Chapter 144: Chapter 143: One Day at a Time

He slept from dawn until dusk.

When Lin Chen opened his eyes, he could clearly see through the vents on the side walls that it was already twilight.

He sat up and stretched, a series of CRACKS and POPS echoing from his joints.

His stomach was still full. He had eaten a good three pounds of mutton that morning, though he hadn’t drunk much of the broth, worried that needing to pee would ruin his sleep.

The moment he pushed open the door and saw Andre sitting in the yard, he froze on the spot.

"What are you doing here?"

"You’re awake?"

Andre had been listlessly drawing in the snow with a stick. Seeing Lin Chen emerge, he quickly tossed the stick aside and stood up.

"I didn’t actually leave yesterday. I followed you..."

He then briefly explained how he had tracked him, and also how he had shot an ox himself this morning.

"Didn’t you say not to mess with them? Why did you shoot one?"

"I was worried you’d do something impulsive and provoke them! But I felt like I couldn’t talk you out of it, so I followed along to see if I could help in any way."

Andre scratched his head, smiling awkwardly. "But the main thing is, I just think your cooking is better. Anything is fine, even something you’ve made before."

"What are you going to do later on? I won’t be cooking for anyone then."

"Ah, we’ll worry about the future when it gets here! Let’s just take it one meal at a time!"

Lin Chen really didn’t know what to do with this clingy old man.

He hadn’t expected the man to have spent an entire day waiting in the snow just because he was worried. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t touched.

’Since the old guy wants to eat so badly, I might as well cook for him. Once a week isn’t much of a burden, and it’ll be nice to have someone to talk to.’

"So, are you... now..."

"No rush!"

Andre pointed to a pile of small, miscellaneous bones by the fire. "While you were sleeping, I caught and roasted a few lemmings to tide me over. When are you planning to head out?"

Lin Chen looked up at the sun, now mostly sunk below the horizon. He hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Since we’re not busy, why not go now?"

Musk Ox aren’t nocturnal, so they would definitely be sleeping at night. If the prey was still alive, they could finish it with another arrow.

If it had already croaked, they’d have to figure out a way to bring it back as soon as possible.

This proposal was exactly what Andre wanted to hear. He stood up without a word and started to walk out, grabbing his hunting bow from nearby and slinging it over his back.

"Hold on."

The two had just stepped out of the yard when Lin Chen suddenly thought of something.

"If the one you shot is also dead, how are we going to bring back two Musk Oxen?"

"We’ll move one first, and bury the other one in the snow."

Andre seemed to have already thought it through. "As long as the arrow is still in its body, the wound won’t release much of a bloody scent. The blood would have frozen long ago. Besides, the strong smell of the Musk Ox herd will deter any wolves from attacking. They won’t risk going after these big guys."

Of course, Lin Chen understood this principle too. He was only asking to verify the accuracy of his own animal knowledge through Andre.

’The animal knowledge from the system must be correct, but theory is theory, and practice is practice. Even a cornered dog will leap over a wall. There’s no guarantee animals won’t do something unexpected when they’re in danger.’

Only by combining theory and practice could he best ensure his own safety.

Although it wasn’t his first time out at night, it was his first time traveling so far at this hour. He might even have to spend another night in the wild. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t nervous.

He had spent the previous night in the wild too, but he had reached his destination during the day. The forest was much safer in the daytime.

Nighttime was when wolf packs came out to hunt. Their route happened to be near wolf territory, so it was highly likely they would encounter a pack. They had to be fully prepared.

They maintained the same formation as before: Andre took the lead, and Lin Chen brought up the rear.

As the last sliver of sunset vanished below the horizon, the world plunged into darkness.

The two didn’t rush to turn on their Hat Lamps, instead continuing on by memory and the feel of their surroundings.

But as they walked, Andre suddenly veered from the original path, moving toward higher ground to the side.

Lin Chen glanced at the dim forest ahead but said nothing, silently following him.

’If I remember correctly, the original path would have brought us to the edge of the Yukon Wolf territory in a few hundred meters.’

According to the information about wolves in his mind, they were crepuscular animals, with peak activity occurring just after sunset and before sunrise.

During these times, they had the most energy, and the ambient light was at its lowest—the period when most other animals’ vision was at its worst.

Although a wolf pack would be active throughout the night, they primarily initiated hunts during these two windows. The rest of the time, they were either napping, tracking prey, or "holding meetings" to exchange information.

Most importantly, wolf packs would deliberately avoid areas of human activity, or rather, areas where creatures larger than themselves were active.

Based on this premise, avoiding the wolves’ territory at this time was the wisest choice.

’Just what you’d expect from an experienced old Hunter, choosing a different route based on the time and environment.’

He silently committed this information to memory.

If he were alone, his curiosity would likely have led him to stick to the original path. After all, he didn’t have much practical adventuring experience; even with theoretical knowledge, he would be tempted to test if it was true.

It was a classic case of curiosity getting the better of him.

But Andre was different. He had gone through this countless times in practice. Since he chose this path, it meant Lin Chen didn’t need to risk verifying it himself.

Before long, the familiar howl of a wolf echoed through the forest.

"AWOOOO~"

He heard a similar sound almost every night and had grown accustomed to it. It no longer made his heart pound with fear as it did when he first arrived.

A howl at this time usually meant the Wolf King was announcing the start of their activities.

