Chapter 53: Just How Many More Secrets Is He Hiding?

Walking back home, Lin Yang felt a complex mix of emotions churning inside him.

For a fleeting moment, he even had the impulse to spill the secret of the system's miraculous abilities to the old village chief, hoping to convince him that he was fully capable of handling the danger.

Reason, however, soon prevailed.

This secret was far too important to him; it could never be revealed to outsiders.

Not even to the people closest to him.

Besides, even if he were to speak of such a thing, would anyone actually believe him?

He would likely be treated as a madman spouting nonsense.

Yet, this opportunity was too crucial for him to miss. Absolutely nothing could make him let it slip away.

The magazine capacity of the Vz. 24 rifle held only five rounds. If all five shots were fired and he failed to bring down the black bear, he would find himself in a desperate, inescapable plight.

Still, the mere thought of the system's miraculous auto-aim skill renewed his confidence, making him certain he could take down the bear within fifty meters.

His mind was made up. Even if he failed to secure the Type 81 rifle, he would never let Sun Daqiang reap the rewards without lifting a finger.

Since that avenue with the old village chief was blocked, he had no choice but to take a calculated risk—strike first and cut off Sun Daqiang's stroke of fortune.

Besides, with the system's assistance, danger was not necessarily a given.

The auto-aim skill was an absolute godsend; he could completely rely on it to strike preemptively.

The moment he successfully killed that black bear, the forestry team would undoubtedly look at him in a new light, and they might actually take him on as a non-staff auxiliary member.

When that time came, he would be able to regularly collect a few hundred rounds of ammunition every month, and perhaps even be equipped with the far more powerful Type 81 rifle.

Moreover, having such a status would make handling affairs in the village much more convenient in the future.

Instead of heading straight home, Lin Yang turned and walked toward the riverbank.

He certainly did not come here to catch fish.

The weather was growing colder by the day, and with all the villagers already joining in, setting wicker traps to catch fish yielded very little anymore.

He walked slowly along the riverbank, the system's fifty-meter radius scanning function acting like a capable assistant, helping him lock onto quite a few prey items.

He spotted quite a few large soft-shelled turtles hidden inside the holes beneath the riverbed.

Pity the turtle burrows were deep; unless he waded right into the river and used tools to dig them out, it would be extremely difficult to get them.

However, with the temperature dropping close to freezing, the river water was icy and biting, cutting like a knife. Unless it was an absolute last resort, he had no desire to suffer through that.

Along the river, a few wild ducks could occasionally be seen swimming leisurely across the water's surface, and these were his primary targets for this trip.

Alas, his luck for the day seemed to have run out. After enduring the biting cold wind by the river for over an hour, his hands and feet growing numb and his ears turning red, he had only managed to bag a dozen or so sparrows, without catching even a glimpse of a magpie.

If he kept standing in the wind like this, he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

Left with no choice, Lin Yang could only embark on the walk home, filled with bitter reluctance.

With nothing to do that afternoon, Lin Yang took his old man out to hunt sparrows, deliberately showing off his slingshot skills. With the system cheating on his behalf, his father's jaw nearly dropped in shock.

At dinner time, Zhao Guixiang sat at the dining table, listening with rapt interest as Lin Dahai vividly recounted the miraculous scene of their son hunting sparrows, her eyes filled with bewilderment and astonishment.

"Are you telling the truth?" Zhao Guixiang asked, tilting her head with a skeptical expression. "Since when did our son's slingshot skills get so formidable? How come I had no idea all this time!"

Lin Dahai took a smug sip of his liquor, pointed his chopsticks at the three sparrows on the table, and said, "Would I lie to you?! Just look at these three sparrows—our son hit every single one of them with his slingshot just now. I watched the whole thing right beside him!"

"That marksmanship was simply out of this world, never missing a single target! Within twenty meters, he hits whatever he aims at like a magician. Even I was completely blown away!"

Zhao Guixiang suddenly understood. She slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "No wonder that little rascal managed to bring back wild pheasants and hares every now and then! It turns out he's been hiding his true skills all along!"

"Once he finishes cleaning those pheasants and hares, I'm going to give him a thorough interrogation and see just how many more secrets he's kept from us!"

Out in the courtyard, Lin Yang had just finished dressing the wild hare and was now moving on to the sparrows.

At that moment, he suddenly heard someone calling his name.

Lifting his gaze, the smile on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a frost-cold expression.

"Lin Yang, can you come out for a moment? I have something to say to you!" Sun Xiaorong looked at him with pleading eyes, her gaze seeming almost capable of speech.

He had been utterly deceived by those very eyes in his past life.

In this lifetime, he would never fall for it again; he couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge her.

"Lin Yang, do you really find even laying eyes on me so repulsive now?"

Sun Xiaorong's voice carried a heavy layer of grievance.

Lin Yang furrowed his brow deeply. He did not want his parents to worry; if they saw him entangling himself with Sun Xiaorong again, the trust he had worked so hard to build would completely collapse.

He shook the water off his hands and walked straight out.

He didn't stop until he reached the riverbank outside the village.

Inside Sun Xiaorong, emotions were churning violently like a turbulent sea, a complex web of feelings intertwining.

That feeling of being held in the palm of Lin Yang's hand and cherished like a priceless treasure was something she had once taken for granted, even viewing it with a degree of indifference.

Yet, when that pampering vanished abruptly, she suddenly realized her heart felt as though a chunk had been gouged out—unbearably hollow, as if the most precious thing in her life had been ruthlessly stripped away. She knew she didn't actually love Lin Yang; she simply couldn't bear the loss of being held on such a high pedestal.

Lin Yang slowly turned his head, his gaze as sharp as a blade of ice.