He dared not venture forward recklessly anymore. Doing so would be equivalent to gambling on luck, and a true hunter never gambles on luck.
He lowered his body, using a rock as cover, and crawled forward extrely slowly for about ten ters, until he reached another bush with a better view.
Then he stopped, using his eagle-like eyes to conduct a carpet search of the most suspicious slope ahead.
Lin Yu’an ntally divided that slope into countless small squares, systematically and repeatedly scanning each one.
He was searching for any discordant detail, unnatural contour, slight color variation from the surrounding environnt, or any shadow that shouldn’t have been there.
This was an extrely taxing process on the mind and eyes; the cold wind made his eyes sowhat dry, but he deliberately slowed down his blinking.
After finding nothing in the first sector, he would crawl forward another ten ters to the next observation point, repeating the earlier search process.
Finally, on his third shift of observation, from a higher vantage point looking down, he caught sight of a barely noticeable anomaly!
It was in a leeward depression cleverly shielded by a few large rocks and a fallen tree.
On the snow surface there, a small tuft of extrely faint, vapory white mist seed to be slowly, rhythmically rising and dispersing.
"Breath..." He imdiately held his breath, his gaze locked onto that area.
In a windless, leeward spot, the breath of any warm-blooded animal would condense into visible mist in the frigid air!
He followed the source of the mist downward, observing that the snow was not a perfect white, but had an extrely faint, slightly grayish outline.
It resembled a small pile of drifted snow, almost blending seamlessly with its surroundings.
Without that recurring breath heat, anyone would have mistaken it for an ordinary snow pile.
He remained absolutely still, staring unblinkingly at that outline.
Seconds later, he saw the crucial evidence, the outline’s top slightly quivered! It was as if dreaming!
"Found it." He almost rely moved his lips, not making any sound, but there was a hint of repressed excitent in his voice.
Lin Yu’an quickly scanned the surrounding terrain, planning the best stealth route and shooting position.
He found, in a diagonal upward position about fifty ters away, a protruding large rock.
From there, he could gain the perfect, elevated shooting angle, and the path conveniently had enough bushes and rocks for cover.
Without hesitation, he imdiately lowered his body, beginning the most technically challenging part of his entire hunt. To stealthily approach a predator that is resting!
When he finally arrived silently at that rock platform, carefully poking his head out, the scene below took his breath away.
The lone wolf was on that leeward flat area about thirty ters below. It wasn’t moving but was curled under a pine tree, sound asleep.
Its body was curled into a ball, nose buried in its tail for warmth, its gray-white winter coat perfectly blending into the snowy background.
Evidently very confident in its safety and disguise, believing nothing could threaten it.
This was a rare opportunity, but also an extrely dangerous situation.
He whispered to the action cara, voice lowered to a whisper: "Found it! Thirty ters away—a perfect range for my bow, ensuring the arrow’s penetration power."
"But its position is terrible, curled up, protecting all its vital spots."
"If I shoot now, the arrow will likely be deflected by its thick back muscles and scapula, unable to inflict a fatal injury."
Lin Yu’an continued his calm analysis: "I have two choices. Either wait for it to stand up, exposing its chest and abdon vitals for a perfect opportunity."
"But that may take hours, even until darkness falls, and any gust of wind during that ti could reveal my position."
"Or..."
He paused for a few seconds, his mind rapidly conducting a risk assessnt.
"Or abandon the thought of a one-shot kill, opting instead for a near-100% success rate of inflicting an injury."
A more aggressive decision ford in his mind! Adjusting his breath, his gaze beca exceptionally resolute.
"My primary goal now is to ensure this arrow hits its body, any part will do."
"As long as the wide-headed arrow pierces its body, even a graze will leave a trail of inerasable blood in the snow."
"As long as it’s bleeding, its stamina will continually deplete, and its whereabouts will beco completely exposed. Then, the initiative in this hunt will entirely shift to my hands."
"I will no longer be a lurking assassin but will turn into a chasing death god! I can slowly, bit by bit, exhaust its life."
"Of course, this plan has significant risks."
As he spoke, he very slowly moved the flint spear in the snow beside him slightly closer, placing it within his right hand’s easy reach.
"That is, if the wolf is injured, it may beco frenzied due to pain and anger. It might launch a reckless counter-charge in my direction."
"A distance of thirty ters can be crossed in re seconds by a desperate wolf."
"Therefore, I must be prepared for close combat; once the arrow is shot, whether it hits or misses, I must be ready for close combat!"
Lin Yu’an hesitated no longer, slowly drawing the bowstring; his target was no longer that well-protected heart area.
Instead, it was the exposed, largest area—the hind leg and rump.
This position, though not fatal, has thick muscles, enough for the arrowhead to pierce deeply, causing imnse trauma and continuous bleeding, significantly affecting its mobility.
He held his breath, and at the mont of aiming, his fingers gently released!
————
(Three more days until the results, vote now to increase your chances of winning!)
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