Under Andre’s guidance, the two safely reached the vicinity of the simple igloo where Lin Chen had stored his sled.

Over the course of the day, a shallow layer of fresh snow had accumulated inside the igloo, conveniently covering up any traces or scents of human activity.

Just as they were about to approach, Andre suddenly stopped, holding out a hand to block Lin Chen and making a "shushing" gesture.

Lin Chen nodded without making a sound.

They slowly crouched down, eyes wide as they peered into the igloo’s entrance.

In the faint light of the newly risen moon, they could vaguely make out a furry, dark shape moving inside.

"..."

The moment he saw the dark shape, Lin Chen’s heart skipped a beat, and an ominous thought popped into his head.

’No way.’

’No way, no way?’

Andre stared at the dark shape for a long time, then turned to look at Lin Chen, blinking, his eyes full of inquiry.

"Looks like it’s here for you. Did you get latched onto?"

Lin Chen clutched his forehead in exasperation, nearly rolling his eyes into the back of his head.

"Seriously? I’ve never heard of Arctic Foxes having this kind of trait! Aren’t lemmings running rampant around here? It shouldn’t be short on food. Why is it hanging around me all the time?"

Andre didn’t speak, pondering for a moment.

"Here’s what I think. First, there must be a den of Arctic Foxes nearby. They’re burrowing animals, their dens are well-hidden, and they’re good diggers with lots of entrances and exits. The territory can be over two kilometers wide, so one of the exits is probably near your shelter."

"Arctic Foxes give birth between April and July. The kits start leaving the den to roam nearby when they’re two to four weeks old. That means this little guy is probably still a juvenile, only a few months old."

"It must have accidentally wandered into your shelter while looking for prey, tasted a piece of delicious meat that wasn’t lemming, and remembered that taste. It also remembered that you have a lot of food at your place."

"Plus, since we can’t hurt it, after a few days of observation, it decided you don’t mean it any harm—you’re just guarding your food. So it changed its strategy, followed your scent here, and is hoping to find some scraps you might have left behind."

Andre was, after all, very experienced. He quickly pieced together the most likely scenario.

Combining this with the information he had on Arctic Foxes, Lin Chen sighed and nodded, forced to admit the speculation was probably right.

Or rather, it was very likely the truth.

The duo’s quiet conversation caught the Arctic Fox’s attention. It stood alert at the entrance to the igloo, its two furry, pointed ears perked up, watching them warily.

Arctic Foxes have extremely sharp hearing, able to pinpoint lemmings hidden in burrows under a thick layer of snow.

"What are you looking at? Scram, scram, scram."

Lin Chen shot it an annoyed glare. He strode forward, grabbing the hunting bow off his back and pretending to take aim.

The little creature was startled by the motion and jumped back with a WHOOSH. It paced restlessly in the snow, constantly looking back to watch his movements.

When it realized Lin Chen had no real intention of attacking, it stopped again, sat down obediently in the snow, and tilted its little head as it watched him.

Andre followed, amused. The two of them entered the igloo and quickly cleared out the snow. Andre was the first to turn on his Hat Lamp, shining it in the direction of the Musk Ox herd.

"Too far, can’t see clearly. Looks to be at least over three hundred meters away. The Musk Ox herd must have moved again."

At such a distance, with trees obstructing the view and the glare from the snow, their vision was severely limited.

"Let’s go. Turn it off for now to save power."

Leaning the sled upright against the igloo entrance to act as a door, the two set off again toward the Musk Ox herd.

Five minutes later.

Lin Chen found an arrow stuck in the snow, only the back half of its shaft visible.

"Looks like that one is still alive. Its will to live is really strong..."

After retrieving the arrow and putting it back in his quiver, they each found a tree to hide behind before turning their Hat Lamps on again.

This was where the Musk Ox herd had been resting yesterday, but now the place was deserted. The snow covering the ground had been trampled into a muddy color, revealing the bare soil underneath.

A sweep of their light beams quickly revealed the behemoths lying in the snow over a hundred meters away.

"Huh?"

In the snow between them and the herd, a lone Musk Ox lay collapsed. A fletched arrow was sticking out of its left side.

It wasn’t dead yet, but it could no longer get up.

"This must be the one you shot this morning, right?"

Lin Chen stared thoughtfully at the arrow’s location, marveling inwardly. ’An old Hunter is an old Hunter. The effect of his one arrow is better than my two.’

Of course, the most important thing was accuracy.

The heart was only so big, hidden between the ribs and wrapped in thick layers of muscle and fur. It wasn’t an easy target to hit.

If this one arrow hadn’t had a fatal effect, it would have only startled the herd, possibly even causing them to move to a new resting place. Getting a follow-up shot would have been nearly impossible.

One arrow, from two hundred meters away. He couldn’t help but feel a genuine sense of admiration for that kind of skill.

The reason he had aimed for the neck was that he wasn’t confident he could hit the Musk Ox’s heart.

The neck was different. The entire area was a vital spot, providing a larger target and thus being relatively easier to hit.

"I see the one you shot."

Andre’s voice came from behind a nearby tree.

Following his beam, Lin Chen quickly spotted the big one with two arrows sticking out of its neck.

Compared to this morning, its condition had clearly deteriorated. It lay in the snow, breathing heavily, its abdomen rising and falling dramatically.