The energetic young men erupted with excitement at the sight of the fallen buck, whooping like monkeys as they leaped and dashed over.
“Brigade Leader, let us try the gun!”
“Where are we heading next?”
With three prey taken down so quickly, everyone was buzzing with excitement.
The next stop was naturally to hunt wild boars.
Aside from hares and pheasants, wild boars were the most plentiful in these mountains.
Compared to deer, which typically give birth to one or two at a time, pigs are prolific breeders.
Wild boars can also produce several piglets in a single litter.
Led by Lin Zhen, the group soon came across a herd of eight wild boars.
The boars were reckless—upon spotting the humans, they immediately lowered their heads and charged without hesitation.
“Hurry, hurry, open fire!”
“Ropes, use ropes to trip them!”
“Whoa, whoa, they’re coming my way! Someone get over here!”
With only two guns and a few others carrying bows and arrows—though none as accurate as Lin Zhen—the group had to rely on coordination. They charged forward with their machetes.
Song Wei’s approach was far simpler: she directly mounted a boar’s neck, raining down punches with a series of heavy thuds until a large dent caved into its skull.
The men nearby watched in awe, swallowing hard and shooting her nervous, almost fearful glances.
The two older women, however, looked on with envy.
“If I had skills like that, I wouldn’t worry about providing for my children,” one remarked.
Though they had joined the hunt, their roles were limited to supporting tasks.
Watching Song Wei’s bravery, which surpassed even the men’s, they felt both admiration and envy.
In the end, the entire herd of boars was brought down.
With eight wild boars and three bucks, the hunt was undoubtedly a success.
A few people were injured, but none seriously.
Even those clutching bleeding wounds grinned happily at the sight of the boars.
The brigade leader clapped Lin Zhen on the shoulder. “Good thing we had you leading the way, kid. Who knows how long we’d have been searching otherwise.”
Everyone agreed, and some of the younger men even asked Lin Zhen to teach them how to improve their archery accuracy.
They were especially impressed watching Lin Zhen’s arrow pierce a boar’s eye.
While Song Wei’s strength clearly wasn’t something that could be acquired through training, archery was another matter.
“Quick, bring basins and buckets to collect the boar blood!”
The group busied themselves again.
Just as everyone was engrossed in processing the boars, Song Wei keenly sensed danger.
Lin Zhen noticed it too.
Simultaneously, they vigilantly scanned their surroundings.
“Grrr…”
The wolves and dogs arched their backs, growing alert.
After hunting in the forest for so long, their instincts for danger had sharpened significantly.
“What’s wrong? What’s happening?”
Influenced by the barking pack, everyone grew wary.
The brigade leader and another elder holding a gun raised their firearms, preparing for action.
“The dogs are acting strange. There’s something big out there,” the old man warned.
No sooner had he spoken than a massive orange figure burst from a thicket to the east.
It moved swiftly, charging directly toward a woman holding a chopping knife.
The two armed men had no time to react.
Song Wei practically flew into action, sliding into a tackle to shove the woman out of harm’s way.
“ROAR!”
A tiger’s roar echoed through the sky, ringing in everyone’s ears and shaking them to their core.
A tiger—it was actually a tiger.
The sheer force of its roar made their legs tremble; several found themselves frozen in place, unable to move.
Having lost its target, the tiger was about to swipe its paw at the nearest person when it suddenly felt a heavy weight on its back.
It was Song Wei—she had leaped onto the tiger’s back.
The tiger twisted its head around, snapping its jaws at Song Wei.
Song Wei responded with a powerful punch to its jawbone.
The tiger let out a pained roar, shaking its head in confusion before abruptly rolling violently on the ground.
Song Wei was forced to jump off.
In an instant, the two stood facing each other in a tense standoff.
The atmosphere grew heavy. The people from Ping’an Brigade huddled together, trembling in fear.
This tiger was clearly smarter than a wild boar—it had managed to throw Song Wei off and even took one of her punches without serious injury.
Perched on a tree, Lin Zhen stood ready, his bow drawn taut.
The tiger moved first, leaping into action. In that same moment, Lin Zhen released his arrow.
“Roar!”
Sensing danger, the tiger swatted the arrow away with its paw.
Seizing the opportunity, Song Wei slid beneath the tiger and delivered a powerful kick.
The fully grown adult tiger was sent flying three meters backward.
It scrambled to its feet and, without hesitation, turned and fled.
This opponent was tougher than expected!
Lin Zhen and Song Wei did not pursue it.
With so many people still here, what if another tiger appeared while they were gone?
As the tiger disappeared, everyone collectively sighed in relief.
The brigade leader’s hands trembled as he held his gun.
“Today… today, we owe thanks to Comrade Song Wei and Lin Zhen,” he stammered.
The tiger was fast—if their shots had missed, the consequences would have been disastrous.
After all, their guns required reloading with gunpowder after each shot. By the time they managed to reload, the tiger could have already been upon them.
The most grateful of all was naturally the auntie who had come face-to-face with the tiger and nearly been snatched away.
Pushed to safety by Song Wei, she lay weak-legged on the ground, still trembling and unable to stand.
“Th-thank you, Comrade Song,” she managed, her voice shaky.
Her gratitude was genuine—in that moment, she had felt death’s breath and heard the King of Hell’s call.
Even with support, her legs remained weak, her face pale, and her body drenched in cold sweat. But she did not forget to express her thanks.
Song Wei replied, “I’m just glad you’re safe, Auntie. We should leave quickly—the tiger was likely drawn here by the scent of blood.”
“Right, right, let’s go, let’s go!”
While they could stand their ground against wild boars, most of them had been petrified with fear after just one encounter with the tiger.
Once everyone had collected themselves, they hurried down the mountain with their prey, their faces etched with lingering fear.
They moved as if the tiger were still hot on their heels.
Emerging from the mountains, they all felt a wave of relief, grateful to have survived.
They were alive.
Their gazes toward Song Wei and Lin Zhen grew even more appreciative, as though looking at heroes.
Back in the brigade, cheers erupted at the sight of the prey.
“Meat! We’ve been craving it for so long! The mountains are full of game—what a pity we only go once. Brigade Leader, can’t we go a few more times?”
“Go again? Hell no! We almost didn’t make it back this time!”
The brigade leader lit a cigarette to calm his nerves.
Those who hadn’t joined the hunt exchanged puzzled glances, slowly noticing the uneasy expressions on the returning hunters’ faces.
“What happened?”
“Wife, we ran into a tiger—a huge one with a massive mouth! It charged at us without any fear, even with so many of us there. Auntie Feng almost got snatched away! Luckily, Comrade Song saved her.”
“A tiger?!”
Family members of the hunters turned pale, urgently pulling their loved ones aside to check them over.
Those with injuries were met with distress and concern.
“Did anyone get taken?”
“How could we be so unlucky to run into a tiger?”
“Everyone’s fine, thanks to Comrade Song. She fought the tiger and drove it away—that’s why we’re all safe.”
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