hunted huge wild boars, which are the most ferocious Northeast Asian species, he is facing a bear now. It is as if an ice knife is sliding along Cheng Yijiu's back, making his hair stand on end.

Especially now, as he looked at the footprints before him—they had sunk nearly twenty centimeters into the snow, touching the hard ground. A speck of red blood lingered within the white prints, likely from the cracks between the claws. "This print is truly enormous..." Cheng Yijiu muttered again. He noticed the villagers' expressions had changed, perhaps due to the cold wind.

The footprints in front of him were about the size of a washbasin. Cheng Yijiu felt that the diameter was at least 40 centimeters. Although the footprints were much larger than they actually were due to the collapse of snow, just looking at the distance between the footprints and the stride length, one could tell that it was a big guy.

Judging by its stride, this bear's size is comparable to the newly imported Western draft horses, making it a particularly large species among Japan's Northeastern brown bear subspecies. Cheng Yijiu recalled the records in his study and concluded it was probably no smaller than a large male Alaskan brown bear. "Perhaps smaller than a Kodiak brown bear, making it a particularly large species among Northeastern brown bears," Cheng Yijiu gritted his teeth.

He fished a box from his bosom, but after a moment's thought, he decided not to take out the contents. He opened the box anyway, motioning for the villagers behind him to each take out a small piece. "Hold it or chew it, but don't swallow it; spit it out. It will help you feel less nervous." This was chewing tobacco, part of a set of daily necessities Cheng Yijiu had casually purchased with his points. This set would change with the corresponding era, something Cheng Yijiu had just confirmed.

This was considered high-end stuff, definitely considered classy in Japan. Several villagers put it in their mouths, their faces contorted at first but soon relaxed, though they began spitting non-stop. This was a good thing; perhaps the bear, upon hearing and smelling the noise and scent, would move away and avoid ambushing them.

The drag tracks in the snow were stained with blood. Following the blood and footprints, they finally found the victim on a hillside about 600 meters from the attack site. It was a messy and bloody scene, the white snow stained by blood, a scene like hell. Even Cheng Yijiu felt nauseous and wanted to vomit.

What they saw before them was a woman whose body had been ripped to pieces by a bear, with most of her body eaten away by it. Her entire body was torn into pieces, her internal organs were almost completely eaten, her head was nowhere to be found, a lot of the flesh on her body and thighs had also been eaten away, and even some of her bones were missing... The villagers spat out the tobacco in their mouths and began to vomit.

"Will the bear come back to eat the prey?" Cheng Yijiu asked casually, not expecting the villagers to answer. Their answers were similar, "I'm sorry, Mr. Sato, we really don't know."

"It's difficult to find enough food in winter, and a bear that doesn't hibernate... I'm afraid it will have to fight its appetite. I don't think it will give up this precious 'food'..." Cheng Yijiu said, but bears are different from humans. They can even eat rotten meat, so it's really hard to say when they will come back to eat up all the prey.

Besides, leaving this poor woman's body exposed in the wilderness wasn't a good idea after all. She had been torn to pieces by the bear, a very tragic sight. In the end, Cheng Yijiu could only tell the villagers to go back and get a mat to cover the poor woman's body. "You all should go together, so that the bear won't attack you. At least you'll have someone to look after you. I'll stay here—don't worry, I have a gun. If you're lucky, I might have already shot the bear by the time you get back."

Cheng Yijiu saw snowflakes drifting across the sky as it gradually darkened. He diligently shoveled away the snow, chopped down a few branches with the small axe in his backpack, and started a fire. "It's still tough. I can hold out for this season, but after a while, forget about spending the night outdoors. You'll freeze to death."

Cheng Yijiu sat by the fire, holding a rifle in his arms - the place he chose was a sheltered place with a mountain behind him and a relatively open area in front of him. If any animal wanted to attack him, it could only come from the front. If it came from the mountain, it would have to be a relatively small cat, and a bear would definitely not work.

He hadn't planned to stay overnight. He simply thought that after the villagers brought mats to collect the corpse, they would all return to the village. As for hunting the brown bear? That would wait until later.

After sunset, the villagers arrived in greater numbers. Some even brought muskets, or rather, cannons. After collecting the bodies, they walked back, torches in hand. The villagers, holding their dogs, confirmed there were no signs of bears.

Cheng Yijiu did not sleep well that night. The development of the matter was actually different from the real Sanmaobie incident in history, but Cheng Yijiu did not know it yet. He did not even know that he was facing the famous Sanmaobie man-eating brown bear - a famous incident that would later be the subject of a series of works and movies.

Late in the night, someone suddenly shouted outside, and Cheng Yijiu, who hadn't slept well to begin with, jumped up. The staff on duty at the village office also quickly jumped up. "Bear! The bear is coming again!" someone shouted outside, while banging something like a gong. Cheng Yijiu quickly put on his clothes, checked his gun, and rushed out of the room.

His originally groggy mind suddenly became very clear after inhaling the cold air outside the house. The villagers holding torches had already run out, and they were all running in the same direction. Cheng Yijiu also quickly followed the local police station police and ran over.

This time, the scene was even more tragic. When Cheng Yijiu arrived, he saw the brown bear. It was a massive bear, truly gleaming with golden light in the flames. But that was only a partial glimpse through the hole in the wall. Inside, one could hear the muffled screams of someone and the sounds of bones being crunched. "Burn it to death!" someone shouted, but others dissuaded him, saying there were still people inside.

Cheng Yijiu quickly ran to the hole, raised the rifle in his hand and began to aim.

Chapter 18 Search

The shadows cast by the fire and the animal's movements prevented Cheng Yijiu from aiming accurately. Although the hole was large, the rest of the wall still obscured most of the man-eating beast's body. Cheng Yijiu couldn't just fire casually—the villagers were running around, making a commotion, and if he did, his bullets would likely pass through the wall and hit the people on the other side.

But this was a good opportunity to complete the mission, and I'm afraid there might not be such a good opportunity in the future. Cheng Yijiu knelt on one knee, supporting his elbow on the other knee, forming a tripod to support the gun. This is the standard kneeling shooting posture, and the gun is much more stable than shooting upright. Through the mechanical sight, Cheng Yijiu tried to distinguish the situation in the room - the lighting brazier had long been overturned, and the burning wood inside was scattered all over the floor.

This, combined with the torches outside and the scurrying villagers, made it impossible to see clearly what was happening inside the house—light and shadow formed a constantly oscillating scene. "A thermal imager would be nice..." Cheng Yijiu muttered, then opened fire. The meticulously crafted, polished, and slicked wooden barrel was firmly held in his gloved hand, the walnut stock firmly pressed against his shoulder.

The trigger, adjusted to a force perfectly suited to Cheng Yijiu's accustomed needs, was pulled smoothly. The .0.30-06 round was incredibly powerful, and no land creature could withstand it. A flash of muzzle flash followed by a dull roar drowned out the clamor of the people. A bear's roar echoed from the house, followed by a crackling sound from the other side. Cheng Yijiu pulled the bolt, ejecting the shell and loading the next round from the magazine.

But the house before them collapsed amidst the shaking, its broken wood and thatched roof ignited by the scattered charcoal on the floor. "The bear's gone! The bear's gone!" the villagers shouted. "Did you hit it?" Cheng Yijiu didn't feel good, thinking he probably hadn't hit the beast. The bear had rushed straight into the forest, and in the darkness, no one dared to chase it. Their first task was to remove the roof to see if anyone was still alive inside.

Cheng Yijiu was wearing hunting clothes, and his figure cast a long shadow in the flames. At this time, he really wanted to smoke a cigarette.

The local police team arrived this morning. Four people had died that night: three people, two children, and a woman, killed and eaten by the bear. Another man had died before morning from his injuries. Of course, the leading officer first met with the village chief and Cheng Yijiu, known as "Mr. Sato." It's fair to say the officer's knowledge was broader than that of the locals. Just by looking at Cheng Yijiu's weapon and attire, he knew he was from a big city, perhaps even a wealthy family in Tokyo.

As for his identity, the local police station said it had already been verified, so the police officers from the metropolitan government didn't want to verify it again - they were here to kill the man-eating brown bear, not to handle the case. Besides, Cheng Yijiu was the hunter who had actually faced this brown bear. "Oh, Officer Yamamoto. I can't say I saw the whole thing. You know those villagers, they were always running around in a panic, and as a result, I couldn't see clearly - I can't even say I hit the bear."

Cheng Yijiu took out a pack of British cigarettes and handed one to the leading officer, who bent over and took it with both hands. Cheng Yijiu then lit the cigarette for him with a match, but didn't smoke it himself, revealing his Western-style style. "All I can tell you is that this bear must be very large, perhaps a particularly large brown bear in Hokkaido. Because the day before yesterday I followed its footprints, and its stride was almost as long as a horse's."

Officer Yamamoto frowned, his mind boggling. The situation was already serious. This bear had killed at least five people, and according to the hunters and the police's own analysis, it was very likely responsible for the bear deaths in previous years. This meant at least eight people had died at the hands of this bear, and it seemed the bear had developed a habit of cannibalism. This was a serious problem.

The scene was covered in blood, and the deceased had been collected. Some suggested leaving the body at the scene, laying in wait, as the bear might return and we could then kill it! With over a dozen hunting rifles, there was a good chance we could kill the beast. However, in front of the deceased's distraught husband, this suggestion was rejected. Given the circumstances at the scene, Cheng Yijiu increasingly felt that he might have missed the beast.

As for which route the bear took to get up the mountain, everyone present at night had a different opinion. Everyone said the bear rushed past them... and the snow at the scene was trampled into a mess. Cheng Yijiu felt that it was really difficult to deal with.

Along with the police came bear hunters from nearby. These people were very experienced, but their equipment was not as good as Cheng Yijiu's. When Cheng Yijiu proposed to follow them, these people reluctantly agreed.

Cheng Yijiu was indeed very experienced, and he had learned a lot. These bear hunters could distinguish the bear's tracks by the scratches on the branches and the chaotic footprints on the snow, and they led everyone to track the bear in the direction it ran away. Cheng Yijiu and police captain Mr. Yamamoto were the only two with binoculars, and they often raised their binoculars to observe the situation on the mountain, to see if they could find the bear.

In winter, the mountains are bare, their trees standing tall, and the mountain is almost covered in snow. Only on the ridges and the windward side of the mountain does the snow blow away, revealing the black mountain below. The telescope in Yamamoto's hand looks a little old, but he still cherishes it and places it in a cowhide box. A police officer beside him carries it on his back, holding it carefully to his chest. Cheng Yijiu is much more relaxed. His brass telescope looks more expensive than the black one, and it is hung in a leather case around his neck.

"What a rich young master!" Cheng Yijiu heard someone say softly. He treated the telescope in his hand with much more casualness, as if he didn't cherish it particularly. "I've never seen a bear that doesn't hibernate in winter and comes out to move around before." Cheng Yijiu said. A bear hunter said, "Yes, sir. Bears like this are difficult to deal with. I've been hunting bears for twenty years and have only seen three like this."

Cheng Yijiu stared at him curiously, then pulled out a silver cigarette case and offered the bear hunter a cigarette. The man looked utterly horrified, practically on the verge of kneeling and kowtow—perhaps a peasant encountering a samurai master. "The three bears I encountered were almost all killer bears. They're the kind that wander around in the winter without sleeping... Hey! Take off your hats and show them to the master," he shouted.

The bear hunter named Yuzuo turned around, and Cheng Yijiu also gave him a cigarette. The man took off the hat that covered his head and face with a wry smile - the hideous scars slanted across his cheek, so that one eye and the corner of his mouth were crooked, and his nose was collapsed.

Chapter 19 Discovery

The man named Yosaku seemed to be trying to put on a kind smile, but the scars on his face made it look distorted. "Master, this is the mark left on me ten years ago by a killer bear that didn't hibernate in the winter." Cheng Yijiu looked at the scar and gestured. "The bear didn't seem very big."

"Yes, sir. The bear wasn't very big, but it was very ferocious." Yu Zuo touched his face and put on his hat again to cover his face. Cheng Yijiu didn't say anything else, he just adjusted the gun on his back.

The bear hunters searched for the bear's tracks, stopping several times to search in circles around the spot where the tracks disappeared. However, the search had to stop after crossing the ridge.

The bear hunters stopped and searched in circles for a long time. Finally, they gathered together and discussed in a low voice, "Sorry, Mr. Yamamoto, we can't find any footprints." The bear hunter said with a bent waist, and the police chief seemed to be angry and was about to hit the bear hunter with the stick in his hand.

It was Cheng Yijiu who stepped forward and persuaded Officer Yamamoto. Since they had lost the brown bear's footprints, they should go back for a rest and continue the search tomorrow. Cheng Yijiu held the rifle under his arm and picked up the telescope in his right hand to look at the distant mountaintop.

He slowly turned his body, looking through the telescope at the distant hills. There was a small spot in his field of vision that he didn't notice at first, but he quickly turned the camera back to it. "Is this... a bush? Wait! It's moving! It's a bear!"

Cheng Yijiu quickly called out, patted Officer Yamamoto, and pointed him in the direction. Yamamoto also picked up the telescope and looked in the direction, "Great! It's a bear. Hey, Yosaku, take a look, could this be the bear?"

After looking at it for a while, Yamamoto handed the telescope to Yusaku for him to identify. The bear hunter took the telescope very nervously and held it to his eyes in the same way as Cheng Yijiu and Yamamoto did. After looking at it for a while, Yusaku handed the telescope to Yamamoto very respectfully and squatted on the ground to gesture a few times.

The three bear hunters all whispered a few words and then nodded. "Master Yamamoto, it's very likely that bear." He pointed his thumb at the mountain and said, "It's huge, a real brown bear as big as a horse. I've never seen a bear that big."