Chapter 48: Rifle Sniper Kill

Grey wolves were fast approaching from all directions. Under the howling command of their alpha, the pack had fully engaged in a hunting formation.

"Head for the slope ahead!" Zhang Huacheng shouted, leading them toward the rising ground.

Whenever Tie Zhu and Er Gou lagged behind, he would turn and fire a shot. Within a distance of just a few hundred meters, two grey wolves had already been gunned down. The alpha howled incessantly.

"That beast is the alpha!" As they reached more open ground, the alpha finally revealed itself. It was two hundred meters away, its silver fur shimmering under the moonlight. Er Gou spotted it and immediately sounded the alarm. Zhang Huacheng locked his sights on it instantly.

"Tie Zhu, don't worry if you can't aim, just keep firing! Er Gou, target the ones closest to you—do not let them bite you!" Zhang Huacheng knew that unless the alpha was taken down, the pack would not disperse. The laws of survival for an alpha were different from the rest; it wouldn't care if a few wolves died, unless more than half the pack was wiped out. He shoved his Arisaka rifle into Tie Zhu’s hands, already loaded with five rounds.

Er Gou turned and raised his gun, but the wolves were moving too fast, making it impossible to aim. Tie Zhu, eyes wide, held his rifle up and fired blindly, relying entirely on instinct.

"Bang!"
"Bang!"

Gunshots rang out. One unlucky wolf was actually hit, but after rolling on the ground, it scrambled back up, tucked its tail, and fled howling into the distance.

Zhang Huacheng raised his Springfield rifle, aiming directly at the howling alpha.

"Hoo!" He exhaled, his finger curling around the trigger.

"Bang!"

The shot rang out. The howling alpha swayed and collapsed into the snow. The Springfield’s effective kill range reached eight hundred meters—it was no wonder it was later adapted into a sniper rifle. At less than two hundred meters, it was a trivial task for Zhang Huacheng.

"Huh?" Er Gou watched, dumbfounded. He had taken down the alpha from two hundred meters away with a single shot?

Some of the wolves sensed something was wrong, while others continued to charge madly. Zhang Huacheng cycled the bolt and put down another wolf just as it reached Tie Zhu. Tie Zhu swung his long spear, landing a savage blow on the dying wolf.

With the alpha’s hunting signal gone, the pack realized their leader was dead. Wolves began to howl in panic, and those that had already charged forward turned to flee.

"Bang!" Zhang Huacheng fired at a white-furred wolf, killing it instantly.

"How did you do that?" Er Gou looked on with envy. He had seen Zhang Huacheng’s marksmanship before, but that was usually against stationary targets. He could understand "one shot, one kill," but to take down an alpha from hundreds of meters away and headshot fast-running wolves with ease? Just how terrifying was this marksmanship?

"I'll teach you when we get back." Zhang Huacheng smiled as he watched the pack scatter. While his combat fitness was still far from its peak, his marksmanship was truly a case of dimensional superiority. He hit whatever he aimed at effortlessly.

"Brother, they’re running away! Let’s get one more!" Tie Zhu shouted as he watched the wolves retreat.

"Why hit more if we can't carry them back? If we don't kill enough, the pack won't disperse, and they'll just produce a new alpha soon. Come on, let's go collect our prizes!" Zhang Huacheng put his rifle away.

He had really struck it rich! He had killed six, all with headshots, meaning he had six perfect wolf pelts.

Soon, all six wolves were dragged together. Tie Zhu stepped forward with a boning knife to gut them, and the smell of blood filled the air.

"Can we sell all these by tomorrow? We still have the wild boar," Er Gou asked, looking at the pile of carcasses. How were they going to sell so much?

"What are we now?" Zhang Huacheng asked with a smile.

"Huh?" Er Gou blinked.

"We're mountain guards. It's perfectly normal for us to share the meat. We'll distribute what we can of the boar, and take the wolf meat to the morning market. If we can't sell it, we'll have Qin Xiaodong dump it on the black market. Besides, we can make wolf-fur coats now; we have enough for everyone to have one."

Wolf-fur coats—the ultimate cold-weather gear. Zhang Huacheng was quite looking forward to it. It took two pelts to make a coat, with enough left over for a hat, gloves, and even boots. Selling a single pelt would only fetch forty yuan, and two at most eighty; selling them would be a loss. That was exactly why he kept all the wolf and boar hides he collected.

"Brother, do I get one?" Tie Zhu asked with a grin. He wanted a coat too.

"Yes, I’ll get you an oversized one. These coats are even wolf-bite resistant! Once we get back, I’ll draw up a design and have someone make them."

It wasn't just them; Dou Dou, Wang Lin, and the others would get some too. That was why he had specifically chosen to take down the smaller white female wolf with the final shot.

Er Gou chimed in, "I have a leather jacket, you guys go first. I’m not in a rush, give mine to Tie Zhu." Tie Zhu was still wearing a tattered cotton-padded jacket. It wasn't that they couldn't afford to buy him one, but he was so large that none of the department stores carried his size, and they didn't have enough cloth at home to sew him a suit.

Zhang Huacheng nodded. "Alright, then we’ll make yours and mine first, Tie Zhu. A wolf-fur coat looks incredibly sharp—the young women will be smitten, and it'll make finding a wife a lot easier." He was intentionally teasing Er Gou.

"Actually, I don’t think Tie Zhu is that cold. Just make mine first, it’s freezing out here." Er Gou immediately changed his tune.

"Huh?" Tie Zhu, who was happily gutting a wolf, looked up in confusion. *Wait, am I not cold? But I am cold.* He looked down at his own drafty, tattered jacket.

Zhang Huacheng couldn't help but laugh. Tonight’s harvest was staggering, but the danger had been terrifying. The pack had surrounded them silently, and even Zhang Huacheng, who had lived two lifetimes, hadn't noticed. No wonder the elders always said the wolves in these mountains had become spirits. If it had been any other mountain guard, they would have been dead once surrounded.

Only he could have pulled off headshots on wolves from two hundred meters away. The alpha’s fur was lustrous and of much higher quality than the others, and at over 150 pounds, it was a true "little wolf king." The white wolf he had shot last was a female; though smaller, its fur was soft and beautiful, perfect for making a small coat for Dou Dou.

Tie Zhu, being the strongest, volunteered to carry the two largest wolves, while Er Gou and Zhang Huacheng each took one large and one small.

"Er Gou, when we get back, take half of that wild boar to the Wang family and share it with the ones you’re close to," Zhang Huacheng reminded him on the way back.

Er Gou hadn't thought of that, but after considering it, he said, "A half is over a hundred pounds. Let’s just do a quarter. I’ll send it to Uncle Kui and let him distribute it." As the local troublemaker, he wasn't exactly popular in the Wang family, and only Wang Kui treated him well. If he gave it to Kui, the old man could decide who got what.

"Fine," Zhang Huacheng nodded. He looked at Tie Zhu. "Then you take the other half to the Fuzhuang Brigade tonight. Boar meat isn't as easy to sell as wolf meat, so share more of that."

Tie Zhu grinned, wondering how they could possibly eat all that meat.