Chapter 50: Showing One's Exceptional Skills

This time, Lin Yang did not touch the Mosin-Nagant rifle. Instead, he went straight for a somewhat battered slingshot that had been casually tossed into the corner.

The slingshot was homemade from tree branches and rubber bands; although its appearance left much to be desired, its power was decent enough.

Returning to the courtyard, Lin Yang took a deep breath, concentrated his mind, and directly activated the system's lock-on skill.

Soon, the familiar prompt of the system rang out in his mind.

[Prey detected—sparrow. Do you wish to use the Prey Lock-On (Intermediate) skill?]

Following the striking red arrow on the system screen, Lin Yang looked over and saw a few sparrows chirping away on a treetop more than twenty meters away. They hopped back and forth among the branches, completely unaware that danger was about to descend upon them.

He had long been curious about this auto-aiming skill, and now was a great time to test it out properly.

Lin Dahai looked at his son with a puzzled expression, muttering inwardly as he failed to figure out what kind of stunt he was trying to pull.

Lin Yang carefully fished a steel ball out of his cloth pouch, turned around smoothly, and pulled back the slingshot.

With a "swish," the marble shot out like an arrow leaving the bowstring, his movement fluid and natural, completed in one single motion.

On the treetop over twenty meters away, a sparrow that was preening its feathers was suddenly struck by the projectile and plummeted from the branch with a flutter.

Although Lin Yang had meticulously modified this slingshot, it was still a crude gadget after all; once the distance exceeded twenty meters, its power would drop drastically.

Moreover, it only achieved this effect because he used a steel ball.

If he had replaced it with ordinary pebbles, he probably wouldn't even have been able to reach fifteen meters.

Lin Yang hurried over in quick strides and picked up the sparrow from the ground.

Just as he had anticipated, the sparrow had not died on the spot; it was still struggling desperately, fluttering its wings in an attempt to escape.

Only its head had been struck, leaving it dizzy and clearly quite disoriented.

The other sparrows on the treetop were thoroughly frightened by the sudden turn of events. With a "whoosh," they all took flight, circling anxiously in the air and chirping incessantly, as if passing on danger signals to their companions.

Sparrows were affectionately known locally as house sparrows.

However, at that time, they were still regarded as one of the Four Pests.

Lin Yang had shot plenty of sparrows in his childhood to satisfy his cravings.

After cleaning a sparrow thoroughly, you would sprinkle it with coarse salt and finely ground Sichuan peppercorn powder. If you could be extravagant enough to sprinkle a bit of cumin powder on top and roast it slowly over an open fire, the aroma alone could make someone drool with envy!

However, cumin powder was quite expensive, making it a luxury item for ordinary farming families like theirs.

Salt and peppercorn were relatively cheaper. The salt at home came in coarse, chunky blocks; every time they needed to use it, they had to grind it down bit by bit with a stone mortar and carefully filter it through gauze to obtain fine, delicate salt.

Everyone knew this method—though it took some effort, it could save a lot of money.

After all, every single penny in those days had to be stretched to the limit, and life had to be lived with careful calculation.

Seeing this scene, Lin Dahai widened his eyes in astonishment, finding it hard to believe what he was seeing.

In his memory, his son had spent all his days idling about without focusing on proper business, and he had rarely seen him play with a slingshot, let alone possess such pinpoint shooting accuracy.

This change was simply too massive!

At that moment, Lin Yang saw those sparrows landing on another tree not far away, even closer to him.

A thought stirred in his heart, and he once again activated the system's prey lock-on.

Soon, the system locked onto another sparrow.

The steel ball in Lin Yang's hand seemed to be imbued with life; no sooner had he fired one projectile than he swiftly activated the system lock-on again.

The very moment the sparrow took flight, he exerted force once more, and another steel ball roared through the air.

With two consecutive "thud" sounds, both sparrows tumbled to the ground one after the other, with a very brief time interval, almost at the exact same instant.

Looking at the flock of sparrows flying far away, Lin Yang sighed with a feigned tone of regret: "Ah, what a pity. They flew out of the slingshot's range, otherwise I could have bagged a few more."

With that, he turned to look at his father and smiled, saying: "Dad, you rest for a bit. Although we can't go up the mountain right now, I'll get you a few house sparrows to go with your drinks tonight. I guarantee it'll make you happy!"

Having said that, he excitedly chased after the flock of sparrows into the distance, not even bothering to pick up the two sparrows he had just shot down.

Only then did Lin Dahai snap back to his senses, secretly wondering how his son had suddenly become so formidable.

He wanted to ask his son how he had practiced and mastered this skill.

With this kind of ability, they wouldn't have to worry about lacking food in the future.

Though sparrows were small, their meat was firm.

Especially when roasted and sprinkled with seasonings, the taste was simply peerless!

They could also be stir-fried.

It was just that the family didn't have much cooking oil, and although some oil could be rendered from the sparrows, the amount was truly pitifully small.

Overall, roasted sparrows still offered a more chewy and satisfying texture.

Lin Dahai smiled as he picked up the three sparrows. Looking at his son's receding figure, he couldn't help shouting, "Knock down a few more! A handful isn't even enough between my teeth!"

He mused to himself that if his son only went around hunting sparrows, he would gladly drive him out of the house every single day, the more the better.

Whatever they couldn't finish eating could be bartered with neighbors for grain; life just might get better and better this way.

Their village sat right up against the Greater Khingan Mountains, but while these mountain forests appeared rich in resources, they were actually fraught with danger.

Anyone lacking sufficient skill entering the mountains was essentially walking to their death.

Especially the Wild Boar Ridge and Black Tiger Mountain, which were haunts for large ferocious beasts.

Although the prey inside was abundant, bagging them was no easy task.

If someone truly had the capability, the treasures within the mountains could be taken at will.

At this moment, Lin Dahai was in high spirits. He looked at the sparrows in his hand, couldn't help laughing, and muttered to himself, "This little rascal actually kept a trick up his sleeve. If the rest of the villagers find out, won't they look at him with entirely new eyes?"

Humming a cheerful little tune, he leisurely strolled back into the house, while Lin Yang shouldered the Mosin-Nagant rifle and bolted into the mountains like a wisp of smoke.