mtl008 Chapter 183 One Shot Takes Him Down
Chapter 183 One Shot Takes Him Down
The snow-melted mountains were muddy and overgrown with weeds, which made the search and rescue operation quite difficult.
Li Xiangyang raised his binoculars and carefully searched for traces in the mountains.
"Brother Xiangyang, over here." Wang Ergou squatted down beside a clump of grass, pointing to the marks on the ground.
Li Xiangyang went closer to check and found that there were indeed several footprints of varying depths on the muddy ground.
Judging from the shape and depth of the footprints, the person who walked on the path was clearly not familiar with the mountain trail.
“They were walking in a panic,” Li Xiangyang said, lightly touching the edge of the footprints with his finger. “The soil here is churned up; it must have been caused by losing their balance. Let’s go, let’s catch up and take a look.”
Following the footprints, the two chased after them.
According to the newly arrived educated youth, those people went to explore Fox Fairy Valley.
Li Xiangyang also knew Fox Fairy Valley, but he did not go straight there. Instead, he patiently searched for traces.
After all, the Northeast region is full of mountains, and no matter how familiar you are with the roads, you can still get lost.
Not to mention city dwellers who have never been to the mountains.
As time went by, the sky gradually darkened, a light mist rose from the mountains, and visibility decreased.
Li Xiangyang would occasionally use his binoculars to search the distant mountains, hoping to spot the educated youth.
"Xiangyang, aren't these educated youths from the city just asking for trouble? The bears have just come out of hibernation. If they run into us, what's the point of us even looking?"
Hearing Wang Ergou's complaints, Li Xiangyang nodded with a grim expression.
Indeed, in early spring, bears that have been hibernating for a long time become extremely aggressive due to hunger.
If someone encounters this, they will most likely be attacked.
Now all we can do is pray that the other person is lucky.
Another hour passed, and the continuous footprints disappeared completely at a fork in the road.
To the right is a mountain path leading to Fox Fairy Valley, while to the left lies a mixed forest.
The melting snow and soft soil made the ground muddy, and any traces were quickly destroyed.
“We’ll split up and search,” Li Xiangyang said, studying the terrain. “You take Xiaohu and go down the left path, Xuanmao and I will go down the right. We’ll use whistles to keep in touch every hour. If we still can’t find them before dark, we’ll meet at this fork in the road.”
"Okay, I'm off."
After they parted ways, Li Xiangyang and Xuanmao proceeded along the mountain path on the right.
The surroundings were unusually quiet, with only the occasional chirping of birds and the rustling of the wind through the treetops.
The black cat walked ahead, its posture elegant yet vigilant.
Suddenly, it stopped walking, its ears perked up, and its tail curled up slightly.
Upon seeing this, Li Xiangyang immediately held his breath, slowly squatted down, and gripped the rifle tightly with his right hand.
He carefully observed his surroundings, trying to figure out why the black cat was alert.
A mountain breeze blew gently, bringing with it a fishy, pungent smell.
"This smell..." Li Xiangyang's heart sank when he smelled the fishy, pungent odor.
The black cat's fur stood on end, its entire body tensed, and its eyes were fixed on a patch of low bushes in front of it.
Li Xiangyang knew that, given the black cat's sensitivity, it must have sensed something big.
Li Xiangyang slowly raised his gun, his entire body tensing up.
A faint rustling sound came from the bushes.
Then, a muffled breathing sound came, and a huge dark shadow could be vaguely seen moving in the bushes.
Just then, a mountain wind blew by, and the bushes swayed violently.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Xiangyang quietly approached the large tree next to him.
He knew very well that in this terrain, if he were to be attacked by wild animals, he had to make sure he had cover.
The black cat suddenly let out a low warning, and the shadowy figure in the bushes abruptly stopped.
Immediately afterwards, a deafening roar echoed through the valley!
A huge brown bear broke through the bushes and stood upright!
It was larger than a typical brown bear, standing over two meters tall.
Hunger, just awakened from hibernation, made it exceptionally irritable, its small eyes gleaming with ferocity.
Li Xiangyang squinted, carefully observing the brown bear's movements.
He couldn't let the beast out of his sight, but at the same time he had to be wary of a sudden attack.
Dealing with brown bears requires immense patience and composure; the slightest mistake could result in death.
"Swoosh—" Li Xiangyang stomped on a dead branch and snapped it.
The sound immediately caught the brown bear's attention, and its two small eyes were fixed on Li Xiangyang's position.
In the mountain breeze, the brown bear's heavy breathing was particularly clear.
Li Xiangyang gripped the Type 63 pistol tightly, his finger on the trigger, waiting for the best opportunity to fire.
He knew where the brown bear's weak points were, but at this distance, it wasn't easy to kill it with a single blow.
The brown bear roared and suddenly charged forward!
Its speed was astonishing; its massive body moved swiftly through the forest, causing the ground to tremble slightly.
Li Xiangyang seized the opportunity, aiming at the area between the brown bear's chest and abdomen, deciding to get closer before firing.
If you're too far away, you might not be able to kill the brown bear because of its thick hide and tough flesh.
As the brown bear approached, Li Xiangyang took a deep breath and prepared to fire.
At the critical moment, a loud whistle suddenly came from afar; it was Wang Ergou's signal.
The sound distracted Li Xiangyang, and although the bullet hit, it missed his heart.
The injured brown bear went completely berserk and pounced on Li Xiangyang!
Li Xiangyang quickly dodged behind a large tree. Almost simultaneously, the brown bear's giant claws swept across the tree trunk, tearing off a large piece of bark.
The black cat seized the opportunity and pounced from the side, aiming a claw at the brown bear's eye.
The sudden attack startled the brown bear, which instinctively took a half step back, roaring as it tried to drive away this arrogant opponent.
Fortunately, Xuanmao helped buy time, and Li Xiangyang took this opportunity to find a favorable position again.
He knew he couldn't afford any more mistakes.
Otherwise, today would have been dangerous.
"boom!"
Just then, a loud bang came from afar, sounding like someone firing a gun.
Then came a series of hurried footsteps.
The commotion caught the brown bear's attention. It let out a low growl and moved toward the direction from which the sound came.
Li Xiangyang's heart was in his throat.
It's highly likely that Wang Ergou fired that shot.
Judging from the sound, he's rushing this way.
Li Xiangyang knew he had to lure the brown bear back.
Otherwise, if Wang Ergou arrives unaware of the brown bear, it will be troublesome.
With that thought in mind, Li Xiangyang aimed at the brown bear's head, took a deep breath, and almost instinctively pulled the trigger.
"boom!"
There was a gunshot.
The brown bear let out a mournful howl, swayed a few times, and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Its heavy body smashed several small trees, sending a flurry of fallen leaves flying.
To his utter surprise, this single shot brought the brown bear down, and Li Xiangyang was overjoyed.
Of course, he did not let his guard down and maintained his aiming posture.
About a minute later, after confirming that the brown bear had stopped struggling and was truly dead, he slowly lowered his gun and reached out to the fallen bear.