The wind blew through the leaves, making a rustling sound.
An elk pricked up its ears vigilantly, but other than the rustling of leaves, it heard nothing else. After that, it tried to sniff twice with its nose, but it still couldn't smell anything. Only then did it calm down again. The elk lowered its head again, ready to continue grazing.
But the moment it lowered its head, a gunshot suddenly sounded! Before the poor elk could figure out what happened, it died.
Zhang Heng stepped forward, half-squatted on the ground, and untied the black ribbon on the antlers.
Fortunately, he had encountered a hare tied with a red ribbon and an elk tied with a black ribbon.
Zhang Heng did not choose to shoot immediately, because no matter who he chose to shoot, the other guy would run away when he heard the gunshot. So, Zhang Heng decided to take a risk. He took out the dagger at his waist, used his assassin's stealth ability, and crept next to the hare.
The reason why he chose the hare first was simple. It was because the hare was worth more points than the elk. In case Zhang Heng's plan failed and he failed to kill the hare with the dagger, he could switch to a gun midway. At least he could get five points.
But the result was much smoother than Zhang Heng imagined. He chose to approach from downwind, and the hare did not notice that danger was approaching. It was still digging its hole, but the next moment, it saw the flash of the dagger. The hare didn't even feel any pain before its head was removed.
It was probably at that moment that the elk on the other side seemed to notice something and raised its head.
It looked around but could not see Zhang Heng. In the end, it fell to the shotgun, following in the footsteps of the hare.
After untying the ribbons from the antlers, Zhang Heng counted his harvest during this period. It had only been half an hour since the hunting game started, and he already had two red ribbons and three black ribbons, a total of 16 game points. His efficiency was amazing.
However, Zhang Heng did not become complacent because he knew that as long as Simon's luck was not too bad, he should have a similar harvest, maybe even more than him.
So Zhang Heng didn't stop to rest and continued to move deeper into the forest. He decided to walk along the stream in the forest because the place near the water source was usually the most active area for animals, and the chances of encountering prey in this area were higher.
Although the area of the forest was not too big, the number of the 33 prey was even smaller. Moreover, the wild animals were not stationary targets. They would run around, dig holes, and hide in unknown places. Some unlucky ones would even be eaten by other beasts.
After all, it had been ten hours since they were released into the forest. No one knew what had happened to them during these ten hours.
In the next twenty minutes, although Zhang Heng encountered many animals, none of them wore silk scarves.
However, Zhang Heng was not in a hurry. He was still very calm and continued to move forward according to the plan until he met his opponent by the stream.
It seemed that Simon had chosen the same strategy as him, and the distance between point A and point B was not too far. Hence, the two met each other an hour after the start of the game.
Zhang Heng and Simon did not cross the river. Even though the water was barely up to their ankles, both of them did not forget that they were still in the middle of a hunt, and they were rivals. If they were to fight each other, what would happen to the prey that they hunted?
So, Simon just nodded at Zhang Heng as a greeting. Zhang Heng also waved the shotgun in his hand and asked in his newly learned Finnish, "How's the harvest?"
"One red ribbon, two black ribbons, and one … colored ribbon," Simon said. She didn't ask about Zhang Heng's loot because he had tied all the silk scarves on his left arm, and it was obvious at a glance.
"Colored ribbon. It seems that you are really lucky."
"If I find another colored ribbon, you will most likely lose," Simon reminded him.
Zhang Heng had already thought of this. After all, there were only three colored ribbons, and each one was worth as much as 20 points. As long as he got two of them, he would not be far from winning. With their hunting and shooting abilities, as long as they were not extremely unlucky, the final number of prey would not be too far apart. It would be difficult to make up for the 20 points of the colored ribbon.
However, Zhang Heng still said, "Don't be too happy too early. The game has just begun."
"Okay." Simon did not know if it was a habit she had developed in the past. Even though she no longer had a language barrier, she was still a man of few words.
The two of them exchanged a few words by the water's edge before they went their separate ways to search for prey.
After a while, Zhang Heng's keen observation skills came into play again, and he found an owl with a silk scarf in a tree hole.
To be fair, neither Zhang Heng nor Simon were present when the manor's service staff picked their prey. So, Zhang Heng did not expect them to pick a bird. Fortunately, owls usually slept in tree holes during the day. If they flew around like other birds, Zhang Heng did not know if he could find this ribbon.
This time, Zhang Heng did not even kill the owl. He just grabbed it and untied the colorful ribbon from its claws. This way, he had 20 points in his account, and he was back on the same starting line as Simon.
However, Zhang Heng was not in a hurry to move forward. Instead, he raised his gun and killed a pheasant in the grass next to him that did not have any ribbons on its body. He had just finished his breakfast not long ago, so of course, this shot was not to add to his meal. After killing the pheasant, Zhang Heng used a knife to cut open its stomach.
After that, he found a straw rope, tied the pheasant's feet, and dropped it on a branch. After doing all this, Zhang Heng continued to move forward.
Zhang Heng had already discovered that relying purely on his legs to find prey required a lot of luck. If he was in the same situation as before, he might not even encounter a single prey in half an hour. So, he decided to prepare himself. He spent some time making a simple bait to see if he could lure nearby carnivores.
As for himself, he continued to explore the surrounding area. As soon as Zhang Heng finished setting the trap, he heard gunshots coming from afar. Simon must have found something again, so Zhang Heng picked up his pace.
The silver stream flowed through the forest, sparkling under the sunlight. Two of the most outstanding hunters were engaged in a duel on both sides of the stream.
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