Livestreaming the Hunt - Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Full-Map Scan

“Driver, you can stop right here!”

Wang Kui promptly shouted when he saw the System’s five-day mission countdown timer pop up.

“Alright, the road is ending just ahead anyway. Now, be careful! Safety first—you too, doggie!”

The driver parked his car and pressed the safety lock.

“Thank you, sir. I’ll definitely stay safe!”

Once he had gotten off, Wang Kui stepped upon the dried wigs and conifers on top of the rigid ground, which crunched loudly. Compared to small hills, there was rarely any grass on elevated mountains, and most of them were woolly bushes with curled leaves, growing alongside the many vertical, thick, and huge alpine oaks and spruces.

Big Butt leaped out as well, shaking its head as if to flex its body.

Though it was deep in a mountain over three thousand meters above sea level, it was two in the afternoon and they were closer to the sun, so it was not as cold as they had expected.

Watching as the van slowly disappeared from view, Wang Kui turned to study the peaks around him. The lofty snow-white all appeared majestic, with clouds flowing in their midst like banners fluttering against the wind. That was especially the case for the peak that stood in the distance, Mount Kawagarbo—the highest peak in Yunnan!

“We are now at the third-highest peak of the Prince Snow Mountains which is a part of the Hengduan mountain range and an intersection of the three rivers: Jinsha River, Lancang River, and River Nu. The tallest peak up the northern end is Mount Meili, whereas the thirteen peaks of the Prince Snow Mountains are located at the center, and Biluo Snow Mountains stand to the south.”

“The third peak of the Prince Snow Mountains is over 6,000 meters above sea level, and the snow line is above 4,000 meters in the summer. We are now around 3,500 meters above sea level, which is why we are not seeing any snow. Since the police and the Wildlife Conservation Association had entered the mountains before we did, they would have forced the thugs beyond the snow line.”

“Normally, most people would have a hard time traversing a snow peak 6,000 meters without professional equipment and supplies. Even if the poachers and their broker had managed to make it past, there are people guarding the foot of the second peak. Therefore, they are basically caged beasts.”

Before arriving, Wang Kui had prepared everything possible and had basically learned everything that he could about the thirteen peaks of the Prince Snow Mountains back at the library.

Moreover, information from the forestry department suggested that the broker and the bandit had been leaving the mountain together when they ran into the police officers. As they had engaged in a firefight, the broker had taken the falcons amidst the confusion and run off alone, heading northeast.

“We’ll head east first and go up from there. It’s only by picking up their traces that Big Butt would be able to get a boner—that’s an old hunter’s expression, and it means for the hunting dog to notice signs of a quarry and tracking it down.”

At Wang Kui’s order, Big Butt happily strode forward and ran ahead.

It had good stamina as well as a powerful set of heart and lungs which allowed it to run rapidly. Without its leash and a landscape that held it back, it was like a fish leaping into the deep blue sea, and it was totally in its element.

“In a hunt, most hunters would have one or more hunting dogs, with the dogs leading the way while the hunter themselves stay behind. The dogs would be the scout, seeker, and sentry, barking once it notices anything to warn the hunter!”

Wang Kui spoke, even as he jogged to keep up with Big Butt. “Humans are more prone to high-altitude sickness than canines, and generally speaking, they would need two or three days to adapt. It was fortunate that I slept over 3,000 meters above sea level and ate some garlic ahead of time today. Therefore, I can get used to this quicker.”

Since the weather was good, he and Big Butt accelerated on purpose. If they did not make haste, it would be harder to traverse through the snow line when they reached it.

Then, after around twenty minutes had passed, Big Butt suddenly barked twice.

It had found something this quickly?

The viewers became antsy.

There, Wang Kui saw a yellowed maple tree with several blackened spherical objects spread around its roots, which could be animal feces!

“It’s dog poo…”

Wang Kui picked up one piece and promptly crushed it. “It’s very hard, but with the dry air up in the highlands, feces would harden twice as quickly in the plains. These should be about three days old, and grass seeds inside suggest an omnivore.”

A wild dog…

Could it be another Big Butt?

Just as the audience was left puzzled, the dog itself ran off to another tree and barked twice again.

Wang Kui went there as well, and he found more dog poo.

[Does that dog love to pass motion that much?]

[Watching Old Kui’s livestream, I’ve learned that so much poo means that the dog must be huge!]

[It reminds me of the time when I played Cute Dog’s Life!]

Nonetheless, Wang Kui shook his head after reading the comments. “There is no way a single dog could release this much poo. The Deqin County is within the Tibetan Autonomous Zone, and Tibetans like to rear Tibetan Mastiffs. However, after the dogs’ initial popularity faded, most of the dogs were abandoned, and the animals went up the mountains before flocking together into nomad packs of Mastiffs.”

“This isn’t actually my hunch, since many eyewitnesses had spotted such packs before. Since each dog is 1.2 meters long, weighs up to 60 kilograms, and possesses astonishing jaw strength, they are a force that could match wolves when they flock together. They would occasionally attack livestock and steal food from snow leopards, even attacking people.”

“However, our primary objective is the broker, so we’ll try not to get into a direct fight against such flocks of beasts…”

As Wang Kui spoke, he held Big Butt by the neck to keep it away from the mastiffs’ dung.

Hunting dogs were smart, and Big Butt quickly understood that its master did not intend to approach those creatures, and hence turned north.

Time passed.

Thanks to Big Butt’s nose, Wang Kui managed to slip out of the Mastiffs’ active territory, and they did not spot any more dog poo.

However, after an hour of high-speed traveling, the tip of his nose was breaking out in tiny droplets of sweat.

Unlike flatlands, traversing the mountain consumed a lot of energy, and they were moving twice as slow as compared to their usual speed.

That was when Big Butt found something else.

There was a hole beside an azalea shrub!

[Incredible! Hunters really can’t be blamed for wanting a good hunting dog. This saves so much trouble!]

[Indeed, hunting dogs are peerless in tracking!]

[Is this a full-map scan?]

[I want a hunting dog as awesome as Big Butt, too!]

Staring at the hole, Wang Kui observed that the interior was packed with dried bones and leaves. He then found himself a stick and poked it into the hole tentatively, but there was neither reaction nor sound.

After that, he boldly reached his hand inside. “This must be a hare hole. It is very deep and quite warm, meaning the hare had not left for long!”

He pulled out a fistful, grabbing a handful of dried leaves as well.

Picking them apart, he found some gray-brown fur in the mix!

“It’s late now, and we should reach the snow line if we keep walking for another hour. There would be less animal activity up there, and hunting will be difficult, not to mention we would have to spare an hour to build a shack and light a fire. That is why this hare is our best shot at a full dinner!”

Wang Kui quickly analyzed. Holding the wild hare’s fur beneath Big Butt’s nose, he said, “Hurry up, Big Butt!”

Big Butt sniffed at his orders. However, it seemed to not sense it and therefore licked its nose with its tongue.

Seconds after its wet nose touched the hare fur, it yipped once before dashing up the mountain.

“We’ve got a boner! Let’s go!”