HUN Chapter 14: Spruce Grouse

When Lin Yu'an carried the camera and trudged through the muddy terrain to reach the permanent campsite, he discovered that the edges of the shallow pit he had initially excavated yesterday had suffered small-scale collapses in some areas due to rainwater erosion.

The stone blocks he had laboriously collected were also thoroughly soaked by the rain, making them even heavier and more slippery to transport.

He didn't rush to continue digging and wall-building, but first carefully inspected the drainage situation of the entire site.

Due to his choice of terrain, most of the rainwater flowed down the hillside toward the stream, without forming serious ponding within the campsite, which relieved him.

He first dug a simple temporary drainage ditch around the excavation area to direct any future rainfall elsewhere, then began clearing the collapsed soil under the camera's recording and continued the arduous digging and stone transportation work.

The muddy ground made every step exceptionally difficult, and the slippery stones nearly slipped from his hands several times, but he didn't pause at all.

The camera continuously recorded footage of his work.

By midday, the stone wall of Lin Yu'an's shelter had extended upward by another ten or so centimeters through his relentless efforts. Though progress was slow, with each additional stone laid, his sense of security increased by a fraction.

He took advantage of his rest time to check the traps again.

The autumn rain made him not particularly hopeful about trap yields, as animals usually reduce their activity during rainy weather, and rainwater would also dilute the scent of bait.

Sure enough, after checking all the spring snare traps he had set, they were all empty. One had even malfunctioned due to ground waterlogging and soil loosening, causing the trigger mechanism to fail.

"As expected." Lin Yu'an shrugged at the camera without showing much disappointment.

"Hunting is like this, full of uncertainty. All we can do is keep trying, keep adapting, and quietly accept."

He carefully repaired the damaged trap and re-applied fresh bait. Just as he was about to leave, his peripheral vision suddenly caught something unusual beneath a fallen dead tree not far away!

That dead tree, ancient with age, had a hollow, rotted interior covered with thick moss. Lin Yu'an curiously walked over and gently tapped the hollow trunk with his logging axe.

"Hmm? Inside here..." He seemed to hear some subtle movement.

He carefully used the axe blade to peel open a small opening in the rotted bark and peered inside.

"Whoa! Look what I found!"

Lin Yu'an's face showed delighted surprise as he directed the camera toward the tree hole, "Guys, this is a natural treasure trove! Lots of dry pine cones and some unknown small nuts!"

It turned out this hollow tree hole was likely a "granary" where squirrels stored winter food! Due to the tree hole's elevated position and bark covering, the pine cones and nuts inside remained very dry, completely unaffected by rainwater.

Lin Yu'an said excitedly, "This is truly a godsend! These nuts, though I don't know what species they are, look rich in oils and can provide considerable energy. Thank you, generous nature!"

He didn't take all of this "windfall," but only took about half of the pine cones and a small handful of nuts.

"We can't be too greedy. We need to leave some winter provisions for these little guys, right?"

Lin Yu'an had a premonition that if he took all the nuts on camera, he would definitely face criticism when the show aired! So he only took a little, avoiding unnecessary future trouble.

In the afternoon, sunlight finally squeezed through gaps in the thick clouds, sparsely filtering through the forest. Lin Yu'an decided to seize this rare good weather to continue practicing his archery accuracy.

He came to the relatively open woodland by the stream, using dead trees as makeshift targets.

Lin Yu'an took down the brand new American hunting bow from his back, skillfully nocked a practice arrow, and said to the camera, "Alright, now it's archery practice time!"

"I'm fortunate that this bow's draw weight is just right for me. It ensures both range and power while not making me tire too quickly. However, to truly achieve pinpoint accuracy, I still need lots of practice."

He took a deep breath, recalling the archery fundamentals in his mind: stance, nocking, drawing, aiming, release... striving for standard form in every movement.

"Whoosh!"

The first arrow shot from the string with a slight whooshing sound, embedding right in the center of the target tree! He knew the reason for this result, having discovered through exploration these few months after rebirth that the spatial ability's enhancement wasn't limited to just storage benefits.

It seemed to have also strengthened his body, greatly improving his sense of distance control, visual acuity, and even the rather mystical sixth sense.

Lin Yu'an said somewhat proudly, "Looks like I have quite a talent for archery! I can now achieve perfect accuracy within 10 meters!"

"This is completely different from shooting at a range. The wind direction, lighting, and even my own heartbeat in the wilderness can all affect the arrow's flight trajectory."

After boasting, he embarrassedly retrieved the arrow and continued practicing.

Second arrow, third arrow, fourth arrow...

He continuously adjusted his posture, breathing, and aiming method, setting targets increasingly farther away. Sweat began sliding down his temples, and his arms felt sore from continuous bow drawing, but he enjoyed it immensely.

Each sound of an arrow leaving the string made him feel a primitive power surging through his body!

Just as he felt increasingly confident in his bow control, suddenly, a series of "coo-coo-coo" calls came from nearby bushes!

Lin Yu'an's movements instantly stopped, his gaze immediately becoming alert!

That sound... might be a grouse!

He carefully set down the bow and listened intently, determining the general direction of the sound.

Lowering his voice, he said excitedly to the camera, "Did you hear that? There's a grouse nearby! This is dinner delivered to our doorstep! I hope my archery skills can come in handy!"

He quickly drew an arrow tipped with a sharp hunting point from his quiver, then lightened his steps and, like an experienced cheetah, silently stalked toward the grouse's calls.

Parting the dense branches, he indeed saw, about fifteen meters away beneath a low spruce tree, a plump spruce grouse with gray-brown plumage leisurely pecking at berries on the ground, completely unaware of approaching danger.

Lin Yu'an slowly crouched down, using a thick tree trunk as cover, then slowly, extremely slowly, raised his hunting bow.

His breathing became long and steady, all attention focused on that grouse! He could clearly see each pecking motion, even feeling its feathers gently trembling in the breeze.

Slowly drawing the bowstring, the bow made a slight "creak" that seemed particularly clear in the silent forest. The grouse seemed to sense something, alertly raising its head, round eyes looking toward Lin Yu'an's direction.

Now!

Lin Yu'an's gaze sharpened, and at the moment his fingers released the string, his wrist imperceptibly lifted slightly to compensate for the arrow's drop.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow shot like lightning, quickly cutting through the air!

"Thud!"

A muffled sound of penetration!

The spruce grouse let out a brief cry, its body shuddered violently, then fell straight to the ground. Its wings fluttered futilely a few times before going completely still.

One shot, one kill! Right through the vital spot!

"YES!"

Lin Yu'an could no longer suppress his inner excitement, pumping his fist and letting out a low cheer!

Excitedly holding the camera to film the grouse, "Did you see that, guys! I shot a spruce grouse with my bow! My first successful bow hunting in my life!"

"Spruce grouse, because their diet consists almost entirely of pine and spruce needles plus some insects and berries, they're also called spruce grouse."

"Currently it was listed in the 2012 'IUCN Red List of Threatened Species' Ver3.1 as a species of Least Concern. Translation: it can be freely hunted and safely consumed, not a completely legally protected animal."

After introducing the grouse, he still couldn't hide his excitement, saying to the camera, "This is incredible! It just appeared near me like that! We're having roasted chicken tonight! Thank you, nature!"

He carefully extracted the arrow, wiped the blood clean from it, and Lin Yu'an returned to the temporary shelter with his double harvest of the day: dry pine cones and nuts, plus one plump spruce grouse, feeling completely satisfied.

[NEXT CHAPTER